A Republic
of Virtue
An evening with Dr. Benjamin Smith, the co-founder of Catholic Studies Academy and a scholar of St. Thomas Aquinas, on citizenship, the common good, and the life we owe one another.
Made for the
Common Good
We speak endlessly of our rights and rarely of our common good. Yet for Thomas Aquinas, what we owe one another, and what a people owe the city that forms them, sits at the very center of the well-lived life.
Following Aristotle, Aquinas held that man is by nature a political and social animal. That we are made not for isolation but for common life, and that the one who could live entirely apart “must be either a beast or a god.”
Aquinas leaves us with a challenge every citizen must feel: the good man and the good citizen fully coincide only in the best regime. To be good is not always to be an obedient subject of a corrupt order, and so the work of building a just community falls to us. Join us for a talk, a dinner, and a real conversation among men about citizenship, duty, and the common good.
Benjamin Smith, Ph.D.
Dr. Benjamin Smith is an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Belmont University and MTSU. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, an M.A. from the Catholic University of America, and a B.A. in Philosophy and History from Belmont University.
His scholarship centers on the political philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. A co-founder of Catholic Studies Academy and a scholar shaped by Aristotle, Aquinas, and Josef Pieper, Dr. Smith brings the depth of the seminar room to the dinner table. This evening he leads us through Aquinas’ account of citizenship and the common good, and what it still asks of every man.
“It is natural for man, more than for any other animal, to be a social and political animal, to live in a group.”
Our Evening Schedule
2026
Private Venue
Gentlemen Only
What Men Say
of the Meriwether Table
Consistently some of the most profound, thoughtful, and intentional events I’ve ever attended. Highly recommend Meriwether to anyone interested in education, philosophy, and values.
Greatly enjoyed lectures and study club at Meriwether. Highly recommend to any man looking for a community of others on a path of improvement to achieve greater in life. Amazing camaraderie and lifelong connections.
Meriwether Academy represents a real-world attempt to define and restore traditional values, especially traditional American values. As such, Meriwether is fighting the good fight and doing a good job of it! Highly recommended.
Seating is limited. This is an evening for men who take citizenship seriously—who want more than distraction, and are willing to think hard about what we owe one another and the common good. We hope you will join us.
Questions? Email us at warren@meriwetheracademy.com