Thomas Aquinas's work on moral theory focused on the status and value of the virtues, and the way in which a moral life can be organized around them. This book charts the development of his moral thought in its historical, philosophical, and theological contexts.

"Virtue plays a central role in Thomas Aquinas's moral theory. Agents are good because their acts are good. Virtues are capacities by which agents are able to produce these good acts consistently, pleasurably, and for their own sake. This book presents Thomas Aquinas's more general account of virtue in its historical, chronological, philosophical, and theological context. It attempts to help the reader to understand what Thomas himself wished to teach about virtue, even if the material might seem at times distant from contemporary ethical discussions"--