Great Throughts Treasury

"The happy man needs friends... not, indeed, not make use of them, since he suffices himself, nor to delight in them, since he possesses perfect delight in the operation of virtue, but for the purpose of a good operation, namely, that he may do good to them, that he may delight in seeing them do good, and again that he may be helped by them in his good work."

"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."

"The human condition is such that pain and effort are not just symptoms which can be removed without changing life itself; they are rather the modes in which life itself, together with the necessity to which it is bound, makes itself felt. For mortals, the easy life of the gods would be a lifeless life."

"The happy man in this life needs friends."

"The intellectual soul, because it can comprehend universals, has a power extending to the infinite; therefore it cannot be limited by nature either to certain fixed natural judgments, or to certain fixed means whether of defense or of clothing, as is the case with other animals, the souls of which have knowledge and power in regard to fixed particular things. Instead of all these, man has by nature his reason and his hands, which are the organs of organs, since by their means man can make for himself instruments of an infinite variety, and for any number of purposes."

"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."

"The human mind may perceive truth only through thinking."

"The light of faith makes us see what we believe. For just as, by the habits of the other virtues, man sees what is fitting to him in respect of that habit, so, by the habit of faith, the human mind is directed to assent to such things as are fitting to a right faith, and not to assent to others."

"The matter of justice is an external operation, in so far as either it or the thing we use by it is made proportionate to some other person to whom we are related by justice. Now each man’s own is that which is due to him according to equality of proportion. Therefore the proper act of justice is nothing else than to render to each one his own."

"The most hopeful people in the world are the young and the drunk. The first because they have little experience of failure, and the second because they have succeeded in drowning theirs."

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

"The movement of love has a twofold tendency: towards the good which a man wishes to someone, whether for himself or for another; and towards that to which he wishes some good. Accordingly, man has love of concupiscence towards the good that he wishes to another, and love of friendship towards him to whom he wishes good."

"The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them."

"The Philosopher [Aristotle] says in Metaphysics VI that good and evil, which are objects of the will, are in things, but truth and error, which are objects of the intellect, are in the mind."

"The reason, however, why the philosopher may be likened to the poet is this: both are concerned with the marvelous."

"The purpose of human law is to lead men to virtue not suddenly, but gradually."

"The soul is like an uninhabited world"

"The soul is known by its acts."

"The Stone is one, the Medicine is one, to which we add nothing, only in the preparation removing superfluities."

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

"The theologian considers sin mainly as an offence against God; the moral philosopher as contrary to reasonableness."

"The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces."

"The things that we love tell us what we are."

"The truth can be perceived only through thinking."

"The will to power, as the modern age from Hobbes to Nietzsche understood it, far from being a characteristic of the strong, is, like envy and greed, among the vices of the weak, and possibly even their most dangerous one. Power corrupts indeed when the weak band together in order to ruin the strong, but not before."

"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."

"There is a twofold retribution for the things that a man has done in life, one for his soul immediately upon its separation from the body, another at the resurrection of the body. The first retribution is to individuals severally, as individuals severally die: the second is to all men together, as all men shall rise together. Therefore there must be a twofold judgment: one of individuals, regarding the soul; another a general judgment, rendering to all men their due in soul and body… And further, since in the last judgment there will be question of the reward or punishment of persons present in visible bodily shape, it is fitting for that judgment to be a visible process."

"There cannot be a supreme evil, because... although evil always lessens good, yet it never wholly consumes it; and thus, since good always remains, nothing can be wholly and perfectly bad."

"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."

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

"There must be must be a first mover existing above all – and this we call God."

"Those things that have occupied a man's thoughts and affections while awake recur to his imagination while asleep."

"Those truths are self-evident which are recognized at once, as soon as the terms in which they are expressed are known. Such a truth is the assertion that God exists: for by the name 'God' we understand something greater than which nothing can be thought. This notion is formed in the understanding by whoever hears and understands the name 'God,' so that God must already exist at least in the mind. Now He cannot exist in the mind only: for what is in the mind and in reality is greater than that which is in the mind only; but nothing is greater than God, as the very meaning of the name shows: it follows that the existence of God is a self-evident truth, being evidenced by the mere meaning of the name."

"Those who are more adapted to the active life can prepare themselves for contemplation in the practice of the active life, while those who are more adapted to the contemplative life can take upon themselves the works of the active life so as to become yet more apt for contemplation."

"There would not be a perfect likeness of God in the universe if all things were of one grade of being."

"Three things are needed for beauty; wholeness, harmony and radiance."

"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."

"Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works."

"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."

"Through every mortal sin which is contrary to God’s commandments, an obstacle is placed to the outpouring of charity, since from the very fact that a man chooses to prefer sin to God’s friendship, which requires that we should follow His will, it follows that the habit of charity is lost at once through one mortal sin."

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

"To disparage the dictate of reason is equivalent to contemning the command of God."

"To live well is to work well, to show a good activity."

"To know God exists in a general and confused way is implanted in us by nature, since God is man’s happiness. For man naturally desires happiness, and what is naturally desired by man must be naturally known to him. This, however, is not to know absolutely that God exists."

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

"To love God is something greater than to know Him."

"We are like children, who stand in need of masters to enlighten us and direct us and God has provided for this, by appointing his angels to be our teachers and guides."

"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."

"Well-ordered self-love is right and natural."

"What is natural cannot be changed while nature remains.* But contrary opinions cannot be in the same mind at the same time: therefore no opinion or belief is sent to man from God contrary to natural knowledge. And therefore the Apostle says: The word is near in thy heart and in thy mouth, that is, the word of faith which we preach (Rom. x, 8). But because it surpasses reason it is counted by some as contrary to reason, which cannot be. To the same effect is the authority of Augustine: What truth reveals can nowise be contrary to the holy books either of the Old or of the New Testament." Hence the conclusion is evident, that any arguments alleged against the teachings of faith do not proceed logically from first principles of nature, principles of themselves known, and so do not amount to a demonstration; but are either probable reasons or sophistical; hence room is left for refuting them."