About six years ago, I did a post on St. Thomas Aquinas’ “16 Precepts for Acquiring Knowledge.” The precepts are from a letter that Aquinas wrote to a certain “John.” Now, some scholars doubt the authenticity of the precepts and I’m no Medievalist to argue over such things, so I’ll leave that up to you. I first became interested in the precepts upon reading A. G. Sertillanges’ book, The Intellectual Life, which is loosely based on the precepts. Last year, I used the precepts in an introductory course that I co-taught and for lack of a standard translation out there, I did my own. I’ll provide the Latin alongside my translation here so you can judge whether it’s a good one or whether there are errors. I hope you all find it useful. And this is the only place you’ll find it on the whole internet.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Sixteen Precepts for Acquiring Knowledge (De modo studendi)
Because it was asked of me, John, my beloved in Christ, how you ought to study in the in acquiring of a treasury of knowledge, such counsel is delivered to you by me:
Following these footsteps, you will put forth and bear branches and fruit in the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts as long as you have life. If you pursue this, you will be able to obtain that which you desire. |
Quia quaesisti a me, in Christo mihi carissime Ioannes, qualiter te studere oporteat in thesauro scientiae acquirendo, tale a me tibi traditur consilium:
Illa sequens vestigia, frondes et fructus in vinea domini Sabaoth utiles, quandiu vitam habueris, proferes et produces. Haec si sectatus fueris, ad id attingere poteris, quod affectas. |
Latin text: Thomas Aquinas, De modo studendi (Textum Taurini, 1954), Corpus Thomisticum, http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/Latin/ModoStud%28false%29.htm (accessed June 29, 2011). Translation is mine. Copyright 2011 CatholicBibleStudent.com.
I should note that the “wine cellar” (cellam vinarium) in Precept #6 is a quotation from the Vulgate rendering of Song of Songs 2:4, “introduxit me in cellam vinariam ordinavit in me caritatem” (He brought me into the wine cellar, he ordered charity in me). This little idea, which in the Hebrew is closer to “house of wine” and dynamically, “banquet hall,” becomes important in Medieval spiritual reading of the Song.
Thank You for posting this. I am currently reading “The Intellectual Life” and found this when I googled 16 precepts of St Thomas Aquinas.
Thanks for your post. I have also come to it from Sertillanges’ Intellectual Life. I intend to convey the precepts to my kin and I’ll put it into more colloquial English.
Do not be overly familiar with anyone, because excessive familiarity breeds contempt and yields subtraction from the ability to study.
This is where I draw the line. There us a problem with integrating this view with what you need to be to raise children. You need to have a wide range of emotions, to have empathy, to be able to identify with your kids, have empathy, have close family friends, be close of extended family, etc.
I would like to write a version of “The Intellectual Life” for mothers and parents. We should want a complete life, exercising all of our capacities for bonding with people, so we can preserve democratic societies. We need to talk to other people, people we disagree with, not hide in our studies.
Wow! It’s wonderful how these precepts are discovered by us through the book intellectual life. To the two guys above, I’m confident they are doing well with their pursuits. I’m also reading the book, and hope to be good as well. Thank you for this!
Introduction to the Devout Life is an excellent place to start for those wishing to integrate pray work and study. St Francis de Sales gives good advice on applying the 16 precepts into daily life with charity and balance.