5. Since the lack of good is the cause that the soul looks at darkness,
and mingles therewith, the lack of good and darkness is primary Evil
for the soul. The secondary evil will be the darkness, and the nature
of evil, considered not in matter, but before matter. Evil consists
not in the lack of any particular thing, but of everything in general.
Nothing is evil merely because it lacks a little of being good; its
nature might still be perfect. But what, like matter, lacks good
entirely, is essentially evil, and possesses nothing good? Nature,
indeed, does not possess essence, or it would participate in the good;
only by verbal similarity can we say that matter "is," while we can
truly say that matter "is" absolute "nonentity." A mere lack (of good)
therefore, may be characterized as not being good; but complete lack is
evil; while a lack of medium intensity consists in the possibility of
falling into evil, and is already an evil. Evil, therefore, is not any
particular evil, as injustice, or any special vice; evil is that which
is not yet anything of that, being nothing definite. Injustice and the
other vices must be considered as kinds of evil, distinguished from
each other by mere accidents; as for instance, what occurs by malice.
Besides, the different kinds of evil differ among each other either by
the matter in which evil resides, or by the parts of the soul to which
it refers, as sight, desire, and passion.