219. The Stain of Sin: Privation and Spiritual Defacement

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Stain of Sin (Macula Peccati) #

• The stain is not a positive quality added to the soul, but a privation or lack of the soul’s proper shine (splendor)
• It represents a defect in the soul’s brightness caused by disordered adherence to created things
• Understood metaphorically through the analogy of physical staining: just as a bright body loses its shine through contact with dirty things, the soul loses its spiritual brightness through sin against both the light of reason and the light of divine law
• The stain involves both a lack and a cause: it signifies “a certain lack of the sparkle of the soul… in order to its cause which is sin”

The Soul’s Two Lights #

• The soul possesses a light of natural reason by which it is directed in its actions
• The soul also possesses the light of divine law (wisdom and grace) by which man is perfected to act well and suitably
• Sin causes a defect in the soul’s sparkle by causing disordered adherence to things against both lights

How the Soul Stains Itself #

• The soul is not stained by the power of inferior things acting upon it (analogous to the sun’s rays not being stained by touching filthy bodies)
• Rather, the soul stains itself through its own action by adhering in a disordered way to inferior created things
• This is defined through the principle of order: reason is defined by order (“looking before and after”), and sin involves adhering in a disorderly way
• The intellect is perfected by understanding anything whatsoever; the will, however, is disordered when it adheres to things against reason and divine law

The Distinction Between Understanding and Willing #

• The action of understanding is perfected according to how things are in the understanding in the mode of understanding itself (truth is primarily in the mind)
• The action of the will consists in motion to the things themselves—the will goes out to the thing itself
• When the mind grasps something, the thing is contained in the mind; when the will loves something, it is as if the will gives itself to the thing (“you give your love to someone”)
• All knowledge is inherently good; not all love is good (one can love to torture, for example)

The Nature of Privation vs. Negation #

• The stain is not a mere negation (absence of something not naturally present)
• It is a privation: the absence of a quality that should naturally be present in the soul
• The stain does not signify “the lack alone” but “a certain lack of the sparkle of the soul… in order to its cause which is sin”

Diversity of Stains and Sins #

• While all sins involve aversion from God, they differ in the specific created thing to which the will adheres in a disordered way
• Diverse sins produce diverse stains, just as shadows of different shapes are cast by different objects blocking light
• The diversity comes from the object of disordered adherence, not from the nature of aversion itself

Key Arguments #

Against the Stain Being a Positive Quality #

• Objection: A superior nature cannot be stained by contact with inferior things (the sun’s rays are not stained by touching filthy bodies; therefore, the soul cannot be stained by inferior created things)
• Response: The soul stains itself through its own disordered action, not through the power of inferior things acting upon it. The inferiority is not in the power but in the reversal of order—adhering to lesser things against reason and divine law

On Whether the Understanding Is Stained by Evil Knowledge #

• Objection: The will is in reason (as stated in Aristotle’s De Anima, Book 3). The understanding is not stained from considering anything whatsoever but is more perfected. Therefore, the will cannot be stained from sin.
• Response: This confuses per se and per accidens effects. Knowledge of evil is per se good; any harm comes per accidens (accidental causality). The stain comes not from the understanding grasping sin, but from the will’s disordered adherence to the object of sin against reason and divine law

On the Permanence of the Stain #

• Objection: If the stain were something positive, it could not remain after the act ceases (only dispositions and habits remain). If it is a mere privation, it should cease when the act ceases.
• Response: The stain is a privation that signifies a lack in order to its cause. It remains as long as the soul is separated from the divine light. The soul must actively return to God through grace; mere cessation of sinful action is insufficient

Against Diverse Stains #

• Objection: All sins proceed from aversion (turning away from God), so all sins should produce one stain, always the same
• Response: The unity comes from the aversion; the diversity comes from the specific disordered adherence to different created things. The shadow analogy clarifies this: shadows are diverse according to the diversity of objects blocking light, even though light itself is one

Important Definitions #

Macula (Stain) #

• A metaphorical privation of the soul’s brightness or sparkle
• Caused by disordered adherence to created things against the light of reason and divine law
• Not a positive quality but a defect in the soul’s proper orientation to God

Privatio (Privation) #

• The absence of a quality that should naturally be present in a subject
• Distinguished from negation (the mere absence of something not naturally expected)
• The stain is a privation: the soul ought to shine with the light of reason and divine law, and sin deprives it of this shine

Splendor/Sparkle (Splendidus/Scintillans) #

• The brightness or radiance of the soul
• The soul naturally participates in the light of natural reason and divine grace
• Sin causes a defect or loss of this splendor through disordered adherence

Aversio (Aversion) #

• The turning away from God that is essential to all sin
• Distinguished from conversio ad creaturam (conversion to a created thing), which specifies the particular character of each sin
• All sins share the aversion; they differ in what creature they turn toward

Examples & Illustrations #

The Solar Ray Analogy #

• The sun’s rays passing through filthy air or touching dirty bodies are not themselves stained
• Similarly, the superior soul cannot be stained by inferior created things through their power
• Rather, the soul stains itself through its own disordered adherence
• Application: Shows that staining is not caused by external power acting on the soul but by the soul’s own action

The Shadow Analogy #

• A shadow is not a positive thing but a lack of light
• The shadow’s shape and size depend on the object blocking light, not on the light itself
• Shadows are diverse according to the diversity of objects
• Application: Just as diverse shadows result from diverse objects blocking one light, diverse stains result from diverse disordered adherences, though all sins involve the same aversion from God

The Physical Staining Analogy #

• A bright or shiny body loses its shine from contact with another body (dirt, tarnish)
• The shine can be restored by cleaning or polishing
• In spiritual things, the soul’s shine is lost through disordered contact (adherence via the will) with created things
• Application: Explains how the stain is a privation of the soul’s natural brightness

The Journey Away and Return #

• If someone walks away from you, stopping the walk does not bring them back
• They must actively walk back in the opposite direction
• Application: Ceasing to sin is not sufficient to remove the stain; the soul must actively return to God through grace and contrition

Knowledge vs. Love #

• All knowledge is inherently good (one can study how to make a bomb and this knowledge per se is good)
• Not all love is good (to love to torture is evil)
• Studying evil (such as sin and vice) perfects understanding; but the will’s adherence to evil is disordered
• Application: Distinguishes how the intellect and will relate differently to their objects, explaining why knowledge is always perfected but the will can be disordered

Shakespeare on Reason and Order #

• Shakespeare defines reason by order: “looking before and after”
• When adhering in a disorderly way to created things, the will violates this principle of reason
• Application: Shows that sin is fundamentally a violation of the proper order that reason demands

The Child and Sword Analogy (Referenced) #

• A child asking about knowledge of making bombs: is all knowledge good?
• The response distinguishes per se goodness (the knowledge itself is good) from per accidens harm (improper use)
• Application: Clarifies the principle that knowledge per se is always good, even of harmful things

Notable Quotes #

“The soul by its own action stains itself by adhering in a disordered way to [inferior things]… this defect of sparkle or shine coming from such contact is called the stain of the soul metaphorically.”

“The stain does not signify the lack alone but it signifies a certain lack of the sparkle of the soul… in order to its cause which is sin.”

“A certain touch of the soul: when it adheres to some things through love… Now when one sins one adheres to some things against both the light of reason and the light of divine law.”

“Reason is defined by order (looking before and after), and here you have [disorder] when adhering in a disorderly way.”

Questions Addressed #

Does the stain of sin constitute a positive quality in the soul? #

• Resolution: No. The stain is a privation (lack) of the soul’s proper brightness or sparkle, not a positive addition. It represents a defect in the soul’s orientation to God and reason. While the objection notes that a superior nature should not be stained by inferior things, the soul stains itself through its own disordered action, not through external power.

How can a privation represent a defect if it is not itself something positive? #

• Resolution: The stain “signifies a certain lack of the sparkle of the soul… in order to its cause which is sin.” It is not merely the absence (negation) of shine, but the privation of shine that should be present, caused by disordered adherence. The cause (sin) helps define what kind of lack the stain is.

How can diverse sins produce diverse stains if all sins involve aversion from God? #

• Resolution: While all sins share the essential element of aversion (turning from God), they differ in the specific created thing to which the disordered will adheres. The diversity of stains corresponds to this diversity of objects, as shadows of different shapes are cast when different objects block light from one source.

Can the understanding be stained by considering evil things? #

• Resolution: No. The understanding is perfected by grasping anything whatsoever, including knowledge of sin and vice. The stain belongs to the will, which becomes disordered when it adheres to these things in a way contrary to reason and divine law. Any harm from studying evil is per accidens (accidental), not per se (essential) to the knowledge itself.