The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface.
• Aquinas Ethicus, Or the Moral Teaching of St. Thomas. a Translation of the Principal Portions of the Second Part of the Summa Theologica, With Notes.: First Division of the Second Part, Commonly Called Prima Secundæ.
• Question I.: Of the Last End of Man In General.
• Question II.: Of the Object In Which Man’s Happiness Consists.
• Question III.: What Is Happiness?
• Question IV.: Of Things Requisite For Happiness.
• Question V.: Of the Attainment of Happiness.
• Question VI.: Of the Voluntary and the Involuntary.
• Question VII.: Of the Circumstances of Human Acts.
• Question VIII.: Of the Will and Its Objects.
• Question XII.: Of Intention.
• Question XIII.: Of Election, Or Choice of Means.
• Question XVIII.: Of the Good Or Evil of Human Acts In General.
• Question XIX.: Of the Good and Evil of the Interior Act of the Will.
• Question XX.: Of the Good and Evil of Exterior Human Acts.
• Question XXI.: Of the Properties Consequent Upon Human Acts Considered As Good Or Evil.
• Question XXII.: Of the Subject of the Passions.
• Question XXIII.: Of the Difference of Passions One From Another.
• Question XXIV.: Of Good and Evil In Passions.
• Question XXVI.: Of Love.
• Question XXVII.: Of the Cause of Love.
• Question XXVIII.: Of the Effects of Love.
• Question XXIX.: Of Hatred.
• Question XXX.: Of Desire.
• Question XXXI.: Of Delight, Or Pleasure.
• Question XXXII.: Of the Cause of Pleasure.
• Question XXXIII.: Of the Effects of Pleasure.
• Question XXXIV.: Of Good and Evil In Pleasures.
• Question XXXV.: Of Pain and Sorrow In Themselves.
• Question XXXVI.: Of the Causes of Pain.
• Question XXXVIII.: Of Remedies For Sorrow Or Pain.
• Question XXXIX.: Of the Good and Evil of Sorrow Or Pain.
• Question Xl.: of Hope.
• Question Xli.: of Fear In Itself.
• Question Xlii.: of the Object of Fear.
• Question Xliv.: of the Effects of Fear.
• Question Xlv.: of Fiery Daring.
• Question Xlvi.: of Anger As It Is In Itself.
• Question Xlvii.: of the Efficient Cause of Anger.
• Question Xlviii.: of the Effects of Anger.
• Question Xlix.: of Habits In General.
• Question L.: of the Subject of Habits.
• Question Li.: of the Generating Cause of Habits.
• Question Lii.: of the Increase of Habits.
• Question Liii.: of the Destruction and Diminution of Habits.
• Question Lv.: of Virtues In Their Essence.
• Question Lvi.: of the Subject of Virtue.
• Question Lvii.: of the Various Intellectual Virtues.
• Question Lviii.: of the Distinction of Moral Virtues From Intellectual.
• Question Lix.: of Moral Virtues In Their Relation to the Passions.
• Question Lxi.: of the Cardinal Virtues.
• Question Lxii.: of the Theological Virtues.
• Question Lxiii.: of the Cause of Virtues.
• Question Lxiv.: of the Mean of Virtues.
• Question Lxv.: of the Connexion of Virtue With Virtue.
• Question Lxxi.: of Vices and Sins In Themselves.
• Question Lxxii.: of the Distinction Between Sin and Sin.
• Question Lxxiii.: of the Comparison of Sin With Sin.
• Question Lxxiv.: of the Subject of Sins.
• Question Lxxv.: of the Causes of Sin In General.
• Question Lxxvi.: of the Causes of Sin In Particular.
• Question Lxxvii.: of the Cause of Sin On the Part of the Sensitive Appetite.
• Question Lxxviii.: of Malice As a Cause of Sin.
• Question Lxxxiv.: of One Sin Being the Cause of Another Sin.
• Question Lxxxvi.: of the Stain of Sin.
• Question Lxxxvii.: of Liability to Punishment.
• Question Lxxxviii.: of Venial and Mortal Sin.
• Question XC.: Of Laws.
• Question XCI.: Of the Variety of Laws.
• Question XCII.: Of the Effects of Law.
• Question XCIII.: Of the Eternal Law.
• Question XCIV.: Of the Natural Law.
• Question XCV.: Of Human Law.
• Question XCVI.: Of the Authority of Human Law.
• Question XCVII.: Of Change of Laws.
• Question C.: Of the Moral Precepts of the Old Law.
• Second Division, Or Secunda Secundæ.
• Question I.: Of Faith.
• Question II.: Of the Act of Faith.
• Question III.: Of the Exterior Act of Faith.
• Question IV.: Of the Virtue of Faith.
• Question V.: Of Persons Having Faith.
• Question VI.: Of the Cause of Faith.
• Question X.: Of Unbelief In General.
• Question XI.: Of Heresy.
• Question XII.: Of Apostasy.
• Question XIII.: Of the Sin of Blasphemy.
• Question XVII.: Of Hope.
• Question XVIII.: Of the Subject of Hope.
• Question XIX.: Of the Gift of Fear.
• Question XX.: Of Despair.
• Question XXI.: Of Presumption.
• Question XXIII.: Of Charity In Itself.
• Question XXIV.: Of the Subject of Charity.
• Question XXV.: Of the Object of Charity.
• Question XXVI.: Of the Order to Be Observed In Charity.
• Question XXVII.: Of the Principal Act of Charity, Which Is Love.
• Question XXVIII.: Of Joy.
• Question XXIX.: Of Peace.
• Question XXXI.: Of Doing Good to Others.
• Question XXXII.: Of Almsgiving.
• Question XXXIII.: Of Fraternal Correction.
• Question XXXIV.: Of Hatred.
• Question XXXV.: Of Sloth.
• Question XXXVI.: Of Envy.
• Question XXXVII.: Of Discord.
• Question Xl.: of War.
• Question Xli.: of Assault and Battery.
• Question Xlii.: of Sedition.
• Question Xliii.: of Scandal.
• Question Xliv.: of the Precepts of Charity. [st. Matt. XXII. 36—40.]
• Question Xlvi.: of Stupidity.

QUESTION LXXVIII.

OF MALICE AS A CAUSE OF SIN.

Article I.—Does any one sin of deliberate malice?

R. Man, like every other being, has a natural appetite for good: hence the declining of his appetite to evil comes from some perversion or disorder in one or other of the originating principles within a man. Now the originating principles of human acts are understanding and appetite, as well the rational appetite, which is called the will, as the sensitive. As then sin happens in human acts sometimes from a defect of understanding, in the case when one sins from ignorance, or from a defect in the sensitive appetite, when one sins from passion; so also does it happen from a defect in the will, that is, from an inordinate will. Now the will is inordinate, when it loves the lesser good the more, and elects accordingly to suffer loss in the good less loved in order to gain the enjoyment of the good more loved. Thus when any inordinate will loves a temporal good, like riches or pleasure, more than the order of reason and the divine law, or the charity of God, it is willing consequently to suffer damage and detriment in spiritual goods for the securing of good that is temporal. But evil is nothing else than privation of good. Thus it is that a man knowingly wills a spiritual evil to gain a temporal good. Hence he is said to sin of deliberate malice, or on purpose, as knowingly choosing evil.

§ 2. Evil cannot be intended in itself as such, but it may be intended for the avoiding of evil or the gaining of good elsewhere. In such a case the agent would fain choose the good, which he intends in itself, without suffering the loss of another good; as the libertine would wish to enjoy his pleasure without offence of God: but with the alternatives before him he chooses to incur the displeasure of God by sinning rather than go without his gratification.

Article II.—Does every one who sins by habit, sin of deliberate malice?

R. It is not the same thing to sin with a habit and to sin by habit. For the use of a habit is not necessary, but is under the control of the will of him who has it. Hence also a habit is defined to be “something that you use when you will.” And therefore, as it may happen that one having a vicious habit may break out into an act of virtue, because reason is not totally spoilt by the evil habit, but some part of it remains entire: so it may also happen that some one having a vicious habit may act by passion, or by ignorance, instead of by the habit. But whenever one does use a vicious habit, he must necessarily sin of deliberate malice: because to every man having a habit that procedure is of itself acceptable, which befits him according to his proper habit, becoming thus to him as it were connatural, because custom is a second nature. But what befits a man according to a vicious habit, excludes spiritual good. Hence it follows that the man chooses spiritual evil to gain the good that befits him according to his habit; and this is to sin by deliberate malice. Hence it is manifest that whoever sins by habit, sins of deliberate malice.1

§ 3. In sins committed of deliberate malice, the sinner rejoices after committing them, according to the text: “Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things.”2 As for any sorrow after sinning felt by persons who sin by habit, that generally arises not because sin displeases them in itself, but because of some unpleasant consequence that they incur by committing it.

Article IV.—Is sin committed of deliberate malice more grievous than sin committed from passion?

R. The sin that is of deliberate malice is more grievous than the sin that is of passion, for three reasons. First, because, since sin has place principally in the will, the more proper and peculiar to the will the sin is, the graver is the sin, other things being equal. Now when sin is committed of deliberate malice, the movement of sin is more proper to the will than when it is committed out of passion, seeing that in the former case the will moves of itself towards evil, whereas in the latter it is impelled to sin by a sort of extrinsic cause. Hence sin is aggravated by the mere fact of its being of malice; and the more vehement the malice, the greater the aggravation: whereas when sin is of passion, it is diminished the more, the more vehement the passion has been. Secondly, because the passion which inclines the will to sin quickly passes away, and so the man speedily returns to his good purposes, repenting of his sin; but the habit whereby a man sins of malice is a permanent quality: and therefore he who sins of malice goes on longer in sin. Thirdly, because he who sins of malice is badly disposed in respect of the very end he has in view, which is the guiding principle in matters of conduct; and so his defect is more dangerous than the defect of him who sins by passion, as the will of this latter tends to a good end, though his purpose is interrupted by passion for a season. The worst defect is a defect of principle.

§ 3. It is one thing to choose to sin and another thing to sin by choice. He who sins by passion, chooses indeed to sin, but not by choice; because choice is not in him the prime origin of the sin, but he is induced by passion to choose that which, passion apart, he would not choose.

[1 ]By habit, i.e. on principle. He who sins by habit, has got in him a vice, which of course works all the opposite effects to virtue. Multitudes dwell in the border-land between virtue and vice. See above, q. 58. art. 3. § 2. (Trl.)

[2 ]Prov. ii. 14.