terminology, however, is always traditional, largely philo-
sophical, and often Aristotelian. For this reason it is impor-
tant to understand such technical terms as matter and form,
substance and accidents, essence and existence, nature and
operations, and soul and faculties, as well as the four Aristo-
telian causes, if one is to grasp the meaning of Thomas’s ex-
ceptionally lucid and simple Latin.
INFLUENCE. Apart from the admiration, love, and respect ac-
corded him by scholars and theologians, Thomas exerted lit-
tle influence by the time he died in 1274. At Paris his literary
and personal efforts could neither stem the tide of hetero-
doxy among teachers of philosophy nor abate the growing
fears of Augustinian theologians against the use of Aristotle
or any pagan philosopher in the schools of theology.
From 1278 onward, however, the general chapters of
the Dominican order showed an increasing concern that the
writings of Thomas be at least respected within the order.
By 1309 the chapter required all Dominican lectors to lec-
ture from the works of Thomas, to solve problems according
to his doctrine, and to instruct their students in the same.
Even before his canonization, Dominicans were obliged to
teach according to Thomas’s doctrine and the common
teaching of the church. In 1279 the Parisian Franciscan Wil-
liam de la Mare compiled a “correctory” (Correctorium) of
Thomas’s writings, indicating therein where Thomas dif-
fered from Bonaventure and Augustine. In May 1282 this
correctory was made mandatory for all Franciscan teachers,
but by 1284 there were five defensive replies by young Do-
minican teachers, three of whom were Oxonians influenced
by the brilliant Thomas Sutton, a self-taught Dominican
Thomist. The canonization of Thomas on July 18, 1323,
and the lifting in 1325 of the Parisian condemnation insofar
as it touched or seemed to touch Thomas removed the fore-
most barriers to the teaching of his ideas universally. But it
was not until the sixteenth century that Thomists began to
develop his seminal principles in a notable way. An exception
was the French Dominican John Capreolus (1380–1444),
“the Prince of Thomists,” who in his Defensiones on the Sen-
tences incisively expounded and defended Thomas’s views
against Henry of Ghent, Duns Scotus, John of Ripa, William
of Ockham, and others.
In the sixteenth century four influential teachers substi-
tuted Thomas’s Summa for the standard Sentences of Peter
Lombard: Peter Crokaert in Paris (in 1509); Thomas de Vio
Cajetan at Pavia (in 1497), author of an important commen-
tary on the Summa, (1507–1522); Konrad Koellin at Heidel-
berg (1500–1511), author of a commentary on the first two
parts of the Summa (1512); and Francisco de Vitoria at Sala-
manca (in 1526) and his many disciples throughout Spain.
These Thomists were concerned not so much with defending
Thomism as with replying to issues raised by the reformers,
resolving new problems of an expanding civilization, and ap-
plying Thomas’s principles to developments in international
law and the treatment of Indians in the New World. By the
time of the Council of Trent (1545–1563), most of the out-
standing Roman Catholic theologians were Thomists. The
influence of Thomas is clear throughout the council’s de-
crees, notably on justification, the sacraments, and the mass.
The influential Roman Catechism, published by order of Pius
V in 1566, was the work of three Dominican Thomists. Pius
V declared Thomas a doctor of the church (1567) and or-
dered that the first Opera omnia (the “Piana”) be published
with the remarkable index (Tabula aurea) of Peter of Berga-
mo at Rome (18 vols., 1570–1571). Since the Piana edition,
there have been ten editions of complete works apart from
the current critical edition ordered by Pope Leo XIII in 1879
(the “Leonine”).
After the Reformation and throughout the scientific and
industrial revolutions, there was little interest in Thomistic
philosophy or theology outside the decimated Dominican
order and scattered groups in Catholic countries. However,
a Thomistic revival in Italy and Spain slowly grew and
reached its culmination in the encyclical Aeterni Patris of Leo
XIII (August 4, 1879), urging the study of Thomas’s works
by all students of theology, and in subsequent legislation by
Leo and his successors. This revival focused on Thomistic
philosophy as a system capable of countering the effects of
positivism, materialism, and secularism on Catholic beliefs
and practices. This polemical intention was modified by the
attitude of dialogue with the modern world that character-
ized the approach of the Second Vatican Council (1962–
1965). In this spirit Paul VI, in his encyclical on the seventh
centenary of Thomas’s death (1974), proposed Thomas as
a model to theologians, not only with respect to his teachings
but with respect to his example of openness to the world and
to truth from whatever the source. As a result, there has been
increased study and critical reappraisal of Thomas’s thought,
principles, and methodology. Although Thomism in the re-
stricted sense of a closed system seems no longer tenable, phi-
losophers and theologians of all traditions continue to have
recourse to Thomas’s thought as a milestone in human
thought and to develop his seminal insights in dialogue with
modern thought and issues.SEE ALSO Trent, Council of.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Works by Thomas Aquinas
Of the ninety or more authentic works of Thomas there have been
numerous editions of individual works from 1461 to the
present day, over 180 incunabula editions alone. Since the
Roman edition of Pius V, Opera omnia (1570–1571), there
have been more than ten editions or reprints of older stand-
bys, but the only modern critical edition of the Opera omnia
is the Leonine, 48 vols. to date (Vatican City, 1882–). Both
English translations of the Summa theologiae (22 vols., Lon-
don, 1916–1938; bilingual edition, 60 vols., New York,
1964–1976) are far from satisfactory, except for some vol-
umes. Besides the older translation of the Summa contra gen-
tiles by the English Dominicans, there is a good edited trans-
lation by Anton C. Pegis, On the Truth of the Catholic Faith,
4 vols. in 5 (New York, 1955–1957). The most convenient9164 THOMAS AQUINAS