33
Pr egledni	znans tv eni	članek/ Article	(1.02)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly	83	(2023)	1,	33—47
Besedilo	pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:11/2021;	spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:07/2022
UDK/UDC:	111.852s v .Bona v en tur a
DOI:	10.34291/B V2023/01/Salv ador
©	2023	Salvador-Gonz ále z,	CC	B Y	4.0
José María Salvador-González
The Created World as a Creator’s Vestigium  
in St. Bonaventure’s Aesthetics
Ustvarjeni svet kot Stvarnikov v es tigium  
v estetiki sv. Bonaventure
Abstract:	 The 	 c onspicuous	 Fr ancisc an	think er	 Sain t	 Bona v en tur e	 of	 Bagnor egio 	
de v elop s	 his	 per sonal	 Aes the tics	 in	 his	 book	 Itinerarium mentis in Deum	 (1259). 	
This	 c onsis ts	 e sse n tially 	 in	 an	 asc e n t	 of	 m an	 t o	 God	 thr oug h	 thr e e 	 succe ssiv e 	
phases,	 each	 of	 them	 divided	 in t o	 tw o	 le v els.	 This	 article	see k s	 t o	 analy z e	 the	
fir s t	 of 	 those	 thr ee	 phases	 in 	 which 	 our	 author	 s tructur es	 his	 aes the tic	 s y s t em, 	
a	 phase	tha t	 w e	 c ould	 c all	 Bon a v en turian	 Immanen t	 Aes the tics.	 In	 this	 imma-
nent phase, the human being can reach the knowledge of God, if he considers 
the	 ma t erial	 beings	 of	 the	 cr ea t ed	 w orld	 as	 v es tig es	 tha t	 visibly	 r e v eal	 the	 in-
visible presence of God who created them. To achieve such a discovery, the 
human	 being	 mus t 	 c onsider 	 thr ough	 appr ehension, 	 delect a tion, 	 and	 judgmen t 	
the	 ph y sic al	 qua lities	 of	 ma t er ial	 cr ea tur es,	 t o	 per ceiv e	 them	 as	 tr aces	 or	 v es-
tig es	of	the	Cr ea t or .
Keywords:	 Aes the tics, 	 cr ea t ed	w orld, 	 senses, 	 ma t erial	 beings, 	 v es tig e, 	 analogy , 	
Creator God
Povzetek : 	 P r odor ni	 fr a nč išk a nsk i	 m isle c 	 s v .	 B ona v e n t ur a 	 iz	 B a g nor e g ia 	 r a z v ija	 s v o-
jo	 osebno	 es t e tik o	 v	 delu	Itinerarium mentis in Deum	 (1259).	 Gr e	 pr a v z apr a v 	
z a	 dvig anje	 člo v ek a	 k	 Bogu	 sk o zi	 tri	 z apor edne	 f az e,	v sak a	 od 	 njih	 pa	 je	 r az del-
jena	 na	 dv e	r a vni.	 Članek	 posk uša	analizir a ti	 pr v o	 od 	 tr eh 	 f az,	 pri 	 čemer	 naš 	
a v t or	 s truk turir a	 s v oj	 es t e tski	 sis t em:	 f az o ,	 ki	 jo	 lahk o	 imenuj emo	 Bona v en tu-
r o v a	 imanen tna	 es t e tik a.	 V	 t ej	 imanen tni	 f azi	 člo v ek	 spo znan je	 Bog a	 lahk o	 do-
se ž e, 	 če	 ma t erialna	 bitja	 us tv arjeneg a	s v et a	r azume	 k ot	 znamenja,	 ki	 vidno 	
r az odev ajo	 nevidno	 na v z očnos t	 Bog a,	 ki	 jih	 je	 us tv aril. 	 Da	 bi	 t o	 odkril,	 mor a 	
čl o v ek	 na	 fizi čne	 l as tnos ti	 ma t eri al ni h	 bi tij	 gl eda ti	 pr ek	 spo znanja,	uži v anja	 i n 	
pr esoje	–	t ak o	jih	bo	dojel	k ot	Stv arnik o v e	sledo v e	ali	znamenja.
Ključne besede :	 es t e tik a,	 us tv arjeni 	 s v e t,	 čuti,	 ma t erialna	 bitja,	 znamenje,	 analogija, 	
Bog kot Stvarnik

34 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
1.  Introduction: The Aesthetics of St. Bonaventure, 
between Philosophy and Theology
The	 pr olific	 Fr ancisc an	think er	 St.	 Bona v en tur e	 of	 Bagnor egio	 (1221‒1274)	 pr o-
duced	 a	 lar g e	 theor e tic al	corpus	 with	 pr edominan t	 theologic al,	 e x eg e tic,	 asce tic,	
and	 m y s tic al	 though ts.	 Ne v ertheless, 	 he 	 also	 appr oached	 philosophic al	 r eason-
ing	 e x t ensiv ely . 	 His	w ork	 r eached 	 such 	 high 	 pr es tig e	 and 	 in fluence	 in	 the	 Chris-
tian	 w orld	 tha t	 he	 earned	 the	 title	 of	 “Ser aphic	 Doct or ”	 (Doctor Seraphicus ). His 
in t ellectual	 pr oduction 	 has	 been	 analy z ed	b y	 numer ous	 specialis ts	 in	 c oun tless 	
specific	 w ork s	 on	 some	 specific	 t opics	of	 his	 he t er og eneous	 theor e tic al 	 s y s t em 	
and	 e v en	 in	 the	 f orm	 of	 a	 s yn thesis	 of	 his	 en tir e	 specula tiv e	 w ork.	 (Gilson	 1948;	
V anni-R ovighi	 1974;	 Boug er ol	 1984;	 T odisc o	 2007,	 17‒75;	 Car oli	 2008;	 Pulido , 	
Florido	and	Hípola	2019)
It	 is	 in t er es ting	 no w	 t o	 poin t	 out	 tha t,	 among	 his	 philosophic al	 tr ea tises,	 dedi-
c a t ed	t o	 the 	 specific 	 met aph y sic al,	 c osmologic al, 	 an thr opologic al, 	 and	ethic al 	
themes, 	 the 	 Ser aphic	 w as	 also	 in t er es t ed	 in	 f ormula ting 	 his	 Aes thetics, 	 which 	
se v er al	 e xperts	 in	 e x t ensiv e	 monogr aphs	 ha v e	 analy z ed	 (v on	 Balthasar	 2007;	 De	
R osa	 2011;	 León	 Sanz	 2016,	 Salv ador -Gonz ále z	 2022a).	 Sain t	 Bona v en tur e 	 did	 not 	
c onsider	 his	 Ae s the tics	 –t o	 which	 he	 in t egr a t ed	 with	 gr ea t	 originality	 lots	 of	 phil-
osophic al	 and	theologic al	 c omponen ts—	 as	an	 aut onomous	 and	self -sufficien t 	
discipline	 but	 as	 a	 privileg ed	 w a y	 of	 access	 t o	 God	 (Z as	 Friz	 de	 Col	 2009,	 22‒36).	
Bona v en tur e 	 de v elope d	 his	 peculiar	 Aes the tics	 in	 man y	 par agr aphs	 sc a tt er ed	 in	
his	 v arious	 writings, 	 including	Comentarii in quatuor libri Sententiarum Petri Lom-
bardi (Bona v en tur a	 de 	 Balneor egio	 1882a;	 1882b), Collationes in Hexaëmeron 
(1882c), Breviloquium (1882d), and mainly Itinerarium mentis in Deum (1882e).  
Our 	 shor t	 ar ticle 	 will	 pr e se n t	 a	 panor amic	 v ie w 	 of	 the 	 initial	 par t	 of	 this	 Bona v e n-
turian	Aes the tics.
The Seraphic starts from the thesis, for him indisputable, that God created the 
world out of nothing. He considers it evident that not only the Holy Scriptures 
pr each	 the	 e xis t ence	 of	 God,	 but	 tha t	 the	 en tir e	 univ er se	 pr oclaims	 tha t	 ther e	 is	
a supreme Creator who made him exist, and who gave men the necessary intel-
ligence to prefer living beings over the inert, those who have senses versus those 
who lack them, the intelligent versus those who cannot understand, the immor-
tals versus mortals.
1
According to our author, God creates the world and its creatures by producing 
the being from non-being in a free and deliberate way, by his omnipotent will, and 
as	 a	 spon t aneous	 act	 of	 his	 unlimit ed	 lo v e.	 Being	 God	 the 	 only	 necessar y	 and	 in fi-
nite Being, whose essence is Being (Santinello	 1983,	 69‒80;	 T odisco	 2008,	 345‒356), 	
which exists from eternity by himself, without needing any other that sustains him, 
1 
“Neque	 enim	 divinorum	 libr orum	 t an tummodo 	 auct orit as	 pr adic a t,	 esse	 Deum,	 sed 	 omnis	 quae	 nos 	
cir cums t a t, 	 ad	 quam	 nos	 e tiam 	 pertinemus, 	 univ er sa	 ip sa	 r erum	 na tur a	 pr oclama t, 	 se 	 haber e 	 pr aes t an t-
issimum	 Condit or em,	 qui	 nobis	 men t em	 r a tionemque	 na tur alem	 dedit,	 qua	 viv en tia	 non	 viv en tibus, 	
sensu	 pr aedit a	 non	 sen tien tibus, 	 in t ellig en tia	 non	 in t ellig en tibus, 	 immort alia	 mort alibus	 /…/	 pr ae f er-
enda	iudic amus. ”	(Breviloquium, 	I,	5:	Q	V ,	211a).

35 José María Salvador-González - The Created World as a Creator’s Vestigium...
all	 other 	 beings	do	 not 	 e xis t 	 b y	 themselv es	 but	 r eceiv e	 being	 in	 time 	 and	finit e 	
measur e 	 b y	 God	 the 	 Cr ea t or , 	 Fir s t	 Principle 	 of	 all	beings.	 Thus, 	 all	beings	 diff er en t 	
from God are his creatures, which exist dependent and necessarily related to their 
Creator (Láz ar o	 Pulido	 2005).	 F or	 the 	 r es t, 	 e xperience	 immedia t ely	 r e v eals	 the 	 e x-
is t ence	 of	 these	 cr ea tur es	 in	 their	 multiplicity , 	 limit a tion, 	 and	 r ela tivity .	 Ho w e v er , 	
our	 author	 emphasiz es	 tha t	 the 	 being	 of	 cr ea tur es, 	 despit e 	 its	 finitude, 	 t empor al-
ity ,	 and	 c on ting ency , 	 r e v eals	 a	 cert ain	 similarity 	 or 	 analogy 	 with	 the 	 in finit e, 	 e t ernal 	
and necessary Being of the Creator God because He is the perfect example of all 
the	 beings	 of	 the	 cr ea t ed 	 w orld. 	 (Landr y	 1922,	 137‒169;	 Bowman	 1975,	 181‒198; 	
T odisc o	1980, 	5‒19;	Berti	1985, 	11‒22;	P er a t oner	2008, 	178‒184).
Based	 on	 such	 assump tions, 	 the 	 Ser aphic	asserts	 tha t	 the	 ma t erial,	 finit e	 w orld 	
is	 a	 pa th	 tha t	 leads	 t o	 the	 spiritual,	 in finit e	 e x emplar ,	 which	 is 	 the	 divine	 Cr ea t or .	
This	 is	 ho w	 he	 e xpr esses	 it	 when,	 in	 a	 passag e	 fr om	 his	 fir s t	 book	 of	Commentar-
ies on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, he points out that the creature, being a 
v es tig e	 of	 the	 Cr ea t or ,	 is	 lik e	 a	 ladder	 t o	 climb	 up	 t o	 God	 and 	 lik e	 an	 e xpeditious	
path to get there up to Him.
2
	 	 In	 his	 opinion,	 e v er y	 cr ea t ed	 being	 is	 a	 v es tig e	 tha t	
r e v eals	 and	 r e flects	 its	 Cr ea t or	 f or	 tw o	 r easons:	 fir s t,	 bec ause	 e v er y	 e ff ect	 neces-
sarily 	 r e v eals	the 	 e xis t ence 	 of	 a	 c ause 	 tha t 	 pr oduced	 it;	 sec ondly , 	 bec ause 	 God 	
creates each creature according to the idea or exemplar that He conceives to cre-
a t e	it	in	its	specific	f orm	and	its	c oncr e t e	individuality .
Hen ce,	 Bona v en tu r e	 s t a t es	 th a t	 th e	 fini t e,	 ma t eri al	 w orl d	 i s	a	 pa th 	 th a t	 l ead s 	
t o	 the 	 spiritual	 and	 in finit e	 model, 	 which	 is	 God	 the 	 Cr ea t or 	 (Beschin	 2000,	 43‒64; 	
R e ynolds	 2003, 	 219‒255;	 Chia rinelli	 2007,	 5‒16;	 P er a t oner	 2008,	 180;	 Soulignac	
2011,	 413‒428; 	 P arisi	 2016,	 140‒170).	 Acc or ding	 t o	 him,	 all	 this	 cr ea t ed	 w orld	 is	
a	 shado w ,	 a	 pa th,	 and	 a	 v es tig e 	 tha t,	 although	 mix ed	 with	 darkness,	 r e flects	 the	
splendour of the divine exemplar, God, so that each creature is an opacity mixed 
with light.
3
		T o	demons tr a t e	such	a	thesis ,	he	off er s	this	eloquen t	me t aphor:
“ Jus t	 as	 y ou 	 see	 tha t	 a	 r a y	 c oming	 thr ough 	 a	 windo w	 is	 c olor ed 	 in	 diff er en t 	
w a y s	 acc or ding	 t o	 the 	 diff e r e n t	 c olor s	 of	 the 	 v ar ious	 par ts	 [ of	 the 	 windo w	
panes], 	 so	 also	 the 	 divine 	 r a y	 shines	 in	 each	 cr ea tur e	 in	 diff er en t	 w a y s	 and 	
thr ough	diff er en t	pr operties. ”
4
Furthermor e, 	 a ft er 	 r eit er a ting	 tha t	 the 	 cr ea t ed	 w orld	 is	 a	 pa th	 tha t	 leads	 t o	 the 	
e x emplar	 (God) ,
5
	 our	 author	 assur es	 us	 tha t	 the	 cr ea t ed	 w orld	 is	 also	 a	 v es tig e	 of	
2 
“ V es tigium 	 siv e 	 cr ea tur a	 es t 	 sicut 	 sc ala 	 ad	ascendendum 	 v el	 sicut 	 via	 ad	per v eniendum 	 ad	Deum. ” 	
(Comentarii in quatuor libri Sententiarum Petri Lombardi ,	I,	q.	3,	a.	un.,	2:	Q	I,	74a).	
3 
“ Quan tum	 	 ad	 	 primum	 	 t otus	 	 nundu s	 	 	 es t	 	 	 umbr a,	 	 via,	 	 v es tigium	 	 e t	 	 es t	 	 liber	 	 	 scrip tus	 	 f orinsecus	 .	 	
In	 qualibe t	 	 enim	 	 cr ea tur a	 	 es t	 	 r e fulg en tia	 	 divini	 	 e x emplaris,	 	 sed	 	 cum	 t enebr a	 	 permix t a;	 	 unde	 	 es t	 	
si cu t	 	 	q u aed am	 	 op aci t as	 ad mi x t a	 	l u mi n i . ”	 	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae, 
12,	14:	Q	V ,	329‒454)
4 
“Sicut	 	 tu	 	 vides,	 	 qu od	 	 r adius	 	 in tr ans	 	 	 per	 	 f enes tr am	 div er simode	 	 c olor a tur	 	 secunduin	 	 c olor es	 	 di-
v er sos	 	 div er sarum	 	 partium	 ;	 	 	 sic	 	 r adiu s	 	 divinus	 	 	 in	 	 	 singulis	 cr ea turis	 	 div er simode	 	 	 e t	 	 	 in	 	 	 div er sis	 	
pr oprie t a tibus	r e fulg e t. ”	(Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae, 12,	14:	Q	V ,	386b)
5 
“ It em,	 es t	 vi a	 d u cen s	 	 i n 	 	 e x emp l ar . ” 	 	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae, 12,	 14:	
Q	V ,	386b)

36 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
God’ s	 Wisdom,	 so	 tha t	 each	 w orldly	 cr ea tur e	 is	 lik e	 a	 cert ain 	 simulacrum	 or	 imi-
t a tion	 of	 divine	 Wisdom	 as	 if	 it	 w er e	 a	 sculp tur e	 in	 the	 imag e	 of	 the	 per son	 r ep-
resented in it. 
6
F or	 this	 r eason,	 a	 f e w	 lines	 la t er ,	 Bona v en tur e	 enriches	 his	 r ea soning	 b y	 poin t-
ing out that when the human soul sees these things that happen in the created 
world, he sees himself in need to pass from the shadow to the light, from the path 
t o	 the 	 t erm	 of	 des tin y , 	 fr om 	 the 	 v es tig e 	 t o	 the 	 truth, 	 fr om 	 the 	 book 	 t o	 the 	 true 	
science, which is in God.
7
 
In Bonaventure’s opinion, the creatures of this world are precisely those that 
allo w	 c on t empla tiv e 	 access	 t o	 the 	 Cr ea t or , 	 since 	 b y	 c onsidering	 the 	 na tur e	 and 	
the 	 ma t erial,	 finit e	 pr operties	 of	 the 	 cr ea tur es, 	 the 	 human	 being	 c an	 c ome 	 t o	 think 	
the 	 spiritual, 	 infinit e 	 pr operties	 of	 God, 	 (W oo	 1972,	 306‒330;	 Osborne 	 2013, 	
511‒539).	 Our	 author 	 de v elop s	 these 	 ideas	 in	 his 	 Aes the tics.	 Thus, 	 in	 his 	Itiner-
arium mentis in Deum–a	 bookle t	 tha t	 c ollects	 the	 essen tials	 of	 his	 Aes the tics–he	
assur es	 tha t	 the	 appr eci a tion	 and	c on t empl a tion	 of	 earthl y	 bei ngs	ar e	 an	 e x cel-
lent	 wa y	 to 	 rise	 to 	 God. 	 (Assunto 	 1962,	 56‒58;	 Ulivi	 1962,	 1‒32;	 Ost	 1976, 	
233‒247;	 Offilada	 Mina	 3006,	 151‒164;	 LaNa v e	 2009,	 267‒299;	 Da vis	 2015, 	
433‒453).	 F or	 this,	 the	 Ser aphic	 Doct or	 es t ablishes	 in	 his	Itinerarium mentis in 
Deum a scale of six steps or levels that, from the simplest and lowest to the most 
complex and sublime, elevates man directly towards God. Thus, man can behold 
God with increasing clairvoyance as he progresses up those six levels.
In	 the	 fir s t	 tw o	 le v els	 –which	 w e	 c ould	 c all	 the	 “immanen t ”	 or	 “ma t erial”	 s t ag e 	
of	 Bona v en tur e’ s	 Aes the tics–	 the	 human	 being	 achie v es	 an	 in itial	 c on t empla tion	
of	 the	 Cr ea t or	 when 	 he	 c onsider s	 the	 signs	 or	 v es tig es	 tha t	 he	 le ft	 in	 cr ea t ed 	 things 	
(Macc ag onolo	 1981, 	 47‒63; 	 Iammar r one 	 2008, 	 482‒491; 	 Gir aud	 2011, 	 251‒274;	
Salv ador -Gonz ále z	 2013,	 79‒117).	 In	 the	 tw o 	 in t ermedia t e	 le v els–which 	 c ondense 	
wha t	 w e	 c ould 	 c all	 the	 “in tr ospectiv e” 	 s t ag e	of 	 his	 Aes thetics–,	 man,	 en t ering 	
within himself and considering his soul as a mirror of the Trinity, manages to reach 
an	 e v en	 mor e 	 r e fined	 specula tiv e 	 c on t empla tion	 of	 the 	 Supr eme 	 Being.	 (Salv ador -
Gonz ále z	 2009,	 295‒309;	 2021a,	 153‒173).	 In	 the	 las t	 tw o 	 lev els	 –the	 c or e	 of	 wha t 	
w e 	 designa t e 	 as	 the 	 “tr anscenden t ”	 or 	 “ ecs t a tic”	 s t ag e 	 of	 Bona v en turian	 Aes the t-
ics–	man	 r eaches	 “men t al	 e x cesses”	 thr ough	 c on t empla tiv e 	 ecs t as y 	 be f or e 	 God 	
b y	 dir ectly 	 c onsidering 	 his	 essen tial	 a ttribut es	 (fifth	 le v el)	 and	 their 	 per sonal	 pr op-
erty	 (sixth	 lev el)	 (Salv ador -Gonz ále z	 2020,	 741‒755;	 2021b,	 273‒285;	 2022c, 	
411‒428).
A c c or ding 	 t o	 St.	 Bona v e n tur e , 	 the 	 c on t e m pla tiv e 	 asc e n t	 of	 m an	 t o w ar ds	 G od 	
t ak es	 place	 in	 thr ee	consecutiv e	 and 	 complement ary	 s t ages:	 thr ough 	 things, 	
thr ough	 the	 soul,	 and	 thr ough	 the	 Fir s t	 Principle. 	 Although 	 all	 beings	 of	 the	 w orld 	
6 
“It em,	 es t	 v es tigium	 	 sapien tiae	 	 Dei. 	 	 Unde	 cr ea tur a	 non	 es t	 	 nisi	 	 sicut	 	 quoddam 	 	 simulacrum	 	 sapien-
tiae	 	 Dei	 	 e t	 quoddam	 	 sculp tile. ”	 	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae,	 12,	 14:	 Q	 V ,	
386b)
7  
“ Quando	 er g o	 anima 	 vide t	 haec,	 vid e tur	 sibi,	 quod	 deber e t	 tr ansir e	 ab	umbra ad lucem, a via ad ter-
minum, a vestigio ad veritatem, a libro 	 ad	 scien tiam	 v er am,	 quae	 es t	 in	 Deo. ”	 (Collationes in Hexaëm -
eron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae,	12,	15:	Q	V ,	386b)

37
c ons titut e	 a	 lad der	 t o	 ascend	 t o	 God,	 each	 f acilit a t es	 the	 ascen t	 diff er en tly:	 c or-
por eal	 things	 ar e	 ma t erial,	 t empor al	 v es tig es	 of	 God, 	 e xis ting	 outside	 of	 man	 (Iam-
marr o n e	 2008,	 482‒491) ;	 th e	 h u man 	 so u l s	 ar e	 sp i ri tu al ,	 e t ern al 	 i mag es	 o f 	 Go d , 	
living within us.
8
  In this sense, the ascent to God from the material universe must 
be	 c arried	 out	 in	 thr ee	 s t ep s:	 the	 fir s t	 c onsis ts	 of	 appr ecia ting	 the	 ma t erial,	 t em-
por al	 and	 e x t ernal	 en tities	 as	vestiges of	 the	 deity;
9
	 the	 sec ond	 c onsis ts	 of	 –fr om	
the 	 c orpor eal, 	 t empor al,	 and	e x t ernal	 v es tig es—	 en t ering	 in t o	 our	 soul, 	 a	 spiri-
tual, eternal and interior image	 of	 God,	 t o	 access	 the	 divine	 truth;
10
 the third step 
is	 t o	 tr anscend	 the	 v es tig es	 in	 the	 e x t ernal	 objects	 and	 the	 imag e	 of	 the	 deity	 in	
o ur	 so u l ,	 t o 	 ri se	 t o 	 God 	 h i msel f	 (Ch a v er o	 Bl an c o 	 1990,	 5‒35),	 c on t emp l a tin g	 h i m, 	
knowing him and reverencing him as the most spiritual, eternal and First Principle 
of	all	cr ea tion.
11
F or	 Bon a v en tur e,	 this	 triple	 ascen t	 in	 the	 fir s t	 le v el	 of	 gnoseologic al-aes the tic	
contact with the created world is	 ne ce ssar y 	 twice : 	 fir s t, 	 it	 tr ansla t e s	 the 	 tr iple 	 e x-
is t ence	 of	 the	 cr ea tur es	 in	 the	 ma tt er	 in	 which	 the y	 ar e	 c onc r e tiz ed,	 in	 the	 mind	
tha t	 thin k s	 them,	 and	 in	 the	 uncr ea t ed	 Fir s t	 Principle	 (“ e t ernal	 art ”)	 tha t	 cr ea t es	
them;	 sec ond,	 it	 also	 r e flects	 the	 thr ee	 sub s t ances	 pr esen t	 in	 Chris t,	 scilice t,	 the	
bodily	 sub s t ance	 (the	 human	 body),	 the	 spiritual 	 sub s t ance	 (human	 soul)	 and	 the 	
sub s t ance	 or	 di vine	 na tur e	 (as	 God	 the	 Son).
12 
	 Furthermor e, 	 in	 this	 triple	 ascen t	
fr om	 the	 cr ea t ed 	 w orld 	 t o 	 God 	 the	 Cr ea t or ,	 man	 has	 thr ee	 fundamen t al 	 c ognitiv e 	
po w e r s: 	 animal	sensitivity	 t o	 c ap tur e 	 the 	 v e s tig e s	 of	 God	 in	 e x t e r nal	 obje cts, 	soul 
to appreciate from within his images of God, and mind	 t o	 ascend	 t ow ar ds	 the	 Fir s t 	
and	In finit e	Being	tha t	surpasses	and	tr anscends	him.
13
E ach	 of	 these	 thr ee	 c ognitiv e	 po w er s	 of	 man	 is	 duplic a t ed,	 in 	 turn,	 depending	
on	 whe ther	 God	 is	 c on t empla t ed	 in	 each	 one	 of	 them	 “ as	 if	 b y	 a	 mirr or	 or	 as	 in	 a	
mirr or , ”	 or	 as	 a	 function	 of	 eac h	 being	 c onsider ed	 aut onomo usly ,	 or ,	 on	 the	 c on-
8 
“Cum 	 e nim	 se cundum 	 s t a tum 	 c onditionis	 nos tr ae 	 ip sa	 r e r um 	 univ e r sit as	 sit	 sc ala	 ad	 asce nde ndum 	 in	
Deum;	 e t	 in	 r ebus	 quaedam 	 sin t 	vestigium, quaedam imago, quaedam corporalia, quaedam spiritualia, 
quaedam temporalia, quaedam aeviterna, ac per hoc quaedam extra nos, quaedam intra nos.” 	 (Itiner-
arium mentis in Deum, 	I,	2:	Q	V ,	297a)
9 
“ Ad	 hoc, 	 quod	 per v eniamus	 ad	 primum	 principium	 c onsider andum, 	 quod	 es t	spiritualissimum et aeter-
num et supra nos, oportet, nos transire per vestigium , quod est corporale et temporale et extra nos, et 
hoc est deduci in via Dei. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	I,	2:	Q	V ,	297a)
10 
“ Oport e t,	 nos	intrare ad mentem nostram quae est imago Dei aeviterna, spiritualis et intra nos, et hoc 
est ingredi in veritate Dei. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	I,	2:	Q	V ,	297a)
11 
“ Oport e t,	 nos	transcendere ad aeternum, spiritualissimum, et supra nos, aspiciendo ad primum princi-
pium, et hoc est laetari in Dei notitia et reverentia maiestatis.” 	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	 I, 	 2: 	 Q	 V , 	
297a)
12 
“Haec	 es t 	 triple x	 illumina tio	 unius	 diei	 /…/;	 haec 	 r espicit 	 triplicem 	 r erum	 e xis t en tiam, 	 scilice t 	 in	 ma t eria, 	
in	 in t ellig en tia 	 et	 in	 art e	 aet erna,	 secundum 	 quam	 dictum 	 es t: 	 fia t, 	 f ecit	 et	 f actum	 es t; 	 haec 	 etiam 	
r espicit	 triplicem	 subs t an tiam	 in	 Chris t o , 	 qui	 es t	 sc ala	 nos tr a, 	 scilice t	 c orpor alem, 	 spiritualem	 e t	 divinam. ” 	
(Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	I,	3:	Q	V ,	297a)
13 
“Secun dum 	 hunc 	 triplicem	 pr ogr essum	 mens	 nos tr a	 tr es	 habe t	 aspectus	 princip ales.	 Unus	 es t	 ad	 c or-
por alia	 e x t erior a,	 secundum	 quem	 v oc a tur	 animalit as	 seu	 sensualit as;	 alius	 in tr a	 se	 e t	 in	 se,	 secundum	
quem	 dicitur	 spiritus;	 t ertius	 supr a	 se,	 secundum	 quem	 dicitur	 mens. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, I, 
4:	Q	V ,	297a‒b)	
José María Salvador-González - The Created World as a Creator’s Vestigium...

38 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
trary, about some other factor.
14
	 Exp an di n g	 on 	 –an d 	 d el vi n g	 i n t o–	 su ch 	 i d eas,	 Bo-
naventure maintains in a passage from Breviloquium	 tha t	 God, 	 as	 the 	 Fir s t	 P r in-
ciple, made this sensible world to manifest Himself in such a way that, through 
the	 w orld	 as	 thr ough	 a	 mirr or	 and	 a	 v es tig e,	 man	 t ended	 t o	 lo v e	 and	 pr aise	 God	
his Creator.
15
 That is why he concludes by saying that there are two books in the 
w orld,	 one	 writt en 	 fr om	 within,	 which 	 is	tha t	 of 	 wisdom	 and 	 the	 e t ernal	 art	 of 	
God	 (the	 idea	 which	 God	 has	 of	 each	 cr ea tur e),	 and	 the	 other	 writt en	 fr om	 with-
out,	which	is	the	sensible	w orld	itself ,	v es tig e	and	r e flection	of	the	Cr ea t or .
16
Hence,	 in	 his	 contemplative	ascension	 to	 God,	 man	 must	 tr a vel	 thr ough	 six	 succes-
siv e	 degr ees	 of	 illumination,
17
  by which he ascends from the lowest to the supreme, 
from the external to the internal, and from the temporal to the eternal. Those six il-
luminating	 degr ees	 ar e	sense and imagination	 in	 bodily	 sensitivity , 	reason and intel-
ligence in the immanent spirit, and mind and synderesis in the transcendent mind.
18
The	 Ser aphic	 Do ct or	 thus	 c on figur es	 the	 dense	 plot	 of	 his	 c omple x	 Aes the tics,	
whose	 w e	 will	 only	 addr ess	 in	 this	 brie f	 paper	 the	 fir s t	 tw o	 le v els	 or	 s t ep s,	 which	
is	 t o 	 sa y ,	wha t	 w e	 ha v e	 c alled 	 the	 “immanen t ” 	 s t ag e	of 	 the	 Bona v en turian 	 Aes-
the tics	 (Salv ador -Gonz ále z	 2022b,	 1‒18).	 As	 w e	 ha v e	 alr eady	 specified 	 be f or e,	 w e 	
ha v e 	 s tudied	 the	 other	 tw o	 s t ag es	 of	 the	 St.	 Bona v en tur e’ s	 Aes the tics–tha t	 w e 	
ha v e 	 designa t ed	 as	 the 	 “in tr ospectiv e”	 s t ag e 	 and	 the 	 “tr anscenden t ”	 s t ag e–in	 the 	
w ork s	abo v e.	(Salv ador -Gonz ále z	2009,	295‒309;	2021a,	153‒173).
2. First Level of Bonaventurian Aesthetics: The Corporeal 
Senses and Their Three Modes of Intervention
Acc or ding	 t o 	 the	 Ser aphic,	the	 fir s t	 degr ee	 of	 enligh t enmen t	 tha t	 man	 c an	 achie v e 	
is to contemplate the created world as in a mirror in which God the Creator is 
r e fl ect ed .
19
	 C r ea tu r es,	b ei n g	 p er cei v ed 	 fr o m	 th e	 o u tsi d e	 th r o u gh 	 o u r	 fi v e	 b o d i l y 	
senses,	 r e flect	 thr ee	 qualities 	 of 	 the	 Cr ea t or	 in t o 	 the	 in t erior	 of 	 the	 mind:	his	 su-
14 
“ Quoniam	 aut em	 quilibe t	 pr aedict orum	modorum	 g emina tur ,	 secundum	 quod 	 c on tingit	 /…/	 vider e 	
Deum in unoquoque praedictorum modorum ut per speculum et ut in speculo, seu quia una istarum 
c onsider a tionum	 habe t	 c ommisceri	 alt eri	 sibi	 c oniunct ae	 e t	 habe t	 c onsider ari	 in 	 sua	 purit a t e. ”	 (Itiner-
arium mentis in Deum, 	I,	5:	Q	V ,	297b)
15 
“Primum	 princip iu m	 f ecit	 mundum	 is tum	 sensibilem	 ad	 declar andum	 se	 ip sum, 	 videlice t	 ad	 hoc	 quod	
p er	 i l l u m	 t an q u am	 p er	 sp ecu l u m	 e t	 v es tigi u m	 r ed u cer e tu r	 h o mo	 i n 	 Deu m	 artificem	 aman d u m	 e t	 l au-
dandum. ”	(Breviloquium, 	II,	11:	Q	V ,	229)
16 
“ E t	 secu n d u m	 h o c	 d u p l e x	 es t	l i b er ,	 u n u s	 sci l i ce t	 scri p tu s	 i n tu s,	 q u i 	 es t	ae t ern a	 D ei	 ar s	 e t	 sap i en tia,	 e t 	
alius	scrip tus	f oris,	mundus	scilice t	sensibilis. ”	( Breviloquium, 	II,	11:	Q	V ,	229)
17 
“Hinc	 es t,	 quod	 necesse	 es t,	 hos	 tr es	 gr adus	 principales	 ascender e	 ad	 senarium	 /…/;	 sic	minor mundus 
se x 	 g r a dibus 	 illum ina tionum 	 sibi	 suc c e de n tium 	 ad	 quie t e m 	 c on t e m pla tionis	 or dina tissim e 	 pe r duc a tur . ” 	
(Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	I,	5:	Q	V ,	297b)
18 
“Iux t a	 ig itur	 se x	 gr adus	ascensionis in Deum sex sunt gradus potentiarum animae per quos ascendimus 
ab 	 i mi s	 ad 	 su mma,	 ab 	 e x t eri o ri b u s	 ad 	 i n tima,	 a	 t emp o r al i b u s	 c o n scen d i mu s	 ad 	 ae t ern a,	 sci l i ce t	sensus, 
imaginatio, ratio, intellectus, intelligentia et apex mentis	 seu	 s ynder e sis	 scin tilla. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis 
in Deum,	I,	6:	Q	V ,	297b)
19 
“Primum	 gr adum 	 ascensionis	 c ollocemus	 in	 imo , 	 ponendo	 t otum 	 is tum 	 mundum 	 sensibilem 	 nobis 	

39
pr eme	 po w er ,	 his	 in finit e	 wisdom,	 and	his	 boundless	 g oodness.
20
 This happens 
thr oug h	 thr e e 	 m odalitie s: 	 se r v ing 	 the 	 m ind	 tha t	 r e asons	 about	 the 	 cur r e n t	 e xis-
t ence	 of	 things, 	 helping	 the 	 mind	 tha t	 belie v es	 in	 the 	 e v olution	 of	 things, 	 or	 ser v-
ing	 the 	 mind	 tha t	 in t ellectiv ely	 c on t empla t es	 the 	 pot en tial	 e x cellence	 of	 things.
21
 
St	 Bona v en tur e 	 then	 e xplains	 those 	 thr ee 	 modalities	 of	 illumina ting	 support	 of	 the 	
corporeal senses in favour of the mind.
a)	 Acc or ding 	 t o	 the 	 fir s t	 modality , 	 the 	mind that contemplates things as such 
finds	in	 them	 the	weight about the place to which they are inclined, the number 
b y	 whic h	 the y	 ar e	 dis tinguishe d	 fr om	 each	 other ,	 and	 the	measure to which they 
mark their limits.
22
	 In	 this	 w a y , 	 the 	 c on t empla tiv e 	 mind	 finds	 in	 the 	 cr ea tur es	 their 	
mode 	 of	 being	 (modus),	 their 	 specific 	 f orm 	 (species),	 and	their 	 or der 	 (ordo),	 as 	
w e ll	 as	 the ir 	 sub s t ance , 	 the ir 	 po w e r , 	 and	 the ir 	 ope r a tion, 	 tha t	 ar e 	 some 	 obje ctiv e 	
pr operties	 tha t	 c ons titut e	 so	 man y	 v es tig es	 c apable	 of	 ele v a ting	 it	 t o	 under s t and	
the immense power, wisdom, and goodness of God the Creator.
23
The Seraphic formulates some thoughts similar to these, although with slight 
v aria tions, 	 also	 in	Breviloquium and Hexaëmeron.	 Thus, 	 in	 the 	 fir s t	 of	 these 	 book s, 	
he	 poin ts	 out:	 “the	 whole	 machine	 of	 the	 w orld	 w as	 t ak en	 out	 of	 time	 and	 out	 of	
nothing	 b y	 a	 Fir s t	 and	 Only	 Principle,	 whose	 po w er ,	 although 	 immense,	 disposed	
all things with a certain weight, number, and measure.”
24
 And in Hexaëmeron, he 
insis ts,	with	sligh t	diff er ences:
“ God	 cr ea t es	 an y	 essence	 with 	 measur e,	 number ,	 and	 w eigh t;	 and	 giving	
these	 pr operties,	 it	 also 	 pr o vides	 mode,	 species,	 and 	 or der;	 the	 mode	 is 	
with	 wha t	 it	 c on sis ts	 of;	 the	 species	 is	 with	 wha t	 it	 is	 dis tingu ished	 [fr om	
other	 cr ea tur es];	 the	 or der	 is	 with	 wha t	 it	 agr ees.	 Ther e	 is,	 then,	 no	 cr ea-
tur e 	 tha t 	 lack s	 me asur e , 	 numbe r , 	 and	 inclina tion, 	 and	 in	 the se 	 pr ope r tie s,	
the	 v es tig e	 is	 appr ecia t ed,	 and	 the	 wisdom	 [of	 God]	 is	 manif es t ed,	 as	 the	
f oot	in	the	f ootprin t	[tha t	it	lea v es]	is	manif es t ed. ”
25
t anquam	 speculum,	 per	 quod	 tr anseamus	 ad	 Deum,	 opificem	 summum. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 
I,	9:	Q	V ,	298a)
20 
“R eluce t	 aut em	 Cr ea t oris	 summa	 pot en tia	 e t	 sapien tia	 e t	 bene v olen tia	 in	 r ebus	 cr ea tis, 	 secundum	 quod 	
hoc	triplicit er	nun tia t	sensus	c arnis	sensui	in t eriori. ”	( Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	I,	10:	Q	V ,	298b)
21 
“Sensus	 enim	 c arnis	aut	 deser vit	 in t ellectui	rationabilitet investiganti, aut fideliter credenti, aut intellec -
tualiter contemplanti. Contemplans	 c onside r a t	 r erum	 e xis t e n tiam	 actualem, 	credens rerum decursum 
habitualem, ratiocinans	 r erum	 pr aecellen tiam 	 pot en tialem. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	 I,	 10:	 Q	 V ,	 298b)
22 
“Primo 	 modo 	 aspectus	contemplantis, res in se ipsis considerans, videt in eis pondus, numerum et 
mensuram:	pondus quoad situm, ubi inclinantur, numerum,	 quo	 dis tinguun tur ,	 e t	mensuram, qua limi-
t an tur . ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	I,	11:	Q	V ,	298b)
23 
“ Ac	 p er	 h o c	 vi d e t	i n 	 ei s 	modum, speciem et ordinem, nec non substantiam, virtutem et operationem. 
Ex	 quibus	c onsur g er e	 pot es t	sicut	e x	 v es tigio 	 ad 	 in t ellig endum	pot en tiam,	 sapien tiam	 e t	 bonit a t em 	
Cr ea t oris	immensam. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	I,	10:	Q	V ,	298b)
24 
“Univ er sit as	 machinae	 mundialis	 pr oduct a	 es t	in	 ese	e x	 t empor e	 e t	 de	 nihilo 	 ab	 uno 	 principio 	 primo , 	
solo	 e t	 summo; 	 cuius	pot en tia, 	 lice t	 sit	inmensa, 	 disposuit	 t amen	omnia in certo pondere, numero et 
mensura. ”	(Breviloquium ,	II,	I:	Q	V ,	219a)
25 
“Deus	cr ea t	 quamcumque	 essen tiam	 in	 mensur a	 e t	 numer o	 e t	 ponder e; 	 e t	 dando	 haec, 	 da t	 modum, 	
speciem	 e t	 or dinem;	 modus	 es t,	 quo	 c ons t a t;	 species,	 qua	 discernitur;	 or do ,	 quo	 c ongruit. 	 Non	 es t	 enim 	
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40 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
As if that were not enough, in Breviloquium the Seraphic takes to an even hig-
her 	 le v el	 the 	 analogy 	 he 	 belie v es	 in	 finding 	 be tw een	 the 	 cr ea tur es	 and	 the 	 Cr ea t or , 	
which can be contemplated even in his Trinitarian existence. This is what our 
author	sa y s	when	a ffirming	with	gr ea t	c on viction:
“in	 adding	 [tha t	 God 	 disposed 	 of 	 all	 things]	 with 	 a	 cert ain	 w eigh t,	 number , 	
and	 measur e, 	 it	 is	 declar ed	 tha t	 the	 cr ea tur es	 ar e	 the	 e ff ect	 of	 the	 cr ea tiv e 	
Trinity by a triple genre of causality, namely, the efficient causality , from 
which	 the	 unity	 of	 the	 cr ea tur es	 deriv es	 the	 mode	 and	 the	 measur e;	 the	
exemplary causality, from which the creatures receive the truth, the spe-
cies	 or	 f orm,	 and	 the	 number;	 and	 the	final causality, of which creatures 
ha v e 	 g oodness, 	 or der , 	 and	w eigh t.	 These 	 pr operties	 ar e	 a	 v es tig e 	 of	 the 	
Creator in all creatures, whether corporeal, spiritual, or composed of both 
sub s t ances. ”
26
In	 this	 sense, 	 the 	 limit ed	being	 of	 the 	 finit e 	 cr ea tur es	main t ains	a	 necessar y 	
r ela tion	 of	 analogy	 with	 the	 unlimit ed	Being	 of	 the	 Cr ea t or:	 the	 cr ea t ed	beings 	
ar e,	 in	 their 	 finitude 	 and	partiality , 	 analog ous	 t o	 the 	 in finit e 	 and	 ab solut e 	 Being 	
of	 God, 	 although	 the y	 depend	 on	 full	 of	 the 	 Cr ea t or	 (Cilen t o	 1966,	 49‒81;	 Beschin 	
2008,	 367‒380).	 Ther eupon, 	 it	 is	e viden t	t o	 Bona v en tur e 	 tha t	 “the 	 cr ea tur e	 is 	
nothing	 but	 a	 cert ain	 figur a tion 	 of 	 the	 wisdom	 of 	 God” 	 (Collationes in Hexaëm-
eron sive illuminationes Ecclesiae,	 12,	 14:	 Q	 V ,	 386b). And precisely in this anal-
ogy between the Creator and the creatures, the Seraphic founded the recogniz-
ability	 of	 God	 on	 the	 part	 of	 man:	 all	 cr ea tur es	 ar e	 v es tig es	 tha t	 pr eser v e	 a	 spe-
cific	 imag e	 and	lik eness	 of	 the 	 Cr ea t or ,
27
 for which they facilitate access to the 
c on t empla tion	of	God.
b)	 Acc or ding	 t o	 the 	 sec ond	 modality , 	the mind that believes appreciates the 
created universe based on its origin, process, and termination.
28
  By faith, man 
belie v es	these 	 thr ee 	 cert ain ties	 with	 r espect	 t o	 the 	 cr ea t ed	 w orld: 	 r eg ar ding	its 	
origin,	 God	 cr ea t ed	 the 	 w orld	 perf ectly 	 adap t ed	 t o	 the 	 divine 	 W or d; 	 r eg ar ding	 the 	
world process,	 th e	 times	 of	 th e	 th r ee	 l a w s	 (fir s t,	 th a t	 of	 n a tu r e,	 th en 	 th a t	 of	 Bi b l i-
aliqua	 cr ea tur a	 quae	 non	 habea t	 mensur am,	 numerum	 e t	 inclina tionem,	 e t	 in	 his	 a tt enditur	 v es tigium	
e t	 m anif e s t a tur 	 sapie n tia, 	 sic ut	 pe s	 in	 v e s tig ium . ”	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illuminationes Eccle -
siae,	2,23:	Q	V ,	340a)
26 
“P er	 hoc	 aut em,	 quod	 addi tur	 [que	 Di os	 dispuso	 t odas	 l as	 c osas]	 in certo pondere, numero et mensura, 
os t enditur ,	 quod 	 cr ea tur a	 es t	 e ff ectus	 T rinit a tis	 cr ean tis	 sub 	 triplici 	 g ener e	 c ausalit a tis:	efficientis, a quo 
est in creatura unitas, modus et mensura; exemplaris, a quo est in creatura veritas, species et numerus;	
finalis, a quo est in creatura bonitas, ordo et pondus.	 Quae	 quidem	r eperiun tur	 in	 omnibus 	 cr ea turis 	
t amquam	 v e tigium	 Cr ea t oris	 siv e	 c orpor alibus,	 siv e	 spiritualibus,	 siv e	 e x	 utriusque	 c ompositis. ”	 (Brevi-
loquium ,	2,	1:	Q	V ,	219a)
27 
“Con tingit	 simile 	 c ognose	 per	 similem;	 sed	 omnis	 cr ea tur a	 es t	 similis	 Deo	 v el	 sicut	 v es tigium,	 v el	 sicut	
imag o ,	 er g o	 per	 omnem	 cr ea tur am	 c on tingit	 c ognosci 	 Deum. ”	 (Comentarii in quatuor libri Sententiarum 
Petri Lombardi ,	I,	d.	3,	p.	1,	a,	un.,	q.	2,	f .	4:	Q	I,	72)
28 
“Secundo 	 modo 	 aspectus	fidelis,	 c onsider ans	 hunc	 mundum,	 a tt endit	originem, decursum et terminum.” 	
(Itinerarium mentis in Deum ,	I,	12:	Q	V ,	298b)

41
c al	 R e v e la tion	 and,	 thir d,	 tha t	 of	 gr ace,	 br ough t	 b y	 Chris t)	 f ollo w	 one	 another	 in	
perf ect	 or der;	 r eg ar ding	its	termination,	 the	 cr ea t ed 	 w orld 	 will 	 end 	 in	 the	 Final 	
Judgment. The mind that believes also knows that each of these three contribu-
tions	 of	 f aith	 allo w s	 him	 t o	 disc o v e r 	 in	 na tur e 	 the 	 imme nse 	 po w e r 	 of	 the 	 Cr e a t or ,	
t o 	 disc o v er	 in	 R e v ela tion 	 his	 unlimit ed 	 pr o vidence,	 and 	 t o 	 disc o v er	 in	 the	 Final 	
Judgmen t	his	in finit e	jus tice.
29
c)	 Acc or ding	 t o	 the	 thir d	 moda lity ,	the mind that rationally analyzes discovers 
th e	 eno rmou s	 d i ff er ences	 be tw een 	 bei ngs	 i n	 thei r	 w a y	 of	 e xi s ting:	 ther e	 ar e	 i n f e-
rior	 bein gs	 who 	 only	 ha v e	 a	 mer e	 e xis t ence;	 ther e	 ar e	 in t erm edia t e	 beings	 who ,	
besides	 e xis ting , 	 ha v e 	 lif e;	 and	 ther e 	 ar e	 superior 	 beings	 who , 	 in	 addition	 t o	 e xis t-
ing and living, can reason.
30
  The analyzing mind also discovers that there are some 
beings that are only corporeal, others partly corporeal and partly spiritual, from 
which it deduces the existence of purely spiritual beings.
31
	 	 When	 r ealizing	 tha t 	
c orpor eal	 beings	 ar e	 mut able	 and	 c orrup tible	 and	 tha t	 celes tial	 beings,	 while	 be-
ing	 mut able,	 ar e	 inc orrup tible,	 the	 analy zing	 mind 	 in f er s	 tha t	 ther e	 ar e	 immut able 	
and	 inc orruptible	 beings, 	 such	 as	 the 	 super -celes tial.
32
 As a result, the human mind 
that analyzes rises to intuit the power, wisdom, and goodness of God as a being 
that exists, lives, and understands, as a purely spiritual, immutable, and incorrupt-
ible being.
33
3. The Second Level of Seraphic’s Aesthetics “Immanent” 
Step: In the Mirror of Things, We See God by Vestiges 
and in Themselves
F or	 Bona v en tur e, 	 the	 sec ond	 le v el	 of	 the	 c on t empla tion	 of	 God	 in	 all	 cr ea tur es 	
c onsis ts	 in	 c on t empla ting	 God	 not	 only 	 b y	 them 	 as	 mer e	 v es tig es	 but	 also	 in	 them-
selves, since God is in them by essence, power, and presence.
34
 Man begins to 
29 
“Nam	fide credimus, aptata esse saecula Verbo vitae;	 fide	 cr edimus,	 trium	 legum	 t empor a,	 scilicet 	
na tur ae,	 Scrip tur ae 	 e t	 gr a tiae 	 sibi	 succeder e	 e t	 or dina tissime	 decurrisse;	 fide 	 cr edimus, 	 mundum	per 	
finale 	 iudicium 	 t erminandum 	 esse; 	 in	 primo	 pot en tiam, 	 in	 secundo	 pr o viden tiam, 	 in	 t ertio	 ius titiam 	
summi	principii	adv ert en t es. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum ,	I,	12:	Q	V ,	298b)
30 
“ T ertio	 modo	 aspectus	ratiocinabiliter investigantis videt, quaedam tantum esse, quaedam autem esse 
et vivere, quaedam vero esse, vivere et discernere;	 e t	 prima	 quidem	 esse 	 minor a, 	 secunda	 media, 	 t ertia	
melior a. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum ,	I,	13:	Q	V ,	298b)
31 
“ Vide t	 it erum,	 quaedam	 esse 	 t an tum	corporalia, quaedam partim corporalia, partim spiritualia; 	 e x	 quo 	
adv ertit, 	 aliqua	 esse 	mere spiritualia	 t amquam	 utriusque 	 melior a	 e t	 dignior a. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in 
Deum,	I,	13:	Q	V ,	298b)
32 
“ Vi de t	 ni hi l omi nus,	 quaedam	 esse	mutabilia et corruptibilia, ut terrestria, quaedam mutabilia et incor -
rup tibilia, 	 ut	 c aeles tia;	 e x	 quo	 adv ertit,	 quaedam	 esse	immutabilia et incorruptibilia,	 ut	 super c aeles tia. ” 	
(Itinerarium mentis in Deum ,	I,	13:	Q	V ,	298b)
33 
“Ex	 his	 er g o	 visib ili bu s	 c onsur git	 ad	 c onsider andum	 Dei	 pot en tiam,	 sapien tiam	 e t	 bonit a t em	 ut	 en t em,	
viv en t em	 e t	 in t ellig en t em,	 mer e	 spiritualem	 e t	 inc orrup tibilem	 e t	 in tr ansmut abilem. ” (Itinerarium men-
tis in Deum ,	I,	13:	Q	V ,	298b)
34 
“Sed	 quoniam	 cir c a	 speculum	 sensibilium	 non	 solum	 c on tingit	 c on t emplari	 Deum	per ipsa tanquam per 
v e s tig ia, 	 v e r um	 e tiam	in ipsis, in quantum est in eis per essentiam, potentiam et praesentiam	 /…/:	 ide o	
huiusmodi	 c onsider a tio	 secundum	 t ene t	 locum	 t anquam	 secundus	 c on t empla tionis	 gr adus,	 quo	 debe-
José María Salvador-González - The Created World as a Creator’s Vestigium...

42 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
kno w	 the	 w orld 	 thr ough 	 his	 fiv e	 c orpor eal 	 senses,	 which 	 ar e	 the	 door s 	 thr ough 	
which	 the 	 c orpor eal	 en tities	 en t er	 him 	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	 II,	 2:	 Q	 V , 	
300a).	 Man	 possesses	 a	 poly v alen t	 ability	 t o	 under s t and	 ma t erial	 beings, 	 fr om 	
which	 he	 c an	 c ap tur e	 both	 the	 individual	 sensitiv e	 pr operties	 (ligh t, 	 sound,	 smell, 	
t as t e,	hea t,	pr e ssur e,	r oughnes s,	pain),	 as	 w ell	 as	 the	 sensible	 qualities	 c ommon	
t o	all	bodies	(number ,	dimensions,	shape,	r es t,	and	mo v emen t).
35
Acc or ding	 t o	 the	 Ser aphic, 	 the	 aes the tic	 appr ecia tion	 of	 the	 ma t erial	 en tities 	
is regulated by a triple structure based on three successive and mutually founded 
c ognitiv e 	 oper a tions, 	 which	 man	 e x er cises	 o v er 	 ma t erial	 beings: 	apprehension, 
delectation, and judgment.
Through apprehension, 	 the 	 per cep tible 	 and	e xt ernal	 things	 of	 the 	 w orld	 ar e 	
the	fir s t	t o	en t er	the	soul	of	man	thr ough	the	fiv e	senses.
 36
In turn, the apprehension of something convenient produces the delectation 
of the senses
37
	 	 when	 the y	 per ceiv e	 objects	 b y	 their	 ab s tr act	 similarities,	 b y	 their	
beauty	 thr ough 	 sigh t,	 or	 by	 their	 softness	 thr ough 	 smell 	 and 	 hearing ,	 or	 their 	
healthiness through taste and touch.
38
Aft er 	 appr ehension	 and	 pleasur e, 	 man	 f ormula t es	judgment on created things, 
a	 poly v alen t	 judgmen t	 tha t	 is	 e x er cised	 in	 a	 triple 	 r egis t er: 	 while 	 each	 sense 	 judg-
es	 the	 objectiv e	 or	 ph y sic al 	 qualities	 (if	 this	 is	 whit e	 or	 black),	 and 	 the	 inner	 sense 	
judg es	 the	 subj ectiv e	 incidences	 (if	 this	 is	 health y	 or	 harm ful),	 r eason	 judg es	 and	
per ceiv es	the	motiv e	wh y	the	object	deligh ts	the	senses.
39
Thus, according to our author, by apprehension, delectation, and judgment of 
the 	 per cep tible 	 cr ea tur es, 	 w e 	 c an	 c on t empla t e 	 the 	 divine 	 T rinity	 bec ause 	 the y 	 ar e 	
v es tig es	 thr ough	 which	 w e	 c an	 disc o v er	 God.
40
 In fact, by apprehension, the spe-
cies	 app r ehended	 b y	 our	 c ogni tiv e	 or g an,	 being	 a	 similarity	 g ener a t ed	 b y	 the	 ob-
ject, allows us to know the object from the one it emanates and to which it re-
mus	manuduci 	 ad 	 c on t emplandum	Deum	 in	 cunctis	 cr ea turis,	quae	 ad 	 men t em	 nos tr am	 in tr an t	 per 	
c orpor ales	sensus. ”	( Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	1:	Q	V ,	299b‒300a)
35 
“In tr an t	 igitur	 per	 has 	 port as	t am	 c orpor a	 simplicia	 quam	 e tiam	 c omposit a,	 e x	 his	 mixt a.	 Quia	 v er o 	
sensu percipimus non solum haec sensibilia particularia, quae sunt lux, sonus, odor, sapor et quatuor 
primariae qualitates,	 quas	 appr ehendit	 t actus;	 v erum	 e tiam	sensibilia communia, quae sunt numerus, 
magnitudo ,	figur a,	quies	e t	motus. ”	( Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	3:	Q	V ,	300b)
36 
“In tr a t	 igit ur	 quan tum	 ad	 tria	 r erum	 g ener a	 in	 animam	 humanam	 per	apprehensionem totus iste sen-
sibilis	mundus. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	4:	Q	V ,	300b)
37 
“ Ad	 hanc	 appr ehensionem,	 si	 sit	 r ei	 c on v enien tis,	 sequitur	 oblect a tio. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, II, 
5:	Q	V ,	300b)
38 
“Delect a tur 	 aut em	 sensus	 in	 obiect o	 per 	 similitudinem 	 ab s tr act am 	 per cep t o	 v el	 r a tione 	speciositatis, 
si cu t	 i n 	 vi su ,	 v el	 r a tion e	suavitatis,	 si cu t	 i n 	 od or a tu 	 e t	 aud i tu ,	 v el 	 r a tion e	salubritatis, sicut in gustu et 
t actu,	appr opria t e	loquendo. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	5:	Q	V ,	300b)
39 
“P os t	 hanc 	 appr ehensionem	 e t	 oblec t a tionem	 fit	diiudicatio, qua non solum diiudicatur, utrum hoc sit 
album, vel nigrum, quia hoc perriner ad sensum particularem ;	 non	 solum, 	 utrum	 sit 	 salubr e, 	 v el	 nocivum, 	
quia	 hoc	 pertine t	 ad	 sensum	interiorem ;	 v erum	 e tiam,	 qua	 diiudic a tur	 e t	 r a tio	 r edditur ,	quare hoc de-
lect a t;	 e t	 in	 hoc	 actu	 inquiritur	 de	ratione	 delect a tionis,	 quae	 in	 sensu	 per cipitur	 ab	 obiect o. ” 	 (Itiner-
arium mentis in Deum, 	II,	6:	Q	V ,	301a)
40 
“Haec	 aut em	 omnia	 sun t	v es tigia, 	 in	 quibus	 speculari	 possumus	 Deum	 nos trum. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis 
in Deum,	II,	7:	Q	V ,	301a)

43
sembles.
41
Analogously, delectation	 c an	 also	 r e v eal	 God	 bec ause 	 the 	 deligh tful	 species,	
being	 beautiful,	 g en tle,	 and	 health y , 	 r e v eals	 the 	 e xis t ence 	 of	 tha t	 fir s t	 beauty ,	 soft -
ness,	and	healthiness	c onsub s t an tial	with	the	fir s t	species	(God).
42
With	 gr ea t er	 e ffic acy ,	 immediacy ,	and	cert ain ty	 than	 appr ehension	 and	plea-
sure, judgment leads us to the eternal truth.
43
	 The	 Ser aphic	 Doct or	 jus tifies	 such	
assertion	 b y	 a	 sequence	 of	 such	 sub tle	 ar gumen ts,	 Fir s t	 c onsider	 these	 f our	 c on-
ditions;	 if	 the	 trial	 is	 based	 on	 ab solut e	 (r eg ar dless	 of	 place,	 time,	 and	 chang es),	
immut able,	 unr es trict ed,	 and	 per ennial	 r easons;
44
 if, on the other hand, the only 
thing	 tha t	 is	 c omple t ely	 immut able,	 unr es trict ed,	 and	 per ennial	 is	 e t ernal;	 if	 also	
e v er y thing	 e t er nal	 is	 God	 or	 is	 in	 God;
45
  and if everything we judge is judged cer-
t ainly	f or	those	r easons.	If	these	f our	c onditions	c ome	true,	it	is	e viden t	tha t
“ God	 is	 the	 r eason 	 of	 all	 things,	 and 	 the	 in f allible	 rule	 and 	 the	 ligh t	 of	 truth, 	
light where everything created shines in an infallible, indelible, indubitable, 
true, illimitable, unappealable, unchangeable, never-ending, indivisible, 
and	in t ellectual. ”
46
In this regard, such things can be judged with absolute certainty only through 
tha t	 e t ernal	 Being	 (“ e t ernal	 art ”)	 bec ause 	 He	 is	 the 	 f orm 	 tha t	 pr oduces, 	 pr eser v es, 	
and	dis tinguishes	 all	 things, 	 as	a	 being	 tha t	 possesses	 the 	 primacy	 of	 the 	 f orm 	
between all beings, and for being the rule that directs all things, using which our 
soul judges everything that enters in it through the senses.
47
Acc or ding	 t o	 Bona v en tur e,	 the	 harmonious	 ma thema tic al	 pr oportion	 e xis ting	
in	 all	 things	 c ons titut es	 the	 v es tig e	 “v er y	 ob vious	 t o	 e v er ybody	 and	 v er y	 close	 t o	
41 
“Cum species apprehensa sit similitudo in medio genita et deinde ipsi organo impressa et per illam 
impressionem in suum principium, scilicet in obiectum cognoscendum, ducat. ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in 
Deum, 	II,	7:	Q	V ,	301a‒b)
42 
“Secundum hunc modum species delectans ut speciosa, suavis et salubris insinuat, quod in illa prima 
specie est prima speciositas, suavitas et salubritas, in qua est summa proportionalitas et aequalitas ad 
g en er an t em;	 i n	 q u a	 es t	virtus,	 n o n 	 p er	 p h an t asma,	 sed 	 p er	 v eri t a t em	 ap p r eh en si o n i s	 i l l ab en s;	i n	 q u a 	
est impressio	 salv ans	 e t	 sufficiens	 e t	 omnem	 appr ehenden tis	indig en tiam	 e xpellens. ” 	(Itinerarium men-
tis in Deum, 	II,	8:	Q	V ,	301b)
43 
“Ex cellen tiori	 aut em	 modo	 e t	 immedia tiori	diiudicatio	 ducit	 nos	 in	 ae t ernam	 v erit a t em	 certius	 specu-
landam. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	9:	Q	V ,	301b)
44 
“Si	 enim	 dii udic a tio	 habe t	 fieri	 per	 r a tion em	abstrahentem a loco, tempore et mutabilitate ac per hoc 
a	 dimensione, 	 successione 	 e t	 tr ansmut a tione, 	 per 	 r a tionem 	immutabilem et incircumscriptibilem et 
interminabilem ;	 nihil	 aut em	 es t	 omnino 	immutabile, incircumscriptibile et interminabile, nisi quod est 
aeternum. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	9:	Q	V ,	301b)
45 
“Nihil autem est omnino immutabile, incircumscriptibile et interminabile ,	 nisi	 quod	 es t 	 ae t ernum;	 omne 	
autem quod est aeternum, est Deus, vel in Deo. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	9:	Q	V ,	301b‒302a)
46 
“P a t e t, 	 qu od	 ip se	 [Dios]	 es t	ratio omnium rerum et regula infallibilis et lux veritatis, in qua cuncta relu -
cent infallibiliter, indelebiliter, indubitanter, irrefragabiliter, indiiudicabiliter, incommutabiliter, incoar-
ct abilit er ,	 in t erminabilit er ,	 indivisibilit er	 e t	 in t ellectualit er . ”	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	 II,	 9:	 Q	 V ,	 302a)
47 
“E t	 ideo	 nec	 certitudinalit er	 iudic ari 	 possun t	 nisi 	 per	 illam	 quae	 non	 t an tum	 fuit	 f orma	 cunct a	 pr oducens, 	
v erum	 e tiam	 cunct a	 c onser v ans	 e t	 dis tinguens,	 t anquam	 ens	 in	 omnibus	 f ormam	 t enens,	 e t	 r egula	 di-
rig ens,	 e t	 per	 quam	 diiudic a t	 mens	 nos tr a	 cunct a,	 quae	 per	 sensus	 in tr an t	 in	 ip sam. ”	 (Itinerarium men-
tis in Deum, 	II,	9:	Q	V ,	302a)
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44 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
God. ”	 Such	 v es tig e 	 mak es	 easier 	 f or 	 us	 t o	 g e t	 closer 	 t o	 God	 and	 allo w s	 us	 t o	 kno w 	
Him	 in 	 per cep tible	 c orpor eal 	 beings,	 b y	apprehending 	 their	 c ondition 	 as	 in t egr a t-
ed elements, to delight us	 in	 their	 harmonious	 pr oportions	 and	 t o	judge them by 
the necessary laws of universal harmony.
48
F or	 our	 author , 	 all	 cr ea tur es	 of	 the 	 per cep tible	 univ er se	 ar e	 v es tig es, 	 signs, 	 and 	
copies of God, which allow to mind that contemplates and reasons to access the 
e t ernal	 God,	 thank s	 t o	 thr ee	 essen tial	 char act er s:	 a)	 bec ause	 the y	 “ ar e	 shado w s,	
r esonances, 	 and	 pain tings	 of	 this	 Fir s t	Principle 	 omnipot en t, 	 the 	 mos t	 wise 	 and 	
optimal, 	 of	 this	 e t ernal	 origin, 	 ligh t, 	 and	plenitude, 	 and	of	 this	 e fficien t, 	 e x em-
plar y , 	 and	 or de ring	 ar t ”;
49
	 	 b)	 be c ause 	 such	 cr e a tur e s	 ar e 	 v e s tig e s, 	 simulacr a, 	 and	
spectacles that have been proposed to us and given by the deity so that we can 
c o-op t	 God;
50
	 c)	 bec ause 	 the y 	 ar e	 “ specimens”	 or 	 “ c opies”	 pr oposed	 t o	 men	 t o 	
ascend	 fr om	 the	 vi si bl e	 ph y si c al 	 thi ngs	 t o	 the	 i n vi si bl e	 i n t el l i gi bl e	 en tities,	 as	 who 	
transits from the sign to its meaning.
51
Based	 on	 such	 assump tions, 	 the	 Ser aphic	asserts	 tha t	 the 	 ma t erial,	 finit e	 w orld 	
is	a	 pa th	 tha t 	 leads 	 t o	 the 	 spiritual, 	 in finit e 	 e x emplar , 	 which	 is	God	 the 	 Cr ea t or . 	
This	 is	 ho w	 he	 e xpr esses	 it	 when,	 in	 a	 passag e	 fr om	 his	 fir s t	 book	 of	Commentar-
ies on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, he points out that the creature, being a 
Cr ea t or ’ s	 v es tig e, 	 is	lik e 	 a	 ladder 	 t o	 climb	 up	 t o	 God, 	 and	 lik e	 an	 e xpedit ed	 pa th 	
to reach God.
52
  
Or how, when in a paragraph of the book of comments to the Hexaëmeron, he 
s t a t es 	 tha t	 e v er y	 cr ea tur e	 in	 the	 sensible	 w orld 	 is	“ a	 shado w ,	 a	 pa th,	 a	 v es tig e, 	
and	 is	 a	 book	 writt en	 fr om	 outside”
53
.	 F or	 this	 r eason,	 a	 f e w	 lines	 la t er ,	 Bona v en-
tu r e	 en ri ch es	 h i s	 r easo n i n g	 b y	 p oi n tin g	 o u t	 th a t	 wh en 	 th e	 h u man 	 so u l 	 sees	 th ese	
things that happen in the created world, it sees itself in need to pass from the 
shado w	 t o	 the	 ligh t,	 fr om	 the	 pa th	 t o	 the	 t erm	 of	 des tin y ,	 fr om	 the	 v es tig e	 t o	 the	
truth, from the book to the true science, which is in God.
54
48 
“ Quod	 [the 	 v es tig e 	 of	 divine 	 Wisdom 	 manif es t ed	 in	 the 	 numeric al	 pr oportions	 e xhibit ed	 b y	 things] 	 cum 	
sit	omnibus	 e viden tissimum	 e t	 Deo	 pr opinquissimum, 	 pr opinquissime 	 quasi	per 	 sep t em	 diff er en tias 	
ducit	 in	 Deum	 e t	 f acit	 eum	 c ognosci	 in	 cunctis	 c orpor alibus	 e t	 sensibilibus,	 dum 	 numer osa	apprehen-
dimus ,	 in	 numer osis 	 pr oportionibus	delectamur	 e t	 per	 numer osarum	 pr oportion um	 leg es	 irr e fr ag abili-
ter iudicamus.” 	 (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	II,	10:	Q	V ,	302b)
49 
“ Omnes	 cr ea tur ae	 is tius	 sensibilis	 mundi	 animum	 c on t emplan tis	 e t	 sapien tis	 ducun t	 in	 Deum	 ae t ernum, 	
pr o	 eo	 quod	 illius	primi	 principii	 pot en tissimi, 	 sapien tissimi	 e t	 op timi, 	 illius	ae t ernae	 originis, 	 lucis	e t 	
plenitudinis,	 illius,	 in quam,	 artis	 e fficien tis,	 e x emplan tis	 e t	 or dinan tis	 sun t	umbrae, resonantiae et pic-
turae.”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	11:	Q	V ,	302b)
50 
“Sun t	vestigia, simulacra et spectacula nobis	 ad	 c on tuendum	 Deum	 pr oposit a	 e t	 signa	 divinitus	 da t a. ”	
(Itinerarium mentis in Deum, 	II,	11:	Q	V ,	302b)
51 
“Sun t	exemplaria	 v e l	 potius	exemplata, 	 pr oposit a	 me n tibus	 adhuc	 r udibus	 e t	 se nsibilibus, 	 ut	 pe r 	 se nsi-
bilia,	 quae	 viden t	 tr ans f er an tur	 ad	 in t elli gibilia,	 quae	 non	 viden t,	 t anquam	 per	 si gna	 ad	 signa t a. ”	 (Itine-
rarium mentis in Deum, 	II,	11:	Q	V ,	302b)
52 
“ V es tigium 	 siv e 	 cr ea tur a	 es t 	 sicut 	 sc ala 	 ad	ascendendum 	 v el	 sicut 	 via	 ad	per v eniendum 	 ad	Deum. ” 	
(Comentarii in quatuor libri Sententiarum Petri Lombardi ,	I,	q.	3,	a.	un.,	2:	Q	I,	74a)
53 
“ T otus	 mundus	 es t	umbra, via, vestigium et est liber scriptus forinsecus.” 	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron 
sive illuminationes Ecclesiae,	XII,	14:	Q	V ,	386b)
54 
“ Quando	 e r g o	 anima	 vide t	 hae c, 	 vide tur 	 sibi, 	 quod	 de be r e t	 tr ansir e 	 ab	umbra ad lucem, a via ad termi-

45
St. Bonaventure thus maintains that the creatures of the material world are vis-
ible	 signs	 tha t	 signif y	 the 	 in visible 	 qualities	 of	 God	 acc or ding	 t o	 v arious	 measur es 	
and	 r eper cussions:	 the y	 ar e,	 in	 part, 	 bec ause	 God	 is	 the 	efficient cause, the exem-
plary model, and the ultimate goal of everything created.
55
	 	 Fr om	 these	 pr emises, 	
our	 author	 c oncludes	 tha t	 the 	 in visible 	 perf ections	 of	 God	 ar e	 made	 visible 	 t o	 the 	
human mind thanks to the creatures of the world,
56
 to the extreme that the exter-
nal	 “ligh ts” 	 pr esen t	 in	 the	 visible	 things	 f acilit a t e	 the	 r e-en try	 in t o 	 the	 mirr or	 of	 our 	
soul, 	 in	 which	 the 	 divine 	 perf ections	 shine.
57
 But with this, we are already entering 
the 	 sec ond	 s t ag e 	 of	 Bona v en turian	 Aes the tics, 	 which	 w e 	 ha v e 	 c alled	 its	 “in tr ospec-
tiv e”	s t ag e, 	which, 	ther e f or e, 	e x ceeds	the	limits	of	the	curr en t	paper .
4. Conclusion
Among	 the	 man y	 c onclusions	 tha t	 w e	 c ould	 dr a w	 fr om	 the	 c omple x	 aes the tic	 s y-
s t em	 of	 St	 Bona v en tur e	 s tudied 	 in	 this	 article,	 w e	 c an	 highligh t	 these	 f our ,	 dir ectly 	
r ela t ed	t o	the	c or e	of	our	r esear ch:
1)	 Acc or ding	 t o	 the	 Ser aphic	 Doct or ,	 e v er y	 being	 in	 this	 cr ea t ed	 w orld	 is	 a	 v e-
s tig e	 tha t	 r e v eals	 and	 r e flects	 its	 Cr ea t or	 f or	 tw o	 r easons:	 fir s t,	 bec ause	 e v er y	 e f-
f ect	 r e v eals	 the	 e xis t ence	 of 	 the	 c ause	 tha t	 pr oduced 	 it;	 furthermor e	 bec ause	 God 	
creates each creature according to the idea that He conceives as a model or exam-
ple	f or	cr ea ting	it	in	its	specific	f orm	and	its	c oncr e t e	individuality .
2)	 In	 the 	 philosophic al-theologic al	 theor y 	 of	 St	 Bona v en tur e, 	 the 	 en tir e 	 cr ea t ed 	
w orld	 is	 a	 shado w ,	 a	 pa th,	 and 	 a	 v es tig e	 tha t,	 although	 mix ed	 with	 darkness,	 r e-
flects	the	splendor	of	the	divine	model,	which	is	God.
3)	 As	 a	 c onsequence,	 e v er y	 cr ea tur e,	 bei ng	 a	 v es tig e	 of	 i ts	 Cr ea t or ,	 i s	 l i k e	 a	 l ad-
der 	 t o	 c on t empla tiv ely	 ascend	 t o	 God, 	 and	 an	 e xpeditious	 pa th	t o	 r each	 Him.	 Thus, 	
the 	 ma t erial,	 the 	 finit e	 w orld	 is	 a	 pa th	tha t	 leads	 t o	 the 	 spiritual, 	 in finit e	 e x emplar , 	
which is God the Creator.
4)	 Acc or ding	 t o	 Bona v en tur e,	 although	 all	 the	 beings	 of	 the	 w orld	 c ons titut e	 a	
ladder	 t o	 ascend	 t o	 God,	 each	 one	 f acilit a t es	 the	 ascen t	 in	 a	 diff er en t	 w a y:	 ma t e-
rial	 things	 ar e	 c orpor eal,	 and	 t empor ar y	 v es tig es	 of	 God, 	 e xis ting	 outside	 of	 man; 	
human	 souls	 ar e	 spiritual,	 and	 e ther eal	 imag es	 of	 God,	 e xis ting	 within	 us.	 In	 the	
curr en t	 article,	 w e	 ha v e	 tried	 t o	 highligh t	 the	 v alue	 which	 ma t erial	 cr ea tur es	 ha v e 	
as	 tr ace s	 tha t,	 although	 opaqu e	 and	 with	 shado w s,	 ar e	 c apable	 of	 r e flecting	 the	
num, a vestigio ad veritatem, a libro 	 ad	 scien tiam	 v er am,	 quae	 es t	 in	 Deo. ”	 (Collationes in Hexaëmeron 
sive illuminationes Ecclesiae,	XII,	15:	Q	V ,	386b)
55 
“Signific an t 	 aut em	 huiusmodi	 cr ea tur ae	 huius	 mundi	sensibilis	invisibilia Dei,	 partim 	 quia	 Deus	es t 	
omnis creaturae origo, exemplar et finis,	 e t	 omnis	 e ff ectus	 es t	 signum	 c ausae,	 e t	 e x empla tum	 e x empla-
ris,	e t	via	finis,	ad	quem	ducit. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	12:	Q	V ,	302b‒303a)
56 
“Ex	 quibus	 omnibus	 c ollig itur , 	 quod	invisibilia Dei a creatura mundi, per ea quae facta sum, intellecta 
conspiciuntur.”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	13:	Q	V ,	303a)
57 
“P er	 haec	 lumina 	 e x t erius	 da t a	 ad	 speculum	 men tis	 nos tr ae,	 in	 quo	 r elucen t	 divina,	 disponimur	 ad	 r e-
in tr andum. ”	(Itinerarium mentis in Deum,	II,	13:	Q	V ,	303a)
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46 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
in finit e	 splendo r	 of	 God	 who	 cr ea t ed	 them.	 The	 cr ea tur es	 of	 the	 ma t erial	 w orld,	
per ceiv ed	 thr ough	 our	 fiv e	 senses,	 c ons titut e	 adequa t e	 means	 t o	 r each	 the	 fir s t	
s t ep	in	our	c on t empla tiv e	ascen t	t o w ar ds	God.	
5)	This ascent to God from the material universe must be carried out in three 
s t ep s:	 a)	 appr ecia ting	 the	 ma t erial,	 t empor al,	 and	 e x t ernal	 en tities	 as	 God’ s	 vesti-
ges;	 b)	 en t ering	 fr om	 the	 ma t erial,	 e xt ernal	 v es tig es	 in t o 	 our	 spiritual,	 in t ernal 	
soul God’s image 	 t o	 access	 the	 divine	 truth;	 c)	 tr anscending	 the	 objects’	 e x t ernal	
v es tig es	 and	 our	 soul’ s	 imag e	 of	 God	 t o	 rise	 t o	 God	 himself ,	 c on t empla ting	 him	 as 	
the most spiritual, eternal First Principle	 of	 all	 cr ea tion.	 So ,	 the	 cr ea tur es	of	 the 	
ma t erial	 w orld	 ar e	 visible	 signs 	 tha t	 signif y	 the	 in visible	 quali ties	 of	 God	 since	 He	
is	their	e fficien t,	e x emplar ,	and	final	c ause.
References
Primary sources
Bonaventura de Balneoregio. 1 8 8 2 –1 9 0 2 . 	Docto-
ris Seraphici S. Bonaventurae Opera Omnia, 
edita, studio et cura PP. Collegi a S. Bonaven-
tura: Ad plurimos codices mss. emendata, 
anecdotis aut a prolegomenis scollis notisque 
illustrata .	10	v o l s .	Q u a r a c c h i :	E x	t y p o g r a p h i a 	
Colegii S. Bonaventurae. 
– – –. 1882a. Commentarii in quatuor libri Senten-
tiarum Petri Lombardi: In I librum Sententia-
rum. 	I n :	B o n av e n t u r a	d e	B a l n e o r e g i o	1 8 8 2–
1 9 02,	1 : 1 - 8 6 1 .
– – –. 1882b. Commentarii in quatuor libri Senten-
tiarum Petri Lombardi: In II librum Sententia-
rum. 	I n :	B o n av e n t u r a	d e	B a l n e o r e g i o	1 8 8 2–
1 9 02,	2 : 1 - 101 6 .
– – –. 1882c. Collationes in Hexaëmeron sive illu -
minationes Ecclesiae. 	I n :	B o n av e n t u r a	d e 	
B aln e o r e gi o 	 18 8 2 – 1 9 0 2 , 	 5 : 3 29 – 4 5 4 .
– – –. 1882d. Breviloquium .	I n :	B o n av e n t u r a	d e 	
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José María Salvador-González - The Created World as a Creator’s Vestigium...