Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Law
This book is actually two books: A printed book, Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Law (which you can buy from Amazon or buy from Cambridge), and a free online supplement called the Companion to the Commentary (which you can download from this website or download from Cambridge University Press).
The Commentary is a classical, line-by-line exploration of Summa Theologiae, I-II, Questions 90-97. The Companion includes additional line-by-line commentary on selections from Questions 98-108, as well as thematic discussions of various fundamental issues in the Treatise on Law, keyed to the Articles in which they appear. Why not combine the Commentary and Companion into a single book? Originally they were a single book, but it would have been too long, and my editor thinks a book shouldn’t be like a concrete block. I've noticed, though, that the Kindle electronic edition of the Commentary actually includes the Companion! I have no idea how that happened, but I'm pleased about it.
Endorsements:
A superb line-by-line commentary . . . the first complete commentary of this sort in centuries. Offers insightful comments on the implications of modern philosophical developments for interpreting and evaluating the positions taken by Aquinas. An enormously valuable text, not only for scholars specializing in the field but also for those just embarking on a careful study of the work. – Fr. Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University
An indispensable tool for student, teacher, and scholar. Providing an overall context for each question, then pairing his own paraphrase with the translation of the Dominican Fathers, Budziszewski proceeds to comment in detail on each objection, sed contra, answer, and reply to objection. The important yet difficult Treatise on Law is laid open to our full view by Professor Budziszewski. – John Hittinger, Professor of Philosophy, Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas
No area of public life is more confused than law and what it is. In this context, few books could be more significant than a complete, accurate, and thorough reading and rereading of Aquinas’s famous Treatise on Law. Budziszewski has performed an enormous service to intelligence and to clarity of public order in providing this detailed, yet readable and intellectually profound, commentary. – James V. Schall, S.J., Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University