Part III (Secunda Secundae) Part 272 (2/2)

Reply Obj. 2: The first gloss speaks of begging from motives of covetousness, as appears from the words of the Apostle; while the second gloss speaks of those who without effecting any useful purpose, beg their livelihood in order to live in idleness. On the other hand, he lives not idly who in any way lives usefully.

Reply Obj. 3: This precept of the divine law does not forbid anyone to beg, but it forbids the rich to be so stingy that some are compelled by necessity to beg. The civil law imposes a penalty on able-bodied mendicants who beg from motives neither of utility nor of necessity.

Reply Obj. 4: Disgrace is twofold; one arises from lack of honesty [*Cf. Q. 145, A. 1], the other from an external defect, thus it is disgraceful for a man to be sick or poor. Such like uncomeliness of mendicancy does not pertain to sin, but it may pertain to humility, as stated above.

Reply Obj. 5: Preachers have the right to be fed by those to whom they preach: yet if they wish to seek this by begging so as to receive it as a free gift and not as a right this will be a mark of greater humility.

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SIXTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 187, Art. 6]

Whether It Is Lawful for Religious to Wear Coa.r.s.er Clothes Than Others?

Objection 1: It would seem unlawful for religious to wear coa.r.s.er clothes than others. For according to the Apostle (1 Thess. 5:22) we ought to ”refrain from all appearance of evil.” Now coa.r.s.eness of clothes has an appearance of evil; for our Lord said (Matt. 7:15): ”Beware of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep”: and a gloss on Apoc. 6:8, ”Behold a pale horse,” says: ”The devil finding that he cannot succeed, neither by outward afflictions nor by manifest heresies, sends in advance false brethren, who under the guise of religion a.s.sume the characteristics of the black and red horses by corrupting the faith.” Therefore it would seem that religious should not wear coa.r.s.e clothes.

Obj. 2: Further, Jerome says (Ep. lii ad Nepotian.): ”Avoid somber,”

i.e. black, ”equally with glittering apparel. Fine and coa.r.s.e clothes are equally to be shunned, for the one exhales pleasure, the other vainglory.” Therefore, since vainglory is a graver sin than the use of pleasure, it would seem that religious who should aim at what is more perfect ought to avoid coa.r.s.e rather than fine clothes.

Obj. 3: Further, religious should aim especially at doing works of penance. Now in works of penance we should use, not outward signs of sorrow, but rather signs of joy; for our Lord said (Matt. 6:16): ”When you fast, be not, as the hypocrites, sad,” and afterwards He added: ”But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face.” Augustine commenting on these words (De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 12): ”In this chapter we must observe that not only the glare and pomp of outward things, but even the weeds of mourning may be a subject of ostentation, all the more dangerous as being a decoy under the guise of G.o.d's service.” Therefore seemingly religious ought not to wear coa.r.s.e clothes.

_On the contrary,_ The Apostle says (Heb. 11:37): ”They wandered about in sheep-skins, in goat-skins,” and a gloss adds--”as Elias and others.” Moreover it is said in the Decretal XXI, qu. iv, can. Omnis jactantia: ”If any persons be found to deride those who wear coa.r.s.e and religious apparel they must be reproved. For in the early times all those who were consecrated to G.o.d went about in common and coa.r.s.e apparel.”

_I answer that,_ As Augustine says (De Doctr. Christ. iii, 12), ”in all external things, it is not the use but the intention of the user that is at fault.” In order to judge of this it is necessary to observe that coa.r.s.e and homely apparel may be considered in two ways.

First, as being a sign of a man's disposition or condition, because according to Ecclus. 19:27, ”the attire ... of the man” shows ”what he is.” In this way coa.r.s.eness of attire is sometimes a sign of sorrow: wherefore those who are beset with sorrow are wont to wear coa.r.s.er clothes, just as on the other hand in times of festivity and joy they wear finer clothes. Hence penitents make use of coa.r.s.e apparel, for example, the king (Jonah 3:6) who ”was clothed with sack-cloth,” and Achab (3 Kings 21:27) who ”put hair-cloth upon his flesh.” Sometimes, however, it is a sign of the contempt of riches and worldly ostentation. Wherefore Jerome says (Ep. cxxv ad Rustico Monach.): ”Let your somber attire indicate your purity of mind, your coa.r.s.e robe prove your contempt of the world, yet so that your mind be not inflated withal, lest your speech belie your habit.” In both these ways it is becoming for religious to wear coa.r.s.e attire, since religion is a state of penance and of contempt of worldly glory.

But that a person wish to signify this to others arises from three motives. First, in order to humble himself: for just as a man's mind is uplifted by fine clothes, so is it humbled by lowly apparel. Hence speaking of Achab who ”put hair-cloth on his flesh,” the Lord said to Elias: ”Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before Me?” (3 Kings 21:29).

Secondly, in order to set an example to others; wherefore a gloss on Matt. 3:4, ”(John) had his garments of camel's hair,” says: ”He who preaches penance is clothed in the habit of penance.” Thirdly, on account of vainglory; thus Augustine says (cf. Obj. 3) that ”even the weeds of mourning may be a subject of ostentation.”

Accordingly in the first two ways it is praiseworthy to wear humble apparel, but in the third way it is sinful.

Secondly, coa.r.s.e and homely attire may be considered as the result of covetousness or negligence, and thus also it is sinful.

Reply Obj. 1: Coa.r.s.eness of attire has not of itself the appearance of evil, indeed it has more the appearance of good, namely of the contempt of worldly glory. Hence it is that wicked persons hide their wickedness under coa.r.s.e clothing. Hence Augustine says (De Serm. Dom.

in Monte ii, 24) that ”the sheep should not dislike their clothing for the reason that the wolves sometimes hide themselves under it.”

Reply Obj. 2: Jerome is speaking there of the coa.r.s.e attire that is worn on account of human glory.

Reply Obj. 3: According to our Lord's teaching men should do no deeds of holiness for the sake of show: and this is especially the case when one does something strange. Hence Chrysostom [*Hom. xiii in Matth. in the Opus Imperfectum, falsely ascribed to St. John Chrysostom] says: ”While praying a man should do nothing strange, so as to draw the gaze of others, either by shouting or striking his breast, or casting up his hands,” because the very strangeness draws people's attention to him. Yet blame does not attach to all strange behavior that draws people's attention, for it may be done well or ill. Hence Augustine says (De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 12) that ”in the practice of the Christian religion when a man draws attention to himself by unwonted squalor and shabbiness, since he acts thus voluntarily and not of necessity, we can gather from his other deeds whether his behavior is motivated by contempt of excessive dress or by affectation.” Religious, however, would especially seem not to act thus from affectation, since they wear a coa.r.s.e habit as a sign of their profession whereby they profess contempt of the world.

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QUESTION 188

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE (In Eight Articles)

We must now consider the different kinds of religious life, and under this head there are eight points of inquiry:

(1) Whether there are different kinds of religious life or only one?

(2) Whether a religious order can be established for the works of the active life?

(3) Whether a religious order can be directed to soldiering?

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