Quotes by Thomas Aquinas

“The soul is like an uninhabited worldthat comes to life only whenGod lays His headagainst us.”

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.”

“The Study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is. ”

“Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.”

“Causes of individuals presuppose causes of the species, which are not univocal yet not wholly equivocal either, since they are expressing themselves in their effects. We could call them analogical....”

“For every relationship involves two related terms. Sometimes relationships are not real in either term, but arise from the way we think of the terms: we think identity, for example, by thinking one...”

“God is not, like creatures, made up of parts. God is spirit, without bodily dimensions. Firstly, no body can cause change without itself being changed. Secondly, things with dimensions are potentia...”

“*There is only one God*. Whatever exists is *ipso facto* individual; to be one it needs no extra property and calling it one merely denies that it is divided. Simple things are neither divided nor ...”

“What causes love, since it is a passion, is its object; and since it is a sort of affinity or agreement with the object, what causes love is the goodness or agreeableness of that object. Evil can o...”

“The emotion of love is an affective emotion, directly reacting to goodness, rather than an aggressive one, reacting to challenge. Not only our so-called natural ability to grow and propagate exempl...”

“I receive Thee ransom of my soul. For love of Thee have I studied and kept vigil toiled preached and taught”

“Reason in man is rather like God in the world.”

“A song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.”

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

“The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.”

“Yet through virtuous living man is further ordained to a higher end, which consists in the enjoyment of God, as we have said above. Consequently, since society must have the same end as the individ...”

“Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.”

“Of course there is such a thing as too much doubt, for we ought to accept what is true. But there is also such a thing as proper doubt, for we ought not accept what is false. The possibility of dou...”

“The blessed in the kingdom of heaven will see the punishments of the damned, in order that their bliss be more delightful for them.”

“The main danger is that of supposing that the thing to do is get a mind on the scale of Thomas (Aquinas)s into your head, a task of compression that will be achieved only at your heads peril. The o...”