Saint Albertus Magnus

Known as Albert the Great; scientist, philosopher, and theologian, born c. 1206;

died at Cologne, 15 November 1280. He is called "the Great", and " Doctor

Universalis" (Universal Doctor), in recognition of his extraordinary genius and

extensive knowledge, for he was proficient in every branch of learning cultivated in

his day, and surpassed all his contemporaries, except perhaps Roger Bacon

(1214-94), in the knowledge of nature. Ulrich Engelbert, a contemporary, calls

him the wonder and the miracle of his age: "Vir in omni scientia adeo divinus, ut

nostri temporis stupor et miraculum congrue vocari possit" (De summo bono, tr.

III, iv).

I. LIFE

Albert, eldest son of the Count of Bollstädt, was born at Lauingen, Swabia, in the

year 1205 or 1206, though many historians give it as 1193. Nothing certain is

known of his primary or preparatory education, which was received either under

the paternal roof or in a school of the neighbourhood. As a youth he was sent to

pursue his studies at the University of Padua; that city being chosen either

because his uncle resided there, or because Padua was famous for its culture of

the liberal arts, for which the young Swabian had a special predilection. The date

of this journey to Padua cannot be accurately determined. In the year 1223 he

joined the Order of St. Dominic, being attracted by the preaching of Blessed

Jordan of Saxony second Master General of the Order. Historians do not tell us

whether Albert's studies were continued at Padua, Bologna, Paris, or Cologne.

After completing his studies he taught theology at Hildesheim, Freiburg

(Breisgau), Ratisbon, Strasburg, and Cologne. He was in the convent of Cologne,

interpreting Peter Lombard's "Book of the Sentences", when, in 1245, he was

ordered to repair to Paris. There he received the Doctor's degree in the university

which, above all others, was celebrated as a school of theology. It was during

this period of reaching at Cologne and Paris that he counted amongst his hearers

St. Thomas Aquinas, then a silent, thoughtful youth, whose genius he

recognized and whose future greatness he foretold. The disciple accompanied

his master to Paris in 1245, and returned with him, in 1248, to the new Studium

Generale of Cologne, in which Albert was appointed Regent, whilst Thomas

became second professor and Magister Studentium (Master of Students). In

1254 Albert was elected Provincial of his Order in Germany. He journeyed to

Rome in 1256, to defend the Mendicant Orders against the attacks of William of

St. Amour, whose book, "De novissimis temporum periculis", was condemned by

Pope Alexander IV, on 5 October, 1256. During his sojourn in Rome Albert filled

the office of Master of the Sacred Palace (instituted in the time of St. Dominic),

and preached on the Gospel of St. John and the Canonical Epistles. He resigned

the office of Provincial in 1257 in order to devote himself to study and to teaching.

At the General Chapter of the Dominicans held at Valenciennes in 1250, with St.

Thomas Aquinas and Peter of Tarentasia (afterwards Pope Innocent V), he drew

up rules for the direction of studies, and for determining the system of graduation,

in the Order. In the year 1260 he was appointed Bishop of Ratisbon. Humbert de

Romanis, Master General of the Dominicans, being loath to lose the services of

the great Master, endeavoured to prevent the nomination, but was unsuccessful.

Albert governed the diocese until 1262, when, upon the acceptance of his

resignation, he voluntarily resumed the duties of a professor in the Studium at

Cologne. In the year 1270 he sent a memoir to Paris to aid St. Thomas in

combating Siger de Brabant and the Averroists. This was his second special

treatise against the Arabian commentator, the first having been written in 1256,

under the title "De Unitate Intellectus Contra Averroem". He was called by Pope

Gregory X to attend the Council of Lyons (1274) in the deliberations of which he

took an active part. The announcement of the death of St. Thomas at Fossa

Nuova, as he was proceeding to the Council, was a heavy blow to Albert, and he

declared that "The Light of the Church" had been extinguished. It was but natural

that he should have grown to love his distinguished, saintly pupil, and it is said

that ever afterwards he could not restrain his tears whenever the name of St.

Thomas was mentioned. Something of his old vigour and spirit returned in 1277

when it was announced that Stephen Tempier and others wished to condemn the

writings of St. Thomas, on the plea that they were too favourable to the

unbelieving philosophers, and he journeyed to Paris to defend the memory of his

disciple. Some time after 1278 (in which year he drew up his testament) he

suffered a lapse of memory; his strong mind gradually became clouded; his

body, weakened by vigils, austerities, and manifold labours, sank under the

weight of years. He was beatified by Pope Gregory XV in 1622; his feast is

celebrated on the 15th of November. The Bishops of Germany, assembled at

Fulda in September, 1872, sent to the Holy See a petition for his canonization;

he was finally canonized in 1931.

II. WORKS

Two editions of Albert's complete works (Opera Omnia) have been published; one

at Lyons in 1651, in twenty-one folio volumes, edited by Father Peter Jammy,

O.P., the other at Paris (Louis Vivès), 1890-99, in thirty-eight quarto volumes,

published under the direction of the Abbé Auguste Borgnet, of the diocese of

Reims. Paul von Loë gives the chronology of Albert's writings the "Analecta

Bollandiada" (De Vita et scriptis B. Alb. Mag., XIX, XX, and XXI). The logical order

is given by P. Mandonnet, O.P., in Vacant's "Dictionnaire de théologie

catholique". The following list indicates the subjects of the various treatises, the

numbers referring to the volumes of Borgnet's edition. Logic: seven treatises (I.

2). Physical Sciences: "Physicorum" (3); "De Coelo et Mundo", "De Generatione

et Corruptione". "Meteororum" (4); "Mineralium" (5); "De Natura locorum", " De

passionibus aeris" (9). Biological: "De vegetabilibus et plantis" (10) " De

animalibus" (11-12); "De motibus animalium", "De nutrimento et nutribili", "De

aetate", "De morte et vita", "De spiritu et respiratione" (9). Psychological: "De

Anima" (5); "De sensu et sensato", "De Memoria, et reminiscentia", "De somno

et vigilia", "De natura et origine animae", "De intellectu et intelligibili", "De unitate

intellectus" (9). The foregoing subjects, with the exception of Logic, are treated

compendiously in the "Philosophia pauperum" (5). Moral and Political:

"Ethicorum" (7); "Politocorum (8). Metaphysical: "Metaphysicorum" (6); "De

causis et processu universitatis" (10). Theological: "Commentary on the works of

Denis the Aereopagite" (14); "Commentary on the Sentences of the Lombard"

(25-30); "Summa Theologiae" (31-33); "Summa de creaturis" (34-35); "De

sacramento Eucharistiae" (38); "Super evangelium missus est" (37). Exegetical:

"Commentaries on the Psalms and Prophets" (15-19); "Commentaries on the

Gospels" (20-24); "On the Apocalypse" (38). Sermons (13). The "Quindecim

problemata contra Averroistas" was edited by Mandonnet in his "Siger de

Brabant" (Freiburg, 1899). The authenticity of the following works is not

established: "De apprehensione" (5); "Speculum astronomicum" (5); "De

alchimia" (38); Scriptum super arborem Aristotelis" (38); "Paradisus animae"

(37); "Liber de Adhaerendo Deo" (37); "De Laudibus B. Virginis" (36); "Biblia

Mariana" (37).

III. INFLUENCE

The influence exerted by Albert on the scholars of his own day and on those of

subsequent ages was naturally great. His fame is due in part to the fact that he

was the forerunner, the guide and master of St. Thomas Aquinas, but he was

great in his own name, his claim to distinction being recognized by his

contemporaries and by posterity. It is remarkable that this friar of the Middle

Ages, in the midst of his many duties as a religious, as provincial of his order, as

bishop and papal legate, as preacher of a crusade, and while making many

laborious journeys from Cologne to Paris and Rome, and frequent excursions into

different parts of Germany, should have been able to compose a veritable

encyclopedia, containing scientific treatises on almost every subject, and

displaying an insight into nature and a knowledge of theology which surprised his

contemporaries and still excites the admiration of learned men in our own times.

He was, in truth, a Doctor Universalis. Of him it in justly be said: Nil tetigit quod

non ornavit; and there is no exaggeration in the praises of the modern critic who

wrote: "Whether we consider him as a theologian or as a philosopher, Albert was

undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary men of his age; I might say, one of

the most wonderful men of genius who appeared in past times" (Jourdain,

Recherches Critiques). Philosophy, in the days of Albert, was a general science

embracing everything that could be known by the natural powers of the mind;

physics, mathematics, and metaphysics. In his writings we do not, it is true, find

the distinction between the sciences and philosophy which recent usage makes.

It will, however, be convenient to consider his skill in the experimental sciences,

his influence on scholastic philosophy, his theology.

IV. ALBERT AND THE EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES

It is not surprising that Albert should have drawn upon the sources of information

which his time afforded, and especially upon the scientific writings of Aristotle.

Yet he says: "The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements

[narrata] of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature" (De

Miner., lib. II, tr. ii, i). In his treatise on plants he lays down the principle:

Experimentum solum certificat in talibus (Experiment is the only safe guide in

such investigations). (De Veg., VI, tr. ii, i). Deeply versed as he was in theology,

he declares: "In studying nature we have not to inquire how God the Creator may,

as He freely wills, use His creatures to work miracles and thereby show forth His

power: we have rather to inquire what Nature with its immanent causes can

naturally bring to pass" (De Coelo et Mundo, I, tr. iv, x). And though, in questions

of natural science, he would prefer Aristotle to St. Augustine (In 2, Sent. dist. 13,

C art. 2), he does not hesitate to criticize the Greek philosopher. "Whoever

believes that Aristotle was a god, must also believe that he never erred. But if

one believe that Aristotle was a man, then doubtless he was liable to error just

as we are." (Physic. lib. VIII, tr. 1, xiv). In fact Albert devotes a lengthy chapter to

what he calls "the errors of Aristotle" (Sum. Theol. P. II, tr. i, quaest. iv). In a

word, his appreciation of Aristotle is critical. He deserves credit not only for

bringing the scientific teaching of the Stagirite to the attention of medieval

scholars, but also for indicating the method and the spirit in which that teaching

was to be received. Like his contemporary, Roger Bacon (1214-94), Albert was

an indefatigable student of nature, and applied himself energetically to the

experimental sciences with such remarkable success that he has been accused

of neglecting the sacred sciences (Henry of Ghent, De scriptoribus

ecclesiasticis, II, x). Indeed, many legends have been circulated which attribute

to him the power of a magician or sorcerer. Dr. Sighart (Albertus Magnus)

examined these legends, and endeavoured to sift the truth from false or

exaggerated stories. Other biographers content themselves with noting the fact

that Albert's proficiency in the physical sciences was the foundation on which the

fables were constructed. The truth lies between the two extremes. Albert was

assiduous in cultivating the natural sciences; he was an authority on physics,

geography, astronomy, mineralogy, chemistry (alchimia), zoölogy, physiology,

and even phrenology. On all these subjects his erudition was vast, and many of

his observations are of permanent value. Humboldt pays a high tribute to his

knowledge of physical geography (Cosmos, II, vi). Meyer writes (Gesch. der

Botanik): "No botanist who lived before Albert can be compared with him, unless

it be Theophrastus, with whom he was not acquainted; and after him none has

painted nature in such living colours, or studied it so profoundly, until the time of

Conrad, Gesner, and Cesalpini. All honour, then, to the man who made such

astonishing progress in the science of nature as to find no one, I will not say to

surpass, but even to equal him for the space of three centuries." The list of his

published works is sufficient vindication from the charge of neglecting theology

and the Sacred Scriptures. On the other hand, he expressed contempt for

everything that savoured of enchantment or the art of magic: "Non approbo

dictum Avicennae et Algazel de fascinatione, quia credo quod non nocet

fascinatio, nec nocere potest ars magica, nec facit aliquid ex his quae timentur

de talibus" (See Quétif, I, 167). That he did not admit the possibility of making

gold by alchemy or the use of the philosopher's stone, is evident from his own

words: "Art alone cannot produce a substantial form". (Non est probatum hoc

quod educitur de plumbo esse aurum, eo quod sola ars non potest dare formam

substantialem -- De Mineral., lib. II, dist. 3).

Roger Bacon and Albert proved to the world that the Church is not opposed to

the study of nature, that faith and science may go hand in hand; their lives and

their writings emphasize the importance of experiment and investigation. Bacon

was indefatigable and bold in investigating; at times, too, his criticism was sharp.

But of Albert he said: "Studiosissimus erat, et vidit infinita, et habuit expensum,

et ideo multa potuit colligere in pelago auctorum infinito" (Opera, ed. Brewer,

327). Albert respected authority and traditions, was prudent in proposing the

results of his investigations, and hence "contributed far more than Bacon did to

the advancement of science in the thirteenth century" (Turner, Hist. of Phil.). His

method of treating the sciences was historical and critical. He gathered into one

vast encyclopedia all that was known in his day, and then expressed his own

opinions, principally in the form of commentaries on the works of Aristotle.

Sometimes, however, he hesitates, and does not express his own opinion,

probably because he feared that his theories, which were "advanced" for those

times, would excite surprise and occasion unfavourable comment. "Dicta

peripateticorum, prout melius potui exposui: nec aliquis in eo potest

deprehendere quid ego ipse sentiam in philosophia naturali" (De Animalibus,

circa finem). In Augusta Theodosia Drane's excellent work on "Christian Schools

and Scholars" (419 sqq.) there are some interesting remarks on "a few scientific

views of Albert, which show how much he owed to his own sagacious observation

of natural phenomena, and how far he was in advance of his age. . . ." In

speaking of the British Isles, he alluded to the commonly received idea that

another Island -- Tile, or Thule -- existed in the Western Ocean, uninhabitable by

reason of its frightful clime, "but which", he says, has perhaps not yet been

visited by man". Albert gives an elaborate demonstration of the sphericity of the

earth; and it has been pointed out that his views on this subject led eventually to

the discovery of America (cf. Mandonnet, in "Revue Thomiste", I, 1893; 46-64,

200-221).

V. ALBERT AND SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHY

More important than Albert's development of the physical sciences was his

influence on the study of philosophy and theology. He, more than any one of the

great scholastics preceding St. Thomas, gave to Christian philosophy and

theology the form and method which, substantially, they retain to this day. In this

respect he was the forerunner and master of St. Thomas, who excelled him,

however, in many qualities required in a perfect Christian Doctor. In marking out

the course which other followed, Albert shared the glory of being a pioneer with

Alexander of Hales (d. 1245), whose "Summa Theologiae" was the first written

after all the works of Aristotle had become generally known at Paris. Their

application of Aristotelean methods and principles to the study of revealed

doctrine gave to the world the scholastic system which embodies the

reconciliation of reason and Orthodox faith. After the unorthodox Averroes, Albert

was the chief commentator on the works of, Aristotle, whose writings he studied

most assiduously, and whose principles he adopted, in order to systematize

theology, by which was meant a scientific exposition and defence of Christian

doctrine. The choice of Aristotle as a master excited strong opposition. Jewish

and Arabic commentaries on the works of the Stagirite had given rise to so many

errors in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries that for several years

(1210-25) the study of Aristotle's Physics and Metaphysics was forbidden at

Paris. Albert, however, knew that Averroes, Abelard, Amalric, and others had

drawn false doctrines from the writings of the Philosopher; he knew, moreover,

that it would have been impossible to stem the tide of enthusiasm in favour of

philosophical studies; and so he resolved to purify the works of Aristotle from

Rationalism, Averroism, Pantheism, and other errors, and thus compel pagan

philosophy to do service in the cause of revealed truth. In this he followed the

canon laid down by St. Augustine (II De Doct. Christ., xl), who declared that

truths found in the writings of pagan philosophers were to be adopted by the

defenders of the true faith, while their erroneous opinions were to be abandoned,

or explained in a Christian sense. (See St. Thomas, Summa Theol., I, Q. lxxxiv,

a. 5.) All inferior (natural) sciences should be the servants (ancillae) of Theology,

which is the superior and the mistress (ibid., 1 P., tr. 1, quaest. 6). Against the

rationalism of Abelard and his followers Albert pointed out the distinction between

truths naturally knowable and mysteries (e.g. the Trinity and the Incarnation)

which cannot known without revelation (ibid., 1 P., tr. III, quaest. 13). We have

seen that he wrote two treatises against Averroism, which destroyed individual

immortality and individual responsibility, by teaching that there is but one rational

soul for all men. Pantheism was refuted along with Averroism when the true

doctrine on Universals, the system known as moderate Realism, was accepted

by the scholastic philosophers. This doctrine Albert based upon the Distinction of

the universal ante rem (an idea or archetype in the mind of God), in re (existing or

capable of existing in many individuals), and post rem (as a concept abstracted

by the mind, and compared with the individuals of which it can be predicated).

"Universale duobus constituitur, natura, scilicet cui accidit universalitas, et

respectu ad multa. qui complet illam in natura universalis" (Met., lib. V, tr. vi, cc.

v, vi). A.T. Drane (Mother Raphael, O.S.D.) gives a remarkable explanation of

these doctrines (op. cit. 344-429). Though follower of Aristotle, Albert did not

neglect Plato. "Scias quod non perficitur homo in philosophia, nisi scientia

duarum philosophiarum, Aristotelis et Platonis (Met., lib. I, tr. v, c. xv). It is

erroneous to say that he was merely the "Ape" (simius) of Aristotle. In the

knowledge of Divine things faith precedes the understanding of Divine truth,

authority precedes reason (I Sent., dist. II, a. 10); but in matters that can be

naturally known a philosopher should not hold an opinion which he is not

prepared to defend by reason ibid., XII; Periherm., 1, I, tr. l, c. i). Logic, according

to Albert, was a preparation for philosophy teaching how we should use reason in

order to pass from the known to the unknown: "Docens qualiter et per quae

devenitur per notum ad ignoti notitiam" (De praedicabilibus, tr. I, c. iv).

Philosophy is either contemplative or practical. Contemplative philosophy

embraces physics, mathematics, and metaphysics; practical (moral) plilosophy

is monastic (for the individual), domestic (for the family), or political (for the state,

or society). Excluding physics, now a special study, authors in our times still

retain the old scholastic division of philosophy into logic, metaphysics (general

and special), and ethics.

VI. ALBERT'S THEOLOGY

In theology Albert occupies a place between Peter Lombard, the Master of the

Sentences, and St. Thomas Aquinas. In systematic order, in accuracy and

clearness he surpasses the former, but is inferior to his own illustrious disciple.

His "Summa Theologiae" marks an advance beyond the custom of his time in the

scientific order observed, in the elimination of useless questions, in the limitation

of arguments and objections; there still remain, however, many of the

impedimenta, hindrances, or stumbling blocks, which St. Thomas considered

serious enough to call for a new manual of theology for the use of beginners -- ad

eruditionem incipientium, as the Angelic Doctor modestly remarks in the

prologue of his immortal "Summa". The mind of the Doctor Universalis was so

filled with the knowledge of many things that he could not always adapt his

expositions of the truth to the capacity of novices in the science of theology. He

trained and directed a pupil who gave the world a concise, clear, and perfect

scientific exposition and defence of Christian Doctrine; under God, therefore, we

owe to Albertus Magnus the "Summa Theologica" of St. Thomas.

D.J. Kennedy

Transcribed by Kevin Cawley

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I

Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org