Question Five: On Imperfect Luxury or Immodesty

S. Th. II-II, q. 154, a. 4.

1024. Immodesty (impudicite; schaamteloosheid, oneerbaarheid) or imperfect luxury is that which externally begins perfect luxury, without the exterior act being brought to its natural terminus, or to the highest degree of venereal pleasure. Hence it consists in those external acts which are apt to surround the act of consummated luxury and constitute its beginning and as it were a part or circumstance, such as touches, kisses, embraces, looks, and, if it is mixed with them, shameful speech.

Hence immodesty is not to be confused:

a) with internal luxury, which is completed in the mind and will alone, and is a depraved affection, whether it is delectation or desire, concerning which it was said in the preceding question;

b) with an external occasion, which is not a preparation or beginning of the consummated act, but a mere occasion or danger, with scandal, more or less proximate, of internal or external luxury, for example, dances and spectacles.

1025. Principles. - I. External acts which are apt to excite incomplete carnal pleasure and thus to furnish matter of immodesty, per se and according to their species, are not luxurious and evil. The reason is that in them venereal pleasure is not found per se; hence they are indifferent, otherwise they would never be licit, while nevertheless they can be exercised from a good or evil end and produce a twofold effect, good or evil. Hence of themselves, that is, intention and the power of exciting luxury being excluded, they are not evil or immodest.

II. But they can be evil and immodest:

1. From the intention of the agent, by reason of the end, which can be mortally evil if someone outside marriage seeks in them venereal pleasure itself; on the contrary, the end is venially evil if they are done exclusively from curiosity, levity, jest, or for merely sensible pleasure; the end is good if someone acts from a certain necessity or utility.

2. From the nature of the act, by reason of influence upon venereal commotion and pleasure; for by nature they are apt to provoke shameful motions and excite pleasure, and therefore, unless a just cause proportioned to causing pleasure is present, it is illicit, gravely or lightly, to exercise them outside marriage from this alone, that they gravely or lightly influence venereal pleasure, even without evil intention or danger of consent. Hence, if by someone very immodest and repeated acts were done without danger of venereal motion, for him they would not be a sin against chastity.

3. From the condition of the sinner, by reason of danger: for sometimes, even if of themselves they lightly influence venereal motion, because of man's frailty they can be a danger of consent for him, or of grave scandal for others.

1026. Immodesty differs in species from consummated luxury in the same way as an imperfect species differs from a perfect one. This is to be understood if it is sought separately, without the consummated act; for if it happens from the intention of the perfect act and is joined with it, they are one sin in complete species and in number.

But immodesty is of itself a sin of one and the same species; for every venereal motion of itself, and unless special circumstances are added, is of the same species, because the pleasure which arises in imperfect acts is of the same account. Accidentally, however, a malice diverse in species can be added, because of special circumstances.

Thus:

1. From the circumstance of the acting person, as if he has a vow of chastity;

2. From the circumstance of affection or of internal intention, if the acts are done from a fornicarious, sodomitic, bestial, deflorative, adulterous, incestuous, sacrilegious affection, as was said concerning pollution;

3. From the circumstance of the special mode in which they are performed, namely if they are done with another person: for then scandal and culpable complicity intervene. And if the exterior immodest acts according to themselves are a preparation and beginning of the complete act with that person, as is the case with touches, embraces, kisses, they participate in the specific malice of this complete act, even if the other person was unwilling; on the contrary, if of themselves they are not the beginning of the consummated act, which holds concerning looks. Hence in confession, for touches the quality of the person employed must also be declared; for looks it suffices to declare that a certain person was employed, and the person's quality need not be declared, unless they are done with desire of the complete act, or unless the other person is bound by vow and consented.

1027. Applications. - The principles have been applied by theologians to many concrete cases; some solutions of these we add here. Yet these solutions for the most part admit exceptions; hence generally they are not to be considered as rules altogether universal, but only as general rules which hold only as in the majority of cases.

A. As to touches.

1. To touch one's own body or another's from lustful intention or venereal affection is always mortal.

2. To touch the genital parts of others, especially of the other sex, even mediately over clothing, except in a case of necessity as happens for physicians, surgeons, and others having care of the sick, is easily mortal because it provokes lust, and for the most part shows a depraved affection; unless it happens from levity alone and only in passing, as among nurses touching the organs of little children, or among those before puberty of the same sex touching one another. Likewise, to touch the breasts of a woman, and especially the nipples, morosely, because they are seats of pleasurable excitation, which usually brings with it a commotion of the genitals, even a vehement one; or on the contrary, from levity and in passing.

3. To touch the genitals of brute animals from curiosity or sensuality generally does not exceed venial sin, especially if it happens in passing, because it does not gravely move to lust; but if it is done for a long time or even to the pollution of the animal, it easily induces danger of one's own pollution.

4. To touch the less honorable parts of a person of the same or different sex, not from venereal affection nor from utility, but from curiosity, sensuality, or sensible love, generally is only venial, especially if it happens in passing, from jest or levity; but if morosely and with grave commotion of the genital organs, especially if it is a question of a person of different sex, it will easily be mortal because of proximate danger of consenting to venereal pleasure.

5. To touch oneself in dishonorable parts for the sake of necessity or utility, for example, to drive away itching, to wipe away filth, or to cure infirmity, is not a sin, provided consent to the venereal pleasure which can arise from it is excluded. To do this without a just cause, from levity or curiosity and without venereal affection, is a venial sin, unless the touches gravely influence vehement carnal motions or bring in proximate danger of consent.

B. As to kisses and embraces.

1. Those done from venereal affection are mortal.

2. Those done on dishonorable or less honorable parts, such as breasts, are easily mortal, because they for the most part excite grave carnal motions and usually indicate venereal affection; unless perhaps they are done in passing and from levity alone.

3. Those done on honorable parts, without reasonable cause, but because of sensible love and from levity, jest, or sensuality, are venial, unless there is proximate danger of consent to venereal pleasure, as easily happens if they are morose, or repeated rather often, or impressed with great affection between persons of different sex, especially the columbine kiss by which the tongue is inserted into the mouth of another.

4. Kisses, embraces, and handlings of hands according to the custom of the country, for the sake of courtesy, friendship, or kinship, are licit, even if accidentally carnal motions are excited, provided danger of consent is absent.

C. As to looks.

These must be carefully distinguished from mere sight, and they move toward lust, though less than touches, and therefore are dangerous:

1. Without necessity, to look morosely and deliberately either at the genitals of the other sex, or even at the breasts of a woman, entirely bare or covered with a transparent veil, or at a man and woman exercising copulation or immodest acts toward one another, or at persons polluting themselves, is easily mortal because it gravely moves to venereal pleasure; unless it happens in passing or very remotely, or only a child is looked at, or the one looking is a cold old man or an infant.

2. Without a just cause, to look at the less honorable parts of a person of different sex, or at the coition of animals, from curiosity or levity and without venereal affection, ordinarily does not exceed venial sin, especially if it happens in passing.

3. Without cause, to look at one's own genitals from curiosity or levity and without venereal affection is venial, especially if it happens in passing; likewise, in this mode, to look at the genitals of a person of the same sex, unless someone is prone to sodomy, or unless a very beautiful adolescent is looked at morosely.

1028. Shameful speech. - Shameful conversations can be gravely evil:

a) by reason of the end, if they are uttered from lustful affection because of delectation concerning luxurious or immodest things themselves, or for inducing others into sin, or for maliciously teaching venereal matters;

b) by reason of the danger of luxurious delectation or work, which is easily present in treating of very obscene things, such as the private parts of men, especially of the other sex, modes of copulating, natural or unnatural, or of polluting oneself, the manner of procuring venereal pleasure, very immodest acts, especially if those things are described accurately and in particulars;

c) by reason of scandal, which is frequently present when they are uttered before adolescents or girls, or among lovers.

Hence the following rules are usually established:

1. To speak, sing, write, signify by gesture, hear, or read shameful things from carnal delectation, or with proximate danger of consent to it, or with grave scandal, is a mortal sin.

Hence they easily sin gravely:

a) who mix into conversations things concerning the conjugal act, concerning licit and illicit things between spouses, concerning unnatural modes of lying together or of procuring pollution, or concerning young men and girls, especially if this is done at length or among younger persons of different sex;

b) who from boasting narrate shameful sins committed by themselves, and adorn the narration with words not a little obscene, both because they glory in a gravely evil thing, and because they often provide great scandal, and because they easily take complacency in the evil thing perpetrated by themselves;

c) who say shameful things because of delectation taken from those things thought, or with danger of such delectation, or with danger of grave scandal;

d) these things also hold concerning equivocal words about shameful matters, and obscene songs; likewise concerning writings and readings that are very obscene.

2. To speak shameful things for the sake of jest, recreation, or vain consolation, especially among men accustomed to these things, as among workers or the rude, or among married women, although it is inordinate and reprehensible, of itself is not mortal, because the affection is not borne toward luxury; unless the hearers are so weak that they suffer scandal, or unless the words are very lascivious.

Hence:

a) amorous words, shameful jests, uttered in passing, regularly are not to be judged mortal, because they are said or heard playfully;

b) this holds a fortiori, proportionally, concerning hearers and those laughing, unless perhaps by listening or laughing they give spirit or authority to those speaking in this way. Namely, to hear shameful conversations, or even to smile at them, can be grave sin only when the hearer takes pleasure in them from depraved affection, or has provoked them, or promotes or approves them, or does not impede them, although he ought to do this by office;

c) likewise it holds concerning readings a little dishonorable, done from mere curiosity.

3. To speak, write, read, or hear shameful things with a legitimate cause, without depraved intention and danger of consent and without scandal, is not a sin.

Thus if it is done for the sake of doctrine, for acquiring knowledge, for learning the truth of history, for correcting morals or informing superiors, provided consent is not given to shameful pleasure.