PÉGUES, THOMAS. - Dominican theologian, b. at Marcillac (Aveyron) on 2 Aug. 1866, d. at Dax on 28 Apr. 1936.
He entered the religious life in 1888 and was ordained priest on 11 June 1892. He was entrusted with the teaching of theology, which he held for over forty years, first at Toulouse in the Catholic Institute, then in Rome at the Angelicum from 1909 to 1921. He later became regent of studies in his Toulouse province. In 1928 he was called to direct the Studium of the Roman province at S. Domenico in Pistoia, where he remained until 1935. A devoted student of St Thomas, he dedicated his entire life to making him known through teaching and writings, rich in penetrating inquiry.
Principal works: *Jésus-Christ dans l'Évangile* (Paris 1890); *Initiation homiste* (Toulouse 1921); *St Thomas d'Aquin. Sa vie par Guillaume de Tocco* (ibid. 1923); *Aperçus de philosophie homiste et de propédeutique* (Paris 1927); *Commentaire français littéral de la Somme Théologique* of *St Thomas d'Aquin* (21 vols., ibid. 1907-32): this is the masterpiece to which the author’s name and fame are bound; a translation and commentary on the entire *Summa Theologica*, in which P. adheres scrupulously to the text, explaining and illustrating St Thomas with St Thomas, without unnecessary digressions or overloading with erudition, but with depth of insight and clarity of style. It is owing to this commentary that St Thomas became appreciated by a large number of scholars and laymen, who were wont to regard the work of the Aquinate as antiquated rather than as living and life-giving doctrine. To complete it, P. added a *Dictionnaire de la Somme Théologique de st Thomas d'Aquin* et du *Commentaire français littéral* (2 vols., ibid. 1935), which is an orderly and intelligent compendium of them; *Propédeutica theomistica ad sacram theologiam* (Pistoia 1931): an original work modeled on the *Summa* of St Thomas, imitating its method and style. Together with Fr. Ceslao Paban, P. also collaborated on the new edition of the *Defensiones* of Capreolus (q.V. 7 vols., Paris 1898-1908). He also wrote numerous articles of a philosophical and theological nature; notable among them is that on *L'hérésie du renouvellement*, in the *Rev. thomiste* (1907), against modernism, which foreshadowed the condemnation of the encyclical *Pascendi* promulgated two months later.