argumentative age, the question of universals, was a purely philosophical problem. Still such questions merely arose incidentally from theological problems; in an age of unquestioning faith in the unseen, the formal and distinct treatment of philosophy as a preliminary science was unnecessary, the doctrinal points were merely confirmed ‘from reason.’ St. Thomas, however, led to a divorce by publishing, in addition to his ‘Summa Theologica,’ a smaller ‘Summa Philosophica’ or ‘Contra Gentes’ which purported to defend the more fundamental points of Christian belief without recourse to revelation; it was intended to appeal to the Arab or Neo-Peripatetic school, through which the schoolmen had become acquainted with Aristotle’s philosophy. John Duns Scotus, the celebrated English friar, followed Aristotle’s example more closely, and wrote many distinct treatises on logic and metaphysics. By the sixteenth century, when there was a conspicuous revival of speculative activity, the separation of philosophy from theology was complete. In our own logical and Rationalistic age such a separation is imperative. Before a positive revelation can be entertained certain preliminaries, notably the existence, nature, and authority of the Revealer, must necessarily be established by pure reasoning; hence philosophy must precede theology.
The scholastic philosophy which is taught in Catholic seminaries usually includes treatises on
