Question Two: On Luxury

S. Th. II-II, q. 153; Q. D. de Malo 15, a. 2.

1000. Luxury (onkuischheid) is an inordinate appetite for venereal pleasure.¹ "Someone is called luxurious as if dissolved in pleasures. But venereal pleasures especially dissolve the mind of man; and therefore luxury is especially considered concerning venereal pleasures" (a. 1). Hence luxury properly signifies excess in venereal pleasure.

¹ We propose the doctrine on chastity and luxury briefly and summarily. Whoever desires more should go to our little work Quaestiones de Castitate et Luxuria, where he will also find physiological notions and an indicated congruent bibliography.

But the appetite, that is, the love and use, of venereal pleasure is excessive and inordinate if it is sought outside the legitimate use in conjugal copulation and the acts disposing to it. For pleasure, just as the use of the genitals, from its nature is essentially ordered to the propagation of the human race. But this cannot be done in a due manner except in a permanent matrimonial union, which is altogether necessary for the right education of offspring. Therefore the appetite and use of venereal things is inordinate if it is sought: 1) without order to the act of legitimate marriage; 2) in that act, but in an illegitimate and undue mode, apart from the rules prescribed by nature and reason.

1001. Internal and external, complete and incomplete luxury. - Just as venereal pleasure, which is proper to the genital organ in which it is perceived, restrained and ordered according to right reason, is the object of chastity, so inordinate and unrestrained venereal pleasure is the proper object of luxury.

Unduly to seek it, whether really, completely or incompletely, or by thinking to represent it to oneself and to take complacency in it mentally, is luxurious: as perceived completely and perfectly, it is complete or consummated luxury; as perceived imperfectly and incompletely, it is begun or incomplete luxury; as represented in the mind and thus mentally pleasing, it is internal luxury.

Hence by reason of the mode in which it happens, luxury is: A. merely internal, which consists in the mere affection or desire for venereal pleasure or use, and is prohibited by the ninth precept of the decalogue; or B. also external, which happens with the use and commotion of the genital organs, and is prohibited by the sixth precept. This latter can be:

1. Complete, perfect, and consummated, if the exterior act is brought to its natural terminus, that is, satiative pleasure, whether a) it is natural or according to nature and the act is apt for obtaining the natural end of generation, as fornication, adultery, incest; or b) it is unnatural or against nature and the act is not apt for its natural end, but this end is rendered impossible, as pollution, onanism, sodomy;

2. Incomplete, imperfect, and begun, if the exterior act is not brought to its natural terminus and does not attain the ultimate terminus of satiative pleasure. This stands to complete luxury as beginning to terminus, inception to consummation, and therefore it is not so much called luxury, which is more concerned with the pleasure itself of copulation, but rather immodesty concerning the surrounding pleasures.

1002. Principle I. Luxury is a mortal sin from its kind. - It is proved:

1. From Scripture, where the Apostle, Gal. 5:19-21, among the works which exclude from the kingdom of God, enumerates luxury.

2. By reason: Of the account of luxury it is that it exceeds the order and mode of reason concerning venereal things; but such an excess is mortal from its kind. For the more necessary something is, the more the order of reason must be preserved concerning it, and consequently, if the order of reason is passed over, it is gravely vicious. But the use of venereal things is very necessary for the common good, which is the conservation of the human race, just as food is necessary for the conservation of the individual. Therefore excess concerning venereal things, apart from that which the order of reason requires, is of itself mortal, as in a grave matter (a. 3).

This is confirmed: a) Luxury is contrary to legal justice, because from its nature it is apt directly to harm the common good, namely the conservation and due propagation of the human race; but this is of itself gravely vicious.

b) It violates the right of dominion which God has over our body, of which we have only the use, and indeed only for the due end. Hence "from the fact that someone uses his body inordinately through luxury, he does injury to God, who is the principal lord of our body" (ad 2). But to violate right is of itself gravely evil.

c) The special deformity of luxury consists in this: that the action and pleasure most necessary to the common good and immediately destined to the good of the species are deprived of this natural order to the species, since they are sought for merely personal pleasure and are referred only to the individual. But this is against the natural order of human nature itself.

1003. Principle II. Luxury directly and in itself voluntary, or venereal pleasure sought for its own sake, outside marriage, is a mortal sin from its whole genus; hence it does not admit lightness of matter, but of itself is always grave.

It is said:

1. Luxury or venereal pleasure arising from the commotion of the powers and organs serving generation: for merely sensible or sensual pleasure from the sensible perception of a fitting object, even if sought for its own sake, does not exceed venial fault, because, as was said concerning gluttony, it is only an inordination of a thing indifferent in itself. Hence just as one who hears a sonorous voice, or tastes savory food, precisely for the sensual pleasure arising from it, sins only venially, so one sins only venially who looks at a beautiful woman, or touches her hand or face, precisely for the merely organic or sensual pleasure consisting in a certain proportion and conformity of the thing seen or touched with the organ of sight or touch, so that it is nothing other than pleasure in a beautiful thing which is seen, or in a pleasant, soft, tender thing which is touched, without any other pleasure in a shameful thing.1 And this also holds in practice, though Cajetan and St. Alphonsus think otherwise. Nevertheless it is advisable for all not to linger over these organic pleasures, because from sensual pleasure to venereal pleasure, especially in the sense of touch or sight, progress is easy.

2. Luxury voluntary in itself, or pleasure sought for its own sake: for luxury only voluntary in the cause or indirectly voluntary admits lightness of matter. For, as is clear from the principles set forth in the treatise on Sins:

a) venereal pleasure voluntary in the cause, unless there is a proportionate reason for causing it, is grave or light according as the cause is of itself apt to influence it notably or lightly (I, n. 450);

b) venereal pleasure indirectly voluntary, namely which the will does not repress though it can repress it, is of itself only venial, unless accidentally there is proximate danger of consent (I, n. 449).

3. Outside marriage: for in marriage, luxury even voluntary in itself, or venereal pleasure sought for its own sake, is of itself venial, as being only the excess of a licit thing; unless, however, it happens against nature, in a mode which impedes generation, or includes a danger of this kind.

4. It is of itself always grave and does not admit lightness of matter; hence every luxury, whether complete or incomplete, even the least, provided it is willed in itself, is of itself mortally evil.

It is proved:

1. What is directly opposed to the ordination and primary intention of our nature and of the Creator of nature is a mortal sin (I, n. 539). But every venereal pleasure, by the primary intention and ordination of our nature and of the Creator of nature, is ordered only to procuring generation in legitimate marriage. Therefore every venereal pleasure sought for its own sake outside marriage is directly opposed to this intention and ordination, and is a mortal sin.

2. Incomplete venereal pleasure from its nature tends to the complete pleasure of which it is the beginning; and therefore he who seeks it for its own sake, by that very fact loves and seeks the complete, not indeed as to be executed but as delightful.2 But love of complete pleasure outside marriage is without doubt a mortal sin, because it is directly contrary to the common good, as is clear from the grave malice of fornication. Therefore also love of incomplete pleasure.

Nor should you say that a human act tends into an object as it is proposed by reason; but reason can abstract from complete pleasure, indeed the will can exclude it. - Resp.: It cannot validly exclude it, because consummated pleasure is necessarily implicitly desired by him who seeks its beginning, which by its nature necessarily tends to consummation. The abstraction of the intellect and the intention of the will cannot change the nature of things.

Therefore, just as he remains truly superstitious who, intending to exclude the intervention of the demon, uses vain means which cannot have effect without the intervention of the demon, since thus implicitly and necessarily he seeks that intervention and so acts against his intention (n. 777); so he who, wishing to exclude complete pleasure, desires incomplete pleasure, acts against his own intention. For by that very fact he implicitly and necessarily desires the complete, because the incomplete is not desirable except as the beginning and part of complete pleasure, and except by reason of complete pleasure.

3. He who voluntarily seeks venereal pleasure for its own sake exposes himself to grave danger of seeking further and complete pleasure, on account of the vehemence of the concupiscence of the flesh and common human frailty. Therefore he sins mortally.

Thus it is impossible for anyone to seek incomplete venereal pleasure without implicitly seeking and willing the complete pleasure, and incurring its inordination, or having an affection toward complete luxury and exposing himself to its danger.

Hence proposition 40 was condemned by Alexander VII: "The opinion which says that a kiss had for carnal and sensible pleasure which arises from the kiss is only venial, the danger of further consent and pollution being excluded, is probable"; because it falsely supposes that a kiss had for carnal, that is, venereal pleasure, does not induce the danger of consent to graver acts.

1. Billuart, diss. V, a. 2.

2. It is founded on the principle that "always the beginning of something is ordered to its consummation"; hence he who wills the beginning, by that very fact implicitly and necessarily wills the consummation, just as he who wills a participated good, by that very fact wills it "as tending into the perfect good." I-II, q. 1, a. 6.

1004. Remark. - Luxury is also a capital sin and very dangerous, as we said in the treatise on Sins (I, n. 505).