Treatise on Law

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. (1909–2000) was professor emeritus of philosophy and jurisprudence at St. Louis University. Father Henle published hundreds of books, articles, and reviews. Noteworthy among them were his Latin Series, Marquette Aquinas Lecture, Method in Metaphysics, St. Thomas and Platonism, and Theory of Knowledge.

"The four chapters of the introduction discuss such items as the life and work of St. Thomas, the structure of the Summa, Scholasticism, St. Thomas's approach to the study of law, the nature of definition, the clarification of key terms, 'Nature and Essence,' the virtues, Thomas's doctrine on natural law, with a chapter on St. Thomas's sources and his use of them. This is followed by the Latin text of the Treatise unit by unit, each unit in turn followed by the English translation and when appropriate by a comment." —Manuscripta"Distinguished Jesuit scholar R.J. Henle provides us with a text and translation of the Treatise on Law that both locates it in its native habitat and enables it to live a responsible life on its own. Henle has produced a magnificently useful book that should revolutionize courses in moral and political philosophy as well as those in jurisprudence." —Ralph McInerny, author of A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas