Thomas Aquinas

Life and legacy

Thomas was born into a noble family at Roccasecca, near Aquino in southern Italy. His family sent him to the Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino at age five, expecting him to become abbot. Instead, as a student at the University of Naples, Thomas was drawn to the new Dominican order of mendicant friars. His family was so opposed to this choice that they imprisoned him in the family castle for nearly a year, but Thomas remained resolute and eventually joined the Dominicans.

At the University of Paris and then at Cologne, Thomas studied under Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great), the most learned man of his age. The other students called the quiet, heavyset Thomas "the Dumb Ox," to which Albertus reportedly replied, "You call him the Dumb Ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world." Thomas went on to become master of theology at Paris and spent the rest of his life teaching, writing, and preaching.

His greatest work, the Summa Theologiae, begun in 1265 and left unfinished at his death, is a vast systematic treatment of the whole of Christian theology. What made it revolutionary was Thomas's method: he drew extensively on the philosophy of Aristotle, whose works had only recently been translated into Latin from Arabic and Greek sources, and used Aristotelian logic and metaphysics to address theological questions. He also engaged seriously with Islamic and Jewish philosophers, particularly Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Maimonides, incorporating and critiquing their arguments.

Thomas argued that faith and reason are not opposed but complementary. Reason, he held, can prove certain truths, such as the existence of God, through natural philosophy, while other truths, like the Trinity, are accessible only through divine revelation. His "Five Ways," five arguments for the existence of God, remain among the most discussed arguments in the history of philosophy. His ethical thought, grounded in Aristotelian virtue theory and natural law, has influenced not only theology but also political philosophy, jurisprudence, and human rights theory.

On December 6, 1273, Thomas experienced something during Mass that caused him to stop writing entirely. He told his secretary Reginald of Piperno, "Everything I have written seems like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me." He died three months later, on March 7, 1274, while traveling to the Council of Lyon. He was canonized in 1323, and in 1567, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. His philosophy, known as Thomism, remains the official philosophical framework of the Catholic Church.

Key accomplishments

• Wrote the Summa Theologiae, a systematic synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy
• Developed the "Five Ways," influential arguments for the existence of God
• Synthesized the rediscovered philosophy of Aristotle with Christian thought, transforming Western intellectual history
• Engaged seriously with Islamic and Jewish philosophy, particularly Averroes and Maimonides
• Declared Doctor of the Church; his Thomist philosophy remains foundational in Catholic teaching

Quotes

Everything I have written seems like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me.

Reported by Reginald of Piperno, December 1273

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