"''Contemplata aliis tradere''" is a

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which translates into English as "to hand down to others the fruits of contemplation." Derived from the ''

Summa Theologiae The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'' of St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, the phrase is often used to express the distinct Dominican theory of Christian vocation, and for that reason it became a motto of the Order.

Original text

In his ''

'', begun in 1265 ''circa'' 50 years after

St. Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

founded the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

wrote that "''Vita contemplativa simpliciter est melior quam activa quae occupatur circa corporales actus, sed vita activa secundum quam aliquis praedicando et docendo contemplata aliis tradit, est perfectior quam vita quae solum contemplatur, quia talis vita praesupponit abundantiam contemplationis. Et ideo Christus talem vitam elegit''" (''Summa Theologiae'', III, Q. 40, A. 1, Ad 2). A translation is: "the contemplative life is, absolutely speaking, more perfect than the active life, because the latter is taken up with bodily actions: yet that form of active life in which a man, by preaching and teaching, delivers to others the fruits of his contemplation, is more perfect than the life that stops at contemplation, because such a life is built on an abundance of contemplation, and consequently such was the life chosen by Christ." The literal expression comes from his treatment of the contemplative and active lives in the Second Part of the ''

'', where he states that, "just as it is better to enlighten than merely to shine, so is it better to give to others the fruits of one's contemplation (''contemplata aliis tradere'') than merely to contemplate (''contemplari'')." (''Summa Theologiae'', II-II Q. 188, A. 6)

Dominican spirituality

The phrase came to express the essence of the vocation and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

of the Dominicans, and is a principal motto of the Order. Since the foundation of the Order in 1216 by Saint Dominic and under his direct inspiration, the Dominicans dedicated themselves to the

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

and study of

Sacred Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

while having the explicit objective of serving in apostolic ministry, which for them is the fruit of their contemplative life.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Contemplata aliis tradere
Order of Preachers Homepage
- Available in English, French and Spanish
Online Resource Library

Dominican Order Dominican spirituality Latin religious words and phrases