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the greatest flourishing.” Although this thesis, which we might call “the
spontaneity view of temperance and fortitude,” is not original with
Lombardo (versions of it can be found in the works of G. Simon Harak,
Diana Fritz Cates, Jean Porter, among others), he should be praised for
having articulated it with unique vigor and clarity.
Yet, for all its inherent interest, there are reasons for doubting it.
Notwithstanding the points in its favor, Lombardo’s interpretation is
weakened by the fact that he takes up very few objections that one could
imagine being raised against it. To mention just one example, if virtuous
passions can arise independently of reason’s control, as they must on
Lombardo’s interpretation, then we should expect temperance and
fortitude to come into conflict with prudence when circumstances
demanding unusual affective responses arise. But this would be to
suppose a potential disharmony among the virtues that is fundamentally
at odds with Aquinas’s explicit teaching to the contrary.
The big picture is important, and Lombardo is right to frame his study
within Aquinas’s larger theological vision of man’s supernatural calling.
Closer analysis of the way the virtues affect the subtle and complex
interplay between reason, will, and emotion, however, as well as a more
thoroughgoing engagement with rival interpretations, would have helped
to round out this admirable book. Even in this, however, Lombardo
performs a valuable service, reminding us that the mind of the Angelic
Doctor is often in the details.—Giuseppe Butera, Providence College.