Saint Anselm’s Book of Meditations and Prayers

by Anselm of Canterbury

Publisher:

Burns and Oates

, 1872

Overview

The thought and writing of Anselm of Canterbury has echoed through the fields of philosophy and theology for nearly 1,000 years. Widely considered the founder of scholasticism, Anselm’s method of study was rigorous and represented a seismic shift in medieval thought. In Saint Anselm’s Book of Meditations and Prayers the reader is brought into the very heart of this great saint’s spiritual experience, offering one of the first ontological arguments for the existence of God. The meditations discuss such topics as “the dignity and the woe of man’s estate,” “the penitent’s address to God his Father,” and “hope for the future.”

With this edition of Saint Anselm’s Book of Meditations and Prayers, every word is a link to other resources in your library. Double-click any word—in English, Latin, Greek, or any language—and your digital library will search your lexicons for a match. That gives you instant access to a wealth of technical linguistic and etymological data, along with tools for accurate study and interpretation.

Key Features

• Presents 21 meditations and prayers from the founder of scholasticism
• Includes an introduction by the archbishop of Westminster, Henry Edward
• Anselm describes his personal spiritual experience

Contents

Top Highlights

“If you ask of me, or of any other Doctor, not unreasonably, that you may understand what you believe, correct your definition, not so as to reject faith, but so as to perceive by the light of reason the things which by the firmness of faith you already hold.… Therefore it was reasonably said by the Prophet, ‘Unless you believe, you will not understand,’ ’^† so St. Ansolm taught that we must first believe, then understand; that the rational understanding of revealed truth comes by contemplation, analysis, and precise conception of the truth which we already believe to be the word of God.” (Pages xiii–xiv)

“Let Us make man,’ said God, ‘to Our Image and Likeness’ (Gen. 1:26). If thou awakest not at this word, O my soul; if thou art not all aflame with love of Him for His so ineffable graciousness of condescension towards thee; if thine inmost marrow burns not with longings after Him, what shall I say? Asleep shall I call thee? Or must I rather think thee dead? Consider diligently, therefore, what it is to have been created to God’s Image and God’s Likeness; thou hast in this thought the sweet earnest of a pious meditation in which thy musings may have full play.” (Page 2)

“Rouse thyself, my soul; rouse thyself, and let the fire of a love from heaven blaze in thy inmost parts, and learn thou carefully the dignity bestowed on thee by thy Lord God; and learning, love; and loving, revere with the addresses of a holy practice. Does not He who has assigned thee a dwelling in Himself, and has deigned to dwell in thee, does not He clothe thee, deck thee, and adorn thee with Himself? ‘As many of you,’ says the Apostle, ‘as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ’ (Gal. 3:27).” (Page 10)

Product Details

• Title: Saint Anselm’s Book of Meditations and Prayers
• Translator: M. R.
• Publisher: Burns and Oates
• Publication Date: 1872
• Pages: 320

About Anselm of Canterbury

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) was a Scholastic philosopher and clergyman, born in Aosta, NW Italy. He left Italy in 1056 and settled at the Benedictine abbey of Bec in Normandy. He moved to England to succeed Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. His strong principles brought him into conflict both with William II and Henry I in England, and he was temporarily exiled by each of them. Greatly influenced by Augustine, Anselm sought ˜necessary reasons’ for religious beliefs, notably the famous ontological argument for the existence of God.