Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more.

Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month)

Thank you !

Modern culture tells us to “listen to your inner child.” To “Just do it!” and to “Obey your thirst!”

Aquinas would say that’s exactly the problem.

In this episode, we explore one of the most unexpected claims in the Summa: intemperance is childish. Not because children enjoy pleasure — but because both children and unchecked desires refuse to listen to reason.

Left alone, a child becomes headstrong.Left alone, desire becomes a tyrant.

Through this lens, Aquinas reveals something surprisingly practical: why discipline matters, why habits harden into necessities, and why self-control works the same way good parenting does — you train what would otherwise take over.

If you’ve ever felt like your impulses were running the show, this episode explains why.

Read Along Here:Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 142. Article 2. Whether intemperance is a childish sin?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit realmsandroads.substack.com/subscribe