Chapter XVII Aquinas, the Scholar270
The nobility and education. Studies at Cologne and Paris. The distinguished faculty of Paris in his time. Summa Contra Gentiles. Pope Leo XIII. and Aquinas’ teaching. Foundations of Christian apologetics. Characteristic passages from Aquinas. Necessity for revelation of God’s existence. Explanation of Resurrection. Liberty in Aquinas’ writings. Greatness of Aquinas and his contemporaries and the subsequent decadence of scholasticism. Contemporary appreciation of St. Thomas. His capacity for work. His sacred poetry.