Bernard Silvestris c. 1085 – c. 1178
Bernard Silvestris (c. 1085 – c. 1178) was a French philosopher of the Medieval era, associated with Medieval Philosophy, Platonism, and Christian Philosophy.
Bernard Silvestris was a Latin Platonist philosopher and poet of the twelfth-century Renaissance, master at the cathedral school of Tours, and one of the central figures of the so-called School of Chartres. His Cosmographia, a prosimetric philosophical poem on the creation of the world, dramatized the Platonic doctrine of the world soul and the providential ordering of nature in a sustained Christian-Platonist allegory, while his Mathematicus, on a son who has slain his father in fulfillment of a horoscope, dealt philosophically with the relation of fate, providence, and human responsibility. His Commentary on the First Six Books of the Aeneid read Vergil's poem as the philosophical itinerary of a soul ascending from the Underworld of the body toward true knowledge.
Key facts
- Nationality
- French
- Era
- Medieval
- Movements
- Medieval Philosophy, Platonism, Christian Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Bernard Silvestris:
“The cosmos is the work of a kindly maker, not of necessity alone.”
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Attributed to Bernard Silvestris:
“Nature, the daughter of providence, weaves the visible from the invisible.”
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Attributed to Bernard Silvestris:
“The poet's fable is a veil through which the philosopher sees a doctrine.”
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Attributed to Bernard Silvestris:
“Ascent and descent are the two motions of the soul among the bodies.”
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Attributed to Bernard Silvestris:
“What the heavens decree, the will, by Christian grace, may yet inflect.”
Frequently asked about Bernard Silvestris
- When did Bernard Silvestris live?
- Bernard Silvestris was born in c. 1085 and died in c. 1178.
- Where was Bernard Silvestris from?
- Bernard Silvestris was a French philosopher of the Medieval era.
- What philosophical movements is Bernard Silvestris associated with?
- Bernard Silvestris was associated with Medieval Philosophy, Platonism, and Christian Philosophy.
- What was Bernard Silvestris known for?
- Bernard Silvestris was a Latin Platonist philosopher and poet of the twelfth-century Renaissance, master at the cathedral school of Tours, and one of the central figures of the so-called School of Chartres.
- How many quotes are attributed to Bernard Silvestris?
- There are 5 attributed quotations from Bernard Silvestris in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.