Treatise II. On Human Acts

Cf. St. Thomas, S. theol. I-II, q. 6-48; Billuart, Sum. S. Thom., treatise on human acts; G. Walsh, Tract. de actibus hum. 2nd ed. (Dublin 1891); V. Frins, De actibus hum. (Freiburg 1897 sqq., Herder); Noldin, De principiis n. 40-105.

Preliminary note. The supernatural end is not obtained by an adult man except as a reward owed to his good acts, as was said above. Hence, after the treatise on the last end, there is conveniently a discussion on human acts. But our intention, writing on practical Moral Theology, is not to discuss all the subtleties which the scholastics devised concerning human acts, but rather to hand down those things which are more useful and accommodated to practice, following the doctrine and method of St. Thomas in his Summa theologica I-II, q. 6-21. We divide the whole treatise on human acts into four chapters, namely: 1. on the nature and divisions of the human act; 2. on its principles; 3. on its morality; 4. on its merit. From the second article onward subdivisions will have to be made, as will appear below.

Human Acts

Within this treatise

Chapter I. On The Nature And Divisions Of Human Actsnn. 26–34
Chapter II. On The Intrinsic Principles Of The Human Actnn. 35–98
- Article I. On The Cognition Required For A Human Actnn. 35–47
  - § 1. On The Advertence Required For A Human Actnn. 36–38
  - § 2. On The Notion And Divisions Of Ignorancenn. 39–44
  - § 3. On The Influence Of Ignorance And Inadvertence On Human Actsnn. 45–47
- Article II. On The Voluntary Which Is Required For A Human Actnn. 48–98
  - § 1. On The Quiddity And Division Of The Voluntarynn. 48–56
  - § 2. On The Indirect Voluntary Or Voluntary In The Causenn. 57–62
  - § 3. On The Enemies Of The Voluntarynn. 63–98
    1. On Violencenn. 63–66
    2. On Fearnn. 67–71
    3. On Passion or Concupiscencenn. 72–90
    4. On Certain Pathological Bodily Statesnn. 91–98
Chapter III. On the Morality of Human Actsnn. 99–135
- Article I. On the Nature and Division of Moralitynn. 99–109
- Article II. On the Principles or Sources of Moralitynn. 110–126
  - § 1. On the Objectnn. 111–113
  - § 2. On Circumstancesnn. 114–120
  - § 3. On the Endnn. 121–126
- Article III. On the Extension of Moralitynn. 127–135
  - § 1. On the Indifference of Actsnn. 127–131
  - § 2. On the Morality of the External Act and of the Following Eventnn. 132–135
Chapter IV. On the Supernatural Merit of Human Actsnn. 136–140