Revisiting Calvin’s "Cognitio Dei Et Nostri" In The Light Of The French Editions Of The "Institutes" And His Commentary On Psalm 139 -- By: Eric Kayayan
Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 81:2 (Fall 2019)
Article: Revisiting Calvin’s "Cognitio Dei Et Nostri" In The Light Of The French Editions Of The "Institutes" And His Commentary On Psalm 139
Author: Eric Kayayan
WTJ 81:2 (Fall 2019) p. 231
Revisiting Calvin’s Cognitio Dei Et Nostri
In The Light Of The French Editions Of The Institutes And His Commentary On Psalm 139
Eric Kayayan is a research fellow in Historical and Constructive Theology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
In the first sentence of the last French edition of his Institutes (1560), Calvin articulates the cognitio Dei et nostri in the following way: “c’est qu’en cognoissant Dieu, chacun de nous aussi se cognoisse” (“that in knowing God, each of us would also know himself”). The purpose of this article is to examine how Calvin may have been led to this unique formulation: firstly, by looking at the growth and modifications brought into the French text between 1541 and 1560; secondly, by examining Calvin’s exegesis and exposition of Ps 139, a biblical text well suited for dealing with the topic of God and man’s reciprocal knowledge; thirdly, by comparing this reading to the relevant sections of the Institutes. In the last formulation of the axiomatic cognitio Dei et nostri, Calvin has refined his definition of this dual knowledge, avoiding any possible confusion with the traditional philosophical meaning ascribed to it, by incorporating in a concise way the elements of his applied exegesis of the biblical text and his ultimate theological reflection. Knowing God with the necessary corollary that “chacun de nous aussi se cognoisse” leads to “bien sentir et bien faire,” which is fully part of the wisdom considered by Calvin. This dual knowledge resulting in true, sound, and thorough wisdom is to be applied at the same time to a community and to each person forming part of a community. In this final formulation, the twofold cognitio displays concisely the characteristics of a reciprocal, hierarchic, and dynamic relationship between God and mankind.
One often overlooks the fact that in the last French edition of Calvin’s Institutes (the French text dates from 1560 and was already reprinted in 1561), Calvin articulates the cognitio Dei et nostri in the following way: “c’est qu’en cognoissant Dieu, chacun de nous aussi se cognoisse” (“that
WTJ 81:2 (Fall 2019) p. 232
in knowing God, each of us would/should also know himself”). Before 1560, all French editions—from 1541 to 1557—translated the Latin cognitio Dei ac nostri literally: “à sçavoir la congnoissance de Dieu, et de nousmesmes.”1 This formulation also served the purpose of articulating the division of the first two chapters in all these editions, prior to 1559–1560 (ch. 1: De la congnoissance de Dieu; ch. 2: De la congnoi...
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