The Human Wisdom Of St. Thomas: A Breviary Of Philosophy From The Works Of St. Thomas Aquinas

by Josef Pieper (Editor), Drostan Maclaren (Translator)

Arranged by Josef Pieper Josef Pieper has attached no commentary to the texts brought together in this breviary of the philosophy of St. Thomas, preferring that the reader should encounter them, "on his own". His work has been one of selection, in which he has sought to assemble such passages as will provide an introduction to the form and design of the whole Thomistic system. Yet he has so ordered his texts as to impress upon the reader a special feature of St. Thomas's thought, what he calls its double aspect: St. Thomas sees the whole scheme of reality ordered and penetrable by reason; yet the mystery of Being itself remains: "The effort of human thought has not been able to track down the essence of a single gnat." Josef Pieper, one of the most highly regarded Thomistic philosophers of the twentieth century, wrote numerous philosophical works including Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Guide to Thomas Aquinas, Only the Lover Sings and many more. Table of Contents: Preface I. The order of the parts of the universe to each other exists in virtue of the order of the whole universe to God II. The creature is vanity in so far as it comes from nothingness, but not so far as it is an image of God III. There can be good without evil; but there cannot be evil without good IV. Intellectual natures have a greater affinity to the whole than other beings V. Our intellect in understanding is extended to infinity VI. Morality presupposes nature VII. Reason is man's nature. Hence whatever is contrary to reason is contrary to human nature VIII. The desire of the last end is not among those things over which we have mastery IX. The happiness of the active life lies in the action of prudence by which man rules himself and others X. Moral virtue does not exclude the passions XI. Through virtue man is ordered to the utmost limit of his capacity XII. Pleasure perfects operation j

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theology, Catholic

124 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Josef Pieper was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure, the Basis of Culture; and Guide to Thomas Aquinas (published in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas).

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not really Josef Piper, but an arrangement of passages from Thomas Aquinas into a topical structure. I'm a bit skeptical about such works, but I found this one to be amazing from the beginning as Pieper manage to get some of the best out from Aquinas to make him shine, even for a casual reader. There are some topics that are more of interest to me, as other topics for others, so not all are equally dragging my focus, but the parts that were I read several times to make sure I got what the passage was saying. It is a great introduction to Aquinas directly from Aquinas, and Pieper lets Aquinas speak from himself.

[Almachius · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plan was to read, chew and meditate on one paragraph a day, giving me a year or two of little Aquinasisms, but Pieper's breviary is addictive. Every statement is a variation on 1 + 1 = 2, which seems boring on the face of it, but Pieper lines them up like a trail of breadcrumbs, and I'm hungry for truth. Are you?

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little compilation of Thomas Aquinas' great wisdom. There is something on every page that spurs deeper thought. Josef Pieper has done a wonderful job bringing gems and nuggets to the reader. This is a very beautiful and good book. A good way to be introduced to Thomas -- it isn't too intimidating and very readable.

The one thing I thought as reading this -- and I know that I am going to show that I know just enough to make me look stupid -- is that I cannot understand how the Neo-Thomists maintain their strict split between nature and grace. There were ample passages in this little compilation that seem to confirm Henri De Lubac's reading of Thomas.

[Emerson John Tiu Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

...a book of quotes derived from Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas...