Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar and Catholic priest who was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the "Doctor Angelicus" and "Doctor Communis." He is heralded as the most influential Western medieval legal scholar and theologist. "Aquinas" is from the county of Aquino, an area where his family held land until 1137. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived in development or opposition of his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory. Unlike many currents in the Church of the time, Thomas embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle - whom he referred to as "the Philosopher" - and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. The works for which he is best known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa contra Gentiles. His commentaries on Sacred Scripture and on Aristotle are an important part of his body of work. Furthermore, Thomas is distinguished for his eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy. Thomas is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church and is held to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood, and indeed the highest expression of both natural reason and speculative theology. In modern times, under papal directives, the study of his works was long used as a core of the required program of study for those seeking ordination as priests or deacons, as well as for those in religious formation and for other students of the sacred disciplines (philosophy, Catholic theology, church history, liturgy, canon law).

The Aurea Catena Homeri, written in German by Dr. Anton Josef Kirchweger, was first printed in 1723, though it was distributed in a handwritten format prior to that time. It is said to be one of the most important books ever created giving insight into alchemy the idea that all creation, no matter what its nature, is closely interconnected, that a deeply secret connection pervades all of nature, that one thing relates to the next and things depend upon each other. In The Golden Chain of Homer, editors Gregory S. Hamilton and Philip N. Wheeler provide an English translation of Aurea Catena Homeri, complete with frequent, detailed footnotes and extensive commentary that offers a detailed analysis and insight into Kirchweger's work, considered a masterpiece of alchemical literature. The Golden Chain of Homer shows Kirchweger's book in a new, enlightening way. Through this translation, it becomes easier to understand alchemical principles and unveil the mysteries that shroud the science of alchemy.

This is volume one of a five volume effort, by one of History's greatest commentator's on the Gospels. This work is written for one who does have a fluid knowledge of philosophy, not alone Thomas Aquinas. What this accomplishes is to provide a modern version of the Catena Aurea-Golden Chain in today's verbiage and related issues, while in keeping with the flow and content of the original. Aquinas is one who regardless of your placement on your spiritual journey. Aquinas is the basis for so much of what we have come to regard as dogma. Mathew's size demands that we provide it in two books.All commentators, have been noted in Bold, with their respective cited treatise is italicized. Added 60 additional footnotes regarding variant Proper Nouns. Added 1400 lines of End Notes, of coordinated references, of the other variant Church Fathers who have also remarked on the Scriptures, housed in the ANF, NF and PNF Series. The Latin phrases/text cited have been translated into English.

Catena

Volume 2 of History of Biblical Interpretation deals with the most extensive period under examination in this four-volume set. It begins in Asia Minor in the late fourth century with Bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia, the founder of a school of interpretation that sought to accentuate the literal meaning of the Bible and thereby stood out from the tradition of antiquity. It ends with another outsider, a thousand years later in England, who by the presuppositions of his thought stood at the end of an era: John Wyclif. In between these two interpreters, this volume presents the history of biblical interpretation from late antiquity until the end of the Middle Ages by examining the lives, works, and interpretive practices of Didymus the Blind, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Isidore of Seville, the Venerable Bede, Alcuin, John Scotus Eriugena, Abelard, Rupert of Deutz, Hugo of St. Victor, Joachim of Fiore, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Rashi, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Nicolas of Lyra.