The Catholic Hierarchy, Chapter 9
CHAP. IX. Of Neceſſities and Indifferences.
§ 1. IN the next place, it will follow to conſider the things wherein the Conſciences of the ſtrong and weak are moſtly concerned, about the doing or not doing of which, Scandals and Offences do ariſe amongſt Chriſtians; and thoſe are things neceſſary and indifferent.
§ 2. The things wherein Conſcience is bound to doing or avoiding by ſome Law, are things neceſſary; and if by Chriſt's Law, they are religiouſly neceſſary; if by Man's Law, they are civilly neceſſary; if by the Law of Nature, then naturally neceſſary: all things whatever antecedaneous to a Law, are in a poſſibility to neceſſity or indifferency; thoſe things that are doubted of, (ſuppoſing them under a Law, or relating to it) not appearing to us whether neceſſary or indifferent, are ſcruples; and theſe are not ſo much in the nature of the thing, as in Conſcience.
§ 3. An indifferent thing is generally known by this deſcription, Eſt medium quod ita ſe habet ad duo extrema, ut non magis ad unum quam ad alterum inclinat: It's a middle thing that reſpects both extreams alike: as that which is indifferent in reſpect of Morality, foreign, Sine diſcrimine aut differentiā, b. e. ratione boni & mali determinati ul…â lege.it's in it ſelf neither morally good, nor morally evil; it is as it were the middle of a Line that leaveth ſo much on both ſides, Eſt bonum & malum phyſicum morale civile.that it is equally ſeparated from both, in that as it is not the one, ſo it is not the other; and though good and evil are properly oppoſita per ſe ſine ullo medio, vel adverſa, (for there is nothing in the world but is good or evil in ſome reſpect or other) but becauſe moral or civil good or evil is additional after the determinations of Nature, in genere ſuo, by ſome further Law: there are ſome things or actions not concerned in the ſaid Laws, which things therefore can have no moral or civil goodneſs or evil in them, but remain adiaphorus; and ſo in this conſideration neceſſary, good, and evil, and indifferent, are diſparata, and not contraria; thoſe things or actions which directly fall under the Law by poſitive Command or Prohibition, are ſaid to be abſolute good and evil, though it's but ſecundum quid, viz. properly in relation to the Law; and thoſe things or actions which are not directly concerned in the Law, but onelyonly circumſtantially, (indifferent in themſelves) thoſe are relatively neceſſary, and reſpectively onelyonly good or evil.
§ 4. Though Good, and Evil, and Indifferent, are diſparata, yet Neceſſary and Indifferent are adverſa, and there is no medium betwixt them; for all things in the world are or may be ranked under theſe two Heads, in reſpect of any Law of God or man whatſoever: For either they are concerned in the Law, or not; if they be concerned, they receive a relative conſtituted good or evil from the ſaid Law; if not concerned as to Command or Prohibition, they remain indifferent, and their indifferency alſo muſt be reſpective, as to this or that Law; for a thing may be indifferent and unconcerned as to one Law, when it's concerned in and made neceſſary by another Law.
§ 5. By Laws of Nature in diſtinction from morality, I underſtand more than meram artem Phyſicam; here muſt be underſtood the rules of all Arts, which are as ſo many Laws to direct every thing, in its various reſpects, unto its right end; and all conformities and agreement of the things, or reſpects to the ſaid rules in foreign, is good; and all Irregularities and Falſities are evil: though bonum & malum is moſt proper in the moral acceptation, yet we muſt allow it to be in other Arts beſides Divinity; in Logick there is good and evil conſequence, reaſoning, &c. verum & bomem, though they be morally contra-diſtinct, yet they are in Logick convertible terms; ſo there is the foreign of every Art, which is its veritas leading to its right end, and this is the bonitas thereof. There is alſo a neceſſity in them, and Neceſſarium, quando ſemper verum eſt, nec falſum eſſe poteſt, when the Axiome affirmed is always true, and never can be falſe; to this is oppoſed a contingency, which indeed is a medium between Truth and Falſhood, as Indifferency is between Good and Evil, and is an Axiomatical indifferency properly, as the other is moral; and thoſe things that are contingent are indifferently concerned in the rules of Art to Truth or Falſhood. Sic vera ſunt ut aliquando falſa eſſe poſſunt, & ſic falſa ut aliquando vera eſſe poſſunt.
§ 6. All Neceſſities reſpecting Conſcience and religious practice, are moral, and have their good and evil determined by a moral Law; and theſe are of two ſorts, Abſolute, or Relative; Abſolute, when the principal ſubſtance of the thing or action is determined as to good or evil, the moral Law looks directly upon it; the duty is called perfectum officium, foreign, a perfect or abſolute throughout Duty. A Relative neceſſity is, when an indifferent thing (in itſelf) by a circumſtantial reſpect to another thing, falls under ſome Law, and becomes good by way of expediency, or evil by way of non-expediency; it's call'd commune, foreign, or medium off cium, quod cur factum ſit ratio probabilis reddi poteſt, Cic. off. foreign, 1 Cor. 10.23. an indifferency may become a neceſſity per accidens, pro hic & nunc, and this is an expediency, or non-expediency, which cannot be properly a medium between a neceſſary thing and indifferent, becauſe every moral expediency is neceſſary in genere boni moralis, pro hic & nunc, though not pro ſemper & ubique.
§ 7. Things have a Neceſſity of nature in them, when they are ſo ordained of God the Creator of all things, that they ſhould be, or do this or that to the compleating their being or welbeing, in order to the accompliſhment of that end for which he firſt introduced them; and his command unto them (the proper catholick rule of every art) ſo to be and do, is the law of nature which all natural agents under the conduct of reſpective Arts and Sciences do receive, viz. what they ſhould be, what they ſhould do, and to what end they ſhould tend; all which are undiſpenſable (rebus ſecundum natucam aut regulas artis, poſitis) and unalterable by any but God alone; and they are his Ordinances for the rule of Sun, Moon, and Stars, &c. given by God, and cannot depart from before him, Jer. 31.35, 36. foreign if theſe Statutes be removed from before me; hence all Creatures and things ſhould according to their firſt conſtitution, have kept their regular Motions to the beſt ends Supream and Subordinate; and ſo all good, though ſince the breaking in of the Curſe upon the Creature for mans moral tranſgreſſion, there's entred thouſands of natural evils into the world, ſo that nature hath ſwerved from its primitive courſe in many things, and run in the crooked channels of diſorder and confuſion. Hence natural indifferencies are ſuch natural Actions, Modes, and Tendencies of the created beings, which may be or not be without any prejudice to the common courſe of nature, without any deſtruction to the eſſe, bene eſſe, or laſt end of the Creature. As a man may be Tall, or Short, Fat, or Lean; of a fair or black Complexion: So a Sheep, black, or white. It may Rain or be fair Weather on this or that day. The fuel of Fire may be Hay, Straw, Coal, or Wood: The Eye may look on this or that Object: The Underſtanding contemplate this or that truth: The Will chuſe this or that good; and infinite other varieties that nature ſports itſelf in, without any diſtraction, or ſo much as wrong to the neceſſities of nature, or breach of any of the Laws or Rules thereof.
§ 8. Things or Actions are politically neceſſary, or indifferent, when they become neceſſary by ſubjection to ſome Law of Polity, or indifferent by being void of limitation by that Law. Political Neceſſities and Indifferences are either Civil or Eccleſiaſtical: Civilly neceſſary are either when the things or actions themſelves have an innate tendency to the order of civil Societies, or the exerciſe of diſtributive or commutative juſtice, flowing from the influence of the moral Law diffuſing itſelf through all natural Conſciences, and becoming the very Veins and Sinews of Societies; or when according to the diſcretion or prudential arbitrament of the civil Magiſtrate (agreeing to the conſtitution of the Government) a civil Law is enacted, where it bindes, is civilly neceſſary, and that which it leaves unbound is civilly indifferent, and neither good nor evil in reſpect of that Law. Unto this Head may be referred Oeconomical neceſſities and indifferences, of which we may have ſome ſuch analogical underſtanding which I ſhall not now ſtay upon.
§ 9. Some things and actions fall under a ſpiritual political conſideration, and are Eccleſiaſtical, pertaining to inſtituted Worſhp, to the Government and Diſcipline of Chriſt's Body-politick, which is his Church, and theſe are Levitical or Evangelical. Levitically neceſſary, where ſuch things which were commanded by the Ceremonial Law, the revealed Will of God for the order and manner of his inſtituted worſhip in the Jewiſh Church under the Pedagogy of Moſes. Levitically indifferent, where thoſe things that were left undetermined by the ceremonial Law, might be lawfully done or not be done according to diſcretion.
§ 10. Things or actions Evangelically Eccleſiaſtical are alſo neceſſary or indifferent. Neceſſary, when they have a determination of political good or evil laid on them by the Law of Chriſt, for the management of the affairs of his Church under the Goſpel. Things in reſpect to the Church-conſtitutions are alſo indifferent, when they are not declared by the Law of Chriſt to be of any neceſſary concernment to the being or well-being of the Eccleſiaſtical Polity. All Eccleſiaſtical Inſtitutions are founded on the Moral Law, but are diſtinguiſhed from the Moral Precepts by the name of Inſtituted Worſhip; becauſe God ordained the Moral Law to be a rule of Obedience under all the ages of his Church; but Chriſt hath reſerved to himſelf the prerogative of altering inſtituted Worſhip at his pleaſure, as it ſhall appear to his wiſdom to be more agreeable to thoſe ſeveral ages and great ends that he deſignes the attaining of, by the Oeconomy of his Church Militant in the world; and the great and principal change that he thought good to make, was when he changed his Church-diſcipline from Oeconomical to National, and from National in one Nation, to particular Congregations in all Nations whither his Goſpel ſhould be diſperſed. This laſt change of inſtituted Worſhip we are under, and it ſtands conſtituted by the Laws of his own promulgation by himſelf immediately when here on earth, and by his Apoſtles after his Aſcention inſpired with his Spirit, extraordinarily commiſſionated by his Authority. From under this laſt Eccleſiaſtical Conſtitution we muſt not, we dare not ſtart till his ſecond coming, the date of its continuance being fixed by himſelf.