Angelic Doctor
Preserved but no longer current.
Thomas Aquinas was so called, because of the purity and excellence ol his teaching. His exposition of the most recondite problems of theology and philosophy was iudged to be the fruit of almost more than human intelligence and within the present century a Pope has laid it down that from bt. Thomas and his Summa Theologica all teaching must derive.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Angelic Doctor” mean?
Thomas Aquinas was so called, because of the purity and excellence ol his teaching. His exposition of the most recondite problems of theology and philosophy was iudged to be the fruit of almost more than human intelligence and within the present century a Pope has laid it down that from bt. Thomas and his Summa Theologica all teaching must derive.
Is “Angelic Doctor” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.