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 THOMAS

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THOMAS

tion of the canonical writings, the works of St. Thomas surpass all others in "accuracy of expression and truth of statement" (habet proprietatem verboruni, modum dicendorum, veritatem sententiarum). Great orators, such as Bossuet, Lacordaire, Monsabre, have studied his style, and have been influenced by it, but they could not reproduce it. The same is true of theological writers. Cajetan knew St. Thomas's style better than any of his disciples, but Cajetan is beneath his great master in clearness and accuracy of expression, in soberness and solidity of judgment. St. Thomas did not attain to this perfection without an effort. He was a singularly blessed genius, but he was also an indefatigable worker, and by continued application he reached that stage of perfection in the art of writing where the art disappears. "The author's manuscript of the Summa Contra Gentiles is still in great part extant. It is now in the Vatican Library. The manuscript consists of strips of parch- ment, of various shades of colour, contained in an old parchment cover to which they were originally stitched. The writing is in double column, and diffi- cult to decipher, abounding in abbreviations, often passing into a kind of shorthand. Throughout many passages a line is drawn in sign of erasure" (Rickaby, op. cit., preface: see Ucelh ed., "Sum. cont. gent.", Rome, 1S7S).

III. Influences exerted on St. Thomas. — How was this great genius formed? The causes that exerted an influence on St. Thomas were of two kinds, natural and supernatural.

A. Natural Causes. — (1) As a foimdation, he "was a witty child, and had received a good soul" (Wis., viii, 19). From the beginning he manifested preco- cious and extraordinary talent and thoughtfulness beyond his years. (2) His education was such that great things might have been expected of him. His training at Monte Cassino, at Naples, Paris, and Cologne was the best that the thirteenth century could give, and that century was the golden age of educa- tion. That it afforded excellent opportunities for forming great philosophers and theologians is evident from the character of St. Thomas's contemporaries. Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, St. Bonaven- ture, St. Raymond of Pennafort, l?oger Bacon, Hugo a S. Charo, Vincent of Beauvais, not to mention scores of others, prove beyond all doubt that those were days of really great scholars. (See Walsh, " The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries", New York, 1907.) The men who trained St. Thomas were his teachers at Monte Cassino and Naples, but above all Albertus Magnus, under whom he studied at Paris and Cologne. (3) The books that exercised the greatest influence on his mind were the Bible, the Decrees of the councils and of the popes, the works of the Fathers, Greek and Latin, especially of St. Augu.stine, the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard, the writings of the philosophers, especially of Plato, Aristotle, and Boethius. If from these authors any were to be selected for special mention, undoubtedly they would be Aristotle, St. Augustine, and Peter Lombard. In another sense the writings of St. Thomas were influenced by Aver- roes, the chief opponent whom he had to combat in order to defend and make known the true Aristotle. (4) It must be borne in mind that St. Thomas was blessed with a retentive memory and great powers of penetration. Father Daniel d'Agusta once pressed him to say what he considered the greatest grace he had ever received, sanctifying grace of course excep- ted. "I think that of having imderstood wliatever I have read", was the reply. St. Antoninus declared that "he remembered everything he had read, so that his mind was like a huge library" (cf. Drane, op. cit., p. 427; Vaughan, op. cit., II, p. 507). The bare enumeration of the texts of Scripture cited in the "Summa tlicdldgica" fills eighty small-print columns in the .Migne edition, and by many it is not unrea.son-

ably supposed that he learned the Sacred Books by heart while he was imprisoned in the Castle of San Giovanni. Like St. Dominic he had a special love for the Epistles of St. Paul, on which he ^\Tote com- mentaries (recent edition in 2 vols., Turin, 1891). (.5) Deep reverence for the Faith, as made known by tradition, characterizes all his wTitings. The con- suttudo ecclesia- — the practice of the Church — should prevail over the authority of any doctor (II-II, Q. x. a. 12). In the "Summa" he quotes from 19 councils, 41 popes, and 52 leathers of the Church. A slight acquaintance with his writings will show that among the Fathers his favourite was St. Augustine (on the Greek Fathers .see Vaughan, op. cit., II, cc. iii sqq.). (6) With St. Augustine (II De doctr. Christ., c. xl), St. Thomas held that whatever there was of truth in the writings of pagan philosophers should be taken from them, as from "unjust possessors", and adapted to the teaching of the true religion (Sum. theol., I, Q. Ixxxiv, a. 5). In the "Sunima" alone he quotes from the writings of 46 philosophers and poets, his favourite authors being Aristotle, Plato, and, among Christian writers, Boethius. From Aristotle he learned that love of order and accuracy of expression which are characteristic of his own works. From Boethius he learned that Aristotle's works could be used without detriment to Christianity. He did not follow Boethius in his vain attempt to reconcile Plato and Aristotle. In general the Stagirite was his master, but the elevationandgrandeurof St. Thomas's conceptions and the majestic dignity of his methods of treatment speak strongly of the sublime Plato (see Vaughan, op. cit., II, pp. 49, 627 sqq.;Huit, "Le Platonisme au treizieme siecle" in " Annales de Philos. Chretienne", Feb., 1890; "Les elements Platoniciens de la doctrine de St Thomas" in "Revue Thomiste", Nov.-Dec, 1911).

B. Supernatural Causes. — Even if we do not accept as literally true the declaration of John XXII, that St. Thomas wrought as many miracles as there are articles in the "Summa", we must, nevertheless, go beyond causes merely natvnal in attempting to explain his extraordinary career and wonderful WTitings. (1) Purity of mind and body contributes in no small de- gree to clearness of vision (see St. Thomas, "Commen- tariesonICor.,c.vii",Lessonv). By the gift of purity, miraculously granted at the time of the mystic gird- ling, God made Thomas's life angehc; the perspicacity and depth of his intellect, Divine grace aiding, made him the "Angelic Doctor". (2) The spirit of prayer, his great piety and devotion, drew down blessings on his studies. Explaining why he read, every day, por- tions of the "Conferences" of Cassian, he said: "In such reading I find devotion, whence I readily ascend to contemplation" (Priimmer, op. cit., p. 32). In the lessons of the Breviary read on his feast day it is explicitly stated tliat he never began to study without first invoking the assistance of God in prayer; and when he wrestled with obscure passages of the Scrip- tures, to prayer he added fasting. (3) Facts narrated by persons who either knew St. "Thomas in Ufe or wrote at about the time of his canonization prove that he received assistance from heaven. To Father Reginald he declared that he had learned more in prayer and contemplation than he had acquired from men or books (Priimmer, op. cit., p. 36). These same authors tell of mysterious visitors who came to en- courage and enUgliten him. The Blessed Virgin appeared, to a.ssure him that his life and his WTitings were acceptable to God, anil that he would i)ersevere in his holy vocation. Sts. Peter and Paul came to aid him in interpreting an obscure pixssage in Isaijis. When humility caused him to consider himself un- worthy of the doctorate, a venerable religious of his order (supposed to be St. Dominic) appeared to encourage him and suggested the text for his opening discourse (Priimmer, op. cit., 29, 37; Tocco in "Acta