"Non in proverbiis sed palam": la parrhesia di Cristo nel commento al Vangelo di Giovanni di Tommaso d'Aquino

There is no one consistent translation of the term parrhesia in the Vulgata. This would seem to create an insurmountable obstacle to the reception of the concept, not so much in the Paleochristian world – still close to Hellenistic influences – but rather in the studia and the universitates studiorum of the 13th Century. Our study of Thomas Aquinas’ biblical commentary shows, however, that the Greek interpretation and use of the term remains crucial, not only in the exegetic field, but also in the construction of some important concepts in medieval philosophical thought. Christ’s three ways of preaching, distinguished by Thomas (in occulto, in proverbiis e palam), thus become a novel point of view from which to reassess his idea of truth and the different ways in which it may be reached.