23 March 2020

The Catechism of the Summa - LV. OF THE VIRTUE OF THE STUDIOUS; AND OF ITS OPPOSITE SIN, VIZ., OF CURIOSITY

What is understood by the virtue of the studious, which is the second of those virtues annexed to temperance?

It is that virtue which makes man control in conformity with right reason the desire to know and to learn (CLXVI. 1).


What is the sin opposed to this virtue?


It is called curiosity (CLXVII.).


What is curiosity?


It is the inordinate desire to know what one has no right to know, or to know what may prove a source of danger to virtue owing to one's weakness (CLXVII. 1, 2).


Does one easily commit the sin of curiosity?


Yes; it is frequently committed, whether this be as regards knowledge in general, or as regards that knowledge which effects the senses and the passions (CLXVII. 1, 2).


Does the inordinate desire to read daily papers and novels also belong to this sin; or further, to be present at spectacles of all sorts, such as the theatre, the cinematograph, and other such things?






Yes; all these things belong to the sin of curiosity, and perhaps also to the sin of sensuality or of voluptuousness; indeed, one cannot do too much to overcome the inordinate desire for such things.

Next - The Catechism of the Summa - LVI. OF EXTERNAL MODESTY

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