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St. Thomas and Dr. Wicksteed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2024

Luke Walker O.P.
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In the last two numbers of Blackfriars we have been considering the use that St. Thomas makes of the New Testament in the Summa contra Gentiles—that is, when defending the Christian Faith against unbelievers. Since writing those articles we have read, for the first time, a lecture in which the late Dr. Wicksteed deals with the same subject. The work of which the lecture forms a part has been highly praised in Catholic, as well as in non-Catholic, reviews for its presentation of St. Thomas’s doctrine. We wish to pass no judgment on the book as a whole, but concerning this particular lecture we think that there can be no doubt that it utterly fails to do justice to St. Thomas’s thought. As the point is an important one, and Dr. Wicksteed’s account is likely to be taken as satisfactory, we propose to attempt to justify our criticism of him. In doing so we may perhaps supply some of the deficiencies in our previous treatment of the question.

Type
Research Article
Information
Blackfriars , Volume 10 , Issue 107 , February 1929 , pp. 848 - 862
Copyright
Copyright © 1929 Provincial Council of the English Province of the Order of Preachers

References

1 The Reactions between Dogma and Philosophy illustrated from the works of St. Thomas Aquinas by Philip H. Wicksteed, M.A., Litt. D. The book contains the Hibbert Lectures for 1916. It was first published in 1920, and was re-issued in 1926 (London: Constable & Co.).

2 Grammar of Assent, p. 408 (all quotations are taken from the first edition of 1870).

3 Op. cit. pp. 410-413.

4 Oxford University Seromons, p. 214 (3rd ed., 1872).

5 This important sentence dominates the rest of the chapter. It is entirely omitted in Dr. Wicksteed's summary. What is more remarkable is that it suffers the same fate in Fr. Rickaby's translation. This is not the only occasion on which the latter cannot find room for a sentence—and a short one at that—which is of particular importance and expressed with special care., We gave an instance in an earlier article, and a casual examination some time ago revealed several others.

6 University Sermons, p. 200.

7 Analogy of Religion, Part ii, chap. 7.

8 Grammar of Assent, p. 435.

9 Op. cit., p. 422.

10 Grammar of Assent, pp. 299-300 (italics ours).