The Sweet Delight of Virtue and Grace in Aquinas's Ethics

Abstract:  This article examines the way in which Aquinas deploys the physics of motion throughout his theological corpus, and particularly in his understanding of virtue and grace. By pointing to analogies between the motion of bodies to their requisite ends in nature and the motion of human beings towards God, Aquinas deploys an aspect of natural philosophy gleaned from Aristotle and Neoplatonic sources to clarify the teachings of sacra doctrina . He discusses justification and Christology in terms borrowed from physics in such a way that the boundary between theology and philosophy is blurred. Humanity's motion to God is rendered 'sweet and delightful' through the motive power of grace in Christ.