Franciscan Studies

"SCOTI SCHOLA NUMEROSIOR EST OMNIBUS ALIIS SIMUL SUMPTIS" The twentieth century has manifested and continues to show an increased interest in Duns Scotus, in his doctrine and disciples. Philosophers, Theologians and Historians, especially of recent times, have come to realize and recognize as an undeniable fact the tremendous influence this great Franciscan Scholastic had after his death upon the succeeding centuries. Some scholars, because of their personal research, have been convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Scotism, the interpretation of Duns Scotus' doctrine by his followers, had reached its peak in the seventeenth century; however, many others, basing themselves upon hearsay evidence or upon the veracity and competency of these scholars, have taken their assertions for granted. Both the former and the latter quite frequently, in order to express briefly the magnitude of the Scotistic School of that time, fall back upon a statement which is attributed to a seventeenth-century Theologian of the Cistercian Order, John Caramuel y Lobkowicz1. Scott Schola numerosior est omnibus aliis simul sumptis. In most versions of the quotation the word "omnibus" is omitted, but almost invariably the text containing the quotation is said to be found in Caramuel's Theologia Fundamentalis, lib. II, disp. io. To our knowledge no one has questioned the existence of this quotation in our times until it was branded a "legend" in 1937 by Father Charles Balic, O. F. M., the head of the Scotistic Commission in Rome, under whose personal direction the new critical edition of the works of Duns Scotus is being published. (We will speak about this "legend" at length later.) Therefore, our intention in this article is to establish categorically the existence of the now famous quotation Scoti Schola numerosior est omnibus aliis simul sumptis. We shall speak of the quotation in its material supposition only, namely, of the quotation as such, prescinding from its formal or significative supposition, the corresponding meaning it had in reality in the seventeenth century. 1 H. Hurter, S. J. Nomenclátor Literarius Theologiae Catholicae, Ed. 3a, Oeniponte (1910), vol. IV, col. 604—610. 144 "Scoti Schola ..."145 In order that the full import of the problem involved and the expected solution be more clearly visualized, we will divide the development of our article into three parts. In the first part we shall present chronologically some of the modern authors who cite the words of Caramuel as their authoritative text to describe the numerical superiority of the Scotistic School over all other Schools combined at that time. Here we shall likewise introduce the opposing position of Father Balic. We will list only the authors whom we have personally read. Secondly, we shall inspect the works of Caramuel and point out the exact location of the text. Finally, we shall examine the "legend" of Father Balié in detail. I. MODERN AUTHORS A. Authors who accept the quotation i. Dominique de Caylus, O. F. M. Cap., as far as we know, is the first author in this century who made use of the quotation in his writings. Whether he himself has inspected and has seen the text of Caramuel or not, we do not know. In a series of articles describing the marvelous growth of the Scotistic School of the seventeenth century, he wrote in 1910: Un grave auteur a pu écrire, en 1651, ces remarquables paroles: Scoti Schola numerosior est aliis simul sumptis, l'école de Duns Scot est plus nombreuse, à elle seule, que toutes les autres réunies.2 . . . Theol. Fund. lib. II, disp. 10, Caramuel.3 2.Parthenius Minges, O. F. M. employed the quotation in 1914 in his article concerning the revival of Scotism.4 Minges borrowed the quotation from Hubert Klug, O. F. M. Cap.5 3.Alexandre Bertoni, O. F. M., in his book about Duns Scotus, has written in 1917: Nous sommes à la meilleure période de l'École Scotiste; le nombre des disciples du Docteur Subtil surpasse celui de toutes les autres écoles réunies, au témoignage de Caramuel y Lobkowicz: Scoti Schola numerosior aliis simul sumptis.* . . . Theol. Fund. lib. II, disp. ??.7 2 Dominique de Caylus, O. F. M. Cap. "Merveilleux Épanouissement de l'École Scotiste au XVIIe Siècle...