St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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28 IGNATIAN exactitude of his definitions is without a par. He, with St. Augustine, wanted to know, not to conjecture. Thus it is that his physical treatises border closely upon and often lapse into a philosophical strain. But there can be no ob- jection to a trained philosopher and theologian like St. Thomas embellishing physical science with his knowledge of the higher and nobler sciences. With such as Aquin this is a most welcome method-but there are few like St. Thomas. The true scientist has nothing to fear from religion. Both proceed from the same source and one cannot contra- dict the other. Again, there never has been any revelation as to the properties of bodies, the nature oif motion and all such. In other words, there is no revealed chemistry, no revealed astronomy, and no revealed physics. These are natural sciences depending specifically upon themselves and unable to borrow from theology either the laws of their being or the methods that could accelerate their progress. All this was known to St. Thomas, and when human investigation could do no more he murmured a Laus Deo. Learned man that he was he knew better than to build a. system upon unfounded hypotheses. Truly, the spirit of God moved over his work. And his critics afore- mentioned, not only cast a shadow upon themselves and their profession, but they show exceedingly bad taste. C. Harold Caulfield.

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THE PHYSICS OF AQUIN 27 twenty-two began to- publish his first works. His extra- ordinary ability was apparent even in his youth, and each year added to his genius and popularity. Scorning the latter, he time and again, refused lofty ecclesiastical dig- nities. So great was his modesty, and love of poverty and study that the Archbishopric of Naples was pressed upon him in vain. All his works are written in Latin, and herein lies the pity, for they contain hidden treasure, the existence of which men have never suspected. May they soon be translated! His most important work is the Summa Theo- logica, which, while professing to treat of Theology only, is really a systematic and complete summary of the knowl- edge of that time. Aquin regarded every branch of knowl- edge as a part of the knowledge of God, Whom man cannot hope to comprehend completely. This principle was his guiding star. It is a principle that would save many of our moderns a deal of vain and materialistic theorizing. It is from the Summa that we judge of the knowledge St. Thomas and his forerunners had of the science of Physics-not Physics as understood to-day, but Natural Philosophy. The confusion of tongues was nothing to the uncon- nected physical notions that Aquin reviewed and formed into an orderly system. With his wonderful intellect he argued into the very fundamentals of Nature's phenomena -and here his genius is manifested. See his definitions of Motion, Matter, Continuity and Interaction of bodies, Forces, Constitution of matter, etc. The wonderful advance of Physics in the approximate past may be to the honor of the modern scientists but had Aquin the experimental knowledge of to-day what conclusions could he not have drawn from problems that vex the scientist of to-day? The physical system of St. Thomas is peculiarly free from the reckless, unproven theories that are so character- istic of modern physicists and scientists in general. The

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mintrr HE soft white Hakes of snow descend To earth from leaden skies, So soon to clothe the dull, brown fields In robes of other guise. O'er hill and dale, o'er roof and thatch, The wintry traces fallg As if to vest the ground with warmth, At Nature's silent call. Now lies the rushing stream at rest, Frozen by icy blastg And o'er the lake and shallow pool The enchanter's spell is cast. The earth has sought her winter's nest, To slumber, wrapt in whitep 'Till gentle warmth the cover lifts, And spring flowers blossom bright. Warren W. Brown