Of God and His Creatures

Intemperati et incontinentes, the Aristotelian akolastoi kai akrateis. "In the intemperate man the will is inclined to sin by its own choice, that proceeds from a habit acquired by custom: whereas in the incontinent man the will is inclined to sin by some passion. And because passion quickly passes off; whereas a habit is a quality difficult to change, it follows that the incontinent man repents at once, when the fit of passion is over, which happens not with the intemperate man: nay, the latter is even glad to have sinned, because the act of sin by habit has become connatural to him" (Sum. Theol. 2a 2ae, q. 156, art. 3: Aquinas Ethicus, II, 339: I, 170, 171).


Of God and His Creatures: 3.63