The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-09-17
just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment considarsd or Ineonsidsrass


And we had reached the point OF estab-
fishing the existence of the natural law noticing
that this law is we'll expressed in the Ten Com
mandments,
For, while the Ten Commandments are super
naturally revealed TO us in the Word of God they
naturally movable too studious person
could think them out, failing only in one detail,
that is, the precise day that should be set apart
for special honor to God Yet fallen man is not
studious Thinking connectedly and deeply is
hard task Therefore, while normal person could
think out the Commandments, very few persons
would actually do So Thus it is great kindness
of God, and thing relatively necessary for us,
that He should make known by supernatural means,
these vitality needful laws for human living.
Even person who is not studous must notice,
once the Commandments made known to him,
that they perfectly reasonable laws, and that
they make for human decency, peace, and happi-
ness Without the restraints which they i'm
pose, and the obligations they lay upon mankind,
life earth would be savage, chaotic, and without
hope of peace and harmony. Indeed all the dis
turbances which mark and have marked the
duct of men and nations in the social and polit-
ieal history Of the race may be referred directly
to one cause.-The ignoring of the Commandments
of God
A is aware of the reaSonableness of the
Commandments because he is, by his nature as
thinking being aware of their core and essence in
the briefest expression of the natural law: "Do
good avoid evil" person past infancy is nat
uTay conscious of the existence of good and evil
in the universe he is conscious of health and
sickness in himself and other 1t is manifest
that customs of various kinds arise among men:
II is just as manifest that the fundament-
al moral concepts good evil, duty are
not the product of such customs II is merely mud
died thinking which identifies moreS with morals
II is also muddled thinking which identifies
actions which are brought under law with the
law itself And there is great deal of this par
ticuiar type of mudded thinking. Thus you will
hear remark that what used to be evil is
sometimes found good in enlightened age. Hence
this muzzy-minded person concludes the moral
law itself is changing thing. You might just as
we'll say that because some item of food-say horse
meat,-was considered vile and is now, in
localities, acceptable, that people have no
permanent equipment called the of taste
And for those who deny morality by saying that
thing is sometimes considered morally good
among a certain people and morally bad among
others, we may remark, with cheseron, that this is
like saying that because some people like the smell
of frying fish and others dislike it, we have proof
that none of these people have noses.
The point is that all peoples Of all times have
had clear concept of good and bad, and of their
duty to do the one and avoid the other No matter
what special items indifferent in themselves) may
be included in the category of good, or in that
of evil, among different peoples at different
times the basic fact is unchanged. The law is not
less the law because wisdom or ignorance includes
things under its rule or excludes them from its
application
There are many things so malilestly out Of line
with reason land mans thinking mind
is what makes the NATURAL law bindingl that
moral person could regard them as good
such things for example, as theft, or murder, or
lying, vicious calumny. These things under no
circumstances can be brought into conformity
with reason. They are called things evd IN them
SeIoeS. Such are the things prohibited by the
natural law and forbidden by the Commandments
of God
There are other things so evidently in accord
with the that no normal person can regard
them as evil-such for instance, are respect for
human life, recognition of ones duty to God, CO.
operation in just and equabe social efforts, These
things are good IN themselves
Now II is to be noted that when a thing is
evil in itself, nothing whatever make II good.
But what is good in itself can be made evil by
peryerse human will. Just so, poor painting can
not be made good bv splash of white paint but
good painting can be spoiled by splash Of black
paint
Most of our human actions have morality
in themselves. Walking. talking, eating, thinking,
in themselves acts that morally Indifferent.
Yet when person performs such an action, he
will inevitably do reasonably or unreasonably,
and by that fact will bring the action under the
moral law. Ii is reasonable, for instance to walk
or talk or eat or think in manner that involves no
excess, no harm, bad purpose, no unsuitable
ness; hence these acts morally good But 1t is
unreasonable. and therefore morally evil to talk for
the purpose of annoying another to disparage
him. 1t is evil to walk out for the purpose of doing
wrong: II is evil to eat to excess ii is evil to think
upon degrading things
And therefore eDerg action that man performs
with full attention and choice is either morally
good or morally evil II is either m itself or
IN its circumstances. And this morality If delber
ale human actions is always objective, II is
ality of things, and not merely a persons view of
things.
Ii is possible for person to have mistaken
notion of the morality of things. at least of some
things. The Kanakas of the Sandwich Islands
thought IT evil to step the shadow of the king,
And indeed, If this action were accepted symbol
nf nd Ify 9buS he.