§ELECTIONS FROM

SUMMA THEOLOGIAE
BY
THOMAS AQUINAS
The Summa Theologiae was written by Thomas Aquinas and was originally
published in 1485. The text of the Summa Theologiae presented here is excerpted
from the translation originally published in 1911 by the Fathers of the English
Dominican Province, as modified by Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P.

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 Introduction
W
fior.,,
HAT IS HAPPINESS?" "WHAT is the best and happiest life that a
human being can live?" "What kind oflife ought I to be aiming
,
These are some of the most important questions that a person can
ask. They are classic philosophical questions, but they are not only for
philosophers. No one is exempt from asking them. They touch every
person, every life. And, in a sense, the answer that one gives will shed
light on every action in one's life, inasmuch as every action that we do
has an aim or a goal in mind.
Human beings tend to be unhappy when they feel purposeless, or
when they are not able to orient their lives towards some larger goal.
Indeed, this seems to be the most characteristic thing about human·
beings, as distinct from other kinds of animals. We act in the most
essentially human way when we act with a purpose, by choice: when we
think about what we should do, and intentionally choose to do it, as a part
ofa larger plan or aim. Human beings are thinking, deliberating, choos­
ing, purpose-driven creatures-a truth that contemporary research by
secular scholars has increasingly validated.
Bees and lions and blue whales also act in ways that seem impres­
sively coherent. A beehive's activity is highly organized, but we don't
generally assume that bees themselves think about what they are aim­
ing at, understand what they are doing, or deliberate about the best ways
4 INTRODUCTION

to arrive at their goal. That is, a human being is an animal that not
only has certain urges-like other animals, humans certainly do have
those-but is also able to think abstractly about what is good, to delib­
erate about how to achieve the good, and then chooses to do it.
What is more, human beings often organize not only individual
acts, but whole projects, with short-term goals and long-term objec­
tives. It's possible, ofcourse, to flit from good to good, from pleasure to
pleasure, but this is hardly the kind oflife that satisfies us in any deep
way. Rather, we are most human when we make decisions for our future
in view ofsome higher or overarching aim or goal in life.
What should the aim or goal of the whole oflife be? If there is an
answer to this question, then knowing it would be one of the most
important ingredients for a flourishing human life. The archer needs to
know the target if he is to hit his mark, and we should likewise think
about the aim ofour life ifwe want it to turn out well. We might even
consider turning to a reliable guide to help us think the matter through.
And for this, Thomas Aquinas can be a great help.

Thomas Aquinas and the Searchfor Happiness

Before we discuss Aquinas's account ofhow to arrange one's life in the

pursuit oftrue and lasting happiness, we should review the remarkable
life of this famous philosopher, theologian, and-according to con-·
temporary eyewitnesses-mystical contemplative. As a young man,
he thought very carefully about what the aim ofhis life should be, and
showed an extraordinary perseverance in its pursuit. Not only his writ­
ing, but also his personal story, has much to teach us.
Thomas Aquinas was born in 1224 or 12251 the youngest son ofan
aristocratic Italian family. At a young age, he was sent (with his nurse)
to be schooled by the Benedictine monks at the famous abbey ofMonte
Cassino, originally founded 700 years earlier by St. Benedict himself.
(Such early schooling was not unusual in that epoch, especially for the
sons of prominent families-one might think of the contemporary
equivalent ofa boarding school for the children ofwealthy parents.) It
6 INTRODUCTION

The young Thomas's refusal ofMonte Cassino and his insistence on

wearing the Dominican habit give us a telling insight into his character,
much like the dramatic gestures of Francis of Assisi. Thomas's scho­
lastic works do not often betray much of his personality, except when
he writes ( years later, as a theologian) about the choice of a vocation.
There, two recurring themes shine clearly through his normally terse
Latin. First, he defends with fierce insistence that, when called by God
to follow Christ's own example-living in voluntary poverty in order to
preach the Gospel (as the Dominicans did, and still do)-a young man
should obey God rather than his parents. "Having passed the age of
puberty, whoever is free has the right to dispose ofhimselfin the choice
of a state oflife, especially ifit concerns serving God. Better to obey the
Father ofspirits (Hebrews 12:9) through whom we live than to obey the
generators of our flesh."
Second, Thomas prized highly the Dominican life especially
because it was devoted to the contemplation of God in Christ, both in
prayer and also in a life of reverential study of the Word of God and of
the created world, God's book of nature. For Thomas, man is made in
the image of God principally because of his spiritual capacity to know
and to love: to know God by faith, and to love him by divine charity.
This image of God in us is thus brought to perfection as, by God's grace
and in faith, we concentrate all ofthe energy and resources ofthe human
mind and soul on knowing and loving Him more, so that our minds and
hearts would be raised up to God.
The determined choices of the young Thomas Aquinas set him on
a path to become one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of
the Western tradition. He inherited the great Christian tradition ofthe
Church Fathers, whom he studied assiduously and quoted frequently.
He was an insightful disciple of St. Augustine. Initiated by his teacher,
St. Albert the Great (founder ofthe University ofCologne), to the study
ofnature, Thomas developed a love for knowledge both ofcreation and
of divine revelation. He also devoted himself to the careful study ofthe
newly-rediscovered works of Aristotle (from roughly the 6th century
onwards, many of the texts ofAristotle's works were unavailable in the
INTRODUCTION 7

West, until their reintroduction and translation into Latin, integrating

their insights into the broad synthesis of the Christian tradition that
he inherited from the Church Fathers.)
At each of the universities where he lectured, Aquinas's principal
assignment was to teach the Bible. He also prepared (at the Pope's per­
sonal request) the first comprehensive running commentary on the
four Gospels composed entirely of quotations from homilies and com­
mentaries of Church Fathers.

Aquinas's Most Important Works

Aquinas is most famous for his great systematic works, especially his
Summa Contra Gentiles and his Summa Theologiae. In them, one sees
Thomas's unique genius for synthesis and clarity: he attempted to pres­
ent the whole of Christian theology according to a pedagogical order
that allows the "beginner" to progress in orderly fashion through the
whole subject. The Summa Theologiae is arguably the most important
single work of Aquinas. He wrote it while teaching his other courses,
because he thought that the existing university education was disorga­
nized and therefore unnecessarily repetitious and tedious.
Even though it was written as a theological work, it also contains
an impressive range of philosophical discussions, from proofs for
God's existence, to a philosophy of nature and of human knowledge,
and even extending to questions of justice and politics. Aquinas like­
wise presents a formidable and comprehensive philosophical analysis
of human passions and emotions, imagination, memory, virtue, and
human free agency.
Aquinas's breadth of knowledge and intellectual interests were
staggering, and he was extraordinary in his own day for the degree to
which he integrated diverse sources: Scripture and the Church Fathers,
both Greek and Latin; the decisions of Church Councils; ancient Greek
philosophy; Christian Neo-Platonism; Arabic philosophy; a wide array
of views of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries; and even
what we now might call experimental science.