Whether Charity Is Something Created in the Soul?
Objection 1: It would seem that charity is not something created in
the soul. For Augustine says (De Trin. viii, 7): "He that loveth his
neighbor, consequently, loveth love itself." Now God is love.
Therefore it follows that he loves God in the first place. Again he
says (De Trin. xv, 17): "It was said: God is Charity, even as it was
said: God is a Spirit." Therefore charity is not something created in
the soul, but is God Himself.
Obj. 2: Further, God is the life of the soul spiritually just as the
soul is the life of the body, according to Deut. 30:20: "He is thy
life." Now the soul by itself quickens the body. Therefore God
quickens the soul by Himself. But He quickens it by charity,
according to 1 John 3:14: "We know that we have passed from death to
life, because we love the brethren." Therefore God is charity itself.
Obj. 3: Further, no created thing is of infinite power; on the
contrary every creature is vanity. But charity is not vanity, indeed
it is opposed to vanity; and it is of infinite power, since it brings
the human soul to the infinite good. Therefore charity is not
something created in the soul.
On the charity, Augustine says (De Doctr. Christ. iii, 10): "By
charity I mean the movement of the soul towards the enjoyment of God
for His own sake." But a movement of the soul is something created in
the soul. Therefore charity is something created in the soul.
_I answer that,_ The Master looks thoroughly into this question in Q.
17 of the First Book, and concludes that charity is not something
created in the soul, but is the Holy Ghost Himself dwelling in the
mind. Nor does he mean to say that this movement of love whereby we
love God is the Holy Ghost Himself, but that this movement is from
the Holy Ghost without any intermediary habit, whereas other virtuous
acts are from the Holy Ghost by means of the habits of other virtues,
for instance the habit of faith or hope or of some other virtue: and
this he said on account of the excellence of charity.
But if we consider the matter aright, this would be, on the contrary,
detrimental to charity. For when the Holy Ghost moves the human mind
the movement of charity does not proceed from this motion in such a
way that the human mind be merely moved, without being the principle
of this movement, as when a body is moved by some extrinsic motive
power. For this is contrary to the nature of a voluntary act, whose
principle needs to be in itself, as stated above (I-II, Q. 6, A. 1):
so that it would follow that to love is not a voluntary act, which
involves a contradiction, since love, of its very nature, implies an
act of the will.
Likewise, neither can it be said that the Holy Ghost moves the will
in such a way to the act of loving, as though the will were an
instrument, for an instrument, though it be a principle of action,
nevertheless has not the power to act or not to act, for then again
the act would cease to be voluntary and meritorious, whereas it has
been stated above (I-II, Q. 114, A. 4) that the love of charity is
the root of merit: and, given that the will is moved by the Holy
Ghost to the act of love, it is necessary that the will also should
be the efficient cause of that act.
Now no act is perfectly produced by an active power, unless it be
connatural to that power by reason of some form which is the
principle of that action. Wherefore God, Who moves all things to
their due ends, bestowed on each thing the form whereby it is
inclined to the end appointed to it by Him; and in this way He
"ordereth all things sweetly" (Wis. 8:1). But it is evident that the
act of charity surpasses the nature of the power of the will, so
that, therefore, unless some form be superadded to the natural power,
inclining it to the act of love, this same act would be less perfect
than the natural acts and the acts of the other powers; nor would it
be easy and pleasurable to perform. And this is evidently untrue,
since no virtue has such a strong inclination to its act as charity
has, nor does any virtue perform its act with so great pleasure.
Therefore it is most necessary that, for us to perform the act of
charity, there should be in us some habitual form superadded to the
natural power, inclining that power to the act of charity, and
causing it to act with ease and pleasure.
Reply Obj. 1: The Divine Essence Itself is charity, even as It is
wisdom and goodness. Wherefore just as we are said to be good with
the goodness which is God, and wise with the wisdom which is God
(since the goodness whereby we are formally good is a participation
of Divine goodness, and the wisdom whereby we are formally wise, is a
share of Divine wisdom), so too, the charity whereby formally we love
our neighbor is a participation of Divine charity. For this manner of
speaking is common among the Platonists, with whose doctrines
Augustine was imbued; and the lack of adverting to this has been to
some an occasion of error.
Reply Obj. 2: God is effectively the life both of the soul by
charity, and of the body by the soul: but formally charity is the
life of the soul, even as the soul is the life of the body.
Consequently we may conclude from this that just as the soul is
immediately united to the body, so is charity to the soul.
Reply Obj. 3: Charity works formally. Now the efficacy of a form
depends on the power of the agent, who instills the form, wherefore
it is evident that charity is not vanity. But because it produces an
infinite effect, since, by justifying the soul, it unites it to God,
this proves the infinity of the Divine power, which is the author of
charity.
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