Thomas Aquinas Quotes

Quotes by and about Thomas Aquinas

(Continued from his main entry on the site.)

Aquinas: "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

Aquinas: "Just as it is better to illuminate than merely to shine, so to pass on what one has contemplated is better than merely to contemplate."

Aquinas: "Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder."

Aquinas: "How is it they live in such harmony the billions of stars - when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds about someone they know."

Aquinas: "Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."

Aquinas: "Hold firmly that our faith is compatible with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church."

David Steinmetz: "[To Martin Luther's followers] Aquinas ... left too much to human free will [and] counted too heavily on human reason."