Question — Bontempi, Palladium Theologicum V · from Schola Thomistica
Question XVI: Whether it is lawful to imprison or beat another
That it is not licit to imprison someone by private authority, the Saintly Doctor teaches in speculo animae, cap. 5. The reason is that this is to inflict harm as regards the movement of the limbs, as S. Bonav. loco cit. hints, and D. Thom. Yet it would be licit for someone having charge to imprison, e.g. a son, or a slave, to avoid some grave damage; but more licit is it for the judge, for custody or punishment, as all teach.
Non licere privata authoritate aliquem carcerare, docet S. Doctor in speculo animae, cap. 5. Ratio est, quia hoc est inferre nocumentum quo ad motum membrorum, ut innuit S. Bonav. loco cit. et D. Thom. Liceret tamen alicui, habenti curam, carcerare, v. g. filium, vel servum, ad aliquod damnum grave evitandum; magis vero id licet iudici in custodiam, vel poenam, ut docent omnes.
As to blows: it is licit for a father to beat his son, and a master his slave.
Quo ad verbera, licet Patri filium verberare, et Domino servum.
Yet S. Bonavent. in speculo animae admonishes that it not be done with cruelty. For cruelty is harshness of soul in exacting punishments for sin, just as faecitas1 when one rages against one's neighbor without his fault; in which, if the excess is grave, the Saintly Doctor says it is mortal. 1 N. Editor's note: the print/OCR reads 'faecitas', not a Latin word (perhaps 'feritas', savagery); the raw OCR of the print is equally garbled here; rendered as 'savagery' from context.
Admonet tamen S. Bonavent. in speculo animae, ne fiat crudelitate. Est enim crudelitas, atrocitas animi in exigendis poenis pro peccato, sicuti feritas cum quis saevit in proximum, absque eius culpa, in quibus, si gravis sit excessus, ait S. Doctor esse mortale.