Whether It Is Fitting to Distinguish Six Kinds of Sin Against the
Holy Ghost?
Objection 1: It would seem unfitting to distinguish six kinds of sin
against the Holy Ghost, viz. despair, presumption, impenitence,
obstinacy, resisting the known truth, envy of our brother's spiritual
good, which are assigned by the Master (Sent. ii, D, 43). For to deny
God's justice or mercy belongs to unbelief. Now, by despair, a man
rejects God's mercy, and by presumption, His justice. Therefore each
of these is a kind of unbelief rather than of the sin against the
Holy Ghost.
Obj. 2: Further, impenitence, seemingly, regards past sins, while
obstinacy regards future sins. Now past and future time do not
diversify the species of virtues or vices, since it is the same faith
whereby we believe that Christ was born, and those of old believed
that He would be born. Therefore obstinacy and impenitence should not
be reckoned as two species of sin against the Holy Ghost.
Obj. 3: Further, "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
Therefore it seem that resistance of the known truth, and envy of a
brother's spiritual good, belong to blasphemy against the Son rather
than against the Holy Ghost.
Obj. 4: Further, Bernard says (De Dispens. et Praecept. xi) that "to
refuse to obey is to resist the Holy Ghost." Moreover a gloss on Lev.
10:16, says that "a feigned repentance is a blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost." Again, schism is, seemingly, directly opposed to the
Holy Ghost by Whom the Church is united together. Therefore it seems
that the species of sins against the Holy Ghost are insufficiently
enumerated.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine [*Fulgentius] (De Fide ad Petrum iii)
says that "those who despair of pardon for their sins, or who without
merits presume on God's mercy, sin against the Holy Ghost," and
(Enchiridion lxxxiii) that "he who dies in a state of obstinacy is
guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost," and (De Verb. Dom., Serm.
lxxi) that "impenitence is a sin against the Holy Ghost," and (De
Serm. Dom. in Monte xxii), that "to resist fraternal goodness with
the brands of envy is to sin against the Holy Ghost," and in his book
De unico Baptismo (De Bap. contra Donat. vi, 35) he says that "a man
who spurns the truth, is either envious of his brethren to whom the
truth is revealed, or ungrateful to God, by Whose inspiration the
Church is taught," and therefore, seemingly, sins against the Holy
Ghost.
_I answer that,_ The above species are fittingly assigned to the sin
against the Holy Ghost taken in the third sense, because they are
distinguished in respect of the removal or contempt of those things
whereby a man can be prevented from sinning through choice. These
things are either on the part of God's judgment, or on the part of
His gifts, or on the part of sin. For, by consideration of the Divine
judgment, wherein justice is accompanied with mercy, man is hindered
from sinning through choice, both by hope, arising from the
consideration of the mercy that pardons sins and rewards good deeds,
which hope is removed by "despair"; and by fear, arising from the
consideration of the Divine justice that punishes sins, which fear is
removed by "presumption," when, namely, a man presumes that he can
obtain glory without merits, or pardon without repentance.
God's gifts whereby we are withdrawn from sin, are two: one is the
acknowledgment of the truth, against which there is the "resistance of
the known truth," when, namely, a man resists the truth which he has
acknowledged, in order to sin more freely: while the other is the
assistance of inward grace, against which there is "envy of a
brother's spiritual good," when, namely, a man is envious not only of
his brother's person, but also of the increase of Divine grace in the
world.
On the part of sin, there are two things which may withdraw man
therefrom: one is the inordinateness and shamefulness of the act, the
consideration of which is wont to arouse man to repentance for the
sin he has committed, and against this there is "impenitence," not as
denoting permanence in sin until death, in which sense it was taken
above (for thus it would not be a special sin, but a circumstance of
sin), but as denoting the purpose of not repenting. The other thing
is the smallness or brevity of the good which is sought in sin,
according to Rom. 6:21: "What fruit had you therefore then in those
things, of which you are now ashamed?" The consideration of this is
wont to prevent man's will from being hardened in sin, and this is
removed by "obstinacy," whereby man hardens his purpose by clinging
to sin. Of these two it is written (Jer. 8:6): "There is none that
doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done?" as regards the
first; and, "They are all turned to their own course, as a horse
rushing to the battle," as regards the second.
Reply Obj. 1: The sins of despair and presumption consist, not in
disbelieving in God's justice and mercy, but in contemning them.
Reply Obj. 2: Obstinacy and impenitence differ not only in respect of
past and future time, but also in respect of certain formal aspects
by reason of the diverse consideration of those things which may be
considered in sin, as explained above.
Reply Obj. 3: Grace and truth were the work of Christ through the
gifts of the Holy Ghost which He gave to men.
Reply Obj. 4: To refuse to obey belongs to obstinacy, while a feigned
repentance belongs to impenitence, and schism to the envy of a
brother's spiritual good, whereby the members of the Church are
united together.
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