The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-03-05
THE ANGELIC DOCTOR.

thinkers OF the race. AT times, 1t
is true, leader may flare up and,
appealing to the passions OF the
hour, sway the multitude to extra
ordinary deeds. But as a. rule,
the settled policies of action, the
fixed principles Of conduct in the
moral, religious or political field,
owe their origin to men who have
evolved methods and have given
deep thought to the problems of
mankind.
History shows on numerous oc-
.casions how nation has been
led along definite lines by the
| thinkers of the country. The ma
terialism of the Oriental as well
as the atheism Of certain Euro
pean countries, both are due to
the principles set forth by the
leading philosophers Of those ma
tions. France had her Voltaire.
and Rousseau, Germany her Kant,
HegeI and Nietzsche, while Amer
lea has felt fine affects Of such
| teachers as Paine and Ingersoll.
/ Here and there on the horizon
of History there arises a luminary
| that sheds his luster not only far
and wide, but down the avenues
Of Time. He speaks not to peo-
pie or to one time but to the in
tellect of all times. Such was ST..
Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic
Doctor Of the Church. Endowed
with a profound and keen intel
lect himself, he readily grasped
the best and purest thoughts i'll
the works Of all his predecessors,
Christian and pagan. Deity and
with sure touch did he pick the
gold from. the dross; with unerr-
ing skill he assembled his treas
lures drawn from the intellects Of
the ages, and then gave to the
/. structure Of precious stones and
/ Jewels the artistic finish that only
his own towering intellect could
conceive and execute.
The most intricate and elusive
| problem Of human thought be-
came clear and impid under his
simple but effective treatment.
] With the sureness Of genius he
|.searched the hidden recesses of
abstruse questions and laid them
bare before the ordinary mind.
The guiding thought in his mind
was to search out truth wherever
it could be found in the annals
of human kind, and then to par
allel it with the revealed truths of
i Christianity, thus showing that
! truth is one and that it's source
| is to be sought in the bosom of
/ the Infinite Truth, which. is God
Himself.
! Thomas was more than a phil
osopher and a theologian, more
than scientist of highest order
he was a man of God, imbued with
a love of humility and an angelic
purity Of heart and Of mind. His
/ deep penetration into the myster-
les Of faith and reason seemed to
lift him far above the trivialities
of flesh and earth. Grasping, as
he did perhaps more than any
other man, the sublime greatness
Of God, ST. Thomas lost himself
and his own personality in that
wondrous vision. With such q
revelation of the immensely of the
Divine came a profound humility
and an utter effacing Of all self,
seeking.
. The holy Doctor has thus left
an indelible impress on the
thought of all time since his day
The Church, recognizing the splen
: dor Of his teaching and the deptf
and accuracy of his doctrine, has
!, made her own the explanations
the proofs and the principles h,
SO lucidly set forth. She not onl,
honors him as, a teacher and /
guide through the mazes of hu
/, man problems and religious con
!. ltroversies, but she reveres him a,
a Saint, man Of God, one of tn,
most beautiful and forceful ex
amples on record of the intimat,
relation between faith and reason
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