Thomas Aquinas

He above instructed him how he might resist present tribulations and dangers; here he shows how he may stand against future ones. And first he foretells the future dangers; second he shows his own fitness for resisting, at the place *you, however, have followed*; third he shows how he is to resist, at the place *I testify*. Concerning the first he does two things: first he foretells the dangers of the last times; second he shows how their vices are also to be avoided even now, at the place *and avoid these*. Likewise the first is divided into two: first he foretells that there will be dangers in the last times; second, the cause of the dangers, at the place *and men will be*.

He says therefore: I said, *avoid profane things*, etc.; but these are not only to be avoided now, but in the future certain other things also remain to be avoided. And they are called the last days, because they are near to the last day. Jn. 5:55: *I will raise him up on the last day*. Gen. 49:1: *Gather together, that I may announce to you the things that are to come in the last days*. And he adds *dangerous times will be at hand*, etc. Matt. 24:9: *You will be hated by all nations because of my name*. The cause of these things is the abundance of iniquity, Matt. 24:12: *because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many will grow cold*, since faith and charity will either be nullified or perish entirely; for the more a thing is removed from its principle, the more it fails. And therefore in that time faith and charity will fail all the more, because they are removed further from Christ. Lk. 18:8: *When the Son of man comes, do you think he will find faith on the earth?*

And concerning this he first sets down the root of iniquity; second, its diverse species. Now the root of all iniquity is love of oneself. A twofold love makes a twofold city. But against this: everyone naturally loves himself. I respond. It must be said that in man there are two things, namely a rational nature and a corporeal one. As to the intellectual or rational nature, which is called the inner man, as is said in 2 Cor. 4:16, man ought to love himself more than all others, because he would be foolish who would wish to sin in order to draw others back from sins; but as to the outer man, it is praiseworthy that he love others more than himself. Hence those who love themselves only in this way are blameworthy. Phil. 2:21: *All seek the things that are their own, not the things that are of Jesus Christ*.

From this root the species of iniquity are diverse. Hence he says *covetous, haughty*, etc. And concerning this he does three things: first he sets down the sins that consist in the abuse of external things; second, those that pertain to a man's disorder toward others, at the place *blasphemers*; third, those toward himself, at the place *without self-control*. Now there are two things in external matters, namely abundance of riches, and excellence of goods. As to the first he says *covetous*. And covetousness is set down first, because it is the root of all evils. Or it is close to love of oneself, which is directed toward external goods. As to the second he says *haughty*. Haughtiness is a species of pride, of which there are four: one, when someone attributes to himself that which he lacks. The second, when he attributes to himself what he has from another, as if he had it from himself. 1 Cor. 4:7: *What do you have that you have not received?*, etc. The third, when he attributes to himself what he has from another, but as by his own merits. Lk. 18:12: *I fast twice in the week*, etc. The fourth, when he singularly wishes to appear above all, and this is haughtiness. Ps. 130:1: *Lord, my heart is not exalted*, etc. What he says, *proud*, is reduced to the other species of pride. Jas. 4:6: *God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble*.

Consequently he sets down the vices with respect to others. And first with respect to superiors; second with respect to equals, at the place *wicked*. The superior is threefold, namely God; and against him he says *blasphemers*. Is. 1:4: *They have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are alienated and gone backward*. Likewise parents; and with respect to this he says *disobedient to parents*. 1 Kings 15:23: *To resist is as the sin of divination, and to refuse to obey is as the crime of idolatry*. Prov. 30:17: *The eye that mocks a father, and that despises the childbearing of its mother, let the ravens of the torrents dig it out, and let the young eagles eat it*. Likewise a benefactor as such; and with respect to this he says *ungrateful*. Ps. 37:21: *Who repay evils for goods*, etc. Col. 3:15: *Be grateful*. Wis. 16:29: *For the hope of the ungrateful shall melt away like winter ice, and shall perish like superfluous water*.

Then he sets down the evils that are toward an equal and a neighbor, and they are three. The first pertains to deed; hence he says *wicked*, that is, those who perpetrate grave crimes against their neighbors. Is. 1:4: *Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked seed, wicked children*, etc. The second pertains to affection; hence he says *without affection*, that is, without the affection of charity, and without peace. Third, with respect to word; hence he says *slanderers*. Lev. 19:16: *You shall not be a slanderer, nor a whisperer among the people*.

Likewise with respect to himself he shows certain other things in three ways: first with respect to the corruption of the concupiscible appetite, second the irascible, third the rational. As to the first he says *without self-control*. Hence one is called without self-control who does not hold himself to a good purpose on account of depraved desires. Ecclus. 26:20: *But no weighing is worthy of a continent soul*. As to the irascible appetite he properly says *harsh*, that is, not meek; for this meekness moderates the passions of anger. Matt. 11:29: *Learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart*. Ps. 24:9: *He will teach the meek his ways*. Likewise he sets down another thing that pertains to the effect of the irascible appetite, namely the exclusion of kindness; hence he says *without kindness*. For this is natural, that when one of two contraries dominates, it excludes the other. Eph. 4:32: *Be kind to one another*.

Then he sets down the vices that pertain to the corruption of the rational power. Now this power is perfected by prudence; but to prudence is opposed one vice through the abuse of prudence, and another through its privation, and he sets down both. As to the first he says *traitors*. Now sagacity pertains to prudence, which some abuse unto evil, and these are traitors. Prov. 11:13: *He who walks deceitfully reveals secrets*. Likewise constancy, which some abuse while they persist obstinately in evil; hence he says *obstinate*. Prov. 3:5: *Lean not upon your own prudence*.

Then he sets down the vices that pertain to the privation of prudence. And first he sets down the cause of the privation; hence he says *puffed up*. For the proud are inflated in their doings, because they do not measure their own strength, and therefore they fail. Prov. 11:2: *Where pride is, there also shall be reproach; but where humility is, there also is wisdom*. Second he sets down the effect of the privation, because they prefer temporal things to eternal; hence he says *lovers of pleasures more than of God*. Is. 13:22: *Sirens in the shrines of pleasure*. But is it the same thing to be without self-control, and to be a lover of pleasures? I respond. It must be said that it is not, because properly he is called without self-control who has hope of fleeing them, but is overcome by them; but properly the lover of them is the intemperate man, who has a corrupted judgment.

Consequently he sets down pretense, saying, *having indeed the appearance of piety* — 2 Cor. 11:13: *deceitful workers* — *but denying its power*, namely the power of piety, which is said here in two ways. In one way, the very force of piety, that is, its power; hence he says *denying*, that is, not having the truth. Titus 1:16: *They confess that they know God, but in their deeds they deny him*. In another way, because the power of a thing is said to be that on which the whole thing depends. But the whole power of piety depends on charity, therefore he says *its power*, namely charity, *denying*.