The inaugural lectures Rigans Montes and Hic est liber were delivered by a young St. Thomas upon his reception of the license to teach at Paris in 1256. Together, they discourse on the communication of Sacred Doctrine, with the second of the lectures dwelling on Sacred Scripture in particular and concluding with a division of its texts. Thomas’s Commentary on the Psalms, on the other hand, is thought to be the reportatio of one of his final courses (c. 1253), never brought to completion; though this dense report may be limited to the essentials of Thomas’s teaching, it is nonetheless packed with thoughtful, rich expository.
About the Author
An intellectual giant of the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas is best known for the clarity of thought in his philosophical and theological writings. His primary occupation at the University of Paris was as a theologian and a commentator on Sacred Scripture, and his philosophical work was always at the service of his Scriptural meditations. The writings of Thomas Aquinas remain widely influential to this day. “In his thinking, the demands of reason and the power of faith found the most elevated synthesis ever attained by human thought.” (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio)
