Sed Contra: An Essay on the Modern Culture

A “sed contra” essay is to engage a cultural concern and to address it with the help of some philosophical or theological authority.

Dominicana presents the first English translation of the article “The Perfection of the Royalty of Christ” (1950) by Charles De Koninck. Click here to access the article.

Translator’s Preface

Philosopher, theologian, peritus at the Second Vatican Council, and father of twelve, Charles De Koninck (1906–1965) was an extraordinary man with an extraordinary mind. When I read Charles De Koninck’s work I am most struck by his profound application of the general principles of Thomism to the particular questions of his day. His grasp of first principles—principles small in size yet great in power—gives his thought a vitality that can only arise from such a grasp of these principles. De Koninck wrote on evolution, existentialism, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche—all the time applying the wisdom of St. Thomas. But more than being a Thomist, De Koninck was a man who wanted to know reality. Like De Koninck, the true Thomist can say: I love St. Thomas, but I love truth more. And St. Thomas himself wouldn’t have it any other way.

Although he ranks among the greatest Thomists of the twentieth century, De Koninck is not as widely read as other Thomists of his time; Étienne Gilson, Jacques Maritain, and Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange all enjoy a popularity that De Koninck has never had. By translating this short piece I hope to share De Koninck’s thought with a broader audience. The thoughts contained in this essay are a source for our own meditation on the Christ of the Easter season—a Christ now glorified by suffering.

I am grateful to François Nault at Laval théologique et philosophique for his gracious permission to publish this translation.

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Image: Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece