Duns Scotus on the Necessity of Revealed Knowledge

DUNS SCOTUS ON THE NECESSITY OF REVEALED KNOWLEDGE Introduction The most important of all Scotus' works is his monumental Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. It is not simply glosses or cursory explanations of the text of Peter Lombard, but consists of questions raised by Scotus himself which gave him the opportunity of expounding his own doctrine on subjects treated by the Lombard. Commenting on the Sentences was the work of a bachelor in theology, known technically as Sententiarius. When a bachelor or Sententiarius finished his series of lectures in the classroom, he reedited his commentary, cutting out this, adding that, until he had the work in a satisfactory form for publication. This final edition of his commentary is called an Ordinatio in contradistinction to the Reportatio. The latter was simply the actual lecture as "reported" by a student or scribe who transcribed the oral lecture or dictation of the Sententiarius. The preparation of the Ordinatio or final edition of the commentary usually took place during the four (or five) year interval required by the Parisian statutes before the Sententiarius formants (i.e. the bachelor who had finished his lectures) received the license to teach and was incepted (i. e. gave his inaugural disputation) as Master of Theology. Members of religious orders, however, had certain privileges in this regard, which may explain why in Scotus' case apparently only a few months intervened between his completion of the required lectures on the Sentences at Paris (around the middle of 1304) and his inception as Master early in 1305. At any rate, Scotus did not find time to complete his Ordinatio either before or after his appointment as Master, and so it was left in an unfinished state at the time of his death in Cologne (November 8, 1308). The Scotistic Commission at Rome under the direction of Rev. Carl Balic, O.F.M., is at present preparing a critical edition of the Ordinatio as a part of the new Vatican édition of Scotus' complete works. Two volumes have appeared to date (Joannis Duns Scoti Opera Omnia, vols. I-II. Civitas Vaticana, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis , 1950). The first volume contains the Prologue to the [231] [232]DUNS SCOTUS AND REVEALED KNOWLEDGE Ordinatio. The second has the first two distinctions of the first of the four books of the Ordinatio. The present translation of the opening question of the Ordinatio is intended as the first part of a complete English translation of the Vatican edition to be sponsored by the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University. For the benefit of those not acquainted with the basic form of the scholastic question, it might be well to note that it consists of three principal parts. First, an introductory Pro and Con in which two opposite positions in regard to the question are represented. In the present question of Scotus the Pro and Con comprises paragraphs 1 to 4. It is well to note that the arguments cited in the Pro (par. 1 to 3) are referred to as argumenta principalia, that is, the "initial arguments" or "arguments at the beginning of the question." These first arguments invariably represent objections to the author's own position. Frequently, they are introduced with the impersonal expression "It is argued." But sometimes, as is the case here, the personal form "I argue" may be used. The same is true of objections raised occasionally in the body of the question itself. In such cases, it has happened that an unwary reader attributed the view therein expressed to Scotus, whereas it is merely an oratorical way of presenting the case for the opposition. After the initial arguments of the Pro comes the Con ("To the Contrary"). In the case of theological questions such as those of the Commentary on the Sentences this usually consists simply in a citation of a few biblical texts, a quotation from one of the Fathers or Doctors of the Church such as St. Augustine, or even a citation from Aristotle, the "Philosopher". The Con almost invariably expresses the opinion or view adopted by the author. In some rare instances, an intermediate position between that of the Pro and the Con is taken. The second...