The Conception of a Kingdom of Ends in Augustine Aquinas And Leibniz
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: (9) The virtues.?We have seen that Thomas made possible a relatively independent ethics by representing man as naturally inclined toward virtue, even after the wound inflicted on the race by the original sin. The natural virtues are found in us in rudimentary form, though passion and vicious habits hinder their development. No man is wholly without them. They may all be subsumed under the four cardinal virtues, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. To become perfect virtues they must become habits. The infused or theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity, are superhuman virtues produced in us by God without our action but not without our consent. They are nobler than other virtues because they lead to blessedness. The presence of the theological virtues means healing of the wound of sin to some
...extent, hence freer development of the moral virtues. Thomas gives the theological virtues a high social value for the present life. Justice he regards as keeping men from getting in each other's way. It does not provide for helping others in their need. For this love is necessary. Thus far Thomas completes his structure of thought by placing the ecclesiastical state above the political state, the revealed law above positive and natural law, and the infused virtues above the natural virtues, because the higher place belongs to that which bears more directly on the life after death.1 V. THE DUALISM OF CONTEMPLATION AND ACTION Two moments are noticeable in the opinion of Thomas upon con- templatives. As against a life of action, such as would come under precepts not counsels, and even as against a life under monastic vows, but in an order devoted to works of a very active type such as military service, hospitality, etc., he urges the superiority of a life of contemplat...
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