128 Inspirational Thomas Aquinas Quotes [2024] Famous Italian Philosopher

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Updated: January 20th, 2022

Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Philosopher, Catholic Priest, and Doctor of the Church.

Thomas Aquinas was the greatest of the Scholastic philosophers. He produced a comprehensive synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy that influenced Roman Catholic doctrine for centuries and was adopted as the official philosophy.

Aquinas's famous known works are the Disputed Questions on Truth, the Summa contra Gentiles, and the unfinished but massively influential Summa Theologica.

We've put together an incredible collection of Thomas Aquinas quotes to read.

Here they are:

128 Inspirational Thomas Aquinas Quotes [2024] Famous Italian Philosopher

List of Inspiring Thomas Aquinas Quotes

“Nothing created has ever been able to fill the heart of man. God alone can fill it infinitely.” - Thomas Aquinas

“To be united to God in the unity of person was not fitting to human flesh, according to its natural endowments, since it was above his dignity; nevertheless, it was fitting that God, by reason of His infinite goodness, should unite it to himself for salvation.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The knowledge of God is the cause of things. For the knowledge of God is to all creatures what the knowledge of the artificer is to things made by his art.” - Thomas Aquinas

“How can we live in harmony? First, we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.” - Thomas Aquinas

“God should not be called an individual substance since the principle of individuation is matter.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Because we cannot know what God is, but only what He is not, we cannot consider how He is but only how He is not.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Reason in man is rather like God in the world.” - Thomas Aquinas

“It must be said that charity can, in no way, exist along with mortal sins.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.” - Thomas Aquinas

“To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them.” - Thomas Aquinas

“If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ because he Himself is the way.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The knowledge of God is the cause of all things.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Human salvation demands the divine disclosure of truths surpassing reason.” - Thomas Aquinas

“That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell.” - Thomas Aquinas

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

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

“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.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Man has free choice, or otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Our manner of knowing is so weak that no philosopher could perfectly investigate the nature of even one little fly.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.” - Thomas Aquinas

“For loving draws us more to things than knowing does since good is found by going to the thing, whereas the truth is found when the thing comes to us.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Love must precede hatred, and nothing is hated save through being contrary to a suitable thing which is loved. And hence it is that every hatred is caused by love.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The things that we love tell us what we are.” - Thomas Aquinas

“We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both, have laboured in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it.” - Thomas Aquinas

“To love is to will the good of the other.” - Thomas Aquinas

“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Love works in a circle, for the beloved moves the lover by stamping a likeness, and the lover then goes out to hold the beloved in reality. Who first was the beginning now becomes the end of motion.” - Thomas Aquinas

“No man truly has joy unless he lives in love.” - Thomas Aquinas

“We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Well-ordered self-love is right and natural.” - Thomas Aquinas

“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”. - Thomas Aquinas

“All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.” - Thomas Aquinas

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

“A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Wonder is the desire for knowledge.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Law is nothing other than a certain ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the person who has the care of the community.” - Thomas Aquinas

“If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death one convicted of heresy.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Every judgment 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.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him.” - Thomas Aquinas

“All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit.” - Thomas Aquinas

“A man does not always choose what his guardian angel intends.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Whatever is received is received according to the nature of the recipient.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The knowledge of God is to all creatures what the knowledge of the artificer is to things made by his art.” - Thomas Aquinas

“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”. - Thomas Aquinas

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man's own will.” - Thomas Aquinas

“How is it they live in such harmony the billions of stars – when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds about someone they know.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.” - Thomas Aquinas

“In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary. First, the authority of the sovereign. Secondly, a just cause. Thirdly, a rightful intention.” - Thomas Aquinas

“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.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Because of the diverse conditions of humans, it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people, as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty." - Thomas Aquinas

“For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice." - Thomas Aquinas

“The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth." - Thomas Aquinas

“I would rather feel compassion than know the meaning of it. I would hope to act with compassion without thinking of personal gain." - Thomas Aquinas

“It is only God who creates. The man merely rearranges." - Thomas Aquinas

“God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received." - Thomas Aquinas

“God himself would not permit evil in this world if good did not come of it for the benefit and harmony of the universe." - Thomas Aquinas

“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." - Thomas Aquinas

“If you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Thomas Aquinas

“The things we love tell us who we are." - Thomas Aquinas

“To love God is something greater than to know Him." - Thomas Aquinas

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

“A man's heart is right when he wills what God wills." - Thomas Aquinas

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." - Thomas Aquinas

“There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning." - Thomas Aquinas

“Christ was either liar, lunatic, or Lord!" - Thomas Aquinas

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

“Love follows knowledge." - Thomas Aquinas

“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." - Thomas Aquinas

“We should love others truly, for their own sakes rather than our own." - Thomas Aquinas

“There can be no joy in living without joy in work." - Thomas Aquinas

“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 Aquinas

“The soul is known by its acts." - Thomas Aquinas

“One cannot use an evil action with reference to a good intention." - Thomas Aquinas

“What does it take to become a saint? Will it." - Thomas Aquinas

“True peace consists in not separating ourselves from the will of God." - Thomas Aquinas

“Beware of the person of one book." - Thomas Aquinas

“Charity brings to life again those who are spiritually dead." - Thomas Aquinas

“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary's maternal intercession." - Thomas Aquinas

“Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hopes with things that are not at hand." - Thomas Aquinas

“The existence of a prime mover- nothing can move; there must be a first mover. The first mover is called God." - Thomas Aquinas

“Faith is God's work within us." - Thomas Aquinas

“Rarely affirm, seldom deny, always distinguish." - Thomas Aquinas

“Faith will tell us Christ is present When our human senses fail." - Thomas Aquinas

“Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious." - Thomas Aquinas

“Most men seem to live according to sense rather than reason." - Thomas Aquinas

“It is not possible to be ignorant of the end of things if we know their beginning." - Thomas Aquinas

“The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross." - Thomas Aquinas

“The light of faith makes us see what we believe." - Thomas Aquinas

“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life." - Thomas Aquinas

“All men are equal in nature, and also in original sin. It is in the merits and demerits of their actions that they differ." - Thomas Aquinas

“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." - Thomas Aquinas

“To convert somebody goes and takes them by the hand and guides them." - Thomas Aquinas

“Don't ask who said it? Ask what they said." - Thomas Aquinas

“God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason." - Thomas Aquinas

“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." - Thomas Aquinas

“Whatever a man has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor for their sustenance." - Thomas Aquinas

“The soul is perfected by knowledge and virtue." - Thomas Aquinas

“There is no leisure about politics." - Thomas Aquinas

“Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace." - Thomas Aquinas

“Every cell in us worships God." - Thomas Aquinas

“In the end, we know God as unknown." - Thomas Aquinas

“A song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice." - Thomas Aquinas

“Miracles are signs not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." - Thomas Aquinas

“Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them." - Thomas Aquinas

“Humility is the mark of a genuine disciple." - Thomas Aquinas

“Wonder is the desire of knowledge." - Thomas Aquinas

“To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer." - Thomas Aquinas

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

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

“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.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Not everything that is more difficult is more meritorious.” - Thomas Aquinas

“We are worth only as good as our joys.” - Thomas Aquinas

“Everything that man wants or desires, it is necessary either for its ultimate end.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The truth is the agreement between intelligence and things.” - Thomas Aquinas

“The passions are in themselves neither good nor bad.” - Thomas Aquinas

“We can open our hearts to God, but only with Divine help.” - Thomas Aquinas

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