Gaunilo of Marmoutiers — In Behalf of the Fool, §6 (the lost island)

“It is said that somewhere in the ocean is an island, which, because of the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of discovering what does not exist, is called the lost island … Now if some one should tell me that there is such an island, I should easily understand his words, in which there is no difficulty … If a man should try to prove to me by such reasoning that this island truly exists, and that its existence should no longer be doubted, either I should believe that he was jesting, or I know not which I ought to regard as the greater fool: myself, supposing that I should allow this proof; or him, if he should suppose that he had established with any certainty the existence of this island.”

Checked word-for-word against St. Anselm: Proslogium; Monologium; … · 2026-07-18

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