Nisi Dominus (Denis the Carthusian's Commentary on the Psalms)

About this book

Nisi Dominus is the sixth and last volume of Denis the Carthusian's (1402-1471) Commentary on the Psalms. It completes the English translation of Denis's endeavor of interpreting the Psalms through literal, allegorical, tropological, and analogical lenses. This volume contains Denis's commentary on Psalm 126 through Psalm 150.The Commentary on the Psalms concludes with a Tractate addressing the method of reciting the Psalms devoutly, focusing in particular on the affects-the emotive states, conditions, moods, inclinations, desires, and longings; in short, the expressions of the heart supportive of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity-states which should be enkindled and inflamed by the proper recitation of the Psalms.The Psalms, Denis avers, must accompany the Christian as he travels through the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages. The Psalms, then, are the vehicle the disciple of the Lord Jesus uses to ask himself the Gregorian scrutinies: where one has been, where one will be, where one is, and where one is not (ubi fuit, ubi erit, ubi est, ubi non est).As an added boon, this volume contains Denis's separate Exposition on the Seven Penitential Psalms, a work written at the request of Prospero Cardinal Colonna (ca. 1410-1463).