The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners and a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. This selection of the Summa Theologica covers questions 171-189 of the Secunda Secundae ("Second-half of the Second Part"), which comprise Treatises on the Gratuitous Graces (questions 171-182) and the States of Life (questions 183-189), with which the Second Part concludes.