se treatises in reality constitute a commentary
on 1 Cor. xii. 4-11. _Question_ CLXXIX., _On the Division of Life into
the Active and the Contemplative_, is here given; as also _Question_
CLXXX., _On the Contemplative Life_; _Question_ CLXXXI., _On the Active
Life_; _Question_ CLXXXII., _On the Comparison of the Active with the
Contemplative Life_.

S. Thomas then proceeds to treat of _various states of life_--viz., of
the state of perfection, of the Episcopal and of the Religious state.
Only one question raised in this connection concerns us here: _Whether_,
namely, _Contemplative Religious Orders are superior to Active Orders?_
(_Question_ CLXXXVIII. 6).

Each _Question_ is, as will be seen from the _Table of Contents_,
divided into _Articles_.

The framework of what is termed an "article" of the _Summa_ is familiar
to those who use that work, but it may not be amiss to explain S.
Thomas's method in brief fashion. Each "article" is couched in the form
of a question, thus: _Has contemplation its joys?_ And the Saint at once
sets forth in succession three, sometimes more, arguments which seem to
militate against the view he himself holds. These are commonly known as
the _objections_. He then gives us a short paragraph opening with the
words: _Sed contra_, or _But on the contrary_; and in this paragraph he
gives some authority, generally that of Holy Scripture or one of the
Fathers, for the view he is going to hold. This paragraph is generally
known from its opening words as the _Sed contra_; there is no argument
in it save from authority. He then proceeds to discuss the question from
the standpoint of pure reason. This portion is known as the _Corpus
articuli_, or _Body of the Article_, and in it the Saint presents his
reasoning in clear, precise fashion. It will be apparent, of course,
that many questions cannot be answered with a categoric _yes_ or _no_,
but the precise sense in which certain terms in the discussion are to be
used has to be clearly ascertained; according to the diverse ways in
which they may be understood the answer will be affirmative or negative.
It is important for those not familiar with S. Thomas' works to grasp
this point; they must not, for instance, presume that because the
opening "objections" seem to uphold one point of view S. Thomas is
therefore going to hold the precise opposite. A good example of this
will be found in the Article: _Ought we to pray to God alone?_

In the Treatises he