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The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville - Pot-pourri

The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville - Pot-pourri

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Not only those learned in the Christian religion, but<br />

also Plato, Aristotle, and others among the pagans, were<br />

moved by the truth <strong>of</strong> things to agree in condemning<br />

this in their judgment, saying that a confusion <strong>of</strong> matters<br />

was generated by such a belief. 40. For if humans<br />

are forced towards various acts by the compulsion <strong>of</strong><br />

their nativity, then why should the good deserve praise,<br />

and why should the wicked reap the punishment <strong>of</strong> law?<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Etymologies</strong> III.lxxi.40–lxxi.41 107<br />

And although these pagan sages were not devoted to<br />

heavenly wisdom, nevertheless they rightly struck down<br />

these errors by their witness to the truth. 41. But clearly<br />

that order <strong>of</strong> the seven secular disciplines was taken<br />

by the philosophers as far as the stars, so that they<br />

might draw minds tangled in secular wisdom away from<br />

earthly matters and set them in contemplation <strong>of</strong> what is<br />

above.

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