Commentaria in Primam Partem Summae Theologiae

TO THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN CHRIST

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD OLIVERIO CARAFA

THE CARDINAL OF NAPLES, BISHOP OF OSTIA

PROTECTOR OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS

Having contemplated the machinery of the universe, Aristotle, when he saw that all things were aptly disposed in their proper places, affirmed that order was its highest good, and therefore the greatest work of divine wisdom. In like manner one may contemplate the human intellect, excellently disposed and fitted, which arranges and distinguishes the conceptions of its mind, and the doctrine it is about to hand on, in a fitting order. And just as Aristotle, by the plain judgment of all, claimed for himself the praise of this wisdom among the philosophers, so among the theologians you will find no one whom anyone would dare to prefer to Saint Thomas Aquinas. For although many before him had published very numerous volumes on individual and distinct subjects; and although at length certain Greek authors, and Latins as well, had reduced the sentences of theology into a kind of perpetual series, and many expositors had lectured on the Books of the Sentences; yet our Saint Thomas, intending to hand on to us a theology and doctrine of a more abundant vein, as it were of every kind, himself devised two distinct and new orders, and indeed most illustrious ones. He embraced one of these in the books Contra Gentes; the other, however, in that fourfold work which we now call by its celebrated title the Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In which the whole Summa contains that abundance of matters which pertain to the doctrine necessary for the Christian man and to the attainment of true beatitude, so that nothing at all seems to have been left out. For while in the first part of the Summa he treats copiously and distinctly of God, of the Trinity, of the Angels, of the Rational Soul, and of Man himself, together with the making of the whole world; then in the two following books, beginning again from man, he enumerates all the human passions, their sources and their progress, and likewise the virtues which can cure vices and passions, more copiously and more distinctly than all the pagan and sacred authors. The remaining part, moreover, which is indeed fourth by the number of volumes written, is nevertheless called third by the order of doctrine, treating of the Author of grace, Christ, and of all the mysteries pertaining to Christ; then also of the Sacraments themselves, through which grace is conferred; finally, of the most desirable fruit of grace, namely heavenly beatitude, and also of the punishments of the damned. What, however, is lacking for the completion of the third part is discussed copiously in the fourth book on the Sentences.

And while our Thomas is immense amid so vast a heap of subjects, he wins no less admiration for the reason of his judgments and his words, with which he turns and handles so great a mass. For such is the purity of his style that whatever you add is superfluous, and whatever you take away leaves it barren; such is the formality and propriety of his words that nothing foreign is present in them, nothing accidental; and beyond this, such is his profundity in his judgments, such the novelty and articulation of his questions, and then so exact is his manner of arguing in each of them, that he may easily be accounted the prince of this kind of writing, wherever no envy disturbs the judge. Now, lest anyone suspect that the Author has erred in so great an accumulation of material, nature itself in a way stands as index and witness of his truth. For if, as Aristotle himself says, those are fitted to conjecture the truth of things who can inquire by doubting on both sides, who now could doubt that our Thomas has not fallen far from truth, when, having proposed many thousands of questions concerning human and divine things, both theoretical and practical, he always brings forward in each of them his own doubts on either side?

The reason for undertaking this exposition of ours arose from this: that the formal discourse of our Doctor conceals a great depth of meaning, while yet the arrangement and choice of his words, containing nothing obscure, seems at first glance to allure the reader and to promise an easy understanding. But the reader soon discovers that things turn out quite otherwise than he supposed at the outset: for repeated reading of this Author seems rather to increase than to diminish the difficulty of perceiving his meaning. And as for this first part of the Summa, I think its eminence can easily be established from this: that the outstanding Thomists, returning to it twenty times or more, always affirm that they perceived something new in it—so that one ought no longer to wonder, since this first part has undergone as many judgments as there are men and words, that it has been assailed by so many attacks. For many theologians, not indeed altogether contemptible ones, thought they would make a great name for themselves in genius and learning if, just as the bravest generals are wont to do with the most heavily fortified citadels, they attacked this first part with their own engines of war. John Duns Scotus, however, labored in this matter beyond all others with remarkable subtlety and abundance, inasmuch as he strove to undermine nearly every single word of this part. Therefore, taking account both of its inherent difficulty and of the assault made upon it, I have not employed a simple kind of exposition, so as to bring forward, without any controversy, only those things which I judged pertinent to the true understanding of Saint Thomas; but where the place and the matter itself seemed to demand it, I have introduced certain questions by way of doubt, and have striven to defend the truth against its assailants, and especially against Scotus—an arduous and laborious task indeed, which I undertook; how successfully, let others judge. I certainly have not so utterly forgotten myself as to think I have contributed labor equal to the dignity of the work expounded; yet I know that at least by my pious intention of aiding as many studious men as possible, and by the diligence expended for the honor of God, I have fully satisfied my conscience.

This exposition of ours is owed to you, Most Eminent Father, not only on the same grounds that the labors of our other Brothers are also owed to you, namely because from the watchtower of the Protection you have undertaken, you favor and counsel the entire Order of Preachers; but also for a certain broader and more encompassing reason. For since you are established in that sublime summit, you offer Christian princes an example to be imitated, in piety's magnificence, in religion, integrity, and in an industriousness most skillful and diligent in the conduct of affairs; and—which is a splendid gift of God to our times—by your unbroken constancy in chastity and by your learning in pontifical law you are revered as Father of the most sacred College, you are held to be the glory of our age, and a lamp placed upon the candlestick, that it may give light to all who are in the house. Hence too the orders of the whole Christian religion, and those devoted to the pursuit of studies, will regard you as their father and their judge, in whose judgment and benevolence they may find rest.

I come now to myself, who, always cherished by you with paternal affection, enriched by your benefits, and adorned with your honors, would rightly be condemned for the fault of an ungrateful spirit if I were to offer these fruits of my studies to anyone other than you, to whom I have dedicated even lesser works; especially since it was you above all who urged me to forge this exposition, and scarcely had I brought it to a good completion when you not only often requested but even demanded that it be published. Receive, then, this gift of ours with a kindly countenance, and acknowledge this monument as a pledge of my fidelity and devotion toward you. Farewell forever.