Patristics and Scholasticism

What New Genres Did This Discourse Create?

Scholasticism birthed its own genres of exposition. The Summa emerged as a genre of medieval philosophy, signifying an educational tool, a concise presentation of a curriculum, and methodological guidance on all course-related questions. Initially, Summae were primarily utilized within the walls of the university. However, Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica gained far broader reach: it enabled everyone to master theology and challenge opponents. This marked the first triumph of a substantial theological work beyond established institutions, and such powerful triumphs in theology were not to be seen again, as university theology became increasingly specialized. It can be likened to the triumph of the Enlightenment's Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts in the 18th century and the contemporary success of online education. Notably, the word "encyclopedia" is of Greek origin, literally meaning "education in a circle," and in the Middle Ages, it was simply used as a synonym for "education." It likely signified not an abstract circle of disciplines to be studied, but the relative accessibility of this education, in contrast to specialized legal, philosophical, or rhetorical studies: anyone could enter this circle and learn the fundamentals of the sciences.

The medieval commentary is not merely an explanatory aside but a method of engaging with a text, inheriting ancient tools of observation as sources of truth. To comment meant to memorize and learn to apply, rather than simply to clarify something obscure. In the "second scholasticism," linked to the Counter-Reformation and the activities of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), to comment on Aristotle meant also to become a new Aristotle; for instance, the Portuguese thinker Pedro da Fonseca (1528—1599) was referred to as the "Portuguese Aristotle" for his publication of Aristotle’s works with extensive commentary. In modernist and postmodernist literature, there are novels that take the form of commentaries or reflective elucidations, such as Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire (1962), Pierre Corneille’s Paths to Paradise (1987), or Umberto Eco’s The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004).

Aurelius Augustine (354—430) stands as the most significant representative of Western patristics. On one of the frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, created around 1465 and dedicated to Augustine's life, it is noted that he taught rhetoric at the "University of Carthage." Of course, in Augustine's time, the very word "university" did not exist; there were only rhetorical schools. Yet the painter's error is not accidental: Augustine was dissatisfied with the state of the schools that taught merely to admire the surface of words and life, without penetrating into their depths. Throughout his life, he wrote extensively, engaging in debates with himself, striving to create a solid education for himself. In modern times, the biographical events of Augustine's life have been viewed not as metaphors for a grand journey from error to truth, but as markers of a career, each stage of which influenced the development of the corresponding science. It seems as though Augustine, transitioning from rhetoric to philosophy and from philosophy to theology, was not pursuing salvation but rather enhancing the societal significance of these very disciplines. For Augustine, however, salvation remained of utmost importance.

Augustine established a unique understanding of history, portraying it as a struggle between selfishness, expressed in paganism—the "earthly city"—and altruism, realized as Christianity—the "heavenly city." Within both cities, the ways in which things exist change over time, but not only do the meanings evolve; the things themselves remain in place. We are accustomed to stating that people in history typically do not change, but Augustine thought much deeper, asserting that it is not only the people who do not change but also the things themselves, which only improve. For example, in the Old Testament, there was a temple, whereas in the New Testament, the entire world became the temple; there was one altar then, but now the altar is the entire Church; there was only the people of Israel, and now the entire Christian world embodies this. The same applies to the earthly city: there were quarrels, which then escalated into wars—those very quarrels; there was jealousy, which then evolved into political hatred. In this way, Augustine expands upon the previous method traced back to the early Christian writer Origen, the method of "typology," in which events preceding Christianity were understood as "types," "prefigurations" of Christian ideas, thus rendering the latter more real than reality itself. For Augustine, however, typology was not the focus; rather, it was the situation in which we all find ourselves now.

It follows that things are captive to their meanings, thus necessitating their transition into another state to draw attention, even as their meanings remain unchanged. Knowledge, therefore, reveals itself not as the discovery of new aspects of things or new things, but as a manner of relating to the truth while considering already familiar objects. In European painting, Augustine is often depicted with astronomical instruments, symbolizing his ability to calculate the heights of various objects and thereby understand their true positions. While the stars in the sky are already well-known, it is essential to accurately calculate what hour they indicate.

An unexpected heir to Augustine in the 20th century was the renowned architect Le Corbusier, who believed that sunlight and artificial light should be regulated not by the parameters of the room but by the role of that room within the infrastructure; for instance, whether the room leads to other rooms or serves as a place of habitation or a venue for administrative decisions. Bright sunlight is meaningless if the space does not foster attention. Thus, Augustine similarly required us to observe what aspect of things, existing in history from the very beginning, has reached us in our time, and whether we are sufficiently attentive in reading the Scriptures and historical texts to be illuminated by the light of truth.

Le Corbusier was the architect of the monastery of La Tourette and founded his work on the spirituality of the Augustinian type, adhering to the rule of listening to readings in silence, with a degree of pleasure and internal contemplation. Consequently, this 20th-century architect designed very narrow and opaque corridors that shielded against external views, ensuring that no one would engage in conversation during chance encounters, thus preparing to absorb sunlight in the spacious dining hall. Once the monks found themselves in the courtyard, they could then observe celestial phenomena and draw theoretical conclusions.

Августинизм нашел свое продолжение в протестантизме. Все знают о “90 тезисах” Мартина Лютера, но мало кто помнит, что доктор Лютер не просто принадлежал к монашескому ордену августинцев, но был в монашестве братом Августином. Пафос “предопределения”, непостижимой воли Божией и, значит, спасения только верой лег в основу всего протестантского богословия. Выдающимися представителями реформаторского движения стали Мартин Лютер (1483—1546), Филипп Меланхтон (1497—1560, свою немецкую фамилию Шварцерде он перевел на греческий), Ульрих Цвингли (1484—1531), Жан Кальвин (1509—1564), Томас Мюнцер (1490—1525). Главное в Реформации как философском движении было утверждение о непознаваемости Божьей воли при познаваемости Бога, что заставило иначе смотреть на историю, как на уже начавшийся страшный суд, что мы встретим потом в классическом немецком идеализме, у Гегеля и Шеллинга. Предшественником Реформации иногда называют рейнского мистика Мастера Экхардта (ок. 1260 — ок. 1328), учившего, что раз Бог идеально подвижен, за Богом стоит “Божество”, как настоящая субстанция Бога. Здесь он вдохновлялся уже приводившимися нами словами Псевдо‑Дионисия Ареопагита, который уже перестает говорить о Боге, а говорит о Причине. И если Бог постижим человеком благодаря его движению в добродетели, эта неподвижная субстанция непостижима, но именно она определяет непостижимую волю Бога в отношении человека.

Иероним Стридонский (342—420) перевел все библейские книги на латинский язык. До него тоже существовали переводы, но они не пользовались настоящим авторитетом: иногда в них были неточности, иногда речь была слишком разговорная или, наоборот, с расхожими риторическими приемами. Иероним сначала хотел привести все тексты Библии к высокому литературному стандарту, но понял, что тогда преданных читателей его перевод не найдет, оставшись стилизацией. Как он сам рассказывал, во сне он увидел бичевавших его ангелов за то, что он “цицеронианин, а не христианин”. Тогда он решил переводить на хороший деловой язык своего времени, чтобы чтение Библии стало общим опытом всего Запада.

Точно так же через много веков Данте Алигьери сначала хотел писать поэму о загробном мире на латыни и начал Ultima regna cano, fluido contermina mundi — “Я пою самые дальние области, за пределами мирового океана”. Но он вскоре понял, что поэму на латыни прочтут только образованные люди и воспримут ее как еще одно литературное произведение, а он хотел, чтобы рассказ о посмертных судьбах изменил сознание современников. Поэтому “Комедия” была создана на итальянском языке.

На картине ренессансного живописца Антонелло да Мессины (1475) будка Иеронима не случайно похожа на уединенный кабинет, а может быть, на исповедальню. Так открывается перспектива дальнейшего развития литературы: как средства уединенного размышления и как исповеди души.

В письмах Иероним жаловался, что библейские книги написаны не столь изящно, сколь произведения античной литературы. Конечно, способ выражения еврейской словесности, без каких‑либо украшений, без пластики речи, был непривычен для образованного римлянина. Но Иерониму было труднее признать, что истина находится в самом тексте, неприглядном и неискусно написанном, а не добывается с помощью каких‑то инструментов. Античная истина требовала инструментов: наблюдения за звездным небом, внимательного слушания прочитанного, воображения или математического расчета. Поэтому Платон не позволял учиться у него тем, кто не знает геометрии: они еще не овладели всем инструментарием для восприятия сложных текстов.