LIBRARY UNivusirr Of CALIfO«NIA SAN DIEGO J 7>/ ! J 0|-;^S-y THE GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. ■' Now hands to seed-sheet, boys, We step and we cast ; old Time's on wing And would ye partake of harvest's joys, The corn must be sown in spring. Fall gently and still, good corn, Lie warm in thy earthy bed. And stand so yellow some morn That beast and man may be fed. " Old earth is a pleasure to see In sunshiny cloak of red and green ; The furrow lies fresh ; this year will be As the years that have past have been. " Old Mother, receive this corn, The seed of six thousand golden sires ; All these on thy kindly breast were born ; One more thy poor child requires. " Now steady and sure again. And measure of stroke and step we keep ; Thus up and thus down we cast our grain ; Sow well and you gladly reap." T. Carlyxe. THE GREAT SCHOOLMEN MIDDLE AGES. AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR LIVES, AND THE SERVICES THEY RENDERED TO THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. W. J. TOWN SEND. ANASTATIC REPRINT G. E. STECHERT & CO., 1920 Hazel), Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. I NT ROD UC TOR Y. PAGE General estimate formed of Schoolmen— Why they were opposed by Reformers — Time for them to be more highly appreciated — In- stances of undue depreciation — Sir W. Hamilton's estimate of them — Testimony of Sir J. Mackintosh— Professor F. D. Maurice on Aquinas— Dr. W. B. Pope on Scholastic Theology— Bishop Hampden on Scholastic Philosophy— Cousin and Guizot on the Scholastics — Testimonies of German writers— The object of the present work 3 CHAPTER II. THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. The Dominions of Charlemagne— His characteristics and his aims — The state of Society at his accession — The condition of the Church — The state of learning in Europe — Intellectual progress amongst Mohammedans — Signs of awakening in England — Alcuin — Efforts of Charlemagne for a revival of letters — Labours of Alcuin in France — Charlemagne's reforms in the Church — Louis the Pious unable to maintain them — The Dark Ages 17 vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. THE HARBINGER OF DAWN.— JOHN SCOT US ERIGENA. PAGE Charles the Bald a patron of learning— Erigena drawn to his Court- Incidents of Court life of Erigena — His accomplishments — Works of Dionysius the Areopagite— Their relation to Alexandrian philo- sophy—The teachings of Plotinus — Proclus and his relation to Plotinus — The incorporation of Alexandrian philosophy and Chris- tian teachings by Dionysius — Erigena as his student and translator £)f Divisione Natures — The theological and philosophical teach- ings of Erigena — The student's prayer — Controversy on Transub- stantiation — Controversy on Predestination — Erigena taxed with heresy— His place in history— Notes to Chapter III 35 CHAPTER IV. YEARNINGS FOR THE LIGHT.-POPE SYLVESTER II. Gro\vtb of the Papacy in secularity and corruption— Stray gleams of light in the Dark Ages— Birth and youth of Gerbert— Studies in Spanish schools — Otho the Great — The intellectual and scientific labours of Gerbert — FViendship with Hugh Capet — Great speech against the Papacy — In the Court of Otho — The thousandth year A.D. — Gerbert made Pope — Labours to promote purity and pro- gress — First signal for a crusade — Death of Otho— Death of Gerbert His pupils and successors — The Normans in Europe — Note to Chapter IV 65 CHAPTER V. THE FOUNDER OF MEDIMVAL THEOLOGY— ANSELM. Birth and parentage of Anselm — Youthful experience and fancies — The Monastery of Bee — Anselm, the Prior and the Abbot — His fame as a teacher — His numerous productions — Archbishop of Canter- bury — The struggle for spiritual supremacy — His firm and courageous bearing in the struggle — His death and character — His teachings in philosophy and theology — The Ontological Argument — The Cur Dem Homo — Controversy with Roscellin — Anselm a man of immense influence — Notes to Chapter V. ... 79 CONTENTS. vxi CHAPTER VI. THE STRUGGLE OF RATIONALISM.- PETER ABELARD. PACE The romance of Abelard — His birth and youthful studies — His discus- sion with William of Cliampeaux — His great popularity — Indica- tions of danger — His relation to the Church — His teachings on Universals : Conceptualism — His theological teachings — Evil days : Enemies within and without — Heloise— The ill-fated love between her and Abdlard — The Cloister — His lectures at Maisoncelle — Immured at St. Denys — The Paraclete — The Abbey of St. Giidas — The throngs at Mount St. Genevieve — The Sic et Non — The Assembly at Sens — Bernard of Clarvaux — The Appeal to Rome — The Refuge of Clugny — Light at eventide, and rest for ever — The famous letters — ^The teaching and influence of Abelard — Note 99 CHAPTER VII. THE SWEET SONG OF MYSTICISM.— THE MONKS OF ST. I'ICTOR. The Abbey of St. Victor — The Mysticism of Bernard — Hugo : His extraction and youth — Made Prior of St. Victor — His writings — His mystical gpirit and scholastic method — His views of theology and philosophy — The features of his character and WTitings — Richard St. Victor — The stages of religious development — The six stages of contemplation — The reforming tendencies of Richard — Walter St. Victor — Healthy influence of the Victorines — Notes to Chapter VII. 125 CHAPTER VIII. THE MASTER OF THE SENTENCES.-PETER THE LOMBARD. The influences of the twelfth century — The man and the hour— Peter : His youth and studies — Becomes Bishop of Paris — The "Book of Sentences" — Its contents, method, and influence — His views on philosophy and theology — His characteristics and influence — Notes to Chapter VIII 139 vUi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. THE GRECIAN DOCTOR.-THE ADVANCE OF ARISTOTELIANISM. PAca The increasing attention to works of Aristotle — Alarm and jealousy aroused in the Church— The influence of the Greek Master on the Arabians— The Arabian civilization in Europe— The great attain- ments in philosophy and science of the Arabians— The libraries and schools of the Mohatnmedans— Aristotle, their intellectual king Avicenna andAlgazel — Averroes : Doctrine of Unity of the Intellect — The Aristotelic Arabians extraordinary men— Their permeating influence in Europe— A true instinct by which Aristotle became the intellectual master of Christendom— The opposi- tion of the Church — The Dominican Monks — The Aristotelians of the Church— Providence in their rise and labours — Notes to Chapter IX »S3 CHAPTER X. THE UNIVERSAL DOCTOR.— ALBERTUS MAGNUS. The parentage and birth of Albert— Unites with the Dominican Order Lectures at Cologne — His extraordinary eradition — Public offices and labours— Bishop of Ratisbon — The Council of Lyons— His death— His character and influence— His teaching on Universals His views on religious doctrine— His psychology— General characteristics of his teaching— Note to Chapter X 165 CHAPTER XI. THE IRREFRAGABLE DOCTOR.-ALEXANDER OF HALES. The birth and education of Alexander— He joins the Franciscan Order — Life of earnest and laborious study— His works — Alexander a Realist— His theological views— Habit of treating trivial questions — Influence on important doctrines— His pious sayings and mental independence — Notes to Chapter XI. I77 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER XII. THE SERAPIIICAL DOCTOR.-BONAVENTURA. PACK His parents — Pious training — Devotion to learning and piety — Patient industriousncss — Head of Fr.anciscan Order — Persecution of Roger Bacon — Promutcs election of Pope Gregory I.— Council of Lyons — Death and funeral — Works — Aquinas and Bonaventura — A Schoolman and Mystic — Relation of Reason and Faith — Itinerary of Soul — Chartered gifts — Mariolatry — Its cause and cure — Pas- sionate contemplation of Christ — Notes to Chapter XII. ... ... 187 CHAPTER XIII. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR.— THOMAS AQUIHAS. Parentage and early life — Unites with Dominicans — Student life at Paris — Disputes between university and citizens — Aquinas pro- moted and honoured — His varied and active labours-^The Council of Lyons — His death — Appearance and character — His sayings — The sum of theology — Its aim and value — Its arrangement and contents — The method of treatment pursued — Its influence and commendation by Gregory XIII. ... ... ... 199 CHAPTER XIV. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR.— HIS OPINIONS. Two sources of knowledge — On Universals — Cause of individuation — • The existence and nature of God — The Holy Trinity — The Incar- nation of the Word — The Atonement — The fall of man and his salvation — Counsel and precept — The Sacraments — Eschatology — His notions on Ethics — His democracy — General characteristics of his writings — He did what he could' — Notes to Chapter XIV. 217 CHAPTER XV. THE SUBTLE DOCTOR.— DUNS SCOTUS. Controversy as to his birthplace — Early life and career — Immense influence at Paris — Removal to Cologne — Sudden and mysterious death — His marvellous industry — rllis rigid dialecticism — Charac- teristics of his writings — Duns and Aquinas — Keenness of his critical faculty — Duns a decided Realist — Views on Chri.stian doctrine — Immaculate Conception of Virgin — His psychological opinions — General estimate of him and his work — Notes to Chapter XV 245 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR.— WILLI AM OF OCKAM. PAGE Early training and influences — Condition of the Papacy — Is appointed head of Franciscans in England — Writes against temporal power of the Popes — Seeks refuge at Bavarian Court — Writings on ecclesiastical reform — Influence of Duns on Ockam — His decided Nominalism — His sensationalism — His opposition to intelligible species — His theological position unsatisfactory — A rational theology not possible — Transubstantiation — Disputants who suc- ceeded him — The Reformer of the School — His boldness and independence — His work and influence— Notes to Chapter XVI. 269 CHAPTER XVII. THE MOST CHRISTIAN DOCTOR.-JEAN CHARLIER GERSON. The decline of Scholasticism after Ockam — Degenerating into lifeless subtleties — Movement towards Platonism — The rise of Mysticism — Gerson the transition genius — His youth and early training — His rapid promotion at University — Becomes the Chancellor — High aims and endeavours — The great schism — The Council of Pisa — The rival Popes — The Council of Constance — Gerson preaches to the Council- — His action against Jean Petit — His prosecution of John Huss — Contrast between Gerson and Huss — Gerson a fugitive — His last days — His books and their features — A Schoolman and a mystic — The imitadon of Christ — The failure of Scholasticism — Notes to Chapter XVII 291 CHAPTER XVIII. THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR WORK. The profound piety of the Schoolmen — Their relations with the out- ward world — Their acumen, learning, and special studies — Witness borne by Sir James Mackintosh — Anticipation of modem philoso- phers — Their grasp of Scripture and Christian doctrine — The battle of human reason fought by them— Testimonies of Hampden and Schwegler — D'Aubigne's witness to their efforts for liberty of thought and conscience — Other testimonies — The Reformers and the Schoolmen — The course of human progress ...313 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER XIX. CONSIDERATION OF OByECTIONS. PAGE Many objections to the Schoolmen and their work — The circumstances of the Schoolmen — Ought those more highly favoured to object ? — The objection to Scholastic systematic theologies — The causes of such systems — The rise of systems of thought inevitable — The materials of a system found in Revelation — Systems not to be un- duly exalted — Objections to system of theology of equal force in respect to other systems — Systems sum up previous results and make progress possible — Use of Aristotle's method of logic by School- men — Tendency cf Schoolmen to excessive use of logical methods — The jargon of the Schoolmen — How could they have done better? 339 CHAPTER XX. THE RATIONALE OF SCHOLASTICISM Scholasticism a strange growth — The great factors of Scholasticism — The usual course of civilisation reversed in the formation of Christendom — Greek philosophy and Christian truth the only material for great minds to use — They became necessarily Christian logicians — They expressed the highest aspirations of the tunes — The restraints upon their efforts — Their failure and their triumph 357 The following are the Editions of Books quoted in subsequent pages, and which are here given to facilitate reference to them : — Ab/elardi Petri. Sic et Non. Marburgi, 1851. Anselmi Divi. Opera Omnia, Coloniae Aggrippina, 1612. Aquinatis, S. Thom^. Summa Totius Theologice. Antwerp, 1 585. BernardI, S. Opera Omnia. Farisiis, 1609. Berington. Literary History of Middle Ages. Bohn, 1846. Bruce, A. B. Humiliation of Christ. T. Clark, 1876. Church, R. W. St. Anselm. Macmillan, 1870. Coleridge, S. T. Statesman's Manual. Gale and Fennei, 1816. „ Table Talk. J. Murray, 1 85 1. Cousin, V, History of Modern Philosophy. T. Clark, 1852. „ Philosophy of Kant. J. Chapman, 1854. DORNRR, A. J. History of Doctrine of Person of Christ. T. Clark, 1862. Draper, J. W. Intellectual Histojy of Europe. Bohn, 1875. Du Pin. Ecclesiastical History. 6 vols. 1725. Encyc. Britannica. Edition IX. to Vol. XI. Encyc. Metropolitana. Vol. XI. Article "Aquinas." Erigen.«, Johannes Scon. De Divisione Natura;. Oxonii, 16S1. Fkhrier, J. F. In-titutes of Metaphysic. W. Blackwood, 1S54. GUIZOT, F. Lectures on History of France. Bohn, 1846. xiv WORKS QUOTED. Hagenbach, K. H. History of Doctrine. 2 vols. T. Clarke, 1850. Hallam, H. History of Europe in Middle Ages. Ward and Co. Hamilton, W. Lectures on Metaphysics. 2 vols. W. Blackwood, 1859. ,, Discussions in Philosophy, etc. Longmans, 1852. Hampden, R. H. Bampton Lecture. 3rd ed. Simpkin and Co., 1848. Hardwick, C. Church History, Middle Age. Macmillan, 1853. Harper, T. Metaphysic of the School. Macmillan, 1879. Hook, W. F. Lives of Archbishops of Canterbury. Vol. IL, ist series. JORTiN. Observation on Ecclesiastical History. 1805. Locke, J. On the Human Understanding. Tegg and Co., 1825. Lombardi, Petri. Sententiarum Libri IV. Parisiis, 1638. LuPTON. Glory of their Times. Original Edition. 1640. Mackintosh, J. Works. 3 vols. Longmans, 1846. Maclear, G. F. Apostles of Mediaeval Europe. Macmillan, 1869. Matheson, G. Growth of Spirit of Christianity. 2 vols. Clark, 1877. Maurice, F. D. Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy. Macmillan, 1872. MORELL, J. D. View of Philosophy in Europe. Pickering, 1846. MosHEiM. Ecclesiastical History. Blackie, 1846. MiLMAN, H. H. History of Latin Christianity. 9 vols. J. Murray, 1872 Neander, a. Church History. 9 vols. T. Clark, 1847. ,, History of Dogma. 2 vols. Bohn, 1858. Oosterzee, J. J. van. Christian Dogmatics. Hodder and Stoughton, 1874. Pope, W. B. Compendium of Theologj'. 3 vols. Wesleyan Conference Office, 1879. Reid, T. Works by Hamilton. Maclachlan and Co., 1846. Robertson, J. C. Histoiy of Christian Church. 3 vols. J. Murray, 1868. Schwegler, A. History of Philosophy. Edmonstone and Co., 1868. Stephens, J. Lectures on History of France. Longmans, 1849. .Stewart, D. Philosophy of Human Mind. Cadell and Davies, 1808. Stoughton, J. Ages of Christendom. Jackson and Walford, 1857. WORK'S QUOTED. xv Tknneman. Manual of Philosophy. Bohn, 1852. Tkknch, R. C. Mediieval Church History. Turner, S. History of Anglo-Saxous. 3 vols. Longmans, 1852. ,, History of Middle Ages in England. 3 vols. Longmans, 1853- Uekkrweg, F. History of Philosophy. 2 vols. Hoddcr and Stoughton, 1872. Vaughan, R. a. Hours with the Mystics. 2 vols. Strahan, 1880. William of Malmesbury. Chronicle of Kings. Bohn, 1867. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. " ' Old things need not be therefore true,' O brother men ! nor yet the new 4 Ah, still awhile the old thought retain, And yet consider it again. " The souls of now two thous£(.nd years Have laid uphere their toils and fears. And all the earnings of their pain — Ah, yet consider it again ! " We ! what do we see ? each a space Of some few yards before, his face ; Does that the whole wide plan explain ? Ah, yet consider it again ! " Alas ! the great world goes its way, And takes its truth from day to day ; They da not quit, nor can retain. Far less consider it again." A. H. Clough. I. INTRODUCTORY. This book is intended to supply a brief and simple account of a portion of Christian History which is not properly understood by many. It is encumbered as little as possible with technical notes or phrases, that the unlearned reader may not be turned from its pages by an undue array of classical references or quotations. It has been written with an earnest desire to estimate the service done in the cause of truth and humanity by a succession of Christian labourers who have never received the measure of appreciation or gratitude which is fairly their due. It has been the general habit of writers in referring to the Schoolmen to treat them as being solemn triflers with great philosophical or theo- logical questions, or as mere metaphysical gymnasts who involved both themselves and their contemporaries in a dense cloud of dust raised by their interminable and Useless wranglings. In the usual public references to the Schoolmen by preachers or lecturers, and in the accounts given of them in many text-books in use in the public schools, there is little or no recognition- of their devotion, their learning, their unwearying industry, or of the signal ser\'ice they rendered to the Church and the world ; but it has been considered sufficient to repre- 4 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. sent them as a set of men engaged in discussing by ponderous method such fruitless questions as, " How- many angels could dance on the point of a needle ? " or " What were the differences between the morning and evening states of the angels ? " It is time that this lamentable ignorance was dissolved, and there are not wanting signs that the day has come for a fairer and higher estimate of the great Schoolmen to' take posses- sion of the public mind. Why the Scholastic system should have been stoutly opposed by IVIartin Luther and the great Reformers of the sixteenth century may be easily understood. In the previous centuries Scholasticism had been an enor- mous contributor to the formation of a European public opinion, which demanded a great religious reform ; but like all systems of theology and philosophy which demand a method by which they can attain to the fullest expression possible to them in a certain age, the method having served its temporary purpose comes to be a clog and a serious hindrance to further develop- ment It often therefore requires to be stript off by a firm hand, even though agony and struggle ensue in the procesSj in order that, free from swaddling bands or nurturing- entanglements, the truth may expand itself in freedom and glory. The Reformers were led by the spirit of the times and the exigencies of the contest in their day to declare war against the methods and spirit of the Schoolmen, who had degenerated into vain and frivolous disputants, and v/ho from being the leaders of the learning of Christendom were becoming objects of contempt by the uselessness and pedantry of their dis- cussions. But it might have been expected that v/hert a few generations^ had passed away, when the clang and roll of that gigantic conflict had subsided, when men INTRODUCTORY. 5 could think calmly, apart from the violent collisions of partisans or the din of raging controversy, they would have been able to appraise the work of the great thinkers of the past with fairness if not with generosity. This has already been attained in various departments of human learning, but the Schoolmen still lie under a load of obloquy, which has been accumulating for ages, with only at rare intervals a voice raised to protest against it as unmerited. A philosopher so acute as Hobbes declared of their works that " those who wrote volumes of such stuff were mad, and intended to make others so."' A learned and thoughtful historian of philosophy like Brucker' describes the discussions of the Schoolmen, although Hallam says he ha'd not read their works, as "philosophical skirmishes with the help of verbal disputes, of worthless mental abstractions, of axioms assumed at haphazard, of distinctions destitute of the smallest foundation, and with the horrors of a barbarous terminology." A church historian so grave, trusted, and widely read as Mosheim,^ dismissed them with the verdict that they were " wiser in their own conceit than they were in reality, and often did little more than involve in greater obscurity the doctrines which they pretended to place in the clearest light." The calm, judicial, and generally impartial historian of the Middl Ages, Henry Hallam,* declares of their writings that, " so far as he has been able to collect their meaning, they appear very frivolous," and expresses great surprise that he has found as many as four Englishmen who had given attention to Thomas ' Hobbes' "Leviathan," p. i. ch. 8. * " Hist, of Phil.," p. ii. lib. ii. s " Eccles. Hist.," i. 339. « " Europe in Middle Ages," 684. 6 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Aquinas. A writer of Church history of such good standing as Spanheim/ is so unfair as to affirm that the Schoolmen omitted from their works all authority from Scripture in these words, " The Scholastic theology was a compendium of divinity supported by the opinions and authorities of the Fathers, but chiefly by reason and argument, the Scriptures were quite omitted, while the doctrines o.f Christianity were reduced to quite a heathenish system." A writer of such deservedly high repute as the late George Henry Lewes,'' says that he thrust with " depressing weariness and impatience " their works aside, because they were " monstrous and lifeless shapes of a former world, having little community with the life of our own, they having for us an interest similar to that yielded by the megatherium and the dinornis." In some modefrn books of science no more intelligent appreciation is shown of their work than that they were occupied with laborious discussions of childish and frivolous questions.^ And the general sentiment, being formed by such judgments as these, concludes that the Schoolmen are unworthy of notice except as, subjects of satire, and that they hindered rather than helped human progress. It is surely time for a more sound judgment to be formed concerning them. A few of the most clear and erudite of our thinkers entertain a far different estimate of them, and in proportion as they have been qualified to render distinguished service in the cause of a lofty philosophy, they have been disposed to appre- ciate highly the work offered to the world by these great men. A few testimonies will show what an * " Eccles. Annals," translated by Wright, 408. ' " History of Phil.," Trans. Period, i. 3. ' Tail's " Lect. on Recent Science," 54. INTRODUCTORY. 7 exalted opinion they have won from those who have most attentively considered their productions. Sir' W. Hamilton, in all his works, makes frequent reference to them in words of generous appreciation. In reply to the assertion of Archbishop Whately, that the Schoolmen misunderstood the nature of logic, using it simply as an instrument in making physical dis- coveries, and whilst beclouding everything with a mist of words, excluded all sound philosophical investiga- tion, he says : — " 'It has long been the fashion to attribute every absurdity to the Schoolmen ; it is only when a man of talent like Dr. Whately follows the example that a contradiction is worth while. The Schoolmen (w6 except always such eccentric individuals as Raymond LuUy) had correcter notions of the domain of logic than those who now contemn them without a knowledge of their works. They certainly did not attempt to employ it for the purpose of physical discoveries. We pledge ourselves to refute the accusation whenever any effort is made to prove it ; till then we must be allowed to treat it as a groundless, though a common, calumny." ^ Perhaps no modern writer has succeeded in com- bining sound learning and correctness of judgment with discriminating criticism more happily than Sir James Mackintosh, and this gives his testimony a peculiar value. He says : — " Those who measure only by palpable results have very consistently regarded the Metaphysical and Theological con- troversies of the schools as a mere waste of intellectual power. But the contemplation of the athletic vigour and versatile skill manifested by the European understanding, at the moment when it emerged from this tedious and rugged discipline, leads, if not to • approbation, yet to more qualified censure. What might have been the result of a different com- 1 « Discussions," etc, 148. 8 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. bination of circumstances is an enquiry which, on a large scale, is beyond human power. We may, however, venture to say, that no abstract science unconnected with religion was likely to be respected in a barbarous age, and we may be allowed to doubt whether any knowledge dependent on experience and applicable to immediate practice, would have so trained the European mind as to quz^ify it for that series of inventions, discoveries, and institutions which begins with the sixteenth century, and of which no end can now be foreseen but the extinction of the race of man." ^ It might have been expected that the eclectic mind of the late Professor Maurice vi^ould not have found in the Schoolmen much that was congenial to him, al- though it was, of course, to have been concluded that he would treat them with the candour so eminently characteristic of his nature. Like all those who have devoted much attention to their writings, he speaks of them throughout his history of the mediaeval intellectual movement with frank and cordial esteem. Many quo- tations in illustration of this fact might be given, but this paragraph concerning Thomas Aquinas will be sufficient : — ** A time may be coming when it will be possible to derive more good from Aquinas than any age has owed to him, be- cause we are free from his trammels, and have learned to walk at liberty under higher guidance. Protestant Europe may even yet do him a justice which cannot be done him by those who dread lest he should make them sceptics, or who sit at his feet and receive his words as those of one who understood all mystery and all knowledge. Meanwhile we will do what in us lies to give our readers some conception of the comprehensive- ness of his intellect, as we have already attempted to give them a glimpse of its subtlety." ^ One who has attained unrivalled theological reputa- ' " Works," i., 48, 9. 2 " Mor. & Met. Phil.," i., 616. INTRODUCTORY. 9 tion within his own denomination, and who, whilst preserving himself within the strictesc lines of British orthodoxy, has yet steeped his mind in the treasures of the German theology, has borne the following fair and modest testimony to the service rendered to Christendom by the School : — " The Scholastic Divinity in the universities of Christendom wrpught up the materials it inherited into systematic forms, which carried dialectic subtlety and philosophical speculation to their highest point. By the toil of many indefatigable minds, it laid the foundation of the complete system of Roman Catholicism as formulated in the Council of Trent ; while at the same time it transmitted its method to Protestantism, the first century of which almost rivalled the work of the mediaeval doctors in analytical severity and completeness. Whatever deductions may be made from the value of its results, the Christian Church owes very much to the industry and devotion of the Schoolmen. Systematic theology had its origin in their labours." ^ One more extract from British authors only will be given, and that from one than whom none had more right to speak, if intimate knowledge of the Schoolmen, profound If^arntng, and calm philosophic temper, con- stitute a claim to be heard on such a subject. Speaking of the Scholastic system, he says : — " I only wonder that it has not attracted more notice than it has hitherto obtained We meet indeed with some incidental remarks in works of philosophy or theology on the theoretic character of the system. But with these remarks it is usually dismissed as a method long gone by, which has had its day and is now extinci;, and remams only a monument of frivolous ingenuity, to be neglected and despised by the more enlightened wisdom of the present day. But surely a pursuit in which the human mind has been so long engaged, and which has thus, as an indisputable matter of fact, educated the human intellect of ' Pope, "Compend. of Theol.," i., 21. 10 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. the West for the larger views and more elevated thoughta and more masculine vigour of modern science and modern theology, demands more respect, more serious consideration. If it supplied, which it undoubtedly did, the elements of our present improvement, the stocic of principles of which the Refonnation, both religious and intellectual, of the sixteenth century availed itself— to which the Reformation was forced to address itself, whose language it was forced to adopt in order to be understood and received — neither the historian of the human mind nor the student of religion ought to leave this track of enquiry unexplored. The scholastic philosophy, in fact, lies between us at our present station in the world, and the immediate diffusion of truth from heaven, as * the morning spread on the mountains,' an atmosphere of mist through which the early beams of Divine light have been transfused. It has giveYi the celestial rays a divergency whilst it has transmitted them, and by the multiplicity of its reflections made them indistinct as to their origin." ^ No modern writer has treated Scholasticism in a more genial and appreciative spirit than Victor Cousin, the patriot philosopher of France.^ He divides the history of Scholasticism into three periods, (i) that of the subordination of philosophy to theology, (2) the alliance of philosophy with theology, (3) the -growing separation, feeble at first, but which increases until it produces modern philosophy. In treating of these periods he passes the leading Schoolmen in review with generous and glowing criticism, and points out how on nearly every great question of controversy in modern philosophy they had anticipated such leaders of thought as Descartes, Berkeley, Locke, Reid, and others. The statesman historian of France has also written concerning them in candid phrase : — *' We find in them many vast and original views ; questions * Hamiiden, " Bamp. Lect.," 8. * " History of Modern Philosophy," ii., 12. INTRODUCTORY, ii are often solved by them in their profoundest depths; the light of philosophical truth, of literary beauty, shines out each instant. The vein is covered in the mine, but it contains much metal, and deserves to be worked." ' In Germany the writings and influence of the School- men have received much fairer and more general consideration than has been accorded them by British writers. Thus, Hagenbach supplies several testimonies, which are the more valuable as coming from a country which has produced so many of the most renowned metaphysicians of modern Europe. He says: — " As early as the time of Semler complaints were made of the imjust treatment which the scholastic divines had to suffer. Semler himself says : ' The poor scholastici have been too much despised, and that frequently by people who would not have been good enough to be their transcribers.' And Luther himself wrote to Staupitz, though he contributed much to the downfall of scholasticism : ' Ego Scholasticos, cum judicio, non clausts oculis. lego Non rejicio omnio eoru7n,sed7iec omnia probe' "^ The following extracts arc also quoted by Hagen- bach : — "Scholasticism is the progress of the Church towards a school, or, as Hegel expresses it, though in other words, the Fathers have made the Church because the mind, once developed, required a developed doctrine ; in after ages there were no more patres ecdesice, but dodores. The theologians of the primitive Church had to create the material, or to expound that which was expressed in its simplest and most direct form in the Christian dogma ; they had further to set forth this material in distinct doctrines and formulre, to present it to the religious world, and to procure its general adoption. Scholas- ticism, on the contrary, presupposed all this. The material and the contents were given ; it now became the task of • Guizot, " Cours d'Hist. Mod.," i., 220. » "Hist, of Doct.," i., 426. 12 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. theologians to effect a reunion between that which, having acquired the nature of an object (in relation to the mind) had been subsequently separated from it, and the mind itself — a union such as would constitute a subjective union." ^ The well-known .Church historian, Ullman, offers a highly commendatory estimate of the work accomplished by these great thinkers. He says : — " The scholastic theology was in its commencement a truly scientific advance upon the past, in its entire course a great dialectic preparatory school of Christianity in the West, in its completion a grand and highly-finished production of the humaa mind."^ If other testimony were required from Germany, that of the erudite, judicial, and judicious Neander might be given. The eighth volume of his "Church History" is largely devoted to a careful consideration of the pro- ductions of the Schoolmen ; and not only by frequent praise of the results of their patient and profound labours, but by his own careful and minute study of their works, he shows the high estimation in which he held them, and demonstrates how largely they influenced the philosophical and theological thought of Christen- dom. Such are a few of the witnesses who might be adduced as evidence that the Schoounen are worthy of a higher estimate and a more cordial greeting" than they have generally been accorded, and testifying that their services are more highly valued as they are better under- stood. If anything further were necessary to show that the time has come for them to be treated with more signal favour, and that they are beginning to assert for themselves a right to a larger measure of public atten- • Eaur, quoted in Hagenbach, i., 426. ^ Ibid. INTRO D UC TOR Y. 1 3 tion, it may be found in the fact that such a work as the careful, elaborate, and sympathetic defence of Thomas Aquinas should be issued to the public, as has recently appeared from the pen of a member of the Society of Jesus, and which is to fill five large octavo volumes,^ and also that in Paris of late years a beau- tiful issue of the Stunma TJveologice, in eight closely printed octavo volumes, has passed through several editions. This book, then, humbly seeks to aid in the reversal of the general verdict of condemnation passed on the Schoolmen, and to offer some evidence that as men they were devout, liberal, and earnest ; that as writers and thinkers they were learned, subtle, penetrating, and logical; and that as contributors to the philosophical and theological thought of Christendom they aided enormously the cause of human progress. Ail this may be made to appear, and even more than this, without one word of defence being offered in behalf of the trivialities which mar the works of some of the inferior Schoolmen, or of the huge system of spiritual and intellectual despotism which environed them, and under which ^h^y were born and disciplined, ' Harper, " The Metaphysic of the School." Macmillan, 1879. CHAPTER II. THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. " To-day I saw the dragon-fly Come from the wells -A'here he did lie. " An inner impulse rent the veil Of his old husk ; from head to tail Came out clear plates of sapphire mail. " lie dried his wings : like gauze tney grew : Through crofts and pastures wet with dew, A living flash of light he flew." — TEN>!ysoiv'. II. THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. The accession of Charlemagne as king of the Franks was the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Europe. The young monarch found himself the ruler of an extensive territory stretching from the Loire to the east of the Rhine, including Burgundy and Alle- mania; whilst entirely encircling his kingdom was a chain of vassal nations. Nor did this comprise all the responsibility which his inheritance involved. The Franks had already become the powerful patrons and protectors of the Church, guarding the Popes from the violence of Greeks and Lombards, protecting Christianity from the ravages of the Saracens on the south-west, and from the rapacity of the Saxons, still pagan, on the north-east. Charles found his kingdom already assuming the position of governor of the German nations, and as having become the strong bulwark of the Western Church. He was thus placed in circumstances requiring both an indomitable energy and the rarest faculty of government. Whatever the position demanded he was able to bring to it. No man ever more exactly suited his environments or fitted his hour than he did. The historian Gibbon has truly said that of all the heroes to whom the title of " Great "' 2 1 8 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. has been given, he alone has retained it as a permanent addition to his name. Nor is the reason for this far to seek. Few men, if indeed any, have united in so large a degree the qualities which combine to constitute a hero, and in no man were they ever more skilfully fused so as to form a noble personality. He was possessed of boundless energy; he had a lofty ambi- tion ; he had an intense craving for various knowledges ; he had a happy social nature; he had a refined taste and an exalted fancy; he seems to have united a robust body to a vigorous mind; he had a marvellous power of winning men to himself, and an exquisite skill in governing them, so as to make them contribute to his great aims and purposes. Thus he was able to trans- form the military power of the Franks, which he found rude and raw, though immense, into an organized, disciplined, and far-reaching dominion; he extended his kingdom until it became an aggregation of kingdoms, and he was crowned emperor of Rome, But as a higher achievement still, he laboured assiduously to engraft a Christian culture on the fresh vigorous nations of the north just awaking from barbarism, and to esta- blish, on broad and lasting foundations, learning and philosophy. If Charlemagne did not succeed in attaining all he purposed in these directions, it was because one lifetime was too short for the accomplishment of so great a design ; but bis reign became the starting point of a new intellectual life in Europe, and from his assiduous efforts flowed new streams of knowledge, bearing to future ages freight of untold preciousness. In the disintegration of the Roman Empire, it was in some respects unfortunate for Europe that there existed no great power sufficient to conquer, and THE REI^AISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 19 then to reorganize its gigantic parts. It was overrun by wild, fierce, disconnected tribes, none of which had risen to an understanding of statesmanship or poHtical life, and all of which combined to render more awful the collapse of moral and intellectual order which ensued. At the accession of Charlemagne that collapse was complete. Fleury places the lowest depth to which the European mind has sunk in modern times in the century previous to the rise of the Germanic Empire, and both Guizot and Hallam concur in this judgment.' It was the arrest of progressive culture throughout Europe which caused so deep a shadow to rest upon the seventh century. It vvas indeed a catastrophe which swallowed up the existing state of things, but out of which would emerge in course of time an economy framed after a nobler type. The Church had partaken of the general degradation. It had been diverted from its nobler aims and its higher life by a long distracting struggle concerning the worship of images, and had temporarily settled the dispute by the edict of the second Council of Nicea. Unfortunately for the cause of Christianity, the Pope and the monks triumphed, and as the result of their victory Christendom was filled with the worship of images, the invocation of saints, pretended miraculous cures, and worse than this, became the victim of a clamorous demand for uniformity of faith, which arose from the clerical orders, — a demand which, although never fully attained, was the occasion of bitter and virulent persecutions, which in their pro- longed attempts to extirpate heretics and heathens made the persecutors many times worse than either. The doctrines of the Church were thus seriously endangered and corrupted ; those doctrines now received as evange- ^ Note A, end of chapter. 20 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Heal, to the revival of which the Reformation owes its brightness, were neutralised by the teaching that an offended Deity might be appeased by voluntary acts of mortification, by large donations to the Church, or by an appeal to the superfluous n^erits of the saints. Thus the obligations of morality were loosened, men indulged in sin with a feeling of security, believing that by the intercession of saints, or by the influence of their priests in the heavenly court, they might obtain forgiveness of their sins and entrance to the paradise of God. Amidst such influences learning sank to the lowest point, and the spirit of enquiry was almost extinct. It is true that in some Irish monasteries there was pre- served a shining flame of piety and learning, which was destined to kindle a similar light in other places and in succeeding generations; and at Jarrow, in the county of Durham, the Venerable Bede, by his stainless piety and ardent love of knowledge, redeemed the English Chufch from entire barrenness; but as com- pared with the earlier centuries of the history of Christianity, which are ablaze with the distinguished names of Origen, Jerome, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, the Gregories, and a brilliant line of others scarcely inferior to these, the seventh and eighth centuries arc characterised by mournful sterility of sanctified erudition and of loyal devotion on the altar of Christ. Outside of Christendom there were signs of a revival of learning. They first became visible amongst the Arabian intruders into Europe. When the Arabs first emerged from their desert retreats under the caliphate of Abubeker, and submerged beneath their overwhelming hordes the Greek empire, they were destitute of any literature save some fugitive national poetiy, which, THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNI-. 21 like the poetry of semi-barbarous peoples, had little to commend it except passionate emotion and fervid imagery. Of science they were entirely ignorant, except a slight tincture of astrology preserved from ancient times, and nursed by shepherds in their nightly vigils. The fervent and idolatrous attachment tl.ey cultivated for the Koran overbore all concern for other productions of the human intellect, and made them the insane incendiaries of ancient literature. Thus when Omar burnt the priceless treasures of the library of Alexandria, he justified his demoniacal Vandalism by saying that " what agreed with the Koran was unnecessary, and what did not was pernicious." Intercourse with the Christians of Syria awoke in the Arab marauders a taste for knowledge. The Greeks, even in their fall, ruled the intellect of the world, and their literature was largely translated into the Syrian tongue. Syriac and Arabic were languages nearly related, and Syrian physicians waited upon the Caliph Al Walid {ob. 71 i), and urged upon him their counsel so strongly, that he issued an order that from hence- forth books were to be published in Arabic and no longer in Greek. Almanzor cherished a love for science, and especially for astronomy, and by his example and influence gave a great impulse to the pursuit of scientific studies throughout his empire, Haroun Al Raschid, who represents the golden age of Arabian empire, rejoiced to encourage literature of every kind ; and his son, Almamun {pb. 813), sought most assiduously, and with overflowing generosity, to forward the cultiva- tion of learning. In this early spread of knowledge the Arabians were almost exclusively occupied with the phj'sical sciences. True to Oriental traditions, they reverenced 22 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. the stars ; they cultivated mathematics and geometry. Almamun collected books of science from all the sur- rounding nations, from Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syna. Chaldea, and Armenia ; he employed the most experi- enced scholars to translate them ; he held discussions with these on all hard questions, and diffused on every side of him an ardent and healthy desire for know- ledge. The result was gratifying and even amazing^ the Arabs, still virtuous in habit and not over intoxi- cated by their immense military successes, took a mighty bound forward in civilization ; they pursued the various sciences with avidity ; they appropriated the classic stores they inherited from the ancients, and added largely to them. The spirit of learning spread quickly to the new Caliphates of Spain and Morocco, and these also became centres of intellectual influence. The industry of the Arabian scholars was unparalleled, and their progress marvellously rapid. Quickly, signs of an awakening intellectual spirit were discovered in other quarters. Egbert, an intimate friend and disciple of the Venerable Bede, had been appointed to superintend the School of York, and here gave instruction in the sciences and lectured on the study of the Bible and the early Fathers of the Church. He formed a library also, consisting of the writings of the most eminent early Church Fathers, and the classical writers of antiquity. This School produced one who rose to be the most eminent teacher of his times, Alcuin, afterwards the friend and tutor of the Emperor Charlemagne. He became the master of the celebrated School of York, which rose under his management to be the greatest centre of learning in the north of England. Students flocked to him from all parts of the kingdom, and he affectionately laboured rilE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 23 amongst them until he was summoned to the nobler task of aiding to mould the intellectual future of Europe, and of guiding the reform of the Church under the patronage of Charlemagne. It was in this great and noble king that the advancing spirit of the times found its highest expression ; he was the incarnation of the renaissance ; his court became the focus in which were collected from the monasteries of Ireland, the schools of England, the conventual retreats of Italy and Spain, all who signalised themselves by- genius and learning. He laboured earnestly to excite a spirit of progress throughout his dominions ; he encouraged the pursuit of science in every city ; he issued a circular letter to the bishops and abbots in all the dioceses of his realm, urging them to increased study, and especially to seek to understand more per- fectly the mysteries of the Holy Scriptures.^ Amongst the learned men who filled the court of this great monarch, Alcuin shone with such distin- guished lustre as to justify a longer notice than need be given to others. In the year 780 he was despatched by the Archbishop of York on a mission to the court of Rome, and at Parma he was introduced to the notice of Chai-lemagne. The king invited him to his court, and offered him the management of the schools he was engaged in establishing throughout his domi- nions. Before he would consent to accept the flatter- ing invitation, he returned home to seek permission from the king and the Archbishop of York ; and on obtaining leave from them, he accepted the call to France, and wrote an adieu to the scenes and friends of his former years which vibrated with ardent affection and refined sentiment. The following lines, written on ^ Neander, " Church History," v. 199. r 24 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. leaving the hallowed shade of his quiet retreat at York for the busy engagements of his larger sphere, will give an idea of the tender sensibility of his soul : — " O my loved cell, sweet dwelling of my soul ! Must I for ever say, dear spot, farewell ? Round thee their shades the sounding branches spread A little wood with flowerino honours gay ; The blooming" meadows wave their healthy herbs, Which hands experienced cull to serve mankind. By thee, 'mid flowery bani<.s the waters glide Where the glad fishermen their nets extend ; Thy gardens shine with apple-bending boughs, Where the white lilies mingle with the rose ; Their morning hymns the feathered tribes resound, And warble sweet their great Creator's praise. Dear cell ! in thee my tutor's gentle voice The love of sacred wisdom often urged ; In thee at stated times the Thunderer's praise My heart and voice witn eager tribute paid. Loved cell ! with tearful songs I shall lament thee, With moaning breast I shall regret thy charms ; No more thy poets' lay thy shades will cheer, No more will Homer or thy Fiaccus hail thee ; No more my boys beneath thy roof will sing, But unknown hands thy solitudes possess. Thus suddjen fades the glory of the age, Thus all things vanish in perpetual change. Nought rests eternal or immutable : The gloomy night obscures the sacred day ; The chilling winter plucks fair autunm's flowers ; Tlie moui*nful storm the placid sea confounds ; Youth chases wild the palpitating stag, While age incumbent totters on its staff. Ah ! wretched we ! who love thee, fickle world ! Thou flyest our grasp and hurriest us to ruin." ' On Alcuin's removal to France, Charlemagne bestowed on him the two monasteries of Troyes and Ferrieres, ' S. Turner, " Hist, of Anglo-Saxons," vol. iii,, p. 335. IHE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 25 with the double object of providing for him a suitable revenue, and of procuring through his training a body of educated monks. But he especially confided to him the management of a university in ovo, which he had established for the higher education of the youth about the court, and which was called the Schola Palatina. Alcuin was in constant communication with the king and his statesmen ; his judgment was sought upon all important matters of Church and State ; he even imparted instruction in rhetoric, logic, mathe- matics, and divinity to his great patron, who was not ashamed to call him his " dearest teacher in Christ." ^ The Latin version of the Holy Scriptures then in common use was rapidly becoming unintelligible through the ignorance and carelessness, perhaps also through the wilful perversions, of transcribers. With the penetra- tion of a true reformer, Charlemagne perceived how important it was, for the sake of the general interests of learning and for the welfare of the Church, that the Sacred Text should be purified from errors and restored to its integrity. He commissioned Alcuin to undertake the great work of collating copies and revising the text — a task to which the learned monk brought a careful conscientiousness and a devout feeling. It was his felicity when congratulating Charlemagne on receiving the imperial crown, to present him with a copy of the Bible thus edited and revised by himself. He gave eight years of splendid service to France engaged in these numerous and onerous tasks, and besides these he wrote forcibly in defence of the orthodox faith against the Adoptionists, engaging in a six days' discussion with Felix, bishop of Urgel, at Aix la Chapelle, with the result of his adversary- » " Carissime in Christo praeceptor." Ep. of .\Icuin, 124. 26 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. declaring himself convinced of his error ; and was employed by his royal friend in several important missions to Ofifa, king of Mercia. He led a busy life, being constantly engaged in composing poetry, which showed much tenderness and piety of mind, collecting and collating manuscripts, . teaching a wide range of science and philosophy, and exciting the large circle within his influence to the ardent pursuit of learning. In 790 he visited his native land, and remained there two years ; then he returned to France and resumed his beneficent labours till 801, when he obtained -leave to retire from the court to the quiet retreat of the Abbey of St. Martin at Tours. There he rested, though not in idleness, till his death. He still taught as his strength permitted ; he maintained a constant correspondence with Charlemagne, which manifests an ardent love of learning, a profound spirit of devotion, and an intense desire for the promotion of the great purposes in relation to intellectual progress to which his life had been devoted. He entered the heavenly rest, May 19th, 804. "He was a burning and a shining light," and happy were they who, in that restless warring, semi-barbarous age, were content for a season to abide in his light. . His work was the highest that could have been committed to human hand. It was the civilization of a kingdom ; it was to aid in the renaissance of learning for Christendom , and his was the noble achievement of connecting the intellect of Britain with that of Western Europe. The result of the work accomplished by him and his royal master was that France passed by a quick transition from a state of semi-barbarism into one of coinpa'iative culture ; it became impressed with a pre-eminence of refinement amongst the nations of THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 2? Christendom which it has never lost, and there was awakened in it a thirst for intellectual freedom which became a quickening spirit in the nations round about. It is not without sufficient reason, therefore, that an eminent writer has used these words • — " France is indebted to Alcuin for all the polite learning it boasted of in that and the following ages. The universities of Paris, Tours, Fulden, Soissons, and many others owe to him their origin and increase ; those of which he was not the superior and founder being at least en- lightened by his doctrine and example, and enriched by the benefits he procured for them from Charlemagne." ^ These vigorous efforts after intellectual revival were the first movement of the Christian consciousness in rebellion to the bondage in which the Church was increasingly binding its members. They were the first protest in behalf of the rational exercise of the human judgment in arbitrating upon truth in science and philosophy and theology. Many efforts must still be made, many protests uttered, many vibrations felt, until the august hour arrived, when the right of private judgment could be fully secured, and the spell of ecclesiastical authority could be dissolved for ever. The early Protestantism of the age, inarticulated. even to itself, found a quick response in the mind of Charlemagne. He protected and patronised the Church, whilst maintaining an entire freedom from all subser- vience to ecclesiasticism. He dissented from the decision of the Council of Nicea with respect to the use of images, and summoned a Council at Frankfort, which under his influence pronounced an opposite decision. He viewed with disgust the ignorance and immorality existing amongst the clergy, and required ^ Quoted in article "Alcuin," Encyc. Brit., gth.Ed., i., 472. 2S GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. them both to study more carefully and to reform their lives. He showed a profound reverence for the Scrip- tures, whilst he rebelled against the dogmatic spirit of the Church, and in promoting the culture of science and literature on an extended scale, he laid the foundation of a new order of things, in which both philosophy and religion would be established on a basis more safe and natural than that of simple ecclesiastical authority. Even during the later years of his reign, when he became the strong stay of the Papacy, he required from the Popes attention and submission as the price of his protection. If Charlemagne could have commanded a succession of kings and emperorn like to himself — men with a royal largeness of heart, strength of will, and grandeur of purpose, who cou.id gather up the highest spirit of the times and givii expression to it, Europe might have been saved ages of agony and sorrow.^ Such, however, was not the method of Providence, which seems to approve that humanity should be made peaceful, wise, and holy through the endurance of actual pang and anguish arising from its own sins and errors, rather than that the victory over these should be gained for it by a succession of universally endowed heroes. When Charlemagne passed from his earthly empire, and was succeeded by his son Louis the Pious, he devolved a burden of responsibility upon his successor, which no one could have been more unfit to bear. He was a man for times of quiet and gentle piety, for " piping times of peace," not for times of restless energy and youthful struggle. He had good intentions, but a feeble grasp ; he meant to do well, but he could ' Notes E and C. THE RF.iVA/SSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 29 scarcely be said to have a definite purpose in life ; he had a sensitive and cultivated conscience, but it was under the control of a morbid and superstitious re- ligionism. The result was that his reign was one of tumult and rebellion ; he was powerless to command the fierce Northmen who had bowed in submission before the strong will of his father ; the tide of civilisa- tion which had begun to flow over the tribes of Saxony- ebbed quickly away ; the unity of the great empire was broken up by the unnatural civil wars carried on by his own children ; hardy rugged Normans sv/ept southward, crushing out the renaissance which the great emperor had induced, and for some ages Europe was doomed to endure the horrors of retrogression. In a time of such storm and shaking the irfint culture of Europe might have been hopelessly destroyed, except that the Church, which previously had done much to discourage it — which by its passionate ambition for supreme dominion over the consciences of men, and its growing desire for a temporal sovereignty, was ill prepared to encourage any intellectual growths, — was able to afford a refuge to literature and learning in the schools of abbeys and monasteries which had been established in the late reign. The learning of the age was thus confined within narrow bounds, and was impressed with a spirit of extreme timidity. The Church which gave shelter to a culture it had formerly discouraged, could not but impart to it a trembling fearfulness, which resulted in an antipathy to all pro- fane literature, and an abstinence from all criticism in respect to sacred subjects ; it abhorred the former because of its pac;an associations, it revered the latter with too superstitious an awe to dare to subject it to any rational examination. Thus narrowed in sphere. 30 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. and timid in nature, the newly planted learning grew feebly, only growing indeed at all by reason of an occasional healthful breeze which came from the genius of a vigorous civilisation which was advancing outside of it, and which made progress under the influence of the Arabian conquerors in Europe. The period thus spent is called the Dark Ages,' but they were not really so dark as they are generally painted, nor did they really endure much longer than one century. There were stirring events transpiring which were unfavourable to the cultivation of literature ; the Papacy by aiming at supreme temporal power caused much division, dis- turbance, and bloodshed ; the Crusades began to dazzle the mind of Christendom ; there was a great decline in the art of government ; but, notwithstanding, the period characterised as Dark was redeemed from utter gloom by a few shining names. Such scholars as Rabanus Maurus, Eginhard, Anastasius, Smaragdus, Bertharius, Agobard, Hincman. and some others would have redeemed any age from a charge of intellectual barrenness, and would have been ornaments to times of greater intellectual activity ; but within a genera- tion from the death of Ciiarlcmagne there arose one who was the brightest light of those days of gloom, and one of the greatest metaphysicians of any age or country. John Erigena must become the text for another chapter. Note A. " Dating from Charlemagne the face of things changes, decay is arrested, progress recommences. Yet for a long period the disorder will be enormous, the progress partial, but little visible or often • Note D. THE RENAISSANCE UNDER CHARLEMAGNE. 31 suspended. This matters not, we shall no more encounter those long ages of disorganization, of always increasing intellectual ste- rility ; through a thousand sufferings, a thousand interruptions, we shall see life and power revive in man and in society. Charlemagne marks the limit at which the dissolution of the ancient Roman and barbarian world is consummated, and where really begins the for- mation of modem Europe and of the new world. It was under his reign and as it were under his hand that the shock took place by which European society, turning rightly round, left the paths of destruction to enter those of creation." — Guizoi, "Hist, of Civ. in France," vol. ii., p. 208. Note B. " The power of Charlemagne was really a power which emanated from himself ; his empire did not give it to him, he gave it to his empire. The submission of his vassals was not the result of fear, but of admiration ; the minds of these primitive Germans, like the minds of their modem successors, yielded that homage to individual intellect which they never yielded to individual authority. It was speedily to be made manifest that the empire without Charlemagne would experience the fate of the body without the soul. Its very vastness prevented it from being enduring, it was held together by a master hand, but the withdrawal of that hand must cause its dissolution. And the hand was now about to be withdrawn. In the height of his splendour, in the fulness of his years, in the blaze of his fame, Charlemagne passed away, and with him passed the glory of that Carlovingian race, of which his father had been but the founder ; its life seemed to have exhausted itself in the overflowing richness of this one life, and those who followed in the train had not their due share of vigour. Charlemagne, as we have said, had two natures in him, that of the barbarous age, and that of the incipient renaissance,— the masculine roughness, the feminine tenderness. The former died with him, the latter he bequeathed to his posterity." - — Maihesotiy " Growth of Spirit of Christianity," iL, 1 5, Note C. It may here be said that Charlemagne has been greatly censured by historians for the extreme severity with which he conducted his wars against the Saxons, and for his firm imposition upon them of the Christian faith. But before the gieat king is blamed too 32 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. severely his position should be fairly weighed. He knew that there was hope for the civilization of Europe only in the subjugation of those terrible freebooters of the north, and that when subdued their only hope for future peace and honour was in them becoming Christians. The following remarks by Sir James Stephens are marked by his usual thoughtfulness and discrimination ; — " That the alternative ' believe or die,' was sometimes proposed by Charlemagne to the Saxons, I shall not dispute. But it is not less true that before these terms were tendered to them. they had again and again rejected his less formidable proposal, * be quiet and live.' In form and term, indeed, their election lay between the gospel and the sword. In substance and in reality they had to make their choice between submission and destruction. A long and deplorable experience had already shown that the Frankish people had neither peace nor security to expect for a single year so long as their Saxon neighbours retained their heathen rites and their ferocious barbarism inseparable from them. Fearful as may be the dilemma, ' submit or perish,' it is that to which every nation, even in our own times, endeavours to reduce a host of invading and desolating foes, nor if we ourselves were exposed to similar inroads, should we offer to our assailants conditions more gentle or less peremptory." — Lect. " Hist, of France," i., 92. Note D. " It has often been urged in disparagement of Charlemagne and of what he wrought, that in good part it perished with him, that the darkness, scattered for the moment, closed in again and swallowed up all. There is only partial truth in this statement. The cloister schools which he had founded lived through the tenth century, generally acknowledged as, of the Dark Ages, the darkest of alL In these schools were cherished, and from these proceeded, those new activities of the human mind which were to issue in the scholastic philosophy, the University of Paris being in direct lineal descent from the Palatine school at Aachen, of which Alcuin was the founder. And if the reign of Charles does stand out as an isle of light with a night of darkness encompassing it on every side, so far from diminishing, this rather enhances the importance and sig- nificance of that brief season of refreshing, that breathing time thus obtained for arts and sciences, which might else have perished, unable to live at all through the dreary centuries which were before x\Mfm:'— Trench, " Med. Church Hist.," 83. CHAPTER III. THE HARBINGER OF DAWN. E RIG EN A. " What we, when face to face we see The Father of our souls, shall be, John tells us doth not yet appear. Ah ! did he tell what we are here ? " A Mind for thoughts to pass into ; A Heart for loves to travel through ; Five Senses to detect things near : Is this the Whole that we are here ? " We must believe, for still we hope That in a world of larger scope, What here is faithfully begun Will be completed, not undone." A. H. Clough. ' ' In being's flood, and action's storm, I walk and work above, beneath, Work and weave in endless motion, Birth and death an infinite ocean, A seizing and giving the fire of the living, 'Tis thus at the war my loom of time I ply, And weave for God the garment thou seest Him by." GoiiTHE (J,ra7ulated by Carlyle). III. JOHN SCO TUS—ERIGENA. Charles the Bald, youngest son of Louis the Pious, was created King of Aquitaine in 832, and after adding much territory to his kingdom, attained the imperial crown in 875. This had been the great object of his ambition during Hfe, and he received it from the hands of Pope John VIII. as the reward of having ceded to him several valuable privileges, and especially that of con- trolling the election to the Papacy. Charles aimed at being considered a great patron and encourager of learning, and with this view he invited to his court many of the most accomplished scholars in Europe, insomuch that Hcric of Auxerrc affirmed that Greece was deserted by her learned men. that they might flock to the Prankish court, and describes Ireland as being totally deserted by its philo- sophers.' Literature was thus favoured with much distinguished encouragement, but it must be borne in mind that the educational institutions by which Charle- magne had sought to %\vq. a lasting basis to learning had fallen into great neglect, and where they flourished • "Penc totam cum grege philosophorum ad littera nostra migrantem.'' — Patrol, cxxiv. 1133. 36 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. did SO because of their own inward vitality, or because of some local patronage and support. Amongst those who were drawn from all parts of Christendom to the court of Charles was John Scotus, known better by the name of Erigena. He was born between the years 800 and 810. As his name indi- cates, he was a native of the British Isles, but of which cannot be determined, the evidence on the whole pre- ponderating somewhat towards Ireland. His education certainly seems to have been received there, and he became the leader of those learned men whom the Irish monasteries sent forth in those times of darkness to aid so largely the intellectual progress of the West.' Almost all details of his life and career are lost, but the records of his controversies and literary toils survive, and one at least, of several works which he produced is preserved to testify of his learning and genius. It would seem that he never took priestly orders, and he always manifested a haalthy independence of priestly influence. He travelled m various countries, and thus doubtless largely extended both his knowledge and experience. He was drawn to the centre of intellectual life in Europe, and from Charles experienced a cordial welcome. Speedily between him and the king there sprang up a close friendship, which continued through life. Wiliiam of Malmesbury has preserved a few incidents of his life at the royal court, which afford illus- tration of the freedom of intercourse which existed between them. Upon one occasion the king and he were feasting, and sat opposite to each other at table. Erigena seems to have indulged in some irregularity, on which Charles, intending to rebuke him, asked,, " What separates between a sot and a Scot ?" to which, ' Neander, "Church Hist.," vi. 253. JOHN SCOTUS—ERIGENA. yj with exquisite dexterity, the philosopher replied, " The table." ' The king had the good sense to feel nothing but amusement at the clever retort. Another incident, which shows him to have been a man of small stature and thin habit, but of a lively and iacetious turn, is also recorded. He was at the king's table, seated near two ecclesiastics of enormous size. The servant brought in a dish containing two large fishes and a very little one. The king asked him to serve the fish amongst them. His cheerful wit suggested a practical joke, and he conveyed the two large fishes to his own plate, and divided the little fish between the two priests. They complained to the king of the unfair distribution. " Not so," said Erigena, " it is fair and equal ; here is one little one," pointing to himself, '* and two great fishes," pointing to those on his plate; and then to the clergy and the little fish on their plates he added, " There are two great clerics and one little one." His learning for the tmies was very great; he under- stood Greek, but with Latin he was perfectly familiar. It is said that he had some knowledge of Hebrew, but of this there is no evidence. He had read the Timceus of Plato in the translation of Chalcidius, the De Inter- pretatione, and the Categories of Aristotle, the Isagogue of Porphyry, the Compendium of Boethius, and many other noble works. Soon after his arrival in France he was appointed by Charles to the Mastership of the Schola Palatina at Paris, in which position he remained for some years, and while here he undertook a task the accomplishment of which affected greatly his future history, and influenced considerably the future learning of Europe. In the year 827, Michael the Stammerer, Emperor ^ Malm. \\\ lib. v. 38 GREAT sen OOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. of the East, sent as a gift to Louis the Pious a copy of the extraordinary books produced by a monk who wrote under the skilfully-chosen pseudonym of Diony- sius the Areopagite. The present was graciously received, and deposited in the Abbey of St. Denys, near Paris, under the care of Abbot Hilduin, In an age which passionately raged for marvels and miracles, it was not wonderful that the Areopagite, the convert of St. Paul, and the reputed first Bishop of the Church at Athens, should be identified with Denys the Saint and Apostle of France. The gift, by a providential coincidence, arrived at the court on the very day of the feast of St. Dionysius, and such grace accompanied It that numerous miracles were forthwith wrought by the books. Very naturally the king desired to have a translation of the books from their original Greek into the Latin, but neither the Abbot of St. Denys, nor any other scholar of the day in France, could be found to perform the task. When Erigena had settled at the court of the son of Louis, the competent scholar was found, for not only had he learned Greek, but had ventured, albeit with poor success, upon original com- position in thai language. The royal command was therefore laid upon him to render the works of the Greek monk into Latin. The history and nature of these writings require a few words of explanation. In the middle of the fifth century, when the factions of the Christian Church were in passionate warfare with each other, when bishops and clergy engaged in riots with clamouring rabble at their heels, and when stormy controversies in ecclesiastical councils destroyed the spirituality and stayed the progress of the Church, a monk who has not bequeathed his name to posterity wa.^ elaborating JOHh' SCOTUS—ERIGENA. 39 in his cell's quiet seclusion a series of treatises which were to find a ring^ing echo down the long centuries, and which are reverberating in the nineteenth as loudly as ever, and to which treatises he attached, by a saga- cious instinct, the name of Dionysius the Areopagite. He seems to have had his soul steeped in the peculiar admixture of heathen philosophy, Christian dogma, and cabalistic incantation which was compounded by the various teachers of the Alexandrian schools. Pro- bably he had been trained under the tuition of Proclus, but at some important crisis of life, like Justin Martyr or Augustine, he exchanged the old philosophic teach- ing for the nobler teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. He could not, however, cast off every trace and' vestige of the old training,- — he still wore the robe of the philo- sopher whilst he reverently bowed before the Divine Teacher of Galilee, and as he took his pen in hand the doctrines of Plotinus and Proclus came out In his writings arrayed in Christian garb, and baptized in the name of his new and adored Master. To understand aright the position assumed either by the pscudo Dionysius or Erigcna, the nature of those cioctdnes must be briefly noticed. Of the philosophy of Alexandria, Plotinus was the real founder ; Proclus, while differing in some details, was but the logical expounder of his doctrines. When he was twenty-eight years of age, A.D. 233, he became a pupil at Alexandria, in the school of Ammo- nius Saccas. He was baffled with and distressed by the sceptical tone prevailing amongst the learned, he was wearied with mere negatives and destructive criti- cism, he was painfully anxious for truth of a positive character, and he stretched forth his hands " f-^elirg after it, if haply he might find it." On becoming a 40 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF 77IE MIDDLE AGES. disciple of Saccas, he studied profoundly the Dialogues of Plato and the Metaphysics of Aristotle ; he practised the severest asceticism, in order to leave his mind the more untrammeled by the burden of the flesh ; he be- came entranced by reading the life of Apollonius of Tyana, which had recently been issued, and read'ly drank in. not onlv the marvels of his magical skill, but the strange conibinarion of Oiientalism and Platonisnr which the philosophical hierophant expounded. He afterwards travelled m the East, and there, doubtless, became familiar with the old theosophies. with their favourite doctrines of the principle of evil, of the gradual unfolding of the Divine essence, of the creation of the universe by intermediate agencies ; and probably also at this time he learned the noble but imperfect theosophy inculcated by Philo. On his return to Alexandria he was prepared to follow in the footsteps •of his old master, Ammonius Saccus, and to attempt a more complete eclectic philosophy than had yet been offered to the world. The foundation of Plotiuus' teaching was the philosophy of Plato ; he adopted his doctrine of senslbles and intelligibles," and inter- mediate or psychical natures. Unconsciously, however, he taught a radically different doctrine to Plato in insisting that the One, or the Good, which the Greciaa master taught was the highest of the Ideas, is raised, not only above the Ideas, but above rational apprehen- sion, and that the Ideas to which Plato gave indepen- dent existence are emanations from this One, that the soul in its turn is an emanation from the Ideas, and so on until we reach the " sensible," which is the last in the series of emanations. Another decided difference between him and Plato is that whilst the latter styles the Ideas gods, and the highest Idea the highest God, JOHN- SCO TUS—ERIGENA. 4 1 the former teaches that the Ideas inhere in the Ntjus. Plotinus teaches also that the One, by reason of its absolute and essential unity, is exalted far above reason or rational apprehension, but by its superabundant energy it projects an imaj^e of itself, which image, by an involuntary intuition, turns to behold its original, and becomes the Nous, or mind. In this the Ideas inhere as real and essential parts of itself, and consti- tute the Nous in its completeness, as the parts con- stitute the whole. To the Nous real being and life belong, and thus we come to the radical defect of the teaching of Plotinus. The same ideal reality being at once the truly existing, the true object of knowledge and the knowing subject or reason. He makes the objects contemplated, and that which contemplates, absolutely identical ; subject and object are confound f^d together he rests his svstem on a fatal petitio principii. as many others have done and thus anticipates by 1*500 years the errors of Hegel. Plotinus now endeavoured to open a way for the soul to enter into unity with the Infinite, and therefore reduced it to the most abstract and subtle simplicity. He attributed to it a capacity by which it could exalt itself above both action and intelligence, the result being what he called ecstasy, the soul transcending its finite condition, and expanding into the infinite. These blissful experiences, few and short though tliey might be, were " times of refreshing " and rejuvenation, a blessed solace and compensation to the student for his wearying and agonizing efforts to reach the highest truth. Here, however, Plotinus fell into another most serious error in teaching the possible absorption of the soul into the Infinite, thu-^ adopting the conclu.sion of the Oriental pantheist of five centuries before Christ, 42 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. and of the German nineteen centuries after Him/ that an individual existence is but phenomenal and acci- dental. The soul is resolved into the most subtle unity, and then rises by ecstasy into the Absolute, the primordial essence itself. Such ethereal teaching could not suffice to satisfy the human consciousness very long ; the abstractions of Plotinus were soon clothed upon by sensuous and tangible garb ; degenerate followers began to describe the visions of the unseen world, which had been disclosed to them in their times of ecstasy, and a literature arose, filled with revelations of spiritual forms, angelic companies, heavenly hierarchies, gentle genii, astral influences, unseen encampments, realms of un- speakable brightness, with myriads of inhabitants ar- ranged in orderly rank and phalanx ; and thus the outcome of the Alexandrian effort to solve the enigmas of Being and Knowing was a curious compound of Greek metaphysic. Oriental pantheism, and magical pre- tension, which, however, exercised a talismanic influence over many minds of a high ordei. Plotinus had not, in any large degree, the faculty of arrangement or classification. He left it, therefore, to his followers to reduce to system the philosophy he had taught, and into which he hoped he had condensed the good from all preceding systems.^ This was not accomplished until the fifth century, when Proclus, who has been called "the scholastic of the Greek philoso- phers," " collated, arranged, and dialectically elaborated the whole body of transmitted philosophy, augmented ' Note A, end of chapter. ' He is said to have exclaimed, when dying : " I am striving to bring the divine thing which is in us to the divine which is in the universe." These words strongly express the effort of his life, and the spirit of his teaching. JOHN SCOTUS—F.RIGENA. 43 it by additions of his own, and combined the whole in a sort of system to which he succeeded in giving the appearance of a rigidly scientific form."' Proclus differed from Plotinus and the earlier Alex- andrian thinkers in a few particulars, which must be mentioned. He taught that the One, or the Good, is the First Cause of existence, and lies at the foundation of all Unity ; that from it all things proceed, and to it all must return. That it is impossible to conceive of the nature of this Unity, as our usual conception of unity does not describe it ; it is above unity and above the conception of Good and of Cause. From this Unity issue a plurality of unities, the number of which we may not know, but which are fewer in rjmber than the Ideas of Plato or Plotinus, and which so exist in each other as to constitute, whilst plural, one Unity. These unities operate in the world, they are the agents of the primordial essence, they are the gods in the highest sense of the word, and they occupy higher ranks as they stand in closer relation to the One, the primal Unity. These unities are followed by three essences, which Proclus calls being, life, and thought, which are different in rank, and which, while being an Unity in themselves, include within them various triads, divinities masculine and feminine, and Hebdomades, forming an ideal hierarchy of descending degrees. From one of these essences the Intellectual or Psy- chical emanates, and every soul is by its nature eternal, although by its activity it is related to time. Occupy- ing a middle place between the Absolute and the material, the soul possesses freedom of will ; if it err the evil is chargeable upon itself, and it has the power to turn back again to the Divine purity. In other ' Ueberweg, " Hist, of Phil.," I. 255. 44 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. respects the teaching oi" Proclus seems to have been mainly that of Plotinus. The monk of Alexandria, who with such sagacity baptized his writings with the name of the first convert under the preaching of St. Paul at Athens, and who thereby seemed to give them almost an apostolic sanction, must have had his nature saturated with the Alexandrian theosophy as formulated by Proclus. In his treatises the pantheistic doctrine of emanation, as taught by the Neo-Platonists, the evolution of the universe through successive orders of existence, begin- ning with the Primordial Essence called God, but which by some of the teachers might as well have been called Nothing, since it was said to have no relation at all to the created universe ; and then the tendency of all being to return to that original One, to be fe-absorbed by it, — are all reproduced by the so-called Dionysius without any material alteration. The Divine Word which occupies a prominent place in his system, is so far removed from man by a long succession of celestial powers and ecclesiastical officials as to be a remote Luminary rather than the Friend and Brother and Saviour of mankind. The ideal hierarchy of Proclus is reproduced by him without any change save that of names. The tendency of the whole system, was sacer- dotal It was to advertise the Greek Church ; to represent all truth as being symbolized by its ecclesiastical offices, to teach that these oflfices were the counterparts of those in the heavenly kingdom, and that the whole organization furnished a definite and popular exposition of the hierarchical system of the universe.' ^ See a thoughtful and interesting^ article on the works and teach- ings of Dionysius in Coniempbrary Review for May 1867, from the accomplished pen of Canon B. F. Westcott. JOHN SCOTUS—ERIGENA. 45 The translation of the works of Dionysius was com- pleted by Erigena, but speedily the Pope, Nicolaus I.; complained to Charles that the translation had not been sent to him for his censorship and approval before its publication, and proposed to summon the philoso- pher before him to answer for certain heretical opinions which a keen scent had detected therein. It is affirmed by some historians that Erigena was removed from his position as conductor of the Schola Palatina in conse- quence of the Pope's interference ; but, if so, he still remained the honoured friend and companion of the king. He seems after this to have carefully studied the writings of Maximus Confessor, the commentator on the works of Dionysius, of Origcn, of Gregory of Nazianzum, of Gregory of Nyssa, and other Greek Fathers, and afterwards of Augustine and the Latin Church writers. The greatest event in the life of Erigena was the publication of his work De Divlsmie Naturce, which still survives, and bears ample testimony both to the strength and clearness of his intellect and to the thoroughness with which he had imbibed the notions of Plato, and the Platonists of Alexandria and the Christian Church, This book is written in a lucid and terse style;' like most of the mediaival works in theology and philosophy, it is in the form of dialogue, and makes a constant use of the syllogism. He divides the book into four parts : into that which creates and is not created, that which is created and creates, that which is created and does not create, and that which neither creates nor is created. Under these heads he compiises all things in the universe, and deduces the general doctrine that as all things were ' Note B, end of chapter. 46 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. originally contained in God, and proceeded from Him into the various classes in which they now exist, so they shall finally return to Him, and be gathered up or re-absorbed into their original source, which supreme gathering up he calls 0€ajo-t "The essences, or whal from Aristoilc in thoso days they called the subst.mce, of all visible or invisible creatures cannot be com- prehended by the intellect ; but whatever is perreivcd in ever)ihing> or by the corporal sense, is nothing else but an accident, which is known either by its quality or cjuantity, form, matter, or diiferences, or by its time or place. Not what it is, but how it is. " The first order of being is the Deity ; He is the essence of all things. "The second begins from the most exalted intellectual virtue nearest about the Deity, and descends from the sublimest angel to the lowest part of the rational and irrational creation. The three superior orders are — ist, the Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones; the 2nd, the Virtues, Powers, and Dominations ; the 3rd, the Prin- cipalities, Archangels, and Angels. *' The Cause of all things is far removed from those which have been created by it. Hence the reasons of created things which are etcinally and unchangeably in it, must be also wholly removed from their subjects. "In the angelic intellects there are certain theophanies of these reasons ; that is, certain comprehensible, divine apparitions of the intelkclual nature. The divine essence is fully comprehensible by no intelligent creature. " Angels see not the causes themselves of things which subsist in the Divine essence, but certain Divine apparitions or theophanies of the eternal causes whose images they are. In this manner angels always behold God. So the just in this life, while in the extremity of death, and in the future will see Him as the angels do. " We do not see Him by Himself becau-je angels do not. This is not possible to any creature. But we shall contemplate the theo- phanies which He shall make upon us according to the height of His sanctity and wisdom."— 5/mrd7« Turner, "Anglo-Saxons," iii. 391-2 Note C. The views of Plato and Aristotle are thus clearly defined by a fitting hand : — " The Platonic Idea {lUa or ei3o?) is the pure archetypal essence in which those things which are together subsumed under the same concept participate." "The Idea is not the essence immanent in the various similar individual objects as such, but rather this essence conceived as nerfect in its kind, or existing per se. The Co GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. idea respects the universal ; but it also is represented by Plato as a spaceless and timeless archetype of individuals." "To express the relation of". individuals to their corresponding ideas, Plato employs the term 'participation' (jitde^is), and also 'imitation' (nifiTjcns ofioima-is). The idea is the archetype {irapddeiyfia) ; indi- vidual objects are images (el'ScoXa ouoiaara). The idea though existing independently {avro kuO' avro) has also a certain com- munity {Koivcivia) with things ; it is in some sense present {napovcrla) in them, but the specific nature of this community Plato has neg- lected more precisely to define." — Ucberweg, "Hist, of Phil.," I. 115-6. The Aristotelian Notion. " The principles common to all spheres of reality are given by Aristotle as four, viz., Form or Essence, Matter or Substratum, Moving or Efficient Cause, and End. The principle of Form or Essence is the Aristotelian substitute for the Platonic Idea. Aris- totle argues against the Platonic (or, at least, vi^hat he held as the Platonic) view, that the ideas exist for themselves apart from the concrete objects which are copied from them, affirming, however, on his own part, that the logical, subjective concept has a real, objective correlate, in the essence immanent in the objects of the concept. As the one apart from and beside the many, the Idea does not exist ; none the less must a unity be assumed as (objectively) present in the many. The word substance (pva-ia) in its primary and proper signification belongs to the concrete and individual ; only in a secondary sense can it be applied to the genus. But although the universal has no independent existence apart from the individual, it is yet first in worth and rank, most significant, most knowable by nature, and the proper subject of knowledge. This, however, is true, not of every common notion, but only of such notions as represent the essential in the individual objects. These universal notions combine in one whole all the essential attributes of their objects, both the generic and the specific attributes ; they represent the essential form." — Ueberweg, " Hist, of Phil.," i. T 57. The following extract may be of value to some readers, as defining the relation of Aristotle to Plato in this controversy : — " The ideas of Form and Matter — the one as that which con- stitutes every substance what it is ; the other as its condition and si7ie qua non — lay at the foundation of the metaphysics of Aristotle, and determined his thoughts upon every other subject. These JOHN SCO TUS—F.RIGENA . 6 1 ideas arc closely connected with logic, so that the fact of anything being capable of definition is with him the test of its having a form and beinc^ a substance. This is a distinction of great value and importance, but it can only be admitted as a distinction in and for the mind. For the moment it becomes more than this -we get upon the Platonic ground which Aristotle believed to be merely imaginary. His forms become the ideas of Plato, ami these ideas derive their meaning from the reality of One who is Himself The Being, not merely a particular form, though it be the highest form of being." Note D. M. Saint- Rene Taillandior, in his work "Scot Erigenc et la Philosophie Scholastiquc," earnestly defends Erigena from the charge of Pantheism in these words :— " When Erigena refers to final union with God and the deification of the soul, he always maintains the permanence of human personality in the bosom of the Divine soul which receives and embraces it. One may remark the comparisons which he employs to illustrate this ineffable union, t'.r., those of iron which melts and disappears in the fire, and of air which is invisible and yet subsists in the light of the sun " (p. 191). But the passage here referred to unmistakably teaches such a final absorption of the soul into God as is quite inconsistent with the retention of personality. See " De Div. Nat.^'' lib. i,, c. 10 : — " Sicut ergo totus aer lux, totumque ferrum liquefactum ut di.ximus igneum imoetian ignis apparet maneutibus tamen eorum sub- stantiis : ita sano intellectu accipiendum, quia post finem hujus mundi omnis natura; sive corporea si^^e incorporea solus Deus esse videbiliir, natune integritate permanente, ut et Deus qui per seipsum incomprehensibilis est in creaturit quodammodo compre- hendatur, ipsa vero creatura. ineffabili miraculo in Deum vertatur." Note E. Hincmar, censuring the writings of Johannes Scotus, says : — " He hath other errors against the faith, as that the divinity is triple ; that the sacrament on the altar is not the true body and blood of Christ, but only a memorial of it ; that atigels arc cor- poreal ; that the soul of man is not in the body ; that the only pains of hell are in the remorse of conscience, etc."— yfr//«, " Obser. Eccles. Hist.," iii., 90. CHAPTER IV. YEARNINGS FOR LIGHT.— GERBERT ; POPE SILVESTER IL " Cry, faint not : either Truth is bum Beyoivd the polar gleam forlorn, Or in the gateways of the mom. ** Cry, faint not, climb : the summits slope Beyond the furthest flights of hope, Wrapt in dense cloud from base to cope. '* Sometimes a little corner shines, As over ramy mist inclines A gleaming crag with belts of pines." Tennyson. IV. POPE GERBERT. After the death of Erigena the hope of intellectual advancement in Europe seemed to be extinguished and when Alfred the Great passed from, his earthly kingdom a few years afterwards the last apparent flicker of life remaining from the renaissance of learning in the ninth century departed. At this point, we enter upon the Dark Ages, properly so called, or rather com- monly so called, for the darkness was not so dense as is generally understood. At any rate they cannot be said to have lasted more than about a century, and even in that century there was considerable intellectual activity and progress. The Church also was making actual progress, although it was not of that character which challenges the attention of the casual onlooker. It is true that during this period the secular power was losing strength, and the claims of ecclesiastical assumption were becoming stronger, the lists of saints were being enlarged, pilgrimages with the usual accom- paniments of miracles and relics were increasingly the fashion, and the Papacy exhibited a corruption which was scarcely relieved by one touch of culture, or con- doned by one healthy blush of shame. In the tenth century twenty-eight Popes reigned in the Church, and 5 66 CREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. with scarcely one exception their hvei; were scandalous ■with cruelty and debauchery. The result was that the Papacy repelled from itself the niscent culture and the holiest feeling^ of the age, and was beginning to reap the fruit of those who sow unto the flesh, and of the flesh reap corruption. Still these Dark Ages were not without a bright and hopciul side. As though to keep hope alive in Europe, it was then that female convents ;5prang- into being, which became a. most important factor in future civilization and in the history of Christianity. For amidst the extreme licentiousness which prevailed amongst nobles, kings, and emperors, priests, bir.hops, and popes, it was of th.e first con- ■■.equcnce that the idea of a noble womanhood should be preserved ; that a high stand :cl. who should preach a doctrine dilferent to th'it whirJi had been dehvered. Because the pontiff Marcellinus offered incense to Jupiter, must therefore ail bishops .sr.c.-ifice ? " Words hl:e these indicated a spirit which was br.i^'^e a;:.i indepeii;-ent in tv.-^tifyin.cx against corruption, and sh^iw how ?oon a spine of rebeUion began to stir ;i5!a:nst the !:yranny of the Papacy. In the unfolding of events Gcrbert was promoted to the Archbishopric of TvlieimSj but he speedilv found that with his coura- geous sr>!rit and Protestant attitude his position was a dani^crous one, and that even his life was in jeopardv. In tills extrevnity he received a letter from Othc III., t.acn in his I'iftccr'th year, inviting him to the German Court He accepted the request, was received with signal honour, and became the tutor and familiar friend of the young prince. But even here the enmity of the Papal court pursued him, and in the Council of Mcusson, in which the refractory conduct of the pre- lates of the Council of Rheims was arraigned, Gerbert defended himself with great boldness, and even disputed the right of the Pope to exercise the extreme authority of interdicting him from the exercise of sacred func- tions. He was appointed by Otho, Archbishop of Ravenna, and he devoted himself assiduously in aiding t)u; young monarch in effecting great reforms both in the Cliurch and the Statj. In the midst of general European discord and appre- hension. Pope Gregory V. died in 999. . ^Vn universal and morbid terror took possession a.t thi- time of Christendom. Jt was the thou'-;u;dth >"ear, and ihcn, as so often since, entliusiasts with heated irnat^inations announced the close of the dispensation, and the imme- diate advent of the Lord from heaven. The prevailiti;-' disorders and conflicts ragin;.;- in Eurojie, t''":e j^eneril unsettledness of the public mind, were interpreted by ardent students o^ prophecy to be an exact fulfilment of the signs of tiic end of the w^uld as foretold by Jesus — wars and rumours of wars, men's hearts failin;; then) for fear, apostacies, famines, pes:ilcnccs, troublous forebodings, were all looked on as ominous and certain harbingers of the end. Thus in many places tiicrc was L;jneral social disorganisation prevailing, many gave themselves up to licentiousness, many left off attending to the ordinary affairs of life, many lived in profound and mel mchol)' apprehension, and many left their countries to be in tiie neighbourhood of Jerusalem, where it was expected the Son of Man w^ould set up the Great White Throne for judgincni;. In such a time was Gerbert, the son of a humble French peasant, raised to the throne of the Papacy by his powerful patron Otho. iJe had been the most damaging foe of the immoralities which had disgraced the Papacy in iiis generation, and he suddenly found himself placed upon the throne, with a dangerous and difficult responsibility upon him. He took the name nf Silvester II., and manfully prepared him.'^clf to grapple with the enor- mous perplexities of his position. He had niariy qualifications for the office ; he was a passionate lover of learning ; his residence amid the IVIohanunedan schools had aroused in him the desire of raising throughout Cliristendom a noble Christian culture, and he loathed the corruption which disgraced the clerical 72 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. orders of the Church. But he was not destined to give full effect to his expansive aims ; four years only were allotted him to occupy the throne, and in that short period he could but sow the seeds of a harvest which he was not permitted to see even the beginnings of, but which bore such fruit in succeeding generations as to change the course of the civilized world. He laboured to diffuse throughout the heart of his great spiritual empire an ardent thirst for intellectual attain- ments, to give new impulses to an awakening spirit of progress, and with a rare prophetic instinct he recog- nised that Christendom required a new enthusiasm, by which its long dormant energies might be aroused into full exercise, by which its profound emotions might be sympathetically engaged : and thus he was led to give the first signal of a crusade against the Mohammedan power, and to inspire Europe with a passionate desire to win from the power of unbelievers the land which had been consecrated by the life and death of the Lord Jesus. It was a suggestion of the most momentous character, and centuries had to pass before its full fruit could be realized. Gibbon well said, " A nerve was touched of exquisite feeling, and it vibrated to the heart of Europe." On January 24th, A.D. 1 00 1, his youthful but exalted patron, Otho III., died. His German biographers say that he was the victim of an attack of small-pox, but such a death was too prosaic and commonplace for Italian romancists, who record that he was enticed to adulterous embraces by Stephania, the widow of Crescentius, the Consul of Rome, whom Otho had defeated and put to death, and that she by means of a pair of gloves administered to him a subtle poison which wrought his death. In the year 1004 Gerbert POPE GERPEJiT. 73 followed his friend the emperor to the grave, and tradition has connected the same fair syren with his end, by stating that Stephania skilfully mixed poison in his food, which slowly corrupted his blood, ruined his health, and brought him to death. Then arose wild stories, conjured up by ecclesiastics whose excesses he had sought to restrain, and fostered by the prevail- ing spirit .of superstition, of wizardry, necromancy, diabolism, and hellish compact, of which the great Pontiff had been guilty. The fables, oft repeated of divers celebrities in the Middle Ages, of a brazen head which he consulted on important subjects, of a familiar spirit kept in a secret apartment, which he could cause to be seen, or unseen, by the wearing of a ring, of magical arts by which treasure was discovered in the earth, and other similar stories, were furbished up by weak and wicked gossips, and circulated with bated breath and shuddering gesture by the peasants of Italy and France. The monks whispered ominously to each other, " Homaqium diabolo fecit, et male finivit." Gerbert left no such name as his own behind him, and for a generation or more there arose no one as conspicuous as he was, nor any so able to give practical encouragement to European learning.' He left behind him a few friends and pupils who did not allow the cause of learning utterly to languish, and in various directions slow but steady progress was realized. The schools of the Saracens in Spain shone with a steady light, and gave the impulse to the estabhshment of Christian schools in surrounding nations, not always in emulation of their love of learning, but sometimes to counteract what was held to be their baleful influence. Fulbert, one of Gerbert's pupils^ taught the school of ' Note A. 74 GA-v.iT SC//0OL/r//':X OF THE MrVDLK .^GES. CliarLres, ar.cl became bishop of that city in 1007. He was devotedly Joyed by bis pupils, who, perhaps with 9 youthful poitiality, called him their Socrates. He was celebrated for the wide ranc^c of his knowledge, but he strove to mair'ain in all his teachings the c.losc.st adherence to the teachin^^s of the Church. r<"rom the tutorage of Fulbert came forth Berengarius of Tours, in whom the independence of mind which distinc^uishcd Gerbert was clearly manifested. He .sii^mslised himi;eif by profe-s"ing ccitain rationalising: viev/s on the si'bject of the Lord's Supper, in which he Vv'as opposed by .n opponent truly formidable, the learned, devout, and philosophic Lanfranc. once a law student at Bologna, then monk and prior in the famous monastery of Bee, in Normandy, and finally Archbishop of Canterbury. Bcrengarius, in turn, left followers behind him, chief of whom was Ilildcbert, Bishop of Tours, who was an enthusiastic admirer of his teacher. He was so learned a man, and so earnest a defender of Church dogma, that he won from Bernard of Clarvaux the title of " a great pillar of the Church." These names, however, were soon to be eclipsed by others, which slione with such lustre as to concentrate ■ .w them- selves the gaze of Christendom for ages. Now arose to prominence in Euroj^e a race of men from whom learning and philosophy ^vere to receive at once a noble impulse and a congenial home, and amongst whom they were to be nursed during coming ages, until they attained a gloiions maturity. They came as a band of marauding savages from the northern seas ; they were wild and cruel, but they were marvellously impressible ; and as they swept over the seas to the south, and entrenched themselves in the sunny provii^ces of h^vonco, native tendencies in their FOPK GhRBERi: 75 tiatnre tow:irds rclinemc'it dcvclGj>ed l1-oTi5tlve.s, r.;-, I ied 111 em to absorb the f.:''t'"''nor cpivit dj chivrJr_\-, ol culture, and of pool! y, s) Ih.dL in ies.s lime tnan it •' llci! takes a race to settle on a foreign .soi!, they iiad net- oniy settled, but had inibil>ecl the highest spirit of uic limes, and tliey emorc^ed the most rei'ncd and high- souled people of the med'-'wa] afre. 1 he Nr.ri.ians became in lime the leaders of Europe ; the}- noaded \X\t Crusades, thry ma..ie lv.u\dand a land of po«itry, oi freedom, and of religious zeal, and with a catholicity ol spirit far from frc-quent in that i^-^y, they gave vCfch encouragement t'j learning that ardcrit students hasti^ned to them from all p;v.-ts cf Europe, ano followed tWeiv belovtd pursuits beneath the !^'v..n:al shfidcs o! their schools ;md monasteries. NOTK A. " .Sylv:-,ier was the be^t man of the dark ages : his lif^j indeed wiij; the Inm.Mtion point between Uie darkaess and the driwn. ilis rrir.d was i nJ^'ed with the love of Icirning', his heart v/i jniprev^^-d with •he idc.'l of a cuhurpd Chrislcni.!oi!i. He sou^dit to inspire wilii this l)ve the country over which he had been apf^oint'.'d spiritiui) r,uar li I 1, to revive the thirst ior l:r)owled;;e wliich )iad ^;one to ;.! 'p;), to resuscitate the hie of civilization whicli iiaa long been 'ionn i;:c. He soiicjht ir. kindle into t^ame the heart of Christendom '>y \:i-( . ■niini; a now object of rL!i;4i'ms enthusiasm. It was by hirti ihii the ai^L martial tnmipet w is sounded, th': hrst call to identify tlic spirit people w.i.:>.d most of all was an object m life, i j^oal of aspira tiu'i, a |v> nt to ^t^ive after. He perceived that tlioso d.iyr, were d rk diicdy because they were letliar^ic, because tiicy brought no aim, bi;. .luse they came and went without a purpose and without a p.'.in. J-fere was a purpose, hcr*^ was a plan, \\\\i' h would dispel l' e iiiiiiljs.Moss a; id avvakea from the lethari^y. J.et ih'. Cliinvh 76 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. put on its armour, let the spirit of Christianity go forth to battle for the truth, to win back the land of its birth, to expel the intruders from its native soil. Such was the voice of Sylvester, and in the circumstances of the time it was a -wise voice. But Sylvester was before his xXvae."— Maihesonf " Growth of Spirit of Chris.," ii. 48. CHAPTER V. THE FOUNDER OF MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY. ANSELM. •' WoRkfoAN of God ! ch, lose not hearl. But learn what God is like ; And in the darkest battle-field Thou shall know where to strike. •'Thrice blest is he to whom is given T!:e instinct that can tell Ihit God is on the f.eld when He Is most invisible. *' Blest too is he wiio can divine Where rial riglii rloth Ue, And dare:-, to take the side that seems WroMj'; to maa's blindfold eye. " For rif^ht is rit;lU, since God is God ; And rij>ht the day must win ; To doubt wouki bs disloyalty, To falter v^ould be sin." Fabkr. V. AXSELM. Anskem v.-as ot" noble parcntac^c. His father's name wai Gundulphus, his mother's Ermetbcrj^a, and they lived in wealth and innucnoe in the city of Augusta, in Lom- bardy. hiis f;»tiicr was profu^e in hi? hospital) ly, and given to the good things of life ; hi> mother, as the mothers v)f the greatest men have .vo often been, wa^? a woman of skilful manas^cment, of stainless purity, of excellent reputation, and (;f devout spirit. She was the good angel of her son whilst she lived, and after death her g-entle influence rested upon him as a blessed re- straint from evil. But at the age of fourteen this best earthly friend was removed from h.im. For some time he followed her instructions, he meditated upon religious themes, and living amongst the hills his youthful fancy conceived that the home of God was on the top of a high mountain. At the age of fifteen he sought to enter a convent, but, strange to say, for some reason nut recorded, the abbot refused him adinission. liis health failed him, and during his sickness he longed with greater desire than before after a religious life. But as he regained his strength his good desires and serious impressions (led, he fell into temptation, gave way to some vices, and even became indiiTercnt to the accuniu- 8o GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. lation of knowledge. He was not blessfed with favour- able influences at home ; his father pursued a course of undue severity towards him, and the result was he fled from the parental roof and his native land. He travelled through various countries, and was sometimes reduced to the hardest straits, as on one occasion he was forced to pacify the cravings of hunger by eating snow/ He passed through Gaul, spent three years in wandering about Burgundy and France, and finally came to Normandy. This province was then resounding with the praises of the monk Lanfranc, and Anselm was drawn by his renown to the monastery of Bee. He became a student under him, and by the inspiring teaching he received his passion for learning was not only revived but greatly stimulated. Shortly after his settlement here his father died, and Anselm sought counsel of Lanfranc as to which of three courses he would do best to follow : whether to accept his inheritance and distribute it for the benefit of the poor, to enter a monastery and pursue a religious life, or to live as a hermit of the woods. Lanfranc declined the responsibility of advising him, but his early passion decided his lot, and at the age of twenty-seven he became a monk in the monastery of Bee, of which Herluin was abbot, and Lanfranc the prior and teacher. The latter was shortly afterwards, in 1063, removed to Caen, and in 1078 Herluin died. Anselm succeeded first to the office of Lanfranc, and then to the post of abbot. His unostentatious piety, and his thorough familiarity with all subjects in phi- losophy, theology, and grammar, caused his fame to be diffused far and wide. Students came flocking to him from every quarter, and Bee became the most noted ' Lupton, " Glory of their Times," 464. ANSELM. 8i centre of learning in Europe, Although he sought to diminish by skilful distribution amongst the monks the secular work of his office, the duty of management was so uncongenial, the publicity of his position was so distasteful, and both interfered so much with his oppor- tunity for pious contemplation, that it was with much difficulty he was restrained from resigning his office, and becoming a simple monk again. This was prevented, according to a fable of the day, by his intention being revealed in a dream to Mauritius, the Archbishop of Rouen, who exercised peremptory authority by insisting on his retaining his office. During the years of splendid service which Anselm rendered as abbot of Bee, he found time to compose several works, which were issued under the titles, " On Truth," •' On the Freedom of the Will," " The Gram- marian," " The Monologion," and " The Proslogion." Meantime Lanfranc, who had won for himself everlasting renown as the Primate of England, died, and William Rufus seized the revenues and possessions of the See, and declined to make any appointment thereto for upwards of four years. This worthless monarch being reduced by severe sickness to the verge of death, as he slowly recovered, having been led to serious thought by his affliction, nominated Anselm, who was then in England on a visit to the Count of Chester, to the Archbishopric. Anselm earnestly sought to withstand the appointment, but it is said he was carried by force into the chamber of the King at Gloucester, the crosier was placed in his hand then he was hurried to a neighbouring church, crowds of people hailed him as Archbishop, and the clergy welcomed him as their Primate with enthusiastic acclamation. He reluctantly suffered himself to be consecrated on December 4th, 6 S2 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE -A CES. 1093, the Archbishop of York officiating at the cere- mony. He occupied this prominent and responsible post for eighteen years, — years of storm and conflict, — during which he boldly maintained the authority of the Pope as supreme ruler in all things spiritual, in opposition Lo the will of the King and of the temporal power. In tiie course of the struggle he was driven out of the kingdom, his possessions alienated, his followers dispersed, and he proceeded to Rome, where Pope Urban ll. received him with great distinction. The Pope requested him whilst there to defend the doctrine of the Latin Church against the Greek Church on the subject of the Pro- cession of the Holy Ghost, which he did with signal ability. Urban sustained such a relation to the King of England at this time that he could not afford to put him to defiance, and the quarrel of Anselm could not therefore be adjusted. Hence he retired to the little village of Schlavia, where he wrote his treatise " Cur Detis homo" which contained his celebrated theory of the atonement. Then he retired to Lyons, where he remained until the death of William Rufus occurred by the arrow of Sir Walter Tyrrell in the New Forest. Then he was recalled to England by Henry, who suc- ceeded to the throne. But the new King demanded that he shoub permit himself to be re-invested in his office, thus palpably making the spiritual appointment subordinate to the royal will, than which nothing can be conceived more directly opposed to the theory of the Papacy, nor indeed to the spirit of the Bible. For whilst a spiritual despotism is of all things most hateful, and nothing operates more injuriously to the best interests of a nation than a rampant priestism, it is also of great importance that spiritual offices and sacred functions should not lie at the mercy of the temporal ANSELM. 83 power, and that the Church should not be subordinated to the world. A long and bitter controversy took place between Ansclm and the king upon this subject, the result of which was that in i ! 07 the king withdrew his pretensions. Anselm resumed his functions, Vv'hich he discharged with great honour to himself and advan- tage to the Church for two years. Then he died, amidst universal lamentation. He was canonised in 1494, and if loftiness of motive, transcendent abilities, and burning piety ever justified such a distinction, they did in him. He was a man of enormous learning, and he exercised a mighty influence on European thought. He was the Augustine of the Middle Ages, and may fitly be considered the first Scholastic philosoplier, and a theologian of the highest class. Erigena, although a man of great boldness of thought, and far ahead of his age in learning and philosophical acumen, was rather a forerunner and herald of the School than belongins" to it, and was much inferior to Anselm in constructive theology and in consistency of general thought. The doctrines of Anselm in religion and philosophy require now brief consideration. About 1070 Anselm published the Monologion, in which the great principles of his system are laid down. The title of the book ex- plains its purpose, " Monologue of the method in which one may account for his faith ;" and it represents an ignorant man seeking truth by the light of his reason alone. This was a bold position for any one to assume in the eleventh century, and especially one who was so devoted to the Church as Anselm. He built his system on the basis of pure Realism, and argued that Universals exist independently of Individuals, that the latter exist- simply as a result of the former ; and from this starting- point he framed an argument for the existence of God 84 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. after this manner. We seek many goods, some for their utiHty, some for their beauty. These have various degrees of excellence, and hence possess a relative value, z>., afe related to some standard by which their worth is measured. Relative goods thus by necessity argue an Absolute Good, which is God. Thus also, in regard to all that is great or high, these can only be relatively so ; and thus he argues something Absolutely Great and High, to which these stand related. But as there cannot by possibility be an infinitely ascending scale, there must be One highest and greatest of all, which is God. That there can only be One such high and supreme Being he shows by the consideration that if there were more than one they would either all join in one Supreme Essence, or be that Essence itself. If the former were the case, then the Essence which included these would be the Crown of Existence ; or if the latter, then the many would be absorbed in the One. Thus he reaches a God, the Absolute, who is self-existent and independent. From these principles as a starting-point Anselm draws in seventy-nine chapters the attributes of God, the Trinity, creation, relation of man as intelli- gence to God, and the whole course of theology. The phenomena of Nature, he says, is not derived and does not emanate, from the Absolute as rays from the sun, but is created by it, and exists only by the providential presence of the Creator. So also it is with the ideas of justice, goodness, and wisdom which the human mind contains; they are only relative; they stand in necessary relation to the all-perfect and absolute justice, goodness, and wisdom ; and these all necessarily involve the attributes of eternity and omnipresence. God is thus the eternal Archetype, and all creation is but the copy of His fulness. ANSELM. 85 Ansclm pursued this argument still further in the " Proslogion," or " The Faith which Seeks to Demon- strate itself." In the former work he supposes himself to be seeking the truth, but in this he assumes he is in possession of it, and tries to demonstrate it. Me states that the idea of a God existing in the mind of man is the best proof that there is a God. " The fool may say in his heart, 'There is no God ;' but he thereby shows himself a fool, because he asserts something which is contradictory in itself He has the idea of God in him, but denies its reality.'" He further said, God is the Being than whom none greater could be conceived ; but if that, than which nothing greater can be conceived, exists only in the intellect, it would be the greatest, for we could add to it real existence. Thus the greatest conceivable Being — viz., God — must have real existence. It is somewhat remarkable that Descartes, who most likely knew nothing of Anselm, in his " Meditations "^ has produced the same argument, and seeks to establish the existence of a perfect Being — z".^., God — from the mere fact of the idea of a perfect Being. Leibnitz adopts the same line of thought, but refers it to Anselm ; and thus by these three great philosophers has this argument been largely diffused through modern think- ing.3 Gaunilo,"* a monk in the monastery of Marmontier, wrote in opposition to the views of Anselm, in the spirit of empiricism, saying, " The idea of a thing does not necessarily imply its reality; there are many false > Hagenbach, " Hist, of Doct.," i., 473- « Mahaffy, " Descartes," 90. * Note A. ♦ Neander, "Church Hist.," viii., 220; Hagenbach. "Hist, of Doct.," i., 474- S6 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. ideas. Yea, it is very questionable whether we can at all form an idea of God, since He is above all idea.'" Anselm replied to Gaunilo with great spirit and ability. His ontological argument has always commanded pro- found respect both from friends and foes; it was freely criticised by Aquinas and Kant, but hy many writ. universal ideas have not (as Plato thought) an existence separable from individual objects, and there- fore they could not have existed prior to them in order of time ; nor yet (according to the doctrine of the Stoics} are they mere con- ceptions of the mind, formed in consequence of an examinatirtn and comparison of particulars ; but these ideas, or forms, arc from eternity united inseparably with that matter of which things consist, or as the Aristotelians sometimes express themselves, the forms of things are from eternity immersed in matter." — D, Stewart^ "Elements. Phil.," 169. CHAPTER VI. THE STRUGGLE OF RATIONALISM. -PETER ABELARD. " Thougli exposed to a (errilile storm Ajax reached the Gyrean rock and indulged in a ra->h boast of having escaped the defiance of the gods. No sooner did I'oseidon hear this language than he struck with his trident the rock which Ajax was grasping, and precipitated both into the sea." — Grote, " Look how the sheep, whose rambling steps do stray From the safe blessing of the shepherd's eyes, F.ftsoon become the unprotected prey To the winged s<]uadron of beleag'ring flies ; Where sweltered with the scorching beams of day, She frisks from brook to brake, and wildly flies away From her ownself, ev'n of herself afraid ; She shrouds her troubl<>d brows in every glade, And craves the mercy of the soft rehnoving shade." — F. QUARLES. VI. the struggle of ration alism.-feter abElard. The name of Ab^lard shedg brightness upon a dull chapter in human history. In an age of some pedantry, of overweening ambition and ecclesiastical corruption, he rises like a free classic spirit. As associated with Heloise, he is surrounded by a golden Iiaze of romance. Their letters, often republished, much wept over, widely read, the objects of literary criticism and poetic appre- ciation, have made them, as a pair of lovers, as notorious as Romecj and Juliet. It is to be regretted that the sentimental interest thus stirred has interfered with the fame of Ab^lard as a philosopher, for he was the brightest luminary of the twelfth century. lie was an. orator of the first order, a bold speculator, profoundly read in philosophy, giving voice to the insurgent spirit of the times as none other did or could do, and waging a fierce war in behalf of the sovereignty of reason and conscience, affirming the right o^ the human under- standing to be the judge of truth and error as against the mere authority of ecclesiastical tradition. He was born at Palet, not far from Nantes, in Brittany, in 1079. He showed an extraordinary aptitude for intellectual pursuits. He first gathered up what knowledge he could in the schools of the contiguous districts, then he loo GRF.A T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. studied in the advanced seminaries of learning in bur- rounding provinces, and then went to perfect himself at Paris. He was a student for some time under Roscellin, and was fascinated with his Nominalistic tendencies. He also repaired to William dc Champeaux, the most renowned disputant of the Realist school then living, and drank in his teaching. He quickly surpassed his masters. As he sat in the great Cathedral school of Notre Dame listening to William, he stepped forward and engaged with his master in a dispute of dialectics. He proved himself far more than equal to him in the contest, and although still under twenty years of age he sought to establish a school of his own. The influence of William was too great for this to be done in Paris, and he proceeded to Melun, and after lecturing there for a brief time v;ith great success he removed to Corbeil, so as to be nearer to the metropolitan city of France. The intense mental strain involved by his prelections, and the excitement resulting from the numbers who flocked to hear him, injured his health, and he was obliged to retire into privacy for a short period. In 1108 he returned to Paris. His old master and antagonist was no longer lecturing at Notre Dame, but in a monastic retreat in the neighbourhood of the city. He drew him out into combat onc€ more, and by his vigorous expetrators. Fulbert tied before the terrific storm, and was heard of no more. His goods \<^ere confiscated, and the sentence of death was written against his name in the court of justice. Abelard found himself cast headlong from the pinnacle of honour into the pit of shame. He was overwhelmed with his misery ; he retired into the monastery of St. I lo GKEA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE ATinnTE ACES. Deiiys, and took the oaths of the order of St. Benedict. Heloise also retired from the world, and became a nun in the convent of Argenteuil. Abdard for some time buried himself fn hir. cell, and there by quiet exercises and meditations nought to soothe and heal his wounded spirit To a nu'nd like his the cloister did not bring peace, nor tho cell contribute calmness. His heart was not there ; both heart and sympathy were with the controversies and excitements of the Schools outside. Therefore in a year he yielded to many urgent solici- tations which were pressed upon him, and he opened a school at the priory of Maisoncelle in 1 1 20. His lectures were fragrant with a spirit of devotion, which in other days they had been destitute of, and were listened to by eager throngs of admirers ; his old popu- larity returned, and his influence seemed to be greater than ever. Whilst his lectures were more spiritual in tone than before, they were not less bold in speculation, nor less free in censuring ecclesiastical assumption and corrup- tion. The old spirit of enmity was aroused against him, and a legion of angry antagonists watched for an occasion against him. They had not long to wait ; he prc[.are«l his theological lectures, and issued them with the title Introductio ad Tfmologium, and a charge was fastened upon him of having taught erroneous doctrine on the .subject of the Holy Trinity. He was arraigned for teaching the heresy of SabcUius \n a provincial synod h<.'l(l at Soissons, and presided over by the Arch- bishop of Rhcims. He was incapacitated by his recent troijf)lrs from making a bold defence, his views were stigniat.i.>^cd by the council as blasphemous and heretical, and he was condemned to commit the book containing the obnoxious teachings with his own hands to the 77//; ^' / R Ur.Gl. E OF RA TJONA L fS /)/. 1 1 1 flames. 1 Ic was tlijcn again immured in the convent of St. Denys, but with the same experience which attended his previous effort of monastic life. His free spirit chafed and fretted against the isolation and uselessness of his position. Like a caged bird of the woods, he beat himself against the wires of his cage until he was weary and wounded. Then he aggravated the monks of the convent by affirming that their patron .saint was not, a» the tradition of several centuries affirmed, Dionysius the Areopagite converted by St. Paul. To atte^npt to rob them of their presumed patron, and France of its idolised saint, was sufficient to .stir up the most bitter hatred of him, which the monks showed with such virulence that, finding hi.s. life was in danger, he filed secretly from his retreat;, took refuge in the wood of Kogent-sur-Seine, constn»cted a rude hut of boughs and leaves, and there lived for a time in fellowship with the open face of Nature. But he could not be hid ; his retreat was made known, students began to gather round him, and increased with such rapidity that the wilderness became thronged with eager souls, who impro- vised huts of reeds and straw, and once more reverently listened to the voice which was more potent than any other in that age. A building of stone to replace the humble cot was reared by their loving hands for Abe- lard, large enough for his lectures to be delivered in, and which he in gratitude to God called by the name " The Paraclete," as he had there found peace after bitter storms. He was not allowed to remain undis- turbed long. His enemies followed him with efforts to disturb his peace, and he was filled with apprehensions of new persecutions which might overwhelm him. On receiving an invitation from his Sovereign the Duke of Brittany to preside over the Abbey of St. Gildas de 112 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Rhuys, he left the Paraclete and accepted the appointment with great joy. It was a poor exchange ; the Abbey was situated on a rock on the distant shore of Lower Brittany, the population were almost savages, the monks were rude and disorderly, and a more uncongenial sphere for such a man could not have been found. He was utterly wretched whilst here, but he endured the banishment and anguish for ten long weary years, and then, after the monks had, it is said, several times sought to poison him, both in his ordinary food and in the Holy Sacrament, fearing for his life he fled from the hateful spot, unable to endure its trials any longer. Whilst he thus suffered at St. Gildas, the convent of Argenteuil, of which Heloise had become prioress, was broken up on the ground of immorality, and an order of monks established in place of the disbanded nuns. It has never by any writer been affirmed that Heloise partici- pated in the licentiousness prevailing in the convent. Abelard now exerted his influence with the Bishop of Troyes, and had the Paraclete witlv its surroundings bestowed on Heloise, who founded a convent, becoming the first Abbess, and being confirmed in her position by Pope Innocent II. in 1131. This position she filled with a prudence and piety which won enormous benefactions for the convent, and universal reverence for her:>elf, insomuch that the Paraclete became renowned as an establishment of purity, and a succession of the noblest women of France followed Heloise in her office of Abbcs.s. Abf'lard after fleeing from St. Gildas dwelt for -JOme time in Brittany, paying occasional visits to the Para- clete, to complete armngcmcnts regarding it. It was during this period that Abdlard wrote his famous letter, containing an account of his calamity, to Philintus, an THE STRUGGLE OF RA TIONALISM. 1 13 intimate friend. By some chance, which has never been explained, the letter passed into the hand of Heloise, who, recognizing the writing, and deeming that she had a right to peruse whatever came from him who was her husband, opened it, and read the full recital of the painfully romantic story, in which she had played a scarcely secondary part. This drew from Heloise the first of her letters, which stands without a parallel in female epistolary composition, as an expression of womanly devotion and passionate affection. Indeed, it would seem as though the severe restraint exercised by her in the long years which had intervened, and during which no word or line had escaped her as to her trials, was now swept away utterly by the overwhelming force of her emotions; and then followed the correspond- ence which has linked their names for ever in romantic grace. A short time after this it would seem that both body and mind of Abelard had reco\cred much of their former tone, and we find him in Paris. In the school on Mount St. Genevieve he poured forth, to numerous throngs of auditors, lectures more profound and brilliant than any he had given. Nor was this all : he sent forth a number of works, and especially one called " Sic et Nonl' which exerted an enormous influence in its day. It was well calculated to disturb the minds of ecclesi- astics who sought only to preserve the authority of their Church as the unquestioned arbiter of human opinion and doctrine. It presented one hundred and fifty-eight questions, dealing with an immense range of subjects. Every matter of dispute or doctrine regard- ing the Divine Being, the Divine Persons, their natures, offices, and relations. Providence, Predestination, the Origin of Evil, whether God was the Author of it, was He free, the nature and offices of angels, the creation 8 1 14 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. and fall of man, whether man is free, whether Adam is buried at Calvary, whetlier Adam js saved, whether the Word in the womb of the Virgin was quickened both soul and body by God, whether Christ was susceptible of change of flesh, with questions concerning Mary, Pentecost, Paul, Peter, James, Philip, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Presbyters, down to many inquiries about fornication, bigamy, and such matters. On all these subjects Ab^lard adduced testimonies of the most conflicting kind from the apostles, the fathers, the popes, and acknowledged teachers of the Church, setting Paul and Augustine in opposition to each other, Gregory against Jerome, Athanasius against Isidore, and pre- senting a strange variety of opposite teachings amongst !nen whom the Church acknowledged as reliable autho- rities. Grave charges of heresy were now freely made against him, and this book was seized upon with avidity by Bernard, the Abbot of Clarvaux, who issued in reply to it a series of letters, hard in assumption, bitter in irony, unfair in their dogmatism, seeking rather to overwhelm Abelard by Church authority than td meet him fairly in argument. Abelard retorted with great spirit, and a furious but magnificent contest waged for some time, which resulted in Abelard being summoned to answer a charge of heresy before a council summoned to try him. The assembly met at Sens in 1 140. It was a scene of great splendour and of intense excitement. The King of France was present, and took a lively interest in the proceedings ; his whole court attended, and presented a brilliant array of mediaeval finery ; prelates, ecclesiastics, and theologians crowded to it from all parts of Europe. Bernard was commanded to prosecute the charge against the accused. He shrank from the task, he THE STRUGGLE OF RA TIONALISM. 1 1 5 pleaded that he was unaccustomed to such disputation, that he was unfit for such an enormous responsibility, and claimed that Abclard should be condemned un- heard on the simple testimony of his publications. This was only a natural manifestation of that spirit of bigotry and persecution which has ever characterised the leading advocates of the Church of Rome. Ber- nard was not allowed to shirk the office ; he reluctantly accepted the responsibility, and prepared himself for the contest. He was a magnificent figure in such a scene, scarcely less notable or gifted than his great antagonist. He was animated by a noble enthusiasm for the Church, to which he had surrendered judgment, reason, will, and manhood ; his piety had been sublimed by devotion into a rapture which has given to his hymns and sermons a spiritual glow which still draws the Christian heart towards them with cordial admiration, and he possessed a fiery energy of soul which subdued emperors, nobles, priests, and the multitude to his pur- poses for the promotion of the Church of his Saviour. \{ with his high-souled and chivalrous consecration he could have combined the lofty and free intellect ol Abelard, or if Abelard could have conjoined with his learning, his great and daring spirit of enquiry, the perfect and lofty self-sacrifice of Bernard, no character could have been more complete, and no life more beneficent than either in the Middle Age of Christendom. Abelard appeared before the Council, but his spirit died within him ; the overwhelming opposition arra\cd against him unfitted him for battle worthy of himself; he stood before his judges a prematurely old man, worn by trouble, broken-spirited by disappointment, battling witli disease, a sad contrast to the gay, brilliant, scholarly orator of other days, who electrified by his Ii6 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. eloquence the crowds of students which clustered on the hill of St. Genevieve, and charmed the ladies of the court by his languishing songs of love. Instead of attempting a defence in an assembly where his con- demnation was a foregone conclusion, he appealed to Rome, and left the scene. Bernard had it all his own way; Abelard was condemned by an unanimous vote, the ecclesiastics were jubilant, and his great opponent pealed his triumph in the words of the Psalmist : " I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree ; but he passed away, and lo ! he was not ; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." In an earnest and dignified appeal Abelard laid his cause before the Pope. The Council of Sens also for- warded to Rome its view of the matter, while Bernard, with his sleepless energy, wrote to the Pope supplying a full list of Abelard's supposed heresies, and urgently calling for his condemnation. He v/rote also to the Cardinals at the Papal Court, calling on them to aid in defending the faith from the dangers threatening it, and stating that extreme watchfulness became them, as Abelard counted on the influence of friends v/ho sur- rounded the Pope. If he had such friends in court, they failed him, or used their influence in vain. Bernard triumphed at Rome as he had triumphed at Sens. As Abelard was proceeding to Rome, he was met by the Papal decree, which condemned him to perpetual silence. It pronounced excommunication on all his adherents, and gave to the Archbishops of Sens and Rheims and to Bernard the power to confine him in a monastery, and burn his writings. Ab6Iard, broken down in health and spirit, found refuge in the monastery of Cluny, then presided over by the learned, pious, and beautiful-souled 'J-IIE STRLGGLE OF RA TIONALISM. 117 Peter the Venerable. He appreciated the greatness of Abelard, he recognised all the ^ood there was in him, and gladly gave shelter to the weary and distracted spirit. He did more than this ; he brought about at least a partial reconciliation between Bernard and Abelard, although it is to be feared that, from the constitution of his mind, as well as from the severe ecclesiastical trammels to which he had submitted, Bernard never felt entire cordiality towards the sup- posed heretic. Then Peter obtained from the Pope absolution for Abelard, and enrolled him as one of the monks of Cluny, There the weary old man found rest and peace. He issued a confession, in v/hich he sought to vindicate his motives in life, even if he had erred in practice. It opens tliuy : — " Everything, however well said, may be perverted. I myself, though I have compobeu hut a i^w ti v.-alises, and those of small extent, have not been able to escape censure ; thoui/h in truth, in the things on account of which I have been violently attacked, I can (as (iod knows) see no fault v/hatsoever on my part ; and if any such iiiult can be discovered I have no disposition to defend it obstinately. I have perhaps, from mistake, written many things not after the right manner; but I call God to witness that in the things for which I am accused I have main- tained notliing out of an evil will or out of pride, in my lectures I have said many things before many. Publicly I have spoken what seemed to me calculated for the edification of faith or of morals; and what I have written I have cheerfully communi- cated to all, that I might have them for my judges, and not for my pupils." ^ In this work he afforded an explanation of some of the views he had advocated which were deemed dangerous, but !\e retracted nothing. On the contrary, ' Ncandcr. vol. viii., M3-4- I iS GREA T SCHOOLMEN- OF THE MIDDLE A GES. in a larger work he issued, called Apologia, be defended them, and taxed Bernard with misrepresenting him, and with dealing with matters he did not understand. It is important that his latest attitude in regard to Church doctrine should be understood, as his enemies delighted to represent him as being the victim of remorse on account of his sins and heresies. He did not live long in his quiet retreat. He lived on the coarsest fare, and exercised an austere asceticism. His influence on the monks associated with him was beneficial, and he realized the picture he had often drawn in the days of his popularity, when exposing the corruptions of the clergy, of the serene and steady piety which should give its divine glow to a religious life. In his heart there burned to the last, with a tranquil, undying blaze, the old love for Heloise ; nothing could quench that. The last letter he wrote to her, thrilling with exquisite tenderness, throbbing equally with affec- tion for her and with sorrow for theif sin, expressed his feeling up to the last. These are the concluding lines : — "You have been the victim of my love ; become now the victim of my repentance- Accomplish faithfully that which God demands of you. It is a manifesraiicn of His greatness that the only foundation of His goodness to man lies in our weaknesses. Let us mourn over ours at the foot Of the altar. He only waits for our contrition and hunvliiy to put an end to our misfortunes. Let our repentance be as public as our crimes were. We are a sad example of the impr'idence of youth. Let us show our generation and posterity that the repentance of our errors has merited their forgiveness, ^nd.let us make them admire in us the power of that grace thai has been able to triumph over the tyianny of our passions. Do not be dis- couraged by occasional attacks of tendern^iss, lor it is a virtue to combat and overcome such attacks. May your knowledge of human weakness teach you to support the faults of your THE STR UGGLE OF RA TIONA L ISM. 1 1 9 companions. If I have cormpted your mind, compromised your salvation, tarnished your revtutalion. destroyed yourhonour, pardon me, and remember it is Christian mercy to forgive the evil I have done you. Providence calls us to Him ; do not oppose Him, Heloise. Do not write to me any more. This is the last letter yo'i vvill receive from me, but in whatsoever place I die I shall leave directions ♦or my body to be C(jnveyed to Paraclete. Then I shall require prayers, and not tears ; then only you will see me to foruiy your piety; and my corpse, more eloquent than myself, will teach you what one loves v hen one loves a man." When his end was approaching, Heloise was sent for, and an interview extremely tender and affecting took place between them. Then death came. He met it calmly. His friends testified he was well pre- pared for its approach, and without a shudder or a sigh he breathed his life away. He died April 2i;.t, 1142, aged sixty-three years. His remains were conveyed to Paraclete with a simple funeral, Heloise being chief mourner. She watched his grave whilst presiding over her nuns for twenty-two years, and then, in the sweetest odour of sanctity, fell on sleep. Her body was laid beside his in the grave ; and it is not wonderful that in an age of pretended miracles it was said that the arms of Abelard were extended to welcome hei as her remains were lowered to their' resting-place. The Venerable Peter pronounced him after death to have been a true servant of Christ and a tiue Christian philosopher. The impulse given by Abelard, not only to learning in general, but to the liberation of religious thought from mere ecclesiastical authority, was immense. Al- though his life had been marred by a sin which brought a harvest of trouble, and by much weakness and pride, and even though much error had mixed itself with his I20 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. teaching, he laid the succeeding centuries under great obligation to him. As to his work, the line of our great poet was reversed; and of him it may be said that the good he did lived after him, the evil was interred with his bones. The free and kindling enthu- siasm he aroused in the souls of his pupils m.ay be seen in the ardent fire of liberty which burnt in Arnold of Brescia, and urged him to unavailing efforts for the political enfranchisement of Italy and Rome. The impulse he gave to the cause of intellectual progress may be estimated by the spirit of enquiry and discus- sion which arose after his death, and by the number of really great and learned men who took such a part in those discussions as to have preserved an honoured place in history to this day; but, above all, Abelard served his generation and those succeeding by the earnest and unyielding manner in which he vindicated the right of the human reason to form a judgment on matters of religious belief in opposition to the claim of the Church to be the sole and dogmatic arbiter of man's faith. This was the corner-stone of all the teaching of Abdlard. His voice gave expression to an estrange- ment from Church authority which was beginning to be felt in many hearts, and his determined stand against the prevalent spiritual despotism of the times became the starting-point of a new stream of influence, which increased in depth and volume until it became the general public opinion of Europe. Note A. Petri Abaelardi. Sic et Non. Marburgi, Sumptibus Librariae. Academy Elwertianac, 1851. The following may serve as a speci- men of these questions: — I. Quod fides humanis rationibus sit adstruenda, et contra. 2. Quod fides sit de non apparentlbus THE STRUGGLfL OF RATIONALISM. 121 tantuin ct contra. 3. Quod aquitio non sit de non apparonlibus sed fides tantuin, et contra. 4. Q""tl sit credendurn in Dcuin solum, et contra. 5. Quod non sit Deus singularis, et contra. 6. Quod sit Dcus tripartitus, et contra. 7. Quod in triniiate non sint dicendi plures icterni, et contra. 8. Quod non sit multitudo senini in trinitate vel quod non sit trinitas aliquod totum, et contra. 9. Quod non sit Deus substantia, et contra, etc. CHAPTER VII. THE SWEET SONG OF MYSTICISM.— THE MONKS OF ST. VICTOR. " And yet what blhs. When dying in the darkness of God's light, The soul can pierce these blinding webs of nature, And float up to the nothing, which is all things — The ground of being, where self-forgetful silence Is emptiness — emptiness fulness, — fulness God, — Till we touch Him, and, like a snowflake, melt Upon His light sphere's keen circumference. — KlNGSLEY. " Thy home is with the humble. Lord, The simple are Thy rest ; Thy lodging is in childlike hearts, Thou makf-st there Thy n.est." VII. THE MONKS OF ST. VICTOR. This book only professes to deal with the great School- men, but in passing it is necessary to mention some other names, which, if not equal to theirs in point of importance or prominence, and not even belonging to their special department, yet were produced by their work, were related to them in many respects, and sus- tained a helpful and contemporary stream of influence which has contributed largely to the development of intellectual, and especially of Christian progress. There existed at Paris a celebrated foundation for regular canonicals, bearing the name of the Abbey ot St. Victor. A school in connection therewith was commenced by William of Champeaux, which speedily became famous, by reason of his lectures and the crowds of students which gathered. round him. The foundation was increased by gifts from royal and noble donors until it became enormously rich, and the Abbot St. Victor established branches of the institution in various countries, until it had thirty abbeys and eighty priories in connection with it. This Abbey became the home of many learned and pious men, who diffused a gracious fame of the institution far and wide, and especially there grew up some who combined with profound 126 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. dialectical skill and culture a rich spirituality of mind, who gave expression to another and, on the devotional side, a higher phase of the Christian life than had yet appeared in the Mediaeval Age, and who largely antici- pated the Mystics of the fourteenth century. It is true that the monks of St. Victor had been somewhat antici- pated in their work by St. Bernard, but he is entirely outside the purpose of this book, and only touched Scholasticism to persecute and destroy the rational element it contained. His enormous labours in the cause of the Crusades, in establishing monasteries, in settling matters in dispute between Kings and Popes, in preaching an ascetic and rigidly ceremonial Chris- tianity, obscure a more real and noble service he did for the Church by his treatises on practical religion, and his hymns thrilling with a tender and beautiful devotion. In these productions he taught a pronounced Mysticism ; not the extravagant and pantheistic form of it of Eckart, nor the rapturous extremes of St. Teresa or Suso, but that Mysticism which opens the way. to identify our thoughts with a revelation from God, and by pious contemplation to transcend humanity 'and anticipate the fruition of the heavenly world. Such teaching of Mysticism, pure and simple, even though devoid of the excesses into which future Mystics plunged, is outside of the scope of these pages; but Hugo and Richard of St. Victor allied their Mysticism with so much of the Scholastic spirit and form as to require a brief notice. Hugo, who by reason of seniority first claims atten- tion, was born in 1097 ; he was of Saxon parentage, and connected with several noble families in Germany. He was born at Ypres, but when a boy was taken to Halberstadt, where his uncle was Archdeacon. He i THE MONKS Of ST. VICTOR. 127 studied in >.he Abbey of Hamersleben, and then, In I 1 1 8, he entered the school of St. Victor at Paris. It is singular that, both in the twelfth and fourteenth .centuries, the mystical element in Christian theology arose chiefly from the Teutonic nature, a fact which indicates how national temperament may influence modes and tendencies of thought. From his youth Hugo gave promise of future eminence ; he sought after knowledge with unquenchable ardour ; he scarcely gave himself time to eat or sleep, but stole for his precious studies every available moment both of night and day. He had not been long at St. Victor when the prior of the convent was murdered, and Hugo was elected to succeed him. He thus became teacher of philosophy and theology at an early age : he devoted himself to his work with enthusiasm ; and although he died at the early age of forty-four years, he left behind him several ponderous works, to which the great School- men were much indebted. Hugo, by his deeply meditative spirit and his pro- foundly thoughtful nature, was led to look at many subjects in a widely different aspect to Abelard. In some of his writings he is evidently controverting the teachings of the great orator of Brittany, although he never permits himself to mention his name. The two works which most fully express his views are " De Sacramcntis Fidci " and "Eruditio Didascalica" a treatise . written for the direction of the monks. In these and his other works he affirmed the immediate consciousness of God by man ; he said that " the uncorrupted truth of things cannot be discovered by reasoning," although he firmly insisted that what knowledge was obtained by the internal revelation must be in entire accordance with the doctrines of the Church. He said, " Three 128 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. eyes have been given to man : the eye of sense for the sensible objects lying without him ; another eye by which the soul is enabled to know itself, and what is within itself, the eye of reason ; a third eye within itself to perceive God and divine things, the eye of contemplation." " But by reason of sin the eye of contemplation is extinguished, the eye of reason obscured. Now as the eye of contemplation whereby man might come to the knowledge of God and of divine things no longer dwells in him, therefore faith must take its place." " Faith is called the substance of things in- visible, because that which as yet is not an object of open vision is by faith in a certain sense made present to the soul, actually dwells in it."* He urges, however, that in faith there is both an objective and subjective element ; it cannot exist without knowledge, although it is only a general knowledge of the being of its object. Having this to build upon, faith rises to a knowledge of the nature of the object, which becomes increasingly perfect until it is perfected in the heavenly world. Thus, in regard to divine doctrine, the understanding of it proceeds from faith, faith bases itself on the know- ledge of the fact of the Divine Existence, and then by its own innate power rises to its final blessedness, the perfect understanding of eternal life. The practical effect of this theory is undoubtedly to lead the soul in pursuit of a more perfect intuition of God, as this is necessarily the ultimate end of faith, the only crown after which it strives. Hugo guarded himself against the extravagant conclusions drawn by later Mystics from his premises, as he taught that the revelations of the Divine to the individual mind could or should never transcend the authorized teachings of the Church. ' Neander, viii., 149. THE MONKS OF 3T. I'rCTOh- 129 It is easy to 5-oc how iliofjical such a position \\\i^, hnd how soon hiy successors would be likely to overleap the bounds he h.id constructed to prer.crve himself and them from the extreme vagaries to which his principles palpably led. Hugo strongly opposed the optimism advocated by Ab^lard, that in creation God could not have done other nor better than He did. He considered .such a view as being really blasphemous, as it sought to place bounds to the IJivine Omnipotence, and in writ- ing of God's relation to existence, he seems to have b^en a thorough Realist, saying that all things whirii were created by God in time existed uncreated in Hmi from all eternity, and that because they e listed in Him they were known to Him in the very manner in which they existed in Him. He also opposed Anselm's view of the Holy Trinity, which, as previously stated, differed but little from Sabellianism, but wisely kept himself free from any charge of heresy, by avoiding dogmatic hardness or precise terminology in writing upon it, finding illustrations of it in nature and in humanity, rather than arguing of 'it in Scholastic method. He seems, however, to have adopted the false and fanciful division of the Godhead by the Scholastics into the Father as Power, the Son as Wisdom, and the Holy Ghost as Love, and in a strain unlike, to his usual style ho tries to account for this distribution, clearly advocating, however, that each of these attributes must V)c predicated equally and etern.ill}' of all the Persons in the Trinity/ Concerning the nature of man primeval, he said he had power both to sin and not to sin ; but the disposition to good was stronger than the tendency to evil. But when man sinned he abandoned the right ' Hagenbacb, " History of Doct.," i., 515. 9 I30 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. propensity of his nature, and strove in pride and pre- sumption to be equal with God, and to possess the perfect knowledge of Him before the appointed time. From this view it would result that sin simply consists in not setting a proper bound to our various desires or appetites. The first sin, he said, consisted in Adam ceasing to desire the good. In treating of the Atonement, Hugo adopted a some- what eclectic view. He believed with Anselm that in order to exalt the Divine honour which had been defied by sin God became incarnate ; that by submis- sion to the penalty of sin — viz., death — He might render satisfaction to His offended justice, and thus present a foundation on which He could save man in accordance with His infinite holiness. But he also taught that it was needful in the Atonement to conciliate the devil, and thus revived the antiquated notion which Anselm had sought to discredit. And as though he were anxious to associate in the spirit of eclecticism all the various theories current on the subject, he also urged the view of Abelard, that the essential element in the Atonement was the full and free grace of the Almighty, which took this method of begetting love in the hearts of His sinful creatures, and of leading them to receive His forgiving mercy. Hugo sought to infuse into the doctrine of the Sacraments a more spiritual meaning. He professed himself dissatisfied with the view of Augustine, that they were signs of sacred things, and said that it was a merely verbal definition. Letters, pictures, and many things might be called signs of sacred things, and he defined a sacrament to be a visible sign of an invisible grace inwardly received. He divided sacraments into three orders : {a) those on which TRE ATONKS OF ST. VICTOR. 131 salvation is founded, and by the enjoyment of which the highest blessings are imparted, in which division he included baptism, the Lord's supper, and confir- mation ; {b) Ihose which encourag^e a holy Christian lifo, although not positively essential to salvation, as the use of holy water, fasting, etc. ; [c) those which j»repare for other sacraments, as holy orders, consccra- t.;on, and others. He reckoned, however, that baptism and the Lord's Supper were pre-eminently important, •rind occupied a place of higher significance than the others. The whole spirit of Hugo's writings testifies thai his nature refused to be content with that mediate and partial apprehension of the Divine Nature which is the measure of knowledge permitted within that awful realm to man upon earth. He yearned to rise higher than the limitations of the human consti- tution allowed, and insisted that by an eye of the soul man rose to a direct intuition of the Deity, He was a man of immense erudition, of deeply devotional spirit, and he prepared the way for a more tender and living view of God and His in- dwelling in tlie human soul. He gave more clear expression to a tendency of the Christian conscious- ness than it had had before, and which reproduced itself more definitely still in the Mystics of the four- teenth and the Moravian teachers in tlie <;ighteen{h centuries. He united in \\:.\y harmonious degree the Mystic and the Scholastic, he was contemplative and dialectic, and whilst his Scholasticism saved him from, being carried into the vagueness and v.igariei; of later Mystics, his devout and tender Mysticism redeemed his dialectic method from much of the rigidity and hardness of the later Schoolmen, 132 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. RlCHM^D St. Victor was a Scotchman, who, like many others, was dtawn from his northern land to the brilliant centre of learning, united himself with the establishment of St, Victor, became a friend and student of Hugo, rose to be Prior of the monastery, and died 1173. He adopted and professed the views of his master on most points in theology, but he carried to a further extent the tendencies of Hugo to Mysticism, and professed a strong dislike to certain teachers of the age, evidently pointing to Ab^laid, who sought after new inventions for the sake of gaining popularity or notoriety. He said there were three stages of Keligious Development: that by which man rises to know God by faith, that by which he can know Him by reason, and that by which He is known by contemplation. To this last no one may rise save by the spirit rising in blissful ecstacy above itself It is an enjoyment above that given by either faith or reason. The reason falls back into retirement when the spirit beholds direct unfoldings of the Godhead, or receives bles.sed inspiration from Him. Such a lofty privilege is bestowed directly by God, but only on those who seek it by intense and passionate yearnings. In moments when the excessive rapture has passed by, and quiet thoughtfulness supervenes, a man may repro- duce the revelations which have been made and tone them to the common under.standings of men. Thus it will be seen that whilst the pseudo Dionysius, and his disciple Erigena, laid the foundation of Mysticism in their theosophies, later followers excluded from their systems those inteiniediate orders of Divine or spiritual bf,ings by which the human spirit was to mount by degrees to a knowledge of the Eternal, but pressing directly to the door of the Holy of Holies, strove THE MONKS OF ST. VICTOR. 133 tor entrance, that it might enter on the direct enjoy- ment of the Godhead Himself. It was not sioiply a knowledge of G'ed by the entranced spirit, but a real participa- tion in the Nature of the Godhead. At the same time, in order to guard himself against various enors, he sought to introduce distinctions into the Divine Being, which are ingenious if not convindng. He affiitns that the attributes of God arc His Substance, that His power, wisdom, eternity, arid olher qualities constitute His Being — His very Self, which is not in any sense communicable. How, then, can God he commurnatcd to the spirit, enraptured and entranced in the act of contemplation ? In answer to this he says that there is an individual substantiality and a general substantiality. The first belongs to One alone, and can never be com- municated to His creatures; it includes that single, simple substantiality which is the Essential Deity, But through thf^ Tiinity God has in Himself a Pleroraa, a Fulness, which He can inipart or communicate to the ecstatic soul without giving up Himself. The incom- municable element in God is the highest element, and constitutes God's uniqueness and individuality. But to the ravishing and overpowering love of the con- templative soul the Fulness is opened, it enters in, it attains the perfectness of nature, it passes through a mystical transubstantiation, it is swallov^ed up by ex- cessive, ecstatic intoxication of the enjoyment of God. The act of contemplation Richard divided into six stages — those of imagination, reason, and intelligence , each being divided into two.' By these men may rise to the highest and ripest enjoyment of God, although it is not given to all, even of the good, to reach the crown ' Note A. 134 GREAT SCHOOLMEN' OF THE MIDDLE AGES. of such blessedness. In such as do arrive at the perfect bliss the spirit is joined to the Deity, transcending itself and becoming one with Him ; all within and without is forgotten until the rapture is past ; the glory fades into the light of common day, leaving but the memory of its rich and unutterable happiness. Richard combined with his Mystic temperament an energetic nature and a stalwart love of righteousness, which made him a reformer as much as a philosopher. He protested vigorously against the corruption, the avarice, and worldliness of men who professed to be wedded to a sacred profession, and who ought to be cnsamples to the flock. He entered the lists even against his Superior at St Victor, when he permitted and encouraged evil ways in the monastery ; and he had the satisfaction of aiding in restoring its reputation for a high sanctit}'. He exaggerated the qualities of Hugo both as a Mystic and a Scholastic. He carried his Mysticism into extremes, from which Hugo shrank ; and he indulged in an elaborate dialccticism which Hugo would have mourned over^ but he preserved a life as pure, and a devoutness as commendable, as his great predecessor. They were both men who would have adorned any Church and any age, Of similar spirit to Hugo and Richard was Walter, a Canon and Prior of St. Victor, and sometimes called Walter of Mauretania, in Flanders, who wrote with great severity against Ab61ard, and who called him, with Peter Lombard, and Gilbert, and Peter of Poictiers, " the four labyrinths of France ; " protesting against the devotion they manifested to the method and teach- ing of Aristotle, and charging them with teaching in a spirit of levity the great doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. THE MONKS OF ST. VICTOR. 135 If entire approbation cannot be entertained for the opinions of the leading monks of St. Victor, especially as they were carried to their legitimate issues by their later followers, the influence they exerted on the morals of the clergy, and the piety of the age, must be regarded with entire satisfaction. Such an influence was loudly called for as a counter-charm against the vices prac- tised by many members of the religious orders, and the mere perfunctorincss of others. Even many teachers devoted to the training of students led lives entirely unworthy of the faith they professed and the functions they fulfilled. The Victorines were men of blameless life, of high spirituality, of heavenly yearnings ; and Peter Cantor, a successor to Hugo and Richard in the Abbey, and afterwards Bishop of Tournay, vigorously fought against the deadening tendencies of the age, and sought to baptize both Church life and theological studies with a new spirituality ; and thus the whole circle of the Victorines for a long period seems to have been used by Divine Providence as a means to correct the too bold and exclusive dialecticism of the day, and the irreligion which affected so injuriously both Church life and Church teachers. Note A. "1 he six degrees of contemplation are as follows ('De Contemp. L, 6, fol. 45): — " I. In imaginatione secundum solam imayinationeni. "2. la imaginatione secundum rationem. "3. In ratione secundum imaginationem. "4. In mtione secundum rationem. " 5. Supra rationem sed non praeter rationem. "6. Supra rationem videtur esse praeter rationem. " The office of imagination to which the first two belong,' is th'n*V/., cap. 3. These tha.e staics are distinguished with muv.h care; and his definition of the last 1^ <•.=. follows :~Contempliiti^. est perspicax et liber animi contiiitUi in res perspiciendas I'ndeqaaque diflusus. — Ibid., cap. 4. He draws the distinction between inteliigibilia ar.d irucl- leclibilia ii« cap, 7. The former -invij.ibIHi rutione tamen coni- pn iicnsibiila ; the latter— inviiibilia ct humcuA.-^e rationi incompre- hensibiha. Ti»e four lov/ei kinds are principally occupied, he adds, svilh cieateJ objects ; the two last wth what is uncreated and divine." — yau^/utn, " Hours with the Mystics," i., 162. Note B. Of similai spirit to the Victorines was Robert Puh, or PuUein, a distin^-ul^hfd doctor of Oxford, and creai-d a cardinal in 1144. Ho puUiihed .1 book called " I.iliri Sentenii,-ifu;Ti," whtcb professed to base every diilectic process upon the Bible and the writbigs of the curly fathers of the Church. This book became a suggestion, or a model, for a work, the "Book oi Sentences" of Peter Lombard, w'iich superseded its forerunner, and became a most important factor in the Sehulastieism of the succeeding centuiy. Pullein also wrote a treatise on the Apocalypse, and twenty of his sexmoni are preserved in the Lan^beth collection. CHAPTER VIII. THE MASTER OF THE SENTEhXLS.-PETER THE LOMBARD. "Once in a golden hour I cast to earth a seed ; Up there came a flower, The people said a weed. ' ' To and fro thejr went Throutjh my garden bower. And muttering discontent, Cursed me and my flower. " Tlien it grew so tall, It wore a crown of light, But thieves from o'er the wall Stole the seed by night. " Sowed it far and wide, By every town arwl tower, Till all the people cried, ' Splendid is the flower ! * " Read my little fable. He that runs may read. Most can raise the flower now, For all have got the seed. "And some are pretty enough, And some are poor indeed. And now again the people Call it but a weed." — ^Tennyson. VIII. PETER THE LOMBARD. Two opposing streams of influence, which had their rise in the various philosophies and historic develop- ments of the preceding ages, began in the twelfth century to flow, each with gathering strength and volume, and were shortly to come into violent collision. One came sweeping with the wave-liko flood of eccle- siastical authority, and claimed to carr>^ with it the supreme control of all matters of human opinion ; the other rushed on in the wild and daring demand that human reason should be the arbitrating power to deter- mine matters of human belief A man arose in the midst of the intellectual activity of the twelfth century who, without being distinguished by an exalted genius, was able by his learning, his calm dignity of mind, his correct judgment and force of style, to gather into convenient form the results of previous discussions in theology and philosophy ; to give decided impulse to the tendency of the age for mtellectual exercise, and yet to impose some restraint on tlie bold and rebellious spirit which would have overleapt traditional and ecclesiastical barriers, have implicated a revolution of public opinion before the due time, and have prevented by possibility human progress for generations. 140 GKEA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. This was Peter, born near Novara, in Lombardy, probably in the early part of the twelfth century. He was drawn from his Italian birthplace to Paris by that warm glow of learning which seemed to have irresist- ible attraction for all the ardent and eager souls of that age. He studied with such devoted ness in the university as to win the commendation of Bernard, which is not onlj'- a guarantee of his studiouaness, but also of his attention to spiritual exercises. He at- tended the lectures of Abelard, at St. Genevieve ; but whilst fired with enthusiasm by his kindling eloquence. Peter was not disposed to be carried from orthodox standards of doctrine by his brilliant teacher. He was made Bishop of Paris in I 159, but was only per- mitted to wear his honours a brief period, as he died in 1 164, It maybe doubted whether his promotion to a bishopric did not rather lessen than increase his influence as a teacher ; for then, as now, such a posi- tion often was injurious to the work of a man of commanding geniu-i and learning. Peter's title to fame rests solely on one book, iiamed on a pattern followed by others both before and after him, and originally adopted by John Damascenus. The materials for a life of Peter are of the poorest ; the very year of his birth has not been preserved ; no achievements and adventures are recorded which give variety and bright- ness to his career. The one great book he wrote is his life and epitaph. No doubt he ha'd a busy life, and was much honoured in his day ; other books came from his pen, but his claim to a place in history, and the justification of the place assigned to him, rest on the one book which has made his name famous in the first rank of the Schoolmen. 1 his book was the '* Ountuur libri sententiarum," -.vhicb consisted of a PETER THE LOMBARD. 141 comprehensive and elaborate compilation of passages from the ancient Fathers of the Church, especially Ambrose, Hilary, Augustine, Cassiodonis, and Remigius, Peter suppressed their names, and added only so much of his own composition as gave an appearance of com- pleteness and system to the whole. It was divided into four parts, and these again into numerous "-dis- tinctions" In the first book he has forty-eight of these distinctions dealing with the mystery of the Holy Trinity ; the offices and relations of the Divine Persons, the Divine Essence and Attributes ; the Divine Foreknowledge and Freedom. In the second book he has forty-four distinctions, treating of the Angels, their capacities, qualities, and functions ; their relation to the demons, with many curious questions as to the possi- bility of their falling, etc. He treits also of the creation of man and woman, of the nature of man, of original sin, and of many curious, if not absurd, matters, as to the nature, the modes, and the penalties of sin. In the third book he makes forty distinctions, and enlarges in them on the Incarnation of the Word, with numerous considerations as to the method of the Incarna- tion, the relation of the P'ather and of the Holy Spirit thereto, together with the bearings of the Incarnation upon the Divine Nature, on the Devil, and on man, to whom it is the means of redemption. He descends to many trivial questions ; as, whether Christ had faith, hope, and charity ; whether in death the soul and th-- flesh were separated in Christ from the Word, and so on. He then deals with many questions relating lo Christian virtues and graces. In the fouith book he draws fifty elaborate di.sLinctions, and dcnls at great length with many of the .suhjeots. There is, indeed, more opportunity afforded for lengthy trcHtif^eiit of 142 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. these than of some of the hard and mysterious matters previously dealt with. He enters into the subject of the Sacraments, which he treats after the usual fashion of mediaeval writers ; and then goes on to treat of Church ordinances and offices. From these he pro- ceeds to deal with matrimony and adultery, with the usual pruriency of Romish writers ; and then ends with the great topics of the Resurrection, the Last Judgment, and the Future State. The order and clearness of the book, its oracular character, and the skilful manner in which it concen- trated the results of the Church's previous thinking, made it peculiarly acceptable in an age which was driven and tossed by the winds of many controversies, and which yearned for a safe harbour of refuge in matters of faith. The book was taken as a model by innumerable imitators ; it was made a text-book in the universities ; lectures were given upon it by nearly all Church teachers ; and in some of the universities a special chair was devoted to its exposition. Other books written by the Lombard, long " Commentaries on the Psalms and Epistles," are forgotten ; but the " Sentences " mark an era in human thought, and, as has been said, Peter's place on the " bead-roll " of time is due to this book alone. The " Book of Sentences " was distinguished by a close and rigid adherence to the letter of Scripture and the interpretation put upon Scripture by the Church, in its creeds and authorised commentators. He gave great, indeed supreme, prominence throughout his work to the ethical principle, and thus the moral tone is admirable. He was a severe sacramentarian ; but he swerved from a rigid sacerdotalism in treating of " the power of the keys," which he held consisted only in PETER THE LOMBARD. 143 showing how the souls of men were to be bound and loosed. He delighted in using all the dry and technical methods which give so much aridness to the treatises of Scholasticism ; but this was not wholly a drawback in that age when the unsettled notions and the diffuse style of thinking then existing are considered. The book was a contribution to human thought on the side of Realism. In the outset of his work, Peter attempts to draw a clear distinction between sigfis and thuigs. The latter, he says, are eternal realities ; and the former the tokens by which they make themselves known to the outward world. Things he divides into three classes : those which are to be enjoyed ; those which are to be used ; and those which themselves both use and enjoy. The first he says are the Persons of the Holy Trinity, by the enjoyment of whom we attain the highest blessedness ; the second are those agencies which help us to rise to the enjoyment of this blessedness ; and those which have the power both to use and enjoy are ourselves, who with saints and angels are placed between the two former classes to use the one, and to enjoy the other.' His views on the Trinity, which assumed an impor- tant place in current controversies, seemed to assimilate to those of Augustine and Anselm, in advocating three relations in the Godhead rather than three Persons.^ But although, by a literal and severe criticism, this interpretation may be placed on the writings of these great teachers, it is evident they did not recognize the real bearing of their modes of expression and illus- tration on this important subject, and doubtless they held the doctrine of the Trinity as defined in the authorised creeds and adopted by those Churches ^ Note A. ' " Lib. Sent.," i. 5. 144 I- REAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGP.S. deemed orthodox. Peter's view of this doctrine was opposed by Joachim, the Abbot of Flore, who taxed him with teaching that the Persons of the Holy Trinity bein^f above all thini^s, neither generated, nor were generated, nor proceeded. But in this case, as it is often in controversy, Joachim misunderstood Peter, who in using such words was urging the important distinction between the Supreme God as such, and God the F'athcr as one of the Persons in the Godhead. Peter's words arc these : — " It is not written that the Divine Essence generated the Son, because with the Son is the Divine Essence, and the Son already existed in the Thing by which He was generated ; and so the same thing must himself have generated himself, which is evidently impossible But the Father only generates the Son ; and from the Father and the Son proceeds the Holy Spirit." On the subject of the Incarnation Peter broached opinions which subjected him to subsequent charges of heresy, and to ecclesiastical censure. The Christian Church had been for jTenerations distracted by the dreary controversies of the Monothelites and the Monophysites ;' and although they had been formally closed by the adoption of the Catholic doctrine, that in Christ " two natures and two wills \vere united in one and the same per.son," it .still was evident that no definite and thomugh understanding existed among great Church teachers on the subject. Therefore, even in the precise and dogmatic style of Peter, this doc- trine was treated m so vacillating a manner as to expose him to misunderstanding. He attempted to discu.ss the questions " Whether a person, or a nature, assumed humanity ? " and " Whether tlie Nature of ' Note E. PllTER THE LOMBARD. 143 God wa-s incarnated ? " In answerinc^ the first question he virtually conceded that both alternuiivcs were true, and also affirmed that the Divine Nature might truly be said to be incarnated. Ho furthennorc art:,'ued on the ground of the immutability of the Divine Nature that the Son did not become anything, by the assump- tion of our nature. These viovas exposed him to much opposition ; an order was issued by Pope Alexander III. to the Synod of Tours, in 1 163, to examine the phrase, '~ Dcus non f actus est aliquiiV,* and after due discussion the Assembly pronotinced iL heretical. In 1 175, John of C(,.rn\vall wrote against the teach- ing of Peter on the Person of Christ ; arguing that in the Bible Christ i-i described as a man, and hence that He existed along with other beings of like nature which took their rise in time. Thus he urged God did really become something, and to believe otherwise would lead to D9ketism. This writer was far from clear as to his th Ihcrnselves and their readers. Then ibi lowed Walter of St. Victor, who charged Peter with the heresy of Nihilianlsm, as thouLrh he had taught that Christ had become Noth.ing. Ihis charge was unjust, although in appearance some grounil for it existed in the form of expression used by IV^ter, who, howevci, only sought to deny the existence of Christ in a certain individual form, and not to deny to Him real existence in human nature.' ' Note C. 10 146 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. On thp subject of the Atonement, Peter combined somewhat the views of the older Church Fathers with the moral view advocated by Abelard. He, indeed, beheved, with Anselm, in the doctrine of a substitution- ary sacrifice, and he also gave the devil some place in the transaction; but he dwelt mainly on the Atonement as a revelation of the eternal love of God, whereby the heart of man was to be won to love and holiness. He also united with Anselm in urging the doctrine of pre- destination as taught by Augustine ; but he interposed many limitations, in applying the doctrine to human salvation. In his teaching concerning the operation of Divine Grace, and the appropriation of it by the believer, he followed in general the lead of the same great teachers. He exercised an important influence on the Church's belief and on future controversies by the views he inculcated as to the significance and the number of the Sacraments, Augustine had de- fined a Sacrament to be a visible sign of an in- visible grace ; invisibilis graticB visihile signum had been the usual definition ; and Augustine also had said, SacramenUih: est^ sacra> ret signum. This simple definition did not accord with the elaborate system of dogma now working its way in the Church ; it neither satisfied the mystical yearnings of the Victorines, nor the dialectical temper of Scholastici.sm. Peter interpreted exactly the prevailing spirit, and taught that a sacra- ment was a sign of a sacred thing involving sacred mystery ; tliat it was a holy seal which must never be separated from the grace it signifies ; that it was, indeed, an invisible grace taking a visible and outward form. Then as to the number of the Sacraments, the writers of the Church had been strangely divided. Rabanus Maurus and Paschasius Radbertus insisted PETER THE LOMBARD. 147 only on two; and when dividing the sacraments o{ baptism and the Eucharist into two each, they spoke at the most of four. Victor said there were three, but Peter Damiani spoke of twelve. Peter jjave decided testimony, which largely moulded the doctrine of the Church for ages in favour of seven — viz., Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Matrimony, and Holy Orders. These were adopted as sacraments by the great Schoolmen generally. Eona- ventura, Aquinas, and others sustained them by many ingenious arguments, especially the former, who by a not very convincing logic founded arguments on such analogies as the seven deadly diseases in man, and the seven cardinal virtues. Peter seems to have been somewhat undecided on the subject of the Real Presence in the elements of the Eucharist. He gives several opinions, which were held by prominent autho- rities, but shuns a definite statement of his own view. He would seem to have inclined to the view held by some of the later Schoolmen, that the accidentia are sine subjecto, thus professing to hold the doctrine of Transubstantiation, which word was coming into use in his day, and yet avoiding the coarseness of interpre- tation indulged in by some \^Titers. The influence exercised by the " Book of Sentences " was amazing, far beyond the merit or genius of the author ; thus showing how exactly it fitted in with the special temper of the times. Peter seems to have possessed a wide range of learning, and to have been carefully, even painfully industrious ; but he had no originality, no inventiveness, no sprightliness of fancy ; and though he had no remarkable gift for reasoning, he had great reproductive facility, a clear and compact method, and a perspicuous simple st>le. He was, never- i/,S (IKI-A'f school MFy nf- THE MIDDIE AGES. thciess, a severe d 'Miiitist, and slavishly devoted to the bi-.^raiTliicii ^ystc:in. Ilis "Book of Sentences" was the antipodes and the antidote of the Sic et Non of AhcU^rd. He sought to exhibit the unity of the Church F.ithcis in iheir rcli;;ious teaching, as his great master had sought to show their endless diversity. He did U>r his predecessors what ProcUis did for Plotinus ; he arranged and syste^^a^!sed their views ; he has been well called the Euclid of Scholasticism,' and his *• Sentences " became the propositions and axioms of ecclesiastical reasoning for generations. The Church ndopt.-^d his book as its favourite manual ; although it was hard, dr)^, we-tiy dogmatism, it had the merit of positiveness and simplicity ; it came inscribed and recommended by the greatest Christian names of the past ages ; it was most flattering to the pride of the Church as exhibiting the noblest minds of the past, bolstering up those authoritative^ and oracular declara- tions of ecclesiasticism which were opposed to the wayward wistful spirit of the age, in its desire to escape from such iron bondage. In the pages of Peter, Augi3 /tine and Gregory, Ambrose and Anselm spoke with such brevity, condensaticn, and force, that his book H:d much to fix the doctrine of the Church, and contributed largely to tiie bold deciijions of the Council of the i.atcran, whieri within half a century of Peter's death -^ave to Chn.tendom its dogmatic formulas of foith, .Scriptural and super-Scrlplural. Note A. ^' f")ntnmtTt i-'itur quae di'.'ta sunt; ex quo de rebus spccialiter ir»rravin;us, ha-t jumma est Quod alia- suni quibus uendrnn est, alia; quihus uitrriduiii est, iUia? qua; fruuntcr et uluntur et intereas, ' M'.hiian, -' Lat. Chii5,t," ix., 104. PETER THE LOMBAKD. w-) quibus ctendu est, etia qu.'eda sunt p^rr quas fruunur ut virtiit-. s ct poteniirs animi quje sunt naturalia bona. Dj quibui amnibu> imequam de signis tracteinus, agendum est, ae pniinim ue rebu-^ tiuibus fruendum esc, scilicet de sancta atqui- individua trinitate." — " Quat. Lib. Sent.," Lib. I., I3istinct i., p. 6. Note B. Augustine compared the Three Persons i:i the Godhead .vifh the memory, ioteUect, and will in man. H«' s.iid t!ie Fersonf; were not to be regarded as spe<-ies, for we do not av, tri^ cq hi sunt nnum animal sed iria .Diimalia (" Opp. Trinit.," V., loj. " Vellem ut hiti, tria co;.'.itarent homines in seipsib. Lonf^'" aliud sunt isu tria quam ilia Trinitab ; sed diro ubi se excrceani et ib; probent, et sentiant quam longe sunt. Dicr autein ha;c tria : essv.-, nosse, velle. Sum enim. et novi, et volo ; sum s-ions et vcyleas ; et scio esse me et velle ; et volo esse et scire. In his icfitur tribus quam sit inscparabilis vita, et una vita, et una mens, et una essentia, quam denique inscparabilis distinctio, et t.unea dibtmctio, v.deat qui potest."' — Con/., XIII., u- Note C. " According to the view which the Lombard seems f.naliy to adjopt, (iod did not become objectively a man m Christ, but the humanity of (lod had an existence solely in the rtprestntations and notions (}f the hunvin mind representations .and notions which He intended to take such r. form. God clothed HimsrH objectuely with the gannent of humanity in oider to appear as man. Sc also the reconciliation was not, strictly speaking;, really cliccted by Christ ; but His appearance and saffeiings were merely objective occurrences, intended to be regarded by God and man as ha\ in;/ brought about the reconciliation. The ancient Christian idea, that in Christ humanity was exalted to the Divine throne and to a pa-i; cipation in the Divine nature, he totally repudiated ; and supposed himself to be justified in doing so by the circnmsuincc, that highly esteemed teachers of the Church had found fault with the ex- pression,' homo dominicus. "(troy the offccts. The genius of liberty, however, is roused, p.nd, nided by suclt powerful succours, victory tuust eventually ensue. The human fncuUics have l)c -n long under the dominion of a barbarous Gothic ignorance. The lights of knowledge- bejna to dissipate the ijlooni, and a successful example will convince all nations of the abuses that have been practised upon iham.'' — JUanHni's of the Age. IX. THE GRECIAN DOCTOR.— THE ADVANCE OF A R/S TO TE LI AN ISM. It is important at this point to notice the growth to enormous infiu'jncc, and indeed to supreme intellectual ascendency, of the philosophy and logical methods of Aristotle. As a teacher of tiie art of reasoning, and an adept in dialectics, he had already risen to a position of commanding prominence, although up to the commence- ment C}{ the thirteenth centuiy he was only known in Cnristcndom by an abridgement of the Organon, by Gregory of Nazianzum, the abstract of Boethius, and the Isagoge of Porphyry, the last of vvhkh was a neat summary of Aristotle's logical system, with explanations and illustrations of his principal terms. Only a small number of advanced scholars had made acquaintance with the logical treatises contained in the Orgaiwn. Kven to this extremely limited degree, the Church was jealous of his influence, and manifested uneasiness if any of its sons became unduly familiar with his teach- ing. Abtilard dared to discuss theological questions by his rules, but the ire of a fervid dogmatism wa;^ aroused against him. If known by others, he was known only by his Logic ; whilst, as a moralist, metaphysician, or physicist, he was almost totallv unrecognized within the Church. IS4 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF TtJE M/OtfLE AGES. But now an uneasy, creeping dread began to be felt by the heresy hunters of the Church. The alarni was first experienced in the great centre of European learn- ing, the University of Paris. It arose on the meta- physical and physical treatises of Aristotle having been introduced in a Latin dress into the schools ; for some teachers who had studied them were said to have imbibed false tenets thereby. It was not only, however, the circumstance that fhe philosophy of Aristotle was being introduced into the schools of the Church that aroused the instinctive dislike of an intolerant eccle- siastical auUiorily, but that it came through the dreaded Mohammcoan unbelievers ; a fact which led to the per- secution of those who encouraged the study of the great Stagyritc, and to his works being first prohibited and then burnt in public. The influence which the writings of Aristotle had produced upon Arabian Iparning had been amazing, and through the pure light cast by that intellectual movement in Europe, he was now to be seen enthroned for centuries as the master of learned Christendom. The Arabian civilization in Europe had attained to an extraordinary height. The city of Cordova is said to have numbered more than a million of inhabitants, and its streets were so spacious that at night there might be seen one unbroken line of lamps for ten miles. Palaces, of stately construction and elaborate deco- ration, were numerous ; the gardens of the wealthy were luxuriant with fruit and flowers, with summer- houses and glistering fountains ; the houses of the upper classes were stored with furniture of almost invaluable mosaic work, shining with pearl and ivory, with silver and gold, with malachite and carbuncle ; ornaments of rarest porcelain and rock crystal, tapes- THE GRECIAN DOCTOR. i55 tries and carpets of intricate embroideries ; books in sumptuous bindings, and of delicately chaste illumi- nation, were scattered in profusion, — all telling of a taste which had been cultivated to rare excellence, and wealth which might have sated the most luxuriant. It is indeed almost impossible not to believe that some exaggeration exists in the accounts recording the beauty and expensiveness of the gardens, the grandeur of the palaces, the refinement? and furnishings of the apartments, owned by these Spanish-Arabians. The Mohammedans were equally advanced in the various branches of learning, and equally expert the art of music and the science of mathematics. At Cordova there was a college of music, with rich endowments and a numerous staff of accomplished professors. Even the Khalifs were skilled in Algebra and the sterner branches of learning. From the close contiguity of France, a taste for dancing and amorous carolling was contracted ; and the wise sages of Cordova and Seville were scandalized by hearing, even in university court and learned ceil, trolled forth in laughing song the praise of wine and women. As many as seventy great public libraries existed in the chief cities of the Spanish Khaliphate ; in con- nection with every mosque a school was established, and a thorough system of education rigorously and universally carried out ; academies, witli complete edu- cational machinery,, were established, regardless of ex- pense, for the children of those who occupi*id a high social position ; and in the chief cities, such as Cor- dova, Granada, Seville, Toledo, and others, great uni- versities existed, to which flocked, from all parts of Europe, as well as from ever\- hamlet in Spam, those who desired to familiarise themselves with the highest 15^ GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. learning- of the times. It was impossible but that, in connection *fiVCix a system of education of such lofty standard and of such high culture, a great literature should arise. The Arabian philosophers produced copiously books of great excellence in every depart- ment of learning. Their lexicons of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, and their treatisf^'^ on the various sciences, were prepared with such careful and minute elaboration that one treatise alone consisted of sixty volumes. They had works on chronology, numismatics, agricul- ture, oratory, statistics, zoology, gems, botany, medicine, surgery, arithmetic, astronomy, anatomy, and other sciences. They abounded also in works of fiction and romance, in satires, odes, and all kinds of rhythmical verse. It is saying but little to affirm that in almost eveiy branch of human learning the Arabs were the leaders of Europe ; that of many of the scientific dis- coveries of later days they were the positive antici- pators, and of some the unconscious prophets. Amongst the thinkers and philosophers of theArabian school, Aristotle occupied the chief place of homage To them he summed up and represented the genius of the noble Hellenic philosophy ; and what was even more to them, he seemed to deal with every subject which the Koran omitted. In him they had a great leader of tliought in every department of knowledge which was left open to them by their book of fate ; so that when the demand arose amongst them for a noble scientific culture, they enthroned Aristotle as their sovereign teacher, and to his system they referred on all subjects in science and philosophy. The Koran was accepted as their infallible guide in the moral or spiritual world, and Aristotle was considered as equally infallible in the world of philosophy and science. 7 /// (RFC J A N' DOC FO R. : 5 7 The most illuv.riwus name amon^^st i.he early devo- tees of the great Greek logician was Aviccenna, who died in 1037. He taught at Baghdad, and '\r\ him were gathered up the highest results of Orientnl learn- ing. He was followed by Algazel, who was called by his countrymen the I maun of the world, and >r whom was recorded the noble epitaph. " The man who pr;kr- tised what he taught, aiMi who, of all others, feared to offend his Maker." When asked how he had attained his extraordinary learning, he replied, " By never having? been ashamed to inquire when I v/as ignorant." In Spain, Aristotelianism was cultivated by Avicebron in the twelfth century ; and in the thirteenth by Avcm- brace, who wrote commentaries on the physical treatises of Aristotle ; and who again was followed by Abu- bacer, until appeared Averroes, in whom the Arabian Aristotelianism bore its latest and ripest fruit. But while Averroes adopted Aristotle as his text-book, and reproduced his method in teaching, he did not allow him.self to become the mere echo of his master, but .showed himself bold enough to ri;>e into an independent range of thou;.;ht. With Aristotle, he ascended frtMn mere sense to the understanding, but aflP.rmed, very emphatically, not only the permanent existence and immateriality of the thinking boui. but also its existence apart from individuals, who only shared it in proportion to the measure of intelligence possessed by them. The inspiring will and the ripest dev^clopmeni of human reason lie in this universal soul, cnnd within its embrace all the generations of thinking men h've and move. This doctrine of the unity of intellect or S(
    '. Educated in the monastery of Hales, he thence derived the name by which he is known in histoiy, and on which he has conferred immortality. He received a liberal education, of which he v/as so receptive that he obtained preferment in the form of an archdeaconry at a vcr)'- early age. "But his thirst for learning was too keen i.o be content in so narrow a sphere, and he was soon drawn by the irresistible influence which made the University of Paris the centre of attraction to the \ouno and ardent spirits of the Church. There he drank in learning with such avidity that he quickly surpassed nearly aM his contemporaries, took his degree of doctor, and became a teacher of philosophy and thcolocyy. In 1222 he united himself with the Franciscan Order of monVrs, which had recentl}- been instituted, and which divided with the Dominicans the enthusiasm of the most earnest and sanguine Christian;; of the age. Although he was at the very height of fame and popu- larity, he retired into a private retreat, and gave himself to close and absorbing study. He retained the title of 12 178 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. doctor, being the first of the Order to do so ; and although he apparently violated the vow of complete and absolute renunciation of everything merely earthly, which he had deliberately taken, he was quickly followed by others who claimed the same privilege. He spent twenty-three years in quiet and laborious study, mingled with devout exercises, in the convent of Cordeliers in Paris, and in 1245 he died, and was buried within its precincts. He was so learned and eloquent as a teacher as to be called by many Fans Vita, the fountain of life. He was the first of the Schoolmen who made himself thoroughly acquainted with the writings of Aristotle and his Arabian a>mmen- tators ; but he was afterwards surpassed by Albertus Magnus in universal range of knowledge and in comprehensiveness of teaching. He wrote many works, only some of which have been preserved, and of these a few only have been published. He wrote notes on the Old and New Testaments, expositions of the Gospels of St Mark and St. Luke, the Epistles of St. Paul, the Books of Moses, the Judges, the Kings, the Psalms, and the minor Prophets. His principal work, in which he gathered up his whole system of teaching, was the Summa TIieologicB, published at Nuremberg in 1452, at Venice in 1576, and at Cologne in 162;;. It consisted of dissertations on the "Book oi Sentences," by Peter the Lombard. It was under- taken by order of the Pope, and was approved by him and the principal theologians of Europe as a system of divinit/ to be taught in the schools of Christendom. It was in the form of a dialogue, and was rigidly logical in style and treatment. He was called away from his earthly labours before he was able to complete it, but it WIS finished by his pupils, and was published in THE IRREFRAGABLE DOCTOR. 179 1252. He adopted the divisions of the Lombard, and treated the subject of theology in four parts ; {a) the Deity, {b) the Creation, (t) the Redemption, {d) tlio Sacraments. In regard to the great distinguishing question of the Middle Ages, Alexander was a Realist. He teaches universaLia ante rem, the universal in the mind of God ; the universalia not existing as independent essences apart from God, but constituting the causa exemplaris of things ; not distinct from the causa efficiens, but being identical with it in God. The universale hi re is the form of things.' He insists that in theology know- ledge depends upon faith ; that theology must first of all produce faith, and then that through faith man arrives at an intellectual understanding of Divine things. It is altogether different in regard to scientific or philo- sophical knowledge ; these require the substratum of knowledge on which faith must rest. Faith is the illuminating principle of the soul, and the brighter its light the more keen is the apprehension of truth. Christian faith is only satisfied with really knowing its object ; it springs out of experience, and stands above all knowledge. But reason has a part to play in the exercise and development of faith. As it is enlightened by faith, it helps the believer to comprehend more clearly the truth believed ; as he makes use of the arguments suppliec by reason, his faith becomes strengthened, so that faith and reason in their exercise are mutually helped ; and in winning unbelievers to the faith reason is called upon to play an important part by affording proofs to a mind unwilling to be at first satisfied with simple experience. He taught that God is in all things, but is not essentially included in them. He is without * Ueberweg, " Hist, of Phil," i . 434. i8o GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDI E AGES. all thinjT.s, yet is not absolutely excluded from them. " He exists in things in a threefold mc^nner, cssentialiUr, pTiZsentialitur, potentialiter ; these three modes, however, do not differ in themselves, but only in our idea of thcin." ' He refused to accept the argument of Anselm for the existence of God, and yet argued that the idea of God was native or intuitive in man, in consequence of the connection existing between truth and his moral nature. He affirms that the idea lies at the foundation of man's consciousness, and is undeniable ; but as there is a twofold tendency in man, if he allow the earthly to prevail he may lose the consciousness and sink into being the fool who says in his heart there is no God.' Unfortunately Alexander led the way in discussing many trivial questions which subsequent Scholastics took up and multiplied, pursuing them into endless ramifications, a course which has irretrievably damaged the reputation of Scholasticism. He raised many questions concerning the attributes of God, especially as to His love ; whether it is identical when manifested to His creatures or to Himself, or to the Persons in the Godhead, etc. This habit, which, once beg^n, was likely to be very infectious, was a great waste of power on the part of writers of ability, and a great drawback to the utility and acceptability of their productions. He did much towards revising the prevailing notions on Ihc Trinity, which verged closely upon Sabellianism, from which, however, the Schoolmen would have shrunk back with dismay if they had recognised the tendency of their views. Discussing at length the subject of the Generation of the Son, he drew many .-caicely perceptible distinctions between generation tnntt.Tia!, original, and ordinal, and concluded by afflrm- ' Hagcnbach, '• Hist, of DocK." i., 489 '' Note A. THE IRKEFRAGADLi: DOCTOK. iSl ing thdt by the laiigu.i<^c " begotten of the Father," it is only intendeil to teach th?.t the nature of the Father and the Son are identical, lie believed that every individual creature possesses its own perfection, although it might appear imperfect when compared witl\ the whole. In writing concerning the angels, he said that whilst some fell from their first estate, the great majority preserved theii purity and happiness. The angels are able to exert some inHuencc upon the material world, although the influence does not extend so far as to enable them to work miracles. Tlie fall of man involved his deprivation of the Ih'vine righteousness he had pie- viously possessed ; and on the ground of the satisfac- tion rendered to Divine justice by the death of Clir\-)t, it is restored to him again. He introduced into the theology of Scholasticism the notion of Fate, which he defined to be the co-opera- tion of all causes directed by a higher law. By this he did not intend to infringe upon the notion of free will, because he reckoned it to be one of the co operating causes. By Fate, all cau.ses free and natural work together in their proper relations, and the actions of free will are only controlled by the connection in which they stand to other causes. He thi>ught that evil served to contribute to the general perfection of the universe, inasmuch as it displayed in fullest measure the essential excellence of goodness. He taught that man was originally created in a state purely human, and that the Divine likeness was afterwards added, being thus an accidental and not an essential [K^rtion of the man, and showing the distinction between a state of nature and a state of grace even in man primaeval. Grace was not created in man, but was reserved until by reason he had become fit to re«.ci\e tS2 grea t schoolmen of the middle ages. it. On the subject of the sinner's justification, he taught that no certain knowledge was vouchsafed, be- cause Divine grace did not come within the circle of knowledge, either as to its cause or mode, and a man could only judge of his salvation by the measure of light, peace, and joy he experienced inwardly. The uncertainty arising from this condition he considered v/ould have a helpful effect upon the believer by lead- ing him to greater watchfulness, and by supplying an urgent stimulus to constant progress. He strongly dissented from the view of Augustine and other Church teachers concerning the freedom o^ man and the opera- tion of Divine grace on the soul, and taught that the measure of grace received by the soul was entirely conditioned by the willingness or otherwise of the soul to receive it.' He agreed with some of his predecessors in affirm- ing the validity of the seven sacraments adopted subse- quently by the Councils of the Church, but had the candour to admit that Baptism and the Lord's Supper had been alone instituted by the Redeemer, whilst the others derived their appointment and authority from the Apostles and priests of the Church; Some of the sayings preserved of him breatlie a fervent piety and a tender spirit. The folloMang are but a sample of many similar passages which might be quoted : — " Charity in the soul of a man is like the sun in the firmament, which spreads his beams upwards, downwards; upwards to- wards God, the angels, saints ; downwards to the creatures, especially the poor, that are good ; and as the sun shines upon the good and bad, so true charity dilates its beams over its enemies." — " Destruct. Virior," p. vii., ch. xii., 3. "A soul patient for wrongs offered is like a man with a » Note B. THK IRKEfRAGABLE DOCTOR. 183 sword in one hand and salve in another ; could wound, but will heal." — IHd., p. vi., ch. xxvi. ** What the eye is to the body, that faith is to the soul ; tis good for direction if it be well kept; as flies do hurt the eye, so • do little sin* and ill thoughts the soul." — Ibid., p. vi., ch. xxxii. Alexander manifested throughout all his writings great independence of mind. He showed a strong tendency to break away from rigid Augustinianism and the trammels of mere ecclesiasticism ; and he did much to vindicate the right of reason, to consider and judge on all matters of belief. Note A "Yet," he remarks, "it does not follow from this fundamental relation that all men become conscious to themselves of the idea of God, and that it meets with recognition from them as an actual reality; for with regard to this knowledge in act {cogniiio in uctu), we must distinguish two separate tendencies of the soul, according as either the higher faculty of reason is developed and active in it, and it is directed upon that original revelation of God, hence per- ceives it. since the mind cannot avoid being conscious of that which is the principle of its own essence — or the lower powers only are active, as in the case of the soul ihat surrenders itself to earthly things when the consciousness of God is repressed in it by this predominantly worldly tendency,— and so the fool may deny the existence of Qo^y —Neander, " Church Hist.," viii., 204. Note B. "Alexander of Hales says:— 'All men are found to be alike corrupt. No one can make himself fit for heaven. God wills according to His highest love to save men, to communicate to them Himself ; but it is presupposed that there is a reci|.-iency, so far as this is grounded in the moral powers still remammg to man. The light shines everywhere ; but its rays do not find everywhere a material susceptible of illumination. No one can render himself sufficiently susceptible tor the reception of grace, unless God Him- self makes him fit for it by His own irvard operation. But if he only does what it depends on himself to do, the Di\nne frace ensues, by which he is prepared for the reception of grace" — Xt:niid^r, " Church Hist.," viii., 305. CHAPTER XII. THE SERAPHICAL DOCTOR, DONA VENTURA. " Rapt with the rage of mine own ravished thought, Through contemplation of those goodly sights, And glorious images in heaven wrought, Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights, Do kindle love in high-conceited sprites, I fain to tell the things which I behold. But feel my wits to fail, and tongue to fold. " Vouchsafe then, O Thou most Almighty Sprite ! From whom all gifts of wit and knowledge flow, To shed into my breast some sparkling light Of thine eternal truth, that I may show Some litrle beams to mortal eyes below Of that immortal beauty there with Thee, Which in my weak distraughted mind I see." — Spenser. XII. THE SERAPHICAL DOCTOR, BONAVENTURA. John of Fidanza, commonly called Bonaventura, was bom at Bagnarea, near Viterbo, in Italy, in 122 i. His father was named Johannes Fidantius, and his mother Ritelia ; they were both descended from noble families of Tuscany ; both were wealthy, and had a fragrant reputation for sanctity and charity. The son was early devoted to the Church by his saintly mother, but in his infancy it is said he had an illness so severe in its character that his life was despaired of. In her agony the good Ritelia carried him to St. Francis of Assisi, who by his faith and prayers was the instrument of his restoration, and as he was recovering gave him back to his mother with the words, "O buona ventura !" from whence came his well-known name in history. From childhood he showed a disposition, not only to cultivate piety, but many branches of learning ; as a boy he delighted in visiting the poor and the sick, and in practising methods tending to promote lowliness of mind. In his twenty-second year he. like Alexander of Hales, took the vows of the Order of St. Francis, and thus added one more to the brilliant names which were to make the Mendicant Orders for ever famous. He is described as having been of tall stature, of grave iSS CRFAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. and winning countenance, and of so healtliy a consti- tution that after his childhood he scarcely sutTered from a touch of sickness duiing his life. He is said, but with much improbability, to have studied under Albertus Magnus ; it is more likely that he listened to the lectures of Alexander of Hales at Paris ; and it is ctirtain that he attended the classes of John of Rochelle, the successor of Alexander. He rapidly became famous, .'md in 1250 he gained immense applause by a series of cUx[ucnt and learned lectures he gave on the *'Book of Sentences," by the Lombard. In 1253 he occupied the chair of his teacher, John of Rochelle, in the University, and in 1255 he was honoured by re- ceiving his degree as Doctor. He laboured with unremitting industry, familiarising himself with the writings of the great Church Fathers, and studying the clas;iic authors of Greece and Rome, the former no doubt in tiieir Latin garb, although one of his biographers says he read them in their Attic purity. It is said he framed a collection of '' Sentences " from the Fathers after the manner of Robert Pullein and Lctcr LcMubard ; that he twice copied out the whole ol the IJible ; that he several times copied out the history (jf Lhucydides and the orations of Demos- thenes ; and that these, which in themselves are not specially edifying, are only a small portion of his intellectual and spiritual exercises. So renowned and beloved did he become, that in 1256 he was appointed the principal of the great Franciscan Order, and at once he devoted himself with untiring ardour to re- storing purity of life, more rigid discipline, and atten- tion to the vow of poverty — all of which had been bcrie.u^ly neglected since the death of St. Francis. Such was his zeal in these directions that he effected a great THE sEKAPiircAr. doctor. 189 reformation. He was offered the Archbishopric -if York by Pope Clement IV., but he was too much devoted to the interests of his ()rderand to his favourite studies to allow himself to become a mere ecclesiastical politician and administrator. He therefore refused the tempting bait. He did not close hi.s eyes to all that was Sfoinj^ on in the outward world ; he was aroused by rumours then becoming current of the magical arts and hert;tir.d tendencies of Roger Bacon, who was a monk of the Order ; he obtained an interdict against liis lecturing at Oxford, and an order that he should repair to Paris so as to be under careful supervision. JJacon submitted to this, and for ten years resided in Paris, abstaining from public demonr-tration, enduring such constraint that his life during that period was little else than a painful imprisonment, and fretting his noble heart against the shameful and unnatural yoke laid upon him. The chair of St. Peter had been vacant about fifteen years, and Bonaventura, on the death of St. Louis, King of France, actively laboured to .secure the election of a new Pope. He was the chief instru- ment in the appointment of Gregory X. in 1272, wiio, in return, induced him to accent a Cardinal's hat, installed him as Bishop of Albano, and imperatively ordered hi? presence at the Council of Lyons in 1274. Durin-;- the sessions of this Council he was summoned from his earthly honours and labours, and passed away probably more esteemed and loved than any man of his gcneid- tion. A funeral of extreme magnificence, attended by Pope, Emperor, and King, a conjunction of dignitarit-s rarely if ever again occurring in history on such an occasion, testified to the extraordinary estimation in which he was held. 190 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. His works were very numerous ; an edition of them in seven folio volumes was published at the Vatican in 1588, and numerous other editions of them have ap- peared. They consisted of two volumes of expositions of the Scriptures, one of Sermons and " Lives of the Saints," two of lectures on the " Book of Sentences," and three of various shorter treatises. It is said that a close and affectionate friendship existed between him and Thomas Aquinas ; one story has been preserved of them which is of touching interest. Thomas asked on one occasion to see the library from which Bonaventui'a had derived his extra- ordinary stores of learning. His friend pointed to a crucifix, and replied that all he knew he had learned there. A number of miracles were alleged to have been performed by him ; but as to these one of his biographers says, wisely and significantly, '* T force not any man's belief." His life was so blameless, and his piety so pure and radiant, that his great learning de- rived additional lustre from these; and he seems to have really merited the title bestowed upon him of *' the Seraphical Doctor." He was canonised by Pope Sixtus IV. in 1482 ; and, as is well known, Dante accorded him a high and honourable place in his " Paradiso." As a thinker and writer he occupies a distinct niche in the history of Scholasticism, and that a place both of high honour and of great prominence. Concerning the question oi " Universals," which was the theme at the basis of nearly all the discussions of the School- men, and which gave the distinguishing tone or tinge to their philosophic thinking, he believed, with Plato, that they were ideal forms existing in the Divine mind, and that they were the patterns from which all THE SERAPHJCAL DOCTOR. if)i existing things were shaped. Thus he takes rank amongst the great Reahstsof Scholasticism, although he diverges, as will be seen, from the leading thinkers of that School ; and, inspired largely by the pietistic ten- dencies of his nature, he drifts into Mysticism, and stands side by side with such honourable company as Bernard of Clarvaux, the Monks of St. Victor, and the famous Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris. He followed his teacher Alexander of Hales as to the relation existing between reason and faith. He distinguished between the material reason and the reason exalted by faith, to the latter of which is im- parted, by the illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit, a knowledge of Divine things. The natural reason may become acquainted with some of the great moral truths on which all religion must finally rest, but the specific truths of the Christian system it can only know when the reason is rendered lustrous with Divine know- ledge, to obtain which the soul must use appropriate means — as prayer, the practice of the highest virtues, and the calm contemplation of God whereby it rises into union with Him. In his most famous and much admired book, called "the Itinerary of the Soul to God," which is as much a handbook of devotion as a treatise of theology, he defines four degrees of light by which we may rise to union with God, viz., the external, the inferior, the internal, and the superior. By the first we learn the mechanical arts ; by the second we perceive individuals ; by the third we rise to Universals in conception ; and by the fourth we see Universals in reality or in God. Bonaventura thus sought to soar to the highest height ; he said tliat ti\e suj^rcme end of life is union with God, union in absorbing, intense, passionate love. In the contemplation of God he 192 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OE THE MIDDLE AGES. taught that the mind passed through three grades : the senses, aflfording knowledge of outward things ; the reason, which looks within and subjects itself to ex- amination ; and the pure intellect, which by an unspeak- able effort grasps the very Being or Essence of the Almighty. To this idea of Absolute Being he ascribed objective existence. In his rapturous descriptions of the union of the soul with the one Absolute Essence in God, he hovers dangerously over the abyss of Pantheism, if indeed, but unconscicuisly, he does not fall into it. He docs indeed partly save himself from this position by seeking to draw a distinction between the soul and God ; and yet the practical tendency of his teaching would lead to the logical conclusion that the soul by absorbed meditation and beatific ecstasy becomes merged in the Absolute Essence. As to the general doctrinal notions of Bonaventura, not much needs to be said, as he adhered with rigorous scrupulousness to the general teaching of the Church. On a few points he advanced views somewhat antago- nistic to those adopted by Aquinas and others. In arguing the question, whether the end of the creation was the glory of God or the good of the creatures, he decided in favour of the former ; urging, however, that there really could be no increase of the Divine Glory, but only a manifestation of it to the creatures, and a participation in it by them, and that thus the highest good is secured. He also may be said to have brought into prominence the nation previously taught by Alexander of Hales, and revived in some modern systems of theology, that the primaeval blessedness of man consisted in certain chartered gifts being bestowed on him, which were forfeited and lost by the commis- sion of sin ; these blessings are restored through the THE SEKAPIIICAL DOCTOR. 193 merit of the sacrifice of Christ. Upon the subject of the Atonement he occupied a position about rhidway between Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus; for whereas the former said that there was superabounding merit in the death of Christ, the latter held that it was deficient in real merit, but accepted by God as being sufficient. Bonaventura taught that it was perfect and all-sufficient as a substitutionary offering for sin. As to the appro- priation of the blessings of salvation; he held that the grace of God was measured by the susceptibility of man to that which was good, a view which was sub- sequently taken up and expanded by later Schoolmen until it emerged into the theory of the meritoriousness of good works. The greatest blemish of the theology of Bonaventura was his fervent and rapturous worship of the Virgin Mary. This, whilst much to be lamented, was to be accounted for by the intensity and tenderness of his nature, which of necessity, led him to cling with passionate ardour to such an object of adoration as was presented by the Church in the Virgin, the ideal embodiment of purity and affection. Protestants of a certain school may not understand this; but it is only fair to bear in mind that the human side of the Lord Jesus had not been recognised by the Mediaeval Church, and that the Christian consciousness had no such com- plete and glorious view of the Lord Jesus as belongs to Christians of the nineteenth century. The view pre- sented of the Lord Jesus was a mangled or imperfect view. He was seen as a helpless babe on His mother's knee, or as an agonised sufferer on the cross; and all the rich lessons of His human life in the intermediate years were overlooked ; and especially what may be called XhQ feminine side of .His character, the side that 13 i<>1 GREAT' SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. forms lIto greatest charm in all men of supreme influ- ence and character, was totally unrecognised. Thus the ardent sympathetic reh'gious instinct strove to fill up the blank as best it could, and placed the Virgin before it as an object of devout enthusiasm and of passionate love, ft is vain to blame Bonaventura and others like him because they were unable to rise above their limitations and to supply what was lacking of Christ in the apprehension of the age. We have to accept men as we find them, with certain constitutions and surroundings, to consider the possibilities of the case, and if we lament that such men were the victims of religious vagaries, or of partial representation of the truth, seeking to piece out the deficiencies with the material nearest to hand, let us remember that they did not create their circumstances, and that on the whole thc}' did their best, often a noble best, to glorify God and to promote the kingdom of truth. It has taken the centuries filled up by the names of Aquinas, Bcllarmine, Luther, Calvin, Jeremy Taylor, Wes-ley, Edward Irving, and F. W. Robertson, to develop the enlarged and enlarging view of the full Christ which dilates and brightens in the literature of the present age. Bonaventura seems never to have wearied in con- templating the passion of Christ, and in adoring the virtues of the Virgin, inasmuch as in these exercises he was said to have surpassed his master St. Francis. He united in himself the ascetic and the pietist, the Mystic and the Scholastic. He combined so many points of interest and such various characteristics that he has been a most attractive figure in the history of the Romish Church. His name is richly fragrant to a crowd of admirers, and he is reckoned higher in general THE SKRAPHICAL DOCTOR. 195 esteem than many who surpassed him both in erudi- tion and in dialectical skill ; the charm of his reputa- tion seems mainly to lie in the fact that whilst being truly a Scholastic, he diffused through the hard- ness and formalism of the Scholastic method tlic beautiful and romantic glow of Mysticism,' and hence became a bright luminary in that galaxy of saintly names which sheds its brightness through the centuries extending from Bernard in the eleventh century to Fenelon in the seventeenth. His character, his earthly labours, his writings, are all suffused with a transfigur- ing glow of holy lustre ; such was the impression pro- duced on his contemporaries by his beautiful saintliness that Alexander of Hales said of him, " In bro!:her Bonaventura the old Adam seems to have had no place.*" A more valuable testimony to human ex- cellence perhaps was never uttered, save that which came from Divine lips concerning a character of simple devoutness : " Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." O si sic omnia. Note A. " In autem, O amice circa mysticas Aasiones corroborate itinere et sensus desere et intellectuales operationes, et sensibilia, e invisi- bilia, et omne non ens et ens et ad unitHtem, ut possibile est, inscius restituere ipsius, qui est super omnem essentiam et scientiam," — " Itin. T>Ientat Deum," 2, 5, 7. Quoted by Milman, ix., 140. Note B. " Bonaventura resolves all science into union with God. The successive attainment of various kinds of knowledge is, in his system, an approximation, stage above stage, to God — a scaling 01 the heights of illumination, as we are more closely united with the Divine Word, — the repertory of ideas." — Vaughan, "Hours with the Mystics," ii., 150. ' Note B. • " In fratre Bonaventura, Adam pccavisse non videtur." CHAPTER XIII. THE ANGELICAL DOCTCR-^THOMAS AQUINAS. " When I myself from mine own self do quit, And each thing else ; then all spreaden love To the vast universe my soul doth fit, Makes me half equal! to all-seeing Jove. My mighty wings high stretched, then clapping light, I brusli the stars and make them shine more bright. ' * Then all the works of God lA^ith close embrace I dearly hug in my enlarged arms. All the hid pathes of heavenly love I trace. And boldly listen to His secret charms. Then clearly view I where true light doth rise, And where eternal Night low pressed lies." — Henry More. " A palace is measured from east to west, oi from north to south, but a book is measured from earth to heaven." — ^JouBERT. XIII. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR— THOMAS AQUINAS. Thomas Aquinas was the son of LanJulf, Count of Aquino, in Sicily. He was born in the family castle of Rocca, Sicca, in 1225 or 1227. He was nobly connected through his parents on both sides, and could even claim kinship with some of the royal houses o'l Europe. His mother, Theodora, was of the royal line of Normandy, and by marriage his parents had become related to the great house of Hohenstaufen, His brothers rose to very high rank as generals under the Emperor Frederick II., and his sisters also occupied' noble positions, three of them marrying Counts and one becoming an Abbess. He was sent in early childhood to be educated at the convent of Monte Cassino, and from the age of ten to sixteen he studied at the university of Naples. There he became acquainted with the Order of St. Dominic, which at this time was assiduously pushing its way into unrivalled notoriety, and was pressing into its service all the young men of talent it could influence. To his taking the vows of this Order his parents and family offered the sternest opposition, and fearing that he might be over persuaded by their influence, the monks sent him to Rome. His mother discovered his refuge, and then the Dominicans sent him to France. On the 200 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. journey thither, ashe and his companions rested by the side of a well, they were surprised by a band of soldiers, which had been sent in pursuit of him by his brothers, and he was carried a prisoner to his father's castle. He resolutely resisted the imploring and affectionate solici- tations of his mother and sisters to abjure the Order which had cast its glamour over him, and it is even recorded that a beautiful courtezan was introduced stealthily into his chamber by his brothers to tempt him to break his vow of chastity. She professed to have sought him to obtain pious consolation, but speedily broke from the pretext, and exerted all the arts of womanly endearment to win his love. The virtue of Thomrvs was proof against even such an attack as this ; suddenly collecting his resolution, he pulled a burning stake out of the fire on the hearth, and with indignant rudeness scared her from the apartment Then he threw himself before the crucifix and prayed for strength both to resist temptation and to be entirely devoted to the cause of his Master. Finding it equally impossible to move him from his purpose either by the allurements of beauty or by the entreaties of affection, his parents ceased to oppose him ; they connived at his escape from confinement, he donned the habit 6f the great preaching Order, and took its irrevocable vows. He went to Cologne and thence to Paris, where he listened to the lectures given by the intellectual magnate of the day, Albertus Magnus, for four years, this being the term of probation each had to serve who intended to teach Theology in connection with the Dominicans. He is described at this time as being humble, modest, bashful, obedient, grave, indu'strious, absorbed in pro- found meditation, surrounded with such impenetrable shyness and reserve at; to be reproached with stupidity. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 20l 7 Iiese characteristics being combined with a huge frame, massive h'mbs, and a heavy cast of countenance, obtained for him the mocking epithet of " the great mute ox of Sicily." But Albert heard how on a certain day he had silenced and convinced some individuals who had pre- sumed to instruct him. He called for him, questioned him on many of the most abstruse points of philosophy and theology, and confessed that he had found his equal or superior. Then he said to those who mocked at him that " the mute ox, as they Called him, would one day fill the whole world with his roaring." While he was in Paris pursuing his studies with indefatigable zeal, the great university which had filled Christendom with its fame was passing through a critical experience. Students of the mediaeval age were not more docile and orderly than some of the students in the university towns of England in this nineteenth cen- tury. In 1229, a body of them had indulged in a drunken riot, and committed great outrages on some of the citizens of Paris. In retaliation, the police of the city attacked and subjected to violence many members of the university who had been in no way concerned in the matter. The professors and doctors took great offence at the treatment to which these had been sub- jected, and required satisfaction from the authorities. This being refused, they summarily dissolved their classes ; both teachers and students dispersed, many came to England, and others settled in various cities on the Continent. The opportunity of the Dominican monks had come; taking advantage of the lull in the university teaching, they established a lectureship of Theology. The Pope sought earnestly to resuscitate the university staff, but the ecclesiastical authorities in Paris, having long experienced that the university inter- 202 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. fered greatly with their power and prestige, opposed his efTcrts with pertinacioiis zeal. Howc/er, in 1231 the Pope issued a Bull, restoring ihe university and declaring a code of rules for it, some of which showv'^d that a more liberal spirit had beg-un to prevail through the influeiice of the Dominicans. The orders prohibiting the works of Aristotle were relaxed, but even then only such of his works were allowed as had been examined by com- petent clerical authorities, and purged of error. Thus the old order of the university passed away, and although the procedure of the Pope did not aim at the aggrandisement of the Dominicans, it resulted in them becoming the domJnant thcolog-cal teachers in the famous seat of philosophy, and out of them came shortly another order, called Jacobins, who might be called the democrats of the religious orders. In 1252, such jealousy of their power had accumulated that a majority of the learned doctors succeeded in enacting a rule, that no member of a religious order should be admitted amongst them who did not belong to a college, and that each college of the religious orders should be permitted to have only one Doctor and one School. Shortly after this, the authorities of the city and the professors of the university were involved in another dispute. Again the professors abandoned their duties, and swore that until satisfaction was made to them they would never teach again. Two of the Jacobin teachers refused to take the oath, and the university decided that they should not be allowed to occupy the position of mastf^r or doctor any longer. A fierce and bitter controversy ensued, the Pope v/as called upon to engage in the affray ; he issued a Bull rebuking tlie Mendicants, and sustaining the authority of the university, and almiOst immediately following this act he was seized by death. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 203 The Dominicans piously professed that his death re- sulted as an answer to their pra)'crs. The new Pope, Alexander IV., made it his first act to annul the Bull of his infallible predecessor. He promoted the. monks to their former position, and affirmed to them all their previous privileges. The Doctors of the University rebelled against the decree, and William of St. Amour, a man of great learning and eloquence, maintained but in vain the cause of the University. On his return from Rome after his un- successful suit he was received in Paris with overwhelm- ing applause. There, he denounced the Dominicans with a vehemence which all may wonder at, but none can admire, accusing them of being spiritual deceivers and despots, of intruding into families and leading astray silly women, and in short of being the sign of those " perilous da)'s " spoken of by the Apostle Paul. The Pope firmly maintained the cause of the Dominicans ; he issued other Bulls, denouncing the Doctors and Professors, excommunicating the recusants, expelling from office the rebellious, and calling on the King, St. Louis, to prosecute vigorously those who had the temerity to defend the authorities of the University. The outcome of the conflict was the complete victory of the Mendicants ; in 1257 the University submitted to the Pope, and Thomas Aquinas representing the Dominicans, and Bonaventura representing the Francis- cans, were admitted as Doctors of the Faculty. These prolonged disputes had excluded Thomas from this privilege for ten years, and exercised a very powerful effect upon his mind ; leading him in after days to advocate views of a directly democratic tendency, in those of his writings which treat upon jurisprudence. He had been no uninterested spectator of the disputes ; 204 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. he had been chosen to defend his Order against William of St. Amour, in presence of the Papal Court, which he did with signal ability ; and npw, when the victory- declared itself for his party, he issued a vindication of its proceedings. From the reception of his university honours his life was an extraordinary combination of unremitting study, of unwearied toil in the service of the Church, and of the most devout practices of piety. Before he obtained his degree as Doctor of the Faculty of Theology, he had composed some metaphysical tracts, and had read a course of lectures on the " Book of Sentences." Now he engaged in public disputation on any questions in philosophy or theology which were proposed to him, and in 1258, being primary regent, he composed his Expositions of various Books of Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. He was frequently engaged in travelling to and fro throughout France, Italy, and Germany, on the active business of his Order ; and was the principal agent in drawing up a complete scheme of study for the use of the members of it. He was sum- moned more than once by the Pope to give his advice on perplexing matters of State; and in 1263 he was in London, taking an active part in a Dominican Council held there. In his lecturing achievements he seemed to be ubiquitous. In Rome, in -Bologna, in Paris, in Cologne, in Viterbo, in Naples, and in Perugia, he was found at various times lecturing and teaching ; and wherever he went crowds gathered round him and listened with a reverential demeanour. Meantime, he wrote Commentaries, on Aristotle, dealing with his physics, metaphysics, and ethics. He composed his " Argument against the Gentiles," his "Commentary on Job," his " Questions on the Soul," and. many other THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 205 works ; but, above all, he found time to prepare, and nearly to complete, the " Summa Theologia.'," which is the literary wonder of the Middle Ages, and which, as a rrtonument of human learning, ingenuity, industry, and piety, has never been surpassed by any writer in Christendom. He commenced this stupendous work in 1265, ^"d continued to spend upon it every minute he could spare from his urgent duties in the Church, until 1273, when his noble career came to a close. His varied and accu- mulated labours did not pass without recognition from the authorities of the Church. He had been offered the rich Abbacy of Monte Casino, and the more tempt- ing position of Archbishop of Naples ; but neither bait had any charm for him. He was prevailed upon by the earnest solicitations of Charles of Anjou to fix his residence at Naples, and he patiently wrought upon the book which was to make his name illustrious, until the midwinter of 1273. Then a powerful im- pression took hold upon him that his end was drawing near, and he relaxed his efforts. . Pope Gregory X. summoned him, in 1274, to attend the Council of Lyons, which was held with a view to compose the dissensions which divided the Eastern and Western • Churches. The summons came when he was totally unfit through weakness for such a journey, but the spirit of perfect obedience which actuated his life led him to undertake it. He broke down utterly on the road, and was carried to the Monastery of the Ciscer- tian Monks, at Fossa Nuova, in Terracina, where he waited for death in peaceful resignation during seven weeks. He received the eucharist prostrate upon the earth, and on being asked if he would have anything, he replied that " witliin a little he should enjoy all 2o6 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. things," When submitting to severe mortification by lying in ashes in his death agony, he said : '* .Soon, soon will the God of all comfort complete His mercies on me, and fulfil all my desires." In such a frame of perfect peace he passed into the Father's presence. In appearance, we are told, he was "almost vast, tall, and massy in the bones, to which the spare flesh gave scarcely a complete covering ; the expression of his eyes was most modest, his face oblong, his com- plexion inclined to sallowness, his forehead more depressed than the profoundness of his intellect might seem to require, his head large and round, and partly bald, his person erect" ^ His character was so blameless that none has ever ventured to breathe upon it one shade of suspicion. His devotions were pursued with unbroken avidity and diligence, that his philosophical and theological studies might not dull the brightness nor mar the freshness of his piety ; and he never commenced any great work without spending a preparatory period in fasting and prayer. His diligence was so unremitting that m the midst of scenes of social enjoyment his mind was pre- occupied with grave and important studies, and on one occasion, when at the table of Louis the King of France, while the company was occupied with gay conversation he was absorbed in mental disputation, and startled all present by striking the table and exclaiming : " Jam contra Manich^eos conclusum esse." Several of his sayings are preserved, which show the modesty and probity of his nature. One asked him why he was so long silent under Albertus } To which he replied, "Because I had nothing of worth to .say to him." Another asked what was the most pleasant • Hamp., Aquinas Encyc, Met. XL, 807. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 2agate it as widely as pos- sible for the defence of the Catholic faith, the pood of society, and the advancement of all the sciences. The wisdom of St. Thomas, we say, for if there is anything in the Scholastic doctors of oversubtle enquiry, or ill-considered statement, if anything inconsistent with ascertained doctrines of a later age, or lastly, in any way not admissible, it is by no means our intention to propose that to our age for imitation. Jiut let teachers endeavour to nstil the doctrine of St. Thomas CI2 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Aquinas into the nrinds of their disciples, and to place in a clear light his solidity and excellence in comparison with others. " The other works of Aquinas scarcely require to be mentioned, except the Contra Gentiles, the Opusculuvi, a Commentary on the supposed treatise on the Trinity by Boethius, the Commentaries on the " Book of Sen- tences," the Qiiodlihcta, questions on all manner of subjects, Questions on Potentiality, on Evil, and on the Virtues, with Commentaries on many Books of Scrip- ture. Many editions of his works have been published, the principal being that at Rome, in seventeen volumes, in 1570, and that, already mentioned, at Venice, in twenty-eight volumes, in 1787. Note A. The following neat summary of the contents of the " Summa" is extracted from T/ie Modern Review, No. 1, p: 71 : — OF THEOLOGY. ITS NATURE AND OBJECTS. FIRST PART— Introductory. Of God. I. In Himself. II. As Cause of all things. I. — I. Of God in the Unity of His Being. (rt) His Existence proved. ip) His Nature. One, Undivided, Infinite, Eternal. {c) His Action, (c) Within— His Knowledge, Will, Providence, Predestination. (/3) Without— His Power. 2. Of God in the Trinity of Persons. II. — I. In the bringing of Things into Being. 2. Of the different kinds of things. («) Of Good and Evil, {J}) Of things (a) spiritual. Angels, their nature, crea- tion, fall. O) Material. The work oi the Six I^ays of Creation. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 213 (y) Spiritual and Material in One. Of Man, his Body, his Soul, his Crea- tion. 3. Of the Government of all things by God. (<0 Of the preservation of things in being. (/•) Of tiieir change, (a) By the action of God. (ji) By their action on one another. SECOND PART.— Of the Movement of the R-VTIONal Creature Godward. I. Of the End of Man in the attainment of the BcaJiic Vision. II. Of Acts, by which man reaches or is frustrated of his end 1. Of Hainan Acts in general. A. Of the Acts themselves. (<^) Of Acts peculiar to man. Voluntary Acts. \b) Of Acts common to man and beast Passions. B. Of the Causes of Human Acts. {a) From within. (a) Capacities or Powers of Action. (/3) Habits. {b) From without, {a) Guidance of Laws. (/3) Guidance of Grace. 2. Of Human Acts in Special. A. Of such as are common to every state of life. {a) Of the Three Theological Virtues, and Vices opposed to them : Faith, Hope, Charity. {b) Of the Four Cardinal Virtues, and Vices opposed to them : Prudence, Justice, Forti- tude, Temperance. B. Of such as are peculiar to certain states of life. ((?) Of Special Gifts and Graces. {p) Of the Active and Contemplative Life. \c) Of Sundry Positions and Duties. THIRD PART.— Of Jesus Christ, and the way to God opened up through Him. I. Of Jesus Christ. God and Man. 1. Of the Incarnation. 2. Of the consequences of the Incarnation. 3. Of the Life of Christ. 214 C.'f'Z:^ T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE ACES. 11. Of the Sacraments, instituted by and dependent on Jesus Christ. Of the Sacraments in general. Then 1. Of Baptism or Spiritual Birth. 2. Of Confirmation or Spiritual Manhood. 3. Of the Eucharist or Spiritual Food. 4. 5. Of Penitence and Extreme Unction or Spiritual Medi- cine. 6. Of Orders, for the Spiritual Government of men. 7. Of Matrimony, for the Spiritual Life of the Family. III. Of the Resurrection, which we obtain through Christ and the end of all things. CHAPTER XIV. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR.— HLS OPINIONS. " Reason is weak indeed, if it do not advance far enough to ascertain that there is an infinity of things beyond its ronge. It is well to know when to hesitate, when to feel certainty, when to submit. He who has not learnt this, has not yet detennuied the true province of reason. Men eir in three ways — either in establishing 'everything by demonstration, because they are ignorant of the nature of demonstration ; or in doubting of everj'thing, because they know not where to yield ; or in universal submission, because they know not where or how to exercise their judgment." — Pascal. " The scheme of Christianity, though not discoverable by human reason, is yet in accordance with it ; link follows link in necessary consequence ; Religion passes out of the ken of reason only when the eye of reason has reached its own horizon, and Faith is then but its continuation ; even as the day softens into the sweet twilight, and twilight hushed and breathless steals into the darkness." — Coleridge. XIV. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR.— HIS OPINIONS. In proceeding to give a brief statement of the opinions of Aquinas, it is important to notice the position he gave to the human reason in treating of Christian doctrine. He taught that we had two sources of know- ledge, the Christian Revelation and human reason. In his treatise Contra Gentiles, he strongly urges that from both channels we may receive knowledge, although, as one might have expected, as a good Churchman he attaches the greatest . importance to Revelation. He contended stoutly against those who believed there was an irreconcilable difference between faith and reason, and urged that the doctrines of Christianity must be appre- hended through the reason, although they are above and beyond it. The opinion that Revelation and reason were necessarily opposed to each other was strongly current in his day, and it is much to his praise that he set himself in decided opposition to such an error' by showing that such contradiction could not possibly exist, because God was alike the Author of our reason and the Bestower of Revelation, so that the truths implanted by Him within our minds could not be opposed to those revealed in the Gospel. He also sought to ' Note A, 2i8 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. demonstrate that the truths which are above reason need not be and are not contradictory to it, but that it is competent to expose the false arguments offered against the truths which are beyond its full compre- hension. He affirms that faith is the complement of reason, which should humble itself before it even as the natural desires of the heart should hurrible themselves before Christian Love. He held that Revelation flowed through the channels of Scripture and Church Tradi- tion, and that the conclusions of reason came through the various systems of heathen philosophy, especially the systems of Plato and Aristotle. Corresponding to these two fountains of knowledge, natural and super- natural, there are separate faculties in human nature ; the faculty of faith and that of reason, enabling man to apprehend such knowledge ; both faculties, of course, came originally from God, the real and only source of wisdom and truth. Aquinas is somewhat inconsistent with himself when he strives to show that in regard to distinct utterances by Revelation on certain subjects reason can make no demur. It may, he says, enquire, examine, and sustain, but in view of an imperative affirmation it may not criticise or object. He instances the doctrine of the Trinity as such a subject. But not- withstanding this, no previous Schoolman had insisted so emphatically on the province of reason, or had given to it so large a range, and none who followed him, reckoned orthodox, was more ready to recognise its true position. He insists that reason has a work of Divine authority in determining man's opinions, and in his works he argued even more upon the ground of reason than from the statements of Scripture. This clearly shows how little Aquinas was the slave of a mere ecclesiastical system, and how forcibly he laid down and THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 219 followed in his writings .the great foundation principle of the Protestant movement of the fifteenth century. On the great question of the Middle Ages, touching Universals,' Aquinas held views almost identical with those of his great Master, Albertus Magnus. He was moderately eclectic ; he held with Aristotle that Univer- sal exist in a two-fold manner, in the nature of par- ticulars and in the concept into which the mind has collected and combined them. But he was not prepared to refuse the theory of Plato entirely. He rejected his view that Ideas are independent essences, but he believed with him that they are immanent in the Divine Mind, and that they operate indirectly upon the sensible world. So that he joined with Albertus and others in teaching the existence of the Universal, ante rem, i?i re, post rem. He said that Plato erred in teaching that we can only have knowledge of truth by the Universal possessing reality, and existing in the same way in our thought and in external reality; that thus the great Greek was led to his foundation mistake in supposing that the Uni- versal possessed distinct subsistence. Aquinas held that Aristotle was more correct in teaching that " as the senses are able to separate what in the realiter is not separate, as the eye, e.g.-, perceives only the colour and shape of an apple, and not its smell or taste, so, and much more even, the mind can effect the like purely subjective separation by considering in the individual only the Universal." =" He came to the ultimate conclu- sion that the Universal exists really in the individual, as the essence of things, the one in the many ; the intellect exercises the abstracting power whereby the Universal becomes in the intellect the one beside the many. This may be called Realism, but it is" so garbed ' Ueberweg, i., 445- ^ Note I. 22C GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. in Nominalism as not to be at once perceptible ; he so combines the two theories, as to preserve himself from being classed either with those who follow Plato and Plotinus, or those who fell into the opposite opinions of Roscellin and Ockam. It is impossible to show that Aquinas was consistent in holding these divergent views, but Eclectics are seldom consistent, and do not trouble themselves very much on that score. Their inconsistencies may however be more apparent than real, and in the case of Aquinas, the breadth and grasp of his mental constitution might have enabled him to dis- cern truth in the various theories of Realism, Nominal- ism, and Conceptualism, which had been discussed, and have led him to accept them all without being anxious to make the one theory dovetail with the other. In teaching upon a kindred subject to this, Aquinas involved himself in some scandal as teaching theological error, viz., the cause of individuation. Plato referred this to the Archetypal Idea existing in the mind of God, but Aristotle settled it by his theory of Form and Matter, the one as that which constitutes every sub- stance what it is ; the other as its condition and sine qua lion. Aquinas accepted the principle of Aristotle ; he said, matter as possessed of definite properties, and not in any abstract form, was the cause of individuation. Here arose a difficulty, for if this was so there could be no individuality in the case of pure spirits, and as he was bound to accept the plain statement of Scripture that spiritual individuals do exist, he was forced to the conclusion that every separate angel represented a dis- tinct species. This opinion brought him under the censure of the Church, and his teaching on this point was condemned by the Archbishop of Paris: He strongly argued against the theory of Averroes THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 221 concerning the indivisibility of the intellect. He adopted the view of Aristotle that the soul is the Form of the body ; he defines it as the cause of the body, the spiritual entity which moulds and conditions the body; but on the other hand he affirmed that the soul could only obtain experience through the body, and that each is thus necessary to the other. This was a debasing view of man's better nature, and opposed to the high Christian teaching which taught the pure spirituality of the soul. Indeed, to take some of Aquinas' expressions and interpret them by a rigorous literalism, he would be found to deny the immortality of the soul ; but against such an issue he guards himself by writing on other subjects, in a manner which suffi- ciently indicates his orthodoxy on this subject. Passing to glance at the Theology of Aquinas, he approximated, in dealing with the question of the Exist- ence of God, to the ontological argument of Anselm, He said that the proposition, " God exists," might be taken as proved if considered in it.self, as predicate and subject are in entire agreement. He adduced five proofs in defence of the proposition : {a) the great moving- principle which is not itself moved by any other ; {b) the First Great Cause ; (r) that which is necessary in itself ; {d) the gradation of things, the argument rising from the imperfect to the perfect ; {e) the adaptation of things. In which various arguments we have collected most of those adopted by modern v/riters — notably. Mr. Isaac Taylor and the authors of the Bridgwater Treatises. As to the icnowlcdge which may be obtained of God, he held with Albert tliat we can only have an approxi- mate knowledge of Him , that all v.e can know is not adequate, but only ihc unfolding of Himself tliat He 222 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. makes to the creature. No man can know the Essence {qiiidditativani) of God, but only the attire or manifesta- tion by which He makes Himself known to man. He also argued conclusively in favour of the Personality of God, in opposition to the Pantheism expressed byErigena and his imitators, Amalric of Bena and David of Dinanto. He held that the knowledge of God in a general way is intuitive in man, that in all men there is a craving after Him, and that no true happiness can be experienced until He has been found and His favour enjoyed. He wrote very decidedly against the view advocated by Abelard, that God could do no other or better in creation than He has actually done, arguing that the Divine Wisdom and Power are co-ordinate. But the order and beauty attained by His Wisdom in creation are not the extreme possibilities producible by that attri- bute. If the end for which things were made simply concerned those things themselves, then we might say that Divine Wisdom had been confined to one line; of necessary operation ; but the Divine Goodness as an end is far above created things ; hence, Divine Wisdom is not confined to one order of procedure only, and therefore could have done -otherwise than has been done. Thus he draws a distinction between Divine Power as revealed in the Creation, and as an absolute attribute of Deity. If Abelard had lived after Aquinas, he might probably have shown that such reasoning did not solve the difficulties of the subject, and was by no means impregnable. The metaphysical subtlety of Aquinas' genius no- where shows itself more notably than in his disquisitions and discussions on the important subject of the Holy Trinity.* It is questionable whether any eye but his » Note B. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 223 could have perceived the microscopical distinctions he draws, or whether any one could trace hi^ labyrinth without becoming utterly bewildered. He is not be- wildered ; he walks on with a serene spirit and a firm step, skimming no difficulty, not intimidated by the most awe-inspiring questions, and coming to conclusions which at least to him are quite irresistible. The line of argument pursued by Aquinas in treating of the Mode of the Divine Existence, proceeded upon an analogy he drew between the Deity and human nature as created in His image. He sought thus to rise from the inferior and derived, to a knowledge of the Perfect and Original. The mind, intelligence, and will of man were treated as analogous to the distinctions given in Scripture of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in the Godhead. In adopting this form of argument, he is peculiarly careful to guard himself from misunderstanding by urging the titter impossibility of adequately comprehending the Divine Being in our present state, and hence the inevi- table imperfections of all such illustrations. He then seeks to narrow the subject by a series of negations, and to reduce it to the utmost simplicity of Scripture statement. Guided by the analogy he pursues, he pro- fesses to have found the key to the Divine Procession in the Godhead. The Logos is the principle of Intelli- gence in the Deity, the Holy Spirit is the principle of Love ; the fomier gives expression to the principles of created things, the latter is the bond between the Father and the Word. The former process is called Generation, because it is like producing like ; as the thought is pro- duced by the mind, so also is the precession of the Thought or Reason of God from the Godhead — a rela- tion therefore fitly expressed by the term Son. The latter process is simply called a Procession as the most 224 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. expressive term for the outflowing of Divine Love, espe- cially as the word Spirit signifies a breathing forth. The Holy Spirit is the mutual Love between the Father and the Son, therefore the Procession from both corre- sponds to the Being of the Holy Ghost. He said tliat only by a right understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity could there be a right understanding of the Creation. Plato defined the Deity into a general theory of the Universe ; Aristotle sought to show that Deity was the Principle of Motion ; but Aquinas, and others of the Schoolmen, urged with great skill and acuteness that Deity was the Principle of Efficiency, or Causation. Then, by a careful scrutiny of the principles of Causation, and intelligence, and action in the mind, Aquinas strove to show that these principles belonged to the Divine Being intrinsically and entirely, divested of their outward effects or accompaniments. The view of the Deity taken by the Schoolmen generally was, that He was pure Efficiency or Energy, looked at not in its effects or operations, but in its original and abstract nature. Aquinas strove carefully to discriminate the true doc- trine of the Trinity against Arianism, Sabellianism, and materialistic systems, which had at various times agitated the Church, and sought to determine the relations and functions of the Three Divine Persons. He insisted that there was no division of the Divine Being in the Trinity, but that " the entire Deity was transposed from the Father to the Son and the Holy Spirit." The Persons were of one Essence or Substance rather than of one Nature, and were Consubstantial with each other. He strove to illustrate the doctrine of the Three Persons in the "Godhead by figures drawn from all the various realms of being or knowledge. The light, the ray, and tlic heat of the sun ; the fountain, the flood, and the THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 22$ stream ; the root, the stem, and the flower ; the intellect, the will, and the feeling ; the body, the soul, and the spirit ; the metal, the seal, and the impression ; — these and other illustrations were all made use of by him and many other of the Schoolmen, but all failed to afford a sufficient idea of the deep and sacred mystery of the method of the Divine F-vistence. Human ingenuity has ever failed, and will ever fail, adequately to represent the sublimest fact of the universe ; and probably a simple, childlike acceptance of the statements of Scripture on so profound and awful a subject, will lead to a clearer knowledge of it than the most acute and abstruse argu- ments of such a mind as that even of Aquinas. Certainly no one has ever rivalled him in the extraordinary in- genuity and logical dexterity with which he handles this great topic. From these high reasonings it can scarcely be reck- oned a descent to come to notice his theory of the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus — a subject which he treated of both with more fulness and intelligence than it had received from any previous writer. He develops three principal ideas on this doctrine. He seeks first to demonstrate that the Incarnation consisted not in the incarnation of the Divine Nature, but of a Divine Person." By affirming this he sought to harmonise the doctrine of the Incarnation of the Word and the Holy Trinity, as the Father and the H0I3' Spirit were not partakers in the Incarnation, which they must have been had it been of the .Divine Nature. He also set forth, with great clearness, that in Christ two distinct Natures were united in one Person, and that these Natures, being distinct in themselves, remain distinct still. Then he proceeds to discuss many curious questions relating to ' Note C. 15 226 GREA T SCnOCLMK.V Of THE MIDDLE AGES. the kiiowlcdf^':' at^.d power possessed by Christ's human soul, some of which have come up for discussion in this day, and have sorely exercised enquiring and sensitive souls. He next considers Christ as the recipient of Grace, which he divides into the Grace of Unio7i and Habitual Grace. The former is that enjoyed by the Divine Nature as the result of its haying honoured tlie human nature bj' uniting with it, and the latter is that which Christ experiences as the result of having His whole Being in close fellowship and perfect submission to ihe Divine. He then proceeds to treat of Christ as the Head of the Church, and sets Him forth as being in His human nature exalted above all, the representative of humanity, the Head of the Body, and therefore grandly superior to the Body ; the head is the crown of man, containing all the senses outward and inward, so also is Christ, the crown, and the fulnes.« of man, next to God, all embracing and all conta5ni;;?j Enlarging upon this he rises into greater warmth of spirit than in any other part of his work. But he vitiates his really noble views on this subje:*: by representing ChrLsi as being far removed above any real experience of the feelings of human nature, as one to whom faitli and hope were unnecessary on accoiint of His perfection in grace and kiiowledge. He overlooks the fact, that by voluntary limitations tJic Saviour subjected Himself to an expe- rience of human weakness, was "touched with the feeling oi our infirmities," and was thus intimately connected v/ith human nature by a real tie of brotherhood and .sympathy, that, " though He v.'ere a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered." It has taken the struggle and development of six hundred THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. . 227 years to bring tlie Christian Church to a clear under- standing of this most precious and important truth.' On the subject of the Atonement he taught gene- rally the theory framed and enforced by Ansehn. He held that the sufferings of Christ were the voluntary payment on His part of a penalty not otherwise due from Him to the Divine Justice, and tiiat they were accepted by God as an equi^'alent for the delinquency of man, and as the ground of the offer of salvation being made to the human race. He carried this idea much further than Anselm, dwelling much upon the priestly office of Christ, and especially upon the super- abundant merits of His death arising from the infinitude of His love, the rich savour of His life as the God-man, and the intensity of His sufferings.^ Upon these grounds he urged that the compensation offered far exceeded tlie heinousncss of the offence, and that this overplus of me; It redounded to the remission of offences in others. Thus he introduced into Church teaching an element of error which was abundantly mischievous in its future application. In treating upon the nature and fall of man, Aquinas combated the notion held by some theologians in this day, derived from Erigena, Hugo, and Bon.wentura, that the origmal righteousness of man was a gift added to his purely natural condi'.ion ; he urged that Adam in his creation was possessed of the so-called " added gift,'' or "chartered blessing," that it belonged really to his nature, and that he was deprived of it through his transgression. The origin of sin did not lie in any single act of disobedience, but in the spirii of rebellion ' Tliis subject is al:)ly and lengthily argued in " Dorncr," vol. i., div. ii., 329, etc. ■■' Note D. 228 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. which arose from the indulgence of pride in the heart. The consequence of the fall was the loss of man's onginal righteousness and the introduction of discord into his nature, as set forth so vividly by Paul in Romans vii. The salvation of man from sin was entirely the work of Divine grace, v.'hich, being imparted to him, pro- duced several important results ; the will moved God- v/ards, hatred to sin was begotten in the soul, forgiveness was bestowed as the mind exercised faith in the Lord Jesus. The Grace of God bringing salvation was bestowed by an act of predestination, or rather the Grace operated to salvation on those who had been rendered fit subjects for it by God having drawn their minds towards goodness/ Thus with some limitations he accepted the Augustinian doctrine of predestination ; he would not admit a predestination of guilt, he could not see how this could be without the presence of evil in the Divine Mind. On the other hand^ all good- ness must find its origin in God, and where any good is willed there must be the exercise of love, where there is love there must be the choice of its objects, and by this line of argument he reaches both pre- destination and election. The subject of faith occupied a large share in the discussions of the Schoolmen. To the term itself they assigned a variety of meanings. Aquinas held that the faith that justifies is that which enters into living fellowship with God, and makes the believer a member of the Body of the Lord Jesus. This faith becomes the parent of good works, as the Apostle says, " faith worketh by love." This doctrine led to strange con- clusions in the Scholastic teaching, concerning the merits ' Note E. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 229 of good works, which Aquinas sought to obviate by stating that there was merit ex condigno and merit ex congruo. The former receives a reward because it is worthy^ from the hand of a just God;' the latter is a reward given to the unvjortJiy by a nierciful God. Christ alone is entitled to the former on the ground of His own righteousness, but as God bestows grace upon all of those whom He accepts in Christ, He is just in bestowing such grace upon them. Aquinas gathered up into his system a doctrine which had been floating indefinably in Church tradition for some ages, but which now found detinite and authori- tative expression in his pages. This was that a higher perfection was to be obtained by observing the consilia evangelka. He drevV a fine distinction between Counsel and Precept ; by the former signifying the loftier habit, as he supposed it, of living in a state of closest fellow- ship with God, and being urged to this lofty communion not only by the discharge of regular duty, but also by the fulfilment of duties not obligatory in themselves ; and by the latter he meant a life more remote from the perfect, v/hich was guided by the precepts of the Word of God and by the discharge of obligatory duties. In making this distinction, Aquinas showed how much his soul was steeped in the spirit and method of Aristotle," for the doctrine was simply an application of the philosopher's teaching baptized into Christian name and system The "wise man" of the Greek corresponded to tne perfect man of Aquinas, as dis- tinguished from those who only seek to perform with care the humble and common duties of life. The application of this doctrine exercised a great influence on the future practice of the Church. It came to be » 2 Tim. iv. 8. * Hampden, " Bamp. LecL,""288. 230 GREA r SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. held that as many as rose to the higher life of consilium performed holy works which they were not required by the Divine law to fulfil, that these were opera superero- ^ativa^ which might be imputed to those who had no good works of their own. As it was afterwards taught that this surplus stock of good works was preserved in the treasury of the Church and at its disposal, immense encouragement was given to the sale of indulgences, and the grossest abuses arose, as any Church history will testify.' In justice to Aquinas it must be said that he rejected the doctrine of indulgences as popularly taught in the Church, Against some who held that indulgences could only benefit according to the faith and love manifested by each individual, and who yet carefully withheld this condition from the people lest they should thereby be less ready to invest in them, he declared that their conduct was most dangerous to the wellbeing of the Church, and such as would undoubtedly bring trouble and disaster in its train. How true his words were the affray between Tetzel and Luther, with all its outcome, is the illustration. In his full treatment of the Sacraments Aquinas drew out all the reserves of his subtle and discriminating skill, and in no field could he have found for it a more urgently needful sphere. He followed Augustine in defining a Sacrament as being a visible sign of an invisible grace ; but he went further than this, and it was by his definitions tliat those of the Council of Trent were decided, that the Sacraments were both outward signs of inward grace, and also the cause of that grace being enjoyed within the soul. In the Romish system the Sacraments occupy a commanding position. On the one side there is man, depraved, ^ Gieseler, " Hist, of Church," ii., 452. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 231 enslaved, and corrupt ; on ihe otlier is ihe New Man, Jesus Christ, the AU-riohieoui c'nd Univer:-:al ilcalcr. That the streams of ;;racc might flov.- from Christ into the broken and soi'rowin-: heart of th-^ sinner, there required seme cormecting media whereby the two extremes might be Drought hito union, and by which man might partake abundaiitly of the virtue which is stored up in Christ. The Sacraments foruu:.-i these media, and Aquinas found ready to his jk 'id rich accumulation of material on this subject. Kspo:iaily the controversies of preceding centuries, loue:'ii- out by Pascliasius Radbertus, Erigena, Berrngari:is, Xatramnus, Ansehn, ]\ter Lombard, and others concerning the Eucharist, showed how effectually that Sacrament was assuming importance over all the re'-.t. Pic soughi to exert all the dialectic skill and all the -tor^ of learning he possessed to harmonize with reason and science the views which the accepted teachers of the Church were urging, and to demonstrate how the elements in the Lord's Supper were converted into the Divinity and HumariLy of the Lord Jesus. It would be far beyond the purj'ose cf this volume to enumerate the endless questions, ramificatiotis, and refinements v-hich Aquinas enters upon in order to c'efend the theor)^ of the Church, and to present in its full development the doctrine of Transubstantiation. It is sufficient to say that if he docs not command the assent of his readers to the doctrine he enforces by the convincing nature of his logic, he does excite their amazement by tlie exquisite metaphysical acutencss ho manifests, and on the part of many deep regret will be felt that such transcendent ability should have been spent for such a purpose. As an instance of the refined dialectics which he brought to bea" upon the subject, and also to show the 2J2 GREA r SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. extreme point of Realism which he reached, Aquinas urged that so long as the emblems of the bread and wine were sensibly present, so long in the same manner as the substance of both was before contained under these emblems, the Body of Christ was present under the same, and even if an animal nibbled the consecrated elements, the substance of Christ's Body did not dis- appear thereby. Neither, he held, did that Body suffer in dignity, because without loss of dignity he had sub- mitted to crucifixion by sinners, and this the more as it was only the Body of Christ in respect •' to these emblems, and not in its proper essence^ that was affected thereby. But such like abstract and minutely distinc- tive processes are endless and wearisome in his treat- ment of this question. Up to the day of Aquinas the number of the Sacraments had been a matter of dispute amongst Church teachers, but his teaching had such authority that henceforth the sacred number of seven was iixed upon, which seven were Baptism, the Eucharist, Penance, Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, of which he defines the offices with great clear- ness.' Some, as Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Penance, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction, are intended for the spiritual perfecting of the individual members of the Church, but others, as Holy Orders and Matrimony, for the growth and benefit of the whole Church. By Baptism, we are spiritually regenerated ; by Confirma- tion, we increase in Divine Grace and renew our faith ; by the Eucharist, we receive Divine nutriment for the renewing and invigorating of our souls, when we have incurred the sorrow of sin in our lives ; by Penance we recover spiritual health, and as life is departing evil is » Note p-. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 233 banished from both soul and body by Extren:ie Unction. By those in Holy Orders, the true Church is governed and multiplied spiritually, and by Matrimony its cor- porate estate is augmented. He taught also, as was held by most mediaeval writers, that Baptism and the Eucharist are the chief Sacraments. Concerning the views of Aquinas on Escha'tology, it is not needful to dwell at length ; he taught the gene- rally received doqtrine of the resurrection of the dead, and delighted to exercise his philosophical acumen in speculations concerning the resurrection body ; he believed in the second coming of the Lord Jesus to judge the world, and that the judgment will take place mentaliter, because a separate and verbal trial of the individual would consume an almost infinite period of time; he accepted the doctrine of Purgatory, and affirmed that the purifying fire was not a metaphor of speech, nor a rire of the imagination, but a real material fire, which in the absence of a material body unll afflict the souls which pass through it in an ideal manner. He believed, however, that only those who require it pass through purgator>', while the really holy are exalted at once to bliss, and the desperately wicked are doomed to hell. In hell are different departments, corresponding to the degrees of wickedness in men, and so also with Purgatory and Paradise ; there are different states of blessedness for the righteous ; the fires of hell he held to be material fire, although the misery of the lost consists principally in unavailing repentance ; this repentance is not the godly sorrow which needeth not to be repented of, but that which rebels against the endurance of the penalty without mourning for the evil of the sin. Thus he inscribed over the portals of the abode of future woe, " Abandon hope, all \e who enter here." 234- CRRAT SCirOOLMKN OF j HE MIDDLE ACES. The Ethical systejp framed by Aquinas has extorted the highest praise from all parties. In the Secunda SeamdiB, which is chieiiy dev'oted to this department of philosophy, he takes a full and comprehensive vien' o( human natui"" in its moral sentiments and actions ; he investigates tiie Oduses of action, and carefully con- siders ho'vv the principles of action in huuian nature p.ie affected or modified by divine grace. He discusses the virtues in succession, a'i>d succeeds in framir.g a mouil code that was the rule of Christendom for age:, arid which is still regarded by all Ethical writers with admiration. He successful!_v combines the moral teach- ings of Aristotle with the higher spirit of Christianity/ In treating of the si'ujert of jurisprudence, he was led by the principles hv ^d- >pted into conclusions which, if followed out to their iast rcsuh. would produce the most corr.plete overthrow of all tyranny both civil and ecclesiastical. He insists that in the reason of man law is dominant. It is a standard of human action, and must be considered as the rale ind measure of all acts of the reason, A law ' thus existing is powerfully operative, and the acts of the reason are within its operations. But this touches also the action of the will, in the artainmcnt of the ends of which reason co-operates actively and effectually. These ideas he applies to soci.d and politicaJ life ; he affirms that tlie v/ill oi the majority of the pe(.ple is the only really governing and legislative authority ; that the Prince is only the interpreter and executor of the will of the great body of the nation. Thus he anticipated some of the most earnest pleaders for constitutional liberty in laying down this principle as a corner-sicne of his sy.^tern, and especially, as Professor Maurice has well 1 NoteC. THE ANGELICAL DOCTOR. 235 pointed out, he anticipated Locke in advocating a v'ew of so democratic a tendency, which couid not fail to produce practical fruit in the course of succeeding age.s. Without doubt, his writings contain much that is erroneous, much that is fantastic, and, judged by a nineteenth century standard, much that is ridiculous ; but through the vast and curious fabric ti:ere are many golden threads interwoven. His Surima especially is an immortal memorial of indomitable patience, of pene- trating logical insight, and of unquenciiabic zeal in the cause of truth and knowledge. It is painfully cumbrous in method, and inconclusive in some of its reasonings, but of these his circumstances and conditions must share the responsibility and condemnation, while to himself must be reckoned the merit of the many noble features which characterise his productions. His style was very lucid, his appreciation of Evangelical princi- ples in relation to human sin, the Incarnation, and the Atonement, was profound ; his masterly vindication of the right of reason to judge on subjcctb sacred and ecclesiastical constituted him a friend to religious free- dom, and a forerunner, early indeed and not fully recognised as such to this day, of the Reformation which ushered in a brighter day of truth. To regret that he was unable to break through his surroundings and rise into a brighter region of spiritual light and liberty, is to regret that man cannot anticipate the pro- vidential hour, nor rise to the perfect state without passing through the necessary nurture and discipline out of which human perfection alone can come. It is to regret that Roger Bacon did not discover the printing press, and that Caedmon did not produce the works of Shakespeare. If Aquinas had been able to accomplish the impossibilities of rising into the clear white light of 2j5 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. advanced truth, and of grasping the perfect principles of Church life and work, he would have raised the standard of revolt against ecclesiastical authority and tyranny only to have ignominiously lost the battle, and v/ould have thrown ':he day of emancipation back for ages ; he would have implicated the battle of humanity before the " fulness of time " had come, and before the conditions of success existed. In such a case any handful of enlightened souls who had hastened to. his side would have been struck down by the mailed hand of power, and he would have been overwhelmed by persecution and death. But by the will of God, with much that was philosophically and theologically un- sound, he enshrined in his pages a body of Sacred divinity which waG interfused with Bible light, and also urged the exercise of reason as the arbiter of truth, doing all this with a force of logic, a keenness of vision, and an ardour of devotion which has made him one of the mightiest creators of opinion the world has known, and which has aided largely in quickening the thought of succeeding generations.' Note A. " The aim of Aquinas as a Christian philosopher was Xb prove the reasonableness of Christianity, which he attempted to accom- pb'^h by showing, ist, that it contains a portion pf truth; 2nd, that it falls under the cognizance of reason ; and 3rd, that it con- tains nothing contradictory to reason. In connection with the latter argument, he starts from the assumption that the truths of reason are essentially one 'with Divine truth because reason is derived from God, Philosophy consists, according to him, in Science searching for truth with the instrument of human reason, but he maintains that it was necessary for the salvation of man that Divine Revelation should disclose to him certain things transcending the grasp of human reason. He regarded Theology, thefefore, as the ' Note H. THE Ai\CELICAL DOCTOR. 237 offspring of the union of philosophy and religion, and as a science derived from the principles of a higher Divine and spiritual science." — Tennetnan, " Manual," p. 237, Note B. " It behoves us in what wc say of the Trinity to beware ot two opposite errors, teinperUely proceeding between both ; the error of Ariusi who laid dowri with the Trinity of jPersons a Trinity of Substances ; and the error of Sabellius, who laid down with the unity of Essence an unity of Person. To escape, then, the error of Arius we must avoid in Divine things the terms Diversity and Difference, lest the unity of Essence be destroyed. We may, how- ever, use the term Distinction on account of the Relative Opposition. \Vhence, if anywhere, in any'authentic Scripture, diversity or differ- ence of Persons is found, diversity or difference is taken for dis- tinction. Again, that the Sitnpiicity of the Divine Essence may not be destroyed, the terms Separation and Division must be avoided, wnich are of a whole into parts. Again, that Equality may not be destroyed, the term Disparity must be avoided. Further, that similitude may not be destroyed, the terms Alieti and Dis- crepant must be avoided. Further, to avoid the error of Sabellius, we should devoid, singularity, that the commuhicability of the Divine Essence may not be destroyed. We ought also to avoid the terms One, Only, Unicum, that the Number of Persons may not be de- stroyed. The ♦erm Solitary aJso must be avoided, lest the Asso- ciation of Three Persons be destroyed." — " Aq. Summa," P. I., qu. xxxi., art. 2 ; quoted " Hampden Bamp, Lect.," p. 136. Note C. " Ad primum ergo dicendum quod ly se est reciprocum et refer, idem suppositum. Natura autem divina non dilfert supposito a persona Verbi ; et 'deo inquantnm natura divina sumit naturam humanam ad person&.n Verbi. dicit^r earn se sumere. Sed quamuis Fatei' sumat naturam liumanani aersona Verbi non tamen propter hoc sumit eam ad se ; quia non est idem suppositum Patris et Verbi et ideo non potest dici propria quod Pater assuiuat naturam huma tiam. Ad secundum dicendum, quod illud quod convenit natura; divina; secundum se, convenit tribus personis, sicut bonitas sapientia et hujus modi. Sed assumere rr>nvenit ei ratione personae Verbi sicut dictum esc. Et ideo soli illi pcrsonse convenit 2,58 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. . "Ad tertium dicendum, quod sicut in Deo idem est quod est et quo est ; ita etiam in eo idem est quod agit et id quo agit ; quia unum quodquc agit in quantum est ens. Unde natura divina est illud, quo Deus agit et est ip;-c Deus agens. — " Summa," P. III., qu. iii., art. 2. Note D. Superabundant Satisf, " Conclusio. "Passio Cbristi non solum sufficicns sed superabundans satisfactio fiiit pro peccatis hamani generis propter passionis generalitatem et vitcC depositie dignitatem et denique charitatis magnitudinem." — '•' Summa," P. III., qu. .\lviii., art. 2. Note E. " Respondeo dicendum quod predestmatio secundum rationem prcesupponit electiouem et electio dilectionem. Cujus ratio est, quia prajdestinatio (ut dictum est) est pars providentia:. Providentia autem sicut et prudentia est ratio in intellcctu existens preceptia ordinationis aliquorem in fmem, ut supra dictum est. Non autem pnecipitur aliquid ordinandum in fmem nisi prse existente voluntate finis. Unde prtEdestinatio aliquorum in salutem feternam pra;- supponit secundum rationem quod Deus illorumvelit salutem. Ad quod pertinet electio et dilectio. Dilectio quidem in quantum vult eis hoc bonum salutis EEternae. Nam diligere est velle aiicui bona ut supra dictum est. Electio autem in quantu hoc bonum aliquibus prie alliis vult cum quosdam reprobat ut supra dictum est. Electio tamen et dilectio aliter ordinantur in nobis et in Deo eo quod in nobis voluntas diligendo non causat bonum sed ex bono prnsexistente incitamm- ad diligendum ct ideo eligimus aliquem quern diligamus. Et sic electio dilectionem pra^ccdit in nobis. In Deo autem est e converso. Nam voluntas ejus qua vult bonum aiicui diligendo est causa quod illud bonum ab eo pras alliis habeatur. Et sic patet, quod dilectio prror-upponitur electioni secundum rationem et electio predesiinationi. ITnde omnes praedestinati sunt electi et dilecti. — "Summa," P. I., qu. xxiii., art. 4. Note F. " Per Eaplismum spiritualiter renasimur, per Confirmationem augomur in gratia et roboramur in fide ; renati in autem et robo- rati, nutrimur divina Eucharistice alimonia. Quod si per peccatum aigritudinem incurrimus animal per Pcenitcntiam spiritualiter Sana- THE ANGELICA L DOCTOR. 239 ir.ur, sfiritualitcr etinm ct corpoivilitcr, prout animae e.xpedit, per fxtrenurn Unctionem. Per Oidinei^ vero ecclcsu g^ubernatur et iriullip'icalur sjjiiitualiter per Matrimonium cotj-oraliter au^t-mr.'' — Sum;n', and has given rise to disputations as keen as those concerning the birthplace of Homer. Leland earnestly insists that England produced him, whilst Dempster published a quarto volume to prove, by twelve convincing arguments, his Scotch descent ; and Wad- ding is more positive than either that to Ireland belonged the honour of giving him to the v.orld. England claim.s him chiefly because he probably derived his name from the village of Dunston in Northumber- land ; Scotland, maybe, considers that the land v/hich produced Hume, Reid, Stewart, and Hamilton was alone able to produce so incomparable a logician as Duns ; whilst Ireland, unable to produce better argu- ments than these, urges its suit with a vehemence, not to say abusiveness, which argues either an absence of proof, which must be supplied by an overflow of posi- 246 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE ACES. tiveness, or such abundance of it as to justify extreme dogmatism, but which, for an unknown reason, has been withheld from posterity. This unprofitable dis- cussion may be fitly left to those who have no serious work to perform in life. It is said that when he was a boy he attracted the attention of two Franciscan monks, who, struck with his abilities, received him into their convent at New- castle-upon-Tyne. Thence he went to Oxford, and studied at Merton College, He manifested the most remarkable facility for gaining knowledge, and especially for the study of mathematics. On completing his edu- cation he took the chair of his master, William Varron, who removed to Paris ; and his lectures displayed such profound learning and conspicuous ability, that pupils gathered round hirn in crowds. Not less than thirty thousand students flocked to listen to him, it is said ; but this is difficult to digest.^ From Oxford he went to Paris, in 1304, and after winning great fame by his lectures in the University, he received the degree of Doctor, and vi^as appointed regent of the Theological school in 1307. In his lectures in Paris he controverted several of the positions taken by Thomas Aquinas, but he won his fame chiefly by his defence of the Immaculate Con- ception of the Virgin Mary. He discoursed on this subject before immense crowds of enthusiastic followers, scattering, so said his admirers, two hundred objections raised against the doctrine by Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and other Church Fathers and Doctors. In 1307 he obtained the crowning glory of his life, for it is on solemn record that, after pleading the cause of the Virgin, while he bowed before her image in deep devo- * Milman, " Hist. Lat. Christ,," ix., 141. 7HE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 247 tion, she condescendingly bowed her head, and thus afforded him evidence of her pleasure and assistance. As a more tangible result of his marvellous perform- ances, he received the singularly suitable title of " the Subtle Doctor," and a festival of the Virgin was insti- tuted to signalise the exposition and triumph of his views. In 1308 he was sent to Cologne by the General of the Franciscan order. The circumstances of this appointment illustrate his perfect submission to the will of his superiors, and show how little he had allowed his intellectual triumphs to puff him up with vanity. On a certain day he had retired to some fields outside of the city, accompanied by some of his pupils, and was indulging with them in pleasant recreation. There the letter was delivered to him from the Superior of his Order commanding him to Cologne, Immediately, without hesitating for one moment, without conferring with flesh and blood, he started, bidding the friends with him a kind adieu, but not returning to his convent to collect his books or writings, or to take leave of his brethren. Those who were with him asked him if he would not return to say farewell to the brothers in the convent, and his reply shows the entire, if not slavish, obedience of his soul : " The Father-General tells me to go to Cologne, not to go and salute the brethren in the convent." * The reasons dictating his removal from the scene of his unrivalled popularity and fame cannot be ascer- tained, although it is surmised that his presence in Cologne was required in a dispute with the Beghards, who were then beginning to rouse into rebellion against the Pope a portion of the Franciscan Order ; but it is more likely that his labours in Cologne were to be Duns Scoti, Vita a," L. Wadding, 11. 1 (( ?4S GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. used in the promotion of an intended university there. When he arrived in the city he was received with gpreat honour, the nobles, magistrates, and chief citizens all turning out to welcome him. He did not live long in his new abode ; he died in November 1308, at the age of thirty-four years. The same mystery seems to shroud the manner of his death as the place of his birth. It was sudden and startling, undoubtedly ; his enemies — for such a man could net but have enemies — affirmed that for some secret crime he was smitten by God with unconsciousness, and after being placed thus in his coffin, he died in struggling to break open the lid. His adnn'rers said that he was in a trance, or divine ecstasy, and was thus encoffined alive. Perhaps the more true, though less romantic, account is that he died of apoplexy. That Duns should have died so young and yet have accomplished so much has been a matter of scepticism with many writers, but there is no real ground for rejecting the statement of his biographers except the unlikelihood of it. Such thoughtful and careful writers as Hareau and Cousin adopt the account of his age without scruple. If indeed he was so young when death came to him, he presents the most remarkable instance of intellectual productiveness and industry in the history of the race. His works were very numerous; the principal edition of them was that published at Lyons in 1639, in twelve closely-printed folio volumes, edited by Luke Wadding, who also wrote a life of him, filled with ridiculous legends and miraculous fables. Besides the works included in this edition he issued many more, consisting of commentaries on some of the books of the Bible and numerous sermons. The editiom of his books only contain his philosophical and contro- THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 249 versial writings, and tliese are more wonderful for their characteristic features than for their extent. They do not contain one superfluous word ; they are unrelieved by a trace of illustration or metaphor ; they are an interminable series of perfectly faultless logical reason- ings. His mind possessed the power of exquisite dis- crimination, and was of uncommon solidity — it seemed to be a logical machine of consummate and unparalleled completeness ; but whilst working with the order and precision of a machine, he was not therefore destitute of the sensibility and devoutness of a pious heart. The estimate formed of his logical power by the eloquent historian of Latin Christianity is not more than just:' " The mind of Duns might seem a wonderful reasoning machine ; whatever was thrown into it came out in syllogisms of the coarsest pattern, yet in perfect, flawless pattern. Logic was the idol of Duns, and this logic worship is the key to his whole philosophy. Logic was asserted by him not to be an art but a science : ratio- cination was not an instrument — a means of discovering truth — it was an ultimate end ; its conclusions were truth, even his language was logic worship.*' In point of style his writings are not admirable. The Latin tongue, which at the best is not the sweetest instrument of thought, degenerates with Duns into the harshest jargon. He does not scruple to invent words for himself when the old verbal signs do not satisfy him, and this fact alone makes his writings unreadable by any but experts. Professor Maurice seems to dis- agree with this opinion. He says : " We have not found his language so entirely rugged and uncouth as it is often represented to be. Aquinas in many respects was less difficult ; all who desire to have 1 Milman,"Hist. Lat. Christ," ix., 141. 250 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE A CES. their intellectual food cooked for them will resort to him. Those who like to prepare it, and now and then to hunt it for themselves, will find their interest in accompanying Duns." ' But this statement really con- cedes what it is written to deny ; certainly his style is as far removed from the ease and purity of that of Erasmus as that of Erasmus was below that of Cicero. This, however, is not the worst fault in the mode of writing adopted by Duns ; it was immeasurably below the manner of Aquinas in philosophic dignity and calmness. He indulges in the rudest epithets against his opponents ; they are " the most vile hogs, the Saracens," "the asses the Manicheans;" and the high- minded, learned Arabian Aristotelian is " the cursed Averroes." Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Ritter reckons him to have been the most acute, subtle, and able of the Schoolmen, a verdict which cannot be accepted as satisfactory. The genius of Aquinas was essentially constructive, that of Duns v/as polemical. He could better attack and demolish the teachings of others than build up a positive and harmonious system of his own. A constructive genius is of a higher class per se than a critical one. Then he accepted, with unreserved sub- mission, the teachings of the Church and all meta- physical conclusions which accorded with its decisions ; but he rejected the philosophical grounds on which preceding Schoolmen had sought to -establish them, and received them only in obedience to the will of God and the authority of the Church. This spirit led him to deny the position of Aquinas, that reason and Reve- lation are two distinct sources of knowledge, affirming that there is no true knowledge of anything knowable 1 « Mor. and Met. Phil.," i., 646. THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 251 apart from theology as based on the Christian Reve- lation. The antagonism between him and Aquinas, both on this and other subjects, was more apparent than real ; he did not intend to divorce faith and reason, philosophy and theology — he believed in their perfect harmony — but he insisted that reason required to be supplemented in its conclusions by Revelation, and that philosophy to be true must be in agreement with the doctrine of the Church. Not only so, when many of his controversial statements are fairly v/eighed and subjected to all the modifying and alleviating considerations which gather around them, there is found to be not nearly so much difference between him and those whom he is attacking as at first sight would appear. The antagonism between him and Aquinas resulted mainly from their constitutional difference : Duns was essentially a critic and a polemic, Aquinas was a philosopher ; the two occupying, as one writer points out, a somewhat similar position to each other as Kant held to Leibnitz.' Owing to a severe scientific and mathematical train- ing, and possibly also to his Celtic nature, Duns was led to submit all the presumed proofs from philosophy in favour of theological dogmas to the most keen and microscopical examination, ar.d hence recognised that many of them were not real proofs at dll, and could not stand the test of rigorous scrutiny. In one respect, therefore, we must suppose that the movement of Duns was a movement backwards ; the struggle of his great Scholastic predecessors had been to rescue Christian Dogma from the clutches of mere Church authority, and to establish it on philosophical grounds according to the method of Aristotle ; a great gain to the freedom ' Ueberweg, " Hist, of Phil.," i., 454" 252 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF TJTE MIDDLE AGES. of human thought, as giving opportunity for growth and speculation, but still far from being the ultimate or right foundation on which Dogma must rest. Still when the keen critical faculty of Duns was exercised to show the insufficiency of such a basis with a view of carrying it back to Church authority and tradition, it only proves how unprepared the world was for the great forward movement still in the dim future, when Dogma should be shown to rest on the clear and simple statements of the Word of God. On the subject of Universals, Duns differs little save in words from Aquinas. He was if anything more of a pure Realist and less of an Eclectic than he. He accepted the teaching of the previous Schoolmen con- cerning the threefold existence of Ideas, ante rem, in re^ post rem, i.e., as Forms in the Divine Mind, as the essences of things, and as concepts arising out of cognitions. He rejects a bare Nominalism, and says that Universals must have real being, as otherwise any knov/ledge coming through our concepts would be without a real object. All scientific knowledge relates to Universals, and unless therefore real existence belong to them, Science is a mere system of logic. But Duns differs from the elder Schoolmen on the relation of the Universal to the individual He draws a distinction between the Universal and its Form, and between the individual and Matter, because the individual as the last reality only arises from the Universal by the addition of positive determinations, and indeed it is only when the individual nature is added that the Universal is crowned with completeness. As a judi- cious writer aptly puts his view : — " Just as animal becomes Iiomo, when to life the specific difference of humanitas is added, so homo becomes Socrates, when to THE SUBTLE DOC TO A. 253 the generic and specific essence, the individual charac- ter, the Socratitas, is added.'" Still, Duns strongly affirms that the One Efficient Principle which is the groundwork of his s)stem io the exemplar of all Forms. " Forms which are united to Matter are the more perfect, the more particular they are. Separate the Perm from the Matter, and the nth of body and mind. This sus- ceptibility to suffering he explained by^ saying that the higher glory of Christ did not penetrate the lower powers so as to prevent them having the experience ^ Dorner, "Person of Christ," div. ii., vol. i., 345. 1; 258 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES, natural to humanity. Still, his theory is vitiated, and the Incarnation deprived of much of its virtue and attraction by the original position assumed by hirti, that it is not the expression of the Love or Wisdom or Justice of Christ, but simply of His absolute, arbitrary, indeterminate Will, which as the expression of His Power is without heart or sympathy. He argued further that the Incarnation would have taken place even if man had not fallen, because it was willed not at the instance of another, but from the beginning and as a Divine end and aim. Christ was an end in Himself and not for humanity. He was the expression of humanity as God willed it, and as God wills the end before He wills the means so He willed the Incar- nation of the Word as expressing His highest purpose in regard to man even before His foreknowledge of sin. It will be seen how this still further interferes with the close sympathy of Christ with humanity, as His assumption of human nature is not an interference by God to rescue a perishing world, but only an outward expression of His Will in regard to the final glorification of His grace. Logically, Duns' theory must have led him to the conclusion that the absolute freedom of God enabled Him at any time to take back the Creation and the God-man, and also that such an arbitrary exercise of Will would be an expression of Infinite Goodness, since what He wills is the measure and criterion of Goodness. But yet again he seeks to guard himself against this legitimate conclusion by postulating that as God has become Incarnate such an alteration has become impossible. But how impossi- ble } If the foundation idea in God be that of abso- lute freedom and power, why should the Incarnation limit the exercise of that freedom 1 Duns .thus THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 239 stipulates for the Infinite Liberty of God, and then binds Him in the rigid and inevitable bonds of facts, as firmly as the most extreme fatalist could have done. It is impossible to follow him through all his mazes and contradictions on this important subject ; he was himself aware of some of his anomalous positions, and refused to follow where his logic would have inevitably led him. His treatment of the subject of the Atonement was conditioned by his views of the Incarnation. He con- troverted the principal and favourite argument of Anselm as to the superabounding merit of the death of Jesus as a sacrifice for sin, and its being required as a satisfaction to Divine Justice. He said that the death of Jesus had not infinite merit, that it was only the human nature that suffered, and that it was only accepted as an atonement for sin by the Will of God. Thus he gave the sufferings of Christ a very inferior place in his system to that given them by Aquinas, and in fact lost the essential idea of Atonement altogether. Duns exercised an important influence in the history of Church dogma, when he advocated, with great learn- ing and eloquence, the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. A growing tendency in favour of this doctrine had been evident for ome time, but many of the leading theologians of the Church had refused to receive it. Bernard of Clarvaux had written energeti- cally against it, stating that whilst Mary might have been sanctified in the womb, that she was not therefore free from original sin, and even intimated that the view he opposed, whilst not honouring Marj', was di.^- honouring to her wondrous Son.' In this view Bernard was followed by Albertus, Bonaventura, Ansehn, Peter ' S. Bernardi, "Opera. Ep. 174, ad Canon," p. 1537. 2 bo GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Lombard, Alexander Hales, and Aquinas, who were followed by the whole line of Dominican monks ; but Duns, with marvellous ingenuity and power, sought ,to prove that greater honour was done to Jesus by his view, masmuch as He had Himself conferred this dls- tmction oh the Virgin by a prevenient virtue resting upon her even in the womb. He said that as God blots out original sin every day by baptism, He can do it as well in the moment of conception. He first pro- mulgated his views with caution, and urged that- the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin was possible and probable ; and then, waxing bolder, he proclaimed it in ihc manner described in previous pages, with the effect of leading the University of Paris to identify its teaching with hi5 views on this subject. Sq, at least Wadding, his biographer, declares. The account is treated dubi- ously by some Church historians, althoiigh Perrone admits that he demolished the arguments of his oppo- nents in a manner that v/as truly astonishing. From his day the doctrine grew, though not without num- berless and bitter contests, into increasinc; fevour with the Papal Court, until, in 1854, P^P^ ^'"^ I^- declared it to be an article of faith in the ('atholic Church essential to salvation. He held the doctrine of predestination in a very unqualified form, and sought to I'^foncijc his theory of free will with that of necessity, by representing that the Divine Decree was not antici- patory as tp time, but was immediately related to the action of the created will Holding the view that only will could affect will, he combated 'he opinion of Aquina.s, that the understanding guided or affected the will, and was led to adopt a ver)^ rigid theory con- cerning the operation of Divine grace. He was the most strenuous <^upporter of Church THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 261 authority amongst the Schoolmen, and sought to subject all the knowledges to its dictum, thus exerting an induence diametrically opposite to the great Schoolmen from Anselm down to his day. In psychology Duns took an important place, intro- ducing and discussing some questions which are heard of in the heated discussions of the nineteenth century He deals at great length with the question whether the Intellect apprehends external things directly as do the Senses, and if so, whether they are the same appre- hensions as those oi the Senses. He argues that the Intellect forms an image of the external object which is not it, but simply an abstraction of it, whereas the Senses are directly cognisant of it. The Senses expe- rience the external, the Intellect knozi'S it. But he says the latter is higher than the former, and really includes it ; it does not simply substitute an abstraction of its own creation of what the eye can see. but it enters more thoroughly into the essential nature of it than the Sense can do. The living apprehension is in ihe intel- lect but throngJi the Senses ; it does not depend, how- ever, on the appearance the external object may present to the Senses, but penetrates to the reality. He further argues that Species are given to the Intellect. It is only thus that it is delivered from mere phan- tasms, that it has the power of turning to pure and real Species and escaping from the erroneous propor- tions in things to which it would be subject if it were the prey of any phantasms wh'ch the Sense presented to it. The memor}' retains the Species before the Intellect when the object is absent, and he concluues that the mind is acquainted with itself and its opera- tions, not by a Species impre>^sed on it, as in external things, but a Species expressed from it. It has a:i 262 GREAT SCHOOLMEN' OF THE MIDDLE AGES. intuitive knowledge of itself. Stripped of the subtle and bewildering reasonings of Duns, his system seenas to identify him with the Realists, although, as will be seen afterwards, his system contained much that aided in arousing the slumbering Nominalism which asserted itself so powerfully in the succeeding Scholastic ages. Literally he might be classed with those philosophers described by Sir W. Hamilton as Cosmothetic Idealists, and be placed in the category of those who view in the immediate object of perception a representative entity present to the mind, but not a mere mental modification, and thus \yas a forerunner of Malebranche, Berkeley, and others, whose systems logically led to Idealism. In one important respect also Duns anticipated Locke, viz., in his fundamental principle that all knowledge is derived through the double medium of sense and reflec- tion, and even enounced it in a manner far more correct than Locke himself.' In the discussion also of the question whether the mind can be conscious of more than a single object at the same time. Duns anticipated the views of nearly all the leading modern philosophers by answering in the affirmative, in opposition to Aquinas and all the leading Schoolmen. Notwithstanding the probable drawbacks of his system. Duns did good service to the cause of Christian' truth by his powerful criticisms of the rigidness of opposing systems, and also gave clearer expression of the realness of Christ's human nature and of the ethical character of the Atonement than had yet been afforded. " Between his Scholasticism and the Romanic Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas, there is indeed this distinction : that in the former clearer traces are discernible of the ethical tenden- 1 Hamilton, " Met.," i., 235. THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 263 cies which distinguish the Germanic mind. Scotus presents to lis the picture of a vigorous wrestling mind in which a new principle travails into birth, still struggling with the chains imposed upon it by the antagonistic j)rinciple which had held sway. Whereas previously the theoretical and physical neces- sity and nature (essence) had held almost undisputed sway, he now puts forth the claims of free will, though his mode of doing so is marked by abruptness and exclusiveness.'' ^ With this estimate of Duns all competent authorities agree. Cousin says of him : " He possessed a mind of a fine and durable temper, and uncommon solidity." " Less a moralist than Thomas Aquinas, he was a greater dialectician ;"^ whilst another writer, not given to unduly praise writers of his School, declares of him : " His subtilty in general was not used to confuse principles and to make the worst appear the better reason, but to bring out distinctions which are of real value, and which the metaphysicians of the latest periods cannot afford to overlook,"^ He was rightly named by the crowds that flocked round him in Paris and Cologne the Subtle Doctor ; he made distinctions and definitions until he seemed to bewilder himself, but his erudition, his patience, his industry, and his dialectic skill, have not had a compeer altogether in European literature. The services he rendered to the cause of psychology and theology have never been fairly acknowledged ; by giving extreme and undue prominence to one principle, which had been almost entirely overlooked by his predecessors, he banished others equally as important into the shade, and thus vitiated his whole system as a system, but he undoubtedly dre\V attention to some points which have ' Dorner, Div. II., vol. i., 346. ''Cousin, "Mod. Phil.," vii., 21. * Maurice, *' Mor. and Met. Phil.," i., 646. 264 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. never since lost their hold in philosophy or dogma, and which have tended to give increased richness and ful- ness to each of them. Had his genius been less critical and more philosophic, less merely microscopic and more comprehensive, he might have exercised an influence in no degree less mighty than his great Dominican rival. Note A. It was stated in the sketch of Duns' life th.u his writin^^s were unreHeved by any attempt at illustration. One exception must be made to that remark. He seeks to explain his position in relation to form and matter by the following figure: — " It appears that the world is a very beautiful tree, whereof the root and seed store is the primary matter ; the moving leaves are accidents and contingen- cies ; the boughs and branches are all things which are liable. to decay ; the flower is the rational nature ; the fruit is that same in its perfection, the angelical nature.' That which alone forms this seed and directs its unfolding from the beginning is the word of God, either by its immediate operation, as in the case of the Heavens, the Angels, and the rational soul, or mediately through such agents as work in the production of whatever is subject to birth and to death. True it is, that in the first root of this primary matter nothing is distinct. Then at once the root is divided into two branches, the corporeal and the spiritual. The spiritual branch is distinguished into three hierarchies ; each of these into three orders, each order into thousand^ (^f thousands of Angels. A portion of these branches, being shaken by a blast of pride, was dried up at the beginning of the world. The corporeal creation Contains two branches, the cormptilile and the incorruptible, each of which has manifold offshoots. Thus the unity of the imi verse in its va.nous elements is evolved at last'out of this indeterminate matter." — Maurice, " Moi. and Met. Phil.j" i., 651. Note B. " His attempt to reconcile foreknowledge with contingency is a remarkable example of the power of human subtlety to keep up the appearance of a struggle, where it is impossible to make one real effort (Opera Lugdun, 1639, vol. v., p. 1320-27). But the most THE SUBTLE DOCTOR. 265 dangerous of all the deviations of hcotus from the system of Aquinas is, that he opeiud the way to the opinion iliat the dis- tinction of right and wrong di-ponds on the mere wiIK)t iIk.- IJernal Mind. The absohite power of the Deity, accordmg to him, extends to all but contradictions. His regular power, oniinatn, is exercised conformably to an order established by Himself . si jdacet volun- tati, sub qua libera est, recta est hx." — Sir J. Mackintosh, Wo"-' s, i., 279. CHAPTER XVI. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR^WILLIAM OF OCKAM. " He knew what's what, and that's as high As metaphysic wit can fly ; In school divinity as able, As he that's hight irrefragable — A second Thomas, or at once, To name them all, another Dunse ; Profound in all the Nominal, And Real ways beyond them all ; For he a rope of sand could twist As tough as learned Sorbonist." S. Butler. XVI. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR— WILLIAM OF OCKAAf. Nothing is known of the parentage or early life of the ;,reat Schoolman now to be considered, William of Ockam. He was probably born about the year 1280, in the village of Ockam, in Surrey, from which he took his name. Whatever may have been the character of his early training, he seems to have had an unusually plastic mind, and as the times were strangely stirring, all the peculiarly English qualities of his nature were called into exercise. He is first mentioned in history as a student at Oxford, and then as attending the lectures of Duns Scotus at Paris. Here he after- wards l?ecame a master, and lectured on many sub- jects in theology and philosophy. He was a man of unusually broad sympathies, and was concerned about many interests ; he was a warm politician ; he was profoundly versed in theology ; he was a born logi- cian, and whatever subject he touched he felt him- self in warm acco.d with it, and wrote on it with great force and clearness. The times were most exciting, and Ockam suffered himself to be carried into their rapid swim. In 1305 the temporal power of the Papacy sustained an enormous check by the Vo\)c becoming subject to the influence of PVancc, followed 270 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGtS. by the removal of the Papal Court from Rome to Avignon, a neighbourhood as lovely as a Paradise, but- far removed from the heart of public affairs. Not only so, the outward magnificence manifested by the succes- sors of St. Peter, the humble fisherman of Galilee, was so infinitely lavish, that every means had to be used to extort money from the faithful in all parts of the Church. In 1316 Pope John XXII. assumed the Papal throne after the Church had been in the anoma- lous position of being without a Head' for two years and four months in consequence of the violent quarrels of the French and Italian Cardinals. Clement V. had been venal and rapacious to an extraordinary degree, and his subjects were exasperated by his extortions, but he was surpassed by his successor John to such an extent that Italian historians testify that in his lust for money he ground the people severely, he practised simony so unblushingly that he sold Church benefices openly in the market.' This shameful truckster in ecclesiastical merchandise sought to console himself fcr his subordination to France by a fierce absolutism in relation to Germany. When a contest arose between the Archduke Frederick of Austria and Louis the Duke of Bavaria, for the crown of Emperor, he exerted all his energy to secure the decision of the contest for himself. After seven years of civil war, which drained the contending States of their blood and treasure, victory declared itself with the Duke of Bavaria, and he assumed the title of Emperor Louis IV. The Pope was frantic with rage that events had decided them- selves without his manipulation or arbitration, and he ' Questi fu homo molto cupido di mor^eta e simoniaco che aqui beneficio per moneta in sua corte si vendea, etc. — Villani, " Hist. Fiorent," lib. ix, 59. Quoted Hardwick, " Middle Ages," 345. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR. indulged an unrelenting animosity against Louis, which led the new Emperor to form an alh'ance with the opponents of the temporal power of the Papacy, then existing in great force in many countries, but chiefly consisting of the great Ghibelline party, against whom the Guelphs were mdulging their merciless vendetta. John launched his excommunication against tho Emperor, and laid under stern interdict those portions of Germany which acknowledged his supremacy, Louis demanded that a General Council should be summoned where the matters in dispute between him and the Pope could be discussed and settled. The clangour and clash of controversy which raged at this time exceeds description ; the interdict was observed in some places and not in others, and in some districts where the jrarti- sarts of the Pope attempted to observe it the adherents of Louis rose up and expelled the recusants. Amidst the din and dust of the prevailing disorder there were some brave and noble voices raised in behalf of Louis, and arguing against the assumptions of the Pope in the warmest manner. Prominent amongst these snq.xq. Marsilius qf Padua, physician and religious teacher of Louis, who wrote the Defensoi' Pads ; and Michael Ceseno, a Franciscan monk', who affirmed the princi- ple of absolute poverty in the boldest terms. The Defensor Pacis aimed to show that as Churcli and State had each its own natural province, thci' limits should be fixed and thus peace definitely settled between them. The popularity and influence of this book were amazing, and it aided much in preparing the way for the prevalence of views which not only revolted from the excesses of the Papacy, but undermined its whole foundation. 272 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. No one entered more enthusiastically into the great conflicts of the day than William of Ockam. Nothing can be said as to the growth of his mind in favour of the view that the Church* should only be concerned with the c6ntrol of things spiritual. But he was passionately aroused in opposition to the pride and sordidness of the dignitaries of the Church; heb-il been appointed head of the Franciscan Order in England, and strongly condemned the growing love of wealth in the Mendicant Orders ; he even disapproved of the enormous sums of money which were being expended over the church building to memorialise the Founder' of his Order, St. Francis of Assisi. Nor was this all. He took up and urged with the utmost boldness the rights of emperors and kings as against the claims of the Pope to temporal dominion. He issued a work called, " The Defence of Poverty," which was the most clear, logical, and powerful of all the productions of the day on the Papal disputes, and which astonished the whole of Christendom by the sheer audacity with which it opposed the pretensions of John. The Pope com- manded two Bishops to examine the book and pass condemnation upon it, and Ockam, with two friends like-minded with himself, was seized and placed in confinement in Avignon. They might surely anticipate speedy death if they remained Ipng in the hands ,of enemies so bitter and unscrupulous. They vyatched for an opportunity, and then escaped to Aiques Montes, taking ship to Germany and seeking refuge in the Court of Louis. Ockam addressed the Emperor in the well-knowft words, " Thou defend me by the sword and I will defend thee by the pen."^ In this refuge he felt he could safely treat with contempt the > " Tu me defendas gladio, ego te defendaai calaino." THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR. 273 threats and fulminations of the Pope, and he issued two works on the current controversies, one of them, it is said, being composed in ninety days, both of which showed such independence of mind, such subtilty of logic, and such powerful reasoning, as to produce a profound impression on the public mind. They showed as burning a hatred to the Papacy as a temporal dominion as was ever manifested by Martin Luther ; they are held in high esteem, even to this day, and are carefully treasured in the choicest libraries. Selden, whose learning and judicial calmness peculiarly fitted him to give an opinion, testifies — and as coming from a Protestant such a testimony should carry consider- able weight — that his works were " the . best that had been written in former ages on the Ecclesiastical Power." He lived in the protection and favour of Louis for some years, condemned by the Pope, dis- owned by Franciscans ; almost flooded with sentences of heresy, deprivation, and imprisonment, for which he recked nothing, but pursued his course, stedfastly and earnestly devoting himself to the composition of works which were to make his name more famous as a dialectician than it was as an ecclesiastical reformer. He accompanied the Emperor in his descent upon Italy, with its brilliant success, followed by its dis- couragements and disastrous failure ; then returned with him to his Court at Munich, where he ended his days in 1347. He was called by his followers "the Invincible Doctor " on account of the fearless tone he preserved both in his political and philosophical writings ; and also " the Venerable Founder," because he re-established Nominalism on a new and more enduring basis. He became the real leader of the reforming tendencies of the times, and gave a decided 18 274 GREAT SCHOOT.M EN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. impulse to the philosophical thought of Europe on the sensational side. William had studied under Duns at Paris, and was never able to divest himself of the influences such a powerful mind could not fail to exert on one equally powerful, but more responsive. Especially he was unfortunate in imbibing the obnoxious and vitiating principle which had corrupted the teaching of his master at the very root, and which also interfered materially with the teachings of the pupil, viz., that the distinctions of right and wrong depend not on the nature of God, but on His arbitrary will. He even went beyond Duns, and made the startling assertion that " moral evil was only evil because it was pro- hibited," and again that "if God had commanded His creatures to hate Himself, hatred of God would have been praiseworthy." ' The Realists amongst the Schoolmen had taught, as has been shown, that there were eternal and immut- able Ideas of right and wrong in the Divine Mind, and on this basis they built an ethical system which has been accepted as irrefragable by the great body of Moral Philosophers throughout Christendom ; but the ground on which Duns and Ockam "based morality removes the foundations of moral government entirely. Cudworth affirms their opinions to be practically equivalent to Atheism. The verdict of the sober and learned Sir J. Mackintosh is : — ; " As all devotional feelings have moral qualities for their object, as no being can inspire love or reverence other- wise than by those qualities which are naturally amicable or venerable, this doctrine would, If men were consistent, extin- guish piety, or, in other words, annihilate religion," ^ ^ Mackintosh, Works, i., 280. ^ Jbid^ i., 41. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR. 275 In dealing with the question which really lay at the root of all the controversies of the Schoolmen, viz., Univcrsals, Ockam boldly and with great ingenuity argued that they were simply and only post rem. He rejected Realism utterly by the application of the principle which has since become a familiar adage in the study of philosophy, " Entities are not to be multiplied except by necessity." ' He accordingly denied the hypostatic existence of abstractions. He said that even supposing that our knowledge rests on Universal conceptions, the Universal does not neces- sarily exist. To attribute real existence to the Universal leads on every hand to inextricable difficulty. He therefore strongly urges that the Universal docs not exist either in things or before things, but simply after things, or as the product of the thinking mind ; it is " a mental conception signifying univocally several singulars." ^ Even in the mind this conception does not exist substantially. It is a mere conception in the mind, and out of it, it is a mere word, a sign ; but while a sign not a sacrament, ^ not representing any- thing invisible or eternal, but' simply a representation to the inward consciousness, and in the external expres- sion a word or a signi This was Nominalism in its barest and purest form, and Ockam applied the same line of reasoning to both God and man. The Ideas, which Plato taught existed independent!}' in the Mind of God, and which the Realists had believed, not as existing independently, but as types and patterns of visible and created things, he rejected, and declared the 1 " Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem." ' " Conceptis mentis significans univoce, plura, singularis." ' — Ueberweg, " Hist, of Phil.," i., dfi-z. ' Note A. 276 GREAT SCHOOLMEN GF THE MIDDLE AGES. Ideas were simply the knowledge God had of particular things, as these are the only real existences.' He thus sought to frame a theory of the Divine Being's knowledge of things upon the pattern he had devised of human knowledge. Ockam's Nominalism led him to the conclusion that the so-called Universals were signs which might be applied with equal propriety to any one out of a number of individual objects. In this he anticipated the teaching of Hobbes, Berkeley, Hume, Hartley, and Gondii lac, and also possibly suggested to Home Tooke his theory of Words, which that philologist reduced to an extreme littleness of signification, which Ockam would have repudiated. He also insisted that we have no experience of the human mind beyond what can be known from the experience of its operations, and thus he cast out from his range of enquiry all subjects relating to the think- ing principle.^ The mind, he said, was one in nature, holding with Duns and other Schoolmen of a later day, in opposition to Aquinas, that there was no real difference between the various faculties, or between the faculties and the mind, the distinctions usually made of the mental faculties being only formal or logical. He divided the cognitions of the mind into two kinds, intuitive and abstractive. Man knows by the senses the individuals from which all his knowledge comes ; from the senses comes memory, from memory expe- rience, and through experience the Universal, which becomes the foundation of all science. He was either the originator of the celebrated maxim, or enforced it more thoroughly than any other Schoolman : — " There is nothing in the understanding that was not previously ^ Note B. ^ Note C. THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR. 277 in the senses." He understands by intuitive knowledge a knowledge by which we know whether a thing is or is not. The judgment then is passed upon the cogni- tion by the intellect. The mind apprehends first, judges afterwards. Abstract knowledge is that which arises from the discrimination and comparison of objects presented through the senses.' Thus, really, he taught a similar doctrine to Locke's, which defined sense and reflection as the sources of all knowledge ; and indeed Sir W. Hamilton affirms that he and other Scholastics made this distinction with more correctness than the great modern philosopher. Ockam has won for himself great praise and renown for the bold and clear manner with which he reasoned against the universally received doctrine of sensible and intelligible species, or appearances of things which are the immediate objects of the mind when it perceives or thinks. These images or likenesses were held to be contemplated by the senses and the understanding, and to be necessary to perception and mental apprehension. The views of Ockam were put with even greater clear- ness by Gabriel Biel, his follower, than by himself. Biel ha'; survived the lapse of centuries, not by any original power of thinking which he possessed, but solely by the remarkably clear and systematic style in which he expressed the principles of Nominalism. He says : — " A species was the similitude or image of a thing known naturally, remaining in the mind after it ceases to be the o: icographers ; — but they do not appear to have taken the cotmter-distinction. The term abstract or abstractive was less fortunately chosen than its correla- tive ; for besides the signification in question as opposed to intui- tive, in which case we look away from the concrete object, it was likewise employed in opposition to concrete, and though improperly as a synonyme of Universal, in which case we took away from each and every individual object of inhesion. As this last is the meaning in which abstract, as it was originally, is now exclusively employed, and as representative is otherwise a far preferable expression, it would manifestly be worse than idle to attempt its resuscitation in the former sense. " The propriety and importance of the distinction is unques- tionable ; but the Schoolmen— at least the great majority who held 286 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE ACES. the doctrine of intentional species — wholly spoiled it in application ; by calling the representative perception they allowed of external things by the name of an intuitive cognition, to say nothing of the idle thesis which many of them defended — that by a miracle we could have an intuitive apprehension of a distant, nay even of a non-existent, object. This error, I may notice, is the corollary of another of which I am soon to speak — the holding that external things though known only through species are immediately known in themselves." — Hamilton's " Reid," 812. Note E. The fortune of this word is curious. Employed by Plato to ex- press the real forms of the intelligible world, in lofty contrast to the unreal images of the sensible, it was lowered by Descartes, who extended it to the objects of our consciousness in general. When, after Gassendi, the school of Condillac had analysed our highest faculties into our lowest, the idea was still more deeply degraded from its high original. Like a fallen angel, it was relegated from the sphere of Divine intelligence to the atmosphere of human sense ; till at last Ideologie (more correctly Idealogie), a word which could only properly suggest an ^ priori scheme, deducing our knowledge from the intellect, has in France become the name peculiarly dis- tinctive of that philosophy of mind which exclusively derives our knowledge from the senses. Word and thing, ideas, have been the crux philosophoruni, since Aristotle sent them packing (xaipiTcoaap Idfai) to the present day.'' — Hamilton, " Discussions," 69. Note F. Ockam and. Locke seem to have held corresponding ideas on the "possible materiality of the soul. " We have the ideas of matter and thinking, but possibly shall never be able to know whether any mere material being thinks or no ; it being impossible for us, by the contemplation of our own ideas, without rev^elation to discover whether Omnipotency has not given to some systems of matter fitly disposed a power to perceive and think, or else joined and fixed to matter so disposed, a thinking immaterial substance : it being, in respect of our notions, not much more remote from our comprehension to conceive that God can, if He please, superadd to matter a faculty of thinking, than that he should superadd to it another substance, with a faculty of think- ing ; since we know not wherein thinking consists, nor to what sort THE INVINCIBLE DOCTOR. 2S7 of substances llic Almighty lias been pleased to give that power, which cannot be in any created being, but mexely by the good plea- sure and bounty of the Creator. For 1 see no contradiction in it, that the first eternal liiinking Being should, if He please, give to certain systems of created senseless matter, put together as He thinks fit, some degrees of sense, perception, and thought : though, as I think I have proved, it is no less than a contradiction to suppose rruitter (which is evidently in its own nature void of sense and thought) should be that eternal first thinking Being. What certainty of knowledge can any one have that some perceptions, such as, e.g., pleasure and pain, should not be in some bodies themselves after a certain manner, modified and moved, as well as that they should be in an immaterial substance upon the motion of the parts of the body." — "Essay on Human Understanding,' Bk. iv., c. iii., s. 6, p. 399. I CHAPTER XVII. THE MOST CHRISTIAN DOCTOR.— JEAN CHARLIER GERSON. I 19 " And deem not profitless those fleeting moods Of shadowy exaltation : not tor this That they are kindred to our purer mind And intellectual life ; but that the soul, Remembering how she felt, but what she felt Remembering not, retains an obscure sense Of possible sublimity, whereto With growing faculties she doth aspire, With faculties still growing, feeling still That whatsoever point they gain, tliey yet Have something to pursue." Wordsworth. XVII. THE MOST CHRISTIAN DOCTOR-JEAN CHARLIER GERSON. William of Ockam closed the line of the.^r^^/ School- men. Scholasticism culminated in Thomas Aquinas. Duns Scotus was on the whole a more accomplished logician, but he was not so great a piiilosophei', whilst Ockam, though inferior to both, still rendered such service to intellectual progress, and manifested such astonishing acuteness and vigour of thought, as to be w-ell entitled to a position amongst the leading Scho- lastics. After him came the decline, which was both marked and rapid. No Scholastic who was at all equal to him arose in the noisy and passionate controversies which raged for a century after his death. It was the battle of idealism and sensationalism ; it was maintained with great warmth and much skill by both sides; each school of [philosophy sent men of great talent into the arena, and the result was undoubtedly much gain, gain to the cause of intellectual freedom, to the diffusion of religious truth, and to the advancem.ent of intelligence throughout Christcndoni. One effect of the spirited attacks of such accom- plished writers as D'Ailly, Clemangi, and Biel. upon the long-cstabiishcd Ucaiism ol" tlie Middle Ajj-cs, was the 2y2 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. decline, and eventually the destruction, of the form or method of Scholasticism. As the controversy pro- longed itself after the death of Ockam, it gradually degenerated into mere lifeless subtilties, until the public mind became weary of the struggle, and several results ensued which the combatants could not have antici- pated. One result was the somewhat violent vibration of the intellectual consciousness of Europe in the direction of Platonism, under the influence of which Marsilio Ficino and others strove earnestly to diminish or destroy the overwhelming power of Aristotle. These writers pro- ceeded so far as to raise Plato into comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ, and in their zeal for the revival of ancient classical literature invested the principles of the Christian religion with Ciceronian and Horatian phrase. Therefore, in the course of two or three generations the learned men of Southern Christendom had become comparatively paganized, and the Pope himself (Leo X.) was far more a Grecian litterateur than a humble minister of the Teacher of Galilee. Another result of the reaction from the degenerate Scholasticism of the fourteenth century was a decided movement of the Christian consciousness in the direction of Mysticism. The later Schoolmen, in descending to frivolous refinements and mere dialectic subtilties, became divested of the spiritual life and power whereby their predecessors had been able- to hold under their spell the devout, as well as the intellectually vigorous of the Church. Those therefore who yearned for a higher spiritual experience rebelled against the clamour of perpetual controversy, which failed to contribute to the Divine life in man. A spirit developed itself which longed for relief from the wearying din of strife ; the THE MOST CHRISTIAN DOCTOR, 293 schoolboy is carried by time beyond the excitement of the debating class, and reaches a stage of life when deeper sensibilities and a widening future beckon him to sober reverie, and a more fervently conscious purpose. So the Christian life of the later Middle Age sought to send the multitudes away that it might depart into a desert place to pray, or that it might cultivate a fuller acquaintance with the profoundest realities of religion than the strife of the school permitted. The revolt was not a violent one, nor was it accomplished by loud demonstration ; it was scarcely articulately expressed to themselves, even by those who were leaders of it ; it was rather an unconscious growth from the minute and attenuated divisions and subdivisions of Scholasticism. It was an attempt to get back to the freedom and simplicity of the Gospel, to regain the childlike faith by which, unencumbered with logical method and form, the spirit could press into the hidden glory of the Divine Presence, where the Eternal Spirit and the human spirit could meet in fellowship, where special illumination could be enjoyed, where, instead of seeking to compress the truth into elaborate systems of Dogma, it might be partaken of freely and directly from the infinite Fountain. Mysticism was not a new dcvclopm.cnt of Christian life : it had appeared with much grace in the writings ol Bernard, of Hugo and Richard St. Victor, of Bonaven- tura ; but it was soon to revive and assume a position of greater importance in the lives and labours of Ruysbrock, of Eckart, of Taulcr, and through them to aid in awakening a nobler spiritual life throughout Christendom. One great spirit reflected more exactly than others this transition temper of the times. He was imbued 2: Vtta Spirituali, and other of I is bl;s, tlierc is the same combination of Scholasticism and Mysticism that cha- racterises the Compendium, and which is the infalli!)!e mark of a transition period in human thought. It is not required for the purpose of this book to enter lengthily »i}>on the special views of Gerson, cither in theolo^jy or p]\ilosophy ; it »s sufficient to indicate his j^cncral position in relation to various schools of thou:^dit, and as illustrating the tendency of the times towards fVeer and higher enjoyment of truth than the withes ot Scholasticism permitted. As a Schoolman he sought to define minutely questions in casuistry of the most delicate nature, that he might thus inform or .soothe the conscience of the sinner ; he insisted that thr right to interpret Scripture was the sole privilege of the Church, and that a General Council could alone define and determine Christian doctrine. He imbibrd from D'Ailly the principles of Nominalism, and from them he never wavered. With an acutene.s.s almo:t worthy o^ A(]uinas or Scotus, he laboured to make e\'i(lcnt the distinction between mortil and venial sin. liut us a Mystic he sou'4ht to surround Schohsticism with a warmth of spiritual life and power of which it had become entirely denuded. His great work, composed amidst all the exciting and multifarious eiiga[;emcai:s k^v the University, was the Ihcolo^ta Mystica, which was the first work issued on Mysticism, called by that n.iine. The ultimate and objective point in Gerson's Mysti- 20 3o6 GREA T SCHOOLMEiV OF THE MIDDLE AGES. cism, as in that of all who belong to this school, is God. He sought to gain access to Him by some medium, either in nature or himself. This is the end of all Mysticism, whether as expressed in the Ecstacy of Plotinus, in the Itinerary of the soul to God of Bona- ventura, in the impassioned sermons of Eckart and Tauler in the intellectual intuition of Schelling, or in the way to the blessed life of Fichte. All are inspired by an irreoressible desire to rise to a direct knowledge of the eternal Fountain of Being. Mysticism in Gerson based itself upon individual intuition, an inspiration which of course can be of no authority beyond the individual which is under its influence. This immediate intuition enables the soul to come into direct communion with tlie Divine Essence, by which it receives the internal l^ght which enables it to attain with certainty all truth. Gerson stopped short of the extravagant views which were indulged in by some of the German Mystics ; he was far from being carried into the dangerous fancies of Ruysbroek,' and still less into those of Suso or of St. Teresa. He attempted to combine with the imtncdiate intuition, on which he grounded his system, rejlection, which, gaining its knowledge through the senses, is the foundation of Sensationalism, and which is opp<^sed to the very nature of Mysticism. While he rejected all such rapturous visions as Jacob Boehme and other extreme Mystics indulged, he taught that rnan rose to the height of blessed contemplation by a joyous love, and then, as if fearful of being carried into any ridiculous extreme, he insisted that this state was quite compatible with a calm self-consciousness. He is to be clas.scd with the moderate and rational school of Mystics, who form a noble group with Bernard, the ' Note A. THE MOST CHRISTIAN DOCTOR. 307 Victorines, and Bonaventura as its shining ornaments, and who stopped far short of the excesses which have brought reproach upon the name of Mysticism. The Mysticism of Gerson marked an unmistakable reaction from the formalism and dogmatism of Scholasticism, although it was but a more positive and exclusive form of dogmatism seeking to cast down and destroy its predecessor. The authorised Theology of the age had degenerated, it had lost all the fervour and brightness of divine life, it was a jangle of angr}- words and sounding names, it placed growing emphasis upon the simply human in its composition, \t rested wholly on the letter, and the Christian life of the age turned from the Scholastic to the Mystic, from the letter to the spirit, from dogmatic statement and angry controversy to the inward light and direct communion with the Eternal ; it appealed from the casuist and the combatant of the school to the calm contemplative mystic of the cell, to open the fountains of spiritual life- for the world's refreshment. It is unnecessary to spend a line in considering whether Gerson had any hand in producing the most striking book of the fourteenth century, " The Imitation of Jesus Christ." If the evidence be insufficient to ad- judge it certainly to the piety of the monk Thomas, of Kempen, it is much less satisfactory in relation to Gerson. Internal evidence is conclusive against him. The book itself is an exact and marvellous expression of the piety and fervour of the noblest Scholasticism. and of the nascent Mysticism. That it failed to aiford a full view of Christian doctrine is true ; it is not a handbook Ql Theologv'. but a guide to devotion ; yet none could have written it who had not been trained thoroughly in the paths of the higher Scholasticism 51,8 (,■•:/■■ IV .s(Vi(>(y/ .]rr:\ or tuf Mtrni r. AC.r.s. No mero Scl-oKislic could have produced it, but only one whose hrart v/hs responsive to the brightest and warnDest piety of the past, and who laboured with intenscat desire to express it for his generation. It supplied a cr)-ing need in the Christian life of that day, and its mission is not yet ended. It is full of sharp, ■^hortliving sentences which speak to the heart and dwell upon the memor)' ; it is the outcome of a soul absoih'd in the vision of Christly beauty which has been revealed to it, and it is the most perfect guide to* a m<*r(ly devotional life which has ever been issued, l^ut ft fails to express a perfect idea either of Christianity or a Christian life. It is monastic Christianity it paints, and a monastic life it would lead to, and it must ever f.vil to bo a spiritual guide book for those who must busily mingle in the world's common duties and busi- ness, or who are inspired with the generous enthusiasm of humanity which is the most Christly outcome of a religious life. Thus the glory and power of Scholasticism faticd into the warmth and brightness of Mysticism ; the high and noble aspirations of the greatest Schoolmen were gathered up by a new race who sought to divest religion of its logical bands and integuments, and who became the exponents of a noble if not a perfect system of spiritual truth. The W(jrk which Scholasticism had accomplished was not destroyed. It had built a gor- geous Christian temple, the noble proportions and stately grandeur of which arc the womler and admiration of all succeeding generations, but the sacrifice and the incense, the fervent piaise and the spiritual glow, had given place to the jangle of disputation and the formality of Pharisaism ; then a new order of men cam^-, who souglit to kmdle a brighter flame on the altar, to diflusc a more THE MOST CIIRISTTAN DOCTOR. 309 fragrant incense, to present a richer sacrifice of the spirit, and to rise upon the wings of a more venturous devotion. They by the violence of their movement were thrown into an extreme position, which resulted in errors and extjavaganccs, as much to bo deprecated as those from which thoy revolted , but the reaction from Scholastic rigidity was on the whole healthy, atid served to prepare the way lor the grand spiritual move- ment of Luther and the Reformers of the fifteenth century. NOTK A. "God dwells iri the heart pure and free from every image. Then first, when wc withdraw into the uinpUcitiU ol our heart, do we behold the immeasurable glory of Ciod, and our intellect is as clear fiom all considerations of distinction and rtgura'ive apprehensions, as thouijh we had never .seen or heard of such things. Then the riches of God are open to us. Our spirit beromes dc^ireless, as though there were nothing on ea.vth 01 m heaven of which we stood in need- Tben wc .ire aloiie with God, God and we-- nothing else. Then we rise above all multiplicity and distinction into the sunple nakedness of our essence, and in it become conscious of the infinite wisdom of the Divine Essence, whose inexhaustible depth 1 arc as a vast waste, into which no corporeal and no sp'tritual image can intrude. Our created is absorbed in our uncreated life, and we are as it were transformed into God. Lost in the abyss of our eternal blessedness, we perceive no distinction between ourselves and God As soon as we be^jin to reflect and to consider what that is we feel, we become aware o( such distinction, and fall back to the level of reason " - Ruysbroek, quoted in V.iughan's " Hours with Mysticu," 1., 3^8. / CHAPTER XVIII. THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR WORK. •' Happy are they who have a lyre in their heart and a music in their mind, which their anions perform." " Simple and sincere mmds are never more than half mistaicen." "The devout are the practical metaphysicians." " To reach the regions of ligJit you mast pass through the clouds. Some stop there ; others know how to go beyond." •' Professional- critics caa appreciate neither jough diamonds nor bars of old." — JOUBfcRT. XVIII. THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL A\D THEIR WORK. The brief notices of the great leaders of the School given in previous pages will have been some prepara tion for forming a jud;.;ment fairly appreciative of them and their work. It will not be supposed that with their opportunities and their surroundings they could attain either absolute perfection of character or a faultless style of work. But when all the circumstances of their times are taken into account, it will be ionnd that there was very much, both in them and in their labours for the Church, to command the admiration and to merit the gratitude of succeeding ages. They were men of devout habit, and of stainless piety, Theje is scarcely any line of men in all history who are so irreproachable as tlie Schoolmen. Scandal has left untouched but ie-w of the leading men of his- tory. Especially in the Middle Ages, but a scanty number were able to pass through the fiery ordeal of life without being scarred or branded by some sad act or habit of sin. Charlemagne and all kings, with but the rare exception of an Alfred, or a Saint Louis ; Popes and- Cardinals far too numerous to mention, and too hateful to recall ; statesmen and warriors of all the civil iz(-d nations of Europe, — all were swept into the 3 1 4 GRKA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE A GES. evil habits of their times, and indulged in such forms of vice that the mind can only tolerate them by judging their conduct, not by the eternal and immutable standard of Divine righteousness, but by the imperfect and changing standard acknowledged by the public conscience of their generations. Even the clerical orders which arose to bear witness against the sur- rounding rapacity and licentiousness were unable to preserve themselves unspotted, and gradually suffered themselves to be drawn downwards by the prevailing spirit of evil until the half-developed moral sensibility of Christendom was horrified at their apostacy. Not only so, the great thinkers and leaders of the modern world have far too seldom been able to pass the trial of human temptation without reproach ; the great founder of French Idealism confesses that he could not preserve his chastity absolutely pure ; the leader of the Induc- tive Philosophy is only rescued from being " The noblest, greatest, meanest of mankind " by the plea that the low condition of public morality in his day excused or palliated the wrongs he committed in the course of his public functions ; the greatest literary name in Germany, by his own free and unblushing confessions of immorality, is found to be tarnished with the saddest shame. And whilst these examples are numberless, let not the tribute of praise and admiration be withheld from a succession of men who through several centuries maintained an almost faultless confession of morality, and who deserve con- secration in the estimation of the religious world for the rich odour of their piety. Of no other order of !nen. save only the Apostles, can the same be said. Not of the Fathers of the Church, for too often were both THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL A.VD TffEIIi. WORK. 315 their words and lives marred by uncharity, violence of temper, and the spirit of persecution ; not of kings or emperors, of popes or bishops, nay not even of the line either of martyrs or reformers ; not any of these passed the ordeal of history, and "the fierce light which beats" upon the leaders of men, and have come forth so morally unscathed as the Schoolmen. Abelard indeed sinned, but, like the royal sinner of the Old Testament, he manifested a royal repentance, and sought not only to obtain the forgiveness of God, but to atone in every way possible for him to the object of his sin. But Anselm was as conspicuous for his holy living as for his brilliant intellectual genius. Bernard was not more anxious to extend and strengthen the outward Ch'jrch of the Redeemer than he was to have his whole soul steeped with the Divine Influence. Those of the Monks of St. Victor whose names are preserved on the bead-roll of Scholasticism shine like " stars apart," — " Satellites burning in a lucid ring," so radiant are they with sweet and fervent piety. Peter the Lomoard, the most arid and uninteresting genius of the line, was a man of profoundly religious spirit. The. great abilities both of Albertus Magnus and Alexander Hales were consecrated by a complete devotion to a life of Divine fellowship. The two names best known and most revered, those of r>c»naventura and Aquinas, are richly redolent with the fragrance of an ardent piety. This is certainly not the general feeling about Aquinas, who has been deseribed by some v/riters as thou-^h the spiritual side of his nature had boon sacrificed to the merely logical. But of few men arc more satisfactory testi.Tionics to extra- ordinary spirituality^ preserved. When he preached, 3i6 GREAT SCHOOLMEN- OF TffE MIDDLE AGES. his subject was chiefly the love of God and of Christ, and he enlarged upon the inspiring theme with kindling earnestness ; when he engaged in the service of the mass, he was often melted to tears ; in all his metaphysical labours, he sought to baptize his thinking by fervent and effectual prayer ; and when, during a time of religious meditation, he fancied that the Saviour addressed him and said : " Thou hast written well of me, Thomas ; what shall be thy reward ? " the reply was, " To have more of Thyself." Thomas Aquinas was pure intellect, illuminated with Divine Love, Bonaventura adopted for his motto in life, having it engraved upon his study wall, the words of his Divine Master, " Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart," and in no act of his life does he seem to have done other than follow the instruction. Even his misguided worship of the Virgin was a manifesta- tion of that love whicli, with better gospel teaching, would have been offered directly to Christ The later leaders of the School, Duns Scotus, William of Ockam, and others, also bore undeviating testimony against the sins of their generation, and embodied a noble godliness in their lives; and if Gerson marred his splendid piety by his persecution of John Hugs, it was rather the fault of his environment which prevented either him or others understanding the principles of religious tolera- tion, or of liberty of conscience, than of any wavering from the standard of a lofty piety on his part. Thus these men were not only of blameless repute, but unsurpassed holiness of life. They were also men of the world. Not that they had the worldly spirit. If they had possessed the pride and ambition which were vulgarly common in their day, they might have been popes, kings, and run LEADERS OF THE SCUVOL AND II'IIF W'^KK. :.t i political leaders amongst men, but from all such low desires they were marvellously free. And still ih^jy \v^re busily engaged in the public affairs t-f the rations of Christendom. They did not seek prominrnt posi- tions, but they could not be hid, and such posiLions were thrust upon them, and v/hen so thrust, they did not refuse the responsibility, but carried into the minute details of their functions the same untiring energy and conscientiousness which they manifested in their beloved intellectual pursuits. They are often referred to as l>eing gloonjy "lonks, of recluse habits, shut up in the cell or the quidrangle, dreaming and weaving iiiCtui.!\}- sical cobwebs down the l«ng years of their lives. But of which of the Schoolmen could this be affirmed ? They were familiar with royal courts and cabinets, tiiey filled high ecclesiastical offices, they accomplished such an amcjunt of labour in various departments of adminij - tration, as testified of enormous capacity for work and endurance. Anselm gave himself to his work a.s Abbot of Bee with such zeal that it became the brightest ce.itre of religion and learning in Europe ; then, with not so- much paidence as courage, he fought a keen battle against William Rufus, in behalf of the right of the Church to govern supremely within its own pro- vince ; and in the duties of his olfice as Primate of Kngland, he showed extraordinary skill and industry. It was the same with I'cter Lombard, when Bishop of Paris; with Albcrtus Magnus when Bish(^p of Ratisbon, and Grand iVtastcr of the Pope's palacf ; uilh Bonaventura as the Cardinal Bishop of Albano, and the Chief Director of the immense Order of h^iancisi ;in Monks ; with Aquinas as called by the Pope to render aid in the urgent business of the Papacy, and by St. Louis to afford gracious moral guidance in the intrica- 3i8 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. cies of Statecraft. In addition to which national and public duties, nearly all the Schoolmen were busily engaged with crowds of students who swarmed around them. They were the centres of the intellectual life of Europe, and filled the leading universities with their ardent and devoted followers. Thus they were little likely to be absorbed by the idola specus, or to become curious specimens of intellec- tual fungi ; they were, with an occasional exception, so circumstanced as tO be in the very midst of the most influential factors of the day, fully abreast with the national and continental movements which agitated those restless and formative times ; drawn into fellow- ship and counsel with the great makers of history ; themselves deserving to rank highly in the grand, catalogue of such leaders of men ; called to assume great responsibilities, in council, in controversies on questions of Imperial magnitude, and having the high- est honours of the Church and the Universities crowded upon them. They were men of keen metaphysical acumen and of profound erudition, which they employed upon the highest and noblest themes. They were not weary, solemn trifiers, expending the force of the most per- fectly logical intellects in Europe in disputing concern- ing vain and sill}' trivialities. It is surprising to find, in a book of recent date, of great intelligence and discrimination, and generally of appreciative spirit, which deals with the growth of Christian Religion down the eighteen centuries of its history, that the only instance given of the pursuits and labours of the Schoolmen is contained in this sentence : — " One feels naturally startled to behotd a company of the most learned men of their day, meeting together in the pre- THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR WORK, jiy sence of a crowded assembly, gravely and dcliberalely to discuss the questioQ whether a hundred thousand angels could dance at one moment upon the point of a needk, or, whether two celestial intelligences could at one time occupy the same amount of space, or, whether a celestial being could be present on one spot of earth at the same moment, when he was present in another comer of the world." ^ Judging from the fair and charitable temper of this book, no one would be more ready to admit than its author that the Schoolmen were mainly occupied by the consideration of questions of great importance, but to leave out all reference to the vital topics they handled, and to present the merely trivial to readers, many of whom may be totally unacquainted with the subject, is, to say the least, misleading. A summary of the subjects dealt with by Thomas Aquinas, and other leading Schoolmen, his already been given, by which the reader of this work will be able to form a clear idea of the subjects mainly studied and discoursed upon by these great m^n. It is. true they indulged in petty disputes such as those just referred to, but these were as the occasional froth or bubbles on tht* surface of a reservoir of profound thought and learning. This will appear the more clearly if it be considered how largely they anticipated the views and positions held by modern theologians and philosophers. Anselm framed what is known as the Ontological argument for the Existence of God. This was in the eleventh cen- tury. Six hundred years afterwards it was announced independently by Descartes ; it was defended by all the Cartesians of the Continent ; by Sir I, Newton and Dr. S. Clarke in England. In the present century a philosopher so profound as Hegel has largely built * Matheson, "' Growth of the .Spirit of Christianity," ii., loo. 320 GRKA T SCHOOI MC^ OF THE MIDDLE AGES. liis whole system upon it, and even so late a writer as Dr. Caird has placed it with .'>trikiiig clearness before t!ie present generation. The question whether Saving Faith has its origin in the intellect or in the heart was arc^ued by many of the Schoolmen from Bernard and Abelard, and this ques- tion was also vigorously debated by Rev. J. Hervey, Rev. R. Sandeman, and others in the last centuiy. All the v.irious questions relating to the doctrines of predestination, election and reprobatiqn, foreknowledge and contingency, were fought out in the Middle Ages by Pclcr the Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, i^nd others, and they were also subsequently debated with intense interest and passion by the Calvinists and Arminlaws of later centuries. The theory which finds the results of man's transgression in the loss of certain suppo.-^ed *' chartered blessings," as advocated recently by Dr. Payne and Rev. J. Frame, was also advocated and discussed by Alexander Hales and Bonaventura. It is more than likely that Feiielon, Jonathan Edwards, and others drew their doctrine of disinterested Jove from Thomas Aquinas, who wrote upon it with great clccirncss and force. In the department of Morals, the Schoolmen cer- tainly achieved great results, and occupied themselves maijjly with questions of great human interest. Few of the subjects di5:cussed by modern Ethicists were omitted from their consideration. They failed to dis- tijuruish with .sufficient clearness between the Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Criterion of Moral Judg- ment, but they did incalculable service by setting up a lofty standard of morality, and insisting on the immutable obligations of the Moral Law. On this subject Sir James Mackinto.sh speaks with great force. t/:e leaders or the school axd their ivork'. 321 After speaking of their treatment of Metaphysical subjects, he says : — " If not more remarkable, it is more pertinent to our pur- pose, that the Ethical system of the Schoolmen, or to speak more properly, of Aquinas, as the Moral Master of Christendom for three centuries, was in its practical part so excellent as to leave little need of extensive change, with the inevitable exception of the connection of his religious opinions with his precept and counsel. His rule of life is neither lax nor im- practicable. His grounds of duty are solely laid in the nature of man, and in the well-being of society. Such an intruder as Subtilty seldom strays into his moral instructions. With a most imperfect knowledge of the Peripatetic writings, he came near the. Great Master by abstaining in practical philosophy from the unsuitable exercise of that faculty of distinction in which he would probably have shown that he was little inferior to Aristotle, if he had been equally unrestrained. . . . The praises bestowed on A sanctified within, and exhibits good works as signs of his faith and sanctification ; faith first produces righteousness of heart, and righteousness of heart produces good works.' Alexander of Hales, called the Irrefragable Doctor, says : * Man in his original state never opposed himself to God. He had then need only oi formative grace ; but now that there is something in him opposite to God, man needs transformative gxd.ccJ' 326 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. " There are undoubtedly some differences between these great men ; but these differences only show how firmly esta- blished they were in the essential truth of salvation. Anselra, for instance, Thomas Aquinas, and others, supposed that the sacrifice of Christ effected the salvation of man, in virtue of an intrinsic value, ex insito valorc, while many other Scholastics, and Duns Scotus in particular, contended that it was owing solely to the design and counsel of God. This was the differ- ence ; while all proclaimed that man was a lost being and saved only by the death of the God-man Jesus Christ." ^ Whilst the Schoolmen laid the world under great obligations for their investigations into the various branches of human thought, they conferred upon it another great service, which it should hasten to acknowledge. The Schoolmen were the first great Reformers in Europe, and the names of Erigena, Anselm, Abelard, Albertus Magnus, Aquinas, Ockam, and others should be enrolled as amongst the first who vindicated the right of the human reason to judge for itself on matters of conscience and faith. They were leaders on the side of a wronged humanity in that firm-set struggle which raged through long centuries against a gigantic ecclesiastical despotism, which aimed to be the sole arbiter of man's faith, which sought to reign over all the domains of intellectual research, and which would have locked up even the treasures of Nature from the enquiring mind. There was never wanting a Schoolman to fight on the side of liberty of conscience and freedom of thought until the grand result was obtained, " without which there can be no philosophy, and no true enjoyment of life, — The right of thinking as we will and of speaking as we think!' ^ They lived in the dawn of a new intellectual bright- ^ D'Aubigne, " The Voice of the Church." * Heeren, " Hist. Researches," 310. I THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AXJ) THEIR WORK. 327 ness, amidst a growing mental activity, and they did much to welcome the light and to promote the vigorous growth. In common with all the ardent searchers after knowledge in Europe, they felt the blessedness of a rush of new life within them ; they became the pro- pagators of that life and roused its pulsations in tens of thousands of fresh, warm, youthful souls, who crowded round them in the great Universities of twenty cities ; and although they wore the livery of the Church of Rome, and bowed in submission before its assumption of absolute authority, they were yet impart- ing, often unconsciously, that very principle already described, which in its full development produced the Reformation of the fifteenth century, and which must ever be the broadstone of all intellectual and religious freedom. It is true, they were not allowed to use as they chose the key which might open to them the palace of intellectual enjoyment, but not the less did they furnish the key to others ; especially Aquinas did great service in this respect, as he laboured with great force to affirm the principle that reason equally with revelation must be regarded as a guide to truth and wisdom, and whilst on the one hand giving to Revelation the greater weight of authority, yet on the other allowing to reason the right to enquire, examine, and argue in regard to Revelation. This position is largely that taken by the great leaders of the Protestant movement, and but for the Schoolmen they could never have so boldly assumed it ; the preliminary work required before Christendom was ripe for their great work would have been left undone, and the victory of the Reforma- tion deferred for some ages. Dr. Hampden, whose appointment to the Bishopric of 328 GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Hereford prevented the only learned Englishman who seemed to have a living interest with this subject from pursuing his researches into the lives and labours of the Schoolmen, has clearly pointed out this fact both in his Bampton Lectures and his clear and concise life of Thomas Aquinas, which greatly needs to be re-issued in an accessible form. He says : — " The Scholastic Philosophy, indeed, is pre-eminently a record of" the struggle which has subsisted between the efforts of human reason, on the one hand, to assert its own freedom and independence ; and, on the other hand, the coercion exercised over it by the civil or ecclesiastical powers. In the general survey of it, it will be observed to be distingu'~hed by two very opposite characteristics; an unbounded liberty of discussion, that advances with unawed step into the most startling curiosities of minute enquiry ; and a servile addiction to the previous determinations and sanctions of the venerated doctors of the Church. Both these facts, so conspicuous in the matured form of the Scholastic Theology, are the surviving evidences of that struggle under which its system gradually rose and estabhshed itself. It was by its artful combination of these two ingredients of the human judgment, the positiveness of dogmatism, and the waywardness of private reason, that its empire was decided." ^ A German historian of Philosophy, of great sobriety and clearness of judgment, has also borne recent testimony to this fact, in the following admirable verdict : — "Although completely in the service of the Church, Scholasticism originated in a scientific interest, and awoke consequently the spirit of free enquiry and a love of know- ledge. It converted objects of faith into objects of thought ; raised men from the sphere of unconditional belief into the sphere of doubt, of search, of understanding ; and even when it sought to establish by argument the authority of foith, it was really establishing, contrary to its own knowledge and v.'ill, the ^Bampton Lect., 14. t THE LEADERS Of THE SCHOOL AXD 7L1EIR WORK. 329 authority of reason : it brought thus another principle into the world, different from that of the ancient Church, the princi{)le of intellect, the self-consciousness of reason ; or at least it pre- pared the way for the triumph of this principle. The very defects of the Scholastics, their many absurd questions, their useless and arbitrary distinctions, tlieir curiosities and subiiliies, must be attributed to a rational principle, to the spirit of enquiry, the longing for light, which, oppressed by the authority of the Church, was able to express itself only so and not other- wise." 1 The following- extract from the learned Bishop already quoted is so appropriate as almost to demand admission here : — " The marks of the origin of the Scholastic Philosophy accompany it throughout in its development. As it arose in the struggles of Reason against an imperious authority, so Reason is throughout the principle with which it is concerned, and which alone it endeavours to satisfy. It had not for its object to win men to the truth : it sought only to justify and secure an obedience to which tlie unwilling intellect was con- strained. Its whole tendency was accordingly to magnify Reason against the principle of mere authority. And on this account (though the assertion may seem strange) the School- men must undoubtedly be reckoned amongst the precursors of the Refonnation, both of religion and philosophy. By the temerity of their speculations, they inured the minds of men to think boldly ; and they raised doubts and difficulties which sustained the incjuisitive spirit until at least a better day should dawn upon its eftbrts. Unconscious they were themselves of the benefit which was slowly and painfully resulting from their abortive endeavours. But what they were in themselves was merely accidental, and passed away with them. The spirit which they had nurtured survived beyond them to fight against the system within which it had grown up : as the system itself had fought against the arbitrary authority of the Church, with- in whose bosom it had been cherished. Thus we find some of the early Schoolmen strenuous opponents of the usurpations of Rome ; as Robert Grosstete, Bishop of Lincoln, in the ' Schwegler, " Hist, of Phil," 147. 33© GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. thirteenth century, and Ockam in the fourteenth. A reaction indeed took place, by which the conclusions of the Scholastic Theologians were expressly affirmed in the decrees of the Church of Rome; and invested with that perpetuity which the dogmatist of that communion claims for its authoritative declarations. This curious effect consequently has followed : that the same writers Hve as authorities in Theological specula- tion to the Roman Church, who as advocates of Reason against the Church system have raised up its most formidable anta- gonists both in Religion and in Philosophy." ^ To the same effect may be again quoted the testi- mony of the venerated and learned historian of the Reformation ; the extract is lengthy, but cannot well be abbreviated : — " The general character of the Scholastic form, then, is the Spirit of the Schools, we may say, of the University or OF Science. To apply philosophy to Christianity, to reduce Christian doctrines to systems; to show their connections, their internal proofs, and to measure them not only by the heart, but by the understanding ; such is the tendency of the Scholastic form of Religion, so that if the first era of the Church may be called the lorm of Life, and the second that of Doctrines, the third is that of system. There is yet life, there are yet doctrines ; but that which prevails is the systematic. It was then that each Doctor published his system, his Summa Theologies, It was the age advanced of the Church, which naturally succeeded to its youth and manhood. It was the age which loves to arrange what it had before collected. It meditates ; it has little of impulse, but more of reflection. There were indeed men of great force in this middle era ; but the prevailing dis- position was to reflection and system. Historical studies there were yet none ; the exegetical were no more as esteemed, and yet the human mind was awakening with great force all over Europe. It needed a guide to direct it, and this guide was found in Dialectic Philosophy; and as Theology was the science of the age, the human mind adventured upon this field under the auspices of their new leader. This tendency of the • Hampden, "Aquinas' Encyc. Met.," xi., 814. TNF. LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR WORK. 331 Scholastic might lead to rationalism, to infidelity; but the good doctors of the age opposed to these the holy truths of Theo- logy. ' The Christian,' says Anselm, the Father of Scholastic Theology, ' should come to understanding through faith, and not to faith through understanding. I seek not to compre- hend in order to believe, I believe that I may comprehend. And I believe, even because if I did not believe 1 should not comprehend.' Immediately Ab^lard and his school avail themselves of the Scholastic principle, and become the advo- cates of free examination. They wish first to comprehend and then to believe. ' Faith,' said they, ' established by examina- tion is much more solid. It is necessary to meet the enemies of the Gospel on their own ground ; if we are not to discuss we must believe everything, the false as well as the true."^ So also Neander, after a chapter pointing out in a most deeply interesting manner how the great School- men successively vindicated the right of the human reason to be considered one great factor of religious opinion, says : " The Schoolmen must undoubtedly be reckoned among the precursors of the Reformation, both of religion and philosophy." * Even a writer so little disposed to consider sympa- thetically theological writers as Draper, has accorded to the Schoolmen credit for having done this much for Christendom. Speaking of the revival of learning in the Middle Ages he says : — " Philosophy emerged not in the Grecian classical vesture in which she had disappeared at Alexandria, but in the grotesque garb of the cowled and mortified monk. She timidly came back as Scholasticism, persuading men to consider, by the light of their own reason, that dogma which seemed to put common sense at defiance — transubstantiation. Scarcely were her whispers heard in the ecclesiastical ranks when a mutiny against authority arose, and since it was necessary to combat ' D'Aubigne, " Voice of the Church." * " Church Hist.," vi., 440. 332 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. that mutiny with its own weapons, the Church was compelled to give her countenance to Scholastic Theology."^ Coleridge repeatedly acknowledged the great service which the Schoolmen did in the cause of freedom of thought. On one occasion he said : — " All the great English Schoolmen, Scotus, Erigena, Duns Scotus, Ockam, and others, those morning stars of the Re- formation, were heart and soul opposed to Rome, and maintained the Papacy to be Antichrist/"" The whole case for the Schoolmen under this head is well put by a living writer, who has done both great and good service as an historian of the Church : — "Scholasticism opened the way for modern research and speculation. It awakened the human mind from its torpor, sharpened its faculties, and excited it to action. The School- men were among the heralds and precursors of the revival of knowledge. Their antique garb is not agreeable to our modem taste ; the functions of their office as harbingers and pioneers have been long since suspended by the arrival of that know- ledge, for which they prepared ; but their antiquated forms should still excite veneration, and the remembrance of past good service should still awaken gratitude,"^ It would not be altogether an unprofitable exercise to enter largely upon the question why the Schoolmen should have been condemned with such great severity and relegated into a humiliating position for centuries. The causes are various, but a few remarks on them are only required at present. The tremendous struggle with the political power, and the theological system of the Papacy, and the Titanic forces brought into stem battle at the Reformation, altogether unfitted the mind • Draper, " Iritell. Dev. ot Europe," ii., 3. == " 1 able Talk," 240. ' Stoughton, " Ages of Christ," 364. 'JHE LEADEkS OF THE SCHOOL AXD TIJETR WORK. 333 of Europe fc)r allowing to the Schoolmen their due jiosition of honour or their full meed of praise. Then, the inferiority of the later Schoolmen, their degeneracy in earnestness and devoutness, their growing disposition to neglect the discussion of grea,t questions of philo- sophy or theology, and to indulge in vain wranglings over trifling and unprofitable points, their position as adherents and servants of the Papacy — all conspired to lead the Reform.ers to assume an attitude of decided opposition against the very order of men who had done so much to prepare the way for their advent, and to ho^rd up material and weapons for their use. The later Schoolmen in their labours reproduced and ex- aggerated the defects of their great leaders, and minified their excellences ; their methods of reasoning became more formal, the jargon of their style more barbarous, and the passion of their controversies more fierce, so that Scholasticism had become, or was fast becoming, a hindrance and stumbling-block in the path of truth. Therefore, when the providential hour had arrived when the mind of Christendom must take a huge stride forward, wh^n the Christian consciousness required to be brought into acquaintance with a higher order of things, politically, intellectually, and ecclesiastically, an order so advanced above the old state of things as to absorb the attention, command the energy, inspire the developed capacity of that consciousness, in order that the due advance and full measure of possible progress might be attained, the Scholasticism which had become effete and obstructive must with a strong and firm hand be swept away. Necessarily Protestant Christen- dom, thus aroused, quickened, and developed, would require prolonged and leisurely opportunity to realise its position, to adjust itself to its new conditions, to 334 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. conserve its new treasure and become accustomed to its novel duties and relations. And not till this had been done could it turn back to the past, and with philosophic calmness and appreciative wisdom survey and adjudicate upon all the circumstances and factors of the greatest revolution of time. Then only could the services and characters of predecessors be fairly weighed and accurately estimated. It may well be supposed that long centuries must be required to inter- vene before such an attitude of observation could be obtained, and such a spirit of judicial quietness and wisdom could be experienced. That time may properly be supposed to be approaching, and the words of the half-inspired Coleridge upon this subject may be deemed to be prophetic, when the intense interest ex- cited in the Scholastics in Germany and France is con- sidered, and also when the growing interest felt in them by English students is observed. He says: — "It is not impossible that the high value attached of late years to the dates and margins of our old folios and quartos may be transferred to their contents. Even now there exists in the minds of reading men the conviction that not only Plato and Aristotle, but even Scotus, Erigena, and the School- men from Peter Lombard to Duns Scotus, are not such mere blockheads as they pass for with those who have never read a line of their writings. What the results may be should this ripen into conviction I can but guess." ^ One more extract from the same gifted genius may fitly lead to the close of this chapter : — " It was the Schoolmen who made the languages of Europe what they now are. We laugh at the quiddities of these writers now, but in truth these quiddities are just the parts of their language that we have rejected, whilst we never think of the mass we have adopted, and have in daily use."^ » " Statesman's Manual," xxxvii. ' " Table Talk," 58. THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR WORK. 335 Let it be remembered that it is in the nature of earthly institutions to work themselves out, and with more or less precipitancy to become disorganised. They may have achieved great and permanent results, fulfilled important functions, and made signal contribu- tions to human progress and happiness. They have thus fulfilled the mission given to them by Divine Providence, and having exhausted the vital force which inspired them to accomplish the purpose of their exist- ence, they are either destroyed at once by some fresh and vigorous agent, or they languish gradually into death through the lack of vitality at the centre of being. It was thus in the case of the Roman Empire, which, having fulfilled a great and generally beneficent mis- sion in the world, lost its inward life, and preserving only the external form of Imperialism, was struck to atoms by the hammer, of the Huns and Vandals, but only for a new and better world to emerge from the elements which remained from the wreck of tlie former system, and which gave to the world in the course of time a Christian instead of a Pagan civilization. This is the beneficent law of human life, without which progress would be impossible. It may be that the old institutions, and the agents employed in them, did not accomplish all that those, trained by more advanced masters, inspired by higher influences and living under happier conditions, deem to have been desirable or possible, but let blame be withheld until the circumstances and the opportunities of those institu- tions or agents are duly weighed, and at the least let them have credit for the help they afforded and the impulse they gave towards better things. Thus let the Schoolmen be estimated. They did not succeed in obtaining for the world the full blessing of liberty of 336 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. conscience, or freedom of thought and speech, or a perfect system of spiritual truth, or independence of an ecclesiastical despotism, but they were a powerful force in preparing for the battle which lay in the future ; they sowed the seeds of political, moral, metaphysical, and religious truth ; they kept the intellect of Christen- dom in healthful agitation by the depth and keenness of their controversies ; and they succeeded in evoking a love of wisdom and a spirit of enquiry which could not and would not be restrained. Then their work was done, their weapons became rusty and worn out ; they themselves lost the martial energy of earlier days, the garrulousness of old age began to characterise them, the forward glance of youth changed into the backward lingering gaze of second childhood, and they were left behind by new generations who, without due acknow- ledgment of the services, or tender gratitude for the. sacrifices of their predecessors, swept into the full tide of battle and were borne on to a magnificent and enduring triumph. Meantime, those who had done so much to make the triumph possible were left to neglect and contumely until in the far distant future the morn- ing should dawn when their services should have recognition, and their reputations a bright resurrection. CHAPTER XIX. CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS. 22 " O DKAo ! ye shall no longei- cling to us Wiih rigid hands of dessicating praise, And drag us backward by the garments thus. To stand and laud you in long drawn virelays ; We will not henceforth be oblivious Of our own lives because ye lived before, Nor of our acts because ye acted well. We thank you that ye first unlatched the door, But will not make it inaccessible By thankings on the threshold any more. We hurry onwards to extinguish hell With our fresh souls, our younger hope, and God's Maturity of purpose. Soon shall we Die also ; and that then our periods Of life may round themselves to memory, As smoothly as on our graves the burial sods. We now must look to it to excel as ye, And bear our age as far unlimited, By the last mind mark ; so to be invoked By further generations as their hallowed dead." Mks. Browning XIX. CONSIDERA TION OF OBJECTIONS. The Schoolmen have been subjected to much censure and obloquy during the three last centuries. Com- plaints of various kinds have been urged against them, and many objections have been raised to the utility of their work. It may reasonably be expected that in a work .such as this some notice will be taken of such remarks. It may clear the way to a brief consideration of these charges or objections, if some of the special circumstances of the Schoolmen are borne in mind. They, like all others, when they came into the world found their environment prepared for them. They were nursed and trained under the over-shadowing influence of the great poHtico-ecclesiastical system which called itself the Christian Church, Under its shadow, and by its influence, they were moulded and educated. They never had the opportunity of ex- periencing a different discipline or coming within the range of other forces. The monasteries were the depositories and centres of intellectual life for centuries, and when the Schools established by Charlemagne expanded into Universities, the teachers and lecturers were mainly ecclesiastics, trained in the convents and 340 CREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. abbeys of the Church. So that the Schoolmen were closed round with certain influences, and, by no act of their own, were thrown upon them for all their know- ledge and intellectual drill. Not only was there no better set of influences, there was no other. The question to be now considered is : did they do the best possible to them in view of their possibilities, or are they to be counted as unfaithful stewards ? It is scarcely just for those who live in a period distinguished for its perfect freedom of thought, its extreme licence of speculation, and for its triumphs of discovery in science, to look with blame and condemna- tion on those wJio lived in times when the iron grip of Ecclesiastical Authority was laid on all effort of pro- gressive enquiry ; when Gottschalk and Berengarius, Erigena and Ab^lard, Roger Bacon and Galileo, the theologian, the philosopher, and the scientist, were alike laid under proscription, and haunted by the spirit of persecution. It is not for those who have in pos- session the grand results of the labours and sufferings of Apostles, Church Fathers, Martyrs, Schoolmen, Reformers, and Philosophers, to reproach their noble ancestry for not having achieved more than was possi- ble to them. This is not the spirit of humility or of gratitude, but rather the temper of pretenders, who, had they been placed under the restraints, or lived in the comparative darkness of bygone days, would never have accomplished a tithe of the noble work which was accomplished by the unwearied zeal and exalted faith of the men whom they condemn. No fair estimate can be formed of any man, nor of his work, unless the opportunities afforded him and the conditions which closed around him are duly weighed and impartially considered. CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS. 341 It is a charge, often repeated, against the Schoolmen that they bound the living realities of religion in the withes of a hard, severe, unyielding Logical System. In considering this subject, it will be necessary to enquire whether a Logical Method is required by, or is advantageous when applied to. Natural or Revealed Religion. Let it be remembered that man is a reasoning being. The disposition or tendency to analyse, to classify, and to theorise concerning the knowledge he obtains by experience or observation, is a radical and inalien- able part of his constitution. All departments of knowledge taken possession of by the enquirer, are therefore in time reduced to system. It is so with astronomy, botany, geology, medicine, chemistry, metal- lurgy, and all the sciences ; it is so with ontology, psychology, ethics, political economy, and all the philosophies. Give men a multitude of facts in any domain of knowledge, and they will begin to analyse their nature and qualities, to arrange them in classes, to frame theories and draw conclusions concerning them all, tending to Systematisation and Simplicity. This is so universally the habit of civilised man that the logical faculty must be admitted to be an essential of his nature. Thus have arisen the various Sciences, and thus also the great Philosophies have shaped them- selves. It is impossible, with this inevitable tendency, that man should form systems of Natural Science, or of Metaphysical Philosophy, and should omit from analysis or classification the great facts and truths of religion. To object, if indeed any one would be bold enough to do so, to all such systematising processes, would be to object to the constitution of man, and to impugn the wisdom of Him who conceived and created J4J GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. . ir. To object to one realm of knowledge being sub- jected to logical system, and permit the application of such method to others, is to give up the guidance of reason, and to become the victim of wayward and arbitraiy decisions, determined by passion or selfish- ness. If a logical method be allowed in relation to scientific facts or philosophical principles, it cannot with fairness or reason be denied in relation to religion, and if it be of advantage in respect to the former, it cannot be of disadvantage in regard to the latter. It is quite true that logical methods have been carried to an extreme, that the spirit of Religion has been thereby injured, and that Systems of Theology have been established in undue authority over the consciences of men. But these results form no true objection to the principle of Systematic Theology ; they have not been the fruit of a true use of Logic, but the abuse of it, and the complaint made against Systems of Theology may also be urged against Systems both of Philosophy and Science. Many evils have arisen in both these latter mentioned domains of knowledge, by men attaching more weight to their own theories than to the lessons of experience or the phenomena of Nature, so that this fact is but an illus- tration of an old truth, often taught and often forgotten, that any tendency of man's nature, unduly cultivated, may prove to him a temptation and a snare. And it is also true that nothing more inimical to man's welfare can be attempted than to exalt theories or systems of knowledge over the reason and conscience of man, making them the standards of ultimate appeal, and giving them the authority of infallible oracles. All historj^ and experience testifies to the tendency there is in man to thus methodise his knowledge. CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS. 343 There could be, therefore, no exception hi the matter of Reh'gion, and in the history of Christianit)' this disposition has repeatedly manifested itself. When the infant Church had with such dauntless and burn- ing earnestness delivered its message that the whole Empire of Rome was being moved by the quickening spirit of the Gospel, there speedily became visible the beginnings of a Christian philosophy by Origen, which was fostered and developed by Athanasius, Augustine, and others, until John Damascenus, with more articulate purpose and formal method, embodied in a system the results of Christian speculation and thought in the early Church. So also when the Latin form of Chris- tianity had penetrated and permeated the civilised nations of Europe, when an intellectual activity was springing up, when learning was decaying in the East and vigorously seeking to extend in the West, it might have been expected that the logical faculty of the Latin and Teutonic mind would exercise itself on the Christian verities as that of the Greek and African mind had done, and the result was Scholasticism. It arose out of the combined necessities of man's nature and the exigencies of the times. The human mind seeks to express and justify its faith to itself in philosophic and logical form, because God has so willed it, in bestowing upon man the faculty of logic, and the natural desire to analyse and systematise his thought. If in some, the sentimental or practical element preponderates largely or almost entirely over the logical, then let them not judge dogmatically or harshly concerning those who are seeking to promote the glory of God and the progress of the world in a manner which they may not attempt, and indeed may not be fitted fairly to estimate. 344 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. The question immediately for consideration is clear and simple. The Bible contains all the elements for a full, clear, Systematic Theology. Those elements are scattered throughout the various Books and Letters of Scripture much as the phenomena of Natural Science are scattered throughout Nature. Is it right towards God, or helpful for himself, that man should arrange these various elements, and place them in relation to each other ; to so classify the facts, topics, and doctrines of Revelation, as that he may have present to his mind an orderly array of the articles of his faith, and the subjects of Divine teaching ? The answer is found in the facts before given as to the nature of the human mind ; the justification of forming such System of Theology is found in the same argu- ments which would justify the formation of Systems of Philosophy or of Science, — they are a necessity of human nature, the material for them has been abun- dantly provided by an Infallible and Omnipotent Providence, and great practical benefits have flowed out from them. The Schoolmen only strove to express in cbar syste- matic form what was the belief of the Christian con- sciousness of their times. A dogma has been said to be a formal statement of some known truth. Herzog has striven to show that dogma is representative and authoritative only as expressing the general conscious- ness of the Christian community; but besides this it must also have an element of definition or intellectual elaboration. This is essential, in order to constitute dogma a science of Christian belief. Dogma is not the original form of Divine Truth ; timt is not given to us in fixed propositions and systematic airangementj not in logical sequence or methodical array ; it is CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS. 345 given in various guises and by many instruments, " at sundry times and in divers manners," varied by widely- contrasting surroundings, drawn out by many occasions and uttered by many voices. The great Truths which compose Christian Theology were given to man by voices, Divine, angelic, and human ; they came in form of prophecy and precept, simple hymn and ravishing chorus, strophe and antistrophe, command and promise ; they were unfolded by epiphanies of noble lives, of miraculous works, of gleaming symbols, of elaborate rituals ; they were most signally and con- spicuously revealed by the Incarnation of the Logos, and the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit. But though the media were legion, the Truth was one, having a million sides, numberless relations, "unsearchable riches," but revealing all with the free abandon with which Nature discloses her charms to the eye of the student This great Revelation of Divine Truth man can only understand, can only express to himself or to others, by comparison of part with part ; by tracing the connec- tion or the bearing of one doctrine with or upon another ; by marking the interdependence of each upon each, and thus, by reverent and careful examination, comparison, classification, he is able to grasp more firmly, and apprehend more clearly, the truth of God ; is prepared to realize more of its grandeur and express it in approximate adequateness for the benefit of the world. Not that the living Words of God, which " are spirit and are life," can be poured into human types or moulds of human arrangement, so as to express the plenitude of Truth ; no creed of Church or Council can interpret perfectly the infinite fulness of Divine Doctrine ; nor can any system of Theology exhaust the richness of Eternal Truth, but the Symbols 54 =» GREA T SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE .ICES. of Churches and Councils, and the Systems of Theology, have done a great work in the past ; they have been enormous helps in realizing to Christians what an inheritance of spiritual treasure they have in the Gospel, in preserving Churches and believers from being drawn away by dangerous errors in enabling Christian propagandists to express more definitely and logically the glad tidings they had to communicate to civilised citizens or barbarous tribes, and in crystallising for the guidance of future ages the measure of Christian Truth already mastered and digested by the Church. It is true that the wine of the Divine Kingdom has some- times burst the bottles of logical method in which the theologians of former ages have sought to preserve it ; and it is equally true that it can never be so formalised or scientifically defined as to command universal assent. All dogmatic systems are fallible and imperfect, because they are human ; hence they should never be forced on the acceptance of any by the sword of persecution or the arm of power. Neither should those who frame such systems take such delight in them as to prefer the logical method into which they have sought to pour the Truth, to the Truth itself. They should re- member that the method simply exists to giwQ the truth clearer expression and convenient form. That men should express definitely what they believe and profess is a necessity, and especially must this be so when they associate to enjoy common spiritual fellow- ship or agree to propagate on an extensive scale what in their souls they believe to be the truth of God. There should be some consistency maintained when objections to systematic forms of theology are raised. The objection ought to be extended, also, to systems of science, or ethics, or mental philosophy. But, is any CONS/DERAT/O.V OF OBJECnOXS. 347 one prepared to affirm that this could be done with safety or advantage to the race ? The great systcmatisers of thought have been amongst the world's best benefac- tors. None have done so much to promote intellectual activity and growth as Aristotle, Proclus, Avcrroes, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Kant, Hcgcl, Plamilton, Herbert Spencer, and many others of kindred spirit. None have laboured more faithfully or earnestly than these to diffuse knowledge, and to place knowledge in such orderly and succinct method before the world as to render its attainment by multitudes more easy. It is the same with the great theological thinkers of the past. If the great names of Origen, Augustine, Damascenus, Anselm, Aquinas, Duns, Calvin, Turretin, Bellarmine, Wcssel, Limborch, with many of the present day who have signalised themselves by giving to their generation religious truth in logical form and method, were utterly extinguished, and all trace of their work obliterated, imagination could not conceive the infinite inferiority of the position which would be occupied by either Christianity or philosophy. It is undeniable that the great truths of the Chris- tian religion are ever being more fully realized and more intelligently held by the body of the Church, and this is made more possible by the great thinkers, who sum up in succeeding generations the latest results of religious discussion, who methodise what increased measure of truth the developing consciousness of the Christian community has obtained, and who thus make it possible for the next generation to expand in greater spiritual and intellectual power of apprehending the infinite truth. One more service is done by those who seek to present in systematic form tlie great truths of natural or revealed religion. By condensing, arranging, 34 S GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. * and methodically framing those truths, they express for the multitude of believers the degree of truth realized or apprehended by the most advanced spirits of the age, and this becomes an exalted standard to which the more uneducated or undeveloped are called to attain. Thus is progress made and growth nurtured from age to age. These considerations will aid in forming a fair judg- ment concerning the efforts of the Schoolmen to frame perfect systems of Religious Truth. Allowing that the formation of such systems be advantageous to a certain degree, it is objected to the Schoolmen that they employed so slavishly the logical method of Aristotle. It may be replied that there was no other method for them to use. Aristotle reigned as the intellectual Master of Europe. Aviccenna and Averroes raised him into being the idol of the Moorish Universities both in the East and the West, and from these he passed into being the almost universally beloved Philosopher of Christian thinkers. What other could the Schoolmen do ? They were bom, by the will of Providence, into a set of circumstances which prevented and surrounded them. One of those circumstances was the fact that Aristotle reigned over the learned world in unrivalled supremacy. " He was the parent of science properly so-called, the master of criticism, and the founder of logic." ^ So that the Schoolmen had no choice but to employ the one logical method in existence, or to frame another and a better for them- selves. There was no other mould in existence into which they could pour the living Truth as it revealed itself to their understanding, and by which it could » Coleridge, " Table Talk," loi. CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS. 349 receive a " local habitation and a name." To say that they should have invented or adopted another form, less rigid or elaborate, is to blame Providence for not having given to them a different mental constitution, and a more penetrating insight into abstract principles and things. It is to blame them for not creating when the material was not at hand, for not inventing in a day what could only be the outgrowth of ages of intellectual discussion and activity. If therefore they were by the inward call of duty, or by the peculiar tendencies of their minds, to cast the great realities and principles of Revelation into logical form, they could do no other than use the method which then reigned in Christendom, and beside which there was no other. It has been objected that the Schoolmen pursued the habit of moulding the Truth into scientific form to an excessive and even ridiculous extreme. This charge must be admitted to have some force and pro- priety- But the blame will be greatly mitigated if the circumstances they were placed in are again considered. By the great Ecclesiastical Power which reigned in the name of God over Christendom, they were only per- mitted to enquire and reason within a certain range The Church stretched its dominion over all regions of knowledge, and sternly forbade, under awful penalties, both in time and eternity, any venturing beyond certain well-defined boundaries. Students and enquirers might reason as they listed within a circle, but they must not step beyond it, under pain of suffering or death. They might proclaim and defend what the Church sanctioned, and the utmost reach of tlieir learning, ingenuity, and genius was employed for this purpose, but they must not indulge in any speculation or entertain any opinion that it condemned or was uncertain of. In judging of 35o GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE ACES. the work of the Schoolmen, these two circumstance?; must be considered. They were endowed with as keen iind discriminating metaphysical faculties as the world has known, and they were confined within a limited range, and hampered with unnatural corditions in the exercise of their marvellous gifts. Thus their enormous intellectual power and erudition were exercised with almost preternatural intensity within the region per- mitted to them. Men of commanding genius, were often forced to comfort their chafed spirits by repeating the lessons of former generations, or to satisfy their raging desire for active and congenial intellectual exer- cise by exhausting the final possibilities of their position. They did all that was allowed them to do, they trod the extreine verge of the region permitted them ; Erigena, Abdlard, Peter Lombard, Duns, Ockam, and Bacon even ventured beyond the limit into the Debateable Land, but they v/ere quickly thrust back by the threat of vengeance or the sword of persecution. What could they do ? They could not be idle, they must give some expression to the grand and royal intellectual gifts they had received from a bountiful Father, and so they used and re-used the opportunity which was permitted them, and in dealing with the doctrines of Natural and Revealed Religion they ex- hausted the method possible to them, they divided and subdivided, they analysed and syiithesised, they classified and combined their knowledge, they sought to cast Divine Truth into an infinite series of perfect syllogisms, until the marvellous edifice of Scholastic Theology was crowned by the Opus Magnmn of the Middle Ages, the Siimma of Aquinas. The measure of blame which this charge is meant to convey belongs far more to the Spiritual despotism, CONSIDER A 770 iV OF OBJEC T/O.WS. 3<; i which prevented 3. free and natural exercise of their ^reat f^ifts, than to the men who under such unfavour- able conditions soujjlit to discharge the work of lite with painstaking and conscientious fidelity, and who were able, notwithstanding their linnitations, to sow the seeds of religious freedom for a future blessed harvest. Another objection repeatedly, and often without due care, urged against the Schoolmen is, that they invented and used a harsh, crabbed, incomprehensible jargon, whereby to explain or illustrate their systems. It must be borne in mind that none can treat thoroughly of any science or philosophy without emplo)-ing a terminolog}'' adapted to the subject in hand. Lan- guage has been described as " fossil poetry," but it may more fitly be said to be " fossilised thought," and the thought must prescribe the form of the fossil. If the thought is permitted to become extravagant, if it descend to analyses, and distinctions which are merely fanciful, the language will become abstract, or vain, or finally incomprehensible. It may be admitted that this was partly so with Duns, and with some of the later and lesser Schoolmen ; but on the other hand, it is true that there are few terms employed by the leaders of the School which have not passed into the accepted philosophical and theological nomenclature of Europe. Such terms as, the " guiddity," " haccceity," " perseity," " supposit," " ubication," and a few others, may not have passed into modern phraseology, and sound for- biddingly harsh to the ears of modern students. But it would be fairer to the Schoolmen to think of the multitudes of terms used by them, which have been accepted by subsequent thinkers, and which are now in ordinary use, than to recall a few which have been rejected and fallen into disuse. The Schoolmen really 352 GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES. settled the philosophical and theological terminology of Christendom ; they formed thus a highway for the interchange of thought for the world and for all genera- tions, by which high and thorough discussion of all the great questions touching Essences, Existences, and Destinies are possible, without each thinker being called upon to elaborate a suitable terminology for himself Even while admitting that some of the Schoolmen indulged in harsh and vain jargon, and that they laid themselves open to blame thereby, it may be urged in their behalf that they are not sinners above all others in this respect. They are quite equalled, if not sur- passed in this fault, by many modern writers both in science and philosophy, who indulge in a terminology which to a layman seems outlandish indeed. Few; can write more fluent or pure English than Professor Huxley, when treating upon those sciences to the special study of which he has consecrated so many years of his life. Yet in the course of about tv.enty lines of one of his treatises we read of "the sacral axis," " the ilium," " the sacral articulation," " the acetabulum," " the pubis and the ischium," " the obtur- ator foramen," " the obturator axis," " the iliopectinal axis," " the ventri rami of the pubes," " the symphisis," "the cotyloid ramus," " the metischial process," "the homologues of the rami, of the ypsiloid," with much more of the same kind.* All this occurs in describing one bone in the structure of an animal called the " Ornithorhynchus." In another treatise by the same writer such terms perpetually occur as "blastomere," " blastoderm," " nodal and internodal," " epiblast," " hypoblast," and " mesoblast," " apical and cambium," ' Article "Biology," Enc.yc. Brit., 9th Ed. CONSTDERATION OF OBJECTION'S. 353 " Utricle and epithelium," "gemation," "fission," "gamo- genesis," " ogamogenesis," " abiogenests," " biogenesis," " urodele," " anurous," and so on indefinitely. From many modern works on Chemistry, Physiology, and Mental Philosophy terms might be quoted as harsh and abstract as these. Surely the Schoolmen are hardly dealt with if they are condemned for the use of a harsh aud crabbed Latinity, if these modern thinkers are approved and applauded. It may be that this style is a necessity, that it is of real service ; but if so, may it not be fairly concluded that the terminology employed by the Schoolmen was also a necessity, and did real service in the cause of humanity in the past ? It may also be that as the Sciences are yet only in their infancy, when they attain to maturity and ripe- ness the style of teachers will become more simple and pure, or, the educated intellect of the future will have become familiarised with what seems now strange and dissonant language, and may even be discourteous enough to smile at some terms which will then have fallen into disfavour as harsh, crabbed, and jargonous. Without claiming for the Schoolmen absolute in- fallibility of judgment, or perfection of work, but on the other hand freely admitting many defects in their style, their opinions, and their method of labour, it is yet to be claimed for them that with unfavourable conditions they achieved extraordinary results, and it is for those who object to them, sometimes perhaps with- out due reflection, to show how, all things considered, they could have done better, or why, minor faults admitted, they should not have conceded and grate- fully accorded the full meed of praise which their indefatigable and faithful labours in the cause of the Church and the world deserve. 23 CHAPTER XX. THE RATIONALE OF SCHOLASTICISM. I " It is evident that there can be but One only Original Mind, or no more than one Understanding Being Self- Existent, all other minds what- ever partaking of one Original Mind ; and being as it were stamped with the Impression or Signature of one and the same Seal. From whence it Cometh to pass, that all minds in the several places and ages of the world have Ideas or Notions of things exactly alike, and Truths indivisibly the same. Truths are not multiplied by the diversity of Minress his obligations to Dr. Stouj^hlon for making him acquainted here with men whom he should know so well above — he meant Howe, Owen, and others. They had, before Dr. Stoughton 's time, histories of the Puritans, in which they read of nolhini^ Vjiit Iniriianism ; histories of the Cluirch of Enc;lanil, in which was nothing but the glories of the Church of England. The work of Dr. Stouf^htons was the first work which had brought together men famous in their diflereni classes, within the four corners of the same book." — From Di.AN Stanlev's Sijcech at Kensington. Chapel, Aprii, 1875. Seventh Edition, Unabridged. Cr/ruin ^vo, ys. C-d. JESUS CHRIST, HIS TIMES, LIFE, AND WORK. By E. DE PRESSENSE, D.D, TrcMslnted by Annie Harwood- Holmden. 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