... Further, the word "state" seems to denote immobility according to 1 Cor. 15:48, "Be ye steadfast (stabiles) and immovable"; wherefore Gregory says (Hom. xxi in Ezech.): "The stone is foursquare, and is stable on all sides, if no disturbance will make it fall." Now it is virtue that enables us "to act with immobility," according to Ethic. ii, 4. Therefore it would seem that a state is acquired by every ... — Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) • Thomas Aquinas
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