Summa Theologica

rather the creature than the Creator. Yet there was a threefold opinion among them: for some deemed that certain men were gods, whom they worshipped through their images, such as Jupiter, Mercury, and others of this kind. But others deemed that the whole world was one God, not because of its corporeal substance, but because of its soul, which they believed to be God, saying that God is nothing else than the soul governing the world by motion and reason; just as a man is called wise because of his soul, not because of his body. Whence they thought that the worship of Divinity ought to be exhibited to the whole world and all its parts: to the sky, the air, the water, and all such parts, and to these they referred the names and images of their gods, as Varro said and Augustine relates (De civ. Dei, lib. vii, cap. 21 and 22). Others, however, namely the Platonists, posited that there is one supreme God, the cause of all things; after whom they posited that there are certain spiritual substances created by the supreme God, which they called gods, namely by participation in Divinity, whereas we call them angels; after whom they posited the souls of celestial bodies, and under these, demons, which they said were certain aerial animals; and under these they posited the souls of men, which they believed to be assumed into the society of gods or demons through the merit of virtue: and to all these they exhibited the worship of divinity, as Augustine relates (De civ. Dei, lib. viii, cap. 14). But they said these two last opinions pertained to physical theology, which philosophers considered in the world and taught in the schools: but they said the other, concerning the worship of men, pertained to fabulous theology, which was represented in theaters according to the inventions of poets; and they said the other opinion, concerning images, pertained to civil theology, which was celebrated by pontiffs in temples. But all these pertained to the superstition of idolatry. Whence Augustine says (De doct. christ. lib. ii, cap. 20, in the beginning): "Superstitious is whatever has been instituted by men pertaining to making and worshipping idols, or to worshipping the creature or any part of the creature as God, or, etc."

To the first, therefore, it must be said that, just as religion is not faith, but the protestation of faith through some exterior signs, so superstition is a certain protestation of infidelity through exterior worship: which protestation, indeed, the name of idolatry signifies, whereas the name of heresy does not, but only a false opinion. And therefore, heresy is a species of infidelity; but idolatry is a species of superstition.

To the second, it must be said that the name of latria can be taken in two ways: for in one way it can signify a human act pertaining to the worship of God; and according to this, the meaning of this name "latria" is not varied, to whomever it is exhibited; because that to which it is exhibited does not fall into its definition in this way; and according to this, latria is spoken of univocally as it pertains to true religion and as it pertains to idolatry; just as the payment of tribute is spoken of univocally, whether it is exhibited to a true king or to a false one. In another way, latria is accepted as it is the same as religion: and thus, since it is a virtue, it is of its essence that divine worship be exhibited to Him to whom it ought to be exhibited; and according to this, latria is spoken of equivocally regarding the latria of true religion and idolatry; just as prudence is spoken of equivocally regarding the prudence which is a virtue, and the prudence which is of the flesh.