Tuesday, May 25, 2010

1a 2ae q32 a2: Whether movement is a cause of pleasure? Yes.

Motus etiam efficitur delectabilis, inquantum per ipsum fit aliquid conveniens quod prius conveniens non erat, vel desinit esse, quia ex parte nostra qui delectamur, transmutatio efficitur nobis delectabilis propter hoc, quod natura nostra transmutabilis est, et propter hoc, quod est nobis conveniens nunc, non erit nobis conveniens postea; sicut calefieri ad ignem est conveniens homini in hieme, non autem in aestate.

Movement becomes the cause of delight, insofar as through it something which previously was unbefitting, becomes befitting or ceases to be, because as far as we who take delight are concerned, change is delightful to us because our nature is changeable, for which reason that which is befitting to us at one time is not befitting at another; thus to warm himself at a fire is befitting to man in winter but not in summer.

Ex parte vero boni delectantis quod nobis coniungitur, fit etiam transmutatio delectabilis. Quia actio continuata alicuius agentis auget effectum: sicut quanto aliquis diutius appropinquat igni, magis calefit et desiccatur. Naturalis autem habitudo in quadam mensura consistit. Et ideo quando continuata praesentia delectabilis superexcedit mensuram naturalis habitudinis, efficitur remotio eius delectabilis.

Again, on the part of the delightful good which is united to us, change is pleasant. Because the continued action of an agent increases its effect: thus the longer a person remains near the fire, the more he is warmed and dried. Now our natural state of affairs consists in a certain measure. And therefore when the continued presence of a delightful object exceeds the measure of one's natural state of affairs, the removal of that object becomes delightful.

Ex parte vero ipsius cognitionis, quia homo desiderat cognoscere aliquod totum et perfectum. Cum ergo aliqua non poterunt apprehendi tota simul, delectat in his transmutatio, ut unum transeat et alterum succedat, et sic totum sentiatur.

On the part of the knowledge itself, [change becomes delightful] because man desires to know something whole and perfect. When therefore something cannot be apprehended all at once as a whole, change in such a thing is delightful, so that one part may pass and another succeed, and thus the whole be perceived.

Motus laborem et lassitudinem inducit, secundum quod transcendit habitudinem naturalem. Sic autem motus non est delectabilis, sed secundum quod removentur contraria habitudinis naturalis.

Movement causes toil and fatigue, when it exceeds our natural state of affairs. It is not thus that it causes delight, but by removing the obstacles to our natural state of affairs.

Id quod est consuetum, efficitur delectabile, inquantum efficitur naturale, nam consuetudo est quasi altera natura. Motus autem est delectabilis, non quidem quo receditur a consuetudine, sed magis secundum quod per ipsum impeditur corruptio naturalis habitudinis, quae posset provenire ex assiduitate alicuius operationis. Et sic ex eadem causa connaturalitatis efficitur consuetudo delectabilis, et motus.

What is customary becomes delightful, insofar as it becomes natural, because custom is like a second nature. But the movement which gives delight is not that which departs from custom, but rather that which in itself prevents the corruption of the natural state of affairs, that might result from continued operation. And thus from the same cause of connaturality, both custom and movement become delightful.