Sunday, May 09, 2010

1a 2ae q29 a4: Whether a man can hate himself? No.

Impossibile est quod aliquis, per se loquendo, odiat seipsum quia naturaliter unumquodque appetit bonum, nec potest aliquis aliquid sibi appetere nisi sub ratione boni; nam "malum est praeter voluntatem", ut Dionysius dicit, IV cap. de Div. Nom.

Properly speaking, it is impossible for a man to hate himself, because everything naturally desires good, nor can anyone desire anything for himself, save under the formal aspect of good; for "evil is outside the scope of the will," as Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv).

Nullus sibi vult et facit malum, nisi inquantum apprehendit illud sub ratione boni. Nam et illi qui interimunt seipsos, hoc ipsum quod est mori, apprehendunt sub ratione boni, inquantum est terminativum alicuius miseriae vel doloris.

No man wills and works evil to himself, except he apprehend it under the formal aspect of good. For even they who kill themselves, apprehend death itself under the formal aspect of good, considered as putting an end to some unhappiness or pain.

Avaritia odiosos facit aliis, non autem sibi ipsi. Quinimmo causatur ex inordinato sui amore, secundum quem de bonis temporalibus plus sibi aliquis vult quam debeat.

Avarice makes man hateful to others, but not to himself. In fact, it is caused by inordinate self-love, in respect of which, man desires temporal goods for himself more than he should.