# Summa Theologica



## fred_smith

As you are probably aware, there is a book by Thomas Aquinas called "Summa Theologica".

How would you translate this phrase into English?


----------



## relativamente

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa


----------



## fred_smith

Thanks for the link.

If you were to translate the phrase "Summa Theologica" into English, how would you translate it?

My guess is: "A Treatise on Theology". Is this accurate?


----------



## relativamente

In my view if you are adressing a general public maybe "A Treatise on Theology". is a good choice, but if you are speaking to scholars or learned listeners it is better not to translate this title at all. Just "Summa Theologica"


----------



## Outsider

A _summa_ in this context could be translated as a digest; thus _Theology Digest_. Wikipedia suggests _Compendium of Theology_.

Still, Aquinas' work is probably best known in English as the _Summa_, or _Summa Theologica_.


----------



## fred_smith

Thank you very much for your insights.

As someone implied, it is almost always referred to by the Latin title. The frustrating thing is: no one ever actually says what this means! They just assume you know! So it is good to have an Enlgish translation.


----------



## Quiviscumque

fred_smith said:


> Thank you very much for your insights.
> 
> As someone implied, it is almost always referred to by the Latin title. The frustrating thing is: no one ever actually says what this means!...



Merriam-Webster on line says that you have the very word "summa" in English:

*sum·ma*
1. a comprehensive treatise; especially : one by a scholastic philosopher
2. a synthesis or summary of any subject

So, "Summa Theologica" (Latin) is just "Theologic Summa" (English).


----------



## Secco

fred_smith said:


> Thank you very much for your insights.
> 
> As someone implied, it is almost always referred to by the Latin title. The frustrating thing is: no one ever actually says what this means! They just assume you know! So it is good to have an Enlgish translation.



Here you find the translation of summa (latin)
lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe?summa


----------



## Condessa

Outsider said:


> A _summa_ in this context could be translated as a digest; thus _Theology Digest_. Wikipedia suggests _Compendium of Theology_.
> 
> Still, Aquinas' work is probably best known in English as the _Summa_, or _Summa Theologica_.



This is a really old thread, but it's never late to make clear the _Compendium_ is a different work by Aquinas. The _Summa_ was intended to be a synthesis, but the _Compendium_ is waaaay shorter.


----------



## bearded

Normally, 'summa' means synthesis,  but the title 'Summa Theologica' also contains an ancient 'play on words' that I will try to explain as follows:
there is an adjective 'summus' meaning highest (from: supra=above, comp. superior=higher, superl. summus=highest), and the ending in -a can also be neuter plural, so that Summa Theologica can mean both
- theological synthesis
   and
- the highest possible theological things (contents).


----------



## fdb

bearded man said:


> Normally, 'summa' means synthesis,  but the title 'Summa Theologica' also contains an ancient 'play on words' that I will try to explain as follows:
> there is an adjective 'summus' meaning highest (from: supra=above, comp. superior=higher, superl. summus=highest), and the ending in -a can also be neuter plural, so that Summa Theologica can mean both
> - theological synthesis
> and
> - the highest possible theological things (contents).



A few corrections, perhaps, to the last posting.

_Summa_ in this context is not the neuter plural of _summus_ but a fem. sing. noun _summa_, etymologically _summa res_ “the highest thing”. Besides meaning “highest thing, high point”, _summa_ also means “sum” (as we say in English), and in particular a sum of money. It does not mean “synthesis”. So _summa theologica _means either “the pinnacle of theological knowledge” of “the sum total of theological knowledge”; not, I think, all that different.


----------



## bearded

fdb said:


> A few corrections, perhaps, to the last posting.
> 
> _Summa_ in this context is not the neuter plural of _summus_ but a fem. sing. noun _summa_, etymologically _summa res_ “the highest thing”. Besides meaning “highest thing, high point”, _summa_ also means “sum” (as we say in English), and in particular a sum of money. It does not mean “synthesis”. So _summa theologica _means either “the pinnacle of theological knowledge” of “the sum total of theological knowledge”; not, I think, all that different.



Thank you ,fdb, for your accurate explanation.  In as much as you give us the classical interpretation, summa is certainly a singular feminine noun, and you are quite right. But the reason why I was talking about a hidden 'play on words', is that the (mis)interpretation of it as a plural neuter did exist - in Italy at least - for many centuries. ((It appears that my 'context' is a bit less serious than yours)). Since also the feminine 'summa' can mean pinnacle, though, I am glad to see that the final result of our Latin disquisitions is that you, too, admit that, be it feminine or pl.neuter(ok incorrect), that title can mean both
- the sum of theol.knowledge (I wrote synthesis, but I can as well write summary - from sum...)
and
- the 'pinnacle' of it (highest contents..) ,
just (or approximately) as I had written.
With friendly regards,
BM


----------



## fdb

I think that is a reasonable compromise.


----------



## djmc

While *Summa theologiae* is better known, Aquinas also wrote *summa contra gentiles*.


----------

