THOMAS AQUINAS | SUMMA THEOLOGICA | COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED
(Special Nook Edition)

Catholic Church Classic Text
by
Thomas Aquinas | Thomas of Aquin | Thomas of Aquino [Dominican Order]

Recommended by Pope Benedict XV of the Catholic Church
(NOOKBook)


OVERVIEW

The Summa Theologiæ (Latin: Compendium of Theology or Theological Compendium; also subsequently called the Summa Theologica or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–1274), and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main theological teachings of the Church. It presents the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God; Creation, Man; Man's purpose; Christ; the Sacraments; and back to God.

It is famous, among other things, for its five arguments for the existence of God, the Quinque viae (Latin: five ways).

Throughout the work, Aquinas cites Sacred Scripture, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, and other Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Muslim scholars.

Not only has the Summa Theologica been one of the main intellectual inspirations for Thomistic philosophy, but it has also so much influenced Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy that Dante's epic poem has been called "the Summa in verse."