Category Archives: teaching

The Complaint of Professor Luther

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Matthew Phillips

“I am a very busy person. Four persons are dependent on me, and each of them demands my time for himself. Four times a week I preach in public, twice a week I lecture, and in addition I hear cases, … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, teaching | Leave a comment

Gluttony Over Glosses

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Matthew Phillips

“For clerks of our own day follow more readily the schools of Antichrist than Christ, are rather given to gluttony than glosses; they collect pounds rather than read books…now all learning goes cheap, all reading is half-hearted; there is no-one … Continue reading →

Posted in Alan of Lille, education, liberal arts, medieval, teaching, theology | Leave a comment

Power and Justice

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Matthew Phillips

“On the remedy of the Passion others have said that it is understood in justice and mercy. For our Savior, although He was all powerful, was able to free man (hominem) from the power (potestate) of darkness by the word … Continue reading →

Posted in Christ, Cross, justice, medieval, Richard of St Victor, teaching, theology | Leave a comment

How Students Deceive Themselves

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

“For the first step in learning is the capacity to doubt, nor is there anything so inimical to learning as the presumption of one’s own erudition or excessive reliance upon one’s own wits: the one takes away our interest in … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, liberal arts, Pietro Paulo Vergerio, Renaissance, teaching | Leave a comment

Philosophy as Obedience to the Divine

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Matthew Phillips

“Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength, I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting any one whom I meet … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, Plato, Socrates, teaching | Leave a comment

Augustine on Teaching with Eloquence

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Matthew Phillips

“For teaching, of course, true eloquence consists, not in making people like what they disliked, nor in making them do what they shrank from, but in making clear what was obscure; yet if this be done without grace of style, … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine of Hippo, eloquence, teaching | Leave a comment

Unlock the Hidden Places of Learning

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Matthew Phillips

“A certain wise man, when asked concerning the method and form of study, declared: A humble mind, eagerness to inquire, a quiet life,                                   … Continue reading →

Posted in Hugh of St Victor, Learning, liberal arts, teaching | Leave a comment

Recollection and Thought

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“The faculty of memory is both the cause and the repository of memory and recollection.  Memory is an image which has been left behind by some sensory or mental impression that has actually been received.  In other words, it is … Continue reading →

Posted in John of Damascus, memory, teaching | Leave a comment

Hugh of St. Victor on the Sacred Scriptures

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“For the whole Divine Scripture is one Book, and the one Book is Christ, for the whole Divine Scripture speaks of Christ and is fulfilled in Christ.  Our purpose in reading Scripture is that, by gaining knowledge of what He … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christ, Hugh of St Victor, teaching, theology | Leave a comment

The Languages and the Gospel

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Matthew Phillips

“Although the gospel came and still comes to us through the Holy Spirit alone, we cannot deny that it came through the medium of languages, was spread abroad by that means, and must be preserved by the same means.  For … Continue reading →

Posted in gospel, languages, Martin Luther, teaching | Leave a comment