Thomas Aquinas Quotes - Page 7

Sin is a spiritual illness; thus sinners are in need of salvation.

Every cell in us worships God.

If... the motion of the earth were circular, it would be violent and contrary to nature, and could not be eternal, since ... nothing violent is eternal .... It follows, therefore, that the earth is not moved with a circular motion.

Far graver is it to corrupt the faith that is the life of the soul than to counterfeit the money that sustains temporal life.

It is necessary for the perfection of human society that there should be men who devote their lives to contemplation.

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

For loving draws us more to things than knowing does, since good is found by going to the thing, whereas the true is found when the thing comes to us.

One will observe that all things are arranged according to their degrees of beauty and excellence, and that the nearer they are to God, the more beautiful and better they are.

The soul, which is the first principle of life, is not a body, but the act of a body; just as heat, which is the principle of calefaction, is not a body, but an act of a body.

A scrap of knowledge about sublime things is worth more than any amount about trivialities.

There being an imminent danger for the faith, prelates must be questioned, even publicly, by their subjects.

Art is right reason in the doing of work.

God is never angry for His sake, only for ours.

Faith does not quench desire, but inflames it.

It may well happen that what is in itself the more certain on account of the weakness of our intelligence, which is dazzled by the clearest objects of nature; as the owl is dazzled by the light of the sun. Hence the fact that some happen to doubt about articles of faith is not due to the uncertain nature of the truths, but to the weakness of human intelligence; yet the slenderest knowledge that may be obtained of the highest things is more desirable than the most certain knowledge obtained of lesser things.

Beware the man of a single book.

First, I say that he draws near to those who make peace with him. For God is the One who brings about peace; and where else should peace dwell than in peace?

Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace.

Any error about creation also leads to an error about God.

Well-ordered self-love is right and natural.

Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality.

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.

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.

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

In the realm of evil thoughts none induces to sin as much as do thoughts that concern the pleasure of the flesh.