The Treatise On Law (notre Dame Studies In Law And Contemporary Issues, Vol 4) [Hardcover]

In this translation of Saint Thomas AquinassThe Treatise on Law, R. J. Henle, S.J., a well-known authority on philosophy and jurisprudence, fluently and accurately presents the Latin and English translation of this important work. Henle provides the necessary background for an informed reading of theTreatise, as well as the only in-depth commentary available in English on this text. The first section of the book contains an introduction to St. Thomass life, work, writings, and jurisprudence. Henle discusses the structure of St. Thomass magnum opus,Summa Theologiae, from whichThe Treatise on Lawis excerpted. A brief section is included on Scholastic philosophy and also on St. Thomass approach to the study of law. Henle then examines Thomass definition of a law and the general doctrinal background for theTreatise. Finally Henle explores St. Thomass sources, including his use of auctoritates, or authoritative quotations drawn primarily from the Bible, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Isidore of Seville. The second part of the book contains the Latin text of theTreatisepresented unit by unit, each followed by the English translation and, when appropriate, by a comment. TheTreatise on Lawwill be of interest to law students, lawyers, judges, and legal scholars. It will also appeal to those interested in St. Thomass legal philosophy, such as political scientists, theoretical sociologists, and cultural historians. For philosophers, especially beginners in medieval philosophy, it serves as a good introduction to the thought of St. Thomas.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was a Doctor of the church. He was an Italian Dominican friar and Roman Catholic priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. Canonized in 1323 by Pope John XXII, Aquinas was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism.

R. J. Henle, S.J. (19092000l“L