Summa Theologica

I read the comments after I bought the books and was scared what I would receive, But my set is in perfect condition. I bought the paper backs. The Information, the lay out, I can't wait to no what I will no after reading these!* Thank you

Granted, the price was a bit much. However, the quality and translation of this set is wonderful! They arrived in good condition and the "blue" cover is actually a "navy" rather than a "royal." The text is decent enough to read (regarding the size) and the dark print is a great quality. As a Grad student in Theology, I wish I had these during my undergrad in Religion. It makes studying Aquinas so much easier by being able to highlight and make notations without having to scroll on a web page. Additionally, the index and outline for each book help to find the particular section or question you need. All-in-all, this is a worthy buy. Even if you are not a student in theology, Aquinas' work is very inspiring and helpful regarding the Christian faith!

There is not much to say regarding the Summa Theologica which has not already been stated a thousand times. Saint Thomas Aquinas was one of the most brilliant theological minds to ever live...of that, there can be no doubt. The only small bit I can add, would be to review this 5 volume set, which I can say is exactly what I was hoping for. The print is evenly centered in all 5 books without running too close to the binding as some have mentioned that problem with theirs. The boarders are a little cramped, but one COULD write notes and add commentary provided they limited the size of their writing. In closing, I believe the Summa Theologica is an invaluable addition to everyone's home library, and should form the backbone of every Christians and Catholics (in particular) understanding of the faith. There is an infinite amount of knowledge at your fingertips here.

It's the Summa! It's St. Thomas Aquinas! Enough said. A family member had this set of Summa Theologica books on her wedding gift registry. As her Godmother, I was thrilled to select this beautiful set for her and her soon to be husband. I plan to add holy cards, bookmarks, cash, notes, etc. randomly throughout the pages as a special surprise for them to find.

I spent a few weeks trying to figure out if I wanted a hard copy of the Summa, and if so which version. Glad I went with this one. A previous commenter raised concerns about how the small size of the margins at the binding made it impossible to read portions of lines of text in the middle of the volumes. I too saw this flaw in previous printings of this edition of the Summa, but the publisher has corrected the problem and increased the margin size at the binding. I checked all 5 volumes when they came in, and they all have large enough margins at the binding to allow the reader to easily see the entirety of each line of text. That said, the margins are still small: 1/4 inch on the sides, 1/2 to 3/4 inch on the top and bottom of the page. Text is easy to read, and the volumes are easy to hold. They're about the size and weight of a church hymnal. Definitely happy we made this investment in our family's library!

The binding is weak or defective. Volume one’s front cover detached almost immediately and now volume two is starting to go. This is with 15 minutes of reading in each volume on a rotating basis, one volume a day, for the past 3 months. I was hoping to get through the Summa in 5 years, but at this rate they will be individual pages by then! At least I won’t have to lug around the whole volume for my daily readings; ) I fairness, I have read sitting with the volume at 45 degrees on my lap which probably torques the binding more than sitting at a table. I plan to study book binding and perhaps bind them in leather so they will be an heirloom, or maybe just pray and meditate on his words more.

Not for me . I fell asleep every time I tried to read my homework for philosophy class in college. My husband asked for it for Christmas. He’s happy. I think it’s way too expensive.

I like the cover and the content, readable and the quality of paper is also good. It is excellent for those who wanted to deepen their understanding of the faith.

Well bound copy and set that any true Catholic student or scholar should have. Throw out your Vatican 2 rhubbish to make room on your shelf for this theological masterpiece.

Ah, Brother Thomas, where to begin? I read the concise translation, which was elegantly written and (naturally) concise, it was given to me by my late spiritual director... The printed version costs 244.88 $ close to 17,500 Indian Rs which is not actually much considering that most college textbooks these days can cost up to twice that much – if not more. The Kindle edition, on the other hand, costs 99 cents. Yes, it costs less than a dollar. (Infact I had it in my kindle for a very long time) However, it wasn’t the price that made me buy it and read it, it was the convenience of electronic form, which made it incredibly portable and accessible. Over the years I would be reading Summa on my Kindle, Tab, Phone and in all sorts of common and unlikely places – my desk, my bed, while waiting for my haircut, while waiting for the plane to take off, on the, while listening to a boring lecture, and sometimes even while waiting for the light to turn green at the traffic stop. (I know, I know.) Summa is not an easy read by any stretch of imagination. It is a densely argued treatise on almost all topics of Christian theology. It is also written in terms of concepts and categories derived form Aristotelian and Medieval philosophy, which are largely unfamiliar to the modern readers. Reading it can oftentimes feel like going through a large advanced mathematics textbook, with all the proofs and carefully precise reasoning that this entails. I knew all of this fully well before taking this plunge, but it did not deter me. I can’t say that I carefully thought out all the arguments that were laid out, and probably not much of it stuck with me in the end. However, at the end of it all I believe it was a more than worthwhile endeavor. First of all, it made me renew and deepen my appreciation for Thomistic Theology. It reminded me of the old saw that the Catholic Church is much bigger from within than form without. Catholic Theology is a vast repository of knowledge and insight that is well worth exploring throughout your whole lifetime.

(NOTE - Ignore the reviewer talking about the binding being over the words... This is not present in any of the 5 books of my set. Maybe this related to a bad batch or previous print run, but this is most certainly NOT the issue now) This is the most impressive set I've seen of the entire Summa. Despite the amount of use these are going to get, the excellent quality hardback binding will probably outlive me. The print quality is excellent despite the need to squeeze in as much text as possible within each column... other versions are hard to read due to this constraint but these are easy on the eyes in comparison. It was a gamble to spend that much without seeing it first... but it's a gamble that paid off as its a cracking collection. Now I just need to make space on the shelf to do it justice!

la présentation de l'ouvrage permettant de le feuilleter me montrait un texte en latin, ce que je cherchais. A la réception, grosse déception : c'est une traduction en anglais. Fort heureusement, j'ai trouvé ce que je cherchais chez un autre fournisseur. Alors j'ai décidé de garder cette traduction anglaise pour l'offrir à des dominicains traditionalistes de langue anglaise. Car il s'agit d'une oeuvre majeure (5 volumes) sur les plans philosophique et théologique. Mais attention à présenter plus sérieusement les livres proposés.Précisons que c'est l'oeuvre majeure de saint Thomas d'Aquin.

Although my copy of the Summa came in good condition (only minor nitpicks about the edges of a couple of the volumes), and it is a beautiful set, I did not receive the third volume, but a duplicate of the fourth! I'm quite disappointed.