Summa summae S. Thomae, Tomus III

1° : Man must love himself out of charity¹.

It is proved. Man must love his neighbor as himself, Matt., XIX, 19. Now he must love his neighbor out of charity. Therefore also himself.

It is confirmed. 1°. God, as infinitely good, is worthy to be loved by all with the love of friendship. Therefore man must, on account of God, will this love to himself. Now this is to love oneself with the love of charity. Therefore.

It is confirmed. 2°. The friendship of charity is founded in the communication of beatitude. Therefore those are to be loved out of charity to whom we will beatitude. Now man must will beatitude to himself. Therefore.

I say 2° : Man must love his own body out of charity², not only as what he wills to his friend as a good, but even as that to which he wills good. The reason of the first part is that our body can be an instrument of good works by which God is honored. The reason of the second part is that, although our body is not capable of eternal beatitude consisting in knowing and loving God, it is nevertheless capable of a participated beatitude which overflows from the glorified soul into it.

I say 3° : Sinners are to be loved out of charity according to nature, not according to guilt³. The reason of the first part is : partly because sinners, according to nature, are capable of beatitude, which we must will them for God's sake ; and partly because a sinner does not cease to be a neighbor, according to that word, Matt., XVIII, 15 : If thy brother sin against thee. If brother, then neighbor. Finally, we are commanded to love our enemies, as will presently be proved. Therefore also sinners ; for sinners are enemies. The reason of the second part is evident ; for guilt is contrary to God and is an impediment to beatitude. Whence David said, Psal. CXVII, 113 : The wicked I have hated.

You will say : Holy men imprecate evils upon sinners, as Psal. IX, 18 : Let the sinners be turned into hell. Psal. CIII, 35 : Let the sinners fail from the earth, and the wicked, so that they be no more. Isa., VI, 10 : Blind the heart of this people, and make his ears heavy. Therefore.

I answer.⁴ Imprecations of this kind are to be understood either by way of foretelling, not of wishing. Thus is understood that word : Let the sinners be turned into hell, that is, they will be turned; and this : Blind the heart of this people, that is, thou shalt blind. Or indeed by way of wishing ; yet so that the desire is not referred to the punishment of men, but either to the justice of God punishing, so that it becomes as it were an approbation of the divine justice, or to the removal and destruction of guilt : in which sense is understood : Let the sinners fail from the earth, and the wicked, so that they be no more ; that is, according as they are sinners and wicked, or according to guilt.

[Hence you will gather that it is not lawful to wish eternal damnation upon anyone still living in this world : partly because it cannot be a means toward obtaining a greater good, or avoiding a greater evil ; partly because it is contrary to the end for which we must love our neighbor out of charity ; and finally because no man is to be despaired of while he lives. Nor is it even lawful for anyone to desire that another sin, because to sin is simply evil. It is permitted, however, according to many, to wish that God permit some to sin, so that from it they may rise again humbler and more cautious ; for then sin is not desired as an evil, but insofar as God can draw forth a good from it, or rather there is desired the good which is hoped to arise from it, should it please God to procure that good by this means.]