"The Sentences" by Peter Lombard?

[TimothyH]

If there is anyone out there who has read "The Sentences" by Peter Lombard, I would appreciate any feedback at all. I really know little about it but the little I have read has provolked my interest.

Does it flow more like prose or is it structured differently, like the Summa or something altogether different from prose?

How easy is it to read and understand?

What is the best translation?

Any feedback at all would be appreciated.


-Tim-

[Dee S]

Thanks for posting this thread. I took at look at him on wiki and I am very interested and will definitely read his 'sentences' as soon as I can
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lombard

Here are some quotes I found very interesting:

"....his most famous work by far was Libri Quatuor Sententiarum, or the Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology at the medieval universities.[15] From the 1220s until the 16th century, no work of Christian literature, except for the Bible itself, was commented upon more frequently. All the major medieval thinkers, from Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham and Gabriel Biel, were influenced by it. Even the young Martin Luther still wrote glosses on the Sentences, and John Calvin quoted from it over 100 times in his Institutes."

"Peter Lombard's most famous and most controversial doctrine in the Sentences was his identification of charity with the Holy Spirit in Book I, distinction 17. According to this doctrine, when the Christian loves God and his neighbour, this love literally is God; he becomes divine and is taken up into the life of the Trinity. This idea was never declared unorthodox, but few theologians have been prepared to follow Peter Lombard in his audacious teaching. Compare Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Deus Caritas Est, 2006"

Seems he was a man that was way ahead of his time! Although can't see why 'few theologians' followed him in this as St John was renowned for his constant repetition, especially in his old age, that God is Love. I believe that he uttered those words continually when he was carried to meetings etc in his old age, in fact it seems the other disciples thought him a bit odd to harp on about it so much, especially after having written the Gospel etc..

[Inego de Loyola]

Originally Posted by Dee S

Thanks for posting this thread. I took at look at him on wiki and I am very interested and will definitely read his 'sentences' as soon as I can
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lombard

Here are some quotes I found very interesting:

"....his most famous work by far was Libri Quatuor Sententiarum, or the Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology at the medieval universities.[15] From the 1220s until the 16th century, no work of Christian literature, except for the Bible itself, was commented upon more frequently. All the major medieval thinkers, from Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham and Gabriel Biel, were influenced by it. Even the young Martin Luther still wrote glosses on the Sentences, and John Calvin quoted from it over 100 times in his Institutes."

"Peter Lombard's most famous and most controversial doctrine in the Sentences was his identification of charity with the Holy Spirit in Book I, distinction 17. According to this doctrine, when the Christian loves God and his neighbour, this love literally is God; he becomes divine and is taken up into the life of the Trinity. This idea was never declared unorthodox, but few theologians have been prepared to follow Peter Lombard in his audacious teaching. Compare Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Deus Caritas Est, 2006"

Seems he was a man that was way ahead of his time! Although can't see why 'few theologians' followed him in this as St John was renowned for his constant repetition, especially in his old age, that God is Love. I believe that he uttered those words continually when he was carried to meetings etc in his old age, in fact it seems the other disciples thought him a bit odd to harp on about it so much, especially after having written the Gospel etc..

Quite interesting.