surprised at ourselves. Far too often we are surprised at the powerful tensions inside us, surprised at the cataclysmic forces that so often stir deep inside our minds and bodies, surprised at our inability to be quiet and satisfied, surprised at the strength and unyieldingness of our sexual urges, and surprised simply at how much complexity and tension there is in being a human person. Thomas Aquinas was not surprised. Unlike Pascal, he did not marvel at the fact that a human person cannot sit quietly in his room.
