Ussher or Aquinas

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
What was St. Thomas Aquinas like?

In what sense?

Originally posted by lucifershammer
In what sense?

In his humour.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
In his humour.

Some of his contemporaries (especially the Franciscans) thought Aquinas didn't have a sense of humour.

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Some of his contemporaries (especially the Franciscans) thought Aquinas didn't have a sense of humour.

Do you know any anecdotes that could shed light on this or any other aspect of his character? Was he aloof? Did he have the common touch?

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Some of his contemporaries (especially the Franciscans) thought Aquinas didn't have a sense of humour.

No wonder Ivanhoe likes him.

"A famous anecdote illustrates Thomas's obsession with the truths of God: He was once summoned to the court of King St. Louis for a royal dinner. Placed at the king's right hand, he sank into quiet reflection while the chattering of the court went on about him. Suddenly, he smacked the table with a hand, cried, 'That will settle the Manichees!' and called out for his secretary. When it was pointed out that this was not proper behavior in the royal presence, Thomas apologized and explained that he had thought he was in his cell. Louis, a king but also a saint, had the wisdom to summon a secretary for his guest."

GK Chesterton's book: http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/stt03002.htm

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Do you know any anecdotes that could shed light on this or any other aspect of his character? Was he aloof? Did he have the common touch?

I'd have to re-read Chesterton's bio of Aquinas (a v. good read, btw) to see if there are other instances.

One anecdote (possibly apocryphal) that comes to mind is this:

Once, Aquinas was in his study working (probably on some deep philosophical problem). His Dominican brothers, who were outside, decided to play a (rather childish) prank on him. One of them ran to the window and said, "Thomas look - a crow is flying upside down!" When Aquinas ran to the window, his brothers fell on the grass laughing at his gullibility.

At which point Aquinas says, "I'd rather believe a crow was flying upside down than believe that men of God would lie".

Chesterton says that this anecdote, though apocryphal, was quite indicative of his character.

Aquinas was also a very reserved, even shy, person. While studying philosophy and theology under St. Albert Magnus, he was given the nickname "The Dumb Ox" (the title of Chesterton's biography of Aquinas, btw) by his class-mates. This was both due to his terseness with words and his size (he was rather a big man).

Originally posted by Nemesio
No wonder Ivanhoe likes him.

I like him too. I don't agree with everything he wrote, but you can't disagree with his genius.