intemperance. For a
person's sin is cured by admonishment and correction, which seemingly
are no good to the incontinent man, since he knows he is doing wrong,
and does wrong notwithstanding: whereas it seems to the intemperate
man that he is doing well, so that it were good for him to be
admonished. Therefore it would appear that the incontinent man sins
more gravely than the intemperate.

Obj. 3: Further, the more eagerly man sins, the more grievous his
sin. Now the incontinent sins more eagerly than the intemperate,
since the incontinent man has vehement passions and desires, which
the intemperate man does not always have. Therefore the incontinent
man sins more gravely than the intemperate.

_On the contrary,_ Impenitence aggravates every sin: wherefore
Augustine says (De Verb. Dom. serm. xi, 12, 13) that "impenitence is
a sin against the Holy Ghost." Now according to the Philosopher
(Ethic. vii, 8) "the intemperate man is not inclined to be penitent,
for he holds on to his choice: but every incontinent man is inclined
to repentance." Therefore the intemperate man sins more gravely than
the incontinent.

_I answer that,_ According to Augustine [*De Duab. Anim. x, xi] sin
is chiefly an act of the will, because "by the will we sin and live
aright" [*Retract. i, 9]. Consequently where there is a greater
inclination of the will to sin, there is a graver sin. Now in the
intemperate man, the will is inclined to sin in virtue of its own
choice, which proceeds from a habit acquired through custom: whereas
in the incontinent man, the will is inclined to sin through a
passion. And since passion soon passes, whereas a habit is "a
disposition difficult to remove," the result is that the incontinent
man repents at once, as soon as the passion has passed; but not so
the intemperate man; in fact he rejoices in having sinned, because
the sinful act has become connatural to him by reason of his habit.
Wherefore in reference to such persons it is written (Prov. 2:14)
that "they are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most
wicked things." Hence it follows that "the intemperate man is much
worse than the incontinent," as also the Philosopher declares (Ethic.
vii, 7).

Reply Obj. 1: Ignorance in the intellect sometimes precedes the
inclination of the appetite and causes it, and then the greater the
ignorance, the more does it diminish or entirely excuse the sin, in
so far as it renders it involuntary. On the other hand,