ABSTRACT
The Proslogion is among the most famous of medieval works. Its examination and re-examination in the last one thousand years has produced a prodigious amount of scholarship. For some, this is a work of profoundly theological significance; for others, it is decidedly philosophical. In both cases, however, the centre of attention has been those five little words, ‘quo nihil maius cogitari possit’ (that which nothing greater can be conceived). The reason these words have caught the imagination of so many is that they alone are supposed to say something about God’s existence. But how, it may be asked, can five little words express the essence of divine existence? What guarantee do we have that these words adequately reflect what lies beyond them? In order to appreciate what Anselm is doing, and why he believes his argument has force, the reader must remain continually mindful of the De Grammatico and the Monologion.
