'A Theme Song of His Life': Aspectus and Affectus in the Writings of Robert Grosseteste

Robert Grosseteste (c.1168-1253) was a foundational figure for the Franciscan tradition. Although not a Franciscan himself, he was the first lector hired to teach the Franciscans theology in their studium at Oxford (c. 1229-1235), and as bishop of Lincoln (1235-1253), he maintained a positive relationship with the Franciscans. Upon his death, he left his collected works to the Greyfriars at Oxford, where John Duns Scotus appears to have consulted them.¹ It is possible that Bonaventure in Paris had some contact with Grosseteste's works as well.² In addition to the direct influence of his teaching and works, Grosseteste's tenure at Oxford resulted in much indirect influence of Franciscan thinkers. Through his Franciscan pupil Richard Rufus of Cornwall, who is believed to have taught both at Oxford and at Paris,³ Grosseteste played a role in shaping theological formation in both cities where Franciscans consistently pursued theological learning during the first half of the thirteenth century.

While it is often difficult to discern the exact influence of one author on another, Grosseteste's aspectus/affectus distinction provides an excellent way to trace his influence on the Franciscan tradition. Grosseteste used the aspectus/affectus wordplay to designate the cognitive and appetitive powers of the rational soul or mind. While Robert was not the first to write of the mind's aspectus and affectus,⁴ I am aware of no author before Grosseteste who used this pair of terms in a technical way to divide all of the cognitive and perceptive capacities of the soul from its affective and volitional capacities.⁵ After Grosseteste began to do this, others did as well, including notable Franciscans such as Richard Rufus of Cornwall, Bonaventure, Roger Bacon, and Thomas of York.⁶ Although each case must be considered individually, it is likely that Franciscans using the aspectus/affectus distinction in the thirteenth century owe this component of their psychology directly or indirectly to Robert Grosseteste. Now that many texts are electronically searchable, it is possible to find relevant passages very quickly and then compare them. By tracing the lines of influence in this way, it may soon be possible to identify more precisely how Grosseteste's teaching was disseminated among the Franciscans.

I will give an example of how this would work. Several extremely important passages concern Grosseteste's explanation of why Aristotle and other philosophers not only did not, but actually could not understand that the world has a beginning and has not existed eternally. In at least three works, Grosseteste explains that their problem lay in the affectus, or desire, of their minds.⁷ Aristotle's affectus was directed towards earthly, temporal things and therefore his intellectual vision, or aspectus, could not ascend to the heights of God and comprehend timeless eternity. Bonaventure would later follow Grosseteste not only in his argument against the eternity of the world,⁸ but also in using affectus to explain how Aristotle went wrong.⁹ Here lies an opportunity to explore further how Grosseteste may have influenced Bonaventure in this matter. One could compare Bonaventure's treatment of affectus and the eternity of the world 1) with his uses of the aspectus/affectus pair,¹⁰ 2) with Grosseteste's use of aspectus and affectus in the passages concerning Aristotle, and 3) with similar passages in Richard Rufus and Alexander of Hales, possible mediating figures. The aspectus/affectus component would make it possible to verify and supplement earlier studies that concerned primarily the arguments about the eternity of the world in these figures.¹¹

Before anyone can undertake to trace Grosseteste's influence on the Franciscan tradition through his aspectus/affectus distinction, however, it is necessary to know how Grosseteste used the terms. This is the task of the present article. I recently wrote a dissertation on Robert Grosseteste's aspectus/affectus distinction, and here I shall relate my principal findings.¹²

James McEvoy once remarked that Grosseteste's aspectus/affectus distinction was "a theme song of his life."¹³ It was indeed. I...