Thomas Aquinas, St. Biography

Know this topic well? Help others and get FREE products!

World of Physics on Thomas Aquinas, St.

St. Thomas Aquinas was born Thomas d'Aquino near Naples in 1225 to a noble family. His parents, Lundulph, Count of Aquino, and Theodora, Countess of Teano, were related to the Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, and to the Kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. Known as perhaps the supreme theologian of Catholicism, Aquinas was enrolled in the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino at the age of five, where he was noted early for his diligent study and philosophical leanings. Despite his calling to a religious life, Aquinas's mother and family had him kidnapped in May of 1244 after he had become a Dominican friar the month before. They kept him for more than year to persuade him to give up his membership in the Dominican order. Aquinas would not renounce his calling, and they allowed him to return to his order in 1245. He went on to attend the University of Naples and studied under the German philosopher Albertus Magnus (c.1200-1280), author of writings on the Aristotelian corpus, from 1245-1252. Ordained a priest in 1250, Aquinas began teaching at the University of Paris in 1252. Humble, taciturn, and heavy set, he was referred to as the "Dumb Ox." However, Magnus recognized Aquinas's keen intellect and proclaimed that "this ox will one day fill the world with his bellowing."

Although known primary as a theologian and philosopher, Aquinas was also a man of science and sought to bring philosophy and science together in a common field of understanding. Under the tutelage of his mentor, Magnus, Aquinas became a defender of Aristotle's approach to philosophical and scientific inquiry. He classified physics and mathematics as theoretical sciences that seek to understand the world. In his commentary on Aristotle's Sense and Sensibilia, Aquinas states that physics is the first step in the study of the natural world.

Although Aquinas was not an experimental scientist, he tackled, on a philosophical basis, concepts of matter and form. Despite his strong religious faith, Aquinas also believed in the importance of scientific discovery and that the study of the humblest acts is related to the highest truths.

Aquinas's best-known work is Summa Theologiae, which he began in 1266. In it he discuses the existence of God, a system of ethics, and Jesus Christ. In addition to teaching in Paris, Aquinas also taught in Naples and Rome. In 1272, the Catholic Church assigned him to Naples as a regent in theology. On December 6, 1273, Aquinas professed to having a heavenly revelation while celebrating mass in the chapel of St. Nicholas in Naples. Aquinas is reported to have said, "I can do no more... such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value." While attending the Council of Lyon, Aquinas fell and injured himself. His health rapidly deteriorated, and he died on March 7, 1274, at the age of 49. A shrine was erected in 1628, where Aquinas's body remained until the shrine was destroyed during the French Revolution. He was then moved to the Church of St. Sernin, where the body is held in a sarcophagus of gold and silver. He remains the patron saint of all Catholic universities, academies, colleges, and schools.