Dietrich von Hildebrand was remarkable for his keen intellect, his profound originality, his prodigious output, his great personal courage, his deep spirituality, and his intense love of truth, goodness, and beauty. The rare qualities made Dietrich von Hildebrand one of the greatest philosophers and one of the greatest men of the twentieth century.

NOTES

The Readiness to Change

1 For the time being we disregard the case, very typical also, in which the call for a radical change is perceived to some extent but meets with a more or less conscious opposition. We are dealing here with the case of a more deeply hidden resistance to the demand of full conversion, which prevents the subject from adequately assessing the import of the required change, so that he may restrict his compliance without being troubled by his conscience. Back to text.

Recollection and Contemplation

1 St. Augustine distinguished uti (the use of a thing) and frui (the blissful penetration of a thing, the happy communing therewith) as two basic forms of our attitude toward the good. (Cf., the first book of De doctrina Christiana, and De civitate Dei 19.10.) Back to text.