THOIOAS
666
THOMAS
his head was largo and well shaped, and he was slightly
bald. All portraits represent him as noble, medita-
tive, gentle yet strong. St. Pius V proclaimed St.
Thomas a Doctor of the Universal Church in the year
1567. In the Encyehcal "^terni Patris", of 4 Au-
gust, 1879, on the restoration of Christian philosophy,
Leo XIII declared him "the prince and master of all
Scholastic doctors". The same illustrious pontiff,
by a Brief dated 4 August, 1880, designated him
patron of all Catholic universities, academies, colleges,
and schools throughout the world.
II. Writings. — \. General Remarks. — Although St. Thomas lived less than fifty years, he composed more than sixty works, some of them brief, some very lengthy. This does not necessarily mean that every word in the authentic works was written by his hand; he was assisted by secretaries, and biographers assure us that he could dictate to several scribes at the same time (Vaughan, op. cit., vol. I, p. 469). Other works, some of which were composed by his disciples, have been falsely attributed to him. The most recent, and probably the most satisfactory, treatise on the authenticity of his works is the series of articles by P. Mandonnet, " Des ecrits authentiques de S. Thomas d'Aquin" (Fribourg, 1910), originally WTitten for the "Revue Thomiste" (March-April, 1909). The "Dis- sertationes in singula opera D. Th. Aquinatis" (Venice, 17.50) of Bernard de Rubeis are given in all important editions of the saint's works. A reliable and convenient list is given by Fr. Sertillanges, O. P., in his "S. Thomas d'Aquin" "(2 vols., Paris, 1910).
In the "Scriptores Ordinis Prtedicatoruni" (Paris, 1719) Fr. Echard devotes eighty-six foho pages to St. Thomas's works, the difTercnt editions and transla- tions (I, pp. 2S2-34S). Touron (op. cit., pp. 691 sqq.) says that manuscript copies were found in nearly all the libraries of Europe, and that, after the inven- tion of printing, copies were multiplied rapidly in Germany, Italy, and France, portions of the "Summa theologica" being one of the first important works printed. Peter .Schoeffer, a printer of Mainz, pub- lished the "Secunda Secundae" in 1467. This is the first known printed copy of any work of St. Thomas. The first complete edition of the "Summa" was printed at Basle, in 1485. Many other editions of this and of other works were published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially at Venice and at Lyons. The principal editions of all the works (Opera Omnia) were published as follows: Rome, 1570; Venice, 1.594, 1612, 1745; Antwerp, 1612; Paris, 1660, 1871-80 (Vives); Parma, 1852-73; Rome, 1882 (the Leonine). The Roman edition of 1.570, called "the Plana", because edited by order of St. Pius V, was the standard for many years. Besides a carefully revised text it contained the commentaries of Cardi- nal Cajetan and the valuable "Tabula Aurea" of Peter of Bergamo. The Venetian edition of 1612 was highly prized because the text was accompanied by the Cajetan-Porrecta commentaries (see Porrecta, Serafino). The Leonine edition, begun imder the patronage of Leo XIII, now continued under the master general of the Dominicans, undoubtedly will be the most perfect of all. Critical dissertations on each work will be given, the text will be carefully revised, and all references will be verified. By direc- tion of Leo XIII (Motu Proprio, 18 Jan., 1880) the "Summa contra gentiles" will be published with the commentaries of Sylvester Ferrariensis, whilst the commentaries of Cajetan go with the "Sununa theo- logica". The latter has been published, being vols. IV-XII of the edition (last in 1906). St. Thomas's works may be classified ius philo.sophical, theological, scriptural, and apologetic, or controversial. The division, however, cannot always be rigidly main- tained. The "SuMirna tlicologica", e. p., contains much that is philoso|)liiral. wliilsl the "Summa contra gentiles" is principally, but not exclusively, philosoph-
ical and apologetic. His philosophical works are
chiefly commentaries on Aristotle, and his first impor-
tant theological writings were commentaries on Peter
Lombard's four books of "Sentences"; but hedoesnot
slavishly follow either the Philosopher or the Master
of the Sentences (on opinions of the Lombard rejected
by theologians, see Migne, 1841, edition of the
"Summa" I, p. 451).
B. His Principal Works in Detail. — Amongst the works wherein St. Thomas's own mind and method are shown, the following deserve special mention: —
(1) "Qua;stionesdisputata;" (Disputed Questions). — These were more complete treatises on subjects that had not been fully elucidated in the lecture halls, or concerning which the professor's opinion had been sought. They are very valuable, because in them the author, free from limitations as to time or space, freely expres.ses his mind and gives all arguments for or against the opinions adopted. These treatises, containing the questions "De potentia", "De malo", "De spirit, creaturis", "De anima", "De unione Verbi Incarnati", "De virt. in communi", "De caritate", "De corr. fraterna", "Despe", "De virt. cardinal.", "De veritate", were often reprinted, e. g. recently by the Association of St. Paul (2 vols., Paris andFribourg, Switzerland, 1883). (2) "Quodlibeta" (may be rendered "Various Subjects", or "Free Discussions"). — They present questions or arguments proposed and answers given in or outside the lecture halls, chiefly in the more formal scholastic exercises, termed circuli, cnnclusiones, or deierminationes, which were held once or twice a year. (See Mandonnet, "Siger de Brabant", 2nd ed., Louvain, 1911, IV, p. 85; Turner, "Hist, of Philosophy", Boston, 1903, p. 346.) (3) "De unitate intellectus contra Averrois- tas". — This opuscidum refuted a very dangerous and widespread error, viz., that there was but one soul for all men, a theory which did away with individual liberty and responsibility. (See Averroes; Mandon- net, op. cit.) (4) "Commentaria in Libros Senten- tiarum" (mentioned above). — This with the following work are the immediate forerunners of the "Sunmia theologica". (5) "Summa de veritate catholica; fidei contra gentiles" (Treatise on the Truth of the! Catholic Faith, against Unbelievers). — This work, ( written at Rome, 1261-64, was composed at the request of St. Raymond of Pennafort, who desired have a philosophical exposition and defence of thj Christian Faith, to be used against the Jews ano Moors in Spain. It is a perfect model of patient and sound apologetics, showing that no demonstrated truth (science) is opposed to revealed truth (faith). The best recent editions are those of Rome, 1878 (by Uccelli), of Paris and Fribourg, Switzerland, 1882, and of Rome, 1894. It has been translated into Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, and quite recently Father Rick- aby, S. J., gave to the world an annotated transla- I tion into English (with some abridgment) under the] title "Of God and His Creatures" (London and St. Louis, 1905). It is divided into four books: I. Of God as He is in Himself; II. Oi God the Origin of ] Creatures; III. Of God the End of Creatures; IV. j Of God in His Revelation. It is worthy of remark I that the Fathers of the Vatican Council, treating the' necessity of revelation (Const. "Dei Filius", c. 2), employed almost the very words u.sed by St. Thomas in treating that subject in this work (I, cc. iv, v), and in the "Summa theologica" (I, Q. i, a. 1).
(6) Three works written by order of Urban IV (sec Mandonnet, "Ecrits authentiques", p. 12S). — (a) The "Opusculum contra errores Gra-corum" refuted the errors of the Greeks on doctrines in dispute between them and the Roman Church, viz., the pro- cession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son, the primary Of the Homan pontiff, the Holy Ench.'irist, and purgatory. It was u.«ed against the Greeks with telling cITect in the Council of Lyons
