not capable of meriting for themselves, they are still capable
of meriting for others, or rather of helping others by reason of
their own previous merits. For when alive they merited from God
that their prayers should be heard after death. Or we might say
that in prayer merit and the power to obtain what we ask do not
rest on the same basis. For merit consists in a certain
correspondence between an act and the end towards which it is
directed and which is given to it as its reward; but the
impetratory power of prayer rests upon the generosity of him
from whom we ask something. Consequently prayer sometimes wins
from the generosity of him to whom it is made what perhaps was
not merited either by him who asked nor by him for whom he
asked. And thus, though the Saints are no longer capable of
meriting, it does not follow that they are incapable of winning
things from God.
5. Again, the Saints conform their will in all things to the Divine
Will. Therefore they can only will what they know God wills. But no one
prays save for what he wishes. Consequently they only pray for what they
know God wills. But what God wills would take place whether they prayed
or not. Consequently their prayers have no power to obtain things.
But, as is evident from the passage of S. Gregory quoted above
in reply to the third difficulty, neither the Saints nor the
Angels will anything save what they see in the Divine Will. And
consequently they ask for nothing else save this. But it does
not follow that their prayers are without fruit, for, as S.
Augustine says in his treatise, _On the Predestination of the
Saints_,[289] and S. Gregory in his _Dialogues_,[290] the
prayers of the Saints avail for the predestinate, because
perhaps it was pre-ordained that they should be saved by the
prayers of those who interceded for them. And so, too, God wills
that by the prayers of the Saints should be fulfilled what the
Saints see that He wills.
6. Lastly, the prayers of the entire Court of Heaven should, if they can
gain anything at all, be far more efficacious than all the suffrages of
the Church on earth. But if all the suffrages of the Church on earth
were to be accumulated upon one soul in Purgatory, it would be entirely
freed from punishment. Since, then, the Saints who are in our Fatherland
have the same reason for praying for the souls in Purgatory as they have
for praying for us, they would by their prayers, if they could obtain
anything for us, wholly deliver from suffering those who are in
Purgatory. But this is false, for if it were true, then the suffrages of
the Church for the dead would be superfluous.
But the suffrages of the Church for the dead are, as it were,
satisfactions offered by the living in place of the dead, and
thus they free the dead from that debt of punishment which they
have not paid. But the Saints who are in our Fatherland are not
capable of making satisfaction. And thus there is no parity
between their prayers and the Church's suffrages.
FOOTNOTES:
[267] xiv. 21.
[268] _Moralia in Job_, xii. 14.
[269] _Dialogue_, li. 35.
[270] _Contra Vigilant._, vi.
[271] S. Augustine: _Of the Trinity_, xiii. 5.
[272] _Of the Heavenly Hierarchy_, iii.
[273] lxiii. 16.
[274] _De Cura Mortuorum_, 13, 14, 15.
[275] S. Matt, xviii. 10.
[276] _Of the Heavenly Hierarchy_, vii.; and _Of the Ecclesiastical
Hierarchy_, vi.
[277] v. 1.
[278] _Moralia in Job_, v. 30.
[279] Rom. xv. 30.
[280] _Of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy_, v.
[281] Dan. ix. 14.
[282] _Ep. contra Vigilantium_, vi.
[283] Apoc. vi. 11.
[284] vi. 10.
[285] xv. 1.
[286] S. Matt. xxii. 30.
[287] x. 12-13.
[288] _Moralia on Job_, xvii. 12.
[289] _De Dono Perseverantiae_, xxii.
[290] i. 8.
QUESTION CLXXIX
OF THE DIVISION OF LIFE INTO THE ACTIVE AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE
I. May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and
the Contemplative?
S. Augustine, _De Consensu Evangelistarum_, I., iv. 8
" _Tractatus, cxxiv. 5, in Joannem_
II. Is this division of Life into the Active and the
Contemplative a sufficient one?
S. Augustine, _Of the Trinity_, I., viii. 17
I
May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative?
S. Gregory the Great says[291]: "There are two kinds of lives in which
Almighty God instructs us by His Sacred Word--namely, the active and the
contemplative."
Those things are properly said to live which move or work from within
themselves. But what especially accords with the innermost nature of a
thing is that which is proper to it and towards which it is especially
inclined; consequently every living thing shows that it is living by
those very acts which are especially befitting it and towards which it
is especially inclined. Thus the life of plants is said to consist in
their growing and in their producing seed; the life of animals in their
feeling and moving; while that of man consists in his understanding and
in his acting according to reason.
Hence among men themselves each man's life appears to be that in which
he takes special pleasure, that with which he is particularly occupied,
that, in fine, in which each one wishes to live with a friend, as is
said in the _Ethics of Aristotle_.[292]
Since, then, some men are especially occupied with the contemplation of
the truth while others are especially-occupied with external things,
man's life may be conveniently divided into the active and the
contemplative.
* * * * *
Some, however, repudiate this division, thus:
1. The soul is by its essence the principle of life; thus the
Philosopher says[293]: "For living things, to live is to be." But the
same soul with its faculties is the principle both of action and of
contemplation. Hence it would seem that life cannot be suitably divided
into the active and the contemplative.
But the peculiar nature of every individual thing--that which
makes it actually be--is the principle of its own proper action;
consequently _to live_ is said to be the very _being_ of living
things, and this because living things--by the very fact that
they exist through such a nature--act in such a way.
2. Again, when one thing precedes another it is unfitting to divide the
former by differences which find place in the latter. But action and
contemplation, like speculation and practice, are distinctions in the
intellect, as is laid down by the Philosopher.[294] But we live before
we understand; for life is primarily in living things by their
vegetative soul, as also the Philosopher says.[295] Therefore life is
not fittingly divided according to contemplation and action.
But we do not say that life universally considered is divided
into the active and the contemplative, but that man's life is so
divided. For man derives his species from his intellect, hence
the same divisions hold good for human life as hold good for the
intellect.
3. Lastly, the word "life" implies motion, as is clear from Denis the
Areopagite.[296] But contemplation more especially consists in repose,
according to the words: _When I go into my house I shall repose myself
with her (Wisdom)_.[297]
But while contemplation implies a certain repose from external
occupations, it is still a certain motion of the intellect in
the sense that every operation is a motion; in this sense the
Philosopher says that to feel and to understand are certain
motions in the sense that motion is said to be the act of a
perfect thing.[298] It is in this sense, too, that Denis[299]
assigns three movements to the soul in contemplation: the
direct, the circular, and the oblique.[300]
* * * * *
_S. Augustine:_ Two virtues are set before the human soul, the one
active, the other contemplative; the former shows the path, the latter
shows the goal; in the one we toil that so the heart may be purified for
the Vision of God, in the other we repose and we see God; the one is
spent in the practice of the precepts of this temporal life, the other
is occupied with the teachings of the life that is eternal. Hence it is
that the one is a life of toil and the other a life of rest; for the
former is engaged in purging away its sins, the latter already stands in
the light of the purified. Hence, too, during this mortal life the
former is occupied with the works of a good life, whereas the latter
rather stands in faith, and, in the case of some few, sees _through a
mirror in a dark manner_, and enjoys _in part_ a certain glimpse of the
Unchangeable Truth (_De Consensu Evangelistarum_, I., iv. 8).
"The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; it is
Thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me. The lines are
fallen unto me in goodly places; for my inheritance is goodly to
me."[301]
_S. Augustine:_ There is another life, the life of immortality, and in
it there are no ills; there we shall see face to face what we now see
_through a glass and in a dark manner_ even when we have made great
advance in our study of the Truth. The Church, then, knows of two kinds
of life Divinely set before Her and commended to Her; in the one we walk
by faith, in the other by sight; the one is the pilgrimage of time, the
other is the mansion of eternity; the one is a life of toil, the other
of repose; in the one we are on the way, in the other in Our Father's
Home; the one is spent in the toil of action, the other in the reward of
contemplation; the one _turneth away from evil and doth good_, the other
hath no evil from which to turn away, but rather a Great Good Which it
enjoys; the one is in conflict with the foe, the other reigns--conscious
that there is no foe; the one is strong in adversity, the other knows of
no adversity; the one bridles the lusts of the flesh, the other is given
up to the joys of the Spirit; the one is anxious to overcome, the other
is tranquil in the peace of victory; the one is helped in temptations,
the other, without temptation, rejoices in its Helper; the one succours
the needy, the other dwells where none are needy; the one condones the
sins of others that thereby its own sins may be condoned, the other
suffers naught that it can pardon nor does ought that calls for pardon;
the one is afflicted in sufferings lest it should be uplifted in good
things, the other is steeped in such fulness of grace as to be free from
all evil that so, without temptation to pride, it may cling to the
Supreme Good; the one distinguishes between good and evil, the other
sees naught save what is good; the one therefore is good--yet still in
miseries, the other is better--and in Blessedness (_Tractatus_, cxxiv.
5, _in Joannem_).
"Jesu nostra Redemptio
Amor et Desiderium!
Deus Creator omnium,
Homo in fine temporum!"
II
Is this division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative a
sufficient one?
These two kinds of life are signified by the two wives of Jacob--namely,
the active life by Lia, the contemplative by Rachel. They are also
signified by those two women who afforded hospitality to the Lord: the
contemplative, namely, by Mary, the active by Martha, as S. Gregory
says.[302] But if there were more than two kinds of life, these
significations would not be fitting.
As we have said above, the division in question concerns human life
regarded as intellectual. And the intellect itself is divided into the
contemplative and the active, for the aim of intellectual knowledge is
either the actual knowledge of the truth--and this belongs to the
contemplative intellect, or it is some external action--and this
concerns the practical or active intellect. Hence life is quite
sufficiently divided into the active and the contemplative.
But some argue that this division is not a sufficient one, thus:
1. The Philosopher[303] says that there are three specially excellent
kinds of life: the pleasurable, the civil--which seems to be identified
with the active--and the contemplative.
But the pleasurable life makes its end consist in the pleasures
of that body which we have in common with the brute creation.
Hence, as the Philosopher says in the same place, this is a
bestial life. Consequently it is not comprised in our division
of life into the active and the contemplative.
2. Again, S. Augustine[304] speaks of three different kinds of life: the
life of leisure, which is referred to the contemplative; the busy life,
which is referred to the active life; and he adds a third composed of
these two.
But things which hold a middle course are compounded of the
extremes, and hence are virtually contained in them, as the
tepid in the hot and the cold, the pallid in the white and the
black. And similarly, under the active and the contemplative
lives is comprised that kind of life which is compounded of them
both. But just as in every mixture one of the simple elements
predominates, so in this mixed kind of life now the
contemplative, now the active predominates.
3. Lastly, men's lives are diversified according to their various
occupations. But there are more than two classes of human occupations.
But all classes of human occupations are, if they are concerned
with the necessities of this present life, and in accordance
with right reason, comprised under the active life which, by
properly regulated acts, takes heed for the needs of the present
life. But if these actions minister to our concupiscences, then
they fall under the voluptuous life which is not comprised in
the active life. But human occupations which are directed to the
consideration of the truth are comprised under the contemplative
life.
* * * * *
_S. Augustine: Your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall
appear, Who is your life, then you also shall appear with Him in
glory_;[305] but until that shall come to pass _we see now through a
glass in a dark manner_--that is, in images as it were--_but then face
to face_.[306] This, indeed, is the contemplation that is promised to
us, the goal of all our actions, the eternal perfection of all our joys.
For _we are the sons of God, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall
be; we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is_.[307] And as He said to His servant Moses: _I am Who
am ... thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He Who is hath
sent me to you_,[308] even that shall we contemplate when we live in
eternity. Thus, too, He says: _This is eternal life, that they may know
Thee, the only True God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent_.[309] And
this shall be when the Lord shall come and _bring to light the hidden
things of darkness_,[310] when the gloom of our mortal corruption shall
have passed away. Then will be our "morning," that "morning" of which
the Psalmist says: _In the morning I will stand before Thee and I will
see_.[311] ... Then, too, will come to pass that which is written: _Thou
shall fill me with joy with Thy countenance_.[312] Beyond that joy we
shall seek for nothing, for there is naught further to be sought. The
Father will be shown to us, and that will suffice for us. Well did
Philip understand this when he said to the Lord: _Show us the Father,
and it is enough for us!_[313] ... Such contemplation, indeed, is the
reward of faith, and for this reward's sake are our hearts purified by
faith, as it is written: _Purifying their hearts by faith_[314] (_De
Trinitate_, I., viii. 17).
"Remember, O Lord, Thy bowels of compassion; and Thy mercies
that are from the beginning of the world. The sins of my youth
and my ignorances do not remember. According to Thy mercy
remember Thou me; for Thy goodness' sake, O Lord. The Lord is
sweet and righteous; therefore He will give a law to sinners in
the way. He will guide the mild in judgment; He will teach the
meek His ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to
them that seek after His covenant and His testimonies. For Thy
Name's sake, O Lord, Thou wilt pardon my sin; for it is
great."[315]
FOOTNOTES:
[291] Hom. XIV., _On Ezechiel_.
[292] IX., xii. 21.
[293] _De Anima_, II., iv. 4.
[294] _De Anima_, III., x. 2.
[295] _Ibid._, II., iv. 2.
[296] _Of the Divine Names_, vi.
[297] Wisd. viii. 16.
[298] _De Anima_, III., vii. 1.
[299] _Of the Divine Names_, IV., i. 7.
[300] For a commentary on this passage of S. Denis, see Qu. CLXXX., Art.
6, pp. 203-210.
[301] Ps. xv. 5-6.
[302] _Moralia in Job_, vi. 18; and _Hom._ XIV., _On Ezechiel_.
[303] _Ethics_, I., v. 21.
[304] _Of the City of God_, xix. 2 and 19.
[305] Col. iii. 3-4.
[306] 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
[307] 1 John iii. 2.
[308] Exod. iii. 14.
[309] S. John xvii. 3.
[310] 1 Cor. iv. 5.
[311] Ps. v. 5.
[312] Ps. xv. 11.
[313] S. John xiv. 8.
[314] Acts xv. 9.
[315] Ps. xxiv. 6-11.
QUESTION CLXXX
OF THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect,
or does the Will enter into it?
S. Thomas, _On the Beatific Vision_, I., xii. 7
_ad 3m_
II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life?
S. Augustine, _Of the City of God_, xix. 19
III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts?
S. Augustine, _Of the Perfection of Human
Righteousness_, viii. 18
" _Ep._, cxxx. _ad probam_
IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the
Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration
of other Truths as well?
S. Augustine, _Sermon_, CLXIX., xiv. 17
" _Ep._, cxxx. _ad probam_
V. Can the Contemplative Life attain, according to the State of
this Present Life, to the Contemplation
of the Divine Essence?
S. Augustine, _Of the Sermon on the Mount_, II.,
ix. 35
VI. Is the Act of Contemplation rightly distinguished according
to the three kinds of Motion--Circular, Direct,
and Oblique?
VII. Has Contemplation its Joys?
VIII. Is the Contemplative Life lasting?
S. Augustine, _Sermon_, cclix., _On Low Sunday_
I
Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the
Will enter into it?
S. Gregory the Great says[316]: "The contemplative life means keeping of
charity towards God and our neighbour, and fixing all our desires on our
Creator." But desire and love belong to the affective or appetitive
powers; consequently the contemplative life is not confined to the
intellect.
* * * * *
When men's thoughts are principally directed towards the contemplation
of the truth, their life is said to be "contemplative." But to "intend"
or direct is an act of the will, since "intention" or direction is
concerned with the end in view, and the end is the proper object of the
will. Hence contemplation, having regard to the actual essence of it, is
an act of the intellect; but if we consider that which moves us to the
exercise of such an act, then contemplation is an act of the will; for
it is the will which moves all the other faculties, including the
intellect, to the exercise of their appropriate acts.
But the appetitive faculty--the will, that is--moves us to consider some
point either sensibly or intellectually, that is, sometimes out of love
for the thing itself--for _Where thy treasure is there is thy heart
also_,--and sometimes out of love of that very knowledge which follows
from its consideration. For this reason S. Gregory[317] makes the
contemplative life consist in the love of God, since from love of God a
man yearns to look upon His beauty. And since we are delighted when we
obtain what we love, the contemplative life consequently results in
delight, and this resides in the affective powers, from which, too, love
took its rise.
* * * * *
Some, however, urge that the contemplative life lies wholly in the
intellect, thus:
1. The Philosopher says[318]: "The end of contemplation is truth." But
truth belongs wholly to the intellect.
But from the very fact that truth is the goal of contemplation
it derives its character of a desirable and lovable and pleasing
good, and in this sense it comes under the appetitive powers.
2. Again, S. Gregory says[319]: "Rachel, whose name is interpreted 'the
Beginning seen,' signifies the contemplative life." But the vision of a
principle, or beginning, belongs to the intellect.
But it is love of God which excites in us desire of the vision
of the First Principle of all--viz., God Himself--and hence S.
Gregory says[320]: "The contemplative life, trampling underfoot
all cares, ardently yearns to look upon the face of the
Creator."
3. S. Gregory says[321]: "It belongs to the contemplative life to rest
from all exterior action." But the affective or appetitive powers tend
towards external action. Hence it would seem that the contemplative life
does not come under them.
But the appetitive powers not only move the bodily members to
the performance of external acts, but the intellect, too, is
moved by them to the exercise of contemplation.
"Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are
near, know My strength. The sinners in Sion are afraid,
trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can
dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with
everlasting burnings? He that walketh in justices, and speaketh
truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his
hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear
blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil. He shall
dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his
highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure. His eyes
shall see the King in His beauty, they shall see the land far
off."[322]
* * * * *
_S. Thomas:_ We do not enjoy all the things that we have; and this is
either because they do not afford us delight, or because they are not
the ultimate goal of our desires, and so are incapable of satisfying our
yearnings or affording us repose. But these three things the Blessed
have in God: for they see Him, and seeing Him they hold Him ever present
to them, for they have it in their power always to see Him; and holding
Him, they enjoy Him, satisfying their yearnings with That Which is The
Ultimate End (_Summa Theologica_, I., xii. 7, _ad 3m_).
"As the hart panteth after the fountains of water: so my soul
panteth after Thee, O God. My soul hath thirsted after the
strong living God; when shall I come and appear before the face
of God? My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is
said to me daily: Where is thy God? These things I remembered,
and poured out my soul in me; for I shall go over into the place
of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God. With the
voice of joy and praise; the noise of one feasting. Why art thou
sad, O my soul? and why dost thou trouble me? Hope in God, for I
will still give praise to Him: the salvation of my countenance,
and my God."[323]
II
Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life?
The moral virtues are directed towards external actions, and S. Gregory
says[324]: "It belongs to the contemplative life to abstain from all
external action." Hence the moral virtues do not pertain to the
contemplative life.
A thing may pertain to the contemplative life either essentially or by
way of disposition towards it. Essentially, then, the moral virtues do
not pertain to the contemplative life; for the goal of the contemplative
life is the consideration of truth. "Knowledge," says the Philosopher,
"which pertains to the consideration of truth, has little to do with the
moral virtues."[325] Hence he also says[326] that moral virtues pertain
to active, not to contemplative happiness.
But dispositively the moral virtues do belong to the contemplative life.
For actual contemplation, in which the contemplative life essentially
consists, is impeded both by the vehemence of the passions which
distract the soul from occupation with the things of the intellect, and
divert it to the things of sense, and also by external disturbances. The
moral virtues, however, keep down the vehemence of the passions, and
check the disturbance that might arise from external occupations.
Consequently the moral virtues do pertain to the contemplative life, but
by way of disposition thereto.
* * * * *
But some maintain that the moral virtues do pertain to the contemplative
life, thus:
1. S. Gregory says[327]: "The contemplative life means keeping charity
towards God and our neighbour with our whole soul." But all the moral
virtues--acts of which fall under precept--are reduced to love of God
and of our neighbour; for _Love is the fulfilling of the Law_.[328]
Consequently it would seem that the moral virtues do pertain to the
contemplative life.
But, as we have already said, the contemplative life is motived
by the affective faculties, and consequently love of God and of
our neighbour are required for the contemplative life. Impelling
causes, however, do not enter into the essence of a thing, but
prepare for it and perfect it. Hence it does not follow that the
moral virtues essentially pertain to the contemplative life.
2. Again; the contemplative life is especially directed towards the
contemplation of God, as S. Gregory says: "The soul, trampling all cares
underfoot, ardently yearns to see its Creator's face." But no one can
attain to this without that cleanness of heart which the moral virtues
procure: _Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God_,[329]
and again: _Follow peace with all men with holiness, without which no
man shall see God_.[330]