St. Thomas [Aquinas] and the Keeping of Pets

There is a wonderful story about St. Thomas, teleology and a bunch of birds. It goes like this.

A grand duke was visiting St. Thomas in the convent of St. Jacques in Paris and wanted to express his appreciation for St. Thomas and the Dominican Order by offering some sort of gift.

The two went for a walk along the Left Bank of the Seine River and came upon a number of birds in cages being sold to passers-by. (I am told you can still buy birds at the spot today!)

At this point, Thomas has an idea: will the duke buy him all these birds?

The duke is more than happy to purchase the whole lot, and after the transaction is complete he asks what St. Thomas would like to do with his feathered friends.

Thomas responds: “Open the cages.”

Why?

Well, St. Thomas wanted to make a point about the bird’s natures. They have wings, and therefore their perfection is served, not by being cooped up in a cage, but by exercising the natural abilities God gave them.

This is a charming story illustrating Thomas’ teleological philosophy.

Was St. Thomas against pets?

I like to think that Thomas was right to free all those birds cooped up in cramped cages.

But I also like to think that, while most of the birds flew away to places unknown, if one did happen to alight on St. Thomas’s shoulder and greet him with a chirp or a tweet, St. Thomas would have welcomed a new friend.

And what heights a bird-friend of St. Thomas could have reached—well, that is something for any animal-lover to ponder.

Read more Here.