You are what you read, it has been said. Who were the favorite authors of Saint Thomas Aquinas?

My doctoral dissertation was heavily dependent on St Thomas Aquinas’ Prima secundae of the Summa theologiae. Here are the number of citations of authorities found in Secunda pars in the Summa theologiae, which generally examines the purpose of man, vice and virtue, passions, law, grace, and the seven virtues. 

Clearly, St. Augustine and Aristotle are the most prevalent – Augustine edged into first place by less than 100 references. Gregory the Great and Dionysius make a happy third and fourth:

Augustine 1,630

Aristotle 1,546

Gregory the Great 439

Dionysius 202

Cicero 187

Jerome 178

John Damascene 168

Ambrose 151

Isidore of Seville 120

Roman Law 102

Gregory of Nyssa (actually Nemesius of Ephesus) 41

Macrobius 33

Boethius 30

Prosper of Aquitaine 19

Benedict 18

Basil 13

Plato 12

Hilary of Poiteiers 12

Bernard 9

Caesar 8

Ptolemy 1

These are based on Busa’s concordance and lifted from Servais-Theodore Pinkaers, OP “The Sources of the Ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas” in The Ethics of Aquinas, Stephen J. Pope, ed. (Georgetown University Press: Washington DC, 2002), 17.

Happy feast day of Saint Thomas (in the 1962 Calendar)!

Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor, pray for us.