«Haec (...) omnia gulae philosophantis sunt argumenta». Ruolo delle arti e strategie argomentative nelle epistolae (1062-1072) di Pier Damiani

This study offers an analysis of the epistolae that Peter Damian composed in his mature years, between 1062 and 1072, to demonstrate how, despite some anti-philosophical and anti-cultural elements, they show – as the letters written in the previous years do – a broad deployment of structures of the arts of the trivium (in particular topoi and syllogisms). In general, Peter Damian thus seems to adhere to the Augustinian principle of the usus iustus of profane culture, and he is concerned by the risk that the monks could prefer the profane knowledge to their spiritual interests.