Part II (Pars Prima Secundae) Part 3 (1/2)
Reply Obj. 1: The Apostle speaks, then, not of the glory which is with men, but of the glory which is from G.o.d, with His Angels. Hence it is written (Mk. 8:38): ”The Son of Man shall confess him in the glory of His Father, before His angels” [*St. Thomas joins Mk. 8:38 with Luke 12:8 owing to a possible variant in his text, or to the fact that he was quoting from memory].
Reply Obj. 2: A man's good which, through fame or glory, is in the knowledge of many, if this knowledge be true, must needs be derived from good existing in the man himself: and hence it presupposes perfect or inchoate happiness. But if the knowledge be false, it does not harmonize with the thing: and thus good does not exist in him who is looked upon as famous. Hence it follows that fame can nowise make man happy.
Reply Obj. 3: Fame has no stability; in fact, it is easily ruined by false report. And if sometimes it endures, this is by accident. But happiness endures of itself, and for ever.
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FOURTH ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 2, Art. 4]
Whether Man's Happiness Consists in Power?
Objection 1: It would seem that happiness consists in power. For all things desire to become like to G.o.d, as to their last end and first beginning. But men who are in power, seem, on account of the similarity of power, to be most like to G.o.d: hence also in Scripture they are called ”G.o.ds” (Ex. 22:28), ”Thou shalt not speak ill of the G.o.ds.” Therefore happiness consists in power.
Obj. 2: Further, happiness is the perfect good. But the highest perfection for man is to be able to rule others; which belongs to those who are in power. Therefore happiness consists in power.
Obj. 3: Further, since happiness is supremely desirable, it is contrary to that which is before all to be shunned. But, more than aught else, men shun servitude, which is contrary to power. Therefore happiness consists in power.
_On the contrary,_ Happiness is the perfect good. But power is most imperfect. For as Boethius says (De Consol. iii), ”the power of man cannot relieve the gnawings of care, nor can it avoid the th.o.r.n.y path of anxiety”: and further on: ”Think you a man is powerful who is surrounded by attendants, whom he inspires with fear indeed, but whom he fears still more?”
_I answer that,_ It is impossible for happiness to consist in power; and this for two reasons. First because power has the nature of principle, as is stated in _Metaph._ v, 12, whereas happiness has the nature of last end. Secondly, because power has relation to good and evil: whereas happiness is man's proper and perfect good. Wherefore some happiness might consist in the good use of power, which is by virtue, rather than in power itself.
Now four general reasons may be given to prove that happiness consists in none of the foregoing external goods. First, because, since happiness is man's supreme good, it is incompatible with any evil. Now all the foregoing can be found both in good and in evil men. Secondly, because, since it is the nature of happiness to ”satisfy of itself,” as stated in _Ethic._ i, 7, having gained happiness, man cannot lack any needful good. But after acquiring any one of the foregoing, man may still lack many goods that are necessary to him; for instance, wisdom, bodily health, and such like.
Thirdly, because, since happiness is the perfect good, no evil can accrue to anyone therefrom. This cannot be said of the foregoing: for it is written (Eccles. 5:12) that ”riches” are sometimes ”kept to the hurt of the owner”; and the same may be said of the other three.
Fourthly, because man is ordained to happiness through principles that are in him; since he is ordained thereto naturally. Now the four goods mentioned above are due rather to external causes, and in most cases to fortune; for which reason they are called goods of fortune.
Therefore it is evident that happiness nowise consists in the foregoing.
Reply Obj. 1: G.o.d's power is His goodness: hence He cannot use His power otherwise than well. But it is not so with men. Consequently it is not enough for man's happiness, that he become like G.o.d in power, unless he become like Him in goodness also.
Reply Obj. 2: Just as it is a very good thing for a man to make good use of power in ruling many, so is it a very bad thing if he makes a bad use of it. And so it is that power is towards good and evil.
Reply Obj. 3: Servitude is a hindrance to the good use of power: therefore is it that men naturally shun it; not because man's supreme good consists in power.
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FIFTH ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 2, Art. 5]
Whether Man's Happiness Consists in Any Bodily Good?
Objection 1: It would seem that man's happiness consists in bodily goods. For it is written (Ecclus. 30:16): ”There is no riches above the riches of the health of the body.” But happiness consists in that which is best. Therefore it consists in the health of the body.
Obj. 2: Further, Dionysius says (Div. Nom. v), that ”to be” is better than ”to live,” and ”to live” is better than all that follows. But for man's being and living, the health of the body is necessary.
Since, therefore, happiness is man's supreme good, it seems that health of the body belongs more than anything else to happiness.
Obj. 3: Further, the more universal a thing is, the higher the principle from which it depends; because the higher a cause is, the greater the scope of its power. Now just as the causality of the efficient cause consists in its flowing into something, so the causality of the end consists in its drawing the appet.i.te. Therefore, just as the First Cause is that which flows into all things, so the last end is that which attracts the desire of all. But being itself is that which is most desired by all. Therefore man's happiness consists most of all in things pertaining to his being, such as the health of the body.
_On the contrary,_ Man surpa.s.ses all other animals in regard to happiness. But in bodily goods he is surpa.s.sed by many animals; for instance, by the elephant in longevity, by the lion in strength, by the stag in fleetness. Therefore man's happiness does not consist in goods of the body.
_I answer that,_ It is impossible for man's happiness to consist in the goods of the body; and this for two reasons. First, because, if a thing be ordained to another as to its end, its last end cannot consist in the preservation of its being. Hence a captain does not intend as a last end, the preservation of the s.h.i.+p entrusted to him, since a s.h.i.+p is ordained to something else as its end, viz. to navigation. Now just as the s.h.i.+p is entrusted to the captain that he may steer its course, so man is given over to his will and reason; according to Ecclus. 15:14: ”G.o.d made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel.” Now it is evident that man is ordained to something as his end: since man is not the supreme good.
Therefore the last end of man's reason and will cannot be the preservation of man's being.
Secondly, because, granted that the end of man's will and reason be the preservation of man's being, it could not be said that the end of man is some good of the body. For man's being consists in soul and body; and though the being of the body depends on the soul, yet the being of the human soul depends not on the body, as shown above (I, Q. 75, A. 2); and the very body is for the soul, as matter for its form, and the instruments for the man that puts them into motion, that by their means he may do his work. Wherefore all goods of the body are ordained to the goods of the soul, as to their end.