Whether a Man Ought to Love Himself Out of Charity?
Objection 1: It would seem that a man is [not] bound to love himself
out of charity. For Gregory says in a homily (In Evang. xvii) that
there "can be no charity between less than two." Therefore no man has
charity towards himself.
Obj. 2: Further, friendship, by its very nature, implies mutual love
and equality (Ethic. viii, 2, 7), which cannot be of one man towards
himself. But charity is a kind of friendship, as stated above (Q. 23,
A. 1). Therefore a man cannot have charity towards himself.
Obj. 3: Further, anything relating to charity cannot be blameworthy,
since charity "dealeth not perversely" (1 Cor. 23:4). Now a man
deserves to be blamed for loving himself, since it is written (2 Tim.
3:1, 2): "In the last days shall come dangerous times, men shall be
lovers of themselves." Therefore a man cannot love himself out of
charity.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (Lev. 19:18): "Thou shalt love thy
friend as thyself." Now we love our friends out of charity. Therefore
we should love ourselves too out of charity.
_I answer that,_ Since charity is a kind of friendship, as stated
above (Q. 23, A. 1), we may consider charity from two standpoints:
first, under the general notion of friendship, and in this way we
must hold that, properly speaking, a man is not a friend to himself,
but something more than a friend, since friendship implies union, for
Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv) that "love is a unitive force," whereas
a man is one with himself which is more than being united to another.
Hence, just as unity is the principle of union, so the love with
which a man loves himself is the form and root of friendship. For if
we have friendship with others it is because we do unto them as we do
unto ourselves, hence we read in _Ethic._ ix, 4, 8, that "the origin
of friendly relations with others lies in our relations to
ourselves." Thus too with regard to principles we have something
greater than science, namely understanding.
Secondly, we may speak of charity in respect of its specific nature,
namely as denoting man's friendship with God in the first place, and,
consequently, with the things of God, among which things is man
himself who has charity. Hence, among these other things which he
loves out of charity because they pertain to God, he loves also
himself out of charity.
Reply Obj. 1: Gregory speaks there of charity under the general
notion of friendship: and the Second Objection is to be taken in the
same sense.
Reply Obj. 3: Those who love themselves are to be blamed, in so far
as they love themselves as regards their sensitive nature, which they
humor. This is not to love oneself truly according to one's rational
nature, so as to desire for oneself the good things which pertain to
the perfection of reason: and in this way chiefly it is through
charity that a man loves himself.
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