Albert The Great And Thomas Aquinas On Magnanimity

Abstract

Aristotle?s account of magnanimity in the Nicomachean Ethics tends to provoke mixed reactions. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, the first Latin thinkers to comment on Aristotle?s account of magnanimity, both defended it without reservation. This chapter investigates the nature of the embrace of Aristotle?s magnanimity by the two Dominican thinkers. A brief overview of the doctrinal influences on Albert?s and Thomas?s interpretation is provided to help assessing the novelty of their understanding of magnanimity. The principal text for Albert?s account of magnanimity is the Super Ethica . In the Sententia libri Ethicorum , Thomas?s methodic concern is to disclose the intentio Aristotelis and to make it intelligible to his readers. The Summa theologiae and to a smaller extent the commentary on Peter Lombard?s Sententiae are investigated here, because in a number of articles Thomas discusses and evaluates certain features of Aristotle?s portrayal of magnanimity. Keywords: Albert the Great; Aristotle?s magnanimity; Nicomachean Ethics ; Sententia libri Ethicorum ; Summa theologiae ; Super Ethica ; Thomas Aquinas