The principle "bonum ex integra causa, malum ex quocumque defectu" means "an action is good when it is good in every respect; it is wrong when it is wrong in every respect."
This means that in order that an action may posses in an essential degree -- no action is absolutely perfect -- its moral perfection, it must be in conformity with the law in three respects.
First, the action, considered under the character by which it ranks as an element of conduct, must be good. The physical act of giving another person money may be either an act of justice, when one pays a debt, or it may be an act of mercy or benevolence, as it is if one give the money to relieve distress. Both, of these actions possess the fundamental element of goodness (bonum ex objecto).
The motive, if there is a motive beyond the immediate object of the act, must also be good. …
