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Objection 1: It would seem that without grace man cannot love God
above all things by his own natural powers. For to love God above all
things is the proper and principal act of charity. Now man cannot of
himself possess charity, since the "charity of God is poured forth in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us," as is said Rm.
5:5. Therefore man by his natural powers alone cannot love God
above all things.
Objection 2: Further, no nature can rise above itself. But to
love God above all things is to tend above oneself. Therefore without
the help of grace no created nature can love God above itself.
Objection 3: Further, to God, Who is the Highest Good, is due
the best love, which is that He be loved above all things. Now
without grace man is not capable of giving God the best love, which is
His due; otherwise it would be useless to add grace. Hence man,
without grace and with his natural powers alone, cannot love God above
all things.
On the contrary, As some maintain, man was first made with only
natural endowments; and in this state it is manifest that he loved God
to some extent. But he did not love God equally with himself, or
less than himself, otherwise he would have sinned. Therefore he loved
God above himself. Therefore man, by his natural powers alone, can
love God more than himself and above all things.
I answer that, As was said above (FP, Question 60, Article
5), where the various opinions concerning the natural love of the
angels were set forth, man in a state of perfect nature, could by his
natural power, do the good natural to him without the addition of any
gratuitous gift, though not without the help of God moving him. Now
to love God above all things is natural to man and to every nature,
not only rational but irrational, and even to inanimate nature
according to the manner of love which can belong to each creature. And
the reason of this is that it is natural to all to seek and love things
according as they are naturally fit (to be sought and loved) since
"all things act according as they are naturally fit" as stated in
Phys. ii, 8. Now it is manifest that the good of the part is for
the good of the whole; hence everything, by its natural appetite and
love, loves its own proper good on account of the common good of the
whole universe, which is God. Hence Dionysius says (Div. Nom.
iv) that "God leads everything to love of Himself." Hence in the
state of perfect nature man referred the love of himself and of all
other things to the love of God as to its end; and thus he loved God
more than himself and above all things. But in the state of corrupt
nature man falls short of this in the appetite of his rational will,
which, unless it is cured by God's grace, follows its private good,
on account of the corruption of nature. And hence we must say that in
the state of perfect nature man did not need the gift of grace added to
his natural endowments, in order to love God above all things
naturally, although he needed God's help to move him to it; but in
the state of corrupt nature man needs, even for this, the help of
grace to heal his nature.
Reply to Objection 1: Charity loves God above all things in a
higher way than nature does. For nature loves God above all things
inasmuch as He is the beginning and the end of natural good; whereas
charity loves Him, as He is the object of beatitude, and inasmuch as
man has a spiritual fellowship with God. Moreover charity adds to
natural love of God a certain quickness and joy, in the same way that
every habit of virtue adds to the good act which is done merely by the
natural reason of a man who has not the habit of virtue.
Reply to Objection 2: When it is said that nature cannot rise above
itself, we must not understand this as if it could not be drawn to any
object above itself, for it is clear that our intellect by its natural
knowledge can know things above itself, as is shown in our natural
knowledge of God. But we are to understand that nature cannot rise to
an act exceeding the proportion of its strength. Now to love God
above all things is not such an act; for it is natural to every
creature, as was said above.
Reply to Objection 3: Love is said to be best, both with respect
to degree of love, and with regard to the motive of loving, and the
mode of love. And thus the highest degree of love is that whereby
charity loves God as the giver of beatitude, as was said above.
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