Title III: On the Vices Opposed to the Virtue of Religion

Utility. In setting forth the negative offices of the virtue of religion, by which we are ordered to ward off all vices contrary to religion, questions occur which we can deservedly call at once very useful, delicate, and modern. How useful it is to separate superstition properly so called from vain but human arts will be confirmed by the missionary who knows by experience itself how great a ruin of souls an imprudent reprobation of usages can bring among less cultivated peoples. No one will deny that the question of spiritism is modern and very grave. In the chapter on blasphemies, it will be helpful to separate true blasphemous formulas from vulgar sayings; at the same time, however, the question concerning the subjective guilt of those who use those formulas will have to be examined a little more accurately than is sometimes done. Nor can the mind of the theologian be so occupied by trivial blasphemers that he can scarcely attend to worse blasphemers, who by their writings affect God and divine things with insults. Then the intimate ratio of sacrilege will have to be penetrated, by which those things which are sacred by divine right and those which are sacred by human right may be well distinguished. Finally, in the chapter on simony, the legitimate use of stipends and taxes must be clearly demonstrated, and all confusion must be removed, which, because of the obscurity itself which it begets, is accustomed to pave the way for illicit modes of gain.

Ratio of order. Although the things which we offer to God necessarily remain always below the dignity and merit of Infinite Goodness, and under this respect our religion cannot become excessive, nevertheless our mode of worshiping God can be vicious, or even the term which we pursue with religious affection. In this respect man is said to sin by excess against religion; and that vice is called by the common name superstition. This, therefore, must be divided into superstition by which the true God is badly worshiped, and superstition by which a creature is unduly honored or obtains services; whence two articles compose this chapter on superstition. In the latter article there will be discussion of modern spiritism.

By defect, however, one sins against religion by irreligiosity, which contrarily denies the worship owed to God, to His Name, and to a sacred thing. Its fuller ratio, by which every office of religion is deserted, is not customarily treated here, because if it remains from contempt, it is to be reduced to the genus of blasphemy and is easily joined with apostasy, concerning which above; but if it has been mere negligence, it demands no other explanation besides those things which have been said concerning sloth. Less complete irreligiosity derogates either from the reverence owed to God, by tempting God, by blasphemy, and by perjury; or from the reverence which is owed to sacred persons or things, by sacrilege and simony. We shall treat each successively, passing over the question of perjury, which was treated in the chapter on oath.