Saint Thomas Aquinas

By: G. K. Chesterton

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

"You call him a Dumb Ox; I tell you that the Dumb Ox will bellow so loud that his bellowing will fill the world." (Albertus Magnus)

Dubbed the "Dumb Ox" by his classmates for his shyness, Saint Thomas Aquinas proved to be possessed of the rarest brilliance, justifying the faith of his teacher, Albertus Magnus, and sparking a revolution in Christian thought. Chesterton's unsurpassed examination of Aquinas' thinking makes his philosophy accessible to listeners of any generation.

Etienne Gilson, the 20th century's foremost authority on Aquinas, has said of this work, "I consider it as being without possible exception the best book ever written on Saint Thomas. Nothing short of genius can account for such an achievement."

Public Domain (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

profile of the man

thought we would discuss more of what he believed turned out to be a testimony of his character

Excellent Book

The narrator is excellent. Copywriter in 1933 explains the high level of writing in this book. Of course with GK Chesterton as the author, I shouldn’t have expected anything else.

He tells you enough so you know who St Thomas was and what his thesis is. The authors humor is an extra treat

It does not get better than this my friend....

I was raised Catholic. I was taught to say the Our Father and Hail Mary as a very, very small child. I was taught to believe in the beauty and unimaginable joy of Heaven. I was taught the holiness and goodness of marriage and the value of family, and even though my parents divorced when I was quite young family gatherings were of paramount importance whether with my mom and step-dad mon - fri, or with my dad, Fri to Sunday evening visiting family and friends. I attended Catholic grammar school and High School but found myself getting involved in smoking weed, drinking, using street drugs etc. This time from '72' to '77' was a rough time and values all seemed relative, hence I drifted from any semblance of faith. Thank God He saw fit too rescue me back to himself in late 1977. Unfortunately, returning to Sunday mass did not seem to match the Power of my recent experience in meeting the living God. Yes the words of the Mass were flawless, and the Dogma pristine, but I didn't sense the powerful God who I came to know personally. After searching for about a year as to best live out my faith in Jesus, I settled into an Assembly of God, Pentecostal church. This was something different. I knew that they loved Christ, but I was not a fan of the emotional displays of piety. I tried my best to fit into this, but there was something missing. I did my best for those first 5 years, age 20 to 25, but then spent the next 40 years wandering in the protestant wilderness. I was uncertain about turning my life over to God's care I wanted to KNOW at a much deeper and philosophical level, the essence of God and His purpose for my life. This book GKC by Aquinas has restored my JOY, satisfied my intellect, and given me such an appreciation for the Catholic Church once again.

Best biography I've ever come in contact with.

Chesterton's breakdown of Thomas Aquinas is the best biography I've ever read/listened to. He details Aquinas' life by telling the story of Aquinas himself, the prevailing philosophies leading up to him and following him, and how Thomas's philosophy fulfilled the errors in Aristotle and others. The story is excellent and paints an amazing picture of the medieval saint. I highly recommend this for anyone wishing to learn more about Aquinas and for those who have an interest in the philosophical arguments of meaning.

Great

Chesterton really brings Saint Thomas Aquinas to life! I never knew Saint Thomas was shy.

Good book.

I knew nothing about Aquinas and this was a nice primer. Had to stop and look some things up to understand what he was saying at times, but I'm glad I did!

Good overview of Aquinas' contributions to philosophy and Christian thiught

Let's be honest. This is not an easy read, both because it is written by Chesterton who is both witty, funny, and at times prone to rabbit trails. And also because it is about one of the great minds of western civilisation.
For that reason, I found listening to it to be more approachable. In order to master the content, I would need to listen again. But I gained so much with the first listen. It is a wonderful overview of different streams of thought from Plato and Aristotle, to Augustin, settling in to Saint Thomas, and continuing on to Martin Luther to the early 20th century.

Excellent reading and overview of STA

I didn’t know anything about STA but keep hearing the name and his works as a theology of sorts about Catholicism. The book provides and excellent overview of the person, his development of ideology and theology. It made me want to read and study STA.

Delightful reading of a wonderful book

I expected an interpretation of Thomistic thought and got instead an introduction to a friend. Thomas is a delightful man, and though I have a read a bit of his writing, I did not know these stories. Great fun to meet the man and see him interpreted to a world filled with Nazis.

Derek Perkins does an excellent job reading.

I highly recommend this book.

great book, great performance, amazing story.

i needed to slow it down and listen more then once to get used to Chesterton's style, but it was well worth it!