ABSTRACT
One of the great joys of studying the life and work of Anselm is that we have a wealth of information. In addition to the contemporary witness from which we have drawn and the letters we have now explored, there exist a number of relatively brief treatises and a small but rich treasury of prayers and meditations. In fact, making such a division is not without its problems, for much of what Anselm wrote is couched in the language of prayer and an expression of a life steeped in meditation. What is most remarkable about all of Anselm’s works, however, is that he did not write any theological or devotional literature for public consumption until he was about thirty-seven.2
The only work that appears to break this period of literary silence is the De Grammatico, but it is a work which is set apart as much by its early date (c. 1060) as by its content.3 We will have cause to examine its form and arguments later, but for now it will suffice to note that its most celebrated and recognizable concern is with language. The thrust of the De Grammatico is to demonstrate the care a theologian must take when using words since they are not merely a string of syllables, but a reflection and approximation of ultimate realities.
