STATUS AND OFFICIUM: THE USE OF ROMAN LAW IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SENTENCES OF THOMAS AQUINAS

Abstract

This study presents Thomas Aquinas’s use of a conceptual pair: status and officium. Our starting point will be the distinction between the ancient and modern political thought proposed by Father Lima Vaz. Then, based on his own interpretation of Thomas Aquinas, we will try to emphasize the presence of Roman legal vocabulary in the work of the Doctor Communis, particularly in the Commentary on the Sentences and make some observations on the vocabulary transmitted by the Digest and the Institutes. Finally, we will see how Thomas Aquinas interprets and uses this vocabulary.