ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, (1225?-74)

The Roman Catholic church regards St. Thomas Aquinas as its
greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope John XXII canonized him
in 1323, and Pius V declared him a doctor of the church in 1567.
Leo XIII made him patron of Roman Catholic schools in 1880.

Thomas Aquinas, or Thomas of Aquino, was born in about 1225 in the
castle of Roccasecca, near Naples. His father was the count of Aquino.
The boy received his early education at the abbey of Monte Cassino
before attending the University of Naples. While at the university
Thomas came under the influence of the Dominicans, an order of
mendicant preaching friars. In spite of the opposition of his family,
he joined the order. His brothers captured him and imprisoned him at Roccasecca. After two years he escaped.

The Dominicans then sent Thomas to Cologne to study with Albertus
Magnus, the most learned man of the time. In 1252 Thomas was in Paris composing his 'Commentaries on the Books of Sentences of Peter the
Lombard'. He was later admitted as master of theology at the
University of Paris. In 1259 the pope called Thomas to Rome. He spent
the rest of his life lecturing and preaching in the service of his
order, chiefly in Italian cities and in Paris. He died on March 7,
1274, while traveling to a church council at Lyons.

A revival of learning had begun in Western Europe toward the end of
the 11th century. By the 13th century many universities had been
founded. They were linked to the church, and the chief subjects taught
were theology and the liberal arts. The teachers were called Schoolmen
or Scholastics. Thomas was recognized in his lifetime as the greatest
of the Schoolmen and was known as the "angelic doctor."

The Schoolmen accepted Christian doctrines as beyond dispute, but they
also studied the ancient Greek philosophers. Until the 13th century
they relied on Plato as interpreted by St. Augustine of Hippo.
Aristotle's treatises on logic were also admitted into the schools,
but his other works, which were known in their Arabic translations,
were forbidden because of their pantheistic tendencies. Albertus
Magnus introduced Thomas to the works of Aristotle, which were
beginning to be translated from the original Greek. Thomas set himself
the tasks of harmonizing Aristotle's teachings with Christian
doctrine.

Thomas held that there are two sources of knowledge: revelation
(theology) and reason (philosophy). He held that revelation is a
divine source of knowledge and that revealed truths must be believed
even when they cannot be fully understood. His literary output was
enormous. At times he dictated to several scribes on different
subjects. His chief works are 'Summa Contra Gentiles' and 'Summa
Theologiae'.

Beth,
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080