Schoolmen or Scholastics

The term Schoolmen was originally given to teachers of rhetoric in the public schools under the Roman Empire; but it is now almost exclusively used to designate certain theologians of the Middle Ages, who lectured in the cloisters or cathedral schools founded by Charlemagne and his immediate successors. The most distinguished Schoolmen in France were Italians, who taught theology and philosophy in Paris, and powerfully influenced the intellect of the age. Roscelin, Abelard, St. Bernard, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure were of the number. The Schoolmen of England stood very high; among them were Alexander of Hales, and Johannes Duns Scotus. But the three chiefs of Scholasticism, in its highest development, were Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus, around each of whom stands a group of more or less independent scholars and followers. The celebrity of such teachers was largely increased by the lack of books, which compelled their pupils to rely upon their oral communications. With Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, Scholasticism culminated. They were the chiefs in the metaphysical quarrels between the Dominicans and the Franciscans, two great Orders in the Roman Catholic Church. The former were called Thomists (from Thomas Aquinas), and the latter Scotists (from Duns Scotus). This long contest materially injured Scholasticism, while the Reformation shook it to its foundation, Luther himself leading the assault like a Coeur de Lion. There remained, however, the semblance of life in the Universities until the 17th century. Lord Bacon and Descartes may be said to have dealt the death blow to Scholasticism, which, during the eight centuries of its existence, had increased Popish darkness and almost driven Christian divinity out of the world. Yet to Scholasticism we are indebted for the literature that survived the Middle Ages, when utter ignorance would have prevailed had it not been for the schools in the Monasteries. Most of the Schoolmen were monks. The literature of Scholasticism is enormous, and few have ventured into its cob-webbed regions.

The most notable difference between the mediaeval schoolmen and the modern men of science is this: The work of the Scholastics was deductive, the work of the scientists, on the contrary, is inductive. The mediaeval thinkers began with conclusions and deduced impressions. The moderns begin with phenomena and proceed to conclusions. The mediaeval watchword was, Authority for truth; the modern is, Truth for authority. This exact contradiction in the habit of thought furnishes sufficient reason for the fact that we cannot read the old Scholastics with either pleasure or profit.