fore Tully says (De Invent. Rhet. ii, 52)
that "some things allure us by their own force, and attract us by
their own worth, such as virtue, truth, knowledge." And this suffices
to give a thing the character of honest.

Reply Obj. 2: Some of the things which are honored besides virtue are
more excellent than virtue, namely God and happiness, and such like
things are not so well known to us by experience as virtue which we
practice day by day. Hence virtue has a greater claim to the name of
honesty. Other things which are beneath virtue are honored, in so far
as they are a help to the practice of virtue, such as rank, power,
and riches [*Ethic. i, 8]. For as the Philosopher says (Ethic. iv, 3)
that these things "are honored by some people, but in truth it is
only the good man who is worthy of honor." Now a man is good in
respect of virtue. Wherefore praise is due to virtue in so far as the
latter is desirable for the sake of something else, while honor is
due to virtue for its own sake: and it is thus that virtue has the
character of honesty.

Reply Obj. 3: As we have stated honest denotes that to which honor is
due. Now honor is an attestation to someone's excellence, as stated
above (Q. 103, AA. 1, 2). But one attests only to what one knows; and
the internal choice is not made known save by external actions.
Wherefore external conduct has the character of honesty, in so far as
it reflects internal rectitude. For this reason honesty consists
radically in the internal choice, but its expression lies in the
external conduct.

Reply Obj. 4: It is because the excellence of wealth is commonly
regarded as making a man deserving of honor, that sometimes the name
of honesty is given to external prosperity.
_______________________

SECOND ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 145, Art. 2]

Whether the Honest Is the Same As the Beautiful?

Objection 1: It would seem that the honest is not the same as the
beautiful. For the aspect of honest is derived from the appetite,
since the honest is "what is desirable for its own sake" [*Cicero, De
Invent. Rhet. ii, 53]. But the beautiful regards rather the faculty
of vision to which it is pleasing. Therefore the beautiful is not the
same as the honest.

Obj. 2: Further, beauty requires a certain clarity, which is
characteristic of glory: whereas the honest regards honor. Since then
honor and glory differ, as stated above (Q. 103, A. 1, ad 3), it
seems also that the honest and the beautiful differ.