Never the Twain Shall Meet?

Byzantinisches Archiv –
Series Philosophica

Herausgegeben von
Sergei Mariev

Wissenschaftlicher Beirat:
John Demetracopoulos, Jozef Matula,
John Monfasani, Inmaculada Pérez Martín,
Brigitte Tambrun-Krasker

Band 2
Never the Twain
Shall Meet?

Latins and Greeks learning from each other in Byzantium

Edited by
Denis Searby
ISBN 978-3-11-055958-3
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-056107-4
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-055973-6
ISSN 1864-9785

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Acknowledgements

This volume would not have been possible without the generous support of the
Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) that funded the Stockholm University
conference “Never the Twain” (June 24–26, 2015) which was the basis for the papers
collected here. Also to be thanked in this connection are the Harald och Tonny Ha-
gendahls minnesfond which provided additional funding as well as the Department of
Romance Studies and Classics at Stockholm University which hosted the conference,
and Astrid Söderbergh Widding, the Vice Chancellor of the university, for her words of
welcome inspiration that opened the conference. Naturally, the contributing authors
as well as the anonymous reviewers are also to be thanked for all their hard work. A
special note of gratitude is due to Professor Sergei Mariev, the editor of the Byzantini-
sches Archiv – Series Philosophica, and to his team of highly effective typesetters who
worked with impressive celerity once they received the final versions of the papers.

Stockholm, May 2017 Denis Searby

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-005
Contents

List of Contributors | IX

Denis M. Searby
Foreword | 1

Franz Tinnefeld
Translations from Latin to Greek | 9

Marcus Plested
Reconfiguring East and West in Byzantine and Modern Orthodox
Theology | 21

John Monfasani
George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 47

Antoine Levy
Translatable and Untranslatable Aquinas | 63

Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos
Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 77

Irini Balcoyiannopoulou
New Evidence on the Manuscript Tradition and on the Latin and Greek Background
tο George Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 93

Marie-Hélène Blanchet
The Two Byzantine Translations of Thomas Aquinas’ De Rationibus Fidei | 115

John A. Demetracopoulos
Scholarios’ On Almsgiving, or How to Convert a Scholastic “Quaestio” into a
Sermon | 129

Pantelis Golitsis
ἐσέντζια, ὀντότης, οὐσία | 179

Brian M. Jensen
Hugo Eterianus and his Two Treatises in the Demetrius of Lampe Affair | 197
VIII | Contents

Christian W. Kappes
Gregorios Palamas’ Reception of Augustine’s Doctrine of the Original Sin and
Nicholas Kabasilas’ Rejection of Aquinas’ Maculism as the Background to
Scholarios’ Immaculism | 207

Michail Konstantinou-Rizos
Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas’ Quaestiones disputatae de
potentia and Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus creaturis | 259

Sergei Mariev
Nature as instrumentum Dei | 275

Tikhon Alexander Pino

Hylomorphism East and West | 291

Georgios Steiris
Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 309

Selected Bibliography | 335

Index | 355
List of Contributors

Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos, PhD is a research assistant at the Department of Humanities, Ca’Foscari

University of Venice, and a collaborator of the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus research project (2007–).
His interests include Christian Literature, and Greek and Latin Medieval Philosophy. Currently, he is
working on the Editio Princeps of the Greek Translation of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae Ia IIae
by Demetrius Cydones and its incomplete Compendium by Bessarion.

Irini Balcoyiannopoulou is a doctoral student at the Department of Education, University of Pa-

tras, Greece. The title of her ongoing dissertation is The Logical Handbooks of George Scholarios-
Gennadios II: Method, Sources and Innovations. Her research interests focus on the reception of Latin
philosophical thought in late Byzantium, mainly its philological and historical aspect. Since 2014,
she is a member of the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus research project.

Marie-Hélène Blanchet, PhD, is a research fellow at CNRS (UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée, Monde
byzantin) in Paris. Her research focuses on the intellectual and religious history of the Byzantine Em-
pire during the Palaiologan period (13th–15th centuries). Among other works, she is the author of
Georges Gennadios Scholarios (vers 1400–vers 1472): un intellectuel orthodoxe face à la disparition
de l’Empire byzantin (Paris 2008), and Théodore Agallianos, Dialogue avec un moine contre les Latins
(1442) (Paris 2013). She is working on three critical editions within the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus
project, the two Greek translations of Aquinas’ De rationibus fidei, and two works by Matthew Angelos
Panaretos.

John A. Demetracopoulos is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theology at the Department of Ed-
ucation, University of Patras, Greece. His main scholarly interests are Greek and Latin Medieval phi-
losophy and theology, with an emphasis on the philological evidence of the Greek-Latin philosoph-
ical and theological interaction in the Late Middle Ages and the post-Byzantine era. He is the direc-
tor of the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus international research project (2007–), currently sponsored
by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications, including
the monograph Ἀπὸ τὴν ἱστορία τοῦ βυζαντινοῦ θωμισμοῦ Πλήθων καὶ Θωμᾶς Ἀκυινάτης (Plethon and
Thomas Aquinas, Athens 2004), and the forthcoming The Christian Platonism of Barlaam the Cal-
abrian: In Search of the Theological and Philosophical Sources of His Greek Epistles.

Pantelis Golitsis is Assistant Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at the Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki. He is the author of Les Commentaires de Simplicius et de Jean Philopon à la Physique
d'Aristote. Tradition et innovation (Berlin & New York, 2008; Prix Zographos de l'Association pour
l'encouragement des Études Grecques en France), of a Modern Greek translation and commentary
of Aristotle’s Progression of Animals and Motion of Animals (Athens, 2017), and of several articles
on ancient and Byzantine philosophy. He currently works on a new critical edition of Alexander of
Aphrodisias’ commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics.

Brian M. Jensen is Associate Professor of Latin and a member of the Ars edendi research programme at
the Department of Romance Studies and Classics at Stockholm University. His main fields of research
include medieval Latin liturgy and hagiography, the Rule of St Benedict, the speeches of Cicero, and
the fable genre. He has published numerous works on tropes, sequences and hagiography. His latest

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-009
X | List of Contributors

publications are The Story of Justina and Cyprian of Antioch as told in a Medieval Lectionary from
Piacenza (Stockholm 2012) and the editio princeps of Lectionarium Placentinum. Edition of a Twelfth
Century Lectionary for the Divine Office I-IV (Florence 2016–17).

Rev. Dr. Christiaan Kappes is the academic dean and professor of dogmatics of the Byzantine Catholic
Seminary of Ss. Cyril and Methodius (Pittsburgh). His research is focused on the Greek reception of
Scholasticism in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, especially Trinitarian theology, liturgiology
and Mariology. He is working on The Epiclesis Debate: Mark of Ephesus and John Torquemada, OP,
at the Council of Florence 1439 for Notre Dame University Press, and on his doctoral thesis The The-
ology of the Divine Essence and Energies in George-Gennadios Scholarios (at Aristotle University in
Thessaloniki).

Michail Konstantinou-Rizos studied at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and pur-
sued his doctoral studies at the Royal Holloway, University of London, where he has recently defended
his PhD thesis: An edition of Prochoros Cydones' (ca. 1330–1369/71) unpublished Greek translation of
Thomas Aquinas' Quaestiones disputatae de potentia and Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus crea-
turis. He is a member of the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus research project.

Antoine Levy, PhD is a Dominican priest and vice-director of Studium Catholicum in Helsinki, Finland
where he moved after undergraduate studies at Sorbonne Paris-IV and ENS (St Cloud) as well as grad-
uate studies at Sorbonne Paris-IV and in Italy (Pontificià Università San Tommaso d’Aquino) and doc-
toral studies at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He is an adjunct professor of theology at the
University of Helsinki and a professor of Russian Ideas and Religions at the University of Eastern Fin-
land. Among his publications is the monograph Le créé et l'incréé: Maxime le Confesseur et Thomas
d'Aquin: aux sources de la querelle palamienne (Paris 2006).

Sergei Mariev is an Associate Professor at the Institut für Byzantinistik, Byzantinische Kunst-
geschichte und Neogräzistik of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He completed his
BA in Classics and Classical Civilization at Brigham Young University, Utah, USA in 1996, and later
received his Master (2002) and Ph.D. (2005) in Classics, Byzantine Studies and Latin Philology of the
Middle Ages from LMU Munich. His Habilitationsschrift with the title Ästhetische Theorien in Byzanz
(2013) explores the reception of the Neoplatonic theories of beauty and the development of image
theory in Byzantium. Among his other recent works are Bessarion: Über Natur und Kunst (Hamburg
2015), and Ioannis Antiocheni fragmenta quae supersunt omnia (Berlin 2008). He is the founder and
editor-in-chief of Byzantinisches Archiv – Series Philosophica.

John Monfasani is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University at Albany, State University of
New York. He received his BA at Fordham University in 1965 and his doctorate in history under Eugene
F. Rice, Jr., and Paul Oskar Kristeller at Columbia University in 1973. His special fields of interest have
been Renaissance Humanism and Byzantine émigrés to Renaissance Italy. He has published almost
a hundred articles to date and fourteen books, with critical editions of George of Trebizond’s Compa-
ratio Philosophorum Platonis et Aristotelis and Protectio Problematum Aristotelis forthcoming.

Tikhon Pino is a PhD Candidate at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He has pub-
lished articles on hylomorphic theory in Aristotle and Plotinus, on the Trinitarian theology of Maxi-
mos the Confessor and Bonaventure, and on the metaphysics of Philo of Alexandria. He is currently
 List of Contributors | XI

completing his dissertation: “The Palamite School: The Followers of St. Gregory Palamas and the Re-
ception of the Essence-Energies Distinction.”

Marcus Plested (D.Phil., Oxford University, 1999) is Associate Professor of Greek Patristic and Byzan-
tine Theology at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). Previously he was Vice-Principal and
Academic Director of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (Cambridge). He has been a member
of the Center of Theological Inquiry and the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and has taught,
lectured, and published widely in patristic, Byzantine, and modern Orthodox theology. He is the au-
thor of two books: The Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian Tra-
dition (Oxford: OUP 2004) and Orthodox Readings of Aquinas (Oxford: OUP 2012).

Georgios Steiris is currently Associate Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy at the Na-
tional and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has also taught at the University of Peloponnese, the
Paideia Program at the University of Connecticut and the Hellenic Open University. His most recent
publications include: The Problem of Modern Greek Identity: from the Εcumene to the Nation-State,
eds. G. Steiris, S. Mitralexis, G. Arabatzis (Newcastle 2016), and Maximus the Confessor as a Euro-
pean Philosopher, eds. S. Mitralexis, G. Steiris, S. Lalla, M. Podbielski (Eugene OR 2017).

Franz Tinnefeld is retired Professor of Byzantine Studies (LMU Munich). He studied Catholic Theology,
Classical and Slavic Philology and Byzantinology at the Universities of Bonn and Munich, was awarded
his PhD in 1962 at the University of Bonn for a dissertation on the textual history of the New Testament
and received his Habilitation in Byzantine Studies at LMU Munich in 1971. He has published important
studies of the social structures of the early Byzantine Empire, social and political aspects of the later
empire, and has translated Demetrios Kydones’ correspondence. His most recent book is Die Briefe
des Demetrios Kydones. Themen und literarische Form (Wiesbaden 2010).
Denis M. Searby
Foreword

The poster of the conference on which this volume is based shows the Valens Aque-
duct as it may have looked in thirteenth century Constantinople. This fourth century
aqueduct, which is still standing in modern Istanbul, appears to divide the city in two,
and thus is an apt symbol of division; yet it is symbolic in other ways as well. Its con-
struction was ordered by a Latin-speaking emperor, reminding us, obviously, that the
Byzantine East in its very foundations was conjoined with the Latin West. Moreover,
though in one respect the aqueduct may be said to separate, in another it unites. It
united, of course, the water of the hills with the reservoirs of the city, but, in so doing,
it also united people; it was and is like a bridge. This serves as a reminder that at least
some of the perceived divisions between East and West – even the tiresome Filioque
controversy – may on closer examination reveal an underlying unity.
This volume of papers, like the conference, was conceived as a means of shedding
light on the mutuality of theological and philosophical methods and interests in the
two halves of the former Roman Empire in its final period, to emphasize the lively intel-
lectual engagement between “Latins” and “Greeks” of the Palaeologan period as well
as the long-lasting repercussions of the dialogue between them. Historically speaking,
the volume concentrates primarily on the period from the reconquest of Constantino-
ple in 1261 by Michael VIII Palaiologos up to the aftermath of the Fall of Constantino-
ple to the Ottomans in 1453, a period covering cataclysmic political, philosophical and
theological developments, including the ill-fated but tremendously important attempt
at ecclesial union at the Council of Florence-Ferrara (1437–39) and the stream of Greek
emigrés to the West once their capital city had fallen; it was a period that saw the
end of the Middle Ages and a new world discovered in 1492, transforming all previ-
ous conceptions of East and West. A reader equipped only with general knowledge of
the Fourth Crusade of 1204, which resulted in the subjugation of Constantinople un-
der Frankish power for six decades, and formed by perceptions of some fundamental
dichotomy between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, cannot but be aston-
ished to discover not only translations of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas into Greek
at this time along with an appropriation of Western scholastic ideas and methods in
Constantinople but also an impressive knowledge of Latin theology and philosophy
among Byzantine intellectuals throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
During the first half of the twentieth century, scholars, in particular Catholic
scholars and especially Martin Jugie (1878–1954), published a number of studies and
editions of these Thomistically-minded Byzantines, provoking responses from Or-
thodox theologians, such as John Meyendorff (1926–1992), among others. Though
Jugie’s works were solid, even great, contributions to scholarship, they could be put
to polemical use and, thus, bore the taint of controversialism. This volume is intended

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2 | Denis M. Searby

to transcend the confines of confessional scholarship, to move beyond the stereotypes

and point the way to a more nuanced understanding of the dialogue between Eastern
and Western Europe during the late Middle Ages – for the papers collected here show
that it was a dialogue, at least in its early stages, if not always friendly, and that,
happily, it is once more becoming a dialogue, that is, a genuine exchange of ideas
and scholarship.
Since several of these papers pursue their arguments in great philological detail,
this foreword is an attempt to summarize certain essential points in order to aid the
reader. The first paper itself provides a framework for the remainder of the volume. In
it Franz Tinnefeld sets the stage for the ensuing discussion with a clear presentation of
one of the most basic forms of intellectual exchange, namely, translation. In the past
forty years, translation studies have burgeoned into a fertile field of research detailing
the impact of translation on society throughout literate history, although the impact
on Byzantine society and subsequently on Greek and Slavic Orthodoxy of the transla-
tions of Latin theological works into Greek remains relatively unknown to many schol-
ars. Two pivotal figures dominate Tinnefeld’s presentation, Maximos Planoudes, the
learned monk of the late thirteenth century, and Demetrios Kydones, a leading states-
man of the fourteenth. Likewise, two of their translation projects in particular had a
philosophical and theological impact that will reverberate throughout the papers con-
tained in this volume. Although Planoudes translated much besides, not least Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, his translation of Augustine’s De trinitate will emerge as a source not
only for the “latinophrones” but also for, more significantly, Gregory Palamas and his
followers. Furthermore, Demetrios Kydones’ enthusiasm for the thought of Thomas
Aquinas, which resulted in translations of the Summa contra gentiles and the Summa
theologiae, provides the framework for much of the intellectual exchange between
the “Latin West” and the “Greek East” studied in the remainder of this volume. If one
were not already cognizant of the fact but only informed by modern perceptions of the
differences between Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy, who would expect to
discover an enthusiastic reception of Aquinas as well as translations of his works from
one moribund language to another in fourteenth century Byzantium?
It was the discrepancy between the Byzantine reception of Thomas Aquinas and
our own expectations of “clearly delineated theological and ecclesial categories” of
East and West that furnished a starting-point for Marcus Plested’s exploration of the
construction of these categorical concepts in his book Orthodox Readings of Aquinas
(2012). In his contribution to the present volume, he revisits and develops this topic.
Plested shows that assumptions of a fundamental doctrinal or methodological di-
chotomy between eastern and western theology are not an accurate reflection of the
historical sources. Rather, there was a presupposition of harmony and compatibility
on both sides in the late Middle Ages as well as in the early modern period. He traces
the beginnings of a pervasive and “instinctive anti-Westernism within Orthodox theol-
ogy” to the Russian Slavophile movement of the nineteenth century, in reaction to the
“policy of Westernisation favoured by Peter the Great and his successors” as well as to
 Foreword | 3

the thitherto dominant Thomistic and scholastic traditions in the theological schools
of the Russian Empire. After pointing out the influence of German idealism on Slavic
anti-Westernism, Plested goes on to discuss the construction of the identities of the
cataphatic and rationalizing West (think Augustine and Aquinas) and the apophatic
and mystical East (think pseudo-Dionysius and Palamas) in the leading Orthodox the-
ologians of the twentieth century. Toward the end of his paper, “to explode the notion
of an inherent East-West dichotomy”, Plested returns to the Middle Ages, pointing to
Palamas’ serious engagement with Augustine, and to the fact that it was precisely
Aquinas’ use of the Greek tradition that fired Kydones’ enthusiasm. He also discusses
the scholasticism of the anti-unionist Mark Eugenikos and that fervent Thomist but
committed Palamite, George Gennadios Scholarios, patriarch of Constantinople, who
will figure amply in these pages. In his conclusions, Plested conjectures that the op-
positional mode of Orthodox self-definition was more suited to the Cold War period
of clearly defined blocks, whereas in our globalized era we are better positioned to
“eschew simplistic dichotomies”.
Let us now consider another supposed dichotomy, that between scholasticism
and humanism. The engagement of Byzantine intellectuals with Latin scholasticism
took place primarily in the form of an encounter with Thomism during the late thir-
teenth century and onwards. This encounter lasted throughout the fourteenth and up
to and beyond the fall of Constantinople, acting as an important stimulus to the final
blossoming of Byzantine thought and Byzantine humanism, what we sometimes re-
fer to as the Palaeologan Renaissance. Humanists like Demetrios Kydones, his friends
and students Andreas and Theodore Chrysoberges, Manuel Chrysoloras, and others
later on, such as the famous Cardinal Bessarion, as well as many other Greek hu-
manists took a tremendous interest in and expressed admiration of Thomas Aquinas
and his brand of scholastic Aristotelianism. There is a deep irony in this. At a time
when Petrarch was lamenting the low level of learning in the West and was complain-
ing about the “noisy, crazy crowd of scholastics” (insanum et clamosum scolastico-
rum vulgus), a number of Byzantine Greeks were studying Thomistic Aristotelianism.
As John Monfasani makes abundantly clear in his paper, George of Trepizond (1395–
1484) not only resists facile labelling as belonging to either East or West but also “frac-
tures the supposed wall between humanism and Scholasticism”. As Monfasani notes,
George, “despite being one of the leading humanists of the Quattrocento and one of
the most important, if not the most important authority on rhetoric in the Renais-
sance up to the second half of the sixteenth century ... vigorously and vociferously de-
fended Scholasticism against the attacks of its critics.” Neither, however, can George
be classed among the Byzantine Thomists, at least not without a number of qualifi-
cations, the first of which is simply that he moved to Italy from his native Crete at too
young an age to be counted among them. Examining George’s Comparatio Philosopho-
rum Platonis et Aristotelis (1457), Monfasani finds that he took positions contrary to
Aquinas on four out of five key philosophical issues. George was not a Byzantine Aris-
totelian nor a Byzantine Thomist but rather “a Greek émigré who enthusiastically em-
4 | Denis M. Searby

braced the philosophical and theological traditions of his new home” and “a Latin
Aristotelian with a knowledge of Greek”. Who is Latin, who is Greek? What is East,
what is West? In his very person George of Trepizond challenges us to rethink the way
we use these labels.
Here I must pause to say a word about the internal arrangement of the papers in
this volume. Tinnefeld, Plested and Monfasani were three of the four keynote speak-
ers at the conference in Stockholm, and for this reason their papers are placed first.
Because it raises broad issues relevant to the volume as a whole, Antoine Levy’s paper
follows these three. After this the papers are arranged alphabetically by author’s sur-
name. The fourth keynote speaker was John Demetracopoulos, whose lecture dealt
with “The Essence of Speculative Thought in ‘East’ and ‘West’ in light of Latin into
Greek Translations” and who offered participants a long and detailed list of transla-
tions in a handout. In the end, Demetracopoulos preferred not to publish his lecture
at the conference, opting instead to submit a more specialized study, which explains
why it is placed among the alphabetically arranged papers. As the driving force be-
hind the project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus, John Demetracopoulos was essential
to the success of the conference and his research is mentioned in nearly every paper
in this volume.
Now to resume my sketch of the contents of the papers, Antoine Levy questions
the apparent incompatibility of Aquinas and Palamas, a tenet of the Orthodox identity
discussed by Plested. The controversy regarding Palamism revolved at first around the
doctrinal issue of the distinction between God’s essence and his operations or energies
but subsequently expanded to become a discussion on the meaning of deification. Be-
fore entering the thick of the debate, however, Levy first ruminates on problems inher-
ent in translations and on the concept of retroversion, i. e. the process of translating a
translation back into its original language. Paradoxically, a “bad” translation is one
that reveals more of the untranslatable genius of the original than the typically “good”
translation that manages to build a semantic economy equivalent to that of the origi-
nal, thus masking in its smoothness the untranslatable greatness of the original. Levy
claims that Demetrios Kydones, deeply impressed with the “Greekness” of Aquinas,
intended his translations of Thomas to be a means of giving back to Byzantine thinkers
an awareness of their own tradition. However, this new reading of the Greek Fathers
through Latin lenses so unsettled these Greek-speakers that the “retroversion” gave
rise to impressions of dogmatic incompatibility between the two poles on the theolog-
ical compass represented by Thomas Aquinas and Gregory Palamas. Feeding these
impressions were Kydones’ own anti-Palamism and the use of Kydones’ translations
by the anti-Palamite faction as well as the lingering effects of the condemnation of
certain Greek theses by William of Auvergne, bishop of Paris, in 1241. At the heart of
the whole controversy concerning the “divine energies” lies, according to Levy, a dif-
ference in cosmic perspective that is obscured in the process of translating. Palamas
views the doctrine from the perspective of God’s perfections emanating to the realm
of created things, God manifesting himself through a plurality of attributes, whereas
 Foreword | 5

Aquinas views deification from the perspective of the multiple ways in which rational
creation receives the divine outpourings or supernatural grace. Aquinas’ emphasis on
the creature’s receptivity to God seemed to obscure his affirmation of God’s essential
incomprehensibility, while Palamas’ emphasis on the eternal energies seemed to ob-
scure God’s essential simplicity as well as the inseparable character of divine essence
and divine energies. Yet the two theologians are viewing the same phenomenon from
two different angles, Levy claims, and their supposed incompatibility is a mirage: the
anti-Palamite stance of Kydones and his colleagues was not that of Thomas Aquinas
who, it turns out, understood the Greek tradition better than his Greek translator.
All the remaining papers but one document the Byzantines’ thoroughgoing en-
gagement with Latin scholasticism in the final centuries of the Empire. The one ex-
ception is Brian Jensen’s paper dealing with Hugo Eterianus (1115–1185), an exam-
ple, one might suppose, of Latins and Greeks not learning from each other. It is also
the one paper specifically dealing with the Filioque controversy, that bugbear of ec-
umenists. However, Hugo as well as his brother Leo Tuscus did at least learn Greek
from the Greek-speakers and both did in their different ways supply Greek-speakers
with knowledge of both Latin theology and political affairs. Jensen thus highlights the
role of bilingualism and translation that is the sine qua non of intellectual exchange
between language communities and that forms the pre-text of this volume.
Also dealing specifically with translations are the papers by Marie-Hélène Blan-
chet and Michail Konstantinou-Rizos, both of whom are editing Byzantine transla-
tions of Latin works. Konstantinou-Rizos analyzes the translation style of the other
Kydones, Prochoros the monk, who predeceased his older brother Demetrios by many
years. He takes a look at Prochoros’ translations of two treatises by Thomas Aquinas,
Quaestiones disputatae de potentia Dei and Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus crea-
turis, both chosen for their relevance to Palamism. He confirms Prochoros’ thorough
grasp of Latin and capacity for rendering it into good Atticist Greek, underscoring the
importance of stylistic considerations in Prochoros’ style. Interestingly, Prochoros,
like his brother Demetrios, gives priority to rendering the Latin as it stands even in
those passages where Thomas quotes Greek sources accessible to the translator.
Marie-Hélène Blanchet, on the other hand, is able to contrast two different trans-
lations of the same Thomistic treatise, De rationibus fidei, the one by Demetrios Ky-
dones, the other by an otherwise unknown translator named Atoumes, perhaps to be
identified with Theodore Atouemes or Simon Atoumanos. Blanchet defends, more-
over, the importance of editorial work on the Greek translations of Thomas Aquinas,
a task which, it is safe to say, remains low on the list of priorities among most Byzan-
tinists. However, as she points out, editorial work is the necessary preparation for
an analysis of how Aquinas entered the Byzantine intellectual universe and for an ap-
praisal of both the borrowing and the rejecting of key Thomistic ideas in this formative
period of Orthodox identity. She calls for a different paradigm than that of estrange-
ment and mutual hostility in order to analyze the relationship between the Byzantine-
Slavic East and the Latin-dominated West.
6 | Denis M. Searby

John Demetracopoulos has provided us with an in-depth analysis of George Schol-

arios’ homily on almsgiving as a case-study proving Scholarios’ heavy dependence on
Thomistic sources even when delivering a moralizing discourse; indeed the subtitle
runs: “How to convert a scholastic quaestio into a sermon”. It is a tour-de-force that
will be indispensable for future research on Scholarios and the corpus Thomisticum.
At the same time, given that Scholarios does not cite Thomas as a source, his paper
provokes questions for a modern reader: Is this an act of plagiarism? Did fear lead
Scholarios to conceal his sources?
Similar questions arise in Irini Balcoyiannopoulou’s study of Scholarios’ logical
treatise entitled by Jugie the Ars vetus, which she is reediting based on new knowledge
of the sources and manuscript tradition. The part Balcoyiannopoulou focuses on is
the commentary on Aristotle’s De interpretatione, but both this and all the other parts
represent a patchwork of translations made from Latin sources – Thomas Aquinas,
Radulphus Brito, and others. Although Scholarios acknowledges using Latin sources,
he does not mention the specific sources by name, and he does claim his work as his
own, making frequent use of the heading “Scholarios’ exegesis”. Is this plagiarism or is
it a recycling of sources that pays homage to its origins by hinting at them? It is perhaps
our own presuppositions that view Scholarios’ methodology as mere plagiarism.
Pantelis Golitsis uses the question of plagiarism as a springboard to a discussion
of Scholarios’ understanding of Thomas Aquinas’ short but seminal work De ente et
essentia. In his book on the Thomism of Scholarios, Hugh Barbour expressed amaze-
ment at Scholarios’ pawning off Armandus de Bellovisu’s commentary on the De ente
et essentia as his own. Yet Golitsis shows this to be a misunderstanding on Barbour’s
part, perhaps due to prejudices against Scholarios and, at any rate, a less than careful
reading of the Greek. Linguistic misunderstandings, he argues, are one factor imped-
ing the meeting of East and West. Golitsis proceeds to offer a nuanced case-study of
the difficulties in translating the words for being and essence back and forth between
Greek and Latin in order to point out deficiencies in our own traditional interpretative
and historigraphical categories – “Byzantine”, “Palamite”, “Thomist”, etc.
Scholarios figures again in Georgios Steiris’ paper on that more eastern East rep-
resented by Arabic philosophy. He contrasts the approaches to it in the rival philoso-
phies of Pletho and Scholarios, the rivalry of these two reflecting the perceived ri-
valry between Platonism and Aristotelianism. Pletho was averse to Arabic philoso-
phy while Scholarios at least appreciated its value. However, the salient point here
is that, although the Byzantine world bordered on the Islamic world for centuries,
knowledge of Arabic philosophy was primarily a result of Byzantine interaction with
Western Scholasticism: the Byzantines of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were
not familar with Arabic philosophy in the original but only with its interpretation in
Western Europe. Pletho’s critical stance toward Arabic philosophy reflects his hostil-
ity to scholasticism; Scholarios’ appreciation of it reflects his sympathy for Western
scholasticism.
 Foreword | 7

Chris Kappes traces an intricate interplay between Greek East and Latin West in
his discussion of Scholarios’ understanding of the immaculate conception of the Vir-
gin Mary, an intricacy seen in the very title of his paper with its string of genitives
positing relationships between various thinkers. He finds not only reactions to but
also a surprising assimilation of the Augustinian conception of original sin already in
Gregory Palamas. As he points out, Scholarios could be regarded simply as the culmi-
nation of a process of synthesizing Augustinism and Thomism with Orthodox theol-
ogy; more than a synthesis it was a process of dialogue between Eastern and Western
theologians. Despite his Thomistic proclivities, Scholarios shows a keen awareness of
the position of Duns Scotus and his followers on the immaculate conception, which
readily lent itself to being harmonized with eastern Mariology.
George Scholarios was only one of the prominent Greek delegates at the union-
ist Council of Florence-Ferrara who makes frequent appearances in these pages. Two
others are Mark Eugenikos or Mark of Ephesus and Basilios Bessarion, the former re-
fusing to sign the act of union, the latter going on to become a Roman cardinal. Pana-
giotis Athanasopoulos offers us a study of how these two clashed over the typically
Thomistic “principle of individuation” regarding material substances in the prepara-
tion of the Council; this metaphysical issue had a bearing on the Filioque controversy
central to the discussions at the Council. Mark addressed the issue in his Capita syl-
logistica and Bessarion replied in his Refutatio Marci Ephesini. It will not surprise the
reader to find Bessarion drawing on a wide range of texts within the Aristotelian tradi-
tion. What is surprising is to see how thoroughly the anti-unionist Mark has absorbed
the modes of discourse of western Scholasticism and, even more so, the coincidences
of his argumentation with passages in Duns Scotus.
Another great personnage at the Council of Florence was Georgios Gemistos
Pletho who, one might say, brought the debate of “Plato versus Aristotle” to the West
with the treatise he wrote during the Council, Περὶ ὧν Ἀριστοτέλης πρὸς Πλάτωνα
διαφέρεται. Sergei Mariev explores Cardinal Bessarion’s contribution to this debate
by investigating how Bessarion made use of Aquinas’ conception of nature as God’s
instrument in order to prove the basic accord between Platonism and Christianity.
In the face of criticism from that eastern Westerner, George of Trepizond, Bessarion
made the Greek East and Latin West converge in the service of Christian Platonism.
I close my survey of the contents of the papers with Tikhon Alexander Pino’s study
of the extent to which Mark Eugenikos’ angelogy is indebted to Thomas Aquinas. Pino
uses his study of the specific, to modern minds, abstruse question of angelic matter to
make important points relevant to the theme of this volume as a whole. For he finds
a Byzantine theological milieu in conversation with the sources and problems of Latin
Scholasticism. As he puts it: “Not only are Greeks and Latins learning from each other
... it is clear that they were also to a great extent learning, and philosophizing, to-
gether.”
Up until now I have said nothing about the title of this book, but I will do so in
conclusion. The first line of Kipling’s Ballad of East and West has often been used to
8 | Denis M. Searby

supply catchy but unimaginative titles for books or conferences about real or supposed
dichotomies, and the present volume is no exception. But the poem, though acknowl-
edging a division between Eastern (i. e. Asian) and Western (i. e. European) culture,
is really about mutual respect and friendship across cultural divides. Not many peo-
ple who cite the line “Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall
meet” know how the poem continues. In fact Kipling’s ballad, an adventure story set
at the border between British India and Afghanistan, and rooted in the historical, in-
tercultural context of Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides, immediately proclaims
borderless brotherhood within the same refrain:

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!

Yet those opening words have become so proverbial as to be used as a mere cliché,
a conversation-stopper, a thought-stopper, much like that other phrase “to each his
own” (suum cuique), which has become similarly detached from its original context.
East and West are, of course, relative terms, entirely dependent, geographically speak-
ing, on one’s position between the rising and the setting sun, but also relative when
used metaphorically. The papers collected here underscore how the paradigmatic con-
struct of a supposedly Greek East and a supposedly Latin West as well as that of an
Eastern and a Western Church obscures the fact that we are dealing with twin phe-
nomena, far more alike than unalike, comparable indeed to the twin lungs of a single
organism, to borrow a favorite expression of Pope John Paul II. In a careful and schol-
arly way these papers prove that the twain has met and still meets.
Franz Tinnefeld
Translations from Latin to Greek
A contribution to late Byzantine intellectual history

Diplomatic, cultural, religious, and economic contacts between Byzantium and the
Latin West were never completely interrupted, although, of course, they varied in in-
tensity over time and place. Whereas Western interest in Greek language and literature
was constant over time in varying degrees,¹ Byzantines displayed but little interest in
the Latin language and literature for several centuries after late antiquity, and their
readiness to translate Latin literature into Greek was even less evident.² This situation
did not change until the so-called Fourth Crusade (1202–04), when Western powers
gained a foothold in Byzantine territory and founded the Latin Empire of Constantino-
ple.³ While this was naturally viewed as a disaster by most Byzantines, it did at any
rate strengthen the mutual contacts between East and West.⁴ Against this background,
it does not seem so strange that Byzantine intellectuals began to develop an interest
in Western culture as well as in outstanding works of Latin literature. The language
barrier between East and West still hampered intellectual exchange, however, and
created a demand for translations from Latin to Greek.
Fifty years ago, W. O. Schmitt published a study of Latin literature in Byzantium
(Schmitt 1967b), and here I shall offer an updated overview of the Greek translations
of Latin literature in late Byzantium. For a list of the relevant publications, see the
attached bibliography. A glance at it will reveal how knowledge of the subject has
expanded since Schmitt’s survey, as has the number of available critical editions. All
this will be familiar territory to many readers of this book, but this paper is intended
as a useful framework for and an introduction to the more specialized discussions of
the shared intellectual interests of East and West in the remainder of this volume.
Two phases of translating activity may easily be distinguished, the first being that
of the late thirteenth century. In this period, although texts of a popular philosophi-
cal and moralizing tendency prevail, other genres were also translated; in the second
period philosophical and theological texts of Western scholasticism predominate.
The history of late Byzantine Greek translations from Latin starts right off with
a master, of course, the Byzantine intellectual Manuel and later monk Maximos
Planudes (ca. 1255–ca. 1305).⁵ Planudes translated classical and post-classical lit-

1 Berschin 1980; Rochette 1997.

2 Gigante 1981a, 65–101.
3 Schmitt 1967b, 127; Kazhdan 1991, vol. 2, 1183–1185.
4 Bydén 2004.
5 Schmitt 1967b; Fisher 1990.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-021
10 | Franz Tinnefeld

erature as well as patristic texts. He revealed none of the distrust of his orthodox
compatriots towards anything Latin, at least as long as Michael VIII (1259–82), the
founder of the Palaiologan dynasty at the expense of the Lascarids, ruled Byzantium.⁶
When his general, Alexios Strategopulos, had reconquered Constantinople from the
Latins in 1261, Michael Palaiologos put an end to the Latin Empire of Constantinople
but found himself by no means in an easy situation. He coped with the claims of
Western rulers on Byzantine territories through clever diplomacy and also by backing
papal efforts at ecclesiastical union between East and West. His policy was supported
by Planudes whose interest in Latin shows unionist tendencies. At any rate, during
the reign of Michael VIII, Planudes translated the De Trinitate of Saint Augustine into
Greek, that is, the foundational work of Western theology written by the pre-eminent
father of the Latin Church.⁷ Of course, in contrast to orthodox theology, Augustine
defends there the procession of the Holy Spirit not from God the Father alone but
from the Father and the Son (Filioque),⁸ which became the main point of controversy
between Eastern and Western theology. The issue of the Filioque played an impor-
tant role at the so-called union council of Lyon in 1274 and was more or less forced
upon the Byzantine delegates, with some concessions to the orthodox point of view.⁹
Planudes translated the De Trinitate very probably when the Filioque became an ac-
cepted position under the rule of Michael VIII. Later on, during the orthodox reaction
under Andronikos II, son and successor of Michael VIII, Planudes wrote two critical
treatises on the Filioque,¹⁰ in obvious dependence on the ruling power.
As to the reasons for Planudes’ other translations we cannot be certain and are
left to speculation. There is, first, a group of philosophical or moralizing works that
were held in much esteem throughout the Western world. To begin with, we find his
translation of De duodecim abusivis saeculi, a treatise erroneously ascribed to Cyprian
of Carthage (ca. 200–258) but most probably written in the seventh century in Ireland.
It belongs among the more popular works of the Latin Middle Ages.¹¹ Basically it is
an admonition to lead a Christian life, containing descriptions of morally conflicting
character types, for instance, the old man without piety (senex sine religione) or the
woman without shame (femina sine pudicitia). We may assume that in translating this
popular work of morality, Planudes simply hoped to convey moral instruction to his
own contemporary society.

6 On Michael VIII see Geanakoplos 1959, which is still the most detailed work on the emperor and his
political activities; see also Kazhdan 1991, vol. 2, 1991, 1367.
7 Papathomopulos, Tsabare, and Rigotti 1995.
8 Papathomopulos, Tsabare, and Rigotti 1995, vol. 2, 974 (Latin), 975 (Greek), with reference to the
gospel of John 20:22, where Jesus says: “Λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον.” Augustine quotes this in proof of the
procession of the Holy Spirit also from the Son.
9 Roberg 1990, 263–267.
10 Rigotti 1994, 187.
11 Giannakes 1974.
 Translations from Latin to Greek | 11

Pseudo-Cyprian was not the only moralizing text translated by Planudes. There
was also the so-called Disticha Catonis, a collection of short moralizing sentences that
in part display a Christian tendency. Distichs (consisting of two hexameters) actually
occur only in the second part of the collection. The original work was composed al-
ready before the late antique age and had been in general use as a school book since
the fourth century. The large number of manuscript copies testifies to the popularity
of the Greek translation.¹²
Planudes also translated a classical piece of prose that remained of central im-
portance throughout the Western Middle ages, the so-called Somnium Scipionis, part
of the sixth and last book of Cicero’s De re publica of which only fragments remain.¹³
The dream of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Minor (185/184–129 B.C.), as reported
by Cicero, culminates in the idea that worthy statesmen will be rewarded after their
death with eternal bliss in the afterlife. The belief in eternal life for good statesmen,
deriving from the Platonic doctrine of the immortality of the soul (Plato, Phaedrus,
245c–246a), was doubtless very welcome in a Christian environment, Western as well
as Eastern. Planudes’ further Greek translation of Macrobius’ commentary on the Som-
nium is now available in a critical edition by Megas.¹⁴
The last but not least of the philosophical or moralizing works translated by
Planudes to be considered here is De Consolatione Philosophiae, the literary master-
piece of Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (ca. 480–ca. 524), a high official at the
court of Theodoric the Great in Ravenna.¹⁵ This is perhaps the best of Planudes’ Greek
translations and may almost be ranked at the same literary level as the Latin origi-
nal. This is true not only for the prose passages but even more so for the poetic ones
which Boethius interspersed throughout the Consolatio.¹⁶ Planudes translates these
in the same poetic metres as used in the Latin original.¹⁷ Why did Planudes decide
to translate this unique, Late Latin work? Most likely he wanted to make it known
to his Greek compatriots, on the one hand, because its philosophical background
depends on Aristotelian as well as on Christian philosophy, and, on the other hand,
because of the dramatic circumstances of its composition. As is well known, Boethius
was in prison when he wrote it, having been accused of high treason, awaiting his
execution seeking consolation in philosophy. Jesus Christ is not expressly mentioned
in the Consolatio, but there is no doubt about the author’s Christian orientation in the
theology and philosophy of Augustine.¹⁸

12 Schmitt 1967a; Ortoleva 1992; Papathomopulos 2009.

13 The translation of the Latin text of the Somnium into Greek by Planudes is transmitted in numerous
manuscripts. A critical edition of the Somnium is found in Pavano 1992.
14 Megas 1995. For the textual criticism of the Greek Somnium see Gigante 1981b, 105–130.
15 Critical edition of the Greek Consolatio: Papathomopulos 1999.
16 Papathomopulos 1999, XXXIII–XLII.
17 Papathomopulos 1999, LIII.
18 Papathomopulos 1999, XXVI–XXVII.
12 | Franz Tinnefeld

It is striking that Planudes translated not only moralistic and philosophical works
from Latin but also classical poetry. Of course, these categories cannot always be
clearly distinguished. Thus Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Roman poet’s great hexam-
eter work which Planudes translated into Greek prose,¹⁹ while without doubt a mas-
terpiece of narrative art, does engage in moralizing, for its characters are transformed
into animals in punishment for immoral behaviour. Hence Ernst Robert Curtius called
the Metamorphoses a “Schatzhaus der Moral”.²⁰ At the same time, however, the enter-
tainment value of Ovid’s work, which, after all, was the main reason for its popularity
throughout the ages, would have been motivation enough for Planudes’ translation.
Compared to contemporary Byzantine literary romances such as, for instance, the ro-
mance of Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe, the Metamorphoses displays far more out-
standing literary qualities and sheer inventiveness, while at the same time offering
readers a number of erotic episodes.²¹
Who supplied Planudes with Latin manuscripts ? We do not know, but we can as-
sume that some of them were carried in the luggage of Westerners traveling to Byzan-
tium. However, we also know that Planudes went to Venice in 1296 as an ambassador
of Emperor Andronikos II. This was very likely an opportunity for him to bring Latin
books back to Constantinople. Moreover, we also know that Dominican monasteries
in the East sometimes transmitted knowledge of Western literature to Byzantium.²²
Planudes was not the only Byzantine intellectual of his time to translate Latin lit-
erature. The philologist and poet Manuel Holobolos (born ca. 1240 and living at least
until after 1284) was probably also a translator, since at least two translations of logi-
cal treatises of Boethius are ascribed to him: De hypotheticis syllogismis and De topicis
differentiis (= De dialectica). The latter treatise is an excellent introduction to the Aris-
totelian topics, an indispensable element in Aristotelian logic.²³ It was in fact trans-
lated twice later on in the 14th century, first by Georgios Pachymeres (1242– ca. 1310)
from a shorter Latin original, and, later again, by Prochoros Kydones (ca. 1335–ca.
1370).
An anonymous contemporary of Planudes translated sentences (ἐπιγραφαί) of
mainly moral content from the fourth and fifth books of the Speculum doctrinale, one
of the three parts of the Opusculum maius, an encyclopedia written by the Domini-
can Vincent of Beauvais (ca. 1184/94–ca. 1264). It was probably Guillaume Bernard de

19 Edition: Papathomopulos and Tsabare 2002. On Planudes’ translation see Fisher 1990, 69–98.
20 See Schmitt 1967b, 139.
21 Other texts written by Ovid and translated into Greek that have mainly an erotical character are: the
Heroides (love letters written by mythical women to mythical women), the Ars amatoria, the Amores
and the Remedia amoris. With the exception of the Heroides these are only transmitted in fragments,
and it is not certain that these were translated by Planudes.
22 Cf. what is said below on Guillaume de Guillac and the anonymous teacher of Demetrios Kydones,
both Dominicans; see also n. 24.
23 Niketas 1984.
 Translations from Latin to Greek | 13

Guillac, the founder of a monastery of Dominicans near Constantinople in Pera who

introduced the Speculum to Constantinople.²⁴ On ff. 225v–228r cod. Vaticanus gr. 1144
contains a collection of sentences under the title “Ἐκ τοῦ ἄκτορος²⁵ λατινικοῦ βιβλίου”
which, according to Sternbach 1900/01, go back to books IV and V of the Speculum.
This discovery remained unnoticed until in 1986 W. J. Aerts published a very careful
edition of the text in that same manuscript. In 1997 Inmaculada Pérez Martín was able
to supplement this with the edition of a similar text from cod. Vaticanus gr. 12, ff. 187r–
193r.²⁶ According to Pérez Martín it is probable that the anonymous translator of the
sentences in the book of the “actor” was the Byzantine monk Sophonias²⁷ who had
a good command of Latin, especially after he had travelled as an envoy of Emperor
Andronikos II to the court of Charles II of Anjou at Naples, where he stayed from 1294
to 1296, converting there to the Roman Church.
We come now to the second phase of Greek translations from Latin in the sec-
ond half of the fourteenth century, which primarily concerns translations of works by
Thomas Aquinas as well as other theological works emanating from the same milieu.
The leading persons of this phase were two brothers from Thessalonike, the statesman
and humanist Demetrios Kydones and the monk Prochoros Kydones.²⁸ Demetrios was
born ca. 1324, almost twenty years after Planudes’ demise; Prochoros was about ten
years younger. Demetrios entered civil service around 1347 under Emperor John VI
Kantakuzenos; his brother became a monk in the monastery Megiste Laura on Mount
Athos. In one of his autobiographical treatises, Demetrios tells us that he had from
the start only practical intentions in learning Latin. Due to his ministerial post, he
had to negotiate with Western ambassadors and merchants, and he desired personal
contact with them without having to resort to the mediation of often unreliable inter-
preters. In search of a teacher of Latin he turned to the monastery of the Dominicans
in Pera.²⁹ There he made friends with one of the monks who was also well versed in
the writings of his fellow Dominican Thomas Aquinas (1224/5–1274). It was through
the efforts of this monk that Demetrios was not only introduced to Latin but also to
Thomas’ theology and philosophical methodology. After his initial progress in both
the Latin language and Thomistic theology, Kydones received a very demanding exer-
cise book from his teacher, namely, Aquinas’ Summa contra Gentiles, which, of course,
is a philosophical and theological defense of Roman Catholic belief with respect not
only to paganism but also to Islam (especially Averroism), Judaism and certain Chris-
tian heresies. The fourth and last book deals with the controversial doctrines of Byzan-

24 Pérez Martı́n 1997a, 81–82.

25 “Actor”, i. e. “auctor”, refers to the author of the collected sentences.
26 Pérez Martı́n 1997a, 102–132.
27 On Sophonias see Pérez Martı́n 1997a, 100–101; Failler 2002; Bydén 2004, 137–142; Searby 2016.
28 For historical details of Demetrios Kydones’ life see Tinnefeld 1981, 4–52. For Prochoros see Tin-
nefeld 1981, 237–244. For their theological background: Plested 2012d, 63–84.
29 Cf. n. 22 and 24 as well their corresponding texts.
14 | Franz Tinnefeld

tine Orthodoxy. As he studied the work, Demetrios became increasingly enthusiastic

about the author’s clear style and rigorous method as well as about his knowledge
of Aristotelian philosophy. Eventually Demetrios continued not only to read but also
began to translate the book. His efforts at translating, as Kydones tells his readers,
attracted the favour of Emperor John VI.³⁰ In an autograph manuscript of the Greek
translation of SG we find a note stating that Kydones completed his translation on 24
December 1354, shortly after the abdication of Emperor John VI.
Already in the following year, Kydones began to translate Aquinas’ even more
voluminous Summa theologiae, and gradually managed to complete Book One (pars
prima) and Two (pars prima secundae partis and pars secunda secundae partis). Here
he found material in order to defend his developing theological positions against ac-
cepted orthodox doctrine and in agreement with the Roman doctrine on the Holy Trin-
ity and on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, but also as
regards the doctrine of the divine energies developed by Gregorios Palamas. The re-
sult was that Kydones approached ever closer the Roman Catholic position on these
fundamental issues, until, probably in 1357, he joined the Roman Church.
Kydones also translated several other theological texts. In my own translation
of Kydones’ letters, I offer a list of all his translations including those not related to
Aquinas; almost all his translations were of theological works.³¹ In this paper I confine
myself to a few of his more noteworthy translations, beginning with that of a mystical
treatise erroneously ascribed to Augustine (354–430) but really written at some time
after 1215, the so-called Monologia sive Soliloquia (“Soliloquiorum animae ad Deum”
in Patrologia Latina 40, 863–898). Its Greek version has recently attracted scholarly
attention thanks to the critical edition by Anna Koltsiou in 2005, over two hundred
years after the (non-critical) editio princeps by Nikodemos Hagiorites in 1799.
John Demetracopoulos has published a lengthy study of Koltsiou’s edition along
with a detailed examination of the dating of the Greek translation of the Soliloquia.³²
Prior to Koltsiou, the common scholarly opinion on its dating was 1371/74, which was
the date proposed by Loenertz for letter no. 25 in his edition of Kydones’ correspon-
dence.³³ In this letter, Kydones comments on the delivery of a copy of his Soliloquia
translation to Empress Helena Palaiologina, wife of emperor John V Palaiologos and
patroness of Kydones. I accepted this dating in my commentary to letter no. 25 (=
no. 92 of my German translation),³⁴ but Koltsiou rejected it, being, to my knowledge,
the first scholar to propose a much later date for the translation. In her opinion, Ky-
dones translated this work because he was seeking consolation in expectation of his

30 Plested 2012d, 84–89.

31 Tinnefeld 1981, 68–72.
32 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2006d, 191–258.
33 Loenertz 1956–1960, 54–55.
34 Tinnefeld 1982, 497–499.
 Translations from Latin to Greek | 15

approaching death.³⁵ Against this dating J. A. Demetracopoulos 2006d defended the

traditional opinion, arguing that Kydones’ decision to translate the Soliloquia can also
be explained as seeking consolation for the far too early death of his brother Prochoros
during Demetrios’ stay in Italy 1370/71. Certainly, Demetracopoulos’ “Sitz im Tode” ar-
gument, as he calls it, provides a cogent reason for the traditional dating of the trans-
lation.
Kydones’ commitment to scholasticism is also evident from his translation of
the anti-Islamic treatise Contra legem Sarracenorum by the Florentine Dominican
and scholastic Riccoldo da Monte Croce (1243–1320).³⁶ This translation was the main
source of the anti-Islamic treatise of Emperor John VI Kantakuzenos.³⁷ It is worth men-
tioning that Kydones clearly stated in some of his letters that he was a determined
adversary of the Islamic Turks also for political reasons. I refer especially to his cor-
respondence with his student and friend Rhadenos whom he implores in numerous
letters to leave his place of residence in Thessalonike because it is in danger of being
conquered by the Turks. He warns him not to surrender to the “ungodly” (ἀσεβεῖς)
Muslims and thus lose his liberty and endanger his soul.³⁸
Finally, also attributed to Kydones on hardly questionable grounds is the only
complete Greek translation of the Constitutum Constantini or Donation of Constan-
tine, the well-known forgery ceding the Western part of the Roman Empire to the pa-
pacy. With this translation Kydones was obviously trying to demonstrate to his Byzan-
tine fellow citizens that the first “Byzantine” emperor, Constantine the Great, was a
so-called λατινόφρων, a friend of the Latin part of the Roman Empire.
Although Prochoros (ca. 1333/34–1369/70), the younger brother of Demetrios, was
not as productive a translator, his work deserves acknowledgement. While still a
young monk on Mount Athos, he acquired not only a splendid knowledge of Latin,
but also, partly under the influence of his brother, a solid understanding of scholas-
tic methodology. During his brief life he composed not only several translations of
Latin writings but also some works of his own under scholastic influence. No less a
scholar than Giovanni Mercati praised his “informazione, singolare per un bizantino,
nella lingua Latina e nella teologia occidentale.”³⁹ In the introduction to his edition
of Prochoros’ translation of eight letters of Augustine, Herbert Hunger considered
the reasons for Prochoros’ choice. For six of the eight letters the choice was probably
determined by their placement at the head of a widespread medieval collection of
Augustine’s letters. The remaining two letters deal with the vision of God, a theme

35 According to Ganchou 2002, 479, Demetrios Kydones died certainly in 1397, and not in 1398, a year
long accepted as a possible alternative date of his death.
36 For Riccoldo, his biography and work see Todt 1991, 231–282.
37 For Kantakuzenos’ use of Riccoldo’s work for his Ἀπολογíαι καὶ λόγοι κατὰ τοῦ Μωάμεθ, see Todt
1991, 392–566, who only uses a German version of the title (Apologien und Reden gegen Muhammad).
38 Tinnefeld 1985, 234–236.
39 Mercati 1931e, 39.
16 | Franz Tinnefeld

relevant to the debate on Palamism,⁴⁰ which, of course, has to do with the beholding
of God through the so-called energies, a doctrine rejected by its initial opponents as
approaching polytheism.⁴¹
Both Prochoros’ translation of these letters and his translation of Augustine’s di-
alogue De libero arbitrio (Περὶ τῆς αὐτεξουσιότητος)⁴² are transmitted in autograph
manuscripts.⁴³ The text of the latter translation ends for no clear reason⁴⁴ in Book
I, chapter 90. As already noted,⁴⁵ Prochoros also made a third Greek translation of
Boethius’ De topicis differentiis, no doubt because of his conviction that theological
knowledge was not possible without logical thinking. Prochoros also continued the
work of his brother Demetrios in translating a large part (at least 76 articles) of ST IIIa
as well as six articles of the supplement and, in addition, the opuscule De aeterni-
tate mundi.⁴⁶ Prochoros wrote his own chief work (edited only in part) Περὶ οὐσίας
καὶ ἐνεργείας (= De essentia et operatione) surely with a view to Aquinas’ De ente et
essentia.
Manuel Kalekas, a disciple and friend of Demetrios Kydones, converted to Ro-
man Catholicism in 1396, becoming a Dominican around 1404 in a Latin monastery on
the island Lesbos, where he died in 1410. Under the influence of Kydones he studied
Aquinas and translated works of Western theology into Greek, such as the De Trini-
tate of Boethius.⁴⁷ Ever since Mercati 1931e, 90, a Greek translation of the Cur Deus
homo of Anselm of Canterbury (1033/34–1109) has been ascribed to Kalekas, although
the main reason for this assumption was that the manuscript containing the trans-
lation (Vaticanus gr. 614, 84–109) was written in Kalekas’ hand. Recently, however,
Demetracopoulos⁴⁸ has rejected this attribution, arguing that Kydones, the translator
of other works of Anselm, could very well have dictated the translation of this work to
his disciple Kalekas.⁴⁹
Last in this line of translators deserving mention is Georgios Gennadios Scholar-
ios, the first orthodox patriarch of Constantinople after the city’s conquest by the Turks
in 1453. From his hand we have not only Greek translations, but also abridged ver-
sions (epitomai) of Latin works. Among the titles attributed to him⁵⁰ three Thomistic
works may be mentioned here: 1) Περὶ διαφορᾶς οὐσίας καὶ τοῦ εἶναι, a translation

40 Hunger 1984b, 13–14.

41 See Tinnefeld 1982, 397, n. 11; Tinnefeld 2007, 12.
42 Hunger 1990a, 12–53.
43 Hunger 1984b, 10–11; Hunger 1990a, 7.
44 On Prochoros’ reasons for leaving the dialogue unfinished, see Hunger 1990a, 72–73.
45 See above, n. 21, n. 22 and the corresponding text.
46 Beck 1959, 737–738; Glycofridou-Leontsini 1975, 429–432.
47 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2005, 83–118.
48 J. A. Demetracopoulos 1995-1996, 113–117.
49 See Tinnefeld 1981, 70 (Anselm 2.71: De processione Spiritus Sancti; 2.7.2: De azymo et fermentato
epistula).
50 See the survey of titles in Tinnefeld 2002, 517–520.
 Translations from Latin to Greek | 17

of Aquinas, DEE (along with a commentary translated by Scholarios); 2) Ἐπιτομὴ

τοῦ βιβlίου κατὰ ἐθνικῶν,an epitome of Demetrios Kydones’ translation of the SG; 3)
Ἐπιτομὴ τοῦ πρώτου βιβλίου τῶν θεολογικῶν, an epitome of Kydones’ translation of
ST Ia.
To sum up: Whereas the number of Byzantine translators from Latin is, as we have
seen, quite small, the number and especially the volume of their translations is sub-
stantial. However, it is not so much the existence of the translations itself that matters
but their role in Byzantine intellectual history. The importance of their reception may
to some extent be measured by the number of extant manuscript copies but to a much
greater extent by the documented reaction of the readers. As described, for instance,
by Gerhard Podskalsky, scholasticism entered the Orthodox world through the trans-
lations of Aquinas.⁵¹ In the whole context of Byzantine aloofness and distrust towards
the Latin West after 1204, it is all the more remarkable that Byzantines like Planudes
and the Kydones brothers sought and acquired such an impressive expertise in the
Latin language and in Western thought and literature. On the one hand we find an
opening up of new contacts between East and West, on the other a shutting down of
the contacts between them, especially amid the distrust and hostility under the rule
of Andronikos II.⁵² The effects of the Fourth Crusade were truly contradictory.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

cod. gr. codex graecus

DEE De ente et essentia
ed. edidit, ediderunt
et al. and others
f. folio
ff. folios
n. note
no. number
SG Summa contra gentiles
ST Summa theologiae
tr. translation
vol. volume

51 Podskalsky 1977a, 173–239.

52 As shown in the splendid monography of Laiou 1972.
18 | Franz Tinnefeld

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Marcus Plested
Reconfiguring East and West in Byzantine and
Modern Orthodox Theology

The overarching theme of this volume touches upon a question that has been at the
heart of my own research and teaching agenda for the last fifteen years or more – the
conception of “East” and “West” in theology and Church history. Many if not all read-
ers of this volume, even the younger ones, will have been brought up on the notion
that “East” and “West” are clearly delineated theological and ecclesial categories. We
all know (or think we know) what we mean when we speak of Eastern or Western
Christianity. Writing this at my desk in Milwaukee I see on my bookshelves volume
after volume perpetuating, at least implicitly, the idea of East and West as meaning-
ful and self-evident theological and ecclesial categories: Vladimir Lossky’s Mystical
Theology of the Eastern Church; Philip Sherrard’s Greek East and Latin West (and An-
drew Louth’s book of the same name); Deno Geanakoplos’ Byzantine East and Latin
West, Christos Yannaras’ Orthodoxy and the West; Jaroslav Pelikan’s Spirit of East-
ern Christendom: the Pelikan Festschrift Orthodoxy and Western Culture; Nicholas Zer-
nov’s Eastern Christendom; Adrian Fortescue’s The Orthodox Eastern Church – the list
stretches on. A random selection of course but not, I think an atypical one. And with-
out suggesting that all these works are equally blithe or unsubtle in the assumptions
they make about East and West they give an idea of the sheer normality of the East-
West dichotomy in the modern theological arena.
Not that this is an entirely bad thing. Before the vast upheavals and population
movements of the twentieth century, the life and theology of the Orthodox Churches
was a matter of supreme indifference to much of the Catholic and Protestant world.
This has changed – Orthodox theology has gained some limited purchase and respect
in many of the theological arenas of Western Europe and North America. But this has
come at a cost, most notably in terms of a dialectical construct of Orthodox (i. e. East-
ern) identity vis-à-vis a Western other (whether the Catholic/Protestant West or, more
recently, the liberal secular West). Such dialectical constructions of identity drasti-
cally homogenise both East and West and greatly over-simplify the relations obtaining
between them.
But first a brief word on the much-maligned poet Rudyard Kipling who was well
aware that his comment on the otherness and separation of East and West was some-
thing of a sweeping statement, warning his literary epigones (if they wished to avoid
sackfuls of post) to avoid such “glittering generalisations”:

Long ago I stated that “East was East and West was West and never the twain should meet”.
It seemed right, for I had checked it by the card, but I was careful to point out circumstances
under which cardinal points ceased to exist. Forty years rolled on, and for a fair half of them the

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-033
22 | Marcus Plested

excellent and uplifted of all lands would write me, apropos of each new piece of broad-minded
folly in India, Egypt, or Ceylon, that East and West had met–as, in their muddled minds, I suppose
they had. Being a political Calvinist, I could not argue with these condemned ones. But their
letters had to be opened and filed.¹

Kipling’s “glittering generalisation” has frequently been used to speak of the theolog-
ical divide between East and West in recent decades – I myself used it (with a question
mark) in an article on grace in Macarius and Augustine back in 2004.² It seems to me
that as far as Kipling is concerned East and West do indeed remain poles apart for
all the exceptional instances of bridging – such as the “two strong men” of the poem
“The Ballad of East and West”. But Kipling of course had little notion of Byzantium or
Eastern Orthodoxy – his East was pre-eminently the Raj, that is, British India. This is
a salutary reminder that one man’s East is by no means necessarily another’s.
East and West are of course in the first instance geographical denominators, de-
noting the direction in which the sun rises and sets – of course this comes over rather
better in Greek – ἀνατολὴ καὶ δύσις. The areas we denote in common parlance as East
and West correspond to the sun’s setting and rising from a European and more specifi-
cally a Roman perspective. Indeed much of what we understand (theologically speak-
ing) by “East” and “West” dovetails rather neatly with Diocletian’s division of the Em-
pire in 284 AD. But while that division corresponded in some measure to cultural and
linguistic divisions (especially between Latin and Greek intellectual cultures), it had
no impact on the overall unity of the patristic theological enterprise. The emergence
of a distinctly Latin theological culture in Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine, and
others no more created two rival theological traditions than did the emergence of the
distinct theological culture of the Syriac-speaking orient – Aphrahat, Ephrem, Jacob
of Serrugh, and others. Indeed one of the most helpful developments in recent schol-
arship on the Trinitarian debates of the fourth century onwards has been to review
misleading presuppositions as to the distinctness of the theological trajectories of
East and West at this time – and here I think especially of the work of Lewis Ayres
and my colleague Michel Barnes. Barnes’ work on the pervasiveness of the de Reg-
non paradigm – contrasting West and East as particularly alive to divine threeness
and divine oneness, respectively, is perhaps especially pertinent.³ Even within the
long process of inter-Christian estrangement we call the East-West schism, signs of any
perceived fundamental opposition between Greek and Latin theological traditions are
few and far between. For example, the Frankish attempts to demonstrate the “kako-
doxy” of the Empire of the Greeks as a way of burnishing the theological credentials
of their “new and improved” Holy Roman Empire make a serious effort to appropriate
the Greek theological tradition to their advantage – witness for example the Decretum

1 Kipling 1991, 128.

2 Plested 2004.
3 See Barnes 1995a and Barnes 1995b.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 23

Aquisgranense issued by the Council of Aachen in 809. Even Photius with his spirited
resistance to Frankish missionary expansionism can scarcely credit the idea that there
might be any fundamental incompatibility between Latin and Greek accounts of the
Trinity. Skipping over the unfortunate but limited exchange of anathemas in 1054, a
disreputable event scarcely noticed at the time, we come to 1204 and the Latin occupa-
tion of Constantinople (1204–61). This shameful episode did little to endear the Latins
to the Byzantines – as, still less, did the vexatious commercial stranglehold gained
by Latin powers in the Palaiologan period. As Barlaam of Calabria famously put it in
1339: “That which separates the Greeks from you is not so much a difference in dogma
as the hatred of the Greeks for the Latins provoked by the wrongs they have suffered”.⁴
Throughout the various theological debates and developments of the Palaiologan era
this estimation held true – precious few were the voices prepared to affirm a funda-
mental incompatibility between the theological traditions of the Latin West and Greek
East. On the contrary, a presupposition of harmony and compatibility remained the
mainstream view even among avowed Palamites and ardent anti-unionists – sections
of the Byzantine theological spectrum we might expect to have adopted a thorough-
going anti-Western platform. But why should we expect Palamites and anti-unionists
(or indeed anyone in Byzantium) to be instinctively anti-Western? Why should we as-
sume the twain were never going to meet? To answer this we need to look at some of
the theological developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.⁵
It seems to me that the first signs of instinctive anti-Westernism within Orthodox
theology are to found within the Russian Slavophile movement. Emerging as a counter
to the policy of Westernisation favoured by Peter the Great and his successors, the
Slavophiles posited a fundamental dichotomy between the Greco-Slavic East and the
Latin West, whether Catholic or Protestant. Nurtured (ironically) by German Idealism
and Romanticism, the Slavophiles looked back rather to Russia’s past for the tools
with which to resist creeping Westernization, one prominent sign of which was the
dominance of the scholastic tradition in the theological schools of the Russian Empire.
Ivan Kireevsky (1806–1856), denounces western scholasticism in these terms:

This endless, tiresome juggling of concepts over seven hundred years, this useless kaleidoscope
of abstract categories spinning unceasingly before the mind’s eye, was bound in the end to blind
it to those living convictions that lie above the sphere of rationalistic understanding and logic –
convictions to which people do not attain through syllogisms, but whose truth, on the contrary,
people can only distort, if not utterly destroy, through syllogistic deduction.

What Kireevsky proposes instead is a theology based on the collective wisdom of the
Slav peoples and nourished by a retrieval of the patristic and ascetic inheritance of

4 Barlaam, Orat. PG 151, 1336B (the passage is translated in Geanakoplos 1966, 91).
5 This and subsequent sections reprise in condensed and adapted form material presented in Plested
2012b.
24 | Marcus Plested

the Church. Similar sentiments abound in Alexei Khomiakov (1804–1860) who sin-
gles out excessive rationalism as a defect common to all Western confessions, whether
supplemented by papal authoritarianism or Protestant individualism – Protestantism
and Catholicism being simply two sides of the same coin. To counter this Khomiakov
proposes an ecclesiology founded on the innately conciliar nature of the Slav peoples
with their instinct for love, unity, and freedom. This model of unity-in-freedom is held
up as an antidote to the excessive rationalism of the West of which Thomas Aquinas
is a prime example.
All of this anti-Westernism is deeply shaped by dialogue with Western sources
including Schlegel, Schelling, Möhler, Hegel, and Fichte. More to the point, it is
also something rather new: a dialectical or oppositional construct of Orthodoxy.
Orthodoxy is defined by the Slavophiles as non-Western, non-rationalistic, non-
authoritarian, non-individualistic – in other words not by what it is but by what it is
not. Romantic appeals to a mythical past cannot hide the fact that this is a conception
of Orthodoxy governed and conditioned by that which it proposes to reject. Having
presented rationalistic scholasticism as the defining feature of Western theology (and
of course of the Western-leaning theology of the Russian Theological Academies),
the only truly Orthodox theology, for the Slavophiles, is one that is anti-scholastic
and anti-rational – and so anti-Thomist. Fuming against the Latinate scholasticism
of establishment Russian theology, the Slavophiles conjure a phantom of Orthodox
theology in which the traditional rational and, yes, scholastic dimension is missing.
The Slavophiles had little immediate impact and indeed were roundly ignored by
the Russian theological and ecclesiastical establishment.⁶ Nor did they have any im-
mediate impact on the Greek thought-world. They were also much despised by that
mesmerising genius Vladimir Soloviev (1853–1900) who decried their dialectical Or-
thodoxy, attacking those “who suppose the orthodoxy or religion of the Greco-Russian
Church in opposition to the Western communions to be the very essence of our na-
tional identity”.⁷ But the Slavophiles did bequeath a significant legacy, most notably
to the theology of the Russian diaspora following on from the Bolshevik Revolution.
Here the dominant figure is Sergius Bulgakov (1871–1944), Orthodoxy’s most construc-
tive theologian of the twentieth century. Bulgakov articulated, or attempted to artic-
ulate an extraordinary and all-encompassing vision of the world in God and God in
the world, a vision in which Sophia (Wisdom) is the link-piece of a vast theological
synthesis uniting Trinitarian theology, Christology, pneumatology, cosmology, eccle-
siology, Mariology – not to mention economics, politics, and culture. Thomas Aquinas
emerges as something of a bogeyman for Bulgakov. In his essay on “The Eucharistic
Dogma”, Bulgakov presents Aquinas to be the archetypal exponent of Western eu-
charistic theology, assent to whose teachings is incumbent upon all Roman Catholics.

6 See Shezov 2012.

7 Soloviev 1889, 14–15.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 25

Protestant teachings on the eucharist conversely represent little more than dissent to
this doctrine. “In other words, the whole of Western eucharistic theology is a positive
or negative Thomism.” And this is not simply a matter affecting the non-Orthodox:
“The influence of Aquinas’ doctrine also spread to the East; recent Orthodox theol-
ogy concerning this question is still under the indirect and insufficiently understood
influence of Thomism, an influence that must be completely overcome”.
Bulgakov concludes that Aquinas’ teaching in the matter of the high mystery of
the eucharist represent the abject enslavement of theology to philosophy – and to a
very particular and outmoded philosophy at that. Even in purely philosophical terms,
transubstantiation is “an outright coercion of reason, a completely unnecessary and
unjustified archaism”. He does not think that Orthodoxy has yet “said its word” on
the matter. To do so it needs to “return to the theology of the Fathers (one thousand
years into the past), to the patristic doctrine, and to use it as a true guide, to unfold it
creatively and apply it to our time […] By relying on the patristic doctrine, we can exit
the scholastic labyrinth and go out into the open air, although an exertion of thought
will be necessary to assimilate the patristic doctrine. Such, in general, is the path
of Church tradition: it is always not only conservative but also creative.” In all this,
Thomas Aquinas stands as representative of a rationalistic and impersonal Western
theology diametrically opposed to Orthodoxy. In so far as he has infiltrated the the-
ology of the Christian East, Thomas represents an “influence that must be completely
overcome” through a creative retrieval of the Fathers.
Vladimir Lossky (1903–58) adopts an uncannily similar approach despite being
an implacable opponent of Bulgakov’s sophiology. Although intimately acquainted
with some of most exciting developments of the Thomist revival of the early twentieth
century (not least as a student of Étienne Gilson), Lossky betrays little sympathy for
Aquinas. For Lossky, it is not so much the doctrine of transubstantiation but that of
the filioque that most aptly encapsulates the rationalist excesses of Western theology.
Originating in Augustine and reaching some sort of crescendo moment in Aquinas, the
doctrine of the filioque is decried as an unwarranted intrusion into the mystery of the
Trinity and a direct progenitor of modern secularism. In his chef d’oeuvre, Essai sur
la théologie mystique de l’Église d’Orient, Lossky contrasts the mystical and experien-
tial character of Orthodox theology with the rationalism of Latin theology typified by
Aquinas.⁸ Thomas is presented as an incorrigible rationalist even when appropriat-
ing Dionysius. Unlike Palamas, who fully grasps the radical character of Dionysius’
apophaticism, Aquinas is accused of reducing apophatic theology to simple nega-
tion.⁹ All this brings Lossky to the depressing conclusion that between the cataphatic
and rationalizing approach of the West (represented by Augustine and Aquinas) and

8 See, for example, Lossky 1944, 24, 56, 90 [ET 26, 57, 95].
9 Lossky 1974e, 53. Cf. also Lossky 1974a, 26.
26 | Marcus Plested

the apophatic and mystical approach of the East (represented by the Cappadocian Fa-
thers, Dionysius, and Palamas) there is really nothing in common:

The difference between the two conceptions of the Trinity determines, on both sides, the whole
character of theological thought. This is so to such an extent that it becomes difficult to apply,
without equivocation, the same name of theology to these two different ways of dealing with
divine realities.¹⁰

As in Bulgakov, only a creative return to the Fathers is seen to offer any real alternative
to the impasse and sterility of Western theology for which Aquinas bears much of the
blame.
A rather subtler position is adopted by Fr Georges Florovsky – a theologian al-
most universally held in the greatest of esteem in contemporary Orthodox circles.
Florovsky’s vision of a creative return to the Fathers is encapsulated in his notion of
a “neo-patristic synthesis”. In this he is often lumped together with Lossky but his
vision of what a neo-patristic synthesis might look like is rather different in practice.
Palamas and, especially, Dionysius are far less decisive figures for Florovsky than for
Lossky. Furthermore, and in contradistinction to Lossky, Florovsky’ proposed synthe-
sis explicitly embraces the Latin Fathers, above all Augustine. This positive embrace
of Augustine is worlds away from Lossky’s estimation of the Bishop of Hippo.
Florovsky is similarly removed from Lossy and Bulgakov in his constructive ap-
proach to Thomas and Thomism. In Florovsky, there is little hint of the caricatured
vision of a rationalistic, scholastic, Thomist West found in his fellow Russian theolo-
gians. He explicitly denies that East and West are clearly delineated and opposing
categories: “The antithesis of “West and East” belongs more to the polemical and pub-
licistic phraseology than to sober historical thinking”.¹¹ Florovsky criticised Lossky on
precisely this score:

[Lossky] probably exaggerates the tension between East and West even in the patristic tradition.
A “tension” there obviously existed, as there were “tensions” inside the “Eastern tradition” itself,
e. g., between Alexandria and Antioch. But the author seems to assume that the tension between
the East and the West, e. g., between the Trinitarian theology of the Cappadocians and that of
Augustine, was of such a sharp and radical character as to exclude any kind of “reconciliation”
and overarching synthesis.¹²

Florovsky made the same point even more forcefully at the inauguration of St Vla-
dimir’s Seminary, New York, arguing that East and West are manifestly “offsprings
of the same root” in that they share the same Hellenic and Roman parentage. They
should be regarded as sisters or, better, Siamese twins (“conjoined” is the preferred
term these days) – dangerously and tragically separated and incomplete without the

10 Lossky 1974d, 80.

11 Florovsky 1989, 191.
12 Florovsky 1958, 207.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 27

other: “neither is self-explanatory, neither is intelligible when taken separately”. His

envisaged neo-patristic synthesis is explicitly geared to the reintegration of East and
West.¹³
Florovsky was, however, deeply allergic to what he saw as the pernicious influ-
ence of Western theology and philosophy on Russian theology from early Muscovy
down to modern times. This is the master-theme of his greatest work, Ways of Russian
Theology (1937). This extraordinary work details the tragic story of the displacement
of Russian theology from its proper patristic and Byzantine foundations and its steady
malformation or “pseudomorphosis” under the baneful spell of Western doctrines and
thought-forms. But this tale of woe should not on any account be read as an attack on
Western theology per se.
Florovsky’s approach to Western theology in its own terms is conditioned by his
distinctive understanding of “Christian Hellenism”, that is to say the Church Fathers’
remarkable and perennially relevant marshalling of the resources of classical philoso-
phy in the service of the Christian revelation. This was, of course, a conscious rebuttal
of Adolf von Harnack’s attempt to single out Greek philosophy as the chief source of
the corruption and decadence of patristic thought. Christian Hellenism is a broad cat-
egory for Florovsky:

Christian Hellenism is much wider than one is prepared to realize. St Augustine and even St
Jerome were no less Hellenistic than St Gregory of Nyssa and St John Chrysostom. St Augustine in-
troduced Neoplatonism into Western theology. Pseudo-Dionysios was influential in the West no
less than in the East, from Hilduin up to Nicholas of Cusa. And St John of Damascus was an au-
thority both for the Byzantine Middle Ages and for Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas. Thomism
itself is surely Hellenistic.

This recognition of Thomas and Thomism as representatives of Christian Hellenism

is quite an accolade in Florovsky’s book and allows for some very constructive po-
sitions. For instance, Florovsky will not accept Lossky’s denial of an authentically
apophatic current in Thomas and Thomism: “Lossky dismisses the Thomistic versions
of the ‘negative theology’ probably too easily”. Elsewhere, he remarks ruefully that
many Orthodox may even be rather disappointed to find in Thomas a tangible mysti-
cal and apophatic dimension founded especially on his immersion in Dionysius the
Areopagite.¹⁴
Writing to Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) about Lossky’s work in a letter of
1958, he cautions, “With respect to the Western (Roman) theology, I myself prefer cau-
tious judgments. First, we should not over-generalize and lump all ‘Latin’ theology
together. In particular, Duns Scotus deserves more attention that he is paid under the

13 Florovsky 1948.
14 Florovsky Archive, 1955.
28 | Marcus Plested

hypnosis of Thomism”.¹⁵ Orthodox theology has much to learn from the West. As he
puts at the conclusion of his Ways of Russian Theology:

The Orthodox thinker can find a more adequate source for creative awakening in the great sys-
tems of “high scholasticism”, in the experience of the Catholic mystics, and in the theological
experience of later Catholicism than in the philosophy of German Idealism or in the Protestant
critical scholarship of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, or even in the “dialectical theol-
ogy” of our own day.¹⁶

Florovsky’s vision of a “neo-patristic synthesis”, then, expressly includes a sustained

and sympathetic engagement with Western theology. Florovsky’s allergy to Western
influence on Orthodox theology (pseudomorphosis) does not entail a rejection of the
Western theological achievement. On the contrary, Orthodox theology will only find
its distinctive and authentic voice through an honest and constructive engagement
with Western theology at its best – and most especially with the “high scholasticism”
of Aquinas and Scotus. This is a very different vision to that which we encountered
in Lossky and Bulgakov. East and West are not opposites in Florovsky but potential
allies.
This aspect of Florovsky’s treatment of Latin theology has rarely been fully appre-
ciated. Indeed Florovsky is often lumped in with Lossky as an exponent of the eter-
nal opposition betwixt East and West. Lossky’s approach, as we have seen, is more
closely analogous with that of Bulgakov and forms part of a current of oppositional
theology going back to the Russian Slavophiles and their campaign against the so-
called Westernizers. John Meyendorff (1926–1992) also stands in this broad current,
treating Aquinas is as the archetypal representative of the Western other and raising
up St Gregory Palamas as a kind of anti-Thomas.
Perhaps the most acutely polarized account of East and West in modern Ortho-
dox theology is that offered by Fr John Romanides (1927–2001). Romanides launched
himself onto the Greek theological scene with a no holds barred attack on Augustine.
Romanides traces the ills of the modern West squarely back to the Bishop of Hippo. He
sets Augustine and his “Franco-Latin” epigones (Aquinas being the chief of these) in
stark contrast to “the Biblical and Patristic line of thought” represented by the Greek
Fathers, all of whom are presented as Palamites avant la lettre.¹⁷ Romanides’ invigo-
rating insights have won many adherents in somewhat more traditionalist circles of
modern Orthodoxy but his sweeping denunciation of Augustine and all subsequent
“Franco-Roman” theology produces an impossibly simple stand-off between biblical-
patristic-Palamite East and philosophical-Augustinian-scholastic West.

15 Sakharov 2008, 79–81.

16 Florovsky 1979, vol. 2, 303.
17 He expresses his world-view in a nutshell in the opening pages of Romanides 2004. His critique of
Augustine is outlined at length in his dissertation of 1957 = Romanides 1989.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 29

All this is very different to Florovsky with whom Romanides maintained an exten-
sive correspondence but who unambiguously recognised Augustine as a Father of the
Church and for whom Latin scholasticism had an indispensable part to play within
his proposed neo-patristic synthesis.¹⁸ Christos Yannaras presents a more sophisti-
cated but essentially analogous form of anti-Westernism. Yannaras is less concerned
with Augustine than is Romanides and focuses rather on Aquinas as his chief bug-
bear. Demetrios Kydones’ translation of the Summa contra gentiles in 1354 marks, for
Yannaras, a melancholy moment: the beginning of the end of “real Hellenism”, the
gradual overcoming of the living tradition of the Gospel and the Greek Fathers by the
West: “the great historical cycle which started motion in 1354 with Demetrios Kydones
as its symbolic marker seems to be coming to a conclusion in the shape of Greece’s ab-
sorption by Europe – the final triumph of the pro-unionists”. Aquinas, for Yannaras,
is the embodiment of Western rationalism, individualism, and legalism.¹⁹
Yannaras’ approach shares much with Philip Sherrard’s The Greek East and Latin
West, published in 1959. The fissure between Greek East and Latin West is presented
by Sherrard in the form of a “curious inner dialectic” within Western thought pro-
ceeding from Augustine through Aquinas to Descartes and in which reason is divorced
from revelation and elevated to wholly autonomous status.²⁰ This process is held ulti-
mately accountable for many of the subsequent ills of Western society, most notably
in the environmental sphere. In sharp contrast stands the Greek patristic tradition,
interpreted largely in Dionysian and Palamite terms, with its accent on intuitive and
unmediated knowledge, mystical experience, and the participatory relationship be-
tween the world and its God. A similar account of rationalistic West versus mystical
East is found in Zissimos Lorentzatos, articulated most clearly in his famous essay on
George Seferis, “The Lost Centre” (1962).²¹ Lorentzatos presents the mystical tradition
as the defining characteristic of the Greek spiritual tradition. That tradition may have
been “consistently ignored and deformed” by the rationalistic and humanistic West
(especially since the Greek Revolution of 1821) but it remains a living and accessible
reality – accessible even to Western poets of a more mystical bent such as Blake and
Yeats.
Modern Orthodox theology is not, of course, wholly in thrall to a paradigm of polar
opposition between East and West. There are far subtler treatments in figures such as
Demetrios Koutroubis (1921–83), Panayiotis Nellas (1936–86), Nikos Nissiotes (1925–
86), Metropolitan John Zizioulas (1931–), and Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (1934–).
And things are changing – indeed I would single out the beginning of a decline of

18 “Augustine is a Father of the Church Universal, and we must take his testimony into account, if we
are to attempt a true ecumenical synthesis”, Florovsky 1950, 156.
19 Yannaras cites not an Eastern but a Western source for his intuition: “Heidegger has assured us
that Descartes represents the natural end result of Western scholasticism”, Yannaras 1971, 286.
20 Sherrard 1959, 139–164.
21 Lorentzatos 1980.
30 | Marcus Plested

the paradigm of opposition as one of the single most significant developments in

twenty-first century Orthodox theology. But the notion of East-West opposition is cer-
tainly still widely present in modern Orthodox theology and the idea that someone
like Aquinas might be integrated into an Orthodox world-view has barely begun to
register. In the final analysis, then, Kipling’s opening lines in The Ballad of East and
West still ring largely true: “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall
meet”.²² Aquinas is still routinely treated as an archetype of a West patently opposed
to the East. Orthodox theologians today are still too often at variance with the suitably
critical but admirably constructive and non-oppositional approach to Latin theology
evidenced in the late Byzantine period.
A fine example of such an approach is St Gregory Palamas, a figure routinely held
up within modern Orthodox circles as a kind of Orthodox equivalent to Thomas and an
archetype of non-Western or anti-Western theology. The key development here is the
widespread recognition that Palamas drew directly on that archetypal Westerner, St
Augustine. Martin Jugie was the first to draw attention to this, observing some interest-
ing parallels especially in the One Hundred and Fifty Chapters (Capita).²³ Jugie’s claims
had little impact on subsequent scholarship. Indeed, the classic twentieth-century ac-
counts of Palamas (Lossky and Meyendorff) rule out any possible affinity with Augus-
tine. According to this Neo-Palamite narrative, there is clear blue water between Latin
(essentialist) and Greek (personalist-existentialist) doctrines of the Trinity.²⁴ These po-
lar positions are found in, respectively, Augustine and Aquinas, and the Cappadocian
Fathers and Palamas. This narrative is marked out in Lossky’s Essai sur la théologie
mystique de l’Église d’Orient and in John Meyendorff’s Introduction à l’étude de Gré-
goire Palamas and subsequent works. As one of Meyendorff’s articles puts it:

All scholars today would agree the real difference between the Latin – Augustinian – view of the
Trinity, as a single Essence, with personal characters understood as “relations”, and the Greek
scheme, inherited from the Cappadocian Fathers, which considered the single divine Essence
as totally transcendent, and the Persons, or hypostaseis – each with unique and unchangeable
characteristics – as revealing in themselves the Tri-personal divine life, was the real issue behind
the debates on the Filioque.²⁵

The irony here is that Palamas has in recent years been attacked by a number of West-
ern critics as precisely an essentialist, a theologian incapable of properly distinguish-
ing the three divine persons. Catherine LaCugna, for example, finds the affirmation
that the multiple energies of God are the single energy of the Trinity particularly trou-

22 But cf. supra on Kipling’s own understanding of East and West.

23 Edited by Robert Sinkewicz. See Jugie 1932, 1766.
24 The personalist-existentialist reading of Palamas mirrors the analogous retrieval of Aquinas by
Étienne Gilson, Jacques Maritain, and others.
25 Meyendorff 1986, 674 (In lightly revised later versions of his article, Meyendorff backtracks slightly
by modifying “all scholars” to “most”).
 Reconfiguring East and West | 31

bling. Failing to acknowledge the simple equation between nature and energy estab-
lished by St Maximus the Confessor against Monoenergism (in nuce: energy pertains
to nature not to person), LaCugna concludes that Palamas’ teaching elides the particu-
larities of the three persons and overall “sounds suspiciously similar to Augustine and
Aquinas”.²⁶ Dorothea Wendebourg (for whom Palamas is a functional modalist) also
finds Palamas reminiscent of Augustine and characterises the triumph of Palamism
as the “defeat of Trinitarian theology”.²⁷
To add irony to irony: those who label Palamas an essentialist continue to vaunt
him as archetypal of an Eastern theological tradition quite distinct from the West.
LaCugna, for instance, presents Palamas and Aquinas as twin peaks of the “central
ethos” of their respective opposing traditions of East and West.²⁸ LaCugna’s vision
of East and West is essentially that of Lossky and Meyendorff: Palamas and Aquinas
presented as the twin summits of the mutually antagonistic theological traditions of
East and West. The dichotomy between East and West is virtually an article of faith
for these authors. Such a dichotomy would certainly seem to preclude any but merely
accidental parallels between Gregory and Augustine. But substantive parallels, and
even direct citations, there certainly are.
Meyendorff recognised in Chapter 36 of the One Hundred and Fifty Chapters
(Capita) the existence of a striking “psychological” image of the Trinity in which
the Holy Spirit presented as the mutual love of Father and Son. His initial reaction
was that this was a “somewhat similar” image to that found in Augustine, allowing
this to be a sign of Gregory’s openness to the West.²⁹ Later, however, he downgraded
the parallelism to “quite superficial”.³⁰ But in either case, any substantial connection
was deemed inadmissible.³¹
Recent work in this area has demonstrated that there is a substantial encounter
with Augustine evident in Gregory’s works. Reinhard Flogaus and John Demetra-
copoulos have (separately and independently) put forward a compelling case that
Palamas made frequent use of Augustine, drawing directly on the translation of the
De Trinitate made by Maximos Planoudes in c.1280.³² Gregory’s encounter with Au-
gustine is especially evident in Chapters 34–37 and 125–35 of the Capita (c.1349–50)

26 LaCugna 1991, 194.

27 Wendebourg 1980 and Wendebourg 1982.
28 LaCugna 1991, 143–144.
29 Meyendorff 1959b, 316 (“assez semblable”). Lossky, for his part, had previously declared such im-
ages to be unheard of in the East: Lossky 1944, 78 [ET 81].
30 Meyendorff 1986, 673 and 679 n. 11. He states quite categorically that, “The Greek translation of
Augustine’s De Trinitate by Maximus Planoudes (†1310) remained the work of an isolated humanist,
whose work was hardly ever used by Byzantine theologians”.
31 Meyendorff had no particular animus against Augustine, and observes that in his insistence on the
absolute necessity of grace, Gregory is “l’un des auteurs les plus ‘augustiniens’ de l’Orient chrétien”,
Meyendorff 1959b, 175.
32 Flogaus 1996a; Flogaus 1997a; and Flogaus 1998. J. Demetracopoulos 1997.
32 | Marcus Plested

and indeed in other works from the mid to late 1340s onwards. In one case from the
late 1350s, Palamas introduces a quotation from Augustine in these terms: “For as one
of the wise and apostolic men has said […]”.³³ This quote reveals not only Gregory’s
conviction of the authority of Augustine but also his sense of a need for a certain dis-
cretion in appealing to that authority. Other instances of appropriation embrace the
motives of the incarnation (Homily 16), the meaning of death (To Xena), the four kinds
of logos within man, and God’s possession of goodness and wisdom not as quality but
as essence (Capita 34–35).
It is intriguing to find Palamas countenancing Augustine even at his most “es-
sentialist” given that the dominant neo-Palamite narrative tends to distance Palamas
from any taint or suspicion of “essentialism”. This calls for some further discussion,
beginning with Capita 36. Here, Palamas speaks of the Holy Spirit as the “ineffable
love” (ἔρως) of the Begetter towards the Begotten. The Son “possesses this love as co-
proceeding from the Father and himself and as resting connaturally in him”. Thus the
Spirit is not only “of the Father” but also “of the Son”, who possesses him “as the Spirit
of truth, wisdom, and word”. The Spirit is also intimated in Proverbs 8:30 in which the
Word as Wisdom declares: “I was she who rejoiced together with (συνέχαιρον) him.”
This verse leads Palamas to conclude that, “This pre-eternal rejoicing of the Father
and the Son is the Holy Spirit who is, as has been said, common to both”. But this
does not, he is careful to note, detract in any way from the fact that the Holy Spirit
“has his existence from the Father alone and so proceeds from him alone according to
his existence”.
Palamas unambiguously rules out the Latin filioque in respect of origination and
existence of the Holy Spirit. But he equally clearly does not confine co-procession to
the purely temporal mission of the Spirit. He is certainly allowing for some form of co-
procession within the immanent eternal life of the Holy Trinity. There are antecedents
for this kind of language in the Byzantine tradition: Maximus the Confessor’s intu-
ition of that procession “through” and “from” the Son are essentially equivalent; John
of Damascus’ eternal “resting” of the Spirit in the Son; or Gregory of Cyprus’ eternal
“shining forth” of the Spirit through the Son.³⁴ But such precedents cannot fully ac-
count for the astonishing parallels with Augustine’s notion of the Spirit as the “mutual
love” of Father and Son.³⁵ The fact that Palamas goes on to propose a Trinitarian image
in human beings in terms of the operation of mind, knowledge, and love only serves
to make the connection with Augustine unmistakable.³⁶
This broadly sympathetic reception of some key features of Augustine’s Trinitar-
ian teaching is, at first sight, puzzling. Palamas was a fierce opponent of the Latin

33 Gregory Palamas, Against Gregoras 2.43, ed.Chrestou IV: 296 (cf. De Trinitate 5.8.9).
34 Maximus the Confessor, Letter to Marinus (PG 91 136AD); John of Damascus: Exact Exposition of
the Orthodox Faith 8.173 (Kotter II: 25); Gregory of Cyprus: Tomos of 1285 (PG 142 240C).
35 De Trinitate 15.6 10, 15.17.29, 15 19.37, 15.26.47.
36 Greg. Pal., Capita 37, Chrestou. Cf. Aug., De Trinitate 9 (passim).
 Reconfiguring East and West | 33

filioque and yet he embraces some of the key images of Augustine, the foremost ex-
positor of the offending doctrine. In his anti-Latin Apodictic Treatises (c.1336), Pala-
mas insists on procession from the Father alone. But even here Palamas reveals him-
self to be rather more than an uncompromising monopatrist, unable to think beyond
the temporal mission of the Spirit by the Son. Fully aware of patristic support for the
involvement of the Son in the eternal procession of the Spirit (for example, Cyril of
Alexandria’s Thesaurus), Palamas produces a remarkably constructive approach to
the whole problem.
Palamas is clear that one cannot speak of the procession of the hypostasis of the
Spirit from the hypostasis of the Son. The Spirit has his existence and particular mode
of being from the hypostasis of the Father alone. But we can speak of the Spirit’s being
from the Father and the Son, or from the Father through the Son, in terms of nature.
Because of the consubstantiality of Father and Son, the Spirit may be said to be “nat-
urally from the Son and from his essence”, manifesting the Spirit’s own consubstan-
tiality with the Father and the Son.³⁷ This eternal divine movement has its temporal
counterpart: “The Spirit eternally flows-forth from the Father into the Son and be-
comes manifest in the saints from the Father through the Son”.³⁸ It is “nothing new”
to say that “the Spirit goes forth from the Son and from his nature”.
Palamas, in short, allows for what we might call an “Orthodox filioque” both in
respect of the eternal divine life and the manifestation of the divine operation or en-
ergy among creatures. But he remains adamant that the hypostasis of the Father is the
sole originating principle of the divinity. While there can be no question of adding the
offending word to the Creed, or of accepting the filioque in terms of origination, Pala-
mas’ capacity to embrace co-procession on both eternal and temporal planes helped
prepare the ground for the his positive reception of Augustine in later works. This is
not a case of a simple Easterner being so impressed by Augustine as to embrace some
of his ideas at the expense of the coherence of his own doctrine. Augustine appealed
to Palamas precisely because of the underlying similarity of their approaches to the
mystery of the Trinity. Palamas has an acute sense of the unity of God that is quite as
“essentialist” as anything one might find in Augustine but which remains, like Augus-
tine’s, properly alive to the distinction of persons.
In sum, Palamas’ use of Augustine emerges as perfectly consistent with his
broader theological programme. Before his encounter with Augustine, Palamas had
already established a highly constructive approach to the vexed issue of the filioque
that enabled him to adopt a remarkably tolerant approach to the Latin tradition and
formulae when viewed outside the context of East–West polemics. Allowing for co-
procession in terms both of essence and of energy, Palamas was predisposed to look
favourably on Augustine. This sympathetic reading does not amount to any sort of

37 Greg. Pal., Apodictic Treatise 2.67, Chrestou I: 138–39.

38 Greg. Pal., Apodictic Treatise 2.58, Chrestou I: 131.
34 | Marcus Plested

decisive influence: Palamas’ theological vision was well-developed and articulated

before he happened upon the Planoudes translation. The De Trinitate served, rather,
as a confirmation of aspects of his own theological vision –including, with some
essential caveats, the disputed matter of the filioque.
This remarkable encounter stands as a clear sign of the openness of Palamas to
Latin theology. In this respect, the encounter serves to foreshadow the capacity of
many Palamites (and anti-Unionists) to be ardent admirers of Thomas Aquinas, one
of Augustine’s most prominent epigones. But the fact that an “archetypal Easterner”
should embrace an “archetypal Westerner”, as Palamas does Augustine, is strange
only if one begins with the assumption of an East–West dichotomy (with attendant
archetypes) in the first place. What is really puzzling is the fact that so many observers
across the theological spectrum have approached the issue under precisely such an as-
sumption. A serious engagement with Augustine is thus simply out of the question for
virtually all critics and admirers of Palamas alike.³⁹ But a serious engagement there
was, and one which must press us to question further the hackneyed dichotomy of
East and West.
Palamas was also, it should be affirmed, heir to a long tradition of Byzantine
scholasticism as indeed he was to the earlier patristic tradition and the whole mys-
tical, apophatic, and monastic edifice of the Christian East. Palamas drew on his own
relatively extensive philosophical training in his dispute with Barlaam of Calabria,
the first in a series of critics of certain of the beliefs and practices of the Hesychast
monks of Mount Athos. This is a dispute that began not over techniques of prayer
or the vision of divine light but over the correct application of Aristotle. Taking ex-
ception to the Calabrian’s theological agnosticism, Palamas asserted in unmistakably
Aristotelian terms the propriety of apodictic (demonstrative) argumentation in the the-
ological realm.
Barlaam, although no mean student of logic himself, was deeply sceptical about
the possibility of any rational argumentation in relation to the divine and scornful of
the Latin dependence on syllogisms.⁴⁰ In stark contrast, Palamas explicitly defends
the Latin use of the syllogism, declaring that “we have in truth been taught by the
Fathers to syllogize about [theological matters], and no one would write even against

39 To the critics already mentioned (LaCugna, Wendebourg, Jenson) we may add Gerhard Podsklasky,
for whom Palamas’ acquaintance with Augustine barely impinges on his broader scheme of method-
ological opposition between East and West (Podskalsky 1977c, 176–177 and passim). To the admirers
(Lossky, Meyendorff) we may add David Bradshaw who characterizes Palamite theology as a reaction
to Barlaam’s alleged Augustinianism and seems barely to register Palamas’ own use of Augustine;
Bradshaw 2004, 222.
40 On Barlaam’s conception of theology, see Sinkewicz 1982. I follow Sinkwewicz in seeing only min-
imal direct acquaintance with Western scholasticism (including Thomas) in Barlaam’s works of this
period.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 35

the Latins because of this”.⁴¹ Palamas insists on the necessity of rational discourse
and will not hesitate to use the syllogism in the defence of revealed truth, after the
pattern of the Fathers.⁴² Gregory Akindynos attacks Palamas in strictly traditional
terms, berating him for departing from patristic tradition (which he cites ad nauseam)
and deploying the hoary tactic of associating the innovations of his opponent with a
panoply of heresies of old.⁴³ Nikephoros Gregoras, the third prominent leader of the
anti-Palamite party, displays a positive allergy to Aristotle and refuses all utility to
the syllogism, seeing it as a tool fit only for feeble minds, such as those of the Latins.⁴⁴
There is a certain irony in the fact that the chief legacy of the anti-Palamites is precisely
the anti-rational obscurantism that Podsklasky deems the defining characteristic of
Palamism.
To sum up, there is no sense in which Palamas’ theology may justifiably be charac-
terized as a defeat of reason (pace Podskalsky), or as the triumph of an anti-scholastic
mystical theology (pace Lossky et alii), or as anti-Latin. It is this scholastic current in
Palamas and his own positive but duly critical disposition towards Latin theology that
was to pave the way for the sympathetic reception of Thomas by a surprising number
of Palamites.
Now for someone else who sympathised with Latin theology (but was rather less
coy about it): Demetrios Kydones. Kydones (himself an anti-Palamite) offers some
compelling reflections on East-West theological relations in the Palaeologan period.
From the moment of his first encounter with Aquinas, Demetrios felt a passionate
vocation to make the riches of Latin learning available in Greek. Like many of his
compatriots, he had not expected much from the Latins who were generally to be en-
countered as merchants and seamen. But through his study of Thomas, it had become
clear to him that the Latins too had people of the highest intellectual attainments.⁴⁵
He pours scorn on the apparently common assumption of Roman superiority, espe-
cially the enduring belief that the world is divided between Greeks and barbarians,
that is between the Romans and the rest. In this scenario, the Romans are the heirs of
Plato and Aristotle and the Latins barely recognisable as human, fit only for menial
activities such as inn-keeping.⁴⁶ The West is, emphatically, not the best – pace Jim
Morrison. Demetrios acknowledges the estrangement and mutual ignorance that has
built up between Romans and Latins over time.⁴⁷ His translations are clearly intended
to stand in the breach. Demetrios believed that it is principally language that divides

41 Greg. Pal., First Letter to Akindynos 8, Chrestou I: 211.3–5. Palamas finds patristic support for the
syllogism, as employed by the Latins, in Basil the Great and Euthymios Zigabenos.
42 See, for example, Greg. Pal., First Letter to Akindynos 9, Chrestou I: 212–213.
43 For an extremely sympathetic estimation of Akindynos, see Nadal Cañellas 2006.
44 See Ierodiakonou 2002b, 221–224.
45 Demetrios Kydones, Apology I, ed. Mercati, Vatican City 1931: 364.37–41.
46 Dem. Kyd., Apol., Mercati: 365.77–84.
47 Dem. Kyd., Apol., Mercati 365.86–366.87.
36 | Marcus Plested

East and West. Turning away from contemporary disagreements to the witness of the
ancient Fathers of East and West he finds that they are in complete harmony, formed
by and founded upon the same scripture and guided by the same Spirit.⁴⁸ He decries
those who reject this harmonious testimony, rejecting the Latin Fathers and accepting
only that of those who hail from the East. Such men are guilty not only of absurdity
but also of blasphemy, falling ultimately into the errors of Arius and Sabellius.⁴⁹ This
is a theme he returns to after a long discussion of primacy and of the various merits of
New and Old Rome, condemning those who follow “Athanasius, Basil, Gregory, John,
and Cyril” but refuse to pay heed to the teachings of Fathers long venerated liturgi-
cally by the Church, “Hilary, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Leo, and Gregory”, purely
on the grounds of language.⁵⁰ Such a contumelious attitude is to make of an accident
of geography a theological divide (“as far as the East is from the West” – an allusion
to Psalm 103) that simply is not there.⁵¹ This absurd conflation of geography and the-
ology, he writes, represents a manifest betrayal of the truth, truth being the property
neither of Asia nor of Europe.⁵² Demetrios is certainly aware of a tendency to make the
geographical West into a theological category but he resists any such notion with all
the forces at his disposal.
In his enthusiastic embrace of Thomas, Demetrios was not welcoming in an alien
culture to which he felt inferior; indeed he expressly denies any such sentiment.⁵³
Rather, he embraces Thomas as, essentially, “one of us”. Aquinas represents for Ky-
dones the undivided faith of the Church: founded upon the common scriptures, pro-
claimed in the united witness of the patristic tradition, and expressed according to the
best traditions of Greek philosophy. This sense of affinity is in large measure a sign of
Aquinas’ own continuity with Eastern scholasticism and rootedness in the Greek pa-
tristic tradition. His mastery of Plato and Aristotle set the seal on what was really a
kind of homecoming. He was, in effect, ushered into Byzantium as an honorary Hel-
lene and a true Roman, bringing to the City, in the words of the Divine Liturgy, “thine
own of thine own”.
There are any number of other Byzantine figures that may be used to explode
the notion of an inherent East-West dichotomy but I shall confine myself to the two
leaders of the anti-unionist party: St Mark of Ephesus and George (Gennadios) Schol-
arios. As Metropolitan of Ephesus, Mark Eugenikos (c. 1394–1445) was the most de-
terminedly anti-unionist member of the Greek delegation at the re-union council of

48 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 367.46–368.51.

49 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 368.62–79. Kydones composed a separate treatise in defence of the Latin
Fathers, for which see Kianka 1983.
50 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 382.35–40, citing Psalm 102(3):12.
51 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 383.53–57.
52 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 399.83.
53 Dem. Kyd., Apol. Mercati 384.71–74.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 37

Ferrara-Florence (1438–39).⁵⁴ While this council witnessed a level of real theologi-

cal debate, exchange, and rapprochement far in excess of that achieved at the ear-
lier reunion council of Lyons (1274), it was to prove similarly ineffectual. As the chief
spokesman for the Orthodox cause at the council, Mark consistently opposed any sort
of compromise with Roman Catholic positions. But while Mark would have no part in
even the slightest surrender to the Latin positions on key matters such as the papacy,
filioque, and purgatory, he was by no means hostile to Latin theology per se.
Mark’s approach to theology is distinctly scholastic in the traditional Byzantine
mode. He had been very well trained in Aristotelian philosophy and argumentation
by John Chortasmenos and continued to draw on that training throughout his tumul-
tuous career.⁵⁵ He was, in particular, a forthright advocate of the theological syllo-
gism, producing a set of works based expressly on the syllogism: Syllogistic Chapters
against the Latins on the Procession of the Holy Spirit; Ten Syllogisms Demonstrating
that there is No Purgatorial Fire; and Syllogistic Chapters against the Heresy of the Akin-
dynists concerning the Distinction between the Divine Essence and Energies.⁵⁶ Like Pala-
mas and indeed Aquinas he expressly commends and embraces syllogistic reasoning
even in the highest realms of theology – so long as proper subservience to the author-
ity of scripture and the Fathers be maintained.
Mark was a systematic thinker, presenting many of his works in the form of a-
poriae, objections, and solutions. He does not hesitate to employ philosophical ar-
gumentation where appropriate and can even be found citing Aristotle in support of
the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father alone.⁵⁷ Mark also
had an exacting knowledge of the patristic tradition and was adept at forensic discus-
sion of issues of textual authenticity. Mark, in other words, was not content to retreat
into apophaticism or mysticism but perfectly prepared to beat the Latins at their own
game, arguing systematically for the Greek position on the basis of scripture, the Fa-
thers (correctly transmitted), and philosophy. Naturally enough, this robust approach
led him to take on Thomas Aquinas directly in some of his works. Mark treats Thomas
as the archetypal “teacher of the Latins” and shows a fair acquaintance with his work
in so doing: he certainly knew at least some of Thomas’ works at first hand.
While Mark could not fail to take issue with Thomas in his treatments of Latin
positions on the disputed questions between East and West, it is significant that his
approach remains temperate and respectful. He even attempts to recruit Thomas to
the Orthodox cause on occasion. But what is most significant is that there is, in this
supreme and even archetypal defender of Orthodoxy, no trace of any fundamental in-
compatibility between Latin and Greek theological methodologies. Thomas, and the
Latin Church in general, are taken on at their own game. We see here, in other words,

54 PLP 6193. See also Gill 1964, 55–64, 222–232; Tsirpanlis 1974; and, especially, Constas 2002b.
55 On Chortasmenos, see PLP 30897 and Hunger 1969.
56 Edited in, respectively, Petit 1977 and Gass 1899.
57 G. Schol., Syllogistic Chapters against the Latins on the Procession of the Holy Spirit §29, ed. Petit 92.
38 | Marcus Plested

a competition between rival scholasticisms, competing in their conclusions but per-

fectly compatible in their approaches to the matter of theology. But for a truly search-
ing and heartfelt engagement with Thomas on the part of a thoroughgoing Aristotelian
and anti-unionist we have to turn to the man to whom Mark committed the leadership
of those opposed to the Florentine union, George Scholarios.
George (later Patriarch Gennadios) Scholarios (c.1403–c.1472) has the distinction
of having been an exceptionally fervent Thomist and a committed Palamite, an advo-
cate of the Florentine union and, later, the leader of the anti-unionist party in the last
few years of the Byzantine imperium.⁵⁸ He appears to have first encountered Thomas
through his Aristotelian commentaries and philosophical works and was to translate
a number of these, including the commentaries on the De anima and the Posterior An-
alytics and the treatise De esse et essentia.⁵⁹ George made Thomas the lynchpin of his
teaching at the school of grammar and philosophy he opened in Constantinople at this
time.⁶⁰ His Latin predilections soon attracted the accusations that he was a “Latinizer”
– a charge he was never to be entirely free from.⁶¹ Scholarios made a translation of the
De esse et essentia for a favoured student, Matthew Kamariotes, in which he declared
himself to be Thomas’ most fervent disciple in either East or West: “I do not think that
any of his disciples has honoured Thomas Aquinas more than I have; nor do I think
that any follower of his need have any other Muse”. In saying this, Scholarios is keenly
aware that Thomas’ value was by no means universally recognised in the West. The
Franciscans are singled out for their attraction to the subtleties of more recent teach-
ers (he mentions John (Duns) Scotus). Thomas, he declares, is to be valued above such
epigones as the “most precise and correct”, “the most excellent and learned” – and
because he, unlike them, has received the approbation of the Church of Rome, and not
only that of the schools. In one note of slight caution, he admits that in “a few mat-
ters” Thomas differs from the teachings of the Orthodox Church but argues that such
differences were not of Thomas’ making but rather the product of circumstance.⁶²
Scholarios was never to depart from this enthusiastic estimation of Thomas al-
though he would often accentuate the note of caution in subsequent works. In an avis
au lecteur added somewhat later to the same translation, after he had made a name

58 PLP 27304. The most detailed treatment of Scholarios’ life and times is now Blanchet 2008c. For a
general account, Tinnefeld 2002d is sans pareil. See also Jugie 1941; Turner 1969a; and Gill 1964, 79–
94. Scholarios’ complete works have long been edited: Louis Petit, Xenophon Sidéridès and Martin
Jugie (eds.), Oeuvres complètes de Georges Scholarios (hereafter OC).
59 On Gennadios’ encounter with Thomas, see especially Jugie 1930b; Barbour 1993a; Podskalsky
1974a; Salaville 1924. See also the chapter by Golitsis in this volume.
60 Scholarios also translated works on logic of Peter of Spain, Gilbert de la Porée, and Radulphus
Brito. On Brito, see Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981-1982b.
61 Schol., OC I, Petit et al., 376–89 (Opus 75): an extensive and pained apologia defending himself
from this perennial slur.
62 Prooemium to the translation of Thomas’ De esse et essentia (Opus 138), OC VI, ed. Petit et al.,
179–80.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 39

as an opponent of Latin theological errors, Scholarios observes: “This Thomas, al-

though he was Latin by race and doctrine, and thus differs from us in those things
in which the Roman Church has in recent times innovated, is, in other respects, wise
and profitable for those who read him.” He praises Thomas’ exegetical, philosophi-
cal, and other works, noting that a great many have been translated. Where Thomas
differs from the ancestral faith (ἡ πατρία δόξη), he must be rejected – and Scholarios
is at pains to underline his own extensive and well-known contributions to such nec-
essary rebuttal. But Thomas remains of enormous value, as a witness to the universal
patristic tradition of Asia and of Europe, of Greek Fathers and Latin – the common
inheritance of Christians. As was the case with Demetrios Kydones, Scholarios was
not welcoming in a foreign import but recognising “one of us” – albeit in unfamiliar
Latin garb. Notwithstanding his unfortunate aberrations, Scholarios says, “we love
this divinely-inspired and wise man”.⁶³
Throughout the various turmoils of his life, Scholarios made sure to have Thomas’
works with him whenever possible. In the years following his retirement from the pa-
triarchal throne, when he was subject to periodic displacement at the whim of the Sul-
tan or of other Ottoman potentates, he composed epitomes of the Summae for ready
portability.⁶⁴ In his preface to his abridged version of the Summa contra gentiles and
the prima pars of the Summa theologiae, Gennadios gives yet another testimony of
his undying love for the angelic doctor. He admits that the author is a Latin and thus
bound to adhere to his own ancestral faith where this differs from that of the Ortho-
dox. Scholarios is careful to limit the points of real difference to two: the procession
of the Holy Spirit and the essence-energies distinction. Once again he underlines his
own great and sacrificial contributions to the refutation of these Latin errors. But oth-
erwise, Thomas is to be admired and heeded for his astonishing works of theology,
exegesis, and philosophy. He is quite simply “the most excellent expositor and inter-
preter of Christian theology in those matters in which his Church accords with ours”.⁶⁵
Scholarios remained convinced of the underlying unity of the two ecclesial tradi-
tions and of the possibility, in God’s own time, of a true dogmatic union. Such convic-
tions were nourished largely by his searching and life-long engagement with Thomas.
Thomas functioned for Scholarios as an embodiment of all that united East and West,
most especially their shared patristic and philosophical tradition.

63 Schol., OC VI, ed. Petit et al., 177–78.

64 Schol., Epitome of the Summa contra gentiles, OC V, ed. Petit et al., 1–338 (Opus 139); Epitome of
the first part of the Summa theologiae, OC V, 338–510 (Opus 140), Epitome of the prima secundae, OC
VI 1–153 (Opus 141).
65 Schol., OC V 1–2, ed. Petit et al.: ἄριστος τῆς χριστιανικῆς θεολογίας ἐξηγητὴς καὶ συνόπτης, ἐν οἷς
καὶ ἡ ἐκκλησία αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ συνᾴδει.
40 | Marcus Plested

Concluding Remarks
The assumption of theological dichotomy between Christian East and West has long
passed its sell-by date. If we look at the supposed archetypes of East and West, Gre-
gory Palamas and Thomas Aquinas, we can see that both are profoundly ill-served
by being presented as pinnacles and summations of their respective traditions. In Or-
thodox Readings of Aquinas I present a sketch of a very “Eastern” Thomas, a devoted
student of the Greek Fathers, a pioneer in the use of material from the later Ecumenical
Councils, and an enthusiastic propagator of near-contemporary Byzantine exegetical
sources.⁶⁶ This Thomas, far from being an innovator in theological methodology was,
rather, the heir to a long tradition of Byzantine scholasticism – and one who took that
tradition to new heights of lucidity and sophistication. In this paper I have depicted
Palamas as someone one who shared fully in that same tradition of Byzantine scholas-
ticism, being steeped in Christian Aristotelianism and expressly committed to the de-
fence of the proper place of reason within the theological sphere. This is a Palamas
prepared to build bridges across the Greek-Latin divide even in the supremely contro-
verted matter of the filioque, a Byzantine theologian able to assimilate distinctively
Latin Fathers such as Augustine into his theological purview. Palamas approached
the Latin tradition with a hermeneutic of orthodoxy being convinced, like Aquinas, of
the underlying catholicity and harmony of East and West.
This sense of underlying catholicity and harmony is evident in the Byzantine and
Early Modern Orthodox reception of Aquinas.⁶⁷ The most startling development is
the emergence of a paradigm of opposition in the nineteenth century, a paradigm
that achieved predominance in the twentieth century.⁶⁸ Theologians of the Byzantine
and post-Byzantine era studiously refrained, with very rare exceptions, from posit-
ing any sort of substantial methodological or theological gap between Greeks and
Latins. Critiques of Aquinas tend to be limited to the specific issues of contention and
do not fan-out into global confrontations between East and West, still less into meta-
physical stand-offs between personalism and essentialism, mysticism and rational-
ism, apophaticism and cataphaticism, or Palamism and Thomism. Such dichotomies
are very much the preserve of the modern Orthodox mindset and do not accurately
reflect the Byzantine legacy.
It is only with the Slavophiles in the early nineteenth century that an expressly
reactive definition of Orthodoxy begins to take hold, shaped and inspired by German
Idealism and Romanticism. Such oppositional theologizing became virtually norma-
tive in the twentieth century in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. It is worth not-
ing that the most oppositional phase of Orthodox theology was conditioned to some

66 Plested 2012b, 9–28.

67 Plested 2012b, 63–176.
68 Plested 2012b, 177–219.
 Reconfiguring East and West | 41

extent by vulnerability, the consequence of the collapse of the Russian Empire and
the attendant émigré/refugee experience. Set adrift in a largely indifferent Catholic
or Protestant context, it is perfectly understandable that so many Russian Orthodox
theologians should have accentuated the differences between East and West, if only
to get Orthodoxy noticed. One aspect of this oppositional strategy was the elevation of
Palamas to the status of an anti-Aquinas in response to and in emulation of Catholic
neo-Thomism. The oppositional mode of Orthodox self-definition was perpetuated by
the experience of the Cold War during which East and West functioned as axiomatic
geopolitical opposites. In a bipolar world, dichotomy makes perfect sense. In our own
globalized and multipolar world we may be better positioned to eschew to simplistic
dichotomies.
I shall conclude this article with a caveat. I have not said anything about devel-
opments in the Western intellectual sphere that have aided and abetted the devel-
opment of this Orthodox theology of opposition. Orthodox theology has never devel-
oped in isolation from the Western theological tradition – and especially not in the
modern era. Quite apart from specifically theological developments, we might think
of the narrative of Western cultural superiority attending the Enlightenment and evi-
dent in the comments on Byzantium in Voltaire, Montesquieu, Gibbon, or Hegel. It is
thanks to such figures that “Byzantine” is still a pejorative term in common English
language parlance. The theory and practice of imperialism – expressed in Kipling’s
“White Man’s Burden” rests on a related understanding of the necessary superiority
of European and Western Christian culture. We might also think of Edward Said’s un-
forgettable if somewhat sweeping analysis of Western approaches to the East.⁶⁹ Or the
analyses of the problems of the West in Spengler or Heidegger. Or the ascendancy of
the Western political and economic model (democratic capitalism). I mention these
examples briefly as illustrations of just some of the elements that have informed in
many and various ways the emergence of dialectical theological discourse as the stan-
dard theological paradigm of modern Orthodoxy – whether this be through rejection,
assimilation, appropriation, or complicity.
But to cut to the chase, the oppositional theologizing that has dominated Ortho-
dox discourse in the twentieth century is, it seems to me, a sign of weakness rather
than strength – to paraphrase Plato, a “failing of the wing”.⁷⁰ Contemporary Ortho-
dox theology has no need of a caricature of the West against which to model itself
in reaction. Nor need it fear the corrupting “influence” of the West, nor be afraid to
learn from and embrace the best of the West – just as the Byzantines did in their con-
structive appropriation of Aquinas. The abandonment of the simplistic and hackneyed
East-West dichotomy is, in short, long overdue. The Byzantines had no need of it. So
let the twain meet! – as indeed, on closer inspection, they always have.

69 Said 1978.
70 Cf. Plotinus Enneads 4.8.1 paraphrasing Plato, Phaedrus, 248c.
42 | Marcus Plested

Abbreviations and Bibliography

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ET English Translation
OC Oeuvres complètes de Georges Scholarios (see below)
PG Patrologia Graeca (Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca), ed. J.
P. Migne, 1857–1866
PLP Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, ed. E. Trapp, 12 vols.
(Vienna 1976–1996)

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John Monfasani
George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and
Latin Scholasticism

George of Trebizond is something of paradox. He is so to moderns most obviously be-

cause he fractures the supposed wall between humanism and Scholasticism. Despite
being one of the leading humanists of the Quattrocento and one of the most impor-
tant, if not the most important authority on rhetoric in the Renaissance up to the sec-
ond half of the sixteenth century,¹ he vigorously and vociferously defended Scholasti-
cism against the attacks of its critics. To be sure, in respect to the humanist-Scholastic
divide, the paradox of George of Trebizond is in part a mirage created by modern pre-
suppositions. After all many humanists tacitly or explicitly relied on Scholastic texts
in their own writings.² Indeed, at the turn of the sixteenth century, one of them, Paolo
Cortesi followed in George’s footsteps in being both an important rhetorical author-
ity and a conspicuous promoter of Scholastic thought, writing a commentary on Peter
Lombard’s Four Books of Sentences in which he took Thomas Aquinas as his main
guide.³ But the paradoxes of George of Trebizond go deeper than superficial modern
stereotypes and, as we shall see, involve the very substance of his Scholastic erudition
and allegiance. We can begin by looking at what he himself tells us both deliberately
and inadvertently about his connection to Scholastic learning.
In a late work addressed to Mehmed the Conqueror, he mentions in passing that
when he lived in Naples, he used to read in the Dominican monastery of S. Domenico
Maggiore.⁴ But apart from his three years in Naples, 1452–55,⁵ George spent most of
his later life in Rome, where he had a house in the Piazza S. Macuto, that is to say,
a few blocks from the University of Rome, where he used to teach, and around the
corner from the Dominican monastery of S. Maria sopra Minerva, where he used to
read and where he was eventually buried and to whose library, in 1473, he donated

1 See Deitz’s introduction to his edition of Trapezuntius, Rhetoricorum libri; and Monfasani 1976, 241–
299.
2 E. g., see Filelfo, On Exile, where §§ 113–123 and 127–150 of Bk. II of his dialogue On Exile are silently
lifted from Albert the Great’s commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics; Kristeller 1985, 497, 567–
584, on Pier Candido Decembrio’s dependence in his treatise on the immortality of the soul on a
twelfth-century treatise De Spiritu et Animo and on Thomas Cantimpratensis’s De Natura Rerum, a
dependency that “borders on plagiarism” (567); the “Indice degli autori” in Salutati, De Fato et For-
tuna, 233 and 242, for Salutati’s considerable dependency in his De Fato et Fortuna on Albert the Great
and Thomas Aquinas; and Collins 1974, for Marsilio Ficino’s large borrowings from Thomas Aquinas.
3 See Garfagnini 1997.
4 See Monfasani 1984, 567, 573.
5 See Monfasani 1976, 114–137.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-059
48 | John Monfasani

three manuscripts, an act which would tend to confirm that he had been a regular
user of the library.⁶
In the preface to one of his earliest Aristotelian translations, that of the Physics,
done in the early 1440s, George praised by name only two Scholastics, the Dominicans
Albertus Magnus and Aquinas, adding that this praise extended – and I quote – “to
all the extremely learned members of this Order, who very much devote themselves
to Aristotle.”⁷ In his Protectio Problematum Aristotelis, which he completed in 1456
and which he expressly wrote in defense of Aristotelianism and the Latin Scholastic
tradition, he mentioned John Duns Scotus and Walter Burley each once, Egidius Ro-
manus twice, and Albert and Thomas multiple times. Indeed, he singled out Thomas
Aquinas as the greatest of the Latin Aristotelian commentators, “a man who was not
more outstanding in philosophy than he was in sanctity.”⁸
George’s admiration of Thomas Aquinas and of the Dominican Order in general is
of course not surprising nor unusual for a fifteenth century Greek intellectual, as we
know today. George would seem to have been a participant in the large movement of
Byzantine Thomism that began with the translations of Demetrius Cydones the cen-
tury before and that has been well illustrated and continues to be illustrated by many
at this conference, starting with John Demetracopoulos.⁹ We shall see that this char-
acterization is not completely true. Indeed, one could say that it is false and argue that
George was not part of the movement of Byzantine Thomism. But to begin we need to
ask when and how George came by his Thomism. We know he was called to Venice
from his native Crete in 1416 by the Venetian nobleman Francisco Barbaro to serve as
a scribe.¹⁰ He quickly learned Latin, however, and in a few years found employment
as a teacher of Latin grammar and rhetoric, eventually publishing in the 1430s the sole
full-fledged Latin Rhetoric of the Quattrocento, the Libri Quinque Rhetoricorum, which
sought to meld the Byzantine rhetorical tradition, based on Hermogenes of Tarsus,
with the Latin rhetorical tradition, based on Cicero.¹¹ So George’s early career offers
no suggestion that he was much interested in philosophy or had studied Scholastic
authors, let alone Thomas. Thierry Ganchou has discovered that in 1424 George and
John Argyropoulos took part in a debate against each other in Crete.¹² Perhaps that

6 See Monfasani 1976, 142, 156, 179, 197–198, 236; and Barbalarga 1984.
7 Monfasani 1984, 142; “Nec vero dubito si Albertus ille, cui merito Magno cognomen est, aut Thomas,
vir in philosophia summus, ceterique illius ordinis doctissimi homines, ui plurimum Aristoteli insu-
darunt, ornatiorem eum habuissent ....”
8 I have prepared a critical edition of Protectio Problematum, which I hope will appear soon. At § 719 of
this edition, he spoke of Thomas as “vir non magis philosophia quam sanctitate precipuus” (= Mohler
1923–1942, vol. I, 341.27–28).
9 See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2002c; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2006b; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2007b; J. A.
Demetracopoulos n.d.(a); Fyrigos 2004c; Podskalsky 1974c; and Podskalsky 1977d.
10 Monfasani 1976, 5, 8.
11 See n. 1 above, and C. J. Classen 1993.
12 Ganchou 2008.
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 49

experience eventually led both men to become students of Latin Scholasticism, with
Argyropoulos earning a doctorate from the University of Padua in 1444 and George
developing a serious interest in Scholastic texts.¹³ The first significant evidence for
George’s interest in Scholasticism is his Isagoge Dialectica, which he completed about
1439. Since the Isagoge seeks to adapt Scholastic logic to oratorical needs, George must
have been reading Scholastic logical texts at least from the mid-1430s and probably
even much earlier. Such an interest in logic and philosophy in the 1430s would explain
how he felt comfortable on his own initiative in the early 1440s to begin to translate
Aristotle. By 1447, in a span of roughly five years, he had translated Aristotle’s Rhetoric,
Physics, De Anima, De Caelo, and De Generatione et Corruptione.¹⁴ So by the start of
the pontificate of Nicholas V in 1447 George had established himself not only as an
admirer of Thomas Aquinas but also as an expert translator of Aristotle. He would go
on to translate for Nicholas V the Aristotelian Problemata and the massive corpus of
Aristotle’s zoological works (Historia Animalium, De Partibus Animalium, and De Gen-
eratione Animalium).¹⁵ The only translator up to that point in time who could be com-
pared to George in terms of the number and importance of Aristotelian works trans-
lated is William of Moerbeke. Fittingly, in the Protectio Problematum Aristotelis of 1456
George defended medieval translators like William for their faithfulness to the Greek
text against the criticisms of Theodore Gaza, another Greek émigré translator.¹⁶
Everything said up to this point is prologue to George’s great contribution to
the Plato-Aristotle controversy of the fifteenth century, his Comparatio Philosopho-
rum Platonis et Aristotelis, completed in Rome in 1457 and certainly in circulation by
1458.¹⁷ It is in this work that we should expect thc full extent of George’s Thomism to
come to the fore. In point of fact the opposite is true. The Comparatio reveals George
to have been far more a follower of the Franciscan brand of philosophy than of the
Dominican, and, in fact, on some issues to have been an explicit opponent of Thomas
Aquinas.
Philosophy occupies only a part of the Comparatio. History holds at least an equal
part as George sought to prove that Platonism lay at the root of much of the evil in the
world, from Christian heresy and Epicureanism to the fall of the Byzantine Empire,
the rise of Islam, and the imminent danger posed by the paganism of George Gemis-

13 For George’s Isagoge Dialectica see Monfasani 1976, 37–38, 328–337. On Argyropoulos’ Scholasti-
cism see Monfasani 1993.
14 See Monfasani 1976, 55–59; and Monfasani 1984, 698–705.
15 See Monfasani 1976, 72–78; and Monfasani 1984, 705–709.
16 George spoke well of, defended, or made use of to good effect of the “old translators” in the Protec-
tio Problematum an extraordinary amount of times, to be precise, of the 724 sections of my forthcoming
edition of the work, in §§ 7, 12–14, 67, 136–137, 251, 253, 282–284, 302, 307, 341, 472, 474–484, 488, 504–
507, 529–530, 534, 541–546, 561–562, 567, 717.
17 See Monfasani 1976, 166, 169–170; Monfasani 1984, 600–602. I have prepared a critical edition and
English translation of the work that I hope to see published in the near future and that I shall be
quoting below.
50 | John Monfasani

tus Pletho.¹⁸ George’s apocalyptic vision of the Antichrist lurked just behind much of
his historical narrative.¹⁹ He also spent much of the third book of the Comparatio’s
three books in an extended exegesis of the Platonic dialogues to make plain Plato’s
moral perversion and megalomanic desires. Since the first of the three books is a rather
straightforward comparison of the erudition of the two philosophers, what serious
philosophy there is in the Comparatio is to be found in its Book 2. There George proves
that Aristotle believed and taught the immortality of the soul (chaps. 12–16), the cre-
ation of the world ex nihilo (chaps. 9–11), the special creation of the human soul and
its infusion into the body (chap. 16), the trinitarian nature of God (chaps. 4–7), and,
finally, the reality of divine Providence (chap. 17).
George’s treatment of the soul is for several reasons the best place to start in order
to gauge his relationship with the Latin Scholastic tradition. George rejected as false
the view that Aristotle held to a single agent intellect. He did not mention Averroes by
name, no more than he did Avicenna. Instead, George argued, there is a mundus intel-
lectualis consisting of a hierarchy of intellectual substances running from separated
substances at the top “which some call intelligences and others call angels using the
common name”²⁰ down to the rational soul, which, when separated from the body, is
the lowest of the intelligences.²¹ Aristotle proves, George explained, that the vegeta-
tive and sensitive souls are mortal, and only the intellective soul is immortal, whose
essential parts are the active intellect and the passive intellect. Since everything ex-
cept God is a composite and since the principle of individuation is matter, intellective
souls have a matter proportionate to them. This matter is the potential intellect. “Ac-
cording to Aristotle the potential intellect is twofold: one is a substance and essential
part of the soul as its matter; the other is a certain force and power it has by which
it thinks.”²² George frequently quotes Aristotle in these chapters of the Comparatio,
sometimes at length, to show that here he is elucidating the thought of Aristotle, and
not his own personal beliefs, his main point being: “For if the First, as Aristotle says,
does not have matter and is [thus] unique, all other things therefore necessarily have
matter since they are not the First; but intelligences do not have corporeal matter,

18 These topics occupy most of the final Bk. 3 of the Comparatio, namely, chaps. 6–20. Pending the
publication of my critical edition, the only available edition is the very faulty 1523, Venice edition with
a title created by the editor Augustinus Claravallis, O.E.S.A.: Comparationes Phylosophorum Aristotelis
et Platonis; see Trapezuntius, Comparationes.
19 See Monfasani 1976, 85–102, 128–136, 158–162, 185–194, 223–226.
20 Bk. II, chap. 13, § 2: “Hinc enim omnium separatarum substantiarum, quas alii intelligentias, alii
communi nomine angelos nuncupant ...”
21 On this point, George agreed with Thomas Aquinas, DEE, c. 4, § 29, in Thomas Aquinas, Opuscula
Philosophica, ed. R. M. Spiazzi, Rome, 1954, 14: “Et hoc completur in anima humana, quae tenet ulti-
mum gradum in substantiis intellectualibus.”
22 Bk. II, chap. 13, § 52: “Ita secundum Aristotelem duplex est intellectus potentia: alius substantia et
pars essentialis animi veluti materia, alius vis quedam et virtus ipsius qua intelligit.”
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 51

therefore they have potency proportionate to themselves.”²³ He then continues, and

here I give a long quotation which will bring us to Thomas Aquinas:

Hence in particular intellectual species there necessarily are multiple individuals. For because
of the multitude of potency, that is, of spiritual matter, there are produced from such matter nu-
merically many forms of the same definition and nature, as we said when speaking about the
stars. From this line of argument it is clear that also human souls are not combined into one sin-
gle entity after death, but subsist as particulars because of their potency, which is the principle
of their being individualized, and not because of an inclination that, as some say, they have to
bodies. For this is like someone saying that the images individuated by mirrors, as if they were
images through matter, would not cease to be in the mirrors once the latter were pulverized nor
would they be combined into one in the air, but rather would preserve their individuation by
an inclination which they retain to the broken mirrors. The wonder is that Thomas, a man out-
standing in sanctity as in learning, can be read assenting to this last argument, especially since
he left a certain book titled De Esse et Essentia, where he openly wants all intelligences besides
the first to consist of being and essence, with one of the two serving as potency and the other
as act. Thomas’ opinion does not differ from Aristotle’s other than in terminology, about which
a philosopher should care little or nothing as long as the facts of the matter are grasped. The
wonder therefore is, if he saw that intelligences are essentially act and potency, and that this is
necessarily the case also for souls, why he did not preserve the individuation of souls through
potency as he did the individuation of corporal things through matter, but, as if he were coerced
and lacked a justification, took refuge in the inclination of souls to bodies rendered into a more
common matter. Was it so that he might show that by the inclination of souls to bodies the res-
urrection of bodies could happen naturally? That must not be said. For we believe in the future
resurrection not by the guidance of nature, but by faith.²⁴

As someone who had translated almost the whole Aristotelian corpus save the logical
works and the Metaphysics, George believed – indeed, he felt he had an obligation – to

23 Bk. II, chap. 15, § 9: “Nam si primum, ut ait, non habet materiam atque ideo unicum est, cetera
necessario ideo habent quoniam prima non sunt, sed non corpoream, proportionatam ergo sibi po-
tentiam.”
24 Bk. II, chap. 15, §§ 27–33: “Hac ratione perspicuum est animos quoque humanos post mortem non
in unum confundi, sed singulos subsistere propter potentiam, que individuandi principium est, ngon,
ut quidam aiunt, inclinatione quam habent ad corpora. Nam hoc simile est si quis diceret individuatas
per specula quasi per materiam imagines, attritis speculis, nec desinere esse in ipsis nec in unum in
aere confundi, sed servare individuationem suam inclinatione quam ad specula rupta retineant. Illud
mirum est quod Thomas, vir tum sanctitate, tum scientia precipuus, huic rationi assensisse legitur,
presertim cum librum quendam reliquerit De Esse atque Essentia inscriptum, ubi aperte vult ex esse
et essentia omnes intelligentias preter primam constare, et horum alterum esse potentiam, alterum
actum. Que sententia non differt ab Aristotelica preter quam in vocabulis, de quibus nulla vel parva
philosopho, dum res percipiatur, cura esse debet. Mirum ergo est, si actum et potentiam essentialiter
esse intelligentias vidit, idque in animis similiter esse necesse est, cur individuationem animorum
per potentiam sicut rerum corporalium per materiam non servavit, sed ad inclinationem eorum ad
corpora in communiorem redacta materiam, quasi coactus rationeque carens, refugit. An ut resur-
rectionem corporum per inclinationem ad ipsa fieri naturaliter posse ostenderet? Non est dicendum.
Resurrectionem enim non natura duce, sed fide futuram credimus. Quod si quid etiam natura huic rei
possit conducere, totum id fidei ratione corroborari affirmarim.”
52 | John Monfasani

correct Thomas. George had, of course, also entered into one of the major controversies
concerning Thomism in the later Middle Ages. I do not know which critics of Thomas,
if any, George read. What is certain is that he was not reporting Thomas accurately.
In the De Ente et Essentia Thomas did not speak of the inclination of separated souls
to body. Worse, Thomas never used the analogy of broken mirrors in respect to the
plurality of separated souls, but only alludes to it as an analogy to the full presence of
Christ in the fragments of the Eucharistic host, but even here Thomas says that broken
mirrors are not a perfect analogy since they involve numerically different reflections
while in the Eucharist there is only one single consecration.²⁵ Whatever were George’s
sources, he clearly had allied himself with the tradition of universal hylomorphism
that is traceable back to the eleventh-century Jewish philosopher Avicebron²⁶ and that
was continued in the Latin West especially in the Franciscan philosophical tradition,
from Roger Bacon and St. Bonaventure.²⁷ The fact that George also spoke in terms of
spiritual matter connects him all the more to this tradition, and what is even more
startling, he will go on to endorse the notion of the plurality of forms, which Thomas
strenuously opposed.²⁸ But we have to be cautious about George consciously opting for
a Franciscan tradition since early Dominicans also endorsed the notions of spiritual
matter and the plurality of forms, and one Dominican, Robert Kilwardy, as Archbishop
of Canterbury, condemned Thomas’ teaching of the unicity of substantial form.²⁹ In
any case, here is what George said about the plurality of forms:

Those who say, however, that with the advent of a more perfect form the preceding ones dis-
appear, do not see that the matter that is tending towards the form which confers on it its end,
always proceeds to generation by becoming more perfect. For Aristotle did not introduce the veg-
etative soul so that with the advent of the sensitive soul he would destroy it, but so that once the
whole vegetative body became the subjected matter, he would perfect it. Similarly, he inserted
the sensitive soul into the human body not in order to eject it once the rational soul was infused,
but in order to perfect the whole sensitive body as the matter subject to the rational soul. It is
even obvious from the residue that remains of the corrupted or removed soul, however, that the
progression is made in this fashion so that, as he himself says, the more imperfect serving as
matter might be subject to the more perfect. For it is body, not prime matter, that remains. But if
the preceding souls do not remain, this happens because the more perfect soul is separated from
the body or is corrupted on account of the preceding souls failing the more perfect soul, that is
to say, the approximate matter [of the more perfect soul] wavers and ebbs away. For the more

25 Thomas Aquinas, ST, III, q. 76, a. 3 co.

26 See Pessin 2010.
27 See Wood 1996; Spade 2008; Haldane 2010, 298–299 (Bonaventure); Hackett 2003, 623; and King
1994, 147. After Bonaventure, one can find spiritual matter even in an independent-minded Franciscan
such as Peter Olivi (d. 1298); see Pasnau and Toivanen 2013. But in George’s day, Franciscans had
moved on from spiritual matter to haeccietas as the principle of individuation; see Hoenen 1996.
28 See Zavalloni 1951, especially 261–272 for Thomas Aquinas.
29 See Callus 1955.
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 53

remote matter remains in all things because the body had been assumed by the soul not from
nothing, but from a more base body in a progression towards a more perfect body.³⁰

So George understood the prior forms remaining as the matter of the higher forms
and being perfected in the process. How much his understanding of the plurality of
forms accords with any other proponent of the doctrine, I am not prepared to say at
the moment; but what is clear is that he stands in sharp and open disagreement with
Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine of the unicity of substantial form.
The most daring of George’s assertions in the Comparatio is that Aristotle had an
inkling of the Trinity. George makes it clear that he does not mean that Aristotle had
knowledge of the three persons of the Trinity, but simply that he had a sense that God
is somehow threefold. The key to George’s claim is his exemplarism. As he explained:

Every body has length, width, and depth. Length is to be understood as being said of it alone and
not of anything that suggests being composed of the other dimensions. Length is what people
also call a line. Width has no depth; but it does have length. For the whole length is in the whole
width. Width we also commonly call a plane. Depth, which is also called profundity, contains in
itself the preceding two dimensions and is perfective of body. Thus, a body is these three things:
length, width, and profundity; and if you mentally subtract one of the three (for in actual fact
this is not something you can do), nothing remains. For not only will you have completely done
away with the body, in actual fact you will be left with utterly nothing. A body therefore is these
three things. Yet, it does not attain any composition from them. For even if a body is a composite,
it is composed of matter and form, not of the dimensions. Hence, these three dimensions are
one body, and one body is these three dimensions, but we reject out of hand any suspicion of
composition being achieved out of them. What could be more expressive than this vestige? For
the all-creating and blessed nature of divinity is three supposits, and these three are one without
any suspicion of composition. ...
Adapt these things to the three persons who are God. The Father is from no thing. Length, or the
line, is from no thing. You do not refute me by saying that the line is not from no thing in the
absolute sense. For no created thing is from no thing in the absolute sense, but neither are the
uncreated, except for the first supposit of the trinity; and when we say that the line is from no
thing, we are speaking of it in comparison with other distances.³¹

30 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 16, §§ 34–38: “Qui autem dicunt adveniente perfectiore forma precedentes
evanescere, non vident materiam, cum tendat ad formam que finem affert, generationi perficiendo
semper procedere. Non enim vegetativam immissit animam ut, adveniente sensitiva, eam destrueret,
sed ut, toto vegetante corpore loco materie subiecto, perficeret. Similiter in corpus humanum sensiti-
vam induxit non ut, infusa rationali, eam eiiceret, sed ut totum sentiens corpus sicut subiectam sibi
materiam perficeret. Quod autem progressus ita fiat, sicut ipse dicit, ut imperfectiora sicut materia
perfectioribus subiiciantur, etiam a reliquis que remanent corrupta vel ablata anima patet. Corpus
enim, non materia prima remanet. Quodsi precedentes anime non remanent, id fit quia perfectior eo
separatur aut corrumpitur quoniam precedentes ipse deficiunt, idest, materia propinqua labascit et
defluit. Remotior enim in omnibus remanet quia non a nihilo, sed a viliore corpore ad perfectius ab
anima corpus fuit assumptum.”
31 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 5, §§ 2–5, § 16: “Omne corpus longitudinem, latitudinem, et altitudinem
habet. Longitudo sic intelligitur ut id quod dicitur solum sit nec quicquam ex aliis dimensionibus
54 | John Monfasani

George then cited the example provided by pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite:

Nonetheless, a heavenly man, Dionysius the Areopagite, thinks that the single light from three
candles adequately renders the likeness as it exists in creatures, especially in creatures here be-
low. For the light is one and three without division, the whole light of any of the candles in the
whole of all the other candles without confusion. For if you were to remove one candle, its light
would very distinctly follow with it. This likeness seems to me to work well enough for us to under-
stand that the one God truly subsists and so does similarly any of the supposits. ... Nonetheless,
a certain mixing seems to take place when the whole light is all together and also a disaggrega-
tion of the light [from one of the candles] when it is removed, something that is quite out of the
question in things divine. But the individual attributes [of creatures] cannot perfectly correspond
to the individual attributes [of God]. Hence, the relevant aspects of vestiges are taken only for the
sake of understanding; and things so taken have to be understood in a higher sense and in a way
that befits the divine majesty. For the creator exceeds his creatures by an infinite degree.³²

Whence he concluded: “From among all these and other similarities I myself am rather
inclined to believe that no vestige can be found that is more expressive for us than is
this likeness of the body.”³³
This all sets the stage for his proof of Aristotle’s trinitarianism:

sapiat, quam etiam lineam dicunt. Latitudo altitudinis nihil habet; longitudinem vero habet. Tota
enim in tota est longitudo in latitudine. Hanc superficiem quoque nominare solemus. Altitudo, que
profunditas etiam dicitur, utramque precedentium in se habet et corporis perfectiva est. Ita corpus
tria hec est, longitudo, latitudo, et profunditas; et si unum de tribus mente subtraxeris (re enim facere
minime poteris), nihil remanet. Nam non solum corpus omnino abstuleris, sed nihil penitus re ipsa
reliqueris. Corpus igitur hec tria est. Nec tamen ullam ex istis habet compositionem. Nam etsi com-
positum est, ex materia tamen et forma, non ex istis compositum est. Quare tria hec unum corpus
sunt, et hec tria corpus est unum, omni suspicione compositionis, que hinc fiat, procul reiecta. ... Ac-
commoda hec tribus personis que deus sunt. Pater ex nullo est. Longitudo sive linea ex nullo. Nec
mihi opponas non esse ex nullo simpliciter lineam. Nulla enim res creata ex nullo simpliciter est, sed
ne increata quidem preter primum trinitatis suppositum, et quando dicimus lineam ex nullo esse, ad
reliquas conferentes distantias dicimus.”
32 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 5, §§ 30–33: “Dionysius tamen Areopagita, vir celestis, lumen ex tribus
cereis unum eam similitudinem reddere sufficienter ut in creaturis, presertim his inferioribus, existi-
mat. Nam et unum est sine divisione et tria, et totum cuiusvis cerei lumen in toto ceterorum est absque
confusione. Si enim unum removeris cereum, lumen quoque suum distinctissime sequetur. Hec simil-
itudo mihi satis in hac vita facere videtur ut intelligamus deum vere unum subsistere et suppositorum
quodlibet similiter. Nam lumen totum simul indistincte et cuiuslibet cerei lumen inconfuse subsis-
tere videtur, quod separatio ac remotio unius cerei, ut diximus, ostendit. Mixtio tamen quedam fieri
videtur quando simul totum lumen est, et disseparatio eius quod removetur, que longe a divinis exter-
minanda sunt. Sed non possunt singula singulis ad unguem convenire. Quare que ad rem pertinent,
sola intelligendi gratia sunt a vestigiis summenda; et que sumuntur, altius et divine maiestati conve-
nienter intelligenda. Infinite enim creator creaturas excedit.”
33 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 5, § 34: “Ex his omnibus aliisque similibus facile ipse inducor, ut credam,
nullum expressius nobis vestigium inveniri posse quam sit hec corporis similitudo. Unum enim et tria
est, et tria ordinem habent, et ordinem qui in deo uno et trino est.”
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 55

These are thus the facts of the matter, as we have said and as has been succinctly argued by
Aristotle. “The magnitude,” he says [in Bk. 1 of the De Caelo], “which is in fact in one thing is a
line, that in two is a surface, that in three is a body, and besides these there is no other magnitude
because the three are all that there are.” And a little later: “For the last, the middle, and the
beginning have the number of the whole universe.” He is showing here that the last is from the
first and the middle, and the middle is from the first, which he calls the beginning because from
it and the second is the third; but the second is from it alone, and the third is from it through the
middle, which, in order to show this, he called not the second but the middle. Also, he named the
third not the third, but the last in order to signify that a stop is made there and that there cannot
be any further emanations to proceed on to. For no magnitude flows from depth; nor is there a
transit into another genus, he says, but only from length into surface and from these into body.
Furthermore, after he said, “for the last, the middle, and the beginning have the number of the
whole universe,” he immediately added: “this is in fact the number of trinity itself.” But three
things that have no relation between themselves besides a sequence of number, are not a trinity
nor can be called a trinity since they are not such. For a trinity signifies an essential sequence,
that is to say, a sequence of co-numbered things. But the facts themselves proclaim that a body
is such by nature, and no one will deny that Aristotle understood the nature of body. ...
Consequently, it now remains to show that this likeness was applied by Aristotle to God and, in
fact, to show this in his own words. “The last,” he says, “the middle, and the beginning have the
number of the whole universe.” Indeed, these, namely, the beginning, middle, and last, “are of
the trinity,” saying here “of the trinity itself.” For in Greek the word is written with the article,
which cannot be translated any other way in Latin [than “of the trinity itself”]. Why therefore
did he say “of the trinity itself” so expressly and distinctly? No cause can be found unless you
refer to God. For we customarily speak that way when we wish to signify something singular.
Moreover, you will not in fact easily be able to imagine another singular trinity. But although
this passage alone can satisfy me and right thinking persons devoted to the Trinity that is the
creator of all, he, nonetheless, added there something more obvious and, indeed, something no
one save a madman would contradict (for what follows is nothing other than an application). “For
this reason,” he says, “since we have accepted it from nature as if it were law, we also use this
number in the ceremonies of the gods and we fit our appellations [to it] in this way. For we in fact
say ‘the two both’ and ‘both twos’ and ‘either two,’ but we do not say ‘all two.’ But we employ this
appellation [‘all’] first about ‘threes’ because, as has been said, we are following the way we have
been instructed by nature to follow.” Aristotle says therefore that men were instructed by the laws
of nature to use the number of the trinity in the cerimonies and sacrifices of the gods. What does
this have to do with his thesis? Even if it had not the slightest relevance for his thesis, what does
it mean? Impelled by nature, he says, men use the number of the trinity in sacrifices to the gods.
Nature certainly does nothing in vain. Why, therefore, does it impel men to use the number of
the trinity in the ceremonies of the gods or why more in the ceremonies of the gods than in other
things? Turn the matter around in your mind however you might and you will discover that it was
said by Aristotle for no other reason than because, inasmuch as nature does nothing in vain, he
believed that through nature all men were led to use the number of the trinity in sacrifices to the
gods. He wanted to show that the number of the trinity was in god just as it was in a body. This
is why, after he had said that these three, i. e., the beginning, middle, and last, are to be found
with this relationship in a certain singular trinity, he immediately added: for this reason, nature,
56 | John Monfasani

which does nothing in vain, impelled me to use the number of the trinity in the ceremonies of the
gods.³⁴

Now, in Summa Theologiae, Prima pars, quaestio 12, articulus 2, Thomas Aquinas
answered negatively the question “Utrum essentia dei ab intellectu creato per ali-
quam similitudinem videatur”, and therefore opposed the exemplarism espoused by
St. Bonaventure and his school.³⁵ Indeed, in his commentary on the Sentences, Bk. 1,
distinction 3, q. 1, he explicitly quotes this passage from the De Caelo in order to reject
it as a suggestion of trinitarianism: “Respondeo dicendum, quod per naturalem ra-
tionem non potest perveniri in cognitionem Trinitatis personarum; et ideo philosophi
nihil de hoc sciverunt, nisi forte per revelationem vel auditum ab aliis.” So, not sur-

34 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 5, §§ 41–45 (= end of chap. 5); chap. 6, §§ 1–8: “Sic se habent sicut et
nos diximus et ab Aristotele perstringuntur. ‘Magnitudo,’ inquit, ‘que quidem in uno linea, que vero
in duobus superficies, que in tribus corpus, et preter has non est alia magnitudo quia tres omnes
sunt.’ Et paulo post: ‘Ultimum enim, medium, et principium totius universi numerum habent.’ Hinc
ostendit ultimum ex primo et medio esse et medium ex primo, quod principium appellat quia ex eo
et secundo et tertium est, sed secundum ex eo solum, tertium ex eo per medium, quod, ut ostenderet,
non secundum, sed medium nominavit. Tertium quoque non tertium, sed ultimum nuncupavit ut sig-
nificaret statum ibi fieri nec ulterius emanationes progredi posse. Nulla enim ex profunditate profluit
magnitudo; nec est transitus in aliud genus, inquit, sed solum ex longitudine in superficiem et in cor-
pus ex istis. Preterea, cum dixisset, ‘ultimum enim, medium, et principium totius universi numerum
habent,’ statim addidit, ‘hec vero ipsa trinitatis ipsius.’ At tria que nullum inter se habent preter nu-
meri ordinem trinitas non sunt nec dici trinitas possunt quia non sunt. Trinitas enim essentialem,
idest, ipsarum rerum connumeratorum, ordinem significat. Sed corpus eiusmodi natura esse res ipsa
predicat, naturamque corporis Aristotelem vidisse nemo negabitur. ... Quare nunc restat deo simili-
tudinem hanc accommodari ab ipso et quidem verbis eius ostendere. ‘Ultimum,’ inquit, ‘medium, et
principium totius universi numerum habent. Hec vero ipsa,’ principium, scilicet, medium, et ultimum,
‘trinitatis,’ cuius ‘trinitatis ipsius’ inquit. Cum articulo enim Grece scribitur, quod Latine aliter traduci
non potest. Cur ergo sic expresse insigniteque ‘trinitatis ipsius’ dixerit? Nulla potest inveniri causa nisi
ad deum referas. Solemus enim ita loqui quando singulare aliquid significare volumus. Quam porro
aliam singularem voluerit trinitatem referre ne fingere quidem facile poteris. Verum quamquam mihi
et recte intelligentibus creatricique omnium trinitati affectis id solum satisfacere potest, ipse tamen
apertius quiddam, et quidem cui nemo non insanus contradiceret, illico addidit (nam quod sequitur
nihil aliud quam accommodatio est): ‘Ideo,’ inquit, ‘cum a natura quasi leges acceperimus, et ad ce-
rimonias deorum hoc numero utimur, et appellationes hoc pacto accommodamus. Duo enim ambo
quidem dicimus, et duos ambos atque utrosque, omnes vero non dicimus. Sed hanc appellationem de
tribus primum dicimus, quod, ut dictum est, sequimur quia sic a natura sumus instituti.’ Primum igi-
tur nature legibus institutos homines in cerimoniis sacrificiisque deorum trinitatis numero usos fuisse
ait. Quid hoc ad propositum? Etsi ad propositum minime pertinet, quid sibi vult? Natura, inquit, im-
pulsi homines trinitatis numero in sacrificiis deorum utuntur. Natura certe nihil facit frustra. Cur ergo
impellebat homines trinitatis numero in deorum cerimoniis uti, aut cur in deorum cerimoniis magis
quam in aliis rebus? Verte rem quocumque volueris, invenies non alia ratione id ab Aristotele dictum
esse nisi quia, cum natura nihil faciat frustra, eo omnes homines per ipsam duci crederet, ut trinitatis
numero in deorum sacrificiis uterentur.”
35 See Speer 2003, 237.
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 57

prisingly, in his commentary on the relevant passage in the De Caelo, Bk. 1, lectio 2,
Thomas saw absolutely no sign or suggestion of trinitarian belief. Since George usu-
ally wrote extensive glosses to his translation, though none survive for his translation
of the De Caelo,³⁶ it is not improbable that he consulted Thomas’ commentary on the
work, just as it is more than likely that he had read the Prima Pars of the Summa The-
ologiae as well as the Summa contra Gentiles, both of which were favorites of theolog-
ically inclined Quattrocento humanists. In any case, George’s exemplarism stands in
stark opposition to the views of Thomas Aquinas. I do not think his exemplarism was
inspired by a reading of St. Bonaventure, whom he never mentions anywhere. Rather,
his exemplarism reflects his admiration of pseudo-Dionysius and his desire to prove
Aristotle’s compatibility with Christianity.
The one controversial major point upon which George and Thomas agreed was on
the eternity of the world. Against the Franciscan tradition,³⁷ Thomas had argued in the
Prima Pars, q. 46 of the Summa Theologiae and in De Aeternitate Mundi that creation
in time cannot be demonstrated. Here is George’s reading of Aristotle on creation:

According to Aristotle the world is perpetual, and so are all creatures, either individually, such
as the sun, the moon, and all other things of this sort, or by virtue of their species, as is the case
for all corruptible things. The relationship of the perpetual to the eternal is in fact such that the
eternal is all at once and immobile both essentially and accidentally (for it is subject to no motion)
while the perpetual is itself a motion or is subject to a motion either essentially or accidentally
or may be in motion or is capable of being moved, or, at least, it is measured by motion or by the
measure of motion, i. e., by time. In truth, Aristotle seems to have posited no middle term between
the eternal and the perpetual. I say this because I see some later authors positing the aevum
between the two [a statement which proves that George had been reading Scholastic authors on
the subject of time]. But this is besides the point. The world, therefore, is perpetual, as Aristotle
says. Hence, there never was a time when it was not, and time always was and always will be ...
All other philosophers, while in fact considering the heavens and earth to be made, think that
time did not preexist them, indeed, that time always was, and that the world was made in time
from matter. “For,” as Aristotle says in chapter 9, Bk. 1 of On the Heavens, “everyone says that the
world was made.” The world therefore is perpetual, that is to say, it always was and always will
be. And, nonetheless, Aristotle believes that it is dependent upon the will of God, that is to say,
it so exists by the will of God that that the reason it exists is because God wants it to exist, and
if you were to take away the will of God, at that very instant you will have reduced the world to
nothing. Consequently, it does not seem possible to conceive naturally of a reason why the world
is not perpetual when God’s goodness is eternal and his will immutable. ... It is also obvious
that we cannot say that according to Aristotle the world is created or produced by God, but just
that it is always being produced and created. For what is always dependent upon God is always
being produced and created. This is true because God is pure act and therefore omnipotent not
extensively, but intensively. He would be extensively omnipotent if he acted only in time. ... God
assuredly does not act in time, but in a moment not of time, ... but, as I have said, of eternity. ...
[I]t also follows that the world neither is nor was made. For these words signify that the world
is made from matter. The world in fact is not made from matter according to Aristotle because

36 For George’s Aristotelian scholia see Monfasani 1984, 603–666.

37 See Houser 2013; Etzkorn 2003, 386; and Putallaz 2003, 516.
58 | John Monfasani

neither is it made in time. For what is made from matter is made in time. ... For the heavens were
so produced as to be produced neither previous to nor later than time, but together with time.
For it is simultaneously that the heavens and the motion of the heavens exist and do not exist. ....
Thus, if I might briefly recapitulate, Aristotle’s opinion therefore is that the world is produced by
God and always is all at once so dependent upon God that indeed not even prime matter preexists
it either in fact or in reason or in nature or in any way whatsoever. Also, the world is produced by
and is dependent upon the free will of God, and is perpetual and ungenerable because it has no
principle in time, and is incorruptible because it will have not a terminus in time. Compare these
statements with Catholic truth. They do not differ except on one point. For through Revelation
Catholic truth renders us an account of the origin of the world, namely, that it was not made in
time, but was produced together with time and matter ex nihilo.³⁸

From the form of his argument, it is clear that George agreed with Thomas not be-
cause he took sides in Thomas’ debate with the Franciscan tradition, but because he
was anxious to square Aristotle’s obvious assertion of the eternity of the world with
the Christian belief in eternity. His solution was to bracket created time, which is an
extended infinity within divine eternity which is an intense infinity, a simul totum,
and therefore an infinity of a totally different order.
In sum, in the five issues we have surveyed, the hylomorphism of souls, spiritual
matter, the plurality of forms, exemplarism, and the eternity of the world, we see that
George took positions contrary to Thomas Aquinas on all but the last. Consequently,
we must take his expressions of admiration for Thomas and the Dominican tradition
not as avowals of special loyalty, but as particularized instances of his admiration
of Latin Scholasticism in general, wherein Thomas and the Dominicans played con-
spicuous roles. George’s disagreement with Thomas arose from his own independent

38 Comparatio, Bk. II, chap. 11, §§ 4–28: “Perpetuum igitur mundum, hoc est, semper fuisse sem-
perque futurum, et tamen a voluntate dei dependere Aristoteles censet, idest, ita esse a voluntate
dei ut ideo sit, quia deus vult, et si voluntatem dei subtraxeris, mundum illico ad nihil reduxeris. Hac
etiam de causa non videtur posse naturaliter ratio excogitari quare, cum bonitas dei eterna sit et volun-
tas immutabilis, mundus perpetuus non sit ... Illud etiam patet, non posse nos secundum Aristotelem
dicere creatum sive productum esse mundum a deo, sed produci semper atque creari. Nam quod a
deo semper dependet, id ab eo semper producitur atque creatur. Quod ideo verum est, quoniam deus
actus purus est et propterea omnipotens non extensive, sed intensive. Extensive omnipotens esset si
non nisi in tempore operaretur ... Deus vero non in tempore agitur, sed in momento non temporis, ...
sed, ut sic dixerim, eternitatis ... Unde etiam sequitur factum mundum non esse neque fieri. Hec enim
verba ex materia significant. Mundus vero non est ex materia secundum ipsum quia neque in tem-
pore. Nam que ex materia fiunt, in tempore fiunt ... Celum enim ita producitur ut nec prius tempore
producatur neque posterius, sed simul cum tempore. Simul enim sunt et non sunt celum et motus eius
... Hec ergo, ut brevius repetamus, Aristotelis sententia est, mundum a deo produci et ab eo semper
dependere totum simul ita ut ne materia quidem prima prefuerit, nec re nec ratione sive natura nec
quovis pacto; et produci ac dependere a voluntate dei libera, et esse perpetuum ac ingenerabilem quia
nullum principium temporis habeat, et incorruptibilem quia nullum temporis terminum habebit. Con-
feras hec veritati Catholice. Non discrepant nisi in uno. Veritas enim Catholica principium mundi per
revelationem nobis reddit, non quod in tempore factus sit aut ex materia, sed quod una cum tempore
et simul cum materia sua productus ex nihilo.”
 George of Trebizond, Thomas Aquinas, and Latin Scholasticism | 59

reading of Aristotle. It was purely happenstance that these positions tended to accord
with those of Franciscan authors. There is no evidence that he read these Franciscan
authors or was even aware that he was taking sides in the debates between the Domini-
cans and Franciscans. George was not a Scholastic, but a Greek humanist and ama-
teur philosopher. Unlike the Byzantine Thomists, his admiration for Thomas arose not
from reading Demetrius Cydones’ translations of Thomas. He came to Italy too young
and ill educated to have formed any firm philosophical positions. Indeed, he tells us
that he first read Plato’s Gorgias for the first time in Italy,³⁹ and the same was prob-
ably true for his reading of most of the writings of Plato and Aristotle. George was a
Greek who first encountered Latin Scholasticism in Italy and in Latin. In other words,
George had never been a Byzantine Thomist, but was rather a Greek émigré who en-
thusiastically embraced the philosophical and theological traditions of his new home.
He was not a Byzantine Aristotelian nor a Byzantine Thomist, but a Latin Aristotelian
with a knowledge of Greek, a knowledge that entitled him, he believed, to contribute
to the tradition of Latin Scholasticism. Unlike his practice when writing on rhetoric,
where he introduced Greek sources into the Latin tradition,⁴⁰ in philosophy George
embraced the Latin tradition in opposition to much of what he viewed as the Greek
tradition. So, in his own peculiar way, East and West did meet in George of Trebizond.

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Methodik in der spätbyzantinischen Geistesgeschichte (14./15. Jh.), seine systematischen
Grundlagen und seine historische Entwicklung. Munich.
Putallaz, F.-X. (2003). “Peter Olivi”. In: A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Ed. by
J. J. E. Gracia and T. B. Noone. Oxford, pp. 516–523.
Spade, P. V. (2008). “Binarium Famosissimum”. In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. First
published Mon Jul 14, 2003; substantive revision Mon Jun 16, 2008. url:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/binarium/.
Speer, A. (2003). “Bonaventure”. In: A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Ed. by
J. J. E. Gracia and T. B. Noone. Oxford, pp. 233–240.
Wood, R. (1996). “Angelic Individuation according to Richard Rufus, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas
Aquinas”. In: Individuum und Individualität im Mittelalter. Ed. by J. A. Aertsen and A. Speer,
pp. 209–229.
Zavalloni, R. (1951). Richard de Mediavilla et la controverse sur la pluralité des formes. Louvain.
Antoine Levy
Translatable and Untranslatable Aquinas
The soft cosmological revolution of scholasticism’s golden age and
the rejection of Aquinas by the first Palamite circles

We all sense that the art of translation is a thoroughly paradoxical exercise. I believe F.
Schlegel nailed something of this paradoxical nature when, as yet a college student,
he wrote in one of his notebooks: “The best is precisely what gets lost in typically
good or excellent translations”.¹ To put it much less elegantly: In order to convey the
meaning of the original text, a translator must in some manner hide or veil the way
it is worded in the source-language by forging an equivalent set of expressions in the
target-language. Conversely, there is no better way to manifest the genius of the origi-
nal text than the failure to find an adequate set of expressions that can replace it. Now
imagine that one does what no one usually bothers to do when the original version is
still at hand. Think of someone who completed the retroversion of an excellent trans-
lation and gave it to read to those who are well acquainted with the original version.
Let us take for example a German brought up on Goethe’s Faust who is then asked to go
through a German translation of Nerval’s wonderful French translation of the play. I
am not sure whether this reader would like what he finds, but one thing is sure: he will
find the retroversion to be utterly different from the original masterpiece. Mutatis mu-
tandis, I think there is something very similar going on in the existentially dramatic
but theologically fascinating Byzantine Rezeptionsgeschichte of Demetrios Kydones’
translations of Thomas Aquinas. Kydones’ works as well as the ensuing dogmatic-
political fight both bear witness to the fact that he fervently believed his translations
to be an act of theological retroversion. He was intent on giving back to what remained
of the waning Byzantine literary elite an understanding of its own theological tradition
that he claimed to have found nowhere else than in the writings of this Latin theolo-
gian called Aquinas. This new reading of the Greek Fathers through lenses borrowed
from the Latin world directly challenged the reading of the Greek Fathers that was si-
multaneously promoted by the disciples of Gregory Palamas, a reading that claimed
to draw on these common sources according to their original text. We are here looking
at the origin of a way of thinking that is now widely believed to be constitutive of mod-
ern Orthodox identity, while it has also been feeding Western prejudices against the
Orthodox world ever since. This way of thinking rests on the assumption that there is

1 “Was in gewöhnlichen guten oder vortrefflichen Übersetzungen verloren geht, ist grade das Beste”,
Athenäums-Fragmente: und andere Schriften, frag. 73, p. 13.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-075
64 | Antoine Levy

a fundamental, dogmatic incompatibility between Aquinas and Palamas, the former

being accused of ratiocinating in some sort of lame Aristotelian way by neo-Palamites,
the latter of platonizing in a manner bordering on heresy by neo-Thomists.
Here I would like to question the reality of this incompatibility. What if this were
but a mere impression of dogmatic incompatibility, the by-product of Aquinas’ own
previous transposition into the theological language of the West of the Greek sources
referred to by Palamas? As an excellent translation, that is, a translation as faithful
as possible to the meaning of its model, Aquinas’ interpretation of the Greek Fathers
in Latin theological language would still be conceived to be shockingly far from their
source once it was transferred back into the language in which these Fathers expressed
their views.
There seem to be a number of hurdles on the way to establishing the truth of this
hypothesis. I see at least three which pertain to the various stages of the proposed pro-
cess of translation and retroversion. In the first place, what was the reason for what I
call this Latin theological translation of the Greek Fathers? Secondly, how did it hap-
pen? How can we describe the nature of this translation? Thirdly, how did the retrover-
sion of this Latin translation into Greek generate the impression that its content was
directly opposed to that of the genuine Greek tradition? I will tackle these three ques-
tions in a logical rather than chronological order. Following Aristotle’s recommenda-
tion to proceed from the known or better known to the lesser known, I will start with
the last stage, which concerns the debate sparked in Byzantium by Kydones’ transla-
tion of Aquinas. I will then shift back to the Western world and examine the interaction
between the tradition of the Greek Fathers and Latin theology at the beginning of the
thirteenth century. Finally I will describe what I call the soft intellectual revolution
led by the great Latin thinkers of the thirteenth century, especially by Aquinas.

1 Anti-Palamite use of Kydones’ translation

As is well-known, the Palamite party did not have to wait for Demetrios’ translation
to encounter fierce opposition in Byzantium. Barlaam of Calabria had launched the
hostilities against Palamas’ distinction between essence and energies already in the
1330s. Gregory Akyndinos and Nikephoros Gregoras, who opposed the Palamite party
during the following decade, were also advocates of the authentic legacy of the Fa-
thers, threatened by the Palamite kainotomiai on the one side and by the deviant doc-
trines of the Latins on the other. Thus, far from initiating the debate with the Palamite
party, the Byzantine reading of Aquinas was destined to be infected by the ongoing
controversy. True, I find it difficult to believe that Demetrios’ admiration for Aquinas
came out of his detestation of the bearded and unsophisticated counsellors that had
supplanted him in the favour of basileus John Kantakuzenos. But it was most certainly
his admiration for Aquinas that drove him, together with his brother and a few follow-
 Translatable and untranslatable Aquinas | 65

ers, into the midst of the controversy. Indeed, there was no trace in Aquinas’ writings
of divine energeiai which, while being uncreated, should nonetheless be conceived as
really distinct from God’s uncreated essence. It fell upon Prochoros Kydones, working
in close tandem with his brother, to formulate an anti-Palamite stance on the basis
of Aquinas’ views. In this small treatise which is part of a larger one that went under
the name of De Essentia et Operatione, Prochoros adopted the argumentative struc-
ture of Aquinas’ Quaestiones Disputatae.² At the same time, he showed himself wary
of relying on authorities from the Latin tradition, with the exception of St. Augustine.
Knowing that these would have little impact on his adversaries, Prochoros tackled the
very authorities that Palamites were accustomed to invoke: the Cappadocians, John
Chrysostom, Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, John Damascene, etc.
It is on these common exegetical grounds that Prochoros endeavoured to establish the
doctrinal and traditional priority of the concept of created grace – and accordingly the
soundness of Aquinas’ theological views. Nonetheless I hold that any unbiased dis-
ciple of Aquinas cannot but notice that Prochoros’ anti-Palamite use of the notion of
created grace falls short of a genuinely Thomistic metaphysics of participation. Ac-
cording to Prochoros, the light seen by the disciples at the Transfiguration, just as
any other supernatural manifestation of God, is a symbolic sign or impression that
is merely an analogon in the created order of God’s uncreated nature.³ As Prochoros
argues, the infinite distance between the uncreated and the created prevents the dis-
ciples from contemplating God’s uncreated light at the Transfiguration.
But Aquinas never speaks of grace as a created symbol because grace is not what
the saints see. Indeed, grace is that created quality through which, quo and sub quo,
the saints are enabled to see God’s uncreated truth as it raises human intellectual fac-
ulties high above the power they possess according to their nature. Grace is the con-
sequence of a supernatural influx that opens the human mind to the perception of the
uncreated as an object of faith and ultimately, as an object of vision when transformed
into the lumen gloriae.⁴ Prochoros’ account of the transfiguration overlooks all this. In
actual fact it is not difficult to show that the thinker behind Prochoros’ considerations
is not Aquinas but the anti-Latin as well as anti-Palamite Gregory Akyndinos. For ex-
ample, in one passage of his letters, Akyndinos speaks of the bright apparitions of an-
gels in these terms: “by forms [Athanasius] means the different forms [the angels] at
different times symbolically see [...] And [Gregory of Nazianz] says: Brilliance and joy
are a characteristic of the angels whenever they receive a bodily form (ὅταν τυπῶνται

2 This part was edited, translated and published by M. Candal separately from the rest of the treatise,
erroneously ascribed to Akyndinos by Migne; Candal 1954.
3 Candal 1954, par. 12, p. 272: “[...] θεοφάνειαι δὲ γεγὸνασι τοῖς ἁγίοις κατά τάς πρεπούσας Θεῷ διά
τινων ἱερῶν καὶ τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἀναλόγων ὁράσων” “to [the faculties of] the viewers” (my translation).
4 See In Sent.. III, d. 24, q. 1, a. 1, qc. 1, arg. 1, ed. M. F. Moos, Paris 1956 (for veritas increata); ST IIa
IIae, q. 2, a. 2, co. (for veritas prima); Ia, q. 12, a. 2, co.; a. 5, ad 3, a. 6, co. (for lumen gloriae), ed. Collège
Dominicain d’Ottawa, Ottawa 1941–1945.
66 | Antoine Levy

σωματικῶς); they are a symbol of their purity”. This leads Akyndinos to conclude that
the object of man’s supernatural experience is essentially distinct from the uncreated
light that is God: “if the soul and the angel which are created beings are symbolically
perceived because they cannot be apprehended in themselves by the bodily eyes, how
can the divine and uncreated form and glory of God be apprehended and seen in itself
[…]?”.⁵
I take it as a fact that the excellent translations of Aquinas by Demetrios were
artificially turned into a rather lame, anti-Palamite weapon by his own circle – and by
himself to a lesser extent. But showing that the doctrine of Aquinas is not necessarily
exclusive of Palamas is one thing. Proving that both doctrines fundamentally coincide
is another. What we need to do is establish that the doctrine of Aquinas is to some
extent an exact transposition in Latin terms of the Greek tradition of which Palamas
happens to be a faithful representative. This is a priori a difficult challenge. Has it not
been the steady line of Catholic theology since the Council of Florence to claim that
the doctrine adduced/proposed by Palamas was entirely foreign to the tradition of the
Church? It suffices to mention the works of M. Jugie on this issue. Still, a few voices
have dared – already some time ago – to set this apparent consensus into question.
As we examine one of them in particular, we turn now to the Latin pre-history of the
Byzantine controversy.

2 The condemnations of 1241 and the Greek Fathers

– more than an avatar
When M.–D. Chenu published an article entitled “Le dernier avatar de la théologie
orientale au XIIIe siècle”, I doubt that he fully realised the groundbreaking charac-
ter of his contribution.⁶ As for its core insight, it flowed quite naturally out of a gen-
eral reappraisal among French Church historians of the influence of the Greek Fathers
on the development of Latin twelfth-century spirituality and theology. There was in-
deed nothing exceptional in associating the Greek Fathers’ agnosticism with the first
of the propositions condemned by the Masters of the Paris Faculty of Theology in 1241,
namely “that the divine essence will neither be seen by men nor by angels (quod div-
ina essentia in se nec ab homine nec ab angelo videbitur)”. But Chenu’s analysis of
the seventh proposition “that there are a number of eternal truths which are not God
(quod multe veritates sunt ab aeterno quae non sunt Deus)” was much bolder. Let me
quote the passage:

5 Akyndinos, Letters, A. C. Hero (editor), Washington D.C. 1983, 161 (par. 180–185).
6 Chenu 1947.
 Translatable and untranslatable Aquinas | 67

C’est la nécessité de fonder doctrinalement l’union avec Dieu qui amena Basile, Grégoire et Denys
à reconnaître en ce Dieu inaccessible des “énergies” incréées qui nous le révélent et nous le ren-
dront participable. À l’essence inconnaissable répond la voie negative, aux énergies révélatrices
répond la théologie positive. Maxime et Damascène, maintenant traduits, acclimatent confusé-
ment cette obscure interpretation d’une “économie” de la vie divine connue dans ses rapports
avec l’être créé, procession manifestatrice inseparable de l’essence, tout en étant ineffablement
distincte.⁷

Western historians have traditionally understood the first and seventh condemnations
as reflecting the influence of Eriugena’s Perifision. They had in mind his elaborations
on the notion of theophany and his theory about the natura creata et creans that pro-
ceeds from the natura creans et non creata. There is little doubt about that or about the
fact that Eriugena was heavily indebted to the Greek Fathers in this respect. But do the
condemned propositions reflect the original thinking of the Fathers or some mislead-
ing Eriugenian/Eriugenist interpretations? What we need to understand in the first
place are the reasons that may explain the resurgence of a disreputable doctrine go-
ing back to the ninth century at the Paris Faculty of Theology around the middle of
the thirteenth century.
Relying on accounts written in the second half of the thirteenth century, histo-
rians have generally, in this regard, referred to the pantheistic heresies that arose at
the beginning of the same century, mainly the ideas of Amalric of Bena.⁸ However
modern research has almost unanimously established that those accusations of Eri-
ugenism were the effect of a biased or confused reconstruction.⁹ On the contrary, it
appears that those who promoted a new reading of the Perifision in the light of the
recent translations of the Greek Fathers were their direct or indirect opponents. These
were learned Cistercians like Garnier of Rochefort or Helinand of Froimond.¹⁰ But there
were also disciples of Gilbert of Porret, such as Alain of Lille, Raoul Ardent and Simon

7 Chenu 1947, 171–172 (emphasis is mine).

8 Amaury’s followers were burnt at the stake in 1210. Alberic of Three Fountains and Martin of Trop-
pau, two authors of the second half of the 13th century, associate Amalric’s teaching with that of the
Perifison, see Contra Amaurianos P. Lucentini editor, Leuven 2010, 83–84, 89–90.
9 See Capelle 1932; D’Alverny 1950-1951; Contra Amaurianos, introduction. col. 1311–1334.
10 There is little doubt that Garnier was the author of the Contra Amaurianos recently edited by P. Lu-
centini. If Amalric’s teaching that God was the being of all things could draw on a couple of passages
from Dionysius’ treatises, referring these passages to their original contexts as featuring the causal
and sanctifying processions originating from a wholly transcendent God was still the best manner to
discard Amalric’s grossly pantheistic interpretation of Dionysius. Another treatise, the Commentary on
Dionysius’ Celestial Hierarchy written by William of Lucca in the second half of the twelfth century, is
enlightening in that regard, see Guilellmus Lucensis Comentum in tertiam ierarchiam Dionisii que est de
divinis nominibus, F. Gastaldelli (editor), Firenze 1983. The manuscript is preserved in the library of the
Citeaux monastery. It is none other than Garnier of Rochefort who had William’s Commentary brought
it from Italy. William was a disciple of Gilbert of Porret who taught that “[…] in theologica, divina es-
sentia quod de Deo praedicamus cum dicimus Deus est, omnium creatorum dicitur esse” (“[…] in the
sphere of theology, the divine essence that we ascribe to God when we say that He is, is the being of
68 | Antoine Levy

of Tournai.¹¹ But what then of the connection between these theologians and the con-
demnations of 1241? Here we need to mention a further element.
In actual fact, the thirties and forties of the thirteenth century saw the growing
impact on Latin thinking of the Aristotelian Falsafa due, among other factors, to the
discovery of Avicenna. There one could read of a series of processions from the First
Separated Substance that would result in the production of the material world. More-
over, one could find in a number of Arabic writings of the time the denial of the pos-
sibility for created intellects to directly contemplate the highest substances emanat-
ing from the supreme One. The doctrinal similarities between the Hellenic-Eriugenian

all created things”), see Gilbertus Porretanus, Super Boethii de hebdomadibus, PL 64, 1318a, col. 1311–
1334. As his master, William refers to the causality of God’s esse, distinguished from the esse aliquid
of created things, to explain the essential co-inherence of God in the world when he tackles Diony-
sius’ expressions on God as “esse omnium” (“[…] τὸ γὰρ εἶναι πάντων ἐστὶν ἡ ὑπὲρ τὸ εἶναι θεότης”
De Coelesti Hierarchia, c. 4, s. 1, G. Heil and A. M. Ritter (editors), Berlin 1991, p. 21, l. 16; see equally
De divinis nominibus, c. 5, s. 4: “[…] αὐτός ἐστι τὸ εἶναι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ οὐ τὰ ὄντα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ
τὸ εἶναι τῶν ὄντων”, B. R. Suchla (editor), Berlin 1990, p. 183, l. 8–9). In William’s treatise, Diony-
sius’ processions are identified with the means through which not only the co-inherence of the world
and God but also the mystical union of the elect to God are achieved. Describing the way in which
God fashions the soul of man out of some hidden intelligible potentia or dynamis, William speaks
about God’s intelligible operation “[…] quae Graece dicitur enargia” (“[…] that is called enargia [sic] in
Greek”), William of Lucca, Guilellmus Lucensis Comentum, Gastaldelli, p. 220. He evokes “Dei increata
virtus” by which our “creata virtus” comes to be united to God” (p. 7). He writes further: “[…] Besides,
since a faculty without operation is idle, the theologian that goes by the name of Dionysius refused
to conceive the unitive power through which we are conjoined to God as exercising its power without
operation? (absque opera suam exercere potentiam); instead he thought that it displays its operating
power (eam operationis energiam exercere) whenever human beings are immersed in contemplation”,
William of Lucca, Guilellmus Lucensis Comentum, p. 8, Gastaldelli (my translation). Regarding the di-
vine essence, about which William teaches as any “orthodox” disciple of Gilbert that it is the same as
the Godhead (divinitas), William professes the very agnosticism that will be condemned in 1241: “The
Godhead is hidden (occulta est divinitas) since nobody has ever seen God (Deum nemo vidit umquam).
If nobody has ever seen God when it comes to the place where the Godhead lies concealed (in occul-
tate divinitatis), if no reason or intellect, no speech or writ, no essence or science have ever intuited
this reality that is concealed and hidden, one should totally give up the idea of reaching it; it should
rather be worshipped according to its remoteness and left to Itself than explored thoughtlessly”, p.
9 (my translation). The vision of the Trinity will be accommodated to our limited capacity of under-
standing through a “divina temperantia” resulting in a divine fulgor that will lead us to contemplate
God through a multiplicity of eternal claritates (p. 10–12); on the connection between the Dionysian
inspiration and Citeaux see also M.-D. Chenu 1960; I. P. Sheldon-Williams 1977.
11 The attitude of these Cistercians and Porretans contrasted with the diffidence of the main theolog-
ical schools of the twelfth century, including the Victorins, towards the cosmism of the Greek Fathers.
This was highlighted by Vicaire 1937, 475 a number of years ago: “Au contraire, les porrétains de la
fin du siècle, après les théologiens de l’Ecole de Chartres, sont les grands vulgarisateurs de Boèce,
de Scot et de Denys et ne restent absolument pas fermés sur eux-mêmes”. Alain de Lille, Raoul Ar-
dent and Simon de Tournai take up Eriugen’s notion of theophania, with its alleged subdivision in
epiphania, hyperphania, hypopoania; see H. F. Dondaine 1950. The Cistercians Garnier of Rochefort
and Helinand of Froimond do exactly the same, see Jeauneau 1987, 40–44.
 Translatable and untranslatable Aquinas | 69

tradition cultivated by the Cistercians and this new brand of Aristotelianism struck a
chord in the Latin theological world. A treatise like De Fluxu Entis, going back to the
same period, is witness to this trend, as it features a poorly balanced miscellany of
Falsafa, Eriugenism and authentic references to the Greek Fathers.¹² It is hardly sur-
prising that, in 1225, the Council of Sens took the decision to destroy all the copies
of the Perifision extant in Cistercian monasteries. William of Auvergne who fiercely
debated against Avicenna and his Latin followers was professor at the Faculty at the
time. It is this same William of Auvergne, now Archbishop of Paris, who instigated the
trial of 1241.¹³
The most reliable account of the controversy is to be found in Aquinas’ Commen-
tary on the Sentences, IV, d. 49, q. 2, a. 1, written about ten years later. It points to-
wards an attempt to build a theory of the vision of God on the convergence between
the noetics of Avicenna and what Parisian theologians offered as the thought of the
Greek Fathers purified from deviant Eriugenism.¹⁴ It is here, as Aquinas’ account fur-
ther reports, that the Parisian devotees of Avicenna came up against a thorny issue.
Indeed, according to Christian tradition, the God who is supposed to be contemplated
by the elect is more than a separated substance. If, on the one hand, He is infinite and
if, on the other, everything that is conceived is conceived according to the mode of
the subject who conceives it, how could finite species, though supreme and immedi-
ately emanating from the first separated substance, ever guarantee the vision of God’s
essence by the elect? The Parisian theologi offered a determinatio where they made
use of the Greek Fathers in a way that had little to do with a paraphrase of Avicenna.
In actual fact, they aligned Avicenna’s kataphatism on to the Greek apophatic tradi-
tion: Avicenna’s supreme species became a certain brightness, glory or fulgor which,
though emanating from God’s essence, was different from it as being proportionate
to the finiteness of our created minds. The elect would see God directly, since the
Glory of God was not ontologically different from Him, but they would not see God ac-

12 Also called De Causis Primis et Secundis, the text was edited and published by R. de Vaux, see de
Vaux 1934.
13 In his treatise De Anima written before 1241, William of Auvergne already denounces the sequaces
of Aristotle who are tempted to deny the possibility of an immediate vision of God’s essence, see H. F.
Dondaine 1952, 92–93.
14 De Contenson 1959, 89 has formerly suggested that these Greek authorities were merely used by
the Parisian theologians as doctrinal covers to accredit philosophical theories essentially foreign to
the Christian tradition: “L’avicennisme apparaît donc comme la cause immédiate de ce courant et est
peut-être aussi, pour une part, le facteur indispensable du succès du courant dionysien à qui il ap-
porte les notations techniques de psychologie qui lui manquaient pour qu’ il soit pris au sérieux par
les théologiens du XIIIe s. soucieux d’assimiler la science aristotélicienne”. I beg to differ in that re-
gard. True, Aquinas presents the noetics of Avicenna as closest to the Christian tradition. But according
to the same Aquinas, it was not so in virtue of its agnosticism, but on the contrary because Avicenna
favoured, against Alfarabi and Avempace, a direct vision of the supreme separated substances ema-
nating from the One – which by the way seems to be historically correct.
70 | Antoine Levy

cording to his essence – which implied some sort of distinction, at least on the noetic
level, between the divine essence and God’s eternal glory. Vindicating M-D. Chenu’s
insight into the “pre-Palamism” that Parisian theologians read into the Greek Fathers,
H. Dondaine has provided extensive textual documentation showing the connection
between the fulgor theory of 1241 and the writings of the Greek Fathers.¹⁵ The condem-
nations of 1241 tolled the bell for this whole current.¹⁶ Paradoxically, as I will now
show, this failure proved to be immensely beneficial to the development of Western
theology, albeit in some sort of tacit or hidden manner. This is what I called the “soft
revolution” of Western scholasticism – a revolution that did not shake the theological
establishment because it happened within the doctrinal framework associated with
it. It is this revolution that will provide the matter of my last point.

15 One could for instance read in the scholiae of the 13th c. Parisian Dionysian Corpus: “One should
know that neither the Godhead is the essence of God just as goodness […] is not his essence but his
glory or a conception about Him (opinio de eo)” quoted by H. F. Dondaine 1952, 71 (my translation).
“[…] ‘in our fatherland face to face’: He will not be seen according to His substance (in substantia sua)
in any of these modes; it is according to His activity that He will be known (ab actu suo cognocitur).
[…] John [Chrysostom] does not want to say that we will be able to contemplate the substance of God
in the fatherland because this is impossible to creatures […]. What John means is [a vision] through a
mirror, in enigma, since in the fatherland we will clearly see God through an immediate influx of light
(per immediatam accceptionem luminis), though not according to the essence, but as glory, goodness
and truth”, H. F. Dondaine 1952, 82 (my translation). The Eriugenian speculations on the notion of
theophania are glossed upon by a number of theologians at the time, including St. Albert. Here again,
it is the rediscovery of the Greek Fathers that explains this Eriugenian revival, even if a number of
sententiae ascribed to them had in fact been transmitted through Eriugena. It is the case of a number
of scholia to Dionysius attributed to Maximus the Confessor in the Corpus of the 13th century. This is
the way in which one or more compiler(s) thought of preserving the texts of Eriugena after the ban of
1225; see H. F. Dondaine 1953.
16 I consider as an anachronism the idea that the Avicennism of 1241 is a pre-sequel of the Averroist
drama that will take place at the University of Paris from the second half of the 13th century down to
the Renaissance. The truth is that 1241 is on the contrary the final outcome of the twelfth century’s
strenuous quest to forge a comprehensive picture of the cosmos – from God’s creative activity to the
eternal vision of the elect – on the basis of Eriugena and the rediscovery of the Greek Fathers. The
theologi of 1241 proved to be respectable heirs to a current that, rooted in the symbolism of Hono-
rius of Autun, Hildegard of Bingen, and the early School of Chartres influenced a number of Cister-
cians, William of St. Thierry in the first place. During the same period, Gilbert of Porret added to it
the Aristotle-inspired logical apparatus which became the distinguishing mark of his disciples among
secular masters. These tried to show that an alliance between the Greek Fathers and Avicenna’s type
of Aristotelianism could open perspectives which, while coinciding with Christian dogma, evaded the
narrow Augustinism that served as a common frame of reference at the University of Paris. On the 11th
c. and early 12th c. origins of this movement, see D’Alverny 1953.
 Translatable and untranslatable Aquinas | 71

3 Aquinas as a metaphysical translator of the Greek

Fathers
It is a well-established fact that all traces of the pre-Palamite reading of the Greek
Fathers were carefully wiped away from the Latin world in the aftermath of the 1241
condemnations.¹⁷ Not less than three general chapters ask the Dominican friars to
erase these errors from their textbooks (1243, 1244 and 1256). Whatever theological
constructs would emerge after this date – and God knows what brilliant constructs
did see the light of day during this period! – they were required to comply with the
Augustinian principles that had prevailed over the Hellenic views of the theologians
condemned in 1241.
This historical situation meets the first requirement of our hypothesis; namely,
that the West had known about a pre-Palamite line of thought in the writings of the
Greek Fathers long before – more or less a century before – the Palamite controversy
broke out in Byzantium. But this seems to render the ultimate segment of our hypothe-
sis all the more difficult to establish. Indeed, if Aquinas was faithful to the anti-Greek
condemnations of 1241, how can he at the same time appear to be so faithful to the
Greek Fathers that Kydones’ translations of Aquinas can to a certain extent even be
considered as an act of theological retroversion?

17 “Haec opinio recessit ab aula” indicates Eudes Rigaud after dismissing the speculations on God’s
infinite irradiation of his master, Alexander of Hales – who, by the way, had been sitting with him on
the bench of Parisian censors in 1241 In actual fact, Alexander of Hales had himself professed an ag-
nosticism akin to the one he condemned in 1241: “[…] the divine essence as such is invisible. Whenever
it is present in one of us, it is so by virtue of [its] glory. It then becomes visible, and this light is called
aspect (species). Or it can be seen according to its likeness (per similitudinem) that is created reality
(creatura)”, Glosssa in Sent., d. 1, n. 18 quoted by H. F. Dondaine 1952, 80; see equally Callebaut 1927.
Commenting Chrysostom’s “Deum nemo vidit umquam” in his Postilla, Hugues of Saint-Cher gives
up the distinction he had previously drawn between God’s essence and God’s operation, writing that
“God will not be seen in His substance but He will be known according to His activity […] as Glory,
Goodness and Truth”. This passage, by chance preserved in one manuscript, was later replaced by
a perfectly Augustinian gloss. Reading the passage by Chrysostom, good Christians were henceforth
asked to understand that the saints and angels do not see God plene or fully, see H. F. Dondaine 1949
and H. F. Dondaine 1952, 82–83. The Commentary on the Sentences of John Pagus one of the theolo-
gians suspected, also bears witness to the pressure of doctrinal orthodoxy after 1241. In the Padua
manuscript, Pagus discusses the issue of God’s vision in the terms of 1241: the need for a vision pro-
portionate to finite intellects is mentioned and presented as an explanation of the agnosticism of the
Greek auctoritates. But the solution promoted by himself and his colleagues (Stephen of Venizy most
probably) is no longer an option: “Some have claimed that God cannot be seen according to His na-
ture, that He can only be seen according to His radiance (claritas). They erred since the radiance of
God is His nature. Seeing His radiance and seeing this nature is one and the same thing”, see Gründel
1958, 78 (my translation). But John does not offer here any alternative solution to the issue concerning
the immediate vision of God.
72 | Antoine Levy

At this point, let us call recast Schlegel’s insight regarding the art of translation. A
bad translation is a translation that manifests something of the geniality and, there-
fore, the untranslatable character of the original text. Meanwhile, an excellent transla-
tion, a translation that manages to build a semantic economy equivalent to that of the
original, is a translation that manages to mask the untranslatable greatness of this
original text. In my opinion, the attempt of the theologians condemned in 1241 had
all the aspects of a “bad translation” à la Schlegel. It collided with the quintessential
elements that shaped the Latin theological language, namely, the Augustinian under-
standing that God was simple, that there was no real difference between God’s essence
and His will or operation, that the act of divine creation was without intermediaries
and that the reward of the elect was the direct contemplation of God’s essence. I would
simultaneously claim that, by contrast, Aquinas’ theology presents all the characters
of an excellent theological translation of the Greek Fathers by the same measure. It
manages to connect the basic elements of the Western Augustinian language in such
a coherent way that the original thinking of the Greek Fathers becomes unrecognis-
able at the very moment it is faithfully translated or rather theologically transposed.
Let us take therefore a quick and, unfortunately, very schematic look at the way
in which the three great thinkers who rose to preeminence at the time of or right after
the condemnations – Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Aquinas – incorporated the
Hellenic-Dionysian emanationism into their theological constructs. In their teaching,
the cosmological intermediaries between God’s essence and created things disappear
entirely – and together with them the dream of representing God’s creation as a sym-
bolic continuum that would challenge Augustine’s sternly doctrinal perspective.
Albert splits the continuum into two parts that are ontologically connected: the
organisation of the universe is nothing but the immediate though very imperfect echo
of the motionless outpourings – fluxus – of Goodness that are supposed to convey the
inner dynamism of God’s being. Meanwhile, Bonaventure substitutes the ascending
journey of the theological and mystical intellect towards God with the descending cos-
mological order of Dionysian emanationism. Like Albert, Aquinas looks at Dionysian
emanationism primarily from a cosmological point of view, far from reducing it like
Bonaventure to the fragmentation of the human mind wrestling with God’s transcen-
dence. However he does not refer it to God’s inner dynamism like his former master.
For Aquinas, emanationism is the very act of creation and deification, absolutely one
and motionless in God, as seen by the very creatures that are subjected to it within
space and time, that is, fragmentarily or according to their finite capacity of reception.
As Aquinas writes in his Commentary to Dionysius’s Divine Names, “What a divine
name manifests is the way a divine perfection proceeds from God to the realm of things
that are, and it is in virtue of this process that God is said to be beyond everything that
exists” (610). In other words, the key to emanationism lies in the finite condition of the
subject that is the object of God’s creation: noetically, it perceives God as manifesting
Himself through a plurality of attributes – goodness, truth, etc – because being cre-
ated means partaking of God’s unique and motionless being kat’analogian, that is, in
 Translatable and untranslatable Aquinas | 73

proportion to its finite capacity of reception. Dionysian emanations no longer speak of

the way God relates to His creation, as was the case for the theologi of 1241. Nor are they
an extrinsic reflection of God’s inner life or the outcome of a created intellect in search
of God’s Trinitarian simplicity. These emanations speak about the way finite intellects
relate to God due to their created condition. Very paradoxically, Aquinas conceives the
whole reality pertaining to the act of creation as being logically posterior to the crea-
ture, just as a real relation is logically posterior to the substance in which it inheres.¹⁸
This implicit anthropocentric or rather ktistocentric reversal is what I call a soft cos-
mological revolution. It is born out of the necessity to stick to the Augustinian identity
between God’s essence and operation. As the created subject examines a posteriori the
origin of its existence, it understands that the multiple perfections that it perceives are
not intermediaries between God and itself, but the noetic outcome within space and
time of an absolute actuality that contains them all in the mode of a transcendent and
inseparable unity.
I believe one cannot understand Aquinas’ soft cosmological revolution without
understanding what made Kydones’ translations an act of theological retroversion
from Greek to Greek via Latin. What Palamas pointed out is that the tradition of the
Fathers never considered God’s energy(ies) as an intermediary between God and the
cosmos. The divine energies that fashion the cosmos are the relative outpouring, ana-
logically proportioned to the finiteness of space and time, of the energy that eternally
and inseparably radiates from God’s transcendent Ousia. Reverse Palamas’ cosmic
or ktizocentric perspective and you will find Aquinas’ ktistocentric or anthropocentric
worldview. The multiple names given to God’s creative operation reflect the propor-
tionate or analogical way in which the created order can receive or suffer God’s eter-
nal actuality, being-in-energy. The same thing goes for the supernatural order. For
Palamas, created grace or supernatural hexis is the outcome within time and space of
an outpouring of uncreated energy that sets the faculties of intellectual creatures far
above their own nature.¹⁹ For Aquinas, created grace as supernatural habitus points
to a promotion of the receptive faculties of intellectual creatures high above the limits
of their nature by Gods’ eternal being-in-energy.
This transposition in Latin terms of the Greek tradition’s most fundamental in-
sight worked so well, that it came to be understood as excluding the original Greek per-
spective advocated by Palamas when Kydones translated Aquinas’ works into Greek.

18 See ST Ia, q. 45, a. 3; QdP q. 3, a. 3; SG II, c. 18. § 951–954.

19 “When you will have in your soul the divine habitus (θεία ἕξις), you will really possess God within
yourself; and the true divine habitus (θεία ἕξις) is the love of God, something which happens only
through the holy practice of the divine commandments. It is their principle, their centre and their
supreme achievement”, Palamas, Complete Works of Gregory Palamas, vol. 1, P. K. Christou (editor),
Thessaloniki 1987, 2, 3, 77, p. 610  (my translation); compare with translation by Meyendorff 1973, p.
548. On the notion of created grace in the thought of St. Gregory, see equally Meyendorff 1959a, 231–
232.
74 | Antoine Levy

The emphasis of Aquinas on created grace hid the transcendent synergy associated
with it, just as Palamas’ emphasis on uncreated grace overshadowed the created hexis
that went with it. Likewise, Aquinas’ developments on the vision of God’s essence
were interpreted independently of his affirmation of God’s essential incomprehensi-
bility, while the Palamites’ insistence on Palamas’ vision of God according to his eter-
nal energies left the inseparable character of God’s essence and God’s energy in the
shadow.
Looking critically at two hundred years of theological reflection in the West and
in the East, one can hardly justify the anti-Palamite stance of Demetrios Kydones and
his circle. And yet the insight that overwhelmed Demetrios when he discovered the
thought of Aquinas, the insight that led him to translate Aquinas into Greek, was ab-
solutely correct. Truly, Aquinas understood the Greek tradition much better than many
Byzantine intellectuals of his time – Demetrios himself included, I am forced to add.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations
PG: J.-P. Migne (editor), Patrologiae cursus completus. Series Graeca, Paris, 1857–1886
PL: J. P. Migne (editor), Patrologiae cursus completus. Series Latina, Paris, 1844–1879
In Sent.: Thomas Aquinas, Scriptum super libros Sententiarum
SG: Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles
ST.: Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
QdP: Thomas Aquinas, Quaestiones Disputatae de Potentia

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Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita. De coelesti hierarchia, de ecclesiastica hierarchia, de mystica
theologia, epistulae. Patristische Texte und Studien, 36. Berlin.
E. Behler, ed. (2013). F. Schlegel, Athenäums-Fragmente und andere Schriften. Berlin.
Gilbertus Porretanus, Super Boethii de hebdomadibus (1844). Vol. 64. Patrologiae cursus
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P. K. Christou, ed. (1962—1992). Gregorios Palamas, Complete Works of Gregory Palamas. 5 vols.
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P. M. Pession, ed. (1965). Thomas Aquinas, Quaestiones disputatae de potentia. Turin and Rome.
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P. Marc, C. Pera, and P. Caramello, eds. (1961). Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles. 2–3 vols.
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Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos
Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus
On the Thomistic principium individuationis in material
composites

In the preparation of his participation in the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438–39),

Mark Eugenicus conducted intense research resulting in his Capita Syllogistica,¹ which
addressed several theological debates, with the Filioque holding a prominent place.²
Since a major aspect of this issue concerns the distinctio in divinis, i. e. the distinction
of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, Mark addressed the Thomistic principia indi-
viduationis in his Capita Syllogistica, 25.³ This sparked Bessarion’s reply in his Refuta-
tio, 7.⁴
In this paper, I will lay out the argumentation of these two rivals on matter as a
principle of distinction, focusing on their declared and undeclared sources. As will be
shown, Mark utilized arguments from Scotus’ Ordinatio. On the other hand, Bessar-
ion utilized Aristotelian passages (mainly), as far back as Alexander of Aphrodisias,
Themistius and Demetrius Kydones. As far as the form of Mark’s argumentation is
concerned, I will show that he developed his reasoning in the mode of a Scholas-
tic quaestio.
Individuation holds a prominent place among the problems of medieval philoso-
phy.⁵ One of the most important aspects of the issue is the principle of individuation,⁶

I am grateful to J. A. Demetracopoulos (University of Patras) for providing access to the apparatus

fontium of his on-going edition of Nilus Kabasilas’ De processione Spiritus sancti; for facilitating my
access to ms. Vat. Gr. 614 and for his useful remarks; C. Kappes (SS. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine
Seminary) for drawing my attention to Duns Scotus as the source of Mark Eugenicus’ argumentation,
and his useful remarks.
1 Monfasani 2011b, 167–168 has convincingly argued that the Capita Syllogistica predates the Council.
2 Τhis cause célèbre was one of the major issues discussed in the Council (Gill 1961, 227–269), in which
Mark took a leading role (see Acta Graeca, II sqq., ed. J. Gill, Quae supersunt actorum Graecorum concilii
Florentini [CFDS, Ser. B, vol. V, 2], Roma 1953, p. 253, 32 sqq.). For Mark’s res gestae in the Council, see
Kappes 2014a; Kappes 2016.
3 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 1–144, ed. L. Petit, Marci Eugenici Metropolitae Ephesi opera anti-unionistica
(CFDS, Ser. A, vol. X, 2), Roma 1977, p. 85, 18–p. 89, 12.
4 Refutatio, 7, ed. J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus. Series graeca, vol. CLXI, Parisiis 1866, coll.
193C–204D. It should be noted that Scholarios did not address this issue in his Responsio, ed. OCGS,
III, Paris 1930, p. 476–538. For the authorship of this text, see Monfasani 2011b, 164–168.
5 Gracia 1994, 1.
6 Gracia 1994, 13.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-089
78 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

i. e. the criterion that may distinguish the many things of a kind into numerical in-
dividuals, e. g. the factor that determines a human to be a unique object among the
many of his kind, which means a person distinct from other persons.⁷
There follows a brief exposition of Thomas’ view on the subject, since it is fun-
damental for understanding the argumentation of the two rivals. The basic Scholastic
theories on the principle of individuation are the following: a) bundle theories, b) acci-
dental theories, c) essential theories, d) existential theories, and e) external theories.⁸
According to this classification, Thomas’ view falls into the essential theories, and
more specifically into the first variety of these, which attributes the principle of indi-
viduation to matter. Yet Thomas combines matter with dimension, which is featured
in the accidental theories.⁹ Indeed, Thomas considered that quantified matter can dis-
tinguish one composite object from another:¹⁰ “Principium diversitatis individuorum
eiusdem speciei est divisio materiae secundum quantitatem”.¹¹
Mark starts his refutation by stating that the Latins boast about their principles
of individuation, presumably applicable to every case of beings, i. e. the distinction
per materiam (in composites) and per oppositionem (in divinis). In the vein of Barlaam
the Calabrian,¹² Mark notes that even if such distinctions hold true in other things, it
would not be necessary to apply either of them to the Divinity.¹³ Although Mark does
not name Thomas, it is certain that he was his main target, as Bessarion points out.¹⁴

7 Cf. Gracia 1984, 17–21; 36–37.

8 Gracia 1984, 39–46; Gracia 1994, 13–14.
9 Gracia 1994, 14–15.
10 Owens 1994, 188.
11 SG, II, 49, 4, ed. C. Pera, D. P. Marc, D. P. Caramello, S. Thomae Aquinatis “Liber de veritate catholicae
fidei contra errores infidelium” seu “Summa contra Gentiles”, vol. II, Taurini-Romae 1961, p. 170, n. 1250.
For more on Thomas’ view on the issue, see Owens 1994, 173–194.
12 Barlaam had also rejected the application of philosophical principles to the distinctio in divi-
nis in his Contra Latinos (Tractatus B), I, 12, 125–129, ed. A. Fyrigos, Barlaam Calabro. Opere Con-
tro I Latini, vol. II, Studi e Testi 348, Città del Vaticano 1998, p. 256, 4–8: “Τὰ γὰρ κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν
δόγματα χαιρέτω. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν τὸ τῆς Τριάδος ἐμυήθημεν μυστήριον, οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ πρὸς αὐτὰ
ἀναφέροντας δεῖ ζητεῖν τὴν ὁμοφωνίαν οὔτ’ ἄλλου τῶν τῆς πίστεως δογμάτων οὔτε τῆς παρούσης
ὑποθέσεως (i. e. the identity and the distinction of the three persons in Trinity)”.
13 Mark Eugenicus, Capita Syllogistica, 25, 1–8, p. 85, 18–25 Petit.
14 Refutatio, 7, coll. 193C–196A Migne.
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 79

Mark’s basis for his refutation is Thomas’ ST, Ia, q. 36, a. 2, co.¹⁵ and SG, IV, 24, 8,¹⁶
which he had already adressed in Capita Syllogistica, 13, 1–7,¹⁷ as regards the distinctio
in divinis. This is quite expected, since these passages, among others, were utilized by
Mark’s predecessors in this discussion; namely, by the anti-Thomists Barlaam¹⁸ and
Nilus Kabasilas.¹⁹ Mark’s dependence on Nilus for the Thomistic principles of distinc-
tion was first identified by Scholarios.²⁰

15 ST, Ia q. 36, a. 2, co. ed. Leonina, Sancti Thomae Aquinatis opera omnia iussu Leonis XIII P. M.
edita, vol. IV: Pars prima “Summae Theologiae”, a quaestione I ad quaestionem XLIX, Roma 1888,
p. 377: “…solum relationibus divinae personae ab invicem distinguantur. Relationes autem personas
distinguere non possunt, nisi secundum quod sunt oppositae. […] Oportet ergo quod Filius et Spiritus
sanctus ad invicem referantur oppositis relationibus. Non autem possunt esse in divinis aliae rela-
tiones oppositae nisi relationes originis, ut supra probatum est. Oppositae autem relationes originis
accipiuntur secundum principium, et secundum quod est a principio. […] Unde et secundum hoc ma-
nifestum est quod Spiritus sanctus procedit a Filio. Ipse etiam ordo rerum hoc docet. Nusquam enim
hoc invenimus, quod ab uno procedant plura absque ordine, nisi in illis solum quae materialiter dif-
ferunt; sicut unus faber producit multos cultellos materialiter ab invicem distinctos, nullum ordinem
habentes ad invicem. Sed in rebus in quibus non est sola materialis distinctio, semper invenitur in
multitudine productorum aliquis ordo. Unde etiam in ordine creaturarum productarum, decor divi-
nae sapientiae manifestatur. Si ergo ab una persona Patris procedunt duae personae, scilicet Filius
et Spiritus sanctus, oportet esse aliquem ordinem eorum ad invicem. Nec potest aliquis ordo alius
assignari, nisi ordo naturae, quo alius est ex alio. Non est igitur possibile dicere quod Filius et Spiritus
sanctus sic procedant a Patre, quod neuter eorum procedat ab alio, nisi quis poneret in eis materialem
distinctionem, quod est impossibile.”
16 SG, IV, 24, 8, ed. C. Pera, D. P. Marc, D. P. Caramello, S. Thomae Aquinatis “Liber de veritate catholi-
cae fidei contra errores infidelium” seu “Summa contra Gentiles”, vol. III, Taurini-Romae 1961, p. 294, n.
3612: “In rebus enim, remota materiali distinctione, quae in divinis personis locum habere non potest,
non inveniuntur aliqua distingui nisi per aliquam oppositionem.”
17 Capita Syllogistica, 13, 1–7, p. 76, 8–14 Petit.
18 Contra Latinos (Tractatus A), IV, 21, 186–204, p. 570, 9–27 Fyrigos: “Οὐ δεξόμεθα ἄρα Θωμᾶν τοῖς
αὐτοῖς ἀξιώμασι καὶ ταῖς αὐταῖς ἐννοίαις συμπεριλαμβάνοντα κτιστὸν καὶ ἄκτιστον, ὑλικὸν καὶ ἄυλον,
ὂν καὶ οὐκ ὄν, οὐσίαν καὶ ὑπερούσιον, τὴν πρωτίστην τῶν ὅλων ἀρχὴν καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς,
ἀλλ’ ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἐὰν πολλὰ προέρχωνται ἐξ ἑνὸς ἀύλως καὶ οὐσιωδῶς, ἀναγκαῖόν τινα τάξιν ἔχειν πρὸς
ἄλληλα τὰ προερχόμενα, ἢ Ἀναγκαῖον πάντα τὰ διαφέροντα ἀλλήλων, ἢ καθ’ ὕλην ἢ κατὰ μίαν τῶν
τεσσάρων ἀντιθέσεων διακρίνεσθαι, […] φήσομεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὅτι· […] ἣν δὲ ἡμεῖς τριάδα σεβόμεθα καὶ
προσκυνοῦμεν, αὕτη τῶν σῶν τε λογισμῶν καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀναγκῶν καὶ λόγων παντάπασίν ἐστιν
ἐλευθέρα.” For the Thomistic references in this passage, see Fyrigos 1998, appar. cr., ad locum.
19 De processione Spiritus sancti, 1, 79, 1–12, ed. E. Candal, Nilus Cabasilas et theologia S. Thomae de
processione Spiritus sancti, Studi e Testi 116, Città del Vaticano 1945, p. 250, 28–p. 252, 10: “Καὶ μὴν […]
ποία ἐν τούτοις ἐναντιότης ᾗ διαφέροι ἂν εἶδος εἴδους, ὡς ὁ Θωμᾶς ἀξιοῖ; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ κατ’ ἐναντίωσιν
ἡ διάκρισις, […] καὶ διάφορα πάντως κατ’ εἶδος· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐ πάντως κἀκεῖνο. Καὶ χωρὶς δὲ τούτων,
τό τε λευκὸν καὶ φαιόν, διακεκριμένα ὄντα, οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως ὑπάγοιντο τῷ παρὰ τοῦ Θωμᾶ κανόνι τῆς
διακρίσεως. Οὐκοῦν ἀνάγκη ἢ μὴ διακρίνεσθαι τὰ προειρημένα, ἢ ψεύδεσθαι τὸν προεκτεθέντα κανόνα
πάντα διακρίνοντα ἢ τῇ ὕλῃ, ἢ ἑνί γε τρόπῳ τῆς ἀντιθέσεως. Ἀλλὰ μὴν τούτων διακρινομένων, ἀνάγκη
μὴ πάντα ἀληθῆ τὸν λόγον νομίζειν, μηδὲ τῶν ὄντων διαιτητὴν ἀξιόχρεων. Οὐκοῦν οὐδ’ ὅσα ἐκ τούτων
Λατῖνοι περαίνειν βούλονται, πάντως ἂν εἶεν ἀληθῆ.”
20 Responsio, VI (XIII), 67–73, p. 499, 29–35 OCGS, III.
80 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

Mark intends to prove that such distinctions are not necessary, nor universally
valid as premises or principles, in created beings for two reasons: a) they are not, in
practice, actually and universally applicable in Thomas’ own writings, even if they are
initially treated as such,²¹ and b) neither matter, nor relative opposition, is the cause of
distinction in beings, but an accident (παρακολούθημα) or natural product arising out
of already actual and distinguished beings. This structural corollary or accident can
individuate only in a secondary structural moment.²² Mark unfolds his argumentation
against the putatively Thomistic individuating principle of matter, as follows: Matter
per se is indivisible and indistinctive, since it lacks quality and quantity. What is indi-
visible and indistinctive cannot individuate. Hence, since prime matter is indifferent
in itself, it cannot establish a difference in material things.²³
It seems that this twofold reduction of Thomas’ material principle derives from
Duns Scotus.²⁴ To my knowledge, this is the first time that a Scotist source is spotted
in Mark’s works. Indeed, on the one hand, Mark reduces quantitative matter to ma-
teria prima alone as the Thomistic principium individuationis, in the vein of Scotus’
Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4.²⁵ On the other hand, Mark reduces quantitative matter (as a remote
cause) to the proximate cause of individuation, a mere accident (παρακολούθημα) of
already related and distinguished principles (that is, this form and this matter²⁶) of
beings, following Scotus statement: “…quantitas, et quodcumque aliud accidens, erit

21 Such a statement is congruent to Barlaam’s text in n. 12. Given that Mark held for universal hylo-
morphism (Kappes 2016, 137), he may also recall that Thomas divides the rules that apply to angels
(equally a res vis-a-vis SG, IV, 24, 8 Pera, Marc, Caramello, p. 294, n. 3612 [supra n. 16]) from the rules
that apply to individuation in all other entities. Thus, Thomas’ view that angels lack matter renders
the material principle invalid for such a distinction. For the hylomorphism of angels, see Keck 1998,
93–99.
22 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 9–19, p. 85, 26–36 Petit. Such a statement is congruent to Mark’s patristic
view on the “looser unity” of soul to body (that is, form to matter) in Oratio prima de pugne purgatorio,
14, 8, ed. L. Petit, Documents relatifs au Concile de Florence (PO, 15), 1927, p. 58, 29–p. 59, 13 (Kappes
2016, 136–137).
23 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 20–28, p. 86, 1–9 Petit.
24 For Scotus’ critique on Thomas’ principium individuationis and the formation of the Scotist haec-
ceitas, see Minges 1930, 64–67; Wolter 1994; Faitanin 2002; Noone 2003. For a bibliography on this is-
sue, see Faitanin 2002, 3, n. 1. Some modern authors affirm what Scotus objected to Thomas; namely,
the designated matter fails to qualify as a real principle, since it can be reduced to a structural poten-
tiality for actually existing forms (Owens 1994, 182; Cross 1999, 74–75; Noone 2003, 116–117). In this
aspect, matter is the unqualified principle, whereas designated matter falls, as a species, under the
genus “matter” and merely describes its modality (quantitative dimension).
25 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4, n. 93, 8–11, ed. P. C. Balić et al., Ioannis Duns Scoti opera omnia, vol. VII, Civitas
Vaticana 1973, p. 436, 12–p. 437, 2: “…ita quod sicut materia non est habens partes per naturam quanti-
tatis (quia pars materiae est materia), sic substantia signata non est nisi substantia (solum enim dicit
‘signatio’ modum se habendi)”.
26 Cf. Thomas Aquinas, ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3, p. 330 Leonina: “...essentia proprie est id quod sig-
nificatur per definitionem. Definitio autem complectitur principia speciei, non autem principia indi-
vidualia. Unde in rebus compositis ex materia et forma, essentia significat non solum formam, nec
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 81

posterius naturaliter substantia…”.²⁷ Yet Mark states that quantity, as an accident, can
individuate secondarily. This is exactly what Scotus argues: “Sed quomodo ad istam
intentionem est verum quod varietas accidentium facit differentiam numeralem? Dico
quod facit aliquam differentiam, sed non primam, – et necessario concomitatur om-
nem; et ita habet intelligi quod ‘faciunt differentiam numeralem’”.²⁸ Moreover, Mark
draws his argumentation partly verbatim from Scotus’ Ord., II, d. 3, q. 5,²⁹ as regards
the lack of quantity in prime matter.³⁰

Mark Eugenicus, Capita Syllogistica, Duns Scotus, Ord., II, d. 3, q. 5:

25, 20–25 (Petit, p. 86, 1–6): Sed q u o d n o n e s t i n s e d i s t i n -
Ἡ ὕ λ η καθ’ αὑτήν ἐστιν ἀ δ ι α ί ρ ε τ ο ς · c t u m n e c d iv e r s u m , n o n p o t e s t
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄποιος, οὕτω καὶ ἄποσος· e s s e p r i m a r a t i o diversitatis vel
τὸ ἄποσον δὲ ἀ δ ι α ί ρ ε τ ο ν · τὸ ἀ δ ι α ί - d i s t i n c t i o n i s alterius; sed m a t e r i a
ρ ε τ ο ν δὲ ἀ δ ι ά κ ρ ι τ ο ν · ὃ δ ὲ κ α θ ’ est fundamentum naturae omnino i n -

solum materiam, sed compositum ex materia et forma communi, prout sunt principia speciei. Sed
compositum ex hac materia et ex hac forma, habet rationem hypostasis et personae, anima enim et
caro et os sunt de ratione hominis, sed haec anima [= forma] et haec caro [= materia] et hoc os [viz.,
parakolouthema] sunt de ratione huius hominis. Et ideo hypostasis et persona addunt supra rationem
essentiae principia individualia.” It is possible that Mark takes this passage into account, since it sets
the background of the discussion. Besides, as will be shown, Bessarion utilized it in his argumenta-
tion.
27 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4, n. 118, 20–21, p. 451, 10–11 Balić et al. Cf. also q. 4, n. 96, 5–10, p. 437, 20–p. 438,
5 Balić et al.: “sed singularitas – sive signatio – est necessaria condicio in substantia ad causandum
quantitatem, quia (sicut argutum est) causatum singulare requirit causam singularem; ergo impossi-
bile est istam signationem substantiae signatae vel singularis esse a quantitate singulari (vel esse a
causato), non a substantia in inquantum singularis”.
28 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4, n. 125, 1–5, p. 454, 15–19 Balić et al. Cf. q. 4, n. 87, 1–8, p. 432, 17–p. 433, 5 Balić et
al.: “Praeterea, eo modo substantia est prior naturaliter omni accidente, quo est subiectum omni ac-
cidenti. In quantum enim subiectum, probatur esse prius definitione omni accidente, quia sic ponitur
in ordine ‘cuiuslibet’ per additamentum; sed ut est subiectum, est ‘haec substantia’: quia secundum
Philosophum I Physicorum et II Metaphysicae, singularium sunt causae singulares (in quocumque
genere causae), ergo singularis accidentis singulare subiectum est causa.”; q. 4, n. 124, 4–7, p. 454,
6–9 Balić et al.: “Dico quod omnem distinctionem numeralem concomitatur distinctio accidentium,
et ideo ubi nulla potest esse accidentium varietas, ibi nulla potest esse distinctio numeralis.”
29 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 5, n. 131, 3–7, p. 458, 11–15 Balić et al.
30 Mark’s reference to the lack of quality in prime matter is a commonplace, e. g. Posidonius,
Fr. 267, 1–3, ed. W. Theiler, Posidonios. Die Fragmente, vol. I, Berlin 1982, 190, 19–21; Alexan-
der Aphrodisiensis, De Anima, p. 17, 17 ed. I. Bruns, Alexandri Aphrodisiensis praeter commentaria
scripta minora (CAG, suppl. II, 1), Berlin 1887; Michael Ephesius (Ps.-Alexander Aphrodisiensis), In
Aristotelis Metaphysica, XI 10, 32–34 ed. M. Hayduck, Alexandri Aphrodisiensis in Aristotelis metaphy-
sica commentaria (CAG, I), Berlin 1891, p. 717, 32–34; Ps.-Alexander Aphrodisiensis, Quaestiones et so-
lutiones, Ι, 15, 25–27; ΙΙ, 3, 66; 7, 1–4, ed. I. Bruns, Alexandri Aphrodisiensis praeter commentaria scripta
minora (CAG, suppl. II, 2), Berlin 1892, p. 27, 21–23; p. 49, 30; p. 52, 20–23. For a recent synopsis of the
attribution of Ps.-Alexander of Aphrodisias’ In Aristotelis Metaphysica E-N to Michael Ephesius, see
di Giovanni and Primavesi 2016, 11–16.
82 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

αὑτὸ μὴ διαιρεῖται καὶ διακρί- d i s t i n c t u m et i n d e t e r m i n a t u m;

ν ε τ α ι , π ῶ ς ἂ ν ἑ τ έ ρ ῳ τ ὴν α ἰ τ ί α ν igitur n o n p o t e s t e s s e p r i m a r a -
παρέχοι τῆς διακρίσεως; t i o d i s t i n c t i o n i s vel diversitatis a l -
t e r i u s.

Mark continues: The division of the material body per materiam per se into measurable
and distinctive parts is called material distinction. Nevertheless, this does not render
the matter as a principle of distinction, because, as mentioned above, it is indivisible.
On the contrary, it is the division per materiam, which offers quantity to the distinctive
parts. This is supported by the following argument: The distinction in material com-
posites is not established in matter per se, but in the composite object, such as the
actuality in composite objects is the effect of the combination of species (i. e. form)
and matter (and is not established in the species per se). Therefore, the distinction is
caused by the division per materiam.³¹
Mark’s reference to the material distinction may derive from Scotus’ statement
that “prior est distinctio partium materiae quam quantitatis…”.³² Accordingly, based
on the lack of distinctive parts in prime matter,³³ Mark concludes that the division
according to matter is the principle of individuation. This apparently echoes Scotus’
Ord., II, d. 3: “Est ergo divisio naturae, in suppositis creatis, prima et maxima ratio
distinctionis”.³⁴ In this aspect, matter/quantity are considered only as secondary prin-
ciples of individuation.³⁵ Moreover, Mark’s argumentation on the lack of actuality in
species/form is based on Scotus’ view that quantity is not an active form.³⁶ As regards
the identification of form with species, Mark may also be recalling Thomas’ relevant
statement that form is actually equivalent to species.³⁷ Subsequently, Mark turns to
the refutation of Thomas’ distinctio per oppositionem³⁸ and ends by reaffirming his
thesis on division as the principle of distinction.³⁹
The mere fact that Mark utilized Scotist arguments raises the possibility of him
asking his fellow disciple, Scholarios, to translate some Scotist material for him. Such
an assumption is quite plausible, since in the preparation of his participating to the
Council of Florence, Scholarios had studied the Scotist view on the Filioque and the

31 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 28–48, p. 86, 9–29 Petit.

32 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4, n. 114, 8–9, p. 447, 16–17 Balić et al.
33 See n. 25.
34 Ord., II, d. 3, q. 4, n. 127, 14–15, p. 456, l. 12–13 Balić et al. Cf. also q. 4, n. 105, 5–8, p. 443, 6–9 Balić et
al.: “sed quantitas non inest formaliter speciei, in quantum est divisibilis in partes subiectivas; igitur
ipsa non est ‘ratio formalis’ divisibilitatis talis totius in partes tales”.
35 Cf. n. 22.
36 Ord., d. 3, q. 4, n. 97, 7, p. 438, 12 Balić et al.: “…quantitas non est forma activa”.
37 Thomas’ ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3, p. 330 Leonina. Cf. Kappes 2013a, 89, n. 71.
38 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 49–93, p. 86, 30–p. 87, 36 Petit.
39 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 93–96, p. 87, 36–88, 1 Petit.
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 83

individuation in divinis.⁴⁰ Besides, most probably Scholarios was acquainted with the
Scholastic reduction of Thomas’ principle some years previously, since in his Prole-
gomena (1433–1435⁴¹), he followed Radulphus Brito⁴² in adopting the indivisible quan-
tity as a principle of individuation against Thomas’ designated matter.⁴³ Brito had re-
duced the designated matter principle to quantitative accident in his Quaestiones su-
per Metaphysica V, 12:⁴⁴ “duo individua solum different secundum accidens”.⁴⁵ Thus,
in the same vein of the reduction of designated matter, Thomas is included among
philosophers who considered mere matter (ὕλη ἁπλῶς) as a principium individuatio-
nis in Scholarios’ In de ente et essentia (1440–1445⁴⁶). However, it is pointed out that
Thomas’ principle was the designated matter (materia signata/ὕλη σεσημασμένη).⁴⁷
Considering the structure of Mark’s syllogism one can trace the basic parts of a
quaestio. Indeed, Mark’s Capita Syllogistica, 25, 1–4⁴⁸ corresponds to the Argumentum
of a Scholastic quaestio, since here Mark unfolds the rival’s arguments. There follow
Mark’s objections to the Latin arguments in l. 5–19,⁴⁹ which correspond to the Sed

40 Podskalsky 1974d, 317; Monfasani 2011b, 165 (and n. 24). Interestingly enough, Scholarios refers to
the divisio per materiam (κατὰ τὴν ὕλην διαίρεσις) in his Translatio Thomae Aquinatis commentarii in
Aristotelis De physico audito, 10, 147–150, ed. OCGS, VIII, Paris 1936, p. 194, 22–25: “Ἀλλ’ οἱ Πλατωνικοί,
θεωροῦντες ὅπως ἐν ἑνὶ εἴδει πολλὰ διακρίνονται ἄτομα κατὰ τὴν τῆς ὕλης διαίρεσιν, ἔθεντο τὸ μὲν ἓν
ἐκ τοῦ μέρους τοῦ εἴδους, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀρχὴ τοῦ ποιεῖν· τὰ δὲ δύο ἐκ τοῦ μέρους τῆς ὕλης, ἥτις ἐστὶν
ἀρχὴ τοῦ πάσχειν.” This translation was conducted before 1438 (Tinnefeld 2002c, 518). For the text
of Thomas, In Physica, lib. 1, l. 11, n. 13, see ed. Leonina, Sancti Thomae Aquinatis opera omnia iussu
Leonis XIII P. M. edita, vol. II: Commentaria in octo libros Physicorum Aristotelis, Roma 1884, p. 39.
41 Tinnefeld 2002c, 519.
42 Ebbesen 2001, 456, n. 16.
43 Scholarios, Prolegomena, 12, 115–123; 144–145, ed. OCGS, VII, p. 77, 18–26; p. 78, 8–9. Kappes 2013a,
86–87.
44 For the text, see Ebbesen 2001, 460, n. 16.
45 As Kappes 2013a, 89, n. 71 has stated, such a view is based on Thomas’ ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3,
p. 330 Leonina, where it is held that the definition is based on the principles of the species, not the
individual principles. Cf. also Thomas’ Super De causis, l. 9, ed. H. D. Saffrey, Sancti Thomae de Aquino
Super librum De causis expositio (Textus Philosophici Friburgenses, 4/5), Fribourg-Louvain 1954, p. 65,
16–p. 66, 7, where form is praised as the principle of individuation. Mark may have in mind the former
passages, while Aquinas’ commentary on the Liber de causis is unknown to have been available to
Mark. For the variety of interpretation of Thomas’ principle of individuation (especially with respect
to the Liber de causis) see Wippel 2000, 372–374.
46 Tinnefeld 2002c, 518.
47 In De ente et essentia, 53, 39–46, ed. OCGS, VI, Paris 1933, p. 235, 20–27: “Ὅσοι δὲ τὴν ὕλην
ἁπλῶς αἰτίαν ἀπεφήναντο τῆς ἀτομότητος εἶναι, τὸν Φιλόσοφον παρῆγον ἐν πέμπτῳ τῶν Μετὰ τὰ
φυσικὰ λέγοντα ἓν ἀριθμῷ εἶναι ὧν ἡ ὕλη μία ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ ἀριθμῷ. Ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ δοκεῖν αὐτόν
φασι βούλεσθαι τὴν κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἑνότητα διὰ τὴν ὕλην ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι γίνεσθαι· τὸ δὲ ἄτομον
τοιοῦτον ἐστὶ τῷ εἶναι ἓν ἀριθμῷ. Ταύτης δὲ τῆς δόξης καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος οὗτος εἶναι δοκεῖ, πλὴν οὐχ
ἁπλῶς, λέγων τὴν ὕλην, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι, τῆς ἀτομότητος ἀρχήν, ἀλλὰ τήν γε σεσημασμένην...”; Kappes
2013a, 89–90.
48 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 1–4, p. 85, 18–21 Petit.
49 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 5–19, p. 85, 22–36 Petit.
84 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

contra of a quaestio. Then Mark unfolds his argumentation in l. 20–144.⁵⁰ In fact, this
part corresponds to the Corpus of a quaestio. Notably, in the beginning of his reason-
ing against matter and opposition as principles of distinction, Mark uses the verbal
adjective σκεπτέον,⁵¹ in concordance with the relevant use of considerandum est of a
Thomistic quaestio.⁵² Additionally, Mark utilized such a development in his Epistula
ad Isidorum,⁵³ as already pointed out.⁵⁴ Mark clearly joins the stream of several late
Byzantine scholars, who considered the scholastic quaestio as an appropriate model
for discussion.⁵⁵
Let us now turn to Bessarion’s reply, who starts by ironically addressing his ri-
val: Mark was not the first to attack the Thomistic distinction of beings,⁵⁶ since Bar-
laam the Calabrian⁵⁷ and Nilus Kabasilas⁵⁸ had argued against it. Thus, Mark repro-
duces their arguments, allegedly for the worse.⁵⁹ Bessarion was aware of the succes-
sive stages of the discussion upon this issue and points out that Demetrius Kydones
had sufficiently replied to Kabasilas on the issue, who based himself on Barlaam’s
text.⁶⁰ Hence, Bessarion will not address the universal application of the Thomistic
principles of distinction, already addressed by Kydones.⁶¹ Apart from Barlaam’s and
Nilus’ texts noted above, here Bessarion refers to Kydones’ defence of the use of syl-
logisms in Theology, which form a ratio universalis (λόγος καθολικός) applicable both
to Divinity and creation, as unfolded in his unedited⁶² Defensio Thomae Aquinatis.⁶³

50 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 20–144, p. 86, 1–p. 89, 12 Petit.

51 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 20; 49, p. 86, 1; 30 Petit.
52 E. g. De spiritualibus creaturis, a. 1 co., ed. J. Cos, Sancti Thomae de Aquino opera omnia iussu Leonis
XIII P. M. edita, vol. XXIV, 2, Romae 2000, p. 11, 287–289: “Unde ad huius veritatis inquisitionem ne in
ambiguo procedamus, considerandum est quid nomine materie significetur.”
53 Epistula ad Isidorum, ed. J. F. Boissonade, Anecdota nova, Paris 1844, 349, 6–362, 29.
54 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2011c, 368, n. 327; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012f, 343.
55 For these authors and the relevant passages, see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012f, 334–344.
56 SG, IV, 24, 8, p. 294, n. 3612 Pera, Marc, Caramello, vol. III; ST, Ia q. 36 a. 2 co., p. 377 Leonina.
57 Contra Latinos (Tractatus A), IV, 21, 186–204, p. 570, 9–27 Fyrigos.
58 De processione Spiritus sancti, 1, 79, 1–12, p. 250, 28–p. 252, 10 Candal.
59 Refutatio, 7, coll. 193C–196A Migne.
60 Cf. Scholarios’ relevant reference in his Responsio, VI (XIII), 69–73, p. 499, 31–35 OCGS, III:
“Κυδώνης δέ τις συνηγορίαν τῷ Θωμᾷ χαριζόμενος οὐδέν τι δυναμένας τὰς ἀντιλογίας ταύτας ἱκανῶς
ἀποδείκνυσιν, ὥστε καὶ μηδένα λοιπὸν εὑρεθῆναι μέχρι τοῦ νῦν τὴν συνηγορίαν ἐκείνην ἐλέγχοντα,
ζήλῳ τῆς ἀληθείας ἢ φειδοῖ τῆς τοῦ Καβάσιλα δόξης τοσαύτην συμφορὰν πεπονθυίας.”
61 Refutatio, 7, col. 196A–B Migne.
62 The editio princeps of this text is being prepared by D. Searby (Stockholm) under the Thomas de
Aquino Byzantinus Project (Series altera: Thomas de Aquino a Byzantinis receptus, vol. I: Demetrii
Cydonis Defensio Sancti Thomae Aquinatis adversus Nilum Cabasilam); cf. https://www.rhul.ac.
uk/hellenic-institute/Research/Thomas.htm and http://www.labarts.upatras.gr/dimitr/index1.html
(date of access: 06/03/2017); Searby 2012.
63 Demetrius Kydones, Defensio Thomae Aquinatis, Vat. Gr. 614, f. 114v, l. 30–115r, l. 15: “(f. 114v) …
ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τὸ μὴ ὑπ’ ἄλλην ἐπιστήμην τὴν θεολογίαν τελεῖν, ἧς ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἐν ταῖς ἑαυτῆς ἀποδείξεσι
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 85

Bessarion will focus on the arguments introduced by Mark himself, in order to

demonstrate Mark’s deficiency in philosophy. Bessarion accuses Mark of denying ma-
teria prima as a principle of individuation, which is actually irrelevant, since the ma-
teria formata should be under discussion.⁶⁴ Apparently, Bessarion does not seem to
recognize the Scotist background of Mark’s argumentation. This is not unexpected,
since not only could Bessarion not read Latin at that time,⁶⁵ but also “he never gained
more than a superficial knowledge of non-Thomistic Scholastic philosophy and the-
ology”.⁶⁶
On the other hand, Bessarion seems to develop his argumentation based on ST,
Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3,⁶⁷ where Thomas concentrates on the matter-form combination at
the moment of “individuation”, reducing his principle to this matter and this form (ex
hac materia et ex hac forma), out of which hypostasis arises. Such a view falls un-
der the first sequence of Thomistic explanation of individuation, where the “order in
being” gives existence the first place.⁶⁸ In this aspect, “the form remains prior to the

χρήσεται, οὐδὲ τοῦτο κωλύσει τὸ περὶ Θεοῦ διαλέγεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡ ἐνταῦθα θεολογία ὑπ’ ἄλλην
ἐπιστήμην τελεῖ [...] τὴν τῶν μακαρίων ἀνδρῶν, καὶ ἐκ θείας ἀποκαλύψεως αὐτοῖς κατελθοῦσαν [...].
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ἄλλοι παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος (f. 115r) διδαχθέντες τὴν ἔνθεον ἐπιστήμην·
οἷς ὥσπερ ἀναποδείκτοις ἀρχαῖς ὁ νῦν θεολογῶν χρώμενος διὰ τούτων ἀκινδύνως ἐπὶ τὰ ζητούμενα
βαδιεῖται. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς συμπεράσμασιν οὐδὲν λυμανεῖται πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τὸ μὴ (ὴ supra lineam in
codice) καὶ ἄμφω τὰς προτάσεις ταῖς Γραφαῖς διαρρήδην ἐγκεῖσθαι· κἀκεῖθεν ἀμφοτέρας λαμβάνεσθαι·
ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ἀμφοτέρας εἶναι ἀληθεῖς. Τὸ δὲ τὸν Θεὸν μὴ εἶναι ἐν γένει μηδέ τι (τι supra lineam in codice)
εἶναι αὐτοῦ καθολικώτερον ἢ πρότερον οὐκ ἐνποδὼν ἔσται τῇ ἀποδείξει. Ἔτι γὰρ πολλὰ τῶν ὄντων
καθολικωτέρῳ λόγῳ, ἢ ὁ Θεὸς νοούμενα παρ’ ἡμῶν [...] ἅπερ ὡς ἐπὶ πλέον τοῦ Θεοῦ λεγόμενα νοεῖται
παρ’ ἡμῶν· καίτοι κατὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ τὰ αὐτὰ ὄντα· ἀλλ’ ὅμως κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν νόησιν,
οὐκ ἀντιστρέφοντα τῷ Θεῷ, δυνατὸν ἐκείνου κατηγορεῖσθαι· [...] Οὐ τοίνυν ἀσθενὴς ἡ ἀπόδειξις ἐπὶ
Θεοῦ, εἰ τοῖς ἐπὶ πλέον λεγομένοις ὡς καθολικωτέροις καὶ τῇ φύσει ὑστέροις ὡς ἡμῖν προτέροις καὶ
γνωριμοτέροις ἐν ταῖς περὶ τῶν θείων ἀποδείξεσι χρώμεθα· ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἀξιώματα ἐκ τῶν
ὄντων μὲν εἰλημμένα, δυνάμενα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θείων ἀληθῶς ἀξιοῦσθαι· ὡς τὸ τῆς ἀντιφάσεως ἀξίωμα·
καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος καὶ ἄλλα πολλά· ὧν εἴ τις ἀφαιρεῖν ἐπίσταιτο τὰ διὰ τὴν συμπλοκὴν τῆς ὕλης
προσγινόμενα πάθη, μόνην δὲ τὴν τελειότητα καὶ τοὺς λόγους τῶν πραγμάτων καταλιμπάνειν, οὐ
ψεύσεται καὶ ἐπὶ Θεοῦ ταῦτα ἀξιῶν· τοῦ γὰρ τρόπου καθ’ ὃν ἐν τοῖς γενητοῖς ἔστι τι περιαιριομένου, ὁ
ἐν τῷ Θεῷ λόγος τούτων καταλείπεται μόνος, ὃς ἀληθεύων ἀληθὲς ποιήσει καὶ τὸ συμπέρασμα· ὥστε
καὶ θεολογικὴν ἐξέσται τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἐκείνην καλεῖν.”
64 Refutatio, 7, col. 196B-C Migne.
65 Monfasani 1981, 166 (and n. 5, where the relevant bibliography is cited); Monfasani 2011b, 166.
66 Monfasani 2011b, 166.
67 ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3, p. 330 Leonina. For the text, see n. 26. Bessarion may also consider SG, II, 40,
3; 49, 4, ed. C. Pera, D. P. Marc, D. P. Caramello, S. Thomae Aquinatis “Liber de veritate catholicae fidei
contra errores infidelium” seu “Summa contra Gentiles”, vol. II, Taurini-Romae 1961, p. 156, n. 1162; p.
170, n. 1250. Given that at that time Bessarion could read only Greek (see n. 65), his Thomistic references
regard Thomas Graecus’ text. For the reception of Thomas in Bessarion’s works, see (forthcoming)
Athanasopoulos n.d.; (forthcoming) Athanasopoulos 2017b.
68 Owens 1994, 186. The other sequence explains the individuation on the basis of the reverse order,
where quantitative or designated matter (= materia signata) has conceptually priority as the principle
of distinction (Owens 1994, 186–187).
86 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

matter it actuates, as well as to the dimensive quantity that marks the matter off into
separate portions in the three dimensions required by the thing’s nature”.⁶⁹ In this
vein, Bessarion defends informed matter (i. e. the combination of matter and form) as
a principium individuationis. Bessarion feels confident in doing so, since the causality
of form in beings derives from Aristotle and sets the substratum for Aquinas’ develop-
ment of his principle of individuation.⁷⁰ Yet the Thomistic tradition holds for the mate-
ria signata.⁷¹ Apparently, Bessarion utilizes an atypical passage in relation to Thomas’
principle of materia signata, focusing on an unemphasized aspect of the development
of the Thomistic principium individuationis.⁷²
To support his statement, Bessarion mentions the different terms ascribed to in-
formed matter by Aristotle (ἐσχάτη, προσεχής, κατ’ ἀναλογίαν ὕλη) in his Metaphys-
ica, VII 16, 1035b 27–31⁷³ and VIII 8, 1045b 17–20,⁷⁴ and Physica, I 7, 191a 7–12,⁷⁵ and
by the Latins (materia secunda).⁷⁶ The provenance of the term materia secunda is typ-
ically Scholastic,⁷⁷ but tracing Bessarion’s specific source is trivial for our purposes.
Then, Bessarion explains the term κατ’ ἀναλογίαν ὕλη, based on Aristotle’s specific
passage of Physica. His conclusion is that the distinctio per materiam is valid only in
the material objects.⁷⁸ Therefore, he states, Mark’s charge against Thomas that he ap-
plied this distinction to all beings in general is unfounded, since his position is clear
and in accordance with Aristotle: it is a distinction valid only in material objects.⁷⁹
This is supported by several passages from Aristotle’s Metaphysica,⁸⁰ on which the

69 Owens 1994, 186.

70 Owens 1994, 176–177; 185; 188.
71 A search via the “Index Thomisticus” in www.corpusthomisticum.org (date of access: 06/03/2017)
reveals that the concordances of materia signata and materia formata to the Thomistic corpus are 29
to 0.
72 Owens 1994, 185.
73 Metaphysica, VII 16, 1035b 27–31, ed. W. D. Ross, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, vol. II, Oxford 1970 (repr.
of 1953; 11924): “Ὁ δ’ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁ ἵππος καὶ τὰ οὕτως ἐπὶ τῶν καθ’ ἕκαστα, καθόλου δέ, οὐκ ἔστιν
οὐσία ἀλλὰ σύνολόν τι ἐκ τουδὶ τοῦ λόγου καὶ τησδὶ τῆς ὕλης ὡς καθόλου· καθ’ ἕκαστον δ’ ἐκ τῆς
ἐσχάτης ὕλης ὁ Σωκράτης ἤδη ἐστίν, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὁμοίως.”
74 Metaphysica, VIII 8, 1045b 17–20 Ross: “Ἔστι δ’, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἡ ἐσχάτη ὕλη καὶ ἡ μορφὴ ταὐτὸ
καὶ ἕν, δυνάμει, τὸ δὲ ἐνεργείᾳ, ὥστε ὅμοιον τὸ ζητεῖν τοῦ ἑνὸς τί αἴτιον καὶ τοῦ ἓν εἶναι.”
75 Physica, I 7, 191a 7–12, ed. W. D. Ross, Aristotelis Physica, Oxford 1966 (repr. of 1950): “Ἡ δὲ
ὑποκειμένη φύσις ἐπιστητὴ κατ’ ἀναλογίαν. Ὡς γὰρ πρὸς ἀνδριάντα χαλκὸς ἢ πρὸς κλίνην ξύλον ἢ
πρὸς τῶν ἄλλων τι τῶν ἐχόντων μορφὴν [ἡ ὕλη καὶ] τὸ ἄμορφον ἔχει πρὶν λαβεῖν τὴν μορφήν, οὕτως
αὕτη πρὸς οὐσίαν ἔχει καὶ τὸ τόδε τι καὶ τὸ ὄν.”
76 Refutatio, 7, col. 196C Migne.
77 Catan 1981, 37; Yu 2003, 89.
78 Refutatio, 7, col. 196C Migne.
79 Refutatio, 7, col. 196C-D Migne. Cf. Thomas’ SG, IV, 24, 8, p. 294, n. 3612 Pera, Marc, Caramello, vol.
III; ST, Ia, q. 36, a. 2, co., p. 377 Leonina.
80 Metaphysica, V 8, 1016a 24–28; V 12, 1018a 5–6; V 12, 1018a 9–10; VII 16, 1035b 30–31; X 6, 1054b
15–17; XII 2, 1069b 26–32 Ross.
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 87

material distinction is based.⁸¹ Bessarion supplements these quotations with Aristo-

tle’s interpreters, in order to show that they are in the same vein,⁸² i. e. Ps.-Alexander
Aphrodisiensis’ Quaestiones et solutiones⁸³ and De anima libri mantissa,⁸⁴ Alexander
of Aphrodisias’ De Anima,⁸⁵ and Themistius’ Paraphrasis in De anima.⁸⁶
Subsequently, Bessarion addresses Mark’s statement that the species (i. e. form)
is not the cause of actuality in corporeal composites.⁸⁷ Bessarion agrees that such a
view would claim some truth, if Mark had focused on the species/form dependent
on matter; still, he refuted the actuality of every species/form. Nevertheless, all the
philosophers favor the opposite: Even the inseparable species/form per se is the cause
and principle of actuality, as it is also the cause of actuality in composites.⁸⁸ Indeed,
Plato, Aristotle and their followers attest that the species/form arranges, decorates,
and designates the matter.⁸⁹ Bessarion is aware of the fact that there is a long tradition
of passages supporting this view.⁹⁰
Bessarion concludes, ironically, that Mark’s ignorance of the above passages led
him to reject the species (form) as the cause of actuality and the matter as the cause of
distinction. Contrariwise, he introduced the divisio per materiam. Nevertheless, given
that division is in fact distinction, Mark argued that the distinction is the cause of
distinction – a quite unusual view in philosophical enquiries.⁹¹ Most probably, here,
Bessarion took the opportunity to reply to Mark’s attempt to relate the terms διαίρεσις

81 Refutatio, 7, col. 196D–197B Migne.

82 Refutatio, 7, coll. 197B–200A Migne.
83 Quaestiones et solutiones, 3, 13–17; 25, 27–29, p. 7, 32–38, 4; p. 40, 3–5 Bruns.
84 De anima libri mantissa, p. 168, 35–p. 169, 2 ed. I. Bruns, Alexandri Aphrodisiensis praeter commen-
taria scripta minora (CAG, suppl. II, 1), Berlin 1887.
85 De Anima, p. 10, 24–26; p. 85, 16–17 Bruns.
86 Paraphrasis in De anima, VI (III 5), 201–203, ed. R. Heinze, Themistii in libros Aristotelis de anima
paraphrasis (CAG, V, 3), Berlin 1899, p. 103, 26–28.
87 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 37–42, p. 86, 18–23 Petit.
88 Refutatio, 7, col. 200B Migne. Cf. Thomas’ ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3, p. 330 Leonina,where species is
equivalent to form.
89 Refutatio, 7, 200C Migne.
90 Plato, Timaeus, 53a 2–7, ed. J. Burnet, Platonis opera, vol. IV, Oxford 1968 (repr. of 1902); Incertus
auctor, Prolegomena in philosophiam Platonicam, 27, 24–28, ed. L. G. Westerink, J. Trouillard, A. Ph.
Segonds, Prolégomènes à la Philosophie de Platon, Paris 1990, p. 42, l. 1–5; Aristotle, Physica, IV 2,
209b 2–4 Ross; Metaphysica, V 10, 1017a 4–6 Ross; Themistius, In Aristotelis Physica paraphrasis, I 9,
55–59, ed. H. Schenkl, Themistii in Aristotelis Physica paraphrasis (CAG, V, 2), Berlin 1900, p. 33, 23–27;
Proclus, In Platonis Timaeum commentaria, ΙI, 30A, ed. E. Diehl, Procli Diadochi in Platonis Timaeum
commentaria, vol. I, Leipzig 1903, p. 381, 3–6; Simplicius, In Aristotelis Physicorum libros commentaria,
I 9, 214–218; 298–300, ed. H. Diels, Simplicii in Aristotelis Physicorum libros octo commentaria, vol. I
(CAG, IX), Berlin 1882, p. 249, 5–9; p. 251, 20–22; Ioannes Philoponus, In Aristotelis Physicorum libros
commentaria, I 6, 340–342; I 9, 166–167, ed. H. Vitelli, Ioannis Philoponi in Aristotelis Physicorum libros
octo commentaria, vol. I (CAG, XVI), Berlin 1887, p. 138, 5–7; p. 187, 26–27.
91 Refutatio, 7, col. 200C-D Migne.
88 | Panagiotis C. Athanasopoulos

and διάκρισις.⁹² Then Bessarion turns to his rival’s criticism on the distinctio per op-
positionem.⁹³
I now sum up our discussion: In order to oppose the principium individuationis,
as discussed in Thomas’ two Summae, Mark takes into account his predecessors in
this discussion, i. e. Barlaam and Nilus Kabasilas. Yet, Mark draws his argumentation
from Scotus, in order to support the divisio per materiam (διαίρεσις κατὰ τὴν ὕλην) as
a principle of individuation. Mark’s utilization of Scotus’ arguments became possible
most probably thanks to Scholarios’ help. Yet all these sources are undeclared. Mark’s
argumentation is developed in the form of a Scholastic quaestio, which indicates his
view on this form as an appropriate model for discussion.
Bessarion’s approach, on the other hand, seems more transparent, since he points
out the successive stages of this discussion and states his sources; namely Aristotle
(mainly), Alexander and Ps.-Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius and Demetrios Ky-
dones. Bessarion, hardly a subtle philosopher, seems to ignore the Scotist critique on
Thomas’ principle. On the contrary, he focuses on ST, Ia, q. 29, a. 2, ad 3, an other-
wise oft-ignored Thomistic source on the issue. True, in considering the Aristotelian
background of this passage, Bessarion does correctly state that Thomas’ principle of
individuation is clearly the materia formata.
Mark’s research for anti-Thomistic sources on the use of the principium individu-
ationis resulted in the reception of the Scotist up-to-date and vigorous argumentation
ad hoc. On the other hand, Bessarion’s thesis seems more “conventional”, but – thanks
to his erudition – is well grounded in many reputable sources.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

CAG Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, ed. H. Diels et al., Berlin

1882–1909, 33 vols.
CCSG Corpus Christianorum. Series Graeca, ed. P. van Deun, Turnhout-Leuven
1977–, 83 vols.
CFDS Concilium Florentinum. Documenta et Scriptores, Series A–B, ed. G.
Hoffman, M. Candal et al., Roma 1940–1977, 21 vols.
OCGS Œuvres complètes de Georges Scholarios, ed. M. Jugie, L. Petit, X. A.
Sideridès, Paris 1929–1935, 8 vols.
PO Patrologia Orientalis, R. Graffin, F. Nau et al., Paris-Leuven 1903–, 53
vols.

92 Capita Syllogistica, 25, 96–99, p. 88, 1–4 Petit: “καὶ μὴν καὶ αὐτὸ τοὔνομα συγγενὲς ἡ διαίρεσις
ἔχουσα τῇ διακρίσει, δῆλον ἡμῖν καθίστησιν, ὡς αὐτὴ τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτῇ παρέχεται.”
93 Refutatio, 7, coll. 200D–204D Migne.
 Bessarion of Nicaea vs. Mark Eugenicus | 89

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Irini Balcoyiannopoulou
New Evidence on the Manuscript Tradition and
on the Latin and Greek Background tο George
Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione”

In 1936, the seventh volume of Martin Jugie’s edition of Scholarius’ writings was pub-
lished,¹ comprising, inter alia, a handbook of Logic, which analysed Porphyry’s Isa-
goge and Aristotle’s Categories and De Interpretatione (namely, what the Scholastics
called ars vetus), prefaced by a dedicatory letter to Emperor Constantine XI Palaeolo-
gus. The editor’s Introduction to Scholarius’ Ars Vetus provides some evidence regard-
ing the following issues: (i) the contents of the edition, (ii) the date of the Commen-
tary,² (iii) the author’s aim, (iv) the sources of the commentary, (v) its division, (vi) its
method, (vii) the content of the commentary (mainly on basis of the author’s introduc-
tory letter), and (viii) a very brief description of Scholarius’ autograph manuscripts,
without however establishing any relation between them.
Jugie’s skill in deciphering intricacies in Scholarius’ hand in the autographs is ad-
mirable. Nevertheless, he often does not specify whether a certain reading occurs in
the running text or in the margins of the manuscript.³ Furthermore, his edition lacks
an apparatus fontium and loci paralleli. Such defects are understandable to some ex-
tent, since the editor had a considerable amount of work to do on his own in a relatively
short time.⁴ However, the most important thing that he missed, as recent scholarship
has shown and will be further shown here, is that Scholarius’ Commentary is, almost
exclusively, a compilation of certain partly known and partly unknown Latin Scholas-
tic logical handbooks. This renders Jugie’s picture of Scholarius’ Ars Vetus as well as
any philological discussion based exclusively on the textual status and the data pro-
vided in his edition⁵ inevitably outdated.

1 L. Petit, X.-A. Sideridès, M. Jugie, Γενναδίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου ἅπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα. Œuvres complètes
de Gennade Scholarios, vol. VII, Paris 1936.
2 Jugie (Petit/Sideridès/Jugie, 1936, II; vol. VIII, 16*) dates Scholarius’ commentry to 1433/35. Cf. a
recent discussion of the date in J. A. Demetracopoulos 2017c, 12.
3 For example, Schol., Ars Vet., 263, 1–4 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie (“Ταύτας δὲ καὶ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς
διαιρέσεις συντομίᾳ χρώμενος ὁμοῦ τίθησι καὶ ἀδιακρίτως, ἀλλὰ δεῖ μᾶλλον διακρίνοντας λέγειν, ὅτι
ἡ ἀπόφανσις ἥ ἐστι μία ἁπλῶς, ἢ συνδέσμῳ μία· καὶ ἡ ἁπλῶς μία ἢ καταφατική ἐστιν ἢ ἀποφατική”) is
a marginal addition by Scholarius in Vat. gr. 2223, f. 161r. Jugie does not mention this in his apparatus
criticus.
4 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010c, 86.
5 For example, see Tavardon 1976; Ierodiakonou 2011.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-105
94 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

1 The manuscript tradition

1.1 The autographs

There are four autograph manuscripts containing Scholarius’ Ars Vetus: Vaticanus gr.
2223, Barberinus gr. 124, Parisinus gr. 1941, and Mutinensis 50. Jugie used Vaticanus,
Parisinus and Mutinensis, considering the Barberinus to be an exact copy of the first
one.⁶ Nevertheless, this manuscript needs to be included in a complete critical edi-
tion, too, because it contains a revised text. For example, additions and corrections
found in the margins of the Vatican codex are featured in the main text of the Bar-
berinus; Scholarius copied some of the notes,⁷ but not all; he also did not reproduce
the different renderings of Latin words but chose one of them. There are also certain
new corrections in cod. Barberinus, which do not occur in the Vatican manuscript, i. e.
mainly additions of articles as well as some words that Scholarius’ calamus skipped
during the translation process. Furthermore, in Barberinus’ fol. 181r there is an ex-
plicit reference to one of his autographs, where he notes that this certain passage is
written in the margins. Indeed, this passage is found in the margins of all the extant
manuscripts except Barberinus.
The contents of the manuscripts run as follows:
a) Vaticanus gr. 2223: i) f. 1r–4r: Dedication letter to Constantine XI Palaeologus; ii) f.
5r–68v: Prolegomena to Logic and to Porphyry’s Isagoge; iii) f. 69r–146r: Commen-
tary on the Categories; iv) f. 147r–212r: Commentary on the De Interpretatione.⁸

6 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie, 1936, V, n.1.

7 As can be seen in cod. Vat. gr., f. 8r (cf. Schol., Ars Vet., p. 13 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie), Scholarius copied
two notes concerning the aims of logic and grammar in all of the manuscripts: (a) “Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἡ
μὲν λογικὴ ὑπηρετεῖ ταῖς ἄλλαις ἐπιστήμαις ὅσον πρὸς τὸ ἐπίστασθαι, ἡ δὲ γραμματική ὅσον πρὸς
τὴν διδασκαλίαν”; (b) “Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἡ γραμματικὴ διδάσκει ἡμᾶς τὸ ὄργανον τοῦ διδάσκειν· ὃ δὴ
διδάσκειν ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστι πρὸς τὴν κτῆσιν τῆς ἐπιστήμης. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸ ὄργανον τῆς διδασκαλίας
ἐστὶν ὁ εὐσύνετος λόγος, ὡς ἐν τῷ Περὶ αἰσθήσεως καὶ αἰσθητοῦ λέγεται, διὰ τοῦτο ἡ γραμματικὴ περὶ
τούτου τοῦ λόγου οὖσα τοῦ σημαντικοῦ, γέγονεν ἡμῖν ἀναγκαία”. This derives from Radpulphus Brito
(see Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 288 and 299; see also J. A. Demetracopoulos 2017c). Still, he does
not transfer to other manuscripts a note concerning the explanation of a passage found in f. 158r (cf.
Schol., Ars Vet., p. 258 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie, revised transcription: “Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καλῶς προσέθηκε
τῷ ὁρισμῷ τοῦ λόγου τὸ ‘τὶ τῶν μερῶν αὐτοῦ σημαίνειν κεχωρισμένον’, ὥσπερ εἰδικήν τινα διαφορὰν
αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὔνομα καὶ τὸ ῥῆμα· ἰδοὺ γὰρ τὸ ὄνομα, κἂν ἁπλοῦν εἴποις κἂν σύνθετον, ἤγουν ἢ τὸ ‘μῦς’
ἢ τὸ ‘ἐπακτροκέλης’, ὅλον μὲν σημαίνει ὅ τί ποτε βούλεται σημαίνειν ἑκάτερον· ἀποκοπέντων δὲ τῶν
μερῶν αὐτοῦ, οὔτε τὸ ὅλον σημαίνει λοιπόν, οὔτε τὰ μέρη σημαίνουσιν ὅπερ ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ ἐσήμαινον·
οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ ‘υς’ σημαίνει τι ἐν τῷ ‘μῦς’. Ἢ βέλτιον εἰπεῖν· ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἁπλοῖς ὀνόμασι τὰ μέρη, ᾗ
ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς, οὐδὲν σημαίνει· ἐν δὲ τοῖς συνθέτοις σημαίνουσι μὲν ᾗ εἰσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς
οὐ σημαίνουσιν τοῦτο ἐκεῖνο, ἀλλ’ ἕτερόν τι· τὰ δὲ μέρη τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἔξω αὐτοῦ ταὐτόν
τι σημαίνουσιν”).
8 See Lilla 1985, 269–272; Cataldi Palau 1995, 61, 70, 88, 93.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 95

b) Barberinus gr. 124: i) f. 1r–74v: Prolegomena to Logic and to Porphyry’s Isagoge; ii)
f. 74v–161v: Commentary on the Categories; iii) f. 162r–240r: Commentary on the
De Interpretatione.⁹
c) Parisinus gr. 1941: i) f. 1r–3r: Dedication letter to Constantine XI Palaeologus; ii)
f. 9r–55r: Prolegomena to Logic and Porphyry’s Isagoge; iii) f. 55r–103r: Commen-
tary on the Categories; iv) f. 104r–145v: Commentary on the De Interpretatione;
v) f. 146r–146v: a few philosophical fragments written by Scholarius’ hand in a
different style and time (smaller letters, no margins); vi) f. 147r–178r: Προκοπίου
ῥήτορος Περὶ τῶν τοῦ δεσπότου Ἰουστινιανοῦ κτισμάτων, written by a different
hand.¹⁰
d) Mutinensis 50: Inter alia: i) f. 7r–9v: Dedication letter to Constantine XI Palaeolo-
gus; ii) f. 10r–65r: Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge; iii) f. 66r–129r: Commen-
tary on the Categories; iv) f. 137r–190r: Commentary on the De Interpretatione.¹¹

The above list of manuscripts probably reflects their chronological order. The three
latter manuscripts share several similarities; this indicates that the Barberinus played
a key role in the creation of the other two – more than the Vaticanus did.
The revision and collation of Vaticanus, Barberinus and Parisinus by Scholarius
indicate his effort to produce a perfect, final copy. We find marginal comments and
corrections written by his hand at different times, until the creation of codex Muti-
nensis, some of them common in all, some not. Scholarius revises the text over and
over again during a certain period of time. Most of his corrections have to do with
translation mistakes (very often, the rendering of grammatical cases), additions for
facilitating understanding, personal notes and changes of titles, but with no major
corrections in the terminology or syntax. Cod. Mutinensis contains the last and more
complete text; it is a manuscript that offers an exposition of the entire Aristotelian
Logic except Analytica posteriora.

1.2 Other manuscripts

Scholarius’ Ars vetus is found in two more manuscripts. The first is cod. Escorial gr.
193,¹² a 16th century manuscript written by Nicolaos Mourmouris and Pedro Carn-
abaca. It contains: i) f. 1r–58v Prolegomena to Logic and to Porphyry’s Isagoge; ii) f.
58v–106v: Commentary on the Categories; iii) f. 106v–140v: Commentary on the De In-

9 Cf. Mercati 1920, 125. There is also a very short description of the content of the manuscript in f. 1r
by its 16th century owner Claudio Betti. I am elaborating a better description in my doctoral thesis.
10 A brief description of the manuscript is offered in Omont 1888, 168.
11 Puntoni 1965, 414–416. I am elaborating a full description of this manuscript in my doctoral thesis.
12 For a full description of the manuscript see de Andrés 1965, 22–23.
96 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

terpretatione; iv) f. 143v–186r: Anonymous scholia on Analytica priora¹³ and v) f. 191r–

214v: Alexander of Aphrodisias’ Liber de Anima.
The second is cod. Barberinus gr. 34 (17th century), which is a copy of the Vat-
ican’s. It reproduces the main text, without the additions and corrections found in
the margins and without the letter to Constantine XI Palaeologus. These manuscripts
show that Scholarius’ commentary was used by some of his posteriors, even centuries
after his death, for teaching and/or studying purposes.
Another testimony is Vaticanus gr. 1777, a 15th century collection of excerpts,¹⁴
most of which come from Scholarius. This manuscript is probably the one used by
Bonifacio Bembo for his translation of Scholarius’ Ars vetus into Latin in the late 15th
century.¹⁵

2 Scholarius’ aims and method

In his prefatory letter to Constantine XI Palaeologus, Scholarius stresses the impor-
tance of the study of logic:

[…] πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιστημῶν κτῆσιν συμβάλλεται καὶ […] ταύτης ἀγνοουμένης ἢ μὴ
γινωσκομένης ὡς δεῖ, ἀδύνατον ἡντινοῦν ἐπιστήμην λαβεῖν καὶ ἔχειν καλῶς […]¹⁶

[Logic] contributes to the acquisition of the other sciences; if ignored or not learned properly, it
is impossible to gain knowledge of and comprehend any science.

Being aware of this, he says, he studied it thoroughly, using the best literature on the
subject,¹⁷ i. e. both Greek and foremost Latin works.¹⁸ Scholarius stresses that the Latin
scholars had read all the works on logic – not only those written in Latin but also Latin
translations from Greek and “Arabic and Persian”. For this reason, they acquired a
sound knowledge of logic; they could advance the best arguments and draw their own
conclusions.¹⁹ That is, he explains, why he decided to rely mostly on Latin writings to
compose his own handbook of logic.²⁰
Scholarius explains why he produced this commentary, justifying the “new way”
of text explanation and his selection of sources. A decade later (1443/44), Scholarius

13 According to Ch. Au. Brandis, Scholia in Aristotelem, in ed. Im. Bekker, Aristotelis opera, vol. IV,
Berolini 1836, p. 139–251, this is a collection of excerpts coming from more than one scholars.
14 For a description of the manuscript, see P. Canart 1970, 112–116.
15 Cf. Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 314–317.
16 Schol., Ars vet., 4, 25–28 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
17 Schol., Ars vet., 3, 2–12 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
18 Schol., Ars vet., 3, 13–15 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
19 Schol., Ars vet., 3, 15–30 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
20 Schol., Ars vet., 3, 4–30 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 97

would address Palaeologus again, in his Κατὰ τῶν Πλήθωνος ἀποριῶν ἐπ’ Ἀριστοτέλει,
a long refutation of Plethon’s De differentiis.²¹ In both cases he appeals to the em-
peror’s wisdom in view of the expected reaction by other scholars who would oppose
his method in the former work²² and those who would insist on supporting Pletho’s
arguments against Aristotle in the latter, in spite of the fact that no one before him
defended Aristotle in such a true and complete way.²³
Scholarius declares that he wants to set an example for his contemporary and
later scholars.²⁴ Although he knows that this attempt is not welcomed by his fellow
scholars in Greece, he claims that this work will prove valuable not only to those of
them that are wise and seek the truth, but, unexpectedly, to the Latins as well.²⁵
After explaining the differences between the traditional exegetical method of his
fellow Byzantines and his own, Scholarius presents the content of his logical courses.
It included, he says, four parts, the content of which is based on Porphyry’s Isagoge
and Aristotle’s Categories, De Interpretatione, and Analytica posteriora. Concerning
the Analytica posteriora, he had already translated Thomas Aquinas’ Commentary.²⁶
Aquinas’ exegetical contribution, he explains, had to be shared by those who did not
know Latin.²⁷
Scholarius analyses the method and the structure of his Ars vetus.

[…] ἐν τοῖς πλείοσιν ἐκτρεπόμενοί τε κενοδοξίαν καὶ σοφίας δόξαν ἥκιστα προσποιούμενοι, οὔτε
τοὺς ἄλλους ἐλέγχειν οὔτε αὐτοὶ ἐπιδείκνυσθαι ἠξιώσαμεν, ἀλλ’ ἠγαπήσαμεν τὰς ἀληθεστέρας
ἐξηγήσεις δοκούσας εἶναι τῶν ἐγνωσμένων, ταύτας τιθέναι, οὐδὲν προσδιοριζόμενοι οὗ τέ εἰσι
καὶ ὅτου χάριν τῶν ἄλλων πλέον ἐδοκιμάσθησαν.²⁸

In most cases, eschewing vanity and making no pretences of appearing wise, I decided neither
to refute others nor to show off, but confined myself to expounding those among the best-known
explanations that seemed to me to be truest, without specifying in which text they are found, or
for what reason they were approved more than the others.

21 Schol., Κατὰ τῶν Πλήθωνος ἀποριῶν ἐπ’ Ἀριστοτέλει, ed. L. Petit, X.-A. Sideridès, M. Jugie,
Γενναδίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου ἅπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα. Œuvres complètes de Gennade Scholarios, vol. IV,
Paris 1935, pp. 1–116.
22 Schol., Ars vet., 3, 34–4, 6 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
23 Schol., Κατὰ τῶν Πλήθωνος ἀποριῶν ἐπ’ Ἀριστοτέλει 1, 1–10, 14 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
24 Schol., Ars Vet., 4, 4–5 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
25 Schol., Ars Vet., 6, 6–7 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
26 Schol., Ars vet., 4, 33–34 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie. No manuscript of this translation is extant. Cf. J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2014c, 825.
27 Schol., Ars vet., 5, 2–4 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
28 Schol., Ars vet., 5, 28–32 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
98 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

He announces that, in a few cases he will mention different opinions concerning the
discussed subject and will express his own view,²⁹ whereas in other cases he will dis-
cuss the issues briefly and clearly.³⁰
Regarding the structure of his exposition, Scholarius says that he interprets Aris-
totle’s logical texts in a way previously unknown to the Greeks (in fact, mostly based
on Thomas Aquinas), namely by dividing his commentary into lectiones (ἀναγνώσεις).
In these lectiones, he says, he firstly introduces the matter (προθεωρία) and then offers
an outline of the text (ἡ τοῦ γράμματος διαίρεσις γενικῶς). Then he provides a detailed
division and interpretation of the text (διαιρεῖται τὸ γράμμα εἰδικῶς καὶ ἑρμηνεύεται),
and continues “τῷ λατινικῷ τρόπῳ”, using the quaestio format.³¹ Explaining the De
Interpretatione, Scholarius divides it into five parts and fourteen lectiones.³² In the

29 For example, in Schol., Ars Vet., 337, 33–339, 6, he opposes Ammonius’ opinion on the authenticity
of the last part of Aristotle’s work by providing his own arguments. (see Schol., Ars vet., 5, 26–28
Petit/Sideridès/Jugie). In a few cases, he defends Aristotle, either in the main text or in the margins.
For example, in Schol., Ars Vet., 266, 19–21 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie, he justifies Aristotle for not including
in the De Interpretatione any analysis of the reason why sometimes many can be one, since this had
been explored in Metaphysics, Bk. VII and VIII, as a comment on a metaphysical, not a logical issue.
Further on, in a marginal note in f. 158r of Vat. gr. 2223, (cf. n. 4), Scholarius expresses his opinion
about Aristotle’s choice to include in the De Interpretatione a clarification of the difference between
the parts of simple words and the parts of composed words.
30 Schol., Ars Vet., 5, 32–34 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie. For example, Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982,
269, have identified passages abridged from Radulphus Brito in Schol., Ars Vet., 206, 25–207, 2 Pe-
tit/Sideridès/Jugie. Likewise, in Schol., Ars Vet., 337, 33–339, 6 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie he reproduces a
passage from Ammonius’ commentary on the De Interpretatione (251, 25–252, 13, ed. A. Busse, Ammo-
nius in Aristotelis De Interpretatione Commentarius [CAG 4.5] Berlin 1897, p. 1–272) and expresses his
thoughts on the reasons why Ammonius and other scholars challenged the authorship of 23a27–23b
(ed. L. Minio-Paluello, Aristotelis Categoriae et liber De Interpretatione, Oxonii 1956, p. 69–72). Besides
Ammonius, Scholarius refers to Psellus’ opinion, (In “De Int.”, Oiv r, 22–Ovi r, 41 Manutius), who de-
voted the last pages of his paraphrasis to show that this passage cannot be genuine.
31 Schol., Ars Vet., 5, 17–25 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie. On the Late Byzantine reception of the quaestio for-
mat, see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012e, 334–344.
32 Aristotle (De Int. 16a 1–2 Minio-Paluello) begins his work with stating that he intends to deal with
five things: “Πρῶτον δεῖ θέσθαι τί ὄνομα καὶ τί ῥῆμα, ἔπειτὰ τί ἐστιν ἀπόφασις καὶ κατάφασις καὶ
ἀπόφανσις καὶ λόγος”, although the actual order is ὄνομα, ῥῆμα, λόγος, and ἀπόφανσις, κατάφασις καὶ
ἀπόφασις being two types of ἀπόφανσις. Ammonius, the anonymous commentator of Paris. gr. 2064,
Leo Magentinus and Psellus used as subtitles the first four of these subject-matters in the first part of
their commentaries. Scholarius uses two subtitles, Περὶ λόγου (Ars Vet., 256, 2 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie)
and Περὶ ἀποφάνσεως (Ars Vet., 260, 10 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie), which are found only in cod. Mutinen-
sis 50. The division of the De Interpretatione into five chapters or parts is found in Greek commentaries;
it goes back to Ammonius, probably even to Proclus (see L. Tarán, Anonymous Commentary on Aris-
totle’s De Interpretatione (codex Parisinus Graecus 2064), Hain 1978, pp. xvi-xviii). The five chapters
or parts are: (a) 16a1–17a37 (on the principles of the enunciations); (b) 17a38–19b19 (on simple enun-
ciations); (c) 19b19–21a33 (on composed enunciations); (d) 21a34–23a26 (on modal propositions); (e)
23a27–24b9 (on multiple enunciations).
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 99

first five lectiones, he follows the division of Guillelmus Arnaldus’ Expositio of the De
Interpretatione:³³

Table 1. Division of lectiones 1–5

Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 1–273, 4 Arn., Exp. Art. Vet., lectiones 1–5
238, 1–246, 10, f. 47v col. a–48v, col. b,
Lect. 1 Lect. 1
246, 11–250, 26, f. 48v, col. b–50r, col. a,
Lect. 2 Lect. 2
250, 27–255, 39, f. 50r, col. a–51r, col. b,
Lect. 3 Lect. 3
256, 1–262, 28, f. 51r, col. b–52r. col. b,
Lect. 4 Lect. 4
262, 29–273, 4, f. 52r, col. b–53v, col. a,
Lect. 5 Lect. 5 ³⁴

Lectiones 6–10 follow Aquinas’ lectiones I 10, I 11–II 2. Of the lectiones 7–10, one
lectio comprises two lectiones from Aquinas as follows:³⁵
The Latin pattern of his division of lectiones 11–14 remains unknown.
Dividing the De Interpretatione and their commentaries into books, chapters or
parts was very common among Aristotle’s commentators, both Greek and Latin. West-
ern scholars preferred Boethius’ division into two books; this might go back to Alexan-
der of Aphrodisias.³⁶ Greek commentators such as Ammonius,³⁷ Stephanus of Alexan-

33 This commentary is found in an edition dated in 1507 under the name of Aegidius Romanus (Expo-
sitio domini Egidij Romani in Artem ueterem videlicet in vniuersalibus: Predicamentis: Postpredica-
mentis: Sex principiis & Periermenias, Rome 1507). Gauthier 1989, 69*–72 and Tabarroni 1988, 374–
381, have shown that the author of the commentary is not Aegidius Romanus but Guillelmus Arnaldus.
34 The lectiones in Ps.-Aegidius’ edition of 1507 are marked with ornate initials.
35 Cf. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010c, 88–89, n. 75.
36 Kesisoglou and Papatsimpas 2012, 29. First book: 16a1–19b5; second book: 19b5–24b9.
37 Ammonius (In “De Int”. 7, 15–8, 23, Busse) divides Aristotle’s De Interpretatione to four chapters
(κεφάλαια): (a) 8, 29–86, 10; (b) 86, 11–159, 9; (c) 159, 10–213, 34; and (d) 214, 1–251, 9, rejecting the
authenticity of the last part of the De Interpretatione (23a27–24b9 Minio-Paluello). So, at the beginning
of his commentary on this part (Amm., In “De Int.” 251, 10–272, 32 Busse) he notes that, although he
believes that this part was not written by Aristotle but by someone else after him, who wrote it either
for exercise reasons or to discredit Aristotle, he nevertheless comments on it (Amm. De Inter. 251, 25–
252, 27 Busse).
100 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

dria,³⁸ the anonymous commentator in Par. gr. 2064,³⁹ Michael Psellus,⁴⁰ Leo Magenti-
nus⁴¹ and Scholarius himself, divide the work into five chapters or parts⁴² (Ammo-
nius calls these parts “chapters”, κεφάλαια, whereas all subsequent commentators
call them “sections” or “parts”, τμήματα.) Scholarius’ division is as follows:
1) Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 1–273, 4: lectiones 1–5
2) Schol., Ars Vet., 273, 5–303, 28: lectiones 6–9
3) Schol., Ars Vet., 303, 29–321, 22: lectiones 10–11
4) Schol., Ars Vet., 321, 23–337, 13: lectiones 12–13

38 Stephanus (In “De Int.”, ed. M. Hayduck, Stephani in librum Aristotelis De Interpretatione commen-
tarium (CAG 18), Berolini 1885, pp. 1–68, 15) also keeps the division to five parts, but he divides them
to acts (πράξεις), too: a) <Ἀρχὴ τοῦ a τμήματος>: 1, 4–24, 6 [Πρᾶξις α: 1, 4–6, 32 (De Int. 16a1–18),
Πρᾶξις β. Περὶ ὀνόματος 6, 33–10, 18 (16a19–32), Πρᾶξις σὺν θεῷ γ: 10, 19–12, 23 (16a33–b5), Πρᾶξις
σὺν θεῷ δ. Περὶ ῥήματος, 12, 24– 15, 4 (16b6–25), <Πρᾶξις ε>. Περὶ λόγου, 15, 5–19, 30 (16b26–17a14),
Πρᾶξις σὺν θεῷ Ϛ: 19, 31–21, 38 (17a15–25), Πρᾶξις σὺν θεῷ ζ : 22, 1–24, 6 (17a26–37)] b) Ἀρχὴ σὺν θεῷ
τοῦ β τμήματος: 24, 7–39, 20 [<Πρᾶξις α>: 24, 6–29, 8 (17a38–b11), <Πρᾶξις β: 29, 9–32, 18 (17b12–37),
<Πρᾶξις γ>: 32, 19–34, 4 (17b38–18a27), <Πρᾶξις δ>: 34, 5–37, 29 (18a28–19a22), <Πρᾶξις ε>: 37, 30–3,
20 (19a23–b19)], c) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ γ τμήματος: 39, 21–52, 34 [<Πρᾶξις α>: 39, 21–45, 11 (19b19–20a2), <Πρᾶξις
β>: 45, 12–50, 27 (20a3–21a5), <Πρᾶξις γ>: 50, 28–52, 34 (21a6–33)], d) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ δ τμήματος: 53, 1–63,
3 [<Πρᾶξις α>: 53, 1–55, 22 (21a34–35), <Πρᾶξις β>: 55, 23–58, 14 (21a34–37), <Πρᾶξις γ>: 58, 15–60, 20
(22a38–b28), <Πρᾶξις δ>: 60, 21–63, 3 (22b29–23a26)], e) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ε τμήματος: 63, 4–66, 3 [<Πρᾶξις α>:
63, 5–66, 3 (23a27–b31), <Πρᾶξις β>: 66, 4–68, 15 (23b32–24b9)].
39 Anonymous, In “De Int.”, Tarán 1978, divides his commentary as follows: a) 1, 3–30, 5; b) 30, 6–68,
16: Τμῆμα β’ περὶ τῶν ἐξ ὑποκειμένου καὶ κατηγορουμένου, c) 69, 1–100, 16: Ἀρχὴ τοῦ γ’ τμήματος <Περὶ
τῶν ἐκ γ’ προσκατηγορουμένου>, d) 101, 1–115, 6: Ἀρχὴ τοῦ δ’ τμήματος, e) 115, 7–120, 14: Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ε’
τμήματος.
40 Psellus’ division in his edited paraphrasis runs as follows (ed. A. Manutius, Ammonii Hermeiae
commentaria in librum “Peri Hermeneias”. Magentini metropolitae Mytelinensis in eundem enarratio.
Michaelis Pselli Paraphrasis in librum “Peri Hermeneias”. Ammonius Hermeiae in “Decem categoriis”,
Venice 1503): (a) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ πρώτου τμήματος: Mi v. 1– Mv v. 48; (b) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ δευτέρου τμήματος: Mv
v. 49–Ni r. 32; (c) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ τρίτου τμήματος: Ni r. 33–Oi v. 7; (iv) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ τετάρτου τμήματος: Oi v.
8–Oiv r. 20; (v) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ πέμπτου τμήματος: Oiv r.21–Ovi r. 41; see Ierodiakonou 2002a, 162.
41 There is still no edition of Leo Magentinus’ commentary. I rely on cod. Vat. gr. 244 (s. XIII). (After f.
129v, the numbering continues with 120r, not 130r; the second ten of 120 is noted as f. 120r or v; (b), f.
121r or v (b) and so on.) Magentinus divides his commentary as follows: (a) f. 93r–106v: Ἀριστοτέλους
Περὶ Ἑρμηνείας τμῆμα πρῶτον; (b) f. 106v–117v: Ἀρχὴ τοῦ δευτέρου τμήματος. Περὶ τῶν ἐξ ὑποκειμένου
καὶ κατηγορουμένου προτάσεων ἢ ἀποφάνσεων; (c) f. 117v–128v: Τμῆμα τρίτον; (d) f. 128v–127r (b):
Ἀρχὴ τοῦ τετάρτου τμήματος. Περὶ τῶν μετὰ τρόπου προτάσεων; (e) f. 127v (b)–137r: Περὶ ἑρμηνείας
τμῆμα ε.
42 There are nine surviving Greek commentaries on the De Interpretatione (by Ammonius, Stephanus
of Alexandria, the anonymous commentator in Parisinus gr. 2064, Michael Psellus, Leo Magentinus,
Scholarius, Olympiodorus, the anonymous author of cod. Coisl. 160, ff. 1r–96r, and Plut. 72 1, ff. 123r–
149r, and John Italos). Olympiodorus (preserved in Urb. gr. 35 and edited by Tarán 1978) and John
Italos (preserved in Par.gr. 1843 and edited by Brandis 1836) survived only in fragments; therefore,
it is not possible to examine their style and content in full. The proem of the commentary on the De
Interpretatione of the anonymous author of Coisl. 160 and Plut. 72.1 (partly edited by Bandis 1836, pp.
93–94) also divided the De Interpretatione to five chapters.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 101

5) Schol., Ars Vet., 337, 14–348, 40: lectio 14.

The sources of lectio 1 were mainly Latin;⁴³ nevertheless, the proem of his commentary
on the De Interpretatione follows the Greek pattern:⁴⁴

Table 2. Division of lectiones 6–10

Schol., Ars Vet., 273, 5–308, 22, plus

Aquinas, In “De Int.”, lectiones 6–10
308, 23–311
273, 5–280, 20, Lect. 6 Lect. I 10
280, 21–287, 39, Lect. 7 Lect. I 11–12
288, 1–296, 3, Lect. 8 Lect. I 13–14
296, 4–303, 28, Lect. 9 Lect. I 15–II 1
303, 29–308, 22, plus 308, 23–311, 26, Lect. II 2 plus a part from one yet uniden-
Lect. 10 tified continuatio⁴⁵

1) the subject-matter of the work (Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 6–10: Ἡ μὲν ὑλικὴ αἰτία τούτου
τοῦ βιβλίου […])
2) its usefulness (Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 9–13: Ἡ δὲ τελικὴ [αἰτία] […])
3) how the De Interpretatione relates to the other Aristotelian works on logic (Schol.,
Ars Vet., 238, 10–20: […] τάττεται διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ πάρον βιβλίον πρὸς τὰ βιβλία
ἐκεῖνα)
4) the title (Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 14–22: Ἐπιγράφεται δὲ τὸ βιβλίον […])
5) who the author is (Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 8: Ἡ δὲ ποιητικὴ αἰτία […])
6) division into chapters (Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 5–6: […] ἡ εἰς τὰ κεφάλαια καὶ τὰ μέρη
διαίρεσις […])
7) forma tractandi (Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 22–239, 5, 239, 26–241, 25: […] τὸ εἶδος τῆς
μεταχειρίσεως […])
8) which part of philosophy this writing falls under (Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 23–25: Τίνι
δὲ μέρει τῆς φιλοσοφίας ὑπόκειται […]).

43 Cf. sections 4.2.1–3 below.

44 Scholarius mainly discusses the topics given by the anonymous author of the commentary found
in cod. Coisl. gr. 160 and Plut. 72.1 (Brandis 1836, p. 93). Their only difference is that the anonymous
author has one topic more: the “χαρακτήρ”, meaning the style of the book. Ammonius in his proem
(Amm., In “De Int.”, 1, 17–20), says that he will discuss five topics in his introduction: Ἀρχὴ τοίνυν
ἡμῖν γενέσθω τῆς ἐξηγήσεως ἡ τῶν πέντε κεφαλαίων ὑφήγησις τῶν προλαμβάνεσθαι τῆς τοῦ ῥητοῦ
σαφηνείας εἰωθότων. Likewise, the anonymous author in Coisl. 160 and Plut. 72.1 (Brandis 1836, p.
93) starts by stating that in his proem he will discuss the “εἰωθότα”, indicating that those topics were
common in the previous Greek commentaries. Ammonius’ five chapters discuss: i) the subject under
discussion of the work; ii) how this work connects with the other two Aristotelian books in logic; iii)
information on the title; iv) who the author is and v) the proper division into chapters.
45 Gauthier 1989, 5–56.
102 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

Scholarius declares his work to be his own creation, regardless of it being a com-
pilation of the thoughts of others. At the head of each Part he writes: “Scholarius’
Ἐξήγησις”. Likewise, at the end of each Part, he notes: “This is the end of Scholarius’
Ἐξήγησις…”. Although he mentions that he uses some Latin sources, he does not name
them⁴⁶. His reference to Aquinas regards only his own translation of Aquinas’ com-
mentary on the Analytica posteriora.⁴⁷ This reference is reticent on Aquinas’ commen-
tary on the De Interpretatione, which Scholarius silently but meticulously exploited.
A difference between Scholarius’ Προλεγόμενα in Porphyry’s Isagoge and com-
mentary on the Categories and on the De Interpretatione is that, although all three
texts are mainly translations from Latin authors, it is only in the first that he occa-
sionally names some of his sources. In the marginal notes of cod. Vat. gr. (f. 5r) and
Par. gr. (f. 9r), he mentions that the passage which follows (also written in the mar-
gins) derives from Aquinas. He also refers to Aquinas in Ars Vet., 18, 29. As for Brito, he
mentions him only twice: once by his name and once as τὶς λεπτὸς διδάσκαλος.⁴⁸ In his
exposition of the Categories and the De Interpretatione, Scholarius does not seem to
feel obliged to mention the names of his other sources or note who says what, because,
as he had explained in his dedicatory letter, his aim was simply the dissemination of
the excellent exegetical work of the Latins.

3 Translation issues
3.1 Style: Greek and Latin

It seems that Scholarius’ main Latin sources are five: for Porphyry’s Isagoge and the
Categories: Thomas Aquinas and Radulphus Brito, and for the De Interpretatione:
Thomas Aquinas, Radulphus Brito, Guillelmus Arnaldus, the anonymous author of
the Commentary on De Interpretatione in Padova Bibl. Univ. 1589,⁴⁹ and at least one
unidentified continuatio to Aquinas’ commentary on the De Interpretatione.
A simple reading of Scholarius’ text makes it obvious that it is not an original
Greek text, but a translation from Latin. It is clear that he did not rephrase the achieve-
ments of the Latin authors he studied; he simply translated their work. As Ebbesen and
Pinborg⁵⁰ have pointed out concerning the Prolegomena to Logic, Scholarius trans-
lates from Brito’s Ars vetus word for word, preserving the Latin syntax, and thereby

46 Cf. supra, p. 96, n. 20.

47 Schol., Ars Vet., 4, 33–5, 2 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
48 Schol., Ars Vet., 80, 1, and 60, 6. Cf. Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 263–266.
49 Gauthier 1989, 65–66 has argued that this author is the 13th century professor of logic John Pagus,
but Hansen 2012, 25–29 has disproved this.
50 Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 263–273.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 103

often making the text difficult for Greeks to understand. In addition, he often seems
to be unfamiliar with certain Latin and Greek philosophical terms, facing difficulties
in rendering Latin expressions into comprehensible Greek.⁵¹

3.2 Omissions

There are a few omissions in Scholarius’ translations. In three cases of his exposition
of the De Interpretatione⁵² he leaves a blank space for the number of the book of Aristo-
tle’s Metaphysics,⁵³ presumably in order to fill in it later. Those blank spaces are found
in all the manuscripts. In his translation of Aquinas’ commentary on the De anima and
the De ente et essentia, Scholarius leaves blank spaces not only for the book numbers
of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Physics and Ethics⁵⁴ but also for Latin words, which he ei-
ther could not read or did not know how to render into Greek. Those spaces also have
never been filled, except for a single case, namely in his translation of Aquinas’ com-
mentary on De anima – he filled in it when he was copying his older manuscript.⁵⁵
A possible explanation for these omissions is that Latin scholars referred to trans-
lations from Greek and Arabic texts, whose numbering of the books of Aristotle’s writ-
ings was in some cases different from that in the Greek tradition, thus rendering the
identification of the passages a hard task for a Greek scholar; e. g., Aquinas used to
refer to Albert the Great’s or to his own commentaries on Aristotle’s works rather than
to the original text of Aristotle, depending on what was available to him at the time of
producing this or that writing of his.⁵⁶

51 Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 270–273.

52 Schol., Ars Vet., 273, 28; 275, 3; 302, 20.
53 There is also a similar omission in Schol., Ars Vet., 168, 26 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
54 For Metaphysics: Schol., In DEE, 190, 28 and 205, 2 (ed. L. Petit, X.-A. Sideridès, M. Jugie, Γενναδίου
τοῦ Σχολαρίου ἅπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα. Œuvres complètes de Gennade Scholarios, vol. VI, Paris 1933);
Schol., translation of Aquinas’ commentary on the De an., 400, 26, 487, 1, 545, 21, 567, 26 (ed. L. Petit, X.-
A. Sideridès, M. Jugie, Γενναδίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου ἅπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα. Œuvres complètes de Gennade
Scholarios, vol. VI, Paris 1933), Schol., Contra Plethonem, 29, 6 and 106, 9 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie). For
Physics: Schol., In DEE, 206, 17 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie, Schol., De an., 354, 13 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie (in
this case, although there is a blank space in cod. Plut. 86.19, Pal. gr. 235, which is a copy of Plut., fills
in the blank space). For the Nicomachean Ethics: Schol., In DEE, 184, 2 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
55 Schol., De an., 452, 20 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie: Aqu., De an., II 14, 399, ed. Pirotta, In Aristotelis libros
De Anima commentarium, Turin 1948, 472, 23 (et putredines quercuum) : II 18, 470 (pulpi), 491, 4: II 23,
538 (ex impressione), 563, 5: III 14, 804 (perficitur), 563, 14: III 14, 805 (arduum).
56 Cf. R.-A. Gauthier, Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Somme contre les Gentils. Introduction, Paris 1993, 77–
92. On the reflection of this problem on Scholarius’ Greek rendering of Aquinas’ writings, see J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2017c.
104 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

4 Scholarius’ sources
4.1 Greek sources
Very few – yet interesting – things in the Commentary on the De Interpretatione are
Scholarius’ own additions. These loci are easily discernible, as they are distinctively
Greek in syntax and vocabulary. Sometimes Scholarius notes in the margins that a
passage from his handbook is a personal comment of his.⁵⁷ The interesting thing re-
garding his Greek sources is that, when quoting from Greek scholars, he uses their
names, usually doing so in order to oppose them.

4.1.1 Psellus

Cod. Barb. gr. 164 is a 13th century manuscript which contains: i) parts of Psellus’
paraphrasis of the De Interpretatione; ii) parts of the De Interpretatione with Psellus’
and Scholarius’ scholia; iii) the Analytica priora with Leo Magentinus scholia; iv) the
Analytica posteriora with scholia; v) the Topica with scholia from Scholarius and Leo
Magentinus; vi) the Sophistical Refutations and vii) a fragment of Porphyry’s scholia
in the Categories.⁵⁸
In the folia containing the De Interpretatione, there are several interlinear and
marginal scholia added by Scholarius himself, probably written at different times.
Scholarius’ handwriting in this manuscript seems to be quite close to his handwrit-
ing in Vat. gr. 2223, which is probably the earliest of the extant versions of Scholarius’
Ars vetus;⁵⁹ this suggests that they are both part of Scholarius’ early engagement with
philosophy.
There are two cases where Scholarius mentions Psellus.⁶⁰ In the first case, he uses
Psellus’ explanation as to how “the many” can sometimes be “one”. In the second

57 Schol., Ars Vet., 266, 3–10 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie: ”Ἰστέον ὅτι ταῦτα, ὡς ὁ Ψελλός φησιν, οὕτω
τέθειται. Βούλεται δὲ λέγειν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος τὸ μὲν κυρίως εἶναι ἓν ὡς οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ μετέχον
συνθέσεως, τὸ δὲ τῇ συνθέσει ἕν, ἢ τῇ συνθέσει τοῦ πράγματος, ἢ τῇ συνθέσει τῶν λόγων. Πεπονθὸς
μὲν οὖν τὴν ἑνότητα καλεῖ τὸ ἐκ πραγμάτων συντεθειμένον, οἷον τὸ σῶμα ἐκ τῶν στοιχείων, ἢ τὸν
Σωκράτην ἐκ τοῦ ζῴου καὶ τοῦ λευκοῦ καὶ τοῦ τριπήχεος· ἔχον δὲ τὴν ἑνότητα λέγει τὸ ἐκ τῶν λόγων
συντεθειμένον, ἤγουν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ τοῦ λογικοῦ ζῴου καὶ τοῦ θνητοῦ· ταῦτα γὰρ λόγοι τινές εἰσιν
ἓν πρᾶγμα σημαίνοντες […]”. This passage is an addition written in the margin in cod. Vat. gr, Par. gr.
and Mut., whereas in cod. Bar. gr. it joins part of the main text, with a note in the margin of f.181r:
“Τοῦτο σχόλιόν ἐστιν, ἕως τοῦ ‘καὶ ὅτι τὰ σύμπαντα’”. Then, Scholarius quotes a passage from Psell.,
In “De Int.”, Miv v, 42–48 Manutius. In this case, he names his source and distinguishes his comment
from the text of his source.
58 For a description of the manuscript see Mogenet 1989, vol. 2, 1–2.
59 See supra, p. 94.
60 Schol., Ars Vet., 266, 3–19, 338, 8–11 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 105

case, Psellus is mentioned as one of the scholars that challenge the authenticity of
23a27–23b4. In this case, Scholarius argues that Psellus, Ammonius, and some other
commentators, are wrong in arguing so.⁶¹

4.1.2 Ammonius

Scholarius comments on Ammonius’ point that the passage 23a 27–b 2 of De Inter-
pretatione is not genuine. First, he reproduces the content of Ammonius’ passage⁶²
on the issue; then he refutes this argument.⁶³ Concerning Ammonius’ argument that
Porphyry should be included among those who challenged the authenticity of the pas-
sage, because he does not comment on it, Scholarius replies that: (a) this passage is so
clear that there is no need for explanation, and (b) Porphyry never states that, to him,
this passage does not seem genuine.⁶⁴ So, Scholarius justifies himself before going on
to analyze this passage.

4.2 Latin sources

4.2.1 Thomas Aquinas and Radulphus Brito

As Ebbesen and Pinborg have shown,⁶⁵ Scholarius made extensive use of Radulphus
Brito’s Quaestiones super Artem Veterem and the prooemium of his Quaestiones su-
per “Sophisticos Elenchos”, with few extracts from Aquinas’ Summa contra Gentiles
and Commentary on the Analytica posteriora; Scholarius however, does not mention
it. The derivative character of his work is obvious in the Prolegomena and less obvi-
ous in the Categories. Less often, he abbreviates the quaestiones of his Latin sources.
Regarding the De Interpretatione, Demetracopoulos⁶⁶ has shown that Scholarius’ text
is, for the most part, a translation of Aquinas’ commentary. A few parts were trans-
lated word for word, others were paraphrased, and several were abridged. Syntax and
terminology betray the Latin provenance of the text.⁶⁷ The same holds for the Contin-
uatio to Aquinas’ unfinished Commentary; a small part of the Continuatio belongs to

61 Schol., Ars Vet., 338, 6–10 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.

62 Amm., In “De Int.” 251, 10–253, 2 Busse
63 Schol., Ars Vet., 338, 25–339, 6 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
64 Schol., Ars Vet., 338, 29–33 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
65 Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 267–269.
66 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010c, 88, n. 75. To Demetracopoulos’ list of findings, one can add the fol-
lowing three passages: Ars Vet., 239, 31–34 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie = Aquinas’ De Int., I 1, 4; 244, 29–34
= I 2, 5; 245, 1–13 = I 2, 6.
67 Cf. Section 3 1 above.
106 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

Radulphus Brito,⁶⁸ whereas the remaining parts belong to some so far unidentified
Latin author/-s.
This is also how Scholarius was to elaborate “his” Commentary on Aquinas’ De
ente et essentia. As has been shown by Barbour,⁶⁹ this Commentary is a translation of
Armandus de Bellovisu’s Commentary. Scholarius conceals this and dedicates the text
to his disciple, Matthew Camariotes, as his own work.⁷⁰

4.2.2 Anonymous’ commentary in cod. Padova, Biblioteca Universitaria 1589 and

cod. Palermo, Bibl. Com. 2Qq. D 142

Another Latin source of Scholarius seems to be in a text preserved in cod. Padova,

Biblioteca Universitaria 1589. This is a 14th century manuscript that contains a com-
mentary on the Isagoge, John Pagus’ commentary on the Categories, a commentary on
the De Interpretatione, and a commentary on De sex principiis.⁷¹
Part of the text of that commentary on De Interpretatione is also found in cod.
Palermo, Bibl. Com. 2Qq. D 142.⁷² According to Gauthier, this commentary on De In-
terpretatione belongs to John Pagus, like the commentary on the Categories found
in the same manuscript. For Gauthier, two things show Pagus’ authorship. First, the
colophon in f. 172v reads: “Explicit scriptum super totam Artem veterem secundum mag-
istrum Iohannem Pagum. Deo gratias. Amen”. Further, there are certain literal parallels
between the text of the Padova Commentary on Categories and the text of the Commen-
tary on the De Interpretatione in the same manuscript (for instance, the application
of the four causes to the De Interpretatione).⁷³ Hansen,⁷⁴ comparing in detail Pagus’
Commentary on Categories to the three other commentaries in the Padova manuscript,
challenged the claim that the colophon ascribes the full logical course to Pagus. This,
together with a detailed comparison of the content and the style of the Commentaries,
discredits Gauthier’s ascription of the Commentary on Categories to Pagus.

68 As Ebbesen and Pinborg 1981–1982, 269 have shown, Schol., Ars Vet., 347, 7–348, 29 Pe-
tit/Sideridès/Jugie coincides with Brito’s quaestio 24.
69 Barbour 1993c, 74–85.
70 Schol., In DEE, 178, 10–326, 37 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
71 For the description of the manuscript see Hansen 2012, 22–29.
72 Hansen 2012, 27–28.
73 Gauthier 1989, 65*–66*.
74 Hansen 2012, 25–29 and 145–158.
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 107

Regardless, what has not been noticed so far is that the Commentary of Pagus or
not-Pagus exhibits certain very close similarities to Scholarius’ proem (Lectio 1) to his
De Interpretatione commentary:

Pad. Bibl. Univ. 1589, f.69r, col. a: Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 6–239, 13:

Causa uero formalis huius libri est duplex, sicut

duplex est forma, scilicet tractandi <et> tractatus. Εἰδικὴ δὲ αἰτία ἐστὶ τὸ εἶδος τῆς πραγματείας καὶ
Forma tractandi idem est quod modus agendi, τὸ εἶδος τῆς μεταχειρίσεως. Τὸ εἶδος τῆς
qui est quintuplex, scilicet diffinitiuus, divisiuus, μεταχειρίσεως ἐστὶ ὁ ποιητικὸς τρόπος, ὅς ἐστι
probatiuus, inprobatiuus et exemplorum πενταχῶς· ὁριστικός, ἀποδεικτικός, ἐλεγκτικός,
positiuus […] Forma uero tractatus est diuisio διαιρετικὸς καὶ παραδειγμάτων ἐκθετικὸς […] Τὸ
libri in capitula et in partes, secundum quod est δὲ εἶδος τῆς πραγματείας ἐστὶν ἡ εἰς τὰ κεφάλαια
in lectionibus singulis manifestum […] Causa καὶ τὰ μέρη διαίρεσις, ὡς ἐφ’ ἑκάστου δῆλον
uero finalis est triplex, quoniam triplex est finis, γενήσεται […] Ἡ δὲ τελική ἐστι τριπλῆ· ἡ
scilicet propinquus, remotus et remotissimus: προσεχής, ἡ πόρρω καὶ ἡ ἀπωτάτω, ἤγουν ἡ
propinquus est ut perlecto libro habeamus γνῶσις τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ βιβλίω περιεχομένων, ἡ
cognitionem eorum que determinantur in hoc γνῶσις ὅλης τῆς λογικῆς καὶ ἡ τελείωσις τῆς
libro; remotus est ut per consequens habeamus λογικῆς ψυχῆς ἐν τῇ ἐπιστήμη […]
cognitionem totius logice; finis uero
remotissimus est perfectio anime rationalis […]⁷⁵

Doubtlessly, a more thorough search would turn up further common elements.

4.2.3 Guillelmus Arnaldus (Pseudo-Aegidius Romanus)

Another recognizable Latin source, which has so far passed unnoticed, too, seems to
be a text by Guillelmus Arnaldus (13th century).⁷⁶ The 1507 edition of Aegidius’ Ex-
positio in Artem veterem consists of commentaries on the Isagoge, the Categories (in-
cluding the Postpraedicamenta), the De sex principiis and the De Interpretatione. The
commentary on the De Interpretatione is on f. 47v, col. a–69v, col. b. Scholarius trans-

75 Cf. Gauthier 1989, 66*.

76 See note 33 on p. 99 above.
108 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

lates some passages from Arnaldus’ commentary. Although this is not a word for word
translation, the similarities are obvious. For example:

Arn., Exp. Art. Vet., f. 48v, col. b: Schol., Ars Vet., 246, 14–32
[…] Primo determinat de principijs materialibus
[…] ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει ἐπεξεργάζεται περὶ αὐτῶν
ipsius enunciationis. Secundo de principio
τῶν μερῶν ἢ ἀρχῶν τῆς ἀποφάνσεως ἤγουν περὶ
formali. Secunda ibi [Oratio]. Prima in duas.
τῶν δύο ὑλικῶν ἀρχῶν, τουτέστι τοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ
Primo determinat de nomine. Secundo de verbo.
τοῦ ῥήματος· εἶτα περὶ τῶν εἰδικῶν. Ἀλλὰ νῦν
Secunda ibi [Verbum]. Prima in duas. Primo
πρῶτον λέγει περὶ τῆς ὑλικῆς ἀρχῆς, ἥτις ἐστὶ τὸ
diffinit nomen et declarat diffinitionem. Secundo
ὄνομα. Περὶ τοῦτο δὲ δύο ποιεῖ. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ
remouet quedam a natura nominis. Secunda ibi
ὁρίζεται τὸ ὄνομα· δεύτερον, ἀποσκευάζεταί τινα
[Non homo]. Prima in duas. Primo diffinit.
ἐκ τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος, ἅπερ οὐκ εἰσὶν
Secundo declarat. Secunda ibi [In nomine]. Hec
ὀνόματα, ἐν τῷ· «Τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος». Τὸ
secunda in duas. Primo declarat hanc partem
πρῶτον πάλιν διαιρεῖται εἰς δύο. Πρῶτον, ὁρίζεται
[cuius nulla pars]. Secundo hanc partem [ad
τὸ ὄνομα· δεύτερον ἐξηγεῖται τὸν ὁρισμόν,
placitum]. Secunda ibi [vero placitum]. Prima in
ὁπόταν λέγῃ· «Ἐν γὰρ τῷ Κάλλιππος.» Καὶ
duas. Nam primo declarat quae partes nominis
δεύτερον πάλιν διαιρεῖται εἰς δύο· πρῶτον γὰρ
non significant separate. Secundo comparat
ἐξηγεῖται ἓν μέρος τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ· δεύτερον
partes nominis compositi ad partes nominis
ἐξηγεῖται ἕτερον μέρος. Τὸ πρῶτον διαιρεῖται εἰς
simplicis. Secunda ibi [At vero quemadmodum].
δύο. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἐξηγεῖται τὸ μέρος ἐκεῖνο
Illa pars [nono homo] habet duas. Primo remouet
τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ· δεύτερον, ἐμπίπτει εἰς τὸ
nomen infinitum. Secundo nomen obliquum.
παραβαλεῖν τὰ μέρη τοῦ ἁπλοῦ ὀνόματος πρὸς τὰ
Secunda ibi [Catonis] […]
μέρη τοῦ συνθέτου ὀνόματος. τότε ἀκολουθεῖ
ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος, ἐν ᾧ ἀφίστησί τινα ἀπὸ τοῦ
ὁρισμοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος. Καὶ διαιρεῖται εἰς δύο.
Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἀφίστησι τὰ ἀόριστα ὀνόματα·
δεύτερον, τὰ πλάγια, ἃ καλεῖ πτώσεις ὀνόματος.

One can also compare the following:

Table 3

Schol., Ars Vet. Arn. Exp. Art. Vet.

241, 30–242, 4 f. 48r, col. b–48v, col. a
243, 22–29 f. 48r, col. b
246, 14–32 f. 48v, col. b
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 109

Further, as mentioned above,⁷⁷ Scholarius follows Arnaldus’ division into lectiones

in his first five lectiones. Moreover, in Lectio I, he follows the division of Arnaldus’
chapters by analyzing the subject in the same order as Arnaldus:
1. Ὄνομα μὲν οὖν ἐστι > Nomen ergo est vox significativa secundum placitum […]
2. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ Kάλλιππος > In nomine enim quod est equiferus […]
3. Οὐ μὴν οὐδ’ ὥσπερ > At vero non quemadmodum in simplicibus nominibus […]
4. Τὸ δὲ κατὰ συνθήκην > Secundum vero placitum […]
5. Τὸ δὲ οὐκ > Non homo vero non est nomen […]
6. Τὸ δὲ Φίλωνος > Catonis autem vel Catoni […]

Scholarius omits the last chapter of Arnaldus concerning λόγος, a subject discussed
later on in his handbook.

4.2.4 How Scholarius exploited his sources

Aegidius’ presence in Scholarius’ text is not as obvious as that of Aquinas. Radulphus

Brito is used twice, while the Anonymus of the Padova manuscript only once. Aquinas
is Scholarius’ main source.
Let us examine more closely how Scholarius’ Latin sources were put together. In
the beginning of the text, Aquinas is sparsely used. The introduction is a farrago of
Scholarius’ readings, often by means of a word for word translation or summarized
passages. For instance, Scholarius applies Aristotle’s set of four causes (materialis,
formalis, efficiens, and finalis) to the De Interpretatione;⁷⁸ this application does not oc-
cur in Aquinas or Radulphus Brito, but in Anonymous’ Commentary on De Interpreta-
tione in the Padova and the Palermo manuscripts.⁷⁹ Sometimes, he takes phrases from
different Latin sources and puts them together as his “own”. Some of these phrases
are from Arnaldus’ examples,⁸⁰ and some from Aquinas’.⁸¹ He also explains certain
definitions (e. g., the definition of name and, partly, of verb and speech⁸²) differently
from Aquinas but, at least in the discussion of name, similarly to Arnaldus.⁸³ Further-

77 See supra p. 99.

78 Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 6–239, 13 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
79 Cf. Section 4.2.2 above.
80 Schol., Ars Vet., 238, 10–20 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie = Aeg., Exp. Art. Vet., f. 47v col. a; Schol., Ars Vet.,
243, 20–29 = Aeg., Exp.Art.Vet., f. 48r, col. b. More can be added.
81 Schol., Ars Vet., 242, 14–24, 27–35 Jugie/Petit/Sideridès = Aquinas, In “De Int.”, I 1, 1, I 1, 2 Gauthier;
Schol., Ars Vet., 244, 29–34 = Aquinas, In “De Int.”, I 2, 5. More can be added.
82 In this case, his definitions are compiled from Aquinas’ definitions and some other, yet unidenti-
fied author/-s.
83 Aeg., Exp. Art. Vet., f. 48v col. b.
110 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

more, Scholarius’ account for the title of the De Interpretatione⁸⁴ differs from his so far
known sources.
Scholarius reproduces Aquinas’ Commentary from Lectio 4, par. 12 in a slavish
manner (starting from the second half of his first lectio), except for some replies of
Aquinas to some earlier commentators, such as Alexander and Ammonius. He omits
Aquinas’ proem and discussion of the reasons why Aristotle did not explicitly divide
the “enunciation” into “categorical” and “hypothetical”⁸⁵. He also skips over Aquinas’
view on the order of Aristotle’s analysis of “enunciation”⁸⁶.
In a single case, Scholarius refers to Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae.⁸⁷ He takes
this reference from Radulphus Brito’s commentary on the De Interpretatione,⁸⁸ but
changes it in a practical way: although Brito refers to Aquinas’ Expositio Peri Her-
meneias (Lectio 14), Scholarius refers his Greek reader to the Summa Theologiae, Ia
Pars, qu. 14, art. 13, where the same topic, namely the infallibility of the divine knowl-
edge, including foreknowledge, is discussed. He recommends it as “further reading”
on the issue. Presumably, his intention was to refer to a text that would make sense to
his Greek readership; the Ia Pars of the Summa Theologiae was available in the Greek
translation by Demetrius Cydones already from 1358,⁸⁹ and Scholarius had obtained
a copy from 1432.⁹⁰
Concerning the Continuatio,⁹¹ three out of the four known Latin Continuationes
that antedate Scholarius⁹² have been edited, yet none of them coincides with that of
Scholarius.
Another interesting issue is the reception of Scholarius’ Ars vetus.⁹³ Scholarius
himself used his Commentary on the De Interpretatione not only for teaching purposes
but also in order to serve his quarrel with Plethon. For instance,⁹⁴ some arguments

84 Schol., Ars Vet., 239, 14–22 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.

85 Aquinas, In “De Int.”, I 1, 8 Gauthier.
86 Aquinas, In “De Int.”, lect. I 2–3 Gauthier (except from some small parts of Aquinas’ In ”De Int.“,
I 2, 5, I 2, 6 = Schol., Ars Vet., 244, 29–34, 245, 1–13 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie).
87 Schol., Ars Vet., 300, 28–31 Petit/Sideridès/Jugie.
88 Cf. Quaestiones subtilissime magistri Radulphi Britonis super arte veteri, ed. Franciscus de Macer-
ata, J. Rubeus, Al. Rubeus, Venice c. 1499, p. 167 col. b.
89 See Papadopoulos 1967b, 43–52.
90 See Demetracopoulos’s paper in this volume, p. 152.
91 Schol., Ars Vet., 308, 23–348, 38.
92 Gratiadeus di Ascoli (14th century), found in Venice edition of 1481 (cf. Gauthier 1989, 7*; Lewry
1981, 59 gave 1495 as the date of the first edition of this continuatio), who is the earliest known scholar
who wrote a continuation for Aquinas’ unfinished commentary; Robertus de Vulgarbia, Thomas Sutton
(edited by Lewry 1981), and the anonymous of the fourteenth century manuscript Conv. soppro. J.X.
27 (Lewry 1981, 59), which is still unedited.
93 Cf. Section 1.2 above.
94 See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012a, 123; J. A. Demetracopoulos n.d.(b).
 New Evidence on Scholarius’ In “De Interpretatione” | 111

from this Commentary⁹⁵ found their way to his refutation of what Plethon says against
the Aristotelian principle of contradiction in his celebrated De differentiis. It is, how-
ever, as yet too early to form an overall picture of the impact of Scholarius’ Ars vetus
on the intellectual debates of the Byzantine 15th century.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

Ars Vet. Ars Vetus

CAG Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, Berlin 1882--1909, 33 vols.
DEE De Ente et Essentia
De an. De Anima
De Int. De Interpretatione
Exp. Art. Vet. Expositio in Artem Veterem

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Interpretatione (codex Parisinus Graecus 2064), Hain 1978.
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Aristotelis opera, vol. IV, Berolini 1836, pp. 93–94.
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Oxonii 1956.
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95 Schol., Ars Vet., VII 282.4–286.16.

112 | Irini Balcoyiannopoulou

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Marie-Hélène Blanchet
The Two Byzantine Translations of Thomas
Aquinas’ De Rationibus Fidei
Remarks in view of their on-going editio princeps

Historians often use the term “estrangement” to describe the evolution of the relations
between Eastern and Western Europe during the Middle Ages: they consider that ig-
norance gradually prevailed between the two parts of medieval Christendom, which,
at a certain time, diverged and were unable to understand each other. Yet, what was
true at the time of the schism in the 11th century was no longer valid in the 14th cen-
tury, when interaction on several levels between Byzantium and the West had once
again intensified. The analysis of the relations between the Byzantine-Slavic East and
the West in the late Middle Ages must therefore be based on a different paradigm than
that of misunderstanding and mutual hostility. The idea that the Byzantines despised
and ignored the West must be substituted with another approach taking into account
the continuous contacts between Constantinople and the Latins, especially those who
had settled in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1204 and those who were conducting
business in the Byzantine capital.
Intellectual exchanges had never been as intense and fruitful between these two
worlds as they were during the 14th and 15th centuries. Historians are well aware of
how much Renaissance Italy owed to the arrival, in the 15th century, of Byzantine
scholars with their collections of Greek manuscripts containing the original texts of
Plato and Aristotle. Less well known, however, is the movement in the opposite direc-
tion, from Western to Eastern Europe, that preceded it in the 13th and 14th centuries. It
allowed the introduction and spread of Western culture in Byzantium and created the
conditions for a renewed dialogue.¹ From the late 13th century, the main means of this
intellectual rapprochement consisted of translating Latin works into Greek, both tales
of chivalry and philosophical or theological treatises.² From 1354 to the end of 1360s,

I would like to thank John Demetracopoulos, Raúl Estangüi Gómez, Jean-François Vannier and Nikos
Melvani for their help while writing this article.
1 There was indeed a dialogue between Byzantine and Western intellectuals before the Palaiologan
era, especially during the 12th century, as recently emphasized by Cameron 2016, 68–95, but it re-
mained basically oral, or in the best case it was based on florilegia. It did not allow a thorough un-
derstanding of the opposite arguments, as the most important texts of the Latin tradition were still
unavailable in Byzantium and did not begin to be translated before the end of the 13th century.
2 The best known translator during that period was Maximos Planoudes (ca. 1255–ca. 1305), who
was the first since Late Antiquity to translate into Greek several Latin theological works, espe-

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-127
116 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

fifteen treatises of Thomas Aquinas, especially the two Summae, were thus made avail-
able to Greek scholars, mainly thanks to two translators, the brothers Demetrios Ky-
dones (ca. 1324–1397) and Prochoros Kydones (ca. 1333–ca. 1370).³ In Constantinople,
this magnum opus of Western scholastics became a subject of debate and was from
then on the focus of most of the intellectual life in Byzantium for nearly a century.⁴
Even though this unprecedented cultural transfer from the West to the East met with
resistance, expressed especially in the religious field, it still shows that a form of in-
tellectual and religious acculturation of Latin thought in the Orthodox world was pos-
sible at that time.
The work of Thomas Aquinas was a privileged vehicle for the penetration of Latin
thought among Byzantine scholars. His treatises were translated into Greek, read,
commented upon and used both by the Byzantine advocates of the Latin doctrine and
by their detractors. In the absence of a critical edition of these translations,⁵ it remains
very difficult to detect the cases of borrowings from Aquinas by the Byzantine authors,
especially as his name is not usually mentioned when he is quoted. Establishing a criti-
cal edition of all these translations is the task currently undertaken by an international
team under the supervision of John Demetracopoulos and Charalambos Dendrinos in
the research project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus.⁶
Within this framework, I am personally in charge of a short Thomistic treatise:
Thomas Aquinas’ De Rationibus Fidei (DRF) is a succinct exposition of the sound prin-

cially Augustine’s De Trinitate, which was not previously available in Greek: see Aug., Trin., ed.
Μ. Papathomopoulos, Ι. Tsabare, G. Rigotti, Athens 1995. He also translated philosophical treatises
such as Boethius’ De consolatione philosophiae: see Boet., Cons., ed. M. Papathomopoulos, Athens
1999.
3 About Demetrios Kydones’ translations, see especially Kianka 1982, Glycofrydi-Leontsini 2003a, and
J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010b. The two brothers did not translate only works by Thomas Aquinas, but
also Augustine (see Aug., Arb., ed. H. Hunger, Wien 1990), Anselm of Canterbury (unedited), Riccoldo
Da Montecroce (see Ric., Leg.) and other theologians.
4 For the main studies about Thomism in Byzantium, see Papadopoulos 1967c, Papadopoulos 1974,
Fyrigos 2004b, J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010b, J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012g, and Plested 2012g.
5 Only five volumes have been published (15, 16, 17A, 17B and 18) with title Δημητρίου Κυδώνη
Θωμᾶ Ἀκυινάτου Σούμμα θεολογική ἐξελληνισθεῖσα between 1976 and 2002 within the series Corpus
philosophorum Graecorum recentiorum, in Athens, under the supervision of E. Moutsopoulos: they
correspond to a partially critical edition of the first half of ST, IIa IIae.
6 Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus (http://www.elemedu.upatras.gr/labart/dimitr/index1.html) is an
international research project dedicated to the publication of critical editions of all the works
of Thomas Aquinas translated into Greek in the 14th and 15th centuries (almost all of them
unedited), as well as all the Byzantine treatises written in the 14th and 15th centuries in
support of or against Aquinas (some of them unedited). All volumes will be published in a
subseries of the Series Graeca of the Corpus Christianorum published by Brepols Publishers
(http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/byzantium/english/ccsg). See the presentation of the project in J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2012c, 101–124, and the report of the progress and activities of the project during
the last two years in J. A. Demetracopoulos and Dendrinos 2014, 13–22.
 The two Byzantine translations of Thomas Aquinas | 117

ciples of the Christian faith composed around 1260.⁷ It is an apologetic treatise against
the Muslims, the Armenians and the Greeks, and its fourth chapter is especially dedi-
cated to the question of the procession of the Holy Spirit. Two 14th-century Greek ver-
sions of this text are extant, which is an exceptional phenomenon among the Byzan-
tine translations of Thomistic works. Ten manuscripts containing these translations
have so far been identified (the text’s length varies from 14 to 26 folios depending on
the manuscripts). Version A, to be found in 5 manuscripts, was made by Demetrius
Kydones, the most famous translator of Aquinas’ treatises in the second half of the
fourteenth century. The most complete title of his version (version A) is: “Ten chap-
ters by the blessed Thomas addressed to a certain Cantor of Antioch, translated from
the Latin language into Greek by kyr Demetrios Kydones” (Τοῦ μακαριωτάτου Θωμᾶ
κεφάλαια δέκα πρός τινα ψάλτην Ἀντιοχείας, μετενεχθέντα ἀπὸ τῆς Λατίνων γλώττης
εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα παρὰ κυροῦ Δημητρίου τοῦ Κυδώνη). Version B is also preserved in 5
manuscripts, without any date, and can be attributed to a hitherto unknown translator
of Aquinas named Atoumes. The most complete title of this other version is: “Treatise
about the reasons for the faith composed by brother Thomas from Aquino to the Can-
tor of Antioch” (Διάληψις περὶ τῶν λόγων τῆς πίστεως ἐκδοθεῖσα παρ’ ἀδελφοῦ Θωμᾶ
ἐκ τοῦ Ἀχίνου πρὸς ψάλτην Ἀντιοχέα).⁸ I will present the information that I have been
able to collect so far about each version, and then I will draw a very brief comparison
between some passages of the two translations.

Dating
We know little about the chronology of Kydones’ translations, except that he finished
SG in 1354 and ST Ia in 1358.⁹ In the manuscripts which contain Kydones’ translation
of DRF, there is no marginal note to indicate the date of its composition. Nevertheless,
one manuscript seems to be very close to and possibly contemporary with Kydones’
work: it is Marcianus gr. app. II, 9 (coll. 1438). It contains 318 ff., the translation of DRF
extends through ff. 298r–317r. This manuscript was described first by Mioni and re-
cently by Kislas:¹⁰ it contains several anti-unionist treatises by Nilus Kabasilas, some

7 See the Latin critical edition supervised by the Commissio Leonina: Thom. Aquin., DRF, ed. H.-F.
Dondaine, Roma 1968, B57–B73. See also the German translation by L. Hagemann and R. Glei, the
English translation by J. Kenney and the French translation based on this edition by G. Emery.
8 About these two versions, see Papadopoulos 1967c, 56–60.
9 Glycofrydi-Leontsini 2003a, 178 (with the quoted bibliography); Fyrigos 2004b, 32. For the place of
Kydones’ translations within the context of the history of Byzantine Thomism, see J. A. Demetracopou-
los 2010b, 829–847.
10 Mioni 1967, 92–94; Nil Kab., Spir., ed. T. Kislas, Paris 2001, 159–161.
118 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

documents related to the so-called “Photian council” in 880,¹¹ one anti-Latin treatise
by Barlaam, and Kydones’ translation of DRF. It is remarkable to find a translation
of Thomas Aquinas in such an anti-Latin collection of texts. Kislas stated that this
manuscript belonged to the library of the Dominican monastery of Saints John and
Paul at Constantinople, and had been copied between 1362 and 1364.¹² He confused
the Constantinopolitan monastery with the convent of Saints John and Paul (San Za-
nipolo) at Venice: the manuscript was in fact kept in the library of this Venetian con-
vent before being transferred to the Marciana Library in 1789.¹³ But we have no in-
formation about the place where it was copied. Kislas’ dating is also doubtful, as it
is based on a misinterpretation of the data provided by the watermarks: he himself
explains that there are seven watermarks used within the manuscript, whose dating
range from 1347 to 1371.¹⁴ Moreover, the same watermarks are to be found in different
parts of the manuscript, in the beginning as well as in the end, where DRF is con-
tained. So it is impossible to assume that DRF would belong to a fully independent
codicological unit, which would in the end have been bound into that manuscript.¹⁵
We therefore cannot assign a precise date for the production of this manuscript: it must
be dated to the third quarter of the 14th century, which is not much help in giving a
precise terminus ante quem for Kydones’ translation of DRF.
Strange as it may seem, we have much more information about version B, be-
cause this translation was used by two authors from the mid-fourteenth century. First,
this version of DRF was refuted by a strongly anti-Latin polemicist, Matthew Angelos
Panaretos.¹⁶ Very little is known of Panaretos: he lived in Constantinople in the mid-
fourteenth century and produced abundant anti-Latin literature, including a treatise
against the Filioque which consists of a linear refutation of Chapter IV of DRF,¹⁷ and
another treatise against the doctrine of purgatory which likewise is a response to Chap-

11 About the use of such documentation in the anti-Latin polemics during the 14th century, see Fanelli
2016.
12 Nil Kab., Spir., 159–160 Kislas: “ce manuscrit provient de la Bibliothèque du Monastère dominicain
Saints-Jean-et-Paul à Constantinople. Il a été écrit entre 1362 et 1364 par un copiste principal et deux
copistes secondaires”. Kislas (161) adds that DRF was copied lastly: “Ve étape (ff. 298–317): le copiste
a terminé son travail avec la traduction de Thomas d’Aquin et le florilège patristique”.
13 Jackson 2011, 8; 18, n° 64; 69–70, n° 45. This manuscript was part of the first list of manuscripts
personally acquired by the Dominican Gioachino Torriano before his death in 1500 (n° 64), so it en-
tered Zanipolo before that date. It remained there afterwards and is mentioned in the inventory made
by Giovanni Filippo Tomasini (n° 45) in the mid-seventeenth century.
14 See Nil Kab., Spir., 160 n. 28 and 31 Kislas.
15 The same argument applies to the copyists, especially the main one who copied folios in the be-
ginning as well as in the end of the manuscript. See also Jackson 2011, 18: “The several parts of Marc.
II, 9 were all done at the same place and close to the same time”.
16 About Panaretos, see PLP 21649. See especially Risso 1914–1916, Buda 1956, Blanchet 2012.
17 This treatise was published in a non-critical edition based on one only manuscript and translated
into Italian in Pan., Proc., ed. C. Buda, in Archivio storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 26 (1957), 291–323;
27 (1958), 3–33.
 The two Byzantine translations of Thomas Aquinas | 119

ter IX of DRF.¹⁸ Now, the Greek version used by Panaretos for his two refutations was
not that of Demetrius Kydones, but the other translation, version B. No historian until
now has tried to identify the Greek text used by Panaretos, not even Buda, the editor
of his treatise against the Filioque. Since Panaretos quotes verbatim many passages
from Aquinas’ text, it is very easy to compare the manuscripts of the two versions in
order to identify which translation he used: it is that of version B both for Chapter IV
of DRF and for chapter IX.¹⁹
Another mention of this translation is made in the treatise by Nilus Kabasilas On
the procession of the Holy Spirit, also an antithomistic treatise in which Nilus strove to
refute the Latin syllogisms with systematic counterarguments.²⁰ The author quotes SG
and ST several times according to Demetrius Kydones’ translation; but he also refers
in one case to DRF by explicitly mentioning it with its long title: “About the reasons
for the faith to the Cantor of Antioch” (Περὶ τῶν τῆς πίστεως λόγων πρὸς τὸν ψάλτην
Ἀντιοχέα).²¹ His quotation of DRF in his text is as follows: οὕτως ἡ ἡμετέρα πίστις
ἀναγκαίοις λόγοις δείκνυσθαι οὐ δύναται, ὅτι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν ὑπερβαίνει.²²
As noted by E. Candal, it corresponds to Chapter 2 of DRF and it stands for the Latin
sentence: “sicut fides nostra necessariis rationibus probari non potest quia humanam
mentem excedit [...]”,²³ that is “just as our faith cannot be proved by necessary rea-
sons, because it exceeds human mind”. This Greek translation is that of version B,
as we can find it for instance in Marcianus gr. 147, fol. 1v. By comparison, the trans-
lation by Kydones in version A gives the following text: ὥσπερ ἀδύνατον τὴν πίστιν
ἀναγκαίοις λόγοις ἀποδειχθῆναι, ὡσὰν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν ὑπερβαίνουσαν.²⁴
The fact that Nilus Kabasilas also used version B allows us now to determine a ter-
minus ante quem for the translation, since Nilus died in 1363 and wrote his own treatise
between 1358 and 1361.²⁵ In fact, one could hesitate between 1361 and 1363 for the com-
pletion of Nilus’ treatise, but it seems more likely, as proposed by Kislas, that Nilus
had completed his work before going to Thessaloniki, where he held the Metropoli-
tan see from the end of 1361 or the beginning of 1362 on. This fact provides also ad-
ditional information: though we are almost completely ignorant as to the context in
which Panaretos was working, we do know much more about Nilus. He was in Con-
stantinople when he wrote his treatise, so he must have had access to the translations

18 This treatise is still unpublished: I am preparing its critical edition, and also a critical reedition of
the above quoted Panaretos’ treatise about Filioque, within the framework of the project Thomas de
Aquino Byzantinus (cf. supra n. 6 on p. 116).
19 The translation of version B differs clearly from that of Kydones: see an example below.
20 About Nilus Kabasilas, see PLP 10102. For the edition of his treatises, see Nil Kab., Proc., ed. E.
Candal, Città del Vaticano 1945 and Nil Kab., Spir. Kislas.
21 Nil Kab., Proc., 206, 24–25 Candal.
22 Nil Kab., Proc., 206, 25–26 Candal.
23 Nil Kab., Proc., 207, n. 1, Candal. See Thom. Aquin., DRF, B 58 Dondaine.
24 Marcianus gr. app. II, 9 (coll. 1438), fol. 299v.
25 See Nil Kab., Spir., 83–84 Kislas.
120 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

of Thomas Aquinas’ works while he was there. Demetrius Kydones was his former
pupil, therefore Nilus was certainly able to obtain many Thomistic texts through him:
in his Apologia, Kydones informs us that he had indeed provided Nilus with Thomistic
works.²⁶ This suggests that Nilus may not have directly got a copy of version B, but per-
haps through Kydones, via a manuscript copied for him.
In this respect, Marcianus gr. 147, which will be fully described by Athanasopou-
los,²⁷ is a very interesting case. As explained by Athanasopoulos, this manuscript was
commissioned by Kydones from the copyist with whom he worked mostly, namely
Manuel Tzykandyles.²⁸ Now I would like to insist on the fact that this manuscript con-
tains a translation of ST Ia IIae by Kydones (ff. 17r–491v) as well as version B of DRF
(ff. 1r–14v). So this translation of DRF by an hitherto unknown author was also copied
by Manuel Tzykandyles,²⁹ most probably for Demetrius Kydones. This means that Ky-
dones must have been interested in this other translation of DRF and had access to it.
It is too early at this stage of my research to be able to say whether Kydones might have
known and used this translation when he composed his own: it is impossible at this
point to establish which one of the two translations was first produced. In any case,
version B circulated in the same scholarly milieu as Kydones’ translations, namely in
our case through Nilus Kabasilas and Manuel Tzykandyles.
To sum up, we know that version B was available in Constantinople before 1361.
Neither Nilus Kabasilas nor Matthew Angelos Panaretos mentioned the author of the
translation they used. The text was transmitted to the circle of the latinophile intellec-
tuals of the capital through the same distribution channels as Kydones’ translations.
However, these indications do not help much in determining the date and place of the
composition of version B. Indeed, it could be Constantinople in the 1350s, but we can-
not completely exclude the possibility that it was composed somewhere else, although
it is very unlikely, even possibly before the discovery of Thomas Aquinas’ works in
Constantinople in the 1350s.

26 Dem. Kyd., Apol., ed. G. Mercati, Città del Vaticano 1931, 391, 28–31.
27 Within the research project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus, Panagiotis Athanasopoulos is in charge
of the critical edition of Demetrios Kydones’ translation of ST Ia IIae. One of the main manuscripts
of this translation is also Marcianus gr. 147, and Athanasopoulos already presented some information
about it in his lecture during the conference in Stockholm, which he will publish within the framework
of his critical edition. See also Mioni 1981a, 207–208.
28 About Manuel Tzykandyles, see Mondrain 2004a, 250–263.
29 As shown by Athanasopoulos, Manuel Tzykandyles himself was the copyist in charge of the first
part of the manuscript.
 The two Byzantine translations of Thomas Aquinas | 121

The translator of version B

I owe many thanks to my colleagues Demetracopoulos and Athanasopoulos who in-
formed me, when they examined the above mentioned Marcianus gr. 147 in the Mar-
ciana Library in Venice, that there was a very interesting marginal note concerning
the translator. In this manuscript, on fol. 1r, one can indeed read in the margin the fol-
lowing sentence: “this translation from Latin is by Atoumes” (αὕτη ἡ ἐκ τοῦ λατινικοῦ
ἑρμηνεία τοῦ Ἀτούμη ἐστίν). In this sentence, Atoumes is obviously a proper name,
the name of the translator. This information was until now unpublished (E. Mioni did
not transcribe this marginal note in his catalogue)³⁰ and it arouses some perplexity at
first: no Atoumes is known within the circle of the Kydones brothers or more generally
in the milieu of the Byzantine intellectuals who were interested in Latin culture.
So who could Atoumes be? This is a tricky prosopographical problem that I will
not treat in detail here,³¹ but only touch upon briefly. The Atouemai were an old,
well-known family coming from Armenia, who entered into an alliance with Emperor
Basil II in the 11th century and then became a genuine aristocratic Byzantine family.³²
It seems that the name Atoumes could be a variant of Atouemes, both names coming
from the Armenian first name Atom: there still remains a debate among the special-
ists,³³ but from an onomastic point of view, the two patronymic names are close and
can be related.
My research was first of all based on PLP and also on other sources, where I finally
found 12 personages named either Atouemes or Atoumes who were active during the
14th century.³⁴ There is no evidence to suggest that any of these individuals could have
known Latin and been able to perform a translation. Even when we examine this list in
greater detail in order to focus at least on those who seem to have had an intellectual
activity, we can find only two copyists of liturgical manuscripts,³⁵ one of the sons of

30 Mioni 1981a, 207–208. Now see Blanchet 2016, 17–37.

31 For more details see Blanchet 2016, 25–37.
32 See Cheynet 2006, 219–226. In the 14th century, they were not any more linked to Armenia, their
name only might have recalled their Armenian origin.
33 See Jordanov 2006, 71–72, n° 68 and Cheynet and Théodoridis 2010, 36–38, n° 24 and 25.
34 See Blanchet 2016, 26.
35 PLP 1643 and PLP 1645 (᾿Ατουέμης Κωνσταντῖνος and ᾿Ατουέμης Μιχαήλ): two brothers, known as
copyists in Crete in 1310 according to a note in Patmiacus 891, fol. 289v.
122 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

Theodore Metochites,³⁶ one anti-Palamite named Theodore Atouemes³⁷ and one oth-
erwise unknown correspondent of John Chortasmenos in 1407.³⁸ The best candidate
within that list would be Theodore Atouemes, a very young man in 1351, when he was
condemned as an anti-Palamite and went into exile in Cyprus: at that time, he was to
become a scholar and a theologian, but we have no information concerning his life
after he settled in Cyprus.³⁹
On the other hand, there is a famous intellectual who knew both Greek and
Latin very well and who must have been familiar with scholastic theology: Simon
Atoumanos, who was first a Byzantine monk at the Stoudios’ monastery, then be-
came a Latin bishop in Gerace in Calabria in 1348, and later the Latin archbishop of
Thebes.⁴⁰ He was an accomplished translator, especially since he was the author of
a Latin translation of De cohibenda ira by Plutarch, which he dedicated to Cardinal
Pietro Corsini in 1373.⁴¹ Another important translation is attributed to him, namely
the translation of the Bible from Hebrew into Greek, which can be found in Marcianus
gr. 7.⁴² It must be added that Simon Atoumanos was also linked with the Byzan-
tine Latinophile intellectuals, especially with Demetrios Kydones, and according to
their correspondence, he stayed in Constantinople some time before 1364.⁴³ Simon
Atoumanos would thus have the right profile, but he does not have the right name. The

36 PLP 1640 (᾿Ατουέμης ᾿Αλέξιος): he has to be identified with Alexios Laskaris Metochites (PLP

17977), who was not only megas domestikos in Constantinople in 1357, but also related to the emperor
and a high-ranking member of the court. He was the son of Theodore Metochites, the famous mesazon
in the reign of Andronikos II: for this identification, see Estangüi Gómez 2014, 307, n. 119. Alexios
Atouemes Laskaris Metochites must have been involved in the project of the Union of the Churches in
1355: he is indeed mentioned, together with his two brothers, as having received a letter from Pope In-
nocent VI thanking him for his commitment to the Union in Constantinople: see Halecki 1930, 43–49.
I am grateful to Raúl Estangüi Gómez for this information.
37 PLP 1642 (᾿Ατουέμης Θεόδωρος). 
38 PLP 1649 (᾿Ατούμης).
39 Theodore Atouemes is mentioned in a letter of Gregory Akindynos (Akin, Epist., ed. A. Con-
stantinides Hero, Washington 1983, 204–209, Letter 49, here 208, 53–58), in the Tome against the
palamites by Arsenius of Tyrus (Ars., Tomus, éd. I. Polemis, in Jahrbuch der Österreichische Byzan-
tinistik 43 [1993], 261, 241–242) and in a Dialogue by Philotheus of Selymbria (Phil., Dial., ed. M.
Bakalopoulou, Athens 1992, 251–254). See also documents edited by Mercati 1931d, 222–223, and Dar-
rouzès 1959, 17.
40 See PLP 1648; Fedalto 2007.
41 Fedalto 2007, 155.
42 See Mercati 1916. This attribution is still confirmed by subsequent bibliography: D. De Crom wrote
recently in this sense a “Postcript: the authorship of the Graecus Venetus translation” in the end of his
article: De Crom 2009, 299–301.
43 We possess three letters sent to him by Demetrios Kydones: Dem. Kyd., Epist., éd. R.-J. Lœnertz,
Città del Vaticano 1956–1960, I, 125–128, n° 93; 139–141, n° 103; II, 117–123, n° 226 (German translation
by F. Tinnefeld, Stuttgart 1982, I/2, 353–360, n° 59; 404–410, n° 69; and Stuttgart 1991, II, 145–155,
n° 203). Letter 93 (59 in Tinnefeld) is dated from summer 1364 and refers to Atoumanos’ recent stay in
Constantinople. 
 The two Byzantine translations of Thomas Aquinas | 123

name “Atouman” (Ἀτουμάν/Ἀτουμάνης, Ἀτουμάνου) was used by several Byzantine

historians (for instance Nikephoros Gregoras, John Kantakuzenos and Kritoboulos of
Imbros) to refer to the Ottoman emirs, especially Osman (Othman), the founder of the
dynasty.⁴⁴ It was thought to be a name of Turkish origin,⁴⁵ and it is documented in
Byzantium.⁴⁶ From the onomastic point of view, it thus seems difficult to identify the
name Atoumes (or Atouemes) with Atoumanos.
Thus, it remains impossible to uncover the identity of the translator Atoumes.
Let us hope that future progress in the research on the Greek translations of Thomas
Aquinas’ works will help to resolve this question.

Elements for a comparison of the two translations

Finally, I will briefly deal with the texts themselves. The existence of two different
Greek versions from the same period, both unpublished, will offer the rare opportu-
nity to compare them and observe in detail the choices of each translator. Which ren-
dering of Aquinas’ vocabulary do these translations display? Could some of his terms
have given rise to misinterpretation? Do both translations come up against the same
difficulties? Only a thorough analysis of the method of each translator will enable us
to answer these questions, so for the moment I will just examine a few passages of the
two translations and focus on the choice and consistency of the technical vocabulary
and the literal or paraphrastic character of the translations.
The sentence quoted by Nilus Kabasilas, the example I mentioned previously, is
quite significant (see Table 1 on p. 124).⁴⁷
We find in this sentence some technical words which are translated in the same way
by both translators, as is almost always the case throughout the two translations:
“fides” is translated as “πίστις”; “ratio” as “λόγος”; “necessarius” as “ἀναγκαῖος”;
“humanus” as “ἀνθρώπινος”; there could have been several choices for “mens”, but
the word is translated in the two versions as “διάνοια” (whereas “νοῦς” is usually
used for “intellectus”); and “excedit” is also translated with the same Greek verb
“ὑπερβαίνω”. So it is obvious that both translators respect a constant technical vo-
cabulary, apparently the same. In this sentence, the differences are only syntactic:

44 See the examples given by Mercati 1916, 26–27.

45 Simon Atoumanos was reputed to have had a Turkish father: in a letter dated to 11th September
1380, Peter IV of Aragon insisted that pope Urban VI should remove Atoumanos from the archbishopric
of Thebes, and he added that “the archbishop was himself born in Constantinople, and his father was
a Turk and his mother a schismatic” (“archiepiscopus ipse de Constantinopoli ortus est paterque eius
fuit turcus et mater eius cismatica”). This could be mere slander coming from Peter IV of Aragon.
46 There are two other persons named Atoumanos in the 14th century in PLP: see PLP 1646 and
PLP 1647. See Fedalto 2007, 175.
47 See supra n. 22, 23 and 24.
124 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

Table 1

Latin Version A (Kydones) Version B (Atoumes)

“sicut fides nostra ὥσπερ ἀδύνατον τὴν πίστιν οὕτως ἡ ἡμετέρα πίστις
necessariis rationibus ἀναγκαίοις λόγοις ἀναγκαίοις λόγοις
probari non potest quia ἀποδειχθῆναι, ὡσὰν τὴν δείκνυσθαι οὐ δύναται, ὅτι
humanam mentem ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν
excedit…” ὑπερβαίνουσαν… ὑπερβαίνει…

“ἀδύνατον” in version A stands for “οὐ δύναται” in version B, which is closer to

the Latin “non potest”. In version B, the expression “ὅτι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν
ὑπερβαίνει” is an exact imitation of the Latin “quia humanam mentem excedit”, word
for word, even if in Greek this structure does not sound completely natural; version
A employs there a participial phrase, as would normally be expected in Greek: ὡσὰν
τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν ὑπερβαίνουσαν. In this case, there is no problem concern-
ing the meaning of the sentence. Both translators understood correctly the Latin text
and both are also very close to the text: they translated ad verbum without losing the
meaning of the text.⁴⁸
I will now give an example where this is not the case (DRF, Chapter 1, see Table 2 on
p. 125). As illustrated in Table 2, the translator of version B did not correctly understand
the whole sentence, as he considered “quod ex libero dependet arbitrio” to be an ob-
ject clause of the verb “asseris”. So because of this mistranslation, the meaning is lost
and the sentence is nonsense. He also chose to translate “meritum” by “πολιτείαν”:
this word usually means rather “way of life”, but in patristic literature it could also
have the sense of “good deeds”, which is much closer.⁴⁹
The translator of version A, i. e. Kydones, understood somewhat better, but his
translation of “merit” is also rather loose: he used “ἀνταποδόσεις”, that is “rewards”,
to translate “merit”, whereas he used “αὐτεξούσιον” for “free will”, which is correct.
He also introduced the notion of “providence” (προορισμός), which was not explicit
in the Latin text. The general meaning of the sentence is not as bad as in version B, but
in this case, Kydones did not remain so close to the text and chose instead to translate
ad sententiam. We must notice that there is an addition in his version of the text: “οὐκ
ὀλίγην εἶναι τὴν πλάνην” (“the error is not a small one”): it might not be due to him,
as he usually does not add phrases to the original text, but to his Latin model, which

48 According to Glycofrydi-Leontsini 2003a, 182, this is generally Kydones’ method of translation,

that is, a translation ad sententiam, since his primary concern was to capture the meaning of Aquinas’
text, and if possible also a translation word for word, ad verbum.
49 See Estienne 1851–1865, VI/2, col. 1350 C, s.v. πολιτεία: “Porro πολιτείας nomine saepe intelliguntur
quae solent Theologi bona opera appellare”.
 The two Byzantine translations of Thomas Aquinas | 125

Table 2

Latin Thom. Aquin., DRF, Version A (Kydones) Version B (Atoumes) Marc.

B57 Marcianus gr. app. II, 9 (coll. gr. 147, f. 1v
1438), fol. 299r
“Circa meritum vero quod ex διισχυρίζῃ [...] ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ Περὶ τὴν πολιτείαν δὲ
libero dependet arbitrio, τὰς τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου διαβεβαιοῖ ὡς ἐξ ἐλευθέρας
asseris tam Saracenos quam ἠρτημένας ἀνταποδόσεις, γνώμης ἐξήρτηται τοσοῦτον
nationes alias necessitatem τοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ τοῖς τοὺς σαρακηνοὺς ὅσον καὶ
actibus humanis imponere σαρακηνοῖς οὐκ ὀλίγην εἶναι ἄλλας γενεὰς ἀνάγκην ταῖς
ex praescientia vel τὴν πλάνην, τὸν θεῖον ἀνθρωπείαις πράξεσι
ordinatione divina…” προορισμὸν ἢ τὴν πρόγνωσιν ἐπιτιθέναι ἐκ τῆς
λέγουσι ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις προγνώσεως ἢ διατάξεως
πράξεσιν ἀνάγκην τῆς θείας…
ἐπιτιθέναι...
“Concerning merit, which “You state […] that, also “Concerning the way of life,
depends on free will, you concerning the rewards that you assert that it depends
assert that the Muslims as depend on free will, the on free opinion that the
well as the other nations error made by the others as Muslims as well as the other
assign a necessity to human well as the Muslims is not a nations (should) assign a
actions because of God’s small one: they say that necessity to human actions
foreknowledge or decree…” God’s providence or because of God’s
foreknowledge assigns a foreknowledge or decree …”
necessity to human
actions…”

may have had a text similar to “non parvum esse errorem”.⁵⁰ This could then be a sign
that the two translators did not work from the same Latin model.
In conclusion, the process of translating Latin works into Greek was in itself a sign
of deep curiosity in Byzantium towards Western thought. As far as Thomas Aquinas
himself is concerned, this phenomenon even reached a form of fascination for his
work and method, since he was the Latin theologian by far the most translated into
Greek during the medieval era. One of the challenges we face, while editing and com-
menting on these texts, is to analyze how Aquinas’ thought was understood through
these translations and how it could then be used and quoted by Byzantine theolo-
gians from across the religious spectrum, even the fiercest anti-Latins. This analysis
will enable us better to understand how Thomas Aquinas’ writings entered the Byzan-
tine intellectual universe, to appraise the long-lasting continuities and the changes in
such a phenomenon of acculturation, and to assess with more accuracy the conflicting

50 There is no mention of such an addition in the apparatus of the Latin critical edition (Thom. Aquin.,
DRF, B57), so it will require an in-depth analysis within the Latin manuscript tradition.
126 | Marie-Hélène Blanchet

potential of these intercultural contacts, characterized both by borrowing and rejec-

tion.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

DRF Thomas Aquinas, De Rationibus Fidei.

PLP Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, erstellt von E. Trapp,
Wien 1979‑1996.
SG Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles.
ST Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae.

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Aug., Arb. Prochoros Kydones’ Übersetzungen von S. Augustinus, De libero
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Μ. Papathomopoulos, Ι. Tsabare, G. Rigotti, Athens 1995.
Boet., Cons. Anicii Manlii Severini Boethii De consolatione philosophiae: traduction
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Ric., Leg. Riccoldo da Montecroce, Contra legem Sarracenorum, in PG 154,

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translation by G. Emery, Paris 1999).

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John A. Demetracopoulos
Scholarios’ On Almsgiving, or How to Convert a
Scholastic “Quaestio” into a Sermon

1 Forschungsbericht
Gehrhard Podskalsky was the first to produce a considerable list of cases of the di-
rect utilization of the corpus Thomisticum by Scholarios (ca. 1400 – paulo post 1472).¹
Building on M. Jugie’s findings, and focusing almost exclusively on Aquinas’ Summa
theologiae,² Podskalsky pointed out around thirty such places in Scholarios’ œuvre as
edited by L. Petit, X.A. Sideridès and M. Jugie,³ nearly all of which are indeed Thomist
in origin with some few exceptions.⁴ Aquinas’ and Scholarios’ corpora are so huge
(each considered in the context of its own literary tradition) that no list can lay claim to
exhaustiveness. Since the time of Podskalsky’s article, more cases of direct Thomistic
influence on Scholarios have been brought to light, and no doubt even more will be
discovered. My intention here is to bring up the additional case of Scholarios’ Sermon

1 Podskalsky 1974b, 309–312.

2 The only exception (art. cit., 311, n. 38) is Ps.-Aquinas’ De sacramento Eucharistiae, already noticed
by M. Jugie (see L. Petit, M. Jugie, and X.A. Sideridès 1928, 129 ad l. 11; 131 ad l. 25; Jugie 1930a, 432),
who shared the then common view that this was a genuine Thomistic work (ed. Busa 1980, 684–687 =
T1450–1540 in: R. Schönberger, A. Quero Sánchez, B. Berges, L. Jiang and A. Schönfeld 2011, 3678 ad
tit.; 3849–3850 ad tit.).
3 L. Petit, X.A. Sideridès and M. Jugie 1928–1936.
4 Podskalsky was mistaken in his suggestions regarding Scholarios’ bulky handbook of Ars vetus
(tome VII, 1–348). (a) 18, 29–20, 5 is not paralleled in Summa theologiae, Ιa, qu. 83, art. 1 and Ia IIae,
qu. 17, art. 2, because it fully coincides with I.1, 1–6 of Aquinas’ Commentary on Aristotle’s Posterior
Analytics, which Scholarios had translated in full (see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2014b, 826; translation
lost; cf. Podskalsky 1974b, 307). (b) 77, 18–21 includes a reference to Summa theologiae, Ia, qu. 75, art.
5. Still, with only few exceptions, the entire Ars vetus is not an original composition but a transla-
tion/adaptation, enriched with some notes and excursus by the translator (see Ebbesen and Pinborg
1981-1982a, 263–319; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 88–89; Balcoyiannopoulou in this volume), which
means that, most probably, this explicit reference to Aquinas was part of the translated Latin text/-s.
(c) This holds true for 135, 24–26 (paralleled by Podskalsky with Summa theologiae, IIIa, qu. 32, art. 4),
as well. (d) As for 300, 28–31, it is an endnote, so to speak, by Scholarios, in which he recommends
to his students and/or readers Summa theologiae, Ia, qu. 14, art. 13 as further reading on the topic
discussed (see Balcoyiannopoulou, art. cit., p. 110; cf. infra, p. 157, n. 163).

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-141
130 | John A. Demetracopoulos

on Almsgiving (Περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης)⁵ considered in its entirety. Podskalsky himself⁶ no-

ticed that, in one place, Scholarios utilised the corresponding article from Aquinas’
Summa theologiae, i. e. IIa IIae, qu. 32 (“Περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης”), art. 5 (“Εἰ τὸ διδόναι
ἐλεημοσύνην ἐντολή ἐστι”). Focusing on par. 10 of the Sermon, he pointed out that the
passage from Basil of Caesarea’s Homilia in illud; “Destruam horrea mea” as quoted by
Scholarios⁷ does not derive directly from the original Greek text but from Aquinas’ ci-
tation of it (in ad 2um). Indeed, Scholarios reproduces the passage in the form in which
it stands in Demetrios Kydones’ translation of IIa IIae:

Basil of Caesarea, Homilia in illud; “Destruam Basil’s passage in Demetrios Kydones’

horrea mea”, 7 translation of Aquinas’ Summa theologiae, IIa
IIae, qu. 32, art. 5 ad 2um; cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol.
117v, 36–118r, 4
Εἰ δὲ ὁμολογεῖς [τὰ παρόντα σοι] εἶναι παρὰ Εἰ ταῦθ’ ὁμολογεῖς θεόθεν προσγενέσθαι
Θεοῦ, εἰπὲ τὸν λόγον ἡμῖν, δι’ ὃν ἔλαβες. Μὴ (τουτέστι τὰ πρόσκαιρα ἀγαθά), μὴ ἄδικος ὁ Θεὸς
ἄδικος ὁ Θεός, ὁ ἀνίσως ἡμῖν διαιρῶν τὰ τοῦ ἀνίσως τὰ πράγματα διανέμων ἡμῖν; Διατί σὺ μὲν
βίου; Διὰ τί σὺ μὲν πλουτεῖς, ἐκεῖνος δὲ πένεται; περισσεύῃ, ἐκεῖνος δὲ προσαιτεῖ, εἰ μὴ ἵνα καὶ σὺ
Ἢ πάντως, ἵνα καὶ σὺ χρηστότητος καὶ πιστῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς οἰκονομίας τὸν μισθὸν ἀπολάβῃς
οἰκονομίας μισθὸν ὑποδέξῃ, κἀκεῖνος τοῖς κἀκεῖνος τοῖς τῆς ὑπομονῆς βραβείοις
μεγάλοις ἄθλοις τῆς ὑπομονῆς τιμηθῇ; Σὺ δέ, στεφανωθῇ; Τοῦ πεινῶντός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος, ὃν σὺ
πάντα τοῖς ἀπληρώτοις τῆς πλεονεξίας κόλποις δειπνεῖς, τοῦ γυμνοῦ, τὸ ἱμάτιον ὃ σὺ τηρεῖς ἐν τῷ
περιλαβών, οὐδένα οἴει ἀδικεῖν τοσούτους κιβωτίῳ· τοῦ ἀνυποδέτου τὸ ὑπόδημα, ὃ σήπεται
ἀποστερῶν; Τίς ἐστιν ὁ πλεονέκτης; Ὁ μὴ παρὰ σοί· τοῦ δεομένου τὸ ἀργύριον, ὃ κέκτησαι
ἐμμένων τῇ αὐταρκείᾳ. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ μὴ ἀριθμῶν. Ὅθεν τοσούτους ἀδικεῖς, ὅσοις
ἀποστερητής; Ὁ ἀφαιρούμενος τὰ ἑκάστου. Σὺ δὲ παρέχειν δύνασαι.⁹
οὐ πλεονέκτης; Σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἀποστερητής, ἃ πρὸς
οἰκονομίαν ἐδέξω, ταῦτα ἴδια σεαυτοῦ
ποιούμενος; Ἢ ὁ μὲν ἐνδεδυμένον ἀπογυμνῶν
‘λωποδύτης’ ὀνομασθήσεται, ὁ δὲ τὸν γυμνὸν μὴ
ἐνδύων, δυνάμενος τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἄλλης τινός ἐστι
προσηγορίας ἄξιος; Τοῦ πεινῶντός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος,
ὃν σὺ κατέχεις· τοῦ γυμνητεύοντος τὸ ἱμάτιον, ὃ
σὺ φυλάσσεις ἐν ἀποθήκαις· τοῦ ἀνυποδέτου τοῦ
ὑπόδημα, ὃ παρὰ σοὶ κατασήπεται· τοῦ χρῄζοντος
τὸ ἀργύριον, ὃ κατορύξας ἔχεις. Ὥστε τοσούτους
ἀδικεῖς, ὅσοις παρέχειν ἠδύνασο.⁸

5 Eds. Jugie et al., op. cit., tome I, 91, 15–102, 7. This sermon is preserved in a well-known 16th century
codex unicus (Iber. 388 = Hagion Oros 4508; see Jugie et al., tome I, XXXIX–XLI; 91). The sermon itself
is not mentioned in S. Lambros’ description (1900, 131). Α new description of the manuscript is being
prepared by Zissis Melissakis (National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens).
6 Podskalsky 1974b, 312, n. 41.
7 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 99, 30–100, 2.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 131

Ιt would be improbable that a Greek author had recourse to a huge Latin text translated
into Greek simply for the sake of quoting a passage from a well-known Greek Father. It
makes more sense to assume that Scholarios came across this originally Greek passage
while exploiting a large part of Thomas’ work, which is what he often does elsewhere
e. g., in making use of passages in Scripture, or from the corpus Aristotelicum or John
of Damascus.¹⁰

2 Aquinas’ Summa theologiae as the main source of

Scholarios’ Sermon
Indeed, Scholarios borrowed from Aquinas much more than simply this passage. Prior
to the final three paragraphs¹¹ of the Sermon that attracted Podskalsky’s attention,
Scholarios had already made an extensive use of Aquinas’ IIa IIae throughout – in such
a way that one can safely say that he deliberately turned Aquinas’ quaestio on almsgiv-
ing into a sermon to deliver. In a nutshell, Scholarios built up his Sermon by drawing
material from IIa IIae, qu. 32, art. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 10 (including some Biblical and patris-

8 Ed. Courtonne 1935, 35, 9–24 (= PG 31: 276B–277A). Cf. Basil of Caesarea, Sermones de moribus a
Symeone Metaphrasta collecti, PG 32: 1157C.
9 Cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 196, 25–197, 6. Cod. Par. gr. 1237 counts 296 ff.
(292 x 210). The fascicles (mostly quaternions, with some quinions and binions) are numbered from
1 [αʹ] to 37 [λζʹ]; sometimes the fascicle numbering is truncated, but no fascicle is missing. There is
only one watermark used throughout the manuscript, which figures in full page (folded in folio) in
one direction and then in the opposite direction, which means that there is no paper change when the
hand changes. The watermark, scissors, is a motif of 65/66 mm in height, spacing chainlines 29 mm. It
is close to Briquet 3681 (Siena, 1419) or 3663 (Prague, 1445), and very close, if not identical, to scissors
Harlfinger 21 Nov. 1432, copied by Gregorios Bryennios, Taur. XXIII (C-II-16), a copy of the Summa contra
Gentiles ordered and owned by Scholarios; see infra, pp. 152–153. The manuscript contains Demetrios
Kydones’ translation of IIa IIae; it was written by Scholarios (fol. 1–26v, 223–296v [fol. 255–256: blank],
text; fol. 27–221, titles) and his collaborator George Baiophoros (see Gamillscheg, D. Harlfinger, and
Hunger 1989, 48 and 54, Nos 74 and 92; Cataldi Palau 2008, 290). Qu. 65 to the end (i. e., including
qu. 78 [fol. 230v–231r], which concerns us here, were abridged. Qu. 1–64, which make up 35% of IIa
IIae, are fully reproduced, occupying 75% of the manuscript, whereas qu. 65–179, which make up 65%
of Thomas’ text, occupy only 25% of the manuscript. The full version of IIa IIae ends at qu. 65, art. 1
ad 3um up to “πονηρῶν λογισμῶν”, whereas Scholarios’ abridgment includes qu. 65, too. Since it is
almost certain that Scholarios, while composing the Sermon under discussion, used this manuscript
(see infra), which contains his own (partially identical and partially abridged) version of Kydones’
translation of IIa IIae, I quote here from this manuscript, adding, for practical reasons, references to
the printed semi-critical edition mentioned in this note and in n. 3.4 on p. 173.
10 On Scholarios’ taking liberties in extracting various Biblical, ancient Greek and Greek Patristic
passages from the “Thomas Graecus”, see, e. g., J.A. Demetracopoulos 2007, 318–321; 329, n. 74; J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2017d.
11 According to the – not always fortunate – division of the Sermon in Jugie’s edition.
132 | John A. Demetracopoulos

tic material used by Aquinas), enriching it with additional material from qu. 10, art. 4,
qu. 23, art. 6, qu. 26, art. 3–5, qu. 27, art. 8, qu. 30, art. 2 and 4, qu. 31, art. 2 and 3, qu.
32, art. 1, 2–7, 9 and 10, qu. 78, art. 1 and qu. 79, art. 1, as well as from Ia Pars, qu. 21, art.
3.¹² Appendix I offers a full picture of the indebtness of Scholarios’ Sermon to Aquinas.
As can be seen, there is almost nothing in Scholarios’ Sermon that is traceable back
to the patristic literature on almsgiving.¹³

2.1 The Introductory Part of the Sermon

Paragraphs 1–3 form the introduction to the sermon. In a way typical of Byzantine ser-
mons, Scholarios (par. 1) begins by quoting certain scriptural passages relevant to the
topic. Connecting this sermon with the one he had delivered a week earlier about fast-
ing (Περὶ νηστείας), these paragraphs¹⁴ indicate the vanity of fasting without charity.
Scholarios summarizes what he had said in the previous sermon about the profits one
can gain from fasting as follows: “[Ἡ νηστεία] τὴν σάρκα καθαίρει καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ
τὰ θεῖα μετεωρίζει καὶ δίκη τις οἷον καὶ ποινὴ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἡμῖν γίνεται”.¹⁵ In the
Sermon on Fasting, he had said:

Λυσιτελεῖ δὲ ἡμῖν [sc. ἡ νηστεία] τὰ μέγιστα.

Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ πρὸς ἀποχὴν τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς ἡδονῶν λυσιτελεῖ, καταστέλλουσα τὰς ἀτάκτους
κινήσεις ἐν τῷ τὴν θέρμην σβεννύναι τῆς φύσεως· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος· «ἐν νηστεί-
αις, ἐν ἁγνότητι» (II Cor. 6:6), ὡς τῆς «ἁγνότητος» δηλoνότι διὰ τῶν «νηστειῶν» καὶ γινομένης
ἡμῖν καὶ συντηρουμένης.
Δεύτερον, τὴν διάνοιαν ἡμῶν πρὸς τὴν θεωρίαν μετεωρίζει... Καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῖ Δανιὴλ (Dan. 10:2–
3) μετὰ τὴν τῶν τριῶν ἑβδομάδων νηστείαν ἐκ Θεοῦ δεδεγμένος τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν.
Τρίτον, τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσιν ἡμῖν καταπράττεται, ἀντὶ ποινῆς ἡμῖν καὶ δίκης τελοῦσα, κατὰ
τό· «ἐπιστρέψατε πρός με ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ κλαυθμῷ καὶ κοπετῷ» (Joel 2:12).¹⁶

12 In the corpus Thomisticum, the issue of “eleemosyna” is treated in a way like that in IIa IIae in
Thomas’ Commentary on the Sentences, Lib. IV, Dist. 15, qu. 2 and Ps.(?)-Thomas’ Sermo “Homo quidam
erat dives” (=T1450–1160/5 in: R. Schönberger et al., op. cit., 3677; 3837). The issue of “usura” (see
infra, pp. 146–146) is treated in a partly similar way in: (i) Thomas’ Commentary on the Sentences,
Lib. III, dist. 37, qu. 1, art. 6 (“Utrum usuras accipere sit peccatum”); (ii) Thomas’ Quaestiones dispu-
tatae de malo, qu, 13, art. 4; (iii) Thomas’ Quaestiones quodlibetales, qu. 3, art. 19; (iv) Ps.-Thomas’ De
regimine principum ad regem Cypri II, 13–14; (T1450–780 in: Schönberger et al. 2011, 3813–16); and (v)
Ps.-Thomas’ (Aegidius de Lessinia’s) De usuris in communi et de usurarum contractis (=T1450–1450 in
Schönberger et al. 2011, 3679 and 3847). (On the texts on usury, see Gómez Pérez 1982, 17–21.) Schol-
arios’ discussion of almsgiving and usury in the Sermon exhibits no traces of these texts at all.
13 On charitable contributions as a solution to the problem of social inequality in patristic thought,
see Gordon 1989, 106–109.
14 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 91, 17–27. The scriptural passages are quoted according to the Septuagint.
15 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 91, 29–30.
16 Scholarios, Περὶ νηστείας 3 (op. cit., 83, 15–27).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 133

This is how Scholarios summarises the above in his personal copy of Aquinas’ Summa
theologiae, IIa IIae (qu. 147, art. 1):

Ὑπὲρ τριῶν γάρ τις ἀναλαμβάνει τὴν νηστείαν·

αʹ μὲν πρὸς ἀποχὴν τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν ταύτης ἡδονῶν· ὅθεν ὁ Ἀπόστολός φησιν, ὡς εἴρηται, «ἐν
νηστείαις, ἐν ἁγνότητι», ὡς τῆς «ἁγνότητος» δηλαδὴ διὰ τῶν «νηστειῶν» συντηρουμένης·
βʹ πρὸς τὸ τὴν διάνοιαν οὕτω πρὸς τὴν θεωρίαν μετεωρίζεσθαι· ὅθεν λέγεται ἐν τῷ δʹ τοῦ Δανιήλ,
ὅτι μετὰ τὴν τῶν τριῶν ἑβδομάδων νηστείαν τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν ἐδέξατο τοῦ Θεοῦ·
γʹ ὑπὲρ ἀπαλλαγῆς καὶ ἱκανοποιήσεως τῶν ἰδίων ἁμαρτημάτων, ὡς λέγεται ἐν τῷ βʹ <Joel>· «ἐπι-
στρέψατε πρός με ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ κλαυθμῷ καὶ κοπετῷ».¹⁷

As is obvious, the lines from the Sermon on Almsgiving were based on the lines from the
Sermon on Fasting. As M. Jugie also noticed,¹⁸ Scholarios’ Sermon on Fasting was heav-
ily indebted to the relevant article (qu. 147: “Περὶ νηστείας”, art. 5: “Περὶ τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ
τοῦ χρόνου τῶν νηστειῶν”) from Aquinas’ Summa theologiae, IIa IIae. Indeed, Schol-
arios used cod. Par. gr. 1237 (see fol. C recto and 273v–274r), which was his personal
copy of IIa IIae (see supra, p. 131, n. 9). In the left margin of fol. 273v, Scholarios notes:
“Περὶ τοῦ Tεσσαρακονθημέρου” (“On Lent”). This is how par. 6 of his Sermon on Fast-
ing begins: “Διατί δὲ τεσσαρακονθήμερον τὴν νηστείαν ταύτην ποιεῖν κελευόμεθα;”¹⁹
The content can be fully traced back to this article. Likewise, in regard to par. 10–11
of the same Sermon,²⁰ Scholarios relied on qu. 148 (“Περὶ γαστριμαργίας”), art. 6.²¹
It should also not pass unnoticed that, in the first two of three scriptural references,
Scholarios mentions the relevant sacred authors, i. e. Paul and Daniel, who are men-
tioned in cod. Par. gr. 1237, whereas the third reference is simply introduced by the
vague phrase “κατὰ τό…”, presumably because, in the corresponding passage in cod.
Par. gr. 1237, the name of the minor prophet Joel is not mentioned.
As we shall see, Scholarios’ plan was to exploit his copy of Demetrios Kydones’
translation of IIa IIae for the composition of his Sermon on Almsgiving as well.²²

17 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 273r, 33–38. The Septuagint form of the Scriptural passage is different: «Ἐπι-
στράφητε πρός με ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ ἐν κλαυθμῷ καὶ ἐν κοπετῷ».
18 Jugie et al., tome I, 86, ad l. 6.
19 Eds. Jugie et. al., op. cit., tome I, 86, 3–4.
20 Eds. Jugie et. al., op. cit., tome I, 89, 4–33.
21 See cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 274r–v.
22 One of the volumes of the Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus project (see bibliography) is planned to
include the Scholarian sermons that depend heavily or almost exclusively on Aquinas. — As is known,
one of the major sources of Aquinas’ Summa theologiae, IIa IIae was the Dominican Guilelmus Peral-
dus’ (c. 1200 – 1271) Summa de vitiis et virtutibus, which was meant by his author/compiler to serve as
a rich mine of sources for the preaching activity of the Dominicans (see A. Dondaine 1948; Mulchahey
1998, 541; Inglis 1999, 13, n. 13; 18–19; Oliva 2008–2009, 235; Corbett 2015, 390). I do not know if Schol-
arios, in turning Aquinas’ quaestiones back to preaching material, was aware of Peraldus’ Summa and
its reception by Thomas. Vincent of Beauvais (c. 1190 – 1264), another author who exploited Peraldus a
lot (see Steiner 1933 in toto), had become known to the Byzantine world thanks to a partial translation
134 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Contrasting the above praise of fasting with God’s repudiation of fasting improp-
erly, that is, of the mere abstinence from certain foods, Scholarios argues for the su-
periority of almsgiving to fasting. To show this, he presents doing almsdeeds as a duty
deriving from human nature as essentially directed toward a good beyond itself:

Οὐ γὰρ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ζῶμεν ἕκαστος μόνον ὥσπερ ἀπόλυτόν τι πρᾶγμα καὶ ἄφετον, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν
Θεὸν τετάγμεθα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πλησίον. Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἑαυτόν τινα ἕκαστον ἀγαπᾶν οὐδὲ ἐντεταλ-
μένον ὅλως ἐστὶν («οὐδεὶς γὰρ» «ἑαυτόν» «ποτε μεμίσηκεν» [Eph. 5:29] νοῦν ἔχων), ἀλλὰ «τὸν
Θεὸν» «καὶ τὸν πλησίον» «ἀγαπᾶν» κελευόμεθα «ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἡμετέρας ψυχῆς καὶ καρδίας καὶ
διανοίας», τὸν μὲν Δημιουργὸν ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς, «τὸν» δὲ «πλησίον» «ὡς ἑαυτόν» [Deut.
6:5; Lev. 19:18; 19:34; Mt. 19:19; 22:37–39; Mc. 12:30–31; Lc. 10:27; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; Jac. 2:8]
ἕκαστος.²³

This is a simplified version of some of the main points in Aquinas’ qu. 26 (“Περὶ τῆς
τάξεως τῶν ἀγαπητῶν”).²⁴ Scholarios takes for granted that a sane person possesses
self-love, whereas this is not necessarily so in regard to one’s love of God, whom one is
commanded to love more than oneself, and in regard to one’s fellowmen, whom one is
commanded to love as much as oneself. The first clause (“Καὶ τὸ μὲν … ἔχων”) is put by
Aquinas in this way: “Παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπίκειται φροντὶς τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος” (IIa IIae,
qu. 26, art. 5 ad 3um).²⁵ As Scholarios correctly understood, this is a paraphrase of Eph.
5:29: “Oὐδεὶς γάρ ποτε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν”; this is why he rephrased Thomas’
formulation by using a more Pauline one. As for the addition of the conditional “νοῦν
ἔχων”, this is simply an implicit reference to self-destruction or suicide considered as
insanity (“ἀπόνοια”). Self-love is taken for granted in qu. 25, art. 7, Resp., too:

…Τὸ ἀγαπᾶν τινα ὅπερ ἑαυτὸν εἶναι νομίζει κοινόν ἐστι πᾶσιν. …Πάντες ἄνθρωποι … ἀγαπῶσιν
ἑαυτούς, καθόσον ἀγαπῶσι τὴν ἑαυτῶν συντήρησιν.²⁶

In fact, Aquinas quotes Eph. 5:29 twice in Part Two of the Summa theologiae. In Ia
IIae, qu. 29, art. 4 (“Περὶ τοῦ μίσους”), he argues that, properly speaking, self-hate

of his Speculum doctrinale; this was probably made by some still unidentified translator around 1300
in the circle of the Dominicans of Pera (Sternbach 1900–1901; W. Aerts 1986; Pérez Martı́n 1997b).
Granted that Scholarios was in contact with the Dominicans of Pera (see infra, p. 160, n. 176), it is
plausible to assume that he had access to Vincent’s or Peraldus’ writings. Still, if there is any direct
evidence connecting Scholarios’ utilization of IIa IIae with Peraldus (via Vincent or not), it has escaped
me.
23 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 91, 33–92, 4.
24 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 91r (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 100, 1). Cf. Basil
of Caesarea’s Asceticon magnum 3 (“Περὶ τῆς εἰς τὸν πλησίον ἀγάπης”): “…Ἥμερον καὶ κοινωνικὸν
ζῷον ὁ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ οὐχὶ μοναστικὸν οὐδὲ ἄγριον... Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἴδιον τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ὡς τὸ
κοινωνεῖν ἀλλήλοις καὶ χρῄζειν ἀλλήλων καὶ ἀγαπᾶν τὸ ὁμόφυλον” (PG 31: 917A).
25 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 94r, 39 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 109, 18–19).
26 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 88v, 14–15; 17–19 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 88,
30–89, 1; 89, 4–5). Cf. Gallagher 1999 in toto.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 135

is by nature impossible, which means absolutely impossible; and, in the Sed contra,
he quotes the same scriptural passage. This is how Scholarios puts this point in the
abridgment of this article in his Compendium “Primae Secundae”:

Τέταρτον· εἰ δυνατόν τινα ἑαυτὸν μισεῖν. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ πέμπτῳ τῆς Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστο-
λος· «Οὐδεὶς τὴν ἰδίαν σάρκα μισεῖ». ...Οὐδεὶς βούλεται ἢ ποιεῖ ἑαυτῷ κακὸν εἰμὴ κατὰ τὸν λόγον
τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.²⁷

Thomas has the same argument in IIa IIae, qu. 126, art. 1 (“Εἰ τὸ ἄφοβον εἶναι ἁμαρτία
ἐστίν”), which, in Scholarios’ partly abridged version of IIa IIae, reads:

Ἔγκειται τοίνυν ἑκάστῳ φύσει τὸ τὴν ἰδίαν ζωὴν ἀγαπᾶν καὶ πάντα τὰ πρὸς αὐτὴν ταττόμενα,
πλὴν τὸν προσήκοντα τρόπον, ὥστε δηλονότι ἀγαπᾶσθαι ταῦτα οὐχ ὡς ἐν τούτοις ὄντος τοῦ τέ-
λους, ἀλλὰ καθὸ τούτοις ἕνεκα τοῦ ἐσχάτου τέλους χρῆσθαι προσήκει. Ὅθεν τὸ ἀσθενεῖν τινα
περὶ τὴν κατὰ λόγον φυσικὴν τούτων ἀγάπην παρὰ τὴν φυσικήν ἐστι ῥοπήν... Οὐ μὴν τῆς τοιαύ-
της ἀγάπης παντελῶς τις ἐκπίπτει· τὸ γὰρ τῆς φύσεως ἀδύνατον παντελῶς ἀπολέσθαι. Ὅθεν ὁ
Ἀπόστολος ἐν τῷ εʹ τῆς Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους φησίν· «οὐδεὶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν».²⁸

The second clause of Scholarios’ passage (“ἀλλὰ … ἕκαστος”) is a sort of comment on

Mt. 22:37–39. That one should love God more than oneself is Aquinas’ point in qu. 26,
art. 3 (“Εἰ [δεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπᾶν] καὶ ἑαυτοῦ πλέον”), Sed contra and Resp.: “Μᾶλλον
ἄρα τὸν Θεὸν ἢ ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾶν ὀφείλει ὁ ἄνθρωπος. … Ὅθεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος μᾶλλον δι’
ἀγάπης ὀφείλει τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπᾶν, ὅς ἐστι κοινὸν πάντων ἀγαθόν, ἢ ἑαυτόν”.²⁹ In the
Resp., we can also find the main point of Scholarios’ introductory remark on the in-
nately social character of every human being. Since there is no verbal connection here
to Scholarios’ lines, I quote it in translation:

The fellowship of natural goods bestowed on us by God is the foundation of natural love, in virtue
of which not only man, so long as his nature remains unimpaired, loves God above all things and
more than himself, but also every single creature, each in its own way, i. e. either by an intellec-
tual, or by a rational, or by an animal, or at least by a natural love, as stones do, for instance,
and other things bereft of knowledge, because each part naturally loves the common good of the
whole more than its own particular good. This is evidenced by its operation, since the principal
inclination of each part is towards common action conducive to the good of the whole. It may also
be seen in civic virtues whereby sometimes the citizens suffer damage even to their own property
and persons for the sake of the common good. Wherefore much more is this realized with regard
to the friendship of charity which is based on the fellowship of the gifts of grace.³⁰

27 Eds. Jugie et al., tome VI, 33, 34–34, 1.

28 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 266r, 23–29.
29 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 93r, 17–18; 32–33 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 105,
3–4; 105, 19–21).
30 Translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province 2007, 1290–1291. This looks like a
paraphrase and development of Ps.-Dionysius the Areopagite’s De divinis nominibus IV, 15 (ed. B.-R.
Suchla, Corpus dionysiacum. I: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita. De divinis nominibus [Patristische Texte
und Studien 33], Berlin and New York 1990, 161, 1–5).
136 | John A. Demetracopoulos

As for the last clause, this is grosso modo Aquinas’ point in qu. 26, art. 4 (“Εἰ [δεῖ
ἀγαπᾶν] ἑαυτὸν πλέον ἢ τὸν πλησίον”) and 5 (“Εἰ [δεῖ ἀγαπᾶν] τὸν πλησίον πλέον ἢ
τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα”).³¹ In art. 4, Thomas, quoting in the Sed contra Mt. 22:39 (“ἀγαπήσεις
τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν”), argues that one should not love the others’ salvation
more than one’s own, which, nevertheless, he implies, is possible with regard to bod-
ily goods (except for the fundamental good of the body, which is life itself).
Scholarios (par. 2) goes on by verbosely repeating that fasting without charity is
detestable to God and that it is only thanks to His mercy that He tolerates our merciless
indifference to our brethren and His children.³² What God demands of us more than
anything else is love:

Ταύτης [sc. τῆς ἀγάπης] εἰς δύο μεριζομένης, εἴς τε τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ πλησίον, ἡ τοῦ πλησίον
μείζων ἐστίν. Αὕτη γὰρ καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην προϋποτίθησιν· ὁ γὰρ τὸν πλησίον ἀγαπῶν
νόμον καὶ ἐντολὴν πληροῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ, «ὁ δὲ τὰς ἐντολὰς τηρῶν» τοῦ Θεοῦ «τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπᾷ» (Joh.
14:15).³³

This is an adaptation of qu. 27, art. 8 (“Πότερον βέλτιον ἀγαπᾶν τὸν Θεὸν ἢ τὸν
πλησίον”), Resp.:

…Ἡ τοῦ πλησίον ἀγάπη περιλαμβάνει ἐν ἑαυτῇ καὶ τὴν θείαν ἀγάπην, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπη οὐ
περιέχει τὴν τοῦ πλησίον. … «Ταύτην γὰρ ἔχομεν τὴν ἐντολὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα ὁ τὸν Θεὸν
ἀγαπῶν ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ» (I Joh. 4:21). Καὶ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν νοῦν ἡ τοῦ πλησίον
ἀγάπη ὑπερέχει τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ.³⁴

In par. 3, Scholarios argues that the innovative element of the New Testament in com-
parison to the Old was the preaching of love, which supersedes that of justice. He
enriches this argument by saying that almsgiving, taken as an expression of love,
“μέρος τῆς καθόλου δικαιοσύνης ἐστὶ μέγα καὶ τῆς εἰδικῆς λεγομένης προσθήκη καὶ
ὑπερβολή”.³⁵ This sounds like scholastic terminology, and indeed, in qu. 79, art. 1
(“Περὶ τῶν δύο εἰδικῶν μερῶν τῆς δικαιοσύνης”), one reads:

...Ἡ δικαιοσύνη, καθόσον ἐστὶν εἰδικὴ ἀρετή, ὁρᾷ τἀγαθὸν κατὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ τῷ πλησίον ὀφει-
λομένου. Καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο τῆς εἰδικῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐστὶ ποιεῖν τἀγαθὸν κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ὀφειλομένου
λόγον ἐν τῇ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον παραθέσει...³⁶

31 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 93v, 9–94v, 3 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 106, 9–
109, 22).
32 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 92, 4–93, 15.
33 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 15–19.
34 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 104r, 24–29 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 144, 15–21).
See also qu. 44, art. 2 («Εἰ [αἱ ἐντολαὶ τῆς ἀγάπης] ἓν ἢ δύο μόναι»), Resp: «…ὧν ἁτέρα τάττεται ὑπὸ
τὴν λοιπήν» (cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 155r, 10–11; cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980,
131, 14–15).
35 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 28–29.
36 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 231r, 15–17 (cf. ed. Kalokairinou 2002, 295, 15–18).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 137

Likewise, in Ia Pars, qu. 21, art. 3 ad 2um, Thomas argues that “ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη οὐκ
ἀναιρεῖ τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν ὥσπερ τις δικαιοσύνης ὑπερβολή”.³⁷

2.2 The main part of the Sermon

The main part of the Sermon, which is full of Thomistic material, begins with par. 4:
“…Περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης νῦν λέγομεν. Αὕτη τοίνυν ἀγάπης ἐστὶν ἀποτέλεσμα προσεχές,
τῆς κορυφαίας τῶν ἀρετῶν”.³⁸ This is a paraphrase of the very title of qu. 32: “Περὶ
τῶν ἔξωθεν τῆς ἀγάπης ἀποτελεσμάτων ἢ ἐνεργειῶν”³⁹ (cf. qu. 32, art. 1, Resp.: “Τὸ
διδόναι ἐλεημοσύνην ἐνέργειά ἐστιν ἀγάπης”⁴⁰). That love is the highest of virtues is
shown in the first of the quaestiones on love: “Εἴ ἐστιν ὑψηλοτάτη τῶν ἀρετῶν” (qu.
23, art. 6).⁴¹
Scholarios alerts his audience to the fact that sometimes an act of charity is hyp-
ocritical and therefore, contrary to appearances, vicious, as its motive is “φόβος” or
“ἐλπὶς μείζονος ἀγαθοῦ” or, in the best case, one simply acts “κατὰ λόγον φυσικῆς
ἐλευθεριότητος”.⁴² This derives directly from Thomas’ qu. 32, art. 1 ad 1um: “Πολλοὶ
γὰρ μὴ ἔχοντες ἕξιν δικαιοσύνης [sc. the true virtue of justice] ποιοῦσι δίκαια ἢ διὰ τὸν
φυσικὸν λόγον ἢ διὰ φόβον ἢ ἐλπίδα τοῦ τυχεῖν τινος”.⁴³ To Scholarios, one must pur-
sue “formal [metaphysically speaking] charity” (“...τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν”⁴⁴). This
is exactly Thomas’ distinction between practising charity “ὑλικῶς” (materialiter) and
practising charity “εἰδικῶς” (formaliter), the former being possible for one to pursue
even without love.⁴⁵ To Scholarios, proper charity is “ἡ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ δι’ οὐδὲν
ἄλλο πρόσκαιρον καὶ προθύμως καὶ ἡδέως καὶ ἱλαρῶς καὶ κατὰ πάντα τὸν πρέποντα
γινομένη τρόπον”.⁴⁶ Again, this is a direct borrowing from the ad 1um: “…προθύμως καὶ
ἡδέως. …Διὰ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ προθύμως καὶ ἡδέως καὶ πάντα τὸν προσήκοντα τρόπον”.⁴⁷

37 I quote from cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 99v, 12–14, which was in Scholarios’ possession from 1431/32 (see
infra, pp. 151–152). See also Scholarios’ Compendium “Summae contra Gentiles” et I ae Partis “Summae
theologiae”, eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 358, 22–23: “Καὶ ἔστιν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη δικαιοσύνης ὑπερβολή”. As
will be seen, Scholarios used this article from Ia Pars in par. 7, too. On almsdeeds as a crossroads of
justice and charity in IIa IIae, see Spicq 1930.
38 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 34–36. See also 94, 5–6: “…ἀγάπης ἐστὶν ἀποτέλεσμα τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν
καὶ τὸν πλησίον”; 94, 36: “…ἀγάπης μὲν ἀμέσως ἐξηρτημένην, τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν κορυφῆς…”.
39 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. Av, 47 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 184, 1–2).
40 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 3 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 186, 2).
41 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 73v, 31 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 37, 1–39, 2).
42 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 38–94, 2.
43 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 6–8 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 186, 7–8).
44 Cf. eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 16: “εἰδοπεποιημένη ἐλεημοσύνη”.
45 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 8–12 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 186, 5–14).
46 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 93, 37–38.
47 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 13–14 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 186, 11–15).
138 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Scholarios goes on to show⁴⁸ that charity, besides being worth pursuing on its
own, expiates one’s sins. This is what Aquinas argues in qu. 32, art. 4 (“Εἰ αἱ σωματικαὶ
ἐλεημοσύναι ἔχουσι πνευματικὸν καρπόν”⁴⁹). In his Sed contra, Thomas appeals to Ec-
cles. 17:22: “…λέγεται ἐν τῷ λθʹ τοῦ Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ· ‘ἐλεημοσύνη ἀνδρὸς τὴν χάριν τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου ὡς κόρην συντηρήσει’”.⁵⁰ Scholarios copied this passage almost verbatim
(“ἐλεημοσύνη ἀνδρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου χάριν ὡς κόρην συντηρήσει”) from “Thomas
Graecus”⁵¹ and made a reference to the book of “Ἐκκλησιαστής” (Ecclesiasticus⁵²) that
puzzled his editors.⁵³
In the Resp., Aquinas appeals to more Scriptural passages: “…κατὰ τὸ ιθʹ τοῦ
Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ [i. e. Ecclesiasticus]· ‘ἀπόλλυε χρήματα διὰ τὸν ἀδελφόν· ἀποτίθει
θησαυρὸν ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Ὑψίστου, καὶ συνοίσει σοι μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ χρυσίον’”
(Eccles. 29:11); “σύγκλεισον ἐλεημοσύνην ἐν κόλπῳ πένητος, καὶ οὗτος ἐξελεῖται σε
ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ” (Eccles. 29:12).⁵⁴ This is what Scholarios does as well: “…ἐκεῖνο
τοῦ Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ…· ‘ἀπόλλυε’, φησί, ‘χρήματα διὰ τὸν ἀδελφόν· ἀποτίθει θησαυρὸν
ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Δεσπότου, καὶ συνοίσει σοι μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ χρυσίον’”; “…ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ
Ἐκκλησιαστῇ σαφῶς λέγεται· ‘σύγκλεισον’, φησίν, ‘ἐλεημοσύνην ἐνώπιον πένητος,
καὶ οὗτος ἐξελεῖται σε ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ’…”.⁵⁵ In the Septuagint, these two passages
read: “Θὲς τὸν θησαυρόν σου κατ’ ἐντολὰς Ὑψίστου, καὶ λυσιτελήσει σοι μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ
χρυσίον”; “Σύγκλεισον ἐλεημοσύνην ἐν τοῖς ταμιείοις σου, καὶ αὕτη ἐξελεῖται σε ἀπὸ
πάσης κακώσεως”.
Some lines below on the same page of cod. Par. gr. 1237, the next article (art. 5)
begins, in arg. 1 of which this Scriptural passage occurs: “…κατὰ τὸ δʹ τοῦ Δανιήλ·
‘ἡ βουλή μου τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀρεσάτω· τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου ἐλεημοσύναις ἐξάλειψον’ (Dan.
4:27)”.⁵⁶ Aquinas had quoted this passage for a different purpose; still, it obviously
showed the expiatory character of charity and thereby fitted to the context of Schol-
arios’ argument. So, Scholarios integrated it into his own text: “…ἐν τῷ Δανιὴλ

48 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 11–13.

49 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 116v, 22.
50 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 116v, 36–37 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 193, 21–
22). The editors arbitrarily “correct” the unanimous in the manuscripts reading “Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ” (see
app. crit., ad loc.) to “Σοφίας Σειράχ” throughout. This is what they sometimes do with regard to the
numbers of the Bible chapters and verses.
51 The passage in the Septuagint reads: “ἐλεημοσύνη ἀνδρὸς… χάριν ἀνθρώπου ὡς κόρην
συντηρήσει”.
52 The editors (see ad loc.) expect “Ἐκκλησιαστικός”. No research into Demetrios Kydones’ rendering
of the Latin titles of the books of the Holy Scripture has ever been made. Cf. J.A. Demetracopoulos
2007, 319, n. 47.
53 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 14 ad loc. Cf. Jugie et al., tome VI, p. VIII–IX.
54 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 117r, 4–6; 9–10 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 194,
2–4; 194, 8–9).
55 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 14–16; 94, 28–29.
56 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 117r, 20–21 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 194, 22–24).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 139

σαφῶς λέγεται· ‘ἡ βουλὴ’ γάρ ‘μου’, φησί, ‘τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀρεσάτω· τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου
ἐλεημοσύναις ἐξάλειψον’”.⁵⁷ Again, the passage in the Septuagint is quite different:
“Κύριος ζῇ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ… Αὐτοῦ δεήθητι περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν σου καὶ πάσας τὰς
ἀδικίας σου ἐν ἐλεημοσύναις λύτρωσαι”.
Scholarios adds further scriptural evidence for the great benefits of almsdeeds:
“Αἱ δὲ Κορνηλίου ‘ἐλεημοσύναι’ πρὸς Θεὸν ‘ἀναβᾶσαι’ τὴν τῆς ἀληθοῦς πίστεως
ἀποκάλυψιν ἆθλον αὐτῷ πεπόμφασιν”.⁵⁸ This reference to the episode of the Ro-
man centurion Cornelius in Act. 10:1–33 does not occur in qu. 32. Yet, it does occur
in qu. 10 (“Περὶ τῶν ἀντικειμένων παθῶν τῇ πίστει”), art. 4 (“Εἰ πᾶσα τῶν ἀπίστων
ἐνέργεια ἁμαρτία ἐστίν”; Sed contra and ad 3um), where infidelity in relation to moral
acts such as charity is discussed:

...Τοὐναντίον λέγεται περὶ τοῦ Κορνηλίου, ᾧ ἔτι ἀπίστῳ ὄντι εἴρηται τὰς ἐλεημοσύνας αὐτοῦ εὐ-
προσδέκτους γενέσθαι. [...]
Περὶ δὲ τοῦ Κορνηλίου δεῖ γινώσκειν ὅτι ἄπιστος οὐκ ἦν· ἄλλως γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἦν ἡ τούτου πρᾶξις
ἄνευ «πίστεως» εὐπρόσδεκτος τῷ Θεῷ, ἧς «ἄνευ» «οὐδεὶς δύναται τῷ Θεῷ ἀρέσκειν» (Rom. 8:8).
Εἶχε μέντοι πίστιν συνεπτυγμένην, τῆς τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἀληθείας οὔπω δεδημευμένης. Ὅθεν, ἵνα
τελείως αὐτὸν καταρτίσειεν εἰς τὴν πίστιν, ὁ Πέτρος πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποστέλλεται.⁵⁹

Scholarios’ reproduction of Act. 10:4 (“Αἱ προσευχαί σου καὶ αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου
ἀνέβησαν ‘εἰς μνημόσυνον ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ’ [cf. Eccles. 50:16]”)⁶⁰ is partly close
to the Greek original text and partly to its version in the “Thomas Graecus”. Undoubt-
edly, therefore, Scholarios’ source was the just quoted Thomistic passage. Scholarios
does not enter into Aquinas’ delicate discussion of the effects of the “fides implicita”
on the moral value of one’s acts; for the purpose of his sermon, it was sufficient to
include a vague reference to the way in which Cornelius joined Christians. The Cor-
nelius story is discussed sometimes in the Greek patristic literature — e. g., in John
Chrysostom’s De eleemosyna, et in decem virgines.⁶¹ Yet, Scholarios did not turn to any
Greek text, but exclusively to Thomas.
In par. 5, Scholarios makes the qualification that almsgiving, in spite of its re-
ligiously imperative character, should not be pursued in an irrational, extreme way
and lead social life to collapse. Rather, one should first take care of oneself, then of

57 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 18–19.

58 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 34–35.
59 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 32r, 29–30; 32v, 11–15 (cf. ed. Leontsinis and Glycophrydi-Leontsini 1976, 158,
5–6; 159, 3–7). Scholarios was to draw on qu. 10 in his Letter to Oises (see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2004a,
134–135; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2006a, 334–336; cf. infra, p. 151, n. 127).
60 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 94, 33–35.
61 PG 49: 291; 293. See also John Chrysostom, De poenitentia homilia VII, 6 (PG 49: 332); Ps.-John
Chrysostom, De jejunio et eleemosyna (PG 48: 1060); Ps.-John Chrysostom, De eleemosyna (PG 60: 749–
750); Gregory Nazianzen, De pauperum amore (PG 35: 857A–909C). On the various Greek patristic ideas
on almsgiving, see, e. g., Karayiannis 1994, 56–58.
140 | John A. Demetracopoulos

one’s close and distant relatives, then of one’s neighbours and so on gradatim.⁶² This
is Thomas’ point in the Resp. of art. 5, which shows that charity is imperative for Chris-
tians.⁶³ Scholarios⁶⁴ also alerts his listeners to the possible misinterpretation of Jesus’
exhortation “go and sell all your belongings” (Matt. 19:21) as strictly imperative for ev-
erybody. This is what Aquinas does in qu. 32, art. 6 (“Εἰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀναγκαίου δεῖ διδόναι
τὴν σωματικὴν ἐλεημοσύνην”).⁶⁵ To Scholarios, this exhortation has to do with per-
fection (“Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι…”), which one can see in certain exceptional figures,
such as the prophet Elisha:

Ὁ γὰρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα σκορπίζων διὰ Χριστὸν ἔργον ποιεῖ τελειότητος, ἐν ἑτέρᾳ τάξει μετατιθεὶς
ἑαυτόν… Ὁ τῷ ἐκείνου [sc. Jesus] τοίνυν ζήλῳ πάντων ὑφ’ ἓν τοῖς πένησιν ἐξιστάμενος… Οὕτω γὰρ
κἀν τῇ Παλαιᾷ (III Reg. 19:21) τοὺς αὑτοῦ βοῦς Ἐλισσαῖος ἔσφαξε πάντας καὶ τροφὴν τοῖς πένησιν
ἔδωκε, προθέμενος μηδεμιᾷ λοιπὸν φροντίδι κρατεῖσθαι, ὥσπερ προανακηρύττων τὴν τελειότητα
τῶν κατὰ Χριστὸν μελλόντων φιλοσοφεῖν, τουτέστι τῶν ἀληθινῶν μοναχῶν.⁶⁶

This is a very close borrowing from qu. 32, art. 10 ad 2um:

…ὁ Θεὸς οὐ βούλεται ὑφ’ ἓν τὸν πλοῦτον ἐκχεῖσθαι, εἰ μήπου τις μεταμείβει τὸ σχῆμα. (…) …«Εἰ
μήπου ὥσπερ ὁ Ἐλισσαῖος (III Reg. 19:21) τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ βοῦς ἔσφαξε καὶ τοὺς πένητας ἔθρεψε προ-
θέμενος μηδεμιᾷ λοιπὸν φροντίδι κρατεῖσθαι».⁶⁷

Even Scholarios’ σκορπίζειν (a synonym for the scriptural “δός” in Matt. 19:21, Mark
10:21) and his reference to the monks as the “perfect” ones occur in qu. 32, art. 6:

…ὅταν τις τὸν βίον μεταβάλλῃ, οἷον μοναχικὸν ὑποδυόμενος βίον· τότε γὰρ πάντα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ
ἀγαθὰ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν σκορπίζων ἔργον ποιεῖ τελειότητος ἐν ἄλλῃ τάξει μετατιθεὶς ἑαυτόν.⁶⁸

Scholarios changed only “ἄλλῃ” to “ἑτέρᾳ”, which is hardly much of a change to what
he read in the “Thomas Graecus”.
Thereafter (par. 6), Scholarios commences a discussion of the practicality of the
commandment of almsgiving, mainly addressing the common objection of how the
poor or average man, who obviously lack the means, are supposed to observe it. His
reply runs that one’s subjective intention or good will counts more than the objective
extent of the help one offers, which means that even the slightest charitable contri-

62 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 95, 3–22.

63 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 117r, 38–v, 28 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 195,
16–196, 16).
64 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 95, 22–96, 2.
65 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 118r, 19 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 198, 16–199,
14).
66 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 95, 25–35.
67 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 121v, 5–8 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 209, 5–9).
Aquinas quotes from Ambrose.
68 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 118v, 20–23 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 199, 15–18).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 141

bution counts on the spiritual level. In this context, he appeals to Jesus’ celebrated
comment on the contribution of the poor widow to the treasury (Luke 21:1–4: “…πλεῖον
πάντων ἔβαλεν…”; cf. Marc. 12:41–44):

Οὐ γὰρ τῇ τοῦ διδομένου ποσότητι, ἀλλὰ τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ διδόντος καὶ τῇ προθέσει προσέχειν τὸν
ἡμετέρων ἔργων ἐξεταστήν, ὃς καὶ τὴν χήραν ἐπῄνεσεν ἐκ τῶν ἀναγκαίων συνεισενεγκαμένην καὶ
διὰ τοῦτο «πλέον πάντων» ἀναλόγως ἐπιβαλοῦσαν.⁶⁹

This is Aquinas’ point in qu. 32, art. 4 (arg. 3 and ad 3um):

…ἐν τῷ καʹ τοῦ Κατὰ Λουκᾶν λεγομένῳ περὶ τῆς χήρας…, ἣ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου ἀπόφασιν «πλέον
ἔβαλε πάντων». (…) …Ἡ χήρα ἧττον δέδωκε κατὰ τὴν ποσότητα, πλέον κατ’ ἀναλογίαν.⁷⁰

Once more, Scholarios deviates from the text of the Greek New Testament because he
follows “Thomas Graecus”.
Scholarios then examines the rare case when one’s personal property amounts to
literally nothing and argues that even in such a case one is nevertheless still able to
practise alms. How so? One is capable of “spiritual alms”, i. e. of alms that supplies
someone’s spiritual needs:

…πνευματικαῖς ἄλλαις στερήσεσι καὶ χρείαις ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑποβέβληται φύσις, αἷς βοηθῶν τις
καὶ πολλῷ μεῖζον τὸν ἔλεον ἐπιδείκνυται, ὅσῳ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ σώματος πέφυκε τιμιώτερον…⁷¹

This distinction between “ἐλεημοσύνη σωματική” and “ἐλεημοσύνη πνευματική” de-

rives from qu. 32, art. 2 (“Περὶ τῆς διακρίσεως τῶν ἐλεημοσυνῶν”⁷²), Resp.:

…ἡ προειρημένη τῶν ἐλεημοσυνῶν διάκρισις εἰκότως λαμβάνεται κατὰ τὰς διαφόρους τῶν πλη-
σίον ἐνδείας. Ὧν αἱ μέν εἰσι ψυχικαί, εἰς ἃς τάττονται αἱ πνευματικαὶ ἐλεημοσύναι, αἱ δὲ σωματι-
καί, πρὸς ἃς πάλιν τάττονται αἱ σωματικαί. Αἱ μὲν οὖν τοῦ σώματος ἔνδειαι… Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ταῖς
πνευματικαῖς ἐνδείαις διὰ τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐνεργειῶν ἡ βοήθεια γίνεται...⁷³

Likewise, in qu. 32, art. 3 (“Πότερόν εἰσι κρείττους ἐλεημοσύναι αἱ σωματικαὶ ἢ αἱ

πνευματικαί”), Thomas argues for the partial superiority of spiritual alms as follows:

69 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 96, 5–8. The form ἐπιβατοῦσαν, which is in the edition, is grammatically
unacceptable; ἐπιβαλοῦσαν would make sense.
70 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 116v, 33–35; 117r, 15–16 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980,
193, 17–19; 194, 16–17).
71 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 96, 20–26.
72 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 25 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 187, 1).
73 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 115r, 21–25; 37–38 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 188,
12–189, 1). Cf. qu. 31, art. 2, Resp.: “Οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι πολλὰς ἐνδείας δύνανται πάσχειν” (cod. Par. gr.
1237, fol. 112r, 37–38; cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 178, 3).
142 | John A. Demetracopoulos

“Τὸ γὰρ πνεῦμα τιμιώτερόν ἐστι τοῦ σώματος”.⁷⁴ Scholarios, to show how one can
substitute spiritual alms for a bodily, reproduces Thomas’ list of the kinds of corporal
charity. I italicize the words that fully coincide:

Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, IIa IIae, qu.

Scholarios, On Almsgiving, par. 6
32, art. 3

τροφὴν δοῦναι τρέφειν τὸν πεινῶντα

ποτίζειν ποτίζειν τὸν διψῶντα
ἐνδύειν γυμνόν ἐνδύειν τὸν γυμνόν
τοῦ νοσοῦντος ἐπίσκεψις συνάγειν τὸν ξένον
ξένον ὑποδέχεσθαι ἐπισκέπτεσθαι τὸν ἀσθενῆ
λύτρα or λῦσαι σωματικῶν δεσμῶν τὸν λυτροῦσθαι τὸν αἰχμάλωτον
αἰχμάλωτον
κηδεῦσαι τὸν τεθνεῶτα⁷⁵ θάπτειν τὸν τεθνηκότα⁷⁶
or
ξηρὰ τροφή (or τρέφειν)
ὑγρὰ τροφή (or ποτίζειν)
σκέπη
ἐνδύειν τὸν γυμνόν
ὑποδέχεσθαι τὸν ξένον
τὸν ἀσθενῆ ἐπισκέπτεσθαι
ἡ τοῦ αἰχμαλώτου λύτρωσις
ἡ τῶν ἀποθνῃσκόντων ταφή⁷⁷

In par. 7, Scholarios extols the ubiquity of the virtue of ἐλεημοσύνη (“τὴν γῆν πληροῖ
πᾶσαν”) by fundamentally ascribing it to God himself as the almighty and beneficial
ruler of the universe, including human affairs. After appealing to some scriptural pas-
sages in this direction, he remarks:

Αὕτη εἴπερ τι ἄλλο τῶν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ κοινῶς λεγομένων ἴδιόν ἐστιν αὐτοῦ καὶ πρᾶγμα τῆς παντοδυ-
νάμου μεγαλειότητος ἄξιον. «Γίνεσθε» γάρ, φησίν, «οἰκτίρμονες, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐ-
ράνιος οἰκτίρμων ἐστί» (Lc. 6:36). Καὶ εἰ μὴ πρόσεστι τῷ Θεῷ τὸ πάθος τοῦ οἴκτου, καθώς ἐστιν
ὀδύνη τις καὶ λύπη ἐπὶ τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ τοῦ πάσχοντος, ἀλλὰ πρόσεστιν ἡ τοῦ ἐλέους ἐνέργεια, καθ’
ἣν ἐκχεῖ τοῖς δεομένοις τὰ ἀγαθὰ καὶ τὰς τῶν πασχόντων ἐνδείας ἐπικουφίζει.⁷⁸

74 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 116r, 10; 116v, 1 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 190,
26–27; 192, 10).
75 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 96, 26–97, 3.
76 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 114v, 27–30 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 187, 4–6).
77 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 115r, 21–25; 37–38 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 188,
19–28).
78 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 97, 24–30.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 143

Two small divergences of the scriptural quotation from the Greek original (“Γίνεσθε
οἰκτίρμονες, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων ἐστί”) look suspicious. In fact, one
can find the selfsame passage in qu. 30, art. 4 (“Εἰ μεγίστη τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐστιν ὁ ἔλεος”),
arg. 3, where Aquinas argues that this virtue renders us imitators of God.⁷⁹ In the Resp.,
one can find the words of Scholarios italicized above:

Καθ’ αὑτὸν … ὁ ἔλεος μέγιστόν ἐστιν· αὐτῷ γάρ ἐστι τὸ καὶ εἰς ἄλλους ἐκχεῖν τὰ ἀγαθά, καί, ὃ
πλέον ἐστί, τὰς τῶν ἄλλων ἐνδείας ἐπικουφίζειν. [...] Ὅθεν καὶ τὸ ἐλεεῖν ἴδιον λέγεται τοῦ Θεοῦ,
κἀν τούτῳ μάλιστα τὸ παντοδύναμον αὐτοῦ λέγεται δείκνυσθαι.⁸⁰

As for the way in which Scholarios resolves the problem of how God can be merciful,
given that mercy entails compassion, i. e. emotional suffering over the misfortune of
the recipient of mercy, he is wholly dependent on Aquinas. In qu. 30, art. 2 Resp.,
Scholarios read that

ἐπεὶ ὁ ἔλεος συμπάθειά ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἑτέρου ταλαιπωρίᾳ, ἐκ τούτου συμβαίνει ἐλεεῖν τινά, ἐξ
οὗ συμβαίνει καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἑτέρου ταλαιπωρίᾳ λυπεῖσθαι.⁸¹

This is the apparent problem in regarding God as merciful. Where was a solution to
be found? What betrays Scholarios is his calling divine mercy “τι τῶν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ κοινῶς
λεγομένων”. This refers us to Thomas’ discussion of the “common divine names” (i. e.
of the names that apply to all the persons of the Trinity) in Ia Pars, qu. 21 (“De justitia
et misericordia Dei”), art. 3 (“Utrum misericordia competat Deo”):

…Ῥητέον ἂν εἴη τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην μάλιστα δεῖ ἀποδίδοσθαι τῷ Θεῷ, κατὰ τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα μέντοι,
ἀλλ’ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πάθους διάθεσιν… «Ἐλεήμων» τις λέγεται, ὡς ἐλεεινὴν (ἤτοι ταλαίπωρον)
καρδίαν ἔχων, ὡσὰν τῇ ἑτέρου ταλαιπωρίᾳ αὐτὸς οὕτω διατιθέμενος, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ ἰδία ἦν αὐτοῦ
ἡ ταλαιπωρία. Καὶ διὰ τοῦθ’ ἕπεται σπουδάζειν αὐτὸν ἀπελάσαι τὴν ἑτέρου ταλαιπωρίαν ὥσπερ
ἰδίαν, καὶ τοῦτ’ ἐστὶ τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τῇ ἑτέρου ταλαιπωρίᾳ λυ-
πεῖσθαι οὐδαμῶς ἐστι τῷ Θεῷ προσῆκον, τὸ δὲ ταύτην ἀπελαύνειν μάλιστά ἐστιν οἰκεῖον αὐτῷ,
διὰ τῆς «ταλαιπωρίας» πᾶσαν στέρησιν νοούντων ἡμῶν. Αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται στερήσεις διὰ μόνης τῆς
τελείας ἀγαθότητος ἀναιροῦνται. Ὁ Θεὸς δέ ἐστιν ἡ πρώτη αἰτία τῆς ἀγαθότητος…⁸²

Thereafter, Scholarios exhorts his audience once more to almsdeeds:

79 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 111r, 21–26 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 173, 4–6).
80 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 111r, 31–35 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 173, 12–16).
81 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 110r, 4–6 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 168, 3–5). Cf.
qu. 30, art. 1 ad 2um (eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 166, 16–17).
82 Cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 99r, 24–34 (see infra, pp. 152–154). Two decades or so later (on the date see
infra, p. 152), Scholarios was to abridge the relevant article of the Summa theologiae as follows: “Ὅτι
τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ἀποδίδοσθαι δεῖ τῷ Θεῷ μάλιστα..., κατὰ τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα μέντοι, οὐ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ
πάθους διάθεσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἄλλου ταλαιπωρίᾳ λυπούμενος καὶ συναλγῶν, ἀλλ’ ὡς τῇ τελείᾳ
ἀγαθότητι ἀπελαύνων καὶ ἀναιρῶν τὴν ταλαιπωρίαν, δηλονότι τὰς στερήσεις ἁπάσας” (Scholarios,
Compendium “Summae contra Gentiles” et I ae Partis “Summae theologiae”, eds. Jugie et al., tome V,
358, 13–17).
144 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Ταύτην τοίνυν τιμητέον καὶ ἀσπαστέον, ὅση δύναμις, καὶ πρὸ τῶν «θυσιῶν» αὐτὴν Θεῷ προσα-
κτέον, «ἔλεον θέλοντι καὶ μὴ θυσίαν» (Os. 6:6; Mt. 9:13; 12:17) καὶ «εὐποιίαις» μᾶλλον ἢ «θυσίαις»
ἄλλαις «ἀρεσκομένῳ» κατὰ τὸν θεῖον αὖθις Ἀπόστολον (Hebr. 13:16).⁸³

This is a direct borrowing from qu. 30, art. 4 ad 3um:

...Ὁ ἔλεος, δι’ <οὗ> ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων ἐνδείαις βοήθεια γίνεται, ἔστι θυσία τῷ Θεῷ μᾶλλον εὐπρόσδε-
κτος..., κατὰ τὸ ἔσχατον τῆς Πρὸς Ἑβραίους· «τῆς δὲ εὐποιίας καὶ <κοινωνίας> μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε·
τοιαύταις γὰρ θυσίαις εὐαρεστεῖται ὁ Θεός».⁸⁴

The scriptural passage is identical with its original Greek form; still, this is not due
to Scholarios, but to Demetrios Kydones, who rendered it in this way (presumably be-
cause he remembered it accurately and realized that its version in Aquinas could be
rendered back to Greek literally without altering this version).
Scholarios goes on (par. 8) to specify the order in which we should practise
charity towards people: “οἱ γεννήσαντες” or “γονεῖς”, “τέκνα”, “οἱ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ τοῖς
κοινοῖς ὠφέλιμοι”, “οἱ κατὰ σάρκα συνημμένοι ἡμῖν” (i. e. the remaining relatives),
“τῶν λοιπῶν συγγενῶν οἱ κοινωφελέστεροι”, and “οἱ ἔξωθεν” (i. e. the non-relatives)
—with “οἱ προεστῶτες ἡμῶν” having priority over “οἱ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν ἀρχόμενοι”, and,
out of the latter group, the “οἷς ὀφείλομέν τινα χάριν” having priority over the “οἷς
οὐκ ὀφείλομεν”.⁸⁵ All this is a succinct yet verbally very close summary of Aquinas’
qu. 31 (“Περὶ εὐποιίας”), art. 2 (“Εἰ δεῖ πάντας εὖ ποιεῖν”) and 3 (“Εἰ τοὺς μᾶλλον
συνημμένους μᾶλλον εὖ ποιεῖν δεῖ”)⁸⁶ and qu. 32, art. 6 (“Εἰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀναγκαίου δεῖ
διδόναι τὴν σωματικὴν ἐλεημοσύνην”).⁸⁷ For brevity’s sake, I will not offer a de-
tailed comparison, but only point out, for instance, Scholarios’ “αὐτοὺς [sc. τοὺς
γεννήσαντας] δεῖ προτιμᾶσθαι πάντων πρὸς ἔλεος”⁸⁸ and Thomas’ “τοὺς γονέας ἐν
ταῖς τῶν εὐποιιῶν ἀντιμετρήσεσι πάντων δεῖ προτιμᾶν”.⁸⁹ Moreover, as usual, Schol-
arios borrows verbatim (from Aquinas’ qu. 31⁹⁰) some items of scriptural evidence:
“…ὑποδέξονται ἡμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους μονάς” (Luke 16:9: “…δέξωνται ἡμᾶς εἰς τὰς
αἰωνίους σκηνάς”); “Τὰ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ, ἀδελφέ” (Philem.

83 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 97, 31–33.

84 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 111v, 8–12. “Οὗ” and “κοινωνίας” do not figure in the codex (see eds. Ph. A.
Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 173, 29–174, 4). As expected, they do not figure in Scholarios’
passage either.
85 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 97, 34–98, 16.
86 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 112r, 23–113v, 16 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 177,
11–182, 5).
87 Eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and M. Brentanou 1980, 198, 21–199, 14. Cf. supra, p. 140.
88 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 97, 37–98, 1.
89 Qu. 31, art. 3 ad 3um (cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 113v, 6–7; cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou
1980, 181, 22–23).
90 Qu. 32, art. 3, arg. 3; art. 6, arg. 3; art. 9, arg. 2 (cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 116r, 26–27; 118r, 31–32; 120v,
20–21; cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 191, 17–18; 198, 10–12; 206, 4–8).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 145

7; no differences from the Greek New Testament are discernible);⁹¹ “Εἴ τις τῶν ἰδίων
καὶ μάλιστα τῶν οἰκείων μὴ προνοεῖται, τὴν πίστιν ἤρνηται καί ἐστιν ἀπίστου χείρων”
(I Tim. 5:8: “Εἴ τις τῶν ἰδίων καὶ μάλιστα οἰκείων οὐ προνοεῖται, οὗτος τὴν πίστιν
ἤρνηται καί ἐστιν ἀπίστου χείρων”). These passages do not differ significantly from
their Greek New Testament form; though, one cannot overlook the fact that they are
quoted as a set by Thomas as well, and Demetrios Kydones translated them literally,
as usual,⁹² from Thomas’ Latin into Greek. The very fact that Scholarios quoted these
particular scriptural passages in this context means that their presence in Scholarios’
Sermon can be accounted for in terms of his reading and exploiting not the Bible
but Aquinas, whereas the form in which he eventually quoted was co-shaped by his
own lifelong acquaintance with the Greek Bible, which was independent of his (also
lifelong) study of Aquinas’ writings.⁹³
Scholarios ends this point by suggesting that, although one should normally at-
tend to the above order in doing good, it may nevertheless happen that, in extremely
pressing circumstances which this or that person may encounter, one should act dif-
ferently:

Καὶ καθόλου μὲν τοιούτῳ τινὶ κανόνι πρὸς τὴν εὐποιίαν χρηστέον. Ἔστι δ’ ὅτε καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀνάγκην
μόνην ἀποβλεπτέον· ᾧ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἔλαττον τῶν ἄλλων ὀφείλομεν βοηθεῖν, τούτῳ συμπτώματός
τινος ἐπελθόντος δεῖ τὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἄχθος ἐπικουφίζειν…⁹⁴

By mentioning “εὐποιία”, Scholarios indirectly informs us that his particular source

was not qu. 32, but qu. 31. Indeed, this is a close paraphrase of the concluding para-
graph of qu. 31, art. 3 Resp.:

Κατὰ τὰς διαφόρους τοίνυν κοινωνίας διαφόρως τὰς διαφόρους εὐποιίας δεῖ διανέμειν. (…) Δύνα-
ται μέντοι τοῦτο πολλάκις καὶ ἐναλλάττεσθαι…· ἔν τινι γὰρ συμπτώματι μᾶλλον δεῖ βοηθῆσαι τῷ
ἀλλοτρίῳ, οἷον εἴπερ εἴη ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἀνάγκαις, ἢ τῷ πατρὶ μὴ ἐν τῇ ὁμοίᾳ ἀνάγκῃ ὄντι.⁹⁵

At this point (par. 9), Scholarios turns again (cf. supra, pp. 131–142) to qu. 32, focus-
ing on the next article, i. e. the 7th one (“Εἰ δεῖ [alms] δίδοσθαι καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀδίκως
πεπορισμένων”⁹⁶):

91 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 98, 5–10.

92 See, e. g., J. A. Demetracopoulos 2004a, 172–173, n. 503 and 504.
93 One cannot exclude out of hand the possibility that, in some cases, he opened the Greek Bible
before quoting, whereas at other cases he did not. Further pressing the point without lapsing into
mere speculation would require an exhaustive list of the scriptural passages in Scholarios and his
sources and a comparative study of every single case. This would require a re-edition of Scholarios’
writings.
94 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 98, 17–20.
95 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 113r, 8–14 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 180, 8–14).
96 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 118v, 30 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 199, 26).
146 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Ἐκλεκτέον δὲ ἐκ τῶν δικαίως πεπορισμένων, οὐκ ἐξ ὧν ἁρπάζοντες ἀδικοῦμεν. Οὐ γὰρ «μαμωνᾶν

ἀδικίας» (Luke 16:9) τὰ ἠδικημένα βούλεται καλεῖν ὁ Δεσπότης…, ἀλλὰ «μαμωνᾶν ἀδικίας», του-
τέστιν ἀνισότητος, πάντα λέγει τὸν πλοῦτον, κἀν ἐκ δικαίων ᾖ πεπορισμένος προφάσεων. Οὐ γὰρ
ἐπίσης πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ὁ πλοῦτος διανενέμηται, τοῦ μὲν δεομένου τῶν ἀναγκαίων, τοῦ δὲ μετρίως
εὐποροῦντος, τοῦ δὲ τῷ πλήθει διαρρηγνυμένου. Ἄδικος δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ὁ πλοῦτός ἐστιν, ὅτι ποικίλοις
ἄχθεσι καὶ φροντίσι τὰς ἡμετέρας διανοίας βαρύνει…⁹⁷

Scholarios’ gloss on “ἀδικία”, i. e. “ἀνισότης”, sounds like the Latin “iniquitas”. In-
deed, the opening argument of article 7 includes Scholarios’ Scriptural passage as
well as the very word iniquitas/ἀνισότης.⁹⁸ As for the rest, one must have a look at the
Resp. and the ad 1um:

…Οὐ καλῶς τι πορίζεται… ἐπὶ τῆς ἁρπαγῆς καὶ τῆς κλοπῆς καὶ τῶν τόκων· ἐκ γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων
ἀδύνατον γίνεσθαι ἐλεημοσύνην… …Πάντα τὰ χρήματα «μαμωνᾶς ἀδικίας» λέγεται… Ἢ «ἄδικον»
εἴρηκε «μαμωνᾶν», ὅτι ποικίλ[λ]οις ἄχθεσι πλούτου τὰς ἡμετέρας καρδίας βαρύνει… Ἢ πάντα τὰ
χρήματα «ἀδικίας» λέγονται, τουτέστιν ἀνισότητος, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐπίσης διανέμεσθαι πᾶσιν, τοῦ μὲν
δεομένου, τοῦ δὲ τῷ πλήθει διαρρηγνυμένου.⁹⁹

2.2.1 Scholarios’ Thomas-based excursus on usury

Thereafter, Scholarios, presumably motivated by “τόκος” in the just quoted passage

from Aquinas, goes on to insert in his Sermon some essential material on usury from
Aquinas’ corresponding quaestio.¹⁰⁰ This is Scholarios’ brief excursus at this point:

(1) Οὐ μὴν οὐδ’ ἐκ τόκων ποιητέον τὴν εὐποιίαν, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῶν δικαίων μόνον καρπῶν ἡμῶν, του-
τέστιν ἐξ ὧν ποιοῦντες αὐτοὶ καὶ κινδυνεύοντες κτώμεθα.
(2) Χρημάτων δὲ τόκους μάλιστα μὲν οὐδὲ λαμβάνειν χρή, συναρπαγέντας δέ ποτε χρημάτων ἐπιθυ-
μίᾳ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἠδικημένοις ἀποδιδόναι δεῖ καὶ οὕτω τὴν θείαν ἐπισπᾶσθαι φιλανθρωπίαν, καθάπερ
ἐπὶ πάντων ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀδίκως πεπορισμένων¹⁰¹ τοῦτο πρέπον ἐστὶ ποιεῖν.
(3) Ὅτι δὲ χαλεπὸν ἁμάρτημά ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τῶν δανείων τόκους εἰσπράττεσθαι, πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸς
ὁ Θεὸς ἀποφαίνεται· «εἰ» γὰρ «δανείσεις», φησίν, «ἀργύριον τῷ λαῷ μου τῷ πτωχῷ τῷ μετὰ σοῦ
κατοικοῦντι, οὐκ ἀναγκάσεις ὥσπερ εἰσπράκτωρ οὔτε τόκοις αὐτὸν πιέσεις» (Ex. 22:25).
(4) Εἶτα τῷ λόγῳ δὴ τοῦτο δείκνυται. Ἐκείνων γὰρ δυνάμεθα μόνον τόκους λαμβάνειν, ὧν τὴν
χρῆσιν ἑτέροις μόνην διδόαμεν, ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς τὴν δεσποτείαν παραφυλάττοντες. Ταῦτα δέ εἰσιν,

97 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 98, 21–32.

98 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 118v, 33 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 200, 1–2).
99 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 119r, 14–17; 119r, 34–v, 3 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou
1980, 200, 26–202, 5). Aquinas quotes from Augustine, Ambrose and Basil. Cf. infra, p. 140, note 67.
100 On Aquinas’ view of usury, see, inter alia, Taeusch 1942, 296–297; Noonan 1957, 51–57; 109–111;
117–118; 143–145; Noonan 1965, 216–222; Franks 2008, 637–643.
101 The edition reads πεπριαμένων, which is a non-existent verb form. Πεπορισμένων occurs in the
passage from Kydones’ translation that underlies Scholarios’ lines (see below) as well as elsewhere in
Scholarios’ text itself (eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 98, 11).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 147

ὧν ἡ χρῆσις τῆς δεσποτείας κεχώρισται, τουτέστιν οἷς δυνατόν ἐστι χρῆσθαι μὴ ἀναλισκομένοις,
οἰκίᾳ δηλονότι τυχὸν ἢ ἀγρῷ ἤ τινι τῶν τοιούτων. Χρημάτων δὲ ἡ χρῆσις τῇ δεσποτείᾳ συνῆπται
οὐδὲ δυνατόν ἐστι χρήσασθαι τούτοις τινὰ μὴ φθείραντά τε καὶ ἀναλώσαντα. Ὥστε ὁ τούτων ἕνεκα
τόκους λαμβάνων δὶς τὸ αὐτὸ πωλεῖ ἢ πωλεῖ τὸ μὴ ὄν· λαμβάνει γὰρ τιμὴν τῆς χρήσεως πράγματος,
οὗ προηγουμένως μὲν τὴν δεσποτείαν, εἶτα σὺν αὐτῇ καὶ τὴν χρῆσιν δέδωκεν, καὶ οὐδέτερον τῶν
δύο τούτων παρεφύλαξεν ἑαυτῷ.¹⁰²

As seen above (p. 145), (1) derives directly from IIa IIae, qu. 32 (“Περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης”),
art. 7 (“Εἰ δεῖ δίδοσθαι καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀδίκως πεπορισμένων”). Once more, Scholarios did
not utilize any of the Greek Patristic or Byzantine sermons or treatises on usury, e. g.,
the Contra usurarios by Gregory of Nyssa,¹⁰³ Basil of Caesarea’s Homilia in partem
Psalmi XIV, et contra foeneratores,¹⁰⁴ to which Gregory refers his reader in the pro-
logue to and epilogue of his own sermon,¹⁰⁵ or the Ὁμιλία περὶ δανείου of Patriarch
Kallistos I (rather poor, as is the case with all of the homilies of this author),¹⁰⁶ or
Nicholas Kabasilas’ Κατὰ τοκιζόντων¹⁰⁷ and Τῇ εὐσεβεστάτῃ Αὐγούστῃ, περὶ τόκου.¹⁰⁸
(2) derives directly from IIa IIae, qu. 78 (“Περί τόκου”), art. 1 (“Εἴ ἐστιν ἁμάρτημα
τὸ λαμβάνειν τόκον”), Resp.:

…Τὸ λαμβάνειν ὑπὲρ ἀργυρίου δανεισθέντος ἀργύριον ἄδικόν ἐστι καθ’ ἑαυτό… …Καθ’ αὑτὸ ἁμάρ-
τημα εἰδικόν ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τῶν δανεισθέντων χρημάτων τίμημα λαμβάνειν, ὃ λέγεται «τόκος». Καὶ
ὥσπερ πάντα τὰ ἀδίκως πεπορισμένα ὀφείλει τοῖς ἠδικημένοις ἀποδιδόναι ὁ ἄνθρωπος,¹⁰⁹ οὕτω δὴ
καὶ τὰ χρήματα, ἅπερ εἴληφεν ὑπὲρ τόκου, ὀφείλει ἀποδιδόναι.¹¹⁰

(3) is supposed to justify what is stated in (2) by means of an argument from the
“word of God”. What infallibly betrays Scholarios’ source is that, even if God did not
utter His command in Greek, Scholarios’ biblical quotation varies significantly from
the Septuagint text (“Ἐὰν δὲ ἀργύριον ἐκδανείσῃς τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τῷ πενιχρῷ παρὰ
σοί, οὐκ ἔσῃ αὐτῷ κατεπείγων, οὐκ ἐπιθήσεις αὐτῷ τόκον”) and fully coincides with
Aquinas’ quotation (in the Sed contra) in Kydones’ translation: “…ἐν τῷ κζʹ τῆς Ἐξόδου

102 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 98, 32–99, 2.

103 Ed. Gebhardt 1967, 193–207. Cf. Karayiannis 1994, 48–49.
104 PG 29, 264D–280C.
105 Ed. Gebhardt, op. cit., 195, 20–23; 207, 4–7.
106 Ed. Paidas 2013, 1257–1261. See also Gones 1980, 239–240.
107 PG 150: 727–749. Cf. Baloglou 1996, 206–208.
108 Eds. Congourdeau and Delouis 2010, 225–233. Cf. Joseph Bryennios, Κεφάλαια ἑπτάκις ἑπτά 49
(“Ὅτι ἀναγκαιοτέρα τῶν ἀρετῶν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη”) (ed. E. Boulgaris, Ἰωσὴφ μοναχοῦ τοῦ Βρυεννίου τὰ
εὑρεθέντα. Vol. III: Τὰ παραλειπόμενα, Leipzig 1784, p. 124; reprinted by E. Deledemos, Thessaloniki
1991, pp. 132–134). In general, Aquinas’ discussion of usury is incomparably richer than any known
patristic or Byzantine text.
109 Regarding this point, Peraldus, who argued against owning ill-gotten goods, must have been
among Thomas’ sources (see Corbett 2015, 391–392).
110 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 230v, 6; 24–27 (cf. ed. Kalokairinou 2002, 281, 24–25; 282, 24–283, 2).
148 | John A. Demetracopoulos

λέγεται· ‘Εἰ δανείσεις ἀργύριον τῷ λαῷ μου τῷ πτωχῷ τῷ μετὰ σοῦ κατοικοῦντι, οὐκ
ἀναγκάσεις ὥσπερ εἰσπράκτωρ, οὔτε τόκοις αὐτὸν πιέσεις’”.¹¹¹
(4) is supposed to justify what was stated in (2) by means of arguments based on
reason. In this direction, Scholarios produces a close abridgment of Aquinas’ argu-
ment in the Resp. of qu. 78, art. 1:

Πωλεῖται γὰρ ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστι πωληθῆναι… Οὗ πρὸς δήλωσιν δεῖ θεωρεῖν ὡς εἰσί τινα τῶν πραγμά-
των ὧν τὴν χρῆσιν ἀδύνατον γενέσθαι μὴ πρότερον αὐτῶν ἀναλωθέντων· ὥσπερ οἴνῳ ἢ σιτίῳ ἀδύ-
νατον ἄλλως χρήσασθαι μὴ πρότερον αὐτὰ ἀναλώσαντας. Ὅθεν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις οὐ δεῖ διαιρεῖν
ἰδίᾳ ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος τὴν χρῆσιν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ νομίζειν ᾧ ἂν τὴν τοῦ πράγματος συγχωρήσω-
μεν χρῆσιν, καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα αὐτὸ συγχωρεῖν. Ὅθεν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις μετὰ τοῦ δανείου μετατίθεται
καὶ ἡ δεσποτεία τοῦ πράγματος. Εἰ δέ τις βούλοιτο ἰδίᾳ μὲν τὸν οἶνον πωλεῖν, ἰδίᾳ δὲ τὴν χρῆσιν
τοῦ οἴνου, δὶς ἂν τὸ αὐτὸ ἀποδοῖτο¹¹² ἢ πωλήσειε τὸ μὴ ὄν· ὅθεν φανερῶς ἂν ἁμαρτάνοι ἁλισκό-
μενος ἀδικίας. (…) Εἰσὶ δέ τινα ὧν ἡ χρῆσις οὔκ ἐστιν αὐτὸ τὸ πρᾶγμα· ὥσπερ τῆς οἰκίας χρῆσίς
ἐστιν αὐτὴ ἡ ἐνοίκησις, οὐ μὴν ἡ κατατριβή. Ὅθεν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις δυνατὸν ἑκάτερον ἰδίᾳ διδό-
ναι τινί… Ὅθεν δικαίως δύναταί τις τίμημα λαμβάνειν ὑπὲρ τῆς χρήσεως τῆς οἰκίας· ὃ δῆλον ἐπὶ
τῶν ἐνοικίων καὶ ἐμφυτεύσεων.¹¹³

Scholarios’ reproduction of qu. 78 in cod. Par. gr. 1237 does not include the argumenta
and their refutation, whereas even the Resp. is in some places abridged. Still, the
abridged form of the quaestio can fully account for Scholarios’ discussion of usury
in the passage from the Sermon on Almsgiving quoted above (pp. 146–147).
In par. 10, Scholarios argues that almsdeeds is a divine commandment because
Christ himself said that he who does not do almsgiving will be punished eternally to
hell:

Τὸ [...] ἀναγκαῖον τῆς πρὸς αὐτὴν [sc. ἐλεημοσύνην] ἐντολῆς ἀπ’ αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου λόγων
λαμβάνεται. [...] Τοῖς μὲν ἠλεηκόσιν ἆθλον τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν δίδωσιν ὑπερφυὲς ἀσυγ-
κρίτως, τοῖς δ’ ἀνηλεῶς πρὸς τὸν πλησίον διατεθεῖσι τὰς ἐν ᾄδου τάττει ποινάς.¹¹⁴

This is a clear reference to Matt. 25:31–46, which, as will be seen, was the basis of
Thomas’ list of the various kinds of “corporal alms”. Still, this is exactly Aquinas’
argument for the imperative character of almsdeeds in qu. 32, art. 5 (“Εἰ τὸ διδόναι
ἐλεημοσύνην ἐντολή ἐστι”), Sed contra:

111 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 230v, 4–6 (cf. ed. Kalokairinou, op. cit., 281, 21–23).
112 Apparently, Demetrios Kydones read “redderet” (instead of “venderet”), either by mistake or be-
cause this was what the Latin manuscript he was translating from actually read. 
113 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 230v, 7–21 (cf. ed. Kalokairinou 2002, 281, 25–282, 19).
114 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 99, 13–18.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 149

…Οὐδεὶς αἰωνίᾳ κολάσει τιμωρηθήσεται παραλιπών τι, ὃ μή ἐστιν ἐντολή. Κολάζονται δέ τινες
αἰωνίᾳ κατακρίσει μὴ ἐλεήσαντες, ὡς λέγεται ἐν τῷ κεʹ τοῦ Κατὰ Ματθαῖον. Τὸ διδόναι ἄρα ἐλεη-
μοσύνην ἐντολή ἐστιν.¹¹⁵

Scholarios enriches the argument stylistically with words from the relevant scriptural
passage. In the same paragraph, one meets with the Basilian passage quoted earlier
(p. 130).¹¹⁶
In par. 11, Scholarios extensively repeats something from par. 1,¹¹⁷ enriching it with
some didactic metaphors. In the end of par. 11, he appeals to the auctoritas of Basil
of Caesarea again: “‘…Ὁ τὰ ἑτέρων λαμβάνων καὶ ἑτέροις διδοὺς οὐκ ἠλέησεν, ἀλλ’
ἠδίκησε τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀδικίαν’, ὁ μέγας ἔφη Βασίλειος”.¹¹⁸ What is this? For sure, this
is not a quotation from any of the writings of the Greek Basilian corpus. Most probably,
this is a free rendering of an unidentified Basilian (or pseudo-Basilian) passage quoted
in IIa IIae, qu. 32, art. 7 ad 1um (where, as we have seen, Thomas quotes from two Latin
Patristic authorities, too): “‘Καὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἐκείνων τῶν πρὸ σοῦ ταῦτα κτησαμένων,
ὧν διάδοχος ἐν ταῖς κληρονομίαις κατέστης, εὑρεθείη ἄν τις ἀδίκως ἀφελόμενος τὰ
ἀλλότρια, εἰ καὶ σὺ ἀγνοεῖς’, ὥς φησιν ὁ Βασίλειος”.¹¹⁹ In par. 9 (see supra, p. 146),
Scholarios had silently reproduced the content of the two Latin auctoritates; now, he
approximates the content of the third and last, the Greek one. Scholarios’ point is that
giving alms out of ill-gotten possessions is unjust. Basil’s point according to Thomas
is that giving alms from a large inheritance is not just, if the property was acquired in
an unjust way.
Par. 12 is the epilogue of the Sermon. Its content is simply a selective reproduction
of some of the main points of the sermon, concluding with the scriptural passage with
which it began (Is. 58:5).

115 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 117r, 35–38 (cf. eds. Ph. A. Demetracopoulos and Brentanou 1980, 195, 12–15).
Passages are quoted as they stand in the manuscript.
116 Research into the provenance of the Thomistic version of the Basilian passage would be irrelevant
here.
117 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 91, 33–35.
118 Eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 101, 5–7.
119 Cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 119r, 38–v, 1 (cf. ed. Kalokairinou 2002, 201, 28–202, 3). None of the appara-
tus fontium of the editions and translations of IIa IIae I could stand to consult sheds light on the prove-
nance of this quotation. The idea occurs in Ps.-Basil’s De misericordia et judicio: “Εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀδικίας καὶ
ἁρπαγῆς μέλλεις προσφέρειν τῷ Θεῷ, κάλλιον μήτε κτήσασθαι τοιαύτην κτῆσιν μήτε προσφέρειν ἐξ
αὐτῆς. [...] Εἰ δὲ ἀφελόμενος τὰ τῶν πενήτων πένητι δίδως, κάλλιον ἦσθα μήτε ἁρπάζων μήτε διδούς.
Οὔτε γὰρ ἐξ ἀδίκων κερδῶν εὐεργεσία πρὸς τὸν δεόμενον δεκτὴ παρὰ Θεῷ... Ἐλεημοσύνη ἐξ ἀδικίας
οὐ γίνεται” (PG 31: 1708C; 1709A; 1709B; see also PG 32: 1164B–C; 1165A). This is the central topic of
art. 7; still, the wording is very different.
150 | John A. Demetracopoulos

A substantial portion of the content of the Sermon was reproduced by Scholar-

ios in other writings,¹²⁰ enriched with some additional Thomistic and non-Thomistic
material.

3 The manuscript evidence on Scholarios’ reception

of Aquinas’ writings
The Sermon on Almsgiving, like some other Scholarian sermons, dates from Scholar-
ios’ preaching period as a layman in palace, i. e. some time (most probably during
some Lent) between 1437/40 and 1447.¹²¹ That its content can, almost in its entirety, be
traced back verbatim to certain quaestiones from Aquinas’ Summa theologiae agrees
with the fact that Scholarios’ Thomism developed early on and extended both to phi-
losophy (as suggested by his early Thomistic translations¹²²) and theology, including
moral theology.¹²³ Taking into account the slavish dependence of Scholarios’ Sermon
on Almsgiving on Aquinas, it is at first piquant but, on deeper examination, illuminat-
ing, to see how Scholarios shows off his fluency in evening preaching:

Ἀπανιστάμενος γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἐν δικαστηρίοις θορύβων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων λειτουργιῶν καὶ τῶν οἴκοι
παιδευμάτων, ἃ τοῖς ἑκάστοτε συλλεγομένοις Ἕλλησί τε καὶ Ἰταλοῖς προὐτιθέμεθα, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ἀσχολιῶν, ἃς αἱ τάξεις παρεῖχον, ἕτοιμος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ προφέρειν ἅπερ ἂν ὁ Θεὸς διδοίη χρείαν
ἠρχόμην.¹²⁴

These lines had caused M. Jugie’s ironic comment that “la modestie, il faut le recon-
naître, ne fut jamais son [i. e. Scholarios’] fort”.¹²⁵ Still, one must see where Scholarios’
pride lies in this particular case. He does not say that he was able to create the con-
tent of his sermons at the very moment of delivering them; he simply says that he was
“ready to pronounce them” — which most probably means that he was proud of being
able, despite his many and intense activities during the day (judging, teaching etc.),

120 Scholarios, Περὶ τῆς πρώτης τοῦ Θεοῦ λατρείας ἢ λόγος Εὐαγγελικὸς ἐν ἐπιτομῇ (written in 1458)
4; 9; Περὶ διαφορᾶς τῶν συγγνωστῶν καὶ θανασίμων ἁμαρτημάτων σύντομον καὶ σαφές 4–5 (ed. Jugie
et al., op. cit., tome IV, 241, 12–25; 245, 31–247, 13; 276, 31–278, 28).
121 Jugie et al., op. cit., tome I, p. XLV–XLVI; tome VIII, 17*. Cf. Tinnefeld 2002a, 508.
122 See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2014b, 825–826. Cf. Tinnefeld 2002a, 517–518; see also infra, Appendix
III.
123 See Jugie et al. I, p. XLV; cf. Tinnefeld 2002a, 508. See also Jugie 1930a, 432: “De bonne heure il a
lu la Somme théologique, comme on s’aperçoit en parcourant les sermons qu’il prêcha à la cour entre
les années 1437 et 1448, alors qu’il était encore simple laïc. La Somme contre les Gentils ne lui a pas
échappé non plus. Il a fait de ceux deux ouvrages ses livres de chevet, au point de ne pouvoir s’en
passer jusque dans ses dernières années”.
124 Scholarios, Θρῆνος 6 (eds. Jugie et. al., tome I, 289, 10–14).
125 Jugie 1939, 488.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 151

to recall and deliver in the evening what he had memorized earlier (presumably on
some previous evening). Besides, it might well be the case that the speech as actually
delivered by heart was simpler and shorter than the written form that has come down
to us.¹²⁶ Thus, if the circumstances of delivering these sermons are taken into account,
one can easily understand why they were obviously derivative. Indeed, in light of the
above findings, behind what Scholarios, quite conventionally and not at all informa-
tively, ascribes to God’s help (“ἅπερ ἂν ὁ Θεὸς διδοίη”) one can discern a reference
to the Christian author whom he was, not much later, to call “the witness of the Holy
Spirit”, namely, Thomas Aquinas.¹²⁷
In the last resort, it was Scholarios himself who said that his high intellectual
stature was due to the fact that he recognized the paramount excellence of Aquinas’
thought.¹²⁸
Scholarios’ partly identical (qu. 1–64) and partly abridged (qu. 64–189) copy of IIa
IIae, which is cod. Par. gr. 1237 (see supra, p. 131, n. 9), obviously antedates the Sermon
on Almsgiving, since every single Thomistic item occurring in the Sermon can be traced
back to this version of IIa IIae, including the abridged articles. Let us try to put both
this Scholarian manuscript and the Sermon on Almsgiving in the overall context of
Scholarios’ literary production as well as of his Thomism prior to becoming a monk
(see infra, p. 158).

3.1 Scholarios’ copies of Summa contra Gentiles and Summa

theologiae, Ia Pars

The earliest relevant information regarding Scholarios’ acquaintance with Thomas’

writings concerns Summa theologiae, Ia Pars and the Summa contra Gentiles. In
1431/32, i. e. when he was around 32 and had just started producing some writings
and translations,¹²⁹ Scholarios ordered a copy of Ia Pars from a certain monk called

126 See the first-hand information that came down to us in the title of one of his homilies in a
lost manuscript most probably written by Scholarios himself: “Ἐκ τῶν ὁμιλιῶν, ἃς ὡμιλοῦμεν ἐν τῷ
δυστυχεῖ παλατίῳ... Ἐγράφοντο δὲ μετὰ τὸ ἀγράφως ὁμιληθῆναι...” (Jugie et al. I, p. XXXIV–XXXV; cf.
Cacouros 2010, 39*–40*).
127 See his Epistle to Manuel Raoul Oises (1451/52), in which he reproduced some of the content of
qu. 10, art. 11, qu. 11, art. 3 and qu. 12, art. 2 from IIa IIae (see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2004a, 135; J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2006a, 334). Presumably, Scholarios used cod. Par. gr. 1237 (fol. 36v–37r, 39v–40r
and 42r–v), which he had already used a few years earlier for the composition of the Sermon under
discussion as well as some other sermons.
128 See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2004a, 20, n. 12.
129 See Tinnefeld’s list of Scholarios’ writings (2002, 493–522) as well as Blanchet’s list (2008, 481–
487), which revises some of the datings suggested by Jugie.
152 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Gregorios. This is cod. Vatop. 255 in toto,¹³⁰ which includes several corrections and
notes by Scholarios himself.¹³¹ In 1432, November, he acquired a copy of the entire
Summa contra Gentiles, produced by Gregorios Bryennios, which is cod. Taur. Gr.
XXIII (C-II-16) in toto.¹³² It is probable that Bryennios is the Gregorios who copied cod.
Vatop. 255.¹³³
Probably in 1456 (see infra, pp. 168–169), moreover, Scholarios had access to cod.
Vatop. 254, containing Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, qu. 1–43 (on the one and triune God),
which at the time was included in a single codex that also contained what is now cod.
Mosqu. Syn. 228, which includes the remaining quaestiones (on creation) of Ia Pars.¹³⁴
Codd. Coisl. 279 and 280, which date from the 15th cent., initially making up a
single volume that contained the entire Ia Pars¹³⁵ on the basis of cod. Vatop. 254,¹³⁶
seem to have been written by Scholarios. Demetrios Kydones’ translation of Aquinas’
Quaestiones quodlibetales I, qu. 1, is contained both in cod. Vatop. 254, fol. 1v and
in cod. Coisl. 279, fol. 1v. In both cases, the hand is Scholarios’.¹³⁷ Since a detailed
codicological and palaegraphical study of these manuscripts is needed to date them,
it is not as yet possible to integrate them with accuracy into the history of Scholarios’
acquaintance with the “Thomas Graecus”.

3.2 Scholarios’ Epitome of Summa contra Gentiles and Summa

theologiae, Ia Pars

Some time after the fall of Constantinople, Scholarios, now in radically different cir-
cumstances, set out to abridge the Summa contra Gentiles and Ia Pars of the Summa
theologiae.¹³⁸ These two epitomes make up cod. Par. gr. 1273 in toto, which M. Jugie
dated post 1464.¹³⁹ His argument for this date, stated briefly, was made clearer by M.-H.
Blanchet, who regards Jugie’s dating as historically possible but not necessary:

130 See Eustratiades and monk Arcadios 1924, 55. Cf. Papadopoulos 1967d, 38, n. 68; J.A. Demetra-
copoulos 2007, 344, n. 92.
131 See Cacouros 2000, 405; 416–420; 431.
132 See Frassinetti 1953, 80–81. Cf. Legrand 1885, 151; Papadopoulos 1967d, 38, n. 68.
133 See Blanchet 2008b, 283.
134 Fonkitch 2002, 246; 249.
135 See Devreesse 1945, 259–260.
136 See Cacouros 2000, 419–420.
137 Ed. Cacouros 2000, 436; 2013, 24*–25*. That the translator is Demetrios Kydones can be inferred
from the fact that, as Fonkitch found (2002, 244–245), the translation in the earliest of the three
codices, i. e. cod. Vatop. 254 (14th cent.), is an autograph.
138 Eds. Jugie et al., tome V, Paris 1931. See also Appendix III, pp. 167, 169.
139 On the date, see Jugie et al., op. cit., tome V, p. VI (cf. Tinnefeld 2002a, 518); Blanchet 2008b, 217–
218. This date is verified by the way in which Scholarios utilized Aquinas in his five-piece On Divine
Foreknowledge and Predestination; those pieces that antedate his Compendia are based on Demetrios
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 153

Scholarios […] disposait bien des ouvrages de Thomas d’Aquin tant qu’il se trouvait à Istanbul,
mais il avait été contraint de s’en séparer lors d’un de ses voyages. Selon M. Jugie, il aurait donc
profité de son troisième retour forcé à Istanbul, à partir de 1464, pour entreprendre ces résumés,
alors qu’il retrouvait sur place les traductions de Dèmètrios Kydonès, et se serait consacré à cette
tâche….¹⁴⁰

Blanchet thinks it possible in principle that

cette activité été entamée avant 1464, lors du séjour de Scholarios à Vatopédi ou lors de son deux-
ième retour forcé à Istanbul, dans la mesure où les Résumés eux-mêmes ne sont pas datés; cepen-
dant le fait que ces séjours aient été probablement assez courts incite plutot à pencher pour le
troisième retour forcé, assurément plus long.¹⁴¹

I think Jugie’s dating is based on an erroneous interpretation of the relevant lines

from Scholarios’ Preface to these epitomes,¹⁴² where Scholarios explained that he took
pains in producing them because it was practically impossible to carry with him two
such large works of Thomas, which, however, he wanted accessible to him at any time.
He created, so to speak, a personal one-volume, pocket edition as a solution to his
problem. Scholarios says that the Summa contra Gentiles and Ia Pars of the Summa
theologiae were “πρὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐκγεγραμμένα καὶ ὕστερον ἐκ τῆς διασπορᾶς
ἐπανευρημένα ἡμῖν”.¹⁴³ The first phrase obviously refers to: (i) cod. Taur. Gr. XXIII and
(ii) Vatop. 255 or Coisl. 279/280 (see supra, pp. 151–152), which can be plausibly consid-
ered as copies (“ἐκγεγραμμένα”) for his sake and/or even by him (“ἡμῖν”),¹⁴⁴ whereas
the second phrase suggests that, upon his return to Constantinople after 1453 (presum-
ably during his patriarchate), he found these two books of his in the place where he
had left them.¹⁴⁵ Further, Scholarios says that, after the capture of Constantinople, he

Kydones’ translation of the Summa theologiae, whereas the pieces that postdate it are based on the
Compendia (see J.A. Demetracopoulos 2007, 314, n. 36).
140 Blanchet 2008b, 217–218.
141 Blanchet 2008b, 218.
142 Eds. Jugie et al., op. cit., tome V, 1, 1–3. Cacouros (2013, 134*; 140*), in his refreshing re-
examination of Jugie’s interpretation of Scholarios’ Preface to the epitomes in cod. Par. gr. 1273, seems
to follow him in this.
143 Eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 1, 6–7.
144 See Cacouros 2013, 35*–36*.
145 These lines probably suggest that Scholarios’ abridgments were made on the basis of the above-
mentioned manuscripts. Needless to say, this is to be checked by collating the texts themselves.
Turner (1969, 426), based on an unedited Scholarian frustulum on divine predestination (“Ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς
τὰ μὲν θέλει γίνεσθαι ἐν ἡμῖν ὡρισμένῃ θελήσει ... τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ὁρμῇ ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἢ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον
ἐπακολουθεῖ”), which occurs after Bk. I of the Summa contra Gentiles in the 15th-cent. cod. Laur. Conv.
Soppr. 117 (see Rostagno and Festa 1893, 156), speculates that Scholarios’ abridgment of the Summa
contra Gentiles could have been made on the basis of this manuscript. To the reasonable reservations
expressed by Cacouros (2013, 36*) one can add that this manuscript contains only Books I–II (see
Rostagno and Festa, ibid.), which is less than a half of this Thomistic work.
154 | John A. Demetracopoulos

“was spending all of his life in involuntary wanderings and movings about” (“πλάναις
καὶ μεταβάσεσιν ἀκουσίοις”).¹⁴⁶ Jugie construed this plural as referring to Scholarios’
three moves to Constantinople, the latest one having taken place in 1464. Yet, this is
not what Scholarios says. He simply says that, after 1453, he had no stable residence,
the first forced move being from Adrianople (where he stayed after the fall of Con-
stantinople¹⁴⁷) to Constantinople for his patriarchate. Hence, Blanchet’s suggestion
that cod. Par. gr. 1273 could in principle have been produced any time between 1454
and 1464 is quite plausible.
What about the objection that producing the Compendia required a rather long
period of time, which presumably points to Scholarios’ third sojourn in Constantino-
ple? I think there is no need to assume that Scholarios produced cod. Par. gr. 1273
in Constantinople or in some monastery of the city. Taken it as probable that Schol-
arios found cod. Taur. Gr. XXIII and Vatop. 255 upon his return to Constantinople in
1454, we can assume that he wanted to keep (and actually had) both of these with him
during some of his moves after 1456 and that, at some point, he became fed up with
carrying them and therefore decided to abridge them – a task that was not necessar-
ily carried out in Constantinople. This interpretation of Scholarios’ words detaches
the production of cod. Par. gr. 1273 from Scholarios’ second and third moves to Con-
stantinople (his alleged second and third patriarchates¹⁴⁸) and instead posits 1454 or,
more plausibly, early 1456 (when Scholarios, having resigned, had more time for lit-
erary work) as a terminus post quem for the Compendia of Summa contra Gentiles and
Summa theoogiae, Ia Pars.
A more accurate date is offered by the fact that “the source of Scholarios’ Thomism
in On divine Providence and Predestination I (1458/59) was Summa theologiae, Ia
Pars and Summa contra Gentiles (in Demetrios Kydones’ translation), whereas the
Thomistic elements of the remaining four treatises (II–V; 1467/70) can be accounted
for in terms of Scholarios’ utilisation of the Compendia of Summa contra Gentiles and
Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, which he had meanwhile elaborated” (see supra, p. 153,
n. 139). This means that the Compendia were compiled after 1458/59 and earlier than
1467/70. Studying cod. Par. gr. 1273¹⁴⁹ as well as detecting more evidence on Scholar-
ios’ utilization of his own Compendia in his dated writings can shed more light on the
date issue.

146 Eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 1, 10.

147 See Blanchet 2008b, 70–72.
148 See Blanchet 2001b.
149 Cf. Blanchet 2008b, 218, n. 147.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 155

3.3 Scholarios’ epitome of Summa theologiae, Ia IIae and

abridgment of IIa IIae
Scholarios also abridged Ia IIae in full.¹⁵⁰ This is part of cod. Vat. gr. 433, i. e. fol. 81–
179,¹⁵¹ written by Scholarios himself.¹⁵² M. Jugie estimated that “ce résumé a dû être
exécuté à la même époque et pour la même raison que les deux autres”,¹⁵³ i. e. the Com-
pendia of Summa contra Gentiles and Ia Pars. Yet, this connection is unfounded. Schol-
arios’ opening words in the Preface to his Compendia of Summa contra Gentiles and Ia
Pars quite clearly state that “τουτὶ τὸ βιβλίον δυοῖν βιβλίοιν ἐστὶν ἐπιτομή, ἑνὸς μὲν
τοῦ Κατὰ ἐθνικῶν…, ἑτέρου δὲ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν Θεολογικῶν”.¹⁵⁴ By “βιβλίον” Scholar-
ios refers to cod. Par. gr. 1273 as a whole,¹⁵⁵ and makes no mention of or allusion to Ia
IIae. Obviously, at that time, Ia IIae was not within his scope and activity, perhaps be-
cause cod. Vat. gr. 433, being smaller than any full copy of Demetrios Kydones’ trans-
lation of the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, was still in
Scholarios’ possession and easy to carry from place to place, if he liked.
Cod. Vat. gr. 433 is not a dated manuscript. According to R. Devreesse,¹⁵⁶ the wa-
termark of folia 164–179 is similar to Briquet 3663 (Prague, 1445) and 3370 (Treviso,
1458). A more detailed and careful examination shows that the watermark of fol. 81,
87, 92, 94, 99, 103, 105, 109, 114, 120, 126, 128, 130, 132, 138, 144, 147, 149, and 160 is
similar to Harlfinger, unidentified 1 (AD 1453), whereas the watermark of fol. 172, 178,
and 179 is similar to Harlfinger, scissors 38 (AD 1451 or 1452).¹⁵⁷ So, it seems that this
epitome was produced later than the production of cod. Taur. Gr. XXIII (Summa contra
Gentiles) and cod. Par. gr. 1237 (IIa IIae), whose watermarks are earlier and very close,
if not identical (see supra, p. 131, n. 9). This means that the epitome of Ia IIae probably
did not take precedence over that of IIa IIae. If so, why Scholarios did not follow the
overall structure of the Summa? A tentative answer will be given after examining some
more evidence on the date of the epitome of Ia IIae.
As has been shown, fol. 68r–69r from cod. Par. gr. 1932, which date from 1436,
contain a selective abridgment of some quaestiones of Ia IIae, written in Scholarios’
hand.¹⁵⁸ This shows that Scholarios, around the time in which he was building up
the Thomistic section of his personal library, had, for reasons still unexplored, some

150 Eds. Jugie et al., tome VI, 1–153.

151 See Devreesse 1937, 160–162.
152 That the relevant folia of cod. Vat. gr. 433 were written by Scholarios’ hand is stated by Jugie et al.,
op. cit., tome VI, p. V–VI; 1, asterisk.
153 Jugie et al., op. cit., tome V, p. VI. Cf. Tinnefeld 2002a, 518; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2014b, 826.
154 Eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 1, 1–3.
155 See Cacouros 2013, 28*–30*.
156 Devreesse 1937, 161.
157 Many thanks to Prof. Daniele Bianconi (Rome) for his help in identifying the watermarks.
158 See Cacouros 2000, 405; 407; 410; 431. Scholarios abridged the following material: qu. 21 (“De his
quae consequuntur actus humanos ratione bonitatis et malitiae”), art. 3 (“Utrum [actus humanus]
156 | John A. Demetracopoulos

special interest in certain specific topics of Aquinas’ general ethics. Cod. Par. gr. 1274
contains an abridgment of Ia IIae, from qu. 1 to qu. 71, Prol. Comparison of its rele-
vant folia (96r–116r) to Scholarios’ abridged excerpts in cod. Par. gr. 1932 shows no
dependence in either direction. Likewise, comparison of Scholarios’ excerpts to the
corresponding parts of his full abridgment of Ia IIae shows no dependence either way.
This suggests that, by 1436, Scholarios had access to some manuscript that contained
Demetrios Kydones’ full translation of Ia IIae,¹⁵⁹ but had not as yet produced his full
Compendium of Ia IIae.¹⁶⁰ Indeed, should we suppose that Scholarios wanted to pro-
duce some excerpts from Ia IIae, it would be absurd to assume that he ignored his own
full abridgment and searched for the full text of this Thomistic writing again.
This fits with the fact that Scholarios, as a teacher of philosophy, by 1433 at the
earliest or 1435 at the latest, proved highly productive in translating several longer or
shorter philosophical works (by Thomas and others).¹⁶¹ Scholarios had just finished
his intensive work on the copies of the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa theolo-
giae, Ia Pars (see supra, pp. 151–152),¹⁶² to start his much more demanding and time-
consuming work of abridging, excerpting, translating and annotating on the Byzan-
tine and Scholastic writings he utilised to produce the handbooks for his courses of

habeat rationem meriti vel demeriti”) and 4 (“Utrum [actus humanus] habeat rationem meriti vel
demeriti apud Deum”); qu. 22 (“De passionibus animae in generali”), art. 1 (“De subjecto earum,
scilicet utrum aliqua passio sit in anima”); qu. 24 (“De bono et malo circa passiones animi”), art. 3
(“Utrum passio addat vel diminuat ad bonitatem vel malitiam actus”); qu. 25 (“De ordine passionum
ad invicem”), art. 4 (“Utrum istae quatuor, scilicet gaudium, tristitia, spes et timor, sint principales
passiones”); qu. 26 (“De passionibus animae in speciali”), art. 3 (“Utrum amor sit idem quod dilec-
tio”); qu. 27 (“De causa amoris”), art. 1 (“Utrum bonum sit sola causa amoris”), 2 (“Utrum cognitio sit
causa amoris”) and 3 (“Utrum similitudo sit causa amoris”); and qu. 28 (“De effectibus amoris”), art. 1
(“Utrum unio sit effectu amoris”). Cacouros dates this selective abridgment to c. 1435 on codicological
grounds. Blanchet (2008, 293–294) argues that Scholarios’ Epistle 18 (ed. Jugie et al., tome IV, 436,
28–438, 3), which was addressed to Bessarion and is extant in cod. Par. gr. 1932 (fol. 61r), written in
Scholarios’ hand, must be dated to 1436. Granted (see Cacouros, ibid.) that this is an autograph, one
can plausibly assume that fol. 61 was the original on the basis of which the copy mailed to Bessarion
was made.
159 The only such extant manuscript is Marc. Gr. 147 (see Mioni 1981b, 208).
160 More light on Scholarios’ abridgment of and excerpts from Ia IIae is going to be shed by P.C.
Athanasopoulos (Venice), currently working on the editio prniceps of Demetrios Kydones’ translation
of Ia IIae.
161 See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2017a.
162 Indeed, the case was not that Scholarios was just ordering copies, remunerating the scribe and
carrying the volume home. For instance, in the case of cod. Vatop. 255, “Scholarios (…) a été à la
fois lecteur, réviseur et commanditaire”; he added a Table of Contents and, very often, the quaestio
numbers and titles in the margins, repaired the scribe’s omissions, and added several personal notes
here and there (see the detailed description of Scholarios’ major contribution to the production of this
manuscript by Cacouros 2000, 417–419 et passim).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 157

philosophy.¹⁶³ Apparently, there was no room for any parallel work on the huge IIa, on
either of its two Parts.
This suggests that the abridgment of the two Parts of IIa took place later than 1436.
How much later? Scholarios produced cod. Par. gr. 1237, which contains IIa IIae, in
collaboration with the prolific scribe George Baiophoros (probably born c. 1370/80),
whose earliest dated manuscript was produced in 1402 and whose latest in 1433/34.¹⁶⁴
The time span of Baiophoros’ activity, which extends to three full decades, renders it
implausible that his collaboration with Scholarios took place during an alleged fourth
decade of scribal activity, namely, later than the thirties. Although a fourth decade is
possible, there is no evidence for it. So, a plausible scenario is that Scholarios’ access
to Ia IIae by 1436, which enabled him to make his excerpts in Par. gr. 1932, inspired
him to produce a full epitome of Ia IIae. While doing so, Baiophoros was implement-
ing Scholarios’ order to copy IIa IIae (presumably using the same tirage of paper as
the paper with the earliest of the watermarks mentioned above, p. 155). Upon Baio-
phoros’ reaching qu. 64, Scholarios could have finished his epitome of Ia IIae (the
Compendium’s length is 1/6 of Thomas’ text), and continued the work on the bulky
IIa IIae by abridging its remaining quaestiones, thereby completing his plan to have a
personal copy of IIa in its entirety. To him then a palace preacher, the abridgment of
a treatise on special ethics, which contains a full list of philosophical and theological
virtues and vices, proved useful: it helped him to compose at least two of his hom-
ilies, i. e. the On Fasting and the On Almsgiving. After his expulsion from the palace
by the emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos (and probably even before it), Scholarios
made use of IIa IIae (along with Ia and Summa contra Gentiles) in some of his writings
against Pletho.
Still, there is no compelling reason to think that the abridgment of Ia IIae took
precedence over the epitome of IIa IIae. As IIa IIae was more useful for his homilies,

163 Incidentally, Scholarios’ endnote to the part of his handbook on Ars vetus regarding ch. 9 of the
De Interpretatione (see supra, p. 129, n. 4), which refers the reader to Thomas’ discussion of God’s
knowledge of future contingents (Summa theologiae, Ia, qu. 14, art. 13: “Utrum scientia Dei sit futuro-
rum contingentium”), is rather sure evidence that Scholarios’ elaboration of this handbook postdates
his acquisition of codd. Vatop. 255 and/or Coisl. 279 and 280, which were his personal copies of Ia Pars
(see supra, pp. 151–152). Scholarios says that, in this article of the chapter (“κεφάλαιον”) “Περὶ τῆς
θείας ἐπιστήμης”, Thomas discusses “Εἰ ὁ Θεὸς ἐπίσταται τὰ ἐνδεχόμενα τὰ μέλλοντα” (eds. Jugie et
al., op. cit., tome VII, 300, 28–31). In the body of Ia Pars in this manuscript, the title of the article reads:
“Εἰ τῶν μελλόντων συμβεβηκότων ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιστήμη” (cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 70v; cod. Coisl.
279, fol. 102v). Scholarios seems to have confected the title on the basis of these titles: Qu. 13 (“Περὶ
τῆς θείας ἐπιστήμης”), art. 9 (“Εἰ καὶ τῶν μὴ ὄντων ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιστήμη”) and art. 13 (“Εἰ τῶν
ἐνδεχομένων μελλόντων”) (cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 3r; cf. Cacouros 2013, 150*–151*; cod. Coisl. 279, fol. 3v–
4r; 90v; 98v). In the body of cod. Coisl. 279, the title of art. 13 reads: “Εἰ τῶν μελλόντων συμβεβηκότων
ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιστήμη” (fol. 102v). Presumably, Scholarios’ reference to Aquinas was based on
the titles in the Table of Contents of either of the two manuscripts or both.
164 See Cataldi Palau 2008, 281–282; 284; 289–290.
158 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Scholarios may have temporarily skipped Ia IIae, started from IIa IIae and went back
to Ia IIae after he left the palace. This fits with the evidence. On some pages of cod.
Vat. gr. 433, there are some autograph anti-Latin notes by him.¹⁶⁵ This may indicate
that the manuscript was produced after Scholarios’ conversion to the anti-unionist
camp, i. e. after 1445.¹⁶⁶ Likewise, on the upper margin of the first page of the Epitome
of Ia IIae, Scholarios signs as “Γεννάδιος” (“Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν
Γεννάδιον”),¹⁶⁷ which may indicate that the epitome was made in 1450 or later (even
if it is quite possible that Scholarios added this note some time after its composition).
Let us examine Scholarios’ later decision to fully epitomize Summa contra Gentiles
and Ia Pars (“…τριῶν ὄντων τῶν ἀκολούθως [sc. as sequels to Ia Pars] συντεταγμένων”)
omitting the remaining “three” Parts of the Summa theologiae.¹⁶⁸ Apparently, Schol-
arios decided to part with the full copies of Summa contra Gentiles and Ia Pars that he
had obtained (and conscientiously corrected) two decades earlier, which he presum-
ably decided to use for the last time in order to produce their epitomes in cod. Par. gr.
1273.
What about the Compendium of Ia IIae at that time? Did Scholarios still have his
early epitome in his possession? Since the relevant part of Vat. gr. 433 was produced
by his own hand, he was presumably reluctant to part with it; besides, the manuscript
was not that large. Yet, this is not enough for us to make sure either way. Further re-
search into the direct influence of Aquinas’ general ethics on Scholarios’ dated writ-
ings would shed light on this issue.
As for Scholarios’ partially autograph copy/abridgment of IIa IIae, we do not know
whether, at the time when he decided to produce the Compendia of Summa contra
Gentiles and Ia Pars (i. e., probably after 1458/59 and earlier than 1467/70), he still had
access to it. One can plausibly assume that, at that time, he left IIa IIae out of his abridg-
ment project because it had been already abridged in its greater part, i. e. over two-
thirds of it (see supra, p. 131, note 9).
Research into the influence of Aquinas’ special ethics on Scholarios’ writings
would offer more evidence on the dating issue. For instance, Scholarios, in his dis-
cussion of points 10 and 11 (on morality) of Plethon’s On the Issues on Which Aristotle
Contentiously Disagrees with Plato, argues that, according to Aristotle, moral virtue,
though it is described as “means” between the two extremes, does not fall under the
category of “quantity”, but of “quality”. To show this, he describes it as follows:

…αὐτὴν εἶναι μεσότητα τὴν ἀρετήν, ᾗ μὲν μεσότητα ποσῷ δήπου ὁριζομένην, καθ’ αὑτὴν δὲ ἐν
ποιότητι οὖσαν· ἠθικῆς γὰρ ἀρετῆς ὑποκείμενον μὲν ἀνθρώπου ψυχή, τοῦ γε σπουδαίου, ὕλη δὲ

165 See Mercati 1920, 123. Cf. Devreesse 1937, 160.

166 See Blanchet 2008b, 410–424.
167 Devreesse 1937, 161.
168 Eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 1, 3.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 159

πάθη καὶ πράξεις αὐτῆς, εἶδος δὲ ἰσότης τις αὐτῶν καὶ ἀναλογία ἐν τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἔχοντα παραθέσει
κατὰ τὰς λοιπὰς περιστάσεις, φύσις δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ γένος ποιότης.¹⁶⁹

This seems to be a summary of Aquinas’ Ia IIae, qu. 55 (“De virtutibus quantum ad

earum essentias”), art. 4 (“Utrum virtus convenienter definiatur”), Resp., where virtue
is described by means of its causes (in terms of the Aristotelian fourfold set of causes):

Ἡ γὰρ εἰδικὴ αἰτία τῆς ἀρετῆς… ἐκ τοῦ γένους καὶ τῆς διαφορᾶς λαμβάνεται, ὡς ὅταν λέγηται
«ποιότης ἀγαθή»· ἡ γὰρ ποιότης τῆς ἀρετῆς γένος ἐστί, διαφορὰ δὲ τἀγαθόν. Οἰκειότερος δ’ ἂν
ἦν ὁ ὅρος, εἰ ἀντὶ τῆς ποιότητος «ἕξις» ἔκειτο, ἥ ἐστι προσεχὲς γένος. Ἡ δὲ ἀρετὴ οὐκ ἔχει ὕλην
ἐξ ἧς, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὰ ἄλλα συμβεβηκότα, ἀλλ’ ἔχει ὕλην περὶ ἣν καὶ ὕλην ἐν ᾗ, τουτέστιν ὑποκεί-
μενον. Ἡ δὲ ὕλη περὶ ἣν τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐστιν ἀντικείμενον… Ἐνταῦθα… ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὅρος κοινῶς
ἀποδίδοται· ὅθεν τίθεται τὸ ὑποκείμενον ἀντὶ τῆς ὑλικῆς αἰτίας, ὡς ὅταν λέγηται «ἀγαθὴ ποιότης
διανοίας». Τέλος δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς, πρακτικῆς ἕξεως οὔσης, αὐτή ἐστιν ἡ πρᾶξις.¹⁷⁰

To my knowledge, no other Greek text (such as the ancient Greek and Byzantine com-
mentaries on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics) can account for the wording of Schol-
arios’ lines. This holds true for the relevant lines from Scholarios’ own abridgment
of Ia IIae.¹⁷¹ If we assume that this abridgment, like the abridgments of the Summa
contra Gentiles and Ia Pars (see supra, pp. 152–154), were meant as replacements of
the text abridged, then we can plausibly infer that, since Scholarios, when writing
his Against the Impasses That Plethon Ignorantly Imputes to Aristotle, i. e. after Con-
stantine Palaiologos became despot of Mistra (1443) and before the death of Mark Eu-
genikos (1445),¹⁷² still had access to the full text of Demetrios Kydones’ translation of
Ia IIae, he had not so far effected his abridgment of Ia IIae—namely, that this abridg-
ment was produced after 1443/45. This renders it probable that the abridgment of IIa
IIae took precedence.

3.4 Scholarios’ inaccessibility to the Summa theologiae, IIIa Pars

and Supplementum

What about IIIa Pars and its Supplementum? Scholarios, as is obvious from his auto-
graph note edited in Appendix III (see infra, p. 171), counted the two sub-divisions of
IIa as two distinct Parts. This means that his mention of “three Parts” does not include
the Supplementum, which, as he himself says in the same note, he had not seen. Like

169 Eds. Jugie et al., tome IV, 89, 22–26.

170 Cod. Marc. Gr. 147, fol. 190r. Cf. supra, p. 157, n. 163.
171 Eds. Jugie et al., tome VI, 59, 18–60, 2.
172 For this dating, see Jugie et al., tome IV, p. IV; Tinnefeld 2002a, 484; 515. On the date of Mark’s
death, see Constas 2002a, 411; 421.
160 | John A. Demetracopoulos

IIIa Pars, the Supplementum had not been translated into Greek in its entirety.¹⁷³ Still,
one cannot ignore the fact that a passage from Mark Eugenikos’ (most probably died 23
June 1445) De hominis imbecillitate, which was probably written shortly after 1426,¹⁷⁴
exhibits clear traces of influence from the Supplementum, qu. 91, art. 1 Resp.¹⁷⁵ Since
this mentor of Scholarios (who was probably one of the sources of Scholarios’ positive
acquaintance with Aquinas’ and other Scholastics’ thought) had access to some arti-
cles of IIIa Pars, untranslated as far as we know, one cannot exclude the possibility
that Scholarios had access to the same Latin material, probably thanks to his ties to
certain Dominicans of Pera.¹⁷⁶ In general, both Eugenikos and Scholarios made use
of various Latin sources that remained untranslated into Greek.¹⁷⁷ Given that Schol-
arios, probably after 1458/59, stated that he had for a time access to the entire (Latin)
corpus Thomisticum,¹⁷⁸ this access may have become available after his note on cod.
Vatop. 254 had been written, i. e. probably after 1456. There is, in any case, no current
evidence that Scholarios ever worked on IIIa Pars or its Supplementum.¹⁷⁹

173 See Mercati 1931b, 33–36. Cf. Papadopoulos 1967d, 52; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2014b, 826. As far as
we know, the quaestiones selectively translated by Prochoros Kydones are extant only in cod. Vat. gr.
1102. On why this manuscript was unavailable to Scholarios, see infra, Appendix III, p. 169.
174 See Pilavakis 1987a, 65.
175 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 369, n. 327; cf. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 84.
176 See Blanchet 2008b, 302–303 (with previous bibliography).
177 See bibliography in: J. A. Demetracopoulos 2017b, n. 61. See also Pino’s article in this volume, pp.
291–307.
178 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 847.
179 My thanks to Dr Panagiotis Athanasopoulos (Venice), Irini Balcoyiannopoulou, Cand. Phil. (Pa-
tras), and Dr Marie-Hélène Blanchet (Paris) for our collaboration in the framework of the Thomas de
Aquino Byzantinus project, which proved useful with regard to several specific issues discussed in this
study. Special thanks are owed to Prof. Denis Searby (Stockholm) for his patient and careful reading
of my paper and his valuable suggestions.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 161

Appendix I: A list of correspondences in Scholarios’

Sermon on Almsgiving with Thomas Aquinas’ Summa
theologiae
This is a progressive list of parallels in Scholarios’ Sermon on Almsgiving. It captures
his movements as he browsed back and forth through Thomas’ IIa IIae (based on his
own codex, i. e. Par. gr. 1237) and, in a single case, Ia (presumably based on his own
codices, i. e. Vatop. 255 and/or Coisl. 279/280) while producing the Sermon. References
to Scholarios’ text are made to page and line number of Jugie’s edition. Quaestio-
numbers refer to IIa IIae, unless otherwise noted.
Par. 1
91, 29–30 = qu. 147, art. 1 via Scholarios’ Sermon on Fasting, 83, 15–27
91, 33–92, 4 = qu. 26, art. 5 ad 3um; qu. 26, art. 3 s.c. and Resp.; qu. 26, art. 4 Resp.
Par. 2
93, 15–19 = qu. 27, art. 8 Resp.
Par. 3
93, 28–29 = qu. 79, art. 1 + Ia Pars, qu. 21, art. 3 ad 2um
Par. 4
93, 33–36 = qu. 32 tit.; qu. 32, art. 1 tit.; qu. 23, art. 6 tit.
93, 36–38 = qu. 32, art. 1 ad 1um
93, 38–94, 3 = qu. 32, art. 1 ad 1um
94, 11–13 = qu. 32, art. 4 tit.
94, 13–16 = qu. 32, art. 4 s.c.
94, 16–19 = qu. 32, art. 5, arg. 1
94, 27–29 = qu. 32, art. 4 s.c.
94, 30–33 = qu. 32, art. 4 s.c.
94, 33–35 = qu. 10, art. 4 s.c.
Par. 5
95, 3–22 = qu. 32, art. 5 Resp.
95, 22–96, 2 = qu. 32, art. 6 tit.; qu. 32, art. 10 ad 2um; qu. 32, art. 6 Resp.
Par. 6
96, 5–8 = qu. 32, art. 4, arg. 3 and ad 3um
96, 20–26 = qu. 32 art. 2 Resp.
96, 26–97, 3 = qu. 32 art. 2 Resp.
Par. 7
97, 24–30 = qu. 30, art. 4, arg. 3 and Resp.; qu. 30, art. 2 Resp.; Ia Pars, qu. 21, art.
3 Resp.
97, 31–33 = qu. 30, art. 4 ad 3um
Par. 8
162 | John A. Demetracopoulos

97, 34–98, 16 = qu. 31, art. 2 Resp.; qu. 31, art. 3 Resp.; qu. 32, art. 6 Resp.; qu. 32,
art. 3, arg. 3; qu. 32, art. 6, arg. 6; qu. 32, art. 9, arg. 2
98, 17–20 = qu. 31, art. 3 Resp.
Par. 9
98, 21–30 = qu. 32, art. 7, arg. 1, Resp. and ad 1um
98, 30–32 = qu. 32, art. 7 Resp.
98, 32–36 = qu. 78, art. 1 Resp.
98, 36–99, 2 = qu. 78, art. 1 s.c.
99, 3–12 = qu. 78, art. 1 Resp.
Par. 10
99, 13–18 = qu. 32, art. 5 s.c.
99, 30–100, 3 = qu. 32, art. 5 ad 2um
Par. 11
101, 5–7: cf. qu. 32, art. 7 ad 1um

Needless to say, some cases may have escaped my attention. More research is needed.
For instance, some Scholarian words and phrases in the lines not included in the
above list are redolent of Latin.¹⁸⁰ It is probable so that part of or even all of this word-
ing derived from some hitherto unidentified Latin source, perhaps Thomas again.

180 See, e. g.: “ἀπαραβλήτως” (incomparabiliter); “τῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀποβλέψει” (respectu Dei or
respectu ad Deum) (a phrase occurring in several Scholarian texts); “τῶν … θρησκευμάτων” (ex-
piationes?); “τὸ δραστήριον” (efficientia or efficacitas); “ἀτομότητα” (individuatio or individualitas)
(Scholarios, On Almsgiving 2; 3; 6; 7; eds. Jugie et al., tome I, 92, 20; 92, 22; 93, 10; 96, 10; 97, 15–17).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 163

Appendix II: A chronological table of Scholarios’

acquisition of or access to Thomistic and
pseudo-Thomistic writings
No references are made to dates established by M. Jugie in his edition of Scholarios’
writings. For that purpose, one may consult Tinnefeld 2002a, where Jugie’s datings
are reproduced in an orderly way. References are made regarding datings suggested
by other scholars or inferred from studies by other scholars.

Date Writing Greek Study/-ies

manuscript/-s

1431/32 Summa theologiae, Ia in Vatop. 255 Eustratiades and

Demetrios Kydones’ translation, (with some monk Arcadios 1924,
produced on the basis of some notes by S.; 55; Kadas 2000, 47–48
still unidentified MS, at S.’s owned by S.); it
request includes (f. 1v)
Scholarios’
copy of
Demetrios
Kydones’
translation of
Aquinas’
Quaestiones
quodlibetales I,
qu. 1
unknown Summa theologiae, Ia in Coisl. 279 and Devreesse 1945,
Demetrios Kydones’ translation, 280 (an 259–260; Cacouros
copied by S. autograph copy 2000, 419–420; 434;
of Vatop. 255); Cacouros 2013, 24*;
Coisl. 279, f. 1v present article, pp.
includes 151–152; 156, n. 162
Scholarios’
copy of
Demetrios
Kydones’
translation of
Aquinas’
Quaestiones
quodlibetales I,
qu. 1
164 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Date Writing Greek Study/-ies

manuscript/-s

1432, Nov. Summa contra Gentiles in Taur. gr. XXIII Frassinetti 1953, 80–81
Demetrios Kydones’ translation, (C-II-16) (owned
produced on the basis of some by S.)
still unidentified MS., at S.’s
request
1433/35, Commentary on Aristotle’s unknown and
Scholarios’ Ars vetus,
before the Posterior Analytics, translated lost
ed. Jugie et al., t. VIII, 4,
Commentary on by S. (translation lost)
34–5, 12
Aristotle’s De
Interpretatione
1433/35 Commentary on Aristotle’s De Mut. gr. 50, f. J. A. Demetracopoulos
Interpretatione, translated in 137r–172v; Par. 2010d, 88–89; more
extenso (literally or in an gr. 1941, f. passages in
abridged form) by S. as part of 104r–130v; Balcoyiannopoulou, p.
his handbook of Ars vetus Barb. gr. 124, f. 93 in this volume
162r–212v; Vat.
gr. 2223, f.
147r–188r
(autographs;
Mut. gr. 50
contains the
final redaction)
probably before Περὶ διαφορᾶς τῶν συγγνωστῶν Par. gr. 1289, f. present article, p. 152,
1436 καὶ θανασίμων ἁμαρτημάτων 130v–137v n. 120; Athanasopoulos
σύντομον καὶ σαφές, which (autrograph; ed. 2017a.
consists of material directly M. Jugie et al.,
drawn from Demetrios Kydones’ IV, 274–284)
translation of Ia IIae and IIa IIae
1435/36 Ps.-Thomas Aquinas’ De Laur. Plut. Jugie et al., t. VIII, pp.
fallaciis, translated by S. 71.33, f. 29–44; v–vi
Misc. Oxon. gr.
275, f.
311–321; Mut.
gr. 50, f.
223–238
(autographs)
before 1438 Commentary on Aristotle’s Laur. Plut. Jugie et al., t. VIII, pp. iv;
(probably Physics, partially translated (I.1, 86.19, f. 36–37 163
before c. 1435, 3–15 and II.1–12) by S. (initium operis
i. e. before S.’s solum)
translation of (autograph)
Aquinas’ Comm.
on De anima,
which was
normally given
precedence
over the Physics
in the Medieval
philosophical
courses
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 165

Date Writing Greek Study/-ies

manuscript/-s

c. 1435 Commentary on Aristotle’s De Laur. Plut. Jugie et al., t. VI, p. x

anima, translated by S. 86.19; Vat. Pal.
235
(autographs)
(much?) earlier Commentary on Aristotle’s Escor. Δ.IV.8 S. used this
than 1443/45, Metaphysics, translated by S. (lost) commentary in his Κατὰ
probably after (translation lost) τῶν Πλήθωνος ἀποριῶν
the partial ἐπ’ Ἀριστοτέλει, which
translation of was written in 1443/44
Aquinas’ Comm. (J. A. Demetracopoulos
on Physics 2012b, 121–122;
Athanasopoulos 2015,
401–427)
1436 or shortly S.’s epitome of Summa Par. gr. 1932, f. Cacouros 2000, 405;
after theologiae, Ia IIae in Demetrios 68r–69r 407; 431
Kydones’ translation, qu. 21, art. (autograph)
3; 4; qu. 22, art. 1; qu. 24, art. 3;
qu. 25, art. 4; qu. 26, art. 3; qu.
27, art. 1; 2; 3; qu. 28, art. 1
c. 1436 or a bit Summa theologiae, IIa IIae in Par. gr. 1237 Gamillscheg,
later Demetrios Kydones’ translation, (partially D. Harlfinger, and
identical up to qu. 64, art. 1 and autograph; Hunger 1989, 48; 54;
abridged by S. from qu. 64 on; revised by S. in present article, pp. 131,
produced on the basis of some its entirety) n. 9 and 155ff.
still unidentified MS.
probably after c. Summa theologiae, Ia IIae in Vat. gr. 433, f. present article, p. 155ff.
1443/45 and Demetrios Kydones’ translation, 81–179
before 1458/59 epitomized by S. on the basis of (autograph)
some still unidentified MS.
between Ps.-Thomas Aquinas’ De no extant Greek used by S. in the Περὶ
1437/40 and sacramento Eucharistiae ad translation; S. τοῦ μυστηριώδους
1447 modum praedicamentorum had presumably σώματος τοῦ Κυρίου
access to some ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
Latin dated by Jugie 1930a,
manuscript 432
between 1445 De ente et essentia, translated Misc. Oxon. Jugie et al., t. VI, pp. 8;
and 1450 by S. 275; Par. Suppl. 154
618; Scor.
Υ.III.13; Laur.
Plut. 86.27
(autographs)
166 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Date Writing Greek Study/-ies

manuscript/-s

between S.’s Florilegium Thomisticum I Par. gr. 1868, f. J.A. Demetracopoulos

1444/45 and (from Demetrios Kydones’ 30r–39v 2002, 161–168; 2007,
1453 translation of Summa contra (autograph); 303–304, n. 6
Gentiles and Summa theologiae, Marc. Gr. Cl. XI,
Ia (presumably on the basis of 10 (coll. 1474),
Taur. Gr. XXIII and Vatop. 255): f. 247r–279v
ScG, Bk. II, ch. 49, par. 3; 5; 7; 6;
chs. 69 tit. and 70 summatim;
ch. 79, par. 2; 3; 8; 9; 10; I, ch.
71; III, ch. 136, par. 1; 9; 10; 11;
13; 15; ch. 157, par. 2; 3; ch.
158, par. 1; 4; 5; 6; 7; ST Ia, qu.
115, art. 4 Resp.; ad 2um; ad
3um; art. 6 s.c.; ad 1um; ad 3um;
Resp. summatim; qu. 116, art. 1
Resp. summatim; qu. 115, art. 5
s.c.; ad 1um; ad 2um; ad 3um;
qu. 117, art. 3 ad 2um; ScG II,
ch. 56; ch. 57; ch. 83, par. 1;
9–12; 6–7; 1–3; 5; 20–22; 84,
par. 1–5; ch. 83, par. 35; 26; 8;
ch. 71), produced by S.
between S.’s Florilegium Thomisticum II Marc. Gr. Cl. XI, J.A. Demetracopoulos
1444/45 and (from Demetrios Kydones’ 18 (coll. 1042), 2007, 335–340
1453, translation of Summa contra f. 9r–14v
presumably Gentiles (presumably on the
after the basis of Taur. Gr. XXIII), Bk. III:
preceding item ch. 84, par. 8–14; ch. 85, par.
19–20; ch. 86, par. 9–14; ch.
87; ch. 93; chs. 105–106
summatim; ch. 101, par. 2
partim; ch. 103; ch. 94, par. 3–5
and 12–15), produced by S.
probably 1456 Summa theologiae, Ia Vatop. 254 and Fonkitch 2002; present
(Demetrios Kydones’ translation) Mosqu. Syn. article, pp. 151–152
228 (accessed and Appendix II;
by S., with Cacouros 2013,
notes by him); 24*–25*
Vatop. 254, f.
49r (in marg.)
includes
Demetrios
Kydones’
translation of
Aquinas’
Quaestiones
quodlibetales I,
qu. 1
(translator’s
hand)
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 167

Date Writing Greek Study/-ies

manuscript/-s

after 1458/59 S.’s epitome of Demetrios Par. gr. 1273 Jugie et al., t. V, p. V–VI
and Kydones’ translation of Summa (autograph)
(presumably contra Gentiles and Summa
much) earlier theologiae, Ia (presumably
than 1467/70 elaborated on the basis of Taur.
Gr. XXIII and Vatop. 255)
(long?) before De potentia, translated by unknown (Par. On the manuscripts of
1467 Prochoros Kydones Coisl. gr. 96 or the translation, see
some other Devreesse 1945, 83;
manuscript) Konstantinou-Rizos, p.
259 in this volume. S.’s
Περὶ τῆς λογικῆς καὶ
ἀνθρωπίνης ψυχῆς,
δεύτερον depends on
qu. 3, art. 9, which is
Aquinas’ fullest account
of the origins of the
human soul; see
J. A. Demetracopoulos
2017d
168 | John A. Demetracopoulos

Appendix III: Scholarios’ autograph note on Aquinas’

Summa theologiae in cod. Vatop. 254
On fol. 1v of the 14th century cod. Vatop. 254, written by Manuel Tzykandyles and re-
vised by Demetrios Kydones, containing the first part (quaestiones 1–43: on the sci-
ence of theology and Deus unus and trinus) of Ia Pars of Aquinas’ Summa theologiae in
Kydones’ translation, there is an autograph note by Scholarios regarding the Summa
theologiae.¹⁸¹ As Fonkitch reasonably maintains,¹⁸² the manuscript was most probably
produced (shortly) before 1357, since its sequel, which contains the remaining quaes-
tiones of Ia Pars, i. e. cod. Mosqu. Synod. 228, was completed on November 13, 1357/58.
In paragraph 2, Scholarios’ description of the Summe theologiae implies that he
had before him the entire Ia Pars — not only qu. 1–43, which are contained in the
manuscript nowadays classified as Vatop. 254, but also qu. 44 sqq., for he says that
Aquinas “περὶ τῆς παρ’ αὐτοῦ [sc. God] προόδου τῶν κτισμάτων σκοπεῖ”. Besides, the
fact that he calls Ia Pars “the present book” (“ταῦτα … ἐν τῷ παρόντι βιβλίῳ θεωρεῖ”;
see also par. 7: “τῷ … παρόντι [sc. πονήματι”]) suggests that he is referring to Ia Pars as
a whole, namely the tome on which he was writing.¹⁸³ This probably suggests that at
the time, i. e. probably 1456, May-September,¹⁸⁴ cod. Vatop. 254 and its sequel, i. e. cod.

181 See Fonkitch 2002, 246. This is the fourth of the seven facsimiles included in Fonkitch’s study.
The third one is fol. 49r, where Scholarios’ marginal note is a copy of Demetrios Kydones’ translation
of Aquinas’ Quaestiones quodlibetales, qu. I, art. 1 (ed. Spiazzi 1949, 2), edited by Cacouros (2000,
434–436) on the basis of cod. Vatop. 255. Cf. supra, p. 152, n. 137.
182 Fonkitch 2002, 247–248.
183 In using βιβλίον in this sense, Scholarios followed Demetrios Kydones, who used it interchange-
ably with μέρος, by σύνταγμα and πραγματεία denoting the entire Summa; see, e. g., Summa theolo-
giae, Ia, qu. 83, art. 2 ad 3um: “…ἐν τῷ βῳ βιβλίῳ” (cod. Vat. Gr. 609, fol. 108v, 39; “…in secunda parte
hujus operis”); qu. 84, proem: “…ἐν τῷ βῳ μέρει τῆς πραγματείας ταύτης” (cod. Vat. Gr. 609, fol. 109r,
16; “…in secunda parte hujus operis”); Ia IIae, qu. 4, art. 6 ad 3um: “…ἐν τῷ γῳ μέρει τοῦ Συντάγματος
τούτου” (cod. Marc. Gr. 147, fol. 36r, 12; “…in tertia parte huius operis dicetur”); IIa IIae, qu. 88, art. 7
s.c.: “…ἐν τῷ γʹ βιβλίῳ τῆς πραγματείας ταύτης” (“…in tertia hujus operis parte”); qu. 89, proem: “…ἐν
τῷ τρίτῳ τῆς παρούσης πραγματείας” (“…in tertia hujus operis parte”); qu. 96, art. 1 Resp.: “ἐν τῷ αʹ
τῆς πραγματείας ταύτης” (“…in prima hujus operis parte”); art. 3 ad 1um: “…ἐν τῷ αʹ βιβλίῳ” (“…parte
prima”); qu. 100, art. 2, arg. 1: “…ἐν τῷ γʹ ῥηθήσεται” (“…in tertia parte dicetur”); ad 6um: “…ἐν τῷ γʹ
ῥηθήσεται τῆς πραγματείας ταύτης” (“…in tertia parte hujus operis dicetur”) (ed. Glycofrydi-Leontsini
and Spyralatos 2011, 167, 6–7; 184, 5–6; 273, 19–20; 278, 32–279, 1; 316, 8–9; 319, 9–10).
184 On Scholarios’ stay in the Vatopedi monastery, see Jugie et al., tome VIII, 30*; Blanchet 2008b,
210.
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 169

Mosqu. Syn. 228, formed a single book.¹⁸⁵ This is corroborated by the fact that some of
the marginal additions in Mosqu. Syn. 228¹⁸⁶ are due to Scholarios’ hand.
Fonkitch also argues that cod. Vatop. 254 either belonged to the collection of
John VI Kantakuzenos’ library and formed part of the emperor’s donation to the Vato-
pedi monastery, or belonged to Scholarios, who, as known, visited the monastery
in 1456 and probably left the book there.¹⁸⁷ Granted the close connection of Manuel
Tzykandyles’ scribal activity with Demetrios Kydones and Kantakuzenos,¹⁸⁸ and tak-
ing into account that Scholarios possessed a full copy of the Summa theologiae, Ia Pars
as early as 1431/32 (see supra, pp. 151–152), which means that a second copy of this
text would not be so useful for him, the former scenario is more probable. If so, then
Scholarios’ note was probably written during his stay at the Vatopedi monastery.
In par. 5, Scholarios says that he had no access to IIIa Pars, either in Latin or Greek.
This means that, up to that time, i. e. probably up to 1456, he had no access to the 14th
century cod. Vat. gr. 1102, which preserves Prochoros Kydones’ autograph translation
of some of the quaestiones of IIIa Pars and its Supplementum.¹⁸⁹ As I try to show else-
where,¹⁹⁰ this was most probably due to the fact that, from 1439/45 on, this manuscript
was in the hands of Bessarion, who, after Scholarios’ joining the anti-unionist camp,
interrupted his friendly relationship with him. On the other hand, in the preface to the
Compendia of the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, which, as
far as one can say, were written after 1458/59 (see supra, pp. 152–154), Scholarios says
that he “for a time had access to the entire corpus Thomisticum in its Latin original
form”.¹⁹¹ Therefore, Scholarios’ delighted encounter with a full collection of “Thomas
Latinus” (in some place unknown to us) probably postdates 1456 and for sure ante-
dates his compilation of those Compendia.
The sources of Scholarios’ description of the Summa theologiae are two. First, he
used Thomas’ own Proem to the entire Summa theologiae along with the proems to
certain of the quaestiones of Ia Pars. Further, he used the relevant paragraph (§ 3)
from Demetrios Kydones’ translation of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda
S. Thomae.¹⁹² This source is alluded to in Scholarios’ “ὥς φασι” (§ 4), where he de-
scribes the topics of IIIa Pars; as he is about to inform the reader in the next paragraph

185 Cf. Fonkitch 2002, 246: “Ces deux manuscrits apparaissent … comme deux volumes d’une même
édition de la traduction de la Summa theologiae, [Ia Pars]. … Les deux manuscrits constitueraient …
un exemplaire de travail du traducteur”.
186 See Tables 5–7 in Fonkitch 2002, 248–250. See also Fonkitch 1983, 11–26.
187 Fonkitch 2002, 248–249.
188 See Mondrain 2004b, 249–296; Bianconi 2005, 105–107. Cf. Mondrain 2007, 170–174.
189 See supra, p. 160, n. 173.
190 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2017a.
191 Ed. Jugie et al., tome V, 2, 2–6.
192 Ed. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 851–858. Shortly after (see supra, pp. 152–154), Scholarios was to
use this translation once more—in the preface to his abridgment of Summa contra Gentiles and Summa
Theologiae, Ia Pars (see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 847–848).
170 | John A. Demetracopoulos

that he never had access to IIIa Pars, the “ὥς φασι” implicitly tells the reader that the
information provided by Scholarios is indirect. Sometimes, Bernardus himself echoes
Thomas’ own description of his work; so, it is a tricky task to distinguish between what
Scholarios picked up from Thomas and what from Bernardus.
In this edition, I reproduce the paragraph division of Scholarios. I normalize ac-
cents, breathings and punctuation as well as add iota subscripts.

Text

1. Ἡ παροῦσα πραγματεία τὸ Πρῶτον τῶν Θεολογικῶν ἐστι τοῦ Θωμᾶ ντὲ Ἀκουίνο τοῦ
φιλοσόφου¹⁹³ ἀπὸ τῆς τάξεως τῶν Πρεδικατόρων. «Τὴν» γὰρ «ὅλην θεολογίαν» ἐν τέσ-
σαρσι βιβλίοις ὁ ἀνὴρ οὗτος¹⁹⁴ «συνετάξατο»,¹⁹⁵ ἔργον μηδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐλθόν ποτε
εἰς διάνοιαν,¹⁹⁶ μὴ ὅτι γε θαυμασίως οὕτως ἐξεργασθὲν καὶ κρεῖττον ἢ κατὰ δύναμιν
ἀνθρωπίνην μὴ θεόθεν ἄντικρυς βοηθουμένην.¹⁹⁷
2. Τῆς τοιαύτης οὖν πραγματείας θεολογικῆς τῆς εἰς τέσσαρα διαιρουμένης τὸ
πρῶτόν ἐστι τὸ παρόν, ἐν ᾧ «περὶ αὐτῆς τε τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας προηγουμένως διέ-
ξεισι»¹⁹⁸ καὶ περὶ τῶν τῷ Θεῷ προσηκόντων ᾗ ἑνὶ καὶ ᾗ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν προσωπικῶς διακε-
κριμένῳ· εἶτα περὶ τῆς παρ’ αὐτοῦ προόδου τῶν κτισμάτων σκοπεῖ¹⁹⁹ καὶ καθόλου καὶ
κατὰ μέρος, οἷον περί τε τῆς σωματικῆς κτίσεως καὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου καὶ τῆς μικτῆς,²⁰⁰

193 τοῦ φιλοσόφου: cf. Scholarios’ Compendium “Summae contra Gentiles” et Primae Partis “Sum-
mae theologiae”: «Ὁ δὲ τῶν βίβλων συγγραφεὺς (…) σοφὸς… καὶ τῶν ἐν σοφίᾳ τελείων ἐν ἀνθρώποις
οὐδενὸς ἐνδεὴς… …Ὁ σοφὸς οὗτος ἀνὴρ…».
194 Ex cod. οὕτoς correxi.
195 Τὴν (…) ὅλην θεολογίαν (…) συνετάξατο: «…Σύνταγμα της ὅλης θεολογίας» (Demetrios Kydones’
translation of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae, ed. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f,
851).
196 ἔργον usque διάνοιαν: «τὸν ἐπιτομώτατον τρόπον ἀγνοούμενον τοῖς πρότερον ἐξεῦρε καὶ παρα-
δέδωκε» (Demetrios Kydones’ translation of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae,
ed. J.A. Demetracopoulos, ibid.).
197 κρεῖττον usque βοηθουμένην: «οὐκ ἄνευ θείας χάριτος ἰδίως ἐπελθούσης αὐτῷ» (Demetrios
Kydones’ translation of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae, ed. J.A.
Demetracopoulos, ibid.).
198 περὶ usque διέξεισι: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, Prooemium, tr. Demetrios
Kydones: «…πρῶτον ζητῆσαι περὶ αὐτῆς τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας…» (cod. Vatop. 254, f. 1v, 2–3 = cod.
Coisl. 279, fol. 8v, 6–7).
199 τῶν τῷ Θεῷ usque σκοπεῖ: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, qu. 2, Prooemium, tr. Demetrios
Kydones: «…ἡ περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρία τριχῆ θεωρεῖται. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ θεωρήσομεν τὰ προσήκοντα τῇ
θείᾳ οὐσίᾳ, δεύτερον τὰ τῇ διακρίσει τῶν προσώπων, τρίτον τὰ τῇ παρ’ αὐτοῦ τῶν κτισμάτων προόδῳ»
(cod. Vatop. 254, fol. 9v, 8–9 = cod. Coisl. 279, fol. 17v, 7–9).
200 καὶ καθόλου usque μικτῆς: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, Ia, qu. 47, Prooemium, tr.
Demetrios Kydones: «Μετὰ τὴν εἰς τὸ εἶναι τῶν κτισμάτων πρόοδον περὶ τῆς τούτων διακρίσεως θεω-
ρητέον ἂν εἴη. [...] Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ θεωρήσομεν περὶ τῆς αὐτῶν διακρίσεως κοινῇ, δεύτερον περὶ τῆς
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 171

καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὰς καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλας. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τῷ παρόντι βιβλίῳ θεωρεῖ, ὡς ἐν
κεφαλαίῳ περὶ αὐτῶν εἰπεῖν.
3. Ἐν δὲ τῷ δευτέρῳ²⁰¹ καὶ τρίτῳ «περὶ τῆς κινήσεως διαλαμβάνει, ἣν πρὸς τὸν
Θεὸν ἡ λογικὴ κτίσις κινεῖται»·²⁰² ἡ δέ ἐστιν ἡ διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν γε²⁰³ καὶ τῆς ὀρθῆς πολι-
τείας πρὸς ἐκεῖνον νεῦσις καὶ ὁμοίωσις ἁμηγέπῃ. Ἀλλ’ ἐν μὲν τῷ πρώτῳ «περὶ ἀρετῶν
καὶ παθῶν» «καθόλου» ζητεῖ,²⁰⁴ ὃ δὴ καὶ Πρῶτον τοῦ δευτέρου καλεῖται,²⁰⁵ ἐν δὲ τῷ
δευτέρῳ περὶ «τῶν αὐτῶν» τούτων «εἰδικῶς θεωρεῖ», ὃ δὴ καὶ Δεύτερον²⁰⁶ ἐπιγράφε-
ται τοῦ δευτέρου.²⁰⁷
4. Ἐν δὲ τῷ τετάρτῳ καὶ τελευταίῳ τῆς τοιαύτης πραγματείας²⁰⁸ «περὶ τοῦ» Θεοῦ
θεωρεῖ, «ὅς, καθόσον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, ὁδός ἐστιν ἡμῖν τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνόδου».²⁰⁹ Ἐν

τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ διακρίσεως, τρίτον περὶ τῆς διακρίσεως τῆς τε σωματικῆς κτίσεως καὶ ἀσωμά-
του» (cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 190v, 4–9 = cod. Coisl. 280, fol. 30r, 3–6); qu. 48, Proem: «Ἐφεξῆς θεωρητέον
ἂν εἴη περὶ τῆς εἰδικῆς διακρίσεως τῶν ὄντων, καὶ πρῶτον περὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ διακρίσεως,
μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο περὶ τῆς σωματικῆς κτίσεως καὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου» (cod. Vatop. 255, fol. 192v, 19–21 = cod.
Coisl. 280, fol. 33v, 2–4); qu. 50, Prooemium: «Μετὰ ταῦτα θεωρητέον ἂν εἴη περὶ τῆς σωματικῆς καὶ
ἀσωμάτου κτίσεως, καὶ πρῶτον περὶ τῆς καθαρῶς ἀσωμάτου…, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα περὶ τῆς καθαρῶς σωμα-
τικῆς κτίσεως, τρίτον περὶ τῆς συνθέτου ἔκ τε τοῦ σωματικοῦ καὶ ἀσωμάτου κτίσεως...» (cod. Vatop.
255, fol. 199v, 17–21 = cod. Coisl. 280, fol. 44r 6–9).
201 In codice βʹ legis.
202 Ἐν δὲ usque κινεῖται: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, qu. 2, Prooemium, tr.
Demetrios Kydones: «…πρῶτον πραγματευσόμεθα περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, δεύτερον περὶ τῆς κινήσεως, ἣν
πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ λογικὴ φύσις κινεῖται…» (cod. Vatop. 254, fol. 9v, 5–6 = cod. Coisl. 279, fol. 17v, 4–6).
203 γε is quite unclear.
204 περὶ usque ζητεῖ: «Μετὰ τὴν καθόλου περὶ ἀρετῶν καὶ παθῶν… ἐπίσκεψιν…» (Thomas Aquinas,
Summa theologiae, IIa IIae, Prooemium, tr. Demetrios Kydones, cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 1r, 3–4; cf. eds.
Leontsinis and Glycophrydi-Leontsini 1976, 27, 7–8).
205 ἐν μὲν usque καλεῖται: «ἐν μὲν τῷ πρoτέρῳ διορίζεται περὶ ἀρετῶν καὶ παθῶν καθόλου· ὃ ἐπιγέ-
γραπται· Πρῶτον τοῦ δευτέρου» (ed. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 852).
206 In codice βʹ legis.
207 ἐν δὲ usque δευτέρου: «<In secundo vero volumine agit et determinat descendendo ad materias
virtutum et etiam vitiorum in speciali; et intitulatur Secunda secundae>», ὡς τὴν αὐτὴν ὕλην ἔχον τῷ
πρὸ αὐτοῦ (852); Aquinas, Summa theologiae, IIa IIae, proem, tr. Demetrios Kydones: «…εἰδικῶς περὶ
τὰ ἠθικὰ θεωρεῖσθαι… …Ἡ δ’ αὐτή ἐστιν ὕλη…» (cod. Par. gr. 1237, fol. 1r, 22; cf. eds. G. Leontsinis and A.
Glycophrydi-Leontsini 1976, 27, 10–11). No Scholarian word is traceable back to the lines of the Latin
text omitted in Demetrios Kydones’ translation. This means that Scholarios did not use the original
text but only the translation of Guidonis’ writing.
208 Ἐν δὲ usque πραγματείας: «Τὸ δὲ τρίτον μέρος τοῦ ὅλου Θεολογικοῦ συντάγματος τέταρ-
τόν ἐστι βιβλίον… …Καὶ ἐπιγράφεται τοῦτο Τελευταῖον μέρος τῆς ὅλης θεολογικῆς πραγματείας»
(Demetrios Kydones’ translation of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae, ed. J. A.
Demetracopoulos 2010f, 852).
209 περὶ usque ἀνόδου: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, Ia Pars, qu. 2, Prooemium, tr. Demetrios
Kydones: «…τρίτον περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς, καθόσον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, ὁδός ἐστιν ἡμῖν τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν
ἀνόδου» (cod. Vatop. 254, fol. 9v, 6–7 = cod. Coisl. 279, fol. 17v, 6–7).
172 | John A. Demetracopoulos

ᾧ καὶ περὶ τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας, ὥς φασι, θαυμασίως διέξεισι καὶ περὶ τῶν μυστηρίων
τῆς Ἐκκλησίας²¹⁰ καὶ κοινῶς καὶ ἰδίως.
5. Τούτων τοῖς τρισὶ μόνοις ἡμεῖς ἐνετύχομεν. Τὸ δὲ τέταρτον καὶ τελευταῖον,
πολλὰ²¹¹ σπουδάσαντες, οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν ἰδεῖν οὔτε ἑλληνικῶς (δοκεῖ γὰρ μὴ ἡρ-
μηνεῦσθαι) οὔτε λατινικῶς, ἐπεὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἐνταῦθα Λατίνοις ἢ ὀλίγα ἢ οὐδὲν τῶν
τοιούτων κειμηλίων εὑρίσκεται.
6. Ἰστέον μέντοι ὡς καὶ ἐν τῇ Κατὰ τῶν ἐθνικῶν αὐτοῦ πραγματείᾳ σχεδὸν ἃ κἀν
τοῖς προρρηθεῖσι τέτταρσι βιβλίοις συνετάξατο, εἰ καὶ συνεπτυγμένως καὶ ἕτερόν τινα
τρόπον μεταχειρίσεως.²¹²
7. Ἔστι δὲ οὐδὲ παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ πρόχειρον τῷ τε παρόντι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς πονήμασιν ἐντυγχάνειν, ἀλλὰ μόνοις τοῖς, πρὸς τῷ τὴν ὅλην φιλοσοφίαν ἐπελ-
θεῖν ἱκανῶς, καὶ διὰ τῶν Ἀριστοτελικῶν ἁπάντων βιβλίων ἐλθεῖν καὶ πονεῖν εἰδόσι καὶ
δυναμένοις καὶ βουλομένοις.

210 Ἐν ᾧ usque Ἐκκλησίας: «ἐν αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ Χριστοῦ πραγματεύεται καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλη-
σίας καὶ περὶ ὅλου τοῦ μυστηρίου τῆς σαρκώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ» (Demetrios Kydones’ translation
of chs. 53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae, ed. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 852).
211 πολλὰ is not so clear in the image used.
212 καὶ ἐν usque μεταχειρίσεως: cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, Bk. I, ch. 9, tit., par. 5
and 9, tr. Demetrios Kydones: «Περὶ τῆς τάξεως καὶ τοῦ τρόπου τῆς ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ πραγματείᾳ μετα-
χειρίσεως. (…) …Πρῶτον ἐπισκεπτέον ἂν εἴη περὶ τῶν καθ’ αὑτὸν περὶ Θεοῦ προσηκόντων ζητεῖσθαι,
δεύτερον περὶ τῆς ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τῶν κτισμάτων προόδου, τρίτον περὶ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὥσπερ πρὸς τέλος
τάξεως τῶν κτισμάτων. (…) Τὸν προειρημένον τοίνυν τρόπον προχωρεῖν ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ πραγματείᾳ
σκοποῦντες…» (cod. Taur. Gr. XIII, fol. 6r, 7; 27–28; 6r, 38–v, 2; cf. Scholarios’ Compendium «Summae
contra Gentiles», Bk. Ι, ch. 9, eds. Jugie et al., tome V, 9, 30); Demetrios Kydones’ translation of chs.
53–54 of Bernardus Guidonis’ Legenda S. Thomae: «Ἔτι συνέθηκεν ἄλλο βιβλίον, ἐπιγραφόμενον Κατὰ
Ἑλλήνων, εἰς τέσσαρα τμήματα διῃρημένον» (ed. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 852). It seems that
Scholarios occasional («Ἰστέον μέντοι ὡς…») reference to the Summa contra Gentiles was inspired by
the fact that, in Guidonis’ list, the Summa contra Gentiles figures (as No 4) immediately after the Summa
theologiae («Ἔτι, συνέθηκεν ἄλλο βιβλίον ἐπιγραφόμενον Κατὰ Ἑλλήνων, εἰς τέσσαρα τμήματα διῃρη-
μένον»; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010f, 852). As Scholarios had obtained a personal copy of Demetrios
Kydones’ translation of the Summa contra Gentiles as early as 1432 (cf. his reproduction of Thomas’
phrase «…τρόπου τῆς ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ πραγματείᾳ μεταχειρίσεως»; see the preceding footnote), he
could see that its four books correspond thematically with the four parts of the Summa theologiae.
— Incidentally, Scholarios seems to prefer the title Κατὰ τῶν ἐθνικῶν rather than the Κατὰ Ἑλλήνων
(see the Preface to his abridgment of Demetrios Kydones’ translation of the Summa contra Gentiles, ed.
Jugie et al. 1931, 1, 1–2).
 Scholarios’ On Almsgiving | 173

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Pantelis Golitsis
ἐσέντζια, ὀντότης, οὐσία
George Scholarios’ philosophical understanding of Thomas
Aquinas’ De ente et essentia and his use of Armandus de
Bellovisu’s commentary

The [...] letter written by Scholarios as a preface to his translation of Armandus’ commentary can-
not fail to amaze the reader. Even granting the more liberal attitude toward borrowings from other
authors which obtained before the age of copyright, Gennadios’ statements seem to go beyond
the bounds of intellectual honesty. Not only does he assert that he has written the commentary
rather than translating it from another’s work, but he speaks dismissively of the school of early
Thomists, claiming to make no use of them, when the very work he is presenting is a product of
this school.¹

In his little monograph The Byzantine Thomism of Gennadios Scholarios, Hugh Christo-
pher Barbour, O.P., makes two rather serious accusations against George Scholarios:
(a) Scholarios wanted to have his readers believe that he himself wrote a commentary
on Thomas Aquinas’ De ente et essentia, while in reality he translated, without ac-
knowledging it, the Latin commentary written by Armandus de Bellovisu (or Armand
de Beauvoir or de Bellevue or de Belvézer’; † ca. 1334) probably between 1326–1328;²
(b) Scholarios tacitly translated a work by an early Thomist, i. e. Armandus’ commen-
tary, while he explicitly considered early Thomists to be of little or no value at all for
properly understanding Thomas. Let us look, however, at Scholarios’ own text. As one
of the (perennial) reasons, I should like to argue, that impede the “Latin West” and the
“Byzantine East” from “meeting” are the linguistic misunderstandings.

1 Scholarios’ translation of Thomas’ opusculum

Scholarios’ translation of De ente et essentia, made in 1445,³ exists in two different
redactions, preserved in four manuscripts, one of which (Parisinus Suppl. gr. 618) is

1 Barbour 1993d, 76.

2 On the dating of Armandus’ commentary on the De ente et essentia, see Glorieux 1934, 96. M.-H.
Laurent 1930 had earlier dated the commentary between 1323 and 1328. Stegmueller 1935, 89 n. 23,
signals the date 1319 attested in one of the manuscripts that transmit the commentary anonymously
(Angelicus 104). Nonetheless, Barbour 1993d, 80 n. 194, considers this date as mistaken.
3 See Blanchet 2008d, 318.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-191
180 | Pantelis Golitsis

an autograph of the author.⁴ A first redaction, actually represented by the Vaticanus

Palatinus gr. 235, ff. 303r–318r [D], and the Scorialensis Y.III.13, ff. 11r–27r [C], appar-
ently copies of a lost autograph, has been reproduced and corrected twice in the actual
Oxoniensis Miscellaneus 275 (Auct. T. 5. 13), ff. 278r–288r [A] and Parisinus Suppl. Gr.
618, ff. 9r–19r [B], which give us the definitive redaction. D contains no title.⁵ A title is
given to the work in C,⁶ in which Armandus’ commentary is subsequently added (ff.
28r–144r); it reads: Θωμᾶ ντε Ἀκίνο περὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τῆς οὐσίας ἢ περὶ τοῦ ὄντος καὶ
τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι· ἀπὸ τοῦ λατινικοῦ ἑρμηνευθὲν παρὰ τοῦ σοφωτάτου καὶ λογιωτάτου
Γεωργίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου, εἶτα καὶ ἐξηγηθέν. Perhaps surprisingly, the Greek does not
render the title “De ente et essentia” – which would be, of course, “περὶ τοῦ ὄντος
καὶ τῆς οὐσίας” – but gives two different and alternative titles: “περὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τῆς
οὐσίας”, that is, “de esse et essentia”, and περὶ τοῦ ὄντος καὶ τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι, that is, “de
ente et quidditate” or, more plausibly, “de esse et quidditate”.⁷ This is actually in ac-
cord with the Latin sources, which refer to Thomas’ opusculum with various titles.⁸ Un-
fortunately, the first folio is missing in B, i. e. Scholarios’ autograph, but ms. A, which
contains the text without the commentary, renders in Greek the title which Scholar-
ios apparently found more fitting to the contents of Thomas’ text: Τοῦ Θωμᾶ, περὶ
διαφορᾶς οὐσίας καὶ τοῦ εἶναι ἑρμηνευθὲν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑλλάδα μετενεχθὲν γλῶτταν
παρὰ γεωργίου τοῦ σχολαρίου (“Of Thomas, on the difference between essence and
being translated, that is transferred to the Greek language, by George Scholarios”). In-
deed, out of seven chapters that compose Thomas’ work in Sestili’s edition followed by
Martin Jugie, only the first deals with the ens, so as to establish that the essentia, with
which the rest of the work deals, is derived from the predicative ens (and not from the
veridical ens), whereas the esse conditions Thomas’ analysis of the essence of immate-
rial substances in chapters 5 and 6. The title of the work, as formulated by Scholarios,
suggests that he already had a good understanding of Thomas’ opusculum.
It is perhaps interesting to note that one of the corrections made by Schol-
arios, when passing from the first to the second redaction, was to rewrite the word

4 See Petit, Sideridès, and Jugie 1933, 154. The editors considered erroneously that all four
manuscripts were autographs of Scholarios.
5 A librarian has added (f. 303r) the title “Thomae Aquinatis opusculum De ente et essentia”. He first
wrote in the margin “Logicum fragmentum in quo potissimum de substantiis”, apparently before he
identified the text as Thomas’ De ente et essentia.
6 The folio that contained the beginning of the text in B is missing.
7 Scholarios says that “esse” in Latin is used with the sense of both “εἶναι” and “ὄν”; cf. Schol., CDEE,
p. 219.6–7: ...ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔσσε, ὃ παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς [sc. τοῖς Λατίνοις] σημαίνει τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ ὄν.
8 Bartholomew of Lucca (1236–1327) refers to the work both as De ente et essentia and as De quid-
ditate et esse, whereas Bernard Guido (1261–1331) refers to it as De quidditate entium seu de ente et
essentia. The manuscripts Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 6512, ff. 132–135, of the four-
teenth century, Bibliothèque de l’Université, cod. 209, ff. 211–227, and Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, cod.
337, ff. 124–125, both of the fifteenth century, transmit the work under the title De esse et essentia; see
Roland-Gosselin O.P. 1926, p. XV n. 1 and p. XXIX.
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 181

“ἐσέντζια”, which corresponds to the spoken Latin as a Greek would speak it (esencia,
with one σ, instead of essencia), as ἐσσέντια in proper classical Latin (essentia).⁹ The
most important difference, however, between the first and the second redaction is the
translation of “quid(d)itas”. Whereas it appears in the first redaction as “ὀντότης” or
“ὕπαρξις” (Scholarios uses at times both together, ἡ ὀντότης ἢ ὕπαρξις, in order to
render the single word “quiditas”),¹⁰ it is regularly corrected to οὐσία,¹¹ but also once
to εἶδος,¹² in the second and definitive redaction. To give an example, the ὕπαρξις
or the ὀντότης of a man or a woman, according to the first redaction, is her animal-
ity, rationality and mortality, i. e. her ζῳότης, λογικότης καὶ θνητότης. It definitely
sounds strange in Modern Greek to say “η ύπαρξη ή η οντότητα ενός ανθρώπου είναι
η ζωότητα και η λογικότητά του” but it was not quite so in Byzantine Greek.
In book Kappa of Aristotle’s Metaphysics the expression ὑπάρχον καὶ ὄν is used to
describe the object (γένος) of sciences other than the first science, that is, wisdom.¹³
According to Michael of Ephesus’ commentary on Kappa, ὑπάρχον καὶ ὄν is the object
of science that stands between ὂν ᾗ ἀνύπαρκτον, the being as non-existent, for which
there is no science at all, and ὂν ᾗ ὄν, the being qua being which is the object of first
philosophy; in other words, ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ὄντα are the accidents that are studied per
se, e. g. the magnitudes that are studied by geometry.¹⁴ “The first philosophy”, says
Michael, “studies the being qua being, that is, not insofar as it has weight or heat or

9 Cf. Schol., DEE, ad 157.20.

10 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 155.32–35: τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ὄνομα παρὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τῆς ὀντότητος
ἢ ὑπάρξεως μεταλαμβάνεται, καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν ὃ συνεχῶς ὁ Φιλόσοφος ὀνομάζει τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι, τουτέστι
τὸ δι᾽οὗ τὶ ἔχει τὸ εἶναι (nomen essentiae a philosophis in nomen quidditatis mutatur; et hoc est quod
Philosophus frequenter nominat “quod quid erat esse”, id est hoc per quod aliquid habet esse quid);
p. 156.9–10: Τὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς ὀντότητος ὄνομα εἴτουν ὑπάρξεως λαμβάνεται ἐκ τοῦ δηλοῦσθαι δι᾽
ὁρισμοῦ (Quidditatis vero nomen sumitur ex hoc quod per definitionem significatur); ad 167.27–28: Ὅθεν
Ἀβινσένας φησὶν ὅτι ἡ ὀντότης ἢ ὕπαρξις αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἁπλοῦ ἐστὶν αὐτὸ τὸ ἁπλοῦν, διότι οὐκ ἔστι τι τὸ
ταύτην δεχόμενον (Unde Avicenna dicit quod quidditas simplicis est ipsummet simplex, quia non est
aliquid aliud recipiens ipsam).
11 Cf. Schol., DEE, ad 167.23, 167.27, 168.6, 168.13, 168.34, 170.23, 172.22, 172.23, 172.24, 172.26. In p.
168.9–10 πᾶσα δὲ οὐσία ἢ ὕπαρξις δύναται νοεῖσθαι χωρὶς τοῦ νοεῖσθαί τι περὶ τοῦ εἶναι αὐτῆς (Omnis
autem essentia vel quidditas potest intelligi sine hoc quod aliquid intelligatur de esse suo) is reduced to
πᾶσα δὲ οὐσία δύναται νοεῖσθαι...
12 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 169.20: τὸ εἶδος ἢ ἡ οὐσία αὐτῆς [sc. τῆς νοήσεως] ἐστὶν αὐτὸ ὅπερ ἐστίν (quid-
ditas vel essentia eius [sc. intelligentiae] est ipsum quod est ipsa). More expectedly (in light of the first
passage quoted in n. 10), the Aristotelian term τί ἦν εἶναι, too, is used for quidditas in the second
redaction; cf. Scholarios, DEE, ad 167.2, 167.14, 168.6 and 172.2.
13 Aristot., Metaph., XI 7, 1063b 36–1064a 4: Πᾶσα δ᾽ ἐπιστήμη ζητεῖ τινὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ αἰτίας περὶ
ἕκαστον τῶν ὑφ᾽ αὑτὴν ἐπιστητῶν, οἷον ἰατρικὴ καὶ γυμναστικὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἑκάστη τῶν ποιητικῶν
καὶ μαθηματικῶν. ἑκάστη γὰρ τούτων περιγραψαμένη τι γένος αὑτῇ περὶ τοῦτο πραγματεύεται ὡς
ὑπάρχον καὶ ὄν, οὐχ ᾗ δὲ ὄν, ἀλλ᾽ ἑτέρα τις αὕτη παρὰ ταύτας τὰς ἐπιστήμας ἐστὶν ἐπιστήμη.
14 Mich., In Metaph., p. 659.30–35: τοῦ δὲ “ἑκάστη γὰρ τούτων περιγραψαμένη τι γένος αὐτὴ περὶ
τοῦτο πραγματεύεται ὡς ὑπάρχον καὶ ὂν” τὸ ὡς ὑπάρχον καὶ ὂν οὐ τοῦτό φησιν ὅτι ὃ περιεγράψατο
καὶ ἔλαβεν οἷον ἡ γεωμετρία ᾗ ὂν τοῦτο σκοπεῖ, ἀλλὰ λέγοι ἂν ὅτι ὃ περιεγράψατο ὡς ὑπάρχον λαβοῦσα
182 | Pantelis Golitsis

anything else among the sensible contrarieties, but only insofar as it is being and par-
ticipates in ὀντότης and ὕπαρξις”.¹⁵ The ὂν ᾗ ὄν (and not the ὂν ᾗ ποσόν, the ὂν ᾗ ποιόν
etc.) is that which participates in ὀντότης primarily, in other words whatever belongs
to the first category of οὐσία, whereas the other nine categories are said to participate
in ὀντότης secondarily (μετέχουσι γὰρ ὀντότητος καί εἰσιν ἐν ὑπάρξει ... ἀλλὰ πρώτως
μὲν ἡ οὐσία, δευτέρως δὲ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ ἐννέα κατηγορίαι).¹⁶ Ὀντότης without qualifi-
cation is the “one with reference to which” (τὸ πρὸς ἕν) the ten categories are said,
which signify “beings” (ὄντα) neither synonymously nor homonymously:

– x ὄν ἐστι (where x is “man”, “ox” etc.) = x ὀντότητος μετέχει πρώτως = x ἐν

ὑπάρξει ἐστὶ πρώτως (i. e. x exists as a subject)¹⁷
– x ὄν ἐστι (where x is “dumb”, “three cubits tall” etc.) = x ὀντότητος μετέχει
δευτέρως = x ἐν ὑπάρξει ἐστὶ δευτέρως (i. e. x exists in a subject)

Michael’s elder fellow Eustratius, Metropolitan of Nicaea, similarly says in his com-
mentary on the second book of Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics that ὀντότης is not ap-
plicable absolutely (ἁπλῶς) to what is ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ καὶ περὶ αὐτήν, i. e. the rest of the
categories, but only to the category of οὐσία, which is ὂν ἁπλῶς.¹⁸ Eustratius uses,
however, ὀντότης in a further, more “metaphysical” sense, which pertains to the def-

καὶ ὀντότητος μετέχον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὡς ἀνύπαρκτον, σκοπεῖ τὰ τούτῳ συμβεβηκότα καθ᾽ αὑτό, ἡ δὲ πρώτη
φιλοσοφία ᾗ ὄντα αὐτὰ θεωρεῖ.
15 Mich., In Metaph., p. 642.1–4: ἡ πρώτη φιλοσοφία του ὄντος ᾗ ὄν ἐστι θεωρητική (οὐ γὰρ ᾗ
βαρύτητα ἔχει ἢ καθὸ θερμότητα ἢ ἄλλην τινὰ των αἰσθητῶν ἐναντιώσεων τοῦτο θεωρεῖ, ἀλλ᾽ ᾗ μόνον
ὄν ἐστι καὶ ὀντότητος καὶ ὑπάρξεως μετέχει).
16 Mich., In Metaph., p. 641.23–29: αἱ οὖν δέκα κατηγορίαι ὧν τὸ ὂν κατηγορεῖται οὔτε συνώνυμοί
εἰσιν (αἱ αὐταὶ γὰρ ἂν ἦσαν καὶ οὐκ ἂν διέφερεν ἡ οὐσία τοῦ ποσοῦ οὔτε αὖ τὸ ποσὸν τῆς οὐσίας, οὐδὲ
αἱ λοιπαὶ ἀλλήλων)· ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ ὁμωνύμως αὐτῶν τὸ ὂν κατηγορεῖται· μετέχουσι γὰρ ὀντότητος
καί εἰσιν ἐν ὑπάρξει καὶ τῆς τοῦ ὄντος οὐ πάντῃ ἐστέρηνται φύσεως, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πρώτως, ἀλλὰ πρώτως
μὲν ἡ οὐσία, δευτέρως δὲ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ ἐννέα κατηγορίαι.
17 This is also true for the rational soul; e. g. Socrates’ soul is said to be ἐν ὑπάρξει and to participate
in ὀντότης. It exists, however, in a body; cf. Mich., In Metaph., p. 724.31–725.2: ἀνάγκη, εἴπερ εἰσὶ τὰ
μαθηματικὰ οὐσίαι τινὲς καὶ φύσεις καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ ἀλλὰ μὴ δυνάμει, ἢ ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς εἶναι, ὥσπερ
τινὲς τῶν Πυθαγορείων λέγουσι (λέγουσι γάρ τινες τούτων ὅτι ὥσπερ ἡ λογικὴ ψυχή, οἷον φέρε τοῦ
Σωκράτους ἢ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, εἰ καὶ ἐν ὑπάρξει ἐστὶ καὶ ὀντότητος μετέχει καὶ καθ᾽ αὑτήν ἐστιν, ὅμως
ἐν σώματι ἔστιν, ἡ μὲν οὐρανία τοῦ παντός, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Σωκράτους ἐν τῷ τοῦ Σωκράτους σώματι, οὕτω
καὶ τὰ μαθηματικὰ ἐνεργείᾳ καὶ καθ᾽ αὑτὰ ὄντα ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς εἰσιν)· ἢ οὖν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς εἰσι τὰ
μαθηματικά, ἢ οὐκ ἐν τούτοις ἀλλὰ καθ᾽ αὑτά, ἔν τινι μὴ ὄντα, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ αἱ ἀσώματοι καὶ ἀκίνητοι
καὶ θεῖαι οὐσίαι.
18 Cf. Eustrat., In Anal. Post., p. 20.1–8: ὥσπερ τὴν μὲν οὐσίαν ἁπλῶς λέγομεν ὄν, τὸ δὲ λευκὸν καὶ τὸ
τρέχειν καὶ καθόλου ὅσα ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ καὶ περὶ αὐτὴν πῇ καὶ τινὰ ὄντα, ὡς μὴ ἁρμοττούσης αὐτοῖς ἁπλῶς
τῆς ὀντότητος, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ μόνον διὰ τὸ εἶναί τι τοῦ ὄντος αὐτά, οἷον ποιότητας, ποσότητας, πηλικότητας,
ἐνεργείας, πάθη, ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅταν ζητῶμεν περί τινος τὸ εἰ ἔστιν αὐτὸ ἢ τί ἐστι,
τότε ἁπλῶς ζητοῦμεν περὶ αὐτοῦ· ὅταν δὲ ζητῶμεν περί τινος τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ, τότε οὐχ ἁπλῶς ζητοῦμεν
περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν μέρει.
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 183

inition of a thing. He switches from the ὀντότης in which a thing participates (and this
properly allows explaining the ontological status of the accidents) to the ὀντότης of
a thing. The ὀντότητες τῶν πραγμάτων per se, he says, are not made known by the
names, which only reveal accidental ὀντότητες (e. g., as the names ἄνθρωπος, μέροψ
and βροτός make known that man raises his eyes, articulates his voice and is mortal),
but by the unique proper definitions of things, i. e. the definitions that include their
genus and their specific differences; e. g. the ὀντότης of man is not ζῷον πεζὸν δίπουν,
nor ζῷον ἄπτερον ὑπόπουν δίπουν but ζῷον λογικὸν θνητόν.¹⁹ Ὀντότης (or ὕπαρξις)
refers to what a being (ὄν, e. g. ἄνθρωπος) is by definition: a human being’s ζῳότης,
λογικότης and θνητότης constitute its ὀντότης.²⁰ This captures well the meaning of
the Latin “quidditas” and it is apparently through his acquaintance with the commen-
taries of Michael of Ephesus and of Eustratius of Nicaea that Scholarios translated the
Latin term as ὀντότης or ὕπαρξις:

19 Cf. Eustrat., In Anal. Post., p. 102.32–103.21: εἰ γὰρ ἦν καθ᾽ αὑτὸ σημαντικὸν τοῦ ὄντος τὸ ὄνομα,
ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ ὁ ὁρισμός, οὐκ ἂν καὶ μὴ οὖσιν ὀνόματα ἐτέθειτο οὐδ᾽ ἂν πολλὰ τῷ αὐτῷ ὀνόματα
ἔκειτο, οὐδὲ μὴν πολλοῖς πράγμασιν ὄνομα τὸ αὐτό. νῦν δὲ ὁρισμὸς μὲν τοῦ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ εἷς
καὶ οὐ πολλοί (εἰ γὰρ καὶ διάφοροι ἐνίοτε λόγοι τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀποδίδονται, ἀλλ᾽ εἷς ἑκάστου ὁ κυρίως
ὁρισμός, ὃς τῷ γένει τῶν εἰδητικῶν συνερχομένων διαφορῶν ἀπο τελεῖται, ἐπεὶ καὶ φύσις μία καὶ
εἶδος ἓν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου δηλούμενον), ὀνόματα δὲ πολλὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἶναι ἐνδέχεται ἀπό τινων μὲν
παρεπομένων αὐτῷ τιθέμενα, ἐπίσης δὲ ἀλλήλοις δηλοῦντα τὸ ὑποκείμενον τοῖς συνήθως ἔχουσι τῶν
ὀνομάτων. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ καὶ μέροψ καὶ βροτὸς τὸ αὐτό, τὸ μὲν ὅτι ἄνω ἀθρεῖ τὸν ὦπα, τὸ δ᾽ ὅτι
μερίζει τὴν ὄπα, τὸ δ᾽ ὅτι φθαρτός ἐστι, καὶ ἐξ ἄλλων ἄν τις ἴσως ἑπομένων αὐτῷ εὑρήσει κείμενα
ὀνόματα· ὁρισμὸς δ᾽ ὁ κυρίως εἷς. τὸ γὰρ ζῷον πεζὸν δίπουν ἐπεὶ ἐκ τῶν ὑλικῶν σύγκειται, οὐ κυρίως,
καὶ τὸ ζῷον ἄπτερον ὑπόπουν δίπουν ὡσαύτως· τὸ δὲ ζῷον λογικὸν θνητὸν ἐπεὶ τὰς εἰδητικὰς ἔχει
διαφοράς, κυρίως ἐστὶν ὁρισμός. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁρισμὸς ὁ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἄν ποτε τεθείη τοῖς διαφόροις κατ᾽
εἶδος, ὄνομα δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πολλάκις τοῖς κατ᾽ εἶδος διεστηκόσιν, ὡς κύων κατ᾽ εἶδος ἕτερος ὁ ἀστὴρ καὶ
ὁ χερσαῖος καὶ ὁ θαλάττιος, ὅπερ οὐκ ἂν ἦν, εἰ καθ᾽ αὑτὸ τὰ ὀνόματα ὥσπερ οἱ ὁρισμοὶ ἐδήλουν τὰ
πράγματα. καὶ μεταθείη ἄν τις τὸ τοῦδε εἰς ἕτερον ὄνομα, ὁρισμὸν δ᾽ οὐχί. καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων δὲ
ἐτυμότητος καταμάθοι ἄν τις ὡς κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς δηλοῦσι τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων ὀντότητας· ἐκ γὰρ τῶν
παρεπομένων ταῖς φύσεσι λαμβανόμενα ἐξ ἐκείνων τε τὰς ἐτυμότητας δέχεται, καὶ ἐκεῖνα καθ᾽ αὑτὸ
δηλοῦν ἐπαγγέλλεται. ἐπεὶ οὖν καθ᾽ αὑτὸ τοῖς ὁρισμοῖς τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ δήλωσις, κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς
δὲ τοῖς ὀνόμασι, καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἐξ ἀνάγκης οἱ ὁρισμοί, ὀνόματα δὲ καὶ μὴ ὄντων ἐστί, καὶ ἀμετάθετοι
μὲν οἱ ὁρισμοί, μετατίθενται δὲ τὰ ὀνόματα, καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦθ᾽ ἕτερα, πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον ἰσοδυναμεῖν
λέγειν ἁπλῶς τοῖς ὁρισμοῖς τὰ ὀνόματα; κἂν ὁρισμὸς δὲ ῥηθείη τὸ ὄνομα, οὕτως ἂν λέγοιτο ὡς κατὰ
συμβεβηκὸς δηλοῦν τὸ αὐτὸ ὅπερ ὁ ὁρισμὸς καθ᾽ αὑτό. Note that in In Anal. Post., 179.4–5, and in In Eth.
Nic., 294.21, Eustratius contradistinguishes ὀντότης (which is practically the equivalent of a Platonic
Idea) and γένεσις. Cf. also Eustratius’ “more theological” (θεολογικώτερον) interpretation in In Anal.
Post., 215.7–9: τῇ μὲν οὖν δημιουργικῇ γνώσει ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ὀντότης ἕπεται, διὸ καὶ τῷ θελῆσαι
μόνον παράγειν τα πάντα ὁ δημιουργὸς λέγεται, τῇ δὲ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς γνώσει τὸ ὁρίζεσθαι. We are able to
define things because we know things.
20 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 158.19–20: Ὁ Σωκράτης οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ ζῳότης καὶ λογικότης, ἃ εἰσὶν ἡ
ὀντότης εἴτουν ἡ ὕπαρξις αὐτοῦ.
184 | Pantelis Golitsis

Now, the name of ὀντότης or ὕπαρξις is taken from its [i. e. ὀντότης’ or ὕπαρξις’] being made
known through definition, whereas the οὐσία is said insofar as it is through it and in it that the
ὂν [i. e. whatever is divided in ten categories] has its being [one of the ten categories].²¹

In contrast with quidditas or ὀντότης, which properly refers to what a thing is by defi-
nition, essentia or οὐσία may refer to two things: (a) to that in virtue of which a being,
say a human being, has its being ἄνθρωπος;²² in other words it refers not to a human
being’s ζῳότης, λογικότης and θνητότης but to a human being’s ἀνθρωπότης, which
is called its essence per modum partis (ὡς μέρος), meaning that ἀνθρωπότης excludes
the designated matter that each individual human being has; it is in virtue of this
exclusion that we can truly say that the οὐσία of Socrates is not Socrates but his “hu-
manity”; (b) to the compound of matter and form, in virtue of which we can truly say
that Socrates is an οὐσία; this is the essence ut totum (ὡς ὅλον), which includes the
matter of a composite thing.²³ Whereas the quidditas is a substitute for essence in the
first sense (the essentia ut pars of a composite thing is its quidditas, when expressed
through a definition [humanitas = animalitas + rationalitas + mortalitas]), it cannot be
used for the essence in the second sense. To put it differently, whereas we can truly
say “ἄνθρωπος οὐσία ἐστί”, we cannot truly say “ἄνθρωπος ὀντότης ἐστι”. Does the
fact that in the second redaction Scholarios modified ὀντότης to οὐσία means the he
failed to notice this subtle distinction? It does not seem so.
Scholarios’ corrections of ὀντότης (or ὕπαρξις) to οὐσία (or τί ἦν εἶναι) appear
in the second part of the treatise, in which the simple, immaterial substances are dis-
cussed. Whereas the quidditas or essentia of a human being is not the human being
itself, the quidditas or essentia of an immaterial spiritual substance is the spiritual sub-
stance itself.²⁴ There is a difference between Socrates (which includes Socrates’ mat-
ter) and the essence of Socrates (that part of Socrates in virtue of which Socrates is a
human being), but there is no distinction between Gabriel and the essence of Gabriel.
(This might be more easily grasped, if we consider, e. g., the Pythagorean theorem:
there is no difference between the Pythagorean theorem and what the Pythagorean

21 Schol., DEE, p. 156.9–11: Τὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς ὀντότητος ὄνομα εἴτουν ὑπάρξεως λαμβάνεται ἐκ τοῦ
δηλοῦσθαι δι᾽ ὁρισμοῦ, ἡ δὲ οὐσία λέγεται καθὸ δι᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τὸ ὂν ἔχει τὸ εἶναι (= Thomas,
DEE, p. 12.7–9: Quidditatis vero nomen sumitur ex hoc quod per definitionem significatur; sed essentia
dicitur secundum quod per eam et in ea ens habet esse; cf. Avicenna, Log., p. I, f. 3v b: Dicimus quod
omne quod est essentiam habet qua est id quod est, et qua est eius necessitas, et qua est eius esse).
22 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 161.36–162.2: ἡ ἀνθρωπότης ἐγκλείει τῇ ἑαυτῆς ἐννοίᾳ μόνον ἐκεῖνα ἐξ ὧν ὁ
ἄνθρωπος ἔχει τὸ εἶναι ἄνθρωπος.
23 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 162.31–34: τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο ῾ἡ ἀνθρωπότης᾽ σημαίνει ταύτην [sc. τὴν οὐσίαν
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου] ὡς μέρος, καθόσον οὐ περιέχει ἐν τῇ ἑαυτῆς σημασίᾳ εἰ μὴ ὅπερ ἐστὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
καθόσον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἀποκόπτει πᾶσαν ἐπισημασίαν τῆς ὕλης· ὅθεν κατὰ τῶν ἀτόμων οὐ
κατηγορεῖται.
24 Cf. Schol., DEE, p. 169.19–22: ἡ οὐσία τῆς νοήσεως ἐστὶν αὐτὴ ἡ νόησις, διὰ τοῦτο τὸ εἶδος ἢ ἡ
οὐσία αὐτῆς ἐστιν αὐτὸ ὅπερ ἐστίν, καὶ τὸ εἶναι αὐτῆς, τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ προσειλημμένον, ἔστι τὸ ᾧ ἔστιν ἢ
ὑφέστηκεν ἐν τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων φύσει.
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 185

theorem is.) This is the reason for which immaterial substances, in opposition to ma-
terial substances, are unique both specifically and numerically. Whereas it is not true
that the form of Socrates is Socrates, or that Socrates is his humanitas, it is true that
the form of Gabriel is Gabriel and that Gabriel is Gabrielitas. Thus, form, quiddity and
essence can be used interchangeably when speaking of immaterial substances. This
justifies, I think, Scholarios in his final choice to render “quidditas” once as εἶδος²⁵
and to generally subsume ὀντότης or ὕπαρξις under οὐσία, so as to avoid using differ-
ent words that refer to the same thing. This is how a characteristic passage appears in
the first and the second redaction:

Ὅθεν φησὶν Ἀβινσένας ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τοῦ Περὶ ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ βιβλίῳ, ὅτι τὸ εἶδος (forma) ἐν τοῖς
συνθέτοις πράγμασιν ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους “ἐστὶ διαφορὰ ἁπλῆ τοῦ ἐκ ταύτης συνισταμένου”, οὐ
μέντοι γε οὕτως, ὥστε αὐτὸ τὸ εἶδος εἶναι διαφοράν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι ἔστιν ἀρχὴ διαφορᾶς, ὡς ὁ αὐτός
φησιν ἐν τῇ Μετὰ τὰ φυσικὰ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λέγεται ἡ τοιαύτη διαφορὰ διαφορὰ εἶναι ἁπλῆ διὰ τὸ
λαμβάνεσθαι ἐξ ἐκείνου ὅπερ ἐστὶ μέρος τῆς ὑπάρξεως/οὐσίας (quidditatis) τοῦ πράγματος,
δηλονότι τοῦ εἴδους. Διότι δὲ αἱ ἄϋλοι οὐσίαι (substantiae) εἰσὶν ὑπάρξεις ἁπλῶς/οὐσίαι ἁπλαῖ
(simplices quidditates), οὐ δύναται λαμβάνεσθαι ἐν αὐταῖς ἡ διαφορὰ παρ᾽ ἐκείνου ὅπερ ἐστὶ
μέρος τῆς ὑπάρξεως/οὐσίας (pars quidditatis), ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπάρξεως/οὐσίας ὅλης (a tota
quidditate)· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ Περὶ ψυχῆς φησὶν Ἀβινσένας, ὅτι “διαφορὰν ἁπλῆν
οὐκ ἔχουσιν, εἰ μὴ τὰ εἴδη (species) ὧν αἱ ὑπάρξεις/οὐσίαι (essentiae) σύνθετοί εἰσιν ἐξ ὕλης
καὶ εἴδους”. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ἐξ ὅλης τῆς οὐσίας (ex tota essentia) λαμβάνεται τὸ γένος,
διαφόρῳ μέντοι γε τρόπῳ.
This is why Avicenna says in the first book of his On the Soul that the form in things composed
of matter and form “is a simple difference of what this difference constitutes”, not of course in
the sense that the form itself is a difference,²⁶ but in the sense that the form is a principle of
difference,²⁷ as Avicenna says in his Metaphysics. And we say that such a difference is a simple
difference because it is taken from what is part of the ὕπαρξις/οὐσία of the thing,²⁸ namely its
form. Since, however, the immaterial οὐσίαι are simple ὑπάρξεις/οὐσίαι, it is not possible for their
difference²⁹ to be taken from what is part of the ὕπαρξις/οὐσία, but it is taken from the whole
ὕπαρξις/οὐσία; and for this reason Avicenna says in the beginning of his On the Soul that “there
is no simple difference except for forms [i. e. species] whose ὑπάρξεις/οὐσίαι are composed of
matter and form”. Similarly, their genus [i. e. their immateriality or intellectuality] is taken from
the whole οὐσία but of course in a way different [from that of the composite things, the genus of
which is taken from their matter].³⁰

Both in the first and in the second redaction Scholarios uses a single term so as to
avoid confusing his reader. Even “essentiae” in the second quote of Avicenna was ren-
dered at first not as “οὐσίαι” but as “ὑπάρξεις”. His decision to ultimately use “οὐσία”

25 See above n. 12.

26 This is true only for immaterial substances.
27 E. g. humanity is a principle of rationality.
28 This thing is composite: it also includes the genus that corresponds to its matter.
29 Their difference is constituted by their degree of perfection depending on how close they are to
God: the more close they are to God, the less potentiality they have and the more energies they are.
30 Schol., DEE, p. 172.16–28.
186 | Pantelis Golitsis

for all cases may be explained as a wish to stress the perfect coincidence of essence
and quiddity in the case of immaterial substances (whereas the essentia may not be
the quidditas in material substances). A weak point in Scholarios’ translation (apart
from his rendering “species” as “εἴδη” for which he had actually no alternative) is his
translation of “substantiae” as “οὐσίαι” in both redactions. Nonetheless, there is an
explanation for that in chapter 34 of the commentary (λδ´. Ὅτι τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ὄνομα
παρὰ μὲν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὁμώνυμόν ἐστιν, παρὰ δὲ Λατίνοις ἑκάστη τῆς οὐσίας σημασία
ἰδίαν ἔχει προσηγορίαν [That the name οὐσία in Greek authors is homonymοus, whereas
in Latin authors each sense of οὐσία has its proper word]):

Therefore, in the language of the Latins the discourse about these things is clear, since there are
two names for two things [i. e. substantia and essentia]. On the contrary, it is somehow unclear
when it is translated in our language, since each of the two senses of οὐσία [i. e. (i) the subject (τὸ
ὑποκείμενον) of which each of the ten categories is predicated and (ii) the formal cause of being
something (ᾧ ἔστιν ἕκαστον)] is signified by the same word, as here: ἡ τῶν συνθέτων οὐσιῶν
οὐσία; it would have been possible to say, translating according to the Greeks, ἡ τῶν συνθέτων
φύσεων οὐσία. But this, too, would have been unclear according to Latin [authors]; for they call
φύσις the form and the essence which signifies the form.³¹

Both here and in the passage quoted before, Scholarios avoided rendering substantia
as φύσις, since this would betray the meaning of the word “natura” in Latin.

2 Scholarios’ “translation” of Armandus’

commentary
We have already reached Scholarios’ commentary or, as Barbour would put it, Scholar-
ios’ translation of Armandus’ commentary on the De ente et essentia. Chapter 34, how-
ever, of which I have only quoted a short passage, is an original reflection by Schol-
arios, left unnoticed by Barbour, upon the ambiguity of the word “οὐσία” in Greek
and the word “natura” in Latin and, consequently, upon the difficulties encountered
by the translator from Latin into Greek and from Greek into Latin. I do not agree that
Scholarios’ work on Armandus’ commentary can be properly called a translation, at
least if this is what his ἀπὸ τοῦ λατινικοῦ ἑρμηνεία of Thomas’ De ente et essentia is. It
would be better described as an adaptation of an early Thomistic commentary from the

31 Schol., CDEE, p. 219.12–19: Ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ τῶν Λατίνων ἰδιώματι σαφής ἐστιν ὁ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων
λόγος, ἅτε δυσὶ πράγμασι διττῶν κειμένων τῶν ὀνομάτων· ἀσαφής δέ πως ἐστὶν εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν
μεταβαλλόμενος διὰ τὸ ἑκατέραν ἐκδοχὴν τῆς οὐσίας ὑπὸ μιᾷ προσηγορίᾳ σημαίνεσθαι, ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα
“ἡ τῶν συνθέτων οὐσιῶν οὐσία”, εἶπε δ᾽ ἄν τις καθ᾽ Ἕλληνας μεταβαλών, “ἡ τῶν συνθέτων φύσεων
οὐσία”. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ Λατίνους ἦν ἂν ἀσαφές· φύσιν γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι μάλιστα τὸ εἶδος καλοῦσιν καὶ
τὴν οὐσίαν τὴν τὸ εἶδος σημαίνουσαν.
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 187

point of view of a Palamite Greek. Scholarios has written by himself most of chapter 93
(Εἰ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ λόγου σύνθεσις [Whether in God there is a composition of reason]),
where it is question of God’s absolute simplicity,³² as it relates to composite proposi-
tions such as “ὁ Θεὸς ἀγαθός ἐστι”, “ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστι”, “ὁ Θεὸς ἔστιν”, “ὁ Θεὸς
νοεῖ”, “ὁ Θεὸς γεννᾷ”, “ὁ Θεὸς προβάλλει”, “ὁ Θεὸς δημιουργεῖ” etc., as well as the
entire chapter 94 (Πόσα ζητοῦνται πρὸς τὴν σύνθεσιν [How many are required for the
composition to be]).³³ The latter is an excursus against “the heresy of those whose lead-
ers were Barlaam the Calabrian and the very dangerous (πολυκίνδυνος) Akindynos”,³⁴
in which Scholarios tacitly adopts Duns Scotus’ distinctio formalis a parte rei in order
to confirm against the heretics that the divine operations are different from the di-
vine essence not logically (λόγῳ καὶ κατ᾽ ἐπίνοιαν) but really (πραγματικῶς) according
to what they are. They are not πράγματα, which would mean that they are numeri-
cally different, but πραγματικά, inherences in the thing (τὶ τοῦ πράγματος καὶ ἐν τῷ
πράγματι) which are formally, that is, essentially different because of the very nature
of the thing.³⁵
Scholarios also removed the scholastic form of Armandus’ commentary and
rewrote it so as to improve its readability for the Greek reader. Let me give an ex-
ample by quoting his adaptation of Armandus’ commentary on the transpositions of
the word “essence”:

Deinde cum dicit, Et quia ut dictum Καὶ ἐπειδή, ὡς εἴρηται, τὸ ὄν. Νῦν φα-
est. Hoc manifestat quomodo nomen νεροῖ πῶς τοὔνομα τῆς οὐσίας μετε-
essentiae transferatur in nomen quidi- φέρεται πρός τε τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι <καὶ τὸ
tatis et assignat differentias. Et primo εἶδος καὶ τὴν φύσιν,> καὶ δίδωσι τὰς
dividitur in decem predicamenta et διαφοράς. Καὶ πρῶτον <τίθησιν ἀναγ-
est quod commune ad decem predi- καῖόν τι καὶ χρειῶδες τοῖς προκειμέ-
camenta; opportet etiam quae ab ipso νοις, λέγων ὡς ἐπειδήπερ τὸ ὄν, ὅθεν
sumuntur habere significationem ali- ἡ οὐσία λαμβάνεται,> εἰς τὰ δέκα διαι-
quam communem omnibus naturis ρεῖται γένη καὶ κοινόν τί ἐστι ταῖς δέκα
per quas diversa entia in diversis ge- κατηγορίαις, δεῖ καὶ τὴν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ λαμ-
neribus et speciebus collocantur: si- βανομένην οὐσίαν κοινόν τι σημαίνειν
cut humanitas est communis omni- πάσαις ταῖς φύσεσι, δι᾽ ὧν τά γε διά-

32 Cf. Schol., CDEE, p. 278.9–280.40.

33 Cf. Schol., CDEE, p. 281 1–285.22.
34 Schol., CDEE, p. 281.28–31: Γεγόνασι γάρ τινες ἐν ἡμῖν τὴν τῆς θείας οὐσίας καὶ ἐνεργείας διάκρισιν
λόγῳ, τουτέστιν ἐπινοίᾳ, μόνον τιθέμενοι, ὧν τῆς αἱρέσεως ἡγεμόνες Βαρλαάμ τε ὁ ἐκ Καλαβρῶν καὶ
ὁ πολυκίνδυνος ὑπῆρξαν Ἀκίνδυνος.
35 Cf. Schol., CDEE, p. 285.15–18: Ὥστε πραγματικῶς μὲν ἔλεγε [sc. ὁ ἱερὸς Γρηγόριος] πρὸς ἀναίρεσιν
τοῦ λόγῳ καὶ κατ᾽ ἐπίνοιαν, τοῖς λόγοις δὲ αὐτὰ διέκρινε τοῖς τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι δηλοῦσιν καὶ ἀπ᾽αὐτῆς τῆς
τοῦ πράγματος φύσεως.
188 | Pantelis Golitsis

bus hominibus: et partes in quas di- φορα ὄντα ἐν διαφόροις εἴδεσι καὶ γέ-
viditur homo. Deinde hoc quod dictum νεσι τάττονται, ὥσπερ ἡ ἀνθρωπότης
est applicat ad propositum et primo κοινή ἐστι πᾶσι τοῖς μερικοῖς εἰς ἃ διαι-
ad quiditatem et dicit quod quia id per ρεῖται ὁ ἄνθρωπος. Προσάγων δὲ τῷ
quod aliquid constituitur primo in ge- προκειμένῳ τὸ εἰρημένον καὶ πρῶτον
nere vel in specie est hoc quod signi- <ἐφαρμόζων αὐτὸ> τῷ τί ἦν εἶναι, φη-
ficatur per diffinitionem indicantem σίν ὡς, ἐπειδὴ τὸ δι᾽ οὗ τί καθίσταται
quid est res: inde est quod nomen es- πρώτως ἐν τῷ γένει ἢ τῷ εἴδει ἐστὶ τὸ
sentie per quod aliquid reponitur in διὰ τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ σημαινόμενον, τοῦ δη-
genere vel in specie ideo a philoso- λοῦντος τί ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἐντεῦθεν
phis mutatur in nomen quiditatis et τοὔνομα τῆς οὐσίας, δι᾽οὗ τι ἐν γένει ἢ
hoc declarat dicens quod Philosophus εἴδει τίθεται, εἰς τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι παρὰ τῷ
frequenter nominat ‘quod quid erat es- Φιλοσόφῳ μεταλαμβάνεται, <ὃ παρὰ
se’ per hoc quod aliquid habet esse Λατίνοις ἑνὶ δηλοῦται ὀνόματι ἀπὸ τοῦ
quid. 2o applicat ad formam dicens «τί» παρηγμένῳ· λέγουσι γὰρ αὐτοὶ τὸ
quod essentia dicitur forma secundum μὲν «τί» «κίδ», τὸ δὲ «τί ἦν εἶναι» πα-
quod per formam significatur certi- ραγώγως «κιδίτητα»,> καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι
tudo uniuscuiusque rei ut dicit Avi- <κιδίτης,> φησίν, ὃ συνεχῶς ὁ Φιλόσο-
cenna 2o sue Metaphysice. Tercio, no- φος ὀνομάζει τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι, τουτέστι
men essentie applicatur ad naturam. τὸ δι᾽ οὗ τι ἔχει τὸ εἶναί τι. Δεύτερον,
Unde dicit quod essentia etiam dicitur ἐφαρμόττει αὐτὸ τῷ εἴδει, φάσκων ὡς
natura accipiendo naturam secundum ἡ οὐσία λέγεται καὶ εἶδος καθὸ τῷ εἴ-
primum modum illorum quattor, quos δει σημαίνεται ἡ ἑκάστου πράγματος
Bohecius ponit in libro de duabus na- <ἀλήθεια> καὶ ακρίβεια, ὡς Ἀβιγκένας
turis et una persona christi, scilicet se- ἐν δευτέρῳ τῆς Μετὰ τὰ φυσικὰ πραγ-
cundum quod natura dicitur esse id ματείας αὐτοῦ φησί. Τρίτον, ἐφαρμό-
quod intellectus quocunque modo ca- ζει τῇ φύσει, λέγων ὡς ἡ οὐσία καὶ φύ-
pit et assignat rationem dicens quod σις λέγεται, εἰ λαμβάνοιμεν τὴν φύσιν
nulla res est intelligbilis nisi per dif- κατὰ τὸν πρότερον τρόπον τῶν τεσ-
finitionem et essentiam suam, ex eo σάρων ἐκείνων, οὓς ὁ Βοήτιος ἀφορί-
quod obiectum intellectus est quiditas ζεται ἐν τῇ Περὶ τῶν δύο φύσεων καὶ
et essentia rei.¹ ἑνὸς προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πραγμα-
τείᾳ αὐτοῦ, καθὸ δηλονότι φύσις λέ-
γεται εἶναι τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ νοῦ δυνάμενον
ὁπωσδηποτοῦν λαμβάνεσθαι· καὶ τὸν
τούτου λόγον αὐτίκα ἐπάγει. Φησὶ γὰρ
ὡς οὐδέν ἐστι νοητὸν εἰ μὴ τῷ ὁρισμῷ
καὶ τῇ οὐσίᾳ αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ ἀντικείμε-
νον τοῦ νοῦ εἶναι τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι καὶ τὴν
οὐσίαν.²
1 I quote Armandus’ text after the edition of 1482.
2 Schol., CDEE, p. 196.21–197.9.
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 189

Nonetheless, Barbour has also pointed out these peculiarities of Scholarios’ text.³⁶
Even if we are willing to admit that his verdict on Scholarios was quite harsh, would
it not still be true that the Byzantine scholar presented as his own a commentary the
greater part of which was not made by him?
It should not escape our notice that Scholarios announces quite clearly his two
essential additions to the commentary.³⁷ This should raise our suspicion against Bar-
bour’s interpretation. Why should he want to stress his additions in a text that he
wished to present as his own, as Barbour thinks? In fact, the title given to Scholar-
ios’ work (as it appears in C) does not confirm Barbour’s claim that Scholarios asserted
that he had written the commentary. A more sensitive reader of Greek, I believe, might
tell the difference between “ἁπὸ τοῦ λατινικοῦ ἑρμηνευθὲν παρὰ τοῦ σοφωτάτου καὶ
λογιωτάτου Γεωργίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου, εἶτα καὶ ἐξηγηθέν” (“translated from the Latin
by the most wise and erudite George Scholarios, and then commented on”) and “ἁπὸ
τοῦ λατινικοῦ ἑρμηνευθὲν εἶτα καὶ ἐξηγηθὲν παρὰ τοῦ σοφωτάτου καὶ λογιωτάτου
Γεωργίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου” (“translated from the Latin and then commented on by the
most wise and erudite George Scholarios”). The title of the commentary itself (as it
appears in Scholarios’ autograph Laurentianus plut. 86.27, ff. 1r–91v, and in the copy
mostly made by Matthaios Camariotes, namely the Par. Suppl. gr. 618, ff. 19v–96v)
makes no mention of an author: ἐξήγησις εἰς τὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου θωμᾶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀκίνου
βιβλίον τὸ περὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τῆς οὐσίας. This title, too, is clearly a translation from
the Latin: commentum super doctoris (perhaps a “divi” or an “angelici” was left out)
Thome de Aquino librum de esse et essentia. At any rate, it is reminiscent of the title
that appears in the editio prima of the work, prepared by Andrea di Urbino in 1482:
Preclarissimi ac eruditissimi sacre theologie magistri Armandi ordinis predicatorum su-
per librum de ente et de essentia Angelici doctoris Thome Aquinatis commentum,³⁸ with
the exception that, in all probability, the copy that Scholarios used for his translation
did not include an attribution to an author (as is frequently the case in the manuscript
tradition of Armandus’ commentary).³⁹
Scholarios translated Thomas’ De ente et essentia and the commentary on the
demand of the most distinguished and beloved of his pupils, namely Matthaios Ca-

36 See Barbour 1993d, 83–90.

37 Cf. Schol., CDEE, p. 218.26–30: Καὶ τοῦτο σαφές ἐστιν οὕτως ἔχειν, πρῶτον μὲν ἀξιώματι τοῦ
Βοητίου, εἶτα τοῦ Ἀβιγκένου, εἶτα τοῦ Ἀβερόου· οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς δεῖ προστιθέναι, ἀλλὰ δύο ταυτὶ μόνον
σημειώσασθαι δεῖ...; this passage, which strongly abridges Armandus’ commentary, introduces chap-
ter 34. Ἐξήγησις εἰς τὸ περὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τῆς οὐσίας, 278.19–21: Ταῦτα τῇ τοῦ διδασκάλου δόξῃ
συμφέροντα εἴρηται, ὡς οἰόμεθα· ἵνα δὲ διεξοδικώτερον ἡμῖν ὁ περὶ τούτων γένηται λόγος, πρῶτον
μὲν εἰδέναι δεῖ, ὅτι..., followed by the major part of chapter 93 and chapter 94.
38 Padua: Matthaeus Cerdonis, 1482; this edition does not include Armandus’ prefatory letter. A sec-
ond edition was produced in Venice in 1496.
39 Barbour 1993d, 80, also considers this possibility but he does not bring about the possible conse-
quences.
190 | Pantelis Golitsis

mariotes.⁴⁰ In the foregoing letter that he addressed to his pupil, Scholarios expresses
his scholarly commitment to Thomas but he also acknowledges fully, contrary to Bar-
bour’s claim, the merits of the early Thomists:

I do not know whether there is anyone among those who devote themselves to [the study of]
Thomas Aquinas that has honoured him more than I have. Nor do I think that if someone de-
votes himself to the study of Thomas, he will be in need of another Muse, since everyone would
love to be able to thoroughly devote himself to a study of his writings. But since some people
in Italy, especially those of the habit of Francis, with many of whom I have conversed,⁴¹ asso-
ciate themselves with later doctors to such an extent that they are led to blame Thomas out of
their favour towards later doctors,⁴² although Thomas was much more worthy for those whom
they honour,⁴³ even if it has been granted to them to add something to the doctor’s writings⁴⁴
or to discover something new, as was entirely reasonable for intelligent students who come af-
terwards, for these reasons,⁴⁵ as I wish to show you how many subtleties are contained in what
they [i. e. contemporary Franciscan scholars] call “this man’s thickness”, and that they claim
these things because they do not understand him rightly and are not able to judge soundly, we
should cherish and admire the later doctors for having added something [to Thomas’ writings]⁴⁶
but we should justly be more grateful to him as to the teacher of all and, at the same time, the
most precise. This is why he has received the approbation of the Roman Church, while the others
are honoured only in the schools. This is what I wanted to show you and I undertook the present
work: I have translated for you and transferred to our language, the language of the Greeks, so
far as I could, the book of the doctor (αὐτό τε τοίνυν τὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου βιβλίον ἡρμήνευκα...),
in which he treats of essence and being, or, as others intitle it, of quiddity and essence, and I
add a certain exegesis of the doctor’s discourse (καὶ ἐξήγησίν τινα τῶν τοῦ διδασκάλου λόγων
προστίθημι), which is compatible with Aristotle’s rules, where they apply, and with the doctrine
of Thomas himself, which we know that he had formed about the totality of reality; no one of the
school of later doctors is mixed in this exegesis, because this is not at all needful.⁴⁷ You know, of

40 Cf. Scholarios’ post-scriptum in Par. Suppl. gr. 618, f. 19v (Schol., CDEE, p. 178.5–9): “This is why,
showing favour to the most distinguished of our pupils and friends, we translated into Greek and sub-
sequently explained this treatise. For having learned from us how exquisite it is, we wanted us to un-
dertake this labour so as to benefit him and everyone else who would be able [to benefit from it]” (Διὸ
καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ὁμιλητῶν καὶ φίλων τῷ σπουδαιοτάτῳ χαριζόμενοι, ἡρμηνεύκαμέν τε ἑλληνικῶς,
εἶτα καὶ ἐξηγησάμεθα τὴν πραγματείαν· μαθὼν γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν τὸ ταύτης ἐξῃρημένον, ἐδέηθη ἡμῶν τὸν
τοιοῦτον ὑποστῆναι πόνον διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄλλων τῶν δυναμένων ὠφέλειαν. Here, it is true, Schol-
arios appears to credit to himself the composition of the entire commentary. I take it that this is meant
here in a loose sense, which becomes narrower in the προοίμιον of the commentary.
41 Barbour 1993d, 46: “whose school, so to speak, I have often frequented”. I hereby note only the
most significant of Barbour’s errors.
42 Barbour: “associate themselves more with later teachers, whom they allege in their opinion to
surpass him”.
43 Barbour: “and yet Thomas is by far more worthy than those they honor”.
44 Barbour: “the teacher’s insights”.
45 Barbour: “through these present writings”.
46 Barbour: “For on the one hand it is necessary to cherish and admire later teachers as having truly
added something to knowledge”.
47 Barbour: “And so I have set forth an interpretation of the teacher’s reasonings compatible with the
rules of Aristotle from whence they arose, and with the thought of Thomas himself, without anyone of
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 191

course, that at other occasions we take much pleasure in the inquring and dithyrambic investi-
gations of the later doctors, too, and we are, so to speak, infatuated about them. At this occasion,
however, it was necessary not to imbue the present book with a foreign doctrine, since both the
meaning of the thoughts expressed in the book and its method suffice for duly honouring both
the father of the book and those who have proposed to explicate it (τῷ τοῦ βιβλίου πατρὶ καὶ
τοῖς τοῦτ᾽ ἐξηγεῖσθαι προῃρημένοις): the method falls short in nothing with regard to the best,
while the meaning of the thoughts expressed, which he who has goodwill is able to gather from
Thomas’ other books and from the books of his fellow [Dominicans] and his followers, is most
profound and true,⁴⁸ except for a few cases, in which he differs from our Church, not because of
himself but because he is affected in common with those who were affected first. And we ought
to interpret Thomas by Thomas. For we should not make this error with regard to anybody, and
especially not for Thomas, the best and most virtuous among Latin doctors⁴⁹.⁵⁰

the school which came after him being mixed in with it, as this is not at all needful”. The next period
is omitted by Barbour.
48 Barbour: “With the present work there is no need to take anything from another understanding,
that of the book’s author and of the preferred sources of interpretation being sufficient for a fitting
study of the meaning and method of inquiry of the book, which nowhere falls short of the best in
depth and in truth...”
49 Barbour: “For us it is permitted to no other to err except Thomas, the best and most excellent of
teachers among the Latins”.
50 Schol., CDEE, p. 179.25–180.21: Θωμᾶν γὰρ τὸν ἐξ Ἀκίνου οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τις ἐμοῦ πλέον τετίμηκε
τῶν αὐτῷ προσεχόντων· οὔτ᾽ εἴ τις αὐτῷ προσέχοι, τούτῳ δεήσειν οἶμαι Μούσης ἑτέρας, ἀγαπητὸν
μέντ᾽ ἂν εἶναι παντὶ προσέχειν αὐτῷ καλῶς δύνασθαι. Ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ τῶν ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ ὄντων τινές,
μάλιστα οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ Φραγγίσκου, ὧν οὐκ ὀλίγοις ὡμίληκα, ὑστέροις τισὶ διδασκάλοις
οὕτω πάνυ προστίθενται ὥστ᾽ αὐτὸν προάγεσθαι τῇ εἰς ἐκείνους εὐνοίᾳ κατηγορεῖν, καίτοι τοῖς ὑπ᾽
αὐτῶν τιμωμένοις πολλοῦ Θωμᾶς ἄξιος ἐγεγόνει, εἰ καί τι αὐτοῖς ἐκγέγονεν ἐπινοῆσαί τι τοῖς τοῦ
διδασκάλου καὶ ἐφευρεῖν, ὡς εὐφυέσι τε μαθηταῖς καὶ ὑστέροις ὅλως εἰκὸς ἦν, διὰ δὴ ταῦτα δεῖξαί
σοι βουλόμενος ὅσας λεπτότητας ἥν φασιν αὐτοὶ παχύτητα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς περιέχει, καὶ ὡς διὰ τὸ μὴ
ἐπαΐειν αὐτοῦ καλῶς οὔθ᾽ ὑγιῶς διαιτᾶν ἔχειν ταῦτ᾽ ἀξιοῦσι, δέον τοὺς μὲν ὑστέρους φιλεῖν τε καὶ
θαυμάζειν ὡς δή τι καὶ ἐπινενοηκότας, ἐκείνῳ δὲ ὡς ἁπάντων καθηγεμόνι μείζω χάριν ἔχειν δικαίως
καὶ ἅμα ἀκριβεστέρῳ· διὸ καὶ τῶν παρὰ τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐκκλησίας ψήφων τετύχηκε, τῶν ἄλλων μόνον
ἐν ταῖς διατριβαῖς τιμωμένων· καὶ τοῦτό σοι τοίνυν δεῖξαι βουλόμενος, ὑπέστην τὸ ἔργον. Αὐτό τε
τοίνυν τὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου βιβλίον ἡρμήνευκά σοι καὶ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν φωνὴν μετήνεγκα, τὴν τῶν
Ἑλλήνων, ὡς οἷός τε ἐγενόμην, ἐν ᾧ δὴ περὶ τῆς οὐσίας τε καὶ τοῦ εἶναι πραγματεύεται, εἴτε περὶ
τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι καὶ τῆς οὐσίας, ὡς ἕτεροι ἐπιγράφουσι, καὶ ἐξήγησίν τινα τῶν τοῦ διδασκάλου λόγων
προστίθημι, τοῖς τε Ἀριστοτελικοῖς κανόσιν, ἔνθα ἐξεστιν, οἰκείαν καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ Θωμᾶ γνώμῃ, ἣν ἴσμεν
αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν ὅλων σχόντα συντεθειμένην, τῆς τῶν ὑστέρων αἱρέσεως οὐδενὸς αὐτῇ ἐπιμεμιγμένου,
ὅτι μὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη. Κἀκείνων γὰρ ταῖς περιέργοις καὶ διθυράμβοις ζητήσεσιν ἄλλοτε, ὡς οἶσθα,
ἐνασμενίζομεν καὶ οἷον εἰπεῖν ἐγκορυβαντιῶμεν, ἀλλὰ νῦν τῷ παρόντι βιβλίῳ οὐδὲν ἀλλοτρίας γνώμης
ἐπικεχρῶσθαι ἐχρῆν, ἀρκούσης αὐτῷ τε τῷ τοῦ βιβλίου πατρὶ καὶ τοῖς τοῦτ᾽ ἐξηγεῖσθαι προῃρημένοις
πρὸς τὴν ἑκατέροις πρέπουσαν φιλοτιμίαν τῆς τοῦ βιβλίου διανοίας τε καὶ μεθόδου, τῆς μὲν οὐδαμῇ
τῶν ἀρίστων λειπομένης, τῆς δὲ βαθείας τε πάνυ καὶ ἀληθοῦς οὔσης, ἣν ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοῦ βιβλίων
καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων αὐτοῦ καὶ ὀπαδῶν ἔξεστιν ἀθροίζειν τῷ βουλομένῳ καλῶς, πλὴν ἐν ὀλίγοις, ἐν
οἷς πρὸς τὴν ἡμῶν ἐκκλησίαν διαφέρεται, οὐκ αὐτόθεν τοῦτο παθών, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πρώτοις πεπονθόσι
συμπάσχων. Οὐδ᾽ ἐχρῆν τὰ τοῦ Θωμᾶ μὴ κατὰ Θωμᾶν ἐξηγεῖσθαι· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐδὲ ἄλλῳ τινὶ προσῆκεν
ἐξαμαρτάνεσθαι παρ᾽ ἡμῶν, μὴ ὅτι γε Θωμᾷ, τῶν ἐν Λατίνοις διδασκάλων ἀρίστῳ τε καὶ σπουδαιοτάτῳ.
192 | Pantelis Golitsis

On a close reading of Scholarios’ prefatory letter to Camariotes, it becomes clear that

Scholarios endeavoured to provide a translation together with an interpretation of the
De ente et essentia in order to defend Thomas, “the best and most virtuous among
Latin doctors”, against accusations made by contemporary Franciscan friars; these
Franciscans, contrary to their fathers, claimed that Thomas’ writings lacked in philo-
sophical subtlety. Scholarios wished to defend Thomas not in theology but in philoso-
phy. To do so, he brought to Camariotes’ attention, and consequently decided to trans-
late, the De ente et essentia, Thomas’ most subtle philosophical work. But this was not
all. For his defence to be strong, he needed to add a commentary that would be prop-
erly Thomistic, that is, free from later clarifications (οὐδ᾽ ἐχρῆν τὰ τοῦ Θωμᾶ μὴ κατὰ
Θωμᾶν ἐξηγεῖσθαι). It would certainly destroy Scholarios’ argument to try to defend
Thomas’ philosophical acumen by bringing in subtle distinctions made by Franciscan
scholars, say by Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308) or Francis of Mayrone (c. 1280–1328), as
it would also destroy his argument to try to defend him from the point of view of a fif-
teenth century Orthodox Greek. Quite the opposite of what Barbour believed,⁵¹ Schol-
arios had no reason to lead Camariotes astray by presenting as his own a commentary
that he needed to be, for his defence of Thomas against contemporary Franciscans,
properly Thomistic. “Now, devote yourself to the exegesis that begins”, says Schol-
arios to Camariotes at the end of his letter, “examining with precision whether it is
devoted to the most wise Thomas”.⁵²
As Armandus’ commentary on the De ente et essentia is in many manuscripts
transmitted anonymously,⁵³ it is highly probable that Scholarios did not know who

51 Cf. also Barbour 1993d, 81: “Scholarios would have returned to Constantinople with the precious
commentary in his possession. Under pressure to show some fruit from his Italian sojourn, but lacking
the time to work independently, he translated Armandus’ commentary and presented it as though it
were the result of his own researches. Nothing could better corroborate his claim to be the only man
in Byzantium who really knew Latin thought than the fact that he does not have the slightest fear that
someone will recognize his work as that of De Bellovisu”. This is, of course, pure speculation.
52 Schol., CDEE, p. 180.25–26: Καὶ δὴ ἀρχομένῃ τῇ ἐξηγήσει προσέχοις ἄν, σκοπῶν ἀκριβῶς εἴ τι αὕτη
προσέχοι τῷ σοφωτάτῳ Θωμᾷ.
53 Barbour 1993d, 79–80 n. 194, mentions the Pisanus, Seminario Arcivescovile di Santa Caterina 115,
ff. 1r–27v, copied in 1425 at Pavia, the Vaticanus lat. 2155, ff. 77r–91v, copied in 1428, and the Marcianus
VI.163 (2673), ff. 45–78, copied in 1443 at Padua, as manuscripts that transmit anonymously Arman-
dus’ commentary, and the Marcianus VI.160 (2816), ff. 1r–21r, copied at Padua between 1448 and 1467,
as a manuscript that attributes also the commentary to Thomas Aquinas. Senko 1958 mentions the
following manuscripts that contain the commentary anonymously: Krakow, Biblioteka Jagiellońska,
ms. 2229, anno 1442, ff. 150–173 (inc. Scriptum super sanctum Thomam de ente et essentia; des. Ex-
plicit sentencia brevis super sanctum Thomam de esse et essencia magistri Wilhelmi ordinis predi-
catorum scriptum Londini 1442 in vigilia palmarum); Wroclaw, Biblioteka Kapitulina, ms. 70 n, anno
1419, ff. 245vb–276ra (inc. Dilectis in christo fratribus et sociis... Libellus ergo iste cuius subiectum vel
materia est essencia; des. Explicit scriptum super beatum thomam de ente et essencia quod edidit
quidam frater ordinis predicatorum, eius nomen scriptum est in libro vite); Wroclaw, Biblioteka Uni-
wersytecka, ms. IV Q 15, anno 1440, ff. 206–228; Wroclaw, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka, ms. IV Q 17, anno
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 193

its author was. His reference to “those who have proposed to explain the book” (τοῖς
τοῦτ᾽ ἐξηγεῖσθαι προῃρημένοις) suggests that he considered that he had before him a
cumulative exegesis, a collection of ζητήματα with the solutions proposed by several
Dominican scholars in the course of time. Such a reading is also presupposed in the
Greek title of the pinax that precedes the commentary: Πίναξ τῶν ἐμπεριεχομένων τῇ
ἐξηγήσει ζητημάτων, ἃ καὶ λύεται κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Θωμᾶ δόξαν μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν τοῦ λύοντος
τὰ πλείω [Table of the questions contained in the exegesis, which are solved according to
the doctrine of Thomas rather than according to the doctrine of him who solves most of
them]. The doctrine that solves most of the problems must be Scotus’ doctrine, at least
if it is in this sense that “ζητήματα” are meant in the following passage of Scholarios’
letter:

When we give the privilege to the elder [i. e. Thomas], we are not ashamed of Francis [of Mayrone]
or his teacher [i. e. Duns Scotus], although we admire above measure the subtlety of their minds
as well and we side with them on many problems.⁵⁴

I think that Barbour was misled in his interpretation not only by his problematic un-
derstanding of Scholarios’ subtle Greek but also by his absolute readiness to see in
Scholarios a Thomist – a “Byzantine” or a “Palamite” Thomist but still a Thomist –,⁵⁵
that is, as someone who would adopt the Thomistic principle “Divus Thomas ipse sui
optimus interpres” for its own sake, i. e. as a safe way leading to the truth. The issue,
however, is in my view more complicated. Scholarios was interested in philosophy,
very interested in Latin philosophy and extremely interested in the philosophical dis-
tinctions introduced in theology by the Latin doctors. If there has to be a single work
to capture his stance towards his Latin fellows, it has to be “eclecticism”.⁵⁶ Scholarios
was unwilling to subscribe to the Barlaamite reading of Thomas and willing to ascribe
to Thomas knowledge of the distinctio formalis a parte rei, so as to make him conso-

1427, ff. 9–47v (inc. Dilectis in christo fratribus et sociis. Libellus ergo iste cuius subiectum vel materia
est essencia; des. Explicit scriptum super librum De ente et essencia sancti thome de aquino ordinis
fratrum predicatorum deo gracias amen). Glorieux 1934 the manuscripts Venezia, Biblioteca di San
Marco, cl. X cod. 185, ff. 45–78, and Lisboa, Bibl. Nac. Fondo Geral, cod. 2241, ff. 1–46v (inc. Reverendis
in Christo fratribus et consociis salutem in eo qui est scientiarum omnium fundamentum. Libellus ergo
iste cuius substantia vel materia est essentia). Stegmueller 1935, 89, the manuscript Roma, Biblioteca
Angelica, cod. 104, ff. 22v–32r (inc. Dilectis in Christo fratribus et consociis. – Libellus ergo iste cuius
subiectum vel materia).
54 Schol., CDEE, p. 180.21–24: Οὔτε δὲ Φραγγίσκον οὔτε τὸν αὐτῶν καθηγεμόνα αἰδούμεθα, εἰ τὰ
πρεσβεῖα τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ νέμομεν, καί τοι καὶ αὐτῶν τὴν τῶν φρενῶν λεπτότητα ὑπεραγάμενοι, καὶ
ἐν πολλοῖς τῶν ζητημάτων αὐτοῖς τιθέμενοι μᾶλλον.
55 Livanos 2006c and Kappes 2013c also challenge Barbour’s view.
56 See also Kappes 2013c, 86, who rightly calls Scholarios an “eclectic philosopher and theologian”.
Kappes argues that Scholarios’ Scotism, probably developed through his acquaintance with the writ-
ings of Hervaeus Natalis, makes him irreconcilable to orthodox Thomism.
194 | Pantelis Golitsis

nant with the Palamite doctrine, but he makes clear that he was not so interested in
Thomas as to defend him at any price⁵⁷:

They [i. e. the Barlaamites] thought that they had this doctor as well, I mean Thomas Aquinas, as
an advocate of their doctrine, since Thomas refused that these [i. e. the divine essence and en-
ergy] were really distinct and claimed that they differ [only] in [human] reason. Indeed, Barlaam
seemed to “breathe” the doctrines of this doctor (although he completely despised him in the
question of the procession of the Holy Spirit); this was the reason for which the followers of Bar-
laam and Akindynos translated the books of this doctor into the language of the Greeks, wishing
to procure for themselves a strong alliance thanks to his wisdom and to convince everyone else
[of the rightness of their doctrine] and, in addition to that, to hold up the Roman Church, which,
it too, through Thomas seemed to hold the same doctrine, being ignorant of the fact that many
among the Latin doctors determined the things involved in this problem in more accordance with
the holy Gregory, Metropolitan of Thessalonica, and our entire Church than with them; it would
be unjust to despise these doctors, who are most wise and have received the approbation of our
Church insofar as they evidently seemed to think the things we do.⁵⁸

That Thomas did not ignore the difference of definitions, i. e. the formal [difference] or [the dif-
ference] from the very nature of the thing, and that he named these distinctions, which are other
than the real [distinction]⁵⁹ and smaller than that, “differences of reason” in a large sense, every-
one could easily gather from his writings. But this is now not what we propose to examine, in this
incidental investigation, but rather our Holy Church and the [doctrines of the] blessed Gregory,
Metropolitan of Thessalonica, for the sake of whom we have digressed to the present discourse.
In view of this, it should be left to others to examine Thomas’ view with regard to this issue, how
it relates to other doctors and to the truth. For we are not so exceedingly interested in Thomas as
to plead for him with all our means, although otherwise this man seemed to us admirable in the
previous time and he still seems so.⁶⁰

57 An indirect statement against the Cydones brothers may be detected here.

58 Schol., CDEE, p. 283.4–19: ῎ῼοντο δὲ καὶ τὸν διδάσκαλον τοῦτον, τὸν ἐξ Ἀκίνου λέγω Θωμᾶν,
συνήγορον ταύτης ἔχειν τῆς δόξης, πραγματικῶς μὲν διακεκρίσθαι ταῦτα οὐκ ἀνεχόμενον, λόγῳ δὲ
διαφέρειν ἀξιοῦντα. Ὁ γὰρ Βαρλαάμ ἐκεῖνος τὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου τούτου πνεῖν ἐδόκει (εἰ κἀν τῷ περὶ τῆς
ἐκπορεύσεως τοῦ Πνεύματος ζητήματι πάνυ τούτου καταπεφρόνηκεν), ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονε τοῖς περὶ τὸν
Βαρλαὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἀκίνδυνον αἴτιον τοῦ τὰ βιβλία τοῦ διδασκάλου τούτου μεταβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλήνων
φωνήν, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου τούτου σοφίας ἱκανὴν ἐπαγόμενοι τὴν συμμαχίαν, τοὺς
ἄλλους πάντας συμπείθωσι, πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐπανατείνωσιν, ταὐτὰ καὶ
αὐτὴν διὰ τοῦ Θωμᾶ δοκοῦσαν πρεσβεύειν, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν παρὰ Λατίνοις διδασκάλων
συμφωνότερον τῷ ἱερῷ Γρηγορίῳ τῷ Θεσσαλονίκης καὶ τῇ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίᾳ συμπάσῃ ἢ αὐτοῖς τὰ
περὶ τούτου τοῦ προβλήματος διωρίσαντο, ὧν οὐκ ἂν ἦν δίκαιον καταφρονεῖν, σοφωτάτων τε ὄντων
καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐκκλησίας ψῆφον ἐχόντων, ᾗ ταὐτὰ φρονεῖν ἔδοξαν ἐναργῶς.
59 That is, the distinction of πράγματα, as opposed to those which are distinct πραγματικῶς.
60 Schol., CDEE, p. 284.2–14: Καὶ ὅτι τὴν τῶν λόγων διαφοράν, εἴτουν τὴν εἰδικὴν ἢ τὴν ἐκ τῆς
τοῦ πράγματος φύσεως οὐκ ἠγνόει Θωμᾶς, καὶ ὅτι ταύτας τὰς παρὰ τὴν πραγματικὴν διακρίσεις καὶ
ἐλάττους αὐτῆς ἐξηπλωμένως διαφορὰς λόγου ὠνόμαζεν, ἐκ τῶν ἐκείνου συγγραμμάτων πᾶς τις ἂν
ῥαδίως κατίδοι. Ἀλλ᾽ἡμῖν οὐ νῦν περὶ αὐτοῦ πρόκειται μᾶλλον σκοπεῖν ἐν τῷ παρέργῳ τῆς τοιαύτης
ζητήσεως ἢ περὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἡμῶν ἐκκλησίας καὶ τοῦ μακαρίου Γρηγορίου τοῦ Θεσσαλονίκης, ὧν χάριν
προὔργου πρὸς τὸν περὶ τούτων ἐξηνέγχθημεν λόγον. Ὅθεν τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὸν Θωμᾶν, ὅσον ἐν τῷδε
 Scholarios, Thomas, Armandus | 195

Scholarios did not belong to Thomas’ ὀπαδοί that he mentions in his letter; he was
not a follower but an admirer of Thomas. Although he speaks indeed more enthusias-
tically of the philosophical acumen of the Scotist School,⁶¹ and he finds Scotists more
compatible with the Eastern Church,⁶² he seems to have initially admired Thomas for
his extended wisdom, i. e. for his mastery both in philosophy and theology, and to
have later considered his writings useful for Christians under Ottoman rule. Except for
those cases in which he diverged from the Eastern Church, Thomas is deemed worthy
of careful study.⁶³ One might still want to call Scholarios a Thomist, which is fine if
one means by this that he was not a Nominalist, or that he did not limited Orthodoxy
to simple faith or personal experience. But I cannot really see in what this would help
us to better understand his thought. The Latin West and the Byzantine East met ex-
actly at that point which our traditional interpretive and historiographical categories
fail to grasp. Scholarios is a case in point.

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τῷ ζητήματι, ἀφείσθω τοῖς ἄλλοις σκοπεῖν ὅπως ἢ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους διδασκάλους ἢ πρός γε αὐτὴν
ἀλήθειαν τὰ ἐκείνου ἔχει· οὐ γὰρ ἡμῖν διαφέρει πάνυ Θωμᾶς ὥστε αὐτοῦ πάσαις ὑπερδικεῖν μηχαναῖς,
εἰ καὶ ἄλλως θαυμαστὸς ἡμῖν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἔδοξε τὸν πρόσθεν χρόνον καὶ νῦν ἔτι δοκεῖ.
61 See the enthusiastic vocabulary in Schol., CDEE, p. 180.8–10 (κἀκείνων γὰρ ταῖς περιέργοις και
διθυράμβοις ζητήσεσιν [...] ἐνασμενίζομεν καὶ οἷον εἰπεῖν ἐγκορυβαντιῶμεν) and p. 180.22–23 (καὶ
αὐτῶν τὴν τῶν φρενῶν λεπτότητα ὑπεραγάμενοι).
62 Cf. the following explicative note on his letter to Camariotes; Schol., CDEE, p. 180.34–35: “The
later [doctors] are more orthodox than Thomas because they are closer to us and to the truth, i. e.
the followers of the master John Scotus (οἱ ὕστεροι μᾶλλον τοῦ Θωμᾶ ὀρθοδοξότεροι ὡς ἡμῖν καὶ τῇ
ἀληθείᾳ ἐγγύτεροι, οἱ περὶ τὸν μαΐστωρα Ἰωάννην δε Σκότζια)”.
63 Cf. Schol., CDEE, p. 177.13–14: ...τὰ δὲ ἄλλα σοφὸς καὶ τοῖς ἀναγιγνώσκουσιν ὠφέλιμος; p. 177.26: ἐν
οἷς δὲ οὐ διαφέρεται, καὶ σπουδαστέος ἐστὶν ὁ ἀνήρ; p. 178.3–4: ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ φιλοῦμεν καὶ
ἐκθειάζομεν τὸν σοφὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον.
196 | Pantelis Golitsis

Schol., DEE Gennade Scholarios. Traduction et commentaire de l’opuscule de saint

Thomas d’Aquin “De Ente et Essentia”. A. Traduction. In Louis Petit –
Xenophon A. Sideridès – Martin Jugie (editors), Oeuvres complètes de
Gennade Scholarios, vol. 6/2, Paris 1933, 154–177.
Schol., CDEE Gennade Scholarios. Traduction et commentaire de l’opuscule de saint
Thomas d’Aquin “De Ente et Essentia”. B. Commentaire du “De ente et
essentia”. In Louis Petit – Xenophon A. Sideridès – Martin Jugie
(editors), Oeuvres complètes de Gennade Scholarios, vol. 6/2, Paris
1933, 177–326.
Thomas, DEE S. Thomae Aquinatis opusculum De Ente et Essentia, ed. C. Boyer, Rome
1970.

Secondary Sources

Barbour, H. C. (1993d). The Byzantine Thomism of Gennadios Scholarios and His Translation of the
Commentary of Armandus de Bellovisu on the “De Ente et Essentia” of Thomas Aquinas. Vatican
City.
Blanchet, M.-H. (2008d). Georges-Gennadios Scholarios (vers 1400–vers 1472): un intellectuel
orthodoxe face à la disparition de l'empire Byzantin. Paris.
Glorieux, P. (1934). “Le Commentaire d'Armand de Belvézer sur le ‘De ente et essentia’”. In:
Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale 6, pp. 94–96.
Kappes, C. W. (2013c). “The Latin sources of the Palamite Theology of George-Gennadius
Scholarius”. In: Nicolaus. Rivista di Teologia ecumenico-patristica 1, pp. 71–114.
Laurent, M.-H. (1930). “Armand de Belvézer et son Commentaire sur le ‘de Ente et Essentia’”. In:
Revue Thomiste 35, pp. 426–436.
Livanos, C. (2006c). Greek Tradition and Latin Influence in the Work of George Scholarios: Alone
Against All of Europe. Piscataway (NJ).
Petit, L., X. A. Sideridès, and M. Jugie, eds. (1933). Oeuvres complètes de Gennade Scholarios.
Vol. 6/2. Paris.
Roland-Gosselin O.P., M.-D. (1926). Le “De ente et essentia” de S. Thomas d'Aquin. Kain.
Senko, W. (1958). “Les manuscrits des commentaires d'Armand de Bellovisu, de Gérard de Monte et
de Jean Verso sur le ‘De ente et essentia’ de saint Thomas d'Aquin”. In: Mediaevalia
philosophica Polonorum 2, pp. 13–18.
Stegmueller, F. (1935). “A propos du Commentaire d'Armand de Belvézer sur le ‘De ente et essentia’
de S. Thomas d'Aquin”. In: Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale 7, pp. 86–91.
Brian M. Jensen
Hugo Eterianus and his Two Treatises in the
Demetrius of Lampe Affair

The West is the best,

The West is the best,
Get here, and we’ll do the rest
(Jim Morrison, The End)

Is Hugo Eterianus’ response to Demetrius of Lampe an example of the literal meaning

of Kipling’s verse “East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet”? Or
can Hugo’s treatises in the matter simply be summed up with Jim Morrison’s line, “the
West is the best”? This paper provides the background to understanding an exchange
that took place in Constantinople quite some time before the final Palaeologan age
and even decades before the Fourth Crusade.
The “Demetrius of Lampe affair” begins in the spring of 1166 and has to do with the
apparent contradiction in the Gospel of John between Jesus’ statement in 10:30: ἐγὼ
καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν (“I and the Father we are one”) and that in 14:28: ὁ Πατὴρ μείζων
μού ἐστιν (“The Father is greater than me”).¹ The official Western Roman understand-
ing of these sayings as well as the arguments for its dogmatic view of the Trinity and
the procession of the Spirit as against the Eastern Greek interpretation were treated
by the Pisa-born theologian Hugo Eterianus in two treatises, De minoritate et aequal-
itate filii hominis ad Deum Patrem written in 1166 and De sancto et immortali Deo in
1176–1177.² Both texts were written in Constantinople at the request of the Byzantine
emperor Manuel I Comnenos (1143–1180) and, unusually enough, both were trans-
mitted in a Latin as well as a Greek version according to the information given in the
text witnesses. In the explicit of the former treatise, our only Latin text witness states
that it was “published in Greek in Constantinople” (Constantinopoli editus greco elo-
quio).³ Moreover Hugo writes in his dedication letter to Aimericus, patriarch of the

Within the Ars edendi programme at Stockholm University the plans to prepare a critical edition of
Hugo Eterianus’ treatise De sancto et immortali Deo was instigated by Alessandra Bucossi in 2011 to
test an editorial method involving both Latin and Greek philology. Moving to Ca’ Foscari University
in Venice in 2014, Bucossi made the Hugo Eterianus edition part of her “Futuro in Ricerca” project
“The Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries as Forerunners of a United and Divided Europe: Dialogues and
Disputes between the Byzantine East and the Latin West”, together with Pietro Podolak and Anna
Zago.
1 See further P. Classen 1955; A. Dondaine 1958; Mango 1963 and Hussey 2010, 152–180.
2 De sancto et immortali Deo is edited in Patrologia Latina 202 (hence = PL 202), coll. 227–396.
3 Tarracona, Biblioteca Provincial, ms. 92, f. 185v.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-209
198 | Brian M. Jensen

Latin Church in Antioch, that he is sending the latter book “published by myself in
both languages” (editum a me utraque lingua librum).⁴ Aimericus responded that he
had received “the books about the procession of the Holy Spirit written in both Greek
and Latin which you sent me” (libros de processione Spiritus sancti ... tam grece quam
latine scriptos misistis).⁵
According to the preface to De sancto et immortali Deo Hugo Eterianus and his
younger brother Leo Tuscus were staying at the imperial court in Constantinople in
the 1160s.⁶ Whilst the latter was engaged as an official translator at the imperial court,
Hugo was acting as Manuel Comnenos’ consultant on Roman Church affairs. Probably
for a document for the synod asembled in 1166 to discuss Demetrius of Lampe and the
above-mentioned passages in the Gospel of John, the Byzantine emperor had asked
Hugo to find statements by Latin church fathers concerning the filioque question.⁷ In
response to the emperor’s request Hugo compiled the statements in a survey to be
presented at the synod in March 1166: this is what constitutes the first book of the
treatise De minoritate ac aequalitate filii hominis ad Deum Patrem.⁸
Dedicating the treatise to Manuel in the prologue, Hugo presents the minor Pa-
tre issue in John 14:28 primarily as a question concerning the divine and human na-
tures of Christ and the three personae of the Trinity. Defending the traditional West-
ern doctrine with the help of various syllogisms, biblical arguments, the Greek church
father Gregory of Nazianzus’ Sermo 30 and specific Christological definitions, he con-
cludes the first part of the treatise (§§1–28) by quoting the pseudo-Athanasian Creed
Quicumque vult 31: “Christ is equal to the Father according to his divine nature, but
inferior to the Father according to his human nature” (Christus est equalis Patri secun-
dum divinitatem, minor Patre secundum humanitatem).
In the second part Hugo presents objections and arguments made by Greek the-
ologians. The first issue concerns the question of Christ’s two natures and the impos-
sibility of comparing his divine and human nature. Hugo’s argument is that “Divine
Scripture has its own style (lingua sua) and often uses such comparisons regarding
things of different nature”.⁹ He illustrates this with biblical examples from the letters
of Peter (II Pt 2:10–11), John (I Io 3:18–20) and Paul (I Cor 1:23–25) as well as Gene-
sis 4:13. Such comparisons of different natures are not a new invention of the Roman

4 PL 202 col. 230.

5 PL 202 col. 231.
6 Regarding the lives and works of Hugo Eterianus and his brother Leo Tuscus, see A. Dondaine 1952.
7 Praefatio: Sed Constantinopoli cum essem, accersitus sum consulendus a magno atque augustis-
simo imperatore Manuel, utrumne Latini aliquas sanctorum haberent auctoritates, quae Spiritum
sanctum ex Filio esse asseverarent (PL 202 col. 232).
8 The editio princeps of this treatise by Pietro Podolak and Anna Zago is going to be published in the
next issue of Revue des Études byzantines. I am grateful to the editors for sending me their forthcoming
edition.
9 De minoritate §33: Habet enim divina scriptura suam linguam et inter res natura differentes tali sepe
utitur comparacione.
 Hugo Eterianus and his two Treatises | 199

Church, says Hugo, because “the apostles and the prophets used this kind of compar-
isons”.¹⁰
The next objection from the Greeks concerns commensurability, in that we cannot
use maior or minor about God because he is not measureable. To this Hugo makes a
triple response. Yes, it is correct that God is beyond and superior to all kinds of mea-
surement, but human beings attribute these qualities to God in order to understand
him.¹¹ Moreover, maior and minor are relative attributes, states Hugo, referring to an
example in Cicero’s first rhethorical manual De inventione, which he calls “an author-
ity not to disapprove” (auctoritas minime improbanda). As his third argument Hugo
discusses the attributes in relation to the human nature of Christ as well as a number
of biblical passages in the Gospel of John and the Epistle to the Hebrews. To empha-
size and enlarge his arguments he adds quotations from the Greek patristic tradition,
specifically from two sermons of Cyril of Alexandria (Sermones 7 and 8 to Hermias)
and the above-mentioned quotation from the pseudo-Athanasian Creed Quicumque
vult 31, which he assumes belongs to the Greek tradition. He concludes the discus-
sion of measurability with a quotation from the same Creed 20–21, which presents the
three personae of the Trinity and their mutual relation:

Pater a nullo est nec factus nec creatus nec genitus; Filius a Patre non factus nec creatus sed
genitus; Spiritus sanctus a Patre et Filio non factus nec creatus nec genitus sed procedens.

The Father is of none, neither made, nor created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father, neither
made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor
created nor begotten, but proceeding.

Further Greek objections are introduced in the form of specific syllogisms concern-
ing the maior-minor issue followed by Hugo’s responses in §§68–92. Summarizing and
reaffirming the view of the Roman Church with further biblical references and philo-
sophical syllogisms in §§93–105, Hugo concludes the treatise with an exhortation to
his Greek opponents to confess “that Christ is without doubt minor than the Father
according to his human nature”,¹² and in his appeal to Manuel he asks the emperor
to show indulgence with the shortcomings of the treatise, since “I am human and like
many others a portrait of imbecility and an image of adversion”.¹³

10 De minoritate §39: Neque enim Romana ecclesia … huiuscemodi inducere comparacionem differ-
encium naturarum facere incepit, sed apostoli et prophete huiusmodi usi sunt comparacionibus.
11 De minoritate §45: igitur Deus immensus est, nos vero mensura illius egemus propter duas causas:
et una quidem ut de ipsa loquamur, altera vero ut salutem consequamur.
12 De minoritate §106: Profitere nobiscum quoniam sine aliqua dubitacione minor existit Patre secun-
dum humanitatem Christus et quiesce quicumque sis contraria persentiscens.
13 De minoritate §108: Nam homo sum et ego ut alii plerique simulacrum imbecillitatis et adversionis
imago.
200 | Brian M. Jensen

When analyzing Hugo’s presentation of Latin authoritative arguments concerning

John 14:28, it may prima vista seem rather puzzling that he confines his references to
the Bible and certain authors in the Greek patristic tradition but avoids directs refer-
ences to and quotations of his Greek contemporaneous opponents¹⁴ as well as of the
Latin tradition. However, comparing his arguments and syllogisms with such early
Latin fathers as Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great, we might observe a num-
ber of more or less direct quotations or formulas from these authors, especially Au-
gustine’s interpretations in Tractatus 48 and 78 of the two above-mentioned passages
in the Gospel of John in his In evangelium Iohannis tractatus CXXIV.¹⁵
Let us turn to Hugo’s longer and later treatise De sancto et immortali Deo from
1176–1177, in which the focus changes from the dicussion of John 14:28 to, in Hugo’s
opinion, the more important question concerning the Trinity. But before we take up
Hugo’s presentation and discussion of the Trinity and the Filioque controversy, let us
look at the various titles given to his treatise in the extant manuscripts and in the
Patrologia Latina edition. Without further ado we can disregard the erroneous title in
PL 202, De haeresibus quas Graeci in Latinos devolvunt, since no such title appears in
the Latin text witnesses, and likewise the contextually constructed title De processione
Spiritus sancti in fol. 49 in the sixteenth century Cambridge, Corpus Christi College,
Ms. 207. Instead we should focus on the two almost identical titles transmitted in the
other witnesses: De sancto et immortali Deo, which is the one repeated in the rubrics
to all the three books in most of the oldest manuscripts, and De immortali Deo, which
we find in a few of the oldest manuscripts. The latter appears to be Hugo’s own title
according to the opening phrase in his letter to Pope Alexander (exactum a me opus de
immortali Deo)¹⁶ as well as the one mentioned by his brother Leo Tuscus in the preface
to one of his works (editio libri de immortali Deo).¹⁷ Therefore, it seems more correct as
well as tempting to use the latter title, but for now I will keep the former since this is
the one generally used by scholars in references to Hugo’s treatise.
After the synod in March 1166 Hugo remained in Constantinople and collected var-
ious theological and philosophical arguments in defense of the Roman Church’s doc-
trine and of his criticism of the development of the Greek view on the filioque ques-

14 Only the Arian heretic Apollinarius of Laodicea, condemned at the council in Constantinople in
381, is mentioned and critisized: De minoritate §75: Hoc Apollinarii est adinvencio qui opinabatur cor-
pus de celo Christum habuisse atque per virginem ut per cuniculum aqua venisse; and §78: Cum audis
quoniam filius hominis in celo erat prius non veniat in mentem de celo corpus descendisse, hoc enim
Marcelli et Apollinarii deliramentum. Nam etsi secundum quod homo ascendit, tamen ubi erat prius
filius hominis non secundum naturam sed secundum personam intelligendum.
15 Augustinus, In Iohannis evangelium tractatus CXXIV, ed. by R. Willems, 2nd ed. Turnhout 1990
(Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 36).
16 PL 202 col. 227.
17 In his De haeresibus et praevaricationibus Graecorum Leo Tuscus states that Hugo gave Manuel
Comnenos an edition of the three libri De immortali Deo, quem tota Graecia miratur et expavescit; A.
Dondaine 1952, 126.
 Hugo Eterianus and his two Treatises | 201

tion, which he had slightly touched upon in the above quotation from the pseudo-
Athanasian Creed 20–21. Because of the “boiling contrariety between the Greeks and
the Latins”, he pinpoints the very basis of the controversy towards the end of his pref-
ace: “The Greeks appear to defend vehemently the view that the Spirit proceeds from
the Father alone, whereas the Latins confess that the same Spirit proceeds equally
from the Father and the Son”.¹⁸
Considering the Trinity as the fundamental issue at stake, as indicated in the
opening words of the opening chapter beatam et immortalem trinitatem, Hugo takes as
his point of departure philosophical statements from the pre-Christian Greek world,
as if he wants to say to his opponents: “Look at your heritage which should be consid-
ered common ground for the Greek as well as the Roman Church”. Opening his treatise
with a direct quotation in Greek of Plato’s Second Letter to the Sicilian tyrant Dionys-
ios II, and adding a Latin translation of Plotinus’ view on the triad, Hugo emphasizes
that the original doctrinal and philosophical harmony regarding the Trinity was an
accepted point of view in the Christian tradition:

Beatam et immortalem Trinitatem, quae per Iesum Christum apostolis perspicue ut possibile erat
innotuit, gentium philosophi sub enigmatibus valde caliginosis abscondendo publicabant. Nam
Plato philosophus Dionysio talia de Trinitate scripsit: Φραστέον δή σοι δι᾽ αἰνιγμόν, ἵν᾽ αὕτη ἡ
δέλτος ἢ πόντου, ἢ γῆς ἐν πτυχαῖς πάθῃ, ὁ ἀναγνοὺς μὴ γνῷ. Ὧδε γὰρ ἔσχει περὶ τὸν πάντων
βασιλέα. Πάντα ἐστὶ, καὶ ἐκείνου ἕνεκα πάντα, καὶ ἐκεῖνο αἴτιον ἁπάντων τῶν καλῶν· δεύτερον
δὲ περὶ τὰ δεύτερα, καὶ τρίτον περὶ τὰ τρίτα, quod Latine sic sonat redditum orationi: “Dicendum
tibi per enigmata, ubi ne liber seu ponti seu terrae in tabulis patiatur, qui legit non intelligat.
Hoc enim modo habet circa omnium regem, omnia est, omniaque propter illum, et ipse utique
causa omnium bonorum; secundum circa secunda; et tertium circa tertia”. Plotinus quoque sim-
ilia edidit. Tria sunt, inquit, tempus excedentia et aeterna, bonum, mens et anima universitatis.
Hoc est apud nos, Pater, Verbum et Spiritus sanctus, quem philosophi animam mundi nuncu-
paverunt.¹⁹

The blessed and immortal Trinity, which the apostles came to know through Jesus Christ as mani-
festly as was possible, the philosophers of antiquity revealed secretly under very obscure riddles.
For the philosopher Plato wrote the following to Dionysius about the Trinity: “This should be ex-
pounded to you through a riddle in order that if anything happen to this tablet in the folds of
sea or land, the reader may not understand. Thus stands the matter: Related to the king of all
are all things, and for his sake they are, and he is the cause of all fair things; and related to the
second are the second things, and to the third the third things” (Plato Ep. 312d). Translated into
Latin it sounds in this way: “It should be […] the third things”. Plotinus also wrote similar things:
“There are three things, he said, which are eternal and go beyond time: the good, the mind and
the soul of all things.” In our thinking this means: Father, Word and the Holy Spirit, whom the
philosophers have called the world soul.

18 Praefatio: Inter Graecos Latinosque contrarietas exaestuat: Graecus sane quod ex Patre solo Spiri-
tus procedat, vehemens apparet assertor; Latinus autem aequaliter ex Patre et Filio progressum eius-
dem Spiritus profitetur (PL 202 col. 233).
19 De sancto et immortali Deo 1,1 (PL 202 col. 233).
202 | Brian M. Jensen

According to Hugo this harmonious view was put to the test when Theodoret of Cyrus
(393–458/466) as the first amongst Greek theologians denied the procession of the
Spirit from the Son and preached this view (negationis huius inventor et preco). Since
Theodoret and the theologians sharing his views later had been using syllogisms in
their argumentation, which was a conventional part of the philosophical and cultural
milieu of the twelfth century, Hugo described and defined his own concept of syllo-
gisms in chap. 4. On this basis he uses the first two books of his treatise to refute Byzan-
tine arguments and the syllogisms against the procession of the Holy Spirit from the
Son, using syllogisms and quotations from and references to the Bible and fathers of
the Church in both Greek and Latin traditions as well as arguments from Plato, Aris-
totle and other ancient Greek philosophers, whereas he dedicates the third Book to
presenting a positive defense of the Roman Church.
In addition to the change of focus from the minor Patre issue in the early treatise to
the discussion of the Trinity in De sancto et immortali Deo we can observe a change in
Hugo’s way of describing his Greek opponents and in his literary style and language.
As mentioned above, he appears rather diplomatic when addressing his opponents
and describing their views in the 1166 treatise, which we may liken to the respectful
attitude expressed in Kipling’s poem on East and West. This lenient attitude is dra-
matically different in the later treatise, the aggressive language of which corresponds
more to the tone in Morrison’s “The West is the best”. From the very beginning Hugo
mentions the names of his opponents, often in a condescending manner: e. g. Nicetas
of Nicomedia is in chap.3 introduced not by his name but as Nicomediae praesul and in
chap. 6 as the Nicomediae metropolita who is unable to use syllogisms correctly (non
recte syllogizat) and thereby reaches a false conclusion in his paralogism (huius paral-
ogismi falsam conclusionem).²⁰ Similarly, the vocabulary he uses to describe the Greek
theologians and their works and arguments appears rather hostile as in the example
above as well as in chap. 7 where Niketas of Byzantium, who is described with the ep-
ithet Byzantius philosophus, tries per inconvenientium inductionem to prove that “the
Spirit does not proceed from the Son, and that there could be something in the Father
and from the Father without the Son”.²¹ Such reasoning is pure nonsense (nugae), says
Hugo.
Between Theodoret and the above-mentioned Greek theologians, who were more
or less contemporary with Hugo, we find the real culprit in the development of the
Greek view on the Trinity according to Hugo, i. e. the controversial ecumenical patri-
arch Photius (ca. 810–891).²² In the De sancto et immortali Deo Photius is introduced in
chap. 15 of Book 2 after a discussion of the controversy between Theodoret and Cyril,

20 PL 202 col. 242.

21 De sancto et immortali Deo I,7: ’Sed Nicetas Byzantius philosophus per inconvenientium induc-
tionem probare decertat, quod non procedat Spiritus ex Filio, et aliquid esse in Patre et ex Patre sine
Filio’ (PL 202 col. 244).
22 Bucossi 2012, 312–314.
 Hugo Eterianus and his two Treatises | 203

and the arguments against him occupy the rest of the book (chaps. 15–19). Apart from
mentioning the official title patriarcha Constantinopoleos Hugo does not use diplo-
matic niceties in his description of Photius as the following lines may illustrate:

(Photii patriarchae Constantinopoleos) ... Cuius quidem sophismatum laquei, et tristes et atro-
ces iniuriae in Latinos, breviter hic, quia sermo appetit, exprimendae sunt. Hic enim est qui post
Theodoritum in aequorea puteum fodiens arena, non semina, sed Cienena venena sepeliendo,
diri valde languoris fidei Christianorum causa factus est. Profecto hunc cum suis complicibus Isa-
ias deplorat dicendo: Vae qui sapientes sunt apud semetipsos et in oculis suis prudentes (Is. 5:21).
At vero iam exponenda est superciliosa et extraria mendacium amantis patriarchae contradictio
et turpiloquium.²³

(Photius, patriarch of Constantinople) ... The snares of his sophisms and his wicked and atrocious
injustices against the Latins need to be expressed briefly here, since my treatise requires it. For
he is the one after Theodoret who, while digging a well in the sandy sea, by burying not seeds
but Cienenous poison, has been the cause of the very dire weariness in the faith of the Christians.
He and his connections are certainly the ones Isaiah deplores when saying: Alas those who are
wise to themselves and prudent in their own eyes. But now it is time to expose the serious and
extraneous contradiction of this falsehood-loving patriarch and his immoderate words.

This is but one example of Hugo’s aggressive and condescending tone toward Photius
and his followers, who wrote “what not even the gentiles had fabricated in their fairy
tales” (quod neque gentilium fabulae confinxerunt).²⁴ But rather than going into spe-
cific details of the controversy I would like to summarize this short presentation of
Hugo Eterianus’ two treatises with a few additional observations. First of all, I find this
author a most interesting persona, both in the Latin and the Greek tradition, since he is
one of the few Latin theologians in the twelfth century who knows and writes in both
Latin and Greek. He also studied the theology of the two churches as well as the his-
tory of ancient philosophy, and appears to be quite familiar with the theological and
dogmatic development of the entire Christian tradition from the biblical foundations
and the early patristic fathers to his contemporary Greek opponents. These qualities
enabled him to quote and discuss the relevant authors in both languages.
Moreover, it should be observed that Hugo is not our only witness to the exegeti-
cal and doctrinal debate and controversy during the last part of Manuel I Comnenos’
reign. Regarding the contents and the environment in which it was written, Hugo’s
treatise may be compared to other texts from the same period and context as well as
from a few decades earlier, not least the first part of Andronikos Kamateros’ Sacrum
Armamentarium,²⁵ which was also commissioned by Manuel Comnenos, written in the
early 1170s with arguments against the Roman Church. According to Alessandra Bu-

23 PL 202, col. 317.

24 PL 202 col. 322.
25 Editio princeps of Andronikos Kamateros, Sacrum Armamentarium: Pars prima, ed. by A. Bucossi
(Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca 75), Turnhout 2014.
204 | Brian M. Jensen

cossi’s forthcoming survey of the use and format of the dialogue in the discussions
of the Filioque question in the twelfth century, Hugo and Kamateros appear to be in-
fluenced by the dialogues of Anselm of Havelberg, compiled ca. 1150,²⁶ and Niketas of
Maroneia’s Sex dialogi de processione Spiritus sancti.²⁷ The four texts are considered to
be the foremost sources of information on the theological and doctrinal discussions in
the Byzantine empire on the Filioque question in the century after the schism of 1054.
Hugo went back to Italy some time after the publication of De sancto et immortali
Deo and never returned to Constantinople, while his brother Leo Tuscus continued
his imperial engagement for a number of years. In Rome Hugo was received by Pope
Alexander III, to whom he had sent a version of his De sancto et immortali Deo along
with a dedicatory letter; Pope Lucius III appointed him diaconus cardinalis sancti An-
geli shortly before his death in autumn 1182. Hugo thus outlived his Byzantine bene-
factor Manuel Comnenos, who died on September 24, 1180, and must have learnt of
the massacre in the Latin (Italian) colony in Constantinople, which took place there
in spring 1182, and was initiated by Manuel’s successor Andronikos, due partly to a
growing disapproval of Manuel’s too friendly attitude towards the Western church.
Whether Hugo’s treatise played any significant role in this change of imperial attitude
still needs to be investigated, but the massacre put an end to the efforts of Manuel
Comnenos to make the twain churches meet.

Bibliography
Primary Sources
Andronikos Kamateros, Sacrum Armamentarium: Pars prima, ed. by A. Bucossi (Corpus
Christianorum Series Graeca 75), Turnhout 2014.
Augustinus, In Iohannis evangelium tractatus CXXIV, ed. by R. Willems, (Corpus Christianorum Series
Latina 36), 2nd ed., Turnhout 1990.
Basil of Ohrid, Dialogi Anselmi Havelbergensis episcopi, ed. by J. Schmidt, Munich 1901.
Hugo Eterianus, De sancto et immortali Deo, (Patrologia Latina 202, coll. 227–396), Paris 1855.
Hugo Eterianus, De minoritate et aequalitate filii hominis ad Deum Patrem, ed. by P. Podolak and A.
Zago, in: Revue des Études Byzantines 74 (2016), 77–170.

Secondary Sources
Bucossi, A. (2012). “Dibattiti teologici alla corte di Manuele Comneno”. In: Vie per Bizanzio: VII
Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini, Venezia 25–28 novembre 2009. Ed. by
A. Rigo, A. Babuin, and M. Trizio. Bari, pp. 312–314.

26 Basil of Ohrid, Dialogi Anselmi Havelbergensis episcopi, ed. by J. Schmidt, Munich 1901.
27 Bucossi 2016. I am grateful to Bucossi for sending me her introduction to Niketas “of Maroneia”.
 Hugo Eterianus and his two Treatises | 205

Bucossi, A. (2016). “The six dialogues of Niketas ‘of Maroneia’: A Contextualising Introduction”. In:
Dialogue and Debate from Late Antiquity to Late Byzantium. Ed. by A. Cameron and N. Gaul.
Burlington, pp. 137–152.
Classen, P. (1955). “Das Konzil von Konstantinopel 1166 und die Lateiner”. In: Byzantinische
Zeitschrift 48, pp. 339–368.
Dondaine, A. (1952). “Hugues Éthérien et Léon Toscan”. In: Archives d'Histoire Doctrinale et
Littéraire du Moyen Âge 19, pp. 67–134.
Dondaine, A. (1958). “Hugues Éthérien et le concile de Constantinople de 1166”. In: Historisches
Jahrbuch 77, pp. 473–483.
Hussey, J. M. (2010). The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. Oxford.
Mango, C. (1963). “The Conciliar Edict of 1166”. In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 17, pp. 315–330.
Podolak, P. and A. Zago (2016). “Ugo Eteriano e la controversia cristologica del 1166: edizione
dell'opuscolo ‘De minoritate’. Appendice: edizione della lettera ad Alessio”. In: Revue des
Études Byzantines 74, pp. 77–170.
Christian W. Kappes
Gregorios Palamas’ Reception of Augustine’s
Doctrine of the Original Sin and Nicholas
Kabasilas’ Rejection of Aquinas’ Maculism as
the Background to Scholarios’ Immaculism

Introduction
Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios (c. 1400–c. 1472) is a pivotal figure for Eastern Ortho-
doxy and Roman Catholicism.¹ He is best known for his role as the first Orthodox
Patriarch of Constantinople after the capture of the city by the Turks in 1453. During
his occupation of the patriarchal throne of Constantinople, he was responsible for re-
organizing the Orthodox Church to ensure its survival under unfavorable conditions
of Islam.² Before becoming Patriarch of Constantinople, Scholarios had been favor-
ably disposed toward a brokered union with the Latins during the Council of Ferrara-
Florence (1438–1439).³ Later, during these conciliar debates, Scholarios abandoned
Florence prior to the public signing of the papal bull of union on July 6, 1439.⁴ Upon
return to Constantinople, Scholarios gradually changed his conciliatory attitude to-
ward Latins and allied with his abecedary and spiritual Father, Markos of Ephesus
(1392–1445). After receiving the endorsement of Markos Eugenikos or “The Ephesine,”
Scholarios took up leadership of the Byzantine resistance party or Holy Synaxis that
ultimately ensured the independent existence and operation of the Orthodox Church
in the late fifteenth century and beyond.⁵ For his part, Markos of Ephesus ranks among
the most outstanding personalities in the history of the Orthodox Church for his sin-
gular opposition to the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438–1439).
In Latin literature, Scholarios often served a romantically apologetic purpose
to promote Catholic-Orthodox unity. Scholarios’ professed admiration for Thomas
Aquinas led some influential Roman Catholic authors to infer need for universal
hegemony of Thomistic philosophy and theology in the realm of Orthodox-Catholic
dialogue à propos the Scholarian corpus. In recent times, this romanticism instead
served to distance contemporary Orthodox thinkers from Scholarios as a “Latin-
thinker.” In reality, Scholarios was idiosyncratic, employing substantially eclectic

1 For his life and times, see Blanchet 2008a.

2 Blanchet 2001a, 60–72.
3 Jugie 1937, 65–86, Turner 1967, 83–103.
4 Gill 1959, 301.
5 Blanchet 2008a, 383–443.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-219
208 | Christian W. Kappes

predilections in his expression of Orthodoxy. Today, Scholarios still tends to be collo-

cated (without sufficient nuance) under the static heading of “Thomist” according to
secondary literature.
Scholarios’ approach to Thomism cannot be identified with coeval, Renaissance
Thomism of the Italian reformed studia from the early 1430s onwards.⁶ Scholarios be-
gan his philosophical career as an eclectic philosopher affirming (contra Aquinas) the
modist philosopher-theologian Radulphus Brito.⁷ The modista Brito shared some com-
mon values with Aquinas (even being misidentified as a Thomist in Renaissance litera-
ture), but less than many eclectic Thomists of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Following the Council of Florence, Scholarios interpolated various opinions into his
translation of Armandus of Bellovisu’s commentary on the De ente et essentia, some
of which were Scotistic in nature and irreconcilable to Aquinas.⁸ Scholarios never con-
templated rejection or depreciation of Aquinas. Nonetheless, as Scholarios continued
to write, he philosophized in an eclectic manner, all the while claiming Aquinas as
his master. Environmental and historical factors surrounding Scholarios’ intellectual
formation sufficiently explain his philosophical and theological eclecticism, as well
as his comfort with adopting Aquinas. Similarly, Scholarios’ approach to Mariology
proves to be a synthesis of Thomistic and Byzantine approaches. Nonetheless, Schol-
arios’ conclusions in Mariology substantially reject Aquinas’ historical judgment on
Mary’s holiness. Nevertheless, Scholarios never withdrew his reverence from Aquinas.
In this study, I will investigate Scholarian tenets in Mariology. I plan on demon-
strating that Scholarios’ overall vocabulary and values remained faithful to the Mari-
ology of contemporary and anterior Orthodox authors. Even so, Scholarios simulta-
neously incorporated Augustinian and Scholastic texts into a Mariological synthe-
sis. Scholarios’ instructors had already provided him with such horizons. After all,
Gregorios Palamas, Makarios Makres, Joseph Bryennios, and Markos of Ephesus had

6 Kappes 2013b, 71–114.

7 Kappes 2013b, 86–91.
8 Scholarios’ eclectic Thomism, similar to fourteenth-century Thomists (before the onset of a more
stringent Renaissance Italian Thomism of the Dominican studia), does not negate multiple enco-
mia of Aquinas as collected in Demetracopoulos’ Grundriss. Scholarios’ reverence and reference to
Aquinas did keep him away from significant doctrinal and philosophical deviations. See the Scholar-
ian epitome of Aquinas’ SG in OCGS, V Preface, p. 2, 1–20, wherein he admits that Aquinas’ filioque
and essence-energies doctrine (viz., Akindynism) constitute the only two irreconcilable differences
between Aquinas and the Greek Church. See Scholarios’ youthful translation of Radulphus Brito (On
Porphyry’s Isagogue) in OCGS, VII 12, p. 78, 1–33, wherein Scholarios approvingly translated Brito’s
metaphysically critical position of Aquinas on materia signata. Scholarios maintained this position in
his essence-energies treatises of the 1450s, as in OCGS, VI 53, pp. 236, 2–38, 237, 1–4. See also Schol-
arios, De processione prima, OCGS, II 6, p. 18, 7–26, wherein Scholarios accused Aquinas of falsely
distorting Damascene into a Nestorian to extort acquiescence of the Greeks to the filioque. See Schol-
arios, De processione secunda, OCGS, II 23, p. 377, 20–30, wherein Scholarios bade Orthodox to flee
from Aquinas’ doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Citations against Aquinas’ pneumatology can be multiplied.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 209

already taken up the task of synthesizing in varying degrees both/either Augustine

and/or Scholasticism with Orthodox theology. Scholarios marked the culmination of
this practice on a scale that was unprecedented in Byzantium. In this vein, part of the
present investigation will provide proofs of utilization of Augustinian and Scholastic
texts among Scholarios’ predecessors to determine the degree of Scholarios’ innova-
tion.
My conclusions prove that, though Scholarios’ Mariology fell into the realm of
immaculatism or support for theological axioms in line with the Scotistic theolo-
goumenon of the Immaculate Conception contra Aquinas or maculism, Scholarios
did not in fact arrive at his conclusions by only Latin sources. Instead, Scholarios’
Byzantine sensibilities took into account the recent introduction of the Latin debate
into the East, while his Orthodox teachers supplied him with Greek Fathers in Mar-
iology. In fine, Scholarios represents a Byzantine immaculatism in reaction to Latin
maculism or assertions that Mary inherited original sin. It will be argued that Schol-
arios’ synthesis constitutes an irenic response to maculist Thomism in line with his
Orthodox predecessors who consistently resisted Thomistic Mariology in fourteenth-
and fifteenth-century Byzantium.

1 Roman Catholic Scholars, Scholarios, and

Immaculate Conception
Jugie (1878–1954) ranked among the earliest scholars to study Scholarios’ doctrine of
the Immaculate Conception.⁹ Naturally, Jugie enjoyed a certain gravitas on matters re-
lated to Scholarios after editing and publishing his opera omnia (1928–1935). Jugie’s
arguments and conclusions still delimit the status quaestionis of Scholarios’ Mariol-
ogy.¹⁰ Jugie initially focused on Scholarios’ homily (1464) Homélie sur la Dormition de
la Sainte Vierge:

Scot lui-même n’était pas pour lui un inconnu. Sa pensée sur l’Immaculée Conception de la Mère
de Dieu n’en présente, de ce chef. [Aquinas], que plus d’intérêt […] C’ést [Immaculate Conception]
pourquoi elle aussi, bien qu’engendrée suivant les lois ordinaires, fut, par un privilege de la grâce
divine, preserve de la tache originelle.¹¹

Jugie proposed several points in favor of Scholarian Scotism: (1.) Mary’s conception is
an “exemption from the common laws” of nature,¹² (2.) Mary’s conception is “a priv-

9 V. Laurent 1953, 21.

10 Recent literature attempting to contribute to Byzantine Mariology republishes excerpts of Jugie’s
commentary on the Scholarian corpus. For example, see Toniolo 2008, 565–578.
11 Jugie 1914, 527–528.
12 Jugie 1914, 528.
210 | Christian W. Kappes

ilege of divine grace,”¹³ (3.) Jesus’ and Mary’s conceptions differ: (a.) Jesus is sinless
“by nature,” (b.) Mary is sinless “by grace” via a divine act of “preservation,”¹⁴ and
(4.) Mary contracts the debitum peccati (whether debitum proximum or remotum is am-
biguous and anachronistic).¹⁵ After publishing these findings, Jugie reproduced these
arguments nearly verbatim in Patrologia Orientalis (1922) in a preface to the critical
text of Scholarios’ sermon Homélie sur la Dormition de la Sainte Vierge.¹⁶
Following publication of two (of three) of Scholarios’ extant Marian sermons,
Jugie then published subsequent volumes to Scholarios’ opera omnia (1928–1936).¹⁷
Simultaneously, Jugie was publishing volumes on the dogmatics of the Oriental Or-
thodox and Eastern Orthodox theology (1923–1935).¹⁸ Jugie’s preface to Scholarios’
three Marian sermons,¹⁹ as well as his Scholarian notes on the Immaculate Concep-
tion, varied little from 1914–1935.²⁰ Shortly before his death (d. 1954), Jugie proffered
his mature analysis of Scholarios’ immaculatism:²¹
1) Christ is immaculate in virtue of virginal conception, while Mary is immaculate in
virtue of her divine maternity.²²
2) Mary was granted an exemption in view of her son’s more glorious coming.
3) The Scotist-Franciscan François Meyronnes (ante 1288–1328) is a probable Scholas-
tic source for Scholarios.²³

Jugie referenced four pericopes: (1.) The sermon Sermon pour la fête de l’Annonciation,²⁴
(2.) The sermon Sermon pour la fête de la Présentation,²⁵ (3.) The sermon Homélie sur
la Dormition de la Sainte Vierge, and²⁶ (4.) Second traité sur l’origine de l’âme.²⁷
Afterwards, Roman Catholic Mariologists typically recycled his conclusions.²⁸
Uniquely, Fehlner has recently suggested that the essential theological preambles
and metaphysics constitutive of the Immaculate Conception mirror constant histor-
ical elements endemically present within the whole of the Byzantine Mariological

13 Jugie 1914, 528.

14 Jugie 1914, 529.
15 Jugie 1914, 529.
16 Jugie 1922, 570.
17 OCGS, I–VIII. For updated lists of Scholarios’ works, see Tinnefeld 2002e, 493–533, and Grundriss.
18 Jugie 1923–1935, I–V.
19 OCGS, I, pp. xlii–xliii.
20 Jugie 1923–1935, vol. I, p. 467.
21 Jugie 1952, 301–307.
22 Jugie 1952, 305.
23 Jugie 1952, 302.
24 OCGS, I 42–43, 46, p. 41, 12–35, p. 45, 1–34.
25 OCGS, I 4, p. 164, 26–35, p. 165, 1–8, p. 166, 30–37, p. 167, 1–16.
26 OCGS, I 8, p. 202, 14–37, p. 203, 1–3.
27 OCGS, I 20, p. 501, 8–37.
28 Gordillo 1954, 126–237, Eldarov 1955, 183–184, Fehlner 2007, 242, Toniolo 2008, 565–566.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 211

tradition. Where Jugie and his (begrudging) Orthodox followers saw Scholarios’ Mar-
iology as a mere import from the West, Fehlner proffered an interpretation, where
Scholarios is the culmination of the tradition of Byzantine Mariology prior to the
fall of the Polis.²⁹ Comparing Maximos Confessor and Gregorios Palamas to Scotistic
thought, Fehlner underlines their shared vision of the absolute primacy of Christ.
Orthodox scholars have also underlined Christological parallels between Scotus and
Maximos concerning the Trinitarian predestination of the Incarnation in the divine
mind prior to any consideration of sin.³⁰

2 Orthodox Scholars, Scholarios, and Immaculate

Conception
Modern Orthodox scholars distance themselves from the Immaculate Conception for a
number of reasons. First, for some, an exemption from original sin allegedly excludes
Mary from the common human nature.³¹ Secondly, for others, the Immaculate Con-
ception is objectionable because of supposd confusion among Latins on the effects of
original sin.³² If some Orthodox reject Latin formulations of original sin, Lossky sup-
posed that the Augustinian hereditas damnosa resulted from original sin.³³ For him,
Adamite inheritance of sin and “guilt” cursed Mary.³⁴ When objecting to the Immacu-
late Conception, Lossky generally failed to provide his reader with patristic references
for his position contra.³⁵ Bulgakov argued for Mary’s necessary share in original sin be-
cause it allegedly impedes communication of a true humanity to Christ.³⁶ Somehow,
sinless conception negatively separates a human being from “humanity.”³⁷ Schme-
mann acknowledged that some Orthodox theologians had taught the rough equiva-
lent of the Immaculate Conception as a theologoumenon and opined that an “anti-
Roman reflex” constituted a substantial component of modern Orthodoxy’s opposi-
tion to the Immaculate Conception. He concluded his analysis by verifying the permis-

29 Fehlner 2007, 241.

30 Florovsky 1976, 168–170, Bucur 2008, 199–215.
31 Fehlner 2007, 252–254.
32 Augustinian, Anselmian, Thomistic, Bonaventurian, and Scotistic theories on original sin com-
peted in the marketplace of ideas during all Scholastic periods. Nobody at the Council of Basel-Ferrara-
Florence knew one theory as dogma. For the Council of Trent later proposing a compromise formula
between Thomists and Scotists, see Alberigo, II, pp. 665–667 (Trent, Session V: Decretum super peccato
originali).
33 Lossky 1978, 79–94.
34 Lossky 1974c, 100, 204.
35 Lossky 1976, 140–142.
36 Nichols 2005, 58–63.
37 Bulgakov 1988, 117.
212 | Christian W. Kappes

sibility of the opinio theologica as in Scholarios. Nevertheless, Schmemann seconded

Meyendorff’s supposition about Catholic-Orthodox differences on the “Latin dogma”
of original sin.³⁸ Lastly, Gillet warmly embraced the theologoumenon of the Immacu-
late Conception, arguing that saintly and learned Orthodox churchmen, as an ancient
and pious rule, embraced the doctrine.³⁹ Be that as it may, I investigate the mainline
objections in the present study.
Meyendorff supposed that Scholarios was an idiosyncratically Orthodox theolo-
gian in taking a position equivalent to Pope Pius IX’s (1854) definition of the Immacu-
late Conception.⁴⁰ Meyendorff referred to Scholarios depreciatively as “an isolated and
nostalgic intellectual.”⁴¹ Meyendorff supposed that Scholarios had been distracted
with the Immaculate Conception because of “ancestral/original guilt” that allegedly
engendered human reproduction since the primordial fall of Adam and Eve. Meyen-
dorff concluded that Scholarios’ doctrine of original sin is foreign to historical Ortho-
doxy.⁴² Meyendorff agreed with Jugie that Scholarios abandoned Thomism in an iso-
lated instance to embrace a different Scholastic (i. e., Scotistic) opinion and further
evaluated Scholarios as upholding the Thomistic doctrine of “original guilt.”⁴³ Lastly,
Meyendorff saw the Immaculate Conception as a violation of an allegedly universal
Marian principle; namely, no Byzantine authority had ever argued or taught that Mary
(like Christ) was immortal in the manner of Adam and Eve before the Fall.⁴⁴ Meyen-
dorff’s preoccupation with Mary’s deathlessness was likely a reaction to Jugie and his
Dominican sympathies concerning the putatively logical consequences of an immac-
ulate conception. Meyendorff’s writes:⁴⁵

Quotations can easily be multiplied, and they give clear indications that the Mariological piety
of the Byzantines would probably have led them to accept the definition of the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary as it was defined in 1854, if only they had shared the Western
doctrine of original sin.⁴⁶

Thereafter, similar to Meyendorff, Evdokimov proposed the Byzantine doctrine of “the

purification of Mary” at the Annunciation as the Orthodox foil to the Immaculate Con-
ception. Evdokimov’s “Orthodox” exegesis of the purification of Mary at the Annun-

38 Schmemann 1966, 200.

39 Gillet 1983, 153–159.
40 Meyendorff 1974a, 148, Meyendorff 1983, 45–46.
41 Meyendorff 1983, 46.
42 Meyendorff 1974a, 148.
43 Meyendorff 1974a, 148.
44 Meyendorff 1974a, 147: “Texts [about Mary] are to be understood in the context of the doctrine of
original sin which prevailed in the East: the inheritance from Adam is mortality, not guilt, and there
was never any doubt among Byzantine theologians that Mary was indeed a mortal being.”
45 Meyendorff 1974a, 144.
46 Meyendorff 1974a, 148.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 213

ciation sought to contrast “Orthodox” with Roman Catholic Mariology.⁴⁷ Importantly,

Evdokimov failed to address Jugie’s historical account of Orthodox Mariology as first
promoting a maculist exegesis of Mary’s “purification” only after the onset of the six-
teenth century.⁴⁸ Instead, recent studies establish the fact that late Byzantine theolo-
gians, as Nicholas Kabasilas, explained Mary’s purification in terms of angelic “pu-
rification,” as in the Ps.-Dionysian sense, where angels (who are sinless) “purify” one
another with graceful knowledge.⁴⁹ The other Byzantine strain of an entirely positive
sense of purification developed from biblical and patristic interpretation of Jesus as
immaculate (in a sense univocal to Mary’s humanity), while he was nonetheless “pu-
rified” at his circumcision and at his baptism.⁵⁰
Next, Romanides published a doctoral thesis on original sin, which subsequently
gained considerable traction among Orthodox theologians. A central focus was to re-
ject an allegedly Augustinian theory of original sin. By (incorrectly) assuming that
medieval and contemporary Roman Catholicism officially adopted wholesale Augus-
tinianism (with its traducian transmission of sin) in its doctrine of original sin, some
camps accustomed themselves to argue that the “Immaculate Conception” demar-
cates an absurd thesis, for Augustine proposed a fictional condition for human na-
ture that is consequently inapplicable to the Mary.⁵¹ Later, Zezes, as a fellow ultra-
Orthodox writer, resolutely presupposed Scholarios never to have embraced the Im-
maculate Conception. However Zezes failed to cite a single Scholarian text or sec-
ondary source.⁵²
Recently, Livanos has paid significant attention to the Immaculate Conception in
relation to Scholarios. His point of departure is taken from Meyendorff’s statement
of Scholarios as “an intellectual enigma awaiting modern scholarly investigation.”⁵³
Livanos’ conclusions are limited to the following:
1) Scholarios was dependent on Scotus for his Mariology, in spite of his normative
Thomism.

47 Evdokimov 1979, 157.

48 Jugie 1952, 313–314.
49 Kappes 2014, 86–87.
50 Candal 1962, 241–276, Kappes 2014, 17–68. For the relevant biblical verses that puzzled patris-
tic authors, see NT 185, 188, 190: “Καὶ ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν
νόμον Μωϋσέως, ἀνήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα παραστῆσαι τῷ κυρίῳ, καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν νόμῳ
κυρίου ὅτι ‘πᾶν ἄρσεν διανοῖγον μήτραν ἅγιον τῷ κυρίῳ κληθήσεται’ [Compare LXX Ex., 13, 12, LXX
Lv., 12:6] […] Καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς πᾶσαν (τὴν) περίχωρον τοῦ Ἰορδάνου κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς
ἄφεσιν ἁρμαρτιῶν […] καὶ Ἰησοῦ βαπτισθέντος […]” (Lk., 1, 22–23, Lk., 3, 3, and Lk., 3, 21).
51 Romanides 2001.
52 Zezes 1988, 286–287.
53 Livanos’ bibliography both fails to investigate Jugie’s capolavoro (Jugie 1952), and neglects con-
sulting primary Scotistic sources to arrive at his conclusions. See Livanos 2006a, 1. For numerous
criticisms of the published version of this doctoral dissertation, see Blanchet 2006, 395–397.
214 | Christian W. Kappes

2) Scholarios directly depends on Scholastic-Augustinian sources for his view of orig-

inal sin.
3) Scholarios does not fall within the pale of traditional and authentic Orthodox the-
ology.

Livanos did not investigate Jugie’s musings on Scotists who could have served directly
as Scholarios’ sources. Lacking evidence of direct citations from Scotus, Jugie had sug-
gested François Meyronnes as a decisive influence on Scholarios.⁵⁴ Regarding Schol-
arios’ anthropology, Livanos claimed Scotus as the source for Scholarios’ discussion
of the Immaculate Conception because original sin is called an “inheritance” and be-
cause “ancestral/original guilt” passed from one generation to the next. Developing
Meyendorff, Livanos accuses Scholarios of Latinizing when arguing the mortality and
death of the Mary from “fittingness” (as opposed to fallen nature or to sin).⁵⁵ Livanos
impugns Scholarios’ Orthodoxy under the aegis of Yannaras, who thinks that Schol-
arios was divorced from both his own psyche and Orthodoxy:

[Scholarios] lives in the heart of Hellenism, in Constantinople, assumes responsibility as chief

pastor of the subjugated Greeks, and is himself radically de-Hellenized, unaware of the crucial
and fundamental elements of the Greek spiritual tradition.⁵⁶

The dependency on Yannaras is of questionable worth since the philosopher has nei-
ther produced a monograph, nor general research on Scholarios. Livanos continues
his evaluation of Scholarios by recourse to Photios the Great:

In the passage where Scholarios argues in favor of the Immaculate Conception, he wholeheart-
edly embraces everything we have just heard his distant predecessor Photios condemn. Schol-
arios uses terms like προγονικὴ ἐνοχή “ancestral guilt,” and προγονικὴ ἁμαρτία “ancestral sin,”
expressing concepts clearly repugnant to Photios. That Scholarios believed sin was accounted to
man by nature and not by reasoning or choice is apparent in his statement that Ss. Joachim and
Anna, “though irreproachable in virtue…nonetheless shared in the inheritance [viz., κλῆρος].”
Scholarios writes of sin as a κλῆρος while Photios, using a word derived from the same root, de-
nounces the teaching that sin was “inherited,” ἐκληρώσατο.⁵⁷

54 Livanos 2006a, 135–45, Jugie 1952, 140, 305. Livanos fails to note Scholarios’ praise of François
Meyronnes. Scholarios declared Scotus and Meyronnes (among Franciscans) to rank among the last
Latin theologians to maintain the patristic tradition in OCGS, II, p. 223 and OCGS, VI, p. 179–180.
55 Livanos 2006a, 1–2. But one exception invalidates this alleged universal. For example, see the
series of items listed as “it was ought that, etc.” in Damasc., Dorm., V 2, 15, ed. B. Kotter, Berlin
1988, p. 530, 11–15 (Engl. tr. by B. Daley, Crestwood, NY 1998, p. 218): “ὥσπερ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῷ θεῷ
λόγῳ ἐνυποστὰν σῶμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ἀκήρατον τῇ τρίτῃ τοῦ μνήματος ἐξανίστατο, οὕτως ταύτην τὴν
προσφιλῆ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναφέρεσθαι […] σκηνήν […]”
56 Yannaras 2006, 89; Livanos 2006a, 9.
57 Livanos 2006a, 41.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 215

Livanos’ summarily affirms the judgments of these two authors who comment on
Scholarios’ lack of an Orthodox pedigree. Further reason for rejection of Scholar-
ios’ theology is based on comparisons with passages from Chrysostom and Photios.
Therafter, Livanos excludes Scholarios from Orthodoxy on the question of Mary and
original sin. Below, we will discover not a few inaccuracies in Livanos’ premises
based upon Greek vocabulary. Still, some of Livanos’ reactions against “original
guilt” and Augustinian traducianism coincide with the overall picture of pre- and
post-Augustinian Byzantium.⁵⁸ In short, from this survey of scholars interested in
Mariology and Scholarios, only Jugie appears to have engaged the Scholarian corpus
in any profound way.

3 Gregorios Palamas and Augustine on Original Sin

Nearly two decades have passed since Flogaus and Demetracopoulos uncovered mul-
tiple passages proving Palamas’ (limited) Augustinianism.⁵⁹ Each located exact pas-
sages or near-exact citations where Palamas latently employed Augustine’s De Trini-
tate in his 150 Chapters, Homily 16, and letter ad Xenem monialem.⁶⁰ Following their
philological and theological presentation of the facts, scholars scrutinized their asser-
tions.⁶¹ Today leading Orthodox scholars accept the fact that Palamas approvingly em-
ployed Augustinian theology (mutatis mutandis) and took steps to synthesize it with
Byzantine theological tradition.⁶² If Palamas failed to name his Augustinian source
explicitly, he obliquely referred to Augustine as “that wise and apostolic man.”⁶³ Pala-
mas supplied Augustine with a nihil obstat in the subsequent Palamite school.
In this vein, I will be discussing several Augustinian passages within Palamas’
opera that treat original sin. These easily explain why posterior Palamites made ex-
pansive use of Augustine in their theological projects. Propitiously, Palamas discussed
original sin in two of the three works (mentioned above) already shown to contain la-
tent citations from Augustine’s De Trinitate:

Many people perhaps blame Adam for the way he was easily persuaded by the evil counselor
and rejected the divine commandment and through such a rejection procured our death. But it
is not the same thing to want a taste of some deadly plant prior to testing it and to desire to
eat of it after learning by the test that it is deadly. For a man who takes in some poison after
testing it and wretchedly brings death upon himself is more culpable than the one who does this

58 For the overall rejection of traducianism among Byzantines, see Congourdeau 2007, 268–269.
59 Flogaus 1996b, 275–297; Flogaus 1997b; J. A. Demetracopoulos 1997.
60 Flogaus, 1996, 294–296.
61 Lössl 2000, 267–295.
62 Louth 2013, 115–123.
63 Trizio 2006, 160.
216 | Christian W. Kappes

and suffers the consequences prior to the test. Many people perhaps blame Adam for the way he
was easily persuaded by the evil counselor and rejected the divine commandment and through
such rejection procured death […] Therefore, each of us is more abundantly to be blamed and
condemnable (κατάκριτος) to death than Adam [for sinning after knowing that Adam’s fruit is
poisonous]. But is that tree [of the garden commandment] not within us? Do we not, even now,
have a commandment from God forbidding us to taste of it? […] On the one hand, if we obey it and
set our will to live by it, it frees us from the punishment for all our sins and from t h e a n c e s t r a l
i m p r e c a t i o n a n d c o n d e m n a t i o n (τ ῆ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῆ ς ἀ ρ ᾶ ς κ α ὶ κ α τ α δ ί κ η ς).⁶⁴

Palamas’ statement that death is an effect of Adam’s ancestral sin is hardly innova-
tive. Quite diverse is the case with “ancestral/original imprecation” that constitutes a
neologism. Whereas Scriptures refer to Christ as one under a “curse” (κατάρα), neither
Byzantine patristic literature, nor the NT, makes use of the technical expression “an-
cestral imprecation.”⁶⁵ I render ἀρά as “imprecation” to denote a malediction originat-
ing from a moral being outside of the cursed person. “Curse” denotes habitual misfor-
tune attached to a person, group of persons, or a thing. Within this genus falls an im-
precation, which denotes a spoken malediction that affects the loss of some good due
to the cursing agent’s power over the object of the imprecation. Granted Palamas’ gen-
eral avoidance of humanistic niceties, stylistic considerations are inauspicious to ex-
plain the neologism. Yet another Augustinian-influenced homily of Palamas, already
proven by Flogaus and Demetracopoulos to contain passages from the De Trinitate,
further strengthens my thesis:

The grace […] came to dwell in the baptismal water, such that when it touched those baptized
later following his example, they would be divinely regenerated, and mystically renewed and
recreated in such a way that they would no longer be from the ancient Adam and so attract the
curse (ἐκ τοῦ παλαιοῦ Ἀδὰμ […] ἕλκειν τὴν ἀράν). Instead they would be from the New Adam and
so have God’s blessing […]
Just as through one man, Adam, liability [to punishment] to death p a s s e d d o w n b y h e r e d i t y
t o t h o s e b o r n a f t e r w a r d s (τ ο ὺ ς μ ε τ α γ ε ν ε σ τ έ ρ ο υ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῶ ς ⁶⁶), so the grace of

64 Palam., CL, 55, ed. R. Sinkewicz, Toronto 1982, p. 150, 1–16 (Engl. tr. by Sinkewicz, Toronto 1982,
p. 149). I alter Sinkewicz’s “culpable” (μεμπτέος) and “guilty” (κατάκριτος). These carry inaccurate
connotations of a personal sense of fault or feeling of being unjust. Palamas pairs extrinsic imputation
of “fault” (with an attached punishment) and “condemnation” from God with Adam’s inheritance.
Palamas’ holds a dual extrinsic sense of an “ancestral curse” and “condemnation.” Ergo, imputed
fault is paired with a curse, while a condemnable man is paired with the decree of his condemnation.
65 Gal., 3, 13–14. The indices of Palamas’ opera omnia show him citing exhaustively from a Maximian
work explaining the former’s understanding of κατάρα. See Maxim., Qu. ad Thal., I 5, ed. C. Laga and
C. Steel, Turnhout 1980, p. 65, 27–28: “Ἢ μᾶλλον γῆ τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἐστιν ἡ καρδία, κατάραν λαβοῦσα διὰ
τῆς παραβάσεως τὴν τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγαθῶν ἀφαίρεσιν.”
66 This phrase is exclusive to Palamas and Plandunes according to the TLG. Compare Planudes 13,
12, 16.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 217

eternal and heavenly life passed down from the one divine and human Word to all those born
again of Him.⁶⁷ […]
The grace of Baptism, which is called the washing of regeneration, inaugurates this action in us,
providing remission of all our sins and [the remission] of t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y [ f o r p u n i s h -
m e n t ] f r o m t h e i m p r e c a t i o n (τ ῆ ς ἐ κ τ ῆ ς ἀ ρ ᾶ ς ε ὐ θ ύ ν η ς).⁶⁸

Palamas’ homily in English auspiciously refers to εὐθύνα as “liability” to some kind of

punishment, so that εὐθύνα should not be understood in harmony with fifth-century
reception of Augustine among Latin Fathers, that is, with post-Augustinian reception
(also influencing Planudes’ vocabulary) of “legal guilt.” It is fairly obvious that the
lexical sense and context of the Latin does not allow for any intrinsic or personal im-
putation of an unspecified guilt (culpa) to a son or daughter of Adam for a progenitor’s
sin. Instead, Palamas had to reconcile the Greek version of Augustine, as a patrolo-
gist, to the Greek Fathers and likely coined part of his newfangled phraseology from
odd vocabulary where a Byzantine Father occasionally combined the concept of group
“responsibility” with an imprecation and a curse. While there are hints of similar vo-
cabulary in Chrysostom ⁶⁹ as well as in Maximos the Confessor,⁷⁰ neither of them can
be used to explain Palamas’ innovative terminology. For his part, Palamas writes:

Before Christ we all shared that same a n c e s t r a l i m p r e c a t i o n (π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ὴν ἀ ρ ά ν ) and

common condemnation (κοινὴν καταδίκην) poured out (χυθεῖσαν) on all of us from our single
forefather, as if it had sprung (ἀναδιδομένην) from the r o o t o f t h e h u m a n r a c e (ῥ ί ζ η ς τ ο ῦ
γ έ ν ο υ ς)⁷¹ and was t h e c o m m o n i n h e r i t a n c e o f o u r n a t u r e (τ ῇ φ ύ σ ε ι σ υ γ κ ε κ λ η -

67 Homiliae, IX 16, 16–17, p. 444, 4–10, 18–21 (Engl. tr. by C. Veniamin, S. Canaan, PA 2014, pp. 122).
All the homilies have as yet to be more precisely datable to a Terminus post quem 1350. See Homiliae,
IX, pp. 16– 24.
68 Homiliae, IX 16, 34, p. 470, 11–13 (Engl. tr. p. 130). I have changed Veniamin’s translation, which
formerly read: “the guilt of the curse.” This reads pre- and post-Augustinian vocabulary of Latin Fa-
thers and Latino-patristic development of “guilt” into Palamas’ text. Just as Palamas, Augustine latinus
himself assiduously avoided “guilt.”
69 Near-semantic equivalency occurred between κατάρα and ἀρὰ in Chrysosom (glossing Gal., 3, 13).
Hebrews under the ἀρὰ suffered as κατάραι τοῦ νόμου. Christ then became a κατάρα ἐπικατάρατος for
everyone’s sake. People as a whole are ὁ λαὸς ὑπεύθυνος and Christ dissolved their curse on a tree.
See Chrysos. Comm. ad Galat., III 3 [698], Paris 1859, col. 652 (Engl. tr. by E.P. Pusey, Oxford 1840, pp.
55–56).
70 For Maximos God’s imprecation (ἡ ἀρά) was sent on earth because of trespass (τῆς παραβάσεως).
This trespass brought about a curse (κατάρα). While the first curse was brought on by free will, the
subsequent curse on all humans is death. See Maxim. Qu. ad Thal., II 62, p. 123, 129–144.
71 For Adam as “root of the human race,” see Cyril, In xii proph., II 3, 2, ed. P.E. Pusey, Oxford 1868, p.
125, 5–6. Palamas’ concept is imperfectly and uniquely foreshadowed, if only partially, in Cyr., Frag. ad
Roman., III 5, 13, ed. P.E. Pusey, Oxford 1872, p. 183, 21–29, p. 185, 4–6 (Translation mine): “[Scholion
on Rm., 5, 13–16:] Yet, if this, in a certain mode, he says: someone would have prevailed on them upon
the earth and death prior to the Law. Since if also some did not become guilty (ἔνοχοι) of the Law
through deviations (παραβάσεσιν) […] They nonetheless underwent, too, destruction (τὴν φθορὰν)
218 | Christian W. Kappes

ρ ω μ έ ν ην ).⁷² Each person’s individual action attracted either reproof or praise from God, but no
one could do anything about the common imprecation and condemnation, or the evil inheritance
(π ο ν η ρ ὸ ν κ λ ῆ ρ ο ν)⁷³ that had been passed down to him and through him would pass to his
descendants.

Yet, Christ came, setting human nature free and changing the common curse into a shared bless-
ing. He took upon himself our l i a b l e (ἐ π ε ύ θ υ ν ο ν ) nature from the most pure Virgin and united
it, new and unmixed with a n c i e n t s e e d (π α λ α ι ο ῦ σ π έ ρ μ α τ ο ς),⁷⁴ to his Divine Person. He
rendered it unaccountable (ἀνεύθυνον) and righteous, so that all his spiritual descendants would
remain outside the ancestral imprecation and condemnation.⁷⁵

Upon surveying patristic literature, no Fathers appear to designate Adam’s sin as a

“root-infection” that flows like “seed” into the rest of a metaphorical plant or human
race.⁷⁶ Shocking is Palamas’ singular notion of an “evil inheritance.” Palamas omi-

with respect to a similitude of the deviation (τῆς παραβάσεως) of Adam […] A similitude as if one
might say: Death happened – in the likeness of Adam – to run unto his entire race (πᾶν γένος), as if
damage unto a root (βλάβος εἰς ῥίζαν). After the plant suffered (φυτοῦ παθόντος) it, as if the whole
suffered, its branches necessarily must become wasted away (μαραίνεσθαι) […] Now, if indeed, says
he, ‘the punishment (κατάκριμα) of one or through one Adam caused cessation for all according to his
likeness,’ it was since as a root, as he said, it was causing the suffering of the race unto destruction.”
72 Palamas likely adopted his unusual phraseology and concept of inheritance from Planud., Ep.
121, 49–51, ed. P.L.M. Leone, Amsterdam 1991, p. 214: “καὶ γὰρ πέπονθεν ὁ παῖς, ὃ τῶν ἀνθρώπων
οἱ μὲν ἔπαθον, οἱ δὲ πείσονται, πάθος ἐκ τῆς τοῦ προπάτορος ἁμαρτίας τ ῇ φ ύ σ ε ι σ υ γ κ λ η ρ ω θ έ ν,
κοινότατον παντὶ τῷ γένει κἀκ τῶν ἴσων ἐπιὸν ἅπασιν.”
73 Aug. and Planud., περὶ Τριάδ., II 13, 16, 21, ed. Μ. Παπαθωμόπουλος, Ι. Τσαβαρή, and G. Rigotti,
Athens 1995, p. 757, 88–98 (Engl. tr. by E. Hill, New York 1991, pp. 360–361): “[Gloss on Rm., 5, 12:]
He discusses the two men at some length; one, that same first Adam through whose sin and death
all of us his l i a b l e d e s c e n d a n t s (ἀ π ό γ ο ν ο ι ὑ π ε ύ θ υ ν ο ὶ ) have been tied up f r o m a k i n d o f
h e r e d i t a r y e v i l (ἀ π ὸ κ λ η ρ ο ν ο μ ί α ς κ α κ ο ῖ ς); the other the second Adam who is not only man
but also God, and who pays for us a debt he did not owe (ὤφειλεν). With the result that we have been
set free from debts, both ancestral ones (ἔκ τε τῶν πατρῴων ὀφλημάτων) and our personal ones (τῶν
ἰδίων ἠλευθερώθημεν), which we do owe. So then, just as on that one man’s account the devil held
in his power all who have been born from that man’s vitiated fleshly concupiscence (διὰ τῆς σαρκικῆς
ἐπιθυμίας), it only fair that on the account of this one man he should release all of them who have
been reborn through this man’s untarnished spiritual grace.”
74 This is probably an oblique reference to Aug. and Planud., περὶ Τριάδ., II 11, 2, 5, p. 605, 159
Παπαθωμόπουλος /Τσαβαρή/Rigotti (Engl. tr. p. 307): “Offspring frequently reveal the caprices of their
mothers, and what they have looked at with peculiar pleasure. The more tender are t h e f i r s t s t a g e s
o f t h e e m b r y o (σπερμάτων ἀρχαί), and the more formable if I may so put it, the more receptively
and effectually do they reflect the intention of the mother’s soul and the image produced in it by the
body it has greedily gaped at.” There are many such instances that could be mentioned [He mentions
the patriarch Jacob in Gn., 30, 37].
75 Homiliae, IX 5, 1–2, p. 142, 1–11, p. 144, 1–5 (Engl. tr. p. 34).
76 Augustinian traducianism, along with a post-Augustinian and Latino-patristic sense of transmitted
guilt (for Palamas: transmitted responsibility), are not found in Maximos’ system per Boojamra 1976,
24–25, 27.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 219

nously alluded to Augustine’s designation of the children of wrath as a virtual hered-

itas damnosa or obnoxia.⁷⁷ Palamas’ viscerally carnal metaphor of ancient-infected
seed of Adam easily fits into the North African mold of Augustine and Fulgentius of
Ruspe, the latter of whom became available in Greek (via Demetrios Kydones) shortly
after Palamas’ death.⁷⁸
Palamas connected this ancient seed to any inheritor (κληρονόμος)⁷⁹ of the fall
(πταίσματος), who is cleansed in baptism, contrasting this to the New Man taken from
the flesh of virginal Mary.⁸⁰ Similarly, Palamas’ correspondent and friend Nicholas
Kabasilas –also relying upon Augustinian ideas – boldly referred to baptism of hu-
man bodies and souls who inherit (κληρονομῆσαι) something of the first Adam as
formed into “the ancient man” (παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος). For Kabasilas, post-lapsarian hu-
mans are products of the “seed of evil” (σπέρμα κακίας) flowing from their ancestors
(προγόνων).⁸¹ Here, North African hamarteology seems to manifest itself.⁸² Outliving
Palamas (d. 1357), Kabasilas lived long enough perhaps to utilize additional trans-

77 See Berger 1953, 485, where “damned inheritance” is a legal term in Roman law (mentioned in
Gaius) regarding someone’s heredity, where debt (versus wealth) passes from father to son. In this
sense, being of the patrilineal offspring is literally a “liability” versus an “asset.” See also Buckland
1931, 199, for this penalty (with its associated concept) was eliminated in Byzantium under Justinian,
so that Byzantine law made an inheritor liable for only actually existing assets of the paternal debtor.
Diversely, Augustine described the debt of liability (possibly too large for one person to pay) in the
human fetus as if legal quasi-guilt (reatus) in the Roman sense. See Cavadini and Djuth 1999, 224–
227. The legal idea of damned inheritance would have been lost on Byzantine Palamas. Instead, any
hypothetically legal-minded Palamas would have, at best, translated it as “worthless inheritance.”
Theologically, the exceptional phrase: “wicked seed” (πονηρὸν σπέρμα) of LXX Is., 1, 4 and Is., 4,
20, might be contextually relevant by contrasting the prophetically virginal conception of Jesus with
generations of those who abandoned the law of God.
78 By “North African,” I mean a tendency in Latin and Greek ecclesiastical writers in Africa to explain
LXX Ps 50 in the terms of sexual transmission of original sin. Palamas died before publication of subse-
quent Augustinian texts. See Koltsiou-Nikita 1999, 19–25. Fulgentius’ translation is placed circa 1363.
Demetrios Kydones first translation of ST, I (1355–1358) cannot presently be classed as a candidate for
influence on Palamas. See Wright 2013c, 17.
79 Homiliae, XI 59, 14, p. 500, 11–13: “· καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ παλαιοῦ σπέρματος φὺς καὶ κληρονόμος ὢν
ἐκείνου τοῦ πταίσματος καὶ τῆς ἐκ τούτου προστροπῆς […]” Compare Mt., 3, 14.
80 Homiliae, XI 59, 14, p. 50, 13–17. See also Homiliae, XI 58, 8–9, p. 466, 10–24.
81 TLG fails to locate in Greek literature this kind of designation of a fetus. In a half-dozen in-
stances of occurrences with similar vocabulary, authors never associate Adam, sin, and baptism.
See Cabas., De vit. in Christ., I 2, 40, ed. M.H. Congourdeau, Paris 2009, p. 168, 1–5: […] τοῦτό
ἐστιν ὁ παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος, ὃν σ π έ ρ μ α κ α κ ί α ς ἀ π ὸ τ ῶ ν π ρ ο γ ό ν ω ν λ α β ό ν τ ε ς ἅμα τῷ φῦναι,
οὐδεμίαν ἡμέραν καθαρὰν εἴδομεν ἁμαρτίας, οὐδ’ ἀνεπνεύσαμεν ἐλεύθεροι πονηρίας, ἀλλ’ ὅ φησιν ὁ
προφήτης· “Ἀπηλλοτριώθημεν ἀπὸ μήτρας, ἐπλανήθημεν ἀπὸ γαστρός” [LXX Ps 57, 4]. Οὐ μέχρι τ ο ῦ
δ υ σ τ υ χ ο ῦ ς ἐκείνου στάντες κ λ ή ρ ο υ τ ῆ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῆ ς ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ς, οὐδ’ οἷς ἐ κ λ η ρ ο ν ο μ ή σ α μ ε ν
ἀγαπήσαντες κακοῖς […]
82 Kabasilas clearly designated this as προγονικὴ ἁμαρτία in Cabas., De vit. in Christ., I 2, 41, p. 168, 1
Congourdeau.
220 | Christian W. Kappes

lations of the De fide ad Petram attributed to Augustine but really to be ascribed to

Fulgentius of Ruspe.⁸³ Thus Kabasilas could have been aware of a clear imputation
of fetal guilt from original sin through this Greek translation of Fulgentius who said:
“faithlessness is the principle of the wicked life that took its principle from the guilt of
original/ancestral sin.”⁸⁴ However, Kabasilas’ language in relation to baptism would
in that case have toned down more uncomfortable assertions of Fulgentius graecus,
who regarded children and baptism as follows:

Hold as most certain and do not doubt howsoever […] that – whether they have begun to live in the
maternal belly and die therein, or they even have already come forth therefrom out of their moth-
ers, dying without the mystery of holy baptism– […] babies, too, shall be sent to perpetual hell
with the punishment of eternal fire. For, even if they did not also have personally the operation of
sin, yet t h e y h av e d r a w n t o t h e m s e l v e s t h e c o n d e m n a t i o n o f o r i g i n a l s i n t h r o ug h
c a r n a l c o n c e p t i o n a n d b i r t h (Βεβαιότατα κάτεχε καὶ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον ἀμφίβαλλε [...]
καὶ τὰ νήπια, εἴτε τὰ ἐν τῇ μητρικῇ γαστρὶ ζῆν ἀρξάμενα κἀκεῖ θνῄσκοντα εἴτε καὶ τὰ ἐκ τῶν
μητέρων ἤδη προελθόντα ἄνευ τε τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος […] κολασθήσεσθαι τῇ
τοῦ αἰωνίου πυρὸς ἀϊδίῳ κολάσει. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ κατ᾽ἰδἰαν ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔσχον, ἀλλὰ τ ὴν
κ α τ α δ ί κ ην τ ο ῦ π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ο ῦ ἁ μ α ρ τ ή μ α τ ο ς ἐ φ ε ι λ κ ύ σ α ν τ ο τ ῇ σ α ρ κ ι κ ῇ σ υ λ λ ή ψ ε ι
τ ε κ α ὶ γ ε ν ν ή σ ε ι).⁸⁵

Contrariwise, among the extant works of Augustine translated into Greek, Palamas
could have only availed himself of De Trinitate with its bent toward traducianism.⁸⁶
It is at least thinkable that Palamas had access to the SG of Aquinas (which had been
available in Greek since Christmas of 1354), but I have found no evidence of Palamas
ever reading or quoting the SG.⁸⁷ Augustinian inspiration in Palamas appears fairly
conclusive after comparing Palamas’ Homily 52 to Augustine’s De Trinitate (I underline
the vocabulary and phraseology shared in common by both authors):

83 Kabasilas is not so dissimilar from Fulg. and Proch., Πρὸς Πέτρον, 16, ed. Koultsiou-Nikita, Thes-
saloniki 1999, p. 63, 12–20: “[...] ἡ σύλληψις οὐ χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν, ὅπου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπὶ τὰ νήπια
οὐχ ἡ γέννησίς ἐστιν ἡ διαβιβάζουσα, ἀλλ᾽ὁ οἶστρος […] τὸ τῆς λαγνείας αἶσχος, ὅπερ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς
δικαιοτάτης καταδίκης τοῦ πρώτου ἁμαρτήματος ἔσχον οἰ ἄνθρωποι.” This perfectly reflects Aug. and
Planud, περὶ Τριαδ., II 13, 18, 23, p. 763, 28–29 Παπαθωμόπουλος/Τσαβαρή/Rigotti: “[…] αἰσθανόμεθα
ὡς ἀντιμαχομένην τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός, εἰ καὶ μηδεμία ἐστὶ τοῦ γεννᾶν αἰτία, οἶστρον ἐπιφέρειν τῆς
μίξεως […]”
84 Fulg. and Proch., Πρὸς Πέτρον, 36, p. 78, 27–29, Koultsiou-Nikita: “Τοῦ δὲ τῆς πονηρᾶς ζωῆς εἴδους
ἡ ἀπιστία ἀρχή, λαμβάνουσα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐνοχῆς τοῦ προγονικοῦ ἁμαρτήματος.”
85 Fulg. and Proch., Πρὸς Πέτρον, 70, 27, p. 102, 1–12, Koultsiou-Nikita.
86 Augustine’s traducianism served to explain why infants needed to be baptized, since their soul
and body were products of concupiscence. See Cavadini and Djuth 1999, 42. Nevertheless, Augustine
was open to alternative theories of conception, though dubious about the objective evidence there-
upon. See Jones 2012, 13–18. Palamas plausibly developed Maximos Confessor’s supposition that sex-
ual reproduction entered the world due to Adam’s fall. Conversely, human seed and its relation to its
Adamite root of infection is not Maximian per Boojamra 1976, 28–29, and Larchet 2011, 150, 152–155.
87 Papadopoulos 1967e, 25–32.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 221

Καὶ διὰ τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ ὄφεως προσενεχθεὶς ὡς φίλος καὶ χρηστὸς σύμβουλος ὁ δεινὸς καὶ ὄντως
ἐ χ θ ρ ὸ ς καὶ ἐπίβουλος, λαμβάνει, φεῦ!, χώραν λαθών, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀντιθέου συμβουλῆς τὴν οἰ-
κείαν θανατηφόρον ὡς ἰὸν ἐπεγχεῖ τ ῷ ἀ ν θ ρ ώ π ῳ δύναμιν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ὁ Ἀ δ ὰ μ τηνικαῦτα τῆς
θείας ἐντολῆς ἀπρὶξ ἀντεχόμενος ἀπεσείσατο τὴν ἀντικειμένην πονηρὰν συμβουλήν, ν ι κ η τ ὴ ς ἂν
ὤφθη κατὰ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου καὶ τῆς θανατηφόρου λύμης ἀνώτερος, αἰσχύνας κατὰ κράτος τὸν προ-
σβαλόντα μανικῶς καὶ δολίως. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνος ἐνδοὺς ἑκών, ὡς μήποτε ὤφελεν, ἡ τ τ ή θ η τε καὶ
ἠχρείωται, καὶ ῥ ί ζ α τ ο ῦ κ α θ ’ ἡ μ ᾶ ς γ έ ν ο υ ς ὢν καταλλήλως θνητοὺς ἀ ν ε δ ί δ ο υ β λ α σ τ ο ὺ ς
ἡ μ ᾶ ς, ἔδει πάντως ἡμῖν, εἴπερ ἐχρῆν ἀναπαλαῖσαι τ ὴν ἧ τ τ α ν κ α ὶ τ ὴν ν ί κ ην ἀνακαλέσασθαι
καὶ τὸν ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι θανατηφόρον ἰὸν ἀποσείσασθαι καὶ ζωῆς αὖθις σπάσαι καὶ ζωῆς διαιωνι-
ζούσης τε καὶ ἀπήμονος· ἔδει τοίνυν τῷ ἡμῶν γ έ ν ε ι ῥ ί ζ η ς κ α ι ν ῆ ς, τουτέστι ν έ ο υ Ἀ δ ὰ μ οὐκ
ἀναμαρτήτου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνεξαπατήτου καὶ ἀ η τ τ ή τ ο υ παντάπασι, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τ ὰ ς ἁ μ α ρ -
τ ί α ς συγχωρεῖν δυναμένου καὶ ἀ ν ε υ θ ύ ν ο υ ς τιθέναι τ ο ὺ ς ὑ π ε υ θ ύ ν ο υ ς, καὶ μὴ μόνον ζῶντος,
ἀλλὰ καὶ ζωοποιοῦντος, ἵνα καὶ τοῖς αὐτῷ κολλωμένοις καὶ κατὰ γ έ ν ο ς αὐτῷ προσήκουσι μετα-
διδῷ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς τῶν ἡμαρτημένων ἀφέσεως, οὐ τοὺς ἑξῆς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ
νεκρωθέντας ἀναζωῶν.⁸⁸

Ἠδύνατο γὰρ πάντως ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀλλαχόθεν ἀναλαβεῖν, ἐν ᾧ ἐγεγόνει ἂν μεσίτης Θεοῦ
καὶ ἀνθρώπων (1 Tim 2, 5), ἀλλ᾽οὐκ ἐ κ τ ο ῦ γ έ ν ο υ ς τ ο ῦ Ἀ δ ὰ μ τοῦ τ ῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἁ μ α ρ τ ί ᾳ τ ὸ ἀ ν-
θ ρ ώ π ι ν ο ν γ έ ν ο ς ὑ π ε ύ θ υ ν ο ν καταστήσαντος, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸν ὃν πρῶτον ἐδημιούργησεν
οὐκ ἐκ γ έ ν ο υ ς τινὸς ἔπλασεν […] ἀλλὰ βέλτιον ἔκρινεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τ ο ῦ ν ι κ η θ έ ν τ ο ς γ έ ν ο υ ς ἀνα-
λαβεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁ Θεός, δι᾽οὗ ἂν τὸν τοῦ ἀ ν θ ρ ω π ί ν ο υ γ έ ν ο υ ς ἐ χ θ ρ ὸ ν καταπολεμήσῃ·
ἀνείληφε μέντοι τοῦτον ἐκ παρθένου ἧς τὴν σύλληψιν Πνεῦμα οὐ σάρξ, πίστις οὐκ ἐπιθυμία προ-
έλαβεν. Οὐδ᾽ἐμεσίτευσέ τις σαρκὸς ὄρεξις, δι᾽ἧς σπείρονταί τε καὶ συλλαμβάνονται οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ
τ ὴν π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ὴν ἐφελκόμενοι ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ν, ἀλλὰ ταύτης παντελῶς ἀπῳκισμένης πίστει ἀλλ᾽οὐχὶ
μίξει ἡ ἱερὰ παρθενία γόνιμος γέγονεν ὡς τὸν γεννώμενον ἐ κ τ ῆ ς ῥ ί ζ η ς τ ο ῦ π ρ ώ τ ο υ ἀ ν θ ρ ώ -
π ο υ πλὴν τ ο ῦ γ έ ν ο υ ς μόνον οὐ μὴν καὶ τὴν τ ῆ ς ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ς ἕλκειν ἀρχήν. Ἐγεννᾶτο γὰρ οὐχὶ
μολυσμῷ παραβάσεως μιανθείσης τῆ φύσεως ἀλλὰ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων μολυσμῶν μοναδικῇ
θεραπεία [...] ἐ ν ι κ ή θ η ὁ τ ὸ ν π ρ ῶ τ ο ν ν ι κ ή σ α ς, ἀλλὰ ὁ ν ι κ η τ ὴ ς τ ο ῦ π ρ ώ τ ο υ Ἀ δ ὰ μ καὶ τ ὸ
γ έ ν ο ς ἀποβαλὼν τὸ χριστώνυμον ἐλευθερωθὲν ἐκ τοῦ α ν θ ρ ω π ε ί ο υ γ έ ν ο υ ς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης
ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ς διὰ τοῦ μὴ ὄντο ἐν ἁ μ α ρ τ ί ᾳ, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἦν ἐ κ τ ο ῦ γ έ ν ο υ ς, ὡς τὸν ἀπατεῶνα
ἐκεῖνον ὑπ᾽αὐτοῦ ν ι κ η θ ῆν α ι τ ο ῦ γ έ ν ο υ ς, ὅπερ ἐνίκησε τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ.⁸⁹

Planudes’ translation contains significant differences from the original Latin text of
Augustine. There are also important theological points derived from it. Augustine as-
serted:

Ex virgine cuius conceptum spiritus non caro, fides non libido praevenit. Nec interfuit carnis concu-
piscentia per quam seminantur et concipiuntur ceteri qui trahunt originale peccatum, sed ea pen-
itus remotissima credendo non concumbendo sancta est fecundata viginitas ut illud quod nasce-
batur ex propagine primi hominis tantummodo generis non et criminis originem duceret. Nasce-
batur namque non trangressionis contagione vitiata natura sed omnimum talium vitiorum sola
medicina (Conception from a virgin was inaugurated by the Spirit not the flesh, by faith not lust.
There was no d e s i r e f o r t h e f l e s h involved, by which the rest of men who contract original

88 Homiliae, XI 52, 2–3, p. 242, 3–25.

89 Aug. and Planud., περὶ Τριαδ., II 13, 18, 23, p. 761, 3–20, p. 763, 38–41 Παπαθωμόπουλος/Τσαβαρή/
Rigotti.
222 | Christian W. Kappes

sin are begotten and conceived. It was utterly absent when the holy virginity conceived by believ-
ing, not by embracing, so that what was there born o f t h e s t o c k of the first man would only
derive from him a racial not a criminal origin. For what was born was not a nature flawed by the
infection of transgression but the only remedy and cure for all such flaws).⁹⁰

Planudes translated propago as ῥίζα. Although Augustine did not originally em-
ploy the metaphor of a plant-root (radix) at this point, Planudes happened to pen
a metaphor that Augustine had elsewhere embraced in similar theological context
and with the same sense (cited below). Next, post-lapsarian genetic production sig-
nificantly conveys a legally or putatively criminal lineage. Augustine clearly focused
on the genital organs as the agents of propagating a flawed nature that is “infected”
by the fall through conception. Humans suffer involuntary bodily motions, which did
not occur before the fall. This is due either to the body itself or to the weakness of the
human will. Augustine emphasized the fact that lust “fights against the law of the
mind” (Rm., 7, 23). Supernaturally, to counteract this problem of the body and will,
“the Virgin’s offspring was conceived” without either bodily irregularity or weakness
of will. In this flesh, Jesus became “the conqueror of the first Adam, holding the hu-
man race in his power.” Formerly, “the Christian race” had been enslaved by the first
Adam’s transgression. In Mary, the human race was set free from Adam’s crime by
someone uninvolved in that crime. Still, Jesus was sprung from this same race. This
trick deceived the deceiving devil in order to conquer him by the very race, which had
long ago been conquered by crime.⁹¹
Palamas taught in Homily 52: On the Feast of the Entry that –in the beginning– the
supremely evil spiritual serpent drew humans down to Hell. A visible snake, an enemy
(ἐχθρός) and traitor, approached as a friend and good counselor.⁹² Satan managed to
pour the deadly venom of his power into man by giving him advice against God. As
Adam suffered defeat and was “the root” (ῥίζα) of the human race, humanity’s pro-
genitor produced “shoots” (βλαστούς)⁹³ subject to death. If a victory of shaking off
the venom that was killing human souls and bodies were possible, it would be at-
tained by a “new root” or New Adam, who was both sinless and completely incapable
of sin. Palamas wrote: “He also had to be able to forgive sins, to make those who were
subject/chargeable (ὑπευθύνους) to be unaccountable (ἀνευθύνους).⁹⁴

90 Aug. De Trin., II 13, 18, 23, ed. W.J. Mountain, Turnhout 1968, p. 413–414 (Engl. tr. pp. 361–362).
91 Aug., De Trin., II 13, 18, 23, p. 763, 16–46 Mountain (Engl. tr. pp. 361–362).
92 Palamas appears to reference Maxim., Qu. ad Thalasium, II 61, p. 91, 112–115.
93 Palamas associated reproductive seed with shoots as in Aug., Περὶ Τριάδ., I 3, 9, 19, p. 234, 74: “[…]
σπερμάτων καὶ βλαστημάτων […]”
94 Compare Homiliae, XI 52, 2–3, p. 242, 21 (Engl. tr., p. 408). The English editor translated the puta-
tively liable progeny of Adam incorrectly as “the guilty” or equivalent to Planudes’ ἔνοχοι.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 223

4 Palamas Exempts the Theotokos from Infection

Palamas varied his vocabulary on the concept of liability (ὑπεύθυνος/ἐπεύθυνος) to
punishment with respect to Adam’s sin. Moving beyond the language of Chrysostom,
Cyril of Alexandria, Maximos Confessor, and others, Palamas fell within the orbit of
Augustine.⁹⁵ Nevertheless, Palamas assiduously avoided any hint of intrinsic guilt in
relation to Adam’s offspring, though Palamas’ Adam was equally infected with the
poison of the serpent.⁹⁶ For his part, Augustine always remained elusive on the legal
and moral status of the infant in utero (a child is reatus but never with culpa) by his
own choice of vocabulary. One will look in vain for any epithet of “guilty” as applied to
a child born in original sin. Actually, avoiding the nondescript language of his prede-
cessors and successors, Augustine’s De Trinitate never designated any fetal inheritor
of original sin as “guilty.”⁹⁷
Whence came Palamas’ purported discomfort with Augustine’s guilt-laden lan-
guage, if Augustine himself had never actually used culpa?⁹⁸ Firstly, Planudes drew
out a potential legal inference from Augustine’s juridical language of liability in the
original Latin:

Quadam iustitia dei in potestatem diaboli traditum est genus humanum peccato primi hominis
in omnes utriusque sexus commixtione nascentes originaliter transeunte et parentum primorum
debito universos posteros obligante. Haec traditio prius in genesi significata est ubi cum ser-

95 Lyonnet 1961, 1–31. The author overall evaluates significant differences between Greek Fathers and
Augustine on Rm., 5, 12. Importantly, Lyonnet argues that Cyril’s works uniquely reflect Augustinian-
ism in Greek, though less explicit than Augustine regarding the causality of Adamite sin in vocabulary
and force. I concur with his conclusions, but add below a possible Cyrillan citation of Augustinus grae-
cus (Rm., 5, 12) apparently unknown to Lyonnet.
96 See Meyendorff 1974b, 235–236, who correctly noticed the lack of guilt-laden language in Palamas.
97 Beatrice 2013, 147. See Ambr., Expos. Evang. sec., I 4, 67 Luc., ed. G. Tissot, Paris 1956, p. 178, 24–
25, citing the Vetus Latina Rm 5, 12. Compare Aug., Contra Jul. 1, 3, 10, ed. J.P. Migne, Paris 1866, col.
646. Ambrose (citing Rm., 5, 12) interpreted Paul to mean: “[…] culpa mors omnium est.” Augustine
knew Ambrose’s prior work. See also Ambrose referring again to Rm., 5, 12 in Ambr., Apol. alt. Dav.,
II 12, 71, ed. C. Schenkl, Vienna 1898, p. 406, 25–27: “[…] omnes in primo homine peccavimus, per
naturae successionem culpae quoque ab uno in omnes transfuse successio est […]” What needs to be
explained, however, is not Augustine’s self-styled faithfulness to Ambrose, but rather his departure
from guilt-laden language when speaking of infants (versus “the faithful”).
98 Beatrice 2013, 66. Contra Beatrice, Augustine assiduously avoided the term culpa with infants (un-
like his successors). Beatrice’s thoroughgoing study on the question might risk retrojecting the Latin
patristic reception of Augustine into the passages under investigation. See Aug., De pecc. merit., 2, 4,
4, ed. C. Urba and I. Zycha, Vienna 1913, p. 73, 15–20, 22–23, p. 74, 1: “Concupiscentia igitur tamquam
lex peccati manens in membris corporis mortis huius, cum parvulis nascitur, in parvulis baptizatis a
reatu solvitur, ad agonem relinquitur, ante agonem mortuos nulla damnatione persequitur; parvulos
non baptizatos reos innectit et tamquam irae filios, etiamsi parvuli moriantur, ad condemnationem trahit
[…] deletis peccatis omnibus, solute etiam reatu, quo vinctos originaliter detinebat, ad agonem interim
manet […]” See also Aug., De pecc. merit., 2, 28, 45–46, p. 116, 20–27, p. 117, 1–21, Urba/Zycha.
224 | Christian W. Kappes

penti dictum esset […] (Δικαιοσύνῃ τινὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς ἐξουσίαν τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ ἀνθρώπινον
παρεδόθη γένος τῆς τοῦ πρώτου ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτίας εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐκ συναφείας ἑκατέρου
τοῦ γένους γεννωμένους προγονικῶς διαβαινούσης καὶ τῆς τῶν προπατόρων ὀφειλῆς τ ο ὺ ς
μ ε τ α γ ε ν ε σ τ έ ρ ο υ ς ἅ π α ν τ α ς κ α θ ι σ τ ώ σ η ς ἐ ν ό χ ο υ ς. Αὕτη δ’ἡ παράδοσις πρότερον ἐν τῇ
Γενέσει δεδήλωται, ἔνθα τοῦ ὄφεως ἀκούσαντος […])⁹⁹

The post-Augustinian tendency to place Augustine’s language under the umbrella of

legally imputed culpa was not peculiar to Planudes (nor to the Schoolmen below).¹⁰⁰
Actually, Byzantium had long ago indirectly absorbed Augustine’s doctrine through
none other than Leo the Great’s Tome at Chalcedon. Leo followed the theological line
of Ambrose of Milan by interpreting – what Augustine sees more ambiguously as a
quasi-moral fetal defect – full-fledged guilt as the human inheritance. Planudes’ fol-
lowed suit in this regard, but his Greek translation also went beyond Augustine ad
litteram in another way: by interpreting Augustine’s propago/propages (offspring) as
“a root” (ῥίζα). Even so, Planudes’ translation fit perfectly within the pale of Augus-
tinian metaphor, as in Contra Julianum, where Augustine had argued that Adam was
the radix or root of sin.¹⁰¹
Palamas used Augustinus graecus by extending Augustinian plant-shoot metaphor
to describe Adam’s propagation as devilish venom infecting human progeny. Palamas
theologically adapted Augustine to the foregoing Greek tradition, such as Maximos
Confessor, whose formulations were clearly bereft of imputing criminal liability to a
fetus. Maximos supposed only weakness or propensity to sin in humanity qua nature
because of a divine imprecation bringing about a curse or weakness in humankind.
The will is discussed as the subject of human infirmity, and particularly guilt. Pala-

99 Aug. De Trin., II 13, 12, 16, p. 402, 1–5 Mountain (Gr. tr. p. 737).
100 I thank Nathaniel McCallum for drawing my attention to the Augustinian distinction between
culpa and reatus. For other classic passages (all lacking culpa), see Aug., Contra Jul. 6, 17, 51, cols. 852–
853 Migne. See especially Aug. De nupt. concept., 1, 25, 28, ed. C. Urba and I Zycha, Vienna 1902, p.
240, 11–14, 16–19: “[…] quomodo ista concupiscentia carnis maneat in regenerato […] quandoquidem
per ipsam seminatur et cum ipsa carnalis ignitur proles parentis […] Ad haec respondetur dimitti concu-
piscentiam carnis in baptismo non ut non sit, sed ut in peccatum non inputetur. Quamvis autem reatu suo
iam soluto, manet tamen donec sanetur omnis infirmitas nostra proficient renovatione interioris hominis
de die in diem […]”
101 Aug., Contra Jul. 1, 9, 42, col. 670 Migne: “Nonne sensus hominis donum Dei est? Et tamen ibi lo-
cavit inimicus ille seminator radicem mali, quando peccatum homini serpentina fraude persuasit (Gn.,
3, 1–16). Nisi radicem mali humanus tunc reciperet sensus, nullo modo male suadenti accommodaretur
assensus. Quoniam si dixeris, ex libero arbitrio naturae bonae a Deo creatae ortam mali radicem (quod
catholica veritas dicit); illis verbis tuis te facillime superat [...] quia et liberum arbitrium procul dubio est
donum Dei.” Shortly after Palamas’ death, another Augustinian work became partially available in a
Greek translation, which referred to the will as the “root of evil.” Only the following is extant: Aug. and
Proch., De lib. arb. 1, 1–90, ed. H. Hunger, Verlag 1990, pp. 13–53. If a complete Greek text is hypoth-
esized to have once existed, the reference to the will as “root” will have been (hypothetically): Aug.
[and Proch.], De lib. arb., 3, 17, 28. Augustine’s work discussed familiar themes of Ps., 50, the devil,
and sin. For a description of the manuscript, see Mercati 1931c, 29.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 225

mas’ innovation subsumed genetic, even biological, language to explain the propa-
gation Adam’s “ancient seed” as the very root infecting humanity with its serpentine
poison. This grim anthropology was hardly traditional in Byzantium. Palamas cau-
tiously (if unwittingly) adopted Augustine’s legalistic language and his North African
and (perhaps) Manichean associations surrounding human reproduction with infec-
tious sin. Van Oort argues that residual Manicheism partially explains Augustine’s
conclusion that the punishment of damnation comes to fetuses born of parental “caro
peccati” in the act of coitus.¹⁰² Following Palamas’ Augustinian metaphors, as we
shall see below, Palamites felt emboldened to accommodate the Augustinian the-
ory of original sin to their own anthropologies. Admittedly, as we shall see, some
Palamites travelled farther down the Augustinian road than Palamas with respect to
“ancestral/original guilt.”
Despite an attraction to biological metaphors for the transmission of original
sin, Palamas struck a balance between Augustinian pessimism and a more optimistic
Byzantine anthropology. In his Homily 14: On the Annunciation, Palamas had recourse
to the humanity of the Theotokos to rescue anthropological optimism:

The Virgin is also duly called “Lady” in another sense, as she has mastery of all things, having
divinely conceived and borne in virginity the Master of all by his nature. Yet she is the Lady not just
because she is free from servitude and a partaker of divine power but because she is the f o u n t
a n d r o o t (π ηγ ὰ κ α ὶ ῥ ί ζ α) of the freedom of the human race, especially after the ineffable and
joyful Birth. A married woman is ruled over rather than being a lady, especially after sorrowful
and painful childbirth, in accordance with that curse on Eve: “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Freeing the human
race, the Virgin Mother (ἡ παρθενομήτωρ) received through the angel joy and blessing instead of
this curse (ἀρᾶς).¹⁰³

In Augustine (De Trin., 13, 16, 21), racial debt and freedom of the human race were
contrasted as inheritances of the Devil and Christ, respectively. Diversely, Palamas
marked the new headship or inheritance to derive from Mary as root. The metaphori-
cal contrast clearly implicated Mary as devoid of the curse or the imprecation infecting
Adam. This peculiarly Byzantine (and, thus, non-Augustinian) approach – partially
indebted to a patristic tradition of (pre-)purification of Mary – sufficiently situated
Palamas to defend Mary’s unconditionally immaculate status, which simply culmi-
nated in the Palamite school with Scholarios, as we shall see below.¹⁰⁴
Palamas was very concentrated on Mary’s role as clean root –opposed to the in-
fectious root of Adam. This brought him to an ingenious and original contribution

102 Van Oort 1989, 382–386. The author argues that Manichees, as Augustine, saw sin transmitted by
coitus or consupiscentiae motu. Van Oort suggested this to be underlying Origen (via the translation
of Rufinus) as well. Augustinian sexual motus inordinatus of humun body is argued as equivalent to
Manichean ἄτακτος κίνησις.
103 Homiliae, IX 14, 8, p. 384, 14–23 (Engl. tr. p. 103).
104 Candal 1962, 241–276, Kappes 2014, 18–68, 70–82.
226 | Christian W. Kappes

to Mariology whereby Palamas opposed palaeo- and neo-Adamite roots. As Jugie first
noted, Palamas’ Homily 57: Concerning the Geneology uniquely developed an exegesis,
whereby the superior holiness of Mary’s lineage, especially John the Baptist, Joachim,
and Anna, foreshadowed the end term of a gradual and supernatural process of an
ever more intense purifying of the bad seed from the root of Adam into a pure seed at
the Virgin’s conception in Anna’s womb:¹⁰⁵

[Scholion on Lk., 1, 35:] The Spirit also arranged beforehand for the Virgin to come into being,
choosing from the beginning, and c l e a n s i n g , the line of her descent, accepting those who
were worthy, or were to become fathers of eminent men, but utterly casting out the unworthy.
(προῳκονόμει δὲ καὶ τὴν ταύτης εἰς τὸ εἶναι πρόοδον ἄνωθεν ἐκλεγομένον καὶ ἀ ν α κ α θ α ῖ ρ ο ν
τὴν τοῦ γένους σειράν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀξίους ἢ ἀξιολόγων ἐσομένους πατέρας προσιέμενον, τοὺς
δὲ ἀναξίους τελείως ἀποβαλλόμενον.)¹⁰⁶

In the second stage of his narrative, Palamas related this “cleansing back” or “retro-
cleansing” (ἀνακαθαῖρον) to the highly traditional doctrine of Jesus’ cleansing or
purification at his baptism, which had been the point of departure of Gregorios
Nazianzen and subsequent Greek tradition for equating the flesh of the prepurified
Mary to the flesh of Jesus in every humanly perfective way:

Although the Virgin, of whom C h r i s t was born according to the flesh, came from Adam’s flesh
and seed, yet, because this f l e s h had been c l e a n s e d in many different ways by the Holy Spirit
from the start, she was descended from those who had been chosen from every generation for
their excellence (εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐκ σαρκὸς καὶ σπέρματος Ἀδὰμ ἡ Παρθένος, ἐξ ἧς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα
Χ ρ ι σ τ ό ς, ἀλλ’ ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου κ ἀ κ ε ί ν ο υ πολυειδῶς ἄνωθεν κ α θ α ι ρ ο μ έ ν ο υ, τῶν κατὰ
γενεὰς ἀριστίνδην ἐκλεγομένων […]).¹⁰⁷

Nazianzen had declared that Christ’s flesh (in addition to Mary’s) had been cleansed.
The inspiration for this kind of vocabulary derived from Jesus’ and Mary’s joint pu-
rification according to Luke’s Gospel (Lk. 2:22), and Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan.¹⁰⁸
Consequently, in the same homily, Palamas supposed that Joachim and Anna – as
the penultimate generation of blood relatives before the conception of Mary in Anna’s
uterus – marked the terminus of all purification using a clever wordplay (ἀνακαθαίρω,

105 Jugie 1952, 228, Dvornik 1958, 109.

106 Homiliae, XI 57, 6, p. 432, 20–24 (Engl. tr., p. 471).
107 Homiliae, XI 57, 7, p. 434, 1–6 (Engl. tr., p. 471).
108 Naz., In Theoph., 38, 16, ed. J.-P. Migne, Paris 1858, cols. 329b, 1–5: “Μικρὸν μὲν οὖν ὕστερον
ὄψει καὶ καθαιρόμενον Ἰησοῦν ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ τὴν ἐμὴν κάθαρσιν· μᾶλλον δὲ ἁγνίζοντα τῇ καθάρσει τὰ
ὕδατα (οὐ γὰρ δὴ αὐτὸς ἐδεῖτο καθάρσεως, ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου)” […] See also Naz., De
Test. et adv. Christ., ed. J.-P. Migne, Paris 1862, Carm. 9, col. 462A, 68–70: “Οὐδὲ ῥύσει βροτέῃ βροτὸς
ἔπλετο, ἐκ δ’ ἄρα σαρκός, Τὴν Πνεῦμ’ ἥγνισε πρόσθεν ἀνυμφέα μητέρα κεδνήν, Αὐτοπαγὴς βροτὸς
ἦλθε, καθήρατο δ’ εἵνεκ’ ἐμεῖο.”
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 227

καθαίρω, καθαιρόμενος).¹⁰⁹ Her parents were the holiest persons in the pre-lapsarian
world until Mary herself.¹¹⁰ The in utero purification of John Baptist served to fore-
shadow the most perfect sort of cleansing possible for a human of Adam’s linage. Each
generation of cleansing occurred in ever more miraculous ways until reaching its cul-
mination in Mary.¹¹¹ In Damascenian fashion, Palamas supposed that Mary’s concep-
tion occurred in a passionless and clean embrace of Joachim and Anna in his Homily
53: On the Holy of Holies:

She was a gift from God […] even before she was born – how could she be otherwise, as she was
pre-ordained before all ages as the dwelling-place of the maker of all worlds? She was a gift to
God and the fruit of her righteous parents’ vow and supplication […] O finest of couples! O elect
pair who cultivated and presented to God a dwelling-place dearer than heaven! She was brought,
like a most hοly shoot (βλαστός) sprung (ἐβλάστησεν) from a holy root, a shoot reaching from
earthy to heaven […] a shoot which would soon bring forth the pre-eternal, unfading flower, and
was to produce him by whose word alone everything natural and supernatural sprang to life.¹¹²

Above, Palamas came full circle so that ancient seed and new seed are perfectly con-
trasted with a symmetral first man and first woman for each order (infection or pu-
rity). I note, as well, Mary’s epithet of “shoot” that has “sprung” from a root intricately
meshes with Palamas’ established vocabulary of original sin. Palamas continues to of-
fer his Augustinian inspired metaphors but at this point with respect to Mary. Whereas
the first parents had initiated a deleterious lineage, Mary and Christ initiated its op-
posite. Importantly, Palamas appealed to Mary’s predestination or God’s foreknowing

109 This satisfies Spiteris 1996, 575, where the author proposes Palamas as theoretically rejecting
an immaculate conception due to Mary’s conception by human seed, versus virginally. Spiteris takes
Palamas’ statement to be restrictive and not descriptive of an effect of the hypostatic union. Categori-
cally asserting a chasm between virginally conceived human nature and naturally conceived nature,
Spiteris repeats the common error of understanding the “purification” of Mary at the Annunciation
along the lines of a non-theological and non-Greek lexical sense of the word, as did later Latin School-
men. This sense supposes Marian purification to be either from sin, or from concupiscence. Lastly, Spi-
teris assumes that Palamas and Augustine did not share the same doctrine of original sin. My study
challenges this gratuituous assertion. Because traducianism and infected flesh are not Spiteris’ fo-
cus for “Augutine’s” theory of original sin, I take him to refer to spermatic transmission thereof and
to infection of the flesh. See Spiteris 1998, 163–165, 167. Spiteris fails to address the logic of Mary’s
purification at Jesus’ resurrection in Spiteris 1998, 159–163. At the Annunciation, if purification lex-
ically and contextually involves imperfection, then Mary’s imperfections ostensibly require morally
purifying light when witnessing the resurrection.
110 Homiliae, XI 52, 11, p. 251, 26–30 (Engl. tr., p. 411).
111 See Meyendorff 1974b, 236–236. Although Meyendorff clearly misunderstood the long and consis-
tent tradition of the Theotokos as prepurified, he was prudently cautious in assuming that Palamas’
use thereof served as proof of taint in the Virgin. Meyendorff posed instead a series of questions rather
than commiting to categorical denial of the Immaculate Conception in Palamas. My study answers
his queries, save his question of the rationale for Mary’s death –granted the fact of the Immaculate
Conception.
112 Homiliae, XI 53, 23, p. 289, 12–15, 24–29 (Engl. tr., p. 424).
228 | Christian W. Kappes

and preordaining her grace and glory, which was a development of Maximos’ theol-
ogy of the absolute primacy of Christ.¹¹³ Ultimately, we shall see that this Maximian
mode of doing Christology allowed Scholarios to graft Franciscanism (or the absolute
primacy of Christ) onto Byzantine theology without the slightest need to adjust the
Orthodox thesis on the all-holiness of Mary.¹¹⁴
One last point is helpful to contextualize Scholarios’ approach to arguing Mary’s
privilege, namely, “prepurification.” “Purification” of Jesus or Mary consistently sig-
naled in Nazianzen-dependent patristic literature a phenomenon whereby an already
pure and all-holy nature is intensified in its participation in grace and glory during the
course of the history of salvation.¹¹⁵ The Greek Fathers added the prefix “pre-” (προ-) to
the purification of the Theotokos to designate the moment of grace temporally prior to
the incarnation. Palamas implied that other liturgically celebrated mysteries of Mary’s
life were also of such a kind of purification (e. g., her vision of light at the resurrection).
Palamas knew intimately the tradition of the (προ-)καθαρθεῖσα through Nazian-
zen, Sophronius, and others.¹¹⁶ Palamas affirmed the parallelism between wholly per-
fect (human) natures of Jesus and Mary. Palamas also designated Mary as spotless
(ἀμόλυντοs) in imitation of the “prokatharsis” formula in Sophronius of Jerusalem.¹¹⁷
Significantly, in Palamas’ Homily on the Meeting of the Lord, he contrasted Mary’s birth
to humanly iniquitous birth alluded to in LXX Ps., 50. For his part, Christ was exempt
from “purification” in the ordinary sense, for he was never morally or physically im-
pure.¹¹⁸ Palamas connected the seedless incarnation with Jesus’ exemption from the
Mosaic Law. The incarnate Word was not subject to Mosaic Law (and therefore to con-
ception in iniquity) and Mary participated in this perfection of human nature under
the aegis of Christ, which stemmed from her role as divine Mother (Θεομήτωρ). Con-
sequently, as already hinted above by Palamas, Mary was exempt from the sin and
iniquity in conception and birth, as in LXX Ps., 50. Evidence for this exemption in-
cludes Mary’s exemption from Eve’s travails in labor. Christ as perfect mediator had
supplied her with perfect flesh so as to exempt both of them from the law of iniquity
and sin.¹¹⁹

113 Scotistic and Maximian primacies overlap, see Florovsky 1976, 168–170, and Bucur 2008, 199–215.
114 Palamas considered the Theotokos the reason-cause (αἰτία) of all created items pre- and post-Mary
in Homiliae, IX 14, 15, p. 394, 15.
115 Candal 1962, 253, Manoussakis 2015, 8–14, Nichols 2015, 160–164.
116 Homiliae, IX 16, 15, p. 442, 17: “ὁ Χριστὸς πρὸς βάπτισμα […] δι᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ καθαίρεται.”
117 Sophr., Oratio 2: In Sanct. Deipar. Annunt., 24, and 43, ed. J.-P. Migne, Paris 1865, col.
3248A, 1–6, 3273D, 45–47: “Οὐδεὶς κατά σε μεμακάρισται, οὐδεὶς κατά σε καθαγίασται· οὐδεὶς κατά
σε μεμεγάλυνται, οὐδεὶς κατά σε προκεκάθαρται· οὐδεὶς κατά σε περιηύγασται, οὐδεὶς κατά σε
ἐκπεφώτισται [...] Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπὶ σὲ, τὴν ἀμόλυντον, κάτεισι, καθαρωτέραν σε ποιησόμενον, καὶ
καρπογόνον σοι παρεξόμενον δύναμιν.” These passages are investigated in Kappes 2014, 30–37, 73.
118 Homiliae, IX 5, 6, p. 148, 5–17.
119 Mary’s universal mediatorship or role as mediatrix in Palamas was firmly established in Jugie
1952, 236–237.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 229

In a final passage, employing the Greco-patristic notion of Mary’s elevation in

grace or purification, Palamas writes about Mary as the first witness of the resurrec-
tion:

The Mother of God possessed a great joy, she understood the matters from the angel and be-
came full of light, as she was both utterly purified (κεκαθαρμένην) and divinely filled with grace
(κεχαριτωμένην), and she too was one who knew absolutely certainly the truth and she believed
the angel.¹²⁰

Above, Palamas uses an alternatively biblical and patristic term in place of the tra-
ditional π ρ ο καθαρθεῖσα. Palamas naturally chose the form of “to purify” lacking a
prefix (pro-) because of the post-incarnational chronology of the resurrection event.
He clarified the prepurification as another installment of the same profoundly mirac-
ulous grace has been given at Gabriel’s greeting by citing Lk. 1, 28 (κεχαριτωμένη).
Priorly, Greek Fathers consistently used “purify” and “prepurify” interchangeably for
the incarnation experience of Mary in the whole of the patristic literature. Subsequent
to Palamas, Palamites (as opposed to Palamas himself) often used the prefix “pre-
/προ-.” Still, Palamites correctly employed προκαθαρθεῖσα in regard to the miracu-
lous happenings concerning Mary prior to the incarnation that coincide with Byzan-
tine liturgical feasts in the calendar. Any purification prefixed with “pre-/προ-” was
nothing less than a moment of elevation in grace and miraculous glory prior to the
event of the Incarnation. For his part, Palamas employed an alternative lexical term
(purify/καθαίρω) when speaking of the toddler Mary in the Temple. There, she had
been purified long before her second purification at the incarnation.¹²¹ Palamas de-
scribed Mary as someone in possession of a perfectly divinized body and soul, whose
human nature excelled angelic purity. Palamas combined his “kathartic” Mariology
with a traditional scholion on Lk. 1, 35:

So what did the Virgin “filled with grace” and divine and incomparable in wisdom, reply to these
words? Again, she runs toward God and holds her hands up in prayer toward him, while she says
to the archangel: “If the Holy Spirit” – according to the things you say – “will come upon me, then
it further cleanses (καθαῖρον) my nature and fortifies me to receive the saving fetus; if a power of
the Most High overshadows me, then I form within myself what is after the nature of man, who is
in the form of God and I create a seedless childbirth.” […] For [Isaiah] did not immediately see the
Seraphim, who took the tongs from the spiritual altar of heaven; for by means of the tongs, the
Seraphim took the item in the tongs’ grasp, through which the Angel too touched his [Isaiah’s]
lips, after he gave to him a cleansing (κάθαρσιν). But this is that famous item in the tongs’ grasp
via that well-known great vision; namely, Moses saw a Bush lit and yet not consumed from fire.¹²²

120 Homiliae, IX 18, 10, p. 530, 18–21 (Translation mine).

121 Homiliae, XI 52, 13, p. 252, 26–28, p. 254, 1–11.
122 Homiliae, IX 14, 14, p. 392, 15–27; p. 394, 1–6 (Translation mine).
230 | Christian W. Kappes

Palamas utilized the familiar participle (καθαῖρον), repeatedly employed by the Dam-
ascene.¹²³ Palamas might have also taken his image of Mary as “burning bush” from
Damascene as well.¹²⁴ In conclusion, Palamas saw Mary’s purification as a supernat-
ural addition of divinizing grace into an otherwise angelic nature. He also connected
Mary’s purification to feasts of the Byzantine liturgical calendar. From Palamas the
Palamites surmised that Mary’s conception in the womb of St. Anna, Mary’s presen-
tation in the Temple, and the incarnation served as moments of extraordinary grace
(prepurification) in anticipation of the saving offspring Mary existed to provide blame-
less flesh to Jesus. We will see that Scholarios was likely encouraged to imitate Pala-
mas’ overall approach to Mary’s conception through recourse to seed-root analogies,
citations from Augustine, and the use of lexical variants surrounding the theology of
prepurification.

5 A Palamite-friendly Theologian, the Palamite

School, and Original Sin
5.1 Nicholas Kabasilas, Original Sin, and Immaculate Conception
Before discussing my claims about Kabasilas using Augustine in his theological ex-
planation of baptism, it is important to note here that Congourdeau has recently com-
piled scholarly evidence that suggests Kabasilas’ usage of Augustine.¹²⁵ Earlier in my
study, we saw Kabasilas calling baptism a cure for the Adamite “seed of evil,” which
had brought about the inheritance passed down to the present-day from humanity’s
forefathers.¹²⁶ In yet another work, Kabasilas paired Augustinian metaphors (via Pala-

123 Damasc., Expos. fid., II 46, ed. B. Kotter, Berlin 1973, p. 109, 16–19: “Μετὰ οὖν τὴν συγκατάθεσιν
τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ’ αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸν τοῦ κυρίου λόγον, ὃν εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος,
καθαῖρον αὐτὴν καὶ δύναμιν δεκτικὴν τῆς τοῦ λόγου θεότητος παρέχον, ἅμα δὲ καὶ γεννητικήν […]” For
the same term and Marian theme, see also Damasc., Contra Nest., IV 43, ed. B. Kotter, Berlin 1981, pp.
286–287, 39–45. Again, see Damasc., In nativ. Dom., V 2, ed. B. Kotter, New York 1988, p. 326, 14–19.
124 Damasc., Orat. de imag. III 22, p. 129, 3–5: “[…] Ἡ βάτος καὶ ἡ ἐπὶ πόκον ὑετὸς τὴν παρθένον καὶ
θεοτόκον […]”
125 Kabasilas appears to cite Augustine in in books 6–7 of his De vita in Christo per Congourdeau 2004,
201–202. Kabasilas also appeared to cite Anselm of Canterbury. See J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010e, 70–
71.
126 I note, too, that Kabasilas held an Augustinian approach to infected bodies passing on their evil
to other bodies (in copulation). See Cabas., De vit. in Christ., I 2, 39, p. 168, 1–8 Congourdeau: Ἐπεὶ
δὲ οὐ παραπολαύει μόνον τὸ σῶμα τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς παθῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεταδίδωσι τῶν αὑτοῦ· καὶ χαίρει
γὰρ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ ἄχθεται, καὶ σωφρονικοί τινές εἰσι καὶ ἐλεύθεροι τῷ διακεῖσθαι ὡδὶ τὸ σῶμα· διὰ τοῦτο
ἀκόλουθον ἦν καὶ τὴν ἑκάστου ψυχὴν τῆς τοῦ πρώτου Ἀδὰμ κληρονομῆσαι κακίας, ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς
ἐκείνου πρὸς τὸ σῶμα δοθείσης, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ σώματος τοῖς ἐξ ἐκείνου σώμασιν, ἀπὸ δ’ αὖ τῶν σωμάτων
ἐπὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἐρχομένης.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 231

mas?) with discussions of the prepurification of Mary. Kabasilas’ Sermo in Nativitatem

Deiparae repeated similar Augustinian notions:

Because of these arguments, God never allowed any human to rejoice – prior to the Virgin – as still
under liability [to punishment], all partaking of t h e a n c i e n t , u n f o r t u n a t e i n h e r i t a n c e
(διὰ ταῦτα γὰρ οὐδ’ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἀνθρώπων ὁ Θεός, πρὸ τῆς παρθένου, χαίρειν ἐφῆκεν,
ὡς ἂν εἰς ὑπευθύνους ἔτι τελούντων, καὶ τ ο ῦ π α λ α ι ο ῦ κ λ ή ρ ο υ πάντων μετειληφότων τ ο ῦ
δ υ σ τ υ χ ο ῦ ς).¹²⁷

Earlier in the very same sermon, Kabasilas had already called this inheritance “the
common sickness” ([…] τὴν κοινὴν [...] νόσον [...]) of humans.¹²⁸ This ostensibly
echoed Augustine (De Trin. 4, 4, 7), who spoke exactly thus about baptism curing
the infirmity (infirmitas/νόσος) brought about by Satan.¹²⁹
Do we need to account for Kabasilas’ doctrine of baptism and original sin by re-
course to Aquinas as well? After all, Kabasilas was a friend and intimate of Demetrios
Kydones, who had successfully translated Aquinas’ SG into Greek on Christmas Eve of
1354.¹³⁰ Although Kabasilas could have hypothetically employed Aquinas for original
sin, I have not found Aquinas’ vocabulary or phraseology reflected in Kabasilas on
this question. Nevertheless, Demetracopoulos has convincingly argued that Kabasi-
las employed the ST at least once in his De vita in Christo.¹³¹ Consequently, it is sim-
ply a matter of fact that Kabasilas knew at least some selection from the ST. Prior to
this, Jugie had discovered that Demetrios had access to Aquinas’ Tertia Pars (ST, 3, 27–
28), where he discovered arguments against the Immaculate Conception. Surprisingly,
pro-Thomistic Kydones completely disagreed with Aquinas’ rejection of the Immacu-
late Conception. Though Kydones translated parts of Aquinas’ material into Greek, he
reworked the original sources and arguments (especially on [pre-]purification) to ar-
rive at polar opposite conclusions.¹³² As Jugie noted, Kydones exploited Aquinas’ use
of a Ps.-Dionysian analogy, whereby “purification” meant the sharing of fiery and re-
splendent knowledge passed noetically between angels. This knowledge simply made
them more exalted beings. Aquinas adopted this common Scholastic axiom, although
he did not manage to utilize it perfectly in respect to Mary so as to drive out any con-
cept of putative fomes of concupiscence at the Annunciation. Aquinas failed to rec-
oncile the Ps.-Dionysian tradition with a terribly misunderstood Latin translation of
Damascene’s Greek Expositio fidei (46, p. 109, 16–19), where it is written of Mary at the
Annunciation: “[…] igitur semper Virginis, Spiritus Sanctus supervenit super ipsam

127 Kab., Sermo in Nat., 10, ed. M. Jugie, Turnhout 1990, p. 476, 21–24 (Translation mine).
128 Kab., Sermo in Nat., 6, p. 472, 26 Jugie.
129 Aug. and Planud., Περὶ Τριάδ., 4, 4, 7, p. 279, 26–35 Παπαθωμόπουλος/Τσαβαρή/Rigotti.
130 Congourdeau 2009, 173–176, Plested 2012c, 103–104.
131 J. A. Demetracopoulos 1998, 77–83. For Demetracopulos’ critique of Spiteris who denies
Anselmian influence, see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010e, 76–80.
132 Jugie 1952, 275–281.
232 | Christian W. Kappes

secundum Domini sermonem, quam dixit angelus, p u r g a n s i p s a m et virtutem sus-

ceptivam deitatis Verbi tribuens, simul autem et generativam.”¹³³ Aquinas, like the en-
tire throng of Schoolmen, uncritically adopted the opinion that Mary’s “purification”
must refer to some sort of cleansing from sin:¹³⁴

Argument 3: Besides, the Damascene says that “The Holy Spirit, while It was purifying her, came
upon” the Blessed Virgin before the time of the conception of the Son of God. But this cannot
be understood as other than a purification from concupiscence, as Augustine says in his work
De natura et gratia, for she did not commit sin. Therefore, she was not profusely cleansed from
concupiscence through sanctification in utero (Praeterea, Damascenus dicit quod in beata virgine
supervenit spiritus sanctus purgans eam, ante conceptionem filii Dei. Quod non potest intelligi nisi
de purgatione a fomite, nam peccatum non fecit, ut Augustinus dicit, in libro de natura et gratia.
Ergo per sanctificationem in utero non fuit libere mundata a fomite […]) […] (ST, 3, 27, 3, arg. 3)

Response to Argument 3: It must be said that the Holy Spirit produced a double purification on
the matter of the Blessed Virgin: [a.] Indeed, it worked one purification, as if it were prepara-
tory for the conception of Christ, whose conception was not out of any sort of impurity of guilt or
concupiscence; but the Spirit was recollecting her mind into a greater concentration and with-
drawing her from what is common. For, too, the angels are called “purified,” in whom no impurity
is found, as Dionysius says in chapter six of De ecclesiasticis hierarchiis. [b.] However, the Holy
Spirit worked another purification in her through of the conception of Christ, which was of the
Holy Spirit. Also, according to this, it may be said that it purified her entirely from the kindling
[of sin] (Ad tertium dicendum quod spiritus sanctus in beata virgine duplicem purgationem fecit.
Unam quidem quasi praeparatoriam ad Christi conceptionem, quae non fuit ab aliqua impuritate
culpae vel fomitis, sed mentem eius magis in unum colligens et a multitudine sustollens. Nam et
Angeli purgari dicuntur, in quibus nulla impuritas invenitur, ut Dionysius dicit, VI cap. Eccles. Hier.
Aliam vero purgationem operatus est in ea spiritus sanctus mediante conceptione Christi, quae fuit
opus spiritus sancti. Et secundum hoc potest dici quod purgavit eam totaliter a fomite.). (ST, 3, 27,
3, ad 3)¹³⁵

Jugie already located and edited Aquinas graecus’ relevant excerpts, which Demetrios
reemployed from ST (whether Aquinas latinus or graecus) in order to argue exactly
opposite:¹³⁶

Wherefore, [The Spirit] came upon her, enlightening the mind with knowledge of divine things
and truth […] It both was p u r i f y i n g the body and not merely hallowing unto purification out of
excellence […] but some other peculiarly marvelous [purification] (Ἐπῆλθε δ᾽οὖν λαμπρῦνον μὲν
αὐτῇ τὸν νοῦν τῇ τῶν θείων ἐπιστήμῃ καὶ αληθείᾳ […] κ α θ α ῖ ρ ο ν δὲ καὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἁγιάζον οὐ
τὴν ἐξ ἀρετῆς κάθαρσιν μόνον […] ἄλλην δέ τινα ἰδίαν καὶ θαυμαστήν […]) […]¹³⁷

133 Damasc., De fid. Orth., 3, 2 [46], ed. E. Buytaert, St. Bonaventure 1955, p. 171, 4–7.
134 Chiettini 1957, 3–23.
135 The translation is mine.
136 This is hardly an isolated incident. For instance, no longer extant translations must parsimo-
niously be supposed in writings of Markos of Ephesus, per J. A. Demetracopoulos 2011b, 361–362, 369.
137 Jugie 1952, 281. Compare cod. Par. gr., 1213, folio 340r (Translation mine).
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 233

As already explained, the entire patristic and late Byzantine tradition of Mary’s purifi-
cation was one where it was interpreted as testimony to her complete holiness with-
out any taint of physical or moral imperfection. Demetrios was equally aware of the
Byzantine notion and proffered his arguments accordingly.
Now that we examined the seminal text introducing Aquinas’ Mariology into
Byzantium, we are prepared to return to Kabasilas’ Sermo in Nativitatem Deiparae.
In addition to reading Augustine, Kabasilas must have been aware of the Dominican
position on the Immaculate Conception. There are two possible explanations for such
familiarity with the debate. First, Kabasilas explicitly attested the fact that he knew
of Latin missionaries orally debating religious matters, either in Constantinople, or
in Thessalonica.¹³⁸ The theological matter of concern thereat, however, was the epi-
clesis, which had been a peculiar preoccupation of Dominicans, since 1341, in their
mission territories of Armenia.¹³⁹ Two papal solutions for the debate strongly endorsed
Aquinas.¹⁴⁰ Sometime after 1317, Nikephoros Kallistou Xanthopoulos (d. c. 1335) testi-
fied concerning a new Byzantine debate about the Immaculate Conception.¹⁴¹ Given
the fact that the Greek terms and the context (that is, purification at the Annunciation)
exactly fit the Dominican polemic within the ST against immaculatists, Jugie rightly
supposed that Dominicans introduced this Latin debate into Byzantium. Whatever
Kabasilas’ experience in Byzantium with Dominicans, his Marian sermon confronted
this debate and leaves us little doubt that Kabasilas knew of his friend Demetrios’
aforementioned sermon reorganizing ST 3, 27. In a similar vein, Kabasilas addressed
and reformulated Aquinas’ own arguments in order to reject Dominican conclusions
on the Immaculate Conception:¹⁴²

If there are some of the holy doctors who say that the Virgin is p r e p u r i f i e d by the Spirit, then
it is yet necessary to think that p u r i f i c a t i o n, that is, an addition of graces, is intended by these
authors, and these [doctors] say that this is the way the angels are “p u r i f i e d,” with respect to
whom there is nothing knavish (Εἰ δὲ π ρ ο κ ε κ α θ ά ρ θ α ι τῷ Πνεύματι τὴν παρθένον εἰσὶν οἵ φασι
τῶν ἱερῶν διδασκάλων, ἀλλὰ τ ὴν κ ά θ α ρ σ ι ν προσθήκην χαρίτων αὐτοῖς βούλεσθαι χρὴ νομίζειν,
οἳ καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους τὸν τρόπον τοῦτόν φασι κ α θ α ί ρ ε σ θ α ι, παρ’ οἷς οὐδὲν πονηρόν).¹⁴³

Because of Kabasilas’ appeal to the traditional vocabulary of purification (π ρ ο

καθαίρω), he clearly had in mind Greek Fathers. They indeed affirmed a definition of

138 Kab., Explic., 29, 1, ed. S. Salaville, Paris 1967, pp. 180, 182.
139 Ben. XII, Cum Dudum, III 8, ed. A.L. Τăutu, Vatican 1958, pp. 121–143.
140 Clement VI (1342–1352) subsequently called for the Armenian Christians to remove or amend their
epicleses after Dominican requests. See McKenna 2009, 74–75.
141 Jugie 1952, 217–218.
142 This discovery fully justifies an analysis of yet another work of Kabasilas in J. A. Demetracopou-
los 1999, 25–29. Therein, the author reveals Scholastic style and vocabulary utilized in confronting
philosophical questions. The SG is shown to be the obvious circumstantial and literary candidate for
Kabasilas’ inspiration.
143 Kab., Sermo in Nat., 10, p. 477, 1–5 Jugie (Translation mine).
234 | Christian W. Kappes

prepurification contra Aquinas. However, among all Greek writers on the prepurified
virgin –from Nazianzen until Palamas– nobody had ever argued in Greek that the
sense of (pre-) purification (in regard to Mary) was parallel to Ps.-Dionysius’ explana-
tion of angels purifying one another. Firstly, this never occurred because Byzantine
writers only understood prepurification in wholly positive terms. Secondly, in Greek,
it was first Aquinas who employed this Ps.-Dionysian argument, as discovered by
Kydones and Kabasilas. Parsimony, circumstance, and vocabulary all lead to the con-
clusion that each of the two inherited his argument from Latin Scholastic tradition
(ST, 3, 27, 3, ad 3).¹⁴⁴ To all appearances, Kabasilas admired Kydones’ reworking of
Aquinas. Still, Kabasilas almost certainly knew maculism from the Dominicans them-
selves, as well as from Kydones. This inspired Kabasilas to become the first Greek
Orthodox writer ever to feel the need to defend Mary’s description of “prepurified.”
After all, native Greek speakers had never made it a quaestio disputata in Byzantium.
Jugie even located for us a direct citation of Kabasilas’ Sermo in Nativitatem Deiparae
within Scholarios’ immaculatist homily Homélie sur la Dormition de la Sainte Vierge.¹⁴⁵
Once again, we discover a strongly Orthodox and Palamite-friendly background that
served to inspire Scholarios to make use of Augustine, while defending Mary as the
immaculate “principle” or “root” of the new race in Christ.

5.2 Makarios Makres (d. c. 1431), Scholarios, and Original Sin

As we continue to move toward Scholarios’ Mariological synthesis, it is important

to keep in mind that Scholarios was a pupil of celebrated Palamites, from whom he
would have learned to mix Augustinianism with Thomism regarding original sin.
First, we will investigate Makres, though Scholarios’ discipleship was cut short by
his master’s death. Makres ranks as the first known Palamite to adopt the notion
of fetal “guilt” (whether from Planudes’ translation of the De Trinitate, or from Ps.-
Augustinian, De fide ad Petram):

Now, the acquisition has not come about according to what is customary to nature, but from vir-
ginal blood: not because the Lord disgusted the nature of a man and deemed the feminine nature

144 Kabasilas, or Kydones, seemingly had access to François Meyronnes (d. 1328), who was the first
Schoolman, whom I found, to turn Aquinas’ ST 3, 27, 3, ad 3 argument on its head. Scholarios’ access
to Meyronnes’s opera, as discussed below, increases this likelihood of Meyronnes as original source
of Kabasilas’ unique exploitation of Aquinas. Compare Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 6: “Notwithstanding, [Mary]
was truly purified (purgata), because Lk., 2 says that ‘after the days of her purification were fulfilled.’
[…]” See Dionysius, chapters six to eight, on De ecclesiastica hierarchia, where it is said that the supe-
rior angels purify their inferiors, who have nevertheless no stain, from which they need be purified.
Therefore, notwithstanding [Lk., 2, 22], the Blessed Virgin Mary did not contract original sin, though
she was truly purified.
145 Jugie 1914, 529.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 235

as worthy for himself, but because he did not want his own divine conception to be preceded by
the passion-involving and servile and nightly pleasure [coitus], on account of which David says
[LXX Ps., 50, 5]: “in lawlessnesses was I conceived and my mother conceived me in sins.” For,
it was necessary that he who set up to enter the [human] life with the intention to eliminate the
o r i g i n a l s i n and put away the life engaged in sensual things and passions, has a birth clean of
the g u i l t a n d t h e i m p u l s e that has its origins from the aforementioned [conception] (Γίνεται
δ’ ἡ πρόσληψις οὐ κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς τῇ φύσει, ἀλλ’ ἐξ αἱμάτων παρθενικῶν· οὐ τὴν μὲν ἀνδρὸς
φύσιν τοῦ Κυρίου βδελυττομένου τὴν δὲ γυναικείαν ἀξίαν ἑαυτοῦ κρίνοντος, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐμπαθῆ
καὶ δούλην καὶ νυκτερινὴν ἡδονὴν οὐκ ἀξιοῦντος τῆς αὑτοῦ θείας συλλήψεως καθηγήσασθαι, δι’
ἣν “ἐν ἀνομίαις,” φησὶ Δαβίδ, “συνελήφθην, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου.” Ἔδει γὰρ
τὸν ἐπ’ ἀναιρέσει τ ῆ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῆ ς ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ς καὶ τῆς ἐν αἰσθήσει καὶ πάθεσι ζωῆς ἀθετήσει τὸν
βίον εἰσελθεῖν ἀξιώσαντα καθαρὸν τ ῆ ς ἐκεῖθεν ἐ ν ο χ ῆ ς κ α ὶ π ρ ο τ ρ ο π ῆ ς ἔχειν τὸν τόκον.).¹⁴⁶

Argyriou already discovered that Makres lifted a significant portion of his material
above from SG, 3, 136.¹⁴⁷ Makres used the SG for apologetic treatises against Islam.
The emergent picture – despite common Palamite rejection of Aquinas’ ad intra meta-
physics of God – proffers Aquinas’ SG as an important Palamite source for doing the-
ology. Even so, it is somewhat surprising that Makres adopted the notion of “guilt”
for original sin as something imputable to children in utero. Makres enjoys the dubi-
ous honor of being the first Palamite to adopt this notion of ancestral or original guilt
(irrespective of the term’s historically and contextually Augustinian definition) into
Orthodoxy.

5.3 Joseph Bryennios (d. c. 1431), Scholarios, and Immaculate

Conception

Argyriou likewise discovered citations of SG, 4, 53 in Bryennios’ works. There are some
signs that Bryennios adopted peculiarly Augustinian and Thomistic modes of express-
ing belief in original sin. Generally, I have found precious few places in his works that
suggest more than vague notions of death and destruction of the body that were fairly
common fare outside of the almost singular exception of Maximos Confessor.
More significant for Scholarios, who was also a short-lived disciple of Bryennios,
is the fact that Bryennios applied the patristic and Palamite wholly positive notion of
Marian prepurification prior to the moment of her conception:

Another woman was not chosen over her, because God, foreknowing all women, sanctified in her
mother’s womb the one who was to be worthiest of all who were to exist, established her beyond
all virtues; but he rejected all the women unworthy of this purpose, as was reasonable. And she

146 Makr., Défen. de la Virg., 2, 5, ed. A. Argyriou, Vatican 1986, p. 311, 7–14. Significantly, Scholarios
extracted the very same material from Aquinas graecus as contained in Aquin. and Schol., Flor. Thom.,
I 5, ed. J.A. Demetracopoulos, Leuven 2002, pp. 128, 1–35, 129, 1–2 (Translation mine).
147 Argyriou 1986, 86–94.
236 | Christian W. Kappes

possessed a virtue superior to all other virtues, that of being p r e p u r i f i e d by the Holy Spirit
and being prepared as a containing receptacle of the inaccessible divinity (Ἄλλη μὲν ταύτης οὐ
προτετίμηται, ὅτι πάσας ὁ Θεὸς προγινώσκων, τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν ἐσομένην ἀξιωτέραν ἐκ μήτρας
ἡγίασε στείρας· ἀπεβάλετο δὲ τὰς εἰς τοῦτ᾽ἀναξίας ὥσπερ εἰκός· ἀρετῶν δὲ πασῶν ὑπερτέραν
ἐκέκτητο, τὸ π ρ ο κ α θ α ρ θ ῆν α ι τῷ Πνεύματι, καὶ δοχεῖον ἑτοιμασθῆναι δεκτικὸν τῆς ἀπροσίτου
θεότητος […]) […]¹⁴⁸ (Hom. 2 on the Annunc. )

Bryennios provided his pupil with a methodology for examining Mariology.¹⁴⁹ Bryen-
nios made ample use of Augustine’s De Trinitate as an authority, particularly in ser-
mons about the Annunciation and in the context of Mary’s production of a seedless
conception¹⁵⁰ Unlike Palamas and Kabasilas, Bryennios avoided the topic of Adamite
seed, though he followed Palamas in affirming the presence of the venomous infec-
tion in Adamite flesh at birth.¹⁵¹ I find Bryennios obliquely mentioning themes of an-
cestral sin and the Adamite line but remaining curiously aloof from other facets of
Augustine’s or Palamas’ terminology. In short, Bryennios exempted Mary in her first
historical moment of existence from taint by recourse to the mystery of prepurification.
Additionally, we should keep in mind that Argyriou found Bryennios frequently cit-
ing from Aquinas (SG, 4, 53).¹⁵² Hence, Bryennios’ moderated Augustinianism might
be explained either by his exposure to Aquinas (regarding infected flesh), or by the
Greek patristic tradition. Whether one, the other, or both be the case, Bryennios pre-
sented God as bequeathing to Mary a perfect human nature from conception in order
to conceive later Christ-flesh at a subsequent “prepurification” after the Annunciation.

5.4 Symeon of Thessalonica (d. c. 1429) and Original Sin

Scholarios appealed to Symeon as a major authority, though he failed to cite the

passage below within his own treatise the Sort des âmes après la mort. I have found
Symeon writing but briefly about original sin:¹⁵³

148 Bryen., II, pp. 128–129.

149 He uses a similar argument in Hom. on Mary’s Birthday in Bryen., ΙΙΙ, pp. 40–41.
150 For example, see his Hom. 3 on the Annunc., in Bryen., II, p. 192.
151 Bryen., II, p. 38: “Behold, we also celebrate […] the rise out of a fruitless root […] i. e., the birth
[…] of the Mother of God […] from a womb once sterile…once built out of the side of Adam, but the fall
from the side of Adam is today through birth, which is itself infected (Καὶ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἑορτάζομεν [...]
τὴν ἐξ ἀκάρπου ῥίζης ἀνατολὴν […] τῆς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ πλευρᾶς τὸ παράπτωμα διὰ τῆς γεννήσεως αὐτῆς
ἰωμένης […])” (Hom. on Mary’s birth.) See also Bryen., III, pp. 38, 45, where he mentioned infection’s
calamitous blow (πληγή), which is concomitant with birth. See Bryen., II, p. 313, wherein he admits
that Adam’s children inherited a curse.
152 Argyriou 1986, 87.
153 OCGS, I 1, p. 506, 15–22.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 237

[Gloss on Rm., 5, 12:] […] All were liable to death, being responsible from their mother’s womb
through original sin, and each person was enslaved to Hell through death, even if he was the most
just human being ([…] οἱ πάντες τῷ θανάτῳ ἦσαν ὑπόδικοι, τῇ τε προγονικῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑπεύθυνοι
ἐκ γαστρός, καὶ δεδουλωμένος πᾶς ἦν τῷ ᾅδῃ διὰ θανάτου, εἰ καὶ ὁ δικαιότατος ἦν.).¹⁵⁴

Clearly, the thrust of Palamite theology as thus far surveyed was to adopt some no-
tion of “liability from the womb,” which cannot be accounted for outside of the (real
or attributed) works of Augustine (and Aquinas). If some scholars have today sad-
dled Scholarios with the reputation of being an innovator in Byzantium because of
his teaching of original sin in an Augustinian fashion, the truth points rather to major
figures of the Palamite school as his intellectual forebearers. Scholarios merely devel-
oped their ideas on the Adamite inheritance and traducian metaphors.

5.5 Markos of Ephesus (d. 1445), Original Sin, and the Prepurified
Virgin
Eugenikos betrays no interest in Palamas’ or Kabasilas’ overt fascination in origi-
nal sin. Eugenikos only referred to such at the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438–
1439) as a mere obiter dictum. Eugenikos mused on the theological possibility of
somebody dying without baptism (in original sin) to be in Hell. Still, he did not
doctrinally evaluate these propositions. Apparently, Markos did not see the Latins’
supposition about original sin as a contentious issue between Latins and Greeks at
Ferrara-Florence.¹⁵⁵ Markos’ apparent disinterest is curious since – next to Schol-
arios – Eugenikos made the greatest number of appeals to Augustine on behalf of
Orthodox theology at Ferrara-Florence¹⁵⁶ Markos affirmed Augustine’s ecumenical
authority there, too, since he explicitly reverenced the “apostolic” Divine Liturgy of
St. James.¹⁵⁷ Its commemorations explicitly invoked Augustine as one among “[…]
our holy Fathers and Teachers […] ([…] τῶν ἁγί[ων πατέρων ἡ]μῶν καὶ διδασκάλων
[…])” (JAS, 37, p. 205, 24). In harmony with his Byzantine and Orthodox predecessors,
Markos likewise set the Maximian notion of Mary’s predestination to grace and glory
in relation to her prepurification at the Annunciation, but also applied it to her ideal
ideal pre-existence in the mind of God.¹⁵⁸
Scholarios knew Markos, firstly, as his childhood tutor and, secondly, as his spiri-
tual father. Also, Scholarios unmistakably read and cited Eugenikos’ treatise contain-

154 Sym., Epist. ad fidel., I 2, ed. D. Balfour, Thessalonica 1981, pp. 128–129, 543–548.
155 PO, XV, pp. 26, 55–56, 59.
156 Demacopoulos and Papanikolaou 2008, 15–16.
157 Eugen., libellus, 3, ed. L. Petit, Rome 1977, p. 120, 6–35.
158 Eugen., Λόγ. Ἀντιῤῥ. Α´, ed. M. Pilavakis, Bucarest 2014, p. 212, 4–6: “[…] ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ
παντοδύναμον ἐπιδεῖξαι ἠθέλησε, πλὴν ὅτι καὶ αυτῇ διὰ Πνεύματος ἁγίου δαψιλεστέρᾳ χάριτι
προσρυέντος καὶ δυνάμεως θείας προκαθαρθείσῃ [...]”
238 | Christian W. Kappes

ing a small exposition on Mary’s prepurification.¹⁵⁹ We learn from the extant writings
of Markos of Ephesus that original sin was simply not a major concern of his. Still, like
his Byzantine and Orthodox predecessors, prepurification counted as a divine mystery
betokening Mary’s predestination to an unparalleled grace among the saints.

6 Scholarios’ Latin Sources for Original Sin and

Immaculate Conception
6.1 Scholarios, Augustine, and Original Sin

I now concern myself with Scholarios’ Mariology as related to his concept of origi-
nal sin and as taken directly from Augustine. Later, we will be forced to adjudicate
between Scholarios’ dependence on either Aquinas’ mitigated Augustinianism, or on
wholesale Augustinian traducianism and its alleged notion of fetal “guilt.”¹⁶⁰ Meyen-
dorff accused Augustine of having been theologically led astray about original sin by a
distorted Latin text of Paul’s letter to the Romans: “[…] in Adam all sinned ([…] in quo
omnes peccaverunt […]) […]” (Rm., 5, 12).¹⁶¹ Augustine’s version of the Vetus Latina
adopted a sense different than the NT in the Greek textus receptus, which reads:¹⁶²

Because of this, as sin entered into the world through one human and through sin, death, so
also death passed unto all human beings, b e c a u s e a l l h u m a n s s i n n e d (Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι᾽
ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς
πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐ φ ᾽ ᾧ π ά ν τ ε ς ἥ μ α ρ τ ο ν.). (Rm., 5, 12)

159 Because Scholarios wrote this treatise Contre les partisans d’Acindyne post-1445, it does not guar-
antee that Scholarios knew Eugenikos’ teaching on “prepurified” Mary. Yet, circumstantially, both Eu-
genikos and Scholarios studied Palamism together in 1437; see Kappes 2014, 166. Obviously, this would
have been the most propitious time for Scholarios to read Eugenikos’ antirrhetics. Eug., Λόγ. Ἀντιῥῤ.
Α´ was cited by Scholarios within his own first treatise on the essence-energies question. Scholarios
cited from Eugenikos’ patristic anthology, both verbatim and at length. In a first example, Scholar-
ios introducing a quote of Basil the Great, wherein Scholarios even cited Eugenikos’ original words to
introduce the same. Compare: (1.) Eug., Λόγ. Ἀντιῥῤ. A´, p. 92, 18–19 Pilavakis, to OCGS, III 6, p. 215,
21–34, (2.) OCGS, III 6, p. 216, 8–24, to Eug., Λόγ. Ἀντιῥῤ. Α´ , p. 268, 17–24 Pilavakis.
160 Congourdeau 2007, 269–270, traces out Augustine’s ex professo traducianism, where Augustine
chose among competing theories that which was best diposed toward transmission of original sin from
parent to child.
161 Meyendorff 1983, 144.
162 Compare Aug. Contra Jul., 4, 4, 7, ed. C. Urba and I Zycha, Vienna 1913, p. 528, 10–15, to Cod. Gig.,
278v, 57: “[…] in quo omnes peccaverunt [...].”
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 239

I note that Jerome’s Vulgate retained or translated the Greek as “in quo omnes pecca-
verunt.”¹⁶³ What is more, the critical edition of the Syriac text of this passage attests
readings in harmony with the Vetus Latina and the Vulgate.¹⁶⁴ A further blow to this
criticism of Augustine’s text also comes from the fact that Cyril of Alexandria (familiar
with at least some writings of Augustine) appears to have been in possession of both
textual traditions of this verse.¹⁶⁵ Still, it may be the case that Augustine (and others)
developed their theological view of original sin in dialogue with this Latin transla-
tion that was amenable to a theory of inherited guilt (though Augustine himself no-
tably avoided vocabulary of fetally inherited culpa).¹⁶⁶ Certainly, Augustine betrayed
no familiarity with the Greek textus receptus of Rm. 5, 12. Yet, among the oldest Syr-
iac witnesses, some translated Rm. 5, 12 just as Augustine. This suggests an early and
legitimate reading that marks a variant from the Greek textus receptus. Be that as it
may, Scholarios’ only overt citations of Rm., 5, 12 occurred when reworking Kydones’
Greek translations of the SG and the ST. There, Scholarios theologized upon Augus-
tine’s phraseology (in harmony with Aquinas) in order to avoid both traducianism and
any literal sense of moral guilt in a fetus. Even if Augustine had been the remote cause
of Aquinas’ terminology and of his willingness to speak of putative “guilt,” Scholas-
tic Latin culture at large failed to perpetuate two essential aspects of Augustinianism.
Firstly, the special creation of the soul was neither put into question by Aquinas nor
by the Franciscan school with which Scholarios was acquainted. Additionally, tradu-
cianism had long been condemned, which was papally renewed in this period.¹⁶⁷ Sec-
ondly, Augustine’s legalistic language was exploited and developed into a vocabulary
of fetal “guilt” by theological successors, but its problematic nature required multiple
distinctions within the Latin Scholastic lexicon, as we will see below. In short, Augus-
tine’s traducianism and related fetal hamarteology bore the hallmarks of a developed

163 Vulg. 5, 12, p. 1755a.

164 I thank Basil Lourié (editor of Scrinium) for alerting me to the Syriac evidence. For the Syriac
version of Rm., 5, 12, compare NT, Vulg., to Syriac NT.
165 Cyr., In d. Joann. Evang., III 18, 22, ed. P. Pusey, Oxford 1872, p. 36, 16–17: “[…] ἐπείπερ ἡ μ ά ρ τ ο μ ε ν
ἐ ν Ἀ δ ὰ μ τῷ πρώτῳ τὴν θείαν πατήσαντες ἐντολήν […]” Compare Cyr., Frag. ad Roman., III 5, 11, p.
182, 19–21 Pusey: “[…] διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν
ἐ φ’ ᾧ π ά ν τ ε ς ἥ μ α ρ τ ο ν […]” Naturally, the former citation could hail from then extant translations
of Augustine (not to mention Ambrose!) in Greek (now lost). See Dekkers 1953, 197–198, 201, 206–208,
210–212, 216 – 217.
166 Beatrice 2013, 133–134.
167 Denz., 360–361, p. 498. Pope Anastasius II (d. 498) condemned traducianism. However, Anasta-
sius approved of parents transmitting poena culpaque peccati. The concept of “punishment” meted
out to the human race proved uncontroversial. Per Leo’s Tome at Chalcedon, the terminology became
O/orthodox, but its sense was potentially misleading. During Palamas’ time until the Council of Flo-
rence, well-known papal decretals condemned an alleged case of Augustinian traducianism in Arme-
nia, as discussed per Benedict XII (d. 1342). See Denz., 1007, pp. 1340–1341.
240 | Christian W. Kappes

North African tradition among both Greeks and Latins and gradually diffused itself,
but not without multiple nuances.¹⁶⁸

6.2 Scholarios, Aquinas, and Original Sin

As a prelude to Scholarios’ treatment of the Immaculate Conception, I only highlight

in this section Scholarios’ accurate understanding of Aquinas on original sin, in con-
tradistinction to Augustine. Scholarios’ concise translation of Aquinas interpreted
him as teaching the following:

Now, it true that a l l h u m a n s s i n n e d i n A d a m who sinned, not as if they would have them-
selves committed his sinful act, but in the sense that they belong to his nature, which was cor-
rupted by sin (Ἀληθὲς δέ ἐστι τὸ καὶ πάντας ἁμαρτεῖν ἐ ν τ ῷ Ἀ δ ὰ μ ἁ μ α ρ τ ό ν τ ι , οὐχ ὡς ἂν
αὐτοὺς ἐνεργήσαντας, ἀλλ’ ὡς τῇ ἐκείνου φύσει τῇ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας φθαρείσῃ προσήκοντας).
(Epitome of SG)¹⁶⁹

Granted Jugie and Blanchet, who put the above translation as late as 1464, Scholarios
does not waiver theologically from his life-long beliefs about transmission of original
sin and the origin of the soul: (1) Human nature is corrupted, (2) The soul is created
immediately by God, (3) but because of the curse decreed for Adam’s lineage, God di-
rectly deprives every soul of some perfection, while infusing the soul into the body,
resulting in a composite of soul and body that suffers a privation of grace.¹⁷⁰ Scholar-
ios’ position is Scholastic, not Augustinian, in that the soul suffers defect/privation,
not the body. Human seed that is traceable to Adam merely occasions an application
of the divine decree or curse to every new instantiation of human nature.

6.3 Scholarios, François Meyronnes, Original Sin, and

Immaculate Conception

Scholarios had access to the works of François Meyronnes, whose Marian doctrine ar-
gues for a Marian “privilege.”¹⁷¹ For Meyronnes, divine privilege (as in Roman law)
explained how “redemption” from original sin existed without needing to contract

168 Beatrice 2013, 233–235.

169 OCGS, V 4, 52, p. 296, 8–10. Compare SG 4, 52 [7] (Translation mine): “[…] hoc igitur verum est
dicere quod, ‘uno peccante, omnes peccaveruntin ipso’ [Rm., 5, 12] […] Non quod essent actu in ipso
alii homines, sed virtute, sicut in originali principio. Nec dicuntur peccasse in eo quasi aliquem actum
exercentes: sed inquantum pertinent ad naturam ipsius, quae per peccatum corrupta est.”
170 OCGS, I 1, 1, p. 462, 1–5: “[…] νέας ψυχὰς κτίζων ἐν νέοις σώμασιν· […] μετὰ τῆς προγονικῆς
ἁμαρτίας αὐτὰς δημιουργεῖ, καὶ εἰσέρχονται τὰ σώματα, τὸν τοιοῦτον καὶ αὐταὶ ῥῦπον ἔχουσαι […]”
171 Scholarios heartily approved Meyronnes’s theology in OCGS, VI prolog., p. 179, 29.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 241

it.¹⁷² Unless we suppose Scholarios’ references to Mary’s “gift/s” as somehow equiva-

lent to Meyronnes’s “privilege,” only impressionistic echoes, whether of Meyronnes,
of Scotus, or of some other Scotistic source, are shared between the two. For example,
both Scholarios and Meyronnes had access to the works of Fulgentius of Ruspe. Yet,
for his part, Meyronnes adamantly opposed physicalist laws of propagation of sin.¹⁷³
Meyronnes cited Scotus’ principium mariale, Scotus’ decuit, and arguments for per-
fect mediation of a perfect mediator to justify Mary’s privilege.¹⁷⁴ Meyronnes clearly
emphasized the purely extrinsic nature of original sin from a putative decree of loss
and consecutive punishment. In Meyronnes, Scholarios would have been completely
discouraged from indulging in biological metaphors.¹⁷⁵ Meyronnes relied heavily on
Anselm of Canterbury.¹⁷⁶ He expressly rejected the terminology of infection (infectio
morbida in carne), stain (macula), and analogies of original sin to habits of the soul.¹⁷⁷
Meyronnes rejected both “concupiscence” as epitomizing the guilt of original sin,¹⁷⁸
and Aquinas’ assertion that original sin is a bad disposition (disposition or διάθεσις in
Scholarios) formed out of the composite human subject (versus in the soul alone).¹⁷⁹
Aquinas and Scholarios differed markedly from Meyronnes, who harmonized more
with Livanos’ presentation of Photios in my introduction, but with nobody else among
the Palamites investigated. Lastly, Meyronnes forcefully argued that Augustine’s lat-
ter Retractationes called into question Augustine’s former traducian commitments.¹⁸⁰
Taking all this into account, Meyronnes could have proved only an obstacle to Scholar-
ios for indulging his penchant for Augustine’s and Palamas’ spermatic metaphor and
Augustine’s language of infection. Still, Scholarios might have consulted Meyronnes
for his progression of argumentation on behalf of Mary’s “gift.”

172 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 5, p. 165b–166a.

173 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 4, p. 165b, and Tractatus, 10, p. 291a.
174 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 1, pp. 165a–165b.
175 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 11, pp. 166a–166b.
176 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 1, p. 165a.
177 Tractatus, 2, p. 284a–284b.
178 Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 8, p. 166a, and Tractatus, 2, pp. 284b–285a.
179 Tractatus, 3, p. 285a–285b. Compare OCGS, VI [ST] 1–2, 82, 1, p. 96, 6–15: “It will be shown that
original sin (τὸ προγονικὸν ἁμάρτημα) is a habit (ἕξις). Now, a habit is dual: first that by which some
potency is moved (κινεῖταί τις δύναμις) toward what is act (πρὸς τὸ ἐνεργεῖν), as sciences and virtues.
Now, ancestral sin is not a habit in this way; secondly, a disposition of some nature (διάθεσίς τινος
φύσεως) from numerous compounds, following which something is well or badly stationed in relation
to something else. Now, indeed, whenever such a disposition is transcribed to nature, as regards sick-
ness and health, so is ancestral sin a habit in this way, for it is some disordered (ἄτακτος) disposition,
which it produces from a dissolution of that harmony, in which the notion of health is established.
Whence ancestral sin is called a sickness of nature.”
180 Tractatus, 4, p. 286b.
242 | Christian W. Kappes

Scholarios, Original Sin, and Immaculate Conception

In light of the foregoing, we can now evaluate Scholarios. I present his opera touching
on the Immaculate Conception, for the most part, in chronological order:

How shall you not be blessed, who have not only been completely ignorant of the reproaches of
the first malediction, but actually are going to pull the other women, too, out of these reproaches?
You are truly “blessed among women,” not merely because you were deemed worthy of gifts
greater than all other women, but also because you were released from all the terrible things of
the curse, and will become capable of releasing the entire human race. So too, just as the shame
of the curse had been urged on from one woman, confusing the common human nature, in this
manner now, from you, the beauty of benediction will revive for others and you shall become the
s e e d o f a s e c o n d l i f e ¹⁸¹ and the p r i n c i p l e o f t h e t r u e h u m a n s [that is, of the purified hu-
mans.] (πῶς δ’ οὐ τοιαύτη, ἣ μὴ μόνον αὐτὴ τὰ τῆς πρώτης κατάρας ἠγνόηκας καθάπαξ ὀνείδη,
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ποιήσεις ἔξω τούτων γενέσθαι; τῳόντι γὰρ εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν, οὐ
μόνον ὅτι μειζόνων ἢ κατὰ πάσας ἠξίωσαι δωρεῶν, ἀλλ’ ὅτι καὶ τῶν τῆς κατάρας δεινῶν αὐτή
τε ἀπολέλυσαι καὶ τὸ γένος ἅπαν ἀπαλλάξαι δυνήσῃ, καὶ καθάπερ τὸ τῆς κατάρας αἶσχος ἐκ μιᾶς
ὁρμηθὲν γυναικὸς τὴν κοινὴν συνέχεε φύσιν, οὕτω καὶ νῦν παρὰ σοῦ τὸ τῆς εὐλογίας καλὸν πᾶσιν
ἀναλάμψει τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ σ π έ ρ μ α δ ε υ τ έ ρ ο υ β ί ο υ γενήσῃ καὶ τ ῶ ν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀ ν θ ρ ώ π ω ν
ἀ ρ χ ή.).¹⁸²

[…] [Scholion on Lk., 1, 35] Flesh will not produce the conception for you as with other women,
that is by means of assuming food [transforming it into seed] and contaminating what is born
with its baseness, but the Holy Spirit will render, by means of what is pure, your purest flesh, a
matter and will use it as sanctified, or, to put it better, will sanctify it by means of using it. D e -
s i r e does not anticipate your conception, the o r i g i n o f l a b o r p a i n s and sorrow ... (Σὰρξ οὐκ
ἐνεργάσεταί σοι τὴν σύλληψιν καθάπερ ταῖς ἄλλαις μεταλαμβάνουσα μὲν τροφῆς, μεταδιδοῦσα
δὲ πονηρίας τῷ τικτομένῳ, ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὕλην τῷ καθαρῷ τὴν καθαρωτάτην σου
ποιήσεται σάρκα καὶ χρήσεται μὲν ὡς ἡγιασμένῃ, ἁγιάσει δὲ τῷ χρήσασθαι μᾶλλον. Ἐ π ι θ υ μ ί α
μὲν οὐ φθάνει σου τὴν σύλληψιν, ὠ δ ί ν ω ν ἀ ρ χ ὴ καὶ λύπης ταύτην […]) […] (On the Sermon pour
la fête de l’Annonciation)¹⁸³

This sermon (scripsit 1437–1439) signaled Scholarios’ earliest interest in the Immacu-
late Conception. The force of Scholarios’ arguments and vocabulary are not entirely
Byzantine. The metaphorical contrast between two lines of seed (good and evil) may
have been lifted from Kabasilas, as above when he spoke in Augustinian fashion
about baptism. On the vocation of Mary, Kabasilas once designated Mary as the “first

181 This is a brilliantly placed allusion to Mary’s seed fulfilling the protoevangelium prophecy in LXX
Gn., 3, 15: “καὶ ἔχθραν [= ὁ ὄφις] θήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ
σπέρματός σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς· αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις
αὐτου πτέρναν.”
182 OCGS, I 42, p. 40, 15–23.
183 OCGS, I 46, p. 44, 36, p. 45, 1–5 (Translation mine).
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 243

human,” or the equivalent “principle” of human nature.¹⁸⁴ A more likely culprit,

however, is Planudes’ rendering of Augustine, which so clearly influenced Palamas’
Homily 52. It seems to be the inspiration for designating physical seed as a spiritual
principle of death and life.¹⁸⁵ Theologically, relying on Palamas, Scholarios is here
entirely “Byzantine,” developing Maximos’ absolute primacy of Christ as it might in-
volve Mary in the redemption. Palamas inspired this theme, where Mary was called
αἰτία of all prior and posterior creation.¹⁸⁶ Still, Scholarios’ turgid sermon betrays
Scholastic modes of speaking and smacks of vocabulary common to the Kydones
brothers’ translations of Aquinas and Augustine. Instead of repeating the succinct
patristic phraseology common to prepurification, or simply reproducing antecedent
Palamite wording, Scholarios’ rhetoric obliquely referenced Mary’s prepurification
at the Annunciation by calling the incarnate Word’s flesh “purest” through what is
already “pure.” In this context, no stereotypically Latin theme of guilt in relation to
Adam’s inheritance is present. In general, Scholarios only rarely mentions “guilt” as
something unqualifiedly remitted at baptism.¹⁸⁷ Lastly, there is a contrast of Eve’s
desire for her husband and her labor pains with Mary’s lack of concupiscence and
virginal birthing process. While this theme was universal by Scholarios’ time, the
contrast means to imply that Mary was exempt from Augustine’s “desire for the flesh”
affecting the rest of humanity (as I investigate below).
Jugie also argued that Scholarios had held the Immaculate Conception is his
sermon Sermon pour la fête de la Présentation (21 November 1449). Now, as an anti-
unionist in league with Markos of Ephesus, Scholarios nonetheless composed this
tribute to Mary. Although Jugie’s arguments are certainly complementary to his overall
thesis, the sermon in question made no explicit reference to sinful flesh, original sin,
or Mary’s explicit exemption therefrom. Therefore, I pass on to the sermon Homélie sur
la Dormition de la Sainte Vierge (1464), which represents Scholarios’ mature thought.
Scholarios introduced the section below by explaining that Mary acquired her graces
without her own efforts that are typically required for Aristotelian habits (ἕξεις) as
exercised by repetition. In this, he curiously coincided with Meyronnes’s ex professo
treatise on the Immaculate Conception.¹⁸⁸ Unfortunately, Scholarios’ idiosyncratic
style makes it impossible to locate verbatim dependence on a source:

184 See Jugie 1914, 529, where Scholarian dependence on Kabasilas’ Mariology has already been
demonstrated.
185 Aug. and Planud., περὶ Τριαδ., II 13, 18, 23, p. 761, 3–20, p. 763, 38–41 Παπαθωμόπουλος/Τσαβαρή/
Rigotti.
186 Homiliae, IX 14, 15, p. 394, 15.
187 For a typical example lacking reference to guilt, see his sermon On the Birthday of Jesus in OCGS,
I 9, p. 231, 21–34. Shortly afterward he does propose a relatively rare instance of “original/ancestral
guilt” in OCGS, I 10, p. 233, 9–15.
188 Tractatus, 7, pp. 296b–297a. Meyronnes argued both infused and natural virtues were gifted at
conception.
244 | Christian W. Kappes

[God] granted […] her soul to possess [the virtues] of heaven, with the result that one cannot
find in her the least trace of t h e d e f i c i e n c i e s o f o u r n a t u r e . And, what the conception
without seed energized in him who is the one born from her, the same thing the divine grace also
energized exactly in herself, who was born by means of seed. Consequently, an astonishing purity
would be in both. First, in the Son born from her, this purity is more gloriously due to his nature,
which sustains no alleged cause of blemish. Then, in the bearer of the born, this purity belongs
only by grace so as she is a b s o l u t e l y p u r e f r o m t h e v e r y m o m e n t o f h i s b e i n g b o r n,
since she was to bear the purest Son, even if she had a n a l l e g e d r e a s o n b y n a t u r e f o r a
b l e m i s h a t c o n c e p t i o n. Whence, everything was in harmony with the purity of the first and
last most blessed mother among humans (ἐδίδου […] οὐρανόθεν συγκαταβεβλῆσθαι τῇ φύσει, ὡς
ἂν οὕτω μηδ’ ἴχνος τι τ ῶ ν τ ῆ ς φ ύ σ ε ω ς ὑ σ τ ε ρ η μ ά τ ω ν ταύτῃ συνῇ, καὶ ὅπερ ἡ σπέρματος
ἄνευ σύλληψις ἐν τῷ παρ’ αὐτῆς γεννηθέντι, τοῦτ’ αὐτῇ καὶ διὰ σπέρματος γεννηθείσῃ ἡ θεία
χάρις ἐνήργει, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἐν ἀμφοῖν ἡ καθαρότης ξενίζουσα τῷ μὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννωμένῳ καὶ διὰ
τὴν φύσιν ἐνδοξότερον ᾖ ο ὐ δ ε μ ί α ν ῥ ύ π ο υ π ρ ό φ α σ ι ν ἔ χ ο υ σ α ν, τῇ δὲ τοῦτον γεννώσῃ κατὰ
χάριν προσῇ μόνον καὶ ᾖ κ α θ α ρ ω τ ά τ η γ ε ν ν η θ ε ῖ σ α ε ὐ θ ύ ς, ὡς δὴ μέλλουσα τὸν καθαρώτατον
τίκτειν, καίτοι τοῦ ῥύπου πρόφασιν ἔχουσα τῇ φύσει συνοῦσαν. Ὅθεν τῇ καθαρειότητι τῆς οὕτως
εὐτυχεστάτης ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσει μητρὸς καὶ πρώτης καὶ τελευταίας πάντ’ ἦν ἀκόλουθα
[…]) […] (Homélie sur la Dormition de la Sainte Vierge)¹⁸⁹

Sinlessnes “by grace” and/or “by nature” had become a distinction by the time of
Damascene and was also employed in Palamas.¹⁹⁰ Jugie mistakenly attributed this to
the invention of Schoolmen.¹⁹¹ Damascene suffices as the source of medical supposi-
tions regarding feminine seed and the all-pure seed of Joachim.¹⁹² Scholarios’ preoccu-
pation with Thomistic literature concerned its imputation of blemish to Mary. Schol-
arios’ old master, Bryennios, had earlier established that a prepurified conception of
Mary bequeathed a participation of grace to her all-pure nature. Consequently, Schol-
arios’ immaculatism appears to be more consonant with previous Byzantine reactions
to Dominican Mariology. To this extent, nothing need be attributed to Scotism.
Nevertheless, Scotism might be hypothesized to have influenced Scholarios. Jugie
located a final passage in Scholarios that unequivocally affirmed the Immaculate Con-
ception:

189 OGCS, I 8–9, p. 202, 28, 32–38, p. 203, 1–6 (Translation mine).
190 Apropos, there is Christ who is super-excellent by nature and grace, while Mary is transformed by
grace, but not in her nature. For one example, see Homiliae XI 52, 61, p. 342, 1–9. A division between
sinlessness by nature and by grace is, in my view, key to solving the puzzle proposed in Sherwood
1962, 384–385, wherein Palamas is critiqued for a nolens volens Mariology, whereby an immaculate
conception is established by generational purification, but seemingly negated by denying her “the
sinlessness” of Christ (by nature).
191 Jugie 1952, 304.
192 Damasc., In nativ. BMV, 2, ed. Kotter, Berlin 1988, p. 170, 11–14: “[…] Ὑπόχρεος ὑμῖν ἐστι πᾶσα
ἡ φύσις· δι’ ὑμῶν γὰρ προσήγαγε δ ῶ ρ ο ν τῷ κτίστῃ δώρων ἁπάντων ὑπερφερέστερον, μητέρα
σεμνήν, μόνην ἀξίαν τοῦ κτίσαντος. Ὦ ὀσφὺς τοῦ Ἰωακεὶμ παμμακάριστε, ἐξ ἧς κατεβλήθη σ π έ ρ μ α
π α ν ά μ ω μ ο ν.”
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 245

He took for himself this [a body] only according to human nature. For the specifying power of
the body was not from our forefather but was from the Holy Spirit.¹⁹³ Τhe all-holy virgin, in terms
of her having been born through seed, would not have been without participation in ancestral
sin; even though her parents were incomparable in virtue, they too shared in the inheritance.
Yet, once for all, the grace of God made her exempt,¹⁹⁴ just as if she had been born without seed,
in order to provide her flesh for the incarnation of the Word of God in an entirely pure state.
Therefore, as she was made e x e m p t o n c e a n d f o r a l l f r o m o r i g i n a l g u i l t a n d p u n i s h -
m e n t, taking t h e g i f t alone among all mankind,¹⁹⁵ she had a soul totally inaccessible to things
that cloud reasoning, and in this way she became a divine temple in body and soul ([…] τοῦτο
κατὰ μόνην εἰλήφει τὴν φύσιν· ἡ γὰρ εἰδοποιὸς τοῦ σώματος δύναμις οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ προπάτορος,
ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἦν. Ἡ δὲ παναγία παρθένος τῷ μὲν ἐκ σπέρματος γεγεννῆσθαι τῆς
προγονικῆς ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἂν ἀμέτοχος ἦν, καίτοι τῶν γονέων ἀπαραβλήτων ὄντων ἐς ἀρετήν,
μετεῖχον δὲ κἀκεῖνοι τοῦ κλήρου· ἀλλ’ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ καθάπαξ αὐτὴν ἀπήλλαξεν, ὥσπερ ἂν
εἰ καὶ χωρὶς ἐγίνετο σπέρματος, ἵνα τῇ τοῦ θείου Λόγου σαρκώσει πάντη καθαρὰν ὑπόσχῃ τὴν
σάρκα. Ὅθεν ὡς ἀ π η λ λ α γ μ έ ν η κ α θ ά π α ξ τ ῆ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῆ ς ἐ ν ο χ ῆ ς κ α ὶ π ο ι ν ῆ ς καὶ μόνη
πάντων ἀνθρώπων τουτὶ λαβοῦσα τ ὸ δ ῶ ρ ο ν , ἀνεπίβατον καὶ τοῖς νέφεσι τῶν λογισμῶν ἔσχε
παντάπασι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ σαρκὶ καὶ ψυχῇ θεῖον οὕτω γέγονε τέμενος […])[…] (Second traité sur
l’origine de l’âme)¹⁹⁶

Written in 1459–1460, the outstanding phrase in this Scholarian passage is “original

guilt.” Scholarios’ phrase looks suspiciously like that of his teacher, Makres, who
had relied directly on Aquinas (SG, 4, 50–52). Makres mentioned ancestral guilt and
“impulse,” which Scholarios might have reworded as “punishment.” Scholarios was
likely encouraged to incorporate Makres’ terminology because of his love for Aquinas,
who was absconded within Makres opera.
Earlier in the same work, as an introduction to the Immaculate Conception and
baptism as remitting original sin and punishment, Scholarios asserted:

[…] We are are baptized into death (Rm., 6, 3). Now, it is very much so that seed was accustomed
to produce and still produces d i s t r i b u t a b l e ancestral sin and punishment, arriving in suc-
cession from t h a t [ f a m o u s A d a m i t e ] r o o t. Not only this, but even desire foretook him who
both had sown seed, in which it it sown, and also mediates the d e s i r e f o r t h e f l e s h, through
which the seeded are conceived. These, too, are the corollaries themselves with original sin and
its participation in all subsequent peoples. So, too, as there is a double creative principle of this
sort of body; namely, seed and its giver […] A father is the cause of seed […] ([…] εἰς τὸν θάνατον
αὐτοῦ βαπτιζόμεθα. Ἐποίει δὲ καὶ ποιεῖ δ ι α δ ό σ ι μ ο ν τὴν προγονικὴν ἁμαρτίαν τε καὶ ποινὴν
μάλιστα μὲν τὸ σπέρμα, ὡς ἐ κ τ ῆ ς ῥ ί ζ η ς ἐ κ ε ί ν η ς ἧκον διαδοχῇ· οὐκ αὐτὸ δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ
ἡ προλαμβάνουσα τοῦ τε σπείροντος ἐπιθυμία καὶ ἐν ᾗ σπείρεται καὶ ἡ μεσιτεύουσα τ ῆ ς σ α ρ κ ὸ ς

193 Meyronnes similarly discussed and concluded as much, but no obvious correspondence of vo-
cabulary exists. Their similarity might depend on common sources. Compare Conflatus, 3, 3, 2, 8–11,
pp. 166a–166b.
194 This may hint of praeservatio in Tractatus, 10, pp. 289a–290b.
195 This potentially corresponds to Mary’s donum supernaturale (original justice) in Tractatus, 1,
283a–284b. Contrariwise, Meyronnes objected to biological analogies and physical propagation to ex-
plain original sin’s transmission.
196 OCGS, I 2, 20, p. 501, 20–30. I have adapted the English translation from Livanos 2006a, 39.
246 | Christian W. Kappes

ὄ ρ ε ξ ι ς , δι’ ἧς σπειρόμενοι συλλαμβάνονται· ἃ καὶ αὐτὰ τῇ προγονικῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ καὶ τῇ ταύτης

ἐν τοῖς ὑστέροις πᾶσι μεθέξει ἀκόλουθα. Καὶ καθάπερ διπλῆ τοῦ τοιοῦδε σώματος ἡ π ο ι η τ ι κ ὴ
ἀ ρ χ ή, τό τε σπέρμα καὶ ὁ τοῦτο διδούς, εἰ καὶ τρόπον ἕτερον […] ὁ πατὴρ ὁ τοῦ σπέρματος αἴτιος
[…]) […] (Second traité sur l’origine de l’âme)¹⁹⁷

If we compare this to Palamas’ Homily 52, accepting Augustinian influence there, we

see that Scholarios performed a sort of strengthening of Palamas’ metaphor. Really,
Scholarios’ discourse on seed, immediately above, serves as almost a gloss on Pala-
mas and Augustine. However, Scholarios did not exactly cite Augustine ad litteram,
nor the strict vocabulary of Planudes, when he spoke of “seed and its giver.” Nev-
ertheless, it is possible for Scholarios to have been playing with Palamas’ idea (that
we saw above) that Adam’s infected nature/seed transmitted (ἀναδιδωμένην) its poi-
son to human nature.¹⁹⁸ Scholarios simply explicitated Palamas’ innuendo regarding
seed as the agent of transmission of original sin. This almost singular phraseology
among Greek texts of the Augustinian “desire for the flesh” might derive either directly
from Planudes, or indirectly from Aquinas graecus (cited below). Because Scholarios
left nothing to the imagination in his above mentioned discussion of seed, one might
be tempted to see Scholarios completely enamoured of Augustinian traducianism or
some literal infection of the flesh so as to exclude Aquinas from the text above. After
all, these metaphors feel and sound very traducian. On the contrary, in harmony with
Damascene, Scotus, and Meyronnes, Scholarios absolutely affirms in Second traité sur
l’origine de l’âme that the soul (instantly created by God contra traducianism) is imme-
diately infused at conception (rejecting Aquinas’ delayed ensoulment).¹⁹⁹ In the same
treatise, Scholarios even discussed Augustine’s account of the infusion of the soul,
though ultimately leaving it behind.²⁰⁰ Next, Scholarios also took up Aquinas’ posi-
tion of successive plant, animal, and human soul-forms in utero.²⁰¹ Ultimately, Schol-
arios refrained from naming Aquinas explicitly to save him the dishonor of rejecting
his theory in favor of Damascene (or less likely: Scotus, or Meyronnes). What are we
to make of such a hodge-podge?
Although Scotism might be suspected of directly inspiring the idea of exemption
from original sin, the tradition of the prepurified must first be definitively excluded,
not an easy task. Importantly, when Scholarios used physicalist language, it was to
provide his reader with an attractive analogy or metaphor that had long been absorbed
into Palamism. Here, Scholarios is also imitative of the vocabulary of Thomism. Non-
Augustinian and non-Palamite “distributable seed” was a metaphor of Aquinas grae-
cus. With Aquinas, unlike Meyronnes, Scholarios was able to honor Augustine’s lan-

197 OCGS, I 2, 17, p. 499, 15–23 (Translation mine).

198 Homiliae, IX 5, 1–2, p. 142, 1–11.
199 OCGS, I 2, 19, p. 500, 1–4.
200 OCGS, I 2, 11, p. 495, 13–18.
201 OCGS, I 2, 12, p. 495, 24–36, p. 496, 1–18.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 247

guage and examples, but also was able to transform “infected flesh” into a metaphor to
describe the effects of concupiscence after the privation of grace in the soul. Aquinas
inspired this vocabulary from the passage above:

Nowadays, children are likened to their parents as regards o r i g i n a l s i n , w h i c h i s s o c a l l e d

“ p hy s i c a l s i n” a n d i s s a i d t o b e t r a n s m i t t e d a l o n g w i t h [ h u m a n ] n a t u r e . In
this way would children be likened to their very parents with regard to original justice, which
belongs to the human species in an accidental way, not having as a cause the principles of the
species, but being some sort of g i f t given from God to the entire [human] nature ([…] νῦν οἱ παῖδες
ὁμοιοῦνται τοῖς γονεῦσι κατὰ τὴν προγονικὴν ἁμαρτίαν, φ υ σ ι κ ὸ ν ἁ μ ά ρ τ η μ α λ ε γ ο μ έ ν ην κ α ὶ
μ ε τ ὰ τ ῆ ς φ ύ σ ε ω ς δ ι α δ ι δ ο μ έ ν ην, οὕτως ὡμοίωντο ἂν καὶ τότε αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην
τὴν προγονικήν, συμβεβηκὸς οὖσαν τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ εἴδει, οὐ τὰς ἀρχὰς τοῦ εἴδους αἴτιον ἔχον,
ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ τι δ ῶ ρ ο ν θεόθεν δεδομένον ὅλῃ τῇ φύσει.). (Epitome of ST)²⁰²

Scholarios’ Second traité sur l’origine de l’âme explained transmission of sin in these
very terms. The phrase: “physical sin” can be misleading without taking into account
the term’s etymology and Scholastic sense. “Physical” simply refers to something that
is “of nature.” Taking human nature as a matter-soul composite, Scholarios traced the
sinfulness or infection of the flesh back to the soul immediately infused by God, be-
ing as it was, imperfect without original justice, or some similar grace. Consequently,
in every such instance of human nature – brought about by a spermatic cause – God
infuses a graceless soul into the naturally formed human fetal body. Because such a
composite is spiritually defective, always occasioned by participation in the spermatic
lineage of Adam (as consequence of a decree of divine justice), infection or physical
sin is predicated of the whole and, therefore, includes the flesh as a part of the whole.
Lastly, according to the Scholarian version of Aquinas graecus, original justice is the
alternative remedy or accident (gift) infusible by God at the soul’s creation. Could
Scholarios’ solution to the problem of Mary’s allegedly defective soul (via Aquinas),
simply be to introduce a positive divine decree to infuse Aquinas’ aforesaid “gift” in
anticipation of her divine maternity? Vocabulary, context, and method of argumenta-
tion do suggest that Scholarios had some recourse to Scotism. Elsewhere, Second traité
sur l’origine de l’âme obliquely referred to the Byzantine notion of the prepurified Mary
and biological assumptions (contra Aquinas) that can be sufficiently accounted for by
recourse to Palamas and Damascene.

202 OCGS, V [ST] 100, 1, p. 479, 8–13. Compare ST, 1, 100, corpus (Translation mine): “[…] natu-
raliter homo generat sibi simile secundum speciem. Unde quaecumque accidentia consequuntur natu-
ram speciei, in his necesse est quod filii parentibus similentur, nisi sit error in operatione naturae, qui in
statu innocentiae non fuisset. In accidentibus autem individualibus non est necesse quod filii parentibus
similentur. Iustitia autem originalis, in qua primus homo conditus fuit, fuit accidens naturae speciei,
non quasi ex principiis speciei causatum, sed sicut quoddam donum divinitus datum toti naturae. Et hoc
apparet, quia opposita sunt unius generis, peccatum autem originale, quod opponitur illi iustitiae, dic-
itur esse peccatum naturae; unde traducitur a parente in posteros. Et propter hoc etiam filii parentibus
assimilati fuissent quantum ad originalem iustitiam.”
248 | Christian W. Kappes

Lastly, Scholarios had read the ST in the early 1430s, subsequently even trans-
lating a relevant Augustinian passage (whether at that time or later) on original sin
that defines original sin as concupiscence. Though Augustine’s definition of origi-
nal sin as concupiscence was verbally respected, Aquinas completely reinterpreted
(or neutered) Augustine’s rather forthright assertion:

Thirdly, it is the case that this is a desire, for Augustine says in the book Retractions: “Desire
is the guilt of original sin” (Τρίτον, ὅτι τοῦτο ἐπιθυμία ἐστίν· φησὶ γὰρ Αὐγουστῖνος ἐν τῷ Τῶν
διορθώσεων βιβλίῳ, “Ἡ ἐπιθυμία ἐστὶν ἡ ἐνοχὴ τοῦ προγονικοῦ ἁμαρτήματος.”). (Epitome of the
ST)²⁰³

Aquinas went on to reduce this definition to mean that, as the result of the privation of
original justice in the spiritual entity of soul, desire or concupiscence arises out of the
body-soul composition coming into being.²⁰⁴ Augustine, as viewed through Aquinas
(along with Palamas’ extended metaphor of a satanic root), appears to be Scholarios’
primary source for his picturesque doctrine. Scholarios never felt that Palamas and
Aquinas needed to be opposed on this point. Returning to Scholarios’ use of Palamas,
he seamlessly combined (scripsit 1459–1460) Aquinas’ version of Augustinian doctrine
along with his beloved Palamas. Importantly, Scholarios is currently unique among
all Palamites (let alone Byzantines) to reproduce Palamas ad litteram on the subject
of original sin as follows:

[God] saves […] by baptism, that is, people seek the door of heavenly life to be opened and to be
loosed from a n c e s t r a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y (σῷζει […] τῷ βαπτίσματι δηλονότι, τ ῆ ς π ρ ο γ ο ν ι κ ῆ ς
ἀπολυομένους ε ὐ θ ύ ν η ς καὶ τὴν τῆς οὐρανίου ζωῆς πύλην ἀνεωγμένην εὑρίσκοντας […]) […] (Lot
of Souls post mortem)²⁰⁵

We should recall that, besides Scholarios, only Palamas had ever employed the ne-
ologism “ancestral responsibility.”²⁰⁶ Consequently, Scholarios proved his own ideas
about Adamite seed, desire for the flesh, and ancestral sin, and baptism were (at least
partially) from Palamas’ Homily 16: On Holy and Great Saturday:

God was not only born among men but, according to the prophets, born of a holy Virgin far above
all d e f i l e d t h o ug h t s o f t h e f l e s h. It was the Holy Spirit’s coming upon her, not d e s i r e f o r
t h e f l e s h, that caused the Virgin to conceive, and the conception was preceded by good tidings
and faith in God’s indwelling, not acceptance and experience of passionate d e s i r e (Διὰ τοῦτο
οὐ μόνον Θεὸς ἐν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ Παρθένου ἁγίας καὶ μ ε μ ο λυ σ μ έ ν ω ν λ ο γ ι σ μ ῶ ν τ ῶ ν

203 OCGS, VI [ST] 1–2, 82, 3, p. 96, 18–20 (Translation mine). Compare ST, 1–2, 82, 3, sed contra: “Sed
contra est quod Augustinus dicit, in libro Retract., ‘concupiscentia est reatus originalis peccati.’”
204 ST, 1–2, 82, 3, corpus.
205 OCGS, I 3, p. 510, 4–6 (Translation mine).
206 A thorough tabulation of Greek literature (TLG) located –besides Scholarios and Palamas above
– no other author writing thus in Greek literature. See, too, Palam., CL, p. 55, 15–16, Homiliae, 31, 5, p.
284, 3– 4.
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 249

ἐ κ τ ῆ ς σ α ρ κ ὸ ς ἀνωτέρας κατὰ τοὺς προφήτας γεννᾶται, Παρθένου ἧς τ ὴν σ ύ λ λ η ψ ι ν ἁγίου

Πνεύματος ἐπέλευσις, οὐ σ α ρ κ ὸ ς ἐπήνεγκεν ὄ ρ ε ξ ι ς, εὐαγγελισμὸς καὶ πίστις Θεοῦ ἐνδημίας,
ἀλλ’ οὐ συγκατάθεσις καὶ πεῖρα ἐμπαθοῦς ἐ π ι θ υ μ ί α ς προείληφε […]) […]²⁰⁷

I note that Palamas self-plagiarized verbatim his own Homily 52 (or vice versa), as
cited earlier above. If we compare either Homily 16 or Homily 52 to Planudes’ trans-
lation, virginal conception (παρθένος, σύλληψις), flesh (σάρξ), desire (ἐπιθυμία), and
especially fleshly desire (σαρκὸς ὄρεξις) all predominate.²⁰⁸ Furthermore, Augustine,
as Palamas and Scholarios, saw Mary as the principle (ἀρχή) or root of good flesh in
opposition to the bad flesh of original sin (cf. Aug. De Trin., 13, 18, 23).
A full comparison of texts highlights numerous features common to Augustine,
Palamas, and Scholarios. If the rare phrase “desire for the flesh” occurs in all three
authors, the only one other instance of this phrase, which I am able to locate in pa-
tristic literature is not clearly in relation to original sin. Nonetheless, even this phrase
may derive from older Greek translations of Augustine.²⁰⁹ Admittedly, Scholarios in-
dulged in idiosyncratic language smacking of biologism more than either Augustine’s
De Trinitate, or Palamas’ Homilies 16 and Homily 52. For his part, Palamas avoided
Augustine’s traducian tone of infection. Indeed, Scholarios’ familiarity with various
passages from Augustine and his own default preference for Aquinas encouraged him
to indulge in these biological metaphors. Albeit Aquinas reverenced Augustine ver-
bally and as an auctoritas, Scholarios nonetheless distanced himself from exagger-
ately physicalist descriptions of original sin typical of Augustinian traducianism. In-

207 Homiliae, IX 16, 5, p. 428, 16–21 (Engl. tr., p. 117).

208 Augustinian influence of original sin within this homily was first argued in Likoudis 2007, 149.
209 Cyril had contact with and verifiable knowledge of Augustine’s works. See Lyonnet 1961, 14–25,
Dunn 2006, 63–88, and van Loon 2013, 61–84. Strong evidence for several translations, as well as some
fragments, exists per Dekkers 1952, 197–217. Some scholars have appealed to Cyril distinguishing be-
tween actual sin of Adam and its effects on “nature” as distancing Cyril from Augustine in Cyr. Fragm.
in Roman., 5, 18, p. 186, 1–31, p. 187, 1–1. On the contrary, Cyril’s distinctions did not violate Augustine’s
own positions. In fact, one must read the aformentioned citation in dialogue with Cyril’s commentary
on LXX Ps., 50 (popular in North African hamarteology). Cyril was unequalled in Greek in his gloss on:
“I was conceived in unlawfulnesses,” as if employing Augustinian material. For example, from a large
amount of material, see only the first section in Cyr., Expl. super Psalm., 50, 7, ed. J.-P. Migne, Paris
1864, col. 1092A–C: Ἔθος τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐκμειλίσσεσθαι Θεὸν καὶ καλεῖν εἰς ἔλεον διὰ πλείστων μὲν ὅσων
ἔσθ’ ὅτε φωνῶν, πλὴν καὶ διά γε τοῦ κατηγορεῖν ἐπείγεσθαι τῆς ἐνούσης ἀσθενείας τῇ ἀνθρώπου φύσει
[…] Ἰώβ, ἀνεφώνει πρὸς Θεόν· “Ἢ οὐχ ὥσπερ γάλα με ἤμελξας […]” Τοσοῦτον δή τοι καὶ νῦν διὰ τῶν
προκειμένων στίχων ὑποδηλοῦσθαί φαμεν. Αὐτὴν γὰρ ἡμῶν τῆς γενέσεως τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐ δίχα ῥύπου
φιλοσαρκίας γενέσθαι φησί. Τίμιος μὲν γὰρ ὁμολογουμένως ὁ γάμος καὶ πέρα διαβολῆς τὸ χρῆμα παρὰ
Θεῷ. Πλὴν εἴ τις περιεργάσαιτο τῆς συνόδου τὴν πρόφασιν, ὄ ρ ε ξ ι ν εὑρήσει σ α ρ κ ὸ ς ... αὐτήν, κἂν μὴ
ἐπα[μύνηται ὡς ἁ]μαρτία τὸ δρώμενον. Κολάζεται γοῦν ἡ σύνοδος, ἐὰν μὴ νόμον ἔχῃ τὸν βραβευτήν,
καὶ παιδοποιίας ἔφεσιν τὴν ἀληθῆ τοῦ πράγματος ἀφορμήν. Οὐκοῦν, τό γε ἧκον εἰς ὀρέξεις μόνας καὶ
κίνημα σαρκικόν, ἐ ν ἀ ν ο μ ί α ι ς ἡ μ ῶ ν ἡ σ ύ λ λ η ψ ι ς , κ α ὶ ἐ ν ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ι ς κ ι σ σ ῶ σ ι ν α ἱ μ η τ έ ρ ε ς.
Ε ἰ δ ὲ ῥ ί ζ α ν ἔ χ ε ι τ ὴν φ ι λ ο σ α ρ κ ί α ν τ ῶ ν σ ω μ ά τ ω ν ἡ γ έ ν ε σ ι ς, νοσεῖ που πάντως αὐτή, καὶ τὰ
ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννώμενα […]
250 | Christian W. Kappes

stead Scholarios favored underlining original sin as a privation of immaterial grace or

“original justice.” For his part, Scholarios developed a Palamite reception of language
and metaphor reflecting Augustinianism and, though extending these metaphors into
a more expansive narrative. He explicitly distanced himself from traducianism and
any allegedly erroneous notion of morally culpable “original guilt” as applied to a fe-
tus in utero.

Conclusions
In the first part of our study, we encountered modern and contemporary ex professo
Orthodox scholars who offered their preliminary impressions of Scholarios. They now
appear to have misjudged Scholarios on the question of his sources and method for
arriving at his doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and original sin. In the sec-
ond part, we saw that Roman Catholic scholars tended toward exuberant enthusiasm
wherever dependence of Scholarios on Latin Schoolmen, especially Aquinas, might
be inferred. Outside the purview of both narratives, Gregorios Palamas was discov-
ered not only to depend on Augustine for seminal ideas on Trinitarian theology, but
also to be influenced by Augustine’s explanation of original sin. Although Palamas
failed to adopt Planudes’ explicitly and idiosyncratically Greek attribution of guilt to
everybody under the Adamite curse, Palamas found that seed and plant analogies
supplied attractive preaching material that graphically conveyed the mode by which
the satanic poison of original sin was passed down to humans of his own genera-
tion. In league with the tradition of the prepurification of Mary, Palamas expanded
the range of Mary’s life that had been affected by purifications so as to exempt the vir-
ginal root of the Christ from taint. Consequently, Mary proved entirely free of infection
and always apt to supply flesh to Jesus.
Palamas’ contemporary, Nicholas Kabasilas, was equally disposed toward Augus-
tinianism in his sacramentology and theory of original sin. What is more, Kabasi-
las had recourse to Aquinas graecus so as to rearrange ST, 3, 27, in order to exempt
Mary from the Augustinian curse of infected flesh in a manner befitting her tradi-
tional dignity in Byzantine Mariology. Demetrios Kydones was a likely inspiration,
if not the unique source, for Kabasilas’ inverted (anti-)Thomistic method of approach-
ing the question. Thereafter, our sampling of the Palamite school led us to understand
that Augustinian teachings and metaphors were welcomed into Palamite hamarteol-
ogy, likely in imitation of the forerunner Palamas. Augustinian theology continued
to increase in influence until its culmination in the works of Markos of Ephesus and
Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios.
Scholarios adopted the metaphors of Adamite root and infection to explain the
transmission of original sin, developing and citing Palamas and members of his pos-
terior school. Because of Scholarios’ greater access to both Greek translations and
 Palamas’ Reception of Augustine and Kabasilas’ Rejection of Thomas Aquinas | 251

Latin manuscripts of Augustine’s work, Scholarios unsurprisingly provided his read-

ers with a more generous fare from the Augustinian corpus. Even Scholarios’ adoption
of phrases, such as “original guilt,” was hardly innovative by his own time. Through
Scholarios’ Palamite teachers, Augustine (and perhaps Fulgentius of Ruspe) had al-
ready made a substantial impact on Byzantine theologians. It is true that Scholar-
ios was unusually bold to cite Aquinas openly, even commending him as a theolo-
gian. Nonetheless, Scholarios’ Palamite educators had been willing to cite and em-
ploy Aquinas, although they consistently omitted his name from their pages, almost
as if a case of damnatio memoriae. All the same, Scholarios was no inventor, but
rather a synthesizer of a Latino-Greek anthropology and Mariology, which imitated
an au courant practice in the Palamite school. On the precise question of the Immac-
ulate Conception, Scholarios expressly had access to Scotists who were generally un-
available to his monolingual Palamite predecessors. However, on this particular ques-
tion of Mary’s all-holiness, we find only faint echoes of Scotism to solve the riddle of
the origin of Mary’s “gift.” Instead, having looked at Scholarios’ use of Augustine,
Damascene, Aquinas, Palamas, Kabasilas, Symeon of Thessalonica, and Makres, suf-
ficient evidence and the principle of parsimony persuade us to conclude that Scholar-
ios never strayed far from sources already in common use among Palamites. Indeed,
Scholarios employed these sources better to speak in more systematic fashion about
original sin and to exempt Mary from its orbit. In short, if Palamas and the canon-
ized saints of his school embody the “The Orthodox Tradition” of theologizing in the
second millennium, then Scholarios deserves an honorific seat at their table.²¹⁰

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

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210 I am grateful to the following for their suggested corrections: Dr. Denis Searby (Stolckholm, SE),
Dr. P. Athanasopoulos (Patras, GR), Dr. H.-M. Congourdeau (UMR 8167, Paris), Dr. J.A. Demetracopoulos
(Patras, GR), Dr. Trent Pomplun (Loyola, Baltimore, MD), Adam Kemner (St. Ambrose, Davenport, IA),
and Alexis Bugnolo (Rome, IT).
252 | Christian W. Kappes

Cod. Gig. Codex Gigas librorum, Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, A. 148, fols.
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Cod. Par. Codex Parisinus graecus 1213, 325r–354v
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Michail Konstantinou-Rizos
Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas
Aquinas’ Quaestiones disputatae de potentia
and Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus
creaturis
Method and Purpose

Unlike Demetrios Cydones, whose life and work is well documented and has been ex-
tensively studied,¹ not much is known about his brother Prochoros’ life.² Most of our
information comes from Demetrios’ Letters and the Synodal Tome of 1368 that con-
demned him. Demetrios’ younger brother by almost eleven years, Prochoros, was born
c. 1333/4. Sharing his brother’s intellectual interests and spiritual pursuits, he trav-
eled to Mount Athos sometime after 1350. There he was tonsured and later ordained
priest, before he was elected abbot of the Great Lavra. We do not know in what way
he learned Latin, though it is possible that he was taught by his brother, who had
learnt the language from a Dominican friar in Pera, probably Philippo de Bindo In-
contris.³ His admiration for Latin scholastic thought and his expressed anti-Palamite
theological convictions proved incompatible with his position within the strongly pro-
Palamite community on Mount Athos.
Soon, his anti-Palamite convictions reached the ears of the Patriarch Philotheos.
In 1366, some of Prochoros’ fellow monks complained about his attitude. A year later,
on the first Sunday of Lent in 1367, although Prochoros was required to read out and
sign at the synaxis the Synodal Tome of the Council the hesychasts had held the pre-
vious year, he continued expressing his hostility against Palamas’ teachings. His cell
was subsequently searched and Prochoros was found to possess “heretical books”.
On this pretext, he was expelled by his superior, Jacob Trikanas. His condemnation
led his brother Demetrios to go public against the Palamite version of hesychasm, of-
ficially sanctioned by the Byzantine Church (1341; 1351; 1368), as is evident in some of
his letters. Prochoros himself wrote a letter to Philotheos in the early summer of 1367,
complaining about the dishonourable defamation (συκοφαντία) and injustice (ἀδικία)

1 For a comprehensive bibliography on Demetrios, see Ryder 2010.

2 See Trapp et al. 1990, no. 13883. See also Mercati 1931a; Tyn 1964, 837–912; Podskalsky 1977b, 207–
209; Tinnefeld 1981, 237–244; Russell 2006, 75–91; Plested 2012a, 73–84; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2015,
582–583; J. A. Demetracopoulos n.d.(c).
3 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2010a, 834–835.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-271
260 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

against him.⁴ He also sent his refutations of Palamism, including his work De Essentia
et operatione,⁵ inviting the Patriarch to read and judge for himself. The reason for com-
posing these works, he said, was to vindicate “the great mystery of theology” (τὸ μέγα
τῆς θεολογίας μυστήριον), which God wished to keep partly inaccessible to man and
which was disreputed by the “novel inventors of doctrine” (νέοι δογματισταί), imply-
ing Palamas and his followers. Those “novel inventors” thought they could describe
the divine being by dividing it into two or three levels, namely essence, potency, and
energies; they even claimed that man could reach deification in this life.
The teachings of Gregory Palamas (c. 1296–1357), known as the Palamite theology
or Palamism, had been rejected by the Western Christianity and divided the Byzan-
tines. In his refutations of Palamism, Prochoros adopted the scholastic method (pre-
sumably taught by his brother) and was – rather unfairly – accused of subjecting pa-
tristic texts to syllogistic reasoning, contrary to the usual method of interpretation
employed by orthodox theologians (τῆς ἡμῶν ἑξηγήσεως), clearly aiming to oppose
it.⁶ Differentiating between the terms energy and energetic (ἐνέργεια and ἐνεργητικόν)
and between action and acting (ἐνέργημα and ἐνεργοῦν), in this following John Dam-
ascene, Prochoros attempted to show in his works, according to the Synodal Tome of
1368, not only that God is pure essence without natural and essential energy as re-
ally distinct from his essence, but also that it is impossible for man to participate in
the divinity, which goes counter to the Palamite doctrine of man’s deification in statu
viae.⁷
As far as we know, Prochoros composed a limited number of works,⁸ namely a
treatise On the divine names and the apophatic and cataphatic theology⁹ (refuting Pala-
mas’ theory that the names of God refer solely to His energies), and a treatise De es-
sentia et operatione Dei (Περὶ οὐσίας και ἐνεργείας). His major contributions were his
translations of Latin patristic and theological works, including Augustine’s De beata

4 Synodal Tome of 1368, l. 604–605, in: Rigo 2004, 121 (=PG 151: cols. 696B-C).
5 This work has been inadequately edited by J. Filovski and M. D. Petruševski, “Γρηγορίου τοῦ
Ἀκινδύνου Πραγματεία εἰς τὸ περὶ οὐσίας καὶ ἐνεργείας ζήτημα”, in: Živa antika 23 (1973) 33–67 and
317–367; 24 (1974), 295–331; 26 (1976), 161–192 and 487–499. For Books I and II, see also PG 151, cols.
1191–1242; for book VI, see also Candal 1954, 247–296. The work, erroneously attributed to Gregory
Akinindynos, is in fact Prochoros Cydones’. A new critical edition of the complete text is being pre-
pared by Ch. Triabtafyllopoulos and V. Pasiourtides (See https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/Hellenic-
Institute/Research/Thomas.html ). For the treatise’s impact, see: Triantafyllopoulos 2012, 411–429. See
also Voordeckers and Tinnefeld 1987.
6 Synodal Tome of 1368, l., in: Rigo 2004, 106 (=PG 151, col. 698B-C).
7 Synodal Tome of 1368, l., in: Rigo 2004, 106 (=PG 151, col. 698D).
8 See Plested 2012a, 77–80.
9 Edited in Polemis 2012.
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 261

vita (I 4–II 9),¹⁰ De vera religione (I 1–VIII 15),¹¹ eight Letters;¹² De libero arbitrio (up to
I, 90),¹³ Ps.-Augustine, De decem plagis Aegyptiorum;¹⁴ Hervaeus Natalis, Sententiae,
Lib. I, dist. I, qq. 1–4 and 7;¹⁵ Boethius, De topicis differentiis (as far as ‘ἐν οἷς...’ ΙΙ,
11.8),¹⁶ and more importantly Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, Pars IIIa, qq. 45, 49, 54–
55; Supplementum, 76 qq., De aeternitate mundi, proem to the Commentary on Aris-
totle’s Metaphysics, and the Quaestiones disputatae de potentia (QDP)¹⁷ and Quaestio
disputata de spiritualibus creaturis (QDSC).¹⁸ It is Prochoros’ translations of these two
Questiones that I have edited in an attempt to further explore the transmission and
impact of Latin philosophical and theological texts in Byzantium in the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries, as part of the international research project Thomas de Aquino
Byzantinus.¹⁹
The answer to the question why Prochoros chose to translate these two Quaes-
tiones can be found in their content. QDSC examines the nature of spiritual crea-
tures focusing on God and the angels, while QDP investigates the power of God;
whether there is power in Him and if it is infinite and generative, if He is omnipo-
tent and almighty, and generally themes related to the nature of the divine essence
and power. De potentia also refers to the Filioque. Both works explore the question
whether the essence of spiritual beings, including God, is identical with their and
power/energy/activity, which was at the heart of the Palamite controversy.
One of the main aims of my study is to explore the method and technique Pro-
choros used in rendering the original Latin text of the two Questiones into Greek in
an attempt to assess the metaphrastic process. For this purpose, specimens of the two
texts are examined in parallel below, by means of a philological commentary (includ-
ing a lexical and stylistic analysis) based on a collation of Prochoros’ Greek transla-
tions with the Latin original texts in the Leonina and Taurini editions. It should be

10 Unedited.
11 Edited in Lössl 2007.
12 Edited in Hunger 1990b.
13 Edited in Hunger 1990b, 12–53.
14 Hunger 1990b, 54–69.
15 An edition is prepared by Chr. Kappes (See https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/Hellenic-Institute/
Research/Thomas.html ).
16 Nikitas 1990.
17 See Thomas Aquinas, Sancti Thomae De Aquino, Opera Omnia. Iussu Leonis XIII P. M. edita cura
et studio fratrum praedicatorum, Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus creaturis, ed. J. Cos, t. 24, 2,
Rome/Paris, 2000.
18 See Thomas Aquinas, S. Thomae Aquinatis doctoris angelici, Quaestiones disputatae, ed. P. M. Pes-
sion, t. 2, Quaestiones disputatae de potentia (10ª edition: Marietti), Taurini/Romae, 1965, 1–276.
19 For information on this project, co-hosted by the University of Patras and RHUL Hellenic Institute,
see https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/Hellenic-Institute/Research/Thomas.htm. My research for the
edition of Prochoros Cydones’ QDP and QDSC is funded by the Foundation for Education and European
Culture (IPEP) and the RHUL Hellenic institute.
262 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

stressed that during our collation of the Greek and Latin Quaestiones, it became clear
that Prochoros must have used a different tradition of the Latin texts, as indicated by
a large number of variants as well as passages in the Greek text that do not correspond
to the edited Latin text.
In his translation of QDP and QDSC Prochoros retained, by and large, the struc-
ture and word order of the Latin text, so long as it agreed with the syntax of his target
language. Nevertheless, he was prepared to adapt the text when necessary in order
to keep the meaning of the Latin words and at the same time to make the Greek ver-
sion natural and comprehensible for the reader, who would read it independently,
rather than using it as a guide to the Latin original. Hence he often uses periphrasis in
his translation to provide a more varied, stylish and natural rendering in Greek, e. g.,
in QDP, “est formatum” has been translated as “εἰς εἶδος ἦλθεν” (QDP 4, 1, 15.100],
“perspicacitas” as “τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων διορατικόν” (QDP 13, 17, 32, l. 180), “est” as
“ἐστήρικται” (QDP 5, 8, 11, l. 91) and “impedit” as “ἐμποδὼν γίνεται” (QDP 1, 3, 23, l.
168). Similarly, in QDSC, “τοῦ σώματος” for “corporalem” (QDSC 9, 30, l. 361) and “τὰ
εἰς κόσμον τελοῦντα” for “ornamenta” (QDSC 8, 33, l. 341); also “necessarium (est)”
becomes “ἀναγκαῖον τυγχάνει” (QDSC 4, 6, ll. 32–34), while throughout the text “Com-
mentator” translates as “Ὑπόμνημα”, which is more common in Greek.
On the other hand, Prochoros often acurately renders phrases of Aquinas’ text
in a more concise manner; for example, he translates “quod est commune” as “τοῦ
κοινοῦ” (QDSC 11, 6, 39), “ea ratione” as “οὕτω” (QDSC 11, 27, 221) and “de naturis
rerum sensibilium” as “τῶν νοητῶν πραγμάτων” (QDSC 9, 21, 155). There is an instance
where he abridges even a whole section:

Aquinas QDSC a. 1 ad 9 Prochoros’ translation 1, 45, ll. 401–404

Non enim ex hoc contingit quod aliquod Ἀλλ’ ὅτι τοδὶ μὲν ἔμψυχον ἄτομον ἔχει τε
indiuiduum sit corpus inanimatum et aliud δεύτερον εἶδος, δι’ οὗ ἔχει οὐ μόνον τὸ
corpus animatum per hoc quod indiuiduum ὑφεστάναι καὶ σῶμα εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὸ
animatum habet formam aliquam, cui ζῆν, τὸ ἕτερον δὲ ἔχει εἶδος ἀτελέστερον, δι’ οὗ
substernatur forma substantialis corporis; set οὐκ ἐφικνεῖται πρὸς τὴν ζωήν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ
quia hoc indiuiduum animatum habet formam ὑφεστάναι μόνον σωματικῶς.
perfectiorem, per quam habet non solum
subsistere et corpus esse, sed etiam uiuere;
aliud autem habet formam imperfectiorem, per
quam non attingit ad uitam, sed solum ad
subsistere corporaliter.
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 263

These abridgments, or more concise renderings of phrases, if not due to defects of

the Latin manuscript used by Prochoros, serve a practical purpose, that is, to avoid
repetition and obfuscating the meaning.
This tendency of avoiding repetition on aesthetic grounds is also evident from
instances where a certain noun is repeated in a section of the Latin text. Prochoros
replaces the noun in question with the definite pronoun αὐτός in oblique cases, e. g.:
“Τῷ αὐτῷ δὲ λόγῳ τὸ σῶμα (corpus) διοικεῖ, ᾧ καὶ ἑνοῦται· οἰχομένων γὰρ τῶν οἷς
αὐτὸ (corpus) διοικεῖ ἀπαλλάττεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ (corpore)” (QDSC 3, 7, ll. 53–54); also
“τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς (animae rationalis) ... Παραδυομένης τοίνυν αὐτῆς (anima ra-
tionali)” (QDSC 3, 12, ll. 74–75). In QDP (3, 5, l. 5) the “posteriores philosophi” are ren-
dered as “ἐπιγενόμενοι φιλόσοφοι” (l. 36) and later in the same paragraph as “ὕστατον
φιλοσοφήσαντες” (l. 44). Throughout Prochoros’ translation it is clear that he likes
to vary his vocabulary. In QDP (3, 18, l. 23) he translates “(corpora) propinqua” as
“(σώματα) τὰ ἐκποδὼν αὐτῷ” and in the same paragraph he renders “(creaturas an-
gelicas) sibi propinquas” as “τοὺς ἀγγελικοὺς διακόσμους τοὺς παρ’ αὐτήν”. In other
cases he omits repeating the noun in question when not necessary, as shown in the
following sections:

Aquinas, q. 3 a. 6 co. QDP 3, 6, 30, l. 173

Et vetus Testamentum, quod respectu novi καὶ τὴν Παλαιὰν Διαθήκην, πρὸς τὴν Νέαν
Testamenti

Aquinas, q. 3 a. 9 sol. 9 QDP 3, 9, 39, ll. 321–322

In g e n e r e substantiae, sicut est in g e n e r e τῆς οὐσίας γ έ ν ε ι, ᾗ δὴ κἀν τ ῷ τῆς ποιότητος

qualitatis

Another characteristic of Prochoros’ translation is that he uses the same translation

for a number of similar terms, e. g. “σκέψις” for “inquisitio” (QDSC 1, 36, l. 207) and
“consideratio” (QDSC 8, 23, l. 238); “μεταβολή” for “mutabilitas” (QDSC 1, 3, l. 16),
“transmutatio” (QDSC 3, 28, l. 266) and “conversio” (QDSC 3, 19, l. 117).²⁰ On the other
hand, he often gives more than one translation for a single word or term, e. g. “πλείω”
(QDSC 3, 28, l. 280), “περαιτέρω” (QDSC 3, 28, l. 296), “πλέον” (QDSC 6, 41, l. 280),
“μᾶλλον” (QDSC 9, 21, l. 226) for “amplius”. In the case of “ὑπερτάτη (QDSC 8, 21,
l. 219), ἀνωτάτη (QDSC 8, 21, l. 193) and χθαμαλωτέρα (QDSC 8, 32, l. 335) μοῖρα” for
“suprema pars”, the latter has the opposite meaning, which points rather to a different
word in the Latin MS Prochoros consulted. The same applies for “διάνοια” (QDSC 10,
29, l. 367), “ζωή” (QDSC 1, 17, l. 52) and “μνήμη” (QDSC 11, 1, l. 6) for “mens”.

20 See lists of Prochoros’ translation of terms in Hunger 1984a, 4–92; cf. review by Nicol 1985.
264 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

More importantly, Prochoros’ translation alters the meaning of certain words,

e. g. “μόρφωσις” (QDSC 2, 22, l. 161) for “forma” (unless he was reading “formatio”),
while his interpretation of certain words sometimes departs from the original mean-
ing, without however disrupting the understanding of the context, e. g. his translation
of “Ergo cum in parte non inveniatur figura totius ...” as “Ἐπεὶ τοιγαροῦν τὰ μέρη οὐ
μιμεῖται τὸ τοῦ ὅλου σχῆμα ...” (QDSC 4, 8, ll. 49–50) – unless, again, Prochoros was
reading a different word, e. g. “imitetur” instead of “inveniatur”.
Finally, Prochoros tends to exaggerate certain Latin words by choosing stronger
words in his translation, especially using the superlative degree of comparison in
rendering Latin adverbs and adjectives into Greek. For example, in QDP, he uses
“κατάδηλόν ἐστιν” for “patet” (QDP 3, 6, l. 30), “ὁνησιμωτάτη” for “utilis” (QDP 5,
6, 17, l. 151), “σκοπημότατον” for “intentus” (QDP 3, 15, 23, l. 133), and “τὸ αἶσχος”
for “informitas” (QDP 4, 1, 2, l. 14). In QDSC, “μάλιστα” for “magis” (QDSC 9, 31, l.
378), “ἐρρωμενέστατα” (QDSC 2, 23, l. 180) for “efficacius” and “ἠλιθιώτατον” for
“absurdum” (QDSC 7, 7, l. 48).
From the aforementioned examples it is evident that Prochoros’ main aim was to
convey the meaning of the sententiae to the Greek reader in a clear and elegant style,
sometimes maybe at the expense of consistency in his translation of terms, as indeed
his brother Demetrios did.²¹
Nevertheless, in other cases these divergences, rather than reflecting Prochoros’
comprehension of the Latin text or his ability to render it in Greek, are most likely a
result of errors of the scribe/s, namely misreadings, misunderstandings, misspellings,
omissions and homoioteleuta (eyeskips). For example, errors such as “δὴ” instead of
“δεῖ” (QDSC 1, 1, l. 6), “ἢ” instead of “εἰ” (QDSC 1, 10, l. 60) and “ἥτις” instead of “εἴ
τις” (QDSC 1, 36, l. 240) are due to itacism and/or the resemblance of the majuscule
Η with the diphthong ει. Similar confusion leading to misspellings is caused by the
homophones omicron and omega (isochronism), so we often find “αὐτῷ” instead of
“αὐτό” (QDSC 9, 20, l. 138), “ὃ” instead of “ᾧ” (QDSC 10, 19, l. 135) and “τῶν” instead of
“τόν” (QDSC 1, 11, l. 95). Responsible for such errors, including accentuation, can also
be the copyist’s personal literacy and comprehension – or lack thereof – of the text he
had in front of him, which may have led him to either reproduce an error by copying it
or introduce a new one. For example, the erroneous “ὑφεστῶς” for “ὑφεστὼς” in our
codex appears consistently throughout the text.
In the wider category of scribal errors, we may include oddities in the Greek trans-
lation, possibly a result of errors and/or omissions in the Latin MSS that Prochoros
was reading. A good example is the use of “ἡ πρώτη ὕλη” in the nominative instead
of the expected syntax, “ἀπὸ πρώτης ὕλης” (“a prima materia”) (QDSC 1, 21, l. 149); it
is possible that Prochoros was reading “prima materia” without the preposition “a”
and therefore misunderstood it as nominative.

21 On Demetrios’ translating method see now Wright 2013b, 19–30; Also Kalamakis 1996, 40–51.
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 265

Certain syntactical errors or oddities in the Greek translation may be attributed

to Prochoros himself, e. g. “τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἑνώσει” instead of “τῇ μετ’αὐτοῦ ἑνώσει” (“per
huiusmodi unionem”) (QDSC 3, 11, l. 67). In some cases, Prochoros is clearly influ-
enced by the Latin syntax, e. g. “τῶν μετεχόντων αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς” for “quae partici-
pant ipsum lumen”, where the accusative lumen misleads him to place τὸ φῶς in the
accusative, instead of genitive (QDSC 10, 25, l. 318); also “εἶδος ... ἥτις ἐστί”, where
he qualifies the neuter εἶδος with the feminine pronoun ἥτις, having the feminine
“forma” in mind; the same with “ὥστ’ εἶναι δύο ψυχαί” (instead of ψυχάς) for “quod
sint duae animae”. Another interesting example is Prochoros’ translation of “ad unum
totum constituendum” as “πρὸς ἓν ὅλον ποιητέον”, where, influenced by the Latin
gerundive attraction, he uses πρὸς + verbal adjective instead of a final clause to ex-
press purpose.²²
At this point it should be stressed that the Leonine edition of QDSC rarely records
variants of words that would help us identify MSS, or families of MSS, which might
transmit the text Prochoros had at his disposal. As for QDP, the Taurini edition lacks an
apparatus criticus altogether. Some peculiarities in the translation indicate that Pro-
choros was reading a different word than the one in the edited Latin text. For example,
in QDSC, the translation of “necessitatis” as “εὐγενείας” (QDSC 6, 21, l. 146) suggests
that Prochoros was reading a different word (in this case perhaps “nobilitatis”); the
same applies for the translation of “vacuum” as “ὀρνίθων” (from “avium”?) (QDSC 7,
3, l. 18), and “agentem” as “νοοῦντα” (from “intelligentem”?) (QDSC 9, 21, l. 161). Sim-
ilarly, in QDP we observe Prochoros’ translation of “sive” as “ὥσπερ”, which suggests
that Prochoros was probably reading “sicut” (QDP 2, 3, 10, l. 63). From his translation
“ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸ τοῦ δημιουργηθῆναι τὸ σῶμα” for “anima antequam corpori uniatur”
(QDP 3, 10, 7, l. 45) we assume that Prochoros was translating the word “creatur” in-
stead of “uniatur”.
Furthermore, there are instances where the Greek translation makes more sense
than the Latin edited text. In “Τινὲς γὰρ ἀρχαῖοι φιλόσοφοι μὴ τιθέμενοι ἄλλην ὁδὸν
καταλήψεως παρὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν” for “quidam antiqui philosophi, non ponentes aliam
vim cognoscitivam praeter sensum” (QDSC 10, 28, l. 353) we see that Prochoros was
translating the appropriate word “viam” (recorded most likely in his MS/S) instead of
the “vim” recorded in the Leonine edition. Prochoros’ translation of such variants may
help the editors of Aquinas’ works reconstruct the Latin text and possibly improve the
modern editions. In QDP, the incomprehensible phrase “Deus praedestinavit Petrum
quia voluit” in the Taurini edition makes sense when we read Prochoros’ translation “ὁ
Θεὸς προώρισε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν”, which indicates that he was reading a different word,
most likely “peccatum”:

22 This is also attested in Demetrios Cydones’ translations: see J. A. Demetracopoulos 2002b, 117–171;
J. A. Demetracopoulos 2007a, 301–376.
266 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

Aquinas QDP q. II a. 3 arg. 4 Prochoros QDP 2, 3, 4

Sed contra, praedestinatio quodammodo est ὁ γὰρ προορισμὸς τρόπῳ γέ τῳ, ἐνέργεια ἐστὶ τοῦ
actus intellectus: dicimus enim, quod D e u s νοῦ. Φαμὲν δὲ ὅτι ὁ Θ ε ὸ ς π ρ ο ώ ρ ι σ ε τ ὴ ν
p r a e d e s t i n a v i t P e t r u m quia voluit, ἁ μ α ρ τ ί α ν, ὅτι ἠθέλησε, κατ’ ἐκεῖνο τῆς Πρὸς
secundum illud Rom. IX, 18: cuius vult miseretur Ῥωμαίους ἐν τῷ ἐνάτῳ· ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ, ὃν δὲ
et quem vult indurat. Ergo non solum in humanis θέλει σκληρύνει. Οὐκ ἄρα ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρωπείοις
sed etiam in divinis voluntas imperat actum μόνον, ἀλλὰ κἀν τοῖς θείοις ἡ θέλησις ἐπιτάττει
intellectus. ταῖς τοῦ νοῦ ἐνεργείαις.

This observation is strengthened by the following examples: Prochoros translates

“...οὐκ ἀνάγκη ἐκ τῆς ἐπινοίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἢ [intentione] τοῦ εἴδους εἶναι τὸ
νοεῖσθαι παρ’ ἐμοῦ ἢ ἄλλου” (QDSC 9, 34, l. 401–2) for “...non oportet quod de in-
tellectu hominis aut intentionis speciei sit quod intelligatur a me uel ab illo”. The
last word, “ἄλλου”, should have been “alio” (by someone else) in the Latin edited
text, if supported by a witness, as it seems more correct than the “illo” (by him/that
one) adopted in the Leonine edition; “alio” is simply not recorded by the editor in
the apparatus criticus. Also, Prochoros translates “per cor mouet alia membra, et per
spiritum etiam mouet corpus” as “διὰ μὲν τῆς καρδίας κινεῖν τὰ ἄλλα μέλη, διὰ δὲ τοῦ
πνεύματος, κινεῖ τὴν καρδίαν” (QDSC 3, 28, l. 178–9). The word “corpus” could be an
erroneous variant of “cor”.
It is evident, therefore, that Prochoros’ translations of QDP and QDSC are essential
in identifying and restoring problematic parts in the modern Latin editions, and at the
same time shed light on the transmission of the Latin text, thus proving instrumen-
tal for future editors of Aquinas’ two works. The same applies more generally for the
future editions of Latin Thomistic works that have been translated into Greek. Given
that modern editions are inevitably based on a limited number of surviving codices so
far discovered and catalogued, there may be similar instances where the Greek trans-
lation is more comprehensible than the Latin text, which may be based on erroneous
variants.
Concerning the rendering of passages from classical Greek authors, although Pro-
choros probably had access to Greek editions of classical texts, he evidently did not
quote the Greek text verbatim. For instance, in Aquinas’ quotations of Greek authors
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 267

Prochoros follows faithfully the Latin translation without changing or enriching it on

the basis of the Greek original. This is illustrated below:

Aquinas QDSC: a. 3 resp.²⁴ Prochoros QDSC: 3, 28 Aristotle, De an. II, 414b28–32

Vnde etiam Aristotiles in II De Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν τῷ Παραπλησίως δ’ ἔχει τῷ περὶ
anima dicit quod “uegetatiuum Περὶ ψυχῆς δευτέρῳ φησί· τὸ τῶν σχημάτων καὶ τὰ κατὰ
est in sensitivo” et sensitiuum φυτικὸν εἶναι ἔστιν ἐν τῷ ψυχήν· ἀεὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἐφεξῆς
in intellectivo “sicut trigonum αἰσθητικῷ καὶ τὸ αἰσθητικὸν ἐν ὑπάρχει δυνάμει τὸ πρότερον
in tetragono ” et tetragonum in τῷ νοερῷ, ὥσπερ τὸ τρίγωνον ἐπί τε τῶν σχημάτων καὶ ἐπὶ
pentagono: pentagonum enim ἐν τῷ τετραγώνῳ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐμψύχων, οἷον ἐν
uirtute continet tetragonum. τετράγωνον ἐν τῷ πενταγώνῳ· τετραγώνῳ μὲν τρίγωνον, ἐν
τὸ γὰρ πεντάγωνον δυνάμει αἰσθητικῷ δὲ τὸ θρεπτικόν.
περιέχει τὸ τετράγωνον.

It is clear that in this case Prochoros translates the Latin verbum e verbo without quot-
ing the original Greek text.
Prochoros faithfully reproduces in his translation Aquinas’ erroneous references
to Greek authors, as to Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics below:

Aquinas QDSC: a. 4 arg. 10²⁶ Prochoros QDSC: 4, 9 Aristotle, Phys. VIII, 267b6–9

…ut patet per Philosophum in …ὡς φαίνεται διὰ τοῦ ἀνάγκη δὴ ἢ ἐν μέσῳ ἢ ἐν
IV Physicorum, ubi dicit quod Φιλοσόφου ἐν τῷ τῆς Φυσικῆς κύκλῳ εἶναι· αὗται γὰρ αἱ
motor celi non est in centro set τετάρτῳ, ἔνθα φησὶ τὸν ἀρχαί. ἀλλὰ τάχιστα κινεῖται τὰ
in quadam parte κινοῦντα τὸν οὐρανὸν μὴ εἶναι ἐγγύτατα τοῦ κινοῦντος.
circumferentie. ἐν τῷ κέντρῳ, ἀλλ’ ἔν τινι μέρει τοιαύτη δ’ ἡ τοῦ κύκλου
Multo minus igitur anima est in τῆς περιφερείας. Πολλῷ ἄρα κίνησις· ἐκεῖ ἄρα τὸ κινοῦν.
qualibet parte sui corporis. ἦττον ἡ ψυχὴ ἔστιν ἐν ᾡτινιοῦν
μέρει τοῦ σώματος.
Aquinas QDSC: a. 4 arg. 18²⁷ Prochoros QDSC: 4, 17 Aristotle, Metaph. I,
988b24–26
Philosophus in II Metaphisice, ὁ Φιλόσοφος ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ ...τῶν γὰρ σωμάτων τὰ στοιχεῖα
reprehendit ponentes τῶν Μετὰ τὰ Φυσικὰ τιθέασι μόνον, τῶν δ’
materiam corporalem primum καθάπτεται τῶν τιθεμένων τὴν ἀσωμάτων οὔ, ὄντων καὶ
principium, quia ponebant σωματικὴν ὕλην πρώτην ἀρχὴν ἀσωμάτων.
solum elementa corporum, non πάντων διὰ τὸ δοξάζειν μόνα
corporum autem non. σωματικὰ στοιχεῖα.

The same applies for Aquinas’ quotations of certain Latin writings available to him in
Greek translation:

24 Thomas Aquinas QDSC, ed. J. Cos, p. 44.

268 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

Aquinas QDSC: a. 4 arg. 20²⁹ Prochoros QDSC: 4, 19 Augustine, Trinit. VI, cap. 6, 8 /
trans. Planudes (c. 1280/81)
…quod dicit Augustinus in III …τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Αὐγουστίνου … καὶ ἐν ὅλῳ ὅλη ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν
De Trinitate, quod anima “in εἰρημένον ἐν τῷ Περὶ Τριάδος ἑκάστῳ αὐτοῦ μέρει ὅλη.³⁰
toto tota est et in qualibet τρίτῳ, ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν ὅλῳ ὅλη
parte eius tota”. ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν ὁτῳδήποτε μέρει
αὐτοῦ ὅλη.

When it comes to Scriptural quotations, Prochoros’ translation is very close, but not
always identical, to the Greek wording.³¹ At first sight this departure from the original
seems odd, given that he was a monk and he must have known his Bible by heart.
However, this convention reflects his priority to accurately render the Latin text at the
expense of a faithful quotation of the Greek Bible – except when he quotes it from
memory in its Greek version, seeing that it does not differ from its Latin version in
Aquinas’ text.³²
The following examples show that Prochoros quotes the original Greek wording,
but does not hesitate to depart when he thinks he can choose a more accurate render-
ing of the Latin wording in Aquinas’ text.

29 Thomas Aquinas QDSC, ed. J. Cos, p. 52.

30 Augustine, Αὐγουστίνου Περὶ Τριάδος βιβλία πεντεκαίδεκα, ἅπερ ἐκ τῆς Λατίνων διαλέκτου εἰς τὴν
Ἑλλάδα μετήνεγκε Μάξιμος ὁ Πλανούδης. Εἰσαγωγή, ἑλληνικὸ καὶ λατινικὸ κείμενο, γλωσσάριο. Editio
princeps, eds. Papathomopoulos, Tsavari and Rigotti, Vol. I, Athens 1995, p. 403.
31 We have consulted the standard editon of the Septuagint by A. Rahlfs and R. Hanhart, Septuag-
inta: id est Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX interpretes. Editio altera, Stuttgart 2006 (available
online at https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/septuagint-lxx/read-the-bible-text/).
Concerning the New Testament, we have used the publication by The Center for Study and Preservation
of the Majority Text (CSPMT) (available online at http://cspmt.org/), which is “dedicated to scholarly
study, research and preservation of Byzantine Greek New Testament manuscripts.” For the dissemina-
tion of the Bible in Byzantium and the transmission of the text of the Greek New Testament in Byzan-
tium in particular, as found in manuscripts of the period (textus receptus), see Krueger and Nelson
2017, 1–20 (esp. p. 2, n. 2).
32 Cf. Hunger 1984a, 82.
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 269

Aquinas QDSC a.6 arg.14³³ Prochoros QDSC: 6, 14 Ps., 148, 4

Laudate eum celi celorum αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ τῶν αἰνεῖτε αὐτόν, οἱ οὐρανοὶ
οὐρανῶν· τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ
ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Aquinas q. 3 a. 6 arg. 16 Prochoros QDP 3.6.16 Gen., 1,1

 in principio creationis rerum ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς τῶν ὄντων ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ
erant tenebrae super faciem δημιουργίας, ἦν σκότος, ἐπὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, καὶ σκότος
abyssi. πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ
ἀβύσσου. πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο
ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος

Aquinas QDSC a.6 arg.14³⁴ Prochoros QDSC: 6, 14 Apoc., 18, 20

Exulta super eam celum ἀγαλλιῶ ἐπ’ αὐτὴν ὁ οὐρανός Εὐφραίνου ἐπ’ αὐτῇ, οὐρανέ,
καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι
καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὅτι ἔκρινεν ὁ
Θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς.

There is an instance where Prochoros’ translation has a different biblical quota-

tion than the one found in Aquinas’ text. This confirms that Prochoros was translating
from a Latin manuscript which contained Ecclesiastes 3, 14 and not John 4, 24 as in
the Taurini edition of the Latin text:

Aquinas q. 3 a. 6 arg. 24 Prochoros QDP 3.6.24 Ecclesiastes 3, 14:

Didici quod omnia opera quae ἔμαθον ὅτι πάντα τὰ ἔργα ὅσα ἔγνων ὅτι πάντα, ὅσα ἐποίησεν
fecit Deus, perserverant in πεποίηκεν ὁ Θεός, διαμένει εἰς ὁ Θεός, αὐτὰ ἔσται εἰς τὸν
aeternum τὸν αἰῶνα αἰῶνα

The fact that Prochoros does not verbatim quote Ecclesiastes in the example above
further supports that he was translating from Latin and that this different citation was
not his own adjustment.
As in the case of Demetrios Cydones,³⁵ Prochoros’ main aim was to render faith-
fully and accurately Aquinas’ references from Latin into stylish Atticizing Greek,
rather than literally restoring the Greek biblical quotations.
The examples examined above illustrate that Prochoros followed a translating
technique similar to that of his brother, adopting a method combining ad verbum and
ad sensum.³⁶ This approach reflects the tradition of preceeding Byzantine translators
of Latin texts. Among the first scholars and teachers who translated whole Latin works

33 Thomas Aquinas QDSC, ed. J. Cos, p. 67.

34 Thomas Aquinas QDSC, ed. J. Cos, p. 67.
35 See Kalamakis 1996, 44.
36 See Copenhaver 1988, 77–110.
270 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

– mostly theological and philosophical treatises, grammars, and literary texts – into
refined Greek were Maximos Planoudes (ca. 1255–1305) and Manuel Holobolos (b. ca.
1245, d. 1310–1314).³⁷
Herbert Hunger, in his edition of Prochoros’ unfinished translation of Augustine’s
De libero arbitrio and Ps.-Augustine’s De decem plagis Aegyptiorum, gives an account
of the main characteristics of Prochoros’ translation based on representative word
lists. These include a list of Latin words that Prochoros expanded in his Greek trans-
lation, a list of cases of periphrasis, and a list of Latin phrases rendered into Greek
with a single word.³⁸ In his edition, Hunger confirmed his view (expressed in 1984)
that “it never fails to amaze the reader how Prochoros’ word-for-word translation can
be so faithful to the wording of the Latin original and at the same time be a perfectly
readable, even elegant, text in itself”.³⁹ His overall assessment is that Prochoros “re-
tains his position as a translator, who not only masters the Latin language, but also
has a good command of Greek”.⁴⁰ In his edition of Prochoros’ autograph translation
of Boethius’ De topicis differentiis, Dimitrios Nikitas focused purely on linguistic el-
ements (grammatical, syntactical, phonological and semantics) as well as on Pro-
choros’ own scribal conventions, errors and corrections, without offering an assess-
ment of the translating method and quality, though his observations identify certain
“idiosyncrasies and divergences” in Prochoros’ “generally Atticizing language”.⁴¹
Indeed, Prochoros’ translating approach reflects this balance between ἀκρίβεια
and οἰκονομία that many Byzantine authors and theologians strived to achieve, with
various degrees of success. Concerning Prochoros’ translation of the two Quaestiones,
it is hoped that the examination above has amply demonstrated the method and tech-
nique he adopted, at the same time showing his command of Latin and Greek, and,
overall, the high quality of his work. It is regrettable that we do not possess a work-
ing copy of Prochoros’ translations, as we do for Demetrios’ translation of the Summa
theologiae, which shows the stages of development of his translating process – unless
such a copy exists and has not been discovered yet.
To sum up, Prochoros displays a thorough understanding of Latin and an excel-
lent ability of rendering it into very good Greek. In his effort to remain close to the Latin
original and at the same time communicate its sententiae, he adjusts the Latin struc-
ture for the translated text to sound more natural in Greek. This, however, does not
prevent him from introducing certain Latinisms, apparently influenced by the Latin
syntax. Style plays an essential role in his translation, as is evident from his varied
vocabulary in translating Latin terms, his effort to avoid repetition, and his care for
conciseness when needed, in order to better convey the meaning of the Latin, avoid-

37 See Fisher 2002, 77–78.

38 See Hunger 1990b, 70–75.
39 Hunger 1984a, 15, cited in Hunger 1990b, 71. My translation from German.
40 Hunger 1990b, 70–71. My translation.
41 Nikitas 1990, cxix.
 Prochoros Cydones’ Translation of Thomas Aquinas | 271

ing verbosity. In his translation of quotations cited in Aquinas’ text, Prochoros prefers
to remain faithful to the Latin wording rather than quoting the respective Greek verba-
tim, except in the case of certain biblical passages that he clearly quotes from memory.
Apart from these adaptations, intervention is limited to additions and corrections of
book and chapter numbers in the Greek text, if indeed these were introduced by Pro-
choros.
On the whole, Prochoros Cydones proves himself a skillful translator, capable of
producing a high-quality Greek translation of Thomistic works, to be consulted, used,
and circulated among Byzantine theologians and intellectuals in general, and provid-
ing additional ammunition in the theological arsenal against the Palamite group in
particular. In the process, following parallel steps with his older brother, Prochoros
served well the philosophical and theological dialogue between the Greek East and
the Latin West, by promoting the study of Aquinas’ works and introducing western
Scholastic thought to the Orthodox world, in a period when Byzantium was once more
facing the need to define its orthodoxy, orthopraxy and, ultimately, identity.⁴²

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

a. articulus
Apoc. Apocalypsis
arg. argumentum
c. circa
cap. caput
cols. columns
De an. De anima
Gen. Genesis
Metaph. Metaphysica
MS manuscript
MSS manuscripts
PG Patrologia Graeca
Phys. Physica
Ps. Psalm
q. quaestio
qq. quaestiones
QDP Quaestiones disputatae de potentia
QDSC Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus creaturis

42 See, for example, Manuel Chrysoloras’ and Isidore of Kiev’s comments on the mixed Hellenic and
Roman identity of the Byzantines cited in Dendrinos n.d., 15–16 with note 63. See also Kaldellis 2007
and Kaldellis 2015.
272 | Michail Konstantinou-Rizos

resp. responsio
Trinit. De Trinitate

Primary Sources

Aristotle, De anima, ed. D. Ross, Oxford 1961.

Aristotle, Metaphysica, ed. W. Jaeger, Oxford 1957.
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Sergei Mariev
Nature as instrumentum Dei
Some aspects of Bessarion’s reception of Thomas Aquinas

1 Introduction
The fifteenth century offered scholars from Byzantium and the Latin West numerous
opportunities “to learn from each other” and to come to appreciate the value of their
respective traditions. In fact, the famous Plato-Aristotle controversy of the fifteenth
century can be viewed as a series of episodes in a continuous “learning process”. It
started with a small book written by Georgios Gemistos (Plethon) during the Coun-
cil of Ferrara/Florence (1438/1439), which was without doubt the most important en-
counter between Byzantine and Western intellectuals in this period. The controversy
continued for some time as a battle among Byzantine scholars in Greece and Italy un-
til George of Trebizond “transferred it from the Greeks to the Latins”.¹ Most of the
scholars who participated in the debate can be easily classified as “Platonists” or
“Aristotelians” insofar as they either defended what they believed to be “Platonic”
or “Aristotelian” doctrines or questioned the views of their respective opponents from
what they believed to be a “Platonic” or “Aristotelian” point of view. Bessarion’s role
in this debate is not easily classifiable in these terms, as he decided not to cham-
pion one point of view by criticizing or refuting the other, but wanted to show the
superiority of the Platonic perspective, without however calumniating Aristotle or,
as he himself put it, “in no way unmindful of Aristotle’s good repute” (μηδαμοῦ τῆς
Ἀριστοτέλους εὐφημίας ἐπιλαθόμενος).² At the same time he wanted to demonstrate
that Aristotelian thought in many respects is not at variance with Platonic thought.³
This study focuses on one particular question that was debated during the long course
of the Plato-Aristotle controversy and on Bessarion’s contribution to the debate of this

1 Cf. Monfasani 2012, 469.

2 Cf. Bess. NA, 6.8, ed. S. Mariev et al., Hamburg 2015, p. 148. In the second book of his In Calum-
niatorem Platonis Bessarion stresses that it is not his intention to offend Aristotle in any way, as he
honours both Aristotle and Plato (cf. Bess. ICP, lib. II, cap. 3,2, ed. L. Mohler, in Kardinal Bessarion als
Theologe, Humanist und Staatsmann, Bd. 2, Paderborn 1927, Neudruck: Aalen/Paderborn 1967, pp. 84–
86). Bessarion also concedes that some aspects of Platonic philosophy are incompatible with Chris-
tian doctrine (Bess. ICP, lib. II, cap. 3,3, p. 86 Mohler). Nonetheless, Platonic philosophy exhibits a
closer affinity with Christian doctrine than does Aristotelian philosophy (Bess. ICP, lib. II, cap. 1, p. 80
Mohler).
3 On Bessarion’s conciliatory strategy cf. Mariev, Marchetto, and Luchner 2015, XLIX; cf. Bess. NA, 6.7,
pp. 140–146 Mariev et al.; cf. Bess. ICP lib. I, cap. 3,1, pp. 22–24 Mohler.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-287
276 | Sergei Mariev

question: its aim is to investigate the use Bessarion made of the Thomistic notion of
nature as an instrument of God within the broader context of his attempt to envisage
a fundamental accord between Platonism and Christian doctrine.

2 Theodore Gazes and Bessarion

In 1439 Plethon composed his famous treatise Περὶ ὧν Ἀριστοτέλης πρὸς Πλάτωνα
διαφέρεται, which later gave rise to a number of far-reaching debates. In this trea-
tise he mounted a vigorous attack on Aristotle. Among other points, he criticized the
Aristotelian thesis that it is absurd not to attribute purposiveness to nature merely be-
cause one does not see the agent deliberating, especially since art does not deliberate
either, even if it produces for the sake of an end. Plethon objected that it is deliber-
ation that constitutes art as such and art could not remain art if it did not deliberate
about its products beforehand. He then argued that if, according to Aristotle himself,
art imitates nature, nature must possess that which constitutes art in a far superior
and elevated way. So if deliberation is a constitutive element of art, then it must also
and to a much higher degree be a constitutive element of nature. Plethon concluded
that nature is a divine institution and as such cannot be irrational.⁴
Plethon’s criticism occasioned a number of responses. First reactions came from
the Greek East and were formulated in particular by George Scholarios, who wrote
a treatise in defence of Aristotle (Κατὰ τῶν Πλήθωνοϛ ἀποριῶν ἐπ’ Ἀριστοτέλει), to
which Plethon responded in another tract, Πρὸς τὰς Σχολαρίου ὑπὲρ Ἀριστοτέλους
ἀντιλήψεις.⁵ In the Latin West the controversy arose several years after Plethon’s death
within the circle of Bessarion. Theodore Gazes⁶ wrote a short text, ⁷in which he de-
fended the Aristotelian position and argued that neither art nor nature deliberates.⁸
He called on Bessarion to provide a demonstration of Plethon’s thesis. In fact, Bessar-

4 Cf. Mariev 2013, 372–375.

5 Cf. Mariev 2014a, 133–139. Cf. Karamanolis 2002a.
6 On Theodore Gazes cf. Bianca 1999; Monfasani 2002b.
7 This text is now lost, but its content is summarized in chapter 1 of Bessarion’s De natura et arte (cf.
Mariev, Marchetto, and Luchner 2015).
8 Cf. Bess. NA, 1.1–2, pp. 6–8 Mariev et al. Theodore made use of two arguments: first, he pointed
out that deliberation pertains to things that entail indeterminacy, i. e. deliberation is about the means
with regard to which it is not clear whether or not they will lead to the end. Since both art and na-
ture proceed by definite means towards definite goals, neither art nor nature makes use of delibera-
tion (on this objection cf. Arist. Eth. Nic., III 5, 1112b 8–12 Bywater: τὸ βουλεύεσθαι δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὡς ἐπὶ
τὸ πολύ, ἀδήλοις δὲ πῶς ἀποβήσεται, καὶ ἐν οἷς ἀδιόριστον. συμβούλους δὲ παραλαμβάνομεν εἰς τὰ
μεγάλα, ἀπιστοῦντες ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοῖς διαγνῶναι. Βουλευόμεθα δ’ οὐ περὶ τῶν τελῶν ἀλλὰ
περὶ τῶν πρὸς τὰ τέλη. Cf. also Them. In Phys. 62, 18–20 Schenkl: τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἀπὸ τύχης
συμβαίνει καθάπερ εἴρηται, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὥρισται ἀφ’ ἑκάστης ἀρχῆς ἕκαστον τέλος. Cf. Them. In Phys.
63, 6–7 Schenkl: ἀλλ’ ὥρισται καὶ τῶν ἔργων ἕκαστον καὶ ἡ τάξις ἡ φέρουσα ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον τέλος.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 277

ion accepted Theodore’s invitation and composed a short treatise dedicated to this
issue, Ὅτι ἡ φύσις βουλεύεται. ⁹ A reworked version of this text is included in the trea-
tise De natura et arte as chapter 2. At the beginning of this chapter Bessarion makes
his point very clearly: nature does deliberate; however, it is not nature itself that de-
liberates, but the higher cause that directs nature to its goal.

Ἡ φύσις κατ’ Ἀριστοτέλη τὸν φιλόσοφον καὶ ὅλως αὐτὴν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἕνεκά του πάντα ποιεῖ. οὐ
γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ῥητέον αὐτὴν μὴ ἕνεκά του πάντα ποιεῖν, ὅτι οὐ βουλεύεται. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡ τέχνη μὴ
βουλευομένη ὅμως ἕνεκά του ποιεῖ. σημεῖον δὲ ὡς ἡ τέχνη οὐ βουλεύεται· εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ
ἡ τέχνη, οὐκ ἂν ἐβουλεύετο. πρὸς ταῦτα αὐτός τε Πλάτων πρὸ Ἀριστοτέλους καὶ οἱ Πλάτωνος
αἱρεσιῶται πάντες ἕνεκά του μὲν πάντα τὴν φύσιν ποιεῖν καὶ μάλα βούλονται, <ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὴν
τέχνην,> [suppl. Mariev e cod. marc. gr. 527 : om. cod. marc. gr. 198, Mohler] μὴ βουλευομένην δέ,
τοῦτο οὐ συγχωροῦσιν Ἀριστοτέλει. βουλεύεσθαι γὰρ δὴ καὶ μάλα, εἰ καὶ μὴ αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ τόν γε
διὰ πάντων διήκοντα καὶ πᾶσιν ἐφεστῶτα νοῦν τοῖς κατὰ φύσιν γινομένοις καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἰθύνοντα
καὶ τάττοντα πρὸς τὸ τέλος. ¹⁰

According to Aristotle the philosopher and quite in accord with the truth itself, nature produces
everything for the sake of an end. Therefore one should not state that it does not produce every-
thing for the sake of some end because it does not deliberate. Art also produces for the sake of an
end even though it does not deliberate. A proof that art does not deliberate is this: if art were in a
piece of wood, it would not deliberate. Plato himself before Aristotle and all of Plato’s followers
had argued against this view: on the one hand, they say that nature produces everything for the
sake of an end and firmly maintain this view, and in like manner that art produces for the sake
of an end. On the other hand, they disagree with Aristotle inasmuch as it does not deliberate.
For nature most assuredly does deliberate even though it is not nature itself that delibreates, but
the intellect that pervades everything and presides over everything that comes to be according to
nature and that steers and directs nature to its goal.

In order to corroborate the thesis that nature’s deliberation is the deliberation of the
higher cause that guides it, Bessarion adduces the authority of Plato:

εἶναι γὰρ δὴ αὐτὴν βούλεται Πλάτων οὐ τὸ πρῶτον αἴτιον, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἄμεσον μέν, οἵαν δ’ ἔχειν πρὸ
αὑτῆς ἄλλην αἰτίαν, θειοτέραν τε καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν καὶ νοεράν, βουλῇ καὶ λογισμῷ πάντα ποιοῦσάν
τε καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἄγουσαν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῇ τοῦτο προειληφυῖαν.

For, according to Plato, nature is not the first cause, but an immediate cause, of a kind that has
another cause prior to itself, which is more divine, superior and intellectual, and which produces

Cf. also Ioann. Philop. In Phys. 321, 9–13 Vitelli). Theodore then added that deliberation pertains to
matters of action, not of production, which means that deliberation pertains to prudence, not to art
(cf. Arist. Eth. Nic., VI 4, 1140a 20–21 and VI 5, 1140b 4–5 Bywater).
9 Cf. Bess. Libellus: Quod natura consulto agat, ed. L. Mohler, in Kardinal Bessarion als Theologe,
Humanist und Staatsmann, Bd. 3, Paderborn 1942, Neudruck: Aalen/Paderborn 1967, pp. 88–90 and
Monfasani 1994.
10 Bess. NA, 2.1, p. 10, 4–16 Mariev et al. This text corresponds to Bess. Libellus, p. 89, 3–11 Mohler.
On Bessarion’s Libellus and its relationship to De natura et arte, cf. Mariev 2013, 368, note 6.
278 | Sergei Mariev

everything with deliberation and reasoning, and directs everything to its end inasmuch as it an-
ticipates this end within itself.¹¹

Obviously, Bessarion is referring here not only to Plato’s concept of nature, but also to
that of Neoplatonic philosophers, and in particular to Simplikios and Proklos. In many
passages of De natura et arte (i. e. in both the Greek and Latin versions) Bessarion even
makes explicit reference to Simplikios’ conception of nature as a by-cause and instru-
mental cause that merely transmits, without knowledge or reflexivity, what it receives
from higher, intellectual and genuinely efficient causes.¹² A significant passage of the
Latin version A of the De natura et arte (i. e. of the translation made by Bessarion him-
self and preserved in Cod. marc. gr. 527 as an appendix to the Greek text¹³) also shows
clear and very close dependence on Proklos’ Commentary on Plato’s Timaios, and in
particular on the famous Digression on Nature in which Proklos explains what nature
is according to Plato, describing it as the last demiurgic cause and instrument of the
gods.¹⁴ Proklos and Simplikios are Bessarion’s main sources for what he considers
to be the “Platonic” concept of nature. However, Bessarion does not limit himself to
integrating this “Platonic” concept of nature as instrumental cause into his own theo-
retical framework. In the passage of chapter 2 of De natura et arte under consideration
here, having stated what he considers to be the Platonic teaching, Bessarion adduces
some theses of Thomas Aquinas without referring to him by name:

11 Bess. NA, 2.1, p. 12, 1–5 Mariev et al.

12 Cf. Bess. NA, 9.5, p. 188, 7–10 Mariev et al.: “‘ἅμα γὰρ τῷ καὶ αὐτὴν γίνεσθαι ποιεῖ’, Σιμπλίκιός φησιν,
‘εὐφυΐα καὶ ζωή τις οὖσα καὶ τοῦ εἴδους ἐφιεμένη, συναίτιον δὲ ὡς ἄλλα πρὸ αὑτῆς αἴτια ἔχουσα, τά
τε προσεχῆ τά τε ἀνωτέρω’” and cf. Simpl. In Phys. 313,5–314,9 Diels. Cf. Bess. NA, Version A: 227r–
227v, p. 169–171 Mariev et al.: “Natura igitur, quamvis alicuius causa agat, et ex seipsa quodammodo
operet, tamen non advertens aut secum cogitans seque respiciens agit immediate. Quod idem a Sim-
plicio quoque viro doctissimo expositum est. ‘Prima potissimaque causa, inquit, agit alicuius causa
prospiciens et consultans, [227v] instrumentalis autem causa et propinqua, hoc est natura et res nat-
uralis, agit quidem alicuius causa sed non prospiciens et consultans. Cum enim natura ipsa non sit
prima atque potissima causa, sed ministra sit [in mg. add.] primae, agit quidem alicuius causa, sed
non cogitans quid agat aut cuius causa agat, verum superiori rectricique suae causae intelligenti an-
imadvertentique subministrat.’ ” and cf. also Simpl. In Phys. 372, 15–18 Diels. On Simplikios’ concept
of nature, cf. Golitsis 2008. On Bessarion’s reception and use of Simplikios in his De natura et arte, cf.
Mariev, Marchetto, and Luchner 2015.
13 On the Latin versions A and B, cf. Mariev, Marchetto, and Luchner 2015, XXVII–XXVIII.
14 Cf. Bess. NA, Version A: 227r, p. 169 Mariev et al.: “Proclus etiam ‘Natura, inquit, corpora subi-
ens ipsa separari ab eis non potest. Et rursus, Natura est, inquit autore Platone, essentia incorporea
inseparabilis a suis corporibus rationes corporum in se continens, quamquam ad se ipsa respicere
nequeat. Instrumentum enim deorum est, non tamen quod vitae expers neque quod aliunde tantum-
modo moveantur, sed quod ut de se mobile quodammodo sit, obtineat. Ideo quod vel de se ipsa natura
agere potest.’” and cf. Prokl. In Tim. I 11, 9–11 Diehl; Prokl. In Tim. I 12, 21 Diehl. Bessarion also refers to
Proklos’ Elements of Theology (cf. Bess. NA, 9.6, p. 192,1–2 Mariev et al.). On Proklos’ concept of nature
cf. Martijn 2010 and Lernould 2012. On Bessarion’s reception of Proklos cf. Hankins 1990 and Macé,
Steel, and D’Hoine 2009.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 279

διχῶς γὰρ δή τι τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐνεργείᾳ τείνειν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος, ἢ ὡς ἂν ἑαυτὸ ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος κινοῦν ὡς
ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔχοντα λόγον, ἢ ὡς ἂν ἐπ’ ἐκεῖνο ὑπ’ ἄλλου κινούμενον ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ
τοξότου τὸ βέλος καὶ ὅλως πάντα τὰ ἄψυχα ὑπό τινος ἔχοντος λόγον, ἃ οὐδὲ τάττουσιν οὐδὲ
κινοῦσιν ἑαυτὰ ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος, || ἀλλ’ ὑπ’ ἄλλου νοῦν ἔχοντος δηλαδὴ καὶ κινοῦνται καὶ πρὸς τὸ
τέλος ἰθύνονται. οἷον δὴ καὶ τὴν φύσιν εἶναι ὀργανικὸν αἴτιον οὖσαν.¹⁵

A thing tends to an end, by its own activity, in two ways: either as a thing moving itself to the end,
as man and everything that has reason, or as a thing moved by another to that end, as the arrow
through being moved by the archer and all unsouled beings through being moved by someone
who has reason; they do not ordain or move themselves to the end, but are moved and directed
towards the end by another who has intellect. Nature is also of this sort since it is an instrumental
cause.

Bessarion possessed a large number of Thomas Aquinas’ works both in Greek and in
Latin¹⁶ and made ample use of him throughout his oeuvre. It appears that Demetrios
Kydones’ translations of Thomas into Greek formed the main but not the only channel
that Bessarion used to access a number of Thomas’ writings. In his library we find, for
example, both Demetrios Kydones’ translation of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae
Ia–IIae (Cod. marc. gr. Z 147, coll. 1044, ff. 17r–491v)¹⁷ and the Compendium of a part
of Thomas’ Summa Theologiae Ia–IIae (Cod. marc. gr. Z 148, coll. 488, ff. 525r–532v)¹⁸
that Bessarion himself composed, possibly during his stay at Mystra in the Pelopon-
nese between 1432 and 1436.¹⁹ When citing Thomas, Bessarion largely relied on Ky-
dones’ translation, but felt free to improve Kydones’ translation with regard to both
style and content.²⁰ In the passage of chapter 2 of De natura et arte under examina-
tion, Bessarion clearly uses Thomistic material from the Summa Theologiae Ia–IIae,
q. 1, a. 2 co, even though he does not name Aquinas, as the comparison with Thomas’
text demonstrates:

Tamen considerandum est quod aliquid sua actione vel motu tendit ad finem dupliciter, uno
modo, sicut seipsum ad finem movens, ut homo; alio modo, sicut ab alio motum ad finem, sicut
sagitta tendit ad determinatum finem ex hoc quod movetur a sagittante, qui suam actionem di-
rigit in finem. Illa ergo quae rationem habent, seipsa movent ad finem, quia habent dominium
suorum actuum per liberum arbitrium, quod est facultas voluntatis et rationis. Illa vero quae
ratione carent, tendunt in finem per naturalem inclinationem, quasi ab alio mota, non autem a
seipsis, cum non cognoscant rationem finis, et ideo nihil in finem ordinare possunt, sed solum in

15 Bess. NA, 2.1, p. 12, 5–12 ed. Mariev et al.

16 A full list is contained in Athanasopoulos 2017c.
17 Cf. Mioni 1981c and Monfasani 2011a, Appendix I, n. 5, p. 175.
18 Cf. Monfasani 2011a, Appendix I, n. 6, p. 176.
19 On the date of the composition of the Compendium cf. Rigo 1994, 42, n. 153. Cf. also Rigo 2012, 28.
20 On Bessarion’s access to Thomistic texts cf. Athanasopoulos 2017c; Rigo 1994, esp. 142, n. 153; Todt
2006, 150; Tambrun-Krasker 2013, 15.
280 | Sergei Mariev

finem ab alio ordinantur. Nam tota irrationalis natura comparatur ad Deum sicut instrumentum
ad agens principale, ut supra habitum est.²¹

Bessarion uses Thomistic teaching on nature as instrumentum Dei in order to corrob-

orate the Platonic thesis according to which nature is not a cause properly so called
but an instrumental cause.

3 Bessarion and George of Trebizond

Bessarion’s reply to Theodore Gazes fell into the wrong hands. Bessarion’s letter came
into possession of his enemy, George of Trebizond, who then composed a text, which
he addressed to Isaiah, in which he criticized Bessarion’s views on nature. He pub-
lished this “pamphlet” together with the original text of Bessarion’s letter to Theodore
Gazes.
George of Trebizond raised a series of grave objections against Bessarion’s view
of nature. Even if one admitted that it is not nature that deliberates, but the intellect
that guides nature towards its end, it is not clear whether intellect and nature are one
and the same thing or two different entities. If they are one and the same thing, then
nature is only a name and not a demiurgic cause. If they are two different entities and
nature is an instrument through which the intellect moves, then it becomes necessary
to explain how nature – which is immanent in bodies and inseparable from them –
can be an instrument, since an instrument is not immanent in that which is moved by
it.²² In addition, according to George, it is a blasphemy to maintain that the Intellect,
i. e. God who guides nature, deliberates: according to the teaching of Aristotle himself,

21 Thom. Aquin. ST Ia–IIae, q. 1, a. 2 co. In a number of passages of the Summa Theologiae Thomas
Aquinas makes reference to the two ways in which a thing may tend towards an end. In particular,
in Summa Theologiae Ia–IIae, q. 1, a.2 Thomas asks whether acting for an end is proper to rational
beings. Indeed, it appears that acting for the sake of an end is peculiar to those creatures who are
endowed with reason, i. e. have knowledge of the end as such and are capable of directing their activity
towards it. However, as Thomas remarks, Aristotle himself, in the second book of Physics, attributes to
nature the ability to act for a purpose, even though nature is irrational. Thomas concludes that even
irrational creatures can act for a purpose. Creatures that lack knowledge of the end actually cannot
set themselves in motion towards the end, because they do not know it, but they nevertheless tend
towards the end inasmuch as they are moved and directed towards the end by a being that does know
it, i. e. by the Creator.
22 The letter in which George of Trebizond criticizes Bessarion’s view on nature is included in Bessar-
ion’s De natura et arte as chapter 3. Cf. Bess. NA, 3.5, p. 54, 2–9 Mariev et al.: ἄρα ἔστιν ἄλλο τοῦ
κυβερνήτου νοῦ, καὶ ὄργανον κατὰ σὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νοῦ, ᾧ ὑπὸ τοῦ νοῦ κινεῖται τὰ κινούμενα. οὗ
δοθέντος ἔσται ἡ φύσις χωριστὸν πάντως τῶν κινητῶν. ὅπερ ἐστὶ ψεῦδος οὐρανόμηκες. συμπέφυκε
γὰρ καὶ ἐμπέφυκεν ἡ φύσις τοῖς πράγμασιν. ὄργανον δέ ἐστιν, ᾧ τὰ κινούμενα ὑπ’ ἄλλου κινεῖται
μὴ ἐμπεφυκότι τοῖς κινουμένοις. εἰ γὰρ ἐμπέφυκεν, μέρος τι ἔσται τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ κινουμένου, οὐκ
ὄργανον.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 281

deliberation is an investigation that implies doubt and ignorance,²³ and therefore can-
not be attributed to God, who knows everything.²⁴
George’s criticism was addressed by Bessarion in chapters 4–10 of De natura et
arte. In response to the last objection, Bessarion explained that to attribute delibera-
tion to the divine Intellect is not a blasphemy, if one considers that the word “delib-
eration” does not have just a single meaning but is homonymous, i. e. has different
meanings according to the activity to which it is referred: if it is referred to the human
intellect, deliberation is an inquiry into that which is doubtful or uncertain, in accor-
dance with the teachings of Aristotle in the third book of the Nicomachean Ethics. If
it is referred to God, however, it does not mean inquiry, but science and the most se-
cure and precise knowledge that necessarily accompanies God’s providential activity.
On the one hand, Bessarion stressed that Platonic philosophers had never intended
to contradict Aristotle on this issue and, on the other hand, he described them as ad-
vancing to a conception of deliberation that is higher and more comprehensive than
that of Aristotle.²⁵ In order to show the harmony between Platonic and Christian doc-
trines Bessarion added that, like Plato and the Platonic philosophers, the exegetes of
the Bible also had attributed deliberation to God: they did so not because they wanted
to describe God as having doubts and being uncertain, but, on the contrary, in order
to emphasize the superiority of man over all other creatures.²⁶
In response to the first objection of George, Bessarion pointed out that as long as
nature is taken in a single sense, it is obviously impossible to understand how nature
can be both instrument and at the same time an immanent principle of movement.
He observed that this conception of nature is unilateral and limited. A more complex
and profound vision should be able to distinguish several significations of nature, i. e.
the many ways in which nature may be said: in one respect nature is a passive princi-
ple of motion, a mere capacity to be moved and ordered; in another respect nature is
an active principle of motion. Bessarion agrees with George that nature cannot be in
an unqualified sense separate from natural entities. Nature is naturally unified with
each natural thing and immanent to it and, inasmuch as it is naturally unified with
the natural entity, it cannot work as the instrument by means of which the Intellect
moves the things moved, since the mover must be distinct from the moved. But if in
one respect nature is unified with the natural entity, in another respect it is distinct
from it and, insofar as it is as mover distinct from the entity that is moved, nature acts
as instrument: it is an efficient cause that serves the higher and truly efficient causes.
However, Bessarion specified once more that even if nature in some respect is an effi-

23 Cf. Bess. NA, 3.4, p. 50, 8–9 Mariev et al.: ἡ βουλὴ ζήτησις τῶν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν  ἀμφιγνοουμένων and cf.
Arist. Eth. Nic., III 5, 1112b 22–23 Bywater.
24 Cf. Bess. NA, 3.6, p. 58 Mariev et al.
25 Cf. Bess. NA, 5.1–2, pp. 94–98 Mariev et al. Cf. Marchetto 2015.
26 Cf. Bess. NA, 5.7–8, pp. 112–116 Mariev et al.
282 | Sergei Mariev

cient cause and an active principle of movement, it is not an efficient cause properly
so called or in a primary sense, but only a by-cause, as Plato teaches:

οὐ γὰρ ᾗ συμφυές, ταύτῃ ὄργανον, ἀλλ’ ᾗ κεχώρισται τὸ κινοῦν τοῦ κινουμένου, || ταύτῃ ἡ

φύσις ὑπουργοῦσα ὀργανικὸν τῷ δημιουργικῷ νῷ ποιεῖ. οὐ γὰρ κυρίως ποιητικὸν ἡ, ὡς τὸ ὅθεν
ἡ κίνησις, φύσις, ὅτι μηδὲ πρῶτον ἐν τοῖς ποιητικοῖς, ἀλλ’ ὁ θεὸς πρότερον. πᾶσα δὲ αἰτία
μὴ ἀρχική, ἣ κινουμένη κινεῖ, ὀργανικὴ αἰτία καὶ συναιτία λέγεται παρὰ Πλάτωνι.²⁷

For nature is not an instrument, inasmuch as it is naturally unified, but nature acts by serving
as an instrument to the demiurgic intellect, inasmuch as that which moves is distinct from that
which is moved. For nature, as that out of which the movement originates, is efficient not in the
proper sense of the word, because nature is not the first among the efficient causes, for God is
prior to it. All causes that are not principal and that move by being moved are called by Plato
instrumental causes or by-causes.

It is here that Bessarion made reference to “our theologians, especially the Latin ones”
and quoted once more from the Summa theologiae Ia–IIae:²⁸

φασὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ ἡμέτεροι θεολόγοι, καὶ μάλιστά γε λατῖνοι, οὗτοί γε καὶ περὶ πλείστου μᾶλλον
δὲ τοῦ παντὸς Ἀριστοτέλη ποιούμενοι, τὴν ὅλην φύσιν ὡς ὄργανον πρὸς τὸ πρώτως ποιοῦν,
οὕτω πρὸς τὸν θεὸν παραβάλλεσθαι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἴδιον τῆς λογικῆς εἶναι φύσεως ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος
φέρεσθαι, ὡς ἂν ἑαυτὴν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος  ἀγούσης· τῆς δὲ  ἀλόγου, ὡς ἂν ὑφ’ ἑτέρου ἀγομένης, ἢ
εἰς τὸ καταλαμβανόμενον τέλος, ὥσπερ τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα, ἢ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄγνωστον, ὥσπερ τὰ παντάπασι
γνώσεως ἐστερημένα.  ἀνάγκη γὰρ πάντα τὰ λόγου ἐστερημένα κινεῖσθαι πρὸς τὸ μερικὸν τέλος
ὑπό τινος λογικῆς θελήσεως, ἥτις ἑαυτὴν ἐκτείνει πρὸς τὸ καθόλου τέλος, δηλονότι τῆς θείας
θελήσεως.²⁹

Our theologians, and especially the Latin ones, who value above all Aristotle to the highest de-
gree, also say that the whole of nature is in comparison to God as an instrument to the primary
agent. Consequently it is proper to the rational nature to tend to an end, as directing itself to
the end: whereas it is proper to the irrational nature to tend to an end, as directed by another,
whether it apprehends the end, as do irrational animals, or does not apprehend it, as is the case
with those things that are altogether void of knowledge. [...] Consequently all things that lack

27 Bess. NA, 8.4, p. 168, 7–12 Mariev et al.

28 Cf. Thom. Aquin. ST Ia–IIae q. 1, a. 2 co.: Illa ergo quae rationem habent, seipsa movent ad finem,
quia habent dominium suorum actuum per liberum arbitrium, quod est facultas voluntatis et rationis.
Illa vero quae ratione carent, tendunt in finem per naturalem inclinationem, quasi ab alio mota, non
autem a seipsis, cum non cognoscant rationem finis, et ideo nihil in finem ordinare possunt, sed solum
in finem ab alio ordinantur. Nam tota irrationalis natura comparatur ad Deum sicut instrumentum
ad agens principale, ut supra habitum est. Et ideo proprium est naturae rationalis ut tendat in finem
quasi se agens vel ducens ad finem, naturae vero irrationalis, quasi ab alio acta vel ducta, sive in finem
apprehensum, sicut bruta animalia, sive in finem non apprehensum, sicut ea quae omnino cognitione
carent. Cf. Thom. Aquin. ST Ia–IIae q. 1, a. 2 ad 3: Et ideo necesse est quod omnia quae carent ratione,
moveantur in fines particulares ab aliqua voluntate rationali, quae se extendit in bonum universale,
scilicet a voluntate divina.
29 Bess. NA, 8.4, p. 170,1–11 Mariev et al.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 283

reason are, of necessity, moved to their particular ends by some rational will, which extends to
the universal end, namely by the Divine will.

The aim of Bessarion’s reference to “our” theologians, and especially the Latin ones
who recognise and value the authority of Aristotle above all, now becomes evident:
if a Christian and Aristotelian like Thomas Aquinas can be shown to uphold a thesis
that is in complete accord with Platonic philosophy, then (1) Platonism is in harmony
with Christian thought, and (2) Aristotelian thought is not irreconcilable with Platonic
teaching, and thus to follow Aristotle does not necessarily bring with it disdain for
Plato, as George seems to believe.

4 Nature as instrumental cause in George of

Trebizond’s Comparatio
When Bessarion was writing his response to the pamphlet of George of Trebizond, he
knew that George had already published his Latin Comparatio philosophorum, but he
had not yet had an opportunity to read it. In fact, it was from George’s pamphlet that
Bessarion, as he himself professed in De natura et arte, learned about the existence
of the Comparatio. It was only after the completion of the Greek version of De natura
et arte that Bessarion finally managed to obtain a copy of the Comparatio, read it and
took the decision to compose a comprehensive reply to this calumniator of Plato, his
famous In Calumniatorem Platonis.
It must have been a great surprise for Bessarion to discover that George, who in his
letter to Isaiah had criticized the concept of nature as instrumental cause, introduced
the same concept in his Comparatio. In this work, George of Trebizond pursues one
main objective, namely to demonstrate, on the one hand, that Platonic philosophy is
incompatible with Christian doctrine and, on the other hand, that Aristotelian thought
is not only consistent with Christian doctrine, but even anticipates some of the funda-
mental Christian theses. In particular, in Book 2, chapter 10, 74–76, George mentions
the Aristotelian doctrine formulated in On Generation and Corruption II 10, according
to which the zodiac and the movement of the sun are inclined in order that coming-
to-be and passing-away may continually occur. In the interpretation of George, this
passage proves that according to Aristotle the zodiac and the celestial bodies have
been brought into existence for the sake of the continuity of generation and corrup-
tion, and consequently the passage demonstrates that the heavens are, according to
Aristotle, nothing else but a divine instrumental cause.

74 In secundo igitur De Generatione iuxta calcem legitur quod obliquatio tum zodiaci, tum ipsius
motus solis, qui circulum per medium signorum suo motu describit, causa efficiens generatio-
nis atque corruptionis est, quodque hoc modo universum adimpletur a deo quia generationem
fecit continuam. 75 Si ergo universum adimpletum est quia generatio facta est a deo continua, hoc
284 | Sergei Mariev

autem factum per obliquationem zodiaci et motus solaris, precipue ostendit zodiacum et solem et
omnino celestia corpora propter generationem facta esse divinitus. 76 Non est celum principalis
causa generationis secundum ipsum, sed quasi organica atque instrumentalis. Natura enim in-
strumentum dei non iniuria dici potest et celum ipsum, cuius motu atque ambitu hec inferiora et
moventur et quiescunt.³⁰

74 In Book 2 of the On Generation, therefore, towards the end, one reads that the oblique path
of the zodiac and of the motion of the sun itself, which describes by its motion a circle through
the middle of the signs of the zodiac, is the efficient cause of generation and corruption, and that
in this way the universe is filled by God because he causes continual generation. 75 If therefore
the universe is filled because continual generation is caused by God, and if, moreover, this is
achieved through the oblique path of the zodiac and of the motion of the sun, Aristotle is show-
ing in particular that the zodiac and the sun and the celestial bodies as a whole were divinely
made for the sake of generation. 76 The heavens are not, according to him, the principal cause of
generation, but, as it were, a tool and an instrumental cause. For it can be fairly said that nature
is the instrument of God, and so are the heavens, by whose motion and circular path the things
here below are moved and made to rest.

At this point George adds some observations to make clear what an instrumental cause
is and how it operates. He specifies that it is impossible to tend to an end without
knowing the end. If nature is oriented towards an end, even though it does not have
knowledge of this end, this means, in George’s view, that nature tends to an end be-
cause it is guided by God, who knows the end and directs the irrational entities to-
wards it. For George this is actually what Aristotle taught, given that Aristotle himself
almost never says that nature does nothing in vain, but that God and nature do noth-
ing in vain, which means, in his view, that according to Aristotle nature is oriented
towards an end because it is guided and directed by God towards this end:

77 Instrumentalis enim causa proprie est que gratia finis non sua, sed superioris alicuius cog-
nitione operatur. Natura vero nihil facit frustra, sed omnia propter finem et quidem optimum
facit, nec ullo pacto cognoscit. 78 Gratia vero finis absque ulla cognitione facere penitus impos-
sibile est. Nam quod ordine certo semper tendit ad finem, necessario aut cognoscit finem aut a
cognoscente dirigitur. 79 Propterea nunquam pene Aristoteles naturam dicit nihil facere frustra,
sed deum et naturam ut ostendat cognitione dei, non sua nihil frustra naturam agere.³¹

77 For an instrumental cause properly is what operates not for its own sake, but under the cogni-
tion of something higher. Nature in fact does nothing in vain, but does everything for a purpose
and indeed to the best results, and it is not in any way cognizant [of the purpose]. 78 On the other
hand, to work purposely without cognition is utterly impossible. For that which always tends to-
wards an end in a certain order is necessarily cognizant of the end or is directed to it by what is
cognizant of it. 79 For this reason, Aristotle almost never says nature does nothing in vain, but

30 Georg. Trapez. Comparatio, II 10, 74–76. I thank Prof. Monfasani for supplying me with a draft of
the edition he is preparing and with the English translation.
31 Georg. Trapez. Comparatio, II 10, 77–79.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 285

that God and nature do nothing in vain, thus showing that it is by God’s cognition and not by its
own that nature does nothing in vain.

However, George does not limit himself to integrating the concept of nature as instru-
mentum dei into his own demonstrations. He goes further than this: he takes as a point
of departure the thesis that the celestial bodies have been created for the sake of an
end, and arrives at the conclusion that, according to Aristotle himself, the celestial
bodies have been created by an agent endowed with intellect and through an act of
will. With this argument George believes that he has shown that Aristotle is in perfect
accord with Christian doctrine:

Si ergo generationem deus facit continuam, generatio autem continua motu celestium corporum
fit, motus certe celestes gratia finis facti sunt, et mobilia igitur. 81 Facta sunt autem a primo prin-
cipio. Ab ipso enim dependent. A voluntate igitur eius, non a natura dependent. Nam quod fac-
tum ab aliquo est, et precipue propter finem, a voluntate vel agentis cause vel agentem dirigentis
omnino factum est. [...]83 Quasobres non a natura dei, sed a voluntate mundus dependet secun-
dum Aristotelem.³²

If therefore God makes continual generation and if continual generation is the result of the motion
of the celestial bodies, then certainly the celestial motions have been made for the sake of an end,
and so too therefore the movable celestial bodies. 81 They are made by the first principle. They
are indeed dependent on him. They are dependent on his will, not on his nature. For what has
been made by someone and especially for the sake of an end, is generally made by an act of will,
either of the agent cause or of the cause that directs the agent [...] 83 Hence, according to Aristotle,
the world is dependent not on God’s nature, but on God’s will.

32 Georg. Trapez. Comparatio, II 10, 80–83. A similar argumentative strategy is employed by Thomas
Aquinas in his Contra Gentiles II, q. 23. There Thomas takes as his point of departure the idea that
nature is directed to its end by a principal agent that knows the end, and he arrives at the conclusion
that the principal agent, i. e. God, acts not by necessity of his nature but by his intellect and will. Cf.
Thom. Aquin. CG II, q. 23, n. 6: “Deum agere propter finem ex hoc manifestum esse potest quod univer-
sum non est a casu, sed ad aliquod bonum ordinatur: ut per philosophum patet, in XI metaphysicae.
Primum autem agens propter finem oportet esse agens per intellectum et voluntatem: ea enim quae in-
tellectu carent, agunt propter finem sicut in finem ab alio directa. Quod quidem in artificialibus patet:
nam sagittae motus est ad determinatum signum ex directione sagittantis. Simile autem esse oportet
et in naturalibus. Ad hoc enim quod aliquid directe in finem debitum ordinetur, requiritur cognitio
ipsius finis, et eius quod est ad finem, et debitae proportionis inter utrumque: quod solum intelli-
gentis est. Cum igitur Deus sit primum agens, non agit per necessitatem naturae, sed intellectum et
voluntatem.” George of Trebizond has a very ambiguous relationship to Thomas’ thought: on the one
hand, he takes up Thomistic concepts and distinctions (cf. Georg. Trapez. Comparatio II 10, 47: “Emer-
git tamen atque existit ex ipso rerum ordine. Nam sicut causata tripartito scinduntur (accidentia, ex
non ente hoc, ex non ente simpliciter” and cf. Thom. Aquin. CG II, q. 21 a. 10 ); on the other hand, he
derives his main theses from the Francescan tradition and on many issues takes a position that is far
removed from that of Thomas (cf. Georg. Trapez. Comparatio, II 15, where George quotes Thomas by
name and engages with the central ideas expounded in Aquinas’ De ente et essentia).
286 | Sergei Mariev

5 Bessarion’s response in In Calumniatorem

Platonis
In his In Calumniatorem Platonis Bessarion underlines the incoherence of George of
Trebizond,³³ who, on the one hand, had criticized the concept of nature as an instru-
ment of God while, on the other hand, making use of the same concept in his Compara-
tio in order to show how much Aristotle is in accord with Christian doctrine. Bessarion
then exposes the mistake in George’s argumentation that consists in passing illegiti-
mately from the concept of nature as instrumental cause to that of nature being cre-
ated by God and in attributing to Aristotle the idea that God not only operates through
nature but creates nature. The fact that Aristotle too teaches that nature is an instru-
mental cause confirms that Aristotle was in accord with Plato, but it does not imply
that according to Aristotle God created nature:

Ἐπιστῆσαι δὲ δεῖ καὶ ὅπερ ἐπάγει τὴν φύσιν αἰτίαν εἶναι ὀργανικήν. ἑαυτῷ γὰρ ἀντιφάσκει τοῦτο
λέγων, ὃς ἄλλοτε πρὸς Ἡσαίαν κατὰ Πλάτωνος γράφων ἐσπούδασε δεῖξαι κατ’ ἰδίαν δόξαν
μὴ δύνασθαι εἶναι τὴν φύσιν αἰτίαν ὀργανικήν, εἴ γε τὸ μὲν ὄργανον χωριστόν ἐστι τοῦ ὑπ’
αὐτοῦ γινομένου. ἡ δὲ φύσις ἐνυπάρχει τοῖς πράγμασιν. ἀλλ’ ὑφ’ ἑτέρας ἀποκρίσεως ἡμετέρας
ἐπιδιορθωθεὶς μεμάθηκε τὴν ἀλήθειαν συνεὶς τῆς ἀσθενείας τοῦ ἰδίου σοφιστικοῦ ἐπιχειρήματος
καὶ ἑκὼν ἄκων ἕπεται Πλάτωνι, ὃ πρότερον ἀπεδοκίμαζε, τοῦτο νῦν δεχόμενος καὶ εἰς βοήθειαν
ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ Ἀριστοτέλους χρώμενος. ἔστω οὖν Ἀριστοτέλη τὴν φύσιν αἰτίαν ὀργανικὴν
νομίζειν, εἴ γε μὴ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα τὰ τοῦ καθηγεμόνος παραδέχεται, εἰ καί ποτε
ῥήμασι καὶ τῷ φαινομένῳ δοκεῖ τισιν ἐναντιοῦσθαι αὐτῷ. τί δὲ ἐκ τούτου ἕπεται, εἰ ἡ φύσις ἐστὶ
τοῦ θεοῦ ὄργανον καὶ ὑπηρέτις; φαίη ἂν Ἀριστοτέλης, ὡς ὁ θεὸς ποιεῖ διὰ τῆς φύσεως ὥσπερ καὶ
ἡ ψυχὴ διὰ μέσου τοῦ σώματος. αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν φύσιν οὔτε πεποίηκεν οὔτε ποιεῖ.³⁴

One should note that George introduces nature as an instrumental cause. In saying this he contra-
dicts himself, since when he wrote the letter to Isaiah against Plato he was eager to demonstrate
that, according to his own opinion, nature cannot be an instrumental cause, because an instru-
ment must be separate from what is brought about by it and because nature is intrinsic to the
natural entities. But corrected by our reply, he learned the truth, understanding the weakness of
his own sophistic demonstration, and volens nolens followed Plato. That which he previously re-
futed he now accepts and even uses it to help himself and Aristotle. Be it that Aristotle was of the
opinion that nature is an instrumental cause – Aristotle was not only of this opinion but accepted
many teachings of his master Plato, even though it may appear as if he contradicted him – what
follows from this, if nature is an instrument of God and his servant? Aristotle would admit that
God acts through nature just as the soul does by means of the body, but he would not say that
God has created or creates nature.

33 Cf. Del Soldato 2008, 76. Cf. Del Soldato 2014.

34 Bess. ICP, lib. III, cap. 20, 17, p. 342, 5–19 Mohler.
 Nature as instrumentum Dei | 287

6 Conclusions
The task of demonstrating the compatibility of Platonism with Christianity which
Bessarion took upon himself was no small challenge. The present article has exam-
ined one central issue of this theoretical endeavour, namely Bessarion’s treatment of
the concept of nature as an instrumental cause. The preceding analysis of the argu-
ments formulated by Bessarion, first in response to the inquiry from his close friend
and associate Theodore Gazes, and then in response to the serious objections raised
by his intellectual adversary George of Trebizond, has demonstrated the central role of
certain Thomistic standpoints in Bessarion’s arguments. In De natura et arte Bessar-
ion links the Platonic, i. e. the Neoplatonic conception of nature as an instrumental
cause and by-cause that serves the demiurgic Intellect with the Thomistic doctrine of
nature as instrumentum dei. In this way, he makes two traditions, the Byzantine and
the Latin, converge in his argument and succeeds in demonstrating the fundamental
harmony between Platonism and Christianity.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

NA Bessarion, De natura et arte

ICP Bessarion, In Calumniatorem Platonis

Primary Sources

Aristoteles, Ethica Nicomachea, ed. I. Bywater. Oxford 1962.

Bessarion, Über Natur und Kunst – De natura et arte, neu ediert, übersetzt und mit einer Einleitung
und Kommentar herausgegeben von S. Mariev, M. Marchetto, K. Luchner, Hamburg 2015.
Bessarion, In calumniatorem Platonis. Libri IV, hrsg. v. L. Mohler, in Kardinal Bessarion als Theologe,
Humanist und Staatsmann, Bd. 2, Paderborn 1927, Neudruck: Aalen/Paderborn 1967.
Bessarion, Libellus: Quod natura consulto agat, ed. L. Mohler, in Kardinal Bessarion als Theologe,
Humanist und Staatsmann, Bd. 3, Paderborn 1942, Neudruck: Aalen/Paderborn 1967, 88–90.
Georgius Trapezuntius, Comparatio Philosophorum Platonis et Aristotelis, ed. by J. Monfasani, in
preparation.
Ioannes Philoponus, In Aristotelis Physicorum libros tres priores Commentaria, ed. H. Vitelli.
Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, vol. XVI. Berlin 1887.
Proclus Diadochus, In Platonis Timaeum Commentaria, 3 Bde., ed. E. Diehl. Leipzig 1903–1906.
Simplicius, In Aristotelis Physicorum Libros Quattuor Priores Commentaria, ed. H. Diels.
Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, IX. Berlin 1882.
Themistius, In Aristotelis Physica Paraphrasis, ed. H. Schenkl. Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca,
vol. V, pars II. Berlin 1900.
288 | Sergei Mariev

Secondary Sources

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Bessarion's Writings”. In: Bessarion's Treasure. Ed. by S. Mariev. Byzantinisches Archiv –
Series Philosophica 3. Forthcoming.
Bianca, C. (1999). “Gaza, Teodoro”. In: Dizionario biografico degli Italiani. Vol. 52. Roma,
pp. 737–746.
Del Soldato, E. (2008). “Platone, Aristotele e il Cardinale: il De natura et arte di Bessarione”. In:
Rinascimento 48, pp. 61–79.
Del Soldato, E. (2014). “Introduzione”. In: Basilio Bessarione: Contro il calunniatore di Platone.
Ed. by E. Del Soldato. Roma, pp. IX–XXV.
Golitsis, P. (2008). Les Commentaires de Simplicius et de Jean Philopon à la Physique d'Aristote.
Berlin and New York.
Hankins, J. (1990). “Bessarion's Debt to Proclus in Book II of the Calumniator”. In: Plato in the Italian
Renaissance. Vol. 2. Leiden and New York, pp. 441–444.
Karamanolis, G. (2002a). “Plethon and Scholarios on Aristotle”. In: Byzantine Philosophy and Its
Ancient Sources. Ed. by K. Ierodiakonou. Oxford, pp. 253–282.
Lernould, A. (2012). “Nature in Proclus. From Irrational Immanent Principle to Goddess”. In:
Neoplatonism and the Philosophy of Nature. Ed. by J. Wilberding and C. Horn. Oxford,
pp. 68–102.
Macé, C., C. Steel, and P. D'Hoine (2009). “Bessarion lecteur du Commentaire de Proclus sur le
Parménide. Avec une édition de ses scholies aux livres II et III”. In: Byzantion 79, pp. 240–279.
Marchetto, M. (2015). “Nature and Deliberation in Bessarion's ‘De natura et arte’”. In: Byzantinische
Zeitschrift 108.2, pp. 1–18.
Mariev, S. (2013). “Der Traktat De natura et arte des Kardinals Bessarion”. In: “Inter graecos
latinissimus, inter latinos graecissimus”: Bessarion zwischen den Kulturen. Ed. by C. Märtl,
C. Kaiser, and T. Ricklin. Berlin and Boston, pp. 361–389.
Mariev, S. (2014a). “Plethon and Scholarios on Deliberation in Art and Nature”. In: Georgios
Gemistos Plethon: the Byzantine and the Latin Renaissance. Ed. by J. Matula and P. R. Blum.
Olomouc, pp. 113–142.
Mariev, S., M. Marchetto, and K. Luchner (2015). “Einleitung”. In: Bessarion, Über Natur und Kunst --
De natura et arte. Ed. by S. Mariev, M. Marchetto, and K. Luchner. Hamburg, pp. IX–LXII.
Martijn, M. (2010). Proclus on Nature. Philosophy of Nature and Its Methods in Proclus' Commentary
on Plato's Timaeus. Leiden and Boston.
Mioni, E. (1981c). Bibliothecae Divi Marci Venetiarum codices graeci manuscripti. Volumen I:
Thesaurus Antiquus. Codices 1–299. Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali. Indici e
Cataloghi, Nuova Serie VI. Roma.
Monfasani, J. (1994). “Bessarion's Ὅτι ἡ φύσις βουλεύεται (Quod Natura Consulto Agat) in MS Vat.
Gr. 1720”. In: Bessarione e l'Umanesimo. Ed. by G. Fiaccadori. Napoli, pp. 323–324.
Monfasani, J. (2002b). “Theodore Gaza as a Philosopher: A Preliminary Survey”. In: Manuele
Crisolora e il ritorno del greco in Occidente. Ed. by R. Maisano and A. Rollo. Napoli, pp. 269–281.
Monfasani, J. (2011a). Bessarion Scholasticus: A Study of Cardinal Bessarion's Latin Library. Turnout.
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A. Speer and P. Steinkrüger. Berlin and Boston, pp. 469–480.
Rigo, A. (1994). “Le opere d'argomento teologico del giovane Bessarione”. In: Bessarione e
l'Umanesimo. Catalogo della mostra. Ed. by G. Fiaccadori. Napoli, pp. 33–46.
Rigo, A. (2012). “La teologia di Bessarione da Costantinopoli a Roma”. In: Bessarione e la sua
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Tambrun-Krasker, B. (2013). “Bessarion, de Trébizonde à Mistra: un parcours intellectuel”. In: “Inter

graecos latinissimus, inter latinos graecissimus”: Bessarion zwischen den Kulturen. Ed. by
C. Märtl, C. Kaiser, and T. Ricklin. Berlin and Boston, pp. 1–35.
Todt, K.-P. (2006). “In Calumniatorem Platonis: Kardinal Johannes Bessarion (ca. 1403–1472) als
Vermittler und Verteidiger der Philosophie Platons”. In: Der Beitrag der byzantinischen
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E. Konstantinou. Frankfurt a. M., pp. 149–168.
Tikhon Alexander Pino
Hylomorphism East and West
Thomas Aquinas and Mark of Ephesos on the Body-Soul
Relationship

Introduction
The relationship between the material body and the immaterial soul formed a cen-
tral concern of both medieval Scholasticism and late Byzantine theology. Indebted to
many of the same philosophical sources, and to the writings of the Church Fathers,
East and West shared a common interest in questions relating to the ensoulment of
the human person, the middle state of the soul after death, and the resurrection of the
body. In approaching these issues, both Greeks and Latins had recourse to the Aris-
totelian definition of the soul as the form of the body, which in turn constitutes the
matter of the living human being understood as a substance.¹ This theory, known as
hylomorphism, or entelechism, would have as its most famous expositor none other
than Thomas Aquinas. Thomas would synthesize Aristotelian psychology with the
broader Christian understanding of the soul to produce one of the most well-known
formulations of psychosomatic unity and interdependence, defining the soul as the
substantial form of the body.
The influence of Thomas Aquinas on late Byzantine thought has received increas-
ing recognition.² Indeed, the corpus Thomisticum graece constitutes an important the-
ological monument of the Palaiologan era. For this reason, it must be asked whether
the appearance in Byzantium of hylomorphic formulations of the body-soul relation-
ship are not due to the direct influence of Aquinas’s writings rather than to the shared
philosophical heritage of East and West.

I am grateful to Dr. Mark Johnson of Marquette University for sharing his insights into the thought
of Thomas Aquinas, and for his feedback and encouragement on an earlier draft of this paper. All
translations are my own unless otherwise noted.
1 See De anima 2, 1, 412a15–413a10, ed. W. Biehl, Leipzig 1896 (in LCL 288, Cambridge, Mass. 1957, pp.
68–72).
2 See, especially, Papadopoulos 1967a; Fyrigos 2004a, 27–72; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2012d; Plested
2012e, 63–134.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-303
292 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

Among the Greek writers who adopt a hylomorphic account of the human person
is Mark Eugenikos, one of the most important theological voices at the twilight of the
Byzantine Empire. Mark, who is best known for his opposition as Metropolitan of Eph-
esos to the Council of Florence, adopts a hylomorphic theory of psychomatic unity in
his early, ostensibly anti-Plethonic treatise On the Resurrection.³ This apology for the
goodness of human corporeality contains a definition of the soul as the εἶδος of the
body, which in turn constitutes the ὕλη of the human composite. The possibility of
direct dependence on Thomas has already been noted by Demetracopoulos.⁴ Yet the
details of Mark’s hylomorphic anthropology have not been the subject of sustained
scholarly examination. This paper will therefore examine whether, and to what ex-
tent, the De resurrectione of Eugenikos actually relies on Aquinas for its conception of
the body-soul relationship.

Points of Contact
Mark’s treatise is directed at those who flatly deny the resurrection of the flesh. To the
extent that the “simple and unadorned faith in the meaning of this doctrine”⁵ is in-
sufficient for some in his own day, Mark sets out, in the spirit of the best scholastic
theology, to prove this basic tenet of faith with reason and proofs.⁶ The twin errors
that he seeks to combat are both associated with the “Greeks,” namely reductive ma-
terialism and Platonic disdain for the body.

For this, I think, is what eluded the wise men of the Greeks, making them ignorant. It darkened
their ideas concerning the soul and made them to err. For looking to universal principles, and
seeking in everything what is natural, some were ignorant of God. These are those who said that
the soul is in no way separable but is immediately dissolved into non-being at death, since they
deny that other forms, as well, are separable.⁷ But there are others who posited that forms are
separable and subsist of themselves; and these conceded that the soul is immortal.⁸

3 The anti-Plethonic character of the work is not overt, but is inferred from several of the arguments
for a bodily resurrection; see Schmemann 1951, 62; Pilavakis 1987b, 79.
4 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2011a, 369, n. 327.
5 De resurrectione, ed. A. Schmemann, p. 53, 16–18. A better, critical edition of this text is still needed
and has in fact been announced by the project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus.
6 De resurrectione, pp. 53–54, 23–29 Schmemann.
7 This characterization may be read as a classic condemnation of Aristotelianism. Aristotle’s name
was long associated with precisely this type of materialism (see Gregory of Nyssa, De anima et resur-
rectione, ed. A Spira, Leiden 2014, p. 33, 18 – p. 34, 2; Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 27, 10. Aquinas ac-
knowledges this patrimony, though he clearly disagrees with it; see SG 2, 79, 1610). By the late Byzan-
tine period, though, “Aristotelianism” gradually lost its pejorative connotation and was eventually
recast as a system compatible with Christianity, particularly in the battle with Plethon’s Platonism
(cf. J. A. Demetracopoulos 2011a, 367).
8 De resurrectione, p. 55, 88–95 Schmemann.
 Hylomorphism East and West | 293

To this “irrationality,” Mark opposes the Christian understanding of the person.

The rational and intellective soul, created according to the image of God and separable from its
kindred matter …when it is uncoupled from that to which it is yoked, advances to the things that
are akin to it and attains a condition appropriate to itself.⁹

The points of contact between the anthropology, and even the methodology, of Mark
and Thomas are obvious enough. As already noted, Mark appears to follow Thomas,
not only in supplying a rational defense of the resurrection, but especially in iden-
tifying the human body as the matter of the human substance, whose soul consti-
tutes its form (λόγον εἴδους ἐπέχειν πρὸς ὕλην τὸ σῶμα).¹⁰ Both Mark and Thomas
are also insistent that the human person is essentially composite (τὴν οὐσίαν ἔχομεν
συνεστῶσαν).¹¹ For this reason, even though the soul has its own operation,¹² the soul
alone is not understood, in Platonic fashion, to constitute the individual human be-
ing. Homo non est anima tantum, sed est aliquid compositum ex anima et corpore. Plato
vero, ponens sentire esse proprium animae, ponere potuit quod homo esset anima utens
corpore.¹³ For Mark, then, even though the soul is “released” to a more authentic life
after death, this does not mean that death is some kind of liberation from corporeality.

For it is uncoupled from the body and is freed from its passions, but it is in no way unyoked from
its natural relation towards it. For even when it is flying away, it yet directs its gaze towards its
kindred dwelling-place, even though the latter has been dissolved into its constituent elements.¹⁴

9 De resurrectione, p. 56, 102–105 Schmemann.

10 De resurrectione, p. 55, 77 Schmemann; cf. p. 54, 35–38 Schmemann. See, also, ST Ia, q. 76, a. 1,
resp.: “It is clear that the first thing whereby the body lives is the soul. And since life is manifested
through different operations in different degrees of living things, that whereby we first of all perform
each of these activities is the soul. For the soul is the first thing whereby we are nourished, whereby
we sense, and whereby we execute locomotion. And in the same way it is that whereby we first of all
understand. This principle, then, whereby we first of all understand, whether it is called intellect or
intellective soul, is the form of the body. And this is the demonstration of Aristotle in De Anima, book
2.” Cf. SG 2, 68.
11 De resurrectione, p. 54, 46–48 Schmemann. See Sentencia libri De Anima 197–223; cf. SG 2, 57, 1326;
De potentia q. 3, a. 9, arg. 2.
12 Habet operationem per se (ST Ia, q. 75, a. 2, resp.). Cf. Eugenikos: καθ’ αὑτὴν διάγει (De resurrectione,
p. 56, 107–108 Schmemann).
13 ST Ia, q. 75, a. 4, resp.; cf. SG 2, 57. This is most famously espoused in the Commentary on 1 Corinthi-
ans 15, 2, 924: Anima mea non est ego (ed. R. Cai, Turin 1953, vol. 2, p. 411). See, also, ST Ia, q. 76, a.
1, ad 5: “The existence of the whole composite is also the existence of the soul itself (quod illud esse
quod est totius compositi, est etiam ipsius animae);” and ST IIa IIae, q. 83, a. 11, obj. 5. Cf., also, Eu-
genikos: “Neither the soul by itself nor the body, but both together are deserving of the name ‘man’”
(De resurrectione, p. 55, 71–72 Schmemann).
14 De resurrectione, p. 56, 115–118 Schmemann.
294 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

For both Eugenikos and Aquinas, this enduring connection between the soul and body
is the basis for the resurrection, since the soul possesses a teleological longing for the
body. Body itself thus becomes a permanent mark of the soul so that the resurrection of
the flesh becomes a necessity. Without resurrection, the human person would remain
forever incomplete after the dissolution of death.¹⁵ “He would be not-man rather than
man.”¹⁶ Whereas Mark will speak of this relationship as a “bond,” Thomas speaks of
an aptitudo and inclinatio:

To be united to the body belongs (convenit) to the soul in accordance with itself, just as it belongs
to a light body in accordance with itself to be lifted up. And just as a light body remains light
even though it has been separated from its proper place—albeit with an aptitude and inclination
toward its proper place—in the same way the human soul remains in its own existence when it
has been separated from the body, having a natural aptitude and inclination towards union with
the body.¹⁷

This is because the soul, even though it “exists in the body as a subsistent thing,”
does not possess “the perfection (completio) of its nature, which it has in union with
the body.”¹⁸ On this, Mark and Thomas are in agreement.

Separation
As already noted, this consonance between Aquinas and Eugenikos is suggestive, es-
pecially given the availability of the two Summae in Byzantium. But these basic simi-
larities quickly give way to important divergences, centering especially on the problem
of soul’s separability from body. Mark, as we have seen, puts the separability of forms
at the heart of Greek errors concerning the soul. He himself is confident that forms are
not generally separable from matter.¹⁹ Nevertheless, due to his Christian belief in the
afterlife of the soul, Mark must explain how, after death, the human eidos is able is to
exist without its matter. Mark’s position is that this is not due to any inherent, natural
feature of souls qua form, but rather to “the power of God, which brought them forth

15 For the metaphysical problems that this creates for Aquinas, and possible resolutions, see Brower
2014, 279–310; Nevitt 2014, 1–19. I am grateful to Dr. Nicholas Kahm for sharing his insights, along
with many resources, on Thomistic anthropology.
16 De resurrectione, p. 55, 72–76 Schmemann.
17 ST Ia, q. 76, a. 1, ad 6. Cf. De potentia q. 3, a. 10, arg. 4.
18 De potentia q. 3, a. 10, ad. 16. Cf. Sentencia libri De anima 215: Soul “does not have a complete
species, but rather is part of a species.”
19 This is consistent with the idea that Mark is, philosophically, an Aristotelian (see J. A. Demetra-
copoulos 2011a, 367). Cf. De anima 2, 1 (413a 4): οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ψυχὴ χωριστὴ τοῦ σώματος. “It is perfectly
clear that neither the soul, nor any of its parts (if it should have them), is separable. For sometimes
the entelechy belongs to the very parts” (413a 4–8; LCL 288:72).
 Hylomorphism East and West | 295

out of non-being.”²⁰ The immortality of the soul is thus an exception to metaphysical

norms; indeed, it is something of a miracle.
This stands in obvious contrast to Aquinas, who develops a sophisticated theory
of subsistent forms to account for what he sees as the natural immortality of the soul
after death.²¹ In describing the rational soul Aquinas will even refer to the intellect as
a substance.²² Thomas’s understanding derives from his reading of Aristotle, whose
psychology as laid out in the De anima appears to equivocate on the absolute sep-
arability of soul. Though the soul, qua entelechy, perishes together with the body,
Aristotle also holds that, “nothing prevents some parts [of soul] from being separated
from body, since they are not the entelechies of any body.”²³ This is applied especially
to the intellect, since for Aristotle, “intellect seems to subsist as a kind of substance,
perishing not.”²⁴ On the basis of these passages, Thomas is able to hold that the soul
transcends its role as informing principle. Indeed, it has a dimension which is inde-
pendent of body (virtus intellectiva non est corporis actus).²⁵ This not only accounts
for the inner life of man, allowing him to think and know, but it explains the subsis-
tence of the soul even when separated from the body. Unlike other forms, quae non
sunt subsistentes, the human soul thus remains in suo esse, even when the body, its
matter, has been destroyed.²⁶ This basic argument for the immortality of the soul dif-
fers from that of Eugenikos, for whom the sundering of body and soul is an unnatural
event requiring the intervention of God.

20 De resurrectione, p. 55, 80–81 Schmemann.

21 See, e. g., SG 2.51, where subsistent forms are distinguished from immanent, or material forms. Cf.
SG 2, 79–81; and see Kretzmann 1999, 403–418.
22 See, e. g., SG 2, 56; 68–69; 77, 90; De potentia q. 3, a. 10, arg. 11. Cf. Bazán 1997, 95–126.
23 De Anima 2, 1 (413a 7–8). Cf. Sentencia libri De anima 242, 677–699.
24 De Anima 1, 4 (408b 19–20). Cf. 3, 4 (429a 11–12); 1, 1 (403a 11–13); 3, 5 (439a 15–25). “This intellect
is separable, impassible, and unmingled, being in essence an activity…. It alone is, when separated,
what it is, and it alone is immortal and eternal ...and without this there is no thought.” Whether this
“intellect” is the same as the human soul is not clear from the text of the De anima itself: “Concerning
the intellect and the faculty of contemplation, it is as yet unclear. It seems to be another kind (γένος
ἕτερον) of soul. And this alone admits of separation, as immortality from corruptibility” (De anima 2,
2, 413b 25–28). Cf. Plotinus, Enneads 4, 7, 8(5), ed. Henry and Schwyzer, Brussels 1959, p. 210, 15–16).
25 ST Ia, q. 76, a, 1, ad 1; cf. ad 4. See, also, SG 2, 61; 68–70; De potentia q. 3, a. 9, arg. 1.
26 Again, this is by virtue of the fact that the human being is essentially a composite. ST Ia, q. 76, a. 1,
ad 5: Anima illud esse in quo ipsa subsistit, communicat materiae corporali, ex qua et anima intellectiva
fit unum, ita quod illud esse quod est totius compositi, est etiam ipsius animae. Quod non accidit in aliis
formis, quae non sunt subsistentes. Et propter hoc anima humana remanet in suo esse, destructo corpore,
non autem aliae formae.
296 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

Light the Form of the Sun

To illustrate the supernatural character of the soul’s separability, Mark draws an
analogy with the sun, whose eidos, following an important passage from St. Gregory
Nazianzen’s forty-fourth Oration, he identifies as the sun’s light. “For light,” Gregory
had authoritatively, if somewhat cryptically, stated, “is the form of the sun.”²⁷ This
statement forms the basis of Mark’s belief about the soul.

But if it seems strange to anyone to say that the soul is to the body what form is to matter—since
we do not allow, as those who think this way, that forms are separable from matter—we respond
thus. Forms by their proper nature are inseparable from substrates, since they are divisible only
in thought. But by the power of God, who brought them out of non-being, they are nonetheless
quite capable of being separated. For we know that the light, which from the beginning was the
form of the sun, existed before the sun,²⁸ having been created by itself; and we believe that later
it will be separated once more from the fiery substance and bestowed as a habitation upon the
blessed. What, then, is so wonderful if we posit also in the case of the soul that from the beginning
it was created together with its substrate, as its form, just as light is the form of the sun?²⁹

Mark’s language here (τί οὖν θαυμαστόν;) reinforces the fact that for both his own
metaphysics and that of Gregory, this is a miraculous (but not impossible) occur-
rence, since neither light nor the soul are independent substances. For Gregory, God
had created the form before the matter “that he might work a still great wonder (ἴνα
θαυματουργήζῃ τι μεῖζον),” and demonstrate his power by bringing into being what
ordinarily exists only in combination with something else.³⁰ This power, for Mark, is
what allows the soul to exist after death, and its supernatural character is precisely
what foiled the wisdom of the Greeks.³¹
But the principle that “light is the form of the sun,” though taken authoritatively
from the writings of St. Gregory Nazianzen, is difficult to reconcile with Thomistic and
Aristotelian metaphysics. Though Gregory had made this statement specifically in ref-
erence to the hylomorphic character of creatures, it would prove a difficult, if persis-
tent, axiom of patristic ontology. In a testament to the authority of the Cappadocian
Father whom the Byzantines called “the Theologian,” this definition was to have en-
during value. The reception of this peculiar formula was not limited to the East, and
Aquinas’s work engages its legacy in the Latin world. Alii vero dixerunt quod lux est

27 Oration 44, 4 (PG 36:611–612): “For while in the case of other creatures he brought matter into being
first and created form later…, in this case—in order to work a still greater wonder—he caused the form
to exist before the matter (for light is the form of the sun).”
28 Genesis 1:3–5, 14–18. Cf. Gregory Palamas, Homilies 35, 5.
29 De resurrectione, p. 55, 76–86 Schmemann.
30 Oration 44, 4 (PG 36:611–612). Cf. Poemata arcana 4, 7–8, ed. C. Moreschini, Oxford 1997, p. 16.
31 In Mark’s treatise, the statements concerning Greek errors on the soul follow directly upon his
rationale for the miraculous separability of souls.
 Hylomorphism East and West | 297

forma substantialis solis.³² This is perhaps a reference to Bonaventure, who had af-
firmed, like Mark, that light was the substantial form of the sun in his Commentary on
the Sentences.³³ Robert Grosseteste espouses the same principle in his De luce, where
he constructs an entire metaphysics of light as form.³⁴ But for Aquinas, this conception
of form had nothing to do with traditional Aristotelian hylomorphism, for which form
constitutes a thing’s species or actuality, intelligible to the mind but not perceivable
by the senses in and of themselves. Nulla forma substantialis est per se sensibilis, sed
solo intellectu comprehensibilis. Instead, for Thomas, light is an “active quality” of the
sun.³⁵ Consequently, for Thomas, the creation of the sun was substantially complete
on the first day, even if it received greater refinement on the fourth.³⁶
There are, then, deeper differences between Eugenikos and Aquinas than appear
at first sight. But it would be a mistake to stop at these differences and claim that
there is no relationship between the thought of Thomas and Mark on the body-soul
relationship. It is true that a strong dependence on Thomistic anthropology has not
so far been found in the De resurrectione.³⁷ But another remarkable fact has emerged.
Though our Greek and Latin authors differ as to their understanding of the separabil-
ity of the soul, the two authors are nevertheless seen to participate in a kind of dia-
logue. Not only do they debate the soul’s natural immortality and separability, but an
influential phrase from the Church Fathers is negotiated in each of their writings. To
put it more precisely, Mark Eugenikos, even in departing from Aquinas, is seen to par-
ticipate in a broader Scholastic conversation concerning form—a conversation taking
place between Thomas and Bonaventure as well as Robert Grosseteste. To this extent,
scholastic discourse can be seen to extend beyond the Latin world, involving both
East and West in a debate that has hitherto been thought of as exclusively Western in
scope.

Angelic Hylomorphism
Further exploration of the De resurrectione reveals still more points of contact, which
transcend direct influence and show, instead, a deeper synchronism and sympathy

32 ST Ia, q. 67, a. 3, resp.

33 See Commentary on the Sentences II, d. 13, esp. a. 2, q. 2.
34 Ed. Panti, Toronto 2013, pp. 193–238.
35 Sentencia libri De anima 420. Cf. ST Ia, q. 67, a. 3, obj. 3 and resp.
36 De potentia q. 4, a. 2, s.c. 6–10 and resp.; De potentia, continuatio Vicentii de Castronovo, ad s.c.
6–10.
37 Philosophical divergences do not, however, rule out all dependence. As Demetracopoulos has
shown, Mark’s knowledge of Aquinas is at times easily detectable at the textual level (see J. A. Deme-
tracopoulos 2011a, 342–368).
298 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

between East and West.³⁸ An important example is found in Mark’s discussion of an-
gelic hylomorphism, which forms his first argument for the necessity of a human res-
urrection. Mark’s logic is founded on the notion that only God is simple. All creatures,
even angels, admit of synthesis, even if they are incorporeal.³⁹

The things created by God admit of composition by reason of their distance from him, since they
miss the mark of simplicity. And their lack of simplicity is filled by a kind of matter, subsisting
with its own form. In us human beings, and in the irrational and soulless essences under us, this
is called body. But in angels, since they both are and are called incorporeal, it is not body; but a
material distinction is nevertheless observed even in them, whereby we distinguish, in thought
alone, their substrate and the form that is contemplated as if above it.⁴⁰

For Mark, the fact that angels are composite, coupled with the fact that human com-
position is born of corporeality, means that the resurrection is a common-sense fact
of nature. Soul needs to be reunited with body in order to restore the proper order of
things. A human being without a body, in other words, is simple, and do we really
expect to be simpler even than the angels?⁴¹
Here again, Eugenikos is shown to disagree quite clearly with Aquinas, since
Thomas is a firm advocate of the absolute immateriality of angels. To the question
whether “angels are composed of matter and form,” Thomas answers an unequivocal
“no”: impossibile est quod substantia intellectualis habeat qualemcumque materiam.⁴²
To distinguish the angels from God, Thomas does not resort to hylomorphic theory,
but rather to the fact that angels possess act and potency. In this way, Thomas is able
to distinguish the absolute simplicity of God, which like Mark he is eager to preserve,
from the composite character of creatures.

38 Cf. Louth 2005, 57–58; Louth 2007, 6–7.

39 This is, of course, an ancient notion; cf. Verbeke 1945. Mark’s explicit dependence on patristic
authority for this argument is discussed further below.
40 De resurrectione, p. 54, 34–40 Schmemann. But cf. the letter To Theodosios, where Mark asserts
that “no matter whatsoever intervenes” in the angelic apprehension of God (ed. Pilavakis, pp. 304–
05). (I am grateful to Christiaan Kappes for bringing this and other related passages to my attention,
and for his helpful comments on a first draft of this paper.)
41 Ἀνθρώπους δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς γεγονότας συνθέτους, εἶτα ἁπλουστέρους ἀποδεδεῖχθαι καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων,
εἶ γε διαλυθέντων, ὀυκέτι τοῖς ίδίοις σώμασιν αἱ ψυχαὶ συναφθεῖεν (De resurrectione pp. 54–55, 60–62
Schmemann). Cf. Eugenikos, Oratio prima de igne purgatorio 14.8, and Bessarion’s Responsio graeco-
rum 19.8 (ed. Petit, Paris 1927, pp. 59, 78), where Mark and the Orthodox delegation note that it is their
material substrate that will allow the demons to be burned by hellfire (Mt 25:41), whereas the disem-
bodied soul, as a form lacking its matter, cannot be burned (i. e., in purgatory) prior to the resurrection.
42 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 2, resp. Cf. SG 2, 50, 1260: “For everything composed out of matter and form is body.”
 Hylomorphism East and West | 299

Thus if matter is not involved, and supposing that the form itself subsists not-in-matter, there still
remains the relation (comparatio) of form to its very existence (esse), as potentiality to act. And
such is the composition to be understood in angels.⁴³

But even in spite of this disagreement, here, once more, Mark is seen to participate in
a broader Scholastic conversation. For the very notion that angels were composed of
both form and matter, as is obvious from Aquinas’s treatment, was a deeply contested
issue in the West. It was the doctrine of Alexander of Hales,⁴⁴ and as such entered
the thought of Bonaventure.⁴⁵ Mark’s arguments, to an extent, mirror the perspective
of these figures, even if he does not, in the De resurrectione, develop them with the
same level of philosophical sophistication. For this reason, Mark’s hylomorphism is
able to be placed in conversation with Aquinas, on the opposite side of an important
Scholastic debate.
As with the inheritance of Gregory’s forty-fourth Oration, this confluence is cer-
tainly due to the common patrimony of East and West, who were often reading the
same Church Fathers. In defending his claim that even angels admit of a material sub-
strate, Mark cites the influential writings of St. John of Damaskos.

For God alone is absolutely simple and immaterial, and neither composition nor division are in
any way conceived in him. And many different saints testify to this, including the theologian of
Damaskos, in his Theological Chapters.⁴⁶

This is, of course, a reference to the Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, where St.
John outlines his famous conception of relative materiality. According to St. John, an
angel, “is called bodiless and immaterial in regard to us. But when compared with
God, who alone is incomparable, everything appears dense and material, for only the
divine is truly immaterial and bodiless.”⁴⁷ John’s argument, that angels are circum-
scribed (περίγραπτοι) by place, is thus replicated by Eugenikos, who notes that “the
great Paul has said that they are sent to minister (Heb 1:14), attaining different places
at different times.”⁴⁸

43 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 2, ad 3. Cf. SG 2, 52, 1273: “One should not think, even though intellectual substances
are not corporeal, nor composed (compositae) out of matter and form… that they are therefore equal
to the divine simplicity. For a certain composition is found in them since in them existence is not the
same as ‘what it is’;” see, also, SG 2, 53–54.
44 See Colish 1995, 106–109; Lottin 1932, 21–39.
45 See Commentary on the Sentences II, d. 3, esp. a. 1. On the position of John Duns Scotus, see Sullivan
2010, 397–427.
46 De resurrectione, p. 54, 43–46 Schmemann.
47 St. John of Damaskos, Exact Exposition 2, 3 (ed. Kotter, Berlin 1973 p. 45).
48 De resurrectione, p. 54, 42–43 Schmemann. Cf. Exact Exposition 2, 3: “Angels are circumscribed,
for when they are in heaven, they are not on earth, and when they are sent by God to earth, they do
not remain in heaven.... And they cannot be present and active in two places at once” (p. 46, Kotter).
300 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

These arguments are not unknown to Thomas, and he engages them directly
within his own treatment of angels. Damascenus dicit, in libro II, quod angelus incor-
poreus et immaterialis dicitur quantum ad nos, sed comparatus ad Deum, corporeus et
materialis invenitur.⁴⁹ For Thomas, though, this does not mean that angels possess
actual matter. For him relative materiality is not simply relative, it is subjective. Deo
comparati they are material and corporeal, but they do not really possess matter. It
only seems so (videtur), just as what is tepid appears cold when compared to what is
actually warm.⁵⁰ Similarly, though the angels are circumscribed, “to be circumscribed
by spatial limits is proper to bodies; whereas to be circumscribed by essential limits
is common to all creatures, spiritual as well as corporeal.”⁵¹ For Aquinas, therefore,
the angel is pure form and omnino incorporeus,⁵² since “an angel and a body are said
to occupy space in different senses (aequivoce).”⁵³ For this reason Thomas can accept
that angels are operative in a specific place without for that reason accepting that
they are circumscribed materially.⁵⁴ In this way, Thomas and Mark once again fall on
opposite sides of a Scholastic debate, but it is a debate nonetheless, and there is no
hint that the two thinkers are approaching the subject with methodologies that are
fundamentally opposed or incompatible.
Consistent with this observation, the angelology of Eugenikos and Aquinas re-
flects even further thematic parallels. As intimated above, Mark evinces a marked con-
cern that, ultimately, angels emerge simpler in essence than the human being.⁵⁵ For
Thomas, too, the differentiation of the soul from the angels qua spirit was an important
element in the elaboration of a hylomorphic anthropology.⁵⁶ Like Mark, Thomas rec-
ognized that the disembodied state evoked the bodiless condition of the angels,⁵⁷ and
he was eager to distinguish the ontological condition of the soul from that of angels.
In his examination into “whether the soul is of a species identical with the angels,”⁵⁸
Aquinas claims that this was in fact the position of Origen.⁵⁹ For Aquinas, this is the
reason that angels must be pure spirit, since their immateriality ensures that they pos-
sess a principle of differentiation, not only from souls, but from one another. But when
pressed further, Thomas will add that the soul differs from an angel also by the fact

49 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 1, obj. 1.

50 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 1, ad 1.
51 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 1, ad 3.
52 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 1, obj. 1. Cf. ST Ia, q. 50, a. 2, resp.: omnis substantia intellectualis est omnino imma-
terialis.
53 ST Ia, q. 50, a. 2, resp.
54 Cf. ST Ia, q. 50, a. 1, ad 3.
55 See n. 41 above.
56 Cf, e. g., Bonaventure, Commentary on the Sentences 2, d. 1, pars 2, a. 3; Alexander of Hales, Summa
2, q. 20, m. 5.
57 Cf. De potentia q. 3, a. 10, arg. 8.
58 Ia, q. 75, proem.
59 Ia, q. 75, a. 7, resp.
 Hylomorphism East and West | 301

that it is the form of a certain matter (materiae alicuius).⁶⁰ As already intimated, this
difference is rooted in the notion that “an angel is a nature complete in itself,” while
soul carries with itself a perennial relation to body.⁶¹
Despite their differences, then, both thinkers approach the subject of angels
within the same frame of reference, and with a common appreciation for the problems
involved in the middle state of souls. In discussing angelic matter, their conversation
continues as if engaged in a disputatio. Not only do they disagree about the hylomor-
phic character of angels, they are also seen to dispute the proper interpretation of St.
John of Damaskos, and the sense in which “place” can be attributed to angels. But
even in their disagreement, the two authors evince similar ways of thinking, which
show their respective theories to be compatible in genre and method, even if one is
not found to be the source of the other.

Identity
A final example of this trend can be found in Eugenikos’s doctrine of bodily identity,
which is a corollary of his strict entelechism. As we saw earlier, for Mark a soul without
a body is not fully human.

How, then, will this human being, namely that which is composed of soul and body—who from
the beginning was created in immortality, but was punished for his transgression and restored
again by grace to his original dignity—how will he cast away that with which he was bequeathed
immortality? In that case he would be not-man rather than man.⁶²

For this reason, Mark holds that the body does not disappear after death, but abides
mysteriously, awaiting the resurrection, when it will be united once more with the soul
that likewise longs to inhabit its former habitation.⁶³ Following St. Paul (1 Cor 15:37),
Eugenikos likens this mystery to that of the grain, which also decomposes in hope of
another, transformed life, but without being altogether lost.⁶⁴ Between the corrupted
seed planted in the ground and the final product lies a “middle” analogous to the
“invisible bond” between body and soul.

The blade which sprouts up intervenes between the decomposed seed and the grain that will be
brought to completion when it ripens. And until then it endures as a kind of bond between the
two until what has rotted is renewed and appears, more magnificent, all over again. And this
relation is analogous to the bond between soul and body, with the difference that, in the case of

60 Ia, q. 76, a. 2, ad 1.
61 De potentia q. 3, a. 10, ad 10.
62 De resurrectione, p. 55, 72–76 Schmemann.
63 Cf. n. 14 above.
64 Cf. Bynum 1995, 1–18.
302 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

the seed and the grain, both terms are sensible: the point whence nature had its beginning and
that towards which it is impelled through intermediate states. These latter, obviously, are also
sensible: the roots, the stalk, the blade around it; afterward the spikelets and the husks, and the
grain that is being perfected in them little by little. But in the case of soul and body, each of the
extremes is beyond sensation. That which subsists of itself will, in its own time, fashion for itself
a new body, while the bond is also intelligible and beyond sensation. For this reason we tend to
think that the soul is completely freed from the body, since we see neither it nor its bond with the
body. Even the body itself we do not see, since it is soon dissolved into those things of which it
was composed. Yet even the souls of the saints bear witness that the soul, even though existing
of itself, is oriented still toward its kindred and somehow bound to it.⁶⁵

Mark’s theory here is indebted primarily to his reading of St. Gregory of Nyssa and St.
Maximos the Confessor, for whom the “relation” and “bond” between body and soul
was permanent. In Gregory’s De anima et resurrectione and De opificio hominis, upon
which Mark is dependent throughout his entire treatise,⁶⁶ the Cappadocian develops
a theory of the absolute correlativity of body and soul, such that their union is eter-
nal. The soul has a natural schesis with the body, which is also described as a union
(both a κοινωνία and a συνάφεια),⁶⁷ affection (στοργή), and unconfused communion
(κοινότης ἀσύγχυτος).⁶⁸ By virtue of the soul’s unextended nature, and its transcen-
dence of space, it is able to survive the dissolution of the body.⁶⁹ It continues to be
with (παρεῖναι)⁷⁰ the body and abide with it.⁷¹ It stands by it as a guard,⁷² and con-
tinues its influence on the body.⁷³ St. Gregory even uses the language of attraction or
pull, allowing Eugenikos to liken the soul’s influence on body to that of a magnet on
iron: invisible, and mysterious, but real.⁷⁴
For Mark, the soul’s continuing presence to the body even in death is proven by
the miracle-working power of relics (i. e., the corpses of the blessed), through which

65 De resurrectione pp. 56–57, 122–137 Schmemann.

66 For the image of the seed, see De opificio hominis 27, 29 (PG 44:228CD, 236A, 240AB); De anima et
resurrectione, p. 117, 22 – p. 122, 17 Spira. For the notion of soul “going to its kindred,” see De Opificio
hominis 26, 27 (PG 44:162B, 224D, 225C); De anima et resurrectione, p. 7, 14–15; p. 28, 14–15; p. 55, 18–20;
p. 57, 14–17 Spira.
67 De opificio hominis (PG 44:177B).
68 De opificio hominis 27 (PG 44:225B). Cf. De anima et resurrectione, p. 28, 2 Spira.
69 De anima et resurrectione, p. 30, 12 – p. 31, 15 Spira.
70 De anima et resurrectione, p. 30, 4, 19; p. 55, 19; p. 62, 5 Spira.
71 De anima et resurrectione, p. 31, 7 Spira. Cf. De anima et resurrectione: καὶ μετὰ τὴν διάλυσιν
παραμένειν (p. 55, 19 Spira).
72 De anima et resurrectione, p. 55, 19–20 Spira.
73 De anima et resurrectione p. 28, 6–10 Spira.
74 Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἡ μάγνησσα λίθος ἀῤῥήτῳ φύσεως βίᾳ τὸν σίδηρον ἕλκει... ὡς τὴν μεταξὺ σχέσιν ἀόρατον
οῦσαν, ... τὶ τῶν ἀτόπων εἰ τὴν ψυχὴν ὑποτιθέμεθα ... ἐφέλκεσθαι τὸ σώμα...; (De resurrectione, p. 57,
139–142 Schmemann). Cf. De opificio hominis 27 (PG 44:225C): ἐφ’ ἑαυτὴν πάλιν ἑλκούσης… ἀῤῥήτῳ
τινὶ τῇ τῆς φύσεως ὁλκῇ. This is related to, but distinct from, the teleological tendency of soul towards
body.
 Hylomorphism East and West | 303

the souls of the saints continue to operate.⁷⁵ All of this, ultimately, allows Mark, like
Gregory, to distinguish between the soul’s extrication from sinful, passionate flesh,
from an absolute, Platonic liberation from corporeality, a distinction that was not un-
known to Aquinas.⁷⁶ For both Gregory and Eugenikos, the release from present bur-
dens is brought about by a renewal of the body, not its destruction.⁷⁷
Maximos the Confessor takes up Gregory’s anti-Origenist arguments in his sev-
enth and forty-second Ambigua, where he refutes the Origenist doctrine of the pre-
existence of souls.⁷⁸ In these texts, Maximos argues for the absolute simultaneity and
enduring correlativity of body and soul. Though the two have different principles and
modes of origination, and are not identical in their being,⁷⁹ body and soul neverthe-
less constitute a single subsistence.⁸⁰ As such, their relation (σχέσις) is “immutable,”
since the loss of either “part” would logically destroy the whole.⁸¹ “It is inconceiv-
able to speak of (and impossible to find) the soul and body except in relation to each
other, since each one introduces together with itself the idea of the other to which it
belongs.”⁸² For this reason, Maximos can assert, against the Origenist appropriation
of Platonism, that “there will be no complete and utter reduction of bodies to non-
being,” since this would mean the annihilation of the human person, who is essen-
tially a composite of both.⁸³
But neither Maximos nor Gregory had formulated their anthropology in the con-
text of a hylomorphic account of the human person.⁸⁴ Insofar as Aristotle had de-
fined form as “the first actuality of a natural body potentially possessed of life,”⁸⁵ the

75 De resurrectione, p. 57, 137–139 Schmemann. Cf. De anima et resurrectione, p. 64, 15 – p. 65, 1 Spira);
Plato, Phaedo (81c8–d5)
76 See De potentia q. 3, a. 10, ad 17: “It is the corruption of the body, and not its nature, that burdens
(aggravat) the soul.” Cf. De opificio hominis 12; 15; 16; 17; 18 (PG 44:157B, 161C–164D, 192A, D, 193C).
77 De resurrectione, p. 57, 144–161 Schmemann. This is the basis for Mark’s remarkable doctrine of
spiritual bodies, wherein each member and sense, though corporeal, is reordered to spiritual realities
(see De resurrectione pp. 58–59, 195–211 Schmemann); cf. De anima et resurrectione p. 77, 1–11; p. 110,
8 – p. 11, 10; p. 119, 17–19 Spira.
78 See Stephanou 1932.
79 Ambiguum 42.8, ed. N. Constas, Cambridge, Mass. 2014, vol. II, p. 136. The soul is simple and incor-
poreal, and is infused by God (7.39; 42.8, 10), while the body is made from previously existing matter
(7.35).
80 Ambiguum 42.9.
81 Ambiguum 7.40, 43, ed. N. Constas, Cambridge, Mass. 2014, vol I, pp. 136, 140.
82 Ambiguum 7.43, p. 141 Constas I.
83 Ambiguum 42.16. Cf. 42 19: “We do not expect any putting off of body” (pp. 158–159 Constas II). For
Maximos, therefore, material identity is formal identity.
84 Though Maximos follows Aristotle in defining the human being as “an organic body united to a
soul with intellect” (Ambiguum 7.39, p. 134 Constas I), and subscribes to a kind of entelechism (see 7.37,
42.21), for Maximos, in fact, body and soul are distinct οὐσίαι, which together constitute a single εἶδος
(7.40, 43; 42.8, 10, 23).
85 De anima 2, 1 (412a 28–30; 412b 10) (LCL 288:68).
304 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

corpse in the grave ceases to qualify as a “body.”⁸⁶ Aristotle had therefore posited
the homonymy of the corpse, which, devoid of the soul, ceases to be what it formerly
was, since its informing principle has been taken from it.⁸⁷ Thomas follows Aristotle
in this regard and, unlike Eugenikos, takes entelechism to its logical conclusion. For
Thomas, as for Aristotle, the body in the tomb is not truly a body, but only equivocably
so. “Therefore, when soul departs, the body does not remain the same in species, for
one does not speak of … the flesh of a dead man except equivocally, as is made clear
by the Philosopher in book seven of his Metaphysics.”⁸⁸
Because this corpse will also decompose, Thomas’s understanding of the body ac-
counts more consistently for the conservation of matter. Though Gregory, Maximos,
and Mark all acknowledge that the body returns to the elements out of which it was
composed, none seek to explain how the body retains material identity even after de-
composition, insofar as these same elements will presumably be incorporated into the
matter of other creatures.⁸⁹ Because Thomas maintains the formal, and not material,
identity of the resurrection body, he is conversely able to say that the risen body is the
same as what is buried only by virtue of having the same soul, i. e. the same form.⁹⁰
This contrasts starkly with the position of Mark, who contends that, just as a soul longs
to be reunited with its body, “so the body, dissolved into those things out of which it
was composed, awaits the time when it shall be joined to the soul.”⁹¹
These final examples, once again, serve to reveal deep points of tension in the hy-
lomorphic theories of Thomas Aquinas and Mark Eugenikos. But we can nevertheless
say with confidence that Mark is immersed in the same theological world as Aquinas.
Even if Mark is not, in his De resurrectione, dependent upon Thomas for his own hy-
lomorphism, yet he is deeply imbued in the problematics and foci of Latin Scholastic
theology. This is due, undoubtedly, to the fact that both East and West are dealing with
the same inheritance: Aristotelianism, Platonism, and the writings of such Fathers as

86 “That which has lost its soul does not have the potential to live” (De anima 2, 1 [412b 26–27] [LCL
288:70]). Cf. 412a 11–12: “Bodies seem, most of all, to be substances (οὐσίαι)” (LCL 288:66).
87 Cf. De anima 2, 1: “If the eye were a living thing, its soul would be its vision; for this is the substance
(οὐσία) of the eye in the sense of its definition (λόγος). And the eye is the matter of vision. If it fails,
there is no eye except by equivocation” (412b 18–22; LCL 288:70).
88 Sentencia libri De anima 226; cf. Metaphysics 7 (1035b 24–25). “Soul is the substantial form of a
living body, and when it is removed, a living body no longer remains except equivocally” (Sentencia
libri De anima 239).
89 For the patristic background to this discussion, especially as it deals with chain consumption, see
Bynum 1995, 28–33. Gregory’s explanation was that these elements were “marked” by the soul from
conception, but he makes no attempt at explaining whether these elements remain undisturbed until
the general resurrection; see, esp., De opificio hominis 27 (PG 44:228B); De anima et resurrectione, p.
57, 1–14 Spira.
90 See Stump 2006, 153–174; Bynum 1995, 229–276. Cf. n. 15 above.
91 De resurrectione, p. 56, 105–107 Schmemann; “awaits” here having the distinct sense of “remain-
ing”: ἀναμένει.
 Hylomorphism East and West | 305

John of Damaskos and Gregory of Nazianzos. But the works of Thomas Aquinas, and
other Latin thinkers, would also have been available to Eugenikos, and more work
remains to be done to examine the extent to which Mark’s positions are consciously
engaged with Scholastic debates.

Conclusion
What we find, then, when we examine the extent to which Mark, as a late Byzantine
thinker, was indebted to the formulations of Thomas Aquinas, is not simply Greeks
borrowing from Latins, but a Byzantine theological milieu in conversation with the
sources and problems of Latin Scholasticism. The example of Mark’s De resurrectione
shows us that even when influence is more difficult to prove, the differences between
Thomistic and Byzantine philosophy do not simply leave us with a gap between East
and West. Rather, the recognition that Eugenikos has not simply borrowed the form-
matter paradigm from Aquinas allows us to move beyond the question of influence
to deeper points of contact. In this sense the divergences between late Byzantine and
Latin theology can be even more interesting than the similarities, since they mani-
fest a commonality and synchronism between East and West that is richer and more
complex than the phenomenon of mere borrowing or assimilation. In effect, Byzan-
tine philosophical discourse can be seen, at least on this point, as an extension of the
theological debates taking place in the medieval West. Not only are Greeks and Latins
learning from each other, then; it is clear that they were also to a great extent learning,
and philosophizing, together.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations

LCL Loeb Classical Library

PG Patrologia Graeca
SG Summa contra gentiles
ST Summa theologiae

Primary Sources

Alexander of Hales, Summa fratris Alexandri, 4 vols., Quaracchi 1924–1948.

Aristotle, De anima, W. Biehl (editor), Leipzig 1896. In Loeb Classical Library 288, Cambridge, Mass.
1936; reprint 1957.
Aristotle, Metaphysics, W.D. Ross (editor), 2 vols., Oxford 1953.
306 | Tikhon Alexander Pino

Bonaventure, Commentary on the Sentences. In Doctoris Seraphici Sancti Bonaventurae S.R.E.

Episcopi Cardinalis Opera Omnia I, Quaracchi 1882.
Gregory of Nazianzos, Orations. In J.-P. Migne (editor): Patrologia cursus completes. Series Graeca.
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Georgios Steiris
Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy

Although the two worlds, Arabic and Byzantine, were in proximity for many centuries,
the influence of Arabic philosophy on the Byzantine intellectual tradition has not been
studied thoroughly. Recent studies have substantiated the influence of Arabic and Per-
sian thought on Byzantine science.¹ However, in the field of philosophy, research is
still at an early stage and the impact of Arabic thought on Byzantium and vice versa
has not been examined widely or in depth. In contrast, the influence of Arabic philos-
ophy on the Western Medieval world, as well as the means and degree of the spread
of ancient Greek philosophy in the non-Greek-speaking East are well known and doc-
umented in scholarship.² Direct references in Byzantine philosophy to philosophers
in the Islamic world are rare and, apart from occasional studies, there has not been
a systematic, in-depth account of the influence of Arabic philosophy on Byzantine
scholars.³ There is no doubt that reasons of prejudice have contributed to this limited
interest, similar to the ones expressed during the 9th century by Niketas Byzantios:
he argued that learning Arabic and studying Arabic literature could only be effective
when dealing with the heretical arguments of the Arabs.⁴ There is also a lack of sys-
tematic studies on the impact of Byzantine thought on Arabic philosophy, despite the
recent and quite noteworthy efforts.⁵ In this study I revisit and update the initial con-
clusions of my previous research that aims to to bring out and evaluate the perceptions
of Arabic philosophy among the Byzantine intelligentsia during the 14th and 15th cen-
turies. As my primary examples Ι have chosen Georgios Gemistos Pletho (c. 1360–1454)
and Georgios Scholarios (c. 1400–1472), whose rivalry defined Byzantine philosophy
of the 15th century to a considerable degree.⁶
Although it has been argued that Pletho’s Laws (Νόμων Συγγραφή) required a
good kowledge of Arabic philosophy, the text itself does not verify such claims,⁷ as
has been pointed out by Anastos.⁸ In several passages Pletho shows scorn for the

1 Mavroudi 2006, 39–96; Mavroudi 2015, 28–59.

2 Burrel 2012, 65–76; Donato 2006, 161–189; Taylor 2012, 509–505; Taylor 2013, 142–183, 277–296.
3 El Cheikh 2004, 100–111; von Grunebaum 1964, 89–111; Gutas 1998, 83–94, 175–186; Jokisch 2007,
25, 321–516; Mavroudi 2013, 177–204; Tatakis 2003, 77, 264.
4 Meyendorff 1982, 97–102; Nic. Byzant., Confutatio, PG 105, cols. 704, 716, 781, ed. J. P. Migne, Paris
1862; Versteegh 2013, 5–6.
5 Gutas 2012, 246–265; Markov 2012, 111–122; Mavroudi 2014, 151–182; Noble and Treiger 2011, 371–417;
Tischler 2012, 167–195.
6 Barbour 1993b, 40–56; Blanchet 2008e, 177–192; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2002a, 117–171; Livanos
2006b, 127–136.
7 Täschner 1929, 236–243; Täschner 1929–1930, 100–113.
8 Anastos 1948, 183–305.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561074-321
310 | Georgios Steiris

“Arabs”, concerning predominantly the Intellect, fortune and providence.⁹ In partic-

ular, Pletho held that Averroes (1126–1198) had distorted Aristotelian psychology and
supported the view that the soul was mortal.¹⁰ Averroes himself was misguided and
misled others who followed his views and recognized him as an auctoritas.¹¹ Pletho
opted for an interpretation of the Averroist position on the Intellect which was not
the usual one among the Scholastics, because the mortality of the soul was incom-
patible with Platonic tradition and Christian doctrines, and this served Pletho’s anti-
Latinism.¹² Pletho also believed that Scholarios did not have a deep knowledge of
Averroes’ theory of the soul. Scholarios did not stay silent nor did he hesitate to accuse
Pletho of slandering Averroes. Specifically, he claimed that Pletho had misinterpreted
Averroes’ views, since the majority of Jewish and Scholastic philosophers did not em-
brace the interpretative line of Averroes’ philosophy, which Pletho had adopted and
reproduced. According to Scholarios, Averroes never claimed that the soul is mortal,
and, thus, Pletho did not have a good command of either Arabic or Aristotelian phi-
losophy.¹³ Pletho insisted that he was well informed by wise Italians¹⁴ and Jews about
Averroes’ philosophy, while Scholarios’ knowledge of Averroes was superficial and
his conclusions baseless.¹⁵ In addition, Pletho railed sharply against Averroes and his
followers, who also misinterpreted Aristotelian philosophy in matters concerning fate
and providence.¹⁶
According to Pletho, either Scholarios’ sources were inaccurate or Scholarios had
misinterpreted them. Pletho claimed that his knowledge of Arabic and Scholastic phi-
losophy came not only from written sources, but also oral ones, which indicates other
ways of acquiring knowledge beyond literary sources alone.¹⁷ Pletho deliberately
adopted an anti-Averroist approach, common to 15th century humanists, because it
served his anti-Scholastic agenda.¹⁸ At any event, Averroism was an important con-
cern of the Byzantine intelligentsia of the 15th century, since a significant number of
scholars had at least a limited and indirect knowledge of Averroes’ philosophy.
Pletho’s criticism, however, extended to the original Aristotelian philosophy,
which he considered problematic. Although it has been claimed, convincingly enough,
that Pletho had been Demetrios Kydones’ (1324–1398) student and that the Aris-

9 Plethon, De differentiis, 321, 3–8, 322, 36–38.

10 Masai 1971, 435–446.
11 Plethon, De differentiis, 321, 3–8.
12 Averroes, Commentarium Magnum De Anima, 407, 496, 497; Mavroudi 2013, 198–199; de Boer 2013,
25–33.
13 Scholar., La Polémique, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1935, vol. IV, p. 4.
14 Berger 2006, 79–89.
15 Pleth., Contra Scholarii, PG 160, ed. J. P. Migne, Paris 1866, col. 982D.
16 Pleth., Contra Scholarii, col. 1006B Migne.
17 Mavroudi 2013, 198–199.
18 Martin 2014, 40.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 311

totelian aura was quite pronounced in some of his works,¹⁹ Pletho claimed that Aris-
totle had at first misinterpreted Plato’s works but afterwards tried to build on them.²⁰
In order to prove the validity of his remarks, Pletho referred scornfully to Avicenna
(980–1037). He held that even the “Arab Avicenna” (Ἀβινσένας ὁ Ἄραψ) realized the
absurdity of Aristotle’s view, according to which the separate Intellects are assigned
to stars and spheres. Avicenna, at least, excluded God and safeguarded His tran-
scendence.²¹ According to Pletho, Avicenna was not an original philosopher but only
ineptly reproduced, in poor quality, Aristotle.²² Pletho contended that the Scholas-
tics overrated the significance of Arabic philosophical texts. The philosophers in the
Islamic world did not understand Greek philosophy properly and misinterpreted it.
As a result, both they and the Scholastics distorted ancient Greek philosophy. Pletho
held that the Scholastics defended their Aristotelianism on the basis of a supposed
alignment of the latter’s views with Christian dogma and Christian theology.²³ Given
that the value of any philosophy depends on its closeness to the Christian dogma,
Pletho decides to prove that the Arabic and Scholastic Aristotelianism deviated from
both the original Aristotelian texts and Christian religion. In this Pletho’s views influ-
enced Renaissnace scholars. Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) held that Pletho and learned
Greeks found that Averroes read the works of Aristotle in corrupted versions, be-
cause he himself did not know any Greek and the translators he trusted were not
familiar enough with the Greek language.²⁴ Furthermore, Ficino held that Pletho was
one the most faithful interpreters of Aristotle’s philosophy, along with Pico della Mi-
randola (1463–1494), Theophrastus (371–287/5), Themistius (317–c. 390), Porphyrius
(234–305), Simplicius (c. 490–c. 560) and Avicenna. Averroes did not make the list.²⁵
Despite Ficino’s claims, it needs to be clarified that Pletho himself was not the most
accurate and studious philosopher of the 15th century regarding his knowledge and
use of both ancient and contemporary works. He frequently attributed to Plato views
of other philosophers in order to support his argumentation²⁶ and often deleted or
paraphrased paragraphs of Platonic dialogues.²⁷

19 Pleth., Traité des vertus, ed. and tr. B. Tambrun-Krasker, Brill 1987, pp. 30–32; Woodhouse 1986,
22, 191–214.
20 Karamanolis 2002b, 259; Plethon, De differentiis, 330. 27, 331.31.
21 Hladký 2014, 197.
22 Woodhouse 1986, 193–194.
23 Karamanolis 2002b, 262–263.
24 Ficino, Platonic Thelology, 15, 1, ed. W. R. Bowen, and J. Hankins, Cambridge M. A. 2002 (eng. tr.
by M. J. B. Allen Cambridge M. A. 2002, vol. 5, p. 8–25; Hankins et al. 2002, v. 5, 15, 1; Kristeller 1956,
10; Monfasani 2002a, 197.
25 Blum 2010, 96.
26 Karamanolis 2002b, 260–263.
27 Nikolaidou-Kyrianidou 1992, 1–62; Nikolaidou-Kyrianidou 2006, 237–269; Pagani 2009, 167–202.
312 | Georgios Steiris

Moreover, I disagree with Maria Mavroudi’s argument “that part of Pletho’s objec-
tive was to better understand Averroism, including its Jewish interpretation”.²⁸ Pletho
regarded Arabic philosophy as an enemy and was not aiming to study either it or
its interpretation by Jewish and Scholastic philosophers meticulously. Pletho urged
his fellow Byzantine scholars to rely on the Greek philosophical tradition, especially
the Platonic and Neoplatonic one, and condemn Scholastic Aristotelianism.²⁹ Accord-
ing to Pletho, Aristotelian philosophy is problematic and, consequently, Arabic and
Scholastic Aristotelianism lack any value. Although Scholarios argued that Elissaios –
Pletho’s alleged teacher – was an adherent of Averroes and other “Persian and Arabic
commentators” (ἐκ Περσῶν καὶ Ἀράβων ἐξηγηταῖς),³⁰ Pletho’s knowledge of Arabic
philosophy was superficial and inadequate, according to Scholarios:

Τὸ δὲ κεφάλαιον αὐτῷ τῆς ἀποστασίας Ἰουδαῖος τις ὕστερον ἐνειργάσατο, ᾧ ἐφοίτησεν ὡς εἰδότι
τὰ Ἀριστοτέλους ἐξηγεῖσθαι καλῶς. Ὃ δὲ ἦν Ἀβερόῃ προσεσχηκὼς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐκ Περσῶν καὶ
Ἀράβων ἐξηγηταῖς τῶν Ἀριστοτελικῶν βιβλίων, ἃς Ἰουδαῖοι πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν γλῶτταν μετήγαγον,
Μωσέως δὲ καὶ ὧν Ἰουδαῖοι πιστεύουσιν ἢ θρησκεύουσι δι’ αὐτὸν ἥκιστα ἦν φροντίζων. Ἐκεῖνος
αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ περὶ Ζωροάστρου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐξέθετο. Ἐκείνῳ δὴ τῷ φαινομένῳ μὲν Ἰουδαίῳ,
ἑλληνιστῇ δὲ ἀκριβῶς, οὐ μόνον ὡς διδασκάλῳ πολὺν συνὼν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπηρετῶν ἐν οἷς
ἔδει καὶ ζωαρκούμενος ὑπ’ ἐκείνῳ· τῶν γὰρ τὰ μάλιστα δυναμένων ἦν ἐν τῇ τῶν βαρβάρων τούτων
αὐλῇ· Ἐλισσαῖος ὄνομα ἦν αὐτῷ· τοιοῦτος ἀπετελέσθη. Εἶτα πειρώμενος μὲν λανθάνειν, ἀλλ’ οὐκ
ἠδύνατο, προαγόμενος τοῖς ὁμιληταῖς τὰς δόξας ἐνσπείρειν, ὑπὸ τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου βασιλέως τότε
Μανουὴλ καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀπεπέμφθη τῆς πόλεως, τοῦτο μόνον οὐ καλῶς βουλευσαμένων, ὅτι
φεισάμενοι οὐκ ἐνεδείξαντο τοῖς πολλοῖς αὐτόν, οὔτε ἀτίμως ἢ εἰς βάρβαρον ἀπήλαυνον γῆν, οὔτ’
ἄλλον τινὰ τρόπον τὴν μέλλουσαν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ βλάβην ἐκώλυσαν.³¹

Pletho’s references to Avicenna’s and Averroes’ works prove that he was only familiar
with the general outline of their philosophy and had not studied their original works in
depth. His comments are generalities and not adequately substantiated. As indicated
by contemporary research, Pletho was acquainted with Arabic philosophy through
the Byzantine translations of Aquinas’ (1225–1274) works, mainly of the Summa The-
ologiae, and through his personal contacts in Italy.³² In particular, he claimed that
certain Jewish and Italian philosophers had taught him Averroes’ philosophy. Jozeph
Matula has indicated that Pletho knew general aspects of Averroes’ thought through
the Greek translations of Aquinas’ De spiritualibus creaturis and the two Summae.³³
John Demetracopoulos pointed out that Pletho, in his Extracta Thomistica, focused
on passages of the Summa Contra Gentiles, where Aquinas described anti-Christian

28 Mavroudi 2013, 197–198.

29 Pleth., Contra Scholarii, col. 1006B Migne.
30 Woodhouse 1986, 20, 24–25.
31 Scholar., Lettre à la Princesse, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1935, vol. IV, pp. 152,
37–153, 15.
32 Pleth., Contra Scholarii, col. 982D Migne.
33 Matula 2014, 299.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 313

Averroist doctrines and failed to present Aquinas’ criticism and revision. Pletho re-
sorted to Prochoros Kydones’ (1330–1369) translation of the De spiritualibus creaturis
in order to build his argumentation concerning the unity of the Intellect. Pletho in fact
reproduced Averroist positions, since Aquinas, for his part, relied on Averroes on the
specific issue.³⁴ Recently, Matula departed from his earlier views and supported the
claim that Jewish intellectuals, living in the Greek-speaking areas of the East Mediter-
ranean sea, had a strong interest in Arabic philosophy, especially in Averroes. Pletho
and other Byzantine scholars would have benefitted from their erudition and learned
about Arabic and Jewish philosophy.³⁵ While Matula’s argument is interesting, I sug-
gest that it is not yet based on pertinent evidence. Specifically, he asks why Pletho
did not present in detail Aquinas’ views on the Intellect, if he had relied on Kydones’
translation. It has been proved that Pletho was not a very systematic philosopher and
that his use of sources was selective and problematic.³⁶ Likewise, we could ask a sim-
ilar question: why did Pletho not present in detail Jewish interpretations of Averroes,
if he was heavily influenced by Jewish intellectuals? The lack of textual evidence does
not allow us to give a definitive answer. The same applies in the case of those who
claim that Pletho’s Laws are a Hellenised version of Cabala.³⁷
In my view we are obliged to reconsider the extent of influence that Elissaios and
other Jews exercised over Pletho.³⁸ If Pletho had strong ties and contacts with them, he
should have been more familiar with Arabic philosophy.³⁹ Jews knew Arabic philoso-
phy well and Pletho would have understood better Averroes’ and Avicenna’s thought.
The level of scholarship in the Jewish communities of Crete was exceptional, as is
proven by Elijah Delmedigo’s (c. 1458–c. 1493) and others’ mastery of Arabic and Jew-
ish philosophy.⁴⁰ Despite the attractive connection of Pletho with Middle Eastern wis-
dom and his portrayal as an unequaled scholar, the philosophical study of his works
does not indicate a sound knowledge of Jewish and Arabic philosophy on his part, es-
pecially of the Jewish interpretation of the latter.⁴¹ Even Raymond Mercier, who sup-
ported the view that Pletho relied on the Jewish interpretation of al-Battānī’s (c. 858
– 929) astronomy, could not prove in what ways Pletho knew the work of the Arab
scientist.⁴² As Mavroudi has shown, the study of Arabic and Persian science in late

34 J. A. Demetracopoulos 2014a, 17–20.

35 Hladký 2014, 197; Matula 2014, 293–313.
36 Nikolaidou-Kyrianidou 1992, 1–62.
37 Gardette 2007, 147–164; Masai 1956, 57; Siniossoglou 2011, 290; Siniossoglou 2012, 38–55.
38 Nicolet and Tardieu 1980, 35–57; Woodhouse 1986, 61.
39 Hladký 2014, 197; Matula 2014, 293–313.
40 Ross 2016 (https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2016/entries/delmedigo/).
41 Woodhouse 1986, 61.
42 Mercier 2003, 206–207.
314 | Georgios Steiris

Byzantium was something easily accessible and common, but the same has not yet
been shown to apply for Arabic philosophy.⁴³
I argue that Pletho’s critical stance towards Arabic philosophy is in fact a result
of his hostility towards Scholasticism.⁴⁴ Pletho belonged to those Byzantine scholars
who refused to accept the thought that Western Europeans had advanced in philos-
ophy during the Middle Ages. They were particularly disturbed by the study of Aris-
totelian texts in Medieval Europe being done from translations and not from the orig-
inal. This to them was an unsurmountable disadvantage. In addition, Pletho was an-
noyed that the Scholastics had elected to read and interpret Aristotle using works of
Arabic philosophers rather than Greek. He questioned their philosophical acumen,
without having himself obtained a sound knowledge of Scholastic philosophy or of
the level it had reached. Also, as Demetracopoulos has proven, Pletho freely repro-
duced paragraphs from Summa Contra Gentiles, where Aquinas discusses Averroes’
views as incompatible with Christian doctrine but without mentioning Aquinas’ com-
ments.⁴⁵
For his part, Georgios Gennadios Scholarios dealt systematically with Scholastic
philosophy. In his texts he discusses Aquinas’ views extensively, through which he
came into indirect contact with the works of philosophers in the Islamic world, as I
have argued in a recent article.⁴⁶ In an epistle to the emperor Constantine XI Paleolo-
gus (1405–1453) (Τῷ ὑψηλοτάτῳ καὶ πανευτυχεστάτῳ δεσπότῃ κῦρ Κωνσταντίνῳ τῷ
Παλαιολόγῳ)⁴⁷ which preceded his’ commentary on Aristotle’s works,⁴⁸ Scholarios of-
fers a vivid description of his intellectual journey and boasts about his own erudition.
He asserts that he has read Western Medieval philosophy extensively: specifically,
most of ancient and middle Latin scholarship and the vast majority of more recent pro-
duction, e. g. the Scholastics. Moreover, he had read all the works of Avicenna, Aver-
roes and other “Arab and Persian” philosophers⁴⁹. According to Scholarios, Averroes
was the best among the commentators of Aristotle and an excellent original philoso-
pher who helped him improve his understanding of Aristotelian philosophy.⁵⁰ Despite
Scholarios’ claims about his erudition in Arabic and Persian philosophy, a detailed ex-
amination of his works proves that in most cases he simply reproduced and incorpo-
rated sections from Aquinas’ works, without resorting to the original sources. Schol-

43 Mavroudi 2015, 28–59.

44 Fink 2011, 483–497.
45 Dedes 1985, 352–375; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2006c, 276–341; J. A. Demetracopoulos 2002a, 117–171;
Mavroudi 2013, 197–198.
46 Steiris and Lyckoura 2013, 51–74.
47 Scholar., Épître dédicatoire, pp. 1–6 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
48 Scholar., Commentaires des ouvrages d’Aristote, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris
1936, vol. VII, 7–509.
49 Scholar., Épître dédicatoire, p. 3, 19 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
50 Scholar., Épître dédicatoire, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol. VII, p. 3, 18.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 315

arios refrained frequently from mentioning philosophers writing in Arabic, although

he commented on passages in Aquinas dedicated to Avicenna or Averroes.
In his Synopsis of Summa’s Theologiae Prima Pars (Ia)⁵¹ (Ἐκ τοῦ Θεολογικοῦ.
Ἐκ τῶν τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀποσημειώσεις τινές) and Prima Secundae (Ia-IIae) (Ἐκλογή τοῦ
πρώτου τῶν Ἠθικῶν τοῦ σοφωτάτου Θωμᾶ Δέ Ἀκίνο, τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ καί τῆς τάξεως τῶν
ζητημάτων πάντων πεφυλαγμένων),⁵² Scholarios referred occasionally to philoso-
phers in the Islamic world, mentioning Avicenna twice, Averroes three times, both
of whom Aquinas referred to multiple times, and mentioning somes though not by
name. Scholarios rejected the “Ἀβινσένου δόξα”⁵³ that God produces the First Intellect
by thinking Himself and that the First Intellect, by thinking the First Cause, produces
the Second Intellect. According to Avicenna, as summarized by Scholarios, the First
Intellect thinks of Itself and produces heaven’s body and soul. Scholarios objected to
this, affirming that the creative power belongs exclusively to God. The differentiation
of beings is due to Divine Wisdom, as Genesis makes clear.⁵⁴ In fact, according to Avi-
cenna, through the act by which the first caused intelligence thinks of the First Prin-
ciple and aims at it, a further intelligence is originated; through the act by which the
first caused intelligence thinks of itself and aims at itself, two entities are originated:
a soul, that is to say, an intelligence bound to a body, and the celestial body to which
this intelligence is bound.⁵⁵ It is clear that Scholarios draws his information on Avi-
cenna’s views from Aquinas, whose arguments he uses to reply to Avicenna.⁵⁶ Later,
Scholarios referred to Avicenna when examining whether virtue is by nature or not.⁵⁷
According to the Byzantine philosopher, Avicenna supported the view that virtue
stems from the Intellect and is not immanent, as Aristotle and the Platonists held.
In this section of his text Scholarios also cites Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the
Platonists and Aristotle. He then follows the progression of Aquinas’ argument, suc-
cessfully and convincingly summarising his argumentation.⁵⁸ He quotes Avicenna’s
view most probably because it does not contradict the Christian understanding of
the theological virtues. Aquinas’ practice confirms this opinion, since not only is he
himself well-disposed towards it, but he also uses it to shape his final conclusion.⁵⁹

51 Scholar., Résumé de la Somme théologique, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931,
vol. V, pp. 338–510.
52 Scholar., Résumé de la “Prima Secundae,” ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1933, vol.
VI, pp. 1–153.
53 Scholar., Extraits, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol. V, p. 386, 8.
54 Scholar., Extraits, p. 386, 7–19 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
55 Avicenna, Al-Ilahīyāt Min Al-Shifāʼ, IX, 2, 386–387.
56 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 47, a. 1, co.
57 Scholar., Des habitudes et des vertus, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1933, vol. VI,
p. 67, 32–33.
58 Aquinas, ST Ia-IIae q. 63, a. 1, s. c.; ST Ia-IIae q. 63, a. 1, co.
59 Steiris and Lyckoura 2013, 56–57.
316 | Georgios Steiris

Scholarios makes three references to Averroes. First, he cites him when describing
Aquinas’ views on the creation and separation of material bodies. According to Schol-
arios, Averroes asserted that heavenly matter, properly speaking, is potency as far as
species or soul.⁶⁰ In this case the reference to Averroes does not play a crucial role in
Scholarios’ argumentation but is a reminder of a view that is within the scope of the
solutions that could qualify. For this reason Scholarios does not insist on analysing it
further. At this point, Scholarios’ reliance on Aquinas’ argumentation, which he fol-
lows, is obvious.⁶¹ Scholarios was more careful and detailed when he commented on
the highly debated issue concerning the union of body and soul. Using Thomistic as-
sumptions, he rejected the view of Alexander of Aphrodisias (2nd-3rd century AD) and
Averroes that “Ἀδύνατον ἂρα καὶ μίαν τῷ ἀριθμῷ ψυχὴν νοερὰν εἶναι διαφόρων τῷ
ἀριθμῷ,”⁶² which he attributes to both Alexander of Aphrodisias and Averroes. Schol-
arios tries to prove with arguments the absurdity of Averroes’ view;⁶³ he obviously
considered the aforementioned position to be of great importance and this is the rea-
son he chose to discuss it in detail. While Scholarios’ arguments are based for the most
part on those of Aquinas, it is worth noticing that he seems to harmonize Alexander’s
and Averroes’ views on the Passive and Active Intellect, in an evidently inaccurate way
and not in accord with Aquinas’ view.⁶⁴ Scholarios was improvising, since in the afore-
mentioned passage of the Summa Theologiae there are no references to Averroes and
Alexander of Aphrodisias.⁶⁵ Furthermore, Scholarios uses exactly Aquinas’ arguments
to reject the view that he himself has attributed to Averroes and Alexander of Aphro-
disias, when he mentions that “καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅπως ἄν ἑνοῖτο ὁ νοῦς τῷ σώματι, ἀδύνατος
ἡ Ἀβερόου θέσις.”⁶⁶ This is the section of the text where Scholarios takes the initiative
and attempts to articulate his own philosophical expression of Averroes’ philosophy,
using a widely known and popular thesis of the philosopher. His effort, however, is
not particularly successful. Finally, Scholarios cites Averroes when discussing the re-
lation of humankind with the rest of creation. According to our Byzantine philoso-
pher, Averroes held that science exists in the proper handling of the student’s mind
so the latter can reach the level of the intellectual perception of concepts.⁶⁷ Scholar-
ios adopted the core of Averroes’ position as presented by Aquinas, although he had
a few objections. Right after Averroes’ thesis, Scholarios cites the Platonic argument

60 Scholar., Traité de la creation corporelle, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol.
V, p. 419, 40.
61 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 66, a. 2, co.
62 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol. V, p. 434, 1–2.
63 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 434, 3–18 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
64 Crawford 1963, 383–413; Davidson 1992, 220–356; Leaman 1988, 82–116.
65 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 76, a. 2, co.; ST Ia q. 76, a 2, s. c.
66 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 434, 10–11 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
67 Scholar., Traité du gouvernement divin, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol. V,
p. 504, 28–30.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 317

of anamnesis – the idea that knowledge consists in recollections already possessed by

the soul from its previous lives – from which he seems to distance himself. Aquinas in
his Summa Theologiae, the text on which Scholarios based himself, holds exactly the
same stance towards Averroes’ thesis.⁶⁸
In the rest of his Synopsis Scholarios occasionally reproduces views of Arabic
philosophers without mentioning them by name. By carefully comparing Aquinas’
and Scholarios’ texts, the reader can trace the passages where Avicenna’s and Aver-
roes’ views are presented, for Aquinas explicitly referred to his sources. On the other
hand, Scholarios does not inform his reader that Aquinas commented, even indirectly,
on the Arabic philosophers. One might see this as an example of the common practice
among Byzantine writers not to mention their sources explicitly. However, this is not
usually the case with Scholarios, since he frequently names his sources, especially
when using ancient Greek or Christian authors. Indicative of Scholarios habit not to
name Islamic thinkers, even if Aquinas had mentioned them, is the next passage, in
which Scholarios discusses God’s infinity. In the original passage from Summa The-
ologiae Aquinas mentions Avicenna and al-Ghazali, although he rejects their views.

Ὅτι οὐδὲ τὸ κατ’ ἀριθμὸν ἄπειρον ἐν τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστιν, εἴπερ πᾶς ἀριθμὸς μονάδι μετρεῖται, καὶ
μονάδι ὥρισται, καὶ εἴπερ πᾶν κτιστόν ἐν ὡρισμένῳ λογισμῷ του δημιουργοῦ περιέχεται. Δύναται
μέντοι δυνάμει εἶναι πλῆθος ἄπειρον· ἕπεται γὰρ τῇ τοῦ μεγέθους διαιρέσει.⁶⁹

Quidam enim, sicut Avicenna et Algazel, dixerunt quod impossibile est esse multitudinem actu in-
finitam per se, sed infinitam per accidens multitudinem esse, non est impossibile.⁷⁰

According to Aquinas, Avicenna and al-Ghazali hold that a per accidens infinity is ac-
tual. Scholarios shares Aquinas’ reluctance to accept an actual per accidens infinity.
A possible explanation of their reluctance could be that Avicenna’s and al-Ghazali’s
views on infinite break the causal chain between the one and the multitude. In ad-
dition, consecutive overflows, emanating from the Active Intellect and spreading to
the accidents, go against the doctrines of Orthodoxy. According to Avicenna, the nine
primary spheres are accompanied by an incorporeal intelligence. All the spheres and
the intelligences are the products of successive emanations in order to be explained
the derivation of the plural and diversified universe from a unitary First Cause.⁷¹ As
a result, every emanation participates decreased in the previous substance, which,
as Scholarios argues, can not happen with divine essence. Therefore, Scholarios was
able to avoid the reference to Avicenna’s view and use only Aquinas’ answer, which
agrees with Christian doctrine.

68 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 117, a. 1, co.; Steiris and Lyckoura 2013, 57–60.

69 Scholar., Traité de Dien, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol. V, p. 344, 29–32.
70 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 7, a. 4, co.
71 Davidson 1992, 74–123.
318 | Georgios Steiris

Again, Scholarios refrained from mentioning Avicenna when he summarized

Aquinas’ views on the unity of God. He did not cite Avicenna even when he com-
mented directly on the latter’s argument. He paraphrased Avicenna’s definition and
adapted it to Christian beliefs.

E contrario autem Avicenna, considerans quod unum quod est principium numeri, addit aliquam
rem supra substantiam entis (alias numerus ex unitatibus compositus non esset species quanti-
tatis), credidit quod unum quod convertitur cum ente, addat rem aliquam supra substantiam entis,
sicut album supra hominem. Sed hoc manifeste falsum est, quia quaelibet res est una per suam
substantiam. Si enim per aliquid aliud esset una quaelibet res, cum illud iterum sit unum, si esset
iterum unum per aliquid aliud, esset abire in infinitum. Unde standum est in primo. Sic igitur dicen-
dum est quod unum quod convertitur cum ente, non addit aliquam rem supra ens, sed unum quod
est principium numeri, addit aliquid supra ens, ad genus quantitatis pertinens.⁷²

is summarised by Scholarios as:

Ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἀντιστρέφον τῷ ὄντι ἓν οὐ προστίθησι τῷ ὄντι. Πᾶν γὰρ κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ οὐσίαν ἓν
ἐστιν· ὃ δέ ἐστιν ἀρχὴ ἀριθμοῦ προστίθησιν· ἔστι γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ποσοῦ γένει οἰκεῖον.⁷³

Once again there are no direct comments on Avicenna’s arguments, although Schol-
arios adopts Aquinas’ main thesis, which agrees with Christian theology. However,
he avoids mentioning Avicenna, even when commenting directly on the views of the
philosopher. In particular, when dealing with the matter of truth, Scholarios para-
phrases Avicenna’s definition and claims that “ἀρχοειδῶς μὲν ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐν τῷ νῷ,”⁷⁴
without explaining convincingly the way in which this happens.⁷⁵ However, while he
preserves the basic concept of Avicenna’s thesis, he adapts it to suit Christian percep-
tions:

Et quaedam definitio Avicennae, veritas uniuscuiusque rei est proprietas sui esse quod stabilitum
est ei. Quod autem dicitur quod veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus potest ad utrumque per-
tinere.⁷⁶

Ὅτι τὸ μὲν ὰγαθόν, οὗ ἡ ἔφεσίς ἐστιν ἐν τῷ ἐπιθυμητῷ, εἰς ὃ ἔφεσις ῥέπει· ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια, ἐν τῷ νῷ.
Ὡς δὲ τὸ ἀγαθόν μέτεισιν ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος πρὸς τὴν ἔφεσιν, ὡς εἶναι ἀγαθὴν ἔφεσιν τὴν τοῦ
ἀγαθοῦ πράγματος, οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ νῷ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς λόγος μέτεισιν ἀπὸ τοῦ νοῦ εἰς τὸ νοητὸν
πρᾶγμα, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸ ἀληθὲς λέγεσθαι, ὡς ἀληθὴς οἰκία ἡ ἐμφερὴς τῇ ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ τοῦ οἰκοδόμου,
καὶ ἀληθὴς λόγος, ὡς τοῦ ἀληθοῦς νοῦ σημεῖον· καὶ οὕτως ἀρχοειδῶς μὲν ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐν τῷ νῷ,
δεύτερον δὲ κἀν τοῖς πράγμασιν, καθόσον πρὸς τὸν νοῦν παραβάλλονται ὡς ἀρχήν.⁷⁷

72 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 11, a. 1, ad 1.
73 Scholar., Traité de Dien, p. 346, 6–8 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
74 Scholar., Traité de Dien, p. 352, 19 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
75 Steiris and Lyckoura 2013, 60–65.
76 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 16, a. 1, co.
77 Scholar., Traité de Dien, p. 352, 13–21 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 319

Furthermore, Scolarios did not resort to philosophers from the Arabic world although
their interpretations and solutions were more accurate and interesting in compari-
son to the views of Aquinas and other Scholastics. For example, although Aquinas
rested on Avicenna’s description of the sensitive powers of the soul, Scholarios chose
to present only Aquinas’ personal and superficial analysis and not the latter’s thor-
ough presentation of Avicenna’s and Averroes’ argumentation.

Sed contra est quod Avicenna, in suo libro de anima, ponit quinque potentias sensitivas interiores,
scilicet sensum communem, phantasiam, imaginativam, aestimativam, et memorativam.⁷⁸

Τέσσαρες οὖν εἰσὶν οὕτω δυνάμεις ἔνδον τοῦ αἰσθητικοῦ μέρους· ἡ κοινὴ αἴσθησις, ἡ φαντασία,
ἡ δόξα καὶ ἡ μνήμη.⁷⁹

Elsewhere, Scholarios summarises Aquinas’ views concerning the nature of God.

While Aquinas mentioned Avicenna, Scholarios summarizes Aquinas’argument skip-
ping the reference to Avicenna:

Praeterea, relationes reales accipiuntur in Deo secundum processionem intelligibilem verbi. Sed
relationes intelligibiles multiplicantur in infinitum, ut Avicenna dicit. Ergo in Deo sunt infinitae re-
lationes reales.⁸⁰

Εἰ δὲ μὴ εἶεν αἱ αὐταὶ τῇ οὐσιᾳ τῷ πράγματι, ἔσονται κτίσματα, καὶ ἔσται τι κτίσμα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ὡς
πρᾶγμα, καὶ τὰ κατ’ αὐτὰς προϊόντα κτιστὰ ἔσονται, ὃ τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως ἔξω. Εἰσὶ δὲ ἀναφοραὶ
ἐκεῖ, ἔνθα μὲν πατρότης καὶ υἱότης, ἔνθα δὲ πνεῦσις καὶ ἐκπόρευσις, οὐκ ἐχούσης τῆς προόδου
τῆς ἀγάπης ἴδιον ὄνομα.⁸¹

Aquinas tries to define the divine energies based on the divine relations: fatherhood,
filiation and spiration. Aquinas’ approach does not contravene the Orthodox doctrine.
Scholarios’ brief answers reveal his effort not to depart from the correct dogmatic
wording. Thus, this is his reason for not referring to Aristotle, Augustine (354–430)
or Avicenna.
On the matter of creation by God, Scholarios summarises Aquinas as:

Ὅτι τὸ δημιουργεῖν ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ μόνος προάγει ἀπολελυμένως τὸ εἶναι οὐ καθόσον
τοῦτο ἢ ἐκεῖνο· τοῦτο δὲ τῷ τῆς δημιουργίας ἀνήκει λόγῳ· τινὶ δὲ τῶν κτισμάτων ἀδύνατον
ἁρμόζειν τὸ δημιουργεῖν ἢ ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει, ἢ ὀργανικῶς, ἢ ὑπουργικῶς, ἀλλὰ πάντα ποιοῦσιν ἐκ
προϋποκειμένου, ἢ προϋποκειμένου τινός, ὅπερ ἐναντίον τῷ τῆς δημιουργίας λόγῳ· καὶ ὅτι τὸ ἐκ
μηδενός δημιουργεῖν ἀπείρῳ προσήκει δυνάμει· δημιουργεῖ γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη δύναμις ἐκ μηδεμιᾶς
προϋποκειμένης δυνάμεως, ὡς ἡ τοῦ πρώτου ποιοῦντος δύναμις. Οὐδεμία δέ ἐστιν ἀναλογία
τῆς οὐδεμιᾶς δυνάμεως πρὸς τήν τινα, ἣν προϋποτίθησιν ἡ παντὸς τοῦ φύσει ποιοῦντος δύναμις,

78 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 78, a. 4, s. c.
79 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 445, 3–4 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
80 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 28, a. 4, arg. 2.
81 Scholar., Traité de la Trinité, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol. V, p. 370, 1–5.
320 | Georgios Steiris

ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος πρὸς τὸ ὄν. Εἰ οὖν οὐδὲν κτίσμα δύναμιν ἄπειρον ἔχει, οὐδὲ δημιουργεῖν
δύναται.⁸²

Et sic posuit Avicenna quod prima substantia separata, creata a Deo, creat aliam post se, et sub-
stantiam orbis, et animam eius; et quod substantia orbis creat materiam inferiorum corporum. Et
secundum hunc etiam modum Magister dicit, in V dist. IV Sent., quod Deus potest creaturae commu-
nicare potentiam creandi, ut creet per ministerium, non propria auctoritate. Sed hoc esse non potest.
Quia causa secunda instrumentalis non participat actionem causae superioris, nisi inquantum per
aliquid sibi proprium dispositive operatur ad effectum principalis agentis. Si igitur nihil ibi ageret
secundum illud quod est sibi proprium, frustra adhiberetur ad agendum, nec oporteret esse deter-
minata instrumenta determinatarum actionum. Sic enim videmus quod securis, scindendo lignum,
quod habet ex proprietate suae formae, producit scamni formam, quae est effectus proprius prin-
cipalis agentis. Illud autem quod est proprius effectus Dei creantis, est illud quod praesupponitur
omnibus aliis, scilicet esse absolute. Unde non potest aliquid operari dispositive et instrumentaliter
ad hunc effectum, cum creatio non sit ex aliquo praesupposito, quod possit disponi per actionem
instrumentalis agentis. Sic igitur impossibile est quod alicui creaturae conveniat creare, neque vir-
tute propria, neque instrumentaliter sive per ministerium. Et hoc praecipue inconveniens est dici de
aliquo corpore, quod creet, cum nullum corpus agat nisi tangendo vel movendo; et sic requirit in sua
actione aliquid praeexistens, quod possit tangi et moveri; quod est contra rationem creationis.⁸³

Scholarios quotes Aquinas’ answer to Avicenna, not word for word, without first men-
tioning what exactly Avicenna had previously argued. The quotation is not word for
word. Scholarios’ omission of any such mention betrays his opposition to Avicenna’s
view on the existence of a first substance created by God that can afterwards create the
world and its soul anew and, subsequently, new creative causes. It was widely known
that Avicenna claimed that production from the First Cause concerns intelligences,
then souls and lastly the celestial bodies. Scholarios holds that created beings cannot
create either “ὀργανικῶς” or “ὑπουργικῶς.”
On the cognitive soul, Scholarios replied to Avicenna, again without mentioning
him.

Sed tamen Averroes, in Comment. tertii de anima, ponit quod in fine in hac vita homo pervenire
potest ad hoc quod intelligat substantias separatas, per continuationem vel unionem cuiusdam
substantiae separatae nobis, quam vocat intellectum agentem, qui quidem, cum sit substantia sep-
arata, naturaliter substantias separatas intelligit. Unde cum fuerit nobis perfecte unitus, sic ut per
eum perfecte intelligere possimus, intelligemus et nos substantias separatas; sicut nunc per intel-
lectum possibilem nobis unitum intelligimus res materiales.⁸⁴

Ἐν οὐδενὶ γὰρ λόγῳ εἰσὶ πρὸς τὸν ἡμέτερον νοῦν κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ζωήν, ὥστε ὑπ’ ἐκείνου
νοεῖσθαι δύνασθαι. Γιγνώσκουσα μέντοι ἑαυτὴν ἡ ψυχή, ἀφικνεῖται καὶ πρὸς τὸ κτήσασθαί τινα

82 Scholar., Traité de la creation en general, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1931, vol.
V, pp. 379, 38–380, 10.
83 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 45, a. 5, co.
84 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 88, a. 1, co.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 321

περὶ τῶν ἀσωμάτων οὐσιῶν ἐπιστήμην τὴν δυνατήν· οὐ τῷ ἑαυτὴν γιγνώσκειν κἀκείνας ἁπλῶς
καὶ τελείως γιγνώσκει.⁸⁵

In particular, on the matter of cognitive powers of the soul, Scholarios notes that “ἐκ
τῶν εἰρημένων δῆλόν ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐπιρρεῖ τῇ ψυχῇ ἀπό τινων χωριστῶν εἰδῶν τὰ
εἴδη δι’ ὧν νοεῖ καὶ ἐπίσταται.”⁸⁶ According to Aquinas, for Avicenna the intelligibles
in the human soul are emanations from the Active Intellect, while the sensibles are em-
anations from matter.⁸⁷ Scholarios held that Avicenna’s position is false, since the soul
did not receive the intelligibles through emanation from something external. He also
rejected Avicenna’s view concerning the existence of multiple minds. Later in the text,
Aquinas cited Plato, Aristotle and Averroes as his sources when discussing the ability
of the soul to apprehend immaterial substances.⁸⁸ Although Scholarios commented
on the views of each of them, he avoided mentioning Averroes, but he did name Plato
and Aristotle.⁸⁹ Probably Scholarios, like Demetrios Kydones in his translation of the
Summa theologiae, avoided unnecessarily mentioning Averroes or Avicenna, because
he did not want to name persons whose original work was unfamiliar to him.⁹⁰
Dealing with the cooperation of the angels in creation, Scholarios states that:

Ὅτι διὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἡ σωματικὴ διοικεῖται κτίσις· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων διδασκάλων
λέγεται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν φιλοσόφων τῶν τὰς ἀσωμάτους οὐσίας τιθέντων.⁹¹

In the corresponding passage of Summa Theologiae Aquinas bases his argumentation

on Avicenna:

Avicenna vero mediam viam secutus est. Posuit enim cum Platone, aliquam substantiam spiri-
tualem praesidentem immediate sphaerae activorum et passivorum; eo quod, sicut Plato ponebat
quod formae horum sensibilium derivantur a substantiis immaterialibus, ita etiam Avicenna hoc
posuit. Sed in hoc a Platone differt, quod posuit unam tantum substantiam immaterialem praes-
identem omnibus corporibus inferioribus, quam vocavit intelligentiam agentem. Doctores autem
sancti posuerunt, sicut et Platonici, diversis rebus corporeis diversas substantias spirituales esse
praepositas.⁹²

While Aquinas argues that philosophers have different views concerning incorporeal
substances, Scholarios claims that both the philosophers who address the matter of
incorporeal substances and the Fathers believe that creation is governed by angels.

85 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 464, 9–13 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.

86 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 455, 32–33 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
87 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 84, a. 4, co.
88 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 88, a. 1, co.
89 Scholar., Traité de l’homme, p. 463, 38–40, 464, 1–13 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
90 Wright 2013a, 15–30.
91 Scholar., Traité du gouvernement divin, p. 494, 11–13 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
92 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 110, a. 1, ad 3.
322 | Georgios Steiris

In fact, Plato, Aristotle and Avicenna refer to the existence of incorporeal substances,
which either form the kinds of corporeal substances (Plato) or they do not (Aristotle).
Nevertheless, they agree that the incorporeal substances are more universal and su-
perior to the corporeal. Avicenna supports the same thesis, with the difference that he
believes there is only one incorporeal substance, which governs the corporeal and
is called Active Intellect. Scholarios’ phrasing does not make clear whether he in-
cludes Avicenna in his answer or whether his use of plural in the passage “τῶν τὰς
ἀσωμάτους οὐσίας τιθέντων” aims at the removal of any reference to Avicenna.
Again prompted by a discussion of angelic influence on creation, Aquinas ob-
serves that the “Platonists” and Avicenna equate forms with the Platonic ideas.⁹³ Fur-
ther on, he bases his view on Avicenna:

Respondeo dicendum quod Platonici posuerunt formas quae sunt in materia, causari ex immateri-
alibus formis, quia formas materiales ponebant esse participationes quasdam immaterialium for-
marum. Et hos, quantum ad aliquid, secutus est Avicenna, qui posuit omnes formas quae sunt in
materia, procedere a conceptione intelligentiae, et quod agentia corporalia sunt solum disponen-
tia ad formas. Qui in hoc videntur fuisse decepti, quia existimaverunt formam quasi aliquid per
se factum, ut sic ab aliquo formali principio procederet. Sed sicut philosophus probat in VII Meta-
phys., hoc quod proprie fit, est compositum, hoc enim proprie est quasi subsistens. Forma autem
non dicitur ens quasi ipsa sit, sed sicut quo aliquid est, et sic per consequens nec forma proprie fit;
eius enim est fieri, cuius est esse, cum fieri nihil aliud sit quam via in esse. Manifestum est autem
quod factum est simile facienti, quia omne agens agit sibi simile. Et ideo id quod facit res naturales,
habet similitudinem cum composito, vel quia est compositum, sicut ignis generat ignem; vel quia
totum compositum, et quantum ad materiam et quantum ad formam, est in virtute ipsius; quod est
proprium Dei. Sic igitur omnis informatio materiae vel est a Deo immediate, vel ab aliquo agente
corporali; non autem immediate ab Angelo.⁹⁴

Scholarios, however, does not refer to Aquinas’ main answer but uses parts of his an-
swer to the second⁹⁵ and especially the third objection,⁹⁶ where Aquinas revisits the
subject of the question, i. e. whether corporeal matter obeys the will of angels:

Ὅτι ἡ εἰδοποίησις τῆς ὕλης οὐχ ὑπακούει τῷ νεύματι τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀλλ’ ἢ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀμέσως,
ἢ παρά τινος ποιοῦντος σωματικοῦ. Μεταβάλλει μέντοι τὴν ὕλην ὑψηλότερον τρόπον ὁ ἄγγελος ἢ
τὰ σωματικῶς ποιοῦντα, κινῶν αὐτὰ ὡς αἰτία ὑψηλοτέρα· τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπείκειν τῷ νεύματι

93 Qui (Platonici et Avicenna) in hoc videntur fuisse decepti, quia existimaverunt formam quasi aliquid
per se factum, ut sic ab aliquo formali principio procedere (ST Ia q. 110, a. 2, co.)
94 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 110, a. 2, co.
95 Et sic Angelus excellentiori modo transmutat materiam corporalem quam agentia corporalia, scilicet
movendo ipsa agentia corporalia, tanquam causa superior (ST Ia q. 110, a. 2, ad 2.).
96 Ad tertium dicendum quod nihil prohibet ex virtute Angelorum aliquos effectus sequi in rebus natural-
ibus, ad quae agentia corporalia non sufficerent. Sed hoc non est obedire materiam Angelis ad nutum;
sicut nec coquis obedit materia ad nutum, quia aliquem modum decoctionis operantur per ignem se-
cundum aliquam artis moderationem, quam ignis per se non faceret, cum reducere materiam in actum
formae substantialis, non excedat virtutem corporalis agentis, quia simile natum est sibi simile facere
(ST Ia q. 110, a. 2, ad 3.).
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 323

τῶν ἀγγέλων τὴν ὕλην· οὐδὲ γὰρ τῷ νεύματι τῶν ὀψοποιῶν ὑπείκει ἡ ὕλη, ἐνεργούντων τρόπους
τινὰς ἐψήσεως διὰ τοῦ πυρός, τῆς τέχνης αὐτοὺς ῥυθμιζούσης, ὅπερ καθ’ ἑαυτὸ οὐκ ἂν ἐποίει τὸ
πῦρ.⁹⁷

Again, concerning the so-called evil eye Scholarios avoids any of mention Avicenna,
although Aquinas bases himself on the Persian philosopher:

Ad secundum dicendum quod fascinationis causam assignavit Avicenna ex hoc, quod materia cor-
poralis nata est obedire spirituali substantiae magis quam contrariis agentibus in natura. Et ideo
quando anima fuerit fortis in sua imaginatione, corporalis materia immutatur secundum eam. Et
hanc dicit esse causam oculi fascinantis. Sed supra ostensum est quod materia corporalis non obe-
dit substantiae spirituali ad nutum, nisi soli creatori. Et ideo melius dicendum est, quod ex forti
imaginatione animae immutantur spiritus corporis coniuncti. Quae quidem immutatio spirituum
maxime fit in oculis, ad quos subtiliores spiritus perveniunt. Oculi autem inficiunt aerem continuum
usque ad determinatum spatium, per quem modum specula, si fuerint nova et pura, contrahunt
quandam impuritatem ex aspectu mulieris menstruatae, ut Aristoteles dicit in libro de Somn. et
Vig. Sic igitur cum aliqua anima fuerit vehementer commota ad malitiam, sicut maxime in vetula-
bus contingit, efficitur secundum modum praedictum aspectus eius venenosus et noxius, et maxime
pueris, qui habent corpus tenerum, et de facili receptivum impressionis. Possibile est etiam quod ex
Dei permissione, vel etiam ex aliquo facto occulto, cooperetur ad hoc malignitas Daemonum, cum
quibus vetulae sortilegae aliquod foedus habent.⁹⁸

Ὅτι οὐ δύναται ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμει τὴν σωματικὴν ὕλην μεταβάλλειν, μόνῳ
τῷ θείῷ ὑπείκουσαν νεύματι· | εἰ γὰρ μηδὲ ἄγγελοι τοῦτο δύνανται, σχολῇ γε οἱ ἄνθρωποι τῇ
φυσικῇ ἑαυτῶν δυνάμει. Εἰ δὲ οἱ ἄγιοι θαύματα ποιεῖν λέγονται, τῇ τῆς χάριτος δυνάμει, οὐ
τῆς φύσεως· ἡ δὲ ᾀδομένη βασκανία γίνεται οὕτως· ἡ ἰσχυρὰ τῆς ψυχῆς φαντασία μεταβάλλει
τὸ ψυχικὸν πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ μεταβολὴ αὕτη μάλιστα γίνεται ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἐφ’ οὓς ὡς λεπτοτέρους
ἀφικνεῖται τὸ πνεῦμα· οἱ δ’ ὀφθαλμοὶ μολύνουσι τὸν συνεχῆ ἀέρα μέχρις ὡρισμένου διαστήματος,
ὃν τρόπον καὶ τὰ κάτοπτρα, νέα ὄντα καὶ καθαρά, ἐφέλκονταί τινα κηλῖδα ἐκ τῆς ὄψεως τῶν ἐν
τοῖς καταμηνίοις οὐσῶν γυναικῶν, ὡς Ἀριστοτέλης δοκεῖ ἐν τῷ περὶ ὑπνοῦ καὶ ἐγρηγόρσεως.
Ὅταν οὖν τις ψυχὴ ἐπὶ πονηρίαν οὕτω σφοδρῶς κινηθῇ, ὃ μάλιστα ταῖς γραυσὶ συμβαίνει, γίνεται
ἡ ὄψις δηλητηριώδης διὰ ταῦτα καὶ βλαβερά, καὶ μάλιστα παισίν, ἀπαλὸν ἔχουσι τὸ σῶμα καὶ
ῥᾳδίως τῶν δράσεων δεκτικόν. Δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ συγχωρήσει Θεοῦ, ἢ καὶ τινος λανθανούσης
ἐνεργείας δαιμόνων συνεργούσης, μεθ’ ὧν αἱ γραῖαί τινας ἔχουσι πίστεις, τοιαῦτα γίνεσθαι.⁹⁹

Once again Scholarios mentions neither Avicenna nor his exact views, but he does re-
fer to them obliquely in the light of Aquinas’ argumentation. Specifically, according
to Aquinas, Avicenna considers the cause of magic to be a natural tendency of corpo-
real matter to obey spiritual substance rather than natural contrary agents. Therefore,
according to Avicenna, when imagination is strong it can change corporeal matter,
which would also the cause of the evil eye.¹⁰⁰ However, this cannot happen consider-

97 Scholar., Traité du gouvernement divin, p. 494, 14–20 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.

98 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 117, a. 3, ad 2.
99 Scholar., Traité du gouvernement divin, pp. 505, 24–506, 2 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
100 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 117, a. 3, ad 2.
324 | Georgios Steiris

ing that, as Aquinas has previously argued, matter does not obey spiritual substances
but God alone.¹⁰¹ Aquinas is not entirely opposing Avicenna’s view, but tries to process
it in order to adjust it, given that the evil eye is for the most part accepted by Christian
theology. To confirm this, he advises that this problem be stated¹⁰² from a different
approach. Scholarios reproduces this adjustment of Aquinas in his text, without men-
tioning that it comes from Avicenna.
Particularly enlightening is the way in which Scholarios deals with the question of
anger. Aquinas defines the essence of anger and what it is that renders it a passion.¹⁰³
To explain why anger is not in the genus of passions by causality he follows Augus-
tine’s view on love, namely that love may be a general category of passions. To defend
his view that anger may be a general category of passions (i. e. the irascible) – in the
sense that an effect that is produced by many causes has in some way the sense of
genus – he uses an Aristotelian interpretation. Finally, he refers to Avicenna to state
that if someone harms a most excellent man (multum excellens persona), then only
sorrow can come and not anger.¹⁰⁴ Scholarios chooses to cite only the latter but with-
out naming Avicenna, though preserving the meaning of his words in full: “εἰ μὴ πολὺ
ὑπερέχει τὸ τὴν βλάβην ὑπενηνοχὸς πρόσωπον· τότε γὰρ λύπη μόνον ἀκολουθεῖ.”¹⁰⁵
Based on the aforementioned examples, in the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae
Scholarios’ practice of avoiding for the most part direct references to philosophers in
the Islamic world, even when he uses or comments on their arguments is debatable, if
nothing else. Although Scholarios’ practice in the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae of is
to avoid the names of Islamic philosophers even while using or commenting on their
arguments, we should still give him credit for his attempt to widen the field of philoso-
phy that traditionally interested Byzantine thinkers; this practice enriched philosoph-
ical thought in late Byzantium. In particular, he studies Aquinas’ philosophy in depth
and often resorts to his sources. However, the views of Arabic philosophers – at least
in the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae – are perceived through Aquinas, without Schol-
arios providing evidence from the study of the original sources; this practice requires
attention and interpretation on our part, in order to understand the transmission of
Arabic philosophy in late Byzantium. Scholarios summarises and comments on many
of the passages where Aquinas refers to Avicenna and Averroes, but only indirectly
for the most part. Vasileios Tatakis’ conclusion that Scholarios was familiar with the

101 Aquinas, ST Ia q. 110, a. 2, co.

102 Et ideo melius dicendum est (ST Ia q. 117, a. 3, ad 2).
103 Aquinas, ST, Ia-IIae q. 39 a. 3 arg. 1 - Ia-IIae q. 39 a. 3 ad 3 ; Miner 2009, 269. Aquinas, ST, Ia-IIae
q. 39 a. 3 arg. 1 - Ia-IIae q. 39 a. 3 ad 3; Miner 2009, 269.
104 Unde si fuerit multum excellens persona quae nocumentum intulit, non sequitur ira, sed solum
tristitia (ST Ia-IIae q. 46, a. 1, co). Unde si fuerit multum excellens persona quae nocumentum intulit, non
sequitur ira, sed solum tristitia (ST Ia-IIae q. 46, a. 1, co).
105 Scholar., Des passions, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1933, vol. VI, p. 48, 34–35.
Scholar., Des passions, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1933, vol. VI, p. 48, 34–35.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 325

work of Avicenna and Averroes is misleading and due to a lack of attentiveness.¹⁰⁶ A

few and recurring references to philosophers of the Arabic tradition do not prove a
significant familiarity with their work.
Yet, Scholarios did present himself as a perspicacious reader of Arabic and West-
ern Medieval philosophy, lending some credibility toTatakis’ claims. As we saw ear-
lier in this paper, Scholarios, in his dedicatory epistle to Contantine Paleologus,¹⁰⁷
boasted about his erudition and claimed that he had read all the works of Avicenna,
Averroes and other Arab and Persian philosophers. Even modern researchers are mis-
lead by Scholarios’ words and believe that he appreciated Averroes because he had
studied his philosophy.¹⁰⁸ However, we should bear in mind that Scholarios was pri-
marily a devout Orthodox Christian who wished to defend his religion. He considered
Aristotelian philosophy to be compatible with Christian religion, although he admit-
ted that Aristotle committed grave errors from a Christian point of view.¹⁰⁹
In the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae it is obvious that Scholarios agrees with
Aquinas and shares the latter’s views on Avicenna’s and Averroes’ positions. This
does not necessarily indicate Scholarios’ inability to process the large number of ideas
presented in Aquinas’ text. Agreement is the more to be expected, especially when
Aquinas and Scholarios felt that the Christian dogma was at stake. In the majority
of the comments, Aquinas and Scholarios, primarily as theologians, disagree with
philosophers in the Islamic world or agree with each other, given that Avicenna’s and
Averroes’ views are opposite to or subversive of Christian doctrines. In many cases,
however, Scholarios did not hesitate to deviate from Aquinas when he felt that there
was a doctrinal distance between them. Yet one could argue that Scholarios faithfully
followed the structure of Aquinas’ text and, as a result, his references to Avicenna
and Averroes are not really intentional. I would argue that this can not be true pre-
cisely because Scholarios focused on passages that drew his attention and seemed to
interest him. Moreover, he researched Aquinas’ sources in order to broaden his philo-
sophical scope and obtain a deeper understanding of the latter’s philosophy, while
he avoids the parts that point up their differences. Crucially, however, while Aquinas
and Scholarios frequently named their sources, the latter avoided citing the Arabic
philosophers. Aquinas is undoubtedly more careful and methodical in the use of his
sources than Scholarios. However, in many parts of the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae,
Scholarios mentions by name the sources of Aquinas he uses, regardless whether they
concern Christian or secular philosophers. His persistence in avoiding extensive ref-
erences to Arabic philosophers certainly has a reason.
The explanation of the problem is most probably related with Scholarios’ two roles
as a theologian and a philosopher. Although Scholarios held that Averroes was the

106 Tatakis 2003, 248.

107 Scholar., Épître dédicatoire, pp. 1–6 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
108 Mavroudi 2006, 67.
109 Mariev 2014b, 117.
326 | Georgios Steiris

best commentator of Aristotle and an original philosopher of high reputation, his view
on Averroes varies according to his context and purposes. For example, when Schol-
arios attempts to explain Pletho’s heretical views, he attributes them to his education
under Elissaios, follower of Averroes and of other Persian and “Arab” philosophers,
thus indicating that he considered Averroes and the rest of the Arabic philosophers as
heretics.¹¹⁰ In addition, he blamed the Jewish philosophers for translating the works of
philosophers writing in Arabic into their language and ignoring their own Mosaic tra-
dition. Scholarios’ prejudice against the Arabic philosophers and his rare references to
them may be reasonably explained as reactions to contexts where philosophy touches
on theological issues. In his theological and apologetic works, mostly contained in the
first four volumes of Oeuvres completes de Georges Scholarios,¹¹¹ Scholarios, scarcely
mentions the Arabic philosophers nor does he engage with them, either directly or
indirectly. The one exception is that he cites Averroes in rejecting Pletho’s views.¹¹²
Scholarios’ aim was evidently not to defend Averroes but to slander Pletho.
Nevertheless, in the works where Scholarios translates and comments on Aquinas,
as in the Synopsis of Summa Theologiae, his references to Arabic philosophers in-
crease. Scholarios mentioned philosophers in the Islamic world frequently in the
Commentary on Summa contra Gentiles (Ἐπιτομή τοῦ κατά ἘΘνικῶν)¹¹³ but less in his
translation of Aquinas’ Commentary on Aristotle’s On the soul (Εἰς τήν Περί ψυχῆς
πραγματείαν Ἀριστοτέλους ἐξήγησις τοῦ Θωμᾶ ἐρμηνευθείσα παρά Γεωργίου τοῦ
Σχολαρίου).¹¹⁴ It is in his translation and commentary on De ente et Essentia,¹¹⁵ where
his references to Arabic philosophers, direct or indirect, multiply; Scholarios there
follows Aquinas’ text faithfully, mentioning Arabic philosophers extensively. This
however is the result of Aquinas’ original choice. Furthermore, Scholarios comments
on Aristotle’s works concerning logic and natural philosophy, while at the same time,
motivated by his study of them, he composes his own works. In these works the image
of Arabic philosophers is mixed. Especially in his comments on Porphyry’s Introduc-
tion and Aristotle’s Categories (Γεωργίου τοῦ Σχολαρίου Προλεγόμενα εἰς τήν Λογικήν
καί εἰς τήν Πορφυρίου Εἰσαγωγήν, ἐκ διαφόρων συλλεγέντα βιβλίων, μετά ἰδίων

110 Ragia 2013, 252.

111 L. Petit et al ed. Oeuvres completes de Georges Scholarios, Paris 1928–1936, vol. I–IV.
112 Scholar., La Polémique, p. 4 Petit/Siderides/Jugie; Scholar., Lettre à la Princesse, p. 153, 1 Pe-
tit/Siderides/Jugie.
113 Scholar., Résumé de la Somme contre les Gentils, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris
1931, vol. V, pp. 1–338.
114 Scholar., Traduction du commentaire de Saint Thomas d’ Aquin du “De Anima” d’ Aristote, ed. L.
Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1933, vol. VI, pp. 327–581.
115 Scholar., Traduction du commentaire de l’Opuscule, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris
1933, vol. VI, pp. 154–326.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 327

ἐπιστασιῶν. Eἰς πόσα χρήσιμος ἐστὶν ἡ φιλοσοφία),¹¹⁶ Scholarios uses Averroes in

some places, Avicenna in noticeably fewer, which would agree with his view that Aver-
roes was the best commentator of Aristotle. Avicenna is not as important for Scholar-
ios, although Avicenna’s work on Aristotle’s Metaphysics was of seminal importance
for Western medieval philosophers. Where Scholarios seems to surpass himself is in
his commentary of Aristotle’s Physics and in his translation of Aquinas’ commentary
on the Physics (Διαίρεσις κεφαλαιώδης τῶν βιβλίων τῆς Φυσικῆς Ἀκροάσεως ἀρίστη
καί θαυμασιωτάτη, δι’ ᾗς καί ἡ τοῦ Φιλοσόφου σοφία δείκνυται τοῦ οὖτω τάξαντος
τά αὐτοῦ καί ἡ ἀγχίνοια τῶν καί διελόντων καί ἐκθεμένων ἐνταῦθα, ὡς ὁρᾶται, προς
γνώσιν εὐσύνοπτον),¹¹⁷ where his references are multiple, again mainly to Averroes
and less to Avicenna. A careful examination of the text, even at primary level, does not
leave much room for misinterpretation. Scholarios himslef admits that many of these
references have been drawn from Aquinas’ texts, especially those with introductions;
Averroes’ frequent presence in the commentaries of the first five books of Physics,
could be interpreted as a result of his study of Aquinas’ commentary on Aristotle’s
Physics. It is obvious from the comparison of the two works that Scholarios had direct
access to Aquinas’ text when composing his own commentary.¹¹⁸ A first collation of
Scholarios’ and Aquinas’ texts is quite convincing on this matter.
To sum up, Pletho shared the views of the majority of Italian humanists who held
that Arabic readings of Aristotle are defective and misleading. On the other hand, al-
though Scholarios had not studied the Arabic commentators in depth, he did realise
the value of Arabic philosophy. From the viewpoint of the Synopsis of Summa The-
ologia, Scholarios does not appear to form his own argumentation against the Arabic
philosophers. Rather he seems to be dependent on Aquinas for his knowledge of the
thought of Avicenna and Averroes. His texts do not support his claim that, besides Avi-
cenna and Averroes, he had studied “the philosophy of many other Arab and Persian
philosophers.”¹¹⁹ I was able to find four references to Avicebron and just a single one
to al-Ghazali, but I have not yet identified his sources for these. Scholarios’ knowledge
of Arabic philosophy was general and superficial. Neverheless, despite any objections
Scholarios might have had to the value of Arabic philosophy and its compatibility with
Orthodox Christianity, he did realise that the development of Byzantine Aristotelian-

116 Scholar., Prolégomènes à la Logique, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol. VII,
pp. 7–113; Scholar., Commentaire du livre, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol. VII,
pp. 114–237.
117 Scholar., Division sommaire, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol. VIIΙ, pp.
1–133; Scholar., Prolégomènes a la Physique, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol.
VIIΙ, pp. 134–162; Scholar., Traduction du commentaire de S. Thomas d’ Aquin du “De physico auditu
“d’ Aristote.”, ed. L. Petit, X. A. Siderides, and M. Jugie, Paris 1936, vol. VIIΙ, pp. 163–254.
118 Steiris and Lyckoura 2013, 2013.
119 Scholar., Épître dédicatoire, p. 3, 18 Petit/Siderides/Jugie.
328 | Georgios Steiris

ism could not be accomplished without the study of the Arabic commentaries on Aris-
totle’s works.
In the mid 14th century Nikephoros Gregoras expressed his contempt for Arabic
wisdom because he did not accept the notion that the Arabs knew and preserved Hel-
lenic wisdom better than the Byzantines.¹²⁰ But Gregoras’ knowledge of Arabic philos-
ophy remains doubtful and uncertain. It seems that the translations of Aquinas’ texts
familiarized Byzantine philosophers with Arabic philosophy and boosted interest in
major figures like Avicenna and Averroes. Moreover, as Mavroudi suggested, Pletho
said that he had learned of certain arguments in Arabic and Scholastic philosophy
by hearing, an indication that the transmission of Arabic and Scholastic philosophy
did not exist only in written sources.¹²¹ Jewish intellectuals’ contribution to this ba-
sic form of transmission may have been crucial. Either way, the Byzantines of the 14th
and 15th century were not familiar with Arabic philosophy in the original language but
only with its interpretation by Medieval Christian and Jewish thinkers. While Byzan-
tine scholars paid attention to Arabic science and attempted translations of Arabic
and Persian scientific works, they consistently refused to study systematically and en-
gage with Arabic philosophy in their culture. Gregoras’ position proves that they were
aware of Arabic philosophy even before the Greek translations of Aquinas’ works but
rejected its validity. In a vain attempt to explain the “sudden” interest of late Byzan-
tine scholars in Averroes, Nicetas Siniossoglou supported that

Averroes sensed the tension between the ecumenism of the shari’a and Plato’s belief in the organi-
zation of a large number of virtuous communities of limited size. Thus, Averroes points at the pos-
sibility of a universal society, presumably favored by Aristotle. Aristotle served the universalism of
Averroes. He could be re-calibrated to serve the Orthodox universalism represented by Palamas.¹²²

Siniossoglou interpreted Pletho’s stance towards Averroism as an anti-Palamite re-

action, since the pro-Palamites would use Averroist Aristotelianism in order to serve
their panorthodox vision. Such a claim is not supported by the sources, because, to
my knowledge, there is no indication that Averroes’ political writings were available
to Byzantine scholars or that the latter were even aware of Averroes’ political philos-
ophy. In addition, Arabic ecumenism should be credited to al-Farabi and not to Aver-
roes, since the former was the only Medieval Islamic thinker who suggested that the
ideal state should cover the inhabited part of the earth.¹²³
The truth is that in the 15th century Averroism became a crucial matter for Byzan-
tine intellectuals, since a critical mass of scholars had at least a limited and mediated
knowledge of his philosophy. The thorough study of the Scholastics led the Byzantines

120 Mavroudi 2006, 70–71.

121 Mavroudi 2013, 198–199.
122 Siniossoglou 2011, 415.
123 Steiris 2012, 253–261.
 Pletho, Scholarios and Arabic philosophy | 329

to realize that Aristoteles Arabus had a distinct place in Western schools and univer-
sities. Scholarios was the most philosophical of Byzantine scholars of his time and
his philosophical interest was genuine; however, his knowledge of Scholastic philos-
ophy and Arabic Aristotelianism was not sufficient to enable him to renew Byzantine
Aristotelianism and adapt it tο the needs of his time. For the most part, Byzantine
scholars’ reaction was uneasy or hostile, because they were not always inclined or
ready to study and appreciate Arabic philosophy. They felt that they were obliged to
defend their interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy, which was the only accurate
and authentic interpretation, inasmuch as they were the privileged inheritors of Greek
wisdom. They failed to realize that the major threat to Greek culture was not Arabic
and Scholastic philosophy but their very reluctance to revise, renew and enrich their
traditional points of view.

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Abbreviations
PG Patrologiae cursus Completus. Series graeca. Jacques Paul Migne
(editor). Vol. 1–161. Paris 1800–1875.
ST Summa theologiae.
SG Summa contra Gentiles.

Primary Sources
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Zavalloni, R. (1951). Richard de Mediavilla et la controverse sur la pluralité des formes. Louvain.
Zezes, T. (1988). Γεννάδιος Β´ Σχολάριος: Βίος -- Συγγράμματα -- Διδασκαλία. Ἀνάλεκτα Βλατάδων,
30. Thessaloniki.
Index
Note from volume editor: With regard to the orthography of personal names, especially Greek names,
in the individual papers, idiosyncracy became perforce the guiding principle. This index is an attempt
at standardization, although even here allowances are made for the individual authors’ preferences
when a name only occurs in one or two places. The series prefers transliterations that are as close
to the original as possible, and this principle is more or less adopted in the index. Thus: Kydones,
Demetrios not Cydones, Demetrius. When alternative spellings are close (e. g. Planoudes, Planudes),
only one entry is given; to facilitate using the index, sometimes alternatives are given (e. g. Cabasilas,
see Kabasilas). Emperors and rulers are indexed by first names. Biblical names (Jesus, Mary, Adam,
Eve, etc) are not indexed, except in some cases where a prophet or apostle is cited as a source. Only
names occurring in the main text are indexed; names cited in footnotes remain unindexed.

Aegidius Romanus 48, 109 Athanasius 36, 65, 198, 199, 201
Aerts, Willem J. 13 Athanasopoulos, Panagiotis C. 120, 156, 160,
Aimericus 197, 198 251
Akindynos, Gregory 35, 122, 187, 194 Atouemes, Theodore 121, 122
Al-Battānī 313 Atoumanos, Simon 122, 123
Al-Farabi 328 Atoumes 117, 121, 123
Al-Ghazali 317, 327 Augustine of Hippo 10, 11, 14–16, 22, 25–
Alain of Lille 67, 68 34, 36, 40, 65, 70–73, 116, 146,
Albertus Magnus 47, 48, 72, 103 200, 208, 209, 211, 213, 215–
Alexander III (Pope) 200, 204 225, 227, 230–243, 246, 248–
Alexander of Aphrodisias 77, 88, 96, 99, 110, 251, 260, 261, 270, 272, 319, 324
316 Averroes 50, 310–317, 319–321, 324–328
Avicebron 52, 327
Alexander of Hale 71, 299, 300
Avicenna 50, 68–70, 181, 184, 185, 188, 311–
Amalric of Bena 67
315, 317–325, 327, 328
Ambrose 36, 140, 146, 200, 223, 224, 239
Ayres, Lewis 22
Ammonius 98–101, 105, 110
Anastos, Milton V. 309 Bacon see Roger Bacon
Andronikos I Komnenos 204 Baiophoros, George 131, 157
Andronikos II Palaiologos 10, 12, 13, 17, 122 Barbaro, Francisco 48
Anselm of Canterbury 16, 116, 230, 241 Barbour, Hugh 179, 186, 189, 190, 192, 193
Anselm of Havelberg 204 Barlaam of Calabria 23, 34, 64, 78–80, 84,
Aphrahat 22 88, 187, 193, 194
Argyriou, Astérios 235, 236 Barnes, Michel 22
Argyropoulos, John 48, 49 Basil the Great (Basil of Caesarea) 35, 36, 67,
Aristotle 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 34–38, 47– 130, 131, 134, 146, 147, 149, 238
59, 64, 68–70, 77, 81, 83, 86– Bessarion (Cardinal) 77, 78, 81, 84–88, 156,
88, 93, 95–101, 103, 109–111, 169, 275–283, 286, 287, 298
115, 129, 131, 158, 159, 164, 165, Blanchet, Marie-Hélène 151, 152, 154, 156,
181, 182, 190, 202, 243, 261, 160, 240
267, 275–277, 280–286, 291– Boethius (Anicius Manlius Severinus) 11, 12,
297, 303, 304, 310, 311, 314, 315, 16, 99, 116, 261, 270
319, 321–328 Bonaventure 52, 56, 57, 72, 232, 297, 299,
Arius 36 300
Armandus de Bellovisu 106, 179, 180, 186– Bryennios, Gregorios 131, 152
189, 192, 208 Bryennios, Joseph 147, 208, 235, 236, 244

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356 | Index

Bucossi, Alessandra 197, 203, 204 Ficino, Marsilio 47, 311

Buda, C. 118, 119 Flogaus, Reinhard 31, 215, 216
Bulgakov, Sergius 24–26, 28, 211 Florovsky, Georges 26–29
Burley, Walter 48 Fortescue, Adrian 21
Francis of Mayrone (François Meyronnes)
Cabasilas see Kabasilas 192, 193, 210, 214, 234, 240, 241,
Calecas see Kalekas 243, 245, 246
Camariotes see Kamariotes Fulgentius 219, 220, 241, 251
Cantacuzenus see John VI Kantakuzenos
Carnabaca, Pedro 95 Ganchou, Thierry 48
Charles II of Anjou 13 Garnier of Rochefort 67, 68
Chenu, Marie-Dominique 66, 68, 70 Gauthier, René-Antoine 106, 107
Chortasmenos, John 37, 122 Geanakoplos, Deno 21
Cicero 11, 48, 199 Gennadios II Scholarios 16, 17, 36, 38, 39,
Constantine XI Palaiologos 95, 96, 314 77, 79, 82–84, 88, 93–98, 100–
Cornelius (Centurion) 139 107, 109–111, 129–161, 163, 164,
Corsini, Pietro 122 168–172, 179–181, 183–187, 189,
Cortesi, Paolo 47 190, 192, 193, 195, 207–215, 225,
Curtius, Ernst Robert 12 228, 230, 234–251, 276, 309, 310,
Cydones see Kydones 312, 314–327, 329
Cyprian 10, 22 George of Trebizond 47–53, 57–59, 275, 280,
Cyril of Alexandria 33, 36, 199, 202, 223, 239, 281, 283–287
249 Gibbon, Edward 41
Gilbert of Porret 67, 68, 70
Daniel (Prophet) 133 Gillet, Lev 212
Delmedigo, Elijah 313 Gilson, Étienne 25, 30
Demetracopoulos, John 14, 15, 31, 48, 77, Goethe, Johann Wolfgang 63
105, 115, 116, 121, 208, 215, 216, Gregory (the Great) 36, 200
231, 235, 251, 297, 312, 314 Gregory of Cyprus 32
Demetrius of Lampe 197, 198 Gregory of Nazianz 65, 139, 198, 226, 228,
Descartes, René 29 234, 292, 296, 299, 305
Diocletian 22 Gregory of Nyssa 27, 36, 67, 147, 292, 296,
Dionysius (Ps.-Dionysios the Areopagite) 302–304
25–27, 54, 57, 65, 67, 68, 70, 72, Grosseteste, Robert 297
135, 201, 232, 234, 315 Guillaume Bernard de Guillac 12
Dondaine, Henri 70
Duns Scotus 27, 28, 38, 48, 77, 80–82, 85, Hagiorites, Nikodemos 14
88, 187, 192, 193, 195, 208–214, Hansen, Heine 106
228, 241, 244, 246, 247, 251, 299 von Harnack, Adolf 27
Hegel, Georg W. F. 24, 41
Ebbesen, Sten 102, 105 Heidegger, Martin 29, 41
Elisha (Prophet) 140 Helena Palaiologina 14
Elissaios (teacher of Pletho) 312, 313, 326 Helinand of Froimond 67, 68
Ephrem the Syrian 22 Hermogenes of Tarsus 48
Eriugena, John Scotus 67, 70 Hilary of Poitiers 36
Eustratius of Nicaea 182, 183 Holobolos, Manuel 12, 270
Evdokimov, Paul 212, 213 Hugo Eterianus 197, 198, 202–204
Hunger, Herbert 15, 270
Fehlner, Peter-Damien 210, 211
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb 24 Jacob of Serrugh 22
 Index | 357

Jerome 22, 27, 36, 239 Makarios Makres 208, 234, 235, 245, 251
John Chrysostom 27, 65, 70, 71, 139, 215, 217, Manuel I Komnenos 197–200, 203, 204
223 Mark Eugenikos (Mark of Ephesus) 36–38,
John of Damascus 27, 32, 36, 65, 67, 131, 77–88, 207, 208, 232, 237, 238,
208, 227, 230–232, 244, 246, 243, 250, 292–305
247, 251, 260, 299–301, 305 Matula, Jozef 312, 313
John V Palaiologos 14 Mavroudi, Maria 312, 313, 328
John VI Kantakuzenos 13–15, 64, 123, 169 Maximos (the Confessor or Homologetes) 31,
Jugie, Martin 30, 66, 93, 94, 129, 131, 133, 32, 65, 70, 211, 217, 218, 220, 223,
150–155, 163, 180, 209–215, 226, 224, 228, 235, 243, 302–304
231–234, 240, 243, 244 Megas, Anastasios C. 11
Mehmed the Conqueror 47
Kabasilas, Neilos 77, 79, 84, 88, 117, 119, Mercati, Giovanni 15, 35, 36, 158
120, 123 Mercier, Raymond 313
Kabasilas, Nicholas 147, 213, 219, 231, 233, Metochites, Theodore 122
234, 236, 237, 242, 250 Meyendorff, John 28, 30, 31, 34, 73, 212–214,
Kalekas, Manuel 16 223, 227, 238
Kamariotes, Matthew 38, 106, 189, 192, 195 Michael of Ephesus 181, 183
Kamateros, Andronikos 203, 204 Michael VIII Palaiologos 10
Kantakuzenos see John VI Kantakuzenos Mioni, Elpidio 121
Khomiakov, Alexei 24 Montesquieu 41
Kilwardy, Robert 52 Morrison, Jim 35, 197, 202
Kipling, Rudyard 21, 22, 30, 41, 197, 202 Mourmouris, Nicolaos 95
Kireevsky, Ivan 23 Möhler, Johann Adam 24
Kislas, Théophile 117–119
Koltsiou, Anna 14
Natalis, Hervaeus 193, 261
Koutroubis, Demetrios 29
Nellas, Panayiotis 29
Kritoboulos of Imbros 123
de Nerval, Gérard 63
Kydones, Demetrios 12–17, 29, 35, 36, 39,
Nicholas of Cusa 27
48, 59, 63, 64, 66, 71, 73, 74, 77,
Nicholas V (pope) 49
84, 88, 110, 116–120, 122, 124,
Nikephoros Gregoras 32, 35, 64, 123, 328
130, 131, 133, 138, 144, 145, 148,
Nikephoros Kallistou Xanthopoulos 233
152, 154–156, 159, 163–172, 219,
Niketas of Byzantium 202, 309
231–234, 239, 250, 259, 264, 265,
Niketas of Maroneia 204
269, 270, 279, 310, 321
Nikitas, Dimitrios 270
Kydones, Prochoros 12, 13, 15, 16, 65, 116,
Nissiotes, Nikos 29
160, 167, 169, 259–271, 313

LaCugna, Catherine 30, 31, 34 van Oort, Johannes 225

Leo the Great 36, 224 Origen 225, 300, 303
Leo Tuscus 5, 198, 200, 204 Ovid 12
Livanos, Christopher 213–215, 241
Loenertz, Raymond-Joseph 14 Pachymeres, George (Georgios) 12
Lorentzatos, Zissimos 29 Pagus, John 71, 102, 106, 107
Lossky, Vladimir 21, 25–28, 30, 31, 34, 35, Palamas, Gregory (Gregorios) 2–5, 7, 14, 25,
211 26, 28, 30–35, 37, 40, 41, 63, 64,
Louth, Andrew 21 66, 73, 74, 194, 208, 211, 215–
220, 222–230, 234, 236, 237,
Macrobius 11 239, 241, 243, 244, 246–251, 259,
Magentinos, Leo 98, 100, 104 260, 296, 328
358 | Index

Panaretos, Matthew Angelos 118–120 Seferis, George 29

Paul (Apostle) 133, 198, 223, 238, 299, 301 Sherrard, Philip 21, 29
Pelikan, Jaroslav 21 Sideridès, Xenophon A. 129
Peter Lombard 27, 47 Simon of Tournai 67, 68
Peter the Great 23 Simplikios (Simplicius) 87, 278, 311
Petit, Louis 129 Siniossoglou, Nicetas 328
Philippo de Bindo Incontris 259 Soloviev, Vladimir 24
Philotheos (Patriarch) 259 Sophonias (monk) 13
Photios 23, 202, 203, 214, 215, 241 Sophronius of Jerusalem 228
Pico della Mirandola 311 Sophrony (Sakharov), Archimandrite 27
Pinborg, Jan 102, 105 Spengler, Oswald 41
Pius IX (Pope) 212 Stephanus of Alexandria 99, 100
Planoudes (Planudes), Maximos 2, 9–13, 17, Sternbach, Leo 13
31, 34, 115, 216, 217, 221–224, Strategopulos, Alexios 10
234, 243, 246, 249, 250, 270 Symeon of Thessalonica 236, 251
Plato 11, 35, 36, 41, 49, 50, 59, 87, 115, 158,
183, 201, 202, 275–278, 280– Tertullian 22
283, 286, 287, 292, 293, 303, Themistios 77, 87, 88, 311
304, 310–312, 315, 316, 321, 322, Theodore Gazes 49, 276, 280, 287
328 Theodoret of Cyrus 202, 203
Pletho (George Gemistos) 50, 97, 103, 110, Theodoric 11
111, 157–159, 275, 276, 292, 309– Theophrastus 311
314, 326–328, 356 Thomas Aquinas 13, 14, 16, 17, 24–31, 34–41,
Plotinos 41, 201, 295 47–53, 56–59, 63–66, 69, 71–74,
Plutarch 122 78–80, 82–88, 97–99, 101–103,
Podskalsky, Gerhard 17, 35, 129–131 105, 106, 109, 110, 116–120, 123–
Porphyry 93–95, 97, 102, 105, 208, 311, 326 125, 129–153, 156–163, 167–172,
Proklos (Proclus) 98, 278 179, 180, 184, 186, 189–195, 207–
Psellos, Michael 98, 100, 104, 105 209, 220, 231–241, 243, 245–
Pérez Martín, Inmaculada 13 251, 261, 265–269, 271, 272, 278–
280, 283, 285, 291–300, 303–
Radulphus Brito 38, 83, 94, 98, 102, 105, 305, 312–328
106, 109, 110, 208 Trikanas, Jacob 259
Raoul Ardent 67, 68 Tzykandyles, Manuel 120, 168, 169
Rhadenos of Thessalonike 15
Riccoldo da Monte Croce 15, 116 Vincent of Beauvais 12, 133
Roger Bacon 52 Voltaire 41
Romanides, John 28, 29, 213
Ware, Kallistos 29
Sabellius 36 Wendebourg, Dorothea 31, 34
Said, Edward 41 William of Auvergne 69
Schelling, Friedrich 24 William of Moerbeke 49
Schlegel, Friedrich 24, 63, 72
Schmemann, Alexander 211, 212, 292 Xanthopoulos see Nikephoros Kallistou Xan-
Schmitt, Wolfgang O. 9 thopoulos
Scholarios, George see Gennadios II Scholar-
ios Yannaras, Christos 21, 29, 214
Scipio (Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Mi-
nor) 11 Zernov, Nicholas 21
Scotus (John Duns) see Duns Scotus Zizioulas, John 29