The scholastics were loyal children of the Church and did not presume to question her teaching in matters of religion. They held that faith precedes reason. "The Christian," "The Christian," Abelard and thought it was said, "ought to advance to knowledge freedom of through faith, not come to faith through knowledge." The brilliant Abelard, with his keenly critical mind, found what he considered a flaw in this position: on many subjects the authorities themselves disagreed. To show this he wrote a little book called Sic et Non ("Yes and No"), setting forth the conflicting opinions of the Church Fathers on one hundred and fifty-eight points of theology. In such cases how could truth be reached unless one reasoned it out for oneself? "Constant questioning," he declared, "is the key to wisdom. Through doubting we come to inquiry and through inquiry we perceive the truth." But this reliance on the unaided human reason as a means of obtaining knowledge did not meet with approval, and Abelard's views were condemned as unsound. Abelard, indeed, was a man in advance of his age. Freedom of thought had to wait many centuries before its rights should be acknowledged. Aristotle The philosophy on which the scholastics relied was chiefly that of Aristotle.1 Christian Europe read him at first in Latin translations from the Arabic, but versions were Study of later made from Greek copies found in Constantinople and elsewhere in the East. This revival of Aristotle, though it broadened men's minds by acquainting them with the ideas of the greatest of Greek thinkers, had serious drawbacks. It discouraged rather than favored the search for fresh truth. Many scholastics were satisfied to appeal to Aristotle's authority, rather than take the trouble of finding out things for themselves. The story is told of a medieval student who, having detected spots in the sun, announced his discovery to a learned man. "My son," said the latter, "I have read Aristotle many times, and I assure you there is nothing of the kind mentioned by him. Be certain that the spots which you have seen are in your eyes and not in the sun.” 1 See pages 275 and 383. St. Thomas There were many famous scholastics, or "schoolmen," but easily the foremost among them was the Italian monk, Thomas Aquinas. He taught at Paris, Cologne, Rome, and Bologna, and became so celebrated for learning as to be known as the "Angelic Doctor." Though Aquinas died at an early age, he left behind him. no less than eighteen folio volumes. His Summa Theologiæ ("Compendium of Theology"), as the name indicates, gathered up all that the Middle Ages believed of the relations between God and man. The Roman Church has placed him among her saints and still recommends the study of his writings as the foundation of all sound theology. The method Enough has been said to show that the method of study in medieval universities was not that which generally obtains to-day. There was almost no original research. scholastic Law students memorized the Justinian code. Medical students learned anatomy and physiology from old Greek books, instead of in the dissecting room. Theologians and philosophers went to the Bible, the Church Fathers, or Aristotle for the solution of all problems. They often debated the most subtle questions, for instance, "Can God ever know more than He knows that He knows?" Mental gymnastics of this sort furnished a good training in logic, but added nothing to the sum of human knowledge. Scholasticism, accordingly, fell into disrepute, in proportion as men began to substitute scientific observation and experiment for speculation. Scientific 205. Science and Magic Not all medieval learning took the form of scholasticism. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were marked by a healthy interest in science. Long encyclopedias, written inventions in Latin, collected all available information about the natural world. The study of physics made conspicuous progress, partly as a result of Arab influence. Various scientific inventions, including magnifying glasses and clocks, were worked out. The mariner's compass, perhaps derived from the Arabs, also came into general use.1 As representative of this scientific interest we may take the Englishman, Roger Bacon. He studied at Paris, where his attainments secured for him the title of the "Won Roger Bacon, derful Doctor," and lectured at Oxford. At a period when Aristotle's influence was unbounded, Bacon turned away from scholastic philosophy to mathematics and the sciences. No great discoveries were made by him, but it is interesting to read a passage in one of his works where some modern inventions are distinctly foreseen. In time, he wrote, ships will be moved without rowers, and carriages will be propelled without animals to draw them. Machines for flying will also be constructed, "wherein a man sits revolving some engine by which artificial wings are made to beat the air like a flying bird." Even in Bacon's day it would appear that men were trying to make steamboats, automobiles, and aëroplanes. ROGER BACON Gunpowder The discovery of gunpowder, a compound of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulphur, has often been attributed to Bacon, probably incorrectly. Bacon and other men of his time seem to have been familiar with the composition of gunpowder, but they regarded it as merely a sort of firework, producing a sudden and brilliant flame. They little suspected that in a confined space the expansive power of its gases could be used to hurl projectiles. Gunpowder was occasionally manufactured during the fourteenth century, but for a long time it made more noise than it did harm. Small brass cannon, throwing stone balls, began at length to displace the medieval siege weapons, and still later muskets took the place of the bow, the cross-bow, and the pike. The revolution in the art of warfare 1 See page 618. introduced by gunpowder had vast importance. It destroyed the usefulness of the castle and enabled the peasant to fight the mailed knight on equal terms. Gunpowder, accordingly, must be included among the forces which brought about the downfall of feudalism. The study of chemistry also engaged the attention of medieval investigators. It was, however, much mixed up with alchemy, Chemistry a false science which the Middle Ages had received and alchemy from the Greeks, and they, in turn, from the Egyptians. The alchemists believed that minerals possessed a real life of their own and that they were continually developing in the ground toward the state of gold, the perfect metal. It was necessary, therefore, to discover the "philosopher's stone," which would turn all metals into gold. The alchemists never found it, but they learned a good deal about the various metals and discovered a number of compounds and colors. In this way alchemy contributed to the advance of chemistry. Astronomy in the Middle Ages was the most advanced of any natural science, though the telescope and the Copernican theory 1 Astronomy were as yet in the future. Astronomy, the wise and astrology mother, had a foolish daughter, astrology, the origin of which can be traced back to Babylonia.2 Medieval students no longer regarded the stars as divine, but they believed that the natural world and the life of men were controlled by celestial influences. Hence astrologers professed to predict the fate of a person from the position of the planets at the time of his birth. Astrological rules were also drawn from the signs of the zodiac. A child born under the sign of the Lion will be courageous; one born under the Crab will not go forward well in life; one born under the Waterman will probably be drowned, and so forth. Such fancies seem absurd enough, but in the Middle Ages educated people entertained them. Alchemy and astrology were not the only instances of medieval credulity. The most improbable stories found ready acceptance. Roger Bacon, for instance, thought that "flying dragons" still existed in Europe and that Medieval credulity 1 See pages 133 and 608. 2 See page 53. eating their flesh lengthened human life. Works on natural history soberly described the lizard-like salamander, which dwelt in fire, and the phoenix, a bird which, after living for five hundred burned itself to death and then rose again full grown years, from the ashes. Another fabulous creature was the unicorn, with the head and body of a horse, the hind legs of an antelope, the beard of a goat, and a long, sharp horn set in the middle of the forehead. Various plants and minerals were also credited with marvelous powers. Thus, the nasturtium, used as a liniment, would keep one's hair from falling out, and the sapphire, when powdered and mixed with milk, would heal ulcers and cure headache. Such quaint beliefs linger to-day among uneducated people, even in civilized lands. Magicians of every sort flourished in the Middle Ages. Onei romancers1 Magicians took omens from dreams. Palmists read fortunes in MAGICIAN RESCUED FROM THE DEVIL Miniature in a thirteenth-century manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. The Devil, at the lines and irregularities of the hand. Necromancers 2 professed to reveal the future by pretended communications with departed spirits. Other magicians made talismans or lucky objects to be worn on the person, mirrors in which the images of the dead or the absent were reflected, and various powders which, when mixed with food or drink, would inspire hatred or affection in the one consuming them. Indeed, it would be easy to draw up a long list of the devices by which practitioners of magic made a living at the expense of the ignorant and the superstitious. tempting to seize a magician who had formed a pact with him, is prevented by a lay brother. 206. Popular Superstitions Many medieval superstitions are preserved in folk tales, or "fairy stories." Every child now reads these tales in books, 1 Greek oneiros, "dream." 2 Greek nekros, "corpse." |