On the Teacher
by Thomas Aquinas · De magistro
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 1256-1259
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Short · 50 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Teacher, The Mind (Truth, Questions XI and X), translated by James V. McGlynnRegnery, 1953A compact stand-alone translation of the two most-read questions of De veritate.
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Question eleven of Aquinas' Disputed Questions on Truth, taking up Augustine's dialogue of the same name. Four articles ask whether one human being can teach another or only God can, whether a person can be called his own teacher, whether angels teach humans, and whether teaching belongs to the active or the contemplative life. Aquinas answers that a teacher does cause knowledge in a student, but only by presenting signs that help the learner's own natural reason move from what it already knows to what it does not.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns On the Teacher are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.