hippo's visions

• St. Augustine of Hippo classified visions into 3 categories

  • corporeal
  • imaginative
  • intellectual
• corporeal visions are mediated through physical senses - they are empirical (verifiable by experience)
• examples of corporeal visions:

  • Bernadette of Lourdes: 18 visions of the Virgin Mary
  • Joan of Arc: visions of angels + saints
• imaginative visions are visions mediated through 'the minds eye', not physical sight - often take the form of dreams
• examples of imaginative visions:

  • Pharoah/Joseph's dream
  • Joseph's dream: told to marry Mary
• intellectual visions have no image, but the person claims to 'see' things as they really are - experience illuminates the soul
• example of intellectual vision:

  • Teresa of Avila: visions of Jesus