pensers of the ministers
of God."

Thirdly, because sale is opposed to the source of spiritual things,
since they flow from the gratuitous will of God. Wherefore Our Lord
said (Matt. 10:8): "Freely have you received, freely give."

Therefore by buying or selling a spiritual thing, a man treats God
and divine things with irreverence, and consequently commits a sin of
irreligion.

Reply Obj. 1: Just as religion consists in a kind of protestation of
faith, without, sometimes, faith being in one's heart, so too the
vices opposed to religion include a certain protestation of unbelief
without, sometimes, unbelief being in the mind. Accordingly simony is
said to be a "heresy," as regards the outward protestation, since by
selling a gift of the Holy Ghost a man declares, in a way, that he is
the owner of a spiritual gift; and this is heretical. It must,
however, be observed that Simon Magus, besides wishing the apostles
to sell him a grace of the Holy Ghost for money, said that the world
was not created by God, but by some heavenly power, as Isidore states
(Etym. viii, 5): and so for this reason simoniacs are reckoned with
other heretics, as appears from Augustine's book on heretics.

Reply Obj. 2: As stated above (Q. 58, A. 4), justice, with all its
parts, and consequently all the opposite vices, is in the will as its
subject. Hence simony is fittingly defined from its relation to the
will. This act is furthermore described as "express," in order to
signify that it proceeds from choice, which takes the principal part
in virtue and vice. Nor does everyone sin against the Holy Ghost that
sins from choice, but only he who chooses sin through contempt of
those things whereby man is wont to be withdrawn from sin, as stated
above (Q. 14, A. 1).

Reply Obj. 3: The kingdom of heaven is said to be bought when a man
gives what he has for God's sake. But this is to employ the term
"buying" in a wide sense, and as synonymous with merit: nor does it
reach to the perfect signification of buying, both because neither
"the sufferings of this time," nor any gift or deed of ours, "are
worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed
in us" (Rom. 8:18), and because merit consists chiefly, not in an
outward gift, action or passion, but in an inward affection.

Reply Obj. 4: Simon the magician wished to buy a spiritual power in
order that afterwards he might sell it. For it is written (I, qu. iii
[*Can. Salvator]), that