In the middle ages 147

This impersonal and eternal note is also found in

the hymns of the Catholic litm*gy, that collection of

spiritual outpourings, wherein so often the author

remains unknown.

And must not the same be said of the works of

art? One does not know the names of the artists

who illuminated the manuscripts of the thirteenth

century, nor of the glass-makers. Since many of

these works were made in the cloisters, doubtless

the monks who did the work were moved by their

rule of humility to hide their names."^^

Similarly, the epic poems contain numerous

themes which are like a treasure of folk-lore upon

which all may draw alike.

Above all, this impersonal character is found in

the Gothic system, which in every respect resembles

the scholastic philosophy and helps us to under-

stand it. For, the Gothic system is the property

of everyone; while each architect may interpret it

in his own way, it belongs in reahty to no one.

Even now, we do not know the names of all those

who conceived the plans and directed the work on

the great cathedrals; or, if they were once known,

they have since fallen into oblivion. Who now

speaks of Petrus Petri, the director at the building

of the cathedral of Toledo? Armies of sculptors

chiselled the virgins and saints which occupy the

portals and niches, yet how few of these have sealed

12 Rule of St. Benedict, cap. 57. Artifices si sint in monasterio,

cum omni humilitate facient istas artes.

148 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

their works with their names! The builders of

cathedrals also were builders for eternity; and in

their minds, the materials of their structures were

to survive for centuries; they were to last not for

one generation but for all generations to come.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Scholastic Philosophy and the Religious

Spirit

i. Common definition of scholastic philosophy as a religious

philosophy, ii. Reflective analysis of the distinction between

philosophy and theology. iii. The religious spirit of the

epoch, iv. Connections of philosophy with religion not af-

fecting the integrity of the former, v. Subordination of phi-

losophy to Catholic theology in the light of this analysis, vi.

Solution and adjustment of the problem, vii. Influences of

philosophy in other fields. Conclusion.

Regarding western scholastic philosophy in the

Middle Ages, every one repeats the laconic judg-

ment, that it is "philosophy in the service, and un-

der the sway and direction, of Catholic theology."

It could be nothing else, they say, and it seems that

one has said everything after pronouncing this

clear-cut formula. This current definition, suscep-

tible of the most varied meanings, is found in near-

ly all the books which deal with scholastic philos-

ophy. Whether their authors give an extreme or

a moderate interpretation of it, it is offered to the

reader as an abridged thesis, containing in con-

densed form all that is worth knowing of the sub-

149

150 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

ject. "Scholasticism is philosophy placed in the

service of doctrine already established by the

Church, or at least philosophy placed in such a

subordination to this doctrine that it becomes the

absolute norm for what they have in common."^

Now this current definition of scholastic philoso-

phy in the Middle Ages defines it very badly, be-

cause it contains a mixture of truth and of false-

hood, of accuracy and of inaccuracy. It must be

distrusted, like those equivocal maxims which John

Stuart Mill calls "sophisms of simple inspection,"

which by force of repetition enjoy a kind of tran-

seat, or vogue, in science without being questioned.

To eliminate the ambiguity we must attend to

the historical setting, and view both philosophy

and theology in the midst of the civilization whence

they evolved. For this we must consider what re-

sults they attained; and the study of this will dis-

close a new relational aspect, wherein the scholastic

philosophy and its classification of knowledge

appear in vital and organic harmony with the gen-

eral mentality of the epoch.

1 "Die Scholastik ist die Philosophie im Dienste der bereits beste-

hende Kirchenlehre oder wenigstens in eincr solchen Unterordnung

unter dieselbe dass diese aiif genieinsamen (lebeite als die absolute

Norm gilt," p. 196. Dr. Mathias Baumgartner, in the last (10th)

edition of the Ueberweg-Heinze Orundriss der Geschichte der Philos-

ophie, Zweiter Teil, "Die mittlere oder die patristische und scholas-

tische Zeit," Berlin, 1915.