Saturday, May 22, 2010

1a 2ae q31 a7: Whether any pleasure is not natural? Yes.

Secundum utrasque autem delectationes, contingit aliquas esse innaturales, simpliciter loquendo, sed connaturales secundum quid, quia contingit in aliquo individuo corrumpi aliquod principiorum naturalium speciei: et sic id quod est contra naturam speciei, fieri per accidens naturale huic individuo; sicut huic aquae calefactae est naturale quod calefaciat.

Under each kind of delights, we find some that are "not natural" speaking absolutely, and yet "connatural" in some respect, because it happens in an individual that some one of the natural principles of the species is corrupted: so that something which is contrary to the specific nature, becomes accidentally natural to this individual; thus it is natural to this hot water to give heat.

Ita igitur contingit quod id quod est contra naturam hominis, vel quantum ad rationem, vel quantum ad corporis conservationem, fiat huic homini connaturale, propter aliquam corruptionem naturae in eo existentem.

Consequently it happens that something which is not natural to man, either in regard to formal aspect, or in regard to the preservation of the body, becomes connatural to this individual man, on account of some corruption of nature existing in him.

Quae quidem corruptio potest esse vel ex parte corporis: sive ex aegritudine (sicut febricitantibus dulcia videntur amara et e converso); sive propter malam complexionem (sicut aliqui delectantur in comestione terrae vel carbonum, vel aliquorum huiusmodi); vel etiam ex parte animae (sicut propter consuetudinem, aliqui delectantur in comedendo homines, vel in coitu bestiarum aut masculorum, aut aliorum huiusmodi, quae non sunt secundum naturam humanam).

And this corruption may be either on the part of the body: from some ailment (thus to a man suffering from fever, sweet things seem bitter, and vice versa); or from an evil temperament (thus some take pleasure in eating earth and coals and the like); or on the part of the soul (thus from custom, some take pleasure in cannibalism, or in the unnatural intercourse of man and beast, or other such things, which are not in accord with human nature).

Philosophus dicit, in VII Ethic., quod quaedam delectationes sunt aegritudinales et contra naturam.

The Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 5,6) that some delights are "diseased and contrary to nature".