How to read it
- 1Learn the four causes before moving to more theological uses.
- 2Connect matter and form to act and potency.
- 3Use ordinary changes as examples while reading.
Natural philosophy
De principiis naturae
An early short work explaining matter, form, privation, generation, and the four causes.
Date
c. 1252-1256
Why it matters
It gives beginners a direct entrance into the Aristotelian framework Aquinas uses across metaphysics and natural philosophy.