ALBERTUS MAGNUS (A. de Lauging [Lauingen], A. Teutonicus, A. of Cologne, A. Magnus), Saint, Doctor. -
1. LIFE
Concerning the year of his birth two opinions are in conflict. The first - the more plausible - proposes the end of the 12th century (1193: Pelster, Callay, Scheeben, Puccetti, Weiss), the second instead fixes it in the year 1206 (Endres, Michael, Mandonnet). A. was born at Lauingen, a small town on the Danube, in the diocese of Augsburg, into a family of soldiers (not from the counts of Bollstadt); from his youth he showed himself a great admirer of nature, and he devoted himself to study, contrary to the will of his family, who wished to direct him toward an administrative or military career. For reasons of study he attended the University of Padua where, won over to the Order of Friars Preachers by Blessed Jordan of Saxony, he took the Dominican habit. He was subsequently sent to Cologne, to the central convent of Germany, and, having first been made lector in the convents of Hildesheim, Freiburg, Regensburg, Strasbourg and Cologne, he then taught theology, at least from 1245, at the University of Paris. There he set about composing the great scientific encyclopedia which, although brought to a good stage in 1256, he continued to integrate throughout the rest of his life.
As head of the new Dominican studium generale at Cologne (1248-54), he had, in the early years, among his disciples Thomas Aquinas, who there heard from the master the commentary on the De divinis nominibus of pseudo-Dionysius and on the Nicomachean Ethics. Besides teaching, A. devoted himself with zeal to the sacred ministry, to the direction of souls and to the work of peacemaker between princes and cities, between persons and institutions. Elected in 1254 provincial of the very extensive German province, he presided over provincial chapters, assisted at the general chapters of Milan (1255) and of Paris (1256), visited convents, encouraged the contemplative life of the nuns, communicated to his confreres in 1256 the Pope's desire to see them working in the missions of Livonia and Prussia, and defended, in September 1256, before the papal curia of Anagni, the rights of the Mendicant Orders against the adversaries led by William of Saint-Amour, whose treatise, De periculis novissimorum temporum, was condemned by Clement IV on 5 Oct. 1256. Following the curia to Rome and to Viterbo until 1257, he edified it, besides with the readings on the Gospel of St. John and on the Letters of St. Paul, also with his counsels and with his holy life. At the Pope's request he refuted in the De unitate intellectus the Averroist theory. To one of his stays in Italy (1257 according to Mandonnet, 1262-63 according to Pelster), is attributed his discovery of Aristotle's De motu animalium, which he later published with a commentary. Relieved of the office of provincial by the general chapter of Florence in 1257, A. resumed his studies and teaching at Cologne, drafting together with Buonomo the Breton, Florentius of Hesdin, Thomas Aquinas and Peter of Tarentaise the "ratio studiorum dominicana", approved by the general chapter of Valenciennes in 1259. Invoked as arbiter in the dispute between Archbishop Conrad of Hochstaden and the city of Cologne, A. gave, on 1 March 1260, a celebrated judgment, which was followed by other judgments in the disputes between Cologne and Utrecht, between churches and monasteries and private individuals.
Appointed on 5 Jan. 1260 by Alexander IV bishop of Regensburg, A. restored the finances, reorganized the works of charity, provided materially and spiritually for parishes and convents, and met with the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg for common agreements. After the reorganization of the diocese he asked (1261) the Pope to be relieved of the bishopric and came to settle in Italy until 1263. On 13 Febr. 1263 Urban IV designated him preacher of the crusade for Germany, Bohemia and all the German-speaking countries. Having arrived in Germany at the beginning of May, he carried out for two years the papal orders "pro subsidio terrae sanctae". It was the first time that in Germany a collector general appeared with the faculties of a pontifical nuncio, furnished with ample spiritual powers. The legate did not have great success. The death of Urban IV determined him to cease from his functions, rendered useless by the political incomprehension of Clement IV. Fixing his residence at Würzburg (1264-67) and then at Strasbourg (1267-70), he occupied himself with teaching and the episcopal ministry, and enjoyed a singular authority among his contemporaries.
At the beginning of 1271 A. is again in the Rhenish metropolis to settle the dispute that had arisen between Archbishop Engelbert of Falkenberg and the city of Cologne. Many were the judgments in causes pending between chapters and convents, between private individuals and institutions, many also the authentications, the grants of indulgences, the consecrations of churches and altars. Noteworthy were the delegation of trust made to him by the Pope for the election of the abbot of Fulda and that of King Rudolf of Habsburg for the oath of fidelity of the bishop of Munich, Eberhard of Diest. He assisted at the Council of Lyon in 1274 and, during a visit to Paris in 1276-77, defended his Aristotelian positions and those of Thomas, whose authority he recommended to his Order.
In Jan. 1279, "sanus et incolumis", he made his will by papal privilege. Death took him in his cell at Cologne on 15 Nov. 1280. The body was laid in a magnificent tomb in the convent choir and after the French Revolution was transported to the church of St. Andrew, where it still rests.
2. THE PERSONALITY, THE DOCTOR AND THE SAINT
Of medium stature, of strong, healthy and lean constitution, of a rather sanguine temperament, of energetic temper, of assiduity and extraordinary application to work, with an eye scrutinizing and open both in his study and in his long journeys, A. enclosed in his soul treasures of greatness and eminent nobility. His acute, penetrating and comprehensive intellect was saturated with speculation and contemplation, intuited the spiritual problems of his time and set them, with a genius-like and titanic effort, toward their solution. In this task his generous, magnanimous will is revealed, ready to promote great things and forgetful of self. Besides being an intellectual, he was also a highly spiritual man, a man of prayer, humble, a convinced and zealous son of St. Dominic. In him deep contemplation met with sure experience, tireless research with the noble impulse of acting and working. His knowledge together with his works for culture and charity, inspired by a priestly and apostolic spirit, conferred on him a very high personal authority in his time.
Ulrich of Strasbourg (d. 1277) names him in the Summa de bono, v. 3, 4: "vir in omni scientia adeo divinus, ut nostri temporis stupor et miraculum congrue vocari possit". Ptolemy of Lucca (d. 1326) in the Hist. eccl., XXII, 18 says: "Albertus Teutonicus praeclarissimae vitae... quantum ad generalitatem scientiarum et modum docendi inter doctores maximam excellentiam habuit"; and Roger Bacon (d. 1294): "habuit in vita auctoritatem quam nunquam homo habuit in terra... homo studiosissimus et vidit infinita et habuit expensum et ideo multa potuit colligere in pelago auctorum infinitus... vulgus eis (Alexandro Halensi et Alberto) adhaereret sicut angelis" (Op. minus, ed. Brewer, pp. 30, 327).
For the contemporary appreciation of A. M. one may consult Earle, von Hertling, Mandonnet, Grabmann, Scheeben, Wilms, Puccetti and the bull of canonization.
His personal and doctrinal authority was not separated in A. from the cult he soon merited after death both within and outside the Dominican Order. At Cologne his tomb was venerated over the course of the centuries. At Lauingen the chapel of All Saints was called, perhaps already in the 14th century, the chapel of A. M. An exhumation of the body took place at Cologne before 1415, another in 1483 in the presence of the master general Salvo Cassetta, authorized by Sixtus IV. Innocent VIII granted in 1484 to the Dominican churches of Cologne and Regensburg the office of the blessed. The celebration of the feast was extended in 1622 to the diocese of Regensburg, in 1670 to the entire Dominican Order, and in more recent times to the archdioceses of Cologne, Munich, Paris, as well as to the dioceses of Rottenburg, Würzburg, Freiburg, Augsburg. On 16 Dec. 1931 Pius XI declared him a saint and doctor of the Church (bull In thesauris sapientiae: AAS, 24 [1932], pp. 1-17), while Pius XII, on 16 Dec. 1941, named him patron of those who cultivate the natural sciences (brief Ad Deum: AAS, 34 [1942], pp. 89-91).
3. THE WRITINGS
The literary activity of A. M., extending to almost all profane and sacred disciplines, is considered the most gigantic of the Middle Ages. Printing reproduced many Albertine works from its very beginnings. Two editions were published under the title Opera omnia, the first in 21 folio volumes edited by Pietro Jammy O. P. at Lyon in 1651, the other in 38 quarto volumes by the abbot Augusto Borgnet at Paris in the years 1890-99. Neither the one nor the other corresponds to today's scientific criteria; indeed the second is a simple reprint of the first. The authenticity of several writings, moreover, is not yet sufficiently clarified.
The following list records the works held to be authentic, indicating the volume and pages of the Borgnet edition (= B) or another special edition.
I. RATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OR LOGIC.
1. De praedicabilibus (= Super Isagogen Porphyrii, B. I, 1-148); 2. De praedicamentis (In Categorias Aristotelis, B. I, 149-304); 3. De sex principiis (Gilbert Porretani: B. I, 305-72); 4. In Boëtii de divisione (von Loe, Bonn 1913); 5. In duos Perihermeneias (B. I, 373-457);
(phot. Alinari)
6. In Boëtii de syllogismis categoricis (unpublished); 7. In duos Priorum Analyticorum (B. I, 459-809); 8. In Boëtii de syllogismis hypoteticis (unpublished); 9. In duos Posteriorum Analyticorum (B. II, 1-232); 10. In octo Topicorum (B. II, 233-524); 11. In duos Elenchorum (B. II, 525-713).
II. PHILOSOPHIA REALIS: a) Physica sive naturalis.
1. De audito physico (= In octo libros Physicorum, B. III, 1-632); 2. In duos libros de generatione et corruptione (B. IV, 345-457); 3. In quattuor libros de caelo et mundo (B. IV, 1-321); 4. De natura locorum (B. IX, 527-85); 5. De causis proprietatum elementorum (B. IX, 585-657); 6. In quattuor libros Meteororum (B. IV, 477-808); 7. De mineralibus (B. V, 1-103); 8. In tres libros de anima (B. V, 117-420); 9. De nutrimento (B. IX, 323-41); 10. De sensu et sensato (B. IX, 1-93); 11. De memoria et reminiscentia (B. IX, 97-118); 12. De intellectu et intelligibili (B. IX, 477-525); 13. De natura et origine animae (= De natura intellectualis animae et contemplatione, B. IX, 375-434); 14. De quindecim problematibus (P. Mandonnet, Siger de Brabant, II, Louvain 1908); 15. De unitate intellectus contra averroistas (B. IX, 437-75); 16. De somno et vigilia (B. IX, 121-207); 17. De spiritu et respiratione (B. IX, 213-52); 18. De motibus progressivis (= De principiis motus progressivi; B. X, 321-58); 19. De aetate (= De inventute et senectute; B. IX, 305-19); 20. De morte et vita (B. IX, 345-71); 21. De animalibus libri viginti sex (with De partibus animalium, B. XI-XII, Stadler, Münster 1916-20); 22. Quaestiones super libros De animalibus (unpublished); 23. De vegetalibus et plantis libri septem (B. X, 1-305; Meyer-Jessen, Berlin 1867).
On the De fato (= De sensu communi), cf. Meersseman, p. 138. On the Philosophia pauperum, see Alberto da Orlamunde.
b) Mathematica. Super geometriam Euclidis (unpublished).
c) Metaphysica.
1. Metaphysicorum libri tredecim (B. VI, 1-725); 2. De causis et processu universitatis (In librum de causis, B. X, 361-619); 3. De natura deorum (lost).
III. MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
1. In decem libros Ethicorum (B. VII, 1-611); 2. In octo libros Politicorum (B. VIII, 1-804); 3. Scriptum et quaestiones super Ethicam Nicomachicam (unpublished).
The theological works can be divided into three categories:
I. EXEGESIS.
1. Super Iob (Weiss, Freiburg 1904); 2. Super Psalmos (B. XV-XVII); 3. In cap. XI Proverbiorum (= De muliere forti, B. XVIII, 1-242); 4. In Ieremiam (fragments, cf. Meersseman, p. 90 ff.); 5. In Threnos Ieremiae (B. XVIII, 243-353); 6. In Baruch (B. XVIII, 447-653); 7. In duodecim Prophetas minores (B. XIX, 1-650); 8. In Matthaeum (B. XX-XXI 1-338); 9. In Marcum (B. XXI, 339-761);
10. In Lucam (B. XXXII-XXXIII); 11. In Ioannem (B. XXIV).
The manuscript tradition of In Canticum Canticorum, In Isaiam, In Ezechielem, In epistulas s. Pauli is not known.
II. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY.
1. In Dionysii De divinis nominibus (unpublished); 2. In Dionysii De caelesti hierarchia (B. XIV, 1-451); 3. In Dionysii De ecclesiastica hierarchia (B. XIII, 470-805); 4. In Dionysii De mystica theologia (B. XIII, 811-62); 5. In Dionysii undecim epistulas (B. XIV, 867-1027); 6. Scriptum super quattuor libros Sententiarum (B. XXV-XXX); 7. Summa theologiae (prior): De creatione et creatura (Summa de creaturis: De quattuor coaevis, B. XXXIV, 307-798; De homine, B. XXXV); De bono et virtutibus (= Summa de bono et virtutibus, unpublished); De sacramentis (unpublished); De resurrectione (unpublished); 8. Tractatus de natura boni (unpublished); 9. Summa theologiae (altera; B. XXXI-XXXIII); 10. De sacrificio missae (B. XXXVIII, 1-169); 11. De eucharistiae sacramento (B. XXXVIII, 191-432); 12. Sermones XXXII de sacramento eucharistiae (B. XIII, 669-797); 13. Mariale sive quaestiones super Missus est (= De Laudibus B. M. V., B. XXXVII, 1-362).
III. PARAENETICA.
1. De forma orandi (= Pater noster, Wimmer, Regensburg 1902); 2. Sermones LXXVIII de tempore (B. XIII, 1-304); 3. Sermones LIX de sanctis (B. XIII, 407-634); 4. Homilia in Luc. XI, 27 (von Loe, Bonn 1917); 5. Sermones lingua teutonica habiti (noted by Strauch; cf. Meersseman, p. 122 ff.); 6. Orationes LIII super evangelia dominicalia totius anni (B. XIII, 341-402); 7. Orationes super Sententias (Thoemes, Berlin 1893).
On other writings and prayers see Meersseman, pp. 123-49.
4. DOCTRINAL INFLUENCE
The scientific action exercised by A. M. in the Middle Ages was probably the most powerful of all, not excepting even that of the Aquinate, which, limited to a less vast field, was nevertheless more profound and lasting. Thomas was a river, A. a torrent (Mandonnet). In fact, if one considers the history of any branch of knowledge, one encounters the name of the scholastic of Cologne. The secret of his method and of his research, and also of his success, lies in aiming at nature, which is the root and the source of life. He tended to find nature in scientific, physical, botanical and zoological investigations, and therefore he became a great naturalist. In his studies on man and on human work, considering first of all nature and its functioning, he became a great and particularly practical philosopher, while not excluding the highest and most subtle speculation, even in his thoughts on the ineffable nature of God and on the problems of man's supernatural communion with God. A. scrutinized the essence of the divine nature, and for this he became a great theologian. Always intuiting the connection of scientific and speculative investigation with life, without isolating himself in study, he became an eminent teacher. The vastness of his teaching is mirrored in his extensive literary production.
Alongside his importance as a naturalist, A. had the particular mission of introducing Aristotelianism into the philosophical and theological schools of the early Middle Ages. To his contemporaries he opened the treasures of past times, enriching them with the contribution of research, experiments, observations and investigations in the most varied disciplines. This influence concerns the profane sciences, then called philosophy, and the sacred science, which definitively took the name of theology.
The idea of a scientific encyclopedia, destined for the Christian West, was announced by him with these words: « Nostra intentio est, omnes dictas partes (physicam, metaphysicam, mathematicam) facere Latinis intelligibiles... Intentio nostra in scientia naturali est, satisfacere pro nostra possibilitate fratribus ordinis nostri rogantibus ex pluribus iam praecedentibus annis, ut talem librum de Physica eis componeremus, in quo et scientiam naturalem perfectam haberent et ex quo libros Aristotelis competenter intelligere possent » (Phys., I. I, col. 1). In the form of a paraphrase A. reports the content of the books and of the doctrines studied, taking the floor in special digressions for personal solutions. For his commentaries he used the Arabic-Latin translations made by Gerard of Cremona and by Michael Scot. Incorporating the Aristotelian writings into his own works and rectifying them in the theories opposed to the faith, A. resolved the problem of the acceptance of Aristotle among Western Christians, for whom, with the exception of the Logic, the ecclesiastical prohibitions of 1210 and 1215 and the ordinance of 1231 were in force.
Besides Aristotle, A. used Plato and other Greek, Jewish and Latin sources. Thus he provided his contemporaries with an immense material and a notable body of doctrines, and made possible the task of that master of synthesis who was Thomas. The action carried out in favor of a Christian Aristotelianism procured for A. the name of « philosophorum omnium totius christianitatis sol praeclarissimus » (Henr. of Herford). D'Irsay notes the Albertine contribution in giving the philosophical faculty its specific and autonomous character.
A. did not constitute an independent school, especially in theology, but his doctrine lived on in that of his disciple St. Thomas. However, in the years 1410 and 1411 there is noted a member of the Parisian faculty of philosophy by the name of John de Nova Domo who initiated an Albertist movement, limited indeed, but preserved for three centuries: Albertism.
From Paris this movement was transplanted by means of Americo da Campo (Van de Velde) to the University of Cologne and from this one to that of Kraków. The Albertists often opposed the Thomists, while on many points they upheld the same realist concepts. At Cologne the college of the Lorenziani followed A., while the college of the Monte followed the Aquinate. The Cologne Dominicans kept themselves aloof from the Albertist questions, but they took part in the more intense religious cult paid by the Albertists to their master.
A. was above all a theologian. He did not mix the theological perspective into his philosophical and natural investigations, but his gigantic undertaking of Latin Aristotelianism was meant to serve a theological construction of dimensions and quality worthy of sacred doctrine: « et intentionem nostram finiemus in scientia divina » (Phys., I. I, col. 1). In theology too he strove to join the documen-
of the past with the reasoning required in his day to form a body of doctrine respectable in extent and solidity. Theology is for him the end and mistress of all the sciences. "Its value," says Schwane, "is manifested in the theological works. Theology received, thanks to him, a powerful prestige, a precise form and an exact terminology, which was preserved for long centuries. St. Thomas would inherit this quality, though the initiative for it remains with his master." Mandonnet likewise mentions A.'s merits on behalf of the theological movement of which Thomas became the head, though he considers A.'s theological activity less brilliant than his philosophical and scientific one and almost overshadowed by Thomistic theology. Furthermore, it must be noted that in theology A. links himself strongly to Augustinian currents. Several recent studies have brought out the theological speculation, but also the mystical flavor and the happy intuitions that characterize the doctor of Cologne more than the Aquinate. The problems of God and of the divine persons, the Christological ones, of the Incarnation and of the Sacred Heart, of Mariology, of the sacraments and of the sacrifice of the Mass, of the Mystical Body of Christ, of creation, of revelation, of grace, of the gifts and of eschatology found in A. a sure and profound expositor, much appreciated today. The monographs bear eloquent witness to this. Lauer and Lottin show how A.'s genius was the first to give a synthesis of moral theology; others point out his doctrines on faith and charity, while exegetes admire the freshness and clarity of Albert's interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.
For many parts of the Summa confessorum, the famous John of Freiburg (d. 1314) drew inspiration from Albert's teachings, thus continuing the Albertine pastoral doctrine. Finally, Grabmann demonstrates, in a particular way, Albert's influence on German mysticism, to which he gave a vigorous and most fruitful spiritual direction.
BIBLI: Per la vita: Non esiste una biografia contemporanea di A. Gli eventi principali della sua vita si ricostruiscono con cenni nei suoi scritti, con notizie, documenti ed atti del suo tempo. J. Echard, Script. O. P., I, Parigi 1710, pp. 162-71; P. von Loe, De vita et scriptis b. A. M., in Anal. Boll., 19 (1900), pp. 257-84; 20 (1901), pp. 273-316; 21 (1902), pp. 261-71; I. Taurisano, Catal. hagiogr. O. P., Roma 1918, p. 20 sgg.; F. Pelster, Kritische Studien zum Leben u. zu den Schriften A. d. Gr., Friburgo 1920; E. C. Scheeben, A. d. Gr., Zur Chronologie seines Lebens, in Quellen u. Forschungen z. Gesch. d. Dominikanerordens, Lipsia 1931; id., Zur Chronologie des Lebens A. d. Gr., in Divus Thomas, Friburgo, 10 (1932), pp. 363-77; P. Castagnoli, La vita e gli scritti di s. A. M., in Divus Thomas, Piacenza, 3ª serie, 11 (1934), pp. 129-37; M. Weiss, Neues über A. d. Gr. aus einer Würzburger Handschrift, in Scholastik, 17 (1942), pp. 556-61; P. Mandonnet, s. v. in DHG, I, coll. 1515-1518; A. Walz, S. A. M. sagt, in Angelicum, 19 (1942), pp. 199-212.
Vite: Pietro di Prussia (Colonia 1486), Rodolfo da Nimega (Colonia 1492), A. De Ferrari (Roma 1847), J. Sighart (Ratisbona 1857), E. C. Scheeben (Bonn 1932), A. Gareau (Parigi 1932), Th. Schwertner (Milwaukee 1932), A. Puccetti (Roma 1932, 2ª ed., Siena 1937).
Per la personalità: H. Wilms, A. d. Gr., Monaco 1930, trad. ital. (Marega), Bologna 1931; E. C. Scheeben, A. M., Bonn 1932, pp. 185-99; A. Puccetti, op. cit., 2ª ed., Siena 1937, pp. 81-155; A. Walz, Beitröbungen zur Heiligsprechung A. d. Gr., in Divus Thomas, Friburgo, 10 (1932), pp. 419-36.
Per la bibliografia: cf. M. H. Laurent-M. J. Congar, Bibliographie albertinienne, in Rev. thom., 36 (1931); U. Dähnert, Erkenntnislehre des A. M., Anhang, Lipsia 1934; A. Walz-A. Pelzer, Bibliographia, in Serta albertina, in Angelicum, 21 (1944).
Per gli scritti: J. Echard, Script. O. P., I, Parigi 1710, pp. 171-83; A. Borgnet, op. cit., I, pp. xxx-xxv; P. von Loe, De vita et scriptis beati A., in Anal. Boll. 19 (1900), pp. 257-84; 20 (1901), pp. 273-316; 21 (1902), pp. 261-71; M. Weiss, Primardia novae bibliographiae b. A. M., 2ª ed., Parigi 1905; Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrache, I, Lipsia 1925, coll. 581-784; Indice generale degli Incassabili delle Bibli. d'Italia, I, Roma 1943, pp. 22-32, nn. 157-238; P. Mandonnet, s. v. in DHG, I, coll. 1518-20; F. Überweg-B. Geyer, Die patrist. u. scholast. Philosophie, II, 2ª ed., Berlino 1928, pp. 402, 405-408; U. Dähnert, Erkenntnislehre, pp. 225-36; J. M. Vosté, S. A. M. sarrae paginae magister, I, Roma 1932, pp. 3-5; P. Glorieux, Répertoire des maîtres en théologie de Paris au XIIIe siècle, I, Parigi 1933, pp. 62-77; M. Grabmann, Storia della teologia cattolica, trad. ital., 2ª ed., Milano 1930, p. 104 sg.; Catalogus Stamatis, in Mon. O. P. Hist., VIII, Roma 1936, pp. 57 sg., 123; G. Meersseman, Introduzio in opera beati A. M., Bruges 1931. An edition worthy of the works of the Swabian Doctor is awaited from the Albertus Magnus-Institut of Cologne, directed by Prof. B. Geyer.
Per l'influsso dottrinale: Sulla dottrina profana d'A. si vedano F. Überweg-B. Geyer, Die patrist. u. scholast. Philosophie, II, Berlino 1928, pp. 400-16; M. Grabmann, I divieti ecclesiastici d'Aristotele sotto Innocenzo III e Gregorio IX, Roma 1941, passim; F. van Steenberghen, Siger de Brabant, d'après ses oeuvres inédites, II, Lovanio 1942, pp. 577-92, 692-717; G. Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, II, Baltimora 1931, pp. 934-44; Serta albertina, in Angelicum, 21 (1944), pp. 41-336; W. De Wulf, Storia della filosofia medievale, II, 2ª ed., Firenze 1945, pp. 120-50.
Sulla teologia: M. Grabmann, op. cit., pp. 104-537; id., Mittelalterl. Geistesleben, II, Monaco 1936, pp. 324-412; J. M. Vosté, S. A. M. sacrae paginae magister, I-II, Roma 1932-33; D. O. Lottin, Chronique de Théol. médiévale: S. A. le Grand, in Rech. de Théol. anc. et méd., 5 (1933), pp. 423-27; id., Commentaire des Sentences et Somme Théol. d'A. le Grand, in Rech. de Théol. anc. et méd., 8 (1936), pp. 117-53, (cf. D. H. Poullon, La Summa de bono et le commentaire des Sentences d'A. le Grand, ibid., pp. 203-206).
5. THE DEVOTEE OF NATURAL SCIENCES
The proclamation of A. as patron of students of the natural sciences has led to a broader and more accurate study of his method and his achievements, which place him among the most brilliant scientists of his time. And while it is an exaggeration to call him outright the founder of the modern experimental sciences, he was certainly a distinguished precursor of them, who prepared the way for them.
A. left no field of the natural sciences unexplored, from the elements and living things on earth to the stars of the sky. As a method, he attacked the blind criterion of authority, though without denying it a priori; he wanted, however, that the assertions of others, even those of Pliny, then considered the greatest naturalist, be verified in the best possible way through personal observation and experiment; and this experiment must not be performed only once, nor in only one manner, but repeated while varying the circumstances.
Hence his diligence in observing everything, in verifying, in gathering as many elements as could prove useful to his research. He was thus able to refute a great many theories in vogue, which his experiments revealed to be false; he determined more than 400 species of plants; he studied flowers and their reproduction; he speaks of the magnetic needle, of the compass, of thermal waters; he has fine observations on sulfur, potassium, niter, cinnabar; on the processes of petrification and the formation of coal; he discovered the ventral nerve cord of arthropods; in the theory of "temperaments" he almost coincides with the "constitutional types" that are today outlined in biotypology, etc.
Nor, according to A., must the scientist stop at the facts observed and gathered; but he must ascend to the most intimate causes; thence grasp in every nature its finality. For the study of nature, even pushed to the most minute particulars, cannot give us an adequate solution to the great problems, nor answer all the questions: "why do things, taken singly and all together, present themselves in the form and order that appears to us the most convenient and the best for them?" One must therefore ascend to God, who created them thus and so, in conformity with his infinite wisdom; everything comes from him, according to an ordered design, and is what it is because in this way it is in harmony with the finality of the universe.
It has been said that A. is a slavish commentator on Aristotle. Certainly he follows him step by step, but he enriches him with new observations, new interpretations, additions; nor does he hesitate to depart from him when necessary. In his work there are still gaps and at times naive credulity, founded on the account of those whom he consulted; and if he denies credence to Pliny, he lends it instead to persons whom he deems expert and who are not, for example in certain phenomena and facts of astronomy, of hunting, of fishing, of reproduction. Likewise the "experimental method"
must be understood as the era required; nevertheless, A. must be granted the indisputable merit of having proclaimed and put into practice, albeit with some errors, a sound method of investigation and study. - See Pl. LVI.
