How to Read the Summa


St. Thomas divides each theological Question which he addresses into several Articles, which approach the Question from different angles. 

Within those Articles the On the Contrary, the Body and the Replies to Objections give his solutions to the matter. The On the Contrary provides a brief, to the point, answer, the Body develops and explains his position, and the Replies address objections which St. Thomas himself poses to his answer. This method was common to many medieval scholars.