Wednesday, July 07, 2010

1a 2ae q40 a3: Whether hope is in dumb animals? Yes.

Interiores passiones animalium ex exterioribus motibus deprehendi possunt: ex quibus apparet quod in animalibus brutis est spes, quia si canis videat leporem, aut accipiter avem, nimis distantem, non movetur ad ipsam, quasi non sperans se eam posse adipisci, si autem sit in propinquo, movetur, quasi sub spe adipiscendi.

The internal passions of animals can be gathered from their outward movements: from which it is clear that hope is in dumb animals, because if a dog see a hare, or a hawk see a bird, too far off, it makes no movement towards it, as having no hope to catch it; whereas, if it be near, it makes a movement towards it, as being in hopes of catching it.

Spes est passio irascibilis. Sed in brutis animalibus est irascibilis. Ergo et spes.

Hope is an irascible passion. But the irascible faculty is in dumb animals. Therefore hope is also.

In operibus brutorum animalium, et aliarum rerum naturalium, apparet similis processus sicut et in operibus artis. Et per hunc modum in animalibus brutis est spes et desperatio.

In the actions of irrational animals and of other natural things, we observe a procedure which is similar to that which we observe in the actions of art. And in this way hope and despair are in dumb animals.