Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/737

 THOMAS

673

THOMAS

\ugiistinian8, the Society of Jpsus, ami many others, ill testify that they are bound by this hivv." Amongst
 * he "many others" the Servites, the Passionists, the

Barnabites, and the Sulpicians have been devoted in m especial manner to the study of St. Thomas. ie S. Thomas d'Aquin", Paris, 1905, pp. 18 sqq.; 3oudin, O.P., "Phil. D. Thorn®", Paris, 1886, in- rod. a 3; Touron, op. cit., V, cc. xi, xii.) The prin- 'ipal ancient universities where St. Thomas ruled as he great master have been enumerated above. The Paris doctors called him the morning star, the lumi- lous sun, the light of the whole Church. Stephen, Bishop of Paris, repressing those who dared to attack he doctrine of "that most excellent Doctor, the jlessed Thomas", calls him "the great luminary of he Catholic Church, the precious stone of the priest- lood, the flower of doctors, and the bright mirror of he University of Paris" (Drane, op. cit., p. 431). [n the old Louvain University the doctors were •equired to uncover and bow their heads when they pronounced the name of Thomas (Goudin, op. cit., ). 21). (On the universities, see Touron, op. cit., L. V, cc. IX, X; Echard, op. cit., I, 435, pp. 15 sqq.;
 * See Berthier, "L'Etude de la Somme Theologique
 * f. also Thomism.)

"The oecumenical councils, where blossoms the lower of all earthly wisdom, have always been careful o hold Thomas Aquinas in singular honour" (Leo 'CIII in "^t. Patris"). This subject has been sufli- 'iently treated above. The "BuUarium Ordinis r'ra?dicatorum", pubhshed in 1729-39, gives thirty- 'ight BuUs in which eighteen sovereign pontiffs praised ind recommended the doctrine of St. Thomas (see dso Vaughan, op. cit., II, c. ii; Berthier, op. cit., pp. ■ sqq.). These approbations are recalled and renewed )y Leo XIII, who lays special stress on "the crowning estimony of Innocent VI: 'His teaching above that )f others, the canons alone excepted, enjoys such an 'legance of phraseologj", a method of statement, a ruth of proposition, that those who hold it are never ound swerving from the path of truth, and he who lare assail it will always be suspected of error'" 'ibid.). Leo XIII surpassed his predecessors in idmiration of St. Thomas, in whose works he declared i remedy can be found for many evils that afflict society (.see Berthier, op. cit., introd.). The notable Encychcal Letters with which the name of that ilhus- rious pontiff will alwaysbe associated show howhehad studied the works of the Angelic Doctor. This is .•ery noticeable in the letters on Christian marriage, he Christian constitution of states, the condition }f the working classes, and the study of Holy Scrip- ure. Pope Pius X, in several Letters, e. g. in the 'Pascendi Dominici Gregis" (Sept., 1907), has in- sisted on the observance of the recommendations of Leo XIII concerning the study of St. Thomas. An It tempt to give names of Catholic writers who have expressed their appreciation of St. Thomas and of his influence would be an impo.ssible undertaking; for the list would include nearly all who have written on phi- losophy or theology since the thirteenth century, as ivell as hundreds of writers on other subjects. Com- mendations and eulogies are found in the introductory chapters of all good commentaries. An incomplete list of authors who have collected these testimonies is given by Father Berthier (op. cit., p. 22). Other names will be given in bibliography. (See Thomists.)

(2) Outside the Church. — (a) Anti-Scholastics. — Some persons have been and are still opposed to pverjthing that comes under the name of Scholasti- cism, which they hold to be synonymous with subtle- ties and useless discussions. From the prologue to the "Summa" it is clear that St. Thomas was opposed to all that was superfluous and confusing in Scholastic studies. When people understand what true Scholas- ticism means, their objections will cease (see De Wulf, "Schola.sticism Old and New", New York, 1907; XIV.— 43

Perrier, "The Revival of Scholastic Philosophy", New York, 1909; and especially the Encyclical "Mierni Patris"). (b) Heretics and Schismatics. — "A last triumph was reserved for this incomparable man — namely, to compel the homage, praise, and admiration of even the very enemies of the Catho- lic name" (Leo XIII, ibid.). St. Thomas's ortho- doxy drew upon him the hatred of all Greeks who were opposed to union with Rome. The united Greeks, however, admire St. Thomas and study his works (see above, translations of the "Summa"). The leaders of the sixteenth-century revolt honoured St. Thomas by attacking him, Luther being particu- larly violent in his coarse invectives against the great doctor. Citing Bucer's wild boast, "Take away Thomas and I will destroy the Church", Leo XIII (ibid.) remarks, "The hope was vain, but the testi- mony has its value". Calo, Tocco, and other biog- raphers relate that St. Thomas, IravcHiiif: from Rome to Naples, converted two celebralcd .Jewish rabbis, whom he met at the country house of Cardinal Rich- ard (Prummer, op. cit., p. 33; Vaughan, op. cit., JI, p. 795). Rabbi Paul of Burgos, in the fifteenth century, was converted by reading the works of St. Thomas. Theobald Thanier, a disciple of Melanc- thon, abjured his heresy after he had read the "Sum- ma", which he intended to refute. TheCalvinist Du- perron was converted in the same way, subsequently becoming Archbishop of Sens and a cardinal (see Conway, O.P., op. cit., p. 96). After the bitterness of the first period of Protestantism had passed away, Protestants saw the necessity of retaining many jjarts of Catholic philosophy and theology, and those who came to know St. Thomas were compelled to admire him. Ueberweg says "He brought the Scholastic philosophy to its highest stage of development, by effecting the most jjerfect accommodation that was possible of the Aristotelian ])hilosophy to ecclesiasti- cal orthodoxy" (op. cit., p. 440). R. Seeberg in the "New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia" (New York, 1911) devotes ten columns to St. Thomas, and says that "at all points he succeeded in upholding the church doctrine as credible and reasonable" (XI, p. 427). For many years, especially since the days of Pusey and Newman, St. Thomas has been in high repute at Oxford. Recently the "Summa con- tra gentiles" was placed on the list of subjects which a candidate may ofTer in the final honour schools of Lillera: Humaniores at that university (cf. Walsh, op. cit., c. xvii). For several years Father De Grool, O.P., has been the professor of Scholastic philosophy in the University of Amsterdam, and courses in Scholastic philosophy have been established in some of the leading non-Catholic universities of the United States. Anglicans have a deep admiration for St. Thomas. Alfred Mortimer, in the chapter "The Study of Theology" of his work entitled "Catholic Faith and Practice" (2 vols.. New York, 1909), regret- ting that "the English priest has ordinarily no scien- tific acquaintance with the Queen of Sciences", and proposing a remedy, says, "The simplest and most perfect sketch of universal theology is to be found in the Summa of St. Thomas" (vol. II, pp. 454, 465). V. St. Thomas and Modern Thought. — In the Syllabus of 1864 Pius IX condemned a proposition in which it was stated that the method and principles of the ancient Scholastic doctors were not suited to the needs of our times and the j-rogrcss of science (Den- zinger-Bannwart, n. 1713). In the Encyclical " A^ter- ni Patris" Leo XIII points out the benefits to be derived fl-om "a practical reform of philosophy by restoring the renowned teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas". He exhorts the bishops to "restore the golden wisdom of Thomas and to spread it far and wide for the defence and beauty of the Catholic Faith, for the gofKl of society, and for the advantage of all the sciences". In the pages of the Encyclical imme-