Friar Thomas D'Aquino: His Life, Thought, and Works

Wash, D,C,: The Catholic University of America Press, 1983. Book. Near Fine. Soft cover. 2nd. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Near fine softcover. no marks, tears, or other defects. 1982 revised edition. very scarce. 487pp including index and corrugenda and addenda and a brief catalogue of authentic works. Information about Thomas's academic career (teaching twice at the University of Paris with stints in Naples, Rome, and Cologne before, in between, and after) is richly detailed. The writings of Aristotle were rediscovered in the West, causing new ideas and new controversies to rise up. Some took Aristotle as an equal and separate source of truth that sometimes conflicts with the truth of the Christian religion. Thomas worked tirelessly to integrate Aristotle into Catholic theology, showing where Aristotle is wrong and where right. He also had to deal with another controversy. The mendicant orders (Dominicans and Franciscans) were on the rise. The new orders were under authority not of the local bishops but of their orders' superiors. This created a sort of territorial battle over spiritual matters and over donations given to local churches, which sometimes went to the orders and sometimes to the dioceses. Students and other locals rioted in the streets of Paris, requiring soldiers to restore order. Aquinas dealt with a lot of practical issues along with the more theoretical challenges..