An illustration of a magnifying glass. An illustration of a magnifying glass.

In a short but poignant text from his best-known work, ‘Summa Theologiae,’ Aquinas explained his views on venerating relics.

(Summa Theologiae 1a.2.1) Contemporary philosophers include among these first principles the laws of Identity, Non-Contradiction and Excluded Middle; Thomas’s point is that such laws must be ...