Jacques Maritain Center
: ReadingsTheology. Thirty-eight Treatises. Since the principal end of Sacred Doctrine is to give a knowledge of God, not only according to His Nature but also as he is the Beginning and End of all things, and especially of the rational being, we propose to treat of:
God. Threefold Consideration:
(A) Concerning those things which pertain to the Divine Essence. [ Q. 2 - 26 ]
(B) Concerning those things which pertain to the Distinction of Persons. [ Q. 27 - 43 ]
(C) Concerning those things which pertain to the Production of Creatures by God.
. . . . . (1)The Production of Creatures [ Q. 44 - 46 ]
. . . . . (2) The Distinction of Creatures
. . . . . . . . . . (a) The distinction of things in general [ Q. 47 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (b) The distinction of things in particular
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (i) The distinction of good and evil [ Q. 48 - 49 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ii) The distinction of corporeal and spiritual creatures
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * The creature purely spiritual [ Q. 50 - 64 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * The creature purely corporeal [ Q. 65 - 74 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * The creature composed of body and spirit, i.e. man [ Q. 75 - 102 ]
. . . . . (3) The Preservation and Government of Creatures [ Q. 103 - 119 ]
The Advance of the Rational Creature to God. Twofold consideration:
(A) The Saviour Himself, i.e. the Mystery of the Incarnation, what He did and suffered [ Q. 1 - 59 ]
(B) On the means by which man attains to or deviates from his end, i.e. Human Acts.
. . . . . (1) In General
. . . . . . . . . . (a) The Acts Themselves. Some acts are peculiar to man; some are common to man and other living creatures; and since beatitude is the peculiar good of man in as much as he is rational, the acts which are peculiar to him have a more in
timate connection to that good than those that are common to man and living creatures.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (i) Acts which are peculiar to man [ Q. 6 - 21 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ii) Acts which are common to man and other animals [ Q. 22 - 48 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (b) The Principles of Acts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (i) Intrinsic Principles. The intrinsic principles are powers of the soul and habits; but we have already treated of powers in the first part. Therefore we come to the consideration of habits.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Habits in General [ Q. 49 - 54 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Habits in Particular
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - Good Habits, i.e. virtues [ Q. 55 - 70 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - Evil Habits, i.e. vices [ Q. 71 - 89 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ii) Extrinsic Principles. The extrinsic principle of good is God, who instructs us by His law, and helps and moves us by grace. The external principle of evil is the Devil. But we treated of him in the first part, therefore
it remains to treat of:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Laws [ Q. 90 - 108 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Grace [ Q. 109 - 114 ]
. . . . . (2) In Particular [ Section II of Part II ]
. . . . . . . . . . (a) Those acts which pertain to all Conditions of life (the virtues and vices affecting all men).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (i) Theological Virtues
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * In the intellect: Faith [ Q. 1 - 16 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * In the will:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - Hope [ Q. 17 - 22 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - Charity [ Q. 23 - 46 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ii) Cardinal Virtues
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Prudence [ Q. 47 - 56 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Justice [ Q. 57 - 122 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Fortitude [ Q. 123 - 140 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Temperance [ Q. 141 - 170 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (b) Acts which pertain in a special manner to some men.
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Part III.
Christ, who, in as much as he is man, is the way by which we tend to God.
Since our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, redeeming His people from their sins,
has shown to us in Himself the way of truth, by which we, arising from
the dead, are able to arrive at the happiness of immortal life, it is necessary,
in order to attain the scope of all theology, after the consideration of the
final end of man and of the virtues and vices, that we should consider the
Saviour of all and the benefits He has conferred on us. Therefore we should
consider:
(B) The Sacraments, which have their efficacy from the Incarnate Word
. . . . . (1) In General [ Q. 60 - 65 ]
. . . . . (2) In Particular
. . . . . . . . . . (a) Baptism [ Q. 66 - 71 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (b) Confirmation [ Q. 72 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (c) Eucharist [ Q. 73 - 83 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (d) Penance [ Q. 84 - 90 ; Supplement Q. 1 - 28 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (e) Extreme Unction [ Supplement Q. 29 - 33 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (f) Orders [ Supplement Q. 34 - 40 ]
. . . . . . . . . . (g) Matrimony [ Supplement Q. 41 - 68 ]
(C) Immortal Life -- The end to which we attain through Christ, both God and man, suffering, dying, and arising from the dead [ Supplement Q. 69 - 99 ]