"Omnis magnanimus est humilis". The Doctrine of Humility in Gerald Odonis' Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics

The Expositio cum quaestionibus by the Franciscan Gerald Odonis is one of the most important medieval readings of the Nicomachean Ethics. According to recent studies, Gerald wrote this commentary between 1322 and 1325, while living in Toulouse. The exposition on book IV of the NE contains a block of questions devoted to magnanimitas, the point at which every commentator found himself obliged to deal with the definition of this Aristotelian virtue and to evaluate its relationship to humilitas. Although the Aristotelian virtue of megalopsychia is opposed to the Christian virtue of humilitas, the medieval commentators often tried to find a compromise to reconcile these two virtues, often, in fact, twisting Aristotelian thought in the process. This tendency increased in the 14 th century, when most commentators were masters of theology. Gerald Odonis, too, adopts this approach, affirming that «omnis vere magnanimus est vere humilis». Gerald’s thought is examined in the light of the exegetical tradition that preceded it (in particular, the commentaries by Albert Magnus and Thomas Aquinas on the NE), demonstrating how, in undertaking the task of integrating the Aristotelian text within moral theology, he actually went so far as to identify magnanimity with humility.