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John of Salisbury (c.1120-1180) was from Wiltshire in deep Wessex, England. He studied under Abelard and was a friend of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. After getting on the wrong side of the Monarchy in England, for which his employer Thomas A Becket was murdered, he became bishop of Chartres the most beautiful cathedral in the world (even now). The Metalogicon describes the whys and wherefores of medieval logic. It makes a boring subject interesting and attractive. It's tone is light, balanced and sensible in an area of thought which is seldom ever that. It is the best introduction to the subject of medieval logic, better than modern attempts at the same thing, which notoriously suffer from being too clever with respect to the past. You don't have to read from beginning to end, you can dip in to the bits that address your questions. See pp.82-4 on the role and status of logic with respect to thinking in general. The authority is rare and still surpasses modern statements on the subject. Check out pp.166-7 on authoritative texts and the relation of past thought to present. No-one has said it better. Check out pp.111-13 on being too clever - still true you academics! His warning to teachers, pp.117-18. His accounts of Aristotle's Categories and Topics, and his introductions Porpyry and Boethius are superlative. An absolute must for anyone teaching or learning about Medieval thought.
