ording to Augustine (De
Serm. Dom. in Monte i, 4) filial fear holds the first place, as it
were, among the gifts of the Holy Ghost, in the ascending order, and
the last place, in the descending order.

Reply Obj. 1: Filial fear is not opposed to the virtue of hope: since
thereby we fear, not that we may fail of what we hope to obtain by
God's help, but lest we withdraw ourselves from this help. Wherefore
filial fear and hope cling together, and perfect one another.

Reply Obj. 2: The proper and principal object of fear is the evil
shunned, and in this way, as stated above (A. 1), God cannot be an
object of fear. Yet He is, in this way, the object of hope and the
other theological virtues, since, by the virtue of hope, we trust in
God's help, not only to obtain any other goods, but, chiefly, to
obtain God Himself, as the principal good. The same evidently applies
to the other theological virtues.

Reply Obj. 3: From the fact that love is the origin of fear, it does
not follow that the fear of God is not a distinct habit from charity
which is the love of God, since love is the origin of all the
emotions, and yet we are perfected by different habits in respect of
different emotions. Yet love is more of a virtue than fear is,
because love regards good, to which virtue is principally directed by
reason of its own nature, as was shown above (I-II, Q. 55, AA. 3, 4);
for which reason hope is also reckoned as a virtue; whereas fear
principally regards evil, the avoidance of which it denotes,
wherefore it is something less than a theological virtue.

Reply Obj. 4: According to Ecclus. 10:14, "the beginning of the pride
of man is to fall off from God," that is to refuse submission to God,
and this is opposed to filial fear, which reveres God. Thus fear cuts
off the source of pride for which reason it is bestowed as a remedy
against pride. Yet it does not follow that it is the same as the
virtue of humility, but that it is its origin. For the gifts of the
Holy Ghost are the origin of the intellectual and moral virtues, as
stated above (I-II, Q. 68, A. 4), while the theological virtues are
the origin of the gifts, as stated above (I-II, Q. 69, A. 4, ad 3).

This suffices for the Reply to the Fifth Objection.
_______________________

TENTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 19, Art. 10]

Whether Fear Decreases When Charity Increases?

Objection 1: It seems that fear decreases when charity increases. For
Augustine says (In prim. canon. Joan