“That We May Love the As Yet Unknown God”: The Meaning of Analogy in Augustine’s De Trinitate

Abstract Recent interest in the idea of analogy and the analogy of being, along with the apparent invocation of Augustine’s De Trinitate in the definition of Lateran IV, calls for a renewed investigation into the idea of analogy in the aforementioned text. Methodologically, “analogy” in De Trin . names a form of discourse which attempts to see the truth of the Trinity in created likenesses and thereby guarantees the non‐fabrication and intelligibility of trinitarian faith; for the purposes of the argument of De Trin ., the most adequate site of this likeness will be the human mind, the image of God. Materially, Augustine presents the human being’s likeness to the triune God along both ontological and moral lines—the objective constitution of the mind which images the unity and trinity of the Godhead, and its necessary fulfillment in love not just of itself but of God; at the same time, Augustine highlights the notes of unlikeness within every likeness, which impels his analogical investigation into further contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity.