Thomas Aquinas Quotes
Thomas Aquinas was a 13th-century Italian Dominican friar and philosopher, the most influential figure of medieval scholasticism. His Summa Theologica, left unfinished at his death, is the most ambitious systematic synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology in the Western tradition. The quotes below are attributed to Thomas Aquinas, organized by topic.
Browse Thomas Aquinas by topic
Thomas Aquinas on Freedom
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Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.”
Thomas Aquinas on God
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Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“Faith has to do with things that are not seen, and hope with things that are not at hand.”
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“Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail.”
Pange, Lingua , stanza 5 ( Tantum Ergo ) -
“Thus Angels' Bread is made The Bread of man today: The Living Bread from Heaven With figures doth away : O wondrous gift indeed! The poor and lowly may Upon their Lord and Master feed.”
Sacris Solemniis Juncta Sint Gaudia (Matins hymn for Corpus Christi), stanza 6 ( Panis Angelicus ) -
“O saving Victim, opening wide The gate of heaven to man below, Our foes press on from every side, Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.”
Verbum Supernum Prodiens (hymn for Lauds on Corpus Christi), stanza 5 ( O Salutaris Hostia ) -
“Anything done against faith or conscience is sinful.”
Commentary on Romans , cap 14, I 3
Thomas Aquinas on Justice
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Attributed to 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 on Knowledge
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“Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.”
Tria sunt homini necessaria ad salutem: scilicit scientia credendorum, scientia desiderandorum, et scientia operandorum. -
Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“Wonder is the desire for knowledge.”
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“Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium Sanguinisque pretiosi, Quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit gentium.”
Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory, Of His Flesh the mystery sing; Of the Blood, all price exceeding, Shed by our immortal King. | Pange, Lingua (hymn for Vespers on the Feast of Corpus Christi), stanza 1 -
“Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory, Of His Flesh the mystery sing; Of the Blood, all price exceeding, Shed by our immortal King.”
Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium Sanguinisque pretiosi, Quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit gentium. -
“Pange, Lingua (hymn for Vespers on the Feast of Corpus Christi), stanza 1”
Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium Sanguinisque pretiosi, Quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit gentium. -
“Pange, Lingua , stanza 5 ( Tantum Ergo )”
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail. -
“Sacris Solemniis Juncta Sint Gaudia (Matins hymn for Corpus Christi), stanza 6 ( Panis Angelicus )”
Thus Angels' Bread is made The Bread of man today: The Living Bread from Heaven With figures doth away : O wondrous gift indeed! The poor and lowly may Upon their Lord and Master feed. -
“Verbum Supernum Prodiens (hymn for Lauds on Corpus Christi), stanza 5 ( O Salutaris Hostia )”
O saving Victim, opening wide The gate of heaven to man below, Our foes press on from every side, Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.
Thomas Aquinas on Life
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“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions.”
Vita enim in hoc maxime manifestatur quod aliquid movet se ipsum; quod autem non potest moveri nisi ab alio, quasi mortuum esse videtur.
Thomas Aquinas on Love
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Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”
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Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“The things that we love tell us what we are.”
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Attributed to Thomas Aquinas:
“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.”
Things actually not said by Thomas Aquinas
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Thomas Aquinas but are in fact from someone else. Did Thomas Aquinas say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Thomas Aquinas say this? No.
“Prostitution in towns is like the sewer in a palace; take away the sewers and the palace becomes an impure and stinking place.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: This quote, frequently attributed to Aquinas, is actually a paraphrase of a passage (itself an elaborate paraphrase of Augustine ) by Ptolemy of Lucca in his continuation of an unfinished work by Aquinas. The passage from Ptolemy reads: "Thus, Augustine says that a whore acts in the world as the bil
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Did Thomas Aquinas say this? No.
“Hominem unius libri timeo”
I fear the man of a single book. As quoted by Leonard Sweet , The Greatest Story Never Told , section: "The Gift of Lyrics", Abingdon Press, 2012 Variant: "Beware the man of one book." See also: Homo unius libri (Disputed.)