Through the Church Fathers: November 24

Even righteous zeal can burn too hot. Today’s readings confront the peril of a passion that begins as just and ends as blind. In Question 48, Article 3, I weigh whether anger helps or hinders reason—and discover that what begins as a servant soon becomes a tyrant if left unchecked.

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 48, Article 3 (Whether Anger Hinders the Use of Reason)

I consider that anger, in its origin, serves justice by moving the will toward what is right; yet when ungoverned, it blinds judgment and destroys counsel. Virtue lies not in erasing passion but in mastering it—letting reason command the fire without being consumed by it.

Augustine, Letter 81 (recap)

From the peace between Jerome and me, the Church learns that truth without love wounds, and love without truth wanders. Even disputes among the Fathers must bend toward reconciliation, lest zeal become wrath.

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