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Aquinas, Thomas, and Daniel J. Sullivan. The Summa Theologica. Chicago: Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1955. Print.
Saint Thomas Aquinas was born c. 1225 in Roccasecca, Kingdom of Sicily (which, at the time,
extended into the Italian mainland). It was common for the younger of sons of aristocratic
families to study religion rather than military careers, so Thomas was enrolled at the monastery
in Monte Cassino at age five. When the conflict between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and
Pope Gregory IX began to spill into Italy in 1239, Thomass education had to be moved to a
university in Naples. He was fourteen years old at the time, and it was likely his first exposure to
the thinkers associated with higher learning at the time, such as Averroes, Maimonides, or the
still-popular Aristotle. In some years, Thomas was inspired to become a member of the Order of
Preachers, or the Dominican Order, as it would later become known as. Since this order was one
of friars, his parents were strongly opposed to Thomass new aspiration; friars lived on the
generosity of others and wandered, preaching. They were viewed as beggars and nuisances.
The Aquinas family had Thomas imprisoned within its castle for roughly a year in an
attempt to dissuade him, but his unflinching resolve led his mother to release secretly and avoid
further public dishonor, rather than openly give in to the Order. Under the Church, Thomas
traveled to Paris to study under Albertus Magnus, who now also possesses sainthood. When
Albertus moved to Cologne to teach at a recently established university, Thomas followed and
continued to study quietly and shyly, for which some other students supposed that Thomas was
dumb. Albertus defended Thomas, that one day Thomas would, too, rise to fame as in his
teachings. Albertus was correct. Thomass works, ultimately, rose to such prominence that their
author is considered the most important among all Catholic scholars. His adult career would
comprise of a great deal of intrigue within the church, and certainly too much to be written here.
Similar to other sources of mine, Thomas Aquinas points towards introspection for
intellectual maturation and development, writing, The human mind may perceive truth only

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through thinking, as is clear from Augustine. He examines the nature of his religion through
introspection, which I find quite interesting. Im an atheist, but enjoy reading the texts and
opinions of many religions; Aquinas appears to feel the same as a Christian. I believe his faith
and understanding of his God would only be strengthened by exposure to the other religions or
non-religious beliefs.
Other Quotes: Pipes are not to be used for teaching, nor any artificial instruments, as the harp,
or the like: but whatsoever will make the hearers good men.
I answer that, As Augustine says (De Moribus Eccl. vi), "the soul needs to follow something in
order to give birth to virtue: this something is God: if we follow Him we shall live aright.
Analysis: For better or worse, I found Thomas Aquinas to be the most challenging read. In a way,
this is bizarre as some other sources are considered more difficult, especially given some of them
I even read in languages other than English. Perhaps it is that Aquinas holds views that are
actually almost parallel to mine, but incredibly far-distant. In a way, they made a great deal of
sense from first reading, but it was my perception of this that caught me off-guard so greatly. I
may have mentioned in another inquiry assignment, but when studying Hegel, I felt a similar
influence. My atheist views are parallel to Hegels and Aquinass Christian views, but their views
are built on bases that depend on belief in Christianity. Further introspection into atheism
allowed me a greater understanding and empathy of these authors.