ARTICLE 2

Whether St. Augustine's definition of virtue is a good one.

1. Objections: It would seem that it is not:

             a. Against "good" in the definition  obj. 1 to 10.

 b. Against "mind" in the definition  obj. 11 to 13.

 c. Against "righteously" in the definition obj. 14.

 d. Against "live" in the definition  obj. 15.

 e. Against "of which no one can make a

        bad use" in the definition    obj. 16 and 17.

 f. Against "which God works in us, etc."

        in the definition     obj. 18 to 21.

2. On the contrary: None in this Article.

3. Body

 a. Having shown in Art. 1 that virtue is a habit, he proposes to determine what sort of habit it is, by examining its four causes.

 b. The elements of the definition include the four causes of virtue.

  (1) Final cause: virtue orders its subject to good operation: "by which we live righteously" and "of which no one makes a bad use."

  (2) Material cause: only powers in some way possessed of reason can be the subject of virtue: "the mind."

  (3) Formal cause: virtue makes its subject good: "a good quality."

  (4) Efficient cause: God is the cause of the infused virtues: "which God works in us without us."

Note: This definition applies to all virtue, except for the last phrase, which is applicable only to infused virtue.