misinformation, was carried into the mediaeval Summa, and still more into those encyclopaedias, which attempted to include all knowledge, and still were influenced in their aim by a religious purpose.[1]
As the human sciences came from the pagan antique, the accepted classifications of them naturally were taken from Greek philosophy. They followed either the so-called Platonic division, into Physics, Ethics, and Logic,[2] or the Aristotelian division of philosophy into theoretical and practical. The former scheme, of which it is not certain that Plato was the author, passed on through the Stoic and Epicurean systems of philosophy, was recognized by the Church Fathers, and received Augustine's approval. It was made known to the Middle Ages through Cassiodorus, Isidore, Alcuin, Rabanus, Eriugena and others.
Nevertheless the Aristotelian division of philosophy into theoretical and practical was destined to prevail. It was introduced to the western Middle Ages through Boëthius's Commentary on Porphyry's Isagoge,[3] and adopted by Gerbert; later it passed over through translations of Arabic writings. It was accepted by Hugo of St. Victor, by Albertus Magnus and by Thomas, to mention only the greatest names; and was set forth in detail with explanation and comment in a number of treatises, such as Gundissalinus's De divisione philosophiae, and Hugo of St. Victor's Eruditio didascalica,[4] which were formal and schematic introductions to the study of philosophy and its various branches.
The usual subdivisions of these two general parts of philosophy were as follows. Theoretica (or Theorica) was divided into (1) Physics, or scientia naturalis, (2) Mathematics, and (3) Metaphysics or Theology, or divina scientia, as it might be called. Physics and Mathematics were again divided into more special sciences. Practica was divided
- ↑ The Speculum majus of Vincent of Beauvais will afford the principal example of the resulting hybrid arrangement.
- ↑ Ludwig Baur, Dominicus Gundissalinus, De divisione philosophiae (Baeumker's Beiträge, Münster, 1903), p. 193 sqq., to which I am indebted for what I have to say in the next few pages.
- ↑ Migne, Pat. Lat. 64, col. 10 sqq,
- ↑ These works were written near the middle of the twelfth century. Gundissalinus was Archdeacon of Segovia and drew upon Arab writings.
