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 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

joins the patristic with the medieval history of theology.

(2) The Middle Ages (800-1500) .—The beginnings of Scholasticism may be traced back to the days of Charlemagne (d. 814). Thence it progressed in ever- quickening development to the time of Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Peter the Lombard, and onward to its full growth in the Middle Ages (first epoch, 800-1200). The most brilliant period of Scholasticism embraces about 100 years (second epoch, 1200-1300), and with it are connected the names of Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, Bonaventiu-e, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus. From the beginning of the fourteenth centiu-y, owing to the predominance of NominaUsm and to the sad condition of the Church, Scholasticism began to de- cline (third epoch, 1300-1500).

(a) First Epoch: Beginning and Progress of Scho- lasticism (800-1200).— In the first half of this epoch, up to the time of St. Anselm of Canterbury, the theologians were more concerned with preserving than with developing the treasures stored up in the writings of the Fathers. The sacred science was cultivated nowhere with greater industry than in the cathedral and monastic schools, founded and fostered by Charle- magne. The earliest signs of a new thought appeared in the ninth century during the discussions relative to the Last Supper (Paschasius Radbertus, Ratramnus, Rabanus Maurus). These speculations were carried to a greater depth in the second Eucharist ic contro- versy against Berengarius of Tours (d. 1088), (Lan- franc, Guitmund, Alger, Hugh of Langres, etc.). Unfortunately, the only systematic theologian of this time, Scotus Eriugena (d. after 870), was an avowed Pantheist, so that the name of "Father of Scholasti- ci.sm"which somewouldgive him, is wholly unmerited. But the one who fully deserves this title is St. An- selm of Canterbury (d. 1109). For he was the first to bring a sharp logic to bear upon the principal dogmas of Christianity, the first to unfold and explain their meaning in every detail, and to draw up a scientific plan for the stately edifice of dogmatic theology. Taking the .substance of his doctrine from Augustine, St. Ansehn, as a philosopher, was not so much a dis- ciple of Aristotle as of Plato, in whose masterly dia- logues he had been thoroughly schooled. Another pillar of the Church was St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153), the "Father of Mysticism". Though for the most part the author of ascetic works with a mystical tendency, he used the weapons of scientific theology againstAbelard's Rationalism and the ex- aggerated Reahsm of Gilbert de La Porr(?e. It is upon the doctrine of Anselm and Bernard that the Scholas- tics of succeeding generations took their stand, and it was their spirit which lived in the theological efforts of the University of Paris. Less prominent, yet note- worthy, are: Ruprecht of Deutz, William of Thierry, Gaufridus, and others.

The first attempts at a theological system may be seen in the so-called "Books of Sentences", collections and interpretations of quotations from the Fathers, more especially of St. Augustine. One of the earliest of these books is the "Summa sententiarum" of Hugh of St. Victor (1141). His works are charac- terized throughout by a close adherence to St. -Augus- tine and, according to the verdict of Schceb<'n, may even yet serve as guides for beginners in the theology of St. Augustine. I-e.ss iiraise i.s due to the similar work of Robert PuUeyn (d. 1146), who is careless in arranging the matter and confuses the various ques- tions of which he treats. Peter the Lombard, called the "Magister Sententiarum" (d. 1164), on the other hand, stands far above them all. What Gratian had done for canon law the Lombard did for dogmatic and moral theolog>'. With untiring industry he sifted and explained and paraphrased the patristic lore in his "Libri IV sententiarum", and

the arrangement which he adopted was, in spite of the lacunae, so excellent that up to the sixteenth centm-y his work was the standard text-book of theology. The work of interpreting this master- piece began as early as the thirteenth centiuy, and there was no theologian of note in the Middle Ages who did not write a commentary on the Sentences of the Lombard. Hundreds of these commentaries are still resting, unprinted, beneath the dust of the hbraries. No other work exerted such a poweriful influence on the development of scholastic theology. Neither the analogous work of his disciple, Peter of Poitiers (d. 1205), nor the important "Summa aurea" of WiUiam of Au.xerre (d. after 1230) super- seded the Lombard's "Sentences". Along with Alain of Lille (d. 1203), William of Auvergne (d. 1248), who died as Archbishop of Paris, deserves special mention. Though preferring the free, un- scholastic method of an earlier age, he yet shows himself at once an original philosopher and a pro- found theologian. Inasmuch as in his numerous monographs on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Sacraments, etc., he took into account the anti-Chris- tian attacks of the Arabian exjionentsof Aristotelean- ism, he is, as it were, the connecting hnk between this age and the most briUiant epoch of the thirteenth century.

(b) Second Epoch: Scholasticism at its Zenith (1200-1300).— This period of ScholasticLsm was marked not only by the appearance of the "Theolog- ical Summse", but also by the building of the great Gothic cathedrals, which bear a sort of affinity to the lofty structures of Scholasticism. (Cf. Emil Michael, S. J., "Geschichte des deutschen VoUces vom 13. Jahrh. bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters", V, Freiburg, 1911, 15 sq.) Another characteristic feature was the fact that in the thirteenth century the champions of Scholasticism were to be found in the great religious orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans, beside whom worked the Augustinians, Carmehtes, and Servites. This brilhant period is ushered in bj- two master-minds: the one a Francis- can, Alexander of Hales (d. about 1245), the other a Dominican, Albert the Great (d. 1280). The "Summa theologiie" of Alexander of Hales, the largest and most comprehensive work of its kind, is distinguished by its deep and mature speculation, though flavoured with Platonism. The arrangement of the subjects treated reminds one of the method in vogue to-day. An intellectual giant not merely in matters philosophical and theological, but in the natural sciences as well, was Albert the Great. It was he who made the first attempt to present the entire philosophy of Aristotle in its true form and to place it at the service of Catholic theology — an undertaking of far-reacliing consequences. The logic of Aristotle had indeed been rendered into Latin by Boethius and had been used in the schools since the end of the sixth century; but the physics and metaphysics of the Stagtrite were made known to the Western world only through the Arabian philosophers of the thirteenth century, and then in such a way that Aristotle's doctrine seemed to clash with the Christian religion. This fact explains why his works were jjrohibited by the Synod of Paris, in 1210, and again by a Bull of Gregory IX in 1231. But after the Scholastics, led by Albert the Great, had gone over the favdty Latin translation once more, had reconstructed the genuine doctrine of Aristotle and recognized the fundamental soundness of his principles, they no longer he-^itated to take, with the approval of the Churcli, the pagan pliiloso- pher as their guide in the .speculative study of dogma.

Two other representatives of the great orchis are the gigantic figun-s of Bonaventure (d. 12741 and of 'Thomas .\quinas (d. 1274), wlio mark the highest development of Scholastic theology. St. Bonaven-