 |
 |
Dearly Beloved: The Continuing Education Department of York University have just written to me asking if I wish to offer a course next year. As I have mentioned from time to time on this list, I am this year teaching a course on "The Latin Bible". In Continuing Education, it is not useful to offer the same course every year. The situation is rather different from regular university work where one has a new class of students passing through every year. With Continuing Education, one tends to get a loyal following who come year after year, provided that one has something different to offer. If they've done the course already, they don't come; and if they don't come, the course doesn't run. So I thought, by way of something different, I might offer a course called "Faith of the Fathers". The Continuing Education term being ten weeks long, I would offer ten lectures on ten of the Fathers most formative for western Catholic civilisation. I limit it to "western" and "Catholic". I am perfectly well aware of the importance of the eastern fathers, and may offer a course on them the following year; and while I gladly acknowledge the importance of Jewish and Islamic thinkers, I don't know much about them and would hope that limiting the course to Christian figures would give it some shape and coherence. So here are my projected "Big Ten", in chronological order. Would they be yours? Who should be out and who should be in? As always, I value your kindly and scholarly opinions. 1. St Ambrose, gaining his place as one of the "Four Doctors", for his contribution to Latin hymnody, for his influence on St Augustine. 2. St Augustine, for many and obvious reasons. 3. St Jerome, for the Vulgate. 4. St Leo the Great, a favourite of mine, for his Tome, his sermons, his beneficent influence on Attila the Hun, perhaps for his collects. 5. St Severinus - i.e. Boethius. Not often thought of as a "Father", but vital for his place in the intellectual history of the west. 6. St Benedict, for his Rule. 7. St Gregory the Great, last of the "Four Doctors", for his Pastoral Rule, his Moralia in Job, his conversion of England. 8. St Bede (the Venemous Bead, author of The Rosary). 9. St Anselm - jumping ahead a few centuries; for his Proslogion and Cur Deus Homo. 10. St Bernard of Clairvaux, regarded by Migne as the last of the western Fathers. After the twelfth century we move out of the world of the "Fathers" into the world of the scholastic doctors, a rather different animal. Would such a course attract you? Is it likely to attract anybody? The Supple Doctor. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%