Foreword

FOREWORD This issue is the last of three to contain papers associated with the International Colloquium on the Thought and Writings of William of Ockham held at St. Bonaventure University Oct. 10-12, 1985. We dedicate this issue as a token of our gratitude and appreciation to all those who collaborated with us in completing the critical edition ofthe Opera Theologica (10 vols.) and Opera Philosophica (7 vols.) of William of Ockham. In the twenty years before work began on the critical edition at the Franciscan Institute, much valuable preliminary work was done. We have greatly benefited from the contributions of Leon Baudry, who 'performed wonders' with the research materials at his disposal. We must also recognize the work of Ernest Moody who, in addition to his edition of Ockham's Expositio Porphyrii (OPh II), was a veritable pioneer in logical studies concerning Ockham. From the very beginnings of the Franciscan Institute, Fr. Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M., and his collaborators: Frs. Gaudens Mohan , O.F.M., Allan Wolter, O.F.M., Innocent Dahm, O.F.M. and Eligius Buytaert, O.F.M. provided preliminary and ancillary research tools and studies without which it would have been virtually impossible to begin collating manuscripts for the edition. The second phase of the critical edition (1963-1986) began when Fr. Gedeon Gal, O.F.M. came to the Franciscan Institute from the Collegio di S. Bonaventura at that time in Quaracchi near Florence, Italy. Fr. Gedeon worked alone during the first year. The team work essential to the edition began when Dr. Stephen Brown, now chairman of Boston College's theology department, joined Fr. Gedeon as a collaborator. Aristotle said that we cannot hope to repay the gods and our parents adequately, and we must say the same of Stephen viForeword Brown who collaborated on no less than four volumes (OTh I & II; OPh I &. II) and edited a large volume (OPh VI) single-handed. Most of Dr. Brown's work was done on his own time and at his own expense . Much the same must be said ofour other extramural colleagues: Prof. Francesco del Punta, Fr. Vladimir Richer, S.J., Dr. Gerhard Leibold, Fr. Angelo Gambatese, O.F.M., Dr. Carlo Grassi and Fr. Joseph Wey, CS.B. Prof. Del Punta is now at the University of Pisa, in charge ofthe critical edition ofthe works ofGiles ofRome; he edited Ockham's Expositio Elenchorum (OPh III). Fr. Vladimir Richter, S.J., former rector ofthe University ofInnsbruck, and his colleague Gerhard Leibold, now of the Bayerische Akadamie in Munich, edited the first volume of Ockham's Expositio Physicorum (OPh IV). Fr. Angelo Gambatese , O.F.M. worked on Ockham's Expositio in Perihermenias. Despite long bouts of illness, Dr. Carlo Grassi of the University of Detroit, gave us the critical edition of Ockham's Tractatus de quantitate et de corpore Christi (OTh X). We are especially appreciative of the collaboration of Fr. Joseph Wey, C.S.B. of the Pontifical Institute in Toronto . Not only did he edit the Quodlibeta Septem (OTh IX) and Ockham's De connexione virtutum (OTh VIII), but he also provided us with authoritative evaluations of the date and provenance of many manuscripts involved in the Ockham edition. Not to be forgotten is the support accorded us by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1973, they have provided the "lion's share" of financial assistance which has allowed us to assemble a team of researchers with the leisure and facilities to complete this critical edition in a period of some 25 years. The National Endowment for the Humanities has likewise awarded us printing grants which enabled us to print a number of the volumes more efficiently and sell them at more reasonable prices. We would be remiss indeed if we did not extend our gratitude to Fr. Conrad L. Harkins, O.F.M., director of the Franciscan Institute . Without Fr. Conrad's unfaltering support the project would have been interrupted or delayed. Through his efforts, we have invariably obtained the matching funds required by most NEH grants. It was Fr. Conrad who presented our case to the Conference ofEnglish Speaking Friars Minor and to the DeRance Foundation who contributed so...