Back in Print: Cursus philosophicus - John of St. Thomas

As a follow-up of this post in 2007, we can now inform you that the Cursus Philosophicus by John of St. Thomas is back in print.

Johannes Poinsot [Ioannes a S. Thoma O. P. - João Poinsot] Cursus philosophicus Thomisticus. Nova editio a P. Beato Reiser O.S.B. (1929), Reimpressio revisa. 3 Bände. Rom 1948. Reprint: Hildesheim 2008. Introductory remarks by John Deely. Einleitende Bemerkungen von Martin Walter. LXIV/2348 Seiten Leinen

Here is the blurb from the publisher:

This reprint of the Cursus Philosophicus Thomisticus in the critical edition prepared by B. Reiser OSB (2nd ed. 1948) makes available once again one of the most important works of Spanish baroque scholasticism. Johannes Poinsot (1589-1644) was described by Martin Grabmann as being “among the best guides to the intellectual world of Thomism”. The author’s aim in compiling this philosophical course was to explain philosophy according to St Thomas Aquinas and his interpretation of Aristotle. As well as this didactic aim, two other aspects of the Cursus deserve to be emphasised: first, Poinsot was one of the most important opponents in the contemporary discourse with Suarez and Vasquez and second, in recent years his achievements in the theory of semiotics and indeed in logic as a whole have been rediscovered.
The reprint will appeal to all students of St Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy and the history of Thomism or of logic in general. A bibliography of source material and of the major literature on Johannes Poinsot is appended as an aid to further study.

An extended bibliography, compiled by Marco Forlivesi, can be accessed here.

New Latin-English edition of the Summa Theologiae

Kevin F. Keiser has let me know about a project that he and his wife have been working on: a new, more handy edition of the Summa Theologiae in Latin and English. You can see the project at www.novantiqua.com (and also on Amazon).

The edition is mostly aimed at those who want to learn to read Aquinas' Latin, or at least want to have it ever present even if they cannot deal with it by itself. The idea for it was born from Keiser's teaching and tutoring experience, with various students asking whether such a thing existed. The first volume has appeared, covering Prima pars, qq. 1-64, and the second volume will be coming out very shortly.

Good luck with the project, Kevin.

Scotus Bibliography on-line

Thomas Osborne of the University of St. Thomas (Houston, TX), pointed me recently to Tobias Hoffman’s marvelous bibliography on Duns Scotus, “Duns Scotus Bibliography: 1950 to the Present,” which you can download from his CUA web site. The bibliography would run to 224 printed pages, and lists primary bibliography (the editions and translations), and secondary bibliography in all the scholarly languages.

Wow.

Leonine Commission website posts article on Fr Bataillon

The people at the Leonine Commission’s website have posted a short article on the life of Fr Louis-Jacques Bataillon, OP, who passed away on February 13th. The article also features a piercing photo of Fr Bataillon in what appears to be the Leonine Commission’s library at Saint-Jacques.

Leonine Commission links on the Dominican History Lectures

The site mentioned in my previous post also has other links of interest to the Thomas-scholar, such as a link on John of Vercelli (who was Master General of the Dominicans during Thomas’s lifetime), on the Doors of Santa Sabina in Rome (where Thomas lived in the middle-1260’s), and a general introduction to Dominic and the Dominican Order.

But the site also sports two videos of direct interest to Thomas-scholars interested in the state of Thomas’s texts (and therefore interested in the Leonine Commission). The first video (just below) is of Fr Hinnebusch explaining the history and nature of the Commission.

Fr Pawel Krupa, OP, of the Leonine Commission also has a video about the Leonine Commission (actually, it’s an audio interview with some pictures). It’s in French.

Dominican History...online

Shhhh. Don’t mind me. I’m over here downloading like a thief!

My “enabler” in this furtive enterprise is Bruce Marshall of Southern Methodist University, who recently told me two things:

1. There’s a website devoted directly to Dominican history: http://dominicanhistory.blogspot.com.
2. That the Dominicans have made available audio recordings of 25 lectures on Dominican History that Fr John F. Hinnebusch, OP, gave in the year 1986. You can see the list of lectures on a the “Lectures in Dominican History” channel on blip.tv (link). Each lecture lasts about one hour, and don’t let the near-quarter century distance fool you; the quality of the sound is just fine.

I’ve promptly downloaded all 25 lectures for my computer, and I’ll try to outfit them so that I can toss them into an iPod or MP3 player (in downloaded form they are in MOV format, Apple’s QuickTime Movie format).

Follow-up on the death of Père Bataillon

I’ve found some other online references to the death of Fr Louis-Jacques Bataillon, OP, about which I posted on February 14, 2009. In fact, there is a short video of Fr Bataillon presenting regarding biblical exemplum.

Other sites have notices, commentary, and bibliography:

• International Medieval Sermon Studies Society (link)
• Sermones.net: éditions électroniques de sermons latins médiévaux (link)
• Pecia : Le manuscrit médiéval ~ The medieval manuscript (link)

A gratefully-received donation

A big shout-out to Robert Barry and the Theology Department at Providence College (RI), who must have read my plaintive post from last fall, and remembered it. Because of him—and a generous, anonymous student—almost four-months of hosting costs here on Thomistica.net were taken care of! Bob wrote:

A student in our graduate program made an anonymous donation to some faculty for us to forward to a cause we find worthwhile. I believe this site qualifies.

Sincere thanks to him and to the anonymous student. During these tight fiscal times every little bit helps.

“The Ethics of Organ Transplantation” at University of St. Thomas (Houston)

The Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, will be sponsoring a medical ethics conference addressing the topic of organ transplantation, on March 27-29, 2009. Here’s a scrape from the conference’s PDF file.

The Ethics of Organ Transplantation, an interdisciplinary conference on medical and philosophical issues surrounding organ transplantation, will bring together experts from a variety of fields, such as philosophy, theology, and medicine. The conference seeks a coherent vision that promotes healing united with a respect for the dignity of each individual.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
D. Alan Shewmon, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Brain Death

Janet E. Smith, Ph.D., Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Issues, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, MI
Embryo Adoption as a Form of Organ Donation

A.A. Howsepian, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Administration Central California Health Care System, Fresno, CA
Organ Transplantation and Anencephalic Infants

Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Organ Donations after Cardiac Death

You may also wish to visit the conference’s website: http://www.stthom.edu/organ_conference.

Louis-Jacques Bataillon, OP: RIP (February 13, 2009)

Just in from Adriano Oliva, OP, of the Leonine Commission in Paris. Father Louis-Jacques Bataillon, OP, died last evening, Friday, February 13, 2009, at 6:45 p.m. He was 94 years old. This is a terrible loss for the whole community of medievalists, especially those interested in medieval sermons, for whom Fr Batallion was doyen. But it is especially hard for lovers of the life and works of St. Thomas, as Fr Louis worked assiduously on the Leonine Commission for a half-century.

At the time of his death the Leonine Commission had been working away hard to finish up volume 44 of the Opera Omnia Sancti Thomae Aquinatis, which contains Thomas’s sermons (edited by Fr Bataillon); when I last met with Fr Oliva last October (at Notre Dame and then here in Milwaukee) he told me that the Commission was at that time reviewing the proofs for volume 44 for the fifth time, with the expectation that volume 44 would see the light of day this year, in 2009. There would be some consolation in knowing that volume 44 is published in the same year as Fr Bataillon’s death.

On a personal note, Fr Bataillon was only ever kind and receptive of my inquiries. Last March, when I spent a week in Paris at the Couvent St. Jacques to work at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Fr Bataillon was able to give me an hour—no small chore—to discuss some manuscript questions I had. His giant spirit and knowledge overcame his laboring body, and his eyes twinkled as he sat in a recliner-chair, viewing my binder of manuscript images: “Now this manuscript was probably written in Le Marche, before mid-century (i.e., before the 1250’s).” Wow.

Having worked so hard for so many years Fr Bataillon’s death at 94 cannot have been a surprise, and he has earned his reward. Still, this one really hurts.

The people over at the Dominican History website already have a short article up about Fr Bataillon’s passing. More will follow.

Update

on 2009-02-14 13:22 by Mark Johnson

Already a follow-up. I wrote the above after having gotten a Skype message from Fr Oliva, but before checking my e-mail. Fr Oliva had already sent out the following e-mail:

Hier, 13 février, à 18h45, le P. Bataillon s’est endormi dans la paix.

Hospitalisé le 12 après-midi aux urgences de la Salpêtrière, il avait été transporté hier dans une clinique chirurgicale à Saint-Cloud, où peu de temps après son arrivée, il est décédé paisiblement.

La messe des funérailles sera concélébrée à l’église du Couvent Saint-Jacques, 20 rue des Tanneries, Paris XIIIe, mardi 17 février à 14h30.

Il sera inhumé au cimetière du Montparnasse.

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas at Toulouse

I spotted this video clip on YouTube this morning. Add one more item to my life’s “to-do” list: spend Thomas’s feast day (January 28) at l’église des Jacobins in Toulouse!

Brian Mullady’s website

Brian Mullady, OP, who authored the important book in the 1980's, The Meaning of the Term "Moral" in St. Thomas Aquinas (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticano, 1986) (permalink) has been busy on the pastoral side of things, and now has a website the lists his activities. It sports some YouTube videos dealing with nature and grace, as well as a link to a catalogue of his CD's and writings.