Brief Notices

BRIEF NOTICES lrttroduction al'Etude de Saint Thomas d'Aquin. By M.-D. CHENU, 0. P. Montreal: Institut d'Etudes Medievales, 1950. Pp. 805 with index. Many excellent. introductions are available that lead the student to the threshold of St. Thomas' great works and leave him there. After having read them, he has much information about the works of the great Doctor, factual details that can be helpful, and a few general principles of conduct applicable once he had entered the edifice. Fr. Chenu does not neglect such information, though he has reduced it to a minimum; he prefers to accompany the student across the threshold and show him around. "Il s'agissaient d'introduire, de ' faire entrer ' dans !'edifice majestueux et deconcertant de Foeuvre de saint Thomas, des etudiants dont cette oeuvre allait etre, pendant des annees, en philosophie et en theologie, un des textes de base." The author is presenting an" initiation," rather than an introduction· (p. 5) Agreeing with Carlyle, Fr. Chenu believes in the primacy and irreducibility of human genius, of which St. Thomas is an outstanding example; yet there are other considerations that must be taken into account for a complete picture even of genius. "... mais nous savons aussi que la personne est, a la mesure meme de son genie, solidaire de la communaute, des communautes humaines dans lesquelles elle se plante." The aim of the work is very simply stated by the author: " Voir naitre et travailler un maitre theologien, dans un siecle ou theologiens et theologie n'etaient pas separes du monde, de ses conditions, de ses perspectives, de ses techniques, de sa culture, c'est un grand spectacle, et une legc;m pour qui voit desormais la theologie exilee et vainement jalouse de ses droits." (p. 6) The book is divided into two parts, entitled: " L'Oeuvre " and " Les Oeuvres." The second part is a rapid survey of the authentic works of St. Thomas, rich in observations and insights that are the fruit of Fr. Chenu's intimate acquaintance with them. If we pass over this part briefly, it is only because the first part is incalculably richer, as a glance at its contents will reveal. In five chapters tl:ie author considers: the social background of the period in which St. Thomas lived; the development of medieval literary categories in the field. of philosophy and theology; the latin language and vocabulary; the processes of documentation and scientific construction. }~r. Chenu prefaces his chapter on the social background with a brief biography of St. Thomas. All the important dates are summed up in less than two pages. The apparent uneventfulness of St. Thomas' life is 554 BRIEF NOTICES 555 deceptive, as the author points out: "... les grands evenements euxmemes de cette existence silencieuse se developpent a l'interieur de l'universite; le drame ou se jouait, dans son esprit, dans sa vie religieuse, le sort de la pensee chretienne, trouve ses causes et produit ses efl'ets dans l'Universite; une universite, ii est vrai, ou se concentrent efl'ectivement tous les facteurs d'une civilization en plein essor, ou consciemment, autoritairement , la Chretiente a engage sa doctrine et son ame." (p. 13) There follows then a discussion of the various· factors that made their mark on the scholastic and social environment of the Angelic Doctor; sections on the revival of studies, especially in the l~th century; the Order of Preachers and the renewal of the evangelical spirit in it and in the Order of St. Francis; the augustinian tradition in the schools of theology; the development of scholasticism. Most chapters of the book are followed by what the author is pleased to call " Notes de Travail." .They are extremely valuable; the designation chosen by t.he author is most apt. Tliey are notes, rarely filling more than two or three pages, but they indicate enou~h ''. work " to keep even the most serious student busy for quite a while. Taking. advantage of the work that has been done by himself and others, Fr. Che~u sketches the literary genesis of the "article" that is the most striking feature of St. Thomas' works. The first task of the medieval scholar was...