Perfection in Death : The Christological Dimension of Courage in Aquinas

344 Pages·2015·2.73 MB·English

by  Patrick M. Clark

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Perfection in Death
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Perfection
in
Death
The Christological Dimension
of Courage in Aquinas
•
Patrick M. Clark
The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, D.C.
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Copyright © 2015
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clark, Patrick Mahaney.
Perfection in death : the christological dimension of courage in Aquinas /
Patrick M. Clark.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8132-2797-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Thomas, Aquinas,
Saint, 1225?–1274. 2. Courage—Religious aspects—Catholic Church.
3. Perfection—Religious aspects—Catholic Church. 4. Death—
Religious aspects—Catholic Church. I. Title.
B765.T54C518 2015
236'.1—dc23 2015026259
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To Jennifer, with love
•
During the days of Jesus’s life on earth, he offered up
prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the
one who could save him from death, and he was heard
because of his reverent submission. Son though he was,
he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once
made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation
for all who obey him and was designated by God to be
high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:7–10
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1. Achilles and Socrates: Ancient Attempts to
Integrate Virtue, Death, and Human Perfection 1
Chapter 2. Practical Reason, Perfection, and Finitude
in Aquinas 67
Chapter 3. Death and Human Perfection in
Aquinas 105
Chapter 4. The Role of Courage in Aquinas’s Account
of Human Perfection 146
Chapter 5. Aquinas on Courage, Martyrdom, and the
Common Good 181
Chapter 6. Contemporary Exemplarist Virtue Theory
and Moral Motivation in the Face of Death 245
Chapter 7. The Prospect and Limitations of
“Thomistic Moral Exemplarism” 267
Selected Bibliography 305
Index 313
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Acknowledgments
In the Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 106, a. 6, ad 2, Thomas Aquinas writes
that “it is not unreasonable if the obligation of gratitude has no limit.”
There seem to me to be few lines that bear more frequent recollection, es-
pecially when considering what one owes to the assistance and support of
others. Since St. Thomas himself writes this line with specific reference to
charity, “which the more it is paid the more it is due,” it seems appropriate
first and foremost to acknowledge my infinite gratitude to the source and
fulfillment of all blessings, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As with
all our feeble attempts to glorify him, this study would not have been pos-
sible without “the copious assistance of his grace.” Above all else, I pray that
it may serve his greater glory.
I also owe an unlimited debt of gratitude to my teachers and advisers at
the University of Notre Dame, most especially to my mentor, Jean Porter,
whose scholarship, example, and personal guidance have been invaluable
for my intellectual development and for this study in particular. I extend
my sincere thanks as well to Gerald McKenny, Jennifer Herdt, and John
Cavadini, who have been formative scholarly influences and extraordinary
examples of how to live out the theological vocation. In addition, I would
like to take this occasion to name a few of the many other mentors and
teachers whose expertise and generosity have been critical to my scholarly
growth; to Edward P. Mahoney†, Stanley Hauerwas, Stephen F. Brown,
Matthew Lamb, Romanus Cessario, David Burrell, John O’Callaghan, Mi-
chael Baxter, and Maura Ryan I extend my most sincere thanks.
I am also very grateful for Calvin College’s Summer Seminars program,
which granted me time and resources to draft the fourth and final part of
this study during the summer of 2012. The peace of the campus and the
extraordinary collegiality of the Summer Seminars staff and participants
made it an ideal setting for the completion of this work.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge my deep gratitude to my family:
ix
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