St Thomas Aquinas: Political Writings - Book Review

Contemporary Review, Jan, 2003

Political Writings. R. W. Dyson, editor and translator. Cambridge University Press. [pounds sterling]45.00. 312 pages. ISBN 0-5212-37569-X. The editor, also responsible for an edition of St Augustine's De Civitate Dei in this same Cambridge series, has given students a compilation which both surpasses and supplants A.

P. d'Entreves' 1959 Aquinas: Selected Political Writings. St Thomas Aquinas remains one of the Church's greatest teachers and one of the greatest mediaeval philosophers. Earlier selections, through 'excessive condensation' gave readers a 'distorted picture of St Thomas's literary and philosophical method'. In this collection the editor has 'selected but, with a few exceptions' has not 'abridged the selected passages'. Here readers have the pith of St Thomas's political thought. Selections are taken from the Summa Theologiae, De Regimine Principum, De Regimine Iudaeorum; and, finally, the Scripta Super Libros Sententiarum. The selections are grouped into seven areas: government and politics; obedience; law; right, justice and judgement; property relations; war, sedition and killing; and, religion and politics. This manner of proceeding will give readers not only what St Thomas said but show how he arrived at his conclusion by a combination of scriptural knowledge, logic and recourse to ancient philosophers. For all involved in teaching and studying political thought this is a most welcome volume. There is also a paperback edition at [pounds sterling]16.95. (J.M.)