In Defense of Purity: An Analysis of the Catholic Ideals of Purity and Virginity

Description

This is the most recent work cited in Camelot, O.P.'s NCE article "Virginity". Unger, O.F.M. Cap., cites this work as "of special indebtedness" to his Mystery of Love for the Single.

Originally published in 1927 (English ed. in 1931) as Reinheit und Jungfräulichkeit (Purity & Virginity). D. Hildebrand's Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love calls the marriage act a sacrament and "love" (not procreation) the primary end of marriage! He was taught by the phenomenalist Husserl in c. 1909, so he's a personalist like Wojtyła, but certainly more orthodox than Herbert Doms, who "saw the essence of marriage in physical union [contra suppl. 42 a. 4], and its end as the fulfillment and realization of the spouses as persons [contra Sacra Virginitas §37]." (C. Burke 2010)!

A. Hildebrand's foreword says D. Hildebrand invented Gaudium et Spes 's and Humanæ Vitæ 's "unitive" vs. "procreative" "meanings" (not "ends") of marriage.

Part 1 on purity doesn't mention temperance (neither did Wojtyła think temperance had anything to do with purity!), and it over-glorifies the marriage act (like Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love). The Notion of Conjugal Love, passim , is critical of Hildebrand's definition of conjugal ("wedded") love.

Hildebrand does argue against "insensuality" (insensibilitas?) in ref:18.1; cf. II-II q. 142 a. 1 "Whether insensibility is a vice?" This is remniscent of how St. Albert et al. argued that Our Lady must have had a hot, sanguine temperament, because purity nor impurity exist in those with "mere temperamental absence of sexuality" (ref:18.4).

ref:19.9: "The pure man perceives and understands the value of purity. Whenever he meets a pure man his purity is perceived by him as a positive value, its fragrance delights him, and its beauty is understood."

ref:19.10 ties purity to worship: "The brightness of His countenance to Whom the angels chant their Trisagion [Tρισάγιον], […]. It is the surrender to this splendor [veritatis!] which formally constitutes purity."

Part 2 on virginity is orthodox and like his sort of De virginitate. He discusses [in]divisus est (1 Cor. 7:32-4) in ch. 10 (ref:26.8). He also quotes from St. Anselm's commentary on 1 Cor. 7 (I didn't know he did one!).

A probing meditation on the nature, value, and beauty of purity, In Defense of Purity is not a book of sexual ethics, nor a “how-to” guide to purity—but for readers with open minds and hearts, the book promises to be transformative.

When Dietrich von Hildebrand converted to Catholicism in 1914, he was surprised to find that, despite an abundance of books on the dangers of impurity, there were practically none on the positive values of purity. “So,” writes Alice von Hildebrand , widow of Dietrich, in a new foreword to the book, “this is what he set out to do in In Defense of Purity : to explore purity as a positive reality and only in light of its beauty to describe its contrary.”

First published in 1927, In Defense of Purity anticipates many of the most pressing social issues of our day. Hildebrand’s vision of the human person offers an antidote to a contemporary attitude that treats the body as a mere object and fails to appreciate its integral unity with the person.

In Defense of Purity has influenced thinkers like Karol Wojtyła/Pope John Paul II , whose own Love and Responsibility and Theology of the Body share and build upon many of Dietrich von Hildebrand’s insights. This new edition stands to influence a new generation of readers, looking for enduring answers to the perennial questions about human life and love.

In Defense of Purity cuts through the current debates to offer a fundamental view of the very essence and meaning of purity. Hildebrand’s insights on love, marriage, virginity, and sexuality offer fresh wisdom to people in any stage of life, from first dates, to religious vows, to golden anniversaries.

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Review

How presumptuous it is to try to treat of such a subject . . . when great books (like Dietrich von Hildebrand’s In Defense of Purity) have been written on the subject. – Dorothy Day

In Defense of Purity is one of Dietrich von Hildebrand’s smaller works, yet for this very reason it became a jewel in the hands of this master of thought and word. – Leo Scheffczyk

The movement originating with von Hildebrand . . . contains elements that are destined to enrich Catholic thought. – Bernard Lonergan

In Defense of Purity , in the original German and in French and Italian translations have had great influence on the Catholic literature of marriage. – Kirkus Review