Odium

ODIO. – In general, it is the state of aversion to, or persistent hostility toward, any object whatsoever. It must be regarded either as a passion of the sensitive appetite or as a movement of the will.

As a passion, it is aversion to evil insofar as it is unfitting and harmful to the subject (Sum. Theol., 1°–2°, p. 29, a. 3). If properly regulated, it can be of great assistance to the higher faculties by leading them to abhor every genuine evil with all their strength. O. as an act of the will is a state of aversion toward a person or another object because they are evil or abominable (« odium abominatio »), or because one wishes evil upon another so that it may harm him (« odium inimicitiae »).

Hatred of abomination is opposed to the love of concupiscence, which desires good for oneself, insofar as one wishes evil to be far from oneself. Hatred of enmity is opposed to the love of benevolence and friendship (v. CARITÀ), which leads one to desire good for others, and implies the will and effort to procure evil in order to satisfy a desire for revenge. Hatred of abomination is lawful (cf. Ps. 118, 113), provided that it does not exceed due measure, but it can easily lead to hatred of enmity, which is always unlawful and can reach the summit of malice; it is ordinarily called diabolical.

I. H. AGAINST GOD. — Every hatred of God is intrinsically a mortal sin (“ex toto genere suo”); indeed, if it is hatred of enmity, it constitutes the gravest and most inexplicable of all sins. Theoretically, it is inconceivable, and in practice it is determined by a false conception of God himself. In very many cases, however, hatred toward God conceals aversion toward opinions and persons who represent him.
II. H. AGAINST ONESELF. — This is the conduct directed against one’s own self, which leads to gloomy despair, hatred of oneself, cursing oneself, self-mutilation, and suicide. Such conduct can be explained only by considering it an abnormal psychological state, as the consequence of a morbid condition rather than as an action consciously directed against the very instinct of self-preservation and self-affirmation. But one also hates oneself when one does not take reasonable care of the soul and the body.
III. O. AGAINST ONE’S NEIGHBOR. — It takes concrete form in a psychological attitude of positive hostility toward another person, a hostility that generally originates in more or less unjust conduct on the part of the person hated and leads to denigrating him and, if possible, inflicting harm upon him; it may occur both between individuals and between nations. A particular kind of o. toward one’s neighbor is the so-called « class o. », which is determined for the most part by circumstances of a personal and social nature. Thus, for example, it is that which arises among the poor against the rich, among the sick against the healthy, and among apostates against the members of the community from which they have separated.

Hatred of enemies is reprehensible even from the merely natural point of view, insofar as it is directed against God’s creatures and insofar as it causes social ills; hence the condemnation of every o. or desire for vengeance, as intrinsically evil and gravely sinful (« ex genere suo »).

O., finally, in all its directions and manifestations, is an impediment in direct opposition to that charity which Christ, confirming what had already been established in the natural order, preached and taught as the distinguishing mark of his disciples, extending it even to the forgiveness and love of enemies (v. CARITÀ).