Articulus 1 Article 1 Utrum homines impugnentur a daemonibus Whether men are assailed by the demons? Ad primum sic proceditur. Videtur quod homines non impugnentur a daemonibus. Angeli enim deputantur ad hominum custodiam, missi a Deo. Sed daemones non mittuntur a Deo, cum daemonum intentio sit perdere animas, Dei autem salvare. Ergo daemones non deputantur ad hominum impugnationem. Objection 1: It would seem that men are not assailed by the demons. For angels are sent by God to guard man. But demons are not sent by God: for the demons’ intention is the loss of souls; whereas God’s is the salvation of souls. Therefore demons are not deputed to assail man. Praeterea, non est aequa conditio pugnae, ut infirmus contra fortem, ignarus contra astutum exponatur ad bellum. Sed homines sunt infirmi et ignari; daemones autem potentes et astuti. Non est ergo permittendum a Deo, qui est omnis iustitiae auctor, ut homines a daemonibus impugnentur. Obj. 2: Further, it is not a fair fight, for the weak to be set against the strong, and the ignorant against the astute. But men are weak and ignorant, whereas the demons are strong and astute. It is not therefore to be permitted by God, the author of all justice, that men should be assailed by demons. Praeterea, ad exercitium hominum sufficit impugnatio carnis et mundi. Sed Deus permittit electos suos impugnari propter eorum exercitium. Ergo non videtur necessarium quod a daemonibus impugnentur. Obj. 3: Further, the assaults of the flesh and the world are enough for man’s exercise. But God permits His elect to be assailed that they may be exercised. Therefore there is no need for them to be assailed by the demons. Sed contra est quod apostolus dicit, ad Ephes. VI, quod non est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae in caelestibus. On the contrary, The Apostle says (Eph 6:12): Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against Principalities and Powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Respondeo dicendum quod circa impugnationem daemonum duo est considerare, scilicet ipsam impugnationem, et impugnationis ordinem. Impugnatio quidem ipsa ex daemonum malitia procedit, qui propter invidiam profectum hominum impedire nituntur; et propter superbiam divinae potestatis similitudinem usurpant, deputando sibi ministros determinatos ad hominum impugnationem, sicut et angeli Deo ministrant in determinatis officiis ad hominum salutem. Sed ordo impugnationis ipsius est a Deo, qui ordinate novit malis uti, ad bona ea ordinando. Sed ex parte angelorum, tam ipsa custodia quam ordo custodiae reducitur ad Deum, sicut ad primum auctorem. I answer that, Two things may be considered in the assault of the demons—the assault itself, and the ordering thereof. The assault itself is due to the malice of the demons, who through envy endeavor to hinder man’s progress; and through pride usurp a semblance of Divine power, by deputing certain ministers to assail man, as the angels of God in their various offices minister to man’s salvation. But the ordering of the assault is from God, Who knows how to make orderly use of evil by ordering it to good. On the other hand, in regard to the angels, both their guardianship and the ordering thereof are to be referred to God as their first author. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod mali angeli impugnant homines dupliciter. Uno modo, instigando ad peccatum. Et sic non mittuntur a Deo ad impugnandum, sed aliquando permittuntur, secundum Dei iusta iudicia. Aliquando autem impugnant homines puniendo. Et sic mittuntur a Deo; sicut missus est spiritus mendax ad puniendum Achab regem Israel, ut dicitur III Reg. ult. Poena enim refertur in Deum, sicut in primum auctorem. Et tamen daemones ad puniendum missi, alia intentione puniunt, quam mittantur, nam ipsi puniunt ex odio vel invidia; mittuntur autem a Deo propter eius iustitiam. Reply Obj. 1: The wicked angels assail men in two ways. First by instigating them to sin; and thus they are not sent by God to assail us, but are sometimes permitted to do so according to God’s just judgments. But sometimes their assault is a punishment to man: and thus they are sent by God; as the lying spirit was sent to punish Achab, King of Israel, as is related in 3 Kings 22:20. For punishment is referred to God as its first author. Nevertheless the demons who are sent to punish, do so with an intention other than that for which they are sent; for they punish from hatred or envy; whereas they are sent by God on account of His justice. Ad secundum dicendum quod ad hoc quod non sit inaequalis pugnae conditio, fit ex parte hominis recompensatio, principaliter quidem per auxilium divinae gratiae; secundario autem per custodiam angelorum. Unde IV Reg., Elisaeus dixit ad ministrum suum, noli timere, plures enim nobiscum sunt, quam cum illis. Reply Obj. 2: In order that the conditions of the fight be not unequal, there is as regards man the promised recompense, to be gained principally through the grace of God, secondarily through the guardianship of the angels. Wherefore (4 Kgs 6:16), Eliseus said to his servant: Fear not, for there are more with us than with them. Ad tertium dicendum quod infirmitati humanae sufficeret ad exercitium impugnatio quae est a carne et mundo, sed malitiae daemonum non sufficit, quae utroque utitur ad hominum impugnationem. Sed tamen ex divina ordinatione hoc provenit in gloriam electorum. Reply Obj. 3: The assault of the flesh and the world would suffice for the exercise of human weakness: but it does not suffice for the demon’s malice, which makes use of both the above in assailing men. But by the Divine ordinance this tends to the glory of the elect. Articulus 2 Article 2 Utrum tentare sit proprium diaboli Whether to tempt is proper to the devil? Ad secundum sic proceditur. Videtur quod tentare non sit proprium Diaboli. Dicitur enim Deus tentare; secundum illud Gen. XXII, tentavit Deus Abraham. Tentat etiam caro, et mundus. Et etiam homo dicitur tentare Deum, et hominem. Ergo non est proprium daemonis tentare. Objection 1: It would seem that to tempt is not proper to the devil. For God is said to tempt, according to Gen. 22:1, God tempted Abraham. Moreover man is tempted by the flesh and the world. Again, man is said to tempt God, and to tempt man. Therefore it is not proper to the devil to tempt. Praeterea, tentare est ignorantis. Sed daemones sciunt quid circa homines agatur. Ergo daemones non tentant. Obj. 2: Further, to tempt is a sign of ignorance. But the demons know what happens among men. Therefore the demons do not tempt. Praeterea, tentatio est via in peccatum. Peccatum autem in voluntate consistit. Cum ergo daemones non possint voluntatem hominis immutare, ut per supra dicta patet; videtur quod ad eos non pertineat tentare. Obj. 3: Further, temptation is the road to sin. Now sin dwells in the will. Since therefore the demons cannot change man’s will, as appears from what has been said above (Q. 111, A. 2), it seems that it is not in their province to tempt. Sed contra est quod dicitur I ad Thessal. III, ne forte tentaverit vos is qui tentat; Glossa, idest Diabolus, cuius officium est tentare. On the contrary, It is written (1 Thess 3:5): Lest perhaps he that tempteth should have tempted you: to which the gloss adds, that is, the devil, whose office it is to tempt. Respondeo dicendum quod tentare est proprie experimentum sumere de aliquo. Experimentum autem sumitur de aliquo, ut sciatur aliquid circa ipsum, et ideo proximus finis cuiuslibet tentantis est scientia. Sed quandoque ulterius ex scientia quaeritur aliquis alius finis, vel bonus vel malus, bonus quidem, sicut cum aliquis vult scire qualis aliquis sit, vel quantum ad scientiam vel quantum ad virtutem, ut eum promoveat; malus autem, quando hoc scire vult, ut eum decipiat vel subvertat. I answer that, To tempt is, properly speaking, to make trial of something. Now we make trial of something in order to know something about it: hence the immediate end of every tempter is knowledge. But sometimes another end, either good or bad, is sought to be acquired through that knowledge; a good end, when, for instance, one desires to know of someone, what sort of a man he is as to knowledge, or virtue, with a view to his promotion; a bad end, when that knowledge is sought with the purpose of deceiving or ruining him. Et per hunc modum potest accipi quomodo tentare diversis diversimode attribuatur. Homo enim tentare dicitur, quandoque quidem ut sciat tantum, et propter hoc, tentare Deum dicitur esse peccatum; quia homo, quasi incertus, experiri praesumit Dei virtutem. Quandoque vero tentat ut iuvet, quandoque vero, ut noceat. Diabolus autem semper tentat ut noceat, in peccatum praecipitando. Et secundum hoc, dicitur proprium officium eius tentare, nam etsi homo aliquando sic tentet, hoc agit inquantum est minister Diaboli. Deus autem tentare dicitur ut sciat, eo modo loquendi quo dicitur scire quod facit alios scire. Unde dicitur Deut. XIII, tentat vos dominus Deus vester, ut palam fiat utrum diligatis eum. From this we can gather how various beings are said to tempt in various ways. For man is said to tempt, sometimes indeed merely for the sake of knowing something; and for this reason it is a sin to tempt God; for man, being uncertain as it were, presumes to make an experiment of God’s power. Sometimes too he tempts in order to help, sometimes in order to hurt. The devil, however, always tempts in order to hurt by urging man into sin. In this sense it is said to be his proper office to tempt: for though at times man tempts thus, he does this as minister of the devil. God is said to tempt that He may know, in the same sense as that is said to know which makes others to know. Hence it is written (Deut 13:3): The Lord your God trieth you, that it may appear whether you love him. Caro autem et mundus dicuntur tentare instrumentaliter, seu materialiter, inquantum scilicet potest cognosci qualis sit homo, ex hoc quod sequitur vel repugnat concupiscentiis carnis, et ex hoc quod contemnit prospera mundi et adversa; quibus etiam Diabolus utitur ad tentandum. The flesh and the world are said to tempt as the instruments or matter of temptations; inasmuch as one can know what sort of man someone is, according as he follows or resists the desires of the flesh, and according as he despises worldly advantages and adversity: of which things the devil also makes use in tempting. Et sic patet solutio ad primum. Thus the reply to the first objection is clear. Ad secundum dicendum quod daemones sciunt ea quae exterius aguntur circa homines, sed interiorem hominis conditionem solus Deus novit, qui est spirituum ponderator, ex qua aliqui sunt magis proni ad unum vitium quam ad aliud. Et ideo Diabolus tentat explorando interiorem conditionem hominis, ut de illo vitio tentet, ad quod homo magis pronus est. Reply Obj. 2: The demons know what happens outwardly among men; but the inward disposition of man God alone knows, Who is the weigher of spirits (Prov 16:2). It is this disposition that makes man more prone to one vice than to another: hence the devil tempts, in order to explore this inward disposition of man, so that he may tempt him to that vice to which he is most prone. Ad tertium dicendum quod daemon, etsi non possit immutare voluntatem, potest tamen, ut supra dictum est, aliqualiter immutare inferiores hominis vires; ex quibus etsi non cogitur voluntas, tamen inclinatur. Reply Obj. 3: Although a demon cannot change the will, yet, as stated above (Q. 111, A. 3), he can change the inferior powers of man, in a certain degree: by which powers, though the will cannot be forced, it can nevertheless be inclined. Articulus 3 Article 3 Utrum omnia peccata procedant ex tentatione diaboli Whether all sins are due to the temptation of the devil? Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod omnia peccata procedant ex tentatione Diaboli. Dicit enim Dionysius, IV cap. de Div. Nom., quod multitudo daemonum est causa omnium malorum et sibi et aliis. Et Damascenus dicit quod omnis malitia et omnis immunditia a Diabolo excogitatae sunt. Objection 1: It would seem that all sins are due to the temptation of the devil. For Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv) that the multitude of demons is the cause of all evils, both to themselves and to others. And Damascene says (De Fide Orth. ii, 4) that all malice and all uncleanness have been devised by the devil. Praeterea, de quolibet peccatore dici posset quod dominus de Iudaeis dicit, Ioan. VIII, vos ex patre Diabolo estis. Hoc autem est inquantum ipsi ex Diaboli suggestione peccabant. Omne ergo peccatum est ex suggestione Diaboli. Obj. 2: Further, of every sinner can be said what the Lord said of the Jews (John 8:44): You are of your father the devil. But this was in as far as they sinned through the devil’s instigation. Therefore every sin is due to the devil’s instigation. Praeterea, sicut angeli deputantur ad custodiam hominum, ita daemones ad impugnationem. Sed omnia bona quae facimus, ex suggestione bonorum angelorum procedunt, quia divina ad nos mediantibus angelis perferuntur. Ergo et omnia mala quae facimus, proveniunt ex suggestione Diaboli. Obj. 3: Further, as angels are deputed to guard men, so demons are deputed to assail men. But every good thing we do is due to the suggestion of the good angels: because the Divine gifts are borne to us by the angels. Therefore all the evil we do, is due to the instigation of the devil. Sed contra est quod dicitur in libro de Eccles. Dogmat., non omnes cogitationes nostrae malae a Diabolo excitantur, sed aliquoties ex nostri arbitrii motu emergunt. On the contrary, It is written (De Eccl. Dogmat. xlix): Not all our evil thoughts are stirred up by the devil, but sometimes they arise from the movement of our free-will. Respondeo dicendum quod causa alicuius potest dici aliquid dupliciter, uno modo, directe, alio modo, indirecte. Indirecte quidem, sicut cum aliquod agens causans aliquam dispositionem ad aliquem effectum, dicitur esse occasionaliter et indirecte causa illius effectus; sicut si dicatur quod ille qui siccat ligna, est causa combustionis eorum. Et hoc modo dicendum est quod Diabolus est causa omnium peccatorum nostrorum, quia ipse instigavit primum hominem ad peccandum, ex cuius peccato consecuta est in toto genere humano quaedam pronitas ad omnia peccata. Et per hunc modum intelligenda sunt verba Damasceni et Dionysii. I answer that, One thing can be the cause of another in two ways; directly and indirectly. Indirectly as when an agent is the cause of a disposition to a certain effect, it is said to be the occasional and indirect cause of that effect: for instance, we might say that he who dries the wood is the cause of the wood burning. In this way we must admit that the devil is the cause of all our sins; because he it was who instigated the first man to sin, from whose sin there resulted a proneness to sin in the whole human race: and in this sense we must take the words of Damascene and Dionysius. Directe autem dicitur esse aliquid causa alicuius, quod operatur directe ad illud. Et hoc modo Diabolus non est causa omnis peccati non enim omnia peccata committuntur Diabolo instigante, sed quaedam ex libertate arbitrii et carnis corruptione. Quia, ut Origenes dicit, etiam si Diabolus non esset, homines haberent appetitum ciborum et venereorum et huiusmodi; circa quae multa inordinatio contingit, nisi per rationem talis appetitus refraenetur; et maxime, supposita corruptione naturae. Refraenare autem et ordinare huiusmodi appetitum, subiacet libero arbitrio. Sic ergo non est necessarium omnia peccata ex instinctu Diaboli provenire. Si qua tamen ex instinctu eius proveniunt, ad ea complenda eo blandimento decipiuntur homines nunc, quo primi parentes, ut Isidorus dicit. But a thing is said to be the direct cause of something, when its action tends directly thereunto. And in this way the devil is not the cause of every sin: for all sins are not committed at the devil’s instigation, but some are due to the free-will and the corruption of the flesh. For, as Origen says (Peri Archon iii), even if there were no devil, men would have the desire for food and love and such like pleasures; with regard to which many disorders may arise unless those desires are curbed by reason, especially if we presuppose the corruption of our natures. Now it is in the power of the free-will to curb this appetite and keep it in order. Consequently there is no need for all sins to be due to the instigation of the devil. But those sins which are due thereto man perpetrates through being deceived by the same blandishments as were our first parents, as Isidore says (De Summo Bono ii). Et per hoc patet responsio ad primum. Thus the answer to the first objection is clear. Ad secundum dicendum quod, si qua peccata absque instinctu Diaboli perpetrantur, per ea tamen fiunt homines filii Diaboli, inquantum ipsum primo peccantem imitantur. Reply Obj. 2: When man commits sin without being thereto instigated by the devil, he nevertheless becomes a child of the devil thereby, in so far as he imitates him who was the first to sin. Ad tertium dicendum quod homo potest per seipsum ruere in peccatum, sed ad meritum proficere non potest nisi auxilio divino, quod homini exhibetur mediante ministerio angelorum. Et ideo ad omnia bona nostra cooperantur angeli, non tamen omnia nostra peccata procedunt ex daemonum suggestione. Quamvis nullum genus peccati sit, quod non interdum ex daemonum suggestione proveniat. Reply Obj. 3: Man can of his own accord fall into sin: but he cannot advance in merit without the Divine assistance, which is borne to man by the ministry of the angels. For this reason the angels take part in all our good works: whereas all our sins are not due to the demons’ instigation. Nevertheless there is no kind of sin which is not sometimes due to the demons’ suggestion. Articulus 4 Article 4 Utrum daemones possint homines seducere per aliqua miracula vera Whether demons can lead men astray by means of real miracles? Ad quartum sic proceditur. Videtur quod daemones non possint homines seducere per aliqua miracula vera. Operatio enim daemonum maxime vigebit in operibus Antichristi. Sed sicut apostolus dicit II ad Thessal. II, eius adventus est secundum operationem Satanae, in omni virtute et signis et prodigiis mendacibus. Ergo multo magis alio tempore per daemones non fiunt nisi signa mendacia. Objection 1: It would seem that the demons cannot lead men astray by means of real miracles. For the activity of the demons will show itself especially in the works of Antichrist. But as the Apostle says (2 Thess 2:9), his coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders. Much more therefore at other times do the demons perform lying wonders.