G.K. Chesterton's brilliant sketch of the life and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas acclaimed as the best book ever written on the great thirteenth-century Dominican by such outstanding Thomists as Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and Anton Pegis. It is as relevant today as when it was published in 1933. St. Thomas Aquinas was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. In Chesterton's portrayal Saint Thomas is a mysterious man who was born in a rich family, but despite that, decided to live a humble life of a friar. Because Thomas was quiet and didn't speak much, some of his fellow students thought he was slow and called him the dumb ox, but he was a man of rare brilliance who started a revolution in Christian thought.
St. Thomas Aquinas was given the title "Doctor of the Church" by the Catholic Church for having made significant contributions to theology and doctrine through his work. Possessed of the rarest brilliance, he found the highest truth in the humblest object, and led a life of almost unparalleled genius.
