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On Being and Essence: A Clear Text Edition of Thomas Aquinas: A Modern English Translation with Clear Explanations of Difficult Philosophical Concepts
On Being and Essence — Thomas Aquinas
A Modern English Translation with Clear Explanations of Essence, Existence, and Core Philosophical Concepts
Thomas Aquinas’s foundational work of metaphysics, On Being and Essence (De Ente et Essentia), now rendered in clear, modern English. Written as a precise philosophical treatise, this text defines the relationship between essence and existence, laying the groundwork for centuries of Scholastic thought. This edition preserves Aquinas’s structure and argument while removing archaic language and clarifying key concepts for modern readers.
Why this edition
Modern English faithful to the original Latin while eliminating unnecessary archaic phrasing.Clear explanations of difficult concise notes that clarify key terms and arguments in plain language.Philosophical primer introduces essential concepts from Aristotle and Scholastic philosophy before the text begins.Clean, structured headings and layout designed to make complex arguments easier to follow.What you’ll find inside
A complete modern translation of On Being and Essence.Step-by-step treatment of essence, existence, substance, and form.Explanatory support where Aquinas’s arguments move quickly or assume prior knowledge.Who it’s for
Readers seeking a clear introduction to metaphysics and Scholastic philosophy.Students encountering Aquinas for the first time.Anyone who wants to understand the distinction between essence and existence without struggling through archaic prose.Edition note
Edition note
This edition presents a modern English translation based on the original Latin, with light explanatory notes. Source material is in the public domain; translation and editorial matter © Clear Text Editions (Editor). Primary author credit remains Thomas Aquinas.
A Modern English Translation with Clear Explanations of Essence, Existence, and Core Philosophical Concepts
Thomas Aquinas’s foundational work of metaphysics, On Being and Essence (De Ente et Essentia), now rendered in clear, modern English. Written as a precise philosophical treatise, this text defines the relationship between essence and existence, laying the groundwork for centuries of Scholastic thought. This edition preserves Aquinas’s structure and argument while removing archaic language and clarifying key concepts for modern readers.
Why this edition
Modern English faithful to the original Latin while eliminating unnecessary archaic phrasing.Clear explanations of difficult concise notes that clarify key terms and arguments in plain language.Philosophical primer introduces essential concepts from Aristotle and Scholastic philosophy before the text begins.Clean, structured headings and layout designed to make complex arguments easier to follow.What you’ll find inside
A complete modern translation of On Being and Essence.Step-by-step treatment of essence, existence, substance, and form.Explanatory support where Aquinas’s arguments move quickly or assume prior knowledge.Who it’s for
Readers seeking a clear introduction to metaphysics and Scholastic philosophy.Students encountering Aquinas for the first time.Anyone who wants to understand the distinction between essence and existence without struggling through archaic prose.Edition note
Edition note
This edition presents a modern English translation based on the original Latin, with light explanatory notes. Source material is in the public domain; translation and editorial matter © Clear Text Editions (Editor). Primary author credit remains Thomas Aquinas.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 22, 2026
About the author
Thomas Aquinas
2,816 books1,241 followersPhilosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the
Summa contra gentiles
(1259-1264) and the
Summa theologiae
or theologica (1266-1273).
Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.
People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."
Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.
Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.
People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."
Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 29, 2026
Explain a lot
Just assume different parts of us a one. Which we inherited from our families and life circumstances. This is an whole different concept especially understanding Our Lord.
Just assume different parts of us a one. Which we inherited from our families and life circumstances. This is an whole different concept especially understanding Our Lord.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review