Sect. 134The Natural Imperfections or the Animal Character of the Spiritual Life (“Ratio Inferior”) in Man, and Its ConsequencesThe Natural Imperfections or the Animal Character of the Spiritual Life (“Ratio Inferior”) in Man, and Its Consequences
I. The union with a passible and corruptible body entails upon the spiritual soul a certain imperfection and weakness, in consequence of which the soul’s own life is subject to gradual increase, and is dependent on external influences; and, unlike the life of pure spirits, is in many ways hindered in its free and full development. “The corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things” (Wisd. 9:15). The chief cause of this is, that the animal life and the animal side of the spiritual life both exercise a disturbing influence upon the higher reason. The imperfection of man’s spiritual life, arising from its dependence on animal life, may fitly be styled an “animal quality” of the spiritual life. In fact, St. Paul (1 Cor. 2:14) sums up all the imperfections of natural man in the term “animal man” (ἄνθρωπος ψυχικός). In the mind of the Apostle, this is intended to explain why man, on the whole, (i.e. with his spiritual as well as his animal nature), has no sense of the supernatural, and is even, to a certain extent, opposed to it. Now this expression is connected with the argument in chap. 15, ver. 45, of the same epistle, where it is stated that the first man was created as “living soul” (εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν). Hence, as the argument in chap. 15 is evidently taken from the account of man’s creation in Genesis, so also is the argument in chap. 2; from which it further follows that, according to St. Paul, the imperfections of our spiritual life flow from the original constitution of our nature.
II. Intellectual knowledge, the noblest function of the soul, is derived from and supported by the knowledge acquired through the senses. Hence it is less clear and its attainment is more difficult than in the case of pure spirits; and its indistinctness and difficulty increase the more it is removed from the domain of the senses. Thus the difficulty of acquiring and retaining distinct notions is greater in the higher reason than in the lower, because in the latter the subject-matter of knowledge is always either directly afforded by the senses or is at least illustrated by mental images of the imagination. Consequently, although the soul possesses a spiritual light enabling it to know moral and religious truths, yet the acquisition of a full and certain knowledge of such truths is beset with many difficulties, so that many moral precepts may be either unknown or misunderstood (§ 3). This imperfection constitutes what theologians call “malum ignorantiæ.” The knowledge even when acquired by the superior reason, is exposed to the disturbing influence of the lower orders of cognition. In case of conflict, the lower knowledge and the motions of concupiscence accompanying it are apt to obscure and disturb the intellect.
III. The will is naturally inclined to the good and the beautiful, and, therefore, to the love and esteem of God; but it is also naturally inclined to seek its own good, and, therefore, is greatly moved by love of self. Self-love is no disturbing element in the will of pure spirits, because their superior and accurate knowledge enables them to esteem everything at its exact moral value; hence, in the conflict between self-love and love of God, the former never can be an inducement to wrong. In man, on the contrary, self-love is handicapped with the weakness and passibility of the human organism; the human will is attracted and affected by its own good, before reason has a chance to estimate the moral value of such good, and the attraction and affection persist even when condemned by higher reason. This state of things has its explanation in the mode of working of our organism. The sensitive faculties are moved before the intellectual, and, by reason of the sympathy between the various faculties, anticipating the judgment of the intellect, they awaken in the will the so-called condelectation—that is, they incline the will towards their own sensible object. Again, the lower reason, preceding the action of the higher intellect and supported by the imagination, directly excites in the will affections and desires for sensible goods, regardless of their moral value. In both cases the will is moved passively, just as the sensitive appetites are moved in all their acts. In both cases, also, a conflict between such motions of the will and the judgment of the higher reason is possible; and the act of the will, dictated by such judgment, is not always able to repress or subdue the sensual allurements. Thus the passibility of the will, which results from the very fact of its union with a corruptible body, establishes between the higher and lower regions of mental life the same antagonism which exists between the rational and the sensitive appetitive faculties.
The natural inclination for good is the spring which moves moral liberty. Hence the weakness of the will, as just described, constitutes a weakness in our moral liberty, inasmuch as it places obstacles in the way of its free exercise. Compared to that of angels, man’s free will is “attenuated and bent,” and not only defective in its action, but likewise subject to corruption. If Divine aid does not suspend its weakness, it is under a certain moral necessity of sinning, in as far as it is morally impossible for it always to resist the inclination to evil. Nay, more, if with St. Augustine we take the “perfection of justice” to consist in the avoidance of, and freedom from, all evil inclinations, involuntary as well as voluntary, man is under a physical necessity of sinning; but then “sin” must be taken in the very general sense of imperfection or moral shortcoming.
IV. All the imperfections hitherto set down as resulting from the constitution of human nature, or from the union of a spiritual soul with a corruptible body, are defects in the realization of the Divine idea of man as the visible image of God; or rather, are defects of the likeness to God in His visible image.
That human nature should imperfectly represent the Divine Ideal is not to be wondered at. The idea of a visible image of God is realized in a being partly spiritual, partly material, which, on account of its animal nature, cannot be as like to God as a pure spirit (see, however, § 125). Hence the perfect likeness of man to God can only be attained by spiritualizing the animal part—that is, by converting the “animal man” into a “spiritual man.” Neither is it a matter of wonder that man, the centre of creation and the connecting link between the higher and lower orders of creatures, is, by virtue of that nature alone, less able than the pure spirits above him and the pure animals below him to comply with the exigencies of his position and to reach his ultimate destination. It would be highly unwarrantable to require that man should have been so constituted as to be able, by his natural constitution alone, to perfectly realize the Divine Ideal. On the contrary, the natural imperfection of man’s nature, as well as its wonderful composition, offer the Creator an opportunity of glorifying Himself in man in quite a peculiar manner, viz. partly by supernaturally correcting the defects of human nature, partly by assisting man in his conflict against them. The disproportion, therefore, between God’s work and the Divine ideal is not due to a defect in the Divine wisdom, power, and goodness, but is meant to give occasion for a special manifestation of these attributes.
I. The union with a passible and corruptible body entails upon the spiritual soul a certain imperfection and weakness, in consequence of which the soul’s own life is subject to gradual increase, and is dependent on external influences; and, unlike the life of pure spirits, is in many ways hindered in its free and full development. “The corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things” (Wisd. 9:15). The chief cause of this is, that the animal life and the animal side of the spiritual life both exercise a disturbing influence upon the higher reason. The imperfection of man’s spiritual life, arising from its dependence on animal life, may fitly be styled an “animal quality” of the spiritual life. In fact, St. Paul (1 Cor. 2:14) sums up all the imperfections of natural man in the term “animal man” (ἄνθρωπος ψυχικός). In the mind of the Apostle, this is intended to explain why man, on the whole, (i.e. with his spiritual as well as his animal nature), has no sense of the supernatural, and is even, to a certain extent, opposed to it. Now this expression is connected with the argument in chap. 15, ver. 45, of the same epistle, where it is stated that the first man was created as “living soul” (εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν). Hence, as the argument in chap. 15 is evidently taken from the account of man’s creation in Genesis, so also is the argument in chap. 2; from which it further follows that, according to St. Paul, the imperfections of our spiritual life flow from the original constitution of our nature.
II. Intellectual knowledge, the noblest function of the soul, is derived from and supported by the knowledge acquired through the senses. Hence it is less clear and its attainment is more difficult than in the case of pure spirits; and its indistinctness and difficulty increase the more it is removed from the domain of the senses. Thus the difficulty of acquiring and retaining distinct notions is greater in the higher reason than in the lower, because in the latter the subject-matter of knowledge is always either directly afforded by the senses or is at least illustrated by mental images of the imagination. Consequently, although the soul possesses a spiritual light enabling it to know moral and religious truths, yet the acquisition of a full and certain knowledge of such truths is beset with many difficulties, so that many moral precepts may be either unknown or misunderstood (§ 3). This imperfection constitutes what theologians call “malum ignorantiæ.” The knowledge even when acquired by the superior reason, is exposed to the disturbing influence of the lower orders of cognition. In case of conflict, the lower knowledge and the motions of concupiscence accompanying it are apt to obscure and disturb the intellect.
III. The will is naturally inclined to the good and the beautiful, and, therefore, to the love and esteem of God; but it is also naturally inclined to seek its own good, and, therefore, is greatly moved by love of self. Self-love is no disturbing element in the will of pure spirits, because their superior and accurate knowledge enables them to esteem everything at its exact moral value; hence, in the conflict between self-love and love of God, the former never can be an inducement to wrong. In man, on the contrary, self-love is handicapped with the weakness and passibility of the human organism; the human will is attracted and affected by its own good, before reason has a chance to estimate the moral value of such good, and the attraction and affection persist even when condemned by higher reason. This state of things has its explanation in the mode of working of our organism. The sensitive faculties are moved before the intellectual, and, by reason of the sympathy between the various faculties, anticipating the judgment of the intellect, they awaken in the will the so-called condelectation—that is, they incline the will towards their own sensible object. Again, the lower reason, preceding the action of the higher intellect and supported by the imagination, directly excites in the will affections and desires for sensible goods, regardless of their moral value. In both cases the will is moved passively, just as the sensitive appetites are moved in all their acts. In both cases, also, a conflict between such motions of the will and the judgment of the higher reason is possible; and the act of the will, dictated by such judgment, is not always able to repress or subdue the sensual allurements. Thus the passibility of the will, which results from the very fact of its union with a corruptible body, establishes between the higher and lower regions of mental life the same antagonism which exists between the rational and the sensitive appetitive faculties.
The natural inclination for good is the spring which moves moral liberty. Hence the weakness of the will, as just described, constitutes a weakness in our moral liberty, inasmuch as it places obstacles in the way of its free exercise. Compared to that of angels, man’s free will is “attenuated and bent,” and not only defective in its action, but likewise subject to corruption. If Divine aid does not suspend its weakness, it is under a certain moral necessity of sinning, in as far as it is morally impossible for it always to resist the inclination to evil. Nay, more, if with St. Augustine we take the “perfection of justice” to consist in the avoidance of, and freedom from, all evil inclinations, involuntary as well as voluntary, man is under a physical necessity of sinning; but then “sin” must be taken in the very general sense of imperfection or moral shortcoming.
IV. All the imperfections hitherto set down as resulting from the constitution of human nature, or from the union of a spiritual soul with a corruptible body, are defects in the realization of the Divine idea of man as the visible image of God; or rather, are defects of the likeness to God in His visible image.
That human nature should imperfectly represent the Divine Ideal is not to be wondered at. The idea of a visible image of God is realized in a being partly spiritual, partly material, which, on account of its animal nature, cannot be as like to God as a pure spirit (see, however, § 125). Hence the perfect likeness of man to God can only be attained by spiritualizing the animal part—that is, by converting the “animal man” into a “spiritual man.” Neither is it a matter of wonder that man, the centre of creation and the connecting link between the higher and lower orders of creatures, is, by virtue of that nature alone, less able than the pure spirits above him and the pure animals below him to comply with the exigencies of his position and to reach his ultimate destination. It would be highly unwarrantable to require that man should have been so constituted as to be able, by his natural constitution alone, to perfectly realize the Divine Ideal. On the contrary, the natural imperfection of man’s nature, as well as its wonderful composition, offer the Creator an opportunity of glorifying Himself in man in quite a peculiar manner, viz. partly by supernaturally correcting the defects of human nature, partly by assisting man in his conflict against them. The disproportion, therefore, between God’s work and the Divine ideal is not due to a defect in the Divine wisdom, power, and goodness, but is meant to give occasion for a special manifestation of these attributes.
Seção 46% da obra, de A Manual of Catholic Theology (Wilhelm & Scannell, sobre a Dogmatik de Scheeben). Ver o original.