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Thomas Aquinas Translated by Richard Regan Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Brian Davies On Evil This page intentionally left blank On Evil Thomas Aquinas Translated by RICHARD REGAN Edited with an Introduction and Notes by BRIAN DAVIES OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2003 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkara Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2oo3 by Brian Davies and Richard Regan Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York tooth www.oup-usa.org Oxibrd is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274. lQuaestiones disputatae de malo. English) On evil / Thomas Aquinas ; translated by Richard Regan edited with an introduction and notes by Brian Davies. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. i. Good and evil. 2. Sin. I. Regan, Richard J. If. Davies, Brian, 1951- Ill. Title. BJ225.T2 Q34 i3 20o3 ',84- -dC21 2002155694 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper In memory of Vincent Potter S.J. and with gratitude to Sara Penella This page intentionally left blank Preface Is anything objectively evil? Is anything objectively good? How does what is evil differ from what is good? Can there be evil without good? Does evil have a cause? Does good- ness have a cause? Do people have freedom of choice? Or is what they do always outside their control? If people can act freely, under what conditions can they be rightly thought to be responsible for what they do? And how is their behavior to be evaluated and explained? Is there such a thing as sin? If so, what is it? And how does it arise? Does it admit of degrees? Does it come from what is not human? Or does its source lie wholly in us? These are questions that Aquinas discussed at various times in his life. But he was especially concerned with them when completing his Disputed Question De malo (On Evil). Probably prepared for publication in the early to mid- 27os, this work repre- sents some of Aquinas's most mature thinking on goodness, badness, and human agency. Together with the Second Part of the Summa theologiae , it is one of his most sustained contributions to moral philosophy and theology and ranks among his major writings. In the present work readers will find a new translation of the De malo based on the authoritative 1982 edition provided by the Leonine Commission. They will also find a detailed introduction designed to place the De malo in the context of Aquinas's life and thought. At the end of the work there are notes on certain terms used in the De Malo, notes on auhtors cited in it, and a list of texts referred to by Aquinas. Some years ago I suggested to Father Vincent Potter S.J. that there was need for a new English edition of the De malo. Even though he was suffering from severe medical disabilities, Father Potter managed to complete a first-draft translation of the text just before he died in 1994. This draft, however, was very much a preliminary one. Richard Regan S.J. subsequently agreed to translate the De malo afresh, and it is his translation that appears below. In my editorial work for this volume I owe a huge debt to Sara Penella. She has assisted me in all sort of ways, especially in the compilation of notes on authors and texts referred to in the De malo. V111 PREFACE Quotations from the Surnma theologiae, which appear in my introduction, come from the Blackfriars edition (London, 1964-8o). In quoting from other works of Aquinas I have aimed, as far as possible, to use conveniently available translations of them and to give references accordingly. Brian Davies OP Contents Translator's Note xv Abbreviations xvii Introduction 3 Question I, On Evil, 55 Articles r. Is Evil an Entity? 55 Is There Evil in Good? 62 2. 3. Is Good the Cause of Evil? 68 4. Is Evil Suitably Divided into the Evil of Moral Wrong and the Evil of Punishment? 75 5. Does Punishment or Moral Wrong Have More of the Nature of Evil? 8o Question II On Sins, 89 Articles r. Is an Act Involved in Every Sin? 89 Does Sin Consist Solely of the Will's Act? 95 2. 3. Does Sin Consist Chiefly of Acts of the Will? too 4. Is Every Act Morally Indifferent? ro3 5. Are Some Acts Morally Indifferent? tog 6. Do Circumstances Specify Sins or Alter the Species of Sin by Transferring Them into Different Kinds of Sin?
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