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Dist. 28, Art. 1, Q. 4

Book III: On the Incarnation of the Word · Distinction 28

Textus Latinus
p. 628

Quaestio IV. Utrum ex caritate sint diligenda corpora nostra.

Quarto quaeritur, utrum ex caritate sint diligenda corpora nostra. Et quod non, videtur.

1. Ioannis duodecimo1: Qui amat animam suam perdet eam; sed constat, quod anima non stat ibi nisi pro « vita carnali »: ergo si vita carnalis in hoc mundo est odienda, videtur, quod odienda sint corpora nostra, non ergo ex caritate diligenda.

2. Item, nihil est ex caritate diligendum, quod impedit hominem ab assecutione beatitudinis; sed caro nostra est huiusmodi, quia caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, secundum quod dicitur ad Galatas quinto; et ad Romanos septimo2: Invenio in membris meis quod legem repugnat etc.: ergo si corpora nostra impediunt nos a beatitudine assequenda, videtur, quod non sint ex caritate diligenda.

3. Item, caritas nunquam excidit3: ergo illa sunt ex caritate diligenda, quae nunquam excidunt; sed corpora corrumpuntur: ergo ex caritate diligenda non sunt.

4. Item, ratio imaginis sive expressa assimilatio ad Deum est illud quod facit, creaturam rationalem ex caritate diligi, sicut ex praecedentibus4 patet; sed in corpore communicamus cum brutis, nec perfectio imaginis invenitur in nobis ex parte corporis: videtur ergo, quod corpora nostra non sint ex caritate diligenda, sicut nec bruta animalia.

Sed contra: 1. Ad Ephesios quinto5: Viri debent diligere uxores suas sicut corpora sua: si ergo hortatur Apostolus ad diligendas uxores ex caritate; cum similiter diligendae sint ut corpora, videtur, quod corpora nostra sint ex caritate diligenda.

2. Item, Augustinus dicit in libro de Doctrina christiana6: « Quatuor sunt diligenda », et tribus praemissis, subdit: « quartum, quod infra nos est, scilicet corpus nostrum »: si ergo Augustinus enumerat ibi diligenda ex caritate praecise et proprie, videtur, quod corpora nostra sint diligenda ex caritate.

3. Item, omne beatificabile est ex caritate diligibile; sed corpus nostrum cum anima communicabit in participatione felicitatis7: ergo similiter communicare debet in dilectione caritatis.

4. Item, in ordine caritatis consanguinei praemittendi sunt extraneis secundum Ambrosium8; sed consanguinitas non est nisi ex parte corporum: si ergo haec conditio reddit homines magis amabiles, videtur, quod corpora nostra inter ea connumerantur, quae sunt ex caritate diligenda.

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Conclusio. Corpora nostra, cum capacia sint beatitudinis per quandam redundantiam, ex caritate sunt diligenda.

Respondeo: Dicendum, quod cum caritas sit pondus inclinans9 ad summum Bonum et perfectam beatitudinem, omne illud facit diligere, quod est beatum, vel beatificabile. Quoniam ergo contingit aliquid esse beatum tripliciter, scilicet per essentiam et per primam influentiam et per quandam redundantiam; hinc est, quod omnia ista sunt ex caritate diligenda, secundum prius et posterius, secundum magis et minus. Beatum autem per essentiam est solus Deus; beatum vero per primam influentiam est rationalis spiritus; beatum denique per quandam redundantiam est corpus humanum, in quod gaudium gloriae redundat per coniunctionem sui ad animam beatam. Hinc est, quod caritas non solum facit nos diligere Deum et rationalem spiritum, sed etiam corpus nostrum. — Concedendum est igitur, sicut probatum est, quod corpora nostra diligenda sunt ex caritate; concedendae sunt etiam rationes ad hanc partem inductae.

1. Ad illud ergo quod obiicitur, quod Deus hortatur nos in Evangelio ad vitam carnalem odiendam; dicendum, quod in corpore nostro est vitiositas concupiscentiae et bonitas naturae. Et quia vitiositas concupiscentiae inclinat ad malum, ideo est odienda; et si quis eam diligit, odit animam suam10; quia vero bonitas naturae ordinata est ad summum Bonum quodam modo comparticipandum, ideo est diligenda. Cum ergo Dominus hortatur ad odiendam animam nostram sive vitam carnalem; dicendum, quod hoc non concludit, quod corpora nostra non sint diligenda simpliciter11, sed quod non sunt diligenda quantum ad vitiositatem concupiscentiae.

2. Et per hoc patet responsio ad rationem sequentem: quia caro non repugnat spiritui nec impedit ab assequenda beatitudine propter conditionem naturae, sed propter vitiositatem concupiscentiae contractae.

3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod non debent diligi ex caritate ea quae corrumpuntur, cum caritas nunquam excidat; dicendum, quod quamvis corpus nostrum sit corruptibile ad tempus et secundum praesentem statum, est tamen ad perpetuam incorruptionem ordinatum. Unde quamvis nunc seminetur in corruptione, resurget in incorruptione12; et ideo, quamvis corpus sit corruptibile quantum ad naturae lapsae infirmitatem, non sequitur, quod non sit diligibile ex caritate quantum ad veritatem naturae, secundum quam ordinatum est ad perpetuam incorruptionem.

4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod ratio imaginis et expressa assimilatio, quae facit, creaturam rationalem diligi ex caritate, non invenitur in corpore; dicendum, quod verum est, per se loquendo, quod ratio imaginis sic facit. Licet autem corpus humanum non sit ad Dei imaginem per se, est tamen unitum animae, quae est ad Dei imaginem, unitum, inquam, in unitate naturae; et ratione illius est beatitudinis comparticipabile; et sicut est beatitudinis comparticipabile, ita est diligendum ex caritate, ea videlicet ratione, qua est animae rationali unitum; et hoc est proprium corporis humani respectu cuiuslibet alterius corporis. Propterea non est simile de aliis corporibus et animalibus13 irrationalibus.

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English Translation

Question IV. Whether our bodies are to be loved out of charity.

Fourthly it is asked whether our bodies are to be loved out of charity. And it seems that they are not.

1. John, chapter twelve1: He who loves his soul shall lose it; but it is agreed that "soul" stands there only for "carnal life": therefore if carnal life in this world is to be hated, it seems that our bodies are to be hated, and therefore not to be loved out of charity.

2. Likewise, nothing is to be loved out of charity which hinders a man from the attainment of beatitude; but our flesh is of this kind, because the flesh lusts against the spirit, according to what is said in Galatians, chapter five; and in Romans, chapter seven2: I find in my members that which opposes the law etc.: therefore if our bodies hinder us from attaining beatitude, it seems that they are not to be loved out of charity.

3. Likewise, charity never fails3: therefore those things are to be loved out of charity which never fail; but bodies are corrupted: therefore they are not to be loved out of charity.

4. Likewise, the character of image, or the express assimilation to God, is that which causes a rational creature to be loved out of charity, as is clear from what precedes4; but in the body we have something in common with the brutes, nor is the perfection of the image found in us on the side of the body: it seems therefore that our bodies are not to be loved out of charity, just as neither are the brute animals.

On the contrary: 1. To the Ephesians, chapter five5: Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies: if therefore the Apostle exhorts to the loving of wives out of charity; since they are to be loved in like manner as bodies, it seems that our bodies are to be loved out of charity.

2. Likewise, Augustine says in the book On Christian Doctrine6: « There are four things to be loved », and having set down three, he adds: « the fourth, that which is below us, namely our body »: if therefore Augustine there enumerates the things to be loved out of charity precisely and properly, it seems that our bodies are to be loved out of charity.

3. Likewise, everything capable of being made blessed is capable of being loved out of charity; but our body will share with the soul in the participation of felicity7: therefore it ought likewise to share in the love of charity.

4. Likewise, in the order of charity blood-relations are to be put before strangers according to Ambrose8; but consanguinity exists only on the side of bodies: if therefore this condition renders men more lovable, it seems that our bodies are numbered among those things which are to be loved out of charity.

Conclusion. Our bodies, since they are capable of beatitude by a certain overflow, are to be loved out of charity.

I respond: It must be said that, since charity is a weight inclining9 toward the highest Good and perfect beatitude, it causes everything to be loved which is blessed or capable of being made blessed. Since therefore it happens that something is blessed in a threefold way, namely by essence and by a primary influx and by a certain overflow; hence it is that all these things are to be loved out of charity, according to before and after, according to more and less. Now blessed by essence is God alone; blessed by a primary influx is the rational spirit; blessed finally by a certain overflow is the human body, into which the joy of glory overflows through the conjunction of itself to the blessed soul. Hence it is that charity causes us to love not only God and the rational spirit, but also our body. — It must therefore be conceded, as has been proved, that our bodies are to be loved out of charity; and the reasons adduced for this side are also to be conceded.

1. To that, then, which is objected, that God exhorts us in the Gospel to hate the carnal life; it must be said that in our body there is the viciousness of concupiscence and the goodness of nature. And because the viciousness of concupiscence inclines toward evil, therefore it is to be hated; and if anyone loves it, he hates his own soul10; but because the goodness of nature is ordered toward the highest Good to be in a certain way co-participated, therefore it is to be loved. Since therefore the Lord exhorts to the hating of our soul or carnal life; it must be said that this does not conclude that our bodies are not to be loved absolutely11, but that they are not to be loved as regards the viciousness of concupiscence.

2. And by this is made clear the response to the following reason: because the flesh does not oppose the spirit nor hinder from attaining beatitude on account of the condition of nature, but on account of the viciousness of contracted concupiscence.

3. To that which is objected, that those things which are corrupted ought not to be loved out of charity, since charity never fails; it must be said that, although our body is corruptible for a time and according to the present state, it is nevertheless ordained to perpetual incorruption. Hence although it is now sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption12; and therefore, although the body is corruptible as regards the infirmity of fallen nature, it does not follow that it is not lovable out of charity as regards the truth of nature, according to which it is ordained to perpetual incorruption.

4. To that which is objected, that the character of image and express assimilation, which causes a rational creature to be loved out of charity, is not found in the body; it must be said that it is true, speaking per se, that the character of image does this. But although the human body is not unto the image of God per se, it is nevertheless united to the soul, which is unto the image of God — united, I say, in the unity of nature; and by reason of that it is capable of co-participating beatitude; and as it is capable of co-participating beatitude, so it is to be loved out of charity, namely by that account by which it is united to the rational soul; and this is proper to the human body in respect of any other body whatever. Therefore the case is not the same with regard to other bodies and irrational animals13.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. Vers. 25. — In minori respicitur Glossa interlinearis in versum laudatum, quae habetur apud Lyranum. (P. 628, n. 3.)
    Verse 25. — In the minor [premise] reference is had to the interlinear Gloss on the cited verse, which is found in Lyra. (P. 628, n. 3.)
  2. Vers. 17. — Alter Scripturae locus est Rom. 7, 23: Video autem aliam legem in membris meis, repugnantem legi mentis meae etc. Lectionem quod legem repugnat (repugnare aliquem idem significat ac oppugnare aliquem, cfr. Forcellini, Totius Latin. Lexicon), quae omnium codd. est, edd. 1, 2 mutarunt in quod legi repugnat, Vat. in legem repugnantem legi. (P. 628, n. 4.)
    Verse 17. — The other Scripture passage is Rom. 7:23: But I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind etc. The reading quod legem repugnat (repugnare aliquem means the same as oppugnare aliquem, "to fight against someone," cf. Forcellini, Lexicon of the Whole Latin Tongue), which is that of all the codices, the editions 1 and 2 changed into quod legi repugnat, the Vatican into legem repugnantem legi. (P. 628, n. 4.)
  3. Epist. I. Cor. 13, 8. — Deinde edd. ergo videtur, quod illa ex caritate sunt [Vat. sint] diligenda... sed corpora nostra corrumpentur etc. (P. 628, n. 5.)
    First Letter to the Corinthians 13:8. — Then the editions read therefore it seems that those things are to be loved out of charity... but our bodies will be corrupted etc. [the Vatican: sint]. (P. 628, n. 5.)
  4. Quaest. 1. (P. 628, n. 6.)
    Question 1 [of this article]. (P. 628, n. 6.)
  5. Vers. 28. (P. 628, n. 7.)
    Verse 28. (P. 628, n. 7.)
  6. Libr. I. c. 23. n. 22. Vide hic lit. Magistri, c. 1. (P. 628, n. 8.)
    Book I, c. 23, n. 22. See here the text of the Master [Lombard], c. 1. (P. 628, n. 8.)
  7. Cfr. IV. Sent. d. 49. p. II. a. I. princip. a. 1. q. I. seq. — Pro diligibile cod. Z diligendum. (P. 628, n. 9.)
    Cf. Sentences IV, d. 49, p. II, a. I, principal a. 1, q. I and following. — For diligibile ("lovable") codex Z reads diligendum ("to be loved"). (P. 628, n. 9.)
  8. Vide infra lit. Magistri, d. XXIX. c. 2; attamen verba Ambrosio ibi tributa sunt Origenis, in Cantic. homil. 2. n. 8. (P. 628, n. 10.)
    See below the text of the Master, d. XXIX, c. 2; nevertheless the words there attributed to Ambrose are those of Origen, On the Canticle, homily 2, n. 8. (P. 628, n. 10.)
  9. Cfr. supra pag. 289, nota 5. (P. 629, n. 1.)
    Cf. above p. 289, note 5. (P. 629, n. 1.)
  10. Psalm. 10, 6: Qui diligit iniquitatem etc. (P. 629, n. 2.)
    Psalm 10:6: He who loves iniquity etc. (P. 629, n. 2.)
  11. Post simpliciter codd. B X an addunt quantum ad bonitatem naturae; in edd. legitur: quod corpora nostra non sint diligenda quantum ad bonitatem naturae, sed quantum ad vitiositatem concupiscentiae. (P. 629, n. 3.)
    After simpliciter ("absolutely") codices B X add quantum ad bonitatem naturae ("as regards the goodness of nature"); in the editions it reads: that our bodies are not to be loved as regards the goodness of nature, but as regards the viciousness of concupiscence. (P. 629, n. 3.)
  12. Epist. I. Cor. 15, 42. — Post resurget edd. subdunt tamen, cod. N etiam. — Paulo interius pro veritatem naturae (ita codd. I bb, cod. A virtutem naturae, cod. G voluntatem naturae), alii codd. cum edd. necessitatem naturae, denique supplement. Sum. Alex. Hal. collat. 63. a. 4. nobilitatem naturae. (P. 629, n. 4.)
    First Letter to the Corinthians 15:42. — After resurget ("it shall rise") the editions add tamen ("nevertheless"), codex N etiam ("also"). — A little within, for veritatem naturae ("the truth of nature") (thus codices I bb; codex A virtutem naturae "the power of nature," codex G voluntatem naturae "the will of nature"), other codices with the editions read necessitatem naturae ("the necessity of nature"), and finally the supplement to the Summa of Alexander of Hales, collation 63, a. 4, nobilitatem naturae ("the nobility of nature"). (P. 629, n. 4.)
  13. Edd. omittunt et animalibus. — Vide scholion ad praecedentem quaest. (P. 629, n. 5.)
    The editions omit et animalibus ("and animals"). — See the scholion on the preceding question. (P. 629, n. 5.)
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