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was no less a part os divine providen ce than the succession of
the pri estS and propheis of Judaea, he iund without sui prisethat Aristolle, Plato, Porphyry and others had apprehended, more or less clim ly, so me of the fundamental trullis os Christiantheology ; among them being the Trinity, the Incarnation theeκistence of an eis and the resurrection os the body. Moralphilosophy, as Bacon Conceived ii, wa S in eUery rOSpeci Concurrent with theology. De iisdem negotiatur quibus theologia, licet alio modo.' It is perhaps more surprising that he should have gathered these trullis not meret y froni Greeli and pre- Christian writers, but Dona the great Mahom med an teachers, Such as Albumagar, Avicenna, and Alga Zel. Some of themost remari able passages in the fit si part of his moralphilosophy are quotations Dona Avicenna. More than Oncelle resers to the passage in which Avicenna, Speal ing of futureli se in the uiaseen worid, obserUeS : Our present relation to
is clogged by bodily impulses, and limited by the obtruding
The seconci pari os the Morat Philosophy, dea ling with thelaws of civit anu sociat lise, is summari ly disposed os in t ostiori Chapters. Possibiy a reason for this cursory treat mentmay be found in Bacon 's aversion to the introduction Os Roman law, whicli findes vehement eXPression in the twenty-fourth chapter of the opus Tertium, and again in the Com
λ Something additional on this subject was probably said in the missing si xth
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we are here brought sace to face with the fallure, and thecause of the fallure, os Bacon 's sociat and political ideat. HewaS aim ing at an enlarged and renovat ed Catholicism whichshould bind together and incorporate ali that was best and nobi est in Hebrew, Greel , and Arabic tradition in the fabricos the Christi an Church for the spiritual goveri ment Os theworid. The keystone os the fabriC was supplied by the miStrOSS-Science, theology, resting on Mosaic and Christianrevelation, Consolida ted by Aristotelian philosophy, and penetrat ed by the vitai and progressive spirit of natural Science. A progreSSiVe Papacy, Carrying on in continuousand harmoniolis devel opinent the work which Mosaic laru and Greeli intellect had begula suci, was Bacon 's Vision : and themarUello us upheavat of thought in Paris and elsewhere during the thirteenth century se e med to bring that Vision with in reachos sulfilment.
But while Paris was bullding up iis systems os philosophic theology, solith of the Alps, in the rival universi ly os Bologna, work of another kind was go ing on. The stud y of the civit laruos Rome, which had neve r wholly ceased in the cities os NorthItaly had been stimulated early in the twel fili century by the
The Church seli the clanger, and coped with it in the on ly
part of the Moralis Philosophia. Rut his language on the subject cloes notwarrant the heltes that the subject was fully dealt with. Cf. Op. Tert. cap. Xiv.
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MORAL PHILOSOPHU. lxxxiiiway that was possibie, by borro Ning wea pons Dona her lay
rival, and arran ging her own System os law in a sorm notleSS Comprehensive and systematio. Ιrnerius h ad hard lyfinished his lectu res when a sellow-citi Zen, the monti Gratian, in ii 3 published his great text-book os canon laxv knownas the Descretum, to whicli, in 1234, Gregory IX ad ded five books of Decretal S. Nominalty the siluation was saved, but at the cost os seculari ging the Church. For the Canon law was in reali tybased on the civit law. verything in the canon law was Roman which was not os directly Christian or Jewisti origin ' Aster the age of Gratian the studies even of ecclesiasticstook a predominantly legat turn. Speculati Ue theology wasabandoned in savour of the Canon and even os the civit law;while the estrangement of the canon law srom theologyhept pace with the increa sing closeness os iis union with
Paris on the ground that it threatened to eXtinguis i the studyos theology in the one great theological school of Europe. But prohibitions that were powerless to eXClude Aristollewere equalty impotent against the invasion of Ulpian and Justini An. Bacon's pages reflect Very Vivid ly the conflict os clerical with secular influences. More prat Se,' he says, is gained in the Church os God by a civit jurist. though he may knownothing but civit law and be utierly ignorant os canon lawand theology, than by any ma Ster in theology, and he is more qui chly promo ted to high ecclesiastical positions.' Oh that the canon law might be purged Dorn the superfluities of civillaw, and be Ordered by theology,' he eXclainas, ' then would the govertament of the Church be carried on honorarably and sui tably to iis high position ' Opus Tertium, Ch. 24 .He recurs to the sanae subject in a later work. For the last sorty years the abuse of the civit law of Italy has been under-mining not mere ly the study of philosophy, but the Church os God, and ali the hin donas of Christendom.' They monopoli Ze,' he proceedS to say, every ossice of emolument, so that
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INTRODUCTION. students of theology and philosophy are deprived os themean os sollowig their studies. Aiad besides this, the stud y of civit laru is obliterat ing the distinction belween clerical and
lay pro sessions. The doctors of law of Bologna cali them solves Cleri S and mastes s though they have not the ton Stire, though they take to thenaseives wives, have families, and in every respect adopi the ways and practices of laymen . . . I fclergymen and laymen are to be subject to the fame law, at
When Bacon appealed to the Pope to arrest the diffusionos civit Jaw, he was like one who Should attempt to Sto p thetide or the Courses of the stars. He was figliti 1 g against thelaws of historical evolution. It was writ ten that the constitution os society should be Settied On a human and secular, noton a theological basis ; and the stud y os civit lain, radiating in the twel fili and thirteenth centuries from Bologian into every part of Christendom, was one of the most significant among many sigris that the function of the Catholic Chiarch, as theorganiger of political society, waS LOn C. idely different was the future of that Chiarch in ali that relate i to personat morali ty. Vel here too there was much to bedes ired. In the third sectiora of the work this subject is discussed with great fuit ness. On virtve and Vice,' says Bacon, the ancient philosophers have spolien So wonderit ly that a Chris
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Aristolle, Plato, Cicero, and ab ove ait, stom Seneca adding the sewest words os his own that were nee led to mouid them
He begins by adopting Aristotie's generat scheme os themorat virtuos as means bet Neen Oppo Sing Vices. From theselle passes to the consideration os Spectat vices in the orderos the seven mortal sins of Catholic theology. Si X of thesedeat with man 's conduci under ProSPOrOUS circum StAn COS; the seventii, anger, with his conduci in adversi ty. Dea lingbriefly with the first class, Bacon devotes muCh more attention to the subject of anger. His reason sir cloing so lay in the disturbing influen Ces of this passion ora the whole os man siis e public and private. and also that, in seel ing remedios fortis ra Uages, we a re led up to the state os in ard peace and resignation under ou tward tria lS whicli formes the highest planeto whicli the foui Can ASP ire. Nearly the whole of Seneca's three dialogues On Anger arequo ted, but with complete rearran gement, in pursu an Ce of thea im in vi ew. Beginning with a picture of this passion and iis disastrous effecis on the highest qualities of the foui, Such asclemen cy, Pity, and jOb , he en largeS on eXamples of self restra int, and the nce proceods to consider remediat action ;patient inquiry, time allowed sor the mood to pass by, and Constant remembrance of human fellowship with the
This leads him to the wider subject os sortitude undercalami ty, of sorgi Veness of injury and insuit, os recognition of the truth that whom God loves He Chastens. He concludes
of li se and the state os in Nard bliss and spiritual peace. Itappears that though Other paris of Seneca were well known, especialty the series os letters to Lucilius, these dialogues h ad escaped notice tili Bacon Called attention to them. The apocryphal Corresponde iace bet ween Seneca and St. Paulfhows that an amni ty bet ween Seneca and Christian teachingli ad been widely recogniZed in the Church. Nowhere is this amnity so strongly mari ed as in the dialogues De Providesntia.
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lXXxvi INTRODUCTION De Vita Beata, and De Tranquillitate Animi, frona whicli Baconlaas quoted So largely. The Murth section os the Morat Philosophy contains thesii si attempt ever made at the comparative stud y of the religions of the wori l. These Bacon ranges in Six classes
Pagans, IdolaterS, TartarS, SaracenS, Jews, Christians. What specialty called attention to this subject in Bacon's time were the evenis proceed ing in Central Asia, and al ready serioustyaffecting European politi CS. Mongol hordes had swept over Russia and Sohath Eastern Europe, and were threatening the
western kingdonis. Franci Scan and Dominican missionaries
investigate the clanger at iis solii ce. The reporis brought bach by theSe mission aries, especialty those of Carpini and Rubriiquis, tirought the religio has problem besore the view of the leaders of the Church in ali iis magnitude. It was seenthat beyond the Christian worid, beyond the Mahom med an world which bo unded it, there lay regions of hinsuspected magnitude in the eXtremo EaSi, where Other creedS prevallecl. One of these was Buddhism, recently imported into Central Asia frona Tibet, with iis elaborate monastic system, iis imago-worship, and iis complicated liturgy. This creed was alwayssi oken os by Rubruquis and Carpini, as by Marco Polo in the succoecling generation, as Idolatry. Christiani ty of the Nestorian type was widely disSeminated though not, it would seem, in iis most hight y militant forna. Side by si de with
chiela held a dou bisul and almost neutral altitude. I f thesecould be brought with in the pale of the Catholio Church
Mahommodanistia, crushed belween the forces of the westand the eXtreme East, would cease to be a clanger. Theissue remat ned undecided in Bacon 's time. But we cani magine inith what interest he wOuid Conser, as he telis usthat he did, with Rubriiquis on his return to Paris, and listen to his story of the Parii ament of Religions, Saracen, Christian, and Buddhist, held at Kara Korum at the Sug-
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to other religions, use is made of this Singular eXPeriment.
The majori ty of those who took part in it accepted the unityos God. The Pagans were seru in number. The Buddhisis spolien os as Idolaters) raised the question of the origin os evil as an objection to a single ruter of the Universe ; butthey allowed the question to be evaded. The Tartars, thoughsomewhat indifferent on religious matters, were disposed tosicle with the Mahommedans and Christians in maintaining the unity of God. On the whole, the Conclusion to whichthis consere iace tended was a fair Sample, in Bacon's judgement of the preponderating Volce of manliind. Appeat is then made to Aristotelian reasoning as to thene cessi ty of a FirSt Cause. The attributes of wisdom and goodness are Ahown to sollo Dom omnipotence. Man's duty
by revelation. And whicli revelation is triae Θ There can bebut one: for is there were more the human raCe could notbe uni ted. The unity of the Church follows Dona the uni tyos God. Is there were more Gods than One, more worid Sthan orae, and more mani inds than one, then there might bem ore revelations than One, but not other ise.' Whi Cli, then, is the triae revelation Θ On a comparison of the si x religions
besore us, three, the Pagata, the BiacldhiSt, and the Tartar, areat orace ruted out . Os the three that remalia, the Jewish, the Saracen, and the ChriStian, philosophic reaSoning, eXternaland miraculous eVide iace, and ethical puri ty combine in giving preserence to the last. The book, as we haUe it, Clofes
ment of the Altar, as the means whereby Christ always rem alias present with His Church. of the missing books we are not lest in entire ignorance. e know Dona the Murteenth chapter of the opus Tertiniuthat the pui pose of the fifth book was, to insist upon Suchmodes of setting fortii morat truth as were lihely to impress. not mere ly the intellect, but the emotions and character os
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lXXX viii INTRODUCTIONthe heare r. The ari os preaChing, BaCOn thoughi, was One demanding the most serious and systematic study. Rhetoricwas no mere fiet d kr the gratification Os vani ty by ornamentaldis play. It was a part of logic, and the most important pari, since hy iis means truth was So ConUeyed to the listener that
he is sei ged unawares and lis ted above himself and filled withthoughis beyond his power to control, so that is evit he is absorbed by the love of good, is impersect he receives the spirit os persection, not through violence, but through thestrong and gentie power of speeCh. ' Rhetoric thus conceived implied the stud y of music in iis wid est sense, the Study os rhythm and metre, the management of Volce and of gesture
The si Nili and final section of Bacon 's morat philosophytreat ed, he says, of la Suits and of justice. He impli es, however, that he dealt with this subject cursori ly. II. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OPUS D US. The question presenis itself, How far can the opus Mai S, with iis two appendices, the opus Minus and the opus Tertium, be accepted as the final e X position os Bacon 's philosophyand poli tyΘ It is Spol en os by the author througho ut AS RserSuaSio praeambula. It is a hortatory disCourse ad dressedio a busy states man sor Clement IV, like most Other popeSof the thirteenth century, may be so called), urging him toinitiate a reform of Christi an education, with the direct objectos es tablishing the ascenden cy of the Catholic Church over
depari ments of wisdom ; non e can atta in iis proper resultSOParat Cly, Sin Ce ali are Paris of one and the fame complete
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are subordinated to the service of the Catholic Chur ii as theguardian of the highest interesis os man. All these topiosa re handi ed so sar and in such a way aS to convince the POPO, or Others in authority of the width of the held to be culti-Valed, and of the importance of the object in View. Bacon's procedure is like that os a traveller in a new wOrici, who bringsbach specimens os iis produce, with the View os persuading the authorities of his Country to undertake a more syStomaticeXploration. To that sui ther and more complete inquiry heproposed to devote the remainder of his lise. Ide spealis ofit in severat passages of the present work under the litteos Scriptum Principales. But, as we have reason to belleUO, of the twenty-five years of life that rema ined, more than halfwere steriliZed by his imprison ment. When released . thoughhe perseveredi like Galileo, indomitably to the enci, he wastoo old to think with his former Vigour, and was Capable Onlyos such inferior work as the Compendium Theologiae, or the Commentary on the SecreInm Secrerorum. There rema in the years belween 1 268 and 1278. They produced the Com-
ralium, the Commvnia Mathematicae, and Other fragments of the Scriptum Principale. But, mal ing large alio ance forwhat may have been lost through neglect or through malignant hostili ty, or sor what may yet rema in to be diSCOUered, the balance os probabilities indicates clearly enough that the Scriptum Principale was never brought to completiora. The Opus Majus remains the one work in whicli the centralthought os Bacon is dominant frona first to last; the unityos Science, and iis subordination to the highesi ethical pur-Pose ConceiVable by man. Another characteristic os Pacon 's philosophy, to whicli it
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seems to me that sufficient attention has not 3 et been Called, is the sense of historical continui ty by whicli it is pervaded. Not incleed that Bacon sto od alone in this respect. Comie, in a remari able passage of his appreciation of the mediaevalChurch, called attentiora, perhaps sor the fi rest time, to theawakening of the histori C sense whicli the very Constitution
root os Roman law, Greela thought, and Hebre theocracys Philosophie Fositive, Vol. V. p. 247, ed. Lit tre). AS an e Xam Pictos this influence, he proceed S to quo te the e Xample Os BOSSuet, one of the fit si os European thin kers to forna, in howeVerim Persect a way, a broad and definite conception os the uni tyos history. But the ex ample of Roger Bacon, writing in ur
intellectual develo parent os mant in d isto in the beginning of the world was not multiple but one, not di Screte but continuou S. PIe tal es patiis to synchroni e the demi-go is, the heroes anilthe thini ers of Greece with the kings and propheis of Judaea In his conception, philosophy, Science, and religiolis truth hada common Origin with the patriarchs: though separa ted in later CenturieS, they pursu ed a parallel Coui se in Judaea an din Greece. The growth os science, no less than the gro thos religion, was a process of continuous eUolution, talii nil placeunder divine gui clance. It may be said that traces of sucha doctrine as this may be Mund here and there in the earlysathei s. and especialty in the writ ings of St. Augustine. Buta comparison of the ninth and tentii books os De Cisitare Dei with the se conii and seUenth sections of the opus Majus, will
reveat a profound differe iace in the mode of trent ment, OUen more than in the conclusions reached. What the earlier writer looks at as concession 8 wrung Dom an Opponent, thelater halis as the testimo ny os a friend. Augustine diuelis onthe potnis that separate the Christi an frona Porphyry and Seneca ; Bacon on the potnis os union. There a re students of history even yet furvi ving to whom