In the Anteroom of Divinity: The Reformation of the Angels from Colet to Milton

In the Anteroom of Divinity: The Reformation of the Angels from Colei to Milton. By Feisal G. Mohamed. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press, 2008. Pp. xiv, 239. $50.01. This excellent but difficult book traces the history of post-biblical angelology from its inception the works of the Pseudo-Dionysius to the major works of Milton. At one time these Dionysian writings were assumed to have been written by a companion of St. Paul the first century (see Acts 1 7.34). Their Pauline connection has since been refuted, and they are now dated as late as the sixth century. Despite their detachment from Paul, the works remained immensely popular. The Dionysian author was interested and stability, and his connection of the celestial to the ecclesiastical hierarchy (hierarchy was a word of his own coinage) was ultimately rejected by the Reformers, particularly Milton. This involved three triads of angels, plus three triads of Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, which are part of an initial triad of sacraments, clergy, and laity. The category of the clergy proves the most troublesome, because it assumes a hierarchical or Episcopalian church, with prelates or clergy acting as intermediaries between humanity and the divine. Thus a Dionysian universe is full of self-contained units, leaving the clergy immune from secular power or influence: For Dionysius, hierarchy is the divine by which all creatures are arranged according to their proximity to God, and disagreement with one's superiors is equivalent to attempting to create division within the divine kingdom (p. 5). From the very beginning, English writers introduced modifications to this scheme. John Colet, for example, looks to St. Bonaventure for a more modified ecclesiastical hierarchy, one which the hierarchy of clergy is defined spirituaUy rather than through clerical rank. Colet furthermore describes prelacy as primarily administrative, downplaying significantly the divine Ulumination of the hierarch so important to the Pseudo- Areopagite (p. 30). More traditionally Dionysian, Hooker 's Lawes ofEcclesiasticallPolitie presupposes that both celestial and ecclesiastical emanate from God (p. 34). Hooker 's mystically Ulumined English hierarchs (p. 42) are also reflected Edmund Spenser's An Hymn of Heavenly Love: That the Dionysian orders are associated with the Incarnation a poem outlining essential aspects of a Christian divine economy impenetrable to human reason . . . affirms the conformist sentiment that its hierarchy and ceremony the church is mysterious harmony with divine order (p. 53). Spenser's hymn also contains allusions to Dionysius' trinali tripUcities and purest (U. 64, 98). As Mohamed observes, it is difficult to pinpoint in [John] Donne's work a stable position on (p. 62). In Aire and Angels, for example, although is clearly evoking Thomas Aquinas's treatise on angels (Summa Theologica Questions 50-64), the angeUc component of the poem is compromised by the lurid and insistent sexuality of the speaker: surface meaning consistently seeks to distract from a physicaUty that intrudes itseU at every turn (p. 60). In Donne's sermons, angels are viewed more as intellectual constructs than actual beings. Here we see a strong departure from Hooker's crypto-Dionysian retention of mystery ecclesiastical orders and ceremonies (p. 68). By privileging the art of preaching over angelology, Donne thus avoids Dionysian notions of celestial and ecclesiastical meditation and shows little regard for angelic ministration more generally (p. 73). Before launching into a full-fledged discussion of Milton and Dionysius, Mohamed pauses to place Milton the context of other significant writers on the subject. Luther and Calvin discouraged speculation about angels, although neither was able to deny their existence scripture. Both men have rhetorical flourishes roundly dismissing Dionysius (p. …

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