Sic Et Non: A Critical Edition

by Pierre Abélard, Richard Peter McKeon

English, Latin

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Church History, Medieval, Nonfiction, 12th Century

722 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1120

About the author

Nominalist application of French theologian, philosopher, and composer Peter Abelard or Pierre Abélard of the principles of ancient Greek logic to the doctrines of the medieval Catholic Church led to charges of heresy; after his pupil Héloise, his pupil and the object of his lust affair, bore him a child, he secretly married her, whose angered family castrated him, after which he served as a monk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_A...

Reviews

[Mark Beaulieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

To those short on Latin, 'Yes and No' is the translation of 'Sic et Non,' the titled manuscript by the great philosopher Peter Abelard (1079-1142). A contemporary of the court of Louis the VII and Eleanor I of Aquitaine, Peter wrote this handbook on multiple levels. Its primary purpose served as a manual for theological students to be able to defend multiple points of view. Secondarily for rationalists, it supplied evident contradictions. In dialectics a statement cannot stand if it can be proven to be both false and true. Because his analysis questioned (and some would say invalidated) premises of faith and the contradictory lines of support behind each beliefs, this book was condemned by the Catholic church as heresy and burned publicly.

It has been indispensable in my writing about Eleanor of Aquitaine's world.

Priscilla Troop charmingly uses a cover drawn by Nick Cave (lead singer of the Bad Seeds) and dedicates the book to him. She acknowledges her debt to Blanche Boyer and Richard McKeon's for their translation in the 70's.

[Caleb Greenwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I imported a copy of this book years back. At least back then, there was only one English translation and it was hard to come by.

Translated yes or no, this is Abelard's index of religious thought. In a time when church authority we said to be the end all be all, Abelard compiled an anthology of the numerous "authoritative answers", revealing a discrepancy. The answers or the Church fathers have varied, even contradicted each other, so what is the next step to finding answers?

I can't imagine reading this all the way through, it's more a reference book, although outdated beyond Abelard's time. To me, it's a testament to free thought and challenging the status quo.

(Can't really rationalize a high review though considering it's lack of present utility)

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I gave this a 3 star is because I was disappointed by the introduction.

I actually have the 1976 publication, "A Critical Edition Blanche Boyer and Richard McKeon," and only Fascicle 1 at that. The Introduction to this version is the critical analysis and, to a non-expert, seems incredibly formidable and well done. However, I had read one of the comments on the Goodreads blogs which stated that there was a superb introduction by McKeon. I assumed this would have been an explanatory introduction about Peter Abelard himself. And so my disappointment, unwarranted, I would suppose.

This version has only the Latin to the prologue, and not all of that, at that.

I am in process of getting an English translation. But anyone who could write the following segments is worth reading, at least in part:

I. Ad quam nos maxime peruenire impedit inusitatus locutionis modus ac plerumque earundem uocum significatio diuersa, cum modo in hac modo in illa significatione uox eadem sit posita. Quippe
quemadmodum in sensu suo ita et in uerbis suis unusquisque abundat.

The unfamiliar manner of speech gets very much in the way of our achieving understanding, as well as the different meanings these words very often have when a given word is used with a particular meaning only in that particular manner of speech. Indeed, each man is as well-stocked with words as he is with sense.

II. Item: Insignis est indolis in uerbis uerum amare non uerba. Quid enim prodest clauis aurea si aperire quod uolumus non potest?

And again: "It is a noteworthy quality to love the truth in the words, not the words themselves. For what use is a golden key if it cannot unlock what we desire?

III. Ut errorem emendaret, fecit errorem.

In attempting to correct an error he committed one.

IV. Iustitia sine prudentia multum poterit; sine iustitia nil ualebit prudentia.

Justice without wisdom is capable of much, but wisdom without justice can accomplish nothing.

V. Non enim praejudicata doctoris opinio , sed doctrinae ratio ponderanda est, sicut scriptum est : Omnia probate: quod bonum est tenete.

For what ought to be pondered is not the predecided opinion of the teachers, but the logic of the teaching, as it is written (1 Thess. 5:21), ‘Test all things; hold fast that which is good.’"

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Sic et non (“Yes and No”) Abélard formulated basic rules with which students might reconcile apparent contradictions of meaning and distinguish the various senses in which words had been used over the course of many centuries. He thus proposes a new form of dialectic.

For Abelard, a sincere faith does not clash with reason. On the contrary, reason leads on the one hand to the understanding of Dogma and on the other hand to the recognition of the unknowable.

The dialectic into which Sic et non initiates the layperson, offers the latter arguments that can be opposed to the authority of those priests who have been badly trained. “Replying with a truth based on reason proves more solid than flaunting one's authority”. This is not without ethical consequences. Salvation and sin become a matter less of conforming to the morals of the time.

[Vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read Prologue for essay on Abelard and Tradition]

Thought-provoking and sincere excursus by Abelard on discerning truth amidst competing claims of the Church Fathers. Pertinent questions raised for me include the (in)fallibility of sacred tradition and the extent of criticality a devout Catholic should hold in reading the Fathers.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have elsewhere noted in My Books my comments on Sic et Non and inserted 4 quotes that impressed me from the prologue. The prologue itself impressed me as very "modern," dealing well with the ambiguities of language and philosophy. This is what may have gotten Abelard into trouble since he posed the ambiguities of the fathers of the Church.

This work is a full translation of the Sic et Non by Priscilla Throop. As far as I can figure out it is a good translation. I did not have the energy to read all of it, much less more than 1 of the 158 questions.

I only read the following questions and answers. Both evince well the difficulty of their questions, still argued about in our day:

Throop's translation: "Here begin the thoughts collected from holy writings which seem to be contrary, on account of which this compilation of opinions is called YES AND NO.

1. Faith Must Not be Applied by Human Rationality...or it Must Be

My translation of the preface to the questions and Q 1 is:

Here Begin Opinions Collected From Divine Writings Which Seem To Be Contradictions, On Account Of Which Contrariety This Compilation Of Opinions Is Called “Yes And No”
Q. 1. WHETHER FAITH SHOULD NOT BE ADDED TO HUMAN RATIONALES AND OTHERWISE.

Latin:
INCIPIUNT SENTENTIAE EX DIVINIS SCRIPTURIS COLLECTAE QUAE CONTRARIE VIDENTUR. PRO QUA QUIDEM CONTRARIETATE HAEC COMPILATIO SENTIARUM "SIC ET NON" APPELLATUR
Q. 001: QUOD FIDES HUMANIS RATIONIBUS NON SIT ADSTRUENDA ET CONTRA.

Just to take one problem. How is adstruenda to be construed? If it is "applied" as Throop translates, then faith is applied by human reason. That seems to be going too far.

I think the word adstruenda (construct, destruct, etc.) means added. There is still a problem, with the seeming notion of the denigration of faith. Whichever way one goes, our words do not catch the problems.

Throop.
158 Punishment of Unbaptized Children is Much Gentler, compared to other punishments of the damned ... or Not.

My translation of the question: Punishment of Unbaptized Children is the Gentlest in comparison to other punishments of the damned ... or not

Latin: Q. 158: QUOD POENA PARVULORUM NON BAPTIZATORUM MITISSIMA RESPECTU
CAETERARUM POENARUM DAMNATORUM SIT ET CONTRA.

AUGUSTINUS IN ENCHIRIDION: Mitissima sane omnium poena erit, qui
praeter peccatum quod originale traxerunt nullum insuper addiderunt.

IOHANNES CHRYSOSTOMUS DE REPARATIONE LAPSI: Excludi a bonis, quae
praeparata sunt sanctis, tantum generat cruciatum et dolorem ut etiam
si nulla extrinsecus poena torqueret, haec sola sufficeret. Omnes ergo
gehennae superat cruciatus carere bonis quibus in potestate habueras
frui.

ITEM: Nonnulli imperitorum putant sibi satis esse, si gehenna
tantummodo careant. Ego autem multo grauiores quam gehennarum dico
esse cruciatus remoueri et abiici ab illa gloria. Nec puto ita acerba
esse gehennae supplicia ut sunt illa quibus torquetur is quem arceri
continget a conspectibus Christi. Hoc crede mihi poenis omnibus
grauius est, hoc est solum quod superat et gehennam.

AMBROSIUS DE PAENITENTIA, LIB. II: Nihil autem est quod tam summi
doloris sit quam si unusquisque positus sub captiuitate peccati,
recordetur unde lapsus sit atque unde cecidit, eo quod a corporea
atque terrena ab illa speciosa ac pulchra diuinae cognitionis
intentione defluxerit.

EXPLICIT

Again, just to take one translation problem. Mitissima is not comparative but superlative. That does make a difference. Obviously, the writers have a problem, which led much later to anonymous Christians, choice in a way we cannot understand, etc., etc.

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

McKeon provides a masterful introduction - for those who want to move from 'to read' to 'read' and your medieval Latin is a bit rusty (not really spoken at my local cafe or pub)...

- then I also recommend the translation of Yes and No by Priscilla Throop (2007) which contains a curious quotation from Nick Cave's As I Sat Sadly By Her Side on the opening pages - the words ring true and Abelard would no doubt have approved, even if Gelasius declined to include it in his decretals.

Between judgment and understanding lies the true musings of our own heart

[Bryce]

McKeon provides a masterful introduction - for those who want to move from 'to read' to 'read' and your medieval Latin is a bit rusty (not really spoken at my local cafe or pub)...

- then I also recommend the translation of Yes and No by Priscilla Throop (2007) which contains a curious quotation from Nick Cave's As I Sat Sadly By Her Side on the opening pages - the words ring true and Abelard would no doubt have approved, even if Gelasius declined to include it in his decretals.

Between judgment and understanding lies the true musings of our own heart

[Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is invaluable to have Sic et Non finally in a complete English translation. Includes the Prologue and a clear index to all 158 questions. Many useful footnotes provide reference to key primary sources. The yes and no questions and responses are clearly numbered. An introduction by the translator would add value, as would some reflection on her curious inclusion of a quotation from Nick Cave's 'As I sat sadly by her side,' which fits the context beautifully. Indeed, when will we ever learn?

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars simply because it would have been useful to have an English parallel translation. Anybody know of one yet?