For the past four years, Saint Louis University’s philosophy club has sponsored the annual Summathon event in an attempt to eventually reach their goal of reading all of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae.

All, as in 3,000 pages worth.

During the Summathon, each participant reads a section of the Summa Theologiae, an encyclopedic-length work of philosophy and theology by Aquinas. Participants will read in several languages, including French and Latin.

This year, the all-day event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the first floor conference room of the Humanities Building.

Weather permitting, the event will also take place around the clocktower from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 28 marks the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas.

“The overall purpose of the Summathon is to raise awareness of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is not only the patron saint of philosophers, but he is also held in high regard by Catholic theologians for his invaluable literary masterpieces,” stated philosophy club president Sara Meyer.

“The idea of the Summathon is very intriguing,” said philosophy major John Dupuy. “It’s our rhetoric salute to St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most famous philosophical minds ever.”

Faculty advisor Gregory Beabout said that this year’s event will focus on Aquinas’ treatise on happiness, with each section addressing such questions as whether or not happiness consists in wealth or pleasure and the role of friendship in happiness.

“The writings follow a question-and-answer format,” Beabout said. “The Summa Theologiae contains thousands of questions . each year we cover about 200 questions.”

Dupuy said that the questions do not apply only to society at the time of Aquinas. “[Summa Theologiae] looks at questions raised not only during St. Thomas Aquinas’ time, but also in ours, presenting good, logical arguments.”

At the current rate, Beabout said that the entire Summa Theologiae-named one of the top-10 books of the millennium by USA Today-will be read by the year 2010.

“As a philosophy major, I find this particular subject interesting. It is thorough reading material such as the Summa Theologiae that one may come to a better understanding of how to live `the good life,'” Meyer stated.

The Summathon is open to all members of the SLU community, and those interested are invited to participate.

Each participant will read for approximately three minutes, Beabout said, and all participants are welcome to stay as long as they desire.

“The philosophy club has no strict requirements regarding membership, thus far,” Meyer said. “We commonly advertise that `all seekers of wisdom and truth are welcome,’ and this is our basic system of meeting recruitment.”

Philosophy club member Jeff Senzig said that his reasons for participating include wanting to learn more about Aquinas’ writing. “Students can come away with a better understanding not only of St. Thomas but also of their own lives. Many of his questions are still asked today, so I hope that the Summathon evokes thoughtful discussion and insight leading to a positive change in everyday life.”