58 SIN 



Thus every sin is a sin of thought (peccatum 

 cordis), because every sin originates in the 

 mind. 13 But not every evil thought "breaks out 

 into words," much less does it culminate in sinful 

 deeds. 14 



a) A thought, as such, is mortally sinful if the 

 will consents to, and takes pleasure in, the evil 

 suggestion offered by the senses or the imagina- 

 tion. The technical term of Scholastic theology 

 for such wilfully entertained evil thoughts is 

 morose pleasure (delectatio morosa). "Pleas- 

 ure is said to be morose, not from a delay of time 

 {mora), but because the mind in deliberating 

 dwells (immoratur) thereon, and fails to drive it 

 away, 'deliberately holding and turning over what 

 should have been cast aside as soon as it touched 

 the mind,' as Augustine says." 13 To take pleas- 



haec trio, scilicet peccatum cordis, vero procedit usque ad facta iniuri- 



oris et operis, non sicut per divcrsas osa; et idem patet in luxuria et in 



species completas, nam consummatio quolibet alio peccaio." — Cfr. St. 



peccati est in opere, unde peccatum Gregory the Great, Moral., 1. 4, c. 



operis habet speciem completam, sed 27, n. 30: "Peccati modi vel in 



prima inchoatio eius est quasi fun- corde latenter fiunt vel patenter in 



datio in corde ; sccundus autem opere perpetrantur." (P. L., LXXV, 



gradus eius est i» ore, secundum 661). 



quod homo prorumpit facile ad mani- 18 Cfr. Matth. IX, 4; XII, 34; 



festandum conceptum cordis; tertius Xv, 18-19; Mark VII, 20-23. — St. 



autem gradus iam est in consumma- Jerome, In lerem., I, c. 4. — P. A. 



tione operis. Et sic haec tria dif- Kirsch, Zur Geschichte der kath. 



ferunt secundum diversos gradus Beicht, Wvirzburg 1902, pp. 50 sqq. 



peccati. Patet tamen, quod haec trio 14 Cfr. Ps. XXXIII, 13 sqq.; 



pertinent ad unam perfectam peccati Prov. XVIII, 21; Matth. XII, 36 



speciem, quum ab eodem motivo pro- sq. ; XXIII, 3; Rom. II, 6; Gal. V, 



ccdant. Iracundus enim ex hoc, quod 19; Eph. IV, 29; V, 4; Jas. I, 26; 



appetit vindictam, primo quidem III, 2; 1 Pet. Ill, 10. 



pcrturbatur in corde, secundo in 15 St. Thomas, Summa Theol., ia 



verba contumeliosa prorumpit, tertio 2ae, qu. 74, art. 6, ad 3: "Delec- 



