|
Objection 1: It would seem that strife is not a daughter of anger.
For it is written (James 4:1): "Whence are wars and
contentions? Are they not . . . from your concupiscences, which
war in your members?" But anger is not in the concupiscible faculty.
Therefore strife is a daughter, not of anger, but of concupiscence.
Objection 2: Further, it is written (Prov. 28:25): "He
that boasteth and puffeth up himself, stirreth up quarrels." Now
strife is apparently the same as quarrel. Therefore it seems that
strife is a daughter of pride or vainglory which makes a man boast and
puff himself up.
Objection 3: Further, it is written (Prov. 18:6): "The
lips of a fool intermeddle with strife." Now folly differs from
anger, for it is opposed, not to meekness, but to wisdom or
prudence. Therefore strife is not a daughter of anger.
Objection 4: Further, it is written (Prov. 10:12):
"Hatred stirreth up strifes." But hatred arises from envy,
according to Gregory (Moral. xxxi, 17). Therefore strife is
not a daughter of anger, but of envy.
Objection 5: Further, it is written (Prov. 17:19): "He
that studieth discords, soweth quarrels." But discord is a daughter
of vainglory, as stated above (Question 37, Article 2).
Therefore strife is also.
On the contrary, Gregory says (Moral. xxxi, 17) that "anger
gives rise to strife"; and it is written (Prov. 15:18;
29:22): "A passionate man stirreth up strifes."
I answer that, As stated above (Article 1), strife denotes an
antagonism extending to deeds, when one man designs to harm another.
Now there are two ways in which one man may intend to harm another.
In one way it is as though he intended absolutely the other's hurt,
which in this case is the outcome of hatred, for the intention of
hatred is directed to the hurt of one's enemy either openly or
secretly. In another way a man intends to hurt another who knows and
withstands his intention. This is what we mean by strife, and belongs
properly to anger which is the desire of vengeance: for the angry man
is not content to hurt secretly the object of his anger, he even wishes
him to feel the hurt and know that what he suffers is in revenge for
what he has done, as may be seen from what has been said above about
the passion of anger (FS, Question 46, Article 6, ad 2).
Therefore, properly speaking, strife arises from anger.
Reply to Objection 1: As stated above (FS, Question 25,
Articles 1,2), all the irascible passions arise from those of the
concupiscible faculty, so that whatever is the immediate outcome of
anger, arises also from concupiscence as from its first root.
Reply to Objection 2: Boasting and puffing up of self which are the
result of anger or vainglory, are not the direct but the occasional
cause of quarrels or strife, because, when a man resents another being
preferred to him, his anger is aroused, and then his anger results in
quarrel and strife.
Reply to Objection 3: Anger, as stated above (FS, Question
48, Article 3) hinders the judgment of the reason, so that it
bears a likeness to folly. Hence they have a common effect, since it
is due to a defect in the reason that a man designs to hurt another
inordinately.
Reply to Objection 4: Although strife sometimes arises from
hatred, it is not the proper effect thereof, because when one man
hates another it is beside his intention to hurt him in a quarrelsome
and open manner, since sometimes he seeks to hurt him secretly.
When, however, he sees himself prevailing, he endeavors to harm him
with strife and quarrel. But to hurt a man in a quarrel is the proper
effect of anger, for the reason given above.
Reply to Objection 5: Strifes give rise to hatred and discord in
the hearts of those who are guilty of strife, and so he that
"studies," i.e., intends to sow discord among others, causes them
to quarrel among themselves. Even so any sin may command the act of
another sin, by directing it to its own end. This does not,
however, prove that strife is the daughter of vainglory properly and
directly.
|
|