Thomas Aquinas Quotes & Sayings

He that obstinately denieth the truth before men upon earth, wilfully refuseth his soul's health in heaven. — Thomas Aquinas

The soul is known by it's acts. — Thomas Aquinas

The servants of God ... whether provoked by word or work, by keeping themselves tranquil and peaceful, evince a perfect nobleness of soul. — Thomas Aquinas

Venial sin becomes mortal sin when one approves it as an end ... — Thomas Aquinas

A man should remind himself that an object of faith is not scientifically demonstrable, lest presuming to demonstrate what is of faith, he should produce inconclusive reasons and offer occasion for unbelievers to scoff at a faith based on such ground. — Thomas Aquinas

God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter. — Thomas Aquinas

Even as in heaven there will be most perfect charity, so in hell there will be the most perfect hate. — Thomas Aquinas

Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary's maternal intercession. — Thomas Aquinas

Bestow upon me, O Lord my God, understanding to know thee, diligence to seek thee, wisdom to find thee, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace thee. — Thomas Aquinas

The greatness of the human being consists in this:
that it is capable of the universe. — Thomas Aquinas

Now, nothing can be brought from potentiality to actual existence except through something actually existing — Thomas Aquinas

The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in His divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods. — Thomas Aquinas

Hence it is predicated chiefly of the virtuous; then of the pleasant; and lastly of the useful. — Thomas Aquinas

The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion. — Thomas Aquinas

Yet through virtuous living man is further ordained to a higher end, which consists in the enjoyment of God, as we have said above. Consequently, since society must have the same end as the individual man, it is not the ultimate end of an assembled multitude to live virtuously, but through virtuous living to attain to the possession of God. — Thomas Aquinas

Without doubt one is allowed to resist against the unjust aggressor to one's life, one's goods or one's physical integrity; sometimes, even 'til the aggressor's death ... In fact, this act is aimed at preserving one's life or one's goods and to make the aggressor powerless. Thus, it is a good act, which is the right of the victim. — Thomas Aquinas

There would not be a perfect likeness of God in the universe if all things were of one grade of being. — Thomas Aquinas

Mistakes are made on two counts: an argument is either based on error or incorrectly developed. — Thomas Aquinas

The same fire" (which he decides to be material) " torments the damned in hell and the just in purgatory ... The least pain in purgatory exceeds the greatest in this life. — Thomas Aquinas

Love must precede hatred, and nothing is hated save through being contrary to a suitable thing which is loved. And hence it is that every hatred is caused by love. — Thomas Aquinas

We should love others truly, for their own sakes rather than our own. — Thomas Aquinas

Many cry to the Lord that they may win riches, that they may avoid losses; they cry that their family may be established, they ask for temporal happiness, for worldly dignities; and, lastly, they cry for bodily health, which is the patrimony of the poor. For these and suchlike things many cry to the Lord; hardly one cries for the Lord Himself! How easy it is for a man to desire all manner of things from the Lord and yet not desire the Lord Himself! As though the gift could be sweeter than the Giver! — Thomas Aquinas

Sin is a spiritual illness; thus sinners are in need of salvation. — Thomas Aquinas

Jerome says (Ep. ad Nepot. lii): Shun, as you would the plague, a cleric who from being poor has become wealthy, or who, from being a nobody has become a celebrity. — Thomas Aquinas

Beware the man of a single book. — Thomas Aquinas

Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which set bounds to the passions — Thomas Aquinas

Rarely affirm, seldom deny, always distinguish. — Thomas Aquinas

Sacred Scripture, since it has no science above itself, can dispute with one who denies its principles only if the opponent admits some at least of the truths obtained through divine revelation; thus we can argue with heretics from texts in Holy Writ, and against those who deny one article of faith we can argue from another. If our opponent believes nothing of divine revelation, there is no longer any means of proving the articles of faith by reasoning, but only of answering his objections - if he has any - against faith. — Thomas Aquinas

The Philosopher, too, says of the wicked (Ethic. ix, 4) that "their soul is divided against itself ... one part pulls this way, another that"; and afterwards he concludes, saying: "If wickedness makes a man so miserable, he should strain every nerve to avoid vice. — Thomas Aquinas

Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church. — Thomas Aquinas

By the divine providence [animals] are intended for man's use ... Hence it is not wrong for man to make use of them, either by killing or in any other way whatsoever. — Thomas Aquinas

I cannot go on ... All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me. — Thomas Aquinas

Because the divine goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, God produced many and diverse creatures, that what was wanting in one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another. For goodness, which in God is simple and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided. Thus the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly and represents it better than any single creature. — Thomas Aquinas

The study of truth requires a considerable effort - which is why few are willing to undertake it out of love of knowledge - despite the fact that God has implanted a natural appetite for such knowledge in the minds of men. — Thomas Aquinas

God has need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received. — Thomas Aquinas

We set forth our petitions before God, not in order to make known to Him our needs and desires, but rather so that we ourselves may realize that in these things it is necessary to turn to God for help. — Thomas Aquinas

The truth can be perceived only through thinking, as is proven by Augustine. — Thomas Aquinas

There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning. — Thomas Aquinas

Anger and the like are attributed to God on account of a similitude of effect. Thus, because to punish is properly the act of an angry man, God's punishment is metaphorically spoken of as His anger. — Thomas Aquinas

Any error about creation also leads to an error about God. — Thomas Aquinas

Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts. — Thomas Aquinas

But a dauntless faith believes — Thomas Aquinas

Further, nothing, except sin, is contrary to an act of virtue. But war is contrary to peace. Therefore war is always a sin. — Thomas Aquinas

A man does not always choose what his guardian angel intends. — Thomas Aquinas

Better to illuminate than merely to shine to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate. — Thomas Aquinas

[sacred] doctrine is especially based upon arguments from authority, inasmuch as its principles are obtained by revelation: thus we ought to believe on the authority of those to whom the revelation has been made. Nor does this take away from the dignity of this doctrine, for although the argument from authority based on human reason is the weakest, yet the argument from authority based on divine revelation is the strongest. — Thomas Aquinas

Every cell in us worships God. — Thomas Aquinas

Just as a man cannot live in the flesh unless he is born in the flesh, even so a man cannot have the spiritual life of grace unless he is born again spiritually. This regeneration is effected by Baptism: "Unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:5) — Thomas Aquinas

Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor for their sustenance. So Ambrosius says, and it is also to be found in the Decretum Gratiani: The bread which you withhold belongs to the hungry: the clothing you shut away, to the naked: and the money you bury in the earth is the redemption and freedom of the penniless. — Thomas Aquinas

A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational. — Thomas Aquinas

All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit. — Thomas Aquinas

"The Jews should not be allowed to keep what they have obtained from others by usury; it were best that they were compelled to worked so that they could earn their living instead of doing nothing but becoming avaricious." — Thomas Aquinas

Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need — Thomas Aquinas

Unbelief is the greatest of sins. — Thomas Aquinas

It is not possible to be ignorant of the end of things if we know their beginning. — Thomas Aquinas

Grace renders us like God and a partaker of the divine nature. — Thomas Aquinas

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Thomas Aquinas

If the motion of the earth were circular, it would be violent and contrary to nature, and could not be eternal, since nothing violent is eternal . It follows, therefore, that the
earth is not moved with a circular motion. — Thomas Aquinas

I can write no more. All that I have written seems like straw. — Thomas Aquinas

Give, expecting nothing there of. — Thomas Aquinas

It is written: "Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live" (Ex. 22:18); and: "In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land" (Ps. 100:8) ... — Thomas Aquinas

As the saints will rejoice in all goods, so will the damned grieve for all goods. — Thomas Aquinas

Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man's own will. — Thomas Aquinas

Suppose a person entering a house were to feel heat on the porch, and going further, were to feel the heat increasing, the more they penetrated within. Doubtless, such a person would believe there was a fire in the house, even though they did not see the fire that must be causing all this heat. A similar thing will happen to anyone who considers this world in detail: one will observe that all things are arranged according to their degrees of beauty and excellence, and that the nearer they are to God, the more beautiful and better they are. — Thomas Aquinas

It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the word "God" means that He is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist. — Thomas Aquinas

Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine — Thomas Aquinas

Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him. — Thomas Aquinas

Anything done against faith or conscience is sinful. — Thomas Aquinas

It must be said that charity can, in no way, exist along with mortal sin. — Thomas Aquinas

The Study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is. — Thomas Aquinas

First, I say that he draws near to those who make peace with him. For God is the One who brings about peace; and where else should peace dwell than in peace? — Thomas Aquinas

In the end, we know God as unknown. — Thomas Aquinas

Sciences are differentiated according to the various means through which knowledge is obtained. For the astronomer and the physicist both may prove the same conclusion: that the earth, for instance, is round: the astronomer by means of mathematics (i.e. abstracting from matter), but the physicist by means of matter itself. Hence there is no reason why those things which may be learned from philosophical science, so far as they can be known by natural reason, may not also be taught us by another science so far as they fall within revelation. Hence theology included in sacred doctrine differs in kind from that theology which is part of philosophy. SECOND ARTICLE [I, Q. — Thomas Aquinas

Love works in a circle, for the beloved moves the lover by stamping a likeness, and the lover then goes out to hold the beloved inreality. Who first was the beginning now becomes the end of motion. — Thomas Aquinas

To restore man, who had been laid low by sin, to the heights of divine glory, the Word of the eternal Father, though containing all things within His immensity, willed to become small. This He did not by putting aside His greatness but by taking to Himself our littleness. — Thomas Aquinas

He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing. — Thomas Aquinas

Evil denotes the lack of good. Not every absence of good is an evil, for absence may be taken either in a purely negative or in aprivative sense. Mere negation does not display the character of evil, otherwise nonexistents would be evil and moreover, a thing would be evil for not possessing the goodness of something else, which would mean that man is bad for not having the strength of a lion or the speed of a wild goat. But what is evil is privation; in this sense blindness means the privation of sight. — Thomas Aquinas

Man has free choice, or otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain. — Thomas Aquinas

The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life. — Thomas Aquinas

Grant, O Lord my God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure; that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except Yourself. May I see always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord, may I delight in any work I do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from You. My God, let me direct my heart towards You, and in my failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment. — Thomas Aquinas

Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's glory, Of His Flesh, the mystery sing; Of the Blood, all price exceeding, Shed by our Immortal King, Destined, for the world's redemption, From a noble Womb to spring. — Thomas Aquinas

For just as the first general precepts of the law of nature are self-evident to one in possession of natural reason, and have no need of promulgation, so also that of believing in God is primary and self-evident to one who has faith: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is. — Thomas Aquinas

Not everyone who is enlightened by an angel knows that he is enlightened by him. — Thomas Aquinas

Humility is the mark of a genuine disciple. — Thomas Aquinas

The soul is like an uninhabited world
that comes to life only when
God lays His head
against us. — Thomas Aquinas

While injustice is the worst of sins, despair is the most dangerous; because when you are in despair you care neither about yourself nor about others. — Thomas Aquinas

The existence of a prime mover- nothing can move itself; there must be a first mover. The first mover is called God. — Thomas Aquinas

He who achieves power by violence does not truly become lord or master. — Thomas Aquinas

To make peace either in oneself or among others, shows a man to be a follower of God, — Thomas Aquinas

An act of love always tends towards two things; to the good that one wills, and to the person for whom one wills it. — Thomas Aquinas

Because of the diverse conditions of humans, it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people, as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them. — Thomas Aquinas

The greater the charity of the Saints in their heavenly home, the more they intercede for those who are still on their journey and the more they can help them by their prayers; the more they are united with God, the more effective those prayers are. This is in accordance with Divine order, which makes higher things react upon lower things, like the brightness of the sun filling the atmosphere. — Thomas Aquinas

Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace. — Thomas Aquinas

Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace. — Thomas Aquinas

John saw only the linen cloths. He, Peter, also saw the linen cloths because we [Gentiles] do not reject the Old Testament, for as Luke says, "Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (Lk 24:45). But in addition Peter saw the napkin which had been on his head: "The head of Christ is God" (1 Cor 11:3). Thus to see the napkin which had been on the head of Jesus is to have faith in the divinity of Christ, which the Jews refused to accept. This napkin is described as not lying with the linen cloths, and rolled up, having a place by itself, because the divinity of Christ is covered over, and it is apart from every creature because of its excellence: "God who is over all be blessed for ever" (Rom 9:5); "Truly, you art a God who hides yourself" (Is 45:15). — Thomas Aquinas

If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Great patience occurs in two ways: either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid. Christ endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because when he suffered he did not threaten; he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth. — Thomas Aquinas

The Sacrament of the Body of the Lord puts the demons to flight, defends us against the incentives to vice and to concupiscence, cleanses the soul from sin, quiets the anger of God, enlightens the understanding to know God, inflames the will and the affections with the love of God, fills the memory with spiritual sweetness, confirms the entire man in good, frees us from eternal death, multiplies the merits of a good life, leads us to our everlasting home, and re-animates the body to eternal life — Thomas Aquinas

This Blood that but one drop of has the power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin. — Thomas Aquinas

Well-ordered self-love is right and natural. — Thomas Aquinas

If anyone without the right faith receives Baptism outside the Church, he does not receive it unto salvation ... From the comparison of the Church to Paradise, we learn that men can receive her Baptism even outside her fold, but that out there no one can receive or keep the salvation of the blessed. — Thomas Aquinas