Tuesday, May 18, 2010

1a 2ae q31 a3: Whether delight differs from joy? Yes.

Non est idem gaudium et delectatio quia nomen gaudii non habet locum nisi in delectatione quae consequitur rationem; unde gaudium non attribuimus brutis animalibus, sed solum nomen delectationis.

Joy is not the same as delight because we do not speak of "joy" except when delight follows formal aspect; and so we do not ascribe joy to brute animals, but only "delight".

Sicut Damascenus et Gregorius Nyssenus dicunt, "quaedam sunt corporales, quaedam animales".

As Damascene (De Fide Orth. ii, 13) and Gregory of Nyssa [Nemesius, De Nat. Hom. xviii.] put it, "some delights are of the body, some are of the soul".

Similis differentia invenitur etiam in concupiscentiis, ita quod delectatio respondeat concupiscentiae (et gaudium respondeat desiderio), quod magis videtur pertinere ad concupiscentiam animalem. Et sic secundum differentiam motus, est etiam differentia quietis.

A like difference is to be observed in concupiscences also, so that delight corresponds to concupiscence (while joy corresponds to desire), which seems to pertain more to animal concupiscence. Hence there is a difference of repose corresponding to the difference of movement.

Alia nomina ad delectationem pertinentia, sunt imposita ab effectibus delectationis; nam laetitia imponitur a dilatatione cordis, ac si diceretur latitia; exultatio vero dicitur ab exterioribus signis delectationis interioris, quae apparent exterius, inquantum scilicet interius gaudium prosilit ad exteriora; iucunditas vero dicitur a quibusdam specialibus laetitiae signis vel effectibus. Et tamen omnia ista nomina videntur pertinere ad gaudium, non enim utimur eis nisi in naturis rationalibus.

Other names pertaining to delight are derived from the effects of delight; for "laetitia" [gladness] is derived from the "dilation" of the heart, as if one were to say "latitia"; "exultation" is derived from the exterior signs of inward delight, which appear outwardly insofar as the inward joy breaks forth from its bounds; and "cheerfulness" is so called from certain special signs and effects of gladness. Yet all these names seem to belong to joy; for we do not employ them save in speaking of beings with formally aspectual natures.