The Structure of the Summa Theologiae According to St. Thomas Aquinas PDF

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THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS compiled and edited by RENÉ ARDELL FEHR from the English translation of the original Latin by Fr. Laurence Shapcote, O.P. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Part I: The Structure with the Articles 3 Prima Pars 4 Prima Secundae Pars 21 Secund...

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THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS compiled and edited by

RENÉ ARDELL FEHR from the English translation of the original Latin by Fr. Laurence Shapcote, O.P.

CONTENTS Introduction

1

Part I: The Structure with the Articles Prima Pars Prima Secundae Pars Secunda Secundae Pars Tertia Pars Supplementum Appendixes 1 & 2

3 4 21 40 69 85 98

Part II: The Structure without the Articles Prima Pars Prima Secundae Pars Secunda Secundae Pars Tertia Pars Supplementum Appendixes 1 & 2

99 100 103 107 113 116 118

Notes

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Further Reading

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INTRODUCTION One of the striking features of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae is that it contains within itself a comprehensive account of its own structure. This account runs concurrent with the text itself, so that the reader is presented with the minute details of the structure of the text while he is reading the text. More than just existing for the sake of order and process, this structuring that St. Thomas provides functions as a necessary aid to properly understanding the direction of thought, the direction of argumentation, and even the content of the Summa Theologiae itself. A simple reading of a list of the questions of the Summa would leave one with a substantially different interpretation of the substance of the text than would a reading of the same questions supplemented with indications as to which questions follow from which and led into which – this is especially evident in the Secunda Secundae Pars, where it is not always clear why St. Thomas tackles one virtue or vice where he chooses to; a faithful structuring makes understanding St. Thomas's choices in these matters much easier. It is surprising, then, that until now there has been no serious undertaking to provide an accurate and comprehensive account in English of St. Thomas's own division of the structure of the Summa Theologiae. In theory, such an account would not be too difficult to record, seeing as St. Thomas's divisions are explicitly provided within the text itself, begging only for someone to take the time and care to transcribe properly what is already there. The difficulty, however, lies in keeping the many, many levels of divisions consistent and distinct from one another. It is a wonder that St. Thomas was able to compose the text so accurately according to his divisions. This book is an attempt to present St. Thomas's own division of his greatest work, the Summa Theologiae. This is a reference book; it is an aid to understanding St. Thomas's text. The reader is invited to refer to it whenever he is wondering about the context or place of a particular category, question, or article within the Summa as a whole. For example, say that the reader wanted to know where St. Thomas's discussion of adoration fit into the greater picture of the Summa. By consulting this book, he will be able to discern that, according to St. Thomas's own division of the text, the discussion of adoration is a part of the discussion of the exterior acts of religion, that being a part of the discussion of the acts of religion, that being a part of the discussion of religion, being a part of the individual virtues annexed to justice, and so on. From the few divisions we have followed so far (and there are many more that we may have continued to follow), we may see that the discussion of adoration, for St. Thomas in the Summa, pertains to the discussion of the virtue of justice. One could also see the many other virtues that St. Thomas discusses along with adoration, each being distinguished from adoration by varying degrees of difference. This might help the reader to contextualize adoration and to view it in its proper light. Countless more examples could be produced. I have numbered each division, so that the reader may easily discern the placement of a topic among the others under a larger topic. For example, the discussion of the justice and mercy of God is the second which falls under the discussion of what belongs strictly to the will of God. Moreover, each individual entry in this book has a unique corresponding label which follows the entry in brackets. There are three types of entries in this book: headings, questions, and articles. For headings, the unique bracketed content will tell the reader the range of questions that the heading covers, for example, "The Nativity of Christ (III.35-36)" is composed of questions 35 and 36 of the Tertia Pars; obviously, no other heading will have that identifier. This is important because some of the headings will have identical titles with other headings or questions (see the structure of the discussion of charity in the Secunda Secundae), thus, the need to use the identifiers becomes paramount. Questions are similar to headings, differing only in that their identifiers do not consist of ranges, but are rather the specific reference for the relevant question in question. Unlike headings, a question will never be divided into further headings or questions, but will always be divided into articles. Articles permit of no further division, and are characterized by identifiers which include the part of the Summa and question from which they come, as well as the specific article number in question; consider the following example: "Whether God alone is the cause of grace? (I-II.112.1)". Some headings, such as prologues, do not come with identifiers, as referring to the incorrect prologue is impossible if one has even an elementary grasp of the three major divisions of the Summa. I have also included vertical lines which allow for easier tracking of headings and questions, as this can become impossible without them. These lines are labelled with corresponding letters to allow for tracking between pages, something that was necessary if one wanted to avoid counting lines every time one flipped a page.

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THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

This book is divided into two major parts. In part I, I present the full structure of the Summa complete with each article title. As the Summa is composed of about 3,125 articles, this part is quite lengthy, and so in part II the articles are done away with, leaving only the bare bones of the structure as a result. This second part is much more useful for following the flow of the Summa, while the first part is intended for those who are interested in the details. Other than the inclusion or absence of the articles, the two parts are identical in content. At certain points it became necessary to interpret St. Thomas, as he is not always explicit with his divisions of the text. In these cases, I have included and endnote with an explanation of the problem and of my solution. Both parts of this book contain the same endnote indicators, and the endnotes themselves appear at the end of the book along with indications as to where they came from. While I recognize that the aim of this project was to present St. Thomas's explicit division of the Summa, I have always preferred the division of the text itself when it disagreed with the division which St. Thomas presents. I have also attempted to format the wording of each entry to be as consistent as possible while at the same time respecting St. Thomas's own wording. It should be noted that at a few points in the text St. Thomas does not present a complete treatise on the topic at hand. This happens whenever he has previously treated of a relevant topic. As one reads in the prologue to the Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas made a conscious effort to refrain from treating of the same topic multiple times; thus, he will sometimes explain that topics X, Y, and Z, belong to the discussion at hand, but that topic X was already discussed earlier, and so he will not treat of it there again. For an example, consider the preamble to ST II-II.15. The result is that the bare structure itself is not always faithful to the division of the topic at hand considered in itself. The reader is advised to be careful in using this structuring, so as not to assume that the divisions expressed here are exhaustive of St. Thomas's own divisions. The reader should always read the relevant preambles before coming to such conclusions. For the English edition of the Summa Theologiae I have relied upon the translation of Fr. Laurence Shapcote, O.P., which is arguably the most widely used English translation of the text. I have used the edition of Fr. Shapcote's translation that was published and edited by The Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine in ten volumes in Lander, Wyoming, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, between 2012 and 2017. As I have already mentioned, I have provided further edits where necessary. In part I of this book, the headings and the questions have been bolded in order to distinguish them from the articles. As part II consists only of headings and questions, none of the text has been bolded. In addition, content which is derived from the Supplementum, whether heading, question, or article, has been italicized in order to indicate that it has been inserted by compilers after St. Thomas's death. The reader will notice that some headings within the Supplementum are not italicized; these headings were provided by St. Thomas in the Tertia Pars before he ceased writing, and as such I have left them as they are to indicate that the heading is St. Thomas's. The reader will, nevertheless, recognize that the content under St. Thomas's headings in the Supplementum was added by its compilers from the fact that I have given the Supplementum, including the two appendixes, unique identifiers. The Supplementum is identified by the abbreviation "Sup.", while the two appendixes are identified by "Ap1" and "Ap2". The bracketed identifiers in these parts are not italicized (not there or anywhere). As a reference work, this book provides no commentary on the structure of the Summa or its setting, composition, author, etc. For those interested in such things, a brief section on further reading, in English, has been provided at the rear of the book. As always and in everything, omnem gloriam Dei. René Ardell Fehr March 2020

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PART I The Structure with the Articles

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS a

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Prologue The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine (I.1) 1. Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required? (I.1.1) 2. Whether sacred doctrine is a science? (I.1.2) 3. Whether sacred doctrine is one science? (I.1.3) 4. Whether sacred doctrine is a practical science? (I.1.4) 5. Whether sacred doctrine is nobler than other sciences? (I.1.5) 6. Whether this doctrine is the same as wisdom? (I.1.6) 7. Whether God is the object of this science? (I.1.7) 8. Whether sacred doctrine is a matter of argument? (I.1.8) 9. Whether Holy Scripture should use metaphors? (I.1.9) 10. Whether in Holy Scripture a word may have several senses? (I.1.10) I. Of God (I.2-119) 1. Whatever Concerns the Divine Essence (I.2-26) 1. The Existence of God (I.2) 1. Whether the existence of God is self-evident? (I.2.1) 2. Whether it can be demonstrated that God exists? (I.2.2) 3. Whether God exists? (I.2.3) 2. The Manner of God's Existence, or, Rather, What Is Not the Manner of His Existence (I.3-13) 1. How God Is Not (I.3-11) 1. The Simplicity of God (I.3) 1. Whether God is a body? (I.3.1) 2. Whether God is composed of matter and form? (I.3.2) 3. Whether God is the same as his essence or nature? (I.3.3) 4. Whether essence and existence are the same in God? (I.3.4) 5. Whether God is contained in a genus? (I.3.5) 6. Whether in God there are any accidents? (I.3.6) 7. Whether God is altogether simple? (I.3.7) 8. Whether God enters into the composition of things? (I.3.8) 2. The Perfection of God (I.4-6) 1. The Perfection of God (I.4) 1. Whether God is perfect? (I.4.1) 2. Whether the perfections of all things are in God? (I.4.2) 3. Whether any creatures can be like God? (I.4.3) 2. The Goodness of God (I.5-6) 1. Goodness in General (I.5) 1. Whether goodness differs really from being? (I.5.1) 2. Whether goodness is prior in idea to being? (I.5.2) 3. Whether every being is good? (I.5.3) 4. Whether goodness has the aspect of a final cause, or of the others? (I.5.4) 5. Whether the essence of goodness consists in mode, species, and order? (I.5.5) 6. Whether goodness is rightly divided into the virtuous, the useful, and the pleasant? (I.5.6) 2. The Goodness of God (I.6) 1. Whether God is good? (I.6.1) 2. Whether God is the supreme good? (I.6.2) 3. Whether to be essentially good belongs to God alone? (I.6.3) 4. Whether all things are good by the divine goodness? (I.6.4) 3. The Infinity of God (I.7-8) 1. The Infinity of God (I.7) 1. Whether God is infinite? (I.7.1) 2. Whether anything but God can be essentially infinite? (I.7.2) 3. Whether an actually infinite magnitude can exist? (I.7.3) a

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THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS a

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4. Whether an infinite multitude can exist? (I.7.4) 2. The Existence of God in Things (I.8) 1. Whether God is in all things? (I.8.1) 2. Whether God is everywhere? (I.8.2) 3. Whether God is everywhere by essence, presence, and power? (I.8.3) 4. Whether to be everywhere belongs to God alone? (I.8.4) 4. The Immutability of God (I.9-10) 1. The Immutability of God (I.9) 1. Whether God is altogether immutable? (I.9.1) 2. Whether to be immutable belongs to God alone? (I.9.2) 2. The Eternity of God (I.10) 1. Whether a good definition of eternity is "the simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life"? (I.10.1) 2. Whether God is eternal? (I.10.2) 3. Whether to be eternal belongs to God alone? (I.10.3) 4. Whether eternity differs from time? (I.10.4) 5. Whether aeviternity differs from time? (I.10.5) 6. Whether there is only one aeviternity? (I.10.6) 5. The Unity of God (I.11) 1. Whether one adds anything to being? (I.11.1) 2. Whether one and many are opposed to each other? (I.11.2) 3. Whether God is one? (I.11.3) 4. Whether God is supremely one? (I.11.4) 2. How God Is Known by Us (I.12) 1. Whether any created intellect can see the essence of God? (I.12.1) 2. Whether the essence of God is seen by the created intellect through an image? (I.12.2) 3. Whether the essence of God can be seen with the bodily eye? (I.12.3) 4. Whether any created intellect by its natural powers can see the divine essence? (I.12.4) 5. Whether the created intellect needs any created light in order to see the essence of God? (I.12.5) 6. Whether of those who see the essence of God, one sees more perfectly than another? (I.12.6) 7. Whether those who see the essence of God comprehend him? (I.12.7) 8. Whether those who see the essence of God see all in God? (I.12.8) 9. Whether what is seen in God by those who see the divine essence is seen through any similitude? (I.12.9) 10. Whether those who see the essence of God see all they see in it at the same time? (I.12.10) 11. Whether anyone in this life can see the essence of God? (I.12.11) 12. Whether God can be known in this life by natural reason? (I.12.12) 13. Whether by grace a higher knowledge of God can be obtained than by natural reason? (I.12.13) 3. The Names of God (I.13) 1. Whether a name can be given to God? (I.13.1) 2. Whether any name can be applied to God substantially? (I.13.2) 3. Whether any name can be applied to God in its literal sense? (I.13.3) 4. Whether names applied to God are synonymous? (I.13.4) 5. Whether what is said of God and of creatures is univocally predicated of them? (I.13.5) 6. Whether names predicated of God are predicated primarily of creatures? (I.13.6) 7. Whether names which imply relation to creatures are predicated of God temporally? (I.13.7) 8. Whether the name "God" is a name of the nature? (I.13.8) 9. Whether the name "God" is communicable? (I.13.9) 10. Whether the name "God" is applied to God univocally by nature, by participation, and according to opinion? (I.13.10) 11. Whether the name, HE WHO IS, is the most proper name of God? (I.13.11) a

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12. Whether affirmative propositions can be formed about God? (I.13.12) 3. Whatever Concerns the Operations of God (I.14-25) 1. The Knowledge of God (I.14-18)1 1. The Knowledge of God Itself (I.14) 1. Whether there is knowledge in God? (I.14.1) 2. Whether God understands himself? (I.14.2) 3. Whether God comprehends himself? (I.14.3) 4. Whether the act of God's intellect is his substance? (I.14.4) 5. Whether God knows things other than himself? (I.14.5) 6. Whether God knows things other than himself by proper knowledge? (I.14.6) 7. Whether the knowledge of God is discursive? (I.14.7) 8. Whether the knowledge of God is the cause of things? (I.14.8) 9. Whether God has knowledge of things that are not? (I.14.9) 10. Whether God knows evil things? (I.14.10) 11. Whether God knows singular things? (I.14.11) 12. Whether God can know infinite things? (I.14.12) 13. Whether the knowledge of God is of future contingent things? (I.14.13) 14. Whether God knows enunciable things? (I.14.14) 15. Whether the knowledge of God is variable? (I.14.15) 16. Whether God has a speculative knowledge of things? (I.14.16) 2. Whatever Follows from Knowledge (I.15-18) 1. Ideas (I.15) 1. Whether there are ideas? (I.15.1) 2. Whether ideas are many? (I.15.2) 3. Whether there are ideas of all things that God knows? (I.15.3) 2. Truth (I.16) 1. Whether truth resides only in the intellect? (I.16.1) 2. Whether truth resides only in the intellect composing and dividing? (I.16.2) 3. Whether the true and being are convertible terms? (I.16.3) 4. Whether good is logically prior to the true? (I.16.4) 5. Whether God is truth? (I.16.5) 6. Whether there is only one truth, according to which all things are true? (I.16.6) 7. Whether created truth is eternal? (I.16.7) 8. Whether truth is immutable? (I.16.8) 3. Falsity (I.17) 1. Whether falsity exists in things? (I.17.1) 2. Whether there is falsity in the senses? (I.17.2) 3. Whether falsity is in the intellect? (I.17.3) 4. Whet...