The Ecstasy of Love in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas

Studies of medieval theories of love have too often neglected or denigrated the ecstatic elements of love's desire. This book offers an important corrective. It is quite simply the best extended treatment of Thomas Aquinas's understanding of ecstasy." - Michael Sherwin, O.P. University of Fribourg

"Dr. Kwasniewski has given us a very thorough, detailed analysis of the concept of ecstasy, primarily in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, but also in the spiritual, theological and philosophical tradition upon which he was drawing. The book is chock-full of texts from St. Thomas's corpus, all meticulously translated by Dr. Kwasniewski, as well as useful texts from and references to other authors contemporary, medieval, and ancient." - Kevin L. Flannery, S.J. The Pontifical Gregorian University Creighton University

"St. Thomas Aquinas's doctrine of love has been carefully examined by several scholars over the past century, but a crucial aspect of the doctrine has generally been neglected, namely, its account of the effect of love that St. Thomas calls extasis, a Latin term modeled on a Greek word that connotes 'standing outside oneself.' Love, in St. Thomas's view, causes one who loves to be carried 'outside himself' towards, and into the presence of, his beloved. The present work rectifies the neglect of extasis by undertaking a thorough examination of the theme in Aquinas's writings, and in so doing, it reveals the surprising importance of extasis as a key to understanding the Thomistic doctrine of love." - Kevin White The Catholic University of America

"Kwasniewski's study opens a seam in Thomas's thought that has been neglected, if not wholly forgotten. It is not only a contribution to appreciating the prayerful and mystical aspects in Aquinas but offers a hugely important avenue into his ethics and anthropology. In detail, and with careful scholarship, the author shows that interior to Thomas's logic, distinctions, and disputations is a lustrous warmth, the cosmos lovingly responsive to divine care." - Graham McAleer Loyola University Maryland

"Peter Kwasniewski's book on ecstasy in Aquinas is one of those rare, profound, scholarly works—like those by Jean Leclercq or Etienne Gilson—which is also written so beautifully, with so much love and clarity, and with so much wisdom, that you could take it to the chapel with you. I think it is exactly the sort of intellectual labor the medieval Dominicans had in mind when they said, 'First the bow is bent in study.' If you want to avoid flaccid prayer, feed the mind. If you want to love God, labor to learn about him and his works." - Jason M. Baxter Wyoming Catholic College