The Intellectual Life

When we speak of vocation, we mean those who intend to make intellectual work their life. This includes those who are entirely free to give themselves over to study, and those who, while engaged in some other calling, keep study happily in reserve as the supplement and reward of everything else: the development and deepening of their mind.

I say deepening, to set aside the idea of a superficial tincture of knowledge. A vocation is not fulfilled by vague reading and a few scattered essays. It requires penetration, continuity, and methodical effort. The kind that attains a fullness of development corresponding to the call of the Spirit and to the gifts it has pleased God to bestow on us.

It is impossible to give precise advice about what to study, let alone about the exact proportions each element should occupy in a plan of work. St. Thomas says nothing on these matters in his Sixteen Precepts. In reality, this is a question of personal vocation, closely tied to your particular aims. Even so, certain pointers are possible, and they may offer a starting point for useful reflection.

We are not beginning at the beginning. We are speaking to people who have left their school days behind and now want to plan or deepen serious study. At that level, the subject calls to mind P. Gratry's interesting observations on Comparative Study. His development of this theme in Les Sources may feel somewhat dated, but the substance holds, and it deserves serious attention from any young person committed to intellectual life.