Morals of the Church
Library › Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology › Volume I › Book II. On the Exercise of the Christian Life, or on the Cultivation of the Virtues › Treatise II. On the Cultivation of the Moral Virtues › Dissertation I. On the Precepts of the Decalogue › Part VII. On the Seventh and Tenth Precepts of the Decalogue › Section II. On Injustice and on Restitution › Chapter III. On Injustice and Restitution in Particular Cases

Article — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Article III. On Goods of the Soul

1038.

Goods of the soul are distinguished into natural and supernatural goods.

I. Natural goods are: intellect, will, memory, sciences, arts, and the use of these. In this matter, injustice is committed either by unjustly harming someone in the said goods or in their use, for example by inducing someone unwilling or ignorant into drunkenness or by casting him into a hypnotic state; or by unjustly impeding someone from obtaining a good of this sort, for example knowledge; or by not procuring for someone a good, for example an art, although one is held from justice to procure it. Now:

  1. He who has committed injustice according to what has been said is held from justice: 1° to remove the cause of the damage, for example fear that has been instilled, and to prevent, insofar as can be done, damages threatening from it; 2° to restore damages or ceasing profit that have followed or will follow for the injured person, for example ceasing profit from the fact that someone is unfit for his office; 3° to return, according to the proportion of negligence, the stipend agreed upon and accepted, if someone, for example, has not duly performed the office of teaching.

Corollary. He who harmed someone only by persuasion, entreaties, or example is commonly not guilty of injustice, and therefore contracts only an obligation of charity. I have said commonly, because he who by persuasion or entreaties led another into a sin of injustice is held from justice to restitution with respect to the injured person.

RestitutionRestitution in GeneralDamage to spiritual and mental goods

1039.

II. Supernatural goods are: grace, virtues, vocation to the religious state, etc. Now:

  1. He who unjustly, for example by lies or fear, led another into a harmful error or into sin, or led him away from a good work, for example from Religion, is held as was said under I about him who unjustly harmed someone in the natural goods of the soul.

  2. He who only by persuasion or example led another to evil, or led him away from good, is not held to restitution; nevertheless he is held from charity, more than others, to promote his conversion. There are some who judge that he is held to this from justice; but because he did not sin against justice, no obligation of justice can arise.

RestitutionRestitution in GeneralDamage to spiritual and mental goods