Thomas Eternal Law Summary

In this reading, Thomas expounds upon the idea of law by examining the very basis and nature of its existence. Through his highly structured rhetoric, he explains the purpose of law and its consequences on the nature of law. Once he establishes reason as the basis for all law, he summarizes the four types of law – eternal, natural, human, and divine – and briefly discusses their purpose, relationship to other forms of law, and effects. Thomas next scrutinizes the intricacies of eternal and natural law; though he does not explicitly state the content of such law, he suggests it through his arguments regarding their nature, reach, and promulgation. Thomas appeals constantly to the idea of rationalism, arguing that all law is based on human’s nature of reason.

In the section that discusses the existence of an eternal law early in the reading, Thomas reveals that “eternal law” is named such because God exists, and his reason conceives, eternally. God created and initiated the eternal law through creating the universe, just as a craftsman dictates the ends for his craft through his reason in creating the craft. To flush out this analogy, God created the universe with an explicit end or purpose, which transcends human reason and understanding. The eternal law is founded in the pursuit of that purpose. Just as the great goal of the universe lies beyond the realm of human perception, the divine wisdom—God’s reason—embodied in eternal law is not for us humans to understand. Though we are unable to grasp the will of God and his eternal law, Thomas argues that we humans still remain subject to it and conscious of it through its “radiating effects” of