Krey—John of Salisbury and the Classics. 965 
aim is remarkable. In the Polycraticus in a chapter entitled 
’“Omnes Scriptnras esse legendas” he argues “Omnes tamen, 
•Scripturas legendas esse probabile est, nisi sint reprobatae lec- 
tionis, cum omnia non modo quae scripta, sed etiam quae facta 
sunt ad utilitatem, licet eis abutatur interdum, institute cre- 
dantur.” 1 This he proves by an interpretation of the Divine 
•command “Crescite et multiplicamini et replete ter ram” and 
then under cover of this entirely acceptable doctrine he cleverly 
introduces a defense of the study of the classics with the words: 
“Vix autem invenietur scriptum, in quo si non in sensu vel in 
verbis, non reperiatur aliquid, quod prudens lector emittit. 
Caeterum libri catholici tutius leguntur et cautius; et gentiles 
'simplicioribus periculorius patent; sed in utrisque exerceri 
fidelioribus ingeniis utilissimum est.” 2 
There is objectionable matter in all writings, even the Scrip¬ 
tures, but that is no reason for condemning them entirely. The 
prudent reader can gather much that is useful from them. If 
you find anything at variance with the Christian faith lay it 
to the customs of age in which the writer lived and do not 
cast him aside on that account. Such in brief is the attitude 
of John and he carries out this attitude in practice. He reads 
the authors himself but in quoting them he strives to use only 
those passages wherein very little pagan theology is contained. 
If, however, he must use such a passage, he does so with ex- 
purgatorial freedom, 3 or uses some Christian writer on the 
subject. 4 
1 Migne, p. 658. 
2 Migne, p. 659. 
3 This is well illustrated in his use of Plutarch: “Nam, deducta super- 
stitione, gentilium fidelis est in sententiis, in verbis luculentus et in 
sacrario morum tantus arbiter, ut facile praeceptorem Trajani possis 
agnoscere. Si quid autem aupud eum a fide dissentit, aut moribus tem- 
pori potius, quam vire ascribatur,” p. 539. Another example is:—“Earn 
usquequaque nititur evacuare Plutarchus et ex praemissis quatuor 
locis, natturae, officii, morum, conditionis, totius reverentiae manare 
credit originem. Superstitionis tamen hoc infidelium more exsequitur. 
Unde nonnulas sententias ejus, sensu et sermone catholice curavi in- 
"serere. 
4 It is for this reason John says that he takes his quotations on the 
Roman Emperors from Orosius instead of from the great pagan ac¬ 
counts, though they give fuller descriptions, p. 788. 
