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Summa Theologica (5 Vols.)

Thomas Aquinas

4.13 · Rating details · 3,382 ratings · 106 reviews

Written from 1265-1274, the Summa Theologica is St. Thomas Aquinas' greatest work. Originally written for the "instruction of beginners," time has shown that all believers can come to learn from this enriching book. Organized systemically for the clearest way of "setting forth" the "sacred doctrine," Aquinas addresses many of Christianity's most pertinent questions in this ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Bojan Tunguz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A few weeks ago, after nearly three and a half years of on and off reading, I finally finished St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. It is a monumental work, which in printed form extends over five volumes and three thousand densely printed pages. So it is not surprising that it took me this long to finish it. The fact is, though, that I probably would have never ventured into reading it cover to cover in the first place were it not for electronic publishing. The printed version costs $150, whic A few weeks ago, after nearly three and a half years of on and off reading, I finally finished St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. It is a monumental work, which in printed form extends over five volumes and three thousand densely printed pages. So it is not surprising that it took me this long to finish it. The fact is, though, that I probably would have never ventured into reading it cover to cover in the first place were it not for electronic publishing. The printed version costs $150, which is not actually much considering that most college textbooks these days can cost up to twice that much – if not more. The Kindle edition, on the other hand, costs 99 cents. Yes, it costs less than a dollar. However, it wasn’t the price that made me buy it and read it, it was the convenience of electronic form, which made it incredibly portable and accessible. Over the years I would be reading Summa on my Kindle, iPhone, iPad, and in all sorts of common and unlikely places – my desk, my bed, while waiting for my haircut, while waiting for the plane to take off, on the elliptical machine in the gym, while listening to a boring lecture, and sometimes even while waiting for the light to turn green at the traffic stop. (I know, I know.)

Summa is not an easy read by any stretch of imagination. It is a densely argued treatise on almost all topics of Christian theology. It is also written in terms of concepts and categories derived form Aristotelian and Medieval philosophy, which are largely unfamiliar to the modern readers. Reading it can oftentimes feel like going through a large advanced mathematics textbook, with all the proofs and carefully precise reasoning that this entails. I knew all of this fully well before taking this plunge, but it did not deter me. I can’t say that I carefully thought out all the arguments that were laid out, and probably not much of it stuck with me in the end. However, at the end of it all I believe it was a more than worthwhile endeavor.

First of all, it made me renew and deepen my appreciation for the Catholic Theology. It reminded me of the old saw that the Catholic Church is much bigger from within than form without. Catholic Theology is a vast repository of knowledge and insight that is well worth exploring throughout your whole lifetime.

Furthermore, anyone who ever reads even a fraction of Summa could not in good faith ever resort to using the term “medieval” in a derogatory and pejorative sense. The erudition, the intellectual firepower, and the appreciation of human knowledge in all of its forms and all of its extent is clearly at display in this monumental work. St. Thomas spent most of his professional life at the University of Paris, and the university system that we have to this day has been formed throughout the Catholic Europe around this time. This system fostered and sustained scholarship and research in all branches of human knowledge. All of us, whatever our field of expertise, owe a huge debt of gratitude to these efforts. Modern world without this strong foundation would never have gotten into the existence. At the heart of this system, and at the etymological root of the very term University, is the ideal of universality of all knowledge. This idea shines brightly in Summa. Unfortunately in recent times we have diverged from this ideal. Perhaps going back to Summa would be exactly the medicine for what ails the modern University.

Finally, for me reading any type of good theological work is never just an intellectual exercise. It is, foremost in fact, a form of devotion. I’ve read Summa oftentimes early in the morning at the start of a new day. I’ve read it in conjunction with, or sometimes instead of, my scripture readings. Theology for me is the place where I can fully and completely love my God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. I am grateful to St. Thomas for leaving us this great book that can help us in our Christian vocation. More than that could not be asked from anyone.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Conor is currently reading it · review of another edition

I started to read the Summa from the first question yesterday. I should finish by the age of 75.

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Mar 13, 2013 Kazango rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of my favorite books. I am reading it for the second time now. Aquinas is incredibly important but ill-suited to our microwave and fast-food culture: he must be digested slowly, not scarfed down on one’s tailgate in the stadium parking lot :-)

Prospective readers should really have at least a minimal grasp of Aristotle. They should also possess the minimal intellectual virtue required to focus on something other than their own obsessions with pelvic issues, if they have them. I am dismayed by ...more

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Feb 02, 2018 Vagabond of Letters, DLitt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reference, favorites

Aquinas can do more in one laconic section than most modern theologians, even analytics, can do in 200 pages. If this were written with the self-consciousness of philosophers after the epistemic turn, it would probably be 100,000 pages or more long - and that's what you're getting. The roughly 7,000 pages (the 3020 page edition is in double column) of the ST is an entire library, exceeding even the Bible. It doesn't seem entirely unjust to say that God inspired the Bible for the purpose of inspi ...more

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May 01, 2014 Daniel Wright rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: medieval, old-books, religion, christianity, xn-theology, xenoglot, latin

204 days. It's done. Well, I say it's done - I did skip or lightly skim over large swathes of it, and after about a third of the way through I started just ignoring the objections/replies as I found them confusing. Some parts made me cry 'Amen, brother' aloud; some parts were a real challenge to me personally; some parts caused serious head-desk collisions ('how could you possibly think that??', etc); other parts were just boggling. Still, I can now say I've done it, which not many people can. ...more

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Oct 27, 2008 Seth Kenlon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest philosophers I have read. His structured writing and rational methodology will do incredible things to your mind.

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Mar 23, 2012 Linette Soberay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I read selections from the summa (Aquinas on Nature and Grace, A. M. Fairweather), and while at times I found it confusing, I thought it was mostly absolutely illuminating. By reading this book I was not only able to understand better who God is, but what He did for us.

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Dec 02, 2009 Kim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

obviously i have not read all the volumes, but everytime i open them i am astoished at the depth and insights that he had. he is honestly on of my heros

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Apr 23, 2012 Alexis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, thought-provoking

I read it when I was 12 and it was awesome.

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Dec 09, 2010 Philip Jordan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

St. Thomas Aquinas was a beautiful human being, and his approach to Socratic Philosophy (which dominated the minds of his counterparts) blended with Unique Spiritual incite is breath-taking. I recommend it to the world... especially if you're looking for a pure (if slightly slanted) view on Life, Love & the Divine. Cheers to You and Your Road through this Life! :) ...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Nate rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A collection of Christian books is incomplete without Summa Theologica. St. Thomas Aquinas clearly structured this masterpiece with a humble consideration of potential readers. With each chapter broken down into specific subjects, and each .......

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Mar 14, 2010 Corey Rowe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

no, not saying i read each word of every volume, but have used them all over the past 3 years for research and they are awesome.

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Mar 17, 2010 Gigi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

VERY informative but would almost need to STUDY this book! You could read this for years and still learn new things

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Aug 04, 2011 Jacob Aitken rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sacramental-theology, ontology, philosophy, soteriology, trinitarianism, hellenism, christology, economics, medievalism, the-western-canon

This is one of the great books of all time. It is basically a Q&A on various masters' theses. It is relentless in its pursuit of logical questions (and of apparently inane tangents). The great thing about Thomas is that you can't take anything for granted. The small proof 400 pages ago will be the key to a subtle argument.

Thomas was a victim of his own success. Few read him beyond the 5 Proofs, and I suspect those proofs weren't all that interesting for him and his audience.

On God

Thomas: each th ...more

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Dec 20, 2016 Scott rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Much can be said about the Angelic Doctor, Thomas Aquinas. The Summa Theologiae is, without a doubt, one of the finest treatments of theology given to the church. One cannot simply do justice to such a work in an Goodreads review.

However, I want to focus, in this review, on this edition of the Summa, published by the great folks at The Aquinas Institute. My short review is this: if you are going to get one copy of the Summa Theologiae, make it this one.

In brief, here are a few reasons why I am c ...more

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Oct 08, 2016 Walter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy-medieval

Aside from the Bible itself, the Summa Theologica is perhaps the most informative source of information about the Christian faith than any source ever written. In it, St. Thomas Aquinas tackles pretty much every detail of the Christian faith, incorporating scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers and the writings of the ancient and medieval philosophers into the analysis. The work is divided into three books, the first of which deals with the nature of God, the second of which deals with th Aside from the Bible itself, the Summa Theologica is perhaps the most informative source of information about the Christian faith than any source ever written. In it, St. Thomas Aquinas tackles pretty much every detail of the Christian faith, incorporating scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers and the writings of the ancient and medieval philosophers into the analysis. The work is divided into three books, the first of which deals with the nature of God, the second of which deals with the nature of man and the third deals with the union of God and man in the incarnation, the Church and the sacraments. Aquinas presents the arguments against each teaching, and then presents the teaching, defends it, and then addresses each of the arguments that he originally made against the doctrine. In this way, Aquinas supplies the Christian apologist enough ammunition to stave off any attack that is reasonably made against the faith. In my mind, if the Summa were more widely understood and studied then many if not most of the misunderstanding of the Christian faith would be eliminated.

My advice to the aspiring Thomist is to approach the Summa as one would approach scripture. Don't try to read it all quickly. Tackle a question or an article each day and take your time in reading it. Reading the Summa too quickly would be like taking a ferry ride across the ocean, rather than deep diving in scuba gear to explore the riches of the depths. Understanding the Summa is a lifetime effort. The use of good commentaries is essential, and if you get into the Summa then you will want to familiarize yourself with the sources that Aquinas uses, such as Aristotle, Augustine, St. Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite and others. The technical philosophical language that St. Thomas uses would be explained in a good commentary, and it would not be a bad idea to identify a Thomist scholar who can help you with your questions.

Overall, I am a huge fan of Aquinas and recommend him to anyone who is brave enough to delve into his works with a view to deepen your faith and your understanding of life itself. ...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Mike T rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This has been and likely always will be the greatest theological book series I've ever read. I'm still not through it but Aquinas seems to have more philosophy to him than religion in much of his work and in that I can find a huge amount of intrigue. While I'm not generally interested in the argument for why god does or does not exist I find the argument for why man should be great to his fellow man to be maybe the most important question and this book argues for logical reasoning of the highest ...more

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Mar 08, 2008 Thomas Crown rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone, especially my friends with their toes constantly in the Tiber.

As with most works of this length and breadth, you're better off reading it in the original Latin, even if it means you have to (and I confess I had to) keep an unabridged Latin-English dictionary nearby, and not merely for when you get bogged down with the ethical dative. With that said, Aquinas goes through periods of mild contempt in American Catholic scholastic opinion, yet always survives his critics; and it is actually impossible to understand John Paul II's, and Benedict XVI's, theologica ...more

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Nov 02, 2013 Curtis Runstedler rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ah, Brother Thomas, where to begin? I read the concise translation, which was elegantly written and (naturally) concise. I would have been interested to see where his discussion of the sacrament of penitence went, but I guess we'll never know. I wonder what really happened to him on that fateful St Nicholas Day. It's a beautiful work, and I think the sections that affected me most were the passages on human emotion and the soul. Summa is a treasure and its title truly explains itself. ...more

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Aug 16, 2009 Jeremy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Haven't actually read all of it, but most of it, and its free on-line. Archaic to read, of course, but the use of logic and reason is fantastic. He beat Newton by 400 years on at least one of the Laws of Physics, and described the notions of potential vs kinetic energy. ...more

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Nov 29, 2013 Rebecca Hicks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The greatest philosophical/theological work ever written. (Obviously, this isn't counting the Bible) What more can one say?

Extremely long. Few start it, fewer read it all the way through. Only some people can even begin to appreciate it. ...more

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Apr 16, 2015 Aya added it · review of another edition

Shelves: second-year, philosophy

Of course I didn't read the 3020 pages. I only read selected chapters talking about the existence of God and the essence of being. So, I'm not in the right position to rate this book so i'll leave the rating empty. ...more

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Apr 27, 2007 Mindy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I got this as a christmas present. I liked it, but a LOT of the theology is simply outdated for our modern world. I have not read the entire thing of course, I just look up sections now and again.

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Apr 24, 2008 Nathaniel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: on-the-shelf

Yep, I read it. And it was hard...but awesome.

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Aug 06, 2011 Christopher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The definitive theological treatise.

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Oct 03, 2013 Jana Light marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: i-ve-lost-my-mojo

I think it's finally time to start chipping away at the STh. See you in five years. ...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Kenneth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Read the vast majority of the five volumes of the Summa over the course of the years. In order to understand the text well a solid background in Catholic history, theology, Greek Philosophy (Aristotle), as well as Scripture is necessary. Otherwise, the Summa is eminently readable for those who have an intellect to comprehend or appreciate.

In terms of an introduction to the material, The Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft is helpful. The abridged version provides a picture that is beneficial for Read the vast majority of the five volumes of the Summa over the course of the years. In order to understand the text well a solid background in Catholic history, theology, Greek Philosophy (Aristotle), as well as Scripture is necessary. Otherwise, the Summa is eminently readable for those who have an intellect to comprehend or appreciate.

In terms of an introduction to the material, The Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft is helpful. The abridged version provides a picture that is beneficial for understanding the general composition of the entire body of work. Moreover, endless commentaries or journal entries have been written about the Summa. The Roman Catholic Church still considers Thomas Aquinas the official theologian of the Church. The Summa is worth studying (for Catholics especially) even when the reader has no intention of completing the volumes from start to finish.

In sum, the Summa is divided into three general philosophical categories. The First part is concerned with Metaphysics, which is the more abstract subject matter, dense or difficult to read. The famous five proofs of God’s existence are expounded in these sections. “The Nature of God” section is terribly interesting and is still heavily debated amongst academics.

The Second parts are concerned with the subjects of Cosmology, Epistemology or Anthropology. The Summa becomes more accessible, for the most part, in terms of lay readership at this point. The perennial philosophical issues regarding the freedom of the will and predestination, the nature of body and soul, or the existence of evil, all have been provided rigorist treatments here by Aquinas.

Finally, the Third parts deal with the subjects of Ethics and Law. Even though many contemporary individuals rightly reject the “Medieval” or classical political world-view (in general) today, there is still a ton of relevant historical information and/or consistent reasoning about politics contained herein.

The Summa laid an important cornerstone for the major political philosophies that underlie Western civilization. When reading the text, one can easily leave aside the respective aspects of barbarous Medievalism that for us demonstrate impalpable elements of political life. All the same, the Middle Ages were possessed of a particular kind of wisdom that is still highly relevant to certain types of political debate in the modern world, that is, when reconciled with contemporary “historical consciousness” or scholarly methods.

In the end, even denying that there is any relevance to the Catholic Church in the present–age (which is hard to deny), or to the secular politics of the times (which is more debatable), the Summa still is without doubt one of the most important books of theology ever written, historically.

In conclusion, the Summa was written in a scrupulously ordered fashion that makes reading the text quite easy when the basic structure is grasped. There is a learning curve, true, but understanding the text is rewarding nonetheless.

For avid readers of Aquinas, the vision that comprehending the full sweep of the Summa or the theological world that Aquinas gives rise to is analogously akin to appreciating the beauty of a Gothic cathedral.

Interestingly enough, the Summa was actually an introductory text for theologians in the Middle Ages. Aquinas here lays the groundwork for much of what would become contemporary catechesis in the present day Roman Catholic Church. In other words, Aquinas is the foundation for the method of teaching that educates upwards to a billion individuals the world over.
...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Tom rated it liked it · review of another edition

I've seen this work described as "encyclopaedic," but I don't think that does it justice. While I don't remember it addressing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (and I may very well have forgotten given that it's taken sixteen or so months of fairly consistent reading to get through), it covers just about any theological question you might think of and many, many more that would not have occurred to you from a 21st century vantage point.

Admittedly, my interest in this work was prima ...more

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Mar 16, 2019 Edmond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

St. Thomas Aquinas’s, “Summa Theologica”, a Catholic must own this great theological work. It answers every question which relates to the Catholic faith. It is written like an encyclopedia, ask a question, a Catholic will find it in “Summa Theologica.” Aquinas wrote it like a debate, objection /answer. It deepened my love of theology. A great Theological work, a great philosophical work. “Summa Theologica” is the glory of the Catholic Church.

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Mar 08, 2017 Libby rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: church, back-burner, nonfiction

My Lenten reading...just about 3-4 articles a day, though, so this won't be finished in one Lent!

April 28, 2017--I got through Part I, Question 18 this year. Will hopefully continue in future years.

March, 2020: Wanted to start again for Lent this year, but didn't restart until halfway through Lent, so now hoping to continue through Easter season--especially since this will be a Lent and Easter unlike any previous, with no churches holding services right now.

June 4, 2020: Stopping for this year. ...more

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About Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

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Thomas Aquinas (sometimes styled Thomas of Aquin or Aquino), was a Dominican friar and priest notable as a scholastic theologian and philosopher. He is honored as a saint and "Doctor of the Church" in the Roman Catholic tradition.

Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between fai ...more