30 SIN 



sin venial. (2) Some precepts and some sins, 

 e. g., simony, blasphemy, murder, fornication, vio- 

 lation of the seal of confession, are essentially in- 

 divisible and therefore do not admit of parvitas 

 materiae. (3) The decision regarding the ces- 

 sation of parvitas materiae or the beginning of a 

 grievous sin is always more or less arbitrary. (4) 

 When a sin is materially grievous, the presump- 

 tion is that it is a mortal sin, and vice versa. 



b) The Degree of Advertence Required 

 for a Mortal Sin. — No one who is unconscious 

 can sin, and one who is half asleep, or partly in- 

 toxicated, or feeble-minded, cannot sufficiently ap- 

 preciate the malice of mortal sin to be guilty of 

 it. 1 



However, to be guilty of mortal sin, a man need 

 not reflect explicitly on the malice of the contem- 

 plated act or be fully aware of the importance 

 of the law transgressed. It is sufficient for him 

 to know that the act is sinful. Culpable igno- 

 rance, therefore, when it results in the commis- 

 sion of a grievous sin, does not excuse from 

 guilt. Still less is it necessary to commit the 

 sinful act with the full consciousness of offend- 

 ing God. Some writers have construed a dis- 

 tinction between philosophical and theological sin. 

 They define the former as an act contrary to rea- 



lCfr. Matth. XXV, 26; Jas. IV, 17; cfr. Gen. XIX, 33-35; XX, 4-6. 



