"There were of course many curious and complicated ideas in the philosophy of St. Thomas, besides this primary idea of a central common sense that is nourished by the five senses. Not only is this a Thomist doctrine, it is truly and eminently a Christian doctrine....There is a sort of popular parallel to it in the fact that St. Francis did not only listen for the angels, but also listened to the birds. In Thomas as in Francis there is a preliminary practical element which is rather moral; a sort of good and straightforward humility; and a readiness in the man to regard even himself in some ways as an animal, as St. Francis compared his body to a donkey, and St. Thomas was compared to an ox. Neither of them would have been too proud to wait as patiently as the ox and the ass in the stable of Bethlehem."
(from St. Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton)
Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas, January 28.
