One of the points I raised in yesterday’s post was whether this famous Aquinas quotation actually exists: “Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.” This line gets used often, but I’ve never seen any citation given for it.
One of the commenters took up my challenge and identified the location of this quotation.
Well, sort of. Actually, it’s not at all the same quotation, but here’s what was relayed in the comments section:
Since you asked for it, the Aquinas quote you are [sic] could not find is in ST II.II q30, a2, ad2. “On like manner this applies to those also who are in great fear, for they are so intent on their own passion, that they pay no attention to the suffering of others.”
This is helpful, but it’s not what Aquinas has been quoted as saying. The citation noted above (from the Summa Theologica) is in a section about “Whether the reason for taking pity is a defect in the person who pities?” Defect here is not a pejorative term. It simply means, is the lack or loss of something the reason for pity? To which Aquinas answers yes: “A defect is always the reason for taking pity, either because one looks upon another’s defect as one’s own, through being united to him by love, or on account of the possibility of suffering in the same way.” Fear comes into play in Aquinas’ logic not because it drives compassion out of the heart, but because it can be a distraction. When someone is gripped by the passion of fear, it can be hard to notice anything or anyone outside of ourselves. That’s still a fine Christian insight, and some may argue that it applies to the immigration crisis. It’s not, however, the same as saying that fear and compassion are mutually exclusive.
And in any event, the original quotation–the popular one often cited in a variety of contexts–still doesn’t appear to be something Aquinas actually said.
