TEMPTATION. — In general, it signifies an experiment, by words or deeds, to ascertain the virtues or defects of a thing or person. Considered in itself, moralists divide it according to the virtues to which it is opposed. According to the end and intention of the one who exercises it, it is distinguished into temptation of trial and temptation of seduction.
I. Temptation by God
This occurs when man wishes to put God to the test, and consists in a word or deed by which, without sufficient reason, he attempts to ascertain whether God exists or whether He possesses and exercises a perfection. It arises from lack of faith, doubt, or presumption. Being an irreverence toward God, it is a sin by defect against the virtue of religion (q.v.), although it also opposes, for the same reason, the virtues of faith (q.v.), prudence, and charity toward oneself and others. It is explicit when one expressly attempts to test God’s existence or one of His attributes, such as asking Him for a miracle to confirm His power. It is implicit when one performs an action or neglects something, hoping for a divine intervention. Such were the judgments of God (ordeals) and medieval duels. Explicit temptation is always a mortal sin. It becomes venial only through imperfection of the act. Implicit temptation is a mortal sin, but admits of parvity of matter. Ignorance and inadvertence render this sin less grave.II. Temptation of Man
It is a solicitation to evil which may be grave or light, depending on the object and intensity; internal or external, according to the cause. If the temptation comes from without, in order to be efficacious it must act upon the imagination and the sensitive appetite of the subject.God, the supreme Good, cannot solicit to evil: when one is tempted, let him not say, “It is God who tempts me,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone (Jas 1:13), but in His infinite wisdom He permits it, giving grace to overcome it (1 Cor 10:13). The true causes, which often act together, rendering temptation more effective, are: the devil, the world, and concupiscence. Not all temptations come directly from the devil, yet he is often their author, and Holy Scripture calls him the tempter par excellence (1 Thess 3:5; Matt 4:3). Diabolical temptations are mostly exercised within man. The devil has limited power, according to divine permission, and cannot determine the free will to sin. He acts upon the intellect and will through the sensitive faculties, arousing in the senses—and especially in the imagination—representations that excite the passions. He disturbs the soul with feelings of rebellion against God, despair, hatred, vengeance, etc., and utilizes the evil incitements of the world and of fallen nature.
Although all things are good, they can still be a cause of sin, inasmuch as they allure the passions of man, who, deviating from the right order, desires such goods against the moral law. The term “world,” however, as a true cause of temptation, designates in Holy Scripture (John 15:18-19; 16:8, 33; 17:9-16, etc.) those men who live far from God and, by their examples, doctrines, and perverse counsels, push others toward evil.
The principal cause of temptations, by which the others are efficacious, is concupiscence, called the incentive of sin, because it arises from sin and inclines to it (Council of Trent, Session V, Canon 5). It consists in the imbalance between the lower and higher faculties, inasmuch as the sensitive appetite tends toward the forbidden object, either preceding or opposing the judgment of reason. Due to the close union between the sensitive and spiritual faculties, the will is delayed in attaining the good and is impelled toward evil. The will, being a spiritual power, is moved by the passions of the sensitive appetite only indirectly. For if one power is intensely applied to an act, the others are weakened or impeded. Thus, as the movements of the sensitive appetite intensify, those of the will are weakened or impeded. Moreover, the right judgment of reason is hindered by the disordered activity of the imagination, which vividly represents the attractions of the object that entice the senses. Through such seductive representations, the intellect is led to consider the good aspect of the forbidden object, and, withdrawing from the consideration of the law, approves it and presents it to the will, which consents and determines to desire II.
Moral Principles. — It is not a sin to feel temptation, but to consent to II. In the development of temptation, three phases are to be distinguished: suggestion, delight, and consent, although this is often difficult due to the intimate psychological process. Only in consent is there sin, which consists in the free act of the will’s adherence to evil. Now suggestion and delight may be independent of the will. Suggestion is indeed the simple presentation of evil, made by the imagination and intellect to the will; the ensuing delight and sensible emotion are not deliberate, since the sensitive appetite necessarily tends toward its object and, once possessed, delights in II. If the will does not disapprove but takes pleasure, voluntary adherence begins, which is consummated with consent, and there is internal sin, of thought, mortal or venial according to the matter. To thought is added desire, from which one passes to execution, the sin of deed.
The more vehement the non-voluntary passion, the more responsibility is diminished. If it reaches such intensity as to deprive one of the use of reason, it destroys the voluntary act. The will, yielding to temptation, weakens and subsequently falls more easily, because through the repetition of evil acts one acquires habits, called vices.
Every man, however perfect, is subject to temptation according to circumstances, temperament, character, education, environment, and divine designs. Although troublesome and grave, temptations can be useful to the soul as a means of mortification, purification, and spiritual progress, procuring the exercise of virtues and the acquisition of merits.
Before temptation arises, man must be vigilant to avoid occasions and pray with confidence and humility (Matt 26:41; 1 Pet 5:8). It is not lawful rashly, without just cause, to provoke or expose oneself to temptation, which is a danger of sin. If a man, though able to avoid it, performs an action that he foresees will be a source of temptation, he is guilty on account of his foresight. During temptation it is not lawful to remain passive. Although involuntary suggestion and the ensuing natural delight are not sin, they are nevertheless dangerous, because the will finds itself solicited to evil. Therefore, in order not to expose oneself to the danger of consenting, one must, from the very beginning, promptly reject the temptation. One must resist with contrary acts, but if these strengthen the temptation, indirect resistance suffices, that is, the use of the most suitable means to overcome II.