Both Uses of
mystic
in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Thus, at sixteen years of age, the young clerk might have held his own, in mystical theology, against a father of the church; in canonical theology, against a father of the councils; in scholastic theology, against a doctor of Sorbonne.†
Chpt 1.4.2 *mystical = relating to realities beyond scientific understanding OR inspiring a sense of wonder or mystery; or beyond human comprehension
- Her pure, red lips half smiled; her serene and candid brow became troubled, at intervals, under her thoughts, like a mirror under the breath; and from beneath her long, drooping, black eyelashes, there escaped a sort of ineffable light, which gave to her profile that ideal serenity which Raphael found at the mystic point of intersection of virginity, maternity, and divinity.†
Chpt 1.2.7
Definition:
a person who seeks or claims to have direct spiritual insight beyond ordinary understanding; or an experience that feels deeply spiritual, mysterious, or otherworldly
In common usage, mystic is more likely to be used in reference to a practitioner of a less mainstream religion than a more mainstream religion -- possibly because the former is more mysterious to the writer.