1. Henry’s Opinion in Itself

15. This opinion [of Aquinas] is refuted in ways like those used to support it:

First is the authority of Aristotle, for he himself says in Politics 1.131102b30-31, “it is necessary for the ruler to have virtue so that he may rule rightly, and this in a greater way than in a slave so that he may be ruled rightly.” And Aristotle applies this analogy to the superior and inferior parts in the soul.

16. Further this view concedes that justice is in the will [n.10]; so the general reasons about the will and moral virtue [nn.11-15] are not conclusive. Nor even should the authority of the Philosopher in Ethics 1.13.1102b30-31 about ‘being obedient to reason’ be understood of the sensitive appetite alone; for if he means only the sensitive appetite by the term ‘obedient to reason’ then he is incomplete in his division of the soul as to its capacity for moral virtue. And so, to the extent he intends to treat of the soul, he is incompletely dividing it. For he treats of it as it is susceptive of moral virtue, for instance justice, so at any rate the soul is susceptive of virtue as to justice, which is neither in the reason nor in what is obedient to reason, the way this opinion understands these two divisions.

17. Further, in Ethics 1.6.1097b34-98a5, before the definition of virtue, when Aristotle is intending to investigate the idea of happiness,a he speaks as follows, “We must separate off the nutritive part. Next is the sensitive part, and this seems common to all animals. What is left is a certain practical part, and the part of it persuadable by reason, and this insofar as it has reason and understands.” From this text it is plain that the Philosopher first excludes the sensitive part, because there is in it no activity of man as he is man. The sort of activity of man as man accords with the moral virtues, and consequently these virtues will not be placed principally in the sensitive part. Therefore, what is left, namely activity of the part that has reason, is per se a part of the soul, surpassing the whole sensitive part - and this part the Philosopher himself divides into the understanding part and the part that is persuadable by reason. So by ‘persuadable by reason’ he means there the will, because it is plain that by ‘the understanding part’ he means the intellect. Therefore, it seems that what can be got expressly from his words is that he sometimes calls the will ‘able to obey reason’ and sometimes he calls the sensitive appetite ‘able to obey reason’, as at the end of the Ethics [n.16]. And so ‘able to obey reason’ is taken in two ways, and ‘rational’ is taken in two ways: in one way strictly and primarily and thus it belongs only to the intellect; in another way not strictly or primarily, though simply such, and thus it belongs to the will; to the third part, namely the sensitive appetite, it belongs not properly but by way of transference. The intermediate part, then, the will, is sometimes called ‘rational’ by reference to one extreme and sometimes ‘obedient to reason’ by reference to the other extreme. For when taking ‘rational’ strictly, the will is able to obey reason; but when taking ‘rational’ broadly (not however improperly, but only for that which belongs to the mind) the will is rational.b The sensitive appetite is not only persuadable by reason but also obedient to it; and these words can very well be proved, for what is free is persuadable, but not properly ‘persuadable but obedient’. The sensitive appetite, however, which is not free, is not properly persuadable but is obedient, for it can be subjected to the command of the will.

a.a [Interpolation] which is in the work of man as he is man.

b.b [Interpolation] and only persuadable by reason and not obedient; and this belongs not to reason but to the will alone.

18. Further, there are many authorities to this effect:

Augustine in Morals of the Church 1.15, where he holds that the four moral virtues are only ordered love or loves.

19. Augustine City of God 14.5-6, at length.

20. Avicenna Metaphysics 9.7.a

a.a [Interpolation] Look for other authorities in Bonaventure Sentences III d.33 un. q.3 note 1.