Willamena
10-09-2004, 20:06
I found this in a book. It's the "Four Levels" hermeneutic that was used by early Christians to interpret Scripture (see Origen, third century). "By the time of Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century, the Four Levels hermeneutic had become widely accepted as the means by which Scripture was to be interpreted, its method summed up in a well-known verse:"
"The letter teaches you the facts;
Allegory what you should believe;
Morality how you should act; and
Anagogy what to hope for."
There's an illustration using the example of the story of the Exodus, as given in Psalm 114:
"When Isarel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion."
"...this short text is understood to carry the teachings of Christianity in its layered meanings:
- The literal text tells of the historical Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It is an event of sacred history that is also real human history.
- The allegorical is the 'shadow of Truth'. This reading transforms the literal into an allegory of the mission of Christ in world history. The Old Law (Old Testament) becomes a prophecy of the New Law brought by Christ. The Exodus is a prophecy of the Redemption, whereby Christ leads out souls (Israel) from sin (Egypt). Through this interpretation the Old Testament and the New Testament are brought into unity and the creed of the Church is established. The individual accepts these teachings as a matter of faith.
- The moral or tropological is the 'image of Truth'. It is the turning-point for the individual soul, where it is directly addressed by the Word of God. The term 'trope' comes from the Greek tropos, to turn, as in the Tropic of the Sun's turning at the solstices. The soul turns towards truth. Moved by the literal and allegorical truth shown through Scripture the soul comprehends and enacts its own 'conversion' from its state of estrangement (the strange language) to a state of grace (its own chosen land). This level is charity; it transforms knowledge of the Christian teaching into compassion and charitable action by the individual, which is the primary concern of the lay mission of the Church.
- The anagogic or mystical reading is 'Truth' itself. It is a prophecy of the passing of the sanctified soul to everlasting glory at the end of time. This level is hope. In lay terms, we hope for the Kingdom of God to come. It represents the goal of mystical illumination; the soul, addressed by the Scripture, is illuminated in direct relation to God."
"A main part of the task of the Four Levels approach was seen as bringing the Old and New Laws (Testaments) into unity, through a double structure of prophecy. Since the events in the Old Testament prefigure the mission of Christ, the Old Law is a prophecy of the New (allegory). The New Law is a prophecy of the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth at the Second Coming (anagoge). Understanding the allegories of the Bible was also the gateway to reading the moral meanings of the various stories, as a guide to Christian conduct (trope). For the ordinary priest who might find the Four Levels hermeneutic difficult to comprehend, texts of standard interpretations of Bible stories were devised to aid in the composition of sermons."
(Hmm. I wonder if I can find some of those...)
"The letter teaches you the facts;
Allegory what you should believe;
Morality how you should act; and
Anagogy what to hope for."
There's an illustration using the example of the story of the Exodus, as given in Psalm 114:
"When Isarel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion."
"...this short text is understood to carry the teachings of Christianity in its layered meanings:
- The literal text tells of the historical Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It is an event of sacred history that is also real human history.
- The allegorical is the 'shadow of Truth'. This reading transforms the literal into an allegory of the mission of Christ in world history. The Old Law (Old Testament) becomes a prophecy of the New Law brought by Christ. The Exodus is a prophecy of the Redemption, whereby Christ leads out souls (Israel) from sin (Egypt). Through this interpretation the Old Testament and the New Testament are brought into unity and the creed of the Church is established. The individual accepts these teachings as a matter of faith.
- The moral or tropological is the 'image of Truth'. It is the turning-point for the individual soul, where it is directly addressed by the Word of God. The term 'trope' comes from the Greek tropos, to turn, as in the Tropic of the Sun's turning at the solstices. The soul turns towards truth. Moved by the literal and allegorical truth shown through Scripture the soul comprehends and enacts its own 'conversion' from its state of estrangement (the strange language) to a state of grace (its own chosen land). This level is charity; it transforms knowledge of the Christian teaching into compassion and charitable action by the individual, which is the primary concern of the lay mission of the Church.
- The anagogic or mystical reading is 'Truth' itself. It is a prophecy of the passing of the sanctified soul to everlasting glory at the end of time. This level is hope. In lay terms, we hope for the Kingdom of God to come. It represents the goal of mystical illumination; the soul, addressed by the Scripture, is illuminated in direct relation to God."
"A main part of the task of the Four Levels approach was seen as bringing the Old and New Laws (Testaments) into unity, through a double structure of prophecy. Since the events in the Old Testament prefigure the mission of Christ, the Old Law is a prophecy of the New (allegory). The New Law is a prophecy of the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth at the Second Coming (anagoge). Understanding the allegories of the Bible was also the gateway to reading the moral meanings of the various stories, as a guide to Christian conduct (trope). For the ordinary priest who might find the Four Levels hermeneutic difficult to comprehend, texts of standard interpretations of Bible stories were devised to aid in the composition of sermons."
(Hmm. I wonder if I can find some of those...)