Thomas Aquinas Quotes (66 Quotes)


    That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell.

    To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

    Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him.


    Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.



    Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.

    The theologian considers sin mainly as an offence against God; the moral philosopher as contrary to reasonableness.


    To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin.

    Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good.

    If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.

    Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man's own will.

    Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works.

    Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.

    It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.


    Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them.

    All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.

    Love must precede hatred, and nothing is hated save through being contrary to a suitable thing which is loved. And hence it is that every hatred is caused by love.


    Human salvation demands the divine disclosure of truths surpassing reason.

    The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.

    Law; an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community.

    All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit.

    It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.

    The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.

    By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.

    The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces.

    Not everything that is more difficult is more meritorious.

    Every judgement of conscience, be it right or wrong, be it about things evil in themselves or morally indifferent, is obligatory, in such wise that he who acts against his conscience always sins.

    It is necessary to posit something which is necessary of itself, and has no cause of its necessity outside of itself but is the cause of necessity in other things. And all people call this thing God.


    God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.

    Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church.

    A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.

    Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.

    Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine.

    As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power.

    Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.

    If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way.

    Law is nothing other than a certain ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the person who has the care of the community.

    In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary. First, the authority of the sovereign. Secondly, a just cause. Thirdly, a rightful intention.

    The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.

    Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.

    To live well is to work well, to show a good activity.

    There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.

    Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.

    It is possible to demonstrate God's existence, although not a priori, yet a posteriori from some work of His more surely known to us.

    Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.


    More Thomas Aquinas Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Man - God - Belief & Faith - Reasoning - Love - Mind - Work & Career - Sin - Morality - Friendship - Perfection - Christianity - Art - Desire - Justice - Passion - Communities - Wisdom & Knowledge - Pleasure - View All Thomas Aquinas Quotations

    Related Authors


    Albert Schweitzer - William Barclay - Theodore Parker - Ralph Cudworth - Peter Lombard - Paul Tillich - Origen - John Pearson - Hugo Grotius - Antoine Arnauld


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections