Corpus Christianorum has announced two new series: Thomas de Aquino Graecus and Thomas de Aquino a Byzantinis receptus. Its aim is to produce “critical editions of Greek translations of, and commentaries on, various works by Thomas Aquinas composed by Byzantine scholars and theologians between the late thirteenth and fifteenth centuries.” For more information visit the webiste here.
The readers of Thomistica are undoubtedly familiar with the ongoing publication of the complete works of St. Thomas in English.
Yesterday, January 28, it was announced that a similar project in Polish has been initiated by the Thomistic Institute in Warsaw, run by the Polish Province of the Dominican Order, and the Pro Futuro Theologiae Foundation at the Theology Faculty in Torún. The edition will comprise of seventy volumes and aims to be complete in 2035.
Signing the contract: From the left: Mateusz Przanowski OP, Fr. Piotr Roszak, Tomasz Grabowski OP, Piotr Paweł Orłowski
Thomas Prügl from the Universität Wien (link) writes to us with this question:
Let me use the expertise of Thomistica to ask a question: Some months ago, I read a note about a study that included an English translation of the Liber de fide trinitatis, the famous "Libellus" that Pope Urban asked Saint Thomas to examine and that became the occasion for Aquinas' Contra errores graecorum. Father Dondaine edited the Libellus in vol. 40 of the Leonine Edition, along with Contra errores graecorum. Unfortunately I did not wirte down the author and the title, but does anybody know this study or translation?
Please feel free to offer suggestions in the Comments section below, or write to Dr Prügl here.
PS: I checked Fr. Joseph Kenny's library of texts on this but came up short. Any ideas?
After 52 years, a theological project of dizzying magnitude has finally been completed. In September, the final volume of the Japanese translation of the Summa Theologica was published, the last of 45 volumes of the defining work of St Thomas Aquinas.
Ryosuke Inagaki, a professor emeritus of Kyushu University who translated 20 of the volumes and stuck with the project until the very end, says that despite the huge amount of time required he has not come away from the task with memories of having “worked hard.”
“Thomas’ writing is like a piece by Bach, with a rhythm that makes it easy to approach. Once I got into the translation, it went pretty quickly,” says Inagaki.
He tried to make progress each day, he adds, devoting the time between waking up and eating breakfast to this long series of books.
Written for novices of Christianity over a period of nine years from 1265, but never completed, the Summa Theologica tackles all the big questions confronting mankind, from creation to the existence of God, the latter summed up in five arguments known as the “five ways.”
But according to Inagaki, “it would be a mistake to think it is supposed to be the answer to every question. Instead, the Summa Theologica is a roadmap for life.”
Baptized during his time as a college student, 84-year-old Inagaki discovered St Thomas through some priests he met and a high-ranking American officer who was stationed in Japan after World War II.
Japan’s first introduction to the Summa Theologica came courtesy of the economist Tokuzo Fukuda who died a decade before the outbreak of the war.
While studying in the US, Inagaki later researched Thomas’ conception of natural law theory as well as the constitution of Japan. He joined the translation project when it was still in its 11th volume.
Some 15 people had a hand in the recently-finished translation with more than half having died during the time it took to complete.
Two days after the completion of the galley proof of the final Japanese volume in May last year, the elderly founder of the publishing house responsible passed away.
Pulling out a letter from the publisher written in 2011, Inagaki notes the emphatic words of support for the lengthy, time consuming translation process which was then in its final stages.
Inagaki has held dear the writings of St Thomas for decades as the owner of an American, 1952-published copy of the pocket edition of the Summa for the mass market, My Way of Life.
“This title really brings out the defining features of the Summa Theologica,” he says. “[St Thomas] wanted to write a roadmap for people who really and truly seek happiness.”
Under the direction of the Sacra Doctrina Project
