On the Liberal Arts. A Compendium of Texts.

ON THE LIBERAL ARTSA COMPENDIUM OF TEXTS (c) 2013 Bart A. Mazzetti § 1 1. The liberal arts and their division according to St. Thomas Aquinas. Cf. Super Boethium De Trinitate by Thomas Aquinas . Questions 1-4, translated by Rose E. Brennan, S.H.N. (Herder, 1946) Questions 5-6, translated by Armand Maurer (Toronto, 1953), q. 5, art. 1, obj. 3, ad 3: 3. Again, philosophy is commonly divided into seven liberal arts, which include neither natural nor divine science, but only rational and mathematical science. Hence natural and divine should not be called parts of speculative science. <…> Reply to 3. The seven liberal arts do not adequately divide theoretical philosophy; but, as Hugh of St. Victor says, seven arts are grouped together (leaving out certain other ones), because those who wanted to learn philosophy were first instructed in them. And the reason why they are divided into the trivium and quadrivium is that “they are as it were paths ( viae) introducing the quick mind to the secrets of philosophy.” This is also in harmony with the Philosopher’s statement in the Metaphysics that we must investigate the method of scientific thinking before the sciences themselves. And the Commentator says in the same place that before all the other sciences a person should learn logic, which teaches the method of all the sciences; and the trivium concerns logic. The Philosopher also says in the Ethics that the young can know mathematics but not physics, because it requires experience. So we are given to understand that after logic we should learn mathematics, which the quadrivium concerns. These, then, are like paths leading the mind to the other philosophical disciplines. We may add that among the other sciences these are called arts because they involve not only knowledge but also a work that is directly a product of reason itself; for example, producing a composition, syllogism or discourse, numbering, measuring, composing melodies (formare melodias),1 and reckoning the course of the stars. Other sciences (such as divine and natural science) either do not involve a work produced but only knowledge, and so we cannot call them arts, because, as the Metaphysics says, art is “productive reason”; or they involve some bodily activity, as in the case of medicine, alchemy, and other sciences of this kind. These latter, then, cannot be called liberal arts because such activity belongs to man on the side of his nature in which he is not free, namely, on the side of his body. And although moral science is directed to action, still that action is not the act of the science but rather of virtue, as is clear in the Ethics. So we cannot call moral science an art; but rather in these actions virtue takes the place of art. Thus, as Augustine says, the ancients defined virtue as the art of noble and well-ordered living. Cf. idem (tr. B.A.M.): PS3 QU5 AR1 AG3 praeterea, communiter dividitur philosophia in septem artes liberales, inter quas neque naturalis neque divina continetur, sed sola rationalis et mathematica. Furthermore, philosophy is commonly divided into seven liberal arts, among which neither natural philosophy nor divine science is contained, but only rational and mathematical science. 1 On the correct interpretation of this expression, see further below. 2 ergo naturalis et divina non debuerunt poni partes speculativae. PS3 QU5 AR1 RA3 ad tertium dicendum quod septem liberales artes non sufficienter dividunt philosophiam theorycam, sed ideo, ut dicit hugo de sancto victore in iii sui didascalicon, praetermissis quibusdam aliis septem connumerantur, quia his primum erudiebantur, qui philosophiam discere volebant, et ideo distinguuntur in trivium et quadrivium, eo quod his quasi quibusdam viis vivax animus ad secreta philosophiae introeat. Therefore, natural philosophy and divine science ought not to be put down as parts of speculative science. To the third it must be said that the seven liberal arts do not adequately divide theoretical philosophy, but then, as Hugh of St. Victor says in the third book of his Didascalicon, setting aside certain other arts, seven are numbered together because those who wanted to learn philosophy were first instructed in them, and so they are distinguished into a trivium [“three roads” or ways] and a quadrivium [“four roads” or ways] because they are, as it were, certain “roads” by means of which the lively soul might enter into the secrets of philosophy. And this agrees with the words of the Philosopher, who states in the second book of the Metaphysics that the method of a science ought to be sought before the sciences; and the Commentator says the same thing, that logic, which teaches the method of all the sciences, ought to be learned before all the other sciences, to which the trivium pertains. He also says in the sixth book of the Ethics that mathematics can be learned by boys, but not physics, which requires experience. And in this way one is given to understand that mathematics ought to be learned after logic, to which the quadrivium pertains. And so by these, as it were, “certain roads”, the soul is prepared for the other philosophical disciplines. Then again, among the rest of the sciences these are called arts because they involve not only knowledge, but some work that belongs immediately to reason itself, as to form a construction,2 a syllogism, or a speech; 2 et hoc etiam consonat verbis philosophi qui dicit in ii metaphysicae quod modus scientiae debet quaeri ante scientias; et commentator ibidem dicit quod logicam, quae docet modum omnium scientiarum, debet quis addiscere ante omnes alias scientias, ad quam pertinet trivium. dicit etiam in vi ethicorum quod mathematica potest sciri a pueris, non autem physica, quae experimentum requirit. et sic datur intelligi quod post logicam consequenter debet mathematica addisci, ad quam pertinet quadrivium; et ita his quasi quibusdam viis praeparatur animus ad alias philosophicas disciplinas. vel ideo hae inter ceteras scientias artes dicuntur, quia non solum habent cognitionem, sed opus aliquod, quod est immediate ipsius rationis, ut constructionem, syllogismum, 2 vel orationem formare, 2 Correcting Busa’s syllogismi and adding punctuation in order to give a reading supplying a work to each of the arts of the trivium. That is, to put together a sentence, inasmuch as the right construction of the sentence is the goal of the art of grammar. 3 numerare, mensurare, melodias formare et cursus siderum computare. aliae vero scientiae vel non habent opus, sed cognitionem tantum, sicut scientia divina et naturalis; unde nomen artis habere non possunt, cum ars dicatur ratio factiva, ut dicitur in vi metaphysicae. vel habent opus corporale, sicut medicina, alchimia et aliae huiusmodi. unde non possunt dici artes liberales, quia sunt hominis huiusmodi actus ex parte illa, qua non est liber, scilicet ex parte corporis. scientia vero moralis, quamvis sit propter operationem, tamen illa operatio non est actus scientiae, sed magis virtutis, ut patet in libro ethicorum. unde non potest dici ars, sed magis in illis operationibus se habet virtus loco artis. et ideo veteres diffinierunt virtutem esse artem bene recteque vivendi, ut augustinus dicit in iv de civitate dei. to number, to measure, to form melodies, and to reckon the course of the stars. But the other sciences do not involve a work, but knowledge alone, as in divine science and natural philosophy. For this reason they cannot have the name of art, since art is called “productive reason”, as is said in the sixth book of the Metaphysics. Or they involve a bodily work, as medicine, alchemy and others of the sort. And so they cannot be called liberal arts because they belong to man on the side of that by which he is not free, namely, on the part of his body. And moral science, although it exists for the sake of activity, still, that activity is not the act of the science but rather of virtue, as is clear in the Ethics. So one cannot call moral science an art, but rather in these activities virtue takes the place of art. And this is why the ancients defined virtue as the art of living well and rightly, as Augustine says in Book IV of the City of God. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theol., Ia-IIae, q. 57, art. 3, ad 3 (tr. English Dominican Fathers): QU57 AR3 RA3 ad tertium dicendum quod etiam in ipsis speculabilibus est aliquid per modum cuiusdam operis, puta opus constructionis aut syllogismi aut orationis congruae aut opus numerandi vel mensurandi.2 2 To the third it must be said that even in speculative matters there is something by way of a certain work, for instance, a work of a construction, or of a syllogism, or of a fitting speech, or a work of numbering or measuring. I have corrected Busa’s text here, which reads, constructio syllogismi aut orationis congruae, etc. A ‘construction’ is the work produced by the art of grammar, a syllogism, the work of logic, and a fitting speech, the work of rhetoric. et ideo quicumque ad huiusmodi opera rationis habitus speculativi ordinantur, dicuntur per quandam similitudinem artes, sed liberales; And so whatever speculative habits are ordered to works of reason of this sort, they are called arts by a certain likeness, but liberal ones. 4 ad differentiam illarum artium quae ordinantur ad opera per corpus exercita, quae sunt quodammodo serviles, inquantum corpus serviliter subditur animae, et homo secundum animam est liber. illae vero scientiae quae ad nullum huiusmodi opus ordinantur, simpliciter scientiae dicuntur, non autem artes. nec oportet, si liberales artes sunt nobiliores, quod magis eis conveniat ratio artis. This is to distinguish them from the arts that are ordered to works performed by the body, which are somewhat servile because the body is subject to the soul in a servile manner, but man in regard to his soul is free. But sciences that are not ordered to a work of this sort are called sciences simply, and not arts. Nor is it necessary, if the liberal arts are nobler, that the definition of art belong more to them. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theol., IIa-IIae, q. 47, art. 2, ad 3 (tr. B.A.M.): QU47 AR2 RA3 ad tertium dicendum quod omnis applicatio rationis rectae ad aliquid factibile pertinet ad artem. sed ad prudentiam non pertinet nisi applicatio rationis rectae ad ea de quibus est consilium. et huiusmodi sunt in quibus non sunt viae determinatae perveniendi ad finem; ut dicitur in iii ethic.. quia igitur ratio speculativa quaedam facit, puta syllogismum, propositionem et alia huiusmodi, in quibus proceditur secundum certas et determinatas vias; inde est quod respectu horum potest salvari ratio artis, non autem ratio prudentiae. et ideo invenitur aliqua ars speculativa, non autem aliqua prudentia. To the third it must be said that every application of right reason to something makeable pertains to art. But nothing pertains to prudence except an application of right reason to those things about which there is counsel. And of this sort are the things in which there are no determinate roads for arriving at the end, as is said in the third book of the Ethics. Therefore, because speculative reason makes something, for instance, a syllogism, a proposition, and other things of this sort, in which it proceeds according to certain and determinate roads, thence it is that with respect to these things it can preserve the character of art, but not the character of prudence. And so a speculative art is found, but not [a speculative] prudence. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In I Meta., lect. 3, n. 8 (tr. B.A.M.): LB1LC-3N.-8 et notandum, quod hoc potest dupliciter intel- But one must note that this can be understood in ligi. two ways. uno modo quod hoc quod dicitur haec sola In one way the expression only this may indidemonstret in genere omnem scientiam specula- cate every speculative science in genus. tivam. 5 ): lib. 1303.” i. And this is why only those arts are called liberal which are ordered to knowing: but those that are ordered to some benefit that is had by action are called “mechanic” or “servile”. 7 l. “And one’s task is” the same here.e. 2 n. from the victories of this and of that particular man. scilicet addiscenti. In matters of learning. n.e. which is a certain common good. unde et illae solae artes liberales dicuntur. Et similiter oportet in speculativis. quae ad sciendum ordinantur: illae vero quae ordinantur ad aliquam utilitatem per actionem habendam. dicuntur mechanicae sive serviles. then. so as to reach those things which “are” totally good. et per consequens unicuique bona. from things which are good for this person and for that person. For the military art attains the victory of the whole army. 34 Et ideo in disciplinis oportet procedere ex minus notis secundum naturam ad magis nota. 2.. in the arts and active potencies. i. idest ex his quae sunt bona isti et illi. pervenire oportet ad ea quae sunt naturae nota. And so too in speculative matters we must proceed from those things which are more knowable to oneself.” i. ex his quae sunt notiora ipsi. Militaris enim pervenit ad victoriam totius exercitus. namely. it is necessary to act in the same way here. in order to reach those which are knowable by nature. 1961).. B.M. lect.A. in which we go “from things which are good for each individual.et tunc verum est quod solum hoc genus scientiarum propter seipsum quaeritur. it is necessary to proceed from things which are less known by nature to those which are more known. idest universaliter bona. pervenit ad constitutionem totius domus. “as in practical matters. 1303 (slightly rev. and therefore good for each individual. idest necessarium est hoc facere sicut in actibus hoc est in actibus vel potentiis activis. which also finally become known to the one learning. quae est quoddam bonum commune ex singularibus victoriis huius et illius.e. Et similiter aedificativa ex compositione horum lapidum et illorum. § 6 . quae etiam fiunt ultimo ipsi addiscenti nota. translated by John P. fiunt ea quae totaliter sunt. Cf. And then it is true that only this genus of the sciences are sought on account of themselves. in quibus ex bonis uniuscuiusque. or universally good. And similarly the art of building by combining particular stones succeeds in constructing a whole house. Book VII. Commentary on the Metaphysics of Aristotle by Thomas Aquinas. et hoc opus est.. Rowan (Chicago. to the one learning. declarat usque ad quid et cuius gratia. he is moved by prejudging and ordering the manner and reason for acting. he declares more determinately what they are. 1-3. puta ab intellectu. because by them. In the character of a mover. when he says Now there are four. especially selected seven to be mastered by those who were to be educated. in their studies. (a) The liberal arts according to Hugh of St Victor: Cf. 3. Matters pertaining to the liberal arts according to three Medieval Schoolmen. Peter of Auvergne. And first he declares universally in what they are to be instructed. qui est suipsius causa et in ratione causae moventis et in ratione finis. In VIII Politic. Secundo cum dicit.): 1266. he even declares for what and for the sake of which [they are to be instructed]. pp. 7 . 1961). one might say. And with respect to the first. sicut dictum est prius. “Sunt etiam quaedam”. Et circa primum est intelligendum quod homo liber est.M.A. Thomas’ commentary on the Politics. Then when he says Which indeed He continues. Second. Cf. movetur praeiudicando et ordinando modum et rationem agendi. (b) On the meaning of liberalis. Pol. Being a continuation of St. Et primo declarat in universali in quibus erudiendi sunt. however. a quick mind enters into the secret places of wisdom.2 L. for instance. 86-87: Chapter Three: Which Arts Are Principally to Be read Out of all the sciences above named. chap. These seven they considered so to excel all the rest in usefulness that anyone who had been thoroughly schooled in them might afterward come to a know. quando ab illo per quod est homo et quod est principale in eo.[86-87] ledge of the others by his own inquiry and effort rather than by listening to a teacher. The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Translated from the Latin with an introduction and notes by Jerome Taylor (New York. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts . Secundo cum dicit “Sunt autem quator”. —Deinde cum dicit “quod quidem” Prosequitur. With respect to the first. 2 1266. since [they are to be instructed] in [both] useful and liberal things. one must understand that that man is free who exists for his own sake in both the character of a moving cause and in the character of an end. Circa primum primo ostendit quod in utilibus et liberalibus sunt erudiendi. B. In ratione quidem moventis. as by certain ways (viae). by which the way is prepared for the mind’s complete knowledge of philosophic truth. For these. 1 (tr. when he says. VIII. by the intellect. Cf. quoniam in utilibus et liberalibus. he first shows in what they are to be instructed in both useful and liberal things. when by that through which he is a man and which is principle in him. as has been stated earlier. Second. constitute the best instruments. 1. the ancients. Therefore they are called by the name of tri vium and quadrivium.2. magis determinate declarat quae sint illa. There are also certain things. Book III. quanto magis natus est moveri ab eo quod principalissimum est in eo et ad finem et bonum eius secundum illud idem. servilis. Homo autem servus dicitur qui non est natus moveri propter indispositionem materia ab intellectu proprio per quem determinatur. nec etiam operatur sui gratia. seeing that. are by nature masters of other men: but the strong in body but lacking in understanding are by nature slaves. sed ab intellectu et ratione alterius. but by the understanding and reason of another man. and to the extent that he is more free according to nature. et tanto magis liber est secundum naturam. 1 In the character of an end when he is moved to the good and the end with respect to the very thing which is principal in him according to understanding. 1267. But that man is called a slave who. 8 . Illa autem secundum quam disponitur in ordine ad bonum corporis per se et ad bona exteriora. [a science was called] servile. tanto magis servus est. quod vigentes intellectu. even if weak in body. Et quanto minus natus est moveri a se et magis ab alio et ad finem alterius. quia ordinatur ad bonum eius secundum hoc quod debet servire in homine. sed gratia illius alterius. the power of the body and of the matter exceeds. requiritur robur corporale. but for the sake of that other man. is not naturally apt to be moved by his own understanding through which he is determined. And this happens reasonably. quia moechari1 facit quodammodo intellectum circa ea quae non sunt propria sibi secundum quod huiusmodi. where the power of the intellect and of the form falls short. nor is he employed for his own sake. as in mechanics. sunt naturaliter servi. For an explanation of this usage. But for one to be moved by another and to act for the end of another. see my note. ut mechanice. to that extent he is naturally apt to be moved by that which is principal in him toward his end and good according to the same thing. —Et secundum hoc scientia libera vel liberalis dicta est ab antiquis secundum quam homo per se disponitur secundum intellectum ad finem proprium. deficientes intellectu. because in some way it makes the understanding adulterate1 about those things which are not proper to it insofar as they are of this sort. Et hoc rationabiliter accidit. And to the extent that he is less naturally apt to be moved by himself and more by another and for the end of another. quia ubi deficit virtus intellectus et formae. to that extent he is more a slave. excedit virtus corporis et materiae. since it is ordered to his good with respect to what ought to serve in man. But that insofar as he is disposed per se in an order to a good of the body and to an exterior good. And in this respect a science was called free or liberal by the ancients insofar as [by it] a man is disposed per se according to the understanding toward his proper end. bodily strength is required. Ad hoc autem quod movetur ab alio et agat ad finem alterius. etsi deficiant corpore sunt naturaliter aliorum domini: robusti autem corpore. by reason of an indisposition of matter. 1267. And for this reason Aristotle says in the first book that those strong in understanding.In ratione autem finis cum movetur ad bonum et finem ipsius secundum illud idem quod principale est in eo secundum intellectum. Et propter hoc dixit Aristoteles in primo huius. that in whose activity happiness consists: but that which in a mediate way disposes the understanding to itself. sicut illa quae ordinatur ad bona exteriora magis quam illa quae ordinatur ad bonum corporis. et quae per plura media ordinatur ad bonum hominis ultimum. Similiter inter servas illa magis serva est in qua magis deprimitur intellectus seu ratio circa ultiora et magis extranea ab homine secundum quod homo. And that is least liberal among the speculative sciences in which knowledge is least sought on its own account. contingit quandoque male uti.B. although it happens to be sought on its own account. vel ab his quae propinquiora sunt fini. quamvis contigat ipsum quarere propter seipsum. Just as about the last end of man it happens simply not to have itself badly. On Peter’s use of the verb moechari in connection with the mechanical art. less so. puta illa in cuius operatione consistit felicitas: illa autem quae mediate disponit intellectum ad ipsum. but the things which are for themselves sometimes happen to be used badly. sicut scientiae posteriores in quibus scire contingit ordinare ad scire in superiori. And among the free that is most free which immediately disposes the understanding to the best end. as happens by the consideration in any posterior science with respect to any less knowable things someone is withdrawn from a consideration in the first thing with respect to the most knowable. N. for instance. Et illa minime liberalis est inter speculativas. sicut contingit per considerationem in aliqua scientia posteriori respectu alicuius minus scibilis retrahitur aliquis a consideratione in prima respectu maxime scibilis. the following: 9 . cf. still. his autem quae sunt ad ipsum. although the most liberal do not happen to be badly used inasmuch as to their use per se itself. Quamvis autem liberali maxime non contingat uti male quantum ad usum per se ipsius. Likewise among slaves that man is more a slave in whom the understanding or reason is more burdened about things more remote from and more extraneous to man insofar as he is man. Sicut circa finem ultimum hominis simpliciter non contingit male se habere. and which is ordered through many intermediates to the last good of man. as the sciences which come after in which knowing happens to order knowing [something] to the superior ones.Et inter liberas illa libera est maxime quae immediate disponit intellectum ad finem optimum. Et hoc contingit quando per considerationem vel exercitium in eis retrahitur aliquis. minus. those coming after are also less liberal inasmuch as to their use it happens per se. vel a fine. Now. in qua minime quaeritur scire propter se. And this comes about when by consideration or exercise in them one is withdrawn either from the end or from the things that are closer to the end. posterioribus tamen etiam minus liberalibus quantum etiam ad usum earum per se contigit. just as that man which is ordered to an exterior good is more [a slave] than the one ordered to a good of the body. Cf.iii. One explanation suggested that the mechanical arts emphasize secrecy and hiding “like a man who pollutes the marriage bed of another. just as a skeleton key is called a “mechanical” key. adulterer. op. adulterate. Stephen Parcell. Four Historical Definitions of Architecture (Montreal.” Martin of Laon was a pupil of John the Scot and a teacher of Remigius of Auxerre. In all this appears the great diligence of the ancients. liberated and practiced (for these sciences pursue subtle inquiries into the causes of things). who would leave nothing untried. so that beholders find their power of vision stolen from them when they cannot penetrate the ingenuity of the thing. see n. is beyond detection so that beholders find their power of vision stolen from them when they cannot penetrate the ingenuity of the thing. The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts . Book II.. a man who secretly pollutes the marriage bed of another. chap. W. 4 This ambiguity led subsequent writers in the ninth century to speculate on its origin and make their own interpretations. 5758: Chapter 3.B. Similarly. Cf. but brought all things under definite rules and precepts. One line of thought devised an etymology that associated the mechanical arts with adultery. Latin moechus. or because in antiquity only free and noble men were accustomed to study them.” Bulletin of the John Rylands Library . VII [1922-3]. while the populace and the sons of men not free sought operative skill in things mechanical. also idem. 439): “‘Moechus’ means adulterer. pp. because their concern is with the artificer’s product. which borrows its form from nature. Book I. 2012). Laistner. the human work. uses the term claves adulterinae. in its making or operation.3 machine.” others who followed may have been puzzled by its apparent reference to mechanics. p. ed. is beyond detection. From ‘moechus’ we call ‘mechanical art’ any object which is clever and most delicate and which.64 During the next three centuries other writers struggled to make sense of this association between adultery and the mechanical arts. chap. Architecture as a Mechanical Art Because Eriugena did not explain the origin or meaning of his term “mechanical. the other seven are called liberal either because they require minds which are liberal. 20. that is. that is adulterate.cit. Sallust Bellum Jugurthinum XII. 4 Why should anyone be puzzled by such a reference? 10 . 48. that is. And mechanics is that science to which they declare the manufacture of articles to belong.64 64 Hugh associates “mechanical” with the Greek moi)/xoj. rather than with mhxane. with whose works Hugh shows familiarity elsewhere in the Didascalicon.”65 3 N. Cf. “Notes on Greek from the Lectures of a Ninth Century Monastery Teacher. From ‘ moechus’ we call ‘mechanical art’ an object which is clever and most delicate and which. is fitly called mechanical. 55-56: Among these works. 9. I discuss the meaning of mechanê in an Appendix to my paper Aristotle on What Is Inside and Outside a Work of the Poetic Art (Papers In Poetics 4). L. Latin moechus) ‘adulterer’.Cf. pp. This may have been prompted by the similar sounds of two words: mechanikos and moechos (moixo/j. Martin of Laon Scholia graecarum glossarum (M. in its making or operation. 75: These sciences are called mechanical. for direct quotation of this work. because it is not [55-56] nature but only imitative of nature. and because their concern is with the artificer’s product. qui in eodem tempore duplum pertransit spatium. cuius modulationem saxa sequuntur et arbores et eius audita dulcedine pax est lupo cum agno. sed in ipsis motibus moderationem. because they are concerned with the works of human labour. In humanis vero operibus erroris purgationes et ad perfectionem deductiones sunt artes septenae. Ut judicatum quale sit moderate fugiat affectus vel appetat. truces mitigare. 11 . Officium vero logicae est. ut asseruit Macrobius motuum proportionibus reperitur concordantia. modifìcatrix est musica. vel in se ipsum retrahit.’66 referring to the “corrupt” earthly realm and the dissociation of the mechanical arts from the liberal arts leading to Christian wisdom. cani cum lepore. aut eorumdem motuum affectibus omnia consistunt. Haec enim. Rhetorica vero. – Haec est enim virga Mercurialis. Victor introduced several other variations to explain why the mechanical arts are “adulterate”: because they pursue merely human works. Cf. qui duplo mensuratur tempore.): 1 In operibus humanis triplici de causa ingerit se error et imperfectio: quia mens obtenebratur per ignorantiam et quia eius affectus citra debitum sistit.67 [N. Cum autem attendimus non ad illud. De Artibus Liberalibus (early 13th c. secundum tripartitam rationem sui quale sit judicare et discu-2tare. cuius uno capite vigilantibus somnum relictis ingerit. metaphorical meaning of moechos as ‘unfaithfulness to God. Recte informatum quale sit logica sine errore dijudicat. sicut etiam syllaba longa respectu brevis dupla est.B. Hugh [57-58] of St. timidos anìmare. secundo aspecta sive cognita verificat et cum verificata fuerint apud mentem seu aspectum convenientia seu nociva. affectum animosque torpentes excitare. Aspectum grammatica recte informat. vel ultra progreditur per immoderantiam et quia virtutes motivae corporis instrumenta debilia sunt et imperfecta per carnis corruptelam. quia earum est tantum effectus operationes humanas corrigendo ad perfectionem ducere. because they are not nature but only imitative of nature. necessarium est regimen et adjutorium. – Mentis ergo aspectum et affectum hae tres virtutes rectificant et ad perfectionem perducunt. quae solae inter partes philosophiae ideo censentur artis nomine. est affectum movere. Estque in eius potestate. Aspectus vero primo aspicit.] (b) Robert Grosseteste on the liberal arts. et catulo cum leone. – In quo autem opere incipit error et imperfectio. quod maxime intendit. aut in corporum motibus. – Proportiones vero motuum secundum duplicem motus divisibilitatem considerantur. Est enim motus divisibilis divisibilitate temporis et secundum hanc divisibilitatem dicitur motus duplus ad alium. aut in eiusdem affectu. haec Orphei cythara. the excerpt given above. – Opera enim nostrae potestatis aut in mentis aspectu. rhetorica persuadet.This interpretation may have been reinforced by an additional. quod recte formatum est in intellectu. somnolentis vigilantiam. quibus purgetur error et suppleatur defectus. ut fugiat nociva. but cf. quod efficitur per motus corporeos. Footnotes not available online. et motus divisíbilis et proportionalis proportionalitate et divisibilitate spatii: sicque motus dicitur duplus ad motum. Robert Grosseteste. licet eius officium sit ex dialecticis et propriis locis argumenta probationis elicere. effrenos modificare. which borrows its form from nature. In the twelfth century. inhiat affectus ad amplexandum covenientia. Officium namque grammaticae est recte intelligere et recte intellecta recte enuntiando apud alterum recte formare. protendit se musica speculatio ut harmoniam cognoscat. aut conjuncta dividimus. – Exindeque progrediens in memoriam. aut figuras extrahimus. sed etiam instrumentorum et eorum. Exinde in tota anima aptatur numerus quidam.Quinque ergo sunt proportiones. licet hoc non percipiatur. sensibilibus et judicialibus. aut divisa conjungimus. Deinde. quod est aëreum subtile in corpore. speculationi musicae subjacet non solum harmonia humanae vocis et gesticulationis. a natura motus non censetur sejungenda. 12 . quae licet a motu efficiatur. delectatur anima absque rationis judicio in numero sonantis. Cum enim corpus violenter percutitur. cumque sonus auri illabitur. Qui numerus. vel secundum utramque. sonum quantumcumque parvum audibilem non esse continuum. quo aptato cum numero. quorum delectatio in motu sive in sono consistit et cum his harmonia coelestium sive noncoelestium. – Et cum a motibus coelestibus sit concordantia temporum et compositio et harmonia mundi inferioris et rerum omnium compositarum ex quatuor elementis necesseque sit harmoniam efficientium in effectis reperire et extendit se speculatio musicae. In his configurandis arithmeticam et geometriam constat esse rectificantes. Propter hoc praedictis tribus accessit astronomia. nisi certis temporum spaciis fuerint mensurata. mundi situm et spacium temporum motibus astrorum docens dignoscere. Haec numquam praestant in motibus perfectum moderamen.Cum autem transierunt situm naturalem. ut proportiones temporum et elementorum mundi inferioris constitutionem cognoscat et etiam omnium elementorum compositionem. si sit dissonus. si sit consonus. diameter longitudinalis extenditur et transversales contrahuntur. Cumque inter quoslibet motus contrarios sit quies media. et quaedam opera nostra non exstant usquam ordinata. Hinc motus locutionum intelligo. Et quia sono numeroso sive mixto sonanti correspondet numerus in progressione ad auditum. –. quarum tres sunt minime multiplicium et duae maxime superparticularium: quia haec sunt inter maximas et minimas divisiones in motu secundum tarditatem. non solum in numeris sonantibus seu corporalibus. – In hoc autem tremore et motu locali partium motarum necesse est. cum sit praestans delectationem. cum redierit. quibus de reliquis discernit. exercet anima numerum in aëre generali in auribus aedificato. eruntque tunc diametri transversales in termino suae diminutionis et longitudinales in termino suae majorationis. Tandem adhibet anima numeros judiciales. qui extra jam desinit per ipsum numerum. vel velocitatem. donec tandem inclinatio naturalis non ultra situm debitum eas impellat. recordabilibus. Quas virtus naturalis ad situm naturalem inclinans fortiter metas debitas facit transscendere ipso impulsu naturali. eius diametrum longitudinalem esse in termino suae diminutionis et diametri transversales erunt in termino suae majorationis. aut contrarium. aut ordinem. aut situm damus. Hanc autem extensionem et contractionem ingredientem profunditatem materiae et praecipue id. quibus soni et motus corporum reliquorum. quo numero exercito numero sonanti occurrit et ipsum sentit numerum sonantem. iterum a situ naturali egrediuntur et de una inclinatione naturali situm transgredientes revertuntur generaturque hoc modo tremor in minutissi-3mis partibus percussi corporis. sonativum esse intelligo. cum quaelibet pars per situm sibi naturalem transeat. sensualis congrue nominatur. Cum itaque eisdem proportionibus humanae vocis et gesticulationibus humani corporis modulatio temperetur. donec perveniant ad terminum motus sui localis. aut offenditur. necesse est. Cum autem per motus nostros praeter ipsos motus aliquid intendamus. qui jam totus 4 est in memoria. – Quibusdam tamen rebus non damus absque errore. nisi praecognito mundi situ. sed etiam in progressoribus et occursoribus. partes percussae et constrictae a situ naturali secedunt. erit extensio et contractio diametrorum via conversa. sed interruptum et numerosum. [desinens]que extra et in sensu totus simul et in memoria totus simul reponitur. Cum inquam ita sit in numeris sonantibus. quam ad medendum. quid fugiendum est. in quos voluerit affectus animi permutare. nascitur 13 . edocet. qui sciat educere. Si vero fuerit respectus Martis. qualiter in tristitia contrahantur. Reliquae vero ornatum repudiant. qui per or. facile poterit. quid appetendum. 6 In praeparatione vero lapidis. in quantum quae nostra sunt rectificent et perficiant. et artis sit diffinitio seu dispositio. qualiter spiritus dilatantur in gaudio. aegritudinum curatio. qualiter in mitibus sese quadam tranquillitate sedant et proportionatos sonos in musicis instrumentis. quia tunc in fortitudine operationis suae calorem vitalem in plantam fortiter movebit. – Rhetorica vero movet concupiscibilem ad appetendum. – Sed si calori solis commisceatur frigiditas Saturni. quod probationem veram ministrant.5 dinationem aut spirituum temperantiam curatur. quod sit regula nostrae operationis. Moralis scientia etiam. ita quod parva sit praedictorum decoctio. nascitur argentum. qualiter in timidis sese fugiant. quae possit ab astronomiae officio excusari. vel irascibilem ad fugiendum. movebit in plantam frigus impediens vel destruens. cum omnis aegritudo et in ordinatione spirituum et in temperantia curatur et omnis etiam. –. habent probationem rectam: manifestum est. movetur fumus sulphureus cum immunditia terrestri et commiscetur cum argento vivo (et) mundo et decoquitur decoctione parva. qualiter in animosis super seipsis innudando [?] sese impellunt et excitant. quaedam nostra tantum. Omnia enim metalla de intentione naturae aurum esse debuerunt: nec differunt ab auro. utpote vegetabilium plantatio. merito hae solae artis vocabulo nuncupantur. Quapropter moralis scientia cum ornatu rhetorico vult doceri et sciri. in quibus quaeritur sola veritatis ordinario. quaedam vero nostra et naturae. quae naturae sit et nostra. qualiter circumferantur in ira. Musicae ministerium in philosophia naturali non minus utile. qui novit etiam. quae dicta sunt tantum opera nostra et etiam opera naturae et nostra. Non enim agit natura inferior. quarum virtutem applicet inferius. – Sapiens igitur est. nisi sicut imperfectum a perfecto. nisi cum eam movet et de potentia in actum dirigit virtus coelestis. ut proveniat morum informatio. quae virtutes coelestes mundo conjungit inferiori. accelerabitque ac confortabit crementum eius et fructificationem. vel penitus marcescit. qui corporis humani signati novit debitam proportionem et quibus proportionibus fiunt elementorum et humidarum partium principalium spirituum et animae cum corpore concordiae et easdem proportiones in numeris sonantibus effectas ut progressores et occursores animae illabantur et ex incommensuratione omnia redeunt ad propriam commensurationem. quo metallorum fit transmutatio. movebit calorem urentem impedientem vel coquentem eritque planta tardi crementi vel fructificationis modicae.Cum igitur sint opera quaedam naturae tantum. movetque spiritus ipse easdem numerorum proportiones. Astronomiae ministerio plus ceteris eget philosophia naturalis: nulla enim aut rara est operatio. musicis sanatur modulationibus et sonis. Hae septem naturalis et moralis sunt ministrae: nam grammatica et logica cum habeant sermonem rectum. – Cum vero calore solis complectitur frigiditas lunae. Quapropter cum in hora plantationis fuerit luna aucta lumine in quarta orientali seu medio coeli a fortunis [?] respecta. Si vero fuerit in eadem hora respectus Saturni. fit aurum. quia ipse est terreus. – Cum enim virtus solis movet fumum sulfureum mundum commiscens illum cum argento vivo et decoquit ipsum decoctione temperata. mineralium transmutatio. corpore patiente ex numeris sonantibus extrahit anima in se numeros proportionatos secundum proportionem numerorum sonantium. ut etiam credunt philosophi. Et dicunt etiam vulneribus et surdidati musicis modulationibus posse mederi: Cum enim anima sequatur corpus in suis passionibus et corpus sequatur animam in suis actionibus. non minus necessaria est horarum electio.Luna autem est. et hae solae philosophiae partes. quae ipsa reducit ab inaequalitate. § 14 . – Reliqua vero ab auro non differunt. et in quibus horis a virtute coelesti natura movetur immo regitur. In morbis iterum valet horarum electio. – Cum autem calori solis admiscetur calor superfluus et siccitas Martis. ne medicus operetur cum errore. quibus horis natura. Quapropter transmutare ista est immunditias abstergere et mundificatis substantiam apponere assimilatam soli in virtute et operatione. – Haec substantia non qualibetcumque hora praeparatur. quae languet. sed cum fuerit sol in exaltatione librae ab aspectu malorum. quae tunc est in fortitudine et extrahit in materia huius(modi) substantia virtutem sibi assimilatam. a virtute coelesti movetur.plumbum. sulphur grossum cum argento vivo grosso. minus tamen quam sit decoctio excussa per Martis lotionem excutit. – Virtus vero Mercurii cum aqua viscosa fumum sulphureum commiscens vivum efficit argentum. quam artis. Quapropter oportet considerare. Medicina enim est instrumentum vel coadjutrix naturae. quam non potest nisi in certis horis de potentia ad actum producere. superflue excoquitur et ferrum estrahitur. – Si autem calori solis commisceatur calor et humiditas Jovis. quia. movetur fumus sulphureum ingressione sua et commiscetur cum argento vivo (et) mundo. si hac postposita morbus curatur. nisi secundum immunditiam materiae ant complexionis inaequalitatem. magis est fortunae. sed propter humidi tatem Jovis parva fit decoctio et oritur stagnum. – Calor autem Veneris cum calore solis proxime dicta decoquens plus decoctione temperata. ut morbum expellat: nec sanat medicina sed natura per medicinam adjuta. et 7 in quibus naturam movet debiliter et in quibus fortiter et secundum has diversitates motionis naturae a virtute coelesti eam regente observanda est in virtute et duratione et quantitate praeparatio medicinae. The first group is considered to be the elementary group. 15 . they are not practical or instrumental. the relation of logic to the particular sciences is not the same as that of pure mathematics to applied mathematics. as Boethius says. Contrasted with them we find the mathematical disciplines as artes quadriviales. as in the technical arts. Cf. and consider the modes and “intentions” of things. astronomy. “tool”). all these exist apart from the mind. “The Seven Liberal Arts”. but those branches of knowledge which were taught in the schools of that time. rhetoric. and dialectic. Otto Willmann. On the contemporary understanding of the seven liberal arts. Thus. their aim is to prepare the student not for gaining a livelihood. is not an end in itself. The latter are mathematical: geometry and astronomy. The Catholic Encyclopedia. or a cross-roads open to all. Isag. of oratory. for example. but theoretical. in Porph. Part II (Thomas Aquinas College Handout. The principles proper to these liberal arts are formally studied in tutorials.. and of logic. Cf. but is instrumental to the work of philosophy proper. free). rather than about things themselves. does not mean arts as we understand the word at this present day.e. 1 (New York. the mathematical branches as the intermediate. The seven liberal arts are divided into a group of three—the trivium. Curriculum: The liberal arts are first in the order of learning. Vol. chiefly used during the Middle Ages. Thus. because they serve the purpose of training the free man. and with reason Aristotle names his own treatise on logic Organon (i. They are seven in number and may be arranged in two groups. liber. the arts of the trivium—grammar.3.e. has its proper method. On the Art and Science of Grammar. or physicae. 1907): The expression artes liberales. Although they are preparatory for the more honorable and more difficult parts of philosophy. the mathematico-physical disciplines. but for the pursuit of science in the strict sense of the term. and a group of four— the quadrivium. Geometry. They are called liberal (Lat. rather than the things themselves. or quadrivium. the combination of philosophy and theology known as scholasticism. the republic fashioned by the statesman.e.e. whence these branches are also called artes triviales. arithmetic and music. The carpenter’s house. the second group comprises arithmetic. and logic—are methods rather than theoretical sciences. p. the first embracing grammar. These are seven arts the objects of which are constructed within the intellect. known as the artes reales. rhetoric. On the other hand. the sculptor’s statue. not outside. Grammar and the Seven Liberal Arts. in contrast with the artes illiberales. or a road with four branches. while logic is essentially a method—the common method of all the sciences. the objects of the liberal arts do not. 12. as does any science. i. The seven liberal arts are thus the members of a system of studies which embraces language branches as the lower. but it is not itself a method. better known as the artes sermocinales. or trivium. in other words. it may reasonably be considered the instrument of philosophy rather than philosophy (Comm. 74 A-D). or language studies. a well-beaten ground like the junction of three roads. Thomas Aquinas College Bulletin. which are pursued for economic purposes. and teach about the modes to be observed in speaking and reasoning about things. Marcus Berquist. 1994). And rhetoric and grammar are likewise methods. though it is theoretical in its subject and mode of procedure. and science properly so called as the uppermost and terminal grade. and music. the sciences of language. i. the health of the doctor’s patient. geometry. Even logic. Cf. i. The trivium is comprehended by the Language and Logic Tutorials. spoken or written. These tutorials introduce the program. Sentences. signify these internal constructions. rhetoric. while the quadrivium is comprehended by the Mathematics and Music Tutorials.Three of these arts—grammar. The four remaining liberal arts (the quadrivium)—arithmetic. speeches and syllogisms. § 16 . and logic (the trivium)—use words as their outward symbols. and music—use mathematical symbols as their outward signs. astronomy. geometry. VII. into theoretical. moves in the same direction. Liberal education names the whole procedure of the philosophic life. The Place of the Liberal Arts in the Curriculum: In recent times. Astronomy and music take up these broadly divided parts of philosophy in an extrinsic way. A Proposal For The Fulfillment Of Catholic Liberal Education . the equilateral triangle that is constructed in the first proposition of Euclid’s Elements is discovered. liberal education has usually been identified with the liberal arts. Liberal education names the whole procedure of the philosophic life. as in astronomy and music. The mathematical sciences are the clearest and most accessible. while others treat of quantity and the quantitative.” (Hugh of St. arithmetic. liberal arts. and logic (the trivium). including the study of wisdom itself. rather. it is clear that the quadrivium (the mathematical disciplines) have already been included in our survey. CA).4. We are encouraged to rest in this division by recalling that it is the one given by St. they are constructed according to the nature of quantity. As already mentioned. sec. and inescapably provoke wonder about the more difficult and important issues of philosophy proper. but traditionally they are distinguished. ch. 25) Cf. is concerned with right reason as it applies to our active life. Are they what we have been discussing all along? To be sure. the latter study kinds of order which though less profound are more intelligible to the beginner. and music (the quadrivium). (City of God. The quadrivium. properly names seven introductory disciplines which though intrinsically of lesser philosophic interest are “certain ways by which the lively soul enters into the secrets of philosophy. Pure mathematics is an art. including the study of wisdom itself. Victor) These arts are twofold: some concern the proper method of discourse. but it is also a science. as it regulates the life of the passions and appetites. Taking logic as the principal part of the trivium. Augustine as a likeness of the Blessed Trinity. In its speculative aspect. The liberal arts and liberal education: Readings from Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula. being concerned exclusively (though in quite different ways) with common methods. Bk. too. we are thus left with a threefold division of doctrine. on the other hand. For example. Both the trivium and the quadrivium of the liberal arts are intrinsically ordered toward science and philosophy. but traditionally they are distinguished. and this order is expressed in the light 17 . not invented. The trivium must here be added. Philosophy is broadly divided into speculative and practical or moral philosophy. They prepare the disciple for more difficult sciences and furnish him with rigorous knowledge that may be used to express the order found in non-mathematical objects. They recognize an order in the cosmos and in the movements of men’s feelings. liberal arts. XI. Victor). Moral philosophy. such as geometry. philosophy is interested in nature and its causes. properly names seven introductory disciplines which.) The former are clearly instrumental in purpose. are “certain ways by which the lively soul enters into the secrets of philosophy” (Hugh of St. Cf. insofar as the mental constructs are not arbitrary. though intrinsically of lesser philosophic interest. liberal education is usually identified with the liberal arts. Its Parts and the Order among Them (Thomas Aquinas College Blue Book): Some puzzlement may be occasioned by the fact that we have nowhere spoken of the liberal arts. inasmuch as the subject matter is constructed in the imagination. on the other hand. Liberal Education. rhetoric. in modern times. on the other hand. and logical. (The introductory studies of the stars and of music consider only the quantitative aspects of their subjects. which move us. astronomy. Thomas Aquinas College Bulletin. practical. such as grammar. the trivium provides the universal instruments of all scientific demonstration. that is. Thus. and thus supply the logician with the readiest paradigm of scientific demonstration. but are needed for something else. do not favor this way of dividing the curriculum. He’s not just a servant. the traditional liberal arts. despite the legal freedom of which we boast. That’s very much what liberal education is about. Our presentation of it will involve a deeper criticism of the modern curriculum and its consequences. although our understanding of freedom is somewhat different from theirs. but something worth having just for itself. we define liberal education as the education of a free man. is presumably as important to the scientist as it is to the humanist. But here we do not mean that sort of slavery. of course. Thomas Aquinas College Bulletin. they are not desirable in themselves and are no part of happiness. Marcus R. and liberal education will be that which befits such a person and enables him to live in such a way. the arts which comprise the quadrivium—geometry and astronomy. A free man is. which is a part of the trivium. or an instrument of other men. by implication a man who concerns himself with things that are intrinsically worthwhile. for example. as Aristotle says. (The astronomy and music which are liberal arts explain their subject-matters by mathematical principles exclusively. And this something else is all too often no 5 Cf. but someone who lives a life which is in itself worth living. Furthermore. This view. 18 . the better part of our lives is taken up with actions which are only necessary. but in order to prepare the way for an alternate view of the division and order of liberal studies. since such explanations are proportioned to beginners)…. Cf. Lectio (1994) (Originally delivered as a lecture at Thomas Aquinas College): I think liberal education is largely the same as philosophy. So liberal education is concerned with the kind of knowledge that a man ought to have.of mathematical principles. is not a new one but goes back. for human nature. immediately arise when we accept the modern distinction between the sciences and the humanities. Liberal Education and the Humanities. It remains for philosophy to account for these things in terms of the intrinsic natural and moral principles. the condition of certain men in certain places at certain times. a kind of knowledge that he would do without if he could have the end of that use without the knowledge. in its essentials. a kind of completeness to his life as a human being just in having that knowledge. also Marcus Berquist. A man who loves wisdom desires knowledge for its own sake. Liberal education is the education of a free man. Berquist (excerpts): Anomalies in the Modern Curriculum …Thirdly. He sees a kind of happiness. he thinks that knowledge is. is in many ways in bondage. among others. not because he wants to put it to some particular use. Another View of Liberal Education These difficulties. a perfection of his soul. “Where Philosophers Disagree”. arithmetic and music—are all mathematical. 5 Now some would immediately dismiss this distinction between the liberal and servile as something entirely relative to those societies—happily long gone—in which there were masters and slaves. which were conceived as an introduction to liberal education. for the good which the latter realizes by his activity exists in other men or even in other things. Logic. Thus. and perhaps more so. much as the moderns do. in and of itself. To begin with. They were not proposed in order to refute conclusively. For we see that. A free man is a man who lives for himself in this sense: He realizes within himself the end for which he lives and is joined to it in his own person. a free man is one whose life has intrinsic meaning. Rather we are thinking of a universal slavery which oppresses all men. to the best of Greek learning. if not by immediate definition. something worth living for. He is contrasted with the slave. “philosophy” understood in its original sense as “the love of wisdom”. if the sick could get well by themselves. In consequence. for its own sake. spends nearly all its time and effort in caring for the body and has little or nothing for itself. humanistic studies will never be the core of liberal education. the remainder is precious little and seems hardly enough. Even though it may humanize man through self-awareness. An Orientation to Things Better than Man 19 . and is worthy of being sought. but we are never happy. we would not bother with the latter. he will not achieve happiness through knowledge of himself. Accordingly. and by so much as this is superior to our composite nature is its activity superior to that which is the exercise of the other kind of virtue. and liberal education seeks to exploit this leisure so that we might achieve as much freedom as possible. we shall have an answer. much more does it in power and worth surpass everything. to justify the trouble of living. This is Aristotle’s argument in the tenth book of the Nicomachean Ethics: But such a life would be too high for man. and if we also subtract the time spent in necessary work or in amusement (which is also necessary in a way). for it is not insofar as he is man that he will live so. make ourselves immortal. But what is this knowledge which is a free man’s happiness? Surely it cannot be a knowledge of man himself and of the various expressions of his humanity? Or does this depend upon another question: Is man the most excellent of all things that are? If he is. we are always preparing to be happy. so far as we can. this present life does allow some leisure to some of us. this will not be the measure of its success. and the poet’s statement will be true: The proper study of mankind is man. life is not intrinsically worthwhile. For what better use could he make of his life? On the other hand. Already a third of our lives is taken up with sleep. will not be humanistic—it will not be ordered to the human but to the divine. of mortal things. it is directed to the kinds of knowledge that human understanding seeks for its own perfection. no one would study medicine. then. in quantity or quality. but sees in learning itself the kind of change that the world needs. it is sought. Thus it is not concerned primarily with practical knowledge—the knowledge of making and doing—for no such knowledge is desirable in itself. being mortal. in comparison with man. but rather through the knowledge of those causes. If we could have the practical results without the knowledge. since the knowledge of man will them be the most excellent and worthwhile knowledge. Perhaps the most bitter part of this condition is the bondage of the intelligence. On these premises. the life according to it is divine in comparison with human life. For the proper good of the intelligence is truth and knowledge. that the free man does not desire learning in order to change the world. then.more than simply to continue to exist. and strain every nerve to live in accordance with the best thing in us. it is compelled to put aside its quest for wisdom in order to attend to the inferior parts of man. he finds his end and freedom in knowledge. for even if it be small in bulk. to think of human things. If reason is divine. But we must not follow those who advise us. being men. which in spite of being the best and most divine thing in man. for example. and. While he cannot neglect the necessities of life. We might say. then. Liberal education. And this knowledge is primarily theoretical—that is. Liberal Education Ordered to the Divine However. but must. but because of the necessities of this mortal life. but the effect of superior causes and derives all the excellence he possesses from them. if man is not the primary being. but insofar as something divine is present in him. the atomists. and philosophy in particular is not rightly classed among the humanities. But also. And. that beauty is only in the eye of the beholder. immortal. This is perhaps the reason why mechanics. Now. and it is from star-gazing and astronomy that we first begin to apprehend and wonder about that order. what is important is that they made astronomy rather than mechanics a liberal art. they would have to be subhuman. and were originally thought to be. We said that if man is the highest being of all. as well as against its corollary. where knowledge is the end. (Hence the intimate connection that we observe between moral relativism and the denial that there is a natural musical harmony is understandable. but rather followed Aristotle’s doctrine. they must be other than human. Therefore. liberal education does not consist primarily of humanistic studies. hold that higher beings are simply combinations of various simple particles. Rather. and not essentially different from or better than 20 . there is no philosopher. therefore. For in mechanics. man is not the measure of all things. they would have to be fully explained in such terms. For inasmuch as music imitates the passions of the soul. Now what this means is that man could not be. he is still something which comes to be and passes away. as interesting as it is. there must be explanatory causes and principles of man. is not one of the liberal arts. it does not express the fundamental orientation of the human mind.The traditional liberal arts are a sign that liberal education was not originally humanistic. Now it is reasonable to suggest that astronomy is a prefiguration of the theoretical sciences generally. even among those who hold that man is the supreme being. One is thereby led to suppose that the inclinations and affections can be ordered by reason and that it is possible to understand how they ought to be ordered. for we ask the question “Why?” first and foremost in the case of beings which come to be and pass away. both ancient and modern. For not one of those who attempt to explain human nature in terms of the subhuman has not finally said that man is essentially no different from the rest of things. the fact that the science of music is completely theoretical in mode also suggests that the basis of man’s moral life is given by nature. if these principles are to explain the human. in conclusion. of a higher order than man. which is toward things better than man.) If. rather than instituted by man himself. then education will primarily be concerned with man. and. geometry is applied to certain problems which are sublunar and on our own level. and even divine. which concern the ordering of man’s soul. on the other hand. For even if man is the most excellent of beings. in final analysis. anything essentially better than the nonhuman and nonrational. who does not think that man needs to be explained and who does not look for principles in terms of which to make an explanation. forcefully suggests that liberal education concerns things higher than man. it is concerned principally with things better than man. Now whether the stars are really as the ancients supposed is not important for this argument. Now. the discovery that arithmetic principles many be applied to musical tones suggests that a parallel order exists within the passions themselves. Therefore. in point of fact. since the stars are not something we can do something about—we can only learn about them. Within the quadrivium especially. we find this doctrine confirmed. by our present hypothesis. However. the man who does not see things at his feet because he is looking up. The science of music. This runs against the first principle of humanism. For example. as Aristotle argues and the traditional liberal arts suggest. This consequence may be gathered from the testimony of the philosophers themselves. this is not quite true. the human would have to be explained in terms of the subhuman and the rational in terms of the subrational. furthermore. The one view is very much akin to the other. we are going to take this argument one step further and attack something we conceded beforehand. since geometry is ordered to the former and arithmetic to the latter. theoretical studies are ultimately concerned with the order of the universe as a whole. for astronomy and music are principal in that division. Furthermore. would seem to prefigure the practical or moral sciences. Even as a hypothetical statement. Thus. And the image of the astro-nomer. that man is the measure of all things. so to speak. And the stars certainly seem to be. for he can no longer find any reasons for preference in the natures of the objects he studies. 8:6 6 Note that this paper. for example. of course. 2 Although quantum theory of physics involves observers as triggers of the act of observation. The upshot is that each man orders his education by his own particular taste or by what is currently fashionable. is purely concerned with things or objects themselves. We see this also in the evolutionary philosophers. the notion associated with Plato and Aristotle and the Medieval Schoolmen. 21 . the order of their importance. Although this notion of the “humanities” is very ancient. on the other hand. called the liberal arts. The wonder which characterizes the philosopher has been replaced by curiosity. the source of the foregoing article. Teilhard de Chardin is a more recent example of this point of view. Human opinion or invention are only of concern to the extent that they lead to an understanding of reality. given the premises. The “humanities” have stood for a body of studies that is not so much concerned with reality as with intellectual interpretations. However. particularly as regards the natures of the various disciplines. all the reasons given for the preeminence of humane studies are finally destroyed by the logic of humanism itself. PREFACE “Liberal education” also has more than one sense. Darwin. it came into prominence especially in the Renaissance. then. to attribute the mindless disorder of modern education to a bad division of the curriculum. 1-9 (excerpt). Perhaps the dominant sense in colleges today is equivalent to the meaning of the “humanities”. a regional accrediting agency. 1. 120. These studies purport to take into account not only the object to be known. Thus. but also the subject who knows and reacts to it. while mathematics and science 2 do not —for the latter appear to leave the knowing object out of the picture. John W. in Measure. Neumayr. The classical notion of “liberal education”. and seeks a grounding in philosophy and in the variety of disciplines that form the foundation of all wisdom. achievements and assumed interests of mankind. January/February 1994. this is the only reasonable point of view. So the difference between man and horse is in principle the same as the difference between one horse and another. It would be a mistake. pp.those particles or the other things made out of them. and the order in which they are to be learned. arose in response to the work of a Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). those who are attempting to restore some order usually fail to realize how much a defective understanding of such matters stands in their way. liberal education in this classical sense develops the tools of learning. Mathematics and science are as much a part of this tradition as are ethics and poetics. Thomas Aquinas College. “Liberal education” in the second sense is the focus of this paper. The final outcome of humanism. Social studies and appreciation courses fall within its limits. such observers are still a part of the objective theoretical framework and have no reactive influence on the process at hand. no. Cf. is that we are led to regard the difference between man and the animals (as we ordinarily conceive it) as an illusion. pp. for to assume otherwise would be to assume that an effect is more than all its causes put together. The alternative to such “muddling-through” is a wholehearted return to older traditions of liberal education. Rather than to make individual man and his thought the object of study. holds that the difference between one species and another is at bottom the same sort of difference as that between one variety and another. 4-5. And. also Liberal Education and Cultural Diversity. “Death of the Mind: The Anti-Intellectualism of ‘Cultural Diversity’ in Education”. Cf. 1) II. while the other is a kind of educational acquaintance with it. 4-5) VI. FALSE DICHOTOMY At the opening of his treatise On the Parts of Animals. and analysis as “basic abilities”. It will. and as “basic” they are seen to be so fundamental that no advanced study can take place without them. The Standard then states that to these “basic abilities and habits of mind. As “abilities”.B. DIVERSE “UNIVERSALISMS” There is even a third sense of “universal” and. the humblest and the noblest alike. Thus. such as the sun which heats all the objects beneath it. the universal means of the whole spectrum of learning. of course. In a phrase. seems to admit of two distinct kinds of proficiency. Aristotle speaks for the whole of liberal education when he observes: Every systematic science. we can see that the Commission implicitly notes this sense and uses it. If we look carefully at Standard 4. and several philosophical studies that are proportioned to the “generally educated man”. calculation. (b) quantitative skills.By “liberal education” is meant a certain body of learning consisting of the trivium. and not to one who has a like ability merely in some special subject. consequently. For an educated man should be able to form a fair off-hand judgement as to the goodness or badness of the method used by a professor in his exposition. including “cultural diversity”. however. but with the breadth of disciplines that makes it possible for him to advance into any further field of knowledge. which is “an appreciation of cultural diversity”. They are. In designating the skills of communication. and even the man of universal education we deem to be such in virtue of his having this ability. in fact. We recall that the Standard states that the “outcomes” to be ensured by undergraduate studies include: (a) competence in written and oral communication. It is distinct from diversity but hardly exclusive of it. It emerges from Aristotle’s description of the generally educated man that the whole of his liberal education stands as the “basic abilities” brought to perfection and thus as the tools par excellence for all further inquiry. of “universalism”. We see in Aristotle’s account of the liberally educated person. nor of one nature found in many subjects. but of one cause that extends itself to many effects. (p. liberal education is the passe-partout. the master key that opens all the doors of wisdom. (p. Notice that the first three “outcomes” are characterized as “basic abilities” in relation to this last “outcome”. the group of “basic abilities” stands to all the other arts and sciences as one-to-many. The inherent limit and purpose of his liberal education is to prepare him for any and all investigations. To be educated is in fact to be able to do this. quadrivium. like reason itself. (pp. liberal education is the universal that extends itself into all inquiry. that his concern is not with specialized knowledge. an appreciation of cultural diversity” should be added. In this sense. that deserves to be mentioned. the one-to-many is not of a whole to its many parts. and (c) the habit of critical analysis of data and argument. 4) III. the Standard recognizes the group as the necessary means to further study. one of which may be properly called scientific knowledge of the subject. be understood that we only ascribe universal education to one who in his own individual person is thus critical in all or nearly all branches of knowledge. The habit of mind he possesses stands to the rest of knowledge as the one means to the many possible ends. THE CLASSICAL COLLEGE TODAY 22 . they are tools to be used in the more advanced studies such as those of “cultural diversity”.2 mentioned above. In this third sense. S. unbound to principle. That phrase itself may suggest different notions to different people. According to this understanding. The kind of education here envisioned is called liberal because it is ordered to freedom as to its goal. have seen human freedom in quite another light. Rev.J. education denominated liberal will be so named because of some connection seen and implied between such education and human freedom. McGovern. it is called liberal.” But Our Savior’s words imply that. because its intended effect is the genuinely free person. approving everything and excluding nothing. through his education. at least in part. Tutor. Clearly. but as a great good to be achieved for the individual by his own efforts.. McGovern. restrictive. the trivium. liberi signifies free men or the sons of free men. or purpose. rather. you will be truly my disciples. 1972–1985 Thomas Aquinas College defines itself in terms of liberal education and is concerned exclusively with such education. and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). for instance. we tend to regard freedom as our natural birthright. “Liberal Education and Freedom”: Liberal Education and Freedom By Rev. we recall the beatitudes that begin the Sermon on the Mount. not education denominated liberal because it flows from a spirit that is free in the sense of uncommitted. Thomas A. Yet they are all part of the truth “that will make you free. with small groups of students in tutorials and seminars. S. Human Freedom: To Be Achieved through Knowledge In this. (p. we see ourselves as born free and this liberty of ours as a heritage to be jealously guarded against restrictions stemming from without — from political systems. Relation of the Truth to Freedom As instances of such.J. and this.” he informed them: “If you remain in the truth. then. anything but liberating. and various philosophic studies.The curriculum of the college where I teach falls wholly within the classical model of liberal education. Thomas Aquinas College. and its acquisition involves some knowledge of the truth He taught. Teaching is done by way of discussions instead of through lectures. as a good to be achieved and to be achieved through knowledge of the truth. in other words. The College even follows the pedagogy of Socrates as closely as possible. Christ’s words clearly ran counter to their cherished belief that descent from Abraham was their guarantee of freedom. the “Great Books”. and to which it adheres when it identifies itself as dedicated to liberal education. “We are children of Abraham and have never been slaves to any man. But clearly others. but the curriculum also draws exclusively for its texts on the original sources of that tradition. in the past. however. Not only are its parts. at the center of that tradition. 8) Cf. The world hears these precepts and sees them as inhibiting.” 23 . it refers to its end. Speaking on one occasion in the Temple precincts to those “Jews who believed in Him. quadrivium. or social structures. the term liberal in the context is derived from the Latin adjective liber meaning free. more is necessary than birth into a nation called free: freedom is to be acquired. not as a natural endowment. if a person is to be truly free. Used substantively. What is here implied by the adjective is. but there is one traditional meaning thereof that the College intends to signify. and that sermon in its totality. Thomas A. Our Savior Himself appears to have regarded human freedom in this light. our day. inherent in things as quantified which is also an effect of the Divine Wisdom inherent therein. and metaphysics. of course. But. then. too. and. He knows that freedom implies control over his own lower nature since it is this. again. As preparatory. accordingly. its face would be remarkably changed — in the direction of justice and the other virtues. of general happiness. 24 . clearly be part of the education of the free man. which consider that kind of order. too. Supernatural theology. which is both its counterpart on the natural plane and necessary for it. in skeleton form. he devotes himself to what is really for his own good. will be essential parts of the education of the free man. further. but good men. Such education tends to be regarded as impractical. and a course of liberal studies must include the moral teachings of the Church through which Christ speaks. he directs his own activities. that is the enslaving tyrant. and the ethics and politics which are the natural counterpart of the same. This truth contains implicitly another. More than a decade of experience has confirmed the College in its conviction that such education is indeed beneficial in a deeply human way. but of things greater than he. The latter is other-directed. and which. The Kind of Knowledge That Perfects Man Such knowledge as this would. in opposition to the slave. Christ’s liberating doctrine teaches that man’s true end and happiness consist in the beatific vision – face-to-face knowledge of the infinite God. the good man. in the sense of particular principles of motion inherent in created things. he is not the slave of the blind who would lead the blind. the happy man. contributing to human goodness and happiness. He knows. hence mathematics and geometry. He knows the kind of living that is conducive to that end — life in accord with Christian virtue.The relation of such truth to freedom begins to emerge when we consider what is actually implied in the notion of a free person. Nature. in the direction of true human freedom. rather than any exterior power. and it is precisely this self-direction that calls for some knowledge of the truth. The above is. the course of his own life. that the free man. perfect man. therefore. No man can direct himself in the dark. to the properly philosophical and theological enterprise. In this light he can direct his own steps. There is an order. whose activities are for the good of another. these. finally. play their role as parts of the entire program of liberal education. The free man must be understood in opposition to the slave. the program for the education called liberal at Thomas Aquinas College and the rationale thereof. is not good accountants. less than he is. are parts of the education of the free man. or good carpenters. which studies God and divine things. The free person. namely that the kind of knowledge which does. Were this land of ours committed to education along these lines. Liberal Education: Basic to the Good Life The seven liberal arts and sciences are “certain ways by which the lively soul enters into the secrets of philosophy” (Hugh of St. then.” But he who knows the teaching of the Word Incarnate knows that his God-given goal in life is membership in the Kingdom of God. for such matters are basic to the good life. But it is Christ who is “the light of the world. too. Its natural effect. is his own man. of itself. but the fact is that a people cannot long neglect the type of questions it raises and answers except at that people’s own peril. will engage his attention. is the one who is self-directed. and beyond the power of man to produce. in sum. the free person. is knowledge not of those things that he himself produces and which are. are all one and the same. or good musicians. Victor). the products of the Divine Wisdom that designed them. then. are necessary if nature is to be adequately understood. § See also: Thomas Aquinas College. Founding & Governing Document 25 . art. but by liberal education. Bohr. those powers of intelligence and imagination without which no intellectual work can be accomplished. which many alarmists are demanding that we emulate. It must exclude all merely vocational and technical training. calculation. this has been broadly true of Russian scientists. we can train only technicians. Liberal education is not tied to certain academic subjects. astronomy. this has been the educational preparation of European scientists down to the present time. equally able to develop the powers of the mind. it seems to contain something besides technical training and concentration on the natural sciences and mathematics. physics. who cannot understand the basic principles behind the motions they perform. WHAT IS LIBERAL EDUCATION? by Mortimer Adler Let us first be clear about the meaning of the liberal arts and liberal education. Additional readings by certain authors in the Great Books tradition. the trivium. We can hardly expect such skilled automatons to make new discoveries of any importance. This is just what has been done in the various modern attempts to renew liberal education. the quadivium. It consisted to two parts. Our educational problem is how to produce free men. that is. Latin. is not to produce scientists. It seeks to develop free human beings who know how to use their minds and are able to think for themselves. history. and logic. The aim of liberal education. It taught the arts of observation. of listening and speaking. too. It produces citizens who can exercise their political liberty responsibly. Mortimer Adler on the liberal arts and liberal education. It taught the arts of reading and writing. Without it. are considered equally liberal. consisted of arithmetic. in addition to mathematics. how to apprehend the quantitative aspect of things. however. and of sound thinking. If you will just note the birth dates of the men who have done the basic work in Soviet science. including all the traditional arts as well as the newer sciences. Einstein.5. and measurement. music. literature. rhetoric. Fermi. we would add many more sciences. scientific disciplines. The liberal-arts tradition goes back to the medieval curriculum. natural and social. logic. It must include all the humanities as well as mathematics and the sciences. not hordes of uncultivated. is essential for the development of top-flight scientists. and music (not audible music. They all went through a liberal education which embraced Greek. whether they intend to be scientists or not. geometry. Actually. 26 . comprised grammar. As for the present educational setup in the Soviet Union. Its primary aim is not the development of professional competence. The first part. Only the best liberal schooling can accomplish this. it will be apparent to you that they could not have received their training under any new system of education. It is a matter of historical fact that the great German scientists of the nineteenth century had a solid background in the liberal arts. Nowadays.” In the liberal-arts tradition. of course. The connection of liberal education with scientific creativity is not mere speculation. but music conceived as a mathematical science). such as philosophy. and other so-called “humanities. trained technicians. The other part. It develops cultivated persons who can use their leisure fruitfully. such as mathematics and physics. and other great modern scientists were developed not by technical schooling. although a liberal education is indispensable for any intellectual profession. Cf. philosophy. Despite all of the ranting and hullabaloo since Sputnik I was propelled into the skies. It is an education for all free men. and other sciences. A crash program of merely technical training would probably end in a crashup for basic science. Liberal education. The liberal arts are traditionally intended to develop the faculties of the human mind. and history. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The ancient Greeks conceive of two kinds of wisdom – practical wisdom. Otto Bird. Aquinas explains that this is a filial.” and speculative or philosophical wisdom. They consider a man practically wise if he judges situations correctly and chooses the means best suited to secure his objectives. practical wisdom is linked with moral virtue. Here again wisdom is both a kind of knowledge and an aspect of moral character. not a servile. For Spinoza. or because he has deep insight into the ultimate principles and causes of things. The Greeks consider a man philosophically wise if he understands the first principles or causes of things. Lecture 2: The Tradition of the Liberal Arts (International Catholic University): In this second lecture I will discuss with you the history and philosophy of the liberal arts. Yet experience and age alone are not the sole passports to wisdom. or “prudence. Some of its range and high points are only beginning to be explored – notably. But here God is the teacher. and the astute and just decrees of rulers. by McKeown in his Study of Rhetoric and Dialectic . insists that the objectives must be morally good. “fear” means hearkening to God’s word. few men sustain the effort and have the devotion that are required to become wise. For the most part that history still remains to be told. wisdom is a form of love. Indeed. The Liberal Arts: Their History and Philosophy . In his view. fear—a true respect for the divine law. The Bible also praises as wisdom the prudent and righteous conduct of everyday affairs. not dread of punishment. Socrates says that God alone is wise and the man can love or seek wisdom but he cannot possess it. In the first lecture we considered the nature of learning and came to see how the liberal arts are especially and preeminently the arts of learning. by Gaussian in his account of The Transmission of Classical Culture. And Samuel Johnson notes the “the philosophically wise man” has no needs. “the intellectual love of God. Cf. for he is complete.WISDOM AS THE GOAL OF LIBERAL LEARNING by Mortimer Adler In our common speech we call a man wise either because he shows good judgment in the practical affairs of life.” says the Bible. Book learning and good schooling help. for example. And it ends in wisdom. Plotinus states that wisdom brings perfect repose. Our religious tradition places a high value on wisdom. The Greeks consider it a divine attribute. The Book of Proverbs extols wisdom as an eternal principle that sustains and guides the physical order and human life. and wisdom is attained by listening to his teaching – not by intellectual inquiry alone. Some men remain foolish all their life long. Such learning is a long process. for it is the knowledge for which our mind has sought. and most 27 . It is the culmination of man’s pursuit of truth. In this context. which involves a lifetime of thoughtful inquiry and wide experience. but they are not enough to form this supreme virtue of mind and character. Now the oldest and longest tradition of the liberal arts begins in Greek antiquity and continues through the Middle Ages. as it has had throughout our tradition. It gives him the peace that accompanies perfect fulfillment. Aristotle.” How do we attain wisdom? Wisdom is the ultimate aim of learning. Wisdom in this sense is the highest form of knowledge. It rests on faith in God’s revelation of His will to man. however. In this lecture we are going to look at some of the history of those arts and consider the long tradition that they have. by Bochenski in his History of Formal Logic. the perfection of the intellect that accompanies perfect love. The term “wisdom” has both moral and intellectual significance for us today. These few men teach the rest of us what wisdom is and what it means to be wise. And then in the following two lectures we will look at the mathematical arts of the Quadrivium. The Quadrivium on the other hand is felt to be somehow more natural and less conventional than the Trivium and its truths to be rooted in the nature of things. As soon as we attempt to recount that history or even start it we run into a peculiar difficulty. the fourfold way. But we will see that this music has a special meaning. the best way of attempting to learn their identity lies in starting with the appearance they have kept for the longest period. As this tradition comes to assume a more or less fixed form. is scarcely recognizable. This indicates that the arts are means. it will still be admitted that this truth is manifested and exhibited in a linguistic structure. In this lecture we are going to look at some of the history. “Music” however. their nature. Even within this period there are many changes. Logic is the art of reasoning and disputing. depends much on the company they keep. they prove on first acquaintance to be much as we would expect them to be today. logic. rhetoric. music. They are ways to something else. their function but in reading Augustine. Alcuin. With the exception of “music”. listening and writing. Rhetoric is the art of speaking and writing effectively. the fourfold way. geometry. This difference between the two groups is described in what is the first recorded use of the name Trivium. It is as though we were to try telling the story of a group of characters who had lived through many centuries but who frequently changed their names and even their personalities – or at least assumed such disguises that it becomes extremely difficult to identify them. For the liberal arts this is the period of the Middle Ages. However. their number. The Trivium it might be said consists of the merely verbal arts. The distinction between linguistic and mathematical arts is of course 28 . that we’re used to. we find that there is a common tradition of the liberal arts which is taken for granted. Their work has made it clear that the story of the liberal arts is much more complicated than was once thought. and in the next two lectures we will look at these arts of the Trivium. many differences about the arts. Grammar consists in the understanding and skill in the use of verbal signs to accomplish the purposes of speaking. It occurs fittingly enough in a series of notes that some eighth or ninth century scholar made of the Ars Poetica of Horace. is conventional in character. the Trivium and the Quadrivium. The Trivium consists of grammar. It’s not the music. and astronomy. I’ve made assumptions about the liberal arts which would not always be accepted even during the Middle ages.recently by Noam Chomsky in his account of seventeenth-century linguistics. It is predominantly mathematical and consists for the most part in the study of proportions of numbers and their properties. Quadrivium. Arithmetic and geometry appear as they still do in our first meeting with them as the arts of number and of magnitude. The basis of the distinction lies in the difference between linguistic and mathematical arts. seven arts are distinguished as liberal and organized into two groups. In such a situation. the threefold way. consists of arithmetic. and such a structure. however. although there may be disagreement about the individual arts and even their number. as we have seen from the first lecture. John of Salisbury. Astronomy is likewise predominantly mathematical and is associated with the stars through the study of the geometrical motions that they exemplify. which is why we had better keep its name in quotation marks. the division of the liberal arts into these two groups is undisputed. agreed upon by a social group of people. not ends in themselves. their nature and content. It’s a mathematical study. the instrumental or psalm music. Hugh of St. Even when it is held that their truth depends on the nature of things and not on human institution. Victor. Roger Bacon. say from the time the great Church Fathers down to the 16th century. Trivium. The identity of these arts. The Quadrivium. But it’s been found that you can’t begin to construct such an artificial language unless you have a natural language of which to speak in the first place. deals with the actions of the planets which are as they are to such an extent that we can forecast their future appearance – forecast eclipses of the sun and moon for instance. The difference may generate attention and develop into an outright fight. Finding a number in things. The commentator goes on to say that one can come to the knowledge of the Quadrivium only through the Trivium. the name we give to the petals. It’s a property of the flower rather than an imposition of man’s linguistic ability. such as 7 plus 5 equals 12. At any rate this difference taken as such was used to divide the Liberal Arts into two groups. was the wife of Odysseus who waited at home twenty years while Odysseus was returning from the wars. The Republic. it would support the contention of some historians that the liberal arts owe their inception to 29 . is reported to have likened the arts in relation to philosophy as handmaids to Penelope. The difference between these two groups of arts is so great that different names should be used for them. Thus Cassiodorous writing in the sixth century holds that we should call the mathematical studies disciplines rather than arts. Now if a program of arts was already established by this time. centuries in advance. the latter of which is the concern of the Quadrivium. for example. as we will see. a Greek sophist. Hence training precedes forming: that puts the Trivium before the mathematical arts of the Quadrivium. The name for the number can be given in different languages in the case of the same flower that has the same number of petals. seem to be a different kind of thing from the words just used to name the addition. Aristippus. The greatest effort in recent times is to develop an artificial language for mathematics and for logic. in his discussion of the arts in his dialogue. Some. for example.. Certainly at first sight the difference would seem to be a radical one. Those are Horace’s words. whereas an art is a faculty of dealing with contingent things which can be otherwise. The note to the poem of Horace is offered as an explanation of Horace’s declared intention to teach the function and duty of writing. since discipline is concerned with those things that cannot be otherwise than they are. a simple sum. and as supposed by Plato. to see the number of petals in a flower. who lived from about 435 to 350 B. There is still some recognition of this fact. the name we give to the flower. which we shall see later.C. This supposes.much earlier. and what trains and forms the poet. say. According to this commentator the difference between training and forming corresponds to the difference between the Trivium and the Quadrivium. The number belongs to the nature of the case in a way that the name for the number does not. Yet common experience would seem to accept this difference readily enough. Penelope. you remember. That’s the point this eighth or ninth century commentator was making when he said that the Trivium is needed as a training before you could go on to the formative arts of the mathematics of the scientists. that astronomy. It might even be considered the classical locus of the present strife between the humanities and the sciences. The poet is trained in language and all the arts necessary for their use. seems more natural than the name we give to the fact. This distinction within the arts whereby the Trivium can serve as a means to the Quadrivium images the greater distinction between the arts as means and the end they serve. The relations in a simple addition. would deny such a distinction and concede mathematics as only another kind of language. The same thing can be said in many different languages: that 7 plus 5 is 12 – so that the words naming it may change whereas the numbers themselves and the relation they have in this addition remain the same. but he is formed by information about human actions which belongs generally to the realm of ethics and natural things. Nearer to Cicero’s own day Pericles. when wisdom meant the union of thought and word. we’ve learned a very different history of philosophy – the one person most to blame for the divorce of knowledge and action of words and knowledge was Socrates. according to Cicero. which is that he once would have been a philosopher. a man such as Churchill would certainly also qualify for a union of action and knowledge.the work of the Sophists. is cited. he tells us. Before an issue of such scope it may be asked whether the liberal arts remain unaffected. Condemning the separation of these two. a union in both knowledge and action. If it is their function to prepare for knowledge and philosophy. there is a strong reply in the negative. of thought and action. On this issue. There was a time. seeks an explanation of the bad times into which eloquence. But this only proves Cicero’s point. divorced from political eloquence and political action. Now Cicero. His examples of such wisdom are men who even in Cicero’s day were already ancient. and snatched to themselves for their own pursuits the noble name of philosopher thereby destroying the name which until then had been common to judging wisely and speaking eloquently. In philosophy. If Cicero could choose from our time. is a divorce between tongue and heart. Cicero says. two of the sages of antiquity. the best philosophy.C. Cicero himself represents that art at its highest. The culprit according to Cicero – though this is hard for us to believe. writer and politician. For him as for many others the golden age of philosophy lies in the past. Cicero’s words. and that he should be a philosopher. whether the arts are affected or not. more than was necessary to poetry. However. Cicero may claim that the arts must be ordered to philosophy as their end. as we know from Plato’s battle with the Sophists over the nature of wisdom. From him Cicero traces the entire development of philosophy and science as pursuits of the mind. you see. Of course we would not call Churchill a philosopher. since the Sophists in offering to teach wisdom could be expected to formulate a program of studies leading to it. It is given by Cicero. founders of Sparta and Athens. geometry. Scientific specialization and neglect of politics go hand in hand for Cicero. He attributes that fall to the corruption of philosophy and as evidence provides a short history of philosophy. Nor is this unlikely. Cicero obviously has one definite purpose for the arts and indeed for all knowledge: that of serving the political wisdom of the statesmen. then there are differences about the best knowledge. the great fifth-century Greek leader. What has happened. words and thought – between speaking well and acting rightly. even worse to dialectic. learning and statesmanship had fallen in his day. It’s the art of rhetoric or eloquence. such legendary figures as Lycurgus and Solon. the love of wisdom which is philosophy may arouse conflicting views. and if he is not now or wasn’t Cicero’s time this only shows that something has happened to philosophy. the great orator. He even admits explicitly that he is interested not in the philosophy that is truest but in that which best 30 . He is writing in the first century B. It is equally clear that one of the liberal arts becomes predominant over the others as serving to order the rest to their end and enabling them to achieve it. Specialization began to develop as men turned away from public affairs to devote themselves. But he condemns them in the name of philosophy as well as of politics. yet it is his conception of philosophy that determines the kind of order he obtains. was a unity in knowledge and action of the best things. music. They became specialists. who figures largely in any story of the liberal arts both because of his own contributions to them in his study of eloquence and because of his incisive influence on the Fathers of the Church most responsible for the arts program in the Middle Ages. But worst of all men turned their backs from duties of state and attacked and condemned the power of speech and civil affairs. which is the love of wisdom. and in condemning both Cicero sounds like some contemporary politicians and educators. Whereas Origen also in the ninth century in 31 . In fact. Needless to say this is not the only possible conception of philosophy. Yet Cicero’s history still provides a type for any history of the liberal arts. a struggle ensues which comes to be described explicitly as a battle. Such changes give rise to different constructions of the arts according to the preconceptions of the their nature and function. just as Cicero puts rhetoric at the top of all the arts. We have what might be called.accords with the function of the orator and statesman. In being integrated –to the Christian it is a means to wisdom – they became ordered to a radically different end from any they had before. there is a tendency to follow one of these directions exclusively. the reduction of the arts to theology. The repository of faith is primarily the revelation of God as contained in the Sacred Scriptures. It shows first that the liberal arts can be conceived as a means to an end. Their relation to each other does not always remain the same. Their incorporation into it is already fully achieved. However the truths of faith may also be taken as an object of rational analysis. and of the dialectical movement to bring about the assent of the mind to God. one for example that aims at truth about reality rather than political action. the arts are still at work in differing and changing ways to achieve that end. Throughout the Middle Ages theology reigns supreme as the end of which the liberal arts are ordered as means. This tendency also finds expression in the work of Saint Augustine and especially in such an early work as the De Ordine. The arts as ordered to such a wisdom were consequently subordinated to the truth of faith. This is fully illustrated in Saint Augustine’s work on Christian Doctrine. Some of the more apparent shifts within the liberal arts appear very early. after the title of the work by Saint Bonaventure. Any change in the end will be reflected in the structure of the arts as means. it is the story of the shifts of the various arts to favored positions in the hierarchy as they are ordered to different ends or as they are used in different ways for the same end. although the same general end is pursued. and the tradition of the Church. For with Saint Paul wisdom is identified with Christ himself. Yet it would be a mistake to suppose from this that they cease to have a history. The objects of Cicero’s criticism have a strong case to be made on their side. Viewed as a battle. Among the arts themselves this may appear in the prominence given to one over another and the establishment of different hierarchies of the arts. On Order. After him. Another view of philosophy and knowledge. the battle of the arts. By this time they had long existed under the Christian dispensation. Thus in the Carolingian Renaissance Alcuin in the eighth century follows the way of grammar and approximates the classical program of Cicero that is ordered now to Christian wisdom. in the work of Saint Augustine. the work of the liberal arts becomes one of interpreting the Sacred text and its tradition with the end of knowing and loving God and carrying out his will in the world. which may be viewed as a reorganization of the Ciceronian program to achieve the Christian teacher rather than the secular statesman. Any change in the means may affect the achievement of the end. then grammar and rhetoric assume the leading position and the other arts are subordinated to their use. Although the end may remain fixed at least in theory to serve theology in the faith. as it sometimes is. In such a view of wisdom. would tell a very different story about the development of the arts. since Christ is known as God and hence His wisdom came only through faith. Such changes give rise to different constructions of the arts individually and as a whole group. In this way the history of the liberal arts becomes the narrative of the changes which the arts undergo in themselves and in their relation to one another – to each other and to their end as means. at least theoretically. Thus according as the task of the arts is conceived as predominantly that of interpreting the Sacred Text and making it known. The change wrought by a shift in their end is apparent in the Medieval tradition of the arts. Logic and her cohorts with Plato. that poet. That means the students at the universities were taking the logic and opposing the study of grammar with the study of poetry and literature. He was not such a bad prophet. Yet she is described: theology is described as foolishly holding disputations in the schools. had become a philosophical inquiry into the nature of language in the modes it signified. while ranks of logic include a perverse grammar described by the poet as lined up against Druid antiquity. From another point of view however. that logic has all the seven arts on its side. in whose ranks are the old Latin grammarians and the poets from Homer and Virgil down to twelfth century poets such as Alain de Lille and Bernard Silvestre. the battle is primarily between logic and grammar. Thierry of Chartres in the twelfth century claims that all rational explanation depends upon number. Although all seven arts are engaged. and stressing the mathematical arts of the Quadrivium as a means of assent tends to approximate a philosophical program such as that of Plato. the strife is another aspect of the battle of the liberal arts. Already we foresee the triumph of scholasticism and its greatest monument. with the ranks of grammar and her poets. she is called – is pictured as not taking part in the battle since she has no care about the dispute. instead of studying the language of the poets. He prophesied that not thirty years would pass away before a new race will arise and return again to grammar as it was when he was born. At a time it appeared to some that this natural wisdom could only be a rival to the Christian wisdom that had been reigning supreme for centuries.Gaul follows the way of dialectic. Opposed to logic is the true grammar. since the generation he awaited was to be. At any rate there was all the appearance of a tension and a strife between science and religion. or divinity – my lady of the high sciences. Although mathematics is the least developed of the arts during the Middle Ages. each with its own army. there are cases where the Quadrivium seems to be given predominance. changing most. its day was not to die but only to retire. This is sufficient to show that logic has already carried the day. It’s something like the recent developments in linguistics and the rediscovery of the idea of the universal grammar. All of Greek science was available for the first time in centuries to the West. And grammar. the poet says. It is significant. Logic had won the students and gained such a vogue that every boy has gone through her course before he has reached his fifteenth year. at least in the schools. not thirty but some seventy years later. to gather up her 32 . in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Europe because the twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw the reentry into Europe of the entire corpus of the works of Aristotle. yet the poet whose sympathies are entirely with the defeated. the Summa Theologiae. The fight between the Trivium and the Quadrivium and between the arts within the Trivium particularly became most violent. however. is not without hope. Socrates carry everything before them. This rediscovery of Greek science and philosophy extending to every aspect of human natural realms exhibited a fully constituted natural wisdom. To others it appeared as something that could and should be incorporated within the faith in theology. So if grammar was defeated. and it is described as such in a French poem of the thirteenth century entitled The Battle of the Seven Arts. when in the class of the modest grammarian in Southern France a small nine-year-old boy named Petrarch would hear for the first time the music of Cicero. The rationally organized new science of Aristotle appears now under the aegis of logic. Aristotle. Theology. There is in the thirteenth century a French poem on the battle of the arts. abandoning the old tradition and trumpeting philosophy. in which we see the whole of theology with scientific and logical organization. and some of its greatest lights knew less logic than boys at the age of fifteen did in the Middle Ages. and viewed from this aspect it gives a new prominence to the arts of the Quadrivium since modern science arises in the Renaissance. it is quite un-Ciceronian in its predominantly literary and scholarly character – since for all his literary terms and delight in verbal beauty Cicero never forgets the problem of state. and this is especially in mathematics. The poet also foresaw in his Battle of the Seven Arts that the side he represented in the arts was profoundly and violently opposed to logic. This is particularly true of science with its strongly technological side. is dismissed as useless. and yet the technology is possible only because of the knowledge by which it is blessed. The triumph of the mathematical arts appears most manifestly in the conquest of science. I mean the universe. There is also a scientific side in the Renaissance. and yet there is much to be said for the poet’s prophesy. Without knowledge of these. one of the greatest in the whole history of logic. It’s not at all unusual to oppose the sciences to the liberal arts. We look back to the founders of modern science we find that they constantly considered science a work of liberal art. It seems strange to speak of science and the atom bomb as works of liberal art. And these are works of liberal art. the work of the statesman. The literary humanists of the Renaissance were not statesmen. It might even be claimed that the atom bomb is the latest achievement of the Quadrivium. Technology is engineering. to prominence. classical antiquity. and educators often talk of the need of making the sciences more liberal. In a justly famous passage of Saggiatore that wise man Galileo writes: Science has written in that great book which is always open before our eyes. primarily a mechanical not a liberal art. in the industrialization of the world that has happened since the seventeenth century. these mathematical arts. we cannot understand the speech of nature and can but wander vainly through an obscure labyrinth. And with the rise of modern science we also see that the Quadrivium. the text of antiquity. As we come into the times called modern the arts frequently go unrecognized. The scholastic achievement. in physics. There was to be a triumph of grammar. in fact. its characters are triangles. Remember that at the time of Galileo geometry was the supreme mathematical science. 33 .forces to do battle again and this time to triumph under the Ciceronianism and Augustinianism of Petrarch and the Renaissance. that it cannot be understood if one does not understand the language and know the characters in which it is written. the mathematical arts of the Quadrivium. It is written in the language of mathematics. At least the feud is a part of the history of the liberal arts. All of which belong primarily to the work of grammar. Great learning is accumulated and expended for the most part on the elucidation of the text. appear again and come. and logic becomes a matter of no importance and no concern to grammar and her cohorts. Perhaps they did so because they were more conscious than we are of the tradition of the liberal arts. The Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is certainly much too complicated to be summed up in a few sentences. Although Cicero is hailed as its master and theorist. If the liberal arts are present they must be well disguised – and so they are. However this predominantly literary side of the Renaissance which is anti-logical is also anti-scientific. Bochenski in telling the history of formal logic finds that the Renaissance is a dark age for logic. On its literary side in the Renaissance we find an intense cultivation of the classical languages and a truly tremendous work of editing and commenting on text. circles and other geometrical figures. You’ll see more about that later on. We need only recall Leonardo da Vinci. is the question of the relation between mathematics and the natural world.In this passage Galileo is giving expression to what was common doctrine among Renaissance scientists and artists too. To appreciate his analogy we would say that man in his intellectual endeavor has two different kinds of books to read: the book written by men and by women and the book written by nature. At any rate the new developments in mathematics and science that began in the sixteenth century seemed to take place pretty much on their own without any influence from the old arts of the Trivium. the world. and this substitution affords an indication of a shift among the arts of the Quadrivium in which geometry has yielded its place of supremacy to another. Hence we need to consider the nature of art and its kinds if we are to be able to place at all accurately the nature of the liberal arts. Now. 34 . a very great philosopher and scientist. Galileo is saying in effect. There are many reasons for this. In part also the ancient linguistic and logical doctrine did not appear relevant. In other words we need a symbolic discipline which will provide us with the facility to grasp and interpret the signs and symbols with which the story is told. for the understanding of art and its kinds the basic and essential distinctions are given by Aristotle. although few scientists would think of doing so. So much then for the history. or rather its story. since to compare science to reading a book expounds it in the more familiar terms of the linguistic arts. The first of these occurs in the six books of his Nicomachean Ethics where he is concerned to identify and distinguish the intellectual virtues. What can it tell us about the nature of the liberal arts themselves? In the first place. Much of it was not generally known and what passed for it was so degraded that a man like Descartes. Modern physics would substitute the calculus and differential equations and higher geometries for the old geometry. Piero della Francesca. the Trivium. Distinction between the book. certain kinds of arts. The virtue of a faculty or a power is relevant to the work or function that that power performs. Mathematical arts in the first creative advance of their modern development receive little or no help from the ancient arts of language. nature has a story to tell and once we know the story we have a scientific understanding of nature. and God. Galileo again affirms that the symbolic means for knowing the natural world are a different kind from those of our ordinary discourse. could dismiss the past logic and linguistic arts as useless for the purpose of the sciences. The passage could still be used as a description of contemporary science. Both books tell primarily of things other than themselves. He means by virtues the dispositions or habits by which the mind is developed to carry out well its various functions. As a symbolic discipline used for the purpose of knowledge it is a liberal art that is needed. But we cannot read or even hear the story until we know the language in which it is written. In part it was a continuation of the ancient view of the utter diversity between the Trivium and the Quadrivium. with geometry. and the language in which it is written corresponds to the difference between science and liberal art – or still more generally. and Albrecht Durer. We have already looked at the earlier contention that this is much more intimate relation than that between the Trivium and nature. however. to the difference between the end and the means for achieving it which are the liberal arts. He continues at the tradition in affirming that there is a basic distinction between the arts of the Trivium and those of the Quadrivium. The result was a split and a divorce between two kinds of arts which at least in theory had always been joined. as he called them. Yet the comparison it employs possesses the advantage of making clear the function of liberal art in science. that they are arts. The more immediate interest. They talk about men. Galileo identifies the language in nature with mathematics. First. which may be good or evil. Doing is concerned with the action to be done. an airplane. a pot. as long as it is a man-made object existing external to the maker. that is with contriving and considering how something may come into being which is capable of either being or not being and whose origin is in the maker not in the thing made. and making. speculative or philosophical wisdom ( sophia). techne. a lyric. is essentially rational demonstration. It aims at something more than either the knowing or the action that is involved with it. doing. So an artisan who lacks the skill may fail to saw a straight cut. is the activity of making something. There are three of them. So you see what he is calling science. poietris. the note that it is productive. a computer. Although knowledge is epistemean Aristotle says it is not to be equated with our empirical science. a satellite. which are the virtues of knowing and doing respectively. or plane a fine surface. doing. a productive habit with true reason? This qualification indicates two things. since these have their origin in themselves. It is distinct and different from science and prudence. Understanding or insight (Aristotle’s Greek is nous). and these three activities. and scientific knowledge (episteme. and yet also how distinct. Thus a carpenter possesses an ability so perfected that he can saw. we have to note and emphasize how broad this notion of art is. a dance. a productive habit with true reason. a chair. that being the art that he has. Praxis. whatever it is. an automobile.Aristotle accordingly distinguishes three activities of intellect each of which performs a different function. making. restricts it to making in the makeable. Turning back then to our definition. Making is concerned with a thing to be made. a tragic drama. Before considering more closely this definition of art. making. praxis in the Greek. It is known for the sake of knowing. each performing a different function. Poietris is defined as a productive habit. Its specific virtue is prudence which is defined as a practical habit with true reason concerning the goods and evils of human beings. that is the ability to demonstrate a conclusion from prior or better known principles. all art is concerned with coming into being. a productive habit with true reason. put wood together in a way or a better way than one who lacks the skill. a hat. is the realm of moral and political action of human behavior. art is a disposition or quality of the mind. plane. It’s a making habit. are knowing.7 from which our word poetry comes. Its end in the work it aims to produce is external to the activity in the art – whether it is a hearth or whether it is a house. and he defines it as an apodictic. Aristotle’s Greek from which our word technology is derived. a symphony. Productive here is a translation of poietikos. Now poietris. Why then does Aristotle add true reason. and about it Aristotle notes. principles which Aristotle would claim must be certain and necessary. The qualities or habits that enable this activity to be good and excellent are the speculative virtues of understanding or insight. Its specific virtue is art. both differ from speculative or theoretical knowing in that they both aim at something more than the knowing itself. First that an art involves knowledge as reason. episteme. in that apart from the exercise of the art the work would not exist at all. nail. That it is a habit indicates that it is a disposition or quality of mind by which one has developed an ability that others may not have. from which our word poetry comes. Doing. or producing or performing it. 35 . Knowing as distinct from the other two is concerned with that which is not either arguing or making. Second that it is one that might fail of its purpose. a productive habit with true reason. poietikos. from which our word epistemology comes). just as a beginner may cook a soufflé that falls and tastes 7 This should be corrected to poiesis. For art is concerned neither with things that are or come into being by necessity nor with things that do so in accordance with nature. The excellence of the intellectual activity of making. Episteme for Aristotle as science is more relative to our concern than the other two virtues here. whether a kitchen pot or an automobile. material. the artwork. The work made. Aristotle says. Such is identified as any occupation. But there is an ontological basis to the distinction that power transcends the sociological contingency of its expression. “What Is Liberal Education” (1959): What Is Liberal Education? By Leo Strauss Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor Department of Political Science The University of Chicago An Address Delivered at the Tenth Annual Graduation Exercises of the 36 . But this sociological basis for the way he expresses it should not be allowed to conceal its ontological basis. But the knowledge in the art as skill contains rules and methods capable of being applied again and again to many diverse. In both instances the need is for freedom of the mind. There he notes that one must distinguish between two different sorts of arts according as they are liberal or illiberal. art or science which makes the body. Hence the adage that art does not fail: the failure lies in the maker who fails to possess it. Aristotle’s language may betray the contingencies of the society in which he lived and wrote. individual thing regardless of how many times it may be reproduced. Aristotle makes this distinction largely in negative terms by pointing out what is illiberal. Both of these require the freedom of leisure. Perhaps a clearer although equally literal translation of the definition is that art is having the right know-how of things makeable. a dramatic or musical production. soul. But for Aristotle the highest activities of virtue for the free man are consistent with filling the duties of civic life or the pursuit of philosophical wisdom. To narrow in upon the notion of liberal art we need still a further distinction. The possession of the skill can be seen in the goodness or badness of the product. The thing made. Hence the great obstacle is any activity or occupation that dulls the mind and prevents its full and free operation. and the unhampered exercise of the intellect or mind in deliberation and speculation. The difference between the work that is made and the knowing that contributes to its making also emphasizes an important point. The art itself can’t fail. Aristotle also provides it in his Politics. or mind of the free man less fit for the practice or exercise of virtue. in the eighth book where he discusses education. And of these the heaviest lies in the concerns of the body tying them down to the needs of the singular here and now. Hence Aristotle’s demand is much like the old religious sanction that forbade menial work on the Sabbath. may be singular and contingent and in some cases destined to endure for only a short while as does a dance. Leo Strauss. However the knowing involved in art is not individual or singular but universal. He makes this distinction according to kinds of activity that befit a freeman or a slave. Cf. To include the reference to knowledge and the true or right serves to emphasize that art is an intellectual activity however much it may call also for muscular adaptations and training such as those needed for playing a musical instrument or sawing a board. is in each case a concrete. many houses.bad. singular works. The house builder’s art is capable of producing not just one house but many. Liberal education will then consist in studying with the proper care the great books which the greatest minds have left behind – a study in which the more experienced pupils assist the less experienced pupils. the open-mindedness. in order to avoid any ambiguity in a matter of such importance. Obviously. only through the great books. Liberal education is education in culture or toward culture. Just as the soil needs cultivators of the soil. By limiting ourselves to Western culture. I would praise you for your achievement. as would appear if we were to consider the formula which I have just mentioned.” In what culture? Our answer is: culture in the sense of the Western tradition. do we not condemn liberal education to a kind of parochialism. For instance. The finished product of a liberal education is a cultured human being. But teachers are not as easy to come by as farmers. the mind needs teachers. pupils. and Thoughts on Machiavelli. I mention yet another difficulty. This is not an easy task.Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults June 6. the greatest minds. “Culture” is now no longer. Natural Right and History. Many lives have been spent and may still be spent in writing such commentaries. Those teachers who are not in turn pupils are the great minds or. We are not likely to meet any of them in any classroom. Among the books Professor Strauss has written are The Political Philosophy of Hobbes. 1959 Leo Strauss was born in Germany in 1899. We are not likely to meet any of them anywhere. what is meant by the remark that the great books should be studied “with the proper care”? At present I mention only one difficulty which is obvious to everyone among you: the greatest minds do not all tell us the same things regarding the most important themes. the taking care and improving of the native faculties of the mind in accordance with the nature of the mind. it certainly entails the consequence that liberal education cannot be simply indoctrination. have access to the teachers who are not in turn pupils. The liberal education which you have acquired will avert the danger that the warning will be understood as a counsel of despair. “Liberal education is education in culture. Since coming to the United States in 1938 he has been professor of political science and philosophy at the New School for Social Research and professor of political science at the University of Chicago. including the beginners. of liberal education? Our notion of liberal education does not seem to fit an age which is aware of the fact that there is not the culture of the human mind but a variety of cultures. to the greatest minds. the community of the greatest minds is rent by discord and even by various kinds of discord. “Culture” ( cultura) means primarily agriculture: the cultivation of the soil and its products. the generosity. of whatever degree of proficiency. It is a piece of good luck if there is a single one alive in one’s time. If I were entitled to do so. improving the soil in accordance with its nature. Whatever further consequences this may entail. which can be used only in the singular. I congratulate you on your achievement. taking care of the soil. Yet Western culture is only one among many cultures. “Culture” means derivatively and today chiefly the cultivation of the mind. But I would be untrue to the obligation which I have undertaken if I did not supplement my congratulations with a warning. But there cannot be an infinite regress: ultimately there must be teachers who are not in turn pupils. Such men are extremely rare. You have acquired a liberal education. The teachers themselves are pupils and must be pupils. For all practical purposes. That formula requires a long commentary. In 1954-55 he was visiting professor of philosophy and political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “culture” if susceptible of being used in the plural is not quite the same thing as “culture” which is a singulare tantum. and is not parochialism incompatible with the liberalism. as 37 . i. According to an extreme view which is the predominant view in the profession. Prior to the emergence of modern democracy some doubts were felt whether democracy thus understood is possible. Let us then make a fresh start by raising the question: what can liberal education mean here and now? Liberal education is literate education of a certain kind: some sort of education in letters or through letters. At the frontiers of research there arises the question as to whether there are not cultures also of inmates of lunatic asylums. Hence we do not hesitate to speak of the culture of suburbia or of the cultures of juvenile gangs both non-delinquent and delinquent.e.. Liberal education is the necessary endeavor to found an aristocracy within 38 . Democracy in a word is meant to be an aristocracy which has broadened into a universal aristocracy.e. In other words. and democracy as it is.. Having arrived at this point. of breadth and of depth. Democracy is then not indeed mass rule but mass culture.” This still and small voice has by now become a highpowered loudspeaker. for he participates in a culture.people say. it would rule itself democratically. It is not easy to say what culture susceptible of being used in the plural means.” Liberal education is the ladder by which we try to ascend from mass democracy to democracy as originally meant. to its inherent tendency to produce nothing but “specialists without spirit or vision and voluptuaries without heart. groupings of men who for whatever reason are on top or have a fair chance to arrive at the top. lack of public spirit. a regime in which all or most adults are virtuous and wise. As a consequence of this obscurity people have suggested. it is as if someone would say that the cultivation of a garden may consist of the garden being littered with empty tin cans and whiskey bottles and used papers of various descriptions thrown around the garden at random. or the society in which all or most adults have developed their reason to a high degree. There is no need to make a case for literacy. the ideal of democracy was a sheer delusion and the only thing which matters is the behavior of democracies and the behavior of men in democracies. every human being outside of lunatic asylums is a cultured human being. If we contrast the present day usage of “culture” with the original meaning. political science – which so to speak has no other theme than the contrast between the original conception of democracy. There exists a whole science – the science which I among thousands profess to teach. not indeed the salt of the earth but the salt of modern democracy are those citizens who read nothing except the sports page and the comic section. that “culture” is any pattern of conduct common to any human group. is said to be electoral apathy. “If there were a people consisting of gods. requires in the long run qualities of an entirely different kind: qualities of dedication. Liberal education is the counter-poison to mass culture. an absolute but has become relative. But even a mass culture and precisely a mass culture requires a constant supply of what are called new ideas. explicitly or implicitly. and since virtue seems to require wisdom. A government of such perfection is not suitable for human beings. even if it is only regarded as the hard shell which protects the soft mass culture. we realize that we have lost our way somehow. Modem democracy. to the corroding effects of mass culture. A mass culture is a culture which can be appropriated by the meanest capacities without any intellectual and moral effort whatsoever and at a very low monetary price. as far as the mass is concerned. Thus we understand most easily what liberal education means here and now. In order to understand this need we must reflect on modern democracy. every voter knows that modern democracy stands or falls by literacy. of concentration. What is modern democracy? It was once said that democracy is the regime that stands or falls by virtue: a democracy is a regime in which all or most adults are men of virtue. which are the products of what are called creative minds: even singing commercials lose their appeal if they are not varied from time to time. one of the most important virtues required for the smooth working of democracy. i. As one of the two greatest minds among the theorists of democracy put it. so far from being universal aristocracy. or what one may call the ideal of democracy. But democracy. or the rational society. would be mass rule were it not for the fact that the mass cannot rule but is ruled by elites. since there are no letters in such a society. we do well to take as our model that one among the greatest minds who because of his common sense is the mediator between us and the greatest minds. nauseated. we pick it out and regard it as a great gain if we thus become useful to one another. gods or sons of gods or pupils of gods. the highest. is virtue and is happiness. or have not defaced the divine message by merely human additions or subtractions. he suggested. degraded by the mass of printed material. But life is too short to live with any but the greatest books. For those people employ a loose expression which is perhaps 39 . Only letters which have come down from the founders can make it possible for the founders to speak directly to the latest heirs. that we today cannot return to nature: may not coming generations. We are compelled to live with books. by what means does liberal education remind us of human greatness? We cannot think highly enough of what liberal education is meant to be. is not simply wise. In what way.democratic mass society. that it dogmatically assumes the goodness of modem democracy. Someone might say that this notion of liberal education is merely political. I myself am pleased to an even higher degree by good friends. who. And the treasures of the wise men of old which they left behind by writing them in books. Socrates said: “What I have understood is great and noble. We have beard Plato’s suggestion that education in the highest sense is philosophy. but one surely needs for understanding that writing some special sort of a diver. liberal education consists in reminding oneself of human excellence. be compelled to live in illiterate tribes? Will our thoughts concerning thermonuclear wars not be affected by such prospects? Certain it is that the horrors of mass culture (which include guided tours to integer nature) render intelligible the longing for a return to nature. . We must not be deceived by the fact that we meet many people who say that they are philosophers. of human greatness. be is declared to possess all the excellences of which man’s mind is capable. after a man-wrought cataclysm. the philosopher.” This report is defective since it does not tell us anything as to what Socrates did regarding those passages in the books of the wise men of old of which he did not know whether they were good.” Education to perfect gentlemanship. as such.” The man who reports this utterance. But wisdom is inaccessible to man and hence virtue and happiness will always be imperfect. they cannot know whether the fathers or grandfathers have not deviated from what the original founders meant. From another report we learn that Euripides once gave Socrates the writing of Heraclitus and then asked him for his opinion about that writing. Philosophy is quest for wisdom or quest for knowledge regarding the most important. In this respect as well as in some others. the graveyards of so many beautiful and majestic forests? It is not sufficient to say that this is mere romanticism. “Just as others are pleased by a good horse or dog or bird. . Socrates never wrote a book but be read books. An illiterate society at its best is a society ruled by age-old ancestral custom which it traces to original founders. From this we must draw the conclusion that we cannot be philosophers – that we cannot acquire the highest form of education. to the life of preliterate tribes? Are we not crushed. such knowledge. is declared to be the only true king. Let me quote a statement of Socrates which says almost everything that has to be said on our subject. and if we see something good. hence an illiterate society cannot consistently act on its principle that the best is the oldest. Liberal education reminds those members of a mass democracy who have ears to hear. I unfold and go through them together with my friends. It is then self-contradictory to wish to return to illiteracy. of human greatness. it seemed to me both that Socrates was blessed and that be was leading those listening to him toward perfect gentlemanship. with the noble simplicity and quiet greatness of the ancients. . to the highest degree. adds the remark: “When I heard this. Can we not turn our backs on modem society? Can we not return to nature. I believe this is also true of what I have not understood. or the most comprehensive things. to human excellence. In spite of this. the late heirs cannot be in direct contact with the original founders. Plato apparently felt that one could not write a dialogue between two men of the highest order. we have learned. By becoming aware of the dignity of the mind. more generally and more cautiously.necessitated by administrative convenience. But here we are confronted with the overwhelming difficulty that this conversation does not take place without our help – that in fact we must bring about that conversation. the nomos which gave us authoritative guidance. The greatest minds to whom we ought to listen are by no means exclusively the greatest minds of the West. liberal education consists in listening to the conversation among the greatest minds. judges. Yet we must face our awesome situation. wiser than the wisest men of the past. It leads us to realize that all evils are in a sense necessary if there is to be understanding. must be on its guard against the wish to be edifying – philosophy can only be intrinsically edifying. On the other hand we cannot but notice that we are not competent to be judges. or can be. We have no comfort other than that inherent in this activity. It enables us to accept all evils which befall us and which may well break our hearts in the spirit of good citizens of the city of God. we can try to philosophize. the cause of this situation is that we have lost all simply authoritative traditions in which we could trust. It is merely an unfortunate necessity which prevents us from listening to the greatest minds of India and of China: we do not understand their languages. Each of us here is compelled to find his bearings by his own powers however defective they may be. fair or ugly. higher than those of the greatest minds – either because our point of view is that of our time. can be presumed to be superior to their times. simply right: we know that there cannot be the simply true substantive view but only a simply true formal view. that formal view consists in the insight that every comprehensive view is relative to a specific perspective. by noesis noeseos. their “side by side” into a “together. so noble an experience that Aristotle could ascribe it to his God. and therefore in studying the great books. because our immediate teachers and teachers’ teachers believed in the possibility of a simply rational society. created by the necessity that we try to be more than attentive and docile listeners. and our time. This philosophizing consists at any rate primarily and in a way chiefly in listening to the conversation between the great philosophers or. so pure. and this act of understanding may be accompanied by the awareness of our understanding. and this is so high. As it seems to me. Often they mean merely that they are members of philosophy departments. This experience is entirely independent of whether what we understand primarily is pleasing or displeasing. being later than the time of the greatest minds. between the greatest minds. When we look at the Platonic dialogues. or that all comprehensive views are mutually exclusive and none can be simply true. and yet we are not competent to be judges.” The greatest minds utter monologues even when they write dialogues. We cannot exert our understanding without from time to time understanding something of importance. we observe that there is never a dialogue among minds of the highest order: all Platonic dialogues are dialogues between a superior man and men inferior to him. To repeat. We are thus induced to play the part not of attentive and docile listeners but of impresarios or lion-tamers. We somehow believe that our point of view is superior. they compel us to judge of their monologues. or else because we believe that each of the greatest minds was right from his point of view but not. Since the greatest minds contradict one another regarding the most important matters. by the understanding of understanding. and we cannot learn all languages. The greatest minds utter monologues. We must transform their monologues into a dialogue. This state of things is concealed from us by a number of facile delusions. Philosophy. We cannot be philosophers but we can love philosophy. The facile delusions which conceal from us our true situation all amount to this. we realize the true ground of the dignity of man and therewith the 40 . as be claims. we cannot take on trust what any one of them says. We must then do something which the greatest minds were unable to do. And it is as absurd to expect members of philosophy departments to be philosophers as it is to expect members of art departments to be artists. namely. Let us face this difficulty – a difficulty so great that it seems to condemn liberal education as an absurdity. that we are. Liberal education is liberation from vulgarity. Liberal education. which consists in the constant intercourse with the greatest minds. The Greeks had a beautiful word for “vulgarity”. not to say of humility. which is the home of man because it is the home of the human mind.goodness of the world. It is at the same time a training in boldness: it demands from us the complete break with the noise. § See also: Liberal Arts and Liberal Education by Christopher Flannery 41 . they called it apeirokalia. the rush. or to regard the average opinions as extreme opinions which are at least as likely to be wrong as the most strange or the least popular opinions. lack of experience in things beautiful. is a training in the highest form of modesty. the cheapness of the Vanity Fair of the intellectuals as well as of their enemies. the thoughtlessness. It demands from us the boldness implied in the resolve to regard the accepted views as mere opinions. Liberal education supplies us with experience in things beautiful. whether we understand it as created or as uncreated. but in the order of learning. It is called practical because of its end. which are the principal concerns of such a life. On the Art and Science of Grammar. it is necessary that anything signifying have more in it than just sound and agreement about what the sound is to signify. it must have some accidents. is involved in the learning and exercise of them. but in what it contributes to the others. 1: Liberal education begins with the seven liberal arts. 9: n. He answered that logic. The place of grammar in the liberal arts. it is not necessarily not worth knowing for its own sake. Grammar is the first among these arts. 9. Marcus Berquist (in June of 1994) how there can be a speculative science of grammar if it is of things less intelligible than the subject of logic. insofar as it is presupposed to all the other liberal arts and sciences. precisely because there is so much necessity in its subject matter. not in itself. Like logic. and more so than grammar. what is signified must be signified in some way (in some mode of signifying). not in excellence or in intrinsic importance. Is Logic Speculative? I asked Mr. Philosophical and Theological Scrapbook. It has its reward. Augros. the principal part of the trivium. Introduction. 1994.6. Logic. is speculative. § 42 . such as the genders and numbers and cases etc. p. Marcus Berquist. and it is to the extent that there is such that there is a speculative science there. Summer. it is a knowledge sought primarily for its utility. Part I. Also. n. Michael A. there is some necessity in the subject matter of grammar. are not any one of them absolutely necessary. and is necessary for their wellbeing. it is not so much an intrinsic part of philosophy as its instrument. too. Cf. it is not necessarily knowledge of contingent singulars. But if a knowledge is useful. which is considered to be primarily a tool. For instance. Likewise. which are an introduction to the life of study and a preparation for the more difficult sciences. although no one accident is necessary in a substance. Cf. Although the familiar modes of signifying. he said. scilicet syllogismos et definitiones et alia huiusmodi. Lect. the pole on which the vine is trained I Transf. non quaeruntur ad cognoscendum propter seipsas. it is not so much a science as the tool of science. are about things the knowledge of which is sought for its own sake. as its name also indicates.php [3/19/04]) 43 . Berquist. Duane H. she has on her dress the Greek letters naming these two parts. sunt de illis quorum cognitio quaeritur propter seipsa. The place of logic in the liberal arts. Whence according to Boethius in his Commentary on Porphyry. Hence. 1. The things however which logic is about. sed ut adminiculum quoddam ad alias scientias. “The Proemium to Logic” (The Society for Aristotelian Studies):8 THE PLACE OF LOGIC IN THE DIVISION OF PHILOSOPHY Philosophy is sometimes divided into two parts and sometimes into three. to do something like walking or driving. But if we divide philosophy into only two parts (looking and practical). cap. And the end of practical philosophy. 1. which are theoretical or looking philosophy and practical philosophy. but as something reduced to it. Res autem de quibus est logica. 8 (http://www. ad 2: Looking sciences. 1. as is clear in the beginning of the Metaphysics. This is like the use we make of our eyes.aristotelian. 1. Unde secundum Boetium in Comment. But sometimes philosophy is divided into three parts where we add to the two chief parts. it is divided into its two chief parts. a. In Boetii de Trinitate . as its name indicates.7. Cf. their Latin names). The end of looking philosophy. a third part which is the tool of philosophy. and at other times.org/lyceum/logic/proemium_to_logic. I. In Boetii de Trinitate . are not sought to be known for themselves. sometimes just to see something beautiful. These differ by their end. is to see or understand. The distinction of the seven liberal arts into the quadrivium and the trivium goes back to Pythagoras (who divided the four mathematical sciences of the quadrivium) and Plato (who was distinguishing the trivium). [adminiculum: I a prop. Ad 2: scientiae speculativae. prout ministrat speculationi sua instrumenta. Q. Sometimes logic is placed among the liberal arts and in this consideration we can also see its connection more with looking philosophy than practical philosophy. II. but as a help to the other sciences. Thomas explains why they are called liberal arts and their place and that of logic in particular at the beginning of philosophy. a support. Art. If we divide it into two. as Thomas explains in this text: Thomas Aquinas. ut patet in principio Metaphysicorum . The distinction of the seven and their place in education was formalized in the Middle Ages (hence. aid help] Thomas Aquinas. sed sicut quoddam reductum ad eam. insofar as it provides looking with its tools. quibus in speculativis scientiis indigemus. And therefore logic is not contained under looking philosophy as a principal part. Lectio II. when Lady Wisdom appears to Boethius in the Consolation of Philosophy. In the following text. Et ideo logica non continetur sub philosophia speculativa quasi principalis pars. super Porphyrium (L. namely syllogisms and definitions and others of this kind which we need in the looking sciences. 3) non tam est scientia quam scientiae instrumentum. logic would be more reduced to looking philosophy. Logic is a tool for acquiring philosophy rather than a chief or principal part of philosophy. is to do well. q. these among the other sciences. qui philosophiam discere volebant. as is said in the N. ad 3: To the third it should be said that the seven liberal arts do not sufficiently divide looking philosophy. Et sic datur intelligi quod post logicam consequenter debet mathematica addisci. II. Whence they cannot be called liberal arts. Vel ideo hae inter ceteras scientias artes dicuntur. and therefore they are distinguished into the trivium and the quadrivium. II. And thus is given to be understood that after logic one ought to learn mathematics to which pertains the quadrivium.Thomas Aquinas. sed opus aliquod. non autem physica. debet quis addiscere ante omnes alias scientias. Thomas Aquinas. Duane H. Victor says in the third book of his Didascalicon. 1. before all the other sciences. because acts of this kind belong to man by that part in which he is not free. quod est immediate ipsius rationis. 1. et Commentator ibidem dicit quod logicam. quia his primum erudiebantur. are called arts. alchimia et aliae huiusmodi. Vel habent opus corporale. Unde non possunt dici artes liberales. mensurare. eo quod his quasi quibusdam viis vivax animus ad secreta philosophiae introeat. In Boetii de Trinitate . VI. as the construction of a syllogism or to form a speech. quae experimentum requirit. because they not only have knowledge. Lect. ut constructionem syllogismi vel orationem formare. qua non est liber. ut dicit Hugo de Sancto Victore in III sui Didascalicon. to form melodies. namely the bodily part. But other sciences either do not have a work but knowledge only. sed ideo. Ethics . a. in that through these as by certain roads the lively soul enters into the secrets of philosophy. But not natural science which requires experience. quia non solum habent cognitionem. et ita his quasi quibusdam viis praeparatur animus ad alias philosophicas disciplinas. ad quam pertinet quadrivium. melodias formare et cursus siderum computare. as divine and natural science (whence they cannot have the name of art since art is called making reason. ad 3: Ad tertium dicendum quod septem liberales artes non sufficienter dividunt philosophiam theoricam. sed cognitionem tantum. 1. Et hoc etiam consonat verbis Philosophi qui dicit in II Metaphysicae quod modus scientiae debet quaeri ante scientias. chemistry and others of this kind. as medicine. to measure. quia sunt hominis huiusmodi actus ex parte illa.) or they have a bodily work. cum ars dicatur ratio factiva. praetermissis quibusdam aliis septem connumerantur. et ideo distinguuntur in trivium et quadrivium. and thus by these as by certain roads the soul is prepared for the other philosophic disciplines. sicut medicina. numerare. Berquist § 44 . scilicet ex parte corporis. In Boetii de Trinitate . as Hugo of St. a. q. but rather. q. 1. ut dicitur in VI Metaphysicae. And he [Aristotle] says also in the sixth book of the Ethics that mathematics is able to known by boys. unde nomen artis habere non possunt. Or rather. and the Commentator there says that one ought to learn logic that teaches the common mode of all the sciences and to which pertains the trivium. Aliae vero scientiae vel non habent opus. quae docet modum omnium scientiarum. seven are numbered (setting aside some others) because those who wish to learn philosophy are first instructed in these. but some work that is immediately of reason itself. and to compute the course of the stars. Dicit etiam in VI Ethicorum quod mathematica potest sciri a pueris. to number. sicut scientia divina et naturalis. ad quam pertinet trivium. And this also fits with the words of the Philosopher who says in the second book of the Metaphysics that the mode of science ought to be sought before the sciences. Lect. mathematics is the indispensable first grasp we have of science. If we view all Mathematics as a tool. objective. and we know we are most certain of it.which is the true life of science. The loss of liberal mathematics in modern times was a devastation. Posted Sept. we can do no other than view science as a tool. In a very real sense. we can’t even be expected to know what proof means. But without mathematics. having lost the paradigm of mathematics. when he is most certain about something (having science) in fact has only probability. 14. Just Thomism (Blog). The modern mind. 2005 at 6:38 pm Comments (0) § 45 . A student goes to a science class and learns that nothing can count as a science unless it is disprovable. and sure kind of knowledge. when taught as a speculative science and liberal art. The common element in both of these is their uncertainty and groundlessness. of that sense awareness in man that knowledge is the sort of thing that should be sought for its own sake. The only joy or intrinsic worth to such a “science” is the banal fascination of a game or hobby.commonly heard and experienced by all. Again. we view all science as an art. Mathematics is the body of knowledge which gives us the greatest certainty. then he goes to a humanities course and be told that the whole goal of humanities is to “enter into the great conversation” or “learn the various ways that people have struggled with the great questions”. and there is some sense in every man that science ought to be the rule and measure of human life. for mathematics simply is the body of knowledge about which we have the greatest certainty.that man. provides us an irreplaceable grasp of what it means to know something for its own sake. in this life or any other. Gone is any sense of paideia. But too often this natural respect for science gets contracted and distorted so as to apply only to physical sciences based on disprovable hypotheses and verified by experiment. 2005: Mathematics as the First Speculative Science. and so it is the model for us of what all sciences should be. James Chastek.the highest and most noble life a man can live. ——– Published in: Default Category on September 14. One of the best signs of the educated man is that he knows what needs to be proven. We use the word “science” to describe the most precise. This leads to the conclusion. There is no measure for the things we lost. penetrating. if we view all math as art. Cf. and not certain of. we will view all science as manipulation of the subject matter. we lose all science when we lose mathematics: what remains and calls itself science is really an art that treats nature as pure matter to be informed by the scientist. Our view of science cannot be higher than our view of math. and that the goal of an educated man was to tell the difference between the things he was certain of. if we view math as nothing other than the manipulation of its subject matter. Mathematics. and what doesn’t need to be proven. The place of mathematics in the liberal arts. divides all learning into the sciences and the humanities.8. and through this we can know the joy of contemplation. which is of political and social as well as familial concern. in Book VI of Plato’s Republic. The first in the order of learning. This is because. Here. The third consideration of music in the course of study is in ethics and political philosophy. but from a more general and abstract consideration. Oct.9. This kind of order is a good thing to see at the beginning because it is proportioned to us. Therefore it pertains to ethics and politics to consider it. Here. can apprehend an order of this kind. music not only amuses and pleases. which is perhaps a sufficient reason for its being. The place of music in the liberal arts. but it is also dispositive. is the liberal art of music. Marcus Berquist. Excerpt from a lecture given at St. We see in music a kind of unity and harmony between the passions and reason. and from a consideration of its peculiarities. in Book II of his Laws. and the specific differences. It pertains to education. which is concerned with the acquisition of virtue. We find this. it is a kind of recreation and rest from life’s effortful activities. We are all concerned that citizens be good men. music is considered in terms of education. Ojai. in the opinion of Aristotle and Plato and many others. California. This would be a thorough or definitive consideration in terms of the proximate genus. The next place that music would come up in the course of study is in a way analogous to Aristotle’s consideration of tragedy in the Poetics. Good Music and Bad. § 46 . without a great deal of experience. as a mode of imitation. 1991: There are three places in the course of study where music is considered. This is the easiest sort of order for us to see and appreciate. The numerical ratios and proportions you study in harmony are common to music and other things as well. for example. Even the young. a doctrine which you have not derived from that subject matter. we first see in the order of learning that music is characterized by a reasonable order. imitation of what? and by what means? We can contrast this with the kind of treatment you’d have in a liberal art where you are applying a doctrine which is abstract and general to a particular subject matter. a part of the quadrivium. which examines music in the light of certain mathematical principles which it exhibits. which is imitation. Thomas Aquinas College. Cf. It has an effect on the soul for good or for ill. and in Book VIII of Aristotle’s Politics. the four mathematical disciplines were enumerated as arithmetic. and it is for this reason that Aquinas later calls such disciplines “mixed and intermediate sciences. in modern times. the Timaeus. and Huygens. geometry. like optics and harmonics. the initial conception of mathematical physics as well as deep insight into its nature and pattern. we have. 1952). and Kepler. In his formulation of the liberal arts and sciences that was part of the early education of the guardians in The Republic. aimed at saving the appearances by explaining them in mathematical terms. Thus Plato is more nearly than Aristotle the precursor of mathematical physics – of Ptolemy. in The Republic. rather than in The Republic. The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World (Chicago. All four were strictly mathematical disciplines. Aristotle criticizes the notion of astronomy as a purely mathematical science. “Physics” (Introduction): Aristotle’s teacher Plato was not a physicist in this sense. Newton. though its subject matter is physical and its method is in part empirical. and astronomy. Chapter 5. But in the Timaeus Plato turns mathematical formulas and calculations to use in telling what he calls “a likely story” concerning the formation and structure of the sensible world of becoming. come to be called “mathematical physics. so the objects of astronomy are also the visible heavens. However. II{II}. ibid. § 47 . Copernicus. astronomy the geometry of motions. according to Whitehead.” Aristotle writes. Vol. the ancients recognized the special character of the sciences which apply mathematics to nature and which consult experience to choose among hypotheses arising from different mathematical formulations. Astronomy is no more concerned with the visible heavens than music is with audible tones. not empirical sciences.. “supplies the principles of astronomical science. in one dialogue. Yet even here his process of thought relies heavily on mathematical concepts and configurations. I{I}. “Astronomy” (Introduction): THE GREAT BOOKS of astronomy most lucidly exhibit the essential pattern of that kind of natural science which has. Here. Music is rather the arithmetic of harmonies. He regards the elaborate theory that he develops as only a likely story. “Astronomical experience. In that context he treats them as pure mathematics. Plato is concerned with what looks like a physical problem . music. The place of astronomy in the liberal arts. groups music and astronomy along with arithmetic and geometry as mathematical arts or sciences. takes the form of mathematical demonstration.” Cf.” Yet. Mortimer J.the formation of the cosmos and its structure. Adler. Plato. Just as “the things of which optics and mathematical harmonies treat” cannot be divorced from the sensible. Outlining a curriculum for liberal education.10. Chapter 67.” Though that phrase may be modern. astronomy. Vol. of Galileo. Cf. Thomas’ description of the work belonging to the art of grammar: formare constructionis. the art of music itself. further remarks are in order here. the work belonging to the liberal art of music is melodias formare. According to the text of St. St. Whereas the former is the act of ars liberalis musicae (which is a virtue of the speculative intellect). 18. to geometry. n. By a proportion then. The work of the liberal art of music is to apply formal number to sounds as matter in order to understand such things as intervals. (In II De Anima. The works of the trivium. Given its unfamiliarity. The division of liberal art into its principal parts. to music. to number belongs to arithmetic. as al-ready noted. one must understand “forming melodies” to pertain to this. lect. to astronomy. to form a construction9 belongs to grammar. to reckon the course of the stars. to rhetoric. the distinguishing in the voice of the high and low. melodias formare.11. and the scales com-posed of them. 9 That is. ‘the forming of melodies’. But this forming must not be confused with the characteristic activity of mousike techne aute. To begin with. astronomy 12. Thomas Aquinas from his commentary on the Trinity of Boethius. The trivium: The quadrivium: grammar. to put together a sentence. to form melodies. are the melodiae to be constructed? In commenting on the De Anima. we must consider St. a speech. apart from which he can do nothing. rhetoric arithmetic. but the composer of music requires a natural gift for composition (euphues or ingenium). Accordingly. for the liberal artist in music to do his work. Hence. then. As we pointed out in a footnote. are habits of the speculative intellect). a syllogism. What. music. to measure. 15. The works of the quadrivium. geometry. 48 . In the previous section we pointed out that ‘forming melodies’ cannot be taken to mean “composing melodies” in the sense in which that activity belongs to the composer of music. this is equivalent to saying “to construct a sentence”. inasmuch as the right construction of the sentence is the goal of the art of grammar. and equates it with consonantia. 3). logic. may mean something like “to construct the work expressed by melodia”. the latter proceeds from that virtue of the practical intellect which enables its possessor to compose a symphony or a song. as well as the demonstrations that follow from them (which. Supplementary remarks on the meaning of melodias formare. 13. book II where Aristotle attributes melos to the voice (420b 9). The work belonging to the liberal art of music. to logic. But the work of mousike techne is to produce an imitation naturally delightful to man by moving the passions in accordance with reason. the consonances they make. expressed in English. he must acquire by study a knowledge of the application of arithmetical princi-ples to musical sound. Thomas understands this to mean melodia. 14. XIX. since the student of harmonic science must be able to construct an ordered sequence of intervals according to the various systems of tuning in order to understand what they are.” (In I Post. 12 In other words. to determine whether they can be evenly divided.. 5. q. We must. which is the subject genus of music. it belongs to the student of harmonics to construct the intervals in which consonances consist in order. 11 For the ancients. to sounds. lect. or the like. 3. again. also the following observations from St. equivalent to the Latin melodia. and rhythmos.. lect. Problems XIX. e. speech. they are the modes like the major and minor scales belonging to the tuning called equal temperament found in present day pianos. Harmonia also means a consonance in sounds (In I De Anima. 1. cf. On the work of the liberal art of music. for the moderns. but consonance is the ratio or proportion in numbers according to the high and low (In II Post. has two meanings for Greek writers on harmonic science: taken in one way. the word can be taken in the first of the two meanings of melos given above. the scales put together from intervals between high and low ‘voices’. 920a 29) which we call ‘melody’. harmonic science considers sounds insofar as one sound has to another the ratio a number has to a number. 398d). and number of sounds.g. the order of high and low sounds (Aristotle. harmoniai. which he distinguishes from the “intertwining ( ploke) of the high and low”. and Lydian.10 As for the harmoniai. we can understand melodias in St. according to which they tuned their instruments. and rhythm (Plato. then. or to divide the monochord (such work requiring him to apprehend their ratios in numbers and to perform on them such operations as compounding and separating) and the like. are not one genus simply. these systems consisted in the several harmoniai.But St.11 Second. which is the subject genus of arithmetic. have been well-ordered. 8). Thomas uses this latter word as a synonym for harmonia. lect. which he says is the sense of melos proper to harmonics (De Musica I. like the Dorian. or to construct the consonant intervals presupposed to this. in another way. In sum. 29. (In the De Anima commentary St. 919b 33. lect. it signifies that which consists in logos. 49 . Thomas’ text in either of two ways. but insofar as they are proportionable according to numbers. n. it means ton phthongon taxei ton oxeon kai bareon. inasmuch as here. such as strings. Phrygian. art. 25. n. Thomas understands this to mean the composite of sounds that results from an instrument whose parts. Thomas Aquinas: “Music considers sounds. which we call ‘song’ or ‘tune’. calls this melos teleia. III.” (In I Post. 9. then.”12 (In Boetii De Trin. 5) “For music applies formal number (which the arithmetician considers) to matter—that is. not insofar as they are sounds. or flutes. complete or perfect melody. look at the definitions of these terms. n. An. ad 6) “So number simply. An. First. Republic III. melodias formare means either to construct an ordered sequence of high and low sounds. 27. n. Aristides Quintilianus (perhaps from the fourth century AD). Anal. or sounds in the sense of ‘notes’. we must note that the term melos. tunings or attunements. 12). thereby constituting ‘melody’. cf. in the Philebus (17d) Plato defines them as the systemata that result from diastemata…tes phones oxutetos te peri kai barutetos .) In the light of the foregoing definitions. that is. it can be understood as equivalent to consonantia. First. 15. together with the other arithmetical operations this involves.. 4). or to build a scale. 2) 10 A later writer on music. ” (In Boetii De Trin. (The astronomy and music which are liberal arts explain their subject-matters by mathematical principles exclusively... 3. art. arithmetic. such as grammar.” (In II Physic. Mazzetti. which considers the proportions of audible sounds. and music (the quadrivium). III q. All rights reserved. 3) “But some (sciences) are intermediate which apply mathematical principles to natural things. An. 8) “And harmonics—that is. astronomy. astronomy. 10) “And harmonics—that is.” (Marcus R. A Compendium Texts. the liberal] are twofold: some concern the proper method of discourse. music.” (In III Meta. 50 .“And in harmonics—that is. (The introductory studies of the stars and of music consider only the quantitative aspects of their subjects. 7.. 5. the arts which comprise the quadrivium—geometry and astronomy.)” (Thomas Aquinas College Blue Book) “Furthermore. ad 6) Consider also the following from certain contemporary sources: “Music applies arithmetic to sounds that we make which express our emotions and sentiments.. lect. such as geometry. music. lect. while others treat of quantity and the quantitative. as music. and the like. n. applies the principles of arithmetic to sensible sounds. rhetoric. n. lect.” (Thomas Aquinas College Bulletin) “These arts [sc.” (In I Post. music. See also: On the Division of the Arts. since such explanations are proportioned to beginners). applies to sounds the things the arithmetician considers about the proportions in numbers. 3. 41. and logic (the trivium). Berquist) § (c) 2013 Bart A. n. arithmetic and music—are all mathematical.