Curiosity

Pope Michael

[status/meme]

The first rung on the ladder to hell is curiosity. Remember Eve, began by being curious about the forbidden fruit.*

* note

I suppose "Even" is mistype for "Eve," and "she" left out. Hence my correction.

Hans-Georg Lundahl

For curiosity not to lead to Hell, or its earthly antechamber mortal sin, it needs some bounds, of orthodoxy and manners.

There seem to be four kinds of evil about studiousness of intellectual knowledge:

.... Secondly, there may be sin by reason of the appetite or study directed to the learning of truth being itself inordinate; and this in four ways.

1) First, when a man is withdrawn by a less profitable study from a study that is an obligation incumbent on him; hence Jerome says [Epist. xxi ad Damas]: "We see priests forsaking the gospels and the prophets, reading stage-plays, and singing the love songs of pastoral idylls."

Note - this is why Pope St Gregory considered it unlawful for the bishop of (Bordeaux?) to teach Homer and Virgil - that bishop answered that without sollicitude about the poets, the culture would die. However, this is more of a pursuit worthy of laymen (including myself).

2) Secondly, when a man studies to learn of one, by whom it is unlawful to be taught, as in the case of those who seek to know the future through the demons. This is superstitious curiosity, of which Augustine says (De Vera Relig. 4): "Maybe, the philosophers were debarred from the faith by their sinful curiosity in seeking knowledge from the demons."

I'd put asking a shrink about the mind of one's neighbour next to asking a demon about it. But of course, yes.

Thirdly, when a man desires to know the truth about creatures, without referring his knowledge to its due end, namely, the knowledge of God. Hence Augustine says (De Vera Relig. 29) that "in studying creatures, we must not be moved by empty and perishable curiosity; but we should ever mount towards immortal and abiding things."

Which may be fulfilled when I direct my most studies on science subjects to apologetic ends.

Fourthly, when a man studies to know the truth above the capacity of his own intelligence, since by so doing men easily fall into error: wherefore it is written (Sirach 3:22): "Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability . . . and in many of His works be not curious," and further on (Sirach 3:26), "For . . . the suspicion of them hath deceived many, and hath detained their minds in vanity."

Which is why I am very careful to determine, what is the capacity of man to know a certain topic.

S. Th. II-II, Question 167. Curiosity | Article 1. Whether curiosity can be about intellective knowledge?
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3167.htm#article1

I am saying this by precaution, partly.

It seems that FSSPX (back when I was in their flock) was banning their parishioners from reading my blogs, under the pretext they were guilty of some type of vice of curiosity.

It would be highly unworthy of the Pope of the Catholic Church to determine such a question about someone's future behind closed doors and without hearing him - and on a rumour spread by clergy guilty of such massonic behaviour.