John of Damascus in the Summa Halensis

This chapter examines the quotations from John of Damascus’ De fide orthodoxa contained in the Summa Halensis, specifically in its section on the assumption of human nature in the Incarnation. Starting from contextual observations, the paper moves, in a first step, to an analysis of citations from t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zachhuber, J
Other Authors: Schumacher, L
Format: Book section
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2020
Description
Summary:This chapter examines the quotations from John of Damascus’ De fide orthodoxa contained in the Summa Halensis, specifically in its section on the assumption of human nature in the Incarnation. Starting from contextual observations, the paper moves, in a first step, to an analysis of citations from the Damascene in Peter Lombard’s Sentences. The authoritative role of the latter writing meant that its often idiosyncratic use of the Damascene was passed on to later scholastics, such as the authors of the Summa. A detailed consideration of ten quotations from the Damascene in the Summa, which makes up the second part of the paper, reveals a complex pattern of reception. Passages from De fide orthodoxa were often taken out of context, truncated, or both, in order to serve as building blocks in the Summa’s own, dialectical presentation of a theological topic. In conclusion, the paper cautions against the conventional assumption equating the number of references to an authority in the Summa with their conceptual influence.