Roscellinus
Roscelin of Compiègne (c. 1050 – c. 1121), better known by his
Biography
Roscellinus was born in
Roscellinus's exposition of
In 1092/1093, however, a
Roscellinus left for England, but having made himself unpopular by an attack on the doctrines of Anselm, he left the country and repaired to Rome, where he was well received and became reconciled to the Catholic Church. He then returned to France, taught at Tours and Loc-menach (where he had Abelard as a pupil), and finally became canon of Besançon. He is heard of as late as 1121, when he came forward to oppose Abelard's views on the Trinity. He was also sent a letter by Theobald of Étampes in response to his criticisms of the sons of priests.
Of his writings there exists only a letter addressed to Abelard on the Trinity, in which Roscellinus "belittles Abélard and makes merry over his castration."[2] Hauréau brings forward his name in connection with a text, "Sententia de universalibus secundum magistrum R.",[3] but this is a conjecture. His doctrines are attested by Anselm, Abelard, John of Salisbury, and an anonymous epigram.
Nominalism
According to
The "sententia vocum" was one of the
- only the individual exists (is res);[7]
- universals are merely words (voces).[8]
In Roscellinus's theory, the universal is merely an emission of sound (flatus vocis), in conformity with Boethius' definition.
Roscellinus was also taken to task by Anselm and Abelard for the less clear idea which he gave of the whole and of composite substance. According to Anselm, he maintained that colour does not exist independently of the horse which serves as its support and that the wisdom of the soul is not outside of the soul which is wise.[11] Anselm argues that Roscellinus denies to the whole, such as house, man, real existence of its parts, treating the word alone as having parts.[12]
Roscellinus was not without his supporters; among them was his contemporary
Tritheism of Roscelin
Roscelin considered the three Divine Persons as three independent beings, like three angels; if usage permitted, he added, it might truly be said that there are three Gods. Otherwise, he continued, God the Father and God the Holy Ghost would have become incarnate with God the Son. To retain the appearance of dogma he admitted that the three Divine Persons had but one will and power [Audio ... quod Roscelinus clericus dicit in tres personas esse tres res ab invicem separatas, sicut sunt tres angeli, ita tamen ut una sit voluntas et potestas aut Patrem et Spiritum sanctum esse incarnatum; et tres deos vere posse dici si usus admitteret (letter of Anselm to Foulques)].
This characteristic tritheism, which Anselm and Abelard agreed in refuting even after its author's conversion, seems an indisputable application of Roscelin's anti-Realism. He even argues that if the three Divine Persons form but one God, all three have become incarnate. There are therefore three Divine substances, three Gods, as there are three angels, because each substance constitutes an individual, which is the fundamental assertion of anti-Realism. The ideas of the theologian are closely linked with those of the philosopher.
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ Cunningham (1836), p. 312, n. 6.
- ^ Russell, Bertrand. The History of Western Philosophy. Simon & Schuster, 1945, p. 436.
- ^ ("Notices et extr. de quelques manuscr. lat.", V, Paris, 1892, 224)
- Monum. German. Histor.: Script., XX, 376)
- ^ (cf. Bouquet, "Recueil des hist. des Gaules et de la France", XII, Paris, 1781, 3, b, c)
- ^ (mox de generibus et speciebus illud quidem sive subsistent sive in nudis intellectibus posita sint)
- ^ "nam cum habeat eorum sententia nihil esse praeter individuum ..." (De gener. et spec., 524).
- ^ "Fuit autem, nemini magistri nostri Roscellini tam insana sententia ut nullam rem partibus constare vellet, sed sicut solis vocibus species, ita et partes ascridebat" (Abelard, Liber divisionum, ed. Cousin, 471); "[...] Illi utique dialectici, qui non nisi flatum vocis putant universalis esse substantias, et qui colorem non aliud queunt intellegere quam corpus, nec sapientiam hominis aliud quam animam, prorsus a spiritualium quaestionum disputatione sunt exsufflandi." (Anselm, De Incarnatione Verbi, p. 285. Opera Omnia, vol. 1. Ed. F.S. Schmitt, 1938); "Alius ergo consistit in vocibus, licet haec opinio cum Roscelino suo fere omnino evanuerit (John of Salisbury, Metalog., II, 17).
- ^ "Nihil enim aliud est prolatio (vocis) quam aeris plectro linguae percussio"
- ^ Richard J. Utz, "Medievalism as Modernism: Alfred Andersch's Nominalist Littérature engageé," Studies in Medievalism 6 (1993), 76–90.
- ^ (De fide trinit., 2)
- ^ "ita divinam paginam pervertit, ut eo loco quo Dominus partem piscis assi comedisse partem hujus vocis, quae est piscis assi, non partem rei intelligere cogatur" (Cousin, P. Abaelardi opera, II. 151).
- ^ "eos de sapientium numero merito esse exsufflandos"
- ^ "a spiritualium quaestionum disputatione sunt exsufflandi" (P.L., 256a)
- ^ (manuque ori admota exsufflans "Mon. Germ. Hist.", XIV, 275)
Bibliography
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: De Wulf, Maurice (1912). "Roscelin". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roscellinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 725. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Cunningham, Francis (1836), Text-book of Ecclesiastical History by J.C.I. Gieseler, 3rd ed., Vol. II, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard [A translation of the original German version]. (in English) & (in Latin)