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.
Thomas AquinasRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the concept of a self-sufficient being, which is deemed necessary for the existence of everything else, identified as God.
Thomas Aquinas articulates a philosophical stance on the nature of God as that which exists independently, possessing necessary existence without external causes. This foundational being serves as the source of existence and necessity for all other entities, framing God's essence as crucial to the understanding of existence itself.
Themes
GodNecessityExistencePhilosophyAquinas
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical lecture about the nature of existence.
More from Thomas Aquinas
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Now this relaxation of the mind from work consists on playful words or deeds. Therefore it becomes a wise and virtuous man to have recourse to such things at times.
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A song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.
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We are like children, who stand in need of masters to enlighten us and direct us; God has provided for this, by appointing his angels to be our teachers and guides.
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To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
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