Thomas Aquinas Quotes

The things that we love tell us what we are.

To pretend angels do not exist because they are invisible is to believe we never sleep because we don't see ourselves sleeping.

He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.

The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth.

We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it.

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

For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice.

If you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.

To love is to will the good of the other.

Nothing created has ever been able to fill the heart of man. God alone can fill it infinitely.

How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.

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

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Suppose a person entering a house were to feel heat on the porch, and going further, were to feel the heat increasing, the more they penetrated within. Doubtless, such a person would believe there was a fire in the house, even though they did not see the fire that must be causing all this heat. A similar thing will happen to anyone who considers this world in detail: 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.

He (Mohammed) seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh urges us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected; he was obeyed by carnal men. As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity.

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

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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

In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.

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

The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross.

Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.

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

The Study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is.

To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them.

Miracles are signs not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.

One aspect of neighbourly love is that we must not merely will our neighbours good, but actually work to bring it about.

Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor for their sustenance. So Ambrosius says, and it is also to be found in the Decretum Gratiani: The bread which you withhold belongs to the hungry: the clothing you shut away, to the naked: and the money you bury in the earth is the redemption and freedom of the penniless.

There is but one Church in which men find salvation, just as outside the ark of Noah it was not possible for anyone to be saved.

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

To love God is something greater than to know Him.

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.

The light of faith makes us see what we believe.

It is only God who creates. Man merely rearranges.

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

Of all the pursuits open to men, the search for wisdom is most perfect, more sublime, more profitable, and more full of joy.

The greater the charity of the Saints in their heavenly home, the more they intercede for those who are still on their journey and the more they can help them by their prayers; the more they are united with God, the more effective those prayers are. This is in accordance with Divine order, which makes higher things react upon lower things, like the brightness of the sun filling the atmosphere.

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.

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

When the devil is called the god of this world, it is not because he made it, but because we serve him with our worldliness.

Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.

A man's heart is right when he wills what God wills.

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

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

Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor for their sustenance.

There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning.

The Cross to me is certain salvation. The Cross is that which I ever adore. The Cross of the Lord is with me. The Cross is my refuge.

God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received.

Obedience unites us so closely to God that it in a way transforms us into Him, so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.

For in order that man may do well, whether in the works of the active life, or in those of the contemplative life, he needs the fellowship of friends.