Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 The thirteenth century was the specifically Occidental century. It was a time of crisis for Christian intelligence, as it was learning its own limits in the most forceful way. Christianity had been severely challenged by the Arab world, which had thrust itself into old Europe through translations from the Arabic into Latin.#2 During the thirteenth century, Christendom was being shaken politically from top to bottom. The universities were founded to assimilate classical ideas and philosophy, and to a large extent they accomplished this. The mendicant orders took the lead in moving out into the world beyond the frontiers of Christianity.#3 The best introduction to the spirit of St. Thomas is the book by G. K. Chesterton, St. Thomas Aquinas. This is not a scholarly work, but it is journalistic, and it will give you a good understanding of the era.#4 Thomas was born around 1225 in the castle of Roccasecca near Aquino, a small town between Rome and Naples. He was an Italian, but his writings reflect the rapid and energetic speech of south Italians.