Hugh of Saint Victor c. 1096 – 1141
Hugh of Saint Victor was a German-born theologian and philosopher who taught at the abbey of Saint Victor in Paris and shaped the intellectual and contemplative life of the Victorine school. His Didascalicon outlined a comprehensive program of Christian learning organized around the seven liberal arts, and his On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith is one of the great theological summae of the twelfth century. His mystical writings, including The Mystical Ark and The Soul's Three Ways of Seeing, articulated an influential pedagogy of spiritual ascent through the eyes of the body, of reason, and of contemplation.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German-French
- Era
- Medieval
- Movements
- Medieval, Christian, Scholasticism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Hugh of Saint Victor:
“Learn everything; later you will see that nothing is superfluous.”
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Attributed to Hugh of Saint Victor:
“The eye of contemplation sees things in the eternal.”
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Attributed to Hugh of Saint Victor:
“Love is the eye, and to love is to see.”
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Attributed to Hugh of Saint Victor:
“He who travels much may sometimes find himself a stranger to his own land; but he who travels in study finds at last that everywhere is home.”
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Attributed to Hugh of Saint Victor:
“Begin with the things that surround you, see them; then ascend to the things you cannot see.”