THE DISPUTED QUESTIONS (QUAESTIONES DISPUTATAE) by Matt J. Rossano Copyright Oct. 2004, Matt Rossano. Inquiries about reproduction, distribution, performance, publishing or any other use of this material should be addressed to Matt Rossano, 51266 George Rd., Independence, LA, 70443, [email protected] 1 Characters Dominicans: Thomas Aquinas Reginald of Piperno Albert the Great Robert Kilwardby Brother Paulo Young Thomas Aquinas Franciscans: Brother John Peckham Brother Marcos Brother Antonio Synopsis of Scenes ACT 1 Scene 1 – March 18, 1277; Reginald writing at desk Scene 2 – Late Winter, 7am, 1270; a meeting room at the University of Paris Scene 3 – Same day, 8am; Brother Paulo’s office at the University of Paris Scene 4 – Same day, 9am; Thomas Aquinas’s cell at the University of Paris ACT 2 Scene 1 – Same day, 1pm; St Jacques Cathedral at the University of Paris Scene 2 – Same day, 4pm; Thomas’s cell at the University of Paris Scene 3 – Same day, 5pm; Thomas’s cell at the University of Paris Scene 4 – March 18, 1277; Reginald writing at desk SETTING: Canterbury, England/The University of Paris th TIME: The late 13 Century 2 THE DISPUTED QUESTIONS ACT 1 SCENE 1 AT RISE: Lights up on Archbishop of Canterbury ROBERT KILWARDBY O.P. reading from a document. BROTHER ROBERT "On this day of March 18, in the year of our Lord 1277, I, Robert Kilwardby, in my legitimate capacity as archbishop of Canterbury, and in sympathy with the bishop of Paris, having already issued a similar degree, hereby condemn the following propositions arising from the erroneous application of radical Aristotlelianism and its incorrect use in the interpretation of holy scripture, and I forbid on pain of excommunication, the teaching of these propositions whose content is both dangerous to the soul of the believer and injurious to the church as an authoritative guide on matters of faith and salvation…" (The sound of a large wooden hammer as if a gavel had hit a board. Lights up on REGINALD OF PIPERNO sitting at a desk. A pen and an empty birdcage sit on the desk.) REGINALD You got your way, didn’t you Robert. You took something beautiful and you made it ugly. You got your way. For now, at least. For now. (REGINALD looks at, then slowly raises the pen from the desk. He begins to write.) I, Reginald of Piperno, take up the pen that he set down, and with his pen I will tell the story of the condemned saint. (Pause, dips the pen and continues.) Born into unsettled times was the eleventh and last child of the proud and powerful Landolfo d’Aquino. A last child he christened – Thomas. It was a time of prosperity and intellectual awakening. It was an age of reason. An age of Aristotle. A unique and tiny window in time when a few brave souls were inspired to think that the world of faith and world of reason could marry. Thomas’s path was set for him early by his renowned mentor, Albert of Saxony; known as Albert the Great. (Lights up on ALBERT THE GREAT lecturing.) ALBERT When the ancient traditions of faith are challenged by new modes of thought, two sides will always emerge. There will be those who wish to guard tradition from foreign pollution. And there will be those who seek to unite the two in a grand and wonderful harmony. (Pause) Your path shall be the latter. REGINALD Thomas was Albert’s prized student and quickly arose as the leader of the Aristotelian movement within the church. The leader among those who took the path of consilience between Aristotle’s pagan wisdom and Christianity’s revelations, rather than conflict. But 3 what Albert never told Thomas was how foreboding and lonely that path could be. (He pauses and stares again at the pen for moment.) And so I take up the pen. His pen. It was with this very pen that he sought to create something beautiful. To seamlessly weave together startling new knowledge with centuries-old faith. To make reason into poetry. To build a ladder of elegant ideas that would reach all the way to God. I was there when he finally succeeded. When he finally found God. But it was not through his pen, but through his pain. (Lights up on a small alter. THOMAS AQUINAS is saying Mass.) THOMAS Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae … (He breaks down sobbing, falls to his knees, and lets out a painful cry) Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…. (THOMAS collapses on the floor. REGINALD rushes to his aid) REGINALD Brother Thomas! THOMAS Reginald…my dear friend. REGINALD Are you all right? THOMAS I have seen it all, Reginald. Straw…it is all just straw. Everything I have written…just straw. REGINALD Straw…what…? THOMAS It is useless…all my writing. I shall not write again. REGINALD No…master Thomas. (REGINALD returns to his desk and continues writing.) They will tell you that his mind broke, that he went insane. But I was there and I tell you that he saw the face of God, and when a man finds what he has searched for all his life, he has no need for the pen. (Pause, REGINALD dips the pen and continues). Only a few months after Thomas saw God, God called for Thomas. He was taken from us in his prime, too soon for those who loved him, not soon enough for others. A tragedy they said…eating bad eels, or were they poisoned eels? Did his enemies finally rid themselves of him? These are questions greatly disputed by many. (Pause) All that I have written is straw. What did he mean by that? It too, is a question greatly disputed by many. (Lights up on ROBERT again.) 4 ROBERT …Proposition 12: On the unity of man and the nature of man’s soul to his body. It is hereby held that grave error has been committed in adopting the Aristotelian view that… (Lights up on REGINALD returning to his writing). THOMAS Straw…it is all straw… ALBERT No truth can ever be in conflict with God, for God is truth. REGINALD (Dipping the pen and continuing) It began in the early morning on the day of the quodlibet – the quaestiones disputatae – when a master of the faculty is required face his peers in open defense of his teachings. On that day, seven years ago in the late winter of 1270, it was Thomas’s turn to face the questions – to defend reason against those who saw it as the enemy of faith. (Pause) It began with Brother Robert…and Aristotle…and the soul… ROBERT I believe there are grave questions of heresy… ALBERT God does not hide from us. Our eyes may be closed but God is always near. THOMAS Straw…nothing but straw. (The sound of a wooden hammer.) FADE TO BLACK END SCENE 1 5 ACT 1 SCENE 2 SETTING: University of Paris just before sunrise in the late winter of 1270, seven years earlier. A simple meeting room. AT RISE: Three Franciscan monks, Brothers John Peckham, Marcos, and Antonio are anxiously waiting. ANTONIO He’s late. MARCOS Patience, Antonio, he’ll be here. ANTONIO How can you be so sure? He’s a Dominican, you know. MARCOS Even Dominicans keep their word sometimes. JOHN I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Marcos. MARCOS He told me he would be here. I trust him. ANTONIO (sarcastic) Oh well, if he told you…. MARCOS Look, he approached me. I didn’t go looking for him. JOHN It could be a trick…a Dominican trick. MARCOS John, not everything a Dominican does is a trick. 6 ANTONIO John has good reason to mistrust Dominicans, Marcos. MARCOS Not that again. Come on. That’s over. And it doesn’t have anything to do with…. JOHN If I recall correctly Robert was all in favor of Brother Paulo becoming Dean. You know that. Those Dominicans stick together. Everyone knows I was the obvious choice. When Brother Rolf died it was clear. We had always alternated between the orders. After Rolf the next Dean should have been a Franciscan—it should have been me. It was only those scheming black robe hypocrites going behind everyone’s back and over their heads…Albert whining to the Pope and suddenly we have another Dominican as dean – and an outsider at that. Brother Paulo…. ANTONIO He has been a disaster. MARCOS I don’t deny that. JOHN The University of Paris might as well be renamed the University of Aquinas. Paulo was sent here with the express orders to turn this place into a showcase for the great Thomas d’Aquino and all his Aristotelian disciples. We’re being pushed aside. ANTONIO It just isn’t fair. You know that. MARCOS All right. All right. I know. But now there’s a break in their ranks. We’ve got a Dominican who has dared to stand up to Thomas, to question his blind allegiance to Aristotle. Why not be grateful? ANTONIO I would feel better if he was wearing a brown robe instead of black. JOHN Hear hear. 7 MARCOS That’s the beauty of it. Listen, the Bishop has the same misgivings about Aristotle and Thomas as we do. And he doesn’t like one bit having a university in his town that answers not to him but to the King and the Pope. You don’t think it gnaws at him how Thomas and his Dominican pals have become everyone darlings? He would love to tear them down a notch.