Whether the Act of Justice Is to Render to Each One His Own?
Objection 1: It would seem that the act of justice is not to render
to each one his own. For Augustine (De Trin. xiv, 9) ascribes to
justice the act of succoring the needy. Now in succoring the needy we
give them what is not theirs but ours. Therefore the act of justice
does not consist in rendering to each one his own.
Obj. 2: Further, Tully says (De Offic. i, 7) that "beneficence which
we may call kindness or liberality, belongs to justice." Now it
pertains to liberality to give to another of one's own, not of what
is his. Therefore the act of justice does not consist in rendering to
each one his own.
Obj. 3: Further, it belongs to justice not only to distribute things
duly, but also to repress injurious actions, such as murder, adultery
and so forth. But the rendering to each one of what is his seems to
belong solely to the distribution of things. Therefore the act of
justice is not sufficiently described by saying that it consists in
rendering to each one his own.
_On the contrary,_ Ambrose says (De Offic. i, 24): "It is justice
that renders to each one what is his, and claims not another's
property; it disregards its own profit in order to preserve the
common equity."
_I answer that,_ As stated above (AA. 8, 10), the matter of justice
is an external operation in so far as either it or the thing we use
by it is made proportionate to some other person to whom we are
related by justice. Now each man's own is that which is due to him
according to equality of proportion. Therefore the proper act of
justice is nothing else than to render to each one his own.
Reply Obj. 1: Since justice is a cardinal virtue, other secondary
virtues, such as mercy, liberality and the like are connected with
it, as we shall state further on (Q. 80, A. 1). Wherefore to succor
the needy, which belongs to mercy or pity, and to be liberally
beneficent, which pertains to liberality, are by a kind of reduction
ascribed to justice as to their principal virtue.
This suffices for the Reply to the Second Objection.
Reply Obj. 3: As the Philosopher states (Ethic. v, 4), in matters of
justice, the name of "profit" is extended to whatever is excessive,
and whatever is deficient is called "loss." The reason for this is
that justice is first of all and more commonly exercised in voluntary
interchanges of things, such as buying and selling, wherein those
expressions are properly employed; and yet they are transferred to
all other matters of justice. The same applies to the rendering to
each one of what is his own.
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