Aquinas and wine

“Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath
and a glass of good wine.”
–St. Thomas Aquinas
I’ve seen that quotation many places, but without reference to the source. I approve of the sentiment, but it doesn’t sound very Thomistic to me. Anyone want to venture an opinion?

7 comments

  1. I have always heard it attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas.
    I do know that half of the wine cellars and mattress companies in the world use that line in their advertising.

  2. I’m not sure either, but the other thing I’ve heard attributed to him is “While a small body may be called ‘pretty,’ only a large body can truly be called ‘beautiful'” This was from a Thomist professor. Wish I got his cite.
    Either way, Aquinas never really strikes me as a stick in the mud.

  4. No, I don’t think St. Thomas disapproved of wine in moderation. I just mean that the statement smacks of opinion, which my saintly friend rarely expressed.
    Not only that, but to drink out of a glass in the 13th century, even for a very rich man, would have been unusual, given the high cost of glass. Silver and gold would have been more common, I believe. Or maybe the Latin for “cup” is mistranslated as “glass.”

  7. I think the “only large can be beautiful” is Chesterton. At least, I’ve seen a quotation to that effect in a commonplace book on pigs.

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