Article — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology
Article Second. On the Precepts of Charity of Self
66. On the precepts themselves. 1. There exists a divine precept of loving ourselves with theological charity: You shall love your neighbor as yourself;1 by these words, if not explicitly, certainly virtually, theological charity toward ourselves is prescribed, since it is supposed that man ought to love himself, so that he may love the neighbor according to the likeness of this love. Besides this, we are bound to love God above all things; but charity of God, if it is true, naturally induces one to loving all those things which are God's, especially the adoptive sons of God or the members of His family; therefore it ought to be extended also to us and to the other sons of God.
- By force of this obligation we are bound in general to will and procure for ourselves the supernatural goods of grace and glory and the natural goods, both spiritual and bodily, internal and external; and since the appetite of our own perfection and beatitude has been placed in us by nature together with the appetite of our own conservation, we are stirred up by nature itself to obtaining greater and always greater goods both of soul and of body for ourselves. Nothing prevents us from following this appetite, provided the norms of honesty are observed in all things.2 But what goods in particular we are bound to will and procure for ourselves must be derived from the fundamental obligation of tending toward the ultimate end of eternal life, or of willing and procuring eternal beatitude for ourselves.
a. With respect to supernatural goods we are bound: a. to know our ultimate end and those things which by necessity of means and of precept are necessary to know, so that we may be able to live a life worthy of a Christian man; b. to procure for ourselves supernatural life, namely sanctifying grace and the means which are necessarily required for conserving and increasing it, and besides this merits through the observation of the commandments, without which one cannot arrive at God.
But besides those things which are prescribed under grave obligation, we are not bound from charity toward ourselves under grave obligation to acquire for ourselves further merits and a greater increase of grace and glory through good works and the exercise of virtues; yet charity toward ourselves furnishes us an efficacious motive for diligently applying ourselves to the exercise of virtues and good works.
Therefore we are bound also from charity toward ourselves to learn those things which by necessity of means and precept are necessary to know, to acquire for ourselves the state of grace in danger of death, and not to defer conversion for a notable time, because a state of sin protracted for a long time induces almost a certain necessity of increasing sins;3 to exercise those virtues and those good works which are prescribed by precepts obliging under grave matter; but we are not bound under grave obligation to works of supererogation, otherwise they would not be supererogatory.
b. With respect to spiritual goods we are bound to pursue that perfection and cultivation of mind and will which is necessary so that we may be able to obtain the ultimate end without difficulty and fittingly fulfill the duties of our state. But there is not given a strict obligation of acquiring for ourselves further knowledge, although it perfects the intellect and is useful to us: for since such knowledge is not necessary for obtaining the end from precept, there does not exist a precept of acquiring it, but only a counsel. Now it is asked what the obligation is of choosing a certain state of life.
a. Since today, with universal culture increased, individuals can scarcely fulfill their duties unless they have acquired richer knowledge for themselves, they are bound to use an occasion offered to them of acquiring such knowledge through suitable schools.
b. All are earnestly to be exhorted and admonished that they cultivate and perfect their intellectual and moral faculties as much as possible. For in this way they will not only attain the end of this life more suitably and perfectly, but they can also contribute more richly to the utility of others and to the common good. Added to this is that those who are better instructed more easily resist the seductions of unbelievers, provided education of the will and morals is joined with cultivation of the mind.
c. With respect to bodily goods we are bound by ordinary means to conserve our own life and health by procuring food, clothing, and habitation for ourselves.
a. For food, all nourishment fit for sustaining life can now serve man; as to quality, indeed, no distinction being made between clean and unclean foods, taken from vegetables or animals; but as to quantity, the order of temperance must be observed, by which it is provided that from the use of food and drink the health of the body or the liveliness of the mind not suffer harm.
b. Clothing serves a threefold end: that it ward off harmful influence of the air, that it provide for modesty, that it show distinction of sex and state. Any clothing which satisfies these ends as much as is necessary is morally honorable. It is permitted and becoming to follow the customs of one's own age and nation in this matter; yet each excess must always be avoided, which St. Jerome rebukes with these words: "adornment and sordidness are to be fled in an equal manner, because the one smells of luxury, the other of glory."4
c. Habitation ought to be suitable for conserving life and health, for protecting modesty, and for conducting domestic life conveniently among the members of the family. Since today from fact it is established that the wretched habitations which the poor and workers everywhere inhabit, especially in great cities, greatly harm both bodily life and moral life, those whom it concerns are to be admonished that they strive to remove these harms through suitable dwellings for workers.5
d. Necessary recreations are of the highest moment for conserving and perfecting the life of body and soul; all are licit, provided the laws of modesty and chastity are not violated and, with respect to the circumstances of time, duration, and manner, they are ordered according to reason. From these, bodily games and gymnastic exercises (Sport), especially for young people, ought to be earnestly commended, because these contribute very much to educating and conserving a healthy mind in a healthy body, provided due moderation is guarded in performing them. For games and exercises which are suitably performed with fatigue of the body serve not only for recreation, but also conduce to preserving and increasing the virtues of chastity and temperance. Wherefore there is no reason why pastors of souls ought to shrink back from societies instituted for the sake of playing and exercising (Sportvereine), but rather they should endeavor to promote them and direct them according to the norms of honesty and religion.6
d. External goods of the person are honor and reputation. Honor broadly is the good estimation of someone founded on his excellence. Honor strictly is the external testimony of that good estimation. Reputation is the public estimation of someone's excellence.
a. By the law of nature we are bound to have care for our own reputation, by guarding it lest it be lost, and by recovering it if it has been lost.
Reputation is a good of the greatest moment both for the person himself, for since it is the fruit of virtue, it contributes much to preserving virtue and removing vice because of fear of losing good reputation; and for social life, because it conciliates the trust of others, opens access to public offices, and is necessary for fulfilling duties fruitfully. Therefore Sacred Scripture admonishes: Have care for a good name: for this will remain to you more than a thousand precious and great treasures.7 Yet this obligation ordinarily is only light; and since reputation is not the highest good, with a view to a greater good it can licitly be neglected, unless, considering the condition of the man, it is necessary.
b. Without a reasonable cause it is not permitted to defame oneself; but from a just cause, especially of virtue, of itself it is licit, just as from a reasonable cause it is licit to suffer loss of goods of fortune.
To defame oneself without cause is not indeed against justice, because man is master of his own reputation; wherefore by defaming himself he does injury to no one. Nor is it against charity, because charity does not oblige one to conserve external goods except insofar as they are necessary for conserving internal or spiritual or bodily goods; but it is a vice of prodigality against liberality, by excess, which nevertheless does not exceed venial sin. It can be grave either against charity or against justice if reputation is necessary for fulfilling an office or if others suffer harm from it.
e. We are bound to acquire for ourselves those external goods of fortune which we need so that we may conveniently fulfill both individual and social duties: for he who is bound to the end is bound by the same precept also to the necessary means. But besides goods morally necessary for this end, we are held by no obligation to seek a greater abundance of goods and prosperity of life. Yet it is permitted to each one to acquire for himself more abundant goods, provided in the acquisition and use of them he observes moral norms. Since the means of acquiring for oneself necessary external goods is labor, here the occasion offers itself of inquiring whether there exists an obligation of laboring.
1 Matt. 22:39.
2 Mausbach, Kernfragen, III, Weltflucht und Weltarbeit, M.-Gladbach, 1903.
3 St. Thomas, I-II, q. 109, a. 8.
4 Ep. 55, n. 6.
5 Cf. Stimmen aus Maria-Laach: L. Pesch, "Reform des Wohnungswesens," 1903, p. 251; "Die Wohnungsfrage in ihren Ursachen," 1903, p. 524.
6 Cf. Stohr-Kannamuller, Handbuch der Pastoralmedizin, Freiburg: Herder, 1900, p. 184 ff.
67. On the obligation of embracing a certain state of life.1 1. State, as it is taken here, is a certain condition of life having stability from a permanent cause. Civil and ecclesiastical state are distinguished according as it pertains to civil or ecclesiastical society. Thus a judge, advocate, physician, worker has a civil state, because after an election has been made he obtains a stable, although changeable, condition of life in civil society; a Christian faithful person, a priest, a religious occupies an ecclesiastical state, because, having received baptism or sacred order, or having emitted religious profession, he has embraced a stable, and immutable, condition of life in ecclesiastical society.
- Since a special vocation of God to a determinate state of life, if one prescinds from the clerical, religious, and virginal state in the world, does not exist, each one can choose that state which, with the qualities of the person and the external circumstances of life, family, and society considered, he judges suitable for himself, so that he may be able to conserve and perfect life and work out his salvation. For the rest, here the question is not what state is to be chosen or how it is to be chosen, for ascetical writers treat of this matter, but concerning the question whether for individual men there exists an obligation of choosing some state, whether ecclesiastical or civil, and of spending life in it.
a. The great utility which comes to men from a certain state of life is manifest, both because a state provides a determinate manner by which man can exercise his activity for his own utility and that of others and can guard against idleness, to which those who wander without a state of life easily indulge; and because it is the best means of working out his salvation: for he who diligently fulfills the duties of the Christian religion and of his state can be secure concerning the salvation of his soul.
b. The obligation of choosing a certain state of life can arise from a twofold head: a. from charity of self, or from the obligation of working out one's own salvation. Hence he who understands that the matrimonial state or the religious state is for him a necessary means of salvation is bound to choose it. b. From piety, or from the obligation of assisting parents placed in need. Hence he who understands that he cannot satisfy his duties unless he embraces the state of his father, farmer, craftsman, etc., is bound to choose it.
Therefore he can sin, though not by injury against human society, who does not use an opportune occasion of acquiring for himself a state of life, who, although he can, does not cultivate his faculties, whether spiritual or bodily, nor learn sciences and arts by which he may make himself fit for a certain state of life.
Note. To satisfy these precepts of charity of acquiring for ourselves necessary goods, whether supernatural or natural, it is not necessary that we act from the motive of charity.
1 Krier, Der Beruf, Freiburg: Herder, 1899.