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Works of St. Anselm


Jon Falkenstein

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I would really like to see the works of St. Anselm available as one of the packages in Accordance. These texts are open and well beyond licensing restrictions, and can be found on the CCEL (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anselm/basic_works.txt). I'm most interested in his Cur Deus Homo.

 

Of course, I know I can make my own user tool for this (with much time editing it to make sure the chapters and other divisions are recognized. However, considering much larger tools have been undertaken and included as part of various packages (I have the primary package), this should be very possible without the necessity to license it.

 

I did a search on the accordance site and there was not modules for this at all, which I considered odd because Accordance has been very good at accumulating a multitude of old and important works that are without licensing restrictions (e.g. Athanasius, Calvin, Wesleys, etc...).

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You're right. We have neglected Anselm. We'll look into it.

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  • 10 years later...

+1. I just looked for Anselm in my library and realized it’s not there. I have a user tool with the CCEL text mentioned above but the formatting is atrocious. :) 

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This would be a brilliant addition to Accordance as would an electronic edition Eriugena if such exists

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that was meant to say of Eriugena obviously

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The CCEL text seems like it would be fairly easy to turn into a module, but it is a 1926 translation, and might not be to everyone’s taste. A more recent translation is that of Jasper Hopkins: it is the complete works of Anselm, not just the three principal ones. Since it’s all on his website, it could probably be licensed at a reasonable price. Hopkins is also translating from Schmitt’s critical edition, which didn’t exist in 1926. Sometimes I wish he had been more literal, but he is readable.

 

A sample of the CCEL translation, from Cur Deus homo, book I, chapter 1:

 

“And this question, both infidels are accustomed to bring up against us, ridiculing Christian simplicity as absurd; and many believers ponder it in their hearts; for what cause or necessity, in sooth, God became man, and by his own death, as we believe and affirm, restored life to the world; when he might have done this, by means of some other being, angelic or human, or merely by his will. Not only the learned, but also many unlearned persons interest themselves in this inquiry and seek for its solution. Therefore, since many desire to consider this subject, and, though it seem very difficult in the investigation, it is yet plain to all in the solution, and attractive for the value and beauty of the reasoning.”

 

Here’s the same passage in Hopkins’s rendering:

 

“Unbelievers habitually raise this particular problem as an objection to us, while derisively terming Christian simplicity a foolish simplicity; and many believers repeatedly mull over this [same] problem in their minds. I mean the following problem: For what reason and on the basis of what necessity did God become a man [i.e., a human being] and by His death restore life to the world (as we believe and confess), seeing that He could have accomplished this restoration either by means of some other person (whether angelic or human) or else by merely willing it? Now, not only learned men but also many unlearned men ask about this problem and desire an explanation of it. Many individuals, then, keep asking that this problem be dealt with; and in spite of the fact that the investigation seems very difficult, the solution is intelligible to everyone and is commendable because of the utility and the elegance of the reasoning.”

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We'll have the Basic Works of Anselm from CCEL available shortly (I just finished it this morning). Probably either as a free module or downloadable on the Accordance exchange. And I'll check on the version from Hopkins. 

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Wow, that was quick. Thank you, Mark!

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Brilliant Mark...

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Dr. Hopkins has decided not to allow us to use the materials available on his website. This happens more often than you'd think. We'll keep looking for an expanded version of Anselm's works. Meanwhile, the CCEL version will still be released asap.

 

Edited by Mark Allison
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11 hours ago, Mark Allison said:

Dr. Hopkins has decided not to allow us to use the materials available on his website. This happens more often than you'd think. We'll keep looking for an expanded version of Anselm's works. Meanwhile, the CCEL version will still be released asap.

 

Thanks for trying it.

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12 hours ago, Mark Allison said:

Dr. Hopkins has decided not to allow us to use the materials available on his website.

I can't understand why any author would limit their impact like that. Boggles my mind.

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30 minutes ago, Tim Hall said:

I can't understand why any author would limit their impact like that. Boggles my mind.

yes doesn't it - education is meant to be about sharing knowledge not locking it up in your own personal tenure...

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Possibly, it's inappropriate to disapprove of a person's choices without giving him a chance to respond. This may be the incorrect venue to be having this part of the discussion. 

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19 minutes ago, ScottDF said:

Possibly, it's inappropriate to disapprove of a person's choices without giving him a chance to respond. This may be the incorrect venue to be having this part of the discussion. 

No you are right - those comments where intemperate and I apologise to anyone who reads them... it is a real shame though that material which would be helpful to both scholars and seekers not to have wider distribution (providing that distribution causes no harm to the author/collator/editor)

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Like Leopold, I meant no offense to anyone. I would love to know the reasoning behind his decision though.

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You folks are a great bunch--self-correcting, civil, polite. If only the entire world could be like the Accordance Forums!

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If one digs around the website on which Dr. Hopkins links his work, one finds THE ARTHUR J. BANNING PRESS MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA and a second author, Herbert Richardson. Some material also appears to be a part of Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, England. Academic writing and intellectual property is very complex. I once helped a local branch of a major US university for a semester by teaching a class when they were short staffed. Among the many papers to sign was a form obligating me to turn over to the university the rights of any intellectual property, research, or inventions I created while in their employment. During the daytime I also worked with my regular employer who did not worry about such things. Needless to say I made sure I did no work of any kind that could be connected to a future project I would pursue just so there could be no entanglement of IP rights with the university I was helping out. Academic IP is a business in some fields.

 

My son now works for the same university at their main campus in a humanities department and has told me he has never encountered such an IP release as a condition of his employment. I am thankful, for his sake.

 

—Joseph

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I also find the decision surprising, because he has his translation on his website for all the world to download. So he can’t be worried about losing sales of the printed book. I don’t expect to get an explanation, because negotiations are rightly confidential. I suppose that he doesn’t personally use a program like Accordance, and so doesn’t appreciate the benefits of making his translations available through this platform.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/25/2022 at 10:49 PM, JonathanHuber said:

that is amazing - I missed this till today... great work accordance dudes!!!

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