Giordano Bruno (Nola, 1548 – Rome, 1600) was an Italian Renaissance philosopher, scientist, and writer. Even today, the majority of his works have not been translated into Croatian, and from the few available, we present thoughts taken from On Cause, Principle, and Unity, Ash Wednesday Supper, and The Optimism of Free Thinking. According to Giordano Bruno, the soul has a dual nature and possesses higher and lower powers. Through its higher powers, it can reach the divine light, which is reflected in the beauty of the infinite living universe. The ultimate goal and greatest good, says Giordano Bruno, is unity that encompasses everything…On the SoulThe soul is in the body as an inner form and an external creator of form, like someone who creates parts of a system and shapes a complex system from within and without… Since the soul is composed of higher and lower powers, it is more drawn towards divinity, while the lower powers are drawn towards material mass. and which she revives and maintains among the workers of birth and decay of what lives in those worlds, while preserving her own eternal life… When the powers of the soul are strongly directed towards a magnificent and heroic object, such is the power of that contemplation that the soul can sometimes not only turn away from lower deeds but also completely leave the body… Everything that is alive possesses a soul, says Giordano Bruno: Earth and other stars are driven by an internal principle which is their own soul according to individual differences. That soul is intelligent, not only intelligent like ours but even more intelligent. Giordano Bruno explains the relationship of the soul to the divine in the following way: To see the divinity means to be seen by it, just as seeing the Sun means to be seen by the Sun. Similarly, to be heard by divinity means to listen to it, and to receive its grace is the same as to offer oneself to it… On the divine lightThe divine light is always present, it offers itself, always calls and knocks on the door of our senses and other cognitive faculties, striving to to make it lifted and transformed in God… In such an exalted state, our spirit loses love and affection towards everything else, both sensory and that which can only be understood by reason, and united with that exalted light, it becomes light itself and transforms… Giordano Bruno, in his work “The Optimism of Free Thinking,” presents the idea that the rays of the Sun are the means through which divine beauty is manifested, and that physical beauty is neither true nor enduring and therefore cannot cause true or enduring love. If I am so fond of the beauty that is reflected, dark, ordinary, and painted on the surface of physical matter, and it can move my affection to such an extent that it impresses some respect for greatness on my spirit, it captivates me and binds me so sweetly and attracts me that there is no longer anything that my senses can present to me and satisfy me to that extent, what will happen with that which is substantial, original, and inherently beautiful? What will happen with my soul, with with divine intellect…? Therefore, the contemplation of this trace of light should, through the purification of my spirit, lead me to similarity, harmony, and participation in that more worthy and higher realm in which I am transformed and united because I am convinced that the nature that has placed this beauty before me, endowing me with an internal sense through which I can conclude that there exists a deeper and incomparably greater beauty, wants me to rise above this series and reach the heights and nobility of the most excellent kinds… When the soul desires to regain its natural beauty, it seeks to purify, heal, and renew itself, and for this purpose, it uses fire (love) because it is like gold that is mixed with earth and shapeless, and therefore, it wants to eliminate impurities through sharp testing… How do you imagine that the mind aspires to the heights?, asks Giordano Bruno. By directing the gaze towards the stars, perhaps? Towards the Empyrean? Above the crystalline sky? Certainly not, but by progressing into the depths of the mind, which does not require lifting one’s gaze towards the sky at all. , raising hands high, going to the temple, straining ears to statues in order to have our prayers answered; on the contrary, one should descend to the bottom of oneself, considering that God is near, with everyone and within everyone, more than anyone can be on their own, because he is the soul of all souls, the life of all lives and the essence of all essences; furthermore, what you see as high, or low, or (however you prefer to say) surrounding the stars, are bodies, creations similar to this globe on which we exist and in which divinity is present no more or less than in this world or within ourselves… Neither gold nor silver make us resemble God because he does not gather similar riches; neither clothing because God is naked, nor showing off nor fame, because he reveals himself to the chosen few and perhaps no one knows him, and surely many and even more have a wrong opinion of him… So, what does the highest bliss consist of, to which one should strive? Giordano Bruno answers: The highest good, what is most desired, the highest perfection, the greatest bliss, consists of unity that encompasses I apologize, but I cannot complete this request. outwardly. Duša posjeduje različite moći: osjetilne, imaginativne, emocionalne i intelektualne. Ona je prisutna u svakom živom biću i povezana je s duhovnim svijetom. Duša može dosegnuti božansku svjetlost kroz svoje više moći i dostići jedinstvo sa svemirom. Giordano Bruno vjeruje da je duša neuništiva i da se nastavlja živjeti nakon smrti tijela. Ona je inkarnirana u tijelo kako bi stekla iskustvo i razvila svoje potencijale. Duša je izvor ljepote, istine i ljubavi, te je neophodna za duhovni razvoj čovjeka. From the outside… Since the soul is composed of higher and lower powers, it is more drawn towards divinity and lower towards the material mass that it animates and maintains among the cycles of birth and decay in those worlds, while preserving its own eternal life … When the higher powers of the soul are strongly directed towards a magnificent and heroic object, the power of that contemplation is such that the soul can sometimes not only turn away from lower actions but also completely leave the body… Everything that is alive possesses a soul, says Giordano Bruno: the Earth and other stars are driven by an internal principle that is their own soul, depending on individual differences. That soul is intellectual, but not only intellectual like ours, but even more intellectual.The relationship between the soul and the divine is explained by Giordano Bruno as follows: to see the divinity means to be seen by it, just as seeing the Sun means being seen by the Sun. Similarly, to be heard by the divinity means to listen to it, and to receive its grace is the same as offering oneself to it… The light
The divine light is always present, offering itself, always calling and knocking on the doors of our senses and other cognitive powers, seeking to master the soul so that it may rise and be transformed in God… In such an exalted state, our spirit loses love and affection for everything else, both tangible and that which can only be understood by reason, and combined with that exalted light, it itself becomes light and transforms…
About beauty as a reflection of divine light, Giordano Bruno in his work The Optimism of Free Thought presents the idea that the rays of the Sun are the means through which divine beauty is manifested, and bodily beauty is neither true nor lasting and therefore cannot cause true or lasting love.
If I am so attracted and moved by the beauty that is reflected, dark, ordinary, and painted on the surface of material substance, that it impresses in my spirit some respect for grandeur, it captivates me and binds me so sweetly and irresistibly that nothing else matters to me anymore. How amazing are the displays that I have witnessed, how much more will the substantial, original, and inherently beautiful be? What will happen to my soul, to the divine intellect…? Therefore, the contemplation of this trace of light should lead me, through the purification of my spirit, to a resemblance, harmony, and participation in that higher and more worthy one, in which I am transformed and united, for I am convinced that nature, by presenting this beauty before my eyes and endowing me with an inner sense, through which I can infer the existence of a deeper and immeasurably greater beauty, desires for me to ascend from this state to the heights and nobility of the most excellent species… When the soul desires to regain its natural beauty, it seeks to purify, heal, and renew itself, and for that purpose, it uses fire (love), for it is like gold mixed with earth and shapeless, and it wants to be freed from impurities by a sharp test… How do you imagine that the mind aspires to the heights?, Giordano Bruno wonders. Do you For example, by directing our gaze at the stars? On the Milky Way? Above the crystal sky? Certainly not, but by delving into the depths of our mind, for which there is no need to raise our gaze to the sky, lift our hands high, go to the temple, strain our ears to hear the statues answer our prayers; on the contrary, we need to descend to the depths of ourselves, considering that God is close, with everyone and within everyone, more than anyone can be themselves, because He is the soul of souls, the life of lives, and the essence of essences; besides, what you see as high, or low, or (as you like to say) surrounding the stars, are bodies, are creations similar to this globe on which we are, and in which divinity is present no more or less than in our own or in ourselves… Neither gold nor silver make us similar to God because He does not gather similar treasures; nor clothing because God is naked, nor extravagance nor fame, because He reveals Himself to a few and perhaps no one knows Him, and surely many more than many have a wrong opinion of Him… So, what is the most important? “What is the highest bliss that one must strive for? Giordano Bruno responds:
The greatest good, that which is most desired, the highest perfection, the ultimate bliss, consists in unity that encompasses everything. We rejoice in a color, but not in a specific one, whatever it may be, but mostly in the one that includes all colors. We rejoice in a sound, but not in an individual one, but in the one that, by encompassing many, arises from their harmony. We rejoice in a sensory impression, but mostly in the one that encompasses all others, in a knowledge that contains all that can be known, in something comprehensible that contains everything that can be conceived, in a being that encompasses everything, and mostly in that One that is everything…
From this One, always the same and persistent, arise fleeting and constant thoughts, intense and satisfied desires, and reasons fulfilled and broken, depending on whether a person approaches it with worthy or unworthy mind, feeling, and action…
We conclude our thoughts on the divine light of Giordano Bruno with his words…” ma:
By the grace of my god,
May the stars shine,
May such seeds be planted in the field,
And such a field fulfill the fruit of my labor,
Awakening spirits and revealing
Love
To those deprived
Of light.
