NATURAL LAW. As distinct from revealed law, it is “nothing else than
the rational creature’s participation in the eternal law” (Summa Theologica,
1a, 2ae, quest. 91, art. 2). As coming from God, the natural law is what God
has produced in the world of creation; as coming to human beings, it is what
they know (or can know) of what God has created.
It is therefore called natural law because everyone is subject to it from birth
(natio), because it contains only those duties which are derivable from
human nature itself, and because, absolutely speaking, its essentials can be
grasped by the unaided light of human reason.
St. Paul recognizes the existence of a natural law when he describes the moral
responsibility of those ancients who did not have the benefit of Mosaic revelation.
“Pagans,” he says, “ who never heard of the Law but are led by reason to do
what the Law commands, may not actually ‘possess’ the Law, but they can be said
to ‘be’ the Law. They can point to the substance of the Law engraved on their
hearts – they can call a witness, that is, their own conscience – they have
accusation and defense, that is, their own inner mental dialogue” (Romans 2:14-15).
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