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to mystic institute.org. A quick anecdote before I begin, Thomas Aquinas and the

philosophy of the punishment is the title of a book that I published back in 2012 with the Catholic

University of America Press.

And writing a book on what a medieval philosopher and theologian can contribute to the modern

discussion of punishment is particularly challenging because, of course, the Middle Ages

is a time that is ill-reputed for things like the

rack and disemboweling of heretics and so on. And to try to explain to a modern audience

how a medieval philosopher could possibly have something to contribute to the subject of punishment is particularly challenging.

And so I had to spend considerable time in the beginning of the beginning pages of that book,

explaining to my audience how it is that St. Thomas Aquinas' theory of natural law,

of justice, of the common good actually can bring something to bear upon this perennial question.

So you could probably imagine my surprise when I saw the proposed cover art of the book presented to me by the Catholic University of America Press,

which was a little bit hard to make out at first,

but when I got a little closer look at it,

I noticed that it was a relief of Pope,

sorry, of King Louis 9th branding with a hot iron,

a blasphemer on the lips.

And that was quite shocking and was probably running a little counter to my purposes in the book. Unfortunately, it was too late to change it,

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