Table Of Content

GUIDE TO THOMAS AQUINAS JOSEF PIEPER Guide to Thomas Aquinas Translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO Title of the German original: Hinführung zu Thomas von Aquin © 1986 Kosel-Verlag, Munich Third revised edition of Hinführung zu Thomas von Aquin Cover art by Christopher J. Pelicano Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum Translation © 1962 by Pantheon Books Published 1991 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco All rights reserved ISBN 978-0-89870-319-1 Library of Congress catalogue number 90-86251 Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS PREFACE I The “Occidental” century scarcely a harmonious era. Thomas brings in a short spell of “classical” breadth. Remarks on the Aquinas literature: Chesterton, Grabmann, Chenu, Gilson. What is known concerning Thomas’ education II Thomas’ canonization, elevation to “doctor of the church” and “universal teacher.” How is Thomas an exemplar? Perfection and originality. His desire to omit nothing whatsoever. The first decisions: for the “Bible” and “Aristotle.” The voluntary poverty movement and the beginnings of the Dominican Order III Entrance into the Dominican Order. “Evangelical perfection” and passion for teaching. His original concern imperiled: the Inquisition. The attitude of St. Thomas. Aristotle and the Christianity of the High Middle Ages. Peter of Hibernia, a new type IV Thomas does not become an “Aristotelian”! Affirmation of the visible world. The historical Aristotle is not in question. “As the truth of things stands. . .” What the quotation means—both for us today and for Thomas v V But for Thomas, Aristotle would no longer speak to our intellects. The problem of “unhistorical” interpretation. The medieval university: in spite of the faculty’s doctrinal powers, not a part of the hierarchy; an institution for all of Christendom; tie to the city. Paris: the purest embodiment of the idea of a university VI Thomas and Paris, “his natural arena.” The “Mendicant Controversy”; the mendicant orders invade the university. The first years of teaching. Beginnings of the written works VII Disputation as a literary form. Origins in the Platonic dialogue and the Aristotelian Topics. The structural form of the articulus in the works of Thomas. Spirit of disputation: listening to the interlocutor; respecting his argument and person; addressing oneself to him; refraining from arbitrary jargon; seeking clarity, not sensationalism. The disputation as the realm in which universality is achieved. Possible reason for the degeneration of public discussion today: the lack of proper models VIII Thomas above all a teacher—in spite of multifarious special assignments. Teaching as a mode of intellectual life. Thinking from the beginner’s point of view. Mastery of the pedagogue’s trade. Bird’s-eye view of the “major works.” The opuscula; the commentaries; the Quaestiones disputatae; the two Summas. The Summa theologua as reflection of events IX Medieval Latin not a dead language. University and “technical” language. From Cicero and Seneca through Boethius to Thomas: translation from the Greek, The creative element in this process of assimilation. Verbal beauty in Thomas; language utterly an instrument. Nevertheless, avoidance of artificial technical terminology. Distrust of “terminology.” Living usage as the standard. Sobriety the expression of extreme receptivity to reality X The task that Thomas set himself: to create an intellectual synthesis in which the natural world and knowledge were given their due—as well as the supernatural and belief, so that both realms achieve full recognition. Pronounced worldliness. Unabashed affirmation of the body. Effect upon the style of theological thought. He simultaneously ranges himself against the secularism of Siger of Brabant and the unworldliness of the dominant theology. Theologically founded worldliness. The arguments from creation and from the Incarnation. The keystone of the Christian West: acceptance of the world along with a receptivity to the supramundane call XI Non-Occidental Christianity, “The West” not the sum of institutions but a historical design. Readiness for ever new conflicts. The “existential” interpretation of the concept of Being and God. “I am Who Am.” Existence as a product of the actus purus. Everything that exists is not only good, but holy. The role of philosophising and the role of theologizing in Thomas. The concepts of “philosophy” and “theology.” Their co-ordination can be meaningfully discussed only insofar as both are accepted as legitimate acts of the intellect XII Philosophy and theology both deal with the Whole of reality—insofar as the encountered phenomena are seen by the gaze fixed upon them and insofar as the “speech of God” is heard by believers. The problem of methodologically neat delimitation is extraneous here: both philosopher and theologian must be ready to incorporate any available information on reality into their intellectual structures. Ancilla theologiae? Theology stands in need of the totality of natural knowledge of the world. The Summa theologica not a “closed system.” Its fragmentary character is part of its statement. Negative theology and negative philosophy. Immunization against false claims of finality KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS NOTES PREFACE This book is closet to the spoken than to the written language. It is based on a series of university lectures given before collective student bodies. Its purpose and scope are precisely what the title suggests: to serve as a guide and introduction. It is intended neither as a detailed biography of Thomas nor as a systematic and comprehensive interpretation of his doctrines. Nor is it meant to be an original contribution to the historical study of medieval philosophy. Everyone acquainted with the field will see at once to what degree my account is based, far beyond specific quotation, on the works of Marie-Dominique Chenu, Etienne Gilson, Fernand van Steenberghen, and others. The purpose of these lectures is to sketch, against the background of his times and his life, a portrait of Thomas Aquinas as he truly concerns philosophical-minded persons today, not merely as a historical personage but as a thinker who has something to say to our own era. I earnestly hope that the speculative attitude which was Thomas’ most salient trait as Christianity’s “universal teacher” will emerge clearly and sharply from my exposition. It is to this end alone, I repeat, that I present the following chapters, and it is this aspect for which I accept full responsibility. J. P. GUIDE TO THOMAS AQUINAS