226. Circumstance, Specific Difference, and the Nature of Sin

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Central Question #

Can circumstance make a venial sin into a mortal sin? Thomas answers through a careful philosophical distinction that has profound moral implications.

The Objections #

• From Augustine: Anger and drunkenness are venial by genus, yet become mortal when prolonged or habitual
• From Peter Lombard: The circumstance of morositas (long-lasting quality) transforms venial into mortal
• From Analogy: If circumstance makes a good act bad, why not venial into mortal?
• Counter-objection: Circumstance as accident cannot exceed the quantity of its subject; mortal and venial sins differ infinitely

The Crucial Distinction: Accident vs. Specific Difference #

Thomas establishes that a circumstance operates on two different levels:

As a Mere Accident: A circumstance modifies a moral act while leaving its essential character unchanged. In this mode, it cannot transform the genus of the act.

As a Specific Difference: When a circumstance takes on the role of determining the essential character of the act, it ceases to be merely accidental. It then constitutes the species of the moral act itself.

Example - Fornication vs. Adultery:

• Simple fornication: violates chastity alone
• With another’s wife: violates both chastity AND justice (theft of spouse)
• The circumstance of “with another’s wife” becomes a specific difference, creating adultery as a distinct species

The Fundamental Genus Distinction #

Venial Sin (disorder regarding means to the end):

• Disorderly love of a creature, but below God
• Does not break the orientation to God as ultimate end
• Does not exclude charity
• Examples: brief anger, drunkenness, idle words, superfluous laughter

Mortal Sin (disorder regarding the ultimate end itself):

• Disorderly love of a creature more than God, or choosing another end
• Breaks the relationship with God as ultimate end
• Excludes or destroys charity
• Examples: fornication chosen as end, deliberate blasphemy

The Infinite Gap: These do not differ by degree like large and small within the same genus. They differ as the imperfect differs from the perfect in the very genus of sin itself.

Key Arguments #

Why Duration Alone Cannot Transform Venial to Mortal #

Lengthiness and Frequency: Thomas explicitly states that length (temporal duration) and frequency alone are NOT circumstances that draw something into another species.

The problem: If anger held for a long time becomes mortal, this seems to suggest that duration of a venial sin can make it mortal. But mortal sin requires disorder with respect to the ultimate end itself, not merely prolonged disorder regarding temporal goods.

Solution: When anger becomes mortal through prolongation, it is not the duration alone but the fact that the prolonged quality manifests or constitutes contempt for God’s justice or abandonment of charity. The circumstance reveals or introduces a new deformity (opposition to justice or charity itself).

The Accident-Substance Principle #

Just as no accident can become a substance through addition, no venial sin (defect regarding means) can become mortal (defect regarding the end) through mere circumstantial intensification. The subject is always preeminent to its accidents.

The Boy and the Man Analogy #

Venial and mortal relate as the imperfect to the perfect. A boy can become a man through natural development (addition), but a man cannot become a boy through mere subtraction (he doesn’t lose manhood by losing strength). Similarly, a venial sin can become mortal through addition of a deformity of another genus, but a mortal sin cannot become venial merely by removing some aggravating circumstance.

Important Definitions #

Circumstance (circumstantia): An accident of a moral act that stands around or modifies it without constituting its essential character

Specific Difference (differentia specifica): An element that constitutes the essential character and determines the species of a moral act

Morositas: The lingering or long-lasting quality; a circumstance of duration

Deformity (deformitas): The disorder or defect in a moral act that constitutes its sinfulness

Genus of Sin: The fundamental character determined by what is disordered (means toward the end vs. the ultimate end itself)

Examples & Illustrations #

Fornication vs. Adultery #

• Fornication alone: Violates chastity (disorder regarding sexual pleasure)
• Adultery (with another’s wife): Violates both chastity AND justice (theft of another’s property)
• The circumstance becomes a specific difference; adultery is a distinct species

Anger and Drunkenness #

• Brief anger: Venial (disorder regarding a temporal good)
• Prolonged anger: Becomes mortal only if it manifests deliberate opposition to God’s justice or charity
• The teaching of Augustine is compatible: prolongation disposes toward mortal sin but is not automatically mortal in itself

Idle Words and Superfluous Laughter #

• In recreation: Venial (excess in a legitimate pleasure)
• Mocking sacred things in church: Approaches blasphemy or sacrilege (introduces opposition to religion)
• The circumstance of context introduces a new genus of deformity

The Physician’s Case #

A doctor practicing contraception without knowing it violates divine law:

• If ignorance is invincible: The sin remains venial (lack of full knowledge impedes deliberation)
• If ignorance is vincible: The ignorance itself is mortal sin (neglect to learn what preserves divine love)

Notable Quotes #

“This is why it’s so treacherous matter to talk about circumstances, right? Circumstantial evidence, huh? I can convict you sometimes. And then it loses the notion of a circumstance, and constitutes the species of a moral act.”

“It is impossible, however, the circumstance about a venial sin becomes mortal unless it brings in a deformity of another genus, huh? For it’s been said above that venial sin has deformity through this, that it implies the disorder about those things which are towards the end. But mortal sin has deformity through this, that it implies a disorder with respect to the last end itself.”

“Once it is manifest that a circumstance is not able of a venial sin to make a mortal sin when it remains a circumstance, huh? But then only when it carries something over into another species.”

Questions Addressed #

Can Duration Make Venial Sin Mortal? #

A: Not in itself. Duration is explicitly NOT a circumstance that changes the species. Only if the prolonged quality manifests or introduces deliberate disorder with respect to the ultimate end does it become mortal.

Why Don’t Venial Sins Add Up to Mortal? #

A: Because they differ in genus, not degree. No number of fish equals one steak. All venial sins remain in the same genus (disorder regarding means) while all mortal sins share another genus (disorder regarding the ultimate end). An infinite number of defects in one genus cannot equal a single defect in a fundamentally different genus.

What is the Difference Between a Circumstance and a Specific Difference? #

A: A circumstance modifies an act externally while leaving its essential character unchanged (accident). A specific difference constitutes the essential character itself (substance-like). When a circumstance becomes decisive for determining what kind of act it is—when it tells us what species the act belongs to—it ceases to be merely circumstantial.

Can Ignorance Change a Mortal Sin’s Gravity? #

A: Yes, but with important qualifications. If someone commits what is by nature a mortal sin in ignorance, the lack of deliberation may reduce it to venial. However, if the ignorance is vincible (the person could and should have learned), the vincible ignorance itself becomes mortal sin—a failure in the duty to preserve divine love by learning doctrine.