L’âme à l’état de béatitude connait-elle Dieu dans le corps ou hors du corps ? La réponse d’Augustin dans le livre XII du De Genesi ad litteram

Abstract

This article highlights the relevance of Augustine’s exegesis of 2 Cor. 12, 2-4 in book XII of De Genesi ad litteram, for the development of his theory on the participation of the body in the beatific vision. Our analysis is developed in three moments : the state of Augustine’s theory on the participa-tion of the body in the vision of God at the beginning of the year 413 (Sermo 277); the absence of a biblical text on the topic as an obstacle to affirm the participation of the body in the beatific vision; the overcoming of this obstacle through the exegesis of Paul’s narration of his ecstasy (2 Cor. 12, 2-4) and the deduction of the necessity for the human body to participate in the vision of God in patria