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The real distinction between essence and existence in created being has been identified by Cardinal Cajetan as "the ultimate foundation of the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas."¹ It would not be too strong to say that Aquinas devoted his whole intellectual life to this metaphysical concept. His biographers recall that while still an oblate in the Benedictine monastery of Montecassino he asked one of his masters the question, "What is God?" This theological inquiry developed into a more profound one on the ultimate source of being. The first traces of this lifelong quest are to be found in his work De ente et essentia ad fratres et socios suos.² It is one of the earliest treatises written by Aquinas. According to Tolomeo of Lucca, one of his disciples, Thomas wrote it before his reception as master in theology ("infra magisterium"), i.e., before March 1256. As the title attests, it was written for the sake of his confrères at Saint-Jacques. His principal source was Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna).³ Reference to an Islamic philosopher so early in his academic career attests to Aquinas' profound erudition, insight, and open-mindedness in his quest for truth, which ranged far beyond the confines of Platonic-Augustinian thought current in his day.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-0229-4_15

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