THEOLOGY
588
THEOLOGY
WiBsenschafi C4th ed., Freiburg, 1899) ; Pertner, Vorausset-
zungslose Forschung, freie Wisseyisrhaft u, Katkolicismus (Vienna,
1902): DoNAT, Freiheit der Wissenschafl (Innsbruck, 1910);
FoHsTER, Autorit&t w. Freiheit (Kempten, 1910); CoHAUdS,
Das moderne Denken oder die moderne Dcnk/reiheit u. ihrc Grenzeti
(Cologne, 1911). — About the anti-Modernist oath cf. Reinhold.
Der Antimodernisteneid u. die Freiltril der Wissenschaft (Vienna,
1911); Bacb, Klarheit u. Wahrheil. Erne Erklarung des Anli-
modemifiteneids (Freiburg, 1911); Marx, Der Fid wider den
Modemismus u. die Geschichtsforschung (Trier, 1911); Maus-
bach, Der Bid wider den Modernismus (Cologne, 1911); Ver-
WEYEN, Philusophie u. Theotogie im Mittelalter. Die histarischen
VorausseUungen des Antimodemismus (Bonn, 1911).
The Methods: de Smedt, Principes de la critique historique (Li^ge, 18S3); Langlois et Seignobo.s, Introduction aux H^ides historiques (3rd ed., Paris, 1905) ; Berxheim, Lehrbuch der his- tarischen Methode u. Geschichtsphilosophie (5th ed., Leipzig, 1908). — On the Schoia-stic method cf. KLEtjTGEN, Theologie der Vorzelt, V (2nd ed., Munster, 1874), 1 sq.; Wolff, Credo ut inteUigam: Short Studies in Early Greek Philosophy and its Relation to Christianity (London, 1891) ; Rickaby, Scholasticism (London, 1909) ; Grabmann, Geschichte der scholastischen Methode, I. II (Freiburg, 1909-11). On Neoscholasticism cf. Talamo, II rinnovamento del pensiere tomistico (Siena, 1878); Berthier, L'etude de la Somme theologique de St. Thomas (Fri- bourg, 1893) ; De Wulf, Introduction a la philosophic n^o- scotastique (Louvain, 1904). — Subsidiary to those are: Siqnor- lEi.LO, Lexicon peripateticum philosophico-theologicum (Naples, 1872); ScHUTZ, Thomas-Lexikon (2nd ed., Paderborn, 1895); Garcia, Lexicon scholasticum, in quo definitiones, distinctiones et effnta a Joanne Duns Scoto exponuntur (Quaracchi, 1910). — Periodicals: Dims Thomas (Piacenza, 1879); Jahrbuch filr Philosophic u. spekulative Theologie, by Commer (Paderborn,
1SS7 ); Philosophisches Jahrbuch der Gorresgesellschaft (Fulda,
1888 ); Revue thomisle (Fribourg, 1893 ); Revue neo-sco-
lastique (Louvain, 1894 ); Rivista di Filosofia neo-scholastica
(Florence, 1908 ); Ciencia tomista (Madrid, 1909 ). — On
Mysticism cf. Sandreau, Les degres de la vie spirituelle (2 vols.. Angers, 1897); Idem, La vie d'union a Dieu (Angers, 1900); Idem, L'etat mystique (Paris, 1903) ; Idem, Les fails extraordinaires de la vie spirituelle (.\ngers, 1908) ; PotJL.UN, Des Gr&ces d'oraison (5th ed., Paris, 1906), tr. Yorke Smith, the Graces of Interior Prayer (London, 1910) ; Zahn, Einfiihrung in die christliche Mystik (Paderborn, 1908); Sharpe, Mysticism: Its True Nature and Value (London, 1910).
Relation to other Sciences: Staudenmeier, Encyklopddie der Theologie (Freiburg, 1834-40); Wihthmuller, Encyklop&die der katholischen Theologie (Landshut, 1874) ; Kihn, Encyklop&die u. Methodologie der Theologie (Freiburg, 1892) : Krieq, Ency- klop&die der theologischen Wissenschaft nebst Methodenlehre (2nd ed., Freiburg, 1910); Newman, Idea of a University (London, 1893) ; Clemens, De Scholasticorum sententia Philosophiam esse TheologioE ancillam (Miinster, 1857) ; Kneib, Wissen u. Glauben (2nd ed., Mainz, 1902); Cathrein, Glauben u. Wissen (5th ed., Freiburg, 1911); Wii.l.mann, Geschichte des Idealismus (3 vols., Brunswick, 1908); Hf.itz, Essai historique sur les rapports entre la Philosophie et la Foi de Berenger d St. Thomas (Paris, 1909). Division and Contents: Pohle, Christlich-katholische Dogmatik in Die Kultur der Gegenwart bv Hinneberg (Leipzig, 1909), I, IV, 2, p. 37 sqq.; Hettinger, Timothy, or Letters to a Young Theologian, tr. Stepka (St. Louis, 1902) ; Hogan, Clerical Studies (Philadelphia, 1896); Scannell, The Priest's .Studies (London, 1908).
B. History of Dogmatic Theology. — The impos- ing edifice of Catholic theology has been reared not by individual nations and men, but rather by the combined efforts of all nations and the theologians of every century. Nothing could be more at variance with the essential character of theology than an endeavour to set upon it the stamp of nationalism: like the Catholic Church itself, theology must ever be international. In the history of dogmatic theol- ogy, as in the history of the Church, three periods may be distinguished: (1) the patristic; (2) the medieval; (3) the modern.
(1) The Patristic Period (about A. D. 100-800).— The Great Fathers of the Church and the ecclesiasti- cal writers of the first 800 years rendered important services by their positive demonstration and their speculative treatment of dogmatic truth. It is the Fathers who are honoured by the Church as her principal theologians, excelling as they did in purity of faith, sanctity of life, and fulness of wi.sdom, virtues which are not always to be found in those who arc known simply as ecclesiastical writers. Ter- tullian (b. about 106\ who died a Montanist, and Origon (d. 2.54), who showed a marked leaning towards Hellenism, strayed far from the path of truth. But even some of the Fathers, e. g. St. Cj^jrian (d. 2,58) and St. Gregory of Nyssa, went astray on individual points; the former in regard to the baptism of heretics, the latter in the matter of apocatastasis. It was
not so much in the catechetical schools of Alexandria,
Antioch, and Edessa as in the struggle with the
great heresies of the age that patristic theolog)' devel-
oped. This serves to explain I he character of the
patristic hterature, which is apologetical and polem-
ical, parenetical and ascetic, with a wealth of exeget-
ical wisdom on every page; for the roots of theology
are in the Bible, especially in the Gospels and in
the Epistles of St. Paul. Although it was not the
intention of the Fathers to give a methodical and
systematic treatise of theology, nevertheless, so
thoroughly did they handle the gi'cat dogmas from
the positive, speculative, and apologetic standpoint
that they laid the permanent foundations for the
centuries to follow. Quite justly does Mohler call
attention to the fact that all modes of treatment
may be found in the wi-itings of the Apostolic Fathers:
the apologetic style is represented by the letter of
Diognetus and the letters of St. Ignatius; the dog-
matic in p.seudo-Barnabas; the moral, in the Pastor
of Hermas; canon law, in the letter of St. Clement of
Rome; church history, in the Acts of the martyrdom
of Polycarp and Ignatius. Owing to the unexpected
recovery of lost manuscripts we may add: the litur-
gical style, in the Didache; the catechetical, in the
"Proof of the Apostolic Preaching" by St. Irenaeus.
Although the different epochs of the patristic age overlap each other, it may be said in general that the apologetic style predominated in the first epoch up to Constantine the Great, while in the second epoch, that is to say up to the time of Charle- magne, dogmatic literature prevailed. We can here only trace in the most general outlines this theologi- cal activity, leaving to patrology the discussion of the literary details.
WTien the Christian WTiters entered the hsts against paganism and Judaism, a double task awaited them: they had to exjilain the principal truths of natural religion, such as God, the soul, creation, immortality, and freedom of the will; at the same time they had to defend the chief mysteries of the Christian faith, as the Trinity, Incarnation, etc., and had to prove their sublimity, beauty, and conformity to reason. The band of loyal champions who fought against pagan Polytheism and idolatry is very large: Justin, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus of Antioch, Her- mias, TertuUian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cj-prian, Minucius Felix, Commodianus, Arnobius, Lactantius, Prudentius, Firmicius Maternus, Euse- bius of Ca>sarea, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria, Nilus, Theodoret, Orosius, and Augustine. The most eminent writers in the strug- gle against Judaism were: Justin, TertuUian, Hippol- ytus, Cyprian, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Isidore of Seville. The attacks of the Fathers were not, of course, aimed at the Israelitic religion of the Old Testament, which was a revealed religion, but at the obstinacy of those Jews who, clinging to the dead letter of the Law, refused to recognize the prophetic spirit of the Old Testament.
But far greater profit resulted from conflict with the heresies of the first eight centuries. As the flint, when it is struck by the steel, gives off luminous sparks, so did dogma, in its clash with heretical teach- ing, shed a new and wonderfully brilliant light. As the errors were legion, it was natural that in the course of the centuries all the princijKil dogmas were, one by one, treated in monographs which estal)lished their truth and provided them with a philosophical basis. The struggle of the Fathers against Gno.sti- cism, Manichieism, and Priscillianism served not only to bring into clearer light the essence of God, crea- tion, the ))roblem of evil; it moreover secured the true principles of faith and the Church's authority against heretical aberrations. In the mighty struggle against Monarchianism, Sabellianism, and Arianism an op-
