He was called 'the
dumb ox,' because he was such a big fellow and because he was so quiet that they thought that he was a slow learner.
He said his favorite Chesterton work is "The
Dumb Ox," a biography of St.
Does this mean that we are all called to become Thomistic literate, donkey companions of the '
dumb ox,' (his nickname) shock troops in this task of resoursement which was meant to be the strong swimming stroke for the co-task of confident dialogue with our contemporaries?
All the crew had dived over the rail to rescue him although the
dumb ox could swim like a fish as the Mate had angrily pointed out to the other dumb oxen before sending them below to change their dripping clothes.
HE SAYS: "Homer's a
dumb ox - but he loves his family very much.
January 28: Feast of the Saint the Size of a Sumo Wrestler, Who Memorized All Scripture in Two Years, Was Nicknamed the
Dumb Ox, Prayed So Hard He Floated Into the Air (Despite His Being Bigger Than a Bus) and Heard Christ Say From the Crucifix: "Thou Hast Written Well of Me," Which Certainly Made His Day (Thomas Aquinas).
It is not done by the real painters - it does not fit in with the public's conception of the painter as a
dumb ox."
O'Meara's careful research dispels popular notions about Thomas, including his supposed physical girth, that he was ever called a "
dumb ox" or regarding the circumstances of his death.