Thomas Aquinas Quotes
-
If... the motion of the earth were circular, it would be violent and contrary to nature, and could not be eternal, since ... nothing violent is eternal .... It follows, therefore, that the earth is not moved with a circular motion.
-
Wonder admiratio astonishment, marvel is a kind of desire for knowledge. The situation arises when one sees an effect and does not know its cause, or when the cause of the particular effect is one that exceeds his power of understanding. Hence, wonder is a cause of pleasure insofar as there is annexed the hope of attaining understanding of that which one wants to know. ... For desire is especially aroused by the awareness of ignorance, and consequently a man takes the greatest pleasure in those things which he discovers for himself or learns from the ground up.
-
The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in His divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods.
-
The Jews should not be allowed to keep what they have obtained from others by usury; it were best that they were compelled to worked so that they could earn their living instead of doing nothing but becoming avaricious.
-
The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion.
-
It is necessary for the perfection of human society that there should be men who devote their lives to contemplation.
-
The theologian considers sin mainly as an offence against God; the moral philosopher as contrary to reasonableness.
-
Human salvation demands the divine disclosure of truths surpassing reason.
-
The greatness of the human being consists in this: that it is capable of the universe.
-
Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.
-
A scrap of knowledge about sublime things is worth more than any amount about trivialities.
-
Anything done against faith or conscience is sinful.
-
Humility is the mark of a genuine disciple.
-
The Angel's bread is made the Bread of man today.
-
Whatever was in the human nature of Christ was moved at the bidding of the divine will; yet it does not follow that in Christ there was no movement of the will proper to human nature, for the good wills of other saints are moved by God's will... For although the will cannot be inwardly moved by any creature, yet it can be moved inwardly by God.
-
As the saints will rejoice in all goods, so will the damned grieve for all goods.
-
A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.
-
As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power.
-
All men are equal in nature, and also in original sin. It is in the merits and demerits of their actions that they differ.
-
There would not be a perfect likeness of God in the universe if all things were of one grade of being.
-
If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death one convicted of heresy.
-
There is, therefore, a more perfect intellectual life in the angels. In them the intellect does not proceed to self-knowledge from anything exterior, but knows itself through itself.
-
What can be accomplished by a few principles is not effected by many. But it seems that everything we see in the world can be accounted for by other principles, supposing God did not exist. For all natural things can be reduced to one principle, which is nature, and all voluntary things can be reduced to one principle, which is human reason, or will. Therefore there is no need to suppose God's existence.
-
Charity brings to life again those who are spiritually dead.