Thomas O'Meara, William K. Warren Prof. of Theology at University of Notre Dame has written this fine biography, giving an overview of Thomas Aquinas' life, thought, and his influence. What is distinctive about this book is his focus on Thomas as a theologian (xi) who worked in service of the church for the Dominican Order (xiii). O'Meara captures well the Angelic Doctor's deft & calm handling of the controversies involving Aristotleanism and the mendicant orders; his dual commentaries

on both Scripture and Aristole; his loyalty to the organizational apparatus of the Dominican order; and his incredible busyness in the last four years of his life (writing 2500 words every day, leading to 4000 pages). With Chenu, he contests that Thomas could be called a "dumb ox" in the sense of an awkward but brilliant man. He points out that his numerous travels meant he walked over 9000 miles. This must have meant that he had "unusual energy, generosity and courage (33-34)." Moreover, contra the Enlightenment myth of a pedagogical authoritarian, the great theology professor had a "calm openness" to new ideas, while he was a devoted servant of the Church.

I got this book to prepare for a class on Thomas Aquinas, because I found out that he concentrates on expositing the theology of the Summa Theologica, rather than expositing him as a philosopher. This is not to say that this is a dry commentary. Far from it! He recognizes that as fertile and creative of a thinker like Thomas must communicate that liveliness. (At times, I did detect a tone of ressentiment against pre-Vatican 2 neo-scholastics). He emphasizes that the central theme of the Summa is the neo-Platonic schema of exit and return (Chenu). All things find their source in God. All things are "engraced" by God on their journey in the created realm. All things have their telos in God (56-68). For O'Meara, the most fruitful and central themes of Thomas are how it leads:

"* To the autonomy of creation; to the variety of creatures with their activities, and to the order and beauty of nature; * To the capacities, independence and responsibility of the human person; * To the depth of God disclosed in creation and revealed by Jesus: * To the ecstasy of life and action, and to their goal of happiness; * To a human race called to share in the Wisdom and love of the Trinity and endowed through Christ with a new life principle. (245)"

Moreover, O'Meara shows his vast learning in his ability to interact with a large amounts of the Thomas corpus (mostly from theological works like the Summa Contra Gentes, the Commentary on the Sentences, and biblical commentaries). He also draws well from the insights of secondary sources like M-D Chenu (the most), Yves Congar, Etienne Gilson, Otto Pesch and Gerald McCool. Now, the above quote I have excerpted from O'Meara is fairly anthropocentric. For me as a Reformed neo-evangelical, I encounter a bit of anxiety seeing this, but O'Meara admits quickly the influence of Tillich and Rahner on him (xiv). In particular, he interprets Aquinas' stance on world religions as compatible with Rahner's "supernatural existential" and "anonymous Christianity" (239). Nevertheless, he admits that "Aquinas' ideas lack completeness and resolution (241)." Hence, his exposition is a 'development of doctrine', not based on Aquinas' actual thoughts. That caveat aside, I found O'Meara's exposition of Thomas' ecclesiology as a continuation of the incarnation interesting. Other topics like the virtues, the Trinity and Christology get their due.

He gives an excellent overview of the "effective history" of pluriuniform Thomisms, charting its ability to generate "perennial" understandings. He traces through its censorship in 1277, his canonization in 1323, the commentaries during the Renaissance & Reformation, his influence on the Jesuit Suarez (who is a Catholic thinker in his own right), its demise in the Baroque era (overly caught up in the encyclopedic method) and its revival in the Romantic era. Most interesting was O'Meara's discussion of the varieties of neo-Thomism as a preparation for Vatican II, ranging from the commentaries of Sertillanges, the open Thomism of Maritain, the historical retrievies of Gilson & Chenu & Congar, the transcendental Thomisms of Rahner & Lonergan. At the least, O'Meara has helped me to see that much of "progressive" Catholicism is consistent with Aquinas' premises. But I was left wondering, if I may rephrase Alisdair MacIntyre, "Whose Thomas? whose Catholicism?"

On a positive note, he is also an excellent writer. E.g. on Aquinas' view of the pervasiveness of grace in creation, he writes: "[T]he world of Aquinas is one of active and colorful diversity: blue dragon-flies are equipped like amphibious airplanes to skim across the water searching for food or partners; out of its life-principle the deer find food and shelter in the forests of summer and winter, while above, far away, suns are being formed from fiery elements. God works in creation - but he works even more powerfully and subtly in the special reign of God. Grace lives in the depth of our personalities, empowering prayer, compassion (119)."

All in all, this is an excellent work, which I was consistently excited to read.

PS I would recommend reading Etienne Gilson's _The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas_. I certainly also hope to see both volumes of J-P Torell's _Initiation a saint Thomas d'Aquin. Sa Personne et son oeuvre_ in english translation (volume 1 is out already ISBN# 081320853X )

Why is it that the some of the best books have the shortest shelf life? This is an example of such. Dr. Geisler's book on Aquinas is one of, I think, only two or three evangelical books that deal exclusively with Aquinas. Geisler covers all the essentials of Aquinas such as Aquinas' life and upbringing, Aquinas' view of the Bible, faith and reason, first principles, Aquinas' epistemology, metaphysics, and his arguments for the existence of God. Geisler also covers what Aquinas taught about God and time (how an eternal God can relate to a temporal world), God's nature, and much more. While the book is not an exhaustive text (this was not intended), it is the best assessment and exposition of Aquinas by an evangelical. Unfortunately, the book is out of print and you will have to get Amazon to track it down for you... Whether you are evangelical or not, but very interested in Aquinas, then you need to read this book.

In this gem of a book, St. Thomas expounds upon the words of some of the most beautiful prayers ever composed. Many of these words which are somewhat obscure, such as "hallowed" in the Our Father, are explained in a clear and concise way by him. Unlike some of his other works which are geared more towards the scholarly minded, this one is reader friendly, one that everyone can enjoy.

Aquinas' "Treatise on Happiness", comprising the first 21 questions of the "Summa Theologicae", is one of the greatest pieces of philosophy. The essence of the questions is the notion that happiness must be found in "a vision of the divine essence", namely, God. While I am an atheist, I do find Aquinas' arguments intriguing. The object of happiness, he argues, is to no longer have desires, i.e., one's intellectual and willful curiosity is fulfilled. Because of this, one is not satisfied in merely knowing something, he argues, but in also knowing the cause. Therefore, even if one does know God exists, he states, one cannot be happy without knowing the cause of God. This can only be achieved through unity with God, most likely after death. It's a somewhat grim realisation for those hoping to achieve inner peace within their lifetimes, but a very fascinating and transcendentally Christian one.

Aquinas, of course, is best known for his fusing of the philosophy of the Greek rationalists, namely Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, with that of the Christian spiritualists, including Augustine. The "Treatise" is worth reading simply for this fact- that the fundamental system of Western education is based upon the fusion of rationality and spirituality, as first pioneered by Aquinas. The object, to achieve "imperfect", or earthly, happiness, and then attempt "perfect" transcendent happiness, has such import in Western culture that understanding the history of Europe and the West is contingent on a comprehension of Aquinas' theories.

"To perfect the old by means of the new" Lonergan took the task of determining what the old really was. 'Verbum' is the result from the long years reaching up to the mind of St. Thomas. Not to the concepts used by St. Thomas but to the acts of thinking in him to revive his thinking mind again for today.

Intelligence and reason are proper capacities of human being in Greek tradition. Understanding and Judgment are unique characteristics of imago Dei in christian tradition. 'Verbum'(inner word) is the key to the self-understanding of human being. Who am I as a human being? Grasp the acts of understanding and judgment! Then you will know what truth is, what being is, and what metaphysics is all about.

Those who wish to know what the old key in Thomistic tradition was, read 'Verbum' and 'Grace and freedom'. Those who wish to know how we can add to and perfect the old by means of the new, read 'Insight' and 'Method in Theology'. These two couples show separately old things and new things in the order of nature and supernature.

Humans are always the same in their natural potencies. Internal acts are always something like "?" then "!" then "..."

We ask, we understand, we conceptualize what we understand. we reflect, we judge, and we assert that it is so. We deliberate, we love, and we will act.

There are some books to help us to act properly. And 'Verbum' is surely one of them.

An excellent book about the life and times of a great saint. It would be hard to estimate the spiritual fruit which this man's intellect has produced. The Catholic Church as well as intellectual life in general has benifited much from his life and writings. This is a well written book and hard to put down. I gave it four stars, however, because it is a novel more about the historical situation of the saint than the saint himself. Although the book did try and speculate about the some of the motivations of the saint, it failed to tackle his philosophy. Nevertheless, the book is sure to inspire further readings, especially into Thomas' own writings.

I could not have been older than 12 when I first read Louis De Wohl's THE QUIET LIGHT.

It was certainly not a children's book. Instead, it was the passed-along gift of an aunt --fittingly, a Daughter of Charity who in those days sported the intimidating wings that Sally Field would later demystify for me-- and one of the many books on a wide range of genres and topics she carried on long train rides from El Paso to St. Louis.

THE QUIET LIGHT also was, I believe, instrumental in sparking my earliest desire to write my own novels.

And that is surprising, because De Wohl's narrative, character development, and spellbinding prose made THE QUIET LIGHT much more than the fictionalized biography of Thomas Aquinas I had expected. It was nothing less than a staggering example of compelling storytelling which, by the sheer enormity of talent displayed, should have intimidated any aspiring/wanna-be writer.

Be advised: you will come away from THE QUIET LIGHT with more than the pleasure of having read a masterly crafted novel of the Middle Ages. Rather, you will find yourself informed and educated on everything from the Crusades to the philosopical infighting then being waged throughout both Europe and the Saracen worlds to the intrigues of the Italian nobility and their Germanic, decidedly unholy Holy Roman Emperor. You will marvel at how De Wohl weaves all this into a story that is filled with richly drawn characters, both historical and fictional.

By the end of THE QUIET LIGHT, you may even discover you have learned something about how to tell a story in a way that makes the reader mourn that he or she has reached the end of the book.

THE QUIET LIGHT is that good. So is Louis De Wohl.

--Earl Merkel
(Author of FLU SEASON and LIKE DISTANT CITIES BURNING, Penguin/Putnam's New American Library; both books are due out in Summer 2001).

This edifying novel about the life of St. Thomas Aquinas actually focuses on the people who were all touched by his serene, cheerful, ascetic way of living. Carefully told through the eyes of the faithful knight-turned friar-turned knight again, his devoted sister, his protective mother, his arrogant brothers, and his fellow priests, the story reveals to us how a simple man brought spiritual strength and renewal to those around him, during a time of great political turmoil. The author does not tell the story through the lips of St. Thomas. At times, we may even feel cheated, thinking to ourselves that the story deviates too much from the simple life of the Dominican monk, to focus on the other characters. However, this ingenious manner of story-telling alludes fittingly to the way Thomas lived: quietly, doing the work of God, contemplating on mysteries only he shared with God, praying for those he loved, and discreetly staying away from all the attention he deserved.

Torrell's book is a two-fold masterpiece, but it is not for the faint-of-intellect. Die-hard Thomists will find the historical exegesis of scholarship on Aquinas' life and work to be the most fundamentally rigorous to date. Interspersed within this technical exposition are invaluable insights into the person of Aquinas as a man of faith first and foremost. For me, this book was a joy to read and I am utilizing it in a graduate seminar I will be teaching on Aquinas. That being said, I must warn the non-Thomist reader that they may find this book dry at times in its extreme historical exposition. The best approach to this book for the average reader is to skim through to find the gems contained within. Hence, I highly recommend this book to fans of Thomas Aquinas and cannot wait for the translation of Torrell's second volume to appear.

Torrell has provided the philosophical community with a most thoroughly detailed account of one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk this planet.

From the youth of Aquinas to his death, Torrell takes his reader on a historical journey through the life, events, thoughts, and works of St. Thomas Aquinas. Torrell uses the best resources available, and painstakingly documents all his sources. What is more, if certain things have been attributed to legend or mere 'story telling for the sake of story telling,' Torrell makes his reader aware of this fact. Thus, his research is honest, and quite detailed.

Every dispute between Aquinas and the Church or other clergy is included. Aquinas' years in Paris are detailed, the things he taught, the people he associated with, his travels, his writings, his habits (which have been documented), his writing methods, etc. all are detailed in this account. In fact, I do not think there is one stone left unturned that can actually be turned in the life of Aquinas, that Torrell has not touched.

Toward the end of this work, which it should be pointed out is written and organized in a nice chronological fashion, Torrell makes mention of those groups who after Aquinas' death formed cults in their following of Aquinas. Moreover, I enjoyed Torrell's account of Aquinas because it was real. What I mean by that is Torrell did not elevate Aquinas to an 'other than human' level and put him high on a pedestal. Rather, Torrell painted a picture of the real Aquinas, warts and all.

If you are wanting a detailed account of Aquinas and his whole life, works, events, etc. then this is the only text you may ever need (although there are others available which would be very helpful as well - i.e. James Weisheipl's account "Friar Thomas D'Aquino, which has been considered the standard biography). I highly recommend Torrell's work and wished I could have given it another star!

This book is "The Thinner Aquinas," a targeted text specifically focusing on Aquinas's political and ethical writings.

Incluced are obvious selections from Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica (Five Ways of God's Existence and Essay on Law), but also included are excerpts from "De Regimine Principum."

There are hidden treasures in the back, excerpts from backgound sources and essays that influenced and were influenced by Thomisitic thought.

This book is geared towards a poltical scientist and poltical philosopher. For the theologian or the philosopher, however, I would reccomed Penguin Classics "Selected Writings."

PS--Nice picture on the cover!

This is a truly excellent selection of Thomistic writing, both by the Angelic Doctor and his critics and modern-day followers. It is not only comprehensive on the subject of Aquinas's politics and ethics but it is a good introduction to Thomism and natural law theory in general. Mortimer Adler's spanking of Bill Moyers on the subject of objective ethics is worth the price of the book just by itself.

If you don't know Latin, you will have trouble fully understanding what Gilson says, for he uses many Latin quotes from St. Thomas, and Latin slogans, which are left untranslated. The book is a terrific examination and refutation of the recent attempts of neo-Thomists to establish a "critical ralism," which, so Gilson argues, is impossible because it is self-contradictory. There is no such thing as a critical realism. Gilson shows and explains why true Thomistic/Aristotelian realism is beyond the Critique of Knowledge and refuses to pose the critical problem. As soon as one accepts the Cartesian Cogito as one's starting point, it is inevitable that one will fall into idealism. True realism defies the Cogito, and can do so reasonably, for it starts with the true first principle, which is being. An excellet book by an excellent neo-Thomistic author, but sometimes hard to understand. What a pity it's out of print...

Etienne Gilson brilliantly plumbs the depths of Thomistic Realism, and false Thomisms as well, in this answer to Kantian modernism. The volume, exquisitely translated, is 'must reading' for any student entering the modern university. This book brings the essential elements of philosophy into view as a cohesive, readily understandable, and erudite structure, and does so rigorously in the best tradition of St. Thomas. If you must read only one book on philosophy or if you want to make philosophy you life's work, read this book first.

This book is good if you are new to studying Aquinas, but considering in the inreoduction Kreft suggest not skipping the objections and reading the "on the contrary" and the "I answer that" first, he certainly edits many of the articles this way. It is my opinion that Kreeft cut out too much text.

Summa of the Summa (hereafter SS) is a simply wonderful abridgment of Aquinas' Summa Theologica (hereafter ST). Professor Kreeft has done a superlative job of assembling those parts of ST that will be of most interest to readers new to Aquinas' thought. The text is drawn from the Dominican Benzinger Brothers translation of ST, still the most faithful to Aquinas original language and still the most widely available complete edition of ST in English. Kreeft includes a fine glossary of technical terms in ST likely to be unfamiliar to most readers, and a short, readable introductory essay that gives an interesting discussion of the structure of ST. Rather than include a lengthy introductory commentary on the classic text as do many editors, Kreeft includes his comments in footnotes, which appear frequently and are quite extensive. To give one example, to accompany Aquinas' famous "five ways" to prove the existence of God on pp. 57-70, Kreeft provides approximately eight pages worth of footnotes. The footnotes that discuss Aquinas only are nearly always illuminating, and will prove invaluable to readers as they study the primary text. I believe readers of SS will be able to progress more smoothly to the complete ST if they so choose than they could with any other abridgment of ST or other anthology of Aquinas' writings now in print. At the same time, SS is a fine, self-contained introduction to Aquinas' thought.

The only disappointing aspect of SS is its discussion of philosophical positions that are at variance with Aquinas. Like many philosophers working in Roman Catholic institutions, Kreeft has a tendency to present false straw-man interpretations of philosophers whose conclusions he disagrees with, and then to "refute" these philosophers by kicking down the straw men. (For the record, I am Roman Catholic.) For instance, on a footnote on p. 522, Kreeft erroneously attributes to Hobbes the view that people are naturally vicious and to Hume the view that knowledge is nothing other than the passive reception and ordering of sense impressions. Kreeft strongly hints to the reader here that Aquinas' own positions are more cogent than those of Hume and Hobbes, but this is misleading since the footnote presents a "straw-man Hobbes" and a "straw man Hume". Kreeft's tendency to misinterpret and then unfairly dismiss certain important philosophical doctrines even leads him to occasionally misrepresent Aquinas. For instance, in a footnote on pp. 430-431 Kreeft claims that Aquinas' example on these pages refutes utilitarianism. In fact, the classical doctrine of utilitarianism as John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick formulated it is designed to show that the very example Aquinas gives is a CONSEQUENCE of utilitarianism.

In summation, readers can profit immensely from a careful study of the classic text and supplementary materials in SS, but they should take care not to trust anything said here about philosophers who disagree with Aquinas at face value.

Dr. Kreeft provides an excellent introduction here in this anthology of of Aquinas' work. The way it is laid out works very well - Aquinas' writings appear first - then Dr. Kreeft's helpful remarks on the text are footnoted at the bottom of the page. No page flipping is necessary to get his comments - and they dont get in the way with reading the primary text either.

The book begins with a glossary of terms needed to comprehend Aquinas' thought. Unless you are familiar with these terms, you should really take the time to learn them before embarking on the rest of the book.

This book is a very good introduction and reference for Aqunias' thought. For absolute beginners with no background at all in Aristotelian philosophy however, you will probably want to first read Mortimer J. Adler's "Aristotle for Everybody" before tackling this book.