Patristic Schools in the Summa (Continued)

PATRISTIC SCHOOLS IN THE SUMMA (Continued) III. LATER THEOLOGIANS It is most necessary to single out the most important among the later theologians in whom the spirit and influence of the Schools of Alexandria and Antioch are found. They are the authorities who are most respected and followed by St. Thomas in the Summa Theologica and through whom the spirit and methods of these schools found their place in the thought of the Common Doctor. St. Augustine (354-430) St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was the greatest of the Fathers of the Church.167 His very profound and lasting influence on the development of Christian thought is incontestable. His powerful genius was the bridge over which the intellectual treasures of the old world were introduced to the new Latin culture. In him the center of theological influence shifted to the West. Augustine's was a deep and original mind unequalled among Christian thinkers. In the vastness of his writings he was surpassed only by St. John Chrysostom. Besides .sowing the seeds of medieval theology, he contributed to the definite settlement ofthe language of theology. His keenly speculative mind and deeply religious soul earned him a capital position in 167 The life of St. Augustine is too well known and his works too numerous to be circumscribed by a few words here. He was born at Tagaste, Numidia, in 354 A. D. of a pagan father and the Christian, St. Monica. His studies led him away from his mother's influence and finally into Manicheism. Search for the Truth gradually led him to the Church through Nco-Platonism. He was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387. In 391 he was ordained a priest at Hippo and in 396 became its bishop. He died in 430. His brilliant and fruitful career and permanent influence are without parallel in the Church. His most universally influential works are the Retractions and the Confessions. 505 506 NICHOLAS HALLIGAN the double movements of Scholasticism and Mysticism. With such a fertile genius it is daring, to say the least, to attempt a summary of his teaching.168 However, the intent is merely to sketch briefly the method employed by St. Augustine, pointing out those factors which suggest his great authority, particularly with the Angelic Doctor. St. Augustine was too much of a philosopher and a man of his time to fail to value the gifts of reason. He wished to use the intellectual culture most fitted to pierce the meaning of dogmas. Like most of the Fathers, he considered that Platonist philosophy was just this instrument. He did not distinguish Neo-Platonism from Platonism. Nevertheless, Augustine was not resting in any system but was of the opinion that the spirit of Platonist thought was best suited for the service of Christianity . It was a spiritualist philosophy. It most closely approached that true philosophy, Christianity. It rose above the realms of sense and changeable spirit to reach God.169 On the other hand, he did not hesitate to refute some of the NeoPlatonist teachings, such as its inferior divinities, metempsychosis , its monistic and emanistic tendencies. The role of reason is to prepare for the act of faith and to aid in the penetration of the faith possessed. This is St. Augustine's famous formula: Intellige ut credas, crede ut intelligas .170 Reason proves the veracity of the witness on whose authority belief is based, and thus "ipsa (ratio) antecedit 168 Most good manuals on the history of dogmas contain worthy treatments of St. Augustine. The most complete summary, that followed here, is that of E. Portalie in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catkolique,_ "Augustin," vol. I, col. !'t!'t68-!'t47!'t. 169 Of Aristotle, St. Augustine says: " vir excellentis ingenii et eloquio Platoni quidem impar, sed multos facile superans." De Civitate Dei, VIII, 12. Ibid., 5: "Nulli nobis, quam isti, proprius accesserunt." Ibid., 6: " Cuncta corpora tr~;tnscenderunt quaerentes Deum ... omnem animam mutabilesque omnes spiritus transcenderunt quaerentes summum Deum." 170 Sermo XLIII, 7, 9. In Psalm., CXVlli. Sermo XVIII, 3: "Alia sunt enim quae nisi intelligamus non credimus, et alia sunt quae nisi credamus non intelligimus: proficit ergo nqster intellectus ad intelligenda quae credat, et fides proficit ad...