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Summa Theologiae · I, q. 63

Question 63. The Malice of the Angels with Regard to Sin

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part. 9 articles.

Read in the reading room → This question at New Advent

Text: Summa Theologiae, Project Gutenberg #17611, First Part (Prima Pars), translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. The First Part of the Summa in the English Dominican translation (first printed 1911 to 1925; second and revised edition from 1920). A sample check on 2026-11-09 against pre-1931 printings at the Internet Archive (first printings of 1915 and 1916 and the second and revised edition of the 1920s) found that the article text matches, with no 1947 introduction, synopsis, or index. The phrase “From the Complete American Edition” in Gutenberg's catalog title is a provenance note only. Question and article numbers were added by the transcriber. Rights: Public domain (US)

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In the next place we must consider how angels became evil: first of all with regard to the evil of fault; and secondly, as to the evil of punishment. Under the first heading there are nine points for consideration:

(1) Can there be evil of fault in the angels?

(2) What kind of sins can be in them?

(3) What did the angel seek in sinning?

(4) Supposing that some became evil by a sin of their own choosing, are any of them naturally evil?

(5) Supposing that it is not so, could any one of them become evil in the first instant of his creation by an act of his own will?

(6) Supposing that he did not, was there any interval between his creation and fall?

(7) Was the highest of them who fell, absolutely the highest among the angels?

(8) Was the sin of the foremost angel the cause of the others sinning?

(9) Did as many sin as remained steadfast?

Articles

  1. Whether the Evil of Fault Can Be in the Angels?
  2. Whether Only the Sin of Pride and Envy Can Exist in an Angel?
  3. Whether the Devil Desired to Be As God?
  4. Whether Any Demons Are Naturally Wicked?
  5. Whether the Devil Was Wicked by the Fault of His Own Will in the First Instant of His Creation?
  6. Whether There Was Any Interval Between the Creation and the Fall of the Angel?
  7. Whether the Highest Angel Among Those Who Sinned Was the Highest of All?
  8. Whether the Sin of the Highest Angel Was the Cause of the Others Sinning?
  9. Whether Those Who Sinned Were As Many As Those Who Remained Firm?

Also online, linked only: the same translation at New Advent and the Latin text at Corpus Thomisticum. Neither is copied here.

Source: Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, First Part. Project Gutenberg #17611. Project Gutenberg record. Public domain in the USA. Outside the U.S., check local copyright rules. Project Gutenberg notices retained. The full Project Gutenberg license is kept in the hosted text.