在大作《藝術與詩的創作直覺》當中，馬里旦討論藝術和道德之間的關係。前者關注作品的善，後者關注人之善。他簡短地評論不道德行為在藝術家生活中可能扮演的角色，藝術家為了追求作品的美學之善而犧牲道德生活，原因是他們可能認為向「可愛的魔鬼」臣服，對他們的藝術或許有正面影響。因此，馬里旦寫道，藝術家可能「致力於品嚐大地的果實和淤泥，把任何道德新實驗中的好奇和魯莽……視為他至高無上的道德德行，以便餵養他的藝術。」對這種刻板藝術行為的反省，就人性和藝術與道德之間的關係，引發了一些引人入勝的問題。筆者將在文中探討：第一，馬里旦對人性複雜、深刻、微妙的理解；第二，為什麼創作藝術家經常被具有感官刺激和道德爭議的行為吸引；第三，筆者認同馬里旦的看法，建議不要太急著對藝術家做出道德批判或譴責。筆者同時認為我們必須避免對藝術家賦予另外一套判斷標準。本文將做出基本的區隔，並透過對馬里旦文本（包括《藝術與詩的創作直覺》）的探討，來處理上述及其他問題。

In his masterwork, Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry, Jacques Maritain discusses the relationship between art and morality. The former concerns the good of the work while the latter concerns the good of the person. He then goes on to offer some brief remarks about the part that immoral behavior may play in the life of artists because they may come to recognize the positive impact that yielding to their “cherished demon” may have on their art, as they sacrifice their moral life for the aesthetic good of their work. Thus, Maritain writes, the artist may “endeavor to taste all of the fruits and silts of the earth, and will make curiosity or recklessness in any new moral experiment … his supreme moral virtue, in order to feed his art.” (Emphasis added.) Reflection on this stereotypical artistic behavior raises some intriguing questions about human nature and the relationship between art and morality. In this paper, I inquire about 1) the intricacies, depth, and subtleties of Maritain’s understanding of human nature. 2) Why the creative artist is so frequently attracted to sensually stimulating yet morally questionable behaviors. 3) Following Maritain, I caution against being too eager to pass moral judgment or condemnation upon the artist. And yet, when it comes to judgments about moral guilt or innocence, I also argue that we must guard against the idea that artists are judged differently than the rest of us. In this paper, I address these questions and more by making essential distinctions and by exploring a number of Maritain’s texts, including Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry.