In the middle ages 287

upon, the value of human personahty. Traini's"

portrayal of the defeat of Averroes (and the other

productions inspired by Traini's great work) re-

flect also this same sense of personal worth em-

bedded in the wider complex of that civihzation,

society at large, of which philosophy is a part.

The theory of the twofold truth'^ asserts, that a .

doctrine may be true in philosophy but false in J

theology, and conversely. This pragmatic doctrine y

enabled the harmonizing with Catholic dogma of

ideas which were utterly foreign to its spirit and

subversion of its teachings. Setting truth over

against itself, it contravenes the principle of contra-

diction, — indispensable not only to the preserva-

tion of theology, but also to the principles of moral

and social order. The deepest lying tendencies of

that civilization and the fundamental doctrines of

their logic and theology are alike incompatible with

the theory of the twofold truth. It was just this

incompatibility which lead to its formal condemna-

tion in 1277 (as is clear from the beginning of that

interesting document) ;^'^ and the same is evident

in the work of Thomas against the Averroists.

Hence one can understand the intensity of the

struggle which the doctrine aroused in the schools.

Latin Averroism is not a product of occidental

thought, but an exotic importation. Its protagon-

14 C/. above, pp. 84 and ISi.

1"' Cf. above, p. 165.

16 Denifle-Chatelain, Chartitl. Univers, Paris. Vol. I, p. 543.

288 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

ists proclaimed the philosophical infallibility of

Averroes, and it was their constant concern to

avoid betraying him. The motives which prompted

this occidental affiliation with the oriental interpre-

tation of Aristotelian naturalism remain a matter

of conjecture. It may have been sincerity or con-

viction; or, it may have been the desire to justify

the relaxation of faith and of morals, as Mandonnet

believes. But, in any event, it is certain that Latin

Averroism did not penetrate the mass of the intel-

lectuals. At Paris it was the creed of a small

group ; and when the condemnation of 1277 checked

the professional career of Siger of Brabant, its ex-

pansion was arrested, — though it did not entirely

disappear. Indeed, at the court of Frederic II,

King of The Sicilies, Averroism scored a local

triumph. But that court reflected the spirit of the

Orient far more than it did that of the Occident;

Frederic II being an Oriental prince both in caste

and in manners.

If Averroism did not penetrate the spirit of men

of learning in the western world, still less did it

penetrate into the channels of ordinary life." Be-

ing, as a whole, alien to occidental civilization, it is

necessary to seek elsewhere the influence of the

Averroistic doctrines upon the civilization which

we have studied. First of all, it kindled an atmo-

sphere of conflict; and thus it obliged scholastic

17 Alphand^ry, "Y-a-t-il cu un Averroisme populaire aux XIII'*

et XIV'* s.?" {Revue de I'hiatoire des religions, 1901, p. 394.)