Tips on Reading the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas

 

CITATIONS:

References to the Summa Theologiae are made to articles within questions within parts.  There are three main “parts,” and the second part is divided further into two parts referred to respectively as “the First Part of the Second Part” (Prima Secundae, or IaIIae) and “the Second Part of the Second Part” (Secunda Secundae, or IIaIIae).  So the citation “ST IaIIae, q. 58, aa. 1-5” is to Summa Theologiae, articles 1 through 5 of question 58 in the First Part of the Second Part. [Sometimes people also refer to thematic sections organizing questions within a part as “treatises”—such as “Treatise on Happiness,” “Treatise on Virtue,” etc.—but these are not official titles and are not used in citations.]

  

THE “ARTICLES”

Reading the Summa can be confusing at first. The so-called “articles” within each “question” in fact pose particular questions, which specify issues suggested by the general issue or topic of the (more general topic or) “question.”

Each article is structured according to a standard dialectical pattern, allowing Aquinas to explore and then resolve an answer to the specific question the article poses:

 

  • First, there are enumerated “objections,” or arguments for one side of the question.

  • This is followed by a sed contra (“on the contrary…”), or argument for the other side of the question, usually citing an authority.

  • After the opposition of these two views is established, there comes the heart of the article, the respondeo or main response (“I answer that…”; this section is also referred to as the “corpus” or “body” of the article), in which Aquinas gives his answer to the question.

  • Lastly, the question having been answered, there follow individual replies to the first original “objections” or arguments.

 

Because of this structure, it can be helpful to read first the particular question raised in the article, and then skip directly to the middle of the article, the main response, to read Aquinas’s answer to the question.  Even using this “shortcut,” keep in mind that Aquinas presents his response as part of dialectical structure.  Reading a response first can be a good way to keep yourself focused on what Aquinas is trying to teach, but the objections and replies should not be ignored, and can help make sense of the response:

 

  • Their very presence reminds us that Aquinas is trying to present this material in a dialectical, as opposed to dogmatic, manner.  He has not written a summary of his beliefs, but has attempted to anticipate different views on any given subject and resolve apparent (and real) philosophical and theological disagreements.

  • It is often difficult to understand the sense, or to appreciate the difficulty, of the question that Aquinas is trying to answer without reading the initial objections, which help to set up, and intensify, the philosophical problem.

  • Aquinas’s main response does not always stand on its own, and very often the significance of Aquinas’s resolution of a particular problem is only apparent in the working out of his views in the replies to particular objections.

 

So some helpful questions to ask yourself as you read an article:

 

  • Do I understand the question being posed?  Do I understand the challenge of answering it, or the pressures to answer it in one way rather than another?

  • Do I understand key terms that are being used to frame the problem or solution?  Do I need to look up technical terms, or can I try to understand them from context?

  • What is at stake?  Which Christian doctrines might be in play?  What authorities (philosophical or theological) seem relevant?

  • How does Aquinas answer the question?  Does he question directly, or reformulate or qualify the question in some way?  Does he introduce distinctions, or define and clarify terminology?  Does he refer to issues discussed elsewhere?

  • What authorities and sources does Aquinas use to frame the question and the objections?  What authorities does he appeal to in offering an answer? Does his choice of authority make sense?

  • Do you understand the replies to objections? Do the replies simply clear up things in light of the response, or do they introduce new concepts, distinctions, or arguments?  (Take note of replies that are particularly long!)

 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUMMA

The Summa Theologiae’s organization fits a wide variety of topics into an overall structure situating human life in the context of its origin and end.  So the first part is on God and creation, the second part is on practical matters of human life, and the third part is on our salvation and return to God. Even reading a very specific article it can helpful to have a sense of where it falls in the overall structure and organization:

 

FIRST PART

I. The nature of theology (1)

II. The existence and nature of God

A. The existence of God (2)

B. The attributes of the divine nature (3-26)

C. The trinity of divine persons (26-43)

III. The procession of creatures from God

A. The production of creatures: creation (44-46)

B. The distinctions among creatures

1.   The distinctions among things in general (47-49)

2.   Angels (50-64)

3.   Corporeal creatures (65-102)

a. The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest (65-74)

b. On man (75-102)

C. God’s governance of the world

1.   The governance of creatures in general (103-104)

2.   The actions of creatures on one another (105-119)

 

FIRST PART of the SECOND PART

I. Human action

A. The end of human life (1-5)

B. Human acts (6-48)

C. Action (6-21)

D. Passions (22-48)

II. The intrinsic principles of human acts

A. Virtue (49-70)

B. Vice and sin (71-89)

III. The extrinsic principles of human acts

D. Law (90-108)

E. Grace (109-114)

 

SECOND PART of the SECOND PART

I. Theological Virtues

A. Faith (1-16)

B. Hope (17-22)

C. Charity (23-46)

II. The Cardinal Moral Virtues

A. Prudence (47-57)

B. Justice (58-122)

C. Fortitude (123-140)

D. Temperance (141-170)

 

THIRD PART

I. The mystery of the Incarnation

A. On the fittingness of the Incarnation (1)

B. The union of the Word with his human nature (2-26)

C. What Christ did and suffered as a human being (27-59)

II. The sacraments

A. The sacraments in general (60-65)

B. Baptism (66-71)

C. Confirmation (72)

D. Holy Eucharist (73-83)

E. Penance (84-90)

[N.B. The third part was left unfinished by Aquinas.  The rest of the treatment of Penance, the projected final sections on Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and the Resurrection, and appendices on Purgatory, were prepared as a “supplement” by a student of Aquinas, drawing from his other theological writings.]