Article I. Justice Taken More Broadly

12. There is not one meaning of this word. For in a broader acceptation, it is used for rectitude, whether natural or even supernatural, according to which a man endowed with all the virtues is called upright and just. Not without reason: for by his conduct he conforms himself to the supreme norm of the will and, by most diligently obeying the divine law, shows himself most observant of the eminent divine right. In this meaning, every virtue is a certain part of justice, or a certain justice.

Many passages of the Scriptures which extol justice and the just are to be understood according to this more general and supernatural rationale. Thus St. Joseph is proclaimed just in the Gospel; and those who hunger and thirst for justice are called blessed (St. Matt. 5:6). In the same Evangelist, ch. 6, v. 1, the Lord properly understands mercy when He says: “Take heed that you do not your justice before men.”

For a reason not altogether dissimilar, a citizen, from perfectly observing the laws of his State, acquires for himself a certain civil or political justice of the external forum. For the internal perfection that corresponds to the conscientious observance of civil duty must be ascribed to the most universal rationale of justice, by which a man is made upright and just before God, that is, in the internal forum.

In the present disputation, however, we describe the more proper meaning of this word.