of "Prince of Commentators." Here,
however, we are concerned with the devotional rather than with the
critical aspect of his writings, and the reader will gain from some of
Cajetan's terse and pithy comments a very great deal of instruction.
In conclusion, a few words may be desirable regarding the method of S.
Thomas.
S. Thomas divides his _Summa Theologica_ into three main parts. The
_First Part_ treats of _God, the Exemplar_.[22] The _Second_, of _man
made to the image of God_;[23] the _Third_, of _God Incarnate_, of His
_Sacraments_ by which we attain to union with Him in this life, and of
_Eternal Life_ to which we attain ultimately by our resurrection. Here
we are solely concerned with the _Second part_.[24] It is subdivided
into two portions, known as the _Prima Secundae_ and the _Secunda
Secundae_ respectively, or as the _First_ and _Second_ portions of the
_Second part_. In the _Prima Secundae_ the Saint treats of the
_principles of Morals_--namely, of man's ultimate end and of the habits,
acts, and principles by which he attains it. In the _Secunda Secundae_,
after having laid in the _Prima Secundae_ the foundations of Moral
Theology, he proceeds to treat of the _individual virtues_, firstly of
the Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity; then of the Cardinal
Virtues, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. Under each of
these heads he treats of the _Gifts_ corresponding to each Virtue, of
the _vices_ opposed to them, and of the _Precepts_ regarding them.[25]
Apropos of the Cardinal Virtue of Justice, he treats of the Moral Virtue
of _Religion_, which is comprised under Justice, since Religion may be
defined as the offering to God the worship which is His due, _Question_
LXXXI. He then treats of _Devotion_, _Question_ LXXXII., and then of
_Prayer_, _Question_ LXXXIII. These three _Questions_ we here present in
an English dress.
After these Treatises on individual virtues, he passes to the
consideration of those virtues which concern, not men as a whole, but
only _certain classes of men_.[26] And first of all he treats of those
_Gifts_ which are bestowed upon certain men not so much for their own
benefit as for the good of others--viz., of Prophecy, of Ecstasy, of the
Gift of Tongues, and of the Gift of Miracles. He then discusses the two
kinds of _operations_ or "lives"--the _active_, namely, and the
_contemplative_--which find a place in the Mystical Body of Christ,
which is the Church. The
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