Monday, May 31, 2010

1a 2ae q32 a8: Whether wonder is a cause of pleasure? Yes.

Admiratio non est delectabilis inquantum habet ignorantiam, sed inquantum habet desiderium addiscendi causam, et inquantum admirans aliquid novum addiscit, scilicet talem esse quem non aestimabat.

Wonder gives delight, not because it implies ignorance, but insofar as it includes the desire of learning the cause, and insofar as the wonderer learns something new, i.e. that the cause is other than he had thought it to be.

Est autem admiratio desiderium quoddam sciendi, quod in homine contingit ex hoc quod videt effectum et ignorat causam, vel ex hoc quod causa talis effectus excedit cognitionem aut facultatem ipsius. Et ideo admiratio est causa delectationis, inquantum habet adiunctam spem consequendi cognitionem eius quod scire desiderat.

Wonder is a kind of desire for knowledge, a desire which comes to man when he sees an effect of which the cause either is unknown to him, or surpasses his knowledge or faculty of understanding. Consequently wonder is a cause of delight, insofar as it includes an adjunct hope of getting the knowledge which one desires to have.

Philosophus dicit, in I Rhetoric., quod admiratio est delectationis causa.

The Philosopher says (Rhet. i, 11) that wonder is a cause of delight.