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Title page of Super Physicam Aristotelis (1595 Venice edition)

Tommaso d'Aquino · 1595

The title page of a 1595 Venice printed edition of Thomas Aquinas's Latin commentary on Aristotle's Physics. It shows his Aristotelian scholarship in print.

Shows Aquinas's own Aristotle commentary in a 1595 Venice printing, a record of his scholarly work reaching readers in print.

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Title page of a 1595 Venice printed book, 'S. Thomae Aquinatis in octo Physicorum Aristotelis libros commentaria', with Latin text in several typefaces and an engraved oval portrait of a bearded man in a cap, labeled 'Vera Aristotelis Stagiritae effigies' and 'Peripatetica disciplinae princeps', above the imprint 'Venetiis MDXCV'.
Tommaso d'Aquino, title page of S. Thomae Aquinatis in octo Physicorum Aristotelis libros commentaria, Venice, 1595. Frontespizio, Wikimedia Commons.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of a printed book from Venice, dated 1595, with the Latin title S. Thomae Aquinatis in octo Physicorum Aristotelis libros commentaria. The page mixes several typefaces and includes an engraved oval portrait of a bearded man in a cap, labeled as the true likeness of Aristotle. The book reproduces the commentary Thomas Aquinas wrote on Aristotle's Physics. He lived from 1225 to 1274, so this is a later printing of his text.

Why it matters

Aquinas is known for explaining Aristotle to Christian scholars of the Middle Ages. Printed editions like this one carried his explanations to readers long after his death. The title page shows how publishers presented the work: a portrait of the ancient philosopher placed above the name of the commentator who interpreted him.

Look closer

  • What does the portrait of Aristotle on the title page suggest to readers about the book?
  • Who chose the wording and layout of a title page, and why might a publisher want it to look learned?
  • This edition was printed more than three centuries after Aquinas died. What does a later edition add to his text, and what might it leave out?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Thomas Aquinas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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