Most people have no idea how much Thomas Aquinas shaped Western thought. His insights on truth, virtue, and the good life are more relevant than ever. Here are 50 lessons from one of history’s greatest minds:
1. Truth exists, and we can know it.
2. Faith and reason are not enemies.
3. The universe is ordered, not chaotic.
4. Evil is not a thing, but the absence of good.
5. Happiness is found in knowing and loving God.
6. The will follows what the mind sees as good.
7. We sin when we mistake lesser goods for the highest good.
8. Virtue is a habit, not a feeling.
.9. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.
10. Law should be based on reason, not just power.
11. Justice means giving each his due.
12. Freedom is not doing whatever you want, but choosing the good.
13. The human soul is immortal.
14. The body is not a prison but part of who we are.
15. Angels exist and are pure intellects.
16. Everything that moves is moved by something else.
17. There must be a first mover that moves all things.
18. The highest form of knowledge is wisdom.
19. Humility is seeing things as they are.
20. Pride blinds us to the truth.
21. The mind is made for truth like the eye is made for light.
22. Every created thing has a purpose.
23. Beauty is a reflection of divine order.
24. Evil never satisfies.
25. Love is willing the good of another.
26. Even our best thoughts are just glimpses of God’s wisdom.
27. Education should form the whole person.
28. The intellect and the senses work together.
29. We are responsible for our choices.
30. Habit shapes character.
31. The greatest battles are within the soul.
32. A well-ordered life leads to peace.
33. The truth is not always what we want to hear.
34. Silence helps us hear wisdom.
35. Work is part of human dignity.
36. Idleness leads to vice.
37. Knowledge without virtue is dangerous.
38. The best life is one directed toward God.
39. The highest act of reason is contemplation.
40. The greatest love is friendship with God.
41. Every action should be ordered toward the good.
42. We were made for eternity, not just time.
43. Weakness is not an excuse for vice.
44. The greatest joys come from the highest goods.
45. Truth does not change to fit opinions.
46. The world makes sense because it comes from a rational God.
47. A wise man seeks the truth even when it is hard.
48. God is not in competition with His creation.
49. To know and love God is the purpose of life.
50. A good argument is better than a loud opinion.
Taken from X/Twitter @HumbleFlow
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