Review

Reviewed Work(s): Dialecticae Institutiones; Aristotelicae Animadversiones. by Petrus

Ramus
Review by: Walter J. Ong
Source: Renaissance News , Spring, 1965, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Spring, 1965), pp. 31-33
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of
America

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 REVIEWS 31

legitimacy,
legitimacy, personified
personified
in Henry
in Henry
of Navarre.
of Navarre.
The one clearly
The decisive
one clearly de
action
actionofof
thethe
Spanish
Spanish
in French
in French
affairs in
affairs
this period
in this
was still
periodto bewas
played:
still to be p
Parma's
Parma's lifting
liftingof the
of siege
the of
siege
Paris,
ofwhich
Paris, prevented
which prevented
the accession theof access
Henry
Henryofof Navarre
Navarreto thetothrone
the throne
as a Huguenot.
as a Huguenot.
On this occasion,
On thisMen-occasion
doza
dozawaswas justjust
another
anotherone ofone
the of
besieged,
the besieged,
comforting comforting
his fellow-suffer-
his fellow-
ers.
ers.By Byso somuch
much had had
Spanish
Spanish
diplomacydiplomacy
ceded the ceded
stage tothe
Spain's
stagein- to Spain
vincible
vincible armies.
armies.The The
dogmatism
dogmatism
of the League
of the also
League
went bankrupt
also went in bankrup
this
thismoment,
moment, as Politique
as Politique
assertion
assertion
of secularofand
secular
nationaland
priorities
nationalpre-prioriti
vailed.
vailed.Within
Within a fewa few
years,years,
the League
the and
League
the Spanish
and the wereSpanish
both re-were bot
viled,
viled,andand in in
the the
centuries
centuries
since, their
since, actions
theirduring
actionsthe during
Civil WarthehaveCivil Wa
not
notreceived
received kindkind
treatment
treatment
from historians.
from historians.
Professor Jensen
Professor
is not Jensen
an is
apologist,
apologist, butbuthis his
matter-of-fact
matter-of-fact
approachapproach
to the League
to the
and the
League
Spanish
and the S
gives
givesusus a clearer
a clearerviewview
of their
of policy
theirthanpolicy
the than
usuallythe
tendentious
usuallyhis- tendentio
tories
toriesofof thisthis
period
period
impart.
impart.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Ralph E. Giesey

Petrus Ramus. Dialecticae Institutiones; Aristotelicae Animadvers

Facsimile-Neudruck der Ausgaben Paris 1543 mit einer Einleitun
Wilhelm Risse. Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt: Friedrich Frommann
(Gtinther Holzboog), I964. xxVI pp. + 58 numbered leave
numbered leaves. 27 DM.
Ramus' publisher Andre Wechel once remarked that Ramus' w
came into the world like bear cubs, relatively formless. Only af
had given birth to them did their author, licking them through a
of subsequent editions, manage to get them into their destined
Dr. Risse here presents Ramus' dialectic or logic in its origin
licked, natal state. The Aristotelicae Animadversiones ('Remarks on
totle') is reproduced from its first edition (Paris: Iacobus Bog
mense Septembri, 1543), and its companion piece, the Dialecticae
tutiones ('Training in Dialectic') from its second (Paris: Iacobus B
dus, mense Septembri, I543). Risse's choice of this second edition f
latter work was wise. The first, which appeared under the slightl
ferent title Dialecticae Partitiones (Paris: Iacobus Bogardus, 1543),
clearly divided into sections, lacks any headings, and does not in
the examples which in the September, 1543, Dialecticae Institutione
explicate the text. Examples apart, this latter work is essentially
same as the earlier edition the same year. Moreover, it is the edi
cited together with the September, 1543, Aristotelicae Animadvers

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32 RENAISSANCE NEWS

in Francis I's condemnation of Ramus dated March Io, 1543 (i.e., 1544).
The Dialecticae Institutiones gives the skeleton of Ramus' new logic,
encapsulated in structures which would later fall away: the two 'parts'
of Ramist logic, later to become so familiar to thousands, inventio and
iudicium, here appear within a three-part schema made up of natura,
doctrina, and exercitatio. The Aristotelicae Animadversiones spell out with
gusto Ramus' violent objections to the logic of Aristotle and his fol-
lowers. Both these works were to undergo vast elaboration in subse-
quent editions-see my Ramus and Talon Inventory (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, I958)-the Dialecticae Institutiones finally
transmuting itself into Ramus' Dialectique (I555) or Dialecticae Libri
Duo (1556 if.), of which close to three hundred editions have been iden-
tified, and the Aristotelicae Animadversiones swelling eventually to twen-
ty books (1548 ff.) as Ramus' anti-Aristotelian wrath matured.
Risse is superbly equipped for his work as editor-the first volume
of his Die Logik der Neuzeit, which runs through the Ramist period, is
now in press and scheduled to appear very shortly. His introduction
here is an excellent brief summary (in German) of Ramus' doctrine and
importance. Ramus' announced Platonism, including his eloquent ela-
boration of the connections between dialectic and God, is given all the
play which it can possibly claim (pp. xiv-xvIII), so that one must
own that it is Ramus himself, not Dr. Risse, who is responsible for the
fact that the Ramist bridge to the divine inspires the wayfarer with
rather less confidence than Plato's. What Ramus meant by dialectic
was certainly not just what Plato meant (whatever Plato did mean),
and, as Dr. Risse points out, in subsequent editions Ramus soon aban-
dons without explanation discussion of 'third judgment,' or the ascent
of the mind to God, and gets down to what was to be the serious Ram-
ist business, defining and dividing, in pursuit of that philosophical ignis
fatuus, total crystalline clarity.
Risse's final verdict regarding Ramus reveals both the editor's judi-
ciousness and his full assimilation of work on Ramism during the past
few decades. Ramus is (I translate) in the last analysis, 'certainly not the
deepest, but he is indeed the most influential logician of the sixteenth
century and the most informative concerning the spirit of the times'
(p. xxvI). Among the traditions influenced by Ramism, Risse notes
not only those of Protestant, particularly Calvinist, milieux but also that
of the Catholic theologians and philosophers at Salamanca. I have often
suspected this influence of Ramism in the Iberian peninsula, as others

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 REVIEWS 33

probably
probably have.
have.WeWecan
canhope
hope
that
that
Risse's
Risse's
forthcoming
forthcoming
bookbook
will will
docu-docu-
ment
ment this
thisrelationship
relationshipand
and
others
others
he he
suggests
suggests
here.
here.
The
The present
presentcompact
compactvolume
volume provides
providesthethe
first
first
modem
modemedition
edition
of anyof any
of
of Ramus'
Ramus'writings
writingssince
since
Hans
HansFleig's
Fleig's
1944
1944
Basel
Basel
edition
edition
(with(with
German German
translation)
translation)of ofRamus'
Ramus'eulogy
eulogy ononBasel,
Basel,
Basilea,
Basilea,
and and
Allan
Allan
H. Gilbert's
H. Gilbert's
193
193 55 edition
edition(with
(withEnglish
Englishtranslation)
translation)of Milton's
of Milton's
adaptation
adaptation
of Ramus'
of Ramus'
dialectic
dialectic in
inthe
theColumbia
Columbia University
University Press
Press
set set
of Milton's
of Milton's
Works.
Works.
OtherOther
facsimile
facsimile editions
editionsofofother
otherworks
worksbybyRamus
Ramusare are
at present
at present
beingbeing
under-under-
taken
taken byby German
Germanpublishers.
publishers. They
Theywillwill
be welcome
be welcome in the
in many
the many
new ornew or
newly
newly growing
growinglibraries
librariesnow
now building
building up up
their
their
scholarly
scholarly
holdings
holdings
in in
this
this country
countryand andininEurope.
Europe.
For
For the
the benefit
benefitofofthese
theselibraries
librariesandand
scholars
scholars
generally,
generally,
perhaps
perhaps
it it
would
would be be in
inplace
placehere,
here,inin
connection
connection withwith
these
these
newnew
editions,
editions,
to note
to note
an
an unfortunate
unfortunateomission
omission inin
my my ownown
Ramus
RamusandandTalon
Talon
Inventory,
Inventory,
wherewhere
through
through aaclerical
clericalerror
errorlocations
locations
of of
copies
copies
were
were
not not
given
given
for the
for first
the first
of of
all
all of
of Ramus'
Ramus'books,
books,the
theDialecticae
Dialecticae
Partitiones
Partitiones
of 1543.
of 1543.
ThisThis
publication,
publication,
not
not edited
editedhere
herebybyDr.
Dr.Risse,
Risse,
forfor
thethe
good
good
reasons
reasons
explained
explained
above,
above,
may may
still
still be
be of
ofmajor
majorinterest
interesttotomany.
many. I know
I know
of copies
of copies
in the
in following
the following
places:
places: the
theLibrary
Libraryofofthe
the
University
University of of
Glasgow,
Glasgow,
the the
Pius Pius
xni Memorial
xni Memorial
Library
Library at
atSaint
SaintLouis
LouisUniversity,
University,thethe
Bibliotheque
Bibliotheque
de 1'Arsenal
de 1'Arsenal
in in
Paris,
Paris, the
theBibliotheque
BibliothequeNationale
Nationale
in in
Paris,
Paris,
thethe
Library
Library
of the
of Univer-
the Univer-
site
site de
de Paris
Paris(Sorbonne),
(Sorbonne),the
the
Bibliotheque
Bibliotheque Victor
Victor
Cousin
Cousin
(Sorbonne)
(Sorbonne)
in in
Paris,
Paris, the
theBibliotheque
BibliothequeMazarine
Mazarinein in
Paris,
Paris,
thethe
Biblioteca
Biblioteca
Nazionale
Nazionale
Cen- Cen-
trale
trale in
in Rome,
Rome,and
andthe
theBibliotheque
Bibliotheque
Nationale
Nationale
et Universitaire
et Universitaire
in in
Strasbourg.
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY Walter J. Ong, s.j.

Ital'ianskie gumanisty XV veka. 0 tserkvi i religii. ('Italian Humani

the Fifteenth Century. On Church and Religion.') Ed. with intro
M. A. Gukovsky, trans. by Iu. Kh. Kopelevich and I. A. Perel'm
Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., 1963. 391 pp. I
I5 kopeks.
This anthology, published as part of the 'Scientific-Atheistic Library,'
presents Russian translations of nine humanistic tracts 'on Church and
religion.' Seven of the tracts are presented in their entirety: Leonardo
Bruni's 'Against Hypocrites'; Poggio Bracciolini's like-named essay and
his 'Letter to Leonardo Bruni'; Lorenzo Valla's 'On the Profession of
Religious' and 'On the Donation of Constantine'; Leonardo Terunda's
'Memorial'; and Gian Gioviano Pontano's 'Charon.' Selections are also

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