22 SIN 



who emphasize the fact that sin is essentially a 

 turning away from God, due to a wrong tendency 

 of the will. 



a) "When," says St. Thomas (I. c), "the soul 

 is so disordered by sin as to turn away from its 

 last end, God, to whom it is united by charity, 

 there is mortal sin; but when the disorder stops 

 short of turning away from God, the sin is venial. 

 For as in animal bodies the disorder of death, 

 which results from the destruction of the prin- 

 ciple of life, is irreparable in nature, whereas the 

 disorder of sickness can be repaired, because the 

 vital principle is preserved, so it is in matters con- 

 cerning the soul. For in speculative matters he 

 who errs in first principles is beyond the reach 

 of persuasion, whereas one who errs but retains 

 the first principles, may be brought back to the 

 truth by the aid of those same principles. And 

 so in matters of conduct, he who by sinning turns 

 away from his last end, suffers a fall that is, so 

 far as the nature of the sin goes, beyond repair, 

 and exposes himself to eternal punishment. But 

 he whose sin stops short of turning away from 

 God, is under a disorder that by the very nature 

 of the sin admits of repair; and therefore he is 

 said to sin venially, because he does not sin so 

 as to deserve never-ending punishment." 



ordinatio autem ista aut est tanta, tale, quia natum est auferre z<itam 

 quod ordinetn iustitiae exterminat, separando ipsam a Deo, per quern 

 et hoc modo dicitur peccatum mor- vivificatur anima iusta. Aut est tarn 



