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Primary sourceBookcomposed 1259-1265

Summa contra Gentiles, Second Book: On Creation

Thomas Aquinas · composed 1259-1265

A volunteer audio reading of Aquinas's work on creation, translated into English from his Summa contra Gentiles.

A modern reading of Aquinas's own work on creation, part of his major defense of Christian belief.

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Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Second Book (On Creation), composed 1259-1265. LibriVox volunteer reading, English translation by the English Dominican Fathers.

About this source

What it is

This is a LibriVox volunteer recording of the English translation of the second book of the Summa contra Gentiles, a work composed by Thomas Aquinas between 1259 and 1265 covering God, creation, providence, and Christian teaching. The reading was made recently by a volunteer narrator and is not Aquinas's own voice.

Why it matters

The Summa contra Gentiles was written to explain and defend Christian belief using reason, aimed partly at non-Christian readers. This book focuses on creation, showing how Aquinas connected philosophy about the natural world to his theology.

Look closer

  • Why is it important to know this audio is a modern reading and not Aquinas's own voice?
  • What does the translator's note tell us about how this text was prepared and checked?
  • How might listening to a work differ from reading it on the page?

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