Prima Secundae
Lecture 212: Cupidity as Root and Pride as Beginning of Sin

Transcript
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I know in my text you got a misprint there. Utrum prefate potentiae. When he gets into it, you see, he says, predicte potentiae. You've got to realize that the title, like utrum, you know, I don't think it's really in the text of Thomas. Now if you go back to the premium, right, beginning of this question 83, then we're not to consider about the subject original sin, right, huh, okay, and the fourth article, whether some powers of the soul are especially infected, right, apart from the will now being primarily, to wit, the generative power, the concupiscible power, right, and the sense of what, touch, right, okay, and then when he gets to the fourth one here, he says, to the fourth one goes forward thus, it seems that the four said powers are not more infected than others. What are the four said powers? Well, the ones enumerated in the premium, right, okay, because if you just look at that invented title, right, prefate, I don't know, maybe that's a mistake there in the thing, but as I say, it's not really part of the text of Thomas, so not that they could make a mistake in his text too, but it's how they translate, somebody's got the English edition or what? Yeah, predicte, yeah, predicte, yeah, yeah, so you have prefate too, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would think maybe refer to the preface of the question, if you want to call it that. I remember Kisari, you know, kind of, plainfully there, you know, talking about the nuns, you know, who, whatever the text says, they just repeat it, you know, because they're more docile, but we've been there, you know, huh? They said, that doesn't make any sense, you know, so, there's a misprint, the other day there. Oh yeah, it was in the Free Pressing, what was it? It said, it was talking about the immortality of men, of course, the immorality of men, right? What do you know, it was a mistake, you know, didn't it? And the next day, because they corrected it, you know, but it kind of changed the sense of what they wanted to say. And it was, would God give us this immorality or something, rather than immortality? They gave us the immorality. Yeah. Some people think it would go on. So you talk about the nuns, you know, huh? I was thinking of that earlier, somebody was saying, how Latin is trying to, and the last thing that occurred was a newbie, trying to learn Latin research. The last thing that occurred was that he found a title. So he's trying to figure out what it needs to say that God is ends Moby-Li-Signal. Simply, Noby-Li-Signal. He never, it never encouraged him to figure out there's a title there. He's trying to figure out how God could be Moby-Li-Signal. One thing, so about the nuns, they didn't know the Latin, so they chant the office, and they, if they did, they had a rubric, then they couldn't figure it out. They didn't know what to do. So, there's a famous one about the nuns. It's on Sunday, we say the Te Deum, or whatever it is, you know, we say the glory podcast. And they didn't know what it meant, the rubric, so they decided that they would chant the rubric, and then the glory podcast. So they, non-dead you to a glory podcast, glory podcast, glory podcast. What did you say? Well, sometimes when Chris Eric would not answer one of my questions, you know, he'd just pick up the phone and call Father Baumgartner, you know, who was at the seminary. Of course, the seminary was right across, you know, almost digging across from where the College of St. Thomas was. So I got to know Father Baumgartner, you know, I can remember him, you know, looking to Father Lacky, he says, you had to hear nuns' confessions this weekend. He's, you know, they don't look forward to, you know, because they're kind of scrupulous or something, I don't know what their problem was, but it was, it was a hard thing to, because they're kind of commiserating each other, you know, I got to hear nuns' confessions this weekend. I guess I didn't know anything about that, but he knew about this, I mean, they just follow the text wherever the printer leads you. Okay, so this is something after the will, but, you know, among other ones. To the fourth one proceeds thus, it seems that the four said powers are not more infected than others, huh? For the infection of original sin more seems to pertain to that part of the soul which before is able to be, what, subject to sin. But this is the rational part, and especially the will. Therefore, it is more infected by original sin, huh? You know, it seems to make sense, right? In accordance with the previous article, I mean. Moreover, no power of the soul is infected by, what, guilt, except insofar as it is able to, what, obey reason, right? But the genitive does not, what, obey, right? As is said in the first book of the ethics, huh? Therefore, the genitive power is not most of all infected by original sin, huh? Moreover, sight among the other senses is more spiritual and near reason, right? Insofar as it shows many differences of things, as Aristotle says in the first book of wisdom, right? First book, meta, ta, fusica, right? After the books of natural philosophy. But the infection of guilt is first in, what? Reason. Therefore, sight is more infected than touch, huh? But against this is what Augustine says in the 14th book on the city of God, huh? That the infection of original guilt most of all appears in the motion of the genitive members, which are not, what, subject to reason, yeah? but those members serve the genitive power in the mixture of the sexes, huh? In which there is pleasure according to touch, huh? Which most of all moves, what, concupiscence, huh? Aristotle talks about temperance right now. He quotes the guy who wanted to, you know, like a swan or one of these things with longer nicks so he could feel it going down the longer way. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, gets the point across, you know, huh? Aristotle, you know, he's talking about how the meat is not the same for everybody, right? And he quoted one of the things in the Greek fiction there about the guy who had a whole ox every day, right? Well, the amount of food that he required for every day would be different than for the, you know, average person, right? You know, because he defined moral virtue. It's a habit in the middle towards us, right? Neither too much but too little for me, right? Therefore, the infection of original sin most of all pertains to these three, the generative powers, the concubstable power, and the sense of touch, right? So he's influenced here by the great Augustine, right, Thomas? Not a bad guy to be influenced by, by the way. I think Thomas quotes that passage of Augustine there, you know, about the Beatty Vision where he says, miserable the man who knows all other things but doesn't know God. Blessed the man who knows God even if he knows nothing else. Blessed also the man who knows God and other things, but not for knowing other things, but for knowing God alone, you know? Augustine says things so well, you know, I mean, but, uh, you know, you know, you know, No, I can't remember for sure what it is, but by a scene, Thomas quoted it. And I think Aristotle says somewhere too, you know, some things have been said so well by our predecessors, right, that we should try to say them as well as they said it. But not try to say it better, you know. I remember the kind of calling somebody, Il faut dépasser, Saint Thomas. It's necessary to go beyond Saint Thomas, you know. He said, fine, if you can do it, he says. I remember when I was first studying philosophy there, I had some kind of a social meeting there, and I got talking to a woman there who was a doctor's wife, you know. And we were making a conversation, talking about how difficult it was for a husband to keep up with all the advances in medicine, right? And then by way of conversation, I suppose you find the difficulty in your field to keep up with. I said, no, madam. I said, in my field, the difficulty is catching up. Not keeping up. Like I was saying last time, you know, about the right angle, right? People are even caught up with that, you know. More profound things. My answer should be said that that corruption is most of all named what? Infection. Which is apt to be transferred to another, right? Our brother was warning me about some of you guys being sick, you know. You might try to infect them. Well, we gave you plenty of animals to take care of things. When contagious diseases, huh? As leprosy, I guess, huh? And scabias as some affliction of the flesh, I guess. These things are called infections, right? What? My granddaughter says, you know, that the fresh grasses to the cows is like candy, you know. She said, you've got to keep them away from it, you know. And not let them eat too much of it, you know. Because they get, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the corruption of original sin is passed on through the act of what? Generation, right, huh? Whence the powers that run together for this act, right, are most of all said to be, what? Infected, huh? But these are the acts that serve the generative power, insofar as they are ordered to, what? Generation, huh? This has in itself the pleasure of touch, which is the greatest object of, yeah, the greatest object of the conquistable power, huh? And therefore, since all the parts are said to be corrupted, the original sin, especially these three, four said, are said to be corrupted and, what? Infected, huh? You can see how humanity came out, you know. And of course, they're all attacking it, you know. Because this is where you can get the, get people, you know. The, the, the, what do you call them? They're the spirit of error, right, huh? Pneuma. Planesis. I guess it's St. John's sin, huh? Okay. And you reply to the first objection, huh? Thomas sees the distinction, right? So the first, therefore, should be said, the original sin, on that side by which it inclines to actual sins, right, especially pertains to the will, huh? This has been said, huh? But on the side of it, what, being carried over to the, it pertains especially to the, what, force and powers, and to the will more, what, remotely. So that's what it says in scripture there about, my mother conceived me in sins. Yeah. The second objection. It should be said that the infection of actual guilt does not pertain, except to those powers which are moved by the will of the one sitting. It's gotta be voluntary, right? But the infection of original guilt is not derived from the will of the one who, what, contracts it, but by the origin of nature, to which the generative power serves, huh? And therefore, in it, there is the infection of, what, original sin, huh? To the third, it should be said that sight does not pertain to the act of generation, except according to remote disposition, right? Insofar as through sight appears concubiscible species, right? So pornography, right, huh? Porno, I think, means, what, adultery or fornication in Greek, huh? That's a representation of that, huh? But pleasure is perfected in, what, touch, huh? And therefore, such infection is more attributed to touch than to, what, sight, huh? Let's take a little break now since we're at the end of a question. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. this is getting very interesting on this 84 here then we'll have to consider about the cause of sin according as one sin is the cause of another right this is going to require looking before and after right and about this are asked four things first for the cupidity is the root of all what sins secondly for the pride is the beginning of every sin so cupidity could be taken as being avarice but we'll see what he says about that third whether apart from pride and avarice right one ought to be said to be some head vices some capitalia some special sins right this is to get the seven capital vices right that's really interesting if you want to know how evil is organized talking about organized crime yeah yeah yeah when they talk about the justice among robbers you know they got to have that little justice among themselves they just completely fall apart right and so you got to see that the strength of wickedness here seven capital vices and then the court article how many and which are the what capital vices right now the what's the great work of Thomas on evil yeah questiones disputate de mal these were the questions but not only about the bad in general right but he has you know questions on each one of the what seven capital vices right so it's really if you're really interested in evil right that's another approach to the same thing so to the first one goes forward thus it seems that cupidity is not the root of all what sins for cupiditas which is the what immoderate desire of wealth right is opposed to the virtue of what liberality right now the virtue of liberality is taken up Aristotle Nicomachean ethics but liberality is not the root of all virtues therefore cupidity is not the root of all sins yeah some might say you know if pride is you know causes sins you know then humility is kind of the foundation of virtues right however the desire of those things which are for the end proceeds from the desire of the end itself but wealth wealthy wealthy things of which the desire is cupidity right are not desired except as useful to some end as is said in the first book of the ethics therefore cupidity is not the root of every sin right but it proceeds from some prior Thomas is busily looking before and after here even raising the objections right moreover often is it found that avarice which is called cupidity arises from other sins as when someone desires money on account of ambition or they might satisfy his stomach his gulay his gluttony yeah Warren likes to get me a bottle of wine for my birthday right so what he does is he calls rosalie and then he because he doesn't know what to get see so he says Warren's going to pay for your bottle but pick one out so I said oh boy here's one for $50 I said you know they got these fancy ones even the DJs you know Warren's going to pay for this one well get them real good it's a cure I'm sorry to do that but you can see how you could want money you know for you know to buy really good wines you know I remember there was the assumption there the guy that did the wine tasting there he had some of the Chateau Gloria right and sometimes you know at the end of these wine tasting there's some bottles left in a half bottle and so on and of course I made sure I got to get to that bottle he's about to stop me you know and they kind of they made you the way you know but that was really good you know the Chateau Gloria I know what it cost but I mean nothing I've ever bought for myself you know so and maybe I may be missing out on some really good tasting wines for $100 a bottle whatever they charge you know Opus 1 there you know that the French you know and the California guy went on you know but that started out $100 a bottle you know and that was worth it or not I'm probably missing out on these things you know I've got to get more money you know mortgage your house that's the American one buy things you don't deal with money you don't have therefore it's not the root of all sins but other things are right so this is argument for particular things that seem to give rise to cupidity and the second one is that the for general argument right must be some in because the end is the beginning of things but against this is what the apostle says right now that's by naming St. Paul by what Antoinette Messiah right scripture is very fond of Antoinette Messiah as far as I can see the Bible is named by Antoinette Messiah in the Gospels good news well this is the good news right best news you ever had okay but against this is what the apostle says in the first epistle to Timothy right the root of all evils is cupidity the root that's pretty strong right God bless Thomas would have an article on this son would not ignore that something I answer it should be said that according to some right and in my thing you know they refer to Alberto Alberto Albert the Great they give the reference that's the reference they give in the bottom page but anyway I answer it should be said that according to some cupidity is said in many ways in one way insofar as it is a disordered desire for what wealth and thus it is a special sin right was there a temptation of the sort for Christ or not power yeah yeah it came to all these things you know it's kind of a first he had what the bread and the stones right and then he what more like cupidity more like cupidity right the first one was essential right I mean the hunger right and then the last one was more like pride jump off the building and I'll be caught by the hell everybody will yeah there's some advertising on the TV there you know where they're jumping off the cliff and they say hey Rose you don't have anything I don't know how they're photographing it you know sometimes you know something is just a step away you know I don't know what the point is I've seen it a lot of times in another way according as it signifies the disordered desire of any temporal what good right and thus it is the genus of every sin right for in every sin there is a disordered turning towards a changeable good right in a third way it is taken in so far as it signifies a certain inclination of corrupt nature to what desiring corruptible goods disordered No, it's everything that's disordered is opposed to reason, right? So as Tanisha says, for man to be good is to be reasonable, right? And thus they say that cupidity is the root of all sins in likeness to the root of a tree, right? Which draws from the, what, earth, it's, what, nourishment, right? And thus from the love of temporal things every, what, sin proceeds, right? Now these that my teacher, Albert the Great, said, doesn't mention him though, right? And these, although they are true, right? They are not, however, they do not, however, seem to be according to the intention of the apostle. Or maybe Thomas even doesn't understand the apostle, huh? What do you think? He's got commentary on the pistles. Who says that cupidity is the root of all, what, sins. For manifestly he speaks there against those who, when, since they wish to become, what, rich, they fall into temptations, right? And into the net of the devil, in that the root of all evils is, what, yeah. Whence it is manifest that, St. Paul speaks, of the cupidity in the sense of, what, a disordered desire of, what, well, yeah. Rather than naming the genus, right, huh? Okay. And according to this, it should be said that cupidity, according as it is a special sin and not a genus of all, what, sin, right, huh? Or even about this more general third sense. It's said to be the root of all sins in likeness to the root of a, what, tree, which gives nourishment to the whole tree, huh? For we see that through wealth a man acquires the faculty of, what, perpetrating every sin, huh? And of fulfilling desire of every sin, huh? He had a paper the other day there, brother. This guy, he's fabulously wealthy. And he gets at five houses, you know, mansions, you know, in different parts of the world, you know, and he's got one down on the islands there and so on. And, of course, he had, you know, slave girls of various sorts, you know. And Clinton was hanging around with this guy, right? Well, finally the guy got arrested for some girl, you know, he had some young teenage girl he had. And so they took him in jail for 13 months, so Clinton dropped him, you know, like hot potato, you know. I'm telling you that on a roll, I'm sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then he had none at all. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and Prince, yeah, yeah. One of the, Andrew, one of the princes there in England, there was hanging out with this guy too, you know, and so on, so, I don't know. But, you see here, you know, the faculty of doing all kinds of sin, this guy really had the money, you know, to have, you know, place on the islands there with the girl over there. So, for we see that through wealth, like in this case, a man acquires the faculty of perpetrating any sin whatsoever, right? Okay. You know how some of the money for oil there in the East goes to the terrorists, right? Right now, okay? And of fulfilling the desire of any sin. In that, for having any temporal goods, whatever, right? A man can be aided, right? Through money, right, huh? Oh, the younger brother there of Bush there, right, he's jumping into the thing. So, other people are jumping in now too because the sources of money, see, you might get into the sources of money before somebody else. So, money, you need money to get elected nowadays. Yeah. According to what is said in the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes, yeah. All things obey money, huh? Yeah, yeah. That's what he was saying. Somebody said it's the universal language. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Money speaks, huh? Money speaks. Yeah, yeah. And according to this, it is clear that the desire for wealth is the root of all sins, huh? Okay? But it's kind of what gives you the ability to, what? To buy all these things, right? Okay? In Rome, everything is for sale, was the old saying, right? All things obey. Now, what about the first objection, huh? Because the virtue opposed to this liberality there doesn't seem to be the root of all, what? Virtue, right, huh? Or is there a difference here, huh? To the first, therefore, it should be said that not from the same arises virtue and, what? Sin, huh? For sin arises from the desire of a changeable, what? Good. And therefore, the desire of that good, which aids one to gaining all temporal goods, is said to be the root of all sins. Yeah. I remember when in, I was in high school, right? You know, you had what they call home room, you know, like kind of at the end of the day there, you know? Probably had something like that, maybe. And so you get a little follow-up advice sometimes, and the guy, you know, he's one of the teachers, right? In the school. And he was saying something, money isn't everything. I remember him saying that one day, you know. Of course, the wise anchor there in the class said, yeah, but what it is, it'll buy. They get that, right? It's kind of clever reply, but it's the money isn't everything. Yeah, but what it is, it'll buy. I know after my father died, you know, this woman next door there, she says to me, you know, I don't think your father's cut out to be a businessman. I said, well, why do you say that? There was an interest in making a profit, she says. You know, he said, Yeah, I think there's a profit. I said it on this way, you know. To the first, therefore, it should be said that not from the same arises virtue and sin, for sin arises from the desire of a changeable good, right? I guess we're supposed to be looking for an eternal good, right? Yeah, eternal life, they call it, don't they? Partaking of the eternity of God. It's kind of interesting to use the word commutable good, huh? And therefore, the desire of that good that aids to achieving all temporal goods is said to be the root of what sins, huh? But virtue arises from the desire of an unchangeable good, huh? And therefore, charity, which is the love of God, who is the un, yeah, is laid down to be the root of virtues, according to that of Ephesians 3. This is St. Paul again, huh? The Apostle, chapter 17. Rooted in charity and founded on charity, right, huh? It's interesting on the words there. Radicati, of course, is taken from nature, that word, right? And fundati is from art, yeah, yeah. Foundation, the root of it. That's beautiful, huh? Okay. What about the second objection, though? It says it's the end that moves us mainly, right, huh? And the end, and wealth is not a, you know. Yeah, I get a kick out of this phrase I get on TV all the time, you know, wealth management, right, huh? And people are advertising, you know, to manage your wealth, right? They'll make your wealth grow, but some people, you know, say they might lose your wealth, too, but we guarantee you won't lose your wealth, but we'll make it grow, too. And so they talk about wealth management, right, huh? But in other cases, you can live in the style you want to live in, right? Or you expect to live in. Well, see, it's for something else. It's something useful, therefore, right? This wealth management, I guess, huh? It's for something else. Okay. Where's the seat? It ran across there, looking for something. It ran across there. It ran across there, looking for something else. It ran across there, looking for something else. had this thing on the computer there, on these apartments, the high-rise apartments in New York City, you know, and the price they give would go up and up and up and up, and they're showing the ten most famous apartments, but they could cost millions of dollars, you know, huh, people are buying these apartments, they can afford them, yeah, yeah, yeah, well, these ones are a little bit better than that, Joe, but I mean, they're really expensive, I mean, they're talking about how the prices are jumping up, you know, and of course, if you're in the real estate business, you could really make a profit with selling these things, you know, but anyway, we said the desire for monies is said to be the root of sins, not because wealth are, what, sought for their own sake, as it were the last end, right, but because they are sought much as useful to every, what, temporal end, right, so this guy's got all these girls, because he's got five places to take them to, and so on, huh, and because universal good is more desirable than any, what, particular good, right, huh, and therefore they more move the desire than any, what, singular goods, right, because together with many other things, they're able to be had, right, through money, right, huh, what isn't, he'll buy, right, huh, so it seems to be kind of a universal daddy there, kind of, you know, yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, I'm trying to remember somebody saying something that affected me one time, but he's like, I'll make some money, you know, there was one student in California there, he was, he was talking about the, he wanted to get a ship, you know, they could, you know, float out into the Pacific there, you know, and entertain all his friends, you know, but he's got to make a lot of money quick, you know, to get this, what's the quickest way to get the money to be able to buy a ship like this, and so, yeah, he was fascinated with this idea of a boat, you know, they could, you know, now to the third it should be said, huh, this is about these particular faces, huh, that give rise to this, to the third it should be said that just as in natural things is not asked what always comes about, right, but what happens for the most part, right, in that the nature of corruptible things is able to be impeded, right, that not always in the same way do they act, right, huh, so also in morals is considered what is true for the most part, right, huh, not however what is so always, in that the will does not operate of necessity, huh, so therefore avarice is said to be the root of every evil, not that in some cases, right, huh, some other evil might be the root of it, but because from it most frequently other evils arise for the reason already given, huh, okay, so that's a very nuanced answer, right, huh, okay, and my professor says, where books are concerned, there's no, well, that's kind of unusual, you know, if you want to be concerned, there's a few nice books to make the chills look nice, you know, but that's it, we got time for another one or no, okay, now pride is going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be,