Moral Theology: A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern AuthoritiesCallan, Charles J. (Charles Jerome)
Religion
Moral Theology: A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities
Callan, Charles J. (Charles Jerome)
Christian ethics -- Catholic authors
(a) Understanding or intelligence is the habit of perceiving truths
that are not in need of proof, as being self-evident. Axiomatic truths
or first principles are the object of this virtue.
(b) Knowledge or science is the habit of perceiving truths that are
learned from other truths by argumentation, and that are ultimate in
some category of being. The object of this virtue embraces the various
sciences (like astronomy) which are conclusions from principles.
(c) Wisdom is the habit of learning through reasoning the truth that is
absolutely ultimate; it is the knowledge of things in their supreme
cause, God. Examples are theology and philosophy in their highest sense.
146. The practical intellectual virtues are two: prudence and art.
(a) Prudence is an intellectual virtue which indicates in individual
cases what is to be done or what is to be omitted, in order that one
may act according to the requirements of good morals.
(b) Art is an intellectual virtue which indicates in individual cases
how one must act in order to produce things that are useful or
beautiful (e.g., music, painting, building, etc.).
147. The intellectual virtues, except prudence, are not perfect
virtues, since, While they make an act good, they do not necessarily
make the agent good. A man may have great knowledge about morality, or
be able to produce excellent works of art, and at the same time be not
virtuous, or have no love for his work.
148. Prudence is an intellectual virtue, since it resides in the
intellect; but it is also classed among the moral virtues, since its
object is the direction of human acts to their right end.
149. The moral virtues are those habits that perfect the will and the
sensitive appetite with reference to their immediate and respective
objects; that is, they are habits concerned with acts as means to the
Last End. They make the act good, and make good also him who performs
it; and they are thus superior as virtues to the intellectual habits.
150. There are four principal moral virtues: (a) in the intellect there
is prudence, which guides all the actions and passions by directing the
other moral virtues to what is good according to reason; (b) in the
will there is justice, which inclines a person to make his actions
accord with what he owes to others; (c) in the irascible appetite is
fortitude, which subjects to reason the passions that might withdraw
from good, such as fear of dangers and labors; (d) in the concupiscible
appetite is temperance, which represses the motions of passions that
would impel one to some sensible good opposed to reason.
These four virtues are also called cardinal virtues, because all the
other moral virtues hinge on them.
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