Aquinas on Matter and Form and the Elements

Presents some straightforward, and unencumbered philosophy, using the words of Thomas Aquinas as a point of departure. In parts one and two of this volume, Joseph Bobik presents, translates, and offers a readily comprehensible interpretation of Aquinas's De Principiis Naturae and his De Mixtione Elementorum.

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Joseph Bobik offers a translation of Aquinas’s De Principiis Naturae (circa 1252) and De Mixtione Elementorum (1273) accompanied by a continuous commentary, followed by two essays: “Elements in the Composition of Physical Substances” and “The Elements in Aquinas and the Elements Today.” The Principles of Nature introduces the reader to the basic Aristotelian principles such as matter and form, the four causes so fundamental to Aquinas’s philosophy. On Mixture of the Elements examines the question of how the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) remain within the physical things composed from them.