Saint Thomas Aquinas (Chesterton)

Saint Thomas Aquinas is a book by G. K. Chesterton, published in 1933. In the introductory note of the book, Chesterton writes that the aim of the work is to be a popular sketch of historical character, who ought to be better known, especially for those who have hardly ever heard of him and are not likely to be of communion of Thomas Aquinas.[1]

Chesterton begins by comparing Aquinas with St. Francis of Assisi. St. Thomas defends God as The Creator. He affirms with Holy Scripture, that God created the physical world good. St. Thomas ultimately defends life against Manichean heresy, which considered the physical world evil. According to Chesterton, Thomas Aquinas represents more the reasonable mind of the man on the street, than modern philosophies.[2]

Étienne Gilson praised Chesterton's book on Thomas Aquinas: "I consider it as being, without possible comparison, the best book ever written on Saint Thomas [...] the few readers who have spent twenty or thirty years in studying St. Thomas Aquinas, and who, perhaps, have themselves published two or three volumes on the subject, cannot fail to perceive that the so-called 'wit' of Chesterton has put their scholarship to shame."[3] Jacques Maritain and Anton Pegis have also appreciated the book in similar manner.[4]

Outline of the Book

  • Introductory Note
  • Chapter I. On Two Friars
  • Chapter II. The Runaway Abbot
  • Chapter III. The Aristotelian Revolution
  • Chapter IV. A Meditation on the Manichees
  • Chapter V. The Real Life of St. Thomas
  • Chapter VI. The Approach to Thomism
  • Chapter VII. The Permanent Philosophy
  • Chapter VIII. The Sequel to St. Thomas

References

  1. ↑ Saint Thomas Aquinas: Introductory Note at Internet Archive
  2. ↑ Dale Ahlquist: Lecture 67: St. Thomas Aquinas The Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
  3. ↑ Gilson, Etienne (1987), "Letter to Chesterton's editor", in Pieper, Josef (ed.), Guide to Thomas Aquinas, University of Notre Dame Press, pp. 6–7
  4. ↑ St. Thomas Aquinas Philpapers.org

Publication History

Publication History of Saint Thomas Aquinas by G. K. Chesterton

Saint Thomas Aquinas* was first published in 1933. The original British edition was issued by Hodder & Stoughton (London) in 1933, with additional printings appearing the same year.

In the United States, the book was published in 1933 by Sheed & Ward (New York), one of the leading Catholic publishing houses of the twentieth century and a frequent publisher of Chesterton's works.

Major editions

Year Publisher Location Notes
1933 Hodder & Stoughton London, England First British edition
1933 Sheed & Ward New York, United States First American edition
1943 Hodder & Stoughton London, England Reprint edition
1974 Image Books (Image Classics) New York, United States Paperback edition
2002 Ignatius Press San Francisco, California, United States Combined edition with Saint Francis of Assisi
2009 Dover Publications Mineola, New York, United States Unabridged republication
2011 Martino Fine Books Mansfield Centre, Connecticut, United States Facsimile reprint of the 1943 edition
2011 Angelico Press Brooklyn, New York, United States Modern reprint edition
2017 Isha Books New Delhi, India Reprint edition

Chesterton wrote Saint Thomas Aquinas as a concise and accessible introduction to the life, thought, and historical significance of the medieval Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas. Although intended as a popular biography rather than a scholarly study, the book received exceptional praise from leading Thomist scholars. The French philosopher and historian Étienne Gilson famously described it as “the best book ever written on Saint Thomas.”


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