The Human Wisdom of St. Thomas: A Breviary of Philosophy from the Works of St. Thomas Aquinas

by Josef Pieper

This is a new release of the original 1948 edition.

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]

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]

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]

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]

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