1928-2019, who served as a professor at Georgetown University for thirty-five years, was one of the most prolific Catholic writers in America. From The Shakespearian Rag, Lawrence, Kansas, III (Winter, 1991), Contemplata Tradere: On Its Being Better to Illuminate than Merely Two phrases, we can rediscover the world in all its causes.Įst illuminare quam lucere solum, ita maius est contemplata aliis tradere quam We are not to be defeated by the questions no professor or politician Us this truth in our own world, we are to seek a world in which such things canīe asked. On those truths we have first contemplated and reflected on. But in each of ourĪctions, we are to behold, not ourselves, but the things that are. We can choose any of these ways of life with a good spirit. Or professors, or lawyers, or aides in hospitals, or providers for the poor, though We need not all be bishops, or Dominicans, or Jesuits, If we do not seek to relate all things to one end, not just to any end, but to Reflect on the highest things, or even on our own things. Things that flow out of us belong to one world. Seem to be asked any more? We are to take into our soul all the things that are,Įven the meaning of our own actions. Not adding to the worlds supply of lawyers, or with the questions that do not What does this have to do with ends, virtue, and One could interpret the Jesuit formulaĮither as seeing the newness of the divine providence working itself out in theĮvents of the day or as being engaged in worldly affairs but with a certain distance,Īll of this in order to realize the abiding things of God in all things, even We were to behold this contentĪs it came forth onto the visible world. The world of action had its own spiritual content. The Jesuit formula, for its part, suggested that what goes on in The great Dominican formula seemed to have the noble notion of spending much timeįiguring things out, then going forth to teach and preach what one had drawn into Were rather to become in actione contemplativi, (contemplatives in action). Thought themselves to exist not so much in order contemplata tradere but they Passing on to others what we first contemplate ourselves. The early Jesuits, a couple of hundred years afterĪquinas, came up with their own answer to this famous position of Aquinas about We are to contemplate, that is, think rightly Of the wholeness of our being, that we are to think and act, think before we act,Īct on the basis of what we think. Behind Aquinas brief remark is an awareness What we do should directly flowįrom what we behold and pray about. Moreover, that we do good works or pray to God. To do but also urging them to do it, as if perhaps some dont! We wonder whether Aquinas was not merely defining what bishops are supposed It is a good thing to imitate theirĮxample. The first thing that Aquinas suggests is that bishopsĪre supposed both to teach and to contemplate. That is an unforgettable image, I think,įew would suspect in that brief passage that muchĬontroversy lies hidden. To pass on to others what we have contemplated ( contemplata tradere) than In giving his answer to this query, Aquinas used the example: JustĪs it is greater to illuminate something than merely to shine, so it is greater One devoted to contemplation, one devoted to an active life like giving alms orĪttending the sick, or one in which elements of both contemplation and action Thomas Aquinas inquired about what sort of religious life was best Wonder, afterĪll, was one of those things that most distinguished our lot, as Aristotle once To wonder about things that we are not supposed to think about. Still, as an act of rebellion, it is good Virtue cannot be a viable option, for that Of lawyers already exists in the United States, I wonder if they ever ask themselvesĪbout ends? I know the question of ends cannot be mentioned in the polity itselfīecause that would imply that some forms of life are better than others. Not busy writing law school recommendations for otherwise normal students, whoĮven seem to understand that about seventy percent of the worlds abundant supply Our character is decided too much by what we do not want to know,Įspecially when what we do not want to know is in fact the truth. Other questions, even when asked, confine the range of possible answers by someĪ priori theory or prejudice that prevents us from taking a look at the
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