Articulus 3 Article 3 Utrum etiam creaturae irrationales sint ex caritate diligendae Whether irrational creatures also ought to be loved out of charity? Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod etiam creaturae irrationales sint ex caritate diligendae. Per caritatem enim maxime conformamur Deo. Sed Deus diligit creaturas irrationales ex caritate, diligit enim omnia quae sunt, ut habetur Sap. XI; et omne quod diligit, seipso diligit, qui est caritas. Ergo et nos debemus creaturas irrationales ex caritate diligere. Objection 1: It would seem that irrational creatures also ought to be loved out of charity. For it is chiefly by charity that we are conformed to God. Now God loves irrational creatures out of charity, for He loves all things that are (Wis 11:25), and whatever He loves, He loves by Himself Who is charity. Therefore we also should love irrational creatures out of charity. Praeterea, caritas principaliter fertur in Deum, ad alia autem se extendit secundum quod ad Deum pertinent. Sed sicut creatura rationalis pertinet ad Deum inquantum habet similitudinem imaginis, ita etiam creatura irrationalis inquantum habet similitudinem vestigii. Ergo caritas etiam se extendit ad creaturas irrationales. Obj. 2: Further, charity is referred to God principally, and extends to other things as referable to God. Now just as the rational creature is referable to God, inasmuch as it bears the resemblance of image, so too, are the irrational creatures, inasmuch as they bear the resemblance of a trace. Therefore charity extends also to irrational creatures. Praeterea, sicut caritatis obiectum est Deus, ita et fidei. Sed fides se extendit ad creaturas irrationales, inquantum credimus caelum et terram esse creata a Deo, et pisces et aves esse productos ex aquis, et gressibilia animalia et plantas ex terra. Ergo caritas etiam se extendit ad creaturas irrationales. Obj. 3: Further, just as the object of charity is God. so is the object of faith. Now faith extends to irrational creatures, since we believe that heaven and earth were created by God, that the fishes and birds were brought forth out of the waters, and animals that walk, and plants, out of the earth. Therefore charity extends also to irrational creatures. Sed contra est quod dilectio caritatis solum se extendit ad Deum et proximum. Sed nomine proximi non potest intelligi creatura irrationalis, quia non communicat cum homine in vita rationali. Ergo caritas non se extendit ad creaturas irrationales. On the contrary, The love of charity extends to none but God and our neighbor. But the word neighbor cannot be extended to irrational creatures, since they have no fellowship with man in the rational life. Therefore charity does not extend to irrational creatures. Respondeo dicendum quod caritas, secundum praedicta, est amicitia quaedam. Per amicitiam autem amatur uno quidem modo, amicus ad quem amicitia habetur; et alio modo, bona quae amico optantur. Primo ergo modo nulla creatura irrationalis potest ex caritate amari. Et hoc triplici ratione. Quarum duae pertinent communiter ad amicitiam, quae ad creaturas irrationales haberi non potest. Primo quidem, quia amicitia ad eum habetur cui volumus bonum. Non autem proprie possum bonum velle creaturae irrationali, quia non est eius proprie habere bonum, sed solum creaturae rationalis, quae est domina utendi bono quod habet per liberum arbitrium. Et ideo philosophus dicit, in II Physic., quod huiusmodi rebus non dicimus aliquid bene vel male contingere nisi secundum similitudinem. Secundo, quia omnis amicitia fundatur super aliqua communicatione vitae, nihil enim est ita proprium amicitiae sicut convivere, ut patet per philosophum, VIII Ethic. Creaturae autem irrationales non possunt communicationem habere in vita humana, quae est secundum rationem. Unde nulla amicitia potest haberi ad creaturas irrationales, nisi forte secundum metaphoram. Tertia ratio est propria caritati, quia caritas fundatur super communicatione beatitudinis aeternae, cuius creatura irrationalis capax non est. Unde amicitia caritatis non potest haberi ad creaturam irrationalem. I answer that, According to what has been stated above (Q. 13, A. 1) charity is a kind of friendship. Now the love of friendship is twofold: first, there is the love for the friend to whom our friendship is given, second, the love for those good things which we desire for our friend. With regard to the first, no irrational creature can be loved out of charity; and for three reasons. Two of these reasons refer in a general way to friendship, which cannot have an irrational creature for its object: first because friendship is towards one to whom we wish good things, while, properly speaking, we cannot wish good things to an irrational creature, because it is not competent, properly speaking, to possess good, this being proper to the rational creature which, through its free-will, is the master of its disposal of the good it possesses. Hence the Philosopher says (Phys. ii, 6) that we do not speak of good or evil befalling such like things, except metaphorically. Second, because all friendship is based on some fellowship in life; since nothing is so proper to friendship as to live together, as the Philosopher proves (Ethic. viii, 5). Now irrational creatures can have no fellowship in human life which is regulated by reason. Hence friendship with irrational creatures is impossible, except metaphorically speaking. The third reason is proper to charity, for charity is based on the fellowship of everlasting happiness, to which the irrational creature cannot attain. Therefore we cannot have the friendship of charity towards an irrational creature. Possunt tamen ex caritate diligi creaturae irrationales sicut bona quae aliis volumus, inquantum scilicet ex caritate volumus eas conservari ad honorem Dei et utilitatem hominum. Et sic etiam ex caritate Deus eas diligit. Nevertheless we can love irrational creatures out of charity, if we regard them as the good things that we desire for others, insofar, to wit, as we wish for their preservation, to God’s honor and man’s use; thus too does God love them out of charity. Unde patet responsio ad primum. Wherefore the Reply to the First Objection is evident. Ad secundum dicendum quod similitudo vestigii non causat capacitatem vitae aeternae, sicut similitudo imaginis. Unde non est similis ratio. Reply Obj. 2: The likeness by way of trace does not confer the capacity for everlasting life, whereas the likeness of image does: and so the comparison fails. Ad tertium dicendum quod fides se potest extendere ad omnia quae sunt quocumque modo vera. Sed amicitia caritatis se extendit ad illa sola quae nata sunt habere bonum vitae aeternae. Unde non est simile. Reply Obj. 3: Faith can extend to all that is in any way true, whereas the friendship of charity extends only to such things as have a natural capacity for everlasting life; wherefore the comparison fails. Articulus 4 Article 4 Utrum homo debeat seipsum ex caritate diligere Whether a man ought to love himself out of charity? Ad quartum sic proceditur. Videtur quod homo non diligat seipsum ex caritate. Dicit enim Gregorius, in quadam homilia, quod caritas minus quam inter duos haberi non potest. Ergo ad seipsum nullus habet caritatem. Objection 1: It would seem that a man is not bound to love himself out of charity. For Gregory says in a homily (In Evang. xvii) that there can be no charity between less than two. Therefore no man has charity towards himself. Praeterea, amicitia de sui ratione importat reamationem et aequalitatem, ut patet in VIII Ethic., quae quidem non possunt esse homini ad seipsum. Sed caritas amicitia quaedam est, ut dictum est. Ergo ad seipsum aliquis caritatem habere non potest. Obj. 2: Further, friendship, by its very nature, implies mutual love and equality (Ethic. viii, 2, 7), which cannot be of one man towards himself. But charity is a kind of friendship, as stated above (Q. 23, A. 1). Therefore a man cannot have charity towards himself. Praeterea, illud quod ad caritatem pertinet non potest esse vituperabile, quia caritas non agit perperam, ut dicitur I ad Cor. XIII. Sed amare seipsum est vituperabile, dicitur enim II ad Tim. III, in novissimis diebus instabunt tempora periculosa, et erunt homines amantes seipsos. Ergo homo non potest seipsum ex caritate diligere. Obj. 3: Further, anything relating to charity cannot be blameworthy, since charity dealeth not perversely (1 Cor 23:4). Now a man deserves to be blamed for loving himself, since it is written (2 Tim 3:1, 2): In the last days shall come dangerous times, men shall be lovers of themselves. Therefore a man cannot love himself out of charity. Sed contra est quod dicitur Levit. XIX, diliges amicum tuum sicut teipsum. Sed amicum ex caritate diligimus. Ergo et nosipsos ex caritate debemus diligere. On the contrary, It is written (Lev 19:18): Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. Now we love our friends out of charity. Therefore we should love ourselves too out of charity. Respondeo dicendum quod, cum caritas sit amicitia quaedam, sicut dictum est, dupliciter possumus de caritate loqui. Uno modo, sub communi ratione amicitiae. Et secundum hoc dicendum est quod amicitia proprie non habetur ad seipsum, sed aliquid maius amicitia, quia amicitia unionem quandam importat, dicit enim Dionysius quod amor est virtus unitiva; unicuique autem ad seipsum est unitas, quae est potior unione. Unde sicut unitas est principium unionis, ita amor quo quis diligit seipsum, est forma et radix amicitiae, in hoc enim amicitiam habemus ad alios, quod ad eos nos habemus sicut ad nosipsos; dicitur enim in IX Ethic. quod amicabilia quae sunt ad alterum veniunt ex his quae sunt ad seipsum. Sicut etiam de principiis non habetur scientia, sed aliquid maius, scilicet intellectus. I answer that, Since charity is a kind of friendship, as stated above (Q. 23, A. 1), we may consider charity from two standpoints: first, under the general notion of friendship, and in this way we must hold that, properly speaking, a man is not a friend to himself, but something more than a friend, since friendship implies union, for Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv) that love is a unitive force, whereas a man is one with himself which is more than being united to another. Hence, just as unity is the principle of union, so the love with which a man loves himself is the form and root of friendship. For if we have friendship with others it is because we do unto them as we do unto ourselves, hence we read in Ethic. ix, 4, 8, that the origin of friendly relations with others lies in our relations to ourselves. Thus too with regard to principles we have something greater than science, namely understanding. Alio modo possumus loqui de caritate secundum propriam rationem ipsius, prout scilicet est amicitia hominis ad Deum principaliter, et ex consequenti ad ea quae sunt Dei. Inter quae etiam est ipse homo qui caritatem habet. Et sic inter cetera quae ex caritate diligit quasi ad Deum pertinentia, etiam seipsum ex caritate diligit. Second, we may speak of charity in respect of its specific nature, namely as denoting man’s friendship with God in the first place, and, consequently, with the things of God, among which things is man himself who has charity. Hence, among these other things which he loves out of charity because they pertain to God, he loves also himself out of charity. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod Gregorius loquitur de caritate secundum communem amicitiae rationem. Reply Obj. 1: Gregory speaks there of charity under the general notion of friendship. Et secundum hoc etiam procedit secunda ratio. And the Second Objection is to be taken in the same sense. Ad tertium dicendum quod amantes seipsos vituperantur inquantum amant se secundum naturam sensibilem, cui obtemperant. Quod non est vere amare seipsum secundum naturam rationalem, ut sibi velit ea bona quae pertinent ad perfectionem rationis. Et hoc modo praecipue ad caritatem pertinet diligere seipsum. Reply Obj. 3: Those who love themselves are to be blamed, insofar as they love themselves as regards their sensitive nature, which they humor. This is not to love oneself truly according to one’s rational nature, so as to desire for oneself the good things which pertain to the perfection of reason: and in this way chiefly it is through charity that a man loves himself. Articulus 5 Article 5 Utrum homo debeat corpus suum ex caritate diligere Whether a man ought to love his body out of charity? Ad quintum sic proceditur. Videtur quod homo non debeat corpus suum ex caritate diligere. Non enim diligimus illum cui convivere non volumus. Sed homines caritatem habentes refugiunt corporis convictum, secundum illud Rom. VII, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis huius? Et Philipp. I, desiderium habens dissolvi et cum Christo esse. Ergo corpus nostrum non est ex caritate diligendum. Objection 1: It would seem that a man ought not to love his body out of charity. For we do not love one with whom we are unwilling to associate. But those who have charity shun the society of the body, according to Rom. 7:24: Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? and Phil. 1:23: Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Therefore our bodies are not to be loved out of charity. Praeterea, amicitia caritatis fundatur super communicatione divinae fruitionis. Sed huius fruitionis corpus particeps esse non potest. Ergo corpus non est ex caritate diligendum. Obj. 2: Further, the friendship of charity is based on fellowship in the enjoyment of God. But the body can have no share in that enjoyment. Therefore the body is not to be loved out of charity. Praeterea, caritas, cum sit amicitia quaedam, ad eos habetur qui reamare possunt. Sed corpus nostrum non potest nos ex caritate diligere. Ergo non est ex caritate diligendum. Obj. 3: Further, since charity is a kind of friendship it is towards those who are capable of loving in return. But our body cannot love us out of charity. Therefore it should not be loved out of charity. Sed contra est quod Augustinus, in I de Doct. Christ., ponit quatuor ex caritate diligenda, inter quae unum est corpus proprium. On the contrary, Augustine says (De Doctr. Christ. i, 23, 26) that there are four things that we should love out of charity, and among them he reckons our own body. Respondeo dicendum quod corpus nostrum secundum duo potest considerari, uno modo, secundum eius naturam; alio modo, secundum corruptionem culpae et poenae. I answer that, Our bodies can be considered in two ways: first, in respect of their nature, second, in respect of the corruption of sin and its punishment. Natura autem corporis nostri non est a malo principio creata, ut Manichaei fabulantur, sed est a Deo. Unde possumus eo uti ad servitium Dei, secundum illud Rom. VI, exhibete membra vestra arma iustitiae Deo. Et ideo ex dilectione caritatis qua diligimus Deum, debemus etiam corpus nostrum diligere. Sed infectionem culpae et corruptionem poenae in corpore nostro diligere non debemus, sed potius ad eius remotionem anhelare desiderio caritatis. Now the nature of our body was created, not by an evil principle, as the Manicheans pretend, but by God. Hence we can use it for God’s service, according to Rom. 6:13: Present . . . your members as instruments of justice unto God. Consequently, out of the love of charity with which we love God, we ought to love our bodies also, but we ought not to love the evil effects of sin and the corruption of punishment; we ought rather, by the desire of charity, to long for the removal of such things. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod apostolus non refugiebat corporis communionem quantum ad corporis naturam, immo secundum hoc nolebat ab eo spoliari, secundum illud II ad Cor. V, nolumus expoliari, sed supervestiri. Sed volebat carere infectione concupiscentiae, quae remanet in corpore; et corruptione ipsius, quae aggravat animam, ne possit Deum videre. Unde signanter dixit: de corpore mortis huius. Reply Obj. 1: The Apostle did not shrink from the society of his body, as regards the nature of the body, in fact in this respect he was loth to be deprived thereof, according to 2 Cor. 5:4: We would not be unclothed, but clothed over. He did, however, wish to escape from the taint of concupiscence, which remains in the body, and from the corruption of the body which weighs down the soul, so as to hinder it from seeing God. Hence he says expressly: From the body of this death. Ad secundum dicendum quod corpus nostrum quamvis Deo frui non possit cognoscendo et amando ipsum, tamen per opera quae per corpus agimus ad perfectam Dei fruitionem possumus venire. Unde et ex fruitione animae redundat quaedam beatitudo ad corpus, scilicet sanitatis et incorruptionis vigor; ut Augustinus dicit, in epistola ad Diosc. Et ideo, quia corpus aliquo modo est particeps beatitudinis, potest dilectione caritatis amari. Reply Obj. 2: Although our bodies are unable to enjoy God by knowing and loving Him, yet by the works which we do through the body, we are able to attain to the perfect knowledge of God. Hence from the enjoyment in the soul there overflows a certain happiness into the body, viz., the flush of health and incorruption, as Augustine states (Ep. ad Dioscor. cxviii). Hence, since the body has, in a fashion, a share of happiness, it can be loved with the love of charity. Ad tertium dicendum quod reamatio habet locum in amicitia quae est ad alterum, non autem in amicitia quae est ad seipsum, vel secundum animam vel secundum corpus. Reply Obj. 3: Mutual love is found in the friendship which is for another, but not in that which a man has for himself, either in respect of his soul, or in respect of his body. Articulus 6 Article 6 Utrum peccatores sint ex caritate diligendi Whether we ought to love sinners out of charity? Ad sextum sic proceditur. Videtur quod peccatores non sint ex caritate diligendi. Dicitur enim in Psalm., iniquos odio habui. Sed David caritatem habebat. Ergo ex caritate magis sunt odiendi peccatores quam diligendi. Objection 1: It would seem that we ought not to love sinners out of charity. For it is written (Ps 118:113): I have hated the unjust. But David had perfect charity. Therefore sinners should be hated rather than loved, out of charity.