Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P., was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, where his family held land until 1137...
NationalityItalian
ProfessionTheologian
CountryItaly
men perfection contemplation
It is necessary for the perfection of human society that there should be men who devote their lives to contemplation.
philosophy knowledge discovery
Without the suitable conditions life could not exist. But both life and its conditions set forth the operations of inscrutable Power. We know not its origin; we know not its end. And the presumption, if not the degradation, rests with those who place upon the throne of the universe a magnified image of themselves, and make its doings a mere colossal imitation of their own. Wonder was the motive that led people to philosophy ... wonder is a kind of desire in knowledge. It is the cause of delight because it carries with it the hope of discovery.
philosophy discovery people
Wonder was the motive that led people to philosophy ... wonder is a kind of desire in knowledge. It is the cause of delight because it carries with it the hope of discovery.
religion atheism sin
Unbelief is the greatest of sins.
religion atheism needs
Now it seems that everything in the world stems from sources other than God, since the products of nature have their source in nature; deliberate effects can be traced back to human reason or will as their source. There is no need then to assume that God exists.
teaching two sacred-scripture
In questions of this sort there are two things to be observed. First, that the truth of the Scriptures be inviolably maintained. Secondly, since Scripture doth admit of diverse interpretations, that no one cling to any particular exposition with such pertinacity that, if what he supposed to be the teaching of Scripture should afterward turn out to be clearly false, he should nevertheless still presume to put it forward, lest thereby the sacred Scriptures should be exposed to the derision of unbelievers and the way of salvation should be closed to them.
fall omnipotence contradiction
Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God.
atheist existence
Now, nothing can be brought from potentiality to actual existence except through something actually existing
writing written seems
I can write no more. All that I have written seems like straw.
beauty christian radiance
Characteristics which define beauty are wholeness, harmony and radiance.
substance matter individual
God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.
ignorance knowledge men
Wonder [admiratio astonishment, marvel] is a kind of desire for knowledge. The situation arises when one sees an effect and does not know its cause, or when the cause of the particular effect is one that exceeds his power of understanding. Hence, wonder is a cause of pleasure insofar as there is annexed the hope of attaining understanding of that which one wants to know. ... For desire is especially aroused by the awareness of ignorance, and consequently a man takes the greatest pleasure in those things which he discovers for himself or learns from the ground up.
love-is force binding
Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.
done conscience
Anything done against faith or conscience is sinful.