Abstract
The article considers the concept of gustus spiritualis, in particular its possible historical connection with (aesthetic) taste in the seventeenth century. By ‘aesthetic’, I mean a radically modern phenomenon, attitude, sensibility, and so forth, that is, a new type of experience. Its discourse has many keywords; one of them is taste, an inner faculty by which its possessor is able to make sharp and proper distinctions, and simultaneously to enjoy fine delights. Here, I am obliged to confine myself to the interpretation of some Jesuit authors within the wide tradition of gustus spiritualis: St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis de Sales, Baltasar Gracian, and Dominique Bouhours in sequence. The latter two are usually treated in the historical narratives of aesthetics, which, however, usually take gustus/gusto/gout as if it were a purely secular (moral, political) notion in the seventeenth century, while its theological roots are ignored. Exploring the role of gustus spiritualis in the evolution of (aesthetic) taste can cast light, on the one hand, on the important fact that this entails volition, that is, the determination and enchantment of human desire and hope without constraint; and, on the other, on the historical process of the emergence of a new type of ‘beholder’ with a sensitive attitude to transcendence, and, in the same manner, to his or her worldly life as well; moreover, it is a process in which, simultaneously, the nature of transcendence is transformed into a tastable one.
Highlights
The article considers the concept of gustus spiritualis, in particular its possible historical connection with taste in the seventeenth century
Exploring the role of gustus spiritualis in the evolution of taste can cast light, on the one hand, on the important fact that this entails volition, that is, the determination and enchantment of human desire and hope without constraint; and, on the other, on the historical process of the emergence of a new type of ‘beholder’ with a sensitive attitude to transcendence, and, in the same manner, to his or her worldly life as well; it is a process in which, simultaneously, the nature of transcendence is transformed into a tastable one
Amongst the different intellectual threads – from rhetoric through moral philosophy to the polite literature of the seventeenth century – which intertwined during the emergence of modern aesthetics, I have chosen to consider one here: theology.[1]
Summary
The article considers the concept of gustus spiritualis, in particular its possible historical connection with (aesthetic) taste in the seventeenth century. The question whether this is an unattainable ideal, but never attainable condition in the present age, or is merely rarely attainable, is secondary This aphorism suggests that the great cultural exercising organized by and around social good taste does have an ideal goal – namely, the apotheosis of the individual: perfect communio with God. The figure of the sabio can be illuminated by the figure of the politico, who is ever bound in the apparently relativistic sphere of society, is always obliged to ‘go with the current’, and has no chance of ascending to the (solitary) state of the sabio: ‘To live by yourself, you must be very godly [mucho de Dios] or a complete savage [todo de bestia].’52 From this perspective, it is fair to see Gracián’s enterprise as the secular application of Ignatius’s spiritual exercises: the Oráculo manual is a compendium of witty maxims for courtiers, concerning how to live and survive in society; Ejercicios espirituales is a compendium of strict rules for retreat-givers (and, indirectly, for exercitants), concerning how to enter and live in the Society (of Jesus);[53] the former sets the ideal of perfection in the sabio; the goal of the latter is perfect communio; the former identifies the finest faculty necessary to achieve perfection with buen gusto; the latter models the supreme inner experience of communio (or the internalization of divinity) after gustus spiritualis. I hope, has cast some light on the historical process by which a new type of ‘beholder’ emerges with a sensitive attitude both to transcendence and to life on earth, an attitude whereby the nature of transcendence becomes tastable
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