Mercurial > hg > Aquinas
comparison summa/english/SS_iv.html @ 64:11682db9b870
from auto-split
| author | ht |
|---|---|
| date | Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:43:02 +0000 |
| parents | |
| children |
comparison
equal
deleted
inserted
replaced
| 63:4665e252e26e | 64:11682db9b870 |
|---|---|
| 1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" id="SS.iv" class="div2"> | |
| 2 <a href="summa.SS_Q170_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3 <a href="summa.SS_Q171.html"></a> | |
| 4 <h2 id="SS.iv-p0.1">TREATISE ON GRATUITOUS GRACES (QQ[171]-182)</h2> | |
| 5 <div id="SS_Q171" class="div3"> | |
| 6 <a href="summa.SS.iv.html"></a> | |
| 7 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html"></a> | |
| 8 <h3 id="SS_Q171-p0.1">OF PROPHECY (SIX ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 9 <p id="SS_Q171-p1"></p> | |
| 10 <p id="SS_Q171-p2"></p> | |
| 11 <p id="SS_Q171-p3"> After treating individually of all the virtues and vices that pertain to men of all conditions and estates, we must now consider | |
| 12 those things which pertain especially to certain men. Now there is a triple difference between men as regards things connected | |
| 13 with the soul's habits and acts. First, in reference to the various gratuitous graces, according to | |
| 14 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:4</a>, | |
| 15 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.7" target="asv">7</a>: "There are diversities of graces . . . and to one . . . by the Spirit is given the word of wisdom, to another the | |
| 16 word of knowledge," etc. Another difference arises from the diversities of life, namely the active and the contemplative life, | |
| 17 which correspond to diverse purposes of operation, wherefore it is stated ( | |
| 18 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:4</a>, | |
| 19 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.4" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.7" target="asv">7</a>) that "there are diversities of operations." For the purpose of operation in Martha, who "was busy about much serving," which | |
| 20 pertains to the active life, differed from the purpose of operation in Mary, "who sitting . . . at the Lord's feet, heard | |
| 21 His word" | |
| 22 ( | |
| 23 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.5" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.39" target="asv">Lk. 10:39,40</a>), which pertains to the contemplative life. A third difference corresponds to the various duties and states of life, as expressed | |
| 24 in | |
| 25 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.6" href="./asv.html#Eph.4.11" target="asv"> Eph. 4:11, </a> "And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and other some evangelists; and other some pastors and doctors": and this | |
| 26 pertains to diversity of ministries, of which it is written ( | |
| 27 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171-p3.7" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.5" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:5</a>): "There are diversities of ministries." | |
| 28 </p> | |
| 29 <p id="SS_Q171-p4"> With regard to gratuitous graces, which are the first object to be considered, it must be observed that some of them pertain | |
| 30 to knowledge, some to speech, and some to operation. Now all things pertaining to knowledge may be comprised under "prophecy," | |
| 31 since prophetic revelation extends not only to future events relating to man, but also to things relating to God, both as | |
| 32 to those which are to be believed by all and are matters of "faith," and as to yet higher mysteries, which | |
| 33 concern the perfect and belong to "wisdom." Again, prophetic revelation is about things pertaining to spiritual substances, | |
| 34 by whom we are urged to good or evil; this pertains to the "discernment of spirits." Moreover it extends to the direction | |
| 35 of human acts, and this pertains to "knowledge," as we shall explain further on ( | |
| 36 <a id="SS_Q171-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q177.html">Q[177])</a>. Accordingly we must first of all consider prophecy, and rapture which is a degree of prophecy. | |
| 37 </p> | |
| 38 <p id="SS_Q171-p5"> Prophecy admits of four heads of consideration: (1) its essence; (2) its cause; (3) the mode of prophetic knowledge; (4) | |
| 39 the division of prophecy. | |
| 40 </p> | |
| 41 <p id="SS_Q171-p6"> Under the first head there are six points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 42 <p id="SS_Q171-p7"> (1) Whether prophecy pertains to knowledge?</p> | |
| 43 <p id="SS_Q171-p8"> (2) Whether it is a habit?</p> | |
| 44 <p id="SS_Q171-p9"> (3) Whether it is only about future contingencies?</p> | |
| 45 <p id="SS_Q171-p10"> (4) Whether a prophet knows all possible matters of prophecy?</p> | |
| 46 <p id="SS_Q171-p11"> (5) Whether a prophet distinguishes that which he perceives by the gift of God, from that which he perceives by his own spirit?</p> | |
| 47 <p id="SS_Q171-p12"> (6) Whether anything false can be the matter of prophecy?</p> | |
| 48 <div id="SS_Q171_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 49 <a href="summa.SS_Q171.html"></a> | |
| 50 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html"></a> | |
| 51 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A1-p0.1">Whether prophecy pertains to knowledge?</h4> | |
| 52 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 53 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p2"> | |
| 54 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophecy does not pertain to knowledge. For it is written ( | |
| 55 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Sir.48.14" target="asv">Ecclus. 48:14</a>) that after death the body of Eliseus prophesied, and further on ( | |
| 56 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p2.2" href="./asv.html#Sir.49.18" target="asv">Ecclus. 49:18</a>) it is said of Joseph that "his bones were visited, and after death they prophesied." Now no knowledge remains in the body | |
| 57 or in the bones after death. Therefore prophecy does not pertain to knowledge. | |
| 58 </p> | |
| 59 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p3"> | |
| 60 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, it is written ( | |
| 61 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.3" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:3</a>): "He that prophesieth, speaketh to men unto edification." Now speech is not knowledge itself, but its effect. Therefore | |
| 62 it would seem that prophecy does not pertain to knowledge. | |
| 63 </p> | |
| 64 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p4"> | |
| 65 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, every cognitive perfection excludes folly and madness. Yet both of these are consistent with prophecy; for it is | |
| 66 written ( | |
| 67 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Hos.9.7" target="asv">Osee 9:7</a>): "Know ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish and mad [*Vulg.: 'the spiritual man was mad']." Therefore prophecy is | |
| 68 not a cognitive perfection. | |
| 69 </p> | |
| 70 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p5"> | |
| 71 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, just as revelation regards the intellect, so inspiration regards, apparently, the affections, since it denotes a | |
| 72 kind of motion. Now prophecy is described as "inspiration" or "revelation," according to Cassiodorus [*Prolog. super Psalt. | |
| 73 i]. Therefore it would seem that prophecy does not pertain to the intellect more than to the affections. | |
| 74 </p> | |
| 75 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p6"> | |
| 76 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 77 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iKgs.9.9" target="asv">1 Kings 9:9</a>): "For he that is now called a prophet, in time past was called a seer." Now sight pertains to knowledge. Therefore prophecy | |
| 78 pertains to knowledge. | |
| 79 </p> | |
| 80 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p7"> | |
| 81 <b>I answer that,</b> Prophecy first and chiefly consists in knowledge, because, to wit, prophets know things that are far [procul] removed from | |
| 82 man's knowledge. Wherefore they may be said to take their name from {phanos}, "apparition," because things appear to them | |
| 83 from afar. Wherefore, as Isidore states (Etym. vii, 8), "in the Old Testament, they were called Seers, because they saw what | |
| 84 others saw not, and surveyed things hidden in mystery." Hence among heathen nations they | |
| 85 were known as "vates, on account of their power of mind [vi mentis]," [*The Latin 'vates' is from the Greek {phates}, and | |
| 86 may be rendered 'soothsayer'] (Etym. viii, 7). | |
| 87 </p> | |
| 88 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p8"> Since, however, it is written ( | |
| 89 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p8.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.7" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:7</a>): "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit," and further on ( | |
| 90 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p8.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.12" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:12</a>): "Seek to abound unto the edification of the Church," it follows that prophecy consists secondarily in speech, in so far | |
| 91 as the prophets declare for the instruction of others, the things they know through being taught of God, according to the | |
| 92 saying of | |
| 93 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p8.3" href="./asv.html#Isa.21.10" target="asv"> Is. 21:10, </a> "That which | |
| 94 I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared unto you." Accordingly, as Isidore says (Etym. viii, | |
| 95 7), "prophets" may be described as "proefatores [foretellers], because they tell from afar [porro fantur]," that is, speak | |
| 96 from a distance, "and foretell the truth about things to come." | |
| 97 </p> | |
| 98 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p9"> Now those things above human ken which are revealed by God cannot be confirmed by human reason, which they surpass as regards | |
| 99 the operation of the Divine power, according to | |
| 100 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Mark.16.20" target="asv"> Mk. 16:20, </a> "They . . . preached everywhere, the Lord working withal and confirming the word with signs that followed." Hence, thirdly, | |
| 101 prophecy is concerned with the working of miracles, as a kind of confirmation of the prophetic utterances. Wherefore it is | |
| 102 written ( | |
| 103 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p9.2" href="./asv.html#Deut.34.10" target="asv">Dt. | |
| 104 34:10,11 | |
| 105 </a>): "There arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders." | |
| 106 </p> | |
| 107 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p10"> | |
| 108 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> These passages speak of prophecy in reference to the third point just mentioned, which regards the proof of prophecy. | |
| 109 </p> | |
| 110 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p11"> | |
| 111 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The Apostle is speaking there of the prophetic utterances. | |
| 112 </p> | |
| 113 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p12"> | |
| 114 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Those prophets who are described as foolish and mad are not true but false prophets, of whom it is said ( | |
| 115 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p12.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.3.16" target="asv">Jer. 3:16</a>): "Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, and deceive you; they speak a vision of their own heart, | |
| 116 and not out of the mouth of the Lord," and ( | |
| 117 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p12.2" href="./asv.html#Ezek.13.3" target="asv">Ezech. 13:3</a>): "Woe to the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and see nothing." | |
| 118 </p> | |
| 119 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p13"> | |
| 120 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> It is requisite to prophecy that the intention of the mind be raised to the perception of Divine things: wherefore it is | |
| 121 written ( | |
| 122 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p13.1" href="./asv.html#Ezek.2.1" target="asv">Ezech. 2:1</a>): "Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee." This raising of the intention is brought about by the motion | |
| 123 of the Holy Ghost, wherefore the text goes on to say: "And the Spirit entered into me . . . and He set me upon my feet." After | |
| 124 the mind's intention has been raised to | |
| 125 heavenly things, it perceives the things of God; hence the text continues: "And I heard Him speaking to me." Accordingly inspiration | |
| 126 is requisite for prophecy, as regards the raising of the mind, according to | |
| 127 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p13.2" href="./asv.html#Job.32.8" target="asv"> Job 32:8, </a> "The inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding": while revelation is necessary, as regards the very perception of | |
| 128 Divine things, whereby prophecy is completed; by its means the veil of darkness and ignorance is removed, according to | |
| 129 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A1-p13.3" href="./asv.html#Job.12.22" target="asv"> Job | |
| 130 12:22, | |
| 131 </a>"He discovereth great things out of darkness." | |
| 132 </p> | |
| 133 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p14"></p> | |
| 134 <p id="SS_Q171_A1-p15"></p> | |
| 135 <a href="summa.SS_Q171.html"></a> | |
| 136 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html"></a> | |
| 137 </div> | |
| 138 <div id="SS_Q171_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 139 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html"></a> | |
| 140 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html"></a> | |
| 141 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A2-p0.1">Whether prophecy is a habit?</h4> | |
| 142 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 143 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p2"> | |
| 144 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophecy is a habit. For according to Ethic. ii, 5, "there are three things in the soul, power, passion, | |
| 145 and habit." Now prophecy is not a power, for then it would be in all men, since the powers of the soul are common to them. | |
| 146 Again it is not a passion, since the passions belong to the appetitive faculty, as stated above ( | |
| 147 <a id="SS_Q171_A2-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q22_A2.html">FS, Q[22] , A[2]</a>); whereas prophecy pertains principally to knowledge, as stated in the | |
| 148 foregoing Article. Therefore prophecy is a habit. | |
| 149 </p> | |
| 150 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p3"> | |
| 151 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, every perfection of the soul, which is not always in act, is a habit. Now prophecy is a perfection of the soul; | |
| 152 and it is not always in act, else a prophet could not be described as asleep. Therefore seemingly prophecy is a habit. | |
| 153 </p> | |
| 154 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p4"> | |
| 155 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, prophecy is reckoned among the gratuitous graces. Now grace is something in the soul, after the manner of a habit, | |
| 156 as stated above ( | |
| 157 <a id="SS_Q171_A2-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q110_A2.html">FS, Q[110], A[2]</a>). Therefore prophecy is a habit. | |
| 158 </p> | |
| 159 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p5"> | |
| 160 <b>On the contrary,</b> A habit is something "whereby we act when we will," as the Commentator [*Averroes or Ibn Roshd, 1120-1198] says (De Anima | |
| 161 iii). But a man cannot make use of prophecy when he will, as appears in the case of Eliseus ( | |
| 162 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p5.1" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 3:15</a>), "who on Josaphat inquiring of him concerning the future, and the spirit of prophecy failing him, caused a minstrel to be | |
| 163 brought to him, that the spirit of prophecy might come down upon him through the praise | |
| 164 of psalmody, and fill his mind with things to come," as Gregory observes (Hom. i super Ezech.). Therefore prophecy is not | |
| 165 a habit. | |
| 166 </p> | |
| 167 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p6"> | |
| 168 <b>I answer that,</b> As the Apostle says ( | |
| 169 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Eph.5.13" target="asv">Eph. 5:13</a>), "all that is made manifest is light," because, to wit, just as the manifestation of the material sight takes place through | |
| 170 material light, so too the manifestation of intellectual sight takes place through intellectual light. Accordingly manifestation | |
| 171 must be proportionate to the light by means of which it takes place, even as an effect is proportionate to its cause. Since | |
| 172 then prophecy pertains to a | |
| 173 knowledge that surpasses natural reason, as stated above | |
| 174 <a id="SS_Q171_A2-p6.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html">(A[1])</a>, it follows that prophecy requires an intellectual light surpassing the light of natural reason. Hence the saying of | |
| 175 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Mic.7.8" target="asv"> Micah 7:8</a>: "When I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light." Now light may be in a subject in two ways: first, by way of an abiding form, | |
| 176 as material light is in the sun, and in fire; secondly, by way of a passion, or passing impression, as light is in the air. | |
| 177 Now the | |
| 178 prophetic light is not in the prophet's intellect by way of an abiding form, else a prophet would always be able to prophesy, | |
| 179 which is clearly false. For Gregory says (Hom. i super Ezech.): "Sometimes the spirit of prophecy is lacking to the prophet, | |
| 180 nor is it always within the call of his mind, yet so that in its absence he knows that its presence is due to a gift." Hence | |
| 181 Eliseus said of the Sunamite woman ( | |
| 182 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p6.4" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 4:27</a>): "Her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it | |
| 183 from me, and hath not told me." The reason for this is that the intellectual light that is in a subject by way of an abiding | |
| 184 and complete form, perfects the intellect chiefly to the effect of knowing the principle of the things manifested by that | |
| 185 light; thus by the light of the active intellect the intellect knows chiefly the first principles of all things known naturally. | |
| 186 Now the principle of things pertaining to supernatural knowledge, which are manifested by prophecy, is God Himself, Whom | |
| 187 the prophets do not see in His essence, although He is seen by the blessed in heaven, in whom this light is by way of an abiding | |
| 188 and complete form, according to | |
| 189 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p6.5" href="./asv.html#Ps.35.10" target="asv"> Ps. 35:10, </a> "In Thy light we shall see light." | |
| 190 </p> | |
| 191 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p7"> It follows therefore that the prophetic light is in the prophet's soul by way of a passion or transitory impression. This | |
| 192 is indicated | |
| 193 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Exod.33.22" target="asv">Ex. 33:22</a>: "When my glory shall pass, I will set thee in a hole of the rock," etc., and | |
| 194 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p7.2" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">3 Kings 19:11</a>: "Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord; and behold the Lord passeth," etc. Hence it is that even as the air | |
| 195 is ever in need of a fresh enlightening, so too the prophet's mind is always in need of a fresh | |
| 196 revelation; thus a disciple who has not yet acquired the principles of an art needs to have every detail explained to him. | |
| 197 Wherefore it is written ( | |
| 198 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p7.3" href="./asv.html#Isa.1.4" target="asv">Is. 1:4</a>): "In the morning He wakeneth my ear, so that I may hear Him as a master." This is also indicated by the very manner in which | |
| 199 prophecies are uttered: thus it is stated that "the Lord spake to such and such a prophet," or that "the word of the Lord," | |
| 200 or "the hand of the Lord was made upon him." | |
| 201 </p> | |
| 202 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p8"> But a habit is an abiding form. Wherefore it is evident that, properly speaking, prophecy is not a habit.</p> | |
| 203 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p9"> | |
| 204 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> This division of the Philosopher's does not comprise absolutely all that is in the soul, but only such as can be principles | |
| 205 of moral actions, which are done sometimes from passion, sometimes from habit, sometimes from mere power, as in the case of | |
| 206 those who perform an action from the judgment of their reason before having the habit of that action. | |
| 207 </p> | |
| 208 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p10"> However, prophecy may be reduced to a passion, provided we understand passion to denote any kind of receiving, in which sense | |
| 209 the Philosopher says (De Anima iii, 4) that "to understand is, in a way, to be passive." For just as, in natural knowledge, | |
| 210 the possible intellect is passive to the light of the active intellect, so too in prophetic knowledge the human intellect | |
| 211 is passive to the enlightening of the Divine light. | |
| 212 </p> | |
| 213 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p11"> | |
| 214 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Just as in corporeal things, when a passion ceases, there remains a certain aptitude to a repetition of the passion---thus | |
| 215 wood once ignited is more easily ignited again, so too in the prophet's intellect, after the actual enlightenment has ceased, | |
| 216 there remains an aptitude to be enlightened anew---thus when the mind has once been aroused to devotion, it is more easily | |
| 217 recalled to its former devotion. Hence Augustine says (De orando Deum. Ep. cxxx, 9) | |
| 218 that our prayers need to be frequent, "lest devotion be extinguished as soon as it is kindled." | |
| 219 </p> | |
| 220 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p12"> We might, however, reply that a person is called a prophet, even while his prophetic enlightenment ceases to be actual, on | |
| 221 account of his being deputed by God, according to | |
| 222 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A2-p12.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.1.5" target="asv"> Jer. 1:5, </a> "And I made thee a prophet unto the nations." | |
| 223 </p> | |
| 224 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p13"> | |
| 225 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Every gift of grace raises man to something above human nature, and this may happen in two ways. First, as to the substance | |
| 226 of the act---for instance, the working of miracles, and the knowledge of the uncertain and hidden things of Divine wisdom---and | |
| 227 for such acts man is not granted a habitual gift of grace. Secondly, a thing is above human nature as to the mode but not | |
| 228 the substance of the act---for instance to love God and to know Him in the mirror | |
| 229 of His creatures---and for this a habitual gift of grace is bestowed. | |
| 230 </p> | |
| 231 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p14"></p> | |
| 232 <p id="SS_Q171_A2-p15"></p> | |
| 233 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html"></a> | |
| 234 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html"></a> | |
| 235 </div> | |
| 236 <div id="SS_Q171_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 237 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html"></a> | |
| 238 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A4.html"></a> | |
| 239 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A3-p0.1">Whether prophecy is only about future contingencies?</h4> | |
| 240 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 241 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p2"> | |
| 242 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophecy is only about future contingencies. For Cassiodorus says [*Prol. super Psalt. i] that "prophecy | |
| 243 is a Divine inspiration or revelation, announcing the issue of things with unchangeable truth." Now issues pertain to future | |
| 244 contingencies. Therefore the prophetic revelation is about future contingencies alone. | |
| 245 </p> | |
| 246 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p3"> | |
| 247 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, according to | |
| 248 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12" target="asv">1 Cor. 12</a>, the grace of prophecy is differentiated from wisdom and faith, which are about Divine things; and from the discernment of | |
| 249 spirits, which is about created spirits; and from knowledge, which is about human things. Now habits and acts are differentiated | |
| 250 by their objects, as stated above ( | |
| 251 <a id="SS_Q171_A3-p3.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q54_A2.html">FS, Q[54], A[2]</a>). Therefore it seems that the object of prophecy is not connected with any of the above. Therefore it | |
| 252 follows that it is about future contingencies alone. | |
| 253 </p> | |
| 254 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p4"> | |
| 255 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, difference of object causes difference of species, as stated above ( | |
| 256 <a id="SS_Q171_A3-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q54_A2.html">FS, Q[54], A[2]</a>). Therefore, if one prophecy is about future contingencies, and another about other things, it would seem to follow that | |
| 257 these are different species of prophecy. | |
| 258 </p> | |
| 259 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p5"> | |
| 260 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. i super Ezech.) that some prophecies are "about the future, for instance ( | |
| 261 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.7.14" target="asv">Is. 7:14</a>), 'Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son'"; some are "about the past, as ( | |
| 262 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p5.2" href="./asv.html#Gen.1.1" target="asv">Gn. 1:1</a>), 'In the beginning God created heaven and earth'"; some are "about the present," as ( | |
| 263 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p5.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.24" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:24,25</a>), "If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not . . . the secrets of his heart are made | |
| 264 manifest." Therefore prophecy is not about future contingencies alone. | |
| 265 </p> | |
| 266 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p6"> | |
| 267 <b>I answer that,</b> A manifestation made by means of a certain light can extend to all those things that are subject to that light: thus the | |
| 268 body's sight extends to all colors, and the soul's natural knowledge extends to whatever is subject to the light of the active | |
| 269 intellect. Now prophetic knowledge comes through a Divine light, whereby it is possible to know all things both Divine and | |
| 270 human, both spiritual and corporeal; and consequently the prophetic revelation extends to | |
| 271 them all. Thus by the ministry of spirits a prophetic revelation concerning the perfections of God and the angels was made | |
| 272 to | |
| 273 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.6.1" target="asv"> Is. 6:1, </a> where it is written, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated." Moreover his prophecy contains matters referring | |
| 274 to natural bodies, according to the words of | |
| 275 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.40.12" target="asv"> Is. 40:12, </a> "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand," etc. It also contains matters relating to human conduct, according | |
| 276 to | |
| 277 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Isa.58.1" target="asv">Is. 58:1</a>, | |
| 278 "Deal thy bread to the hungry," etc.; and besides this it contains things pertaining to future events, according to | |
| 279 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p6.4" href="./asv.html#Isa.47.9" target="asv"> Is. 47:9, </a> "Two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day, barrenness and widowhood." | |
| 280 </p> | |
| 281 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p7"> Since, however, prophecy is about things remote from our knowledge, it must be observed that the more remote things are from | |
| 282 our knowledge the more pertinent they are to prophecy. Of such things there are three degrees. One degree comprises things | |
| 283 remote from the knowledge, either sensitive or intellective, of some particular man, but not from the knowledge of all men; | |
| 284 thus a particular man knows by sense things present to him locally, which another man does not know by human | |
| 285 sense, since they are removed from him. Thus Eliseus knew prophetically what his disciple Giezi had done in his absence ( | |
| 286 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p7.1" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 5:26</a>), and in like manner the secret thoughts of one man are manifested prophetically to another, according to | |
| 287 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p7.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.25" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:25</a>; and again in this way what one man knows by demonstration may be revealed to another prophetically. | |
| 288 </p> | |
| 289 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p8"> The second degree comprises those things which surpass the knowledge of all men without exception, not that they are in themselves | |
| 290 unknowable, but on account of a defect in human knowledge; such as the mystery of the Trinity, which was revealed by the Seraphim | |
| 291 saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy," etc. ( | |
| 292 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A3-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.6.3" target="asv">Is. 6:3</a>). | |
| 293 </p> | |
| 294 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p9"> The last degree comprises things remote from the knowledge of all men, through being in themselves unknowable; such are future | |
| 295 contingencies, the truth of which is indeterminate. And since that which is predicated universally and by its very nature, | |
| 296 takes precedence of that which is predicated in a limited and relative sense, it follows that revelation of future events | |
| 297 belongs most properly to prophecy, and from this prophecy apparently takes its name. Hence Gregory says (Hom. i | |
| 298 super Ezech.): "And since a prophet is so called because he foretells the future, his name loses its significance when he | |
| 299 speaks of the past or present." | |
| 300 </p> | |
| 301 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p10"> | |
| 302 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Prophecy is there defined according to its proper signification; and it is in this sense that it is differentiated from the | |
| 303 other gratuitous graces. | |
| 304 </p> | |
| 305 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p11"> | |
| 306 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> This is evident from what has just been said. We might also reply that all those things that are the matter of prophecy have | |
| 307 the common aspect of being unknowable to man except by Divine revelation; whereas those that are the matter of "wisdom," "knowledge," | |
| 308 and the "interpretation of speeches," can be known by man through natural reason, but are manifested in a higher way through | |
| 309 the enlightening of the Divine light. As to "faith," although it is | |
| 310 about things invisible to man, it is not concerned with the knowledge of the things believed, but with a man's certitude of | |
| 311 assent to things known by others. | |
| 312 </p> | |
| 313 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p12"> | |
| 314 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The formal element in prophetic knowledge is the Divine light, which being one, gives unity of species to prophecy, although | |
| 315 the things prophetically manifested by the Divine light are diverse. | |
| 316 </p> | |
| 317 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p13"></p> | |
| 318 <p id="SS_Q171_A3-p14"></p> | |
| 319 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html"></a> | |
| 320 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A4.html"></a> | |
| 321 </div> | |
| 322 <div id="SS_Q171_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 323 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html"></a> | |
| 324 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A5.html"></a> | |
| 325 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A4-p0.1">Whether by the Divine revelation a prophet knows all that can be known prophetically?</h4> | |
| 326 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 327 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p2"> | |
| 328 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that by the Divine revelation a prophet knows all that can be known prophetically. For it is written ( | |
| 329 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A4-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Amos.3.7" target="asv">Amos 3:7</a>): "The Lord God doth nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets." Now whatever is revealed prophetically | |
| 330 is something done by God. Therefore there is not one of them but what is revealed to the prophet. | |
| 331 </p> | |
| 332 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p3"> | |
| 333 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, "God's works are perfect" ( | |
| 334 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A4-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Deut.32.4" target="asv">Dt. 32:4</a>). Now prophecy is a "Divine revelation," as stated above | |
| 335 <a id="SS_Q171_A4-p3.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html">(A[3])</a>. Therefore it is perfect; and this would not be so unless all possible matters of prophecy were revealed prophetically, since | |
| 336 "the perfect is that which lacks nothing" (Phys. iii, 6). Therefore all possible matters of prophecy are revealed to the prophet. | |
| 337 </p> | |
| 338 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p4"> | |
| 339 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the Divine light which causes prophecy is more powerful than the right of natural reason which is the cause of human | |
| 340 science. Now a man who has acquired a science knows whatever pertains to that science; thus a grammarian knows all matters | |
| 341 of grammar. Therefore it would seem that a prophet knows all matters of prophecy. | |
| 342 </p> | |
| 343 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p5"> | |
| 344 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. i super Ezech.) that "sometimes the spirit of prophecy indicates the present to the prophet's mind and | |
| 345 nowise the future; and sometimes it points not to the present but to the future." Therefore the prophet does not know all | |
| 346 matters of prophecy. | |
| 347 </p> | |
| 348 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p6"> | |
| 349 <b>I answer that,</b> Things which differ from one another need not exist simultaneously, save by reason of some one thing in which they are connected | |
| 350 and on which they depend: thus it has been stated above ( | |
| 351 <a id="SS_Q171_A4-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q65_A1.html">FS, Q[65], AA[1]</a>,2) that all the virtues must needs exist simultaneously on account of prudence and charity. Now all the things that are known | |
| 352 through some principle are connected in that principle and depend thereon. Hence he who knows a principle | |
| 353 perfectly, as regards all to which its virtue extends, knows at the same time all that can be known through that principle; | |
| 354 whereas if the common principle is unknown, or known only in a general way, it does not follow that one knows all those things | |
| 355 at the same time, but each of them has to be manifested by itself, so that consequently some of them may be known, and some | |
| 356 not. | |
| 357 </p> | |
| 358 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p7"> Now the principle of those things that are prophetically manifested by the Divine light is the first truth, which the prophets | |
| 359 do not see in itself. Wherefore there is no need for their knowing all possible matters of prophecy; but each one knows some | |
| 360 of them according to the special revelation of this or that matter. | |
| 361 </p> | |
| 362 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p8"> | |
| 363 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The Lord reveals to the prophets all things that are necessary for the instruction of the faithful; yet not all to every | |
| 364 one, but some to one, and some to another. | |
| 365 </p> | |
| 366 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p9"> | |
| 367 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Prophecy is by way of being something imperfect in the genus of Divine revelation: hence it is written ( | |
| 368 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A4-p9.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.8" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:8</a>) that "prophecies shall be made void," and that "we prophesy in part," i.e. imperfectly. The Divine revelation will be brought | |
| 369 to its perfection in heaven; wherefore the same text continues ( | |
| 370 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A4-p9.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.113.10" target="asv">1 Cor. 113:10</a>): "When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away." | |
| 371 Consequently it does not follow that nothing is lacking to prophetic revelation, but that it lacks none of those things to | |
| 372 which prophecy is directed. | |
| 373 </p> | |
| 374 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p10"> | |
| 375 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> He who has a science knows the principles of that science, whence whatever is pertinent to that science depends; wherefore | |
| 376 to have the habit of a science perfectly, is to know whatever is pertinent to that science. But God Who is the principle of | |
| 377 prophetic knowledge is not known in Himself through prophecy; wherefore the comparison fails. | |
| 378 </p> | |
| 379 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p11"></p> | |
| 380 <p id="SS_Q171_A4-p12"></p> | |
| 381 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html"></a> | |
| 382 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A5.html"></a> | |
| 383 </div> | |
| 384 <div id="SS_Q171_A5" class="div4"> | |
| 385 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A4.html"></a> | |
| 386 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A6.html"></a> | |
| 387 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A5-p0.1">Whether the prophet always distinguishes what he says by his own spirit from what he says by the prophetic spirit?</h4> | |
| 388 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p1"></p> | |
| 389 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p2"> | |
| 390 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophet always distinguishes what he says by his own spirit from what he says by the prophetic spirit. | |
| 391 For Augustine states (Confess. vi, 13) that his mother said "she could, through a certain feeling, which in words she could | |
| 392 not express, discern betwixt Divine revelations, and the dreams of her own soul." Now prophecy is a Divine revelation, as | |
| 393 stated above | |
| 394 <a id="SS_Q171_A5-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html">(A[3])</a>. Therefore the prophet always distinguishes | |
| 395 what he says by the spirit of prophecy, from what he says by his own spirit. | |
| 396 </p> | |
| 397 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p3"> | |
| 398 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, God commands nothing impossible, as Jerome [*Pelagius. Ep. xvi, among the supposititious works of St. Jerome] says. | |
| 399 Now the prophets were commanded ( | |
| 400 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A5-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.23.28" target="asv">Jer. 23:28</a>): "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My word, let him speak My word with truth." Therefore | |
| 401 the prophet can distinguish what he has through the spirit of prophecy from what he sees otherwise. | |
| 402 </p> | |
| 403 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p4"> | |
| 404 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the certitude resulting from a Divine light is greater than that which results from the light of natural reason. | |
| 405 Now he that has science, by the light of natural reason knows for certain that he has it. Therefore he that has prophecy by | |
| 406 a Divine light is much more certain that he has it. | |
| 407 </p> | |
| 408 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p5"> | |
| 409 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. i super Ezech.): "It must be observed that sometimes the holy prophets, when consulted, utter certain | |
| 410 things by their own spirit, through being much accustomed to prophesying, and think they are speaking by the prophetic spirit." | |
| 411 </p> | |
| 412 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p6"> | |
| 413 <b>I answer that,</b> The prophet's mind is instructed by God in two ways: in one way by an express revelation, in another way by a most mysterious | |
| 414 instinct to "which the human mind is subjected without knowing it," as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. ii, 17). Accordingly the | |
| 415 prophet has the greatest certitude about those things which he knows by an express revelation, and he has it for certain that | |
| 416 they are revealed to him by God; wherefore it is written ( | |
| 417 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A5-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.26.15" target="asv">Jer. | |
| 418 26:15 | |
| 419 </a>): "In truth the Lord sent me to you, to speak all these words in your hearing." Else, were he not certain about this, the | |
| 420 faith which relies on the utterances of the prophet would not be certain. A sign of the prophet's certitude may be gathered | |
| 421 from the fact that Abraham being admonished in a prophetic vision, prepared to sacrifice his only-begotten son, which he nowise | |
| 422 would have done had he not been most certain of the Divine revelation. | |
| 423 </p> | |
| 424 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p7"> On the other hand, his position with regard to the things he knows by instinct is sometimes such that he is unable to distinguish | |
| 425 fully whether his thoughts are conceived of Divine instinct or of his own spirit. And those things which we know by Divine | |
| 426 instinct are not all manifested with prophetic certitude, for this instinct is something imperfect in the genus of prophecy. | |
| 427 It is thus that we are to understand the saying of Gregory. Lest, however, this should lead to error, | |
| 428 "they are very soon set aright by the Holy Ghost [*For instance, cf. | |
| 429 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A5-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iiKgdms.7.3" target="asv">2 Kings 7:3 </a>seqq.], and from Him they hear the truth, so that they reproach themselves for having said what was untrue," as Gregory adds | |
| 430 (Hom. i super Ezech.). | |
| 431 </p> | |
| 432 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p8"> The arguments set down in the first place consider the revelation that is made by the prophetic spirit; wherefore the answer | |
| 433 to all the objections is clear. | |
| 434 </p> | |
| 435 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p9"></p> | |
| 436 <p id="SS_Q171_A5-p10"></p> | |
| 437 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A4.html"></a> | |
| 438 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A6.html"></a> | |
| 439 </div> | |
| 440 <div id="SS_Q171_A6" class="div4"> | |
| 441 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A5.html"></a> | |
| 442 <a href="summa.SS_Q172.html"></a> | |
| 443 <h4 id="SS_Q171_A6-p0.1">Whether things known or declared prophetically can be false?</h4> | |
| 444 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p1"></p> | |
| 445 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p2"> | |
| 446 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that things known or declared prophetically can be false. For prophecy is about future contingencies, as stated | |
| 447 above (A[3] ). Now future contingencies may possibly not happen; else they would happen of necessity. Therefore the matter | |
| 448 of prophecy can be false. | |
| 449 </p> | |
| 450 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p3"> | |
| 451 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Isaias prophesied to Ezechias saying ( | |
| 452 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.38.1" target="asv">Is. 38:1</a>): "Take order with thy house, for thou shalt surely die, and shalt not live," and yet fifteen years were added to his life | |
| 453 ( | |
| 454 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p3.2" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 20:6</a>). Again the Lord said ( | |
| 455 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p3.3" href="./asv.html#Jer.18.7" target="asv">Jer. 18:7,8</a>): "I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to root out and to pull down and to destroy it. If that | |
| 456 nation against which I have spoken shall repent of | |
| 457 their evil, I also will repent of the evil that I have thought to do them." This is instanced in the example of the Ninevites, | |
| 458 according to | |
| 459 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p3.4" href="./asv.html#John.3.10" target="asv"> Jn. 3:10</a>: "The Lord [Vulg.: 'God'] had mercy with regard to the evil which He had said that He would do to them, and He did it not." | |
| 460 Therefore the matter of prophecy can be false. | |
| 461 </p> | |
| 462 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p4"> | |
| 463 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, in a conditional proposition, whenever the antecedent is absolutely necessary, the consequent is absolutely necessary, | |
| 464 because the consequent of a conditional proposition stands in the same relation to the antecedent, as the conclusion to the | |
| 465 premises in a syllogism, and a syllogism whose premises are necessary always leads to a necessary conclusion, as we find proved | |
| 466 in I Poster. 6. But if the matter of a prophecy cannot be false, the following | |
| 467 conditional proposition must needs be true: "If a thing has been prophesied, it will be." Now the antecedent of this conditional | |
| 468 proposition is absolutely necessary, since it is about the past. Therefore the consequent is also necessary absolutely; yet | |
| 469 this is unfitting, for then prophecy would not be about contingencies. Therefore it is untrue that the matter of prophecy | |
| 470 cannot be false. | |
| 471 </p> | |
| 472 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p5"> | |
| 473 <b>On the contrary,</b> Cassiodorus says [*Prol. in Psalt. i] that "prophecy is a Divine inspiration or revelation, announcing the issue of things | |
| 474 with invariable truth." Now the truth of prophecy would not be invariable, if its matter could be false. Therefore nothing | |
| 475 false can come under prophecy. | |
| 476 </p> | |
| 477 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p6"> | |
| 478 <b>I answer that,</b> As may be gathered from what has been said ( | |
| 479 <a id="SS_Q171_A6-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html">AA[1]</a>,3,5), prophecy is a kind of knowledge impressed under the form of teaching on the prophet's intellect, by Divine revelation. | |
| 480 Now the truth of knowledge is the same in disciple and teacher since the knowledge of the disciple is a likeness of the knowledge | |
| 481 of the teacher, even as in natural things the form of the thing generated is a likeness of the form of the generator. Jerome | |
| 482 speaks | |
| 483 in this sense when he says [*Comment. in Daniel ii, 10] that "prophecy is the seal of the Divine foreknowledge." Consequently | |
| 484 the same truth must needs be in prophetic knowledge and utterances, as in the Divine knowledge, under which nothing false | |
| 485 can possibly come, as stated in the | |
| 486 <a id="SS_Q171_A6-p6.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q16_A8.html">FP, Q[16], A[8]</a>. Therefore nothing false can come under prophecy. | |
| 487 </p> | |
| 488 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p7"> | |
| 489 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated in the | |
| 490 <a id="SS_Q171_A6-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q14_A13.html">FP, Q[14], A[13]</a> the certitude of the Divine foreknowledge does not exclude the contingency of future singular events, because that knowledge | |
| 491 regards the future as present and already determinate to one thing. Wherefore prophecy also, which is an "impressed likeness" | |
| 492 or "seal of the Divine foreknowledge," does not by its unchangeable truth exclude the contingency of future things. | |
| 493 </p> | |
| 494 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p8"> | |
| 495 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The Divine foreknowledge regards future things in two ways. First, as they are in themselves, in so far, to wit, as it sees | |
| 496 them in their presentiality: secondly, as in their causes, inasmuch as it sees the order of causes in relation to their effects. | |
| 497 And though future contingencies, considered as in themselves, are determinate to one thing, yet, considered as in their causes, | |
| 498 they are not so determined but that they can happen otherwise. Again, | |
| 499 though this twofold knowledge is always united in the Divine intellect, it is not always united in the prophetic revelation, | |
| 500 because an imprint made by an active cause is not always on a par with the virtue of that cause. Hence sometimes the prophetic | |
| 501 revelation is an imprinted likeness of the Divine foreknowledge, in so far as the latter regards future contingencies in themselves: | |
| 502 and such things happen in the same way as foretold, for example this saying of | |
| 503 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.7.14" target="asv">Is. 7:14</a>: "Behold a virgin shall | |
| 504 conceive." Sometimes, however, the prophetic revelation is an imprinted likeness of the Divine foreknowledge as knowing the | |
| 505 order of causes to effects; and then at times the event is otherwise than foretold. Yet the prophecy does not cover a falsehood, | |
| 506 for the meaning of the prophecy is that inferior causes, whether they be natural causes or human acts, are so disposed as | |
| 507 to lead to such a result. In this way we are to understand the saying of | |
| 508 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p8.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.38.1" target="asv"> Is. 38:1</a>: "Thou shalt die, and | |
| 509 not live"; in other words, "The disposition of thy body has a tendency to death": and the saying of | |
| 510 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q171_A6-p8.3" href="./asv.html#Jonah.3.4" target="asv"> Jonah 3:4, </a> "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed," that is to say, "Its merits demand that it should be destroyed." God is | |
| 511 said "to repent," metaphorically, inasmuch as He bears Himself after the manner of one who repents, by "changing His sentence, | |
| 512 although He changes not His counsel" [*Cf. | |
| 513 <a id="SS_Q171_A6-p8.4" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q19_A7.html">FP, Q[19], A[7]</a>, ad 2]. | |
| 514 </p> | |
| 515 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p9"> | |
| 516 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Since the same truth of prophecy is the same as the truth of Divine foreknowledge, as stated above, the conditional proposition: | |
| 517 "If this was prophesied, it will be," is true in the same way as the proposition: "If this was foreknown, it will be": for | |
| 518 in both cases it is impossible for the antecedent not to be. Hence the consequent is necessary, considered, not as something | |
| 519 future in our regard, but as being present to the Divine foreknowledge, as | |
| 520 stated in the | |
| 521 <a id="SS_Q171_A6-p9.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q14_A13.html">FP, Q[14], A[13]</a>, ad 2. | |
| 522 </p> | |
| 523 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p10"></p> | |
| 524 <p id="SS_Q171_A6-p11"></p> | |
| 525 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A5.html"></a> | |
| 526 <a href="summa.SS_Q172.html"></a> | |
| 527 </div> | |
| 528 <a href="summa.SS.iv.html"></a> | |
| 529 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html"></a> | |
| 530 </div> | |
| 531 <div id="SS_Q172" class="div3"> | |
| 532 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A6.html"></a> | |
| 533 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html"></a> | |
| 534 <h3 id="SS_Q172-p0.1">OF THE CAUSE OF PROPHECY (SIX ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 535 <p id="SS_Q172-p1"></p> | |
| 536 <p id="SS_Q172-p2"> We must now consider the cause of prophecy. Under this head there are six points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 537 <p id="SS_Q172-p3"> (1) Whether prophecy is natural?</p> | |
| 538 <p id="SS_Q172-p4"> (2) Whether it is from God by means of the angels?</p> | |
| 539 <p id="SS_Q172-p5"> (3) Whether a natural disposition is requisite for prophecy?</p> | |
| 540 <p id="SS_Q172-p6"> (4) Whether a good life is requisite?</p> | |
| 541 <p id="SS_Q172-p7"> (5) Whether any prophecy is from the demons?</p> | |
| 542 <p id="SS_Q172-p8"> (6) Whether prophets of the demons ever tell what is true?</p> | |
| 543 <div id="SS_Q172_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 544 <a href="summa.SS_Q172.html"></a> | |
| 545 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A2.html"></a> | |
| 546 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A1-p0.1">Whether prophecy can be natural?</h4> | |
| 547 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 548 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p2"> | |
| 549 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophecy can be natural. For Gregory says (Dial. iv, 26) that "sometimes the mere strength of the soul | |
| 550 is sufficiently cunning to foresee certain things": and Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 13) that the human soul, according | |
| 551 as it is withdrawn from the sense of the body, is able to foresee the future [*Cf. | |
| 552 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q86_A4.html">FP, Q[86], A[4]</a>, ad 2]. Now this pertains to prophecy. Therefore the soul can acquire prophecy naturally. | |
| 553 </p> | |
| 554 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p3"> | |
| 555 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the human soul's knowledge is more alert while one wakes than while one sleeps. Now some, during sleep, naturally | |
| 556 foresee the future, as the Philosopher asserts (De Somn. et Vigil. [*De Divinat. per Somn. ii, which is annexed to the work | |
| 557 quoted]). Much more therefore can a man naturally foreknow the future. | |
| 558 </p> | |
| 559 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p4"> | |
| 560 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, man, by his nature, is more perfect than dumb animals. Yet some dumb animals have foreknowledge of future things | |
| 561 that concern them. Thus ants foreknow the coming rains, which is evident from their gathering grain into their nest before | |
| 562 the rain commences; and in like manner fish foreknow a coming storm, as may be gathered from their movements in avoiding places | |
| 563 exposed to storm. Much more therefore can men foreknow the future that concerns themselves, | |
| 564 and of such things is prophecy. Therefore prophecy comes from nature. | |
| 565 </p> | |
| 566 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p5"> | |
| 567 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, it is written ( | |
| 568 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A1-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Prov.29.18" target="asv">Prov. 29:18</a>): "When prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered abroad"; wherefore it is evident that prophecy is necessary for | |
| 569 the stability of the human race. Now "nature does not fail in necessaries" [*Aristotle, de Anima iii, 9]. Therefore it seems | |
| 570 that prophecy is from nature. | |
| 571 </p> | |
| 572 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p6"> | |
| 573 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 574 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iiPet.1.21" target="asv">2 Pet. 1:21</a>): "For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time, but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost." Therefore | |
| 575 prophecy comes not from nature, but through the gift of the Holy Ghost. | |
| 576 </p> | |
| 577 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p7"> | |
| 578 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above (Q[171], A[6], ad 2) prophetic foreknowledge may regard future things in two ways: in one way, as they are | |
| 579 in themselves; in another way, as they are in their causes. Now, to foreknow future things, as they are in themselves, is | |
| 580 proper to the Divine intellect, to Whose eternity all things are present, as stated in the | |
| 581 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q14_A13.html">FP, Q[14], A[13]</a>. Wherefore such like foreknowledge of the future cannot come from nature, but from | |
| 582 Divine revelation alone. On the other hand, future things can be foreknown in their causes with a natural knowledge even by | |
| 583 man: thus a physician foreknows future health or death in certain causes, through previous experimental knowledge of the order | |
| 584 of those causes to such effects. Such like knowledge of the future may be understood to be in a man by nature in two ways. | |
| 585 In one way that the soul, from that which it holds, is able to foreknow the future, and thus Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. | |
| 586 xii, 13): "Some have deemed the human soul to contain a certain power of divination." This seems to be in accord with the | |
| 587 opinion of Plato [*Phaed. xxvii; Civit. vi], who held that our souls have knowledge of all things by participating in the | |
| 588 ideas; but that this knowledge is obscured in them by union with the body; yet in some more, in others less, according to | |
| 589 a difference in bodily purity. According to this it might be said that men, whose souls are not much obscured through union | |
| 590 with the | |
| 591 body, are able to foreknow such like future things by their own knowledge. Against this opinion Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. | |
| 592 xii, 13): "How is it that the soul cannot always have this power of divination, since it always wishes to have it?" | |
| 593 </p> | |
| 594 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p8"> Since, however, it seems truer, according to the opinion of Aristotle, that the soul acquires knowledge from sensibles, as | |
| 595 stated in the | |
| 596 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q84_A6.html">FP, Q[84], A[6]</a>, it is better to have recourse to another explanation, and to hold that men have no such foreknowledge of the future, but | |
| 597 that they can acquire it by means of experience, wherein they are helped by their natural disposition, which depends on the | |
| 598 perfection of a man's imaginative power, and the clarity of | |
| 599 his understanding. | |
| 600 </p> | |
| 601 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p9"> Nevertheless this latter foreknowledge of the future differs in two ways from the former, which comes through Divine revelation. | |
| 602 First, because the former can be about any events whatever, and this infallibly; whereas the latter foreknowledge, which can | |
| 603 be had naturally, is about certain effects, to which human experience may extend. Secondly, because the former prophecy is | |
| 604 "according to the unchangeable truth" [* | |
| 605 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p9.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html">Q[171], A[3]</a>, OBJ[1]], while the latter | |
| 606 is not, and can cover a falsehood. Now the former foreknowledge, and not the latter, properly belongs to prophecy, because, | |
| 607 as stated above ( | |
| 608 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p9.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A3.html">Q[171], A[3]</a>), prophetic knowledge is of things which naturally surpass human knowledge. Consequently we must say that prophecy strictly | |
| 609 so called cannot be from nature, but only from Divine revelation. | |
| 610 </p> | |
| 611 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p10"> | |
| 612 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> When the soul is withdrawn from corporeal things, it becomes more adapted to receive the influence of spiritual substances | |
| 613 [*Cf. | |
| 614 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q88_A4.html">FP, Q[88], A[4]</a>, ad 2], and also is more inclined to receive the subtle motions which take place in the human imagination through the impression | |
| 615 of natural causes, whereas it is hindered from receiving them while occupied with sensible things. Hence Gregory says (Dial. | |
| 616 iv, 26) that "the soul, at the | |
| 617 approach of death, foresees certain future things, by reason of the subtlety of its nature," inasmuch as it is receptive even | |
| 618 of slight impressions. Or again, it knows future things by a revelation of the angels; but not by its own power, because according | |
| 619 to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. xii, 13), "if this were so, it would be able to foreknow the future whenever it willed," which | |
| 620 is clearly false. | |
| 621 </p> | |
| 622 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p11"> | |
| 623 <b>Objection 2:</b> Knowledge of the future by means of dreams, comes either from the revelation of spiritual substances, or from a corporeal | |
| 624 cause, as stated above ( | |
| 625 <a id="SS_Q172_A1-p11.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q95_A6.html">Q[95], A[6]</a>), when we were treating of divination. Now both these causes are more applicable to a person while asleep than while awake, | |
| 626 because, while awake, the soul is occupied with external sensibles, so that it is less receptive of the subtle impressions | |
| 627 either of spiritual substances, or | |
| 628 even of natural causes; although as regards the perfection of judgment, the reason is more alert in waking than in sleeping. | |
| 629 </p> | |
| 630 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p12"> | |
| 631 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Even dumb animals have no foreknowledge of future events, except as these are foreknown in their causes, whereby their imagination | |
| 632 is moved more than man's, because man's imagination, especially in waking, is more disposed according to reason than according | |
| 633 to the impression of natural causes. Yet reason effects much more amply in man, that which the impression of natural causes | |
| 634 effects in dumb animals; and Divine grace by inspiring the prophecy | |
| 635 assists man still more. | |
| 636 </p> | |
| 637 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p13"> | |
| 638 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> The prophetic light extends even to the direction of human acts; and in this way prophecy is requisite for the government | |
| 639 of a people, especially in relation to Divine worship; since for this nature is not sufficient, and grace is necessary. | |
| 640 </p> | |
| 641 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p14"></p> | |
| 642 <p id="SS_Q172_A1-p15"></p> | |
| 643 <a href="summa.SS_Q172.html"></a> | |
| 644 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A2.html"></a> | |
| 645 </div> | |
| 646 <div id="SS_Q172_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 647 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html"></a> | |
| 648 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A3.html"></a> | |
| 649 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A2-p0.1">Whether prophetic revelation comes through the angels?</h4> | |
| 650 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 651 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p2"> | |
| 652 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophetic revelation does not come through the angels. For it is written ( | |
| 653 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.7.27" target="asv">Wis. 7:27</a>) that Divine wisdom "conveyeth herself into holy souls," and "maketh the friends of God, and the prophets." Now wisdom makes | |
| 654 the friends of God immediately. Therefore it also makes the prophets immediately, and not through the medium of the angels. | |
| 655 </p> | |
| 656 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p3"> | |
| 657 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, prophecy is reckoned among the gratuitous graces. But the gratuitous graces are from the Holy Ghost, according to | |
| 658 | |
| 659 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:4, </a> "There are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit." Therefore the prophetic revelation is not made by means of an angel. | |
| 660 </p> | |
| 661 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p4"> | |
| 662 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Cassiodorus [*Prol. in Psalt. i] says that prophecy is a "Divine revelation": whereas if it were conveyed by the | |
| 663 angels, it would be called an angelic revelation. Therefore prophecy is not bestowed by means of the angels. | |
| 664 </p> | |
| 665 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p5"> | |
| 666 <b>On the contrary,</b> Dionysius says (Coel. Hier. iv): "Our glorious fathers received Divine visions by means of the heavenly powers"; and he is | |
| 667 speaking there of prophetic visions. Therefore prophetic revelation is conveyed by means of the angels. | |
| 668 </p> | |
| 669 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p6"> | |
| 670 <b>I answer that,</b> As the Apostle says ( | |
| 671 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A2-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.13.1" target="asv">Rom. 13:1</a>), "Things that are of God are well ordered [*Vulg.: 'Those that are, are ordained of God.']." Now the Divine ordering, according | |
| 672 to Dionysius [*Coel. Hier. iv; Eccl. Hier. v], is such that the lowest things are directed by middle things. Now the angels | |
| 673 hold a middle position between God and men, in that they have a greater share in the perfection of the Divine goodness than | |
| 674 men have. Wherefore the Divine | |
| 675 enlightenments and revelations are conveyed from God to men by the angels. Now prophetic knowledge is bestowed by Divine enlightenment | |
| 676 and revelation. Therefore it is evident that it is conveyed by the angels. | |
| 677 </p> | |
| 678 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p7"> | |
| 679 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Charity which makes man a friend of God, is a perfection of the will, in which God alone can form an impression; whereas | |
| 680 prophecy is a perfection of the intellect, in which an angel also can form an impression, as stated in the | |
| 681 <a id="SS_Q172_A2-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q111_A1.html">FP, Q[111], A[1]</a>, wherefore the comparison fails between the two. | |
| 682 </p> | |
| 683 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p8"> | |
| 684 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The gratuitous graces are ascribed to the Holy Ghost as their first principle: yet He works grace of this kind in men by | |
| 685 means of the angels. | |
| 686 </p> | |
| 687 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p9"> | |
| 688 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The work of the instrument is ascribed to the principal agent by whose power the instrument acts. And since a minister is | |
| 689 like an instrument, prophetic revelation, which is conveyed by the ministry of the angels, is said to be Divine. | |
| 690 </p> | |
| 691 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p10"></p> | |
| 692 <p id="SS_Q172_A2-p11"></p> | |
| 693 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html"></a> | |
| 694 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A3.html"></a> | |
| 695 </div> | |
| 696 <div id="SS_Q172_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 697 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A2.html"></a> | |
| 698 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A4.html"></a> | |
| 699 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A3-p0.1">Whether a natural disposition is requisite for prophecy?</h4> | |
| 700 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 701 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p2"> | |
| 702 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that a natural disposition is requisite for prophecy. For prophecy is received by the prophet according to | |
| 703 the disposition of the recipient, since a gloss of Jerome on | |
| 704 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A3-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Amos.1.2" target="asv"> Amos 1:2, </a> "The Lord will roar from Sion," says: "Anyone who wishes to make a comparison naturally turns to those things of which he | |
| 705 has experience, and among which his life is spent. For example, sailors compare their enemies to the winds, and their losses | |
| 706 to a | |
| 707 shipwreck. In like manner Amos, who was a shepherd, likens the fear of God to that which is inspired by the lion's roar." | |
| 708 Now that which is received by a thing according to the mode of the recipient requires a natural disposition. Therefore prophecy | |
| 709 requires a natural disposition. | |
| 710 </p> | |
| 711 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p3"> | |
| 712 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the considerations of prophecy are more lofty than those of acquired science. Now natural indisposition hinders | |
| 713 the considerations of acquired science, since many are prevented by natural indisposition from succeeding to grasp the speculations | |
| 714 of science. Much more therefore is a natural disposition requisite for the contemplation of prophecy. | |
| 715 </p> | |
| 716 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p4"> | |
| 717 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, natural indisposition is a much greater obstacle than an accidental impediment. Now the considerations of prophecy | |
| 718 are hindered by an accidental occurrence. For Jerome says in his commentary on Matthew [*The quotation is from Origen, Hom. | |
| 719 vi in Num.] that "at the time of the marriage act, the presence of the Holy Ghost will not be vouchsafed, even though it be | |
| 720 a prophet that fulfils the duty of procreation." Much more therefore does a natural | |
| 721 indisposition hinder prophecy; and thus it would seem that a good natural disposition is requisite for prophecy. | |
| 722 </p> | |
| 723 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p5"> | |
| 724 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says in a homily for Pentecost (xxx in Ev.): "He," namely the Holy Ghost, "fills the boy harpist and makes him a | |
| 725 Psalmist; He fills the herdsman plucking wild figs, and makes him a prophet." Therefore prophecy requires no previous disposition, | |
| 726 but depends on the will alone of the Holy Ghost, of Whom it is written ( | |
| 727 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A3-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.2" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:2</a>): "All these things, one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as He will." | |
| 728 </p> | |
| 729 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p6"> | |
| 730 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above | |
| 731 <a id="SS_Q172_A3-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html">(A[1])</a>, prophecy in its true and exact sense comes from Divine inspiration; while that which comes from a natural cause is not called | |
| 732 prophecy except in a relative sense. Now we must observe that as God Who is the universal efficient cause requires neither | |
| 733 previous matter nor previous disposition of matter in His corporeal effects, for He is able at the same instant to bring into | |
| 734 being matter and disposition and | |
| 735 form, so neither does He require a previous disposition in His spiritual effects, but is able to produce both the spiritual | |
| 736 effect and at the same time the fitting disposition as requisite according to the order of nature. More than this, He is able | |
| 737 at the same time, by creation, to produce the subject, so as to dispose a soul for prophecy and give it the prophetic grace, | |
| 738 at the very instant of its creation. | |
| 739 </p> | |
| 740 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p7"> | |
| 741 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> It matters not to prophecy by what comparisons the thing prophesied is expressed; and so the Divine operation makes no change | |
| 742 in a prophet in this respect. Yet if there be anything in him incompatible with prophecy, it is removed by the Divine power. | |
| 743 </p> | |
| 744 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p8"> | |
| 745 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The considerations of science proceed from a natural cause, and nature cannot work without a previous disposition in matter. | |
| 746 This cannot be said of God Who is the cause of prophecy. | |
| 747 </p> | |
| 748 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p9"> | |
| 749 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> A natural indisposition, if not removed, might be an obstacle to prophetic revelation, for instance if a man were altogether | |
| 750 deprived of the natural senses. In the same way a man might be hindered from the act of prophesying by some very strong passion, | |
| 751 whether of anger, or of concupiscence as in coition, or by any other passion. But such a natural indisposition as this is | |
| 752 removed by the Divine power, which is the cause of prophecy. | |
| 753 </p> | |
| 754 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p10"></p> | |
| 755 <p id="SS_Q172_A3-p11"></p> | |
| 756 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A2.html"></a> | |
| 757 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A4.html"></a> | |
| 758 </div> | |
| 759 <div id="SS_Q172_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 760 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A3.html"></a> | |
| 761 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A5.html"></a> | |
| 762 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A4-p0.1">Whether a good life is requisite for prophecy?</h4> | |
| 763 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 764 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p2"> | |
| 765 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that a good life is requisite for prophecy. For it is written ( | |
| 766 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.7.27" target="asv">Wis. 7:27</a>) that the wisdom of God "through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls," and "maketh the friends of God, and prophets." | |
| 767 Now there can be no holiness without a good life and sanctifying grace. Therefore prophecy cannot be without a good life and | |
| 768 sanctifying grace. | |
| 769 </p> | |
| 770 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p3"> | |
| 771 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, secrets are not revealed save to a friend, according to | |
| 772 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p3.1" href="./asv.html#John.15.15" target="asv"> Jn. 15:15, </a> "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you." Now God | |
| 773 reveals His secrets to the prophets ( | |
| 774 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Amos.3.7" target="asv">Amos 3:7</a>). Therefore it would seem that the prophets are the friends of God; which is impossible without charity. Therefore seemingly | |
| 775 prophecy cannot be without charity; and charity is | |
| 776 impossible without sanctifying grace. | |
| 777 </p> | |
| 778 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p4"> | |
| 779 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, it is written ( | |
| 780 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.7.15" target="asv">Mat. 7:15</a>): "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Now all who | |
| 781 are without grace are likened inwardly to a ravening wolf, and consequently all such are false prophets. Therefore no man | |
| 782 is a true prophet except he be good by grace. | |
| 783 </p> | |
| 784 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p5"> | |
| 785 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, the Philosopher says (De Somn. et Vigil. [*Cf. De Divinat. per Somn. i, which is annexed to the work quoted]) that | |
| 786 "if interpretation of dreams is from God, it is unfitting for it to be bestowed on any but the best." Now it is evident that | |
| 787 the gift of prophecy is from God. Therefore the gift of prophecy is vouchsafed only to the best men. | |
| 788 </p> | |
| 789 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p6"> | |
| 790 <b>On the contrary,</b> To those who had said, "Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?" this reply is made: "I never knew you" ( | |
| 791 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.7.22" target="asv">Mat. 7:22,23</a>). Now "the Lord knoweth who are His" ( | |
| 792 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p6.2" href="./asv.html#iiTim.2.19" target="asv">2 Tim. 2:19</a>). Therefore prophecy can be in those who are not God's by grace. | |
| 793 </p> | |
| 794 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p7"> | |
| 795 <b>I answer that,</b> A good life may be considered from two points of view. First, with regard to its inward root, which is sanctifying grace. | |
| 796 Secondly, with regard to the inward passions of the soul and the outward actions. Now sanctifying grace is given chiefly in | |
| 797 order that man's soul may be united to God by charity. Wherefore Augustine says (De Trin. xv, 18): "A man is not transferred | |
| 798 from the left side to the right, unless he receive the Holy Ghost, by Whom he is made a | |
| 799 lover of God and of his neighbor." Hence whatever can be without charity can be without sanctifying grace, and consequently | |
| 800 without goodness of life. Now prophecy can be without charity; and this is clear on two counts. First, on account of their | |
| 801 respective acts: for prophecy pertains to the intellect, whose act precedes the act of the will, which power is perfected | |
| 802 by charity. For this reason the Apostle ( | |
| 803 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13" target="asv">1 Cor. 13</a>) reckons prophecy with other things pertinent to the intellect, that can be had | |
| 804 without charity. Secondly, on account of their respective ends. For prophecy like other gratuitous graces is given for the | |
| 805 good of the Church, according to | |
| 806 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p7.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.7" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:7, </a> "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit"; and is not directly intended to unite man's affections | |
| 807 to God, which is the purpose of charity. Therefore prophecy can be without a good life, as regards the first root of this | |
| 808 goodness. | |
| 809 </p> | |
| 810 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p8"> If, however, we consider a good life, with regard to the passions of the soul, and external actions, from this point of view | |
| 811 an evil life is an obstacle to prophecy. For prophecy requires the mind to be raised very high in order to contemplate spiritual | |
| 812 things, and this is hindered by strong passions, and the inordinate pursuit of external things. Hence we read of the sons | |
| 813 of the prophets ( | |
| 814 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p8.1" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 4:38</a>) that they "dwelt together with [Vulg.: 'before']" | |
| 815 Eliseus, leading a solitary life, as it were, lest worldly employment should be a hindrance to the gift of prophecy. | |
| 816 </p> | |
| 817 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p9"> | |
| 818 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Sometimes the gift of prophecy is given to a man both for the good of others, and in order to enlighten his own mind; and | |
| 819 such are those whom Divine wisdom, "conveying itself" by sanctifying grace to their minds, "maketh the friends of God, and | |
| 820 prophets." Others, however, receive the gift of prophecy merely for the good of others. Hence Jerome commenting on | |
| 821 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.7.22" target="asv"> Mat. 7:22, </a> says: "Sometimes prophesying, the working of miracles, and the | |
| 822 casting out of demons are accorded not to the merit of those who do these things, but either to the invoking the name of Christ, | |
| 823 or to the condemnation of those who invoke, and for the good of those who see and hear." | |
| 824 </p> | |
| 825 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p10"> | |
| 826 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Gregory [*Hom. xxvii in Ev.] expounding this passage [* | |
| 827 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A4-p10.1" href="./asv.html#John.15.15" target="asv">Jn. 15:15</a>] says: "Since we love the lofty things of heaven as soon as we hear them, we know them as soon as we love them, for to love | |
| 828 is to know. Accordingly He had made all things known to them, because having renounced earthly desires they were kindled by | |
| 829 the torches of perfect love." In this way the Divine secrets are not always revealed to prophets. | |
| 830 </p> | |
| 831 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p11"> | |
| 832 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Not all wicked men are ravening wolves, but only those whose purpose is to injure others. For Chrysostom says [*Opus Imperf. | |
| 833 in Matth., Hom. xix, among the works of St. John Chrysostom, and falsely ascribed to him] that "Catholic teachers, though | |
| 834 they be sinners, are called slaves of the flesh, but never ravening wolves, because they do not purpose the destruction of | |
| 835 Christians." And since prophecy is directed to the good of others, it is manifest | |
| 836 that such are false prophets, because they are not sent for this purpose by God. | |
| 837 </p> | |
| 838 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p12"> | |
| 839 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> God's gifts are not always bestowed on those who are simply the best, but sometimes are vouchsafed to those who are best | |
| 840 as regards the receiving of this or that gift. Accordingly God grants the gift of prophecy to those whom He judges best to | |
| 841 give it to. | |
| 842 </p> | |
| 843 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p13"></p> | |
| 844 <p id="SS_Q172_A4-p14"></p> | |
| 845 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A3.html"></a> | |
| 846 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A5.html"></a> | |
| 847 </div> | |
| 848 <div id="SS_Q172_A5" class="div4"> | |
| 849 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A4.html"></a> | |
| 850 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A6.html"></a> | |
| 851 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A5-p0.1">Whether any prophecy comes from the demons?</h4> | |
| 852 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p1"></p> | |
| 853 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p2"> | |
| 854 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that no prophecy comes from the demons. For prophecy is "a Divine revelation," according to Cassiodorus [*Prol. | |
| 855 in Psalt. i]. But that which is done by a demon is not Divine. Therefore no prophecy can be from a demon. | |
| 856 </p> | |
| 857 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p3"> | |
| 858 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, some kind of enlightenment is requisite for prophetic knowledge, as stated above (Q[171], AA[2],3). Now the demons | |
| 859 do not enlighten the human intellect, as stated above in the | |
| 860 <a id="SS_Q172_A5-p3.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q119_A3.html">FP, Q[119], A[3]</a>. Therefore no prophecy can come from the demons. | |
| 861 </p> | |
| 862 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p4"> | |
| 863 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, a sign is worthless if it betokens contraries. Now prophecy is a sign in confirmation of faith; wherefore a gloss | |
| 864 on | |
| 865 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A5-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.12.6" target="asv">Rom. 12:6</a>, "Either prophecy to be used according to the rule of faith," says: "Observe that in reckoning the graces, he begins with | |
| 866 prophecy, which is the first proof of the reasonableness of our faith; since believers, after receiving the Spirit, prophesied." | |
| 867 Therefore prophecy cannot be bestowed by the demons. | |
| 868 </p> | |
| 869 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p5"> | |
| 870 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 871 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A5-p5.1" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">3 Kings 18:19</a>): "Gather unto me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the | |
| 872 grove four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table." Now these were worshippers of demons. Therefore it would seem that there | |
| 873 is also a prophecy from the demons. | |
| 874 </p> | |
| 875 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p6"> | |
| 876 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 877 <a id="SS_Q172_A5-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html">Q[171], A[1]</a>), prophecy denotes knowledge far removed from human knowledge. Now it is evident that an intellect of a higher order can | |
| 878 know some things that are far removed from the knowledge of an inferior intellect. Again, above the human intellect there | |
| 879 is not only the Divine intellect, but also the intellects of good and bad angels according to the order of nature. Hence the | |
| 880 demons, even by their natural | |
| 881 knowledge, know certain things remote from men's knowledge, which they can reveal to men: although those things which God | |
| 882 alone knows are remote simply and most of all. | |
| 883 </p> | |
| 884 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p7"> Accordingly prophecy, properly and simply, is conveyed by Divine revelations alone; yet the revelation which is made by the | |
| 885 demons may be called prophecy in a restricted sense. Wherefore those men to whom something is revealed by the demons are styled | |
| 886 in the Scriptures as prophets, not simply, but with an addition, for instance as "false prophets," or "prophets of idols." | |
| 887 Hence Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 19): "When the evil spirit lays hold of a man for such purposes as | |
| 888 these," namely visions, "he makes him either devilish, or possessed, or a false prophet." | |
| 889 </p> | |
| 890 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p8"> | |
| 891 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Cassiodorus is here defining prophecy in its proper and simple acceptation. | |
| 892 </p> | |
| 893 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p9"> | |
| 894 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The demons reveal what they know to men, not by enlightening the intellect, but by an imaginary vision, or even by audible | |
| 895 speech; and in this way this prophecy differs from true prophecy. | |
| 896 </p> | |
| 897 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p10"> | |
| 898 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The prophecy of the demons can be distinguished from Divine prophecy by certain, and even outward, signs. Hence Chrysostom | |
| 899 says [*Opus Imperf. in Matth., Hom. xix, falsely ascribed to St. John Chrysostom] that "some prophesy by the spirit of the | |
| 900 devil, such as diviners, but they may be discerned by the fact that the devil sometimes utters what is false, the Holy Ghost | |
| 901 never." Wherefore it is written ( | |
| 902 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A5-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Deut.18.21" target="asv">Dt. 18:21,22</a>): "If in silent thought thou answer: | |
| 903 How shall I know the word that the Lord hath spoken? Thou shalt have this sign: Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in | |
| 904 the name of the Lord, and it come not to pass, that thing the Lord hath not spoken." | |
| 905 </p> | |
| 906 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p11"></p> | |
| 907 <p id="SS_Q172_A5-p12"></p> | |
| 908 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A4.html"></a> | |
| 909 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A6.html"></a> | |
| 910 </div> | |
| 911 <div id="SS_Q172_A6" class="div4"> | |
| 912 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A5.html"></a> | |
| 913 <a href="summa.SS_Q173.html"></a> | |
| 914 <h4 id="SS_Q172_A6-p0.1">Whether the prophets of the demons ever foretell the truth?</h4> | |
| 915 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p1"></p> | |
| 916 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p2"> | |
| 917 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophets of the demons never foretell the truth. For Ambrose [*Hilary the Deacon (Ambrosiaster) on | |
| 918 | |
| 919 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.3" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:3</a>] says that "Every truth, by whomsoever spoken, is from the Holy Ghost." Now the prophets of the demons do not speak from | |
| 920 the Holy Ghost, because "there is no concord between Christ and Belial [*'What concord hath Christ with Belial?']" ( | |
| 921 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p2.2" href="./asv.html#iiCor.6.15" target="asv">2 Cor. 6:15</a>). Therefore it would seem that they | |
| 922 never foretell the truth. | |
| 923 </p> | |
| 924 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p3"> | |
| 925 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, just as true prophets are inspired by the Spirit of truth, so the prophets of the demons are inspired by the spirit | |
| 926 of untruth, according to | |
| 927 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p3.1" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">3 Kings 22:22, </a> "I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." Now the prophets inspired by the Holy Ghost never | |
| 928 speak false, as stated above ( | |
| 929 <a id="SS_Q172_A6-p3.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q111_A6.html">Q[111], A[6]</a>). Therefore the prophets of the demons never speak truth. | |
| 930 </p> | |
| 931 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p4"> | |
| 932 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, it is said of the devil ( | |
| 933 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p4.1" href="./asv.html#John.8.44" target="asv">Jn. 8:44</a>) that "when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for the devil is a liar, and the father thereof," i.e. of lying. Now | |
| 934 by inspiring his prophets, the devil speaks only of his own, for he is not appointed God's minister to declare the truth, | |
| 935 since "light hath no fellowship with darkness [*Vulg.: 'What fellowship hath light with darkness?']" ( | |
| 936 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p4.2" href="./asv.html#iiCor.6.14" target="asv">2 Cor. 6:14</a>). Therefore the | |
| 937 prophets of the demons never foretell the truth. | |
| 938 </p> | |
| 939 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p5"> | |
| 940 <b>On the contrary,</b> A gloss on | |
| 941 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Num.22.14" target="asv"> Num. 22:14, </a> says that "Balaam was a diviner, for he sometimes foreknew the future by help of the demons and the magic art." Now he foretold | |
| 942 many true things, for instance that which is to be found in | |
| 943 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p5.2" href="./asv.html#Num.24.17" target="asv"> Num. 24:17</a>: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a scepter shall spring up from Israel." Therefore even the prophets of the demons foretell | |
| 944 the truth. | |
| 945 </p> | |
| 946 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p6"> | |
| 947 <b>I answer that,</b> As the good is in relation to things, so is the true in relation to knowledge. Now in things it is impossible to find one | |
| 948 that is wholly devoid of good. Wherefore it is also impossible for any knowledge to be wholly false, without some mixture | |
| 949 of truth. Hence Bede says [*Comment. in Luc. xvii, 12; Cf. Augustine, QQ. Evang. ii, 40] that "no teaching is so false that | |
| 950 it never mingles truth with falsehood." Hence the teaching of the demons, with which they | |
| 951 instruct their prophets, contains some truths whereby it is rendered acceptable. For the intellect is led astray to falsehood | |
| 952 by the semblance of truth, even as the will is seduced to evil by the semblance of goodness. Wherefore Chrysostom says [*Opus | |
| 953 Imperf. in Matth., Hom. xix, falsely ascribed to St. John Chrysostom]: "The devil is allowed sometimes to speak true things, | |
| 954 in order that his unwonted truthfulness may gain credit for his lie." | |
| 955 </p> | |
| 956 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p7"> | |
| 957 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The prophets of the demons do not always speak from the demons' revelation, but sometimes by Divine inspiration. This was | |
| 958 evidently the case with Balaam, of whom we read that the Lord spoke to him ( | |
| 959 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q172_A6-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Num.22.12" target="asv">Num. 22:12</a>), though he was a prophet of the demons, because God makes use even of the wicked for the profit of the good. Hence He foretells | |
| 960 certain truths even by the demons' prophets, both that the truth may be rendered more credible, | |
| 961 since even its foes bear witness to it, and also in order that men, by believing such men, may be more easily led on to truth. | |
| 962 Wherefore also the Sibyls foretold many true things about Christ. | |
| 963 </p> | |
| 964 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p8"> Yet even when the demons' prophets are instructed by the demons, they foretell the truth, sometimes by virtue of their own | |
| 965 nature, the author of which is the Holy Ghost, and sometimes by revelation of the good spirits, as Augustine declares (Gen. | |
| 966 ad lit. xii, 19): so that even then this truth which the demons proclaim is from the Holy Ghost. | |
| 967 </p> | |
| 968 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p9"> | |
| 969 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> A true prophet is always inspired by the Spirit of truth, in Whom there is no falsehood, wherefore He never says what is | |
| 970 not true; whereas a false prophet is not always instructed by the spirit of untruth, but sometimes even by the Spirit of truth. | |
| 971 Even the very spirit of untruth sometimes declares true things, sometimes false, as stated above. | |
| 972 </p> | |
| 973 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p10"> | |
| 974 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Those things are called the demons' own, which they have of themselves, namely lies and sins; while they have, not of themselves | |
| 975 but of God, those things which belong to them by nature: and it is by virtue of their own nature that they sometimes foretell | |
| 976 the truth, as stated above (ad 1). Moreover God makes use of them to make known the truth which is to be accomplished through | |
| 977 them, by revealing Divine mysteries to them through the angels, as already | |
| 978 stated (Gen. ad lit. xii, 19; | |
| 979 <a id="SS_Q172_A6-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q109_A4.html">FP, Q[109], A[4]</a>, ad 1). | |
| 980 </p> | |
| 981 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p11"></p> | |
| 982 <p id="SS_Q172_A6-p12"></p> | |
| 983 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A5.html"></a> | |
| 984 <a href="summa.SS_Q173.html"></a> | |
| 985 </div> | |
| 986 <a href="summa.SS_Q171_A6.html"></a> | |
| 987 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html"></a> | |
| 988 </div> | |
| 989 <div id="SS_Q173" class="div3"> | |
| 990 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A6.html"></a> | |
| 991 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A1.html"></a> | |
| 992 <h3 id="SS_Q173-p0.1">OF THE MANNER IN WHICH PROPHETIC KNOWLEDGE IS CONVEYED (FOUR ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 993 <p id="SS_Q173-p1"></p> | |
| 994 <p id="SS_Q173-p2"> We must now consider the manner in which prophetic knowledge is conveyed, and under this head there are four points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 995 <p id="SS_Q173-p3"> (1) Whether the prophets see God's very essence?</p> | |
| 996 <p id="SS_Q173-p4"> (2) Whether the prophetic revelation is effected by the infusion of certain species, or by the infusion of Divine light alone?</p> | |
| 997 <p id="SS_Q173-p5"> (3) Whether prophetic revelation is always accompanied by abstraction from the sense?</p> | |
| 998 <p id="SS_Q173-p6"> (4) Whether prophecy is always accompanied by knowledge of the things prophesied?</p> | |
| 999 <div id="SS_Q173_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 1000 <a href="summa.SS_Q173.html"></a> | |
| 1001 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1002 <h4 id="SS_Q173_A1-p0.1">Whether the prophets see the very essence of God?</h4> | |
| 1003 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 1004 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p2"> | |
| 1005 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophets see the very essence of God, for a gloss on | |
| 1006 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A1-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.38.1" target="asv"> Is. 38:1, </a> "Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die and not live," says: "Prophets can read in the book of God's foreknowledge | |
| 1007 in which all things are written." Now God's foreknowledge is His very essence. Therefore prophets see God's very essence. | |
| 1008 </p> | |
| 1009 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p3"> | |
| 1010 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Augustine says (De Trin. ix, 7) that "in that eternal truth from which all temporal things are made, we see with | |
| 1011 the mind's eye the type both of our being and of our actions." Now, of all men, prophets have the highest knowledge of Divine | |
| 1012 things. Therefore they, especially, see the Divine essence. | |
| 1013 </p> | |
| 1014 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p4"> | |
| 1015 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, future contingencies are foreknown by the prophets "with unchangeable truth." Now future contingencies exist thus | |
| 1016 in God alone. Therefore the prophets see God Himself. | |
| 1017 </p> | |
| 1018 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p5"> | |
| 1019 <b>On the contrary,</b> The vision of the Divine essence is not made void in heaven; whereas "prophecy is made void" ( | |
| 1020 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A1-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.8" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:8</a>). Therefore prophecy is not conveyed by a vision of the Divine essence. | |
| 1021 </p> | |
| 1022 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p6"> | |
| 1023 <b>I answer that,</b> Prophecy denotes Divine knowledge as existing afar off. Wherefore it is said of the prophets ( | |
| 1024 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Heb.11.13" target="asv">Heb. 11:13</a>) that "they were beholding . . . afar off." But those who are in heaven and in the state of bliss see, not as from afar off, | |
| 1025 but rather, as it were, from near at hand, according to | |
| 1026 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A1-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Ps.139.14" target="asv"> Ps. 139:14, </a> "The upright shall dwell with Thy countenance." Hence it is evident that prophetic knowledge differs from the perfect | |
| 1027 knowledge, which we shall have in heaven, so that it is distinguished therefrom as the imperfect from the perfect, and when | |
| 1028 the latter comes the former is made void, as appears from the words of the Apostle ( | |
| 1029 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A1-p6.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.10" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:10</a>). | |
| 1030 </p> | |
| 1031 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p7"> Some, however, wishing to discriminate between prophetic knowledge and the knowledge of the blessed, have maintained that | |
| 1032 the prophets see the very essence of God (which they call the "mirror of eternity") [*Cf. De Veritate, xii, 6; Sent. II, D, | |
| 1033 XI, part 2, art. 2, ad 4], not, however, in the way in which it is the object of the blessed, but as containing the types | |
| 1034 [*Cf. FP, Q[15]] of future events. But this is altogether impossible. For God is the object of bliss in His very | |
| 1035 essence, according to the saying of Augustine (Confess. v, 4): "Happy whoso knoweth Thee, though he know not these," i.e. | |
| 1036 creatures. Now it is not possible to see the types of creatures in the very essence of God without seeing It, both because | |
| 1037 the Divine essence is Itself the type of all things that are made---the ideal type adding nothing to the Divine essence save | |
| 1038 only a relationship to the creature---and because knowledge of a thing in itself---and such is the knowledge of God as the | |
| 1039 object | |
| 1040 of heavenly bliss---precedes knowledge of that thing in its relation to something else---and such is the knowledge of God | |
| 1041 as containing the types of things. Consequently it is impossible for prophets to see God as containing the types of creatures, | |
| 1042 and yet not as the object of bliss. Therefore we must conclude that the prophetic vision is not the vision of the very essence | |
| 1043 of God, and that the prophets do not see in the Divine essence Itself the things they do see, but that they see them in | |
| 1044 certain images, according as they are enlightened by the Divine light. | |
| 1045 </p> | |
| 1046 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p8"> Wherefore Dionysius (Coel. Hier. iv), in speaking of prophetic visions, says that "the wise theologian calls that vision | |
| 1047 divine which is effected by images of things lacking a bodily form through the seer being rapt in divine things." And these | |
| 1048 images illumined by the Divine light have more of the nature of a mirror than the Divine essence: since in a mirror images | |
| 1049 are formed from other things, and this cannot be said of God. Yet the prophet's mind thus enlightened may be called | |
| 1050 a mirror, in so far as a likeness of the truth of the Divine foreknowledge is formed therein, for which reason it is called | |
| 1051 the "mirror of eternity," as representing God's foreknowledge, for God in His eternity sees all things as present before Him, | |
| 1052 as stated above ( | |
| 1053 <a id="SS_Q173_A1-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q172_A1.html">Q[172], A[1]</a>). | |
| 1054 </p> | |
| 1055 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p9"> | |
| 1056 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The prophets are said to read the book of God's foreknowledge, inasmuch as the truth is reflected from God's foreknowledge | |
| 1057 on the prophet's mind. | |
| 1058 </p> | |
| 1059 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p10"> | |
| 1060 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Man is said to see in the First Truth the type of his existence, in so far as the image of the First Truth shines forth on | |
| 1061 man's mind, so that he is able to know himself. | |
| 1062 </p> | |
| 1063 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p11"> | |
| 1064 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> From the very fact that future contingencies are in God according to unalterable truth, it follows that God can impress a | |
| 1065 like knowledge on the prophet's mind without the prophet seeing God in His essence. | |
| 1066 </p> | |
| 1067 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p12"></p> | |
| 1068 <p id="SS_Q173_A1-p13"></p> | |
| 1069 <a href="summa.SS_Q173.html"></a> | |
| 1070 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1071 </div> | |
| 1072 <div id="SS_Q173_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 1073 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1074 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1075 <h4 id="SS_Q173_A2-p0.1">Whether, in prophetic revelation, new species of things are impressed on the prophet's mind, or merely a new light?</h4> | |
| 1076 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 1077 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p2"> | |
| 1078 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that in prophetic revelation no new species of things are impressed on the prophet's mind, but only a new light. | |
| 1079 For a gloss of Jerome on | |
| 1080 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Amos.1.2" target="asv"> Amos 1:2 </a>says that "prophets draw comparisons from things with which they are conversant." But if prophetic vision were effected by | |
| 1081 means of species newly impressed, the prophet's previous experience of things would be inoperative. Therefore no new species | |
| 1082 are impressed on the prophet's | |
| 1083 soul, but only the prophetic light. | |
| 1084 </p> | |
| 1085 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p3"> | |
| 1086 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, according to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9), "it is not imaginative but intellective vision that makes the prophet"; | |
| 1087 wherefore it is declared ( | |
| 1088 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Dan.10.1" target="asv">Dan. 10:1</a>) that "there is need of understanding in a vision." Now intellective vision, as stated in the same book (Gen. ad lit. xii, | |
| 1089 6) is not effected by means of images, but by the very truth of things. Therefore it would seem that prophetic revelation | |
| 1090 is not effected by impressing | |
| 1091 species on the soul. | |
| 1092 </p> | |
| 1093 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p4"> | |
| 1094 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, by the gift of prophecy the Holy Ghost endows man with something that surpasses the faculty of nature. Now man can | |
| 1095 by his natural faculties form all kinds of species of things. Therefore it would seem that in prophetic revelation no new | |
| 1096 species of things are impressed, but merely an intellectual light. | |
| 1097 </p> | |
| 1098 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p5"> | |
| 1099 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 1100 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Hos.12.10" target="asv">Osee 12:10</a>): "I have multiplied" their "visions, and I have used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets." Now multiplicity of | |
| 1101 visions results, not from a diversity of intellectual light, which is common to every prophetic vision, but from a diversity | |
| 1102 of species, whence similitudes also result. Therefore it seems that in prophetic revelation new species of things are impressed, | |
| 1103 and not merely an intellectual | |
| 1104 light. | |
| 1105 </p> | |
| 1106 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p6"> | |
| 1107 <b>I answer that,</b> As Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9), "prophetic knowledge pertains most of all to the intellect." Now two things have | |
| 1108 to be considered in connection with the knowledge possessed by the human mind, namely the acceptance or representation of | |
| 1109 things, and the judgment of the things represented. Now things are represented to the human mind under the form of species: | |
| 1110 and according to the order of nature, they must be represented first to the senses, secondly | |
| 1111 to the imagination, thirdly to the passive intellect, and these are changed by the species derived from the phantasms, which | |
| 1112 change results from the enlightening action of the active intellect. Now in the imagination there are the forms of sensible | |
| 1113 things not only as received from the senses, but also transformed in various ways, either on account of some bodily transformation | |
| 1114 (as in the case of people who are asleep or out of their senses), or through the coordination of the phantasms, at the | |
| 1115 command of reason, for the purpose of understanding something. For just as the various arrangements of the letters of the | |
| 1116 alphabet convey various ideas to the understanding, so the various coordinations of the phantasms produce various intelligible | |
| 1117 species of the intellect. | |
| 1118 </p> | |
| 1119 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p7"> As to the judgment formed by the human mind, it depends on the power of the intellectual light.</p> | |
| 1120 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p8"> Now the gift of prophecy confers on the human mind something which surpasses the natural faculty in both these respects, | |
| 1121 namely as to the judgment which depends on the inflow of intellectual light, and as to the acceptance or representation of | |
| 1122 things, which is effected by means of certain species. Human teaching may be likened to prophetic revelation in the second | |
| 1123 of these respects, but not in the first. For a man represents certain things to his disciple by signs of speech, but | |
| 1124 he cannot enlighten him inwardly as God does. | |
| 1125 </p> | |
| 1126 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p9"> But it is the first of these two that holds the chief place in prophecy, since judgment is the complement of knowledge. Wherefore | |
| 1127 if certain things are divinely represented to any man by means of imaginary likenesses, as happened to Pharaoh ( | |
| 1128 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.41.1" target="asv">Gn. 41:1-7</a>) and to Nabuchodonosor ( | |
| 1129 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p9.2" href="./asv.html#Dan.4.1" target="asv">Dan. 4:1-2</a>), or even by bodily likenesses, as happened to Balthasar ( | |
| 1130 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p9.3" href="./asv.html#Dan.5.5" target="asv">Dan. 5:5</a>), such a man is not to be considered a prophet, unless his mind | |
| 1131 be enlightened for the purpose of judgment; and such an apparition is something imperfect in the genus of prophecy. Wherefore | |
| 1132 some [*Rabbi Moyses, Doct. Perplex. II, xxxvi] have called this "prophetic ecstasy," and such is divination by dreams. And | |
| 1133 yet a man will be a prophet, if his intellect be enlightened merely for the purpose of judging of things seen in imagination | |
| 1134 by others, as in the case of Joseph who interpreted Pharaoh's dream. But, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9), | |
| 1135 "especially is he a prophet who excels in both respects, so," to wit, "as to see in spirit likenesses significant of things | |
| 1136 corporeal, and understand them by the quickness of his intellect." | |
| 1137 </p> | |
| 1138 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p10"> Now sensible forms are divinely presented to the prophet's mind, sometimes externally by means of the senses---thus Daniel | |
| 1139 saw the writing on the wall ( | |
| 1140 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Dan.5.25" target="asv">Dan. 5:25</a>)---sometimes by means of imaginary forms, either of exclusively Divine origin and not received through the senses (for instance, | |
| 1141 if images of colors were imprinted on the imagination of one blind from birth), or divinely coordinated from those derived | |
| 1142 from the senses---thus Jeremiah saw the "boiling | |
| 1143 caldron . . . from the face of the north" ( | |
| 1144 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p10.2" href="./asv.html#Jer.1.13" target="asv">Jer. 1:13</a>)---or by the direct impression of intelligible species on the mind, as in the case of those who receive infused scientific | |
| 1145 knowledge or wisdom, such as Solomon or the apostles. | |
| 1146 </p> | |
| 1147 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p11"> But intellectual light is divinely imprinted on the human mind---sometimes for the purpose of judging of things seen by others, | |
| 1148 as in the case of Joseph, quoted above, and of the apostles whose understanding our Lord opened "that they might understand | |
| 1149 the scriptures" ( | |
| 1150 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p11.1" href="./asv.html#Luke.24.45" target="asv">Lk. 24:45</a>); and to this pertains the "interpretation of speeches"---sometimes for the purpose of judging according to Divine truth, | |
| 1151 of the things which a man apprehends in the ordinary course | |
| 1152 of nature---sometimes for the purpose of discerning truthfully and efficaciously what is to be done, according to | |
| 1153 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A2-p11.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.63.14" target="asv"> Is. 63:14, </a> "The Spirit of the Lord was their leader." | |
| 1154 </p> | |
| 1155 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p12"> Hence it is evident that prophetic revelation is conveyed sometimes by the mere infusion of light, sometimes by imprinting | |
| 1156 species anew, or by a new coordination of species. | |
| 1157 </p> | |
| 1158 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p13"> | |
| 1159 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above, sometimes in prophetic revelation imaginary species previously derived from the senses are divinely coordinated | |
| 1160 so as to accord with the truth to be revealed, and then previous experience is operative in the production of the images, | |
| 1161 but not when they are impressed on the mind wholly from without. | |
| 1162 </p> | |
| 1163 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p14"> | |
| 1164 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Intellectual vision is not effected by means of bodily and individual images, but by an intelligible image. Hence Augustine | |
| 1165 says (De Trin. ix, 11) that "the soul possesses a certain likeness of the species known to it." Sometimes this intelligible | |
| 1166 image is, in prophetic revelation, imprinted immediately by God, sometimes it results from pictures in the imagination, by | |
| 1167 the aid of the prophetic light, since a deeper truth is gathered from these pictures | |
| 1168 in the imagination by means of the enlightenment of the higher light. | |
| 1169 </p> | |
| 1170 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p15"> | |
| 1171 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> It is true that man is able by his natural powers to form all kinds of pictures in the imagination, by simply considering | |
| 1172 these pictures, but not so that they be directed to the representation of intelligible truths that surpass his intellect, | |
| 1173 since for this purpose he needs the assistance of a supernatural light. | |
| 1174 </p> | |
| 1175 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p16"></p> | |
| 1176 <p id="SS_Q173_A2-p17"></p> | |
| 1177 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1178 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1179 </div> | |
| 1180 <div id="SS_Q173_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 1181 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1182 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1183 <h4 id="SS_Q173_A3-p0.1">Whether the prophetic vision is always accompanied by abstraction from the senses?</h4> | |
| 1184 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 1185 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p2"> | |
| 1186 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophetic vision is always accompanied by abstraction from the senses. For it is written ( | |
| 1187 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A3-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Num.12.6" target="asv">Num. 12:6</a>): "If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream." Now | |
| 1188 a gloss says at the beginning of the Psalter, "a vision that takes place by dreams and apparitions consists of things which | |
| 1189 seem to be said or done." But when things seem to be said or done, which | |
| 1190 are neither said nor done, there is abstraction from the senses. Therefore prophecy is always accompanied by abstraction from | |
| 1191 the senses. | |
| 1192 </p> | |
| 1193 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p3"> | |
| 1194 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, when one power is very intent on its own operation, other powers are drawn away from theirs; thus men who are very | |
| 1195 intent on hearing something fail to see what takes place before them. Now in the prophetic vision the intellect is very much | |
| 1196 uplifted, and intent on its act. Therefore it seems that the prophetic vision is always accompanied by abstraction from the | |
| 1197 senses. | |
| 1198 </p> | |
| 1199 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p4"> | |
| 1200 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the same thing cannot, at the same time, tend in opposite directions. Now in the prophetic vision the mind tends | |
| 1201 to the acceptance of things from above, and consequently it cannot at the same time tend to sensible objects. Therefore it | |
| 1202 would seem necessary for prophetic revelation to be always accompanied by abstraction from the senses. | |
| 1203 </p> | |
| 1204 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p5"> | |
| 1205 <b>Objection 4:</b> On the contrary, It is written ( | |
| 1206 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A3-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.32" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:32</a>): "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." Now this were impossible if the prophet were not in possession | |
| 1207 of his faculties, but abstracted from his senses. Therefore it would seem that prophetic vision is not accompanied by abstraction | |
| 1208 from the senses. | |
| 1209 </p> | |
| 1210 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p6"> | |
| 1211 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated in the foregoing Article, the prophetic revelation takes place in four ways: namely, by the infusion of an intelligible | |
| 1212 light, by the infusion of intelligible species, by impression or coordination of pictures in the imagination, and by the outward | |
| 1213 presentation of sensible images. Now it is evident that there is no abstraction from the senses, when something is presented | |
| 1214 to the prophet's mind by means of sensible species---whether these be divinely | |
| 1215 formed for this special purpose, as the bush shown to Moses ( | |
| 1216 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A3-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Exod.3.2" target="asv">Ex. 3:2</a>), and the writing shown to Daniel ( | |
| 1217 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A3-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Dan.5" target="asv">Dan. 5</a>:)---or whether they be produced by other causes; yet so that they are ordained by Divine providence to be prophetically significant | |
| 1218 of something, as, for instance, the Church was signified by the ark of Noah. | |
| 1219 </p> | |
| 1220 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p7"> Again, abstraction from the external senses is not rendered necessary when the prophet's mind is enlightened by an intellectual | |
| 1221 light, or impressed with intelligible species, since in us the perfect judgment of the intellect is effected by its turning | |
| 1222 to sensible objects, which are the first principles of our knowledge, as stated in the | |
| 1223 <a id="SS_Q173_A3-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q84_A6.html">FP, Q[84], A[6]</a>. | |
| 1224 </p> | |
| 1225 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p8"> When, however, prophetic revelation is conveyed by images in the imagination, abstraction from the senses is necessary lest | |
| 1226 the things thus seen in imagination be taken for objects of external sensation. Yet this abstraction from the senses is sometimes | |
| 1227 complete, so that a man perceives nothing with his senses; and sometimes it is incomplete, so that he perceives something | |
| 1228 with his senses, yet does not fully discern the things he perceives outwardly from those he sees in | |
| 1229 imagination. Hence Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 12): "Those images of bodies which are formed in the soul are seen just | |
| 1230 as bodily things themselves are seen by the body, so that we see with our eyes one who is present, and at the same time we | |
| 1231 see with the soul one who is absent, as though we saw him with our eyes." | |
| 1232 </p> | |
| 1233 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p9"> Yet this abstraction from the senses takes place in the prophets without subverting the order of nature, as is the case with | |
| 1234 those who are possessed or out of their senses; but is due to some well-ordered cause. This cause may be natural---for instance, | |
| 1235 sleep---or spiritual---for instance, the intenseness of the prophets' contemplation; thus we read of Peter ( | |
| 1236 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A3-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.10.9" target="asv">Acts 10:9</a>) that while he was praying in the supper-room [*Vulg.: 'the house-top' or 'upper-chamber'] | |
| 1237 "he fell into an ecstasy"---or he may be carried away by the Divine power, according to the saying of Ezechiel 1:3: "The hand | |
| 1238 of the Lord was upon him." | |
| 1239 </p> | |
| 1240 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p10"> | |
| 1241 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The passage quoted refers to prophets in whom imaginary pictures were formed or coordinated, either while asleep, which is | |
| 1242 denoted by the word "dream," or while awake, which is signified by the word "vision." | |
| 1243 </p> | |
| 1244 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p11"> | |
| 1245 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> When the mind is intent, in its act, upon distant things which are far removed from the senses, the intensity of its application | |
| 1246 leads to abstraction from the senses; but when it is intent, in its act, upon the coordination of or judgment concerning objects | |
| 1247 of sense, there is no need for abstraction from the senses. | |
| 1248 </p> | |
| 1249 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p12"> | |
| 1250 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The movement of the prophetic mind results not from its own power, but from a power acting on it from above. Hence there | |
| 1251 is no abstraction from the senses when the prophet's mind is led to judge or coordinate matters relating to objects of sense, | |
| 1252 but only when the mind is raised to the contemplation of certain more lofty things. | |
| 1253 </p> | |
| 1254 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p13"> | |
| 1255 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> The spirit of the prophets is said to be subject to the prophets as regards the prophetic utterances to which the Apostle | |
| 1256 refers in the words quoted; because, to wit, the prophets in declaring what they have seen speak their own mind, and are not | |
| 1257 thrown off their mental balance, like persons who are possessed, as Priscilla and Montanus maintained. But as regards the | |
| 1258 prophetic revelation itself, it would be more correct to say that the prophets are | |
| 1259 subject to the. spirit of prophecy, i.e. to the prophetic gift. | |
| 1260 </p> | |
| 1261 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p14"></p> | |
| 1262 <p id="SS_Q173_A3-p15"></p> | |
| 1263 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1264 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1265 </div> | |
| 1266 <div id="SS_Q173_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 1267 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1268 <a href="summa.SS_Q174.html"></a> | |
| 1269 <h4 id="SS_Q173_A4-p0.1">Whether prophets always know the things which they prophesy?</h4> | |
| 1270 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 1271 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p2"> | |
| 1272 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophets always know the things which they prophesy. For, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9), | |
| 1273 "those to whom signs were shown in spirit by means of the likenesses of bodily things, had not the gift of prophecy, unless | |
| 1274 the mind was brought into action, so that those signs were also understood by them." Now what is understood cannot be unknown. | |
| 1275 Therefore the prophet is not ignorant of what he prophesies. | |
| 1276 </p> | |
| 1277 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p3"> | |
| 1278 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the light of prophecy surpasses the light of natural reason. Now one who possesses a science by his natural light, | |
| 1279 is not ignorant of his scientific acquirements. Therefore he who utters things by the prophetic light cannot ignore them. | |
| 1280 </p> | |
| 1281 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p4"> | |
| 1282 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, prophecy is directed for man's enlightenment; wherefore it is written ( | |
| 1283 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A4-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iiPet.1.19" target="asv">2 Pet. 1:19</a>): "We have the more firm prophetical word, whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place." | |
| 1284 Now nothing can enlighten others unless it be lightsome in itself. Therefore it would seem that the prophet is first enlightened | |
| 1285 so as to know what he declares to others. | |
| 1286 </p> | |
| 1287 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p5"> | |
| 1288 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 1289 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A4-p5.1" href="./asv.html#John.11.51" target="asv">Jn. 11:51</a>): "And this he" (Caiphas) "spoke, not of himself, but being the High Priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should | |
| 1290 die for the nation," etc. Now Caiphas knew this not. Therefore not every prophet knows what he prophesies. | |
| 1291 </p> | |
| 1292 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p6"> | |
| 1293 <b>I answer that,</b> In prophetic revelation the prophet's mind is moved by the Holy Ghost, as an instrument that is deficient in regard to the | |
| 1294 principal agent. Now the prophet's mind is moved not only to apprehend something, but also to speak or to do something; sometimes | |
| 1295 indeed to all these three together, sometimes to two, sometimes to one only, and in each case there may be a defect in the | |
| 1296 prophet's knowledge. For when the prophet's mind is moved to think or apprehend a | |
| 1297 thing, sometimes he is led merely to apprehend that thing, and sometimes he is further led to know that it is divinely revealed | |
| 1298 to him. | |
| 1299 </p> | |
| 1300 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p7"> Again, sometimes the prophet's mind is moved to speak something, so that he understands what the Holy Ghost means by the | |
| 1301 words he utters; like David who said ( | |
| 1302 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A4-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iiKgdms.23.2" target="asv">2 Kings 23:2</a>): "The Spirit of the Lord hath spoken by me"; while, on the other hand, sometimes the person whose mind is moved to utter | |
| 1303 certain words knows not what the Holy Ghost means by them, as was the case with Caiphas ( | |
| 1304 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A4-p7.2" href="./asv.html#John.11.51" target="asv">Jn. 11:51</a>). | |
| 1305 </p> | |
| 1306 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p8"> Again, when the Holy Ghost moves a man's mind to do something, sometimes the latter understands the meaning of it, like Jeremias | |
| 1307 who hid his loin-cloth in the Euphrates ( | |
| 1308 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q173_A4-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.13.1" target="asv">Jer. 13:1-11</a>); while sometimes he does not understand it---thus the soldiers, who divided Christ's garments, understood not the meaning | |
| 1309 of what they did. | |
| 1310 </p> | |
| 1311 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p9"> Accordingly, when a man knows that he is being moved by the Holy Ghost to think something, or signify something by word or | |
| 1312 deed, this belongs properly to prophecy; whereas when he is moved, without his knowing it, this is not perfect prophecy, but | |
| 1313 a prophetic instinct. Nevertheless it must be observed that since the prophet's mind is a defective instrument, as stated | |
| 1314 above, even true prophets know not all that the Holy Ghost means by the things they see, or speak, or even | |
| 1315 do. | |
| 1316 </p> | |
| 1317 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p10"> And this suffices for the Replies to the Objections, since the arguments given at the beginning refer to true prophets whose | |
| 1318 minds are perfectly enlightened from above. | |
| 1319 </p> | |
| 1320 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p11"></p> | |
| 1321 <p id="SS_Q173_A4-p12"></p> | |
| 1322 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1323 <a href="summa.SS_Q174.html"></a> | |
| 1324 </div> | |
| 1325 <a href="summa.SS_Q172_A6.html"></a> | |
| 1326 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1327 </div> | |
| 1328 <div id="SS_Q174" class="div3"> | |
| 1329 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1330 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1331 <h3 id="SS_Q174-p0.1">OF THE DIVISION OF PROPHECY (SIX ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 1332 <p id="SS_Q174-p1"></p> | |
| 1333 <p id="SS_Q174-p2"> We must now consider the division of prophecy, and under this head there are six points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 1334 <p id="SS_Q174-p3"> (1) The division of prophecy into its species;</p> | |
| 1335 <p id="SS_Q174-p4"> (2) Whether the more excellent prophecy is that which is without imaginative vision?</p> | |
| 1336 <p id="SS_Q174-p5"> (3) The various degrees of prophecy;</p> | |
| 1337 <p id="SS_Q174-p6"> (4) Whether Moses was the greatest of the prophets?</p> | |
| 1338 <p id="SS_Q174-p7"> (5) Whether a comprehensor can be a prophet?</p> | |
| 1339 <p id="SS_Q174-p8"> (6) Whether prophecy advanced in perfection as time went on?</p> | |
| 1340 <div id="SS_Q174_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 1341 <a href="summa.SS_Q174.html"></a> | |
| 1342 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1343 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A1-p0.1">Whether prophecy is fittingly divided into the prophecy of divine predestination, of foreknowledge, and of denunciation?</h4> | |
| 1344 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 1345 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p2"> | |
| 1346 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prophecy is unfittingly divided according to a gloss on | |
| 1347 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.1.23" target="asv"> Mat. 1:23, </a> "Behold a virgin shall be with child," where it is stated that "one kind of prophecy proceeds from the Divine predestination, | |
| 1348 and must in all respects be accomplished so that its fulfillment is independent of our will, for instance the one in question. | |
| 1349 Another prophecy proceeds from God's foreknowledge: and into this our will enters. And another prophecy | |
| 1350 is called denunciation, which is significative of God's disapproval." For that which results from every prophecy should not | |
| 1351 be reckoned a part of prophecy. Now all prophecy is according to the Divine foreknowledge, since the prophets "read in the | |
| 1352 book of foreknowledge," as a gloss says on | |
| 1353 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p2.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.38.1" target="asv"> Is. 38:1.</a> Therefore it would seem that prophecy according to foreknowledge should not be reckoned a species of prophecy. | |
| 1354 </p> | |
| 1355 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p3"> | |
| 1356 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, just as something is foretold in denunciation, so is something foretold in promise, and both of these are subject | |
| 1357 to alteration. For it is written ( | |
| 1358 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Jer.18.7" target="asv">Jer. 18:7,8</a>): "I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it. If that | |
| 1359 nation against which I have spoken shall repent of their evil, I also will repent"---and this pertains to the prophecy of | |
| 1360 denunciation, and afterwards | |
| 1361 the text continues in reference to the prophecy of promise ( | |
| 1362 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Jer.18.9" target="asv">Jer. 18:9,10</a>): "I will suddenly speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to build up and plant it. If it shall do evil in My sight . . . I | |
| 1363 will repent of the good that I have spoken to do unto it." Therefore as there is reckoned to be a prophecy of denunciation, | |
| 1364 so should there be a prophecy of promise. | |
| 1365 </p> | |
| 1366 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p4"> | |
| 1367 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Isidore says (Etym. vii, 8): "There are seven kinds of prophecy. The first is an ecstasy, which is the transport | |
| 1368 of the mind: thus Peter saw a vessel descending from heaven with all manner of beasts therein. The second kind is a vision, | |
| 1369 as we read in Isaias, who says ( | |
| 1370 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.6.1" target="asv">Is. 6:1</a>): 'I saw the Lord sitting,' etc. The third kind is a dream: thus Jacob in a dream, saw a ladder. The fourth kind is from | |
| 1371 the midst of a cloud: thus God spake to Moses. The fifth | |
| 1372 kind is a voice from heaven, as that which called to Abraham saying ( | |
| 1373 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p4.2" href="./asv.html#Gen.22.11" target="asv">Gn. 22:11</a>): 'Lay not thy hand upon the boy.' The sixth kind is taking up a parable, as in the example of Balaam ( | |
| 1374 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A1-p4.3" href="./asv.html#Num.23.7" target="asv">Num. 23:7</a>; 24:15). The seventh kind is the fullness of the Holy Ghost, as in the case of nearly all the prophets." Further, he mentions | |
| 1375 three kinds of vision; "one by the eyes of the body, another by the soul's imagination, a third by the eyes of the mind." | |
| 1376 Now these are not | |
| 1377 included in the aforesaid division. Therefore it is insufficient. | |
| 1378 </p> | |
| 1379 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p5"> | |
| 1380 <b>On the contrary,</b> stands the authority of Jerome to whom the gloss above quoted is ascribed. | |
| 1381 </p> | |
| 1382 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p6"> | |
| 1383 <b>I answer that,</b> The species of moral habits and acts are distinguished according to their objects. Now the object of prophecy is something | |
| 1384 known by God and surpassing the faculty of man. Wherefore, according to the difference of such things, prophecy is divided | |
| 1385 into various species, as assigned above. Now it has been stated above ( | |
| 1386 <a id="SS_Q174_A1-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q71_A6.html">Q[71], A[6]</a>, ad 2) that the future is contained in the Divine knowledge in two ways. First, as in its cause: and thus we | |
| 1387 have the prophecy of "denunciation," which is not always fulfilled. but it foretells the relation of cause to effect, which | |
| 1388 is sometimes hindered by some other occurrence supervening. Secondly, God foreknows certain things in themselves---either | |
| 1389 as to be accomplished by Himself, and of such things is the prophecy of "predestination," since, according to Damascene (De | |
| 1390 Fide Orth. ii, 30), "God predestines things which are not in our power"---or as to be accomplished through man's free-will, | |
| 1391 and | |
| 1392 of such is the prophecy of "foreknowledge." This may regard either good or evil, which does not apply to the prophecy of predestination, | |
| 1393 since the latter regards good alone. And since predestination is comprised under foreknowledge, the gloss in the beginning | |
| 1394 of the Psalter assigns only two species to prophecy, namely of "foreknowledge," and of "denunciation." | |
| 1395 </p> | |
| 1396 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p7"> | |
| 1397 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Foreknowledge, properly speaking, denotes precognition of future events in themselves, and in this sense it is reckoned a | |
| 1398 species of prophecy. But in so far as it is used in connection with future events, whether as in themselves, or as in their | |
| 1399 causes, it is common to every species of prophecy. | |
| 1400 </p> | |
| 1401 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p8"> | |
| 1402 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The prophecy of promise is included in the prophecy of denunciation, because the aspect of truth is the same in both. But | |
| 1403 it is denominated in preference from denunciation, because God is more inclined to remit punishment than to withdraw promised | |
| 1404 blessings. | |
| 1405 </p> | |
| 1406 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p9"> | |
| 1407 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Isidore divides prophecy according to the manner of prophesying. Now we may distinguish the manner of prophesying---either | |
| 1408 according to man's cognitive powers, which are sense, imagination, and intellect, and then we have the three kinds of vision | |
| 1409 mentioned both by him and by Augustine (Gen. ad lit. xii, 6,7)---or according to the different ways in which the prophetic | |
| 1410 current is received. Thus as regards the enlightening of the intellect there is the | |
| 1411 "fullness of the Holy Ghost" which he mentions in the seventh place. As to the imprinting of pictures on the imagination he | |
| 1412 mentions three, namely "dreams," to which he gives the third place; "vision," which occurs to the prophet while awake and | |
| 1413 regards any kind of ordinary object, and this he puts in the second place; and "ecstasy," which results from the mind being | |
| 1414 uplifted to certain lofty things, and to this he assigns the first place. As regards sensible signs he reckons three kinds | |
| 1415 of | |
| 1416 prophecy, because a sensible sign is---either a corporeal thing offered externally to the sight, such as "a cloud," which | |
| 1417 he mentions in the fourth place---or a "voice" sounding from without and conveyed to man's hearing---this he puts in the fifth | |
| 1418 place---or a voice proceeding from a man, conveying something under a similitude, and this pertains to the "parable" to which | |
| 1419 he assigns the sixth place. | |
| 1420 </p> | |
| 1421 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p10"></p> | |
| 1422 <p id="SS_Q174_A1-p11"></p> | |
| 1423 <a href="summa.SS_Q174.html"></a> | |
| 1424 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1425 </div> | |
| 1426 <div id="SS_Q174_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 1427 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1428 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1429 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A2-p0.1">Whether the prophecy which is accompanied by intellective and imaginative vision is more excellent than that which is accompanied | |
| 1430 by intellective vision alone? | |
| 1431 </h4> | |
| 1432 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 1433 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p2"> | |
| 1434 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the prophecy which has intellective and imaginative vision is more excellent than that which is accompanied | |
| 1435 by intellective vision alone. For Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9): "He is less a prophet, who sees in spirit nothing | |
| 1436 but the signs representative of things, by means of the images of things corporeal: he is more a prophet, who is merely endowed | |
| 1437 with the understanding of these signs; but most of all is he a prophet, who excels in | |
| 1438 both ways," and this refers to the prophet who has intellective together with imaginative vision. Therefore this kind of prophecy | |
| 1439 is more excellent. | |
| 1440 </p> | |
| 1441 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p3"> | |
| 1442 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the greater a thing's power is, the greater the distance to which it extends. Now the prophetic light pertains chiefly | |
| 1443 to the mind, as stated above ( | |
| 1444 <a id="SS_Q174_A2-p3.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html">Q[173], A[2]</a>). Therefore apparently the prophecy that extends to the imagination is greater than that which is confined to the intellect. | |
| 1445 </p> | |
| 1446 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p4"> | |
| 1447 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Jerome (Prol. in Lib. Reg.) distinguishes the "prophets" from the "sacred writers." Now all those whom he calls | |
| 1448 prophets (such as Isaias, Jeremias, and the like) had intellective together with imaginative vision: but not those whom he | |
| 1449 calls sacred writers, as writing by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (such as Job, David, Solomon, and the like). Therefore | |
| 1450 it would seem more proper to call prophets those who had intellective together with imaginative | |
| 1451 vision, than those who had intellective vision alone. | |
| 1452 </p> | |
| 1453 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p5"> | |
| 1454 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, Dionysius says (Coel. Hier. i) that "it is impossible for the Divine ray to shine on us, except as screened round | |
| 1455 about by the many-colored sacred veils." Now the prophetic revelation is conveyed by the infusion of the divine ray. Therefore | |
| 1456 it seems that it cannot be without the veils of phantasms. | |
| 1457 </p> | |
| 1458 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p6"> | |
| 1459 <b>On the contrary,</b> A gloss says at the beginning of the Psalter that "the most excellent manner of prophecy is when a man prophesies by the | |
| 1460 mere inspiration of the Holy Ghost, apart from any outward assistance of deed, word, vision, or dream." | |
| 1461 </p> | |
| 1462 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p7"> | |
| 1463 <b>I answer that,</b> The excellence of the means is measured chiefly by the end. Now the end of prophecy is the manifestation of a truth that | |
| 1464 surpasses the faculty of man. Wherefore the more effective this manifestation is, the more excellent the prophecy. But it | |
| 1465 is evident that the manifestation of divine truth by means of the bare contemplation of the truth itself, is more effective | |
| 1466 than that which is conveyed under the similitude of corporeal things, for it approaches nearer | |
| 1467 to the heavenly vision whereby the truth is seen in God's essence. Hence it follows that the prophecy whereby a supernatural | |
| 1468 truth is seen by intellectual vision, is more excellent than that in which a supernatural truth is manifested by means of | |
| 1469 the similitudes of corporeal things in the vision of the imagination. | |
| 1470 </p> | |
| 1471 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p8"> Moreover the prophet's mind is shown thereby to be more lofty: even as in human teaching the hearer, who is able to grasp | |
| 1472 the bare intelligible truth the master propounds, is shown to have a better understanding than one who needs to be taken by | |
| 1473 the hand and helped by means of examples taken from objects of sense. Hence it is said in commendation of David's prophecy | |
| 1474 ( | |
| 1475 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A2-p8.1" href="./asv.html#iiKgdms.23.3" target="asv">2 Kings 23:3</a>): "The strong one of Israel spoke to me," and further on ( | |
| 1476 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A2-p8.2" href="./asv.html#iiKgdms.23.4" target="asv">2 Kings | |
| 1477 23:4 | |
| 1478 </a>): "As the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, shineth in the morning without clouds." | |
| 1479 </p> | |
| 1480 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p9"> | |
| 1481 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> When a particular supernatural truth has to be revealed by means of corporeal images, he that has both, namely the intellectual | |
| 1482 light and the imaginary vision, is more a prophet than he that has only one, because his prophecy is more perfect; and it | |
| 1483 is in this sense that Augustine speaks as quoted above. Nevertheless the prophecy in which the bare intelligible truth is | |
| 1484 revealed is greater than all. | |
| 1485 </p> | |
| 1486 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p10"> | |
| 1487 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The same judgment does not apply to things that are sought for their own sake, as to things sought for the sake of something | |
| 1488 else. For in things sought for their own sake, the agent's power is the more effective according as it extends to more numerous | |
| 1489 and more remote objects; even so a physician is thought more of, if he is able to heal more people, and those who are further | |
| 1490 removed from health. on the other hand, in things sought only for the sake | |
| 1491 of something else, that agent would seem to have greater power, who is able to achieve his purpose with fewer means and those | |
| 1492 nearest to hand: thus more praise is awarded the physician who is able to heal a sick person by means of fewer and more gentle | |
| 1493 remedies. Now, in the prophetic knowledge, imaginary vision is required, not for its own sake, but on account of the manifestation | |
| 1494 of the intelligible truth. Wherefore prophecy is all the more excellent according as it needs it less. | |
| 1495 </p> | |
| 1496 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p11"> | |
| 1497 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The fact that a particular predicate is applicable to one thing and less properly to another, does not prevent this latter | |
| 1498 from being simply better than the former: thus the knowledge of the blessed is more excellent than the knowledge of the wayfarer, | |
| 1499 although faith is more properly predicated of the latter knowledge, because faith implies an imperfection of knowledge. In | |
| 1500 like manner prophecy implies a certain obscurity, and remoteness from the | |
| 1501 intelligible truth; wherefore the name of prophet is more properly applied to those who see by imaginary vision. And yet the | |
| 1502 more excellent prophecy is that which is conveyed by intellectual vision, provided the same truth be revealed in either case. | |
| 1503 If, however, the intellectual light be divinely infused in a person, not that he may know some supernatural things, but that | |
| 1504 he may be able to judge, with the certitude of divine truth, of things that can be known by human reason, such intellectual | |
| 1505 prophecy is beneath that which is conveyed by an imaginary vision leading to a supernatural truth. It was this kind of prophecy | |
| 1506 that all those had who are included in the ranks of the prophets, who moreover were called prophets for the special reason | |
| 1507 that they exercised the prophetic calling officially. Hence they spoke as God's representatives, saying to the people: "Thus | |
| 1508 saith the Lord": but not so the authors of the "sacred writings," several of whom treated more frequently of things that | |
| 1509 can be known by human reason, not in God's name, but in their own, yet with the assistance of the Divine light withal. | |
| 1510 </p> | |
| 1511 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p12"> | |
| 1512 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> In the present life the enlightenment by the divine ray is not altogether without any veil of phantasms, because according | |
| 1513 to his present state of life it is unnatural to man not to understand without a phantasm. Sometimes, however, it is sufficient | |
| 1514 to have phantasms abstracted in the usual way from the senses without any imaginary vision divinely vouchsafed, and thus prophetic | |
| 1515 vision is said to be without imaginary vision. | |
| 1516 </p> | |
| 1517 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p13"></p> | |
| 1518 <p id="SS_Q174_A2-p14"></p> | |
| 1519 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1520 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1521 </div> | |
| 1522 <div id="SS_Q174_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 1523 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1524 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1525 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A3-p0.1">Whether the degrees of prophecy can be distinguished according to the imaginary vision?</h4> | |
| 1526 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 1527 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p2"> | |
| 1528 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the degrees of prophecy cannot be distinguished according to the imaginary vision. For the degrees of | |
| 1529 a thing bear relation to something that is on its own account, not on account of something else. Now, in prophecy, intellectual | |
| 1530 vision is sought on its own account, and imaginary vision on account of something else, as stated above (A[2], ad 2). Therefore | |
| 1531 it would seem that the degrees of prophecy are distinguished not according to | |
| 1532 imaginary, but only according to intellectual, vision. | |
| 1533 </p> | |
| 1534 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p3"> | |
| 1535 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, seemingly for one prophet there is one degree of prophecy. Now one prophet receives revelation through various imaginary | |
| 1536 visions. Therefore a difference of imaginary visions does not entail a difference of prophecy. | |
| 1537 </p> | |
| 1538 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p4"> | |
| 1539 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, according to a gloss [*Cassiodorus, super Prolog. Hieron. in Psalt.], prophecy consists of words, deeds, dreams, | |
| 1540 and visions. Therefore the degrees of prophecy should not be distinguished according to imaginary vision, to which vision | |
| 1541 and dreams pertain, rather than according to words and deeds. | |
| 1542 </p> | |
| 1543 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p5"> | |
| 1544 <b>On the contrary,</b> The medium differentiates the degrees of knowledge: thus science based on direct [*"Propter quid"] proofs is more excellent | |
| 1545 than science based on indirect [*"Quia"] premises or than opinion, because it comes through a more excellent medium. Now imaginary | |
| 1546 vision is a kind of medium in prophetic knowledge. Therefore the degrees of prophecy should be distinguished according to | |
| 1547 imaginary vision. | |
| 1548 </p> | |
| 1549 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p6"> | |
| 1550 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 1551 <a id="SS_Q174_A3-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html">Q[173], A[2]</a>), the prophecy wherein, by the intelligible light, a supernatural truth is revealed through an imaginary vision, holds the | |
| 1552 mean between the prophecy wherein a supernatural truth is revealed without imaginary vision, and that wherein through the | |
| 1553 intelligible light and without an imaginary vision, man is directed to know or do things pertaining to human conduct. Now | |
| 1554 knowledge is more proper to prophecy | |
| 1555 than is action; wherefore the lowest degree of prophecy is when a man, by an inward instinct, is moved to perform some outward | |
| 1556 action. Thus it is related of Samson ( | |
| 1557 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Judg.15.14" target="asv">Judges 15:14</a>) that "the Spirit of the Lord came strongly upon him, and as the flax [*'Lina.' St. Thomas apparently read 'ligna' ('wood')] | |
| 1558 is wont to be consumed at the approach of fire, so the bands with which he was bound were broken and loosed." The second degree | |
| 1559 of prophecy is when a man is enlightened by an | |
| 1560 inward light so as to know certain things, which, however, do not go beyond the bounds of natural knowledge: thus it is related | |
| 1561 of Solomon ( | |
| 1562 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p6.3" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">3 Kings 4:32,33</a>) that "he spoke . . . parables . . . and he treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus unto the hyssop that cometh | |
| 1563 out of the wall, and he discoursed of beasts and of fowls, and of creeping things and of fishes": and all of this came from | |
| 1564 divine inspiration, for it was stated previously ( | |
| 1565 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p6.4" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">3 Kings | |
| 1566 4:29 | |
| 1567 </a>): "God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much." | |
| 1568 </p> | |
| 1569 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p7"> Nevertheless these two degrees are beneath prophecy properly so called, because they do not attain to supernatural truth. | |
| 1570 The prophecy wherein supernatural truth is manifested through imaginary vision is differentiated first according to the difference | |
| 1571 between dreams which occur during sleep, and vision which occurs while one is awake. The latter belongs to a higher degree | |
| 1572 of prophecy, since the prophetic light that draws the soul away to supernatural things while it is awake | |
| 1573 and occupied with sensible things would seem to be stronger than that which finds a man's soul asleep and withdrawn from objects | |
| 1574 of sense. Secondly the degrees of this prophecy are differentiated according to the expressiveness of the imaginary signs | |
| 1575 whereby the intelligible truth is conveyed. And since words are the most expressive signs of intelligible truth, it would | |
| 1576 seem to be a higher degree of prophecy when the prophet, whether awake or asleep, hears words expressive of an intelligible | |
| 1577 truth, than when he sees things significative of truth, for instance "the seven full ears of corn" signified "seven years | |
| 1578 of plenty" ( | |
| 1579 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.41.22" target="asv">Gn. 41:22</a>, | |
| 1580 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p7.2" href="./asv.html#Gen.41.26" target="asv">26</a>). In such like signs prophecy would seem to be the more excellent, according as the signs are more expressive, for instance | |
| 1581 when Jeremias saw the burning of the city under the figure of a boiling cauldron ( | |
| 1582 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p7.3" href="./asv.html#Jer.1.13" target="asv">Jer. 1:13</a>). Thirdly, it is evidently a still higher degree of prophecy when a prophet not only sees | |
| 1583 signs of words or deeds, but also, either awake or asleep, sees someone speaking or showing something to him, since this proves | |
| 1584 the prophet's mind to have approached nearer to the cause of the revelation. Fourthly, the height of a degree of prophecy | |
| 1585 may be measured according to the appearance of the person seen: for it is a higher degree of prophecy, if he who speaks or | |
| 1586 shows something to the waking or sleeping prophet be seen by him under the form of an angel, than if he be seen by him under | |
| 1587 the form of man: and higher still is it, if he be seen by the prophet whether asleep or awake, under the appearance of God, | |
| 1588 according to | |
| 1589 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A3-p7.4" href="./asv.html#Isa.6.1" target="asv">Is. 6:1</a>, "I saw the Lord sitting." | |
| 1590 </p> | |
| 1591 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p8"> But above all these degrees there is a third kind of prophecy, wherein an intelligible and supernatural truth is shown without | |
| 1592 any imaginary vision. However, this goes beyond the bounds of prophecy properly so called, as stated above (A[2], ad 3); and | |
| 1593 consequently the degrees of prophecy are properly distinguished according to imaginary vision. | |
| 1594 </p> | |
| 1595 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p9"> | |
| 1596 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> We are unable to know how to distinguish the intellectual light, except by means of imaginary or sensible signs. Hence the | |
| 1597 difference in the intellectual light is gathered from the difference in the things presented to the imagination. | |
| 1598 </p> | |
| 1599 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p10"> | |
| 1600 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> As stated above ( | |
| 1601 <a id="SS_Q174_A3-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html">Q[171], A[2]</a>), prophecy is by way, not of an abiding habit, but of a transitory passion; wherefore there is nothing inconsistent if one | |
| 1602 and the same prophet, at different times, receive various degrees of prophetic revelation. | |
| 1603 </p> | |
| 1604 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p11"> | |
| 1605 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The words and deeds mentioned there do not pertain to the prophetic revelation, but to the announcement, which is made according | |
| 1606 to the disposition of those to whom that which is revealed to the prophet is announced; and this is done sometimes by words, | |
| 1607 sometimes by deeds. Now this announcement, and the working of miracles, are something consequent upon prophecy, as stated | |
| 1608 above ( | |
| 1609 <a id="SS_Q174_A3-p11.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A1.html">Q[171], A[1]</a>). | |
| 1610 </p> | |
| 1611 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p12"></p> | |
| 1612 <p id="SS_Q174_A3-p13"></p> | |
| 1613 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1614 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1615 </div> | |
| 1616 <div id="SS_Q174_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 1617 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1618 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A5.html"></a> | |
| 1619 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A4-p0.1">Whether Moses was the greatest of the prophets?</h4> | |
| 1620 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 1621 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p2"> | |
| 1622 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that Moses was not the greatest of the prophets. For a gloss at the beginning of the Psalter says that "David | |
| 1623 is called the prophet by way of excellence." Therefore Moses was not the greatest of all. | |
| 1624 </p> | |
| 1625 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p3"> | |
| 1626 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, greater miracles were wrought by Josue, who made the sun and moon to stand still ( | |
| 1627 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Josh.10.12" target="asv">Josh. 10:12-14</a>), and by Isaias, who made the sun to turn back ( | |
| 1628 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.38.8" target="asv">Is. 38:8</a>), than by Moses, who divided the Red Sea ( | |
| 1629 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p3.3" href="./asv.html#Exod.14.21" target="asv">Ex. 14:21</a>). In like manner greater miracles were wrought by Elias, of whom it is written ( | |
| 1630 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p3.4" href="./asv.html#Sir.48.4" target="asv">Ecclus. 48:4,5</a>): "Who can glory like to thee? Who raisedst up a dead man from below." Therefore Moses was not the greatest of | |
| 1631 the prophets. | |
| 1632 </p> | |
| 1633 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p4"> | |
| 1634 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, it is written ( | |
| 1635 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.11.11" target="asv">Mat. 11:11</a>) that "there hath not risen, among them that are born of women, a greater than John the Baptist." Therefore Moses was not | |
| 1636 greater than all the prophets. | |
| 1637 </p> | |
| 1638 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p5"> | |
| 1639 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 1640 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Deut.34.10" target="asv">Dt. 34:10</a>): "There arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses." | |
| 1641 </p> | |
| 1642 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p6"> | |
| 1643 <b>I answer that,</b> Although in some respect one or other of the prophets was greater than Moses, yet Moses was simply the greatest of all. For, | |
| 1644 as stated above | |
| 1645 <a id="SS_Q174_A4-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html">(A[3];</a> Q[171], A[1]), in prophecy we may consider not only the knowledge, whether by intellectual or by imaginary vision, but also | |
| 1646 the announcement and the confirmation by miracles. Accordingly Moses was greater than the other prophets. First, as regards | |
| 1647 the intellectual vision, since he saw | |
| 1648 God's very essence, even as Paul in his rapture did, according to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. xii, 27). Hence it is written ( | |
| 1649 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Num.12.8" target="asv">Num. 12:8</a>) that he saw God "plainly and not by riddles." Secondly, as regards the imaginary vision, which he had at his call, as it | |
| 1650 were, for not only did he hear words, but also saw one speaking to him under the form of God, and this not only while asleep, | |
| 1651 but even when he was awake. Hence it is written ( | |
| 1652 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Exod.33.11" target="asv">Ex. 33:11</a>) that "the Lord spoke to Moses face to | |
| 1653 face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend." Thirdly, as regards the working of miracles which he wrought on a whole nation | |
| 1654 of unbelievers. Wherefore it is written ( | |
| 1655 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p6.4" href="./asv.html#Deut.34.10" target="asv">Dt. 34:10,11</a>): "There arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face: in all the signs and wonders, | |
| 1656 which He sent by him, to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to his whole land." | |
| 1657 </p> | |
| 1658 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p7"> | |
| 1659 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The prophecy of David approaches near to the vision of Moses, as regards the intellectual vision, because both received a | |
| 1660 revelation of intelligible and supernatural truth, without any imaginary vision. Yet the vision of Moses was more excellent | |
| 1661 as regards the knowledge of the Godhead; while David more fully knew and expressed the mysteries of Christ's incarnation. | |
| 1662 </p> | |
| 1663 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p8"> | |
| 1664 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> These signs of the prophets mentioned were greater as to the substance of the thing done; yet the miracles of Moses were | |
| 1665 greater as regards the way in which they were done, since they were wrought on a whole people. | |
| 1666 </p> | |
| 1667 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p9"> | |
| 1668 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> John belongs to the New Testament, whose ministers take precedence even of Moses, since they are spectators of a fuller revelation, | |
| 1669 as stated in | |
| 1670 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A4-p9.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.3" target="asv">2 Cor. 3</a>. | |
| 1671 </p> | |
| 1672 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p10"></p> | |
| 1673 <p id="SS_Q174_A4-p11"></p> | |
| 1674 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1675 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A5.html"></a> | |
| 1676 </div> | |
| 1677 <div id="SS_Q174_A5" class="div4"> | |
| 1678 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1679 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A6.html"></a> | |
| 1680 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A5-p0.1">Whether there is a degree of prophecy in the blessed?</h4> | |
| 1681 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p1"></p> | |
| 1682 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p2"> | |
| 1683 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that there is a degree of prophecy in the blessed. For, as stated above | |
| 1684 <a id="SS_Q174_A5-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html">(A[4])</a>, Moses saw the Divine essence, and yet he is called a prophet. Therefore in like manner the blessed can be called prophets. | |
| 1685 </p> | |
| 1686 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p3"> | |
| 1687 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, prophecy is a "divine revelation." Now divine revelations are made even to the blessed angels. Therefore even blessed | |
| 1688 angels can be prophets. | |
| 1689 </p> | |
| 1690 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p4"> | |
| 1691 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Christ was a comprehensor from the moment of His conception; and yet He calls Himself a prophet ( | |
| 1692 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A5-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.13.57" target="asv">Mat. 13:57</a>), when He says: "A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country." Therefore even comprehensors and the blessed can | |
| 1693 be called prophets. | |
| 1694 </p> | |
| 1695 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p5"> | |
| 1696 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, it is written of Samuel ( | |
| 1697 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A5-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Sir.46.23" target="asv">Ecclus. 46:23</a>): "He lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy to blot out the wickedness of the nation." Therefore other saints can | |
| 1698 likewise be called prophets after they have died. | |
| 1699 </p> | |
| 1700 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p6"> | |
| 1701 <b>On the contrary,</b> The prophetic word is compared ( | |
| 1702 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A5-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iiPet.1.19" target="asv">2 Pet. 1:19</a>) to a "light that shineth in a dark place." Now there is no darkness in the blessed. Therefore they cannot be called prophets. | |
| 1703 </p> | |
| 1704 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p7"> | |
| 1705 <b>I answer that,</b> Prophecy denotes vision of some supernatural truth as being far remote from us. This happens in two ways. First, on the part | |
| 1706 of the knowledge itself, because, to wit, the supernatural truth is not known in itself, but in some of its effects; and this | |
| 1707 truth will be more remote if it be known by means of images of corporeal things, than if it be known in its intelligible effects; | |
| 1708 and such most of all is the prophetic vision, which is conveyed by images and | |
| 1709 likenesses of corporeal things. Secondly, vision is remote on the part of the seer, because, to wit, he has not yet attained | |
| 1710 completely to his ultimate perfection, according to | |
| 1711 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A5-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.5.6" target="asv">2 Cor. 5:6, </a> "While we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord." | |
| 1712 </p> | |
| 1713 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p8"> Now in neither of these ways are the blessed remote; wherefore they cannot be called prophets.</p> | |
| 1714 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p9"> | |
| 1715 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> This vision of Moses was interrupted after the manner of a passion, and was not permanent like the beatific vision, wherefore | |
| 1716 he was as yet a seer from afar. For this reason his vision did not entirely lose the character of prophecy. | |
| 1717 </p> | |
| 1718 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p10"> | |
| 1719 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The divine revelation is made to the angels, not as being far distant, but as already wholly united to God; wherefore their | |
| 1720 revelation has not the character of prophecy. | |
| 1721 </p> | |
| 1722 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p11"> | |
| 1723 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Christ was at the same time comprehensor and wayfarer [*Cf. TP, QQ[9], seqq.]. Consequently the notion of prophecy is not | |
| 1724 applicable to Him as a comprehensor, but only as a wayfarer. | |
| 1725 </p> | |
| 1726 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p12"> | |
| 1727 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> Samuel had not yet attained to the state of blessedness. Wherefore although by God's will the soul itself of Samuel foretold | |
| 1728 to Saul the issue of the war as revealed to him by God, this pertains to the nature of prophecy. It is not the same with the | |
| 1729 saints who are now in heaven. Nor does it make any difference that this is stated to have been brought about by the demons' | |
| 1730 art, because although the demons are unable to evoke the soul of a saint, or to | |
| 1731 force it to do any particular thing, this can be done by the power of God, so that when the demon is consulted, God Himself | |
| 1732 declares the truth by His messenger: even as He gave a true answer by Elias to the King's messengers who were sent to consult | |
| 1733 the god of Accaron (4 Kings 1). | |
| 1734 </p> | |
| 1735 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p13"> It might also be replied [*The Book of Ecclesiasticus was not as yet declared by the Church to be Canonical Scripture; Cf. | |
| 1736 | |
| 1737 <a id="SS_Q174_A5-p13.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q89_A8.html">FP, Q[89], A[8]</a>, ad 2] that it was not the soul of Samuel, but a demon impersonating him; and that the wise man calls him Samuel, and describes | |
| 1738 his prediction as prophetic, in accordance with the thoughts of Saul and the bystanders who were of this opinion. | |
| 1739 </p> | |
| 1740 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p14"></p> | |
| 1741 <p id="SS_Q174_A5-p15"></p> | |
| 1742 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1743 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A6.html"></a> | |
| 1744 </div> | |
| 1745 <div id="SS_Q174_A6" class="div4"> | |
| 1746 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A5.html"></a> | |
| 1747 <a href="summa.SS_Q175.html"></a> | |
| 1748 <h4 id="SS_Q174_A6-p0.1">Whether the degrees of prophecy change as time goes on?</h4> | |
| 1749 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p1"></p> | |
| 1750 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p2"> | |
| 1751 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the degrees of prophecy change as time goes on. For prophecy is directed to the knowledge of Divine things, | |
| 1752 as stated above | |
| 1753 <a id="SS_Q174_A6-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html">(A[2])</a>. Now according to Gregory (Hom. in Ezech.), "knowledge of God went on increasing as time went on." Therefore degrees of prophecy | |
| 1754 should be distinguished according to the process of time. | |
| 1755 </p> | |
| 1756 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p3"> | |
| 1757 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, prophetic revelation is conveyed by God speaking to man; while the prophets declared both in words and in writing | |
| 1758 the things revealed to them. Now it is written ( | |
| 1759 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iKgs.3.1" target="asv">1 Kings 3:1</a>) that before the time of Samuel "the word of the Lord was precious," i.e. rare; and yet afterwards it was delivered to many. | |
| 1760 In like manner the books of the prophets do not appear to have been written before the time of Isaias, to whom it was said | |
| 1761 ( | |
| 1762 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.8.1" target="asv">Is. 8:1</a>): "Take thee a great book and write in it with a man's pen," after which many prophets wrote their prophecies. Therefore | |
| 1763 it would seem that in course of time the degree of prophecy made progress. | |
| 1764 </p> | |
| 1765 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p4"> | |
| 1766 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, our Lord said ( | |
| 1767 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.11.13" target="asv">Mat. 11:13</a>): "The prophets and the law prophesied until John"; and afterwards the gift of prophecy was in Christ's disciples in a much | |
| 1768 more excellent manner than in the prophets of old, according to | |
| 1769 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p4.2" href="./asv.html#Eph.3.5" target="asv"> Eph. 3:5, </a> "In other generations" the mystery of Christ "was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles | |
| 1770 and prophets in the Spirit." Therefore it would seem that in course | |
| 1771 of time the degree of prophecy advanced. | |
| 1772 </p> | |
| 1773 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p5"> | |
| 1774 <b>On the contrary,</b> As stated above | |
| 1775 <a id="SS_Q174_A6-p5.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A4.html">(A[4])</a>, Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and yet he preceded the other prophets. Therefore prophecy did not advance in degree | |
| 1776 as time went on. | |
| 1777 </p> | |
| 1778 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p6"> | |
| 1779 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above | |
| 1780 <a id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html">(A[2])</a>, prophecy is directed to the knowledge of Divine truth, by the contemplation of which we are not only instructed in faith, | |
| 1781 but also guided in our actions, according to | |
| 1782 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Ps.42.3" target="asv">Ps. 42:3</a>, "Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they have conducted me." Now our faith consists chiefly in two things: first, in the | |
| 1783 true knowledge of God, according to | |
| 1784 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Heb.11.6" target="asv"> Heb. 11:6, </a> "He that cometh to God must believe that He | |
| 1785 is"; secondly, in the mystery of Christ's incarnation, according to | |
| 1786 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.4" href="./asv.html#John.14.1" target="asv">Jn. 14:1</a>, "You believe in God, believe also in Me." Accordingly, if we speak of prophecy as directed to the Godhead as its end, it | |
| 1787 progressed according to three divisions of time, namely before the law, under the law, and under grace. For before the law, | |
| 1788 Abraham and the other patriarchs were prophetically taught things pertinent to faith in the Godhead. Hence they are called | |
| 1789 prophets, according to | |
| 1790 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.5" href="./asv.html#Ps.104.15" target="asv"> Ps. 104:15, | |
| 1791 | |
| 1792 </a>"Do no evil to My prophets," which words are said especially on behalf of Abraham and Isaac. Under the Law prophetic revelation | |
| 1793 of things pertinent to faith in the Godhead was made in a yet more excellent way than hitherto, because then not only certain | |
| 1794 special persons or families but the whole people had to be instructed in these matters. Hence the Lord said to Moses ( | |
| 1795 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.6" href="./asv.html#Exod.6.2" target="asv">Ex. 6:2,3</a>): "I am the Lord that appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God | |
| 1796 almighty, and My name Adonai I did not show to them"; because previously the patriarchs had been taught to believe in a general | |
| 1797 way in God, one and Almighty, while Moses was more fully instructed in the simplicity of the Divine essence, when it was said | |
| 1798 to him ( | |
| 1799 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.7" href="./asv.html#Exod.3.14" target="asv">Ex. 3:14</a>): "I am Who am"; and this name is signified by Jews in the word "Adonai" on account of their veneration for that unspeakable | |
| 1800 name. Afterwards in the time of grace the mystery of the Trinity was revealed by | |
| 1801 the Son of God Himself, according to | |
| 1802 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p6.8" href="./asv.html#Matt.28.19" target="asv"> Mat. 28:19</a>: "Going . . . teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." | |
| 1803 </p> | |
| 1804 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p7"> In each state, however, the most excellent revelation was that which was given first. Now the first revelation, before the | |
| 1805 Law, was given to Abraham, for it was at that time that men began to stray from faith in one God by turning aside to idolatry, | |
| 1806 whereas hitherto no such revelation was necessary while all persevered in the worship of one God. A less excellent revelation | |
| 1807 was made to Isaac, being founded on that which was made to Abraham. Wherefore it was said to him | |
| 1808 ( | |
| 1809 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.26.24" target="asv">Gn. 26:24</a>): "I am the God of Abraham thy father," and in like manner to Jacob ( | |
| 1810 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p7.2" href="./asv.html#Gen.28.13" target="asv">Gn. 28:13</a>): "I am the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac." Again in the state of the Law the first revelation which was | |
| 1811 given to Moses was more excellent, and on this revelation all the other revelations to the prophets were founded. And so, | |
| 1812 too, in the time of grace the entire faith of the Church is founded on the revelation vouchsafed to the apostles, | |
| 1813 concerning the faith in one God and three Persons, according to | |
| 1814 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p7.3" href="./asv.html#Matt.16.18" target="asv">Mat. 16:18</a>, "On this rock," i.e. of thy confession, "I will build My Church." | |
| 1815 </p> | |
| 1816 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p8"> As to the faith in Christ's incarnation, it is evident that the nearer men were to Christ, whether before or after Him, the | |
| 1817 more fully, for the most part, were they instructed on this point, and after Him more fully than before, as the Apostle declares | |
| 1818 ( | |
| 1819 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Eph.3.5" target="asv">Eph. 3:5</a>). | |
| 1820 </p> | |
| 1821 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p9"> As regards the guidance of human acts, the prophetic revelation varied not according to the course of time, but according | |
| 1822 as circumstances required, because as it is written ( | |
| 1823 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q174_A6-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Prov.29.18" target="asv">Prov. 29:18</a>), "When prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered abroad." Wherefore at all times men were divinely instructed about | |
| 1824 what they were to do, according as it was expedient for the spiritual welfare of the elect. | |
| 1825 </p> | |
| 1826 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p10"> | |
| 1827 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The saying of Gregory is to be referred to the time before Christ's incarnation, as regards the knowledge of this mystery. | |
| 1828 </p> | |
| 1829 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p11"> | |
| 1830 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> As Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xviii, 27), "just as in the early days of the Assyrian kingdom promises were made most explicitly | |
| 1831 to Abraham, so at the outset of the western Babylon," which is Rome, "and under its sway Christ was to come, in Whom were | |
| 1832 to be fulfilled the promises made through the prophetic oracles testifying in word and writing to that great event to come," | |
| 1833 the promises, namely, which were made to Abraham. "For while prophets were | |
| 1834 scarcely ever lacking to the people of Israel from the time that they began to have kings, it was exclusively for their benefit, | |
| 1835 not for that of the nations. But when those prophetic writings were being set up with greater publicity, which at some future | |
| 1836 time were to benefit the nations, it was fitting to begin when this city," Rome to wit, "was being built, which was to govern | |
| 1837 the nations." | |
| 1838 </p> | |
| 1839 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p12"> The reason why it behooved that nation to have a number of prophets especially at the time of the kings, was that then it | |
| 1840 was not over-ridden by other nations, but had its own king; wherefore it behooved the people, as enjoying liberty, to have | |
| 1841 prophets to teach them what to do. | |
| 1842 </p> | |
| 1843 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p13"> | |
| 1844 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The prophets who foretold the coming of Christ could not continue further than John, who with his finger pointed to Christ | |
| 1845 actually present. Nevertheless as Jerome says on this passage, "This does not mean that there were no more prophets after | |
| 1846 John. For we read in the Acts of the apostles that Agabus and the four maidens, daughters of Philip, prophesied." John, too, | |
| 1847 wrote a prophetic book about the end of the Church; and at all times there have not | |
| 1848 been lacking persons having the spirit of prophecy, not indeed for the declaration of any new doctrine of faith, but for the | |
| 1849 direction of human acts. Thus Augustine says (De Civ. Dei v, 26) that "the emperor Theodosius sent to John who dwelt in the | |
| 1850 Egyptian desert, and whom he knew by his ever-increasing fame to be endowed with the prophetic spirit: and from him he received | |
| 1851 a message assuring him of victory." | |
| 1852 </p> | |
| 1853 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p14"></p> | |
| 1854 <p id="SS_Q174_A6-p15"></p> | |
| 1855 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A5.html"></a> | |
| 1856 <a href="summa.SS_Q175.html"></a> | |
| 1857 </div> | |
| 1858 <a href="summa.SS_Q173_A4.html"></a> | |
| 1859 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1860 </div> | |
| 1861 <div id="SS_Q175" class="div3"> | |
| 1862 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A6.html"></a> | |
| 1863 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1864 <h3 id="SS_Q175-p0.1">OF RAPTURE (SIX ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 1865 <p id="SS_Q175-p1"></p> | |
| 1866 <p id="SS_Q175-p2"> We must now consider rapture. Under this head there are six points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 1867 <p id="SS_Q175-p3"> (1) Whether the soul of man is carried away to things divine?</p> | |
| 1868 <p id="SS_Q175-p4"> (2) Whether rapture pertains to the cognitive or to the appetitive power?</p> | |
| 1869 <p id="SS_Q175-p5"> (3) Whether Paul when in rapture saw the essence of God?</p> | |
| 1870 <p id="SS_Q175-p6"> (4) Whether he was withdrawn from his senses?</p> | |
| 1871 <p id="SS_Q175-p7"> (5) Whether, when in that state, his soul was wholly separated from his body?</p> | |
| 1872 <p id="SS_Q175-p8"> (6) What did he know, and what did he not know about this matter?</p> | |
| 1873 <div id="SS_Q175_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 1874 <a href="summa.SS_Q175.html"></a> | |
| 1875 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1876 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A1-p0.1">Whether the soul of man is carried away to things divine?</h4> | |
| 1877 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 1878 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p2"> | |
| 1879 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the soul of man is not carried away to things divine. For some define rapture as "an uplifting by the | |
| 1880 power of a higher nature, from that which is according to nature to that which is above nature" [*Reference unknown; Cf. De | |
| 1881 Veritate xiii, 1]. Now it is in accordance with man's nature that he be uplifted to things divine; for Augustine says at the | |
| 1882 beginning of his Confessions: "Thou madest us, Lord, for Thyself, and our heart is restless, | |
| 1883 till it rest in Thee." Therefore man's soul is not carried away to things divine. | |
| 1884 </p> | |
| 1885 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p3"> | |
| 1886 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Dionysius says (Div. Nom. viii) that "God's justice is seen in this that He treats all things according to their | |
| 1887 mode and dignity." But it is not in accordance with man's mode and worth that he be raised above what he is according to nature. | |
| 1888 Therefore it would seem that man's soul is not carried away to things divine. | |
| 1889 </p> | |
| 1890 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p4"> | |
| 1891 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, rapture denotes violence of some kind. But God rules us not by violence or force, as Damascene says [*De Fide Orth. | |
| 1892 ii, 30]. Therefore man's soul is not carried away to things divine. | |
| 1893 </p> | |
| 1894 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p5"> | |
| 1895 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Apostle says ( | |
| 1896 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A1-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.2" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:2</a>): "I know a man in Christ . . . rapt even to the third heaven." On which words a gloss says: "Rapt, that is to say, uplifted | |
| 1897 contrary to nature." | |
| 1898 </p> | |
| 1899 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p6"> | |
| 1900 <b>I answer that,</b> Rapture denotes violence of a kind as stated above (OBJ[3]); and "the violent is that which has its principle without, and | |
| 1901 in which he that suffers violence concurs not at all" (Ethic. iii, 1). Now everything concurs in that to which it tends in | |
| 1902 accordance with its proper inclination, whether voluntary or natural. Wherefore he who is carried away by some external agent, | |
| 1903 must be carried to something different from that to which his inclination tends. This | |
| 1904 difference arises in two ways: in one way from the end of the inclination---for instance a stone, which is naturally inclined | |
| 1905 to be borne downwards, may be thrown upwards; in another way from the manner of tending---for instance a stone may be thrown | |
| 1906 downwards with greater velocity than consistent with its natural movement. | |
| 1907 </p> | |
| 1908 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p7"> Accordingly man's soul also is said to be carried away, in a twofold manner, to that which is contrary to its nature: in | |
| 1909 one way, as regards the term of transport---as when it is carried away to punishment, according to | |
| 1910 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A1-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.49.22" target="asv"> Ps. 49:22, </a> "Lest He snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you"; in another way, as regards the manner connatural to man, which | |
| 1911 is that he should understand the truth through sensible things. Hence when he is withdrawn from the | |
| 1912 apprehension of sensibles, he is said to be carried away, even though he be uplifted to things whereunto he is directed naturally: | |
| 1913 provided this be not done intentionally, as when a man betakes himself to sleep which is in accordance with nature, wherefore | |
| 1914 sleep cannot be called rapture, properly speaking. | |
| 1915 </p> | |
| 1916 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p8"> This withdrawal, whatever its term may be, may arise from a threefold cause. First, from a bodily cause, as happens to those | |
| 1917 who suffer abstraction from the senses through weakness: secondly, by the power of the demons, as in those who are possessed: | |
| 1918 thirdly, by the power of God. In this last sense we are now speaking of rapture, whereby a man is uplifted by the spirit of | |
| 1919 God to things supernatural, and withdrawn from his senses, according to | |
| 1920 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A1-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Ezek.8.3" target="asv"> Ezech. 8:3, | |
| 1921 | |
| 1922 </a>"The spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the vision of God into Jerusalem." | |
| 1923 </p> | |
| 1924 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p9"> It must be observed, however, that sometimes a person is said to be carried away, not only through being withdrawn from his | |
| 1925 senses, but also through being withdrawn from the things to which he was attending, as when a person's mind wanders contrary | |
| 1926 to his purpose. But this is to use the expression in a less proper signification. | |
| 1927 </p> | |
| 1928 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p10"> | |
| 1929 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> It is natural to man to tend to divine things through the apprehension of things sensible, according to | |
| 1930 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A1-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.1.20" target="asv"> Rom. 1:20, </a> "The invisible things of God . . . are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." But the mode, whereby | |
| 1931 a man is uplifted to divine things and withdrawn from his senses, is not natural to man. | |
| 1932 </p> | |
| 1933 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p11"> | |
| 1934 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> It belongs to man's mode and dignity that he be uplifted to divine things, from the very fact that he is made to God's image. | |
| 1935 And since a divine good infinitely surpasses the faculty of man in order to attain that good, he needs the divine assistance | |
| 1936 which is bestowed on him in every gift of grace. Hence it is not contrary to nature, but above the faculty of nature that | |
| 1937 man's mind be thus uplifted in rapture by God. | |
| 1938 </p> | |
| 1939 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p12"> | |
| 1940 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The saying of Damascene refers to those things which a man does by himself. But as to those things which are beyond the scope | |
| 1941 of the free-will, man needs to be uplifted by a stronger operation, which in a certain respect may be called force if we consider | |
| 1942 the mode of operation, but not if we consider its term to which man is directed both by nature and by his intention. | |
| 1943 </p> | |
| 1944 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p13"></p> | |
| 1945 <p id="SS_Q175_A1-p14"></p> | |
| 1946 <a href="summa.SS_Q175.html"></a> | |
| 1947 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A2.html"></a> | |
| 1948 </div> | |
| 1949 <div id="SS_Q175_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 1950 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A1.html"></a> | |
| 1951 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A3.html"></a> | |
| 1952 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A2-p0.1">Whether rapture pertains to the cognitive rather than to the appetitive power?</h4> | |
| 1953 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 1954 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p2"> | |
| 1955 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that rapture pertains to the appetitive rather than to the cognitive power. For Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv): | |
| 1956 "The Divine love causes ecstasy." Now love pertains to the appetitive power. Therefore so does ecstasy or rapture. | |
| 1957 </p> | |
| 1958 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p3"> | |
| 1959 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Dial. ii, 3) that "he who fed the swine debased himself by a dissipated mind and an unclean life; | |
| 1960 whereas Peter, when the angel delivered him and carried him into ecstasy, was not beside himself, but above himself." Now | |
| 1961 the prodigal son sank into the depths by his appetite. Therefore in those also who are carried up into the heights it is the | |
| 1962 appetite that is affected. | |
| 1963 </p> | |
| 1964 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p4"> | |
| 1965 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, a gloss on | |
| 1966 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A2-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.30.1" target="asv"> Ps. 30:1, </a> "In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded," says in explaining the title [*Unto the end, a psalm for David, | |
| 1967 in an ecstasy]: "{Ekstasis} in Greek signifies in Latin 'excessus mentis,' an aberration of the mind. This happens in two | |
| 1968 ways, either through dread of earthly things or through the mind being rapt in heavenly things and forgetful of this lower | |
| 1969 world." Now dread of earthly things | |
| 1970 pertains to the appetite. Therefore rapture of the mind in heavenly things, being placed in opposition to this dread, also | |
| 1971 pertains to the appetite. | |
| 1972 </p> | |
| 1973 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p5"> | |
| 1974 <b>On the contrary,</b> A gloss on | |
| 1975 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A2-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.115.2" target="asv"> Ps. 115:2, </a> "I said in my excess: Every man is a liar," says: "We speak of ecstasy, not when the mind wanders through fear, but when | |
| 1976 it is carried aloft on the wings of revelation." Now revelation pertains to the intellective power. Therefore ecstasy or rapture | |
| 1977 does also. | |
| 1978 </p> | |
| 1979 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p6"> | |
| 1980 <b>I answer that,</b> We can speak of rapture in two ways. First, with regard to the term of rapture, and thus, properly speaking, rapture cannot | |
| 1981 pertain to the appetitive, but only to the cognitive power. For it was stated | |
| 1982 <a id="SS_Q175_A2-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q175_A1.html">(A[1])</a> that rapture is outside the inclination of the person who is rapt; whereas the movement of the appetitive power is an inclination | |
| 1983 to an appetible good. Wherefore, properly speaking, in desiring something, a man is not rapt, but | |
| 1984 is moved by himself. | |
| 1985 </p> | |
| 1986 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p7"> Secondly, rapture may be considered with regard to its cause, and thus it may have a cause on the part of the appetitive | |
| 1987 power. For from the very fact that the appetite is strongly affected towards something, it may happen, owing to the violence | |
| 1988 of his affection, that a man is carried away from everything else. Moreover, it has an effect on the appetitive power, when | |
| 1989 for instance a man delights in the things to which he is rapt. Hence the Apostle said that he was rapt, not only | |
| 1990 "to the third heaven"---which pertains to the contemplation of the intellect---but also into "paradise," which pertains to | |
| 1991 the appetite. | |
| 1992 </p> | |
| 1993 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p8"> | |
| 1994 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Rapture adds something to ecstasy. For ecstasy means simply a going out of oneself by being placed outside one's proper order | |
| 1995 [*Cf. | |
| 1996 <a id="SS_Q175_A2-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q28_A3.html">FS, Q[28], A[3]</a>]; while rapture denotes a certain violence in addition. Accordingly ecstasy may pertain to the appetitive power, as when | |
| 1997 a man's appetite tends to something outside him, and in this sense Dionysius says that "the Divine love causes ecstasy," inasmuch | |
| 1998 as it makes man's appetite tend | |
| 1999 to the object loved. Hence he says afterwards that "even God Himself, the cause of all things, through the overflow of His | |
| 2000 loving goodness, goes outside Himself in His providence for all beings." But even if this were said expressly of rapture, | |
| 2001 it would merely signify that love is the cause of rapture. | |
| 2002 </p> | |
| 2003 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p9"> | |
| 2004 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> There is a twofold appetite in man; to wit, the intellective appetite which is called the will, and the sensitive appetite | |
| 2005 known as the sensuality. Now it is proper to man that his lower appetite be subject to the higher appetite, and that the higher | |
| 2006 move the lower. Hence man may become outside himself as regards the appetite, in two ways. In one way, when a man's intellective | |
| 2007 appetite tends wholly to divine things, and takes no account of those | |
| 2008 things whereto the sensitive appetite inclines him; thus Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv) that "Paul being in ecstasy through | |
| 2009 the vehemence of Divine love" exclaimed: "I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me." | |
| 2010 </p> | |
| 2011 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p10"> In another way, when a man tends wholly to things pertaining to the lower appetite, and takes no account of his higher appetite. | |
| 2012 It is thus that "he who fed the swine debased himself"; and this latter kind of going out of oneself, or being beside oneself, | |
| 2013 is more akin than the former to the nature of rapture because the higher appetite is more proper to man. Hence when through | |
| 2014 the violence of his lower appetite a man is withdrawn from the movement of his higher appetite, it is | |
| 2015 more a case of being withdrawn from that which is proper to him. Yet, because there is no violence therein, since the will | |
| 2016 is able to resist the passion, it falls short of the true nature of rapture, unless perchance the passion be so strong that | |
| 2017 it takes away entirely the use of reason, as happens to those who are mad with anger or love. | |
| 2018 </p> | |
| 2019 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p11"> It must be observed. however, that both these excesses affecting the appetite may cause an excess in the cognitive power, | |
| 2020 either because the mind is carried away to certain intelligible objects, through being drawn away from objects of sense, or | |
| 2021 because it is caught up into some imaginary vision or fanciful apparition. | |
| 2022 </p> | |
| 2023 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p12"> | |
| 2024 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Just as love is a movement of the appetite with regard to good, so fear is a movement of the appetite with regard to evil. | |
| 2025 Wherefore either of them may equally cause an aberration of mind; and all the more since fear arises from love, as Augustine | |
| 2026 says (De Civ. Dei xiv, 7,9). | |
| 2027 </p> | |
| 2028 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p13"></p> | |
| 2029 <p id="SS_Q175_A2-p14"></p> | |
| 2030 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2031 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A3.html"></a> | |
| 2032 </div> | |
| 2033 <div id="SS_Q175_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 2034 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2035 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html"></a> | |
| 2036 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A3-p0.1">Whether Paul, when in rapture, saw the essence of God?</h4> | |
| 2037 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 2038 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p2"> | |
| 2039 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that Paul, when in rapture, did not see the essence of God. For just as we read of Paul that he was rapt to | |
| 2040 the third heaven, so we read of Peter ( | |
| 2041 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.10.10" target="asv">Acts 10:10</a>) that "there came upon him an ecstasy of mind." Now Peter, in his ecstasy, saw not God's essence but an imaginary vision. | |
| 2042 Therefore it would seem that neither did Paul see the essence of God. | |
| 2043 </p> | |
| 2044 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p3"> | |
| 2045 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the vision of God is beatific. But Paul, in his rapture, was not beatified; else he would never have returned to | |
| 2046 the unhappiness of this life, but his body would have been glorified by the overflow from his soul, as will happen to the | |
| 2047 saints after the resurrection, and this clearly was not the case. Therefore Paul when in rapture saw not the essence of God. | |
| 2048 </p> | |
| 2049 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p4"> | |
| 2050 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, according to | |
| 2051 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.10" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:10-12</a>, faith and hope are incompatible with the vision of the Divine essence. But Paul when in this state had faith and hope. Therefore | |
| 2052 he saw not the essence of God. | |
| 2053 </p> | |
| 2054 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p5"> | |
| 2055 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, as Augustine states (Gen. ad lit. xii, 6,7), "pictures of bodies are seen in the imaginary vision." Now Paul is | |
| 2056 stated ( | |
| 2057 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.2" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:2</a>, | |
| 2058 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p5.2" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.4" target="asv">4</a>) to have seen certain pictures in his rapture, for instance of the "third heaven" and of "paradise." Therefore he would seem | |
| 2059 to have been rapt to an imaginary vision rather than to the vision of the Divine essence. | |
| 2060 </p> | |
| 2061 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p6"> | |
| 2062 <b>On the contrary,</b> Augustine (Ep. CXLVII, 13; ad Paulin., de videndo Deum) concludes that "possibly God's very substance was seen by some while | |
| 2063 yet in this life: for instance by Moses, and by Paul who in rapture heard unspeakable words, which it is not granted unto | |
| 2064 man to utter." | |
| 2065 </p> | |
| 2066 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p7"> | |
| 2067 <b>I answer that,</b> Some have said that Paul, when in rapture, saw "not the very essence of God, but a certain reflection of His clarity." But | |
| 2068 Augustine clearly comes to an opposite decision, not only in his book (De videndo Deum), but also in Gen. ad lit. xii, 28 | |
| 2069 (quoted in a gloss on | |
| 2070 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.2" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:2</a>). Indeed the words themselves of the Apostle indicate this. For he says that "he heard secret words, which it is not granted | |
| 2071 unto man to utter": and such would | |
| 2072 seem to be words pertaining to the vision of the blessed, which transcends the state of the wayfarer, according to | |
| 2073 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p7.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.64.4" target="asv">Is. 64:4</a>, "Eye hath not seen, O God, besides Thee, what things Thou hast prepared for them that love [Vulg.: 'wait for'] Thee" [* | |
| 2074 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p7.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.2.9" target="asv">1 Cor. 2:9</a>]. Therefore it is more becoming to hold that he saw God in His essence. | |
| 2075 </p> | |
| 2076 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p8"> | |
| 2077 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Man's mind is rapt by God to the contemplation of divine truth in three ways. First, so that he contemplates it through certain | |
| 2078 imaginary pictures, and such was the ecstasy that came upon Peter. Secondly, so that he contemplates the divine truth through | |
| 2079 its intelligible effects; such was the ecstasy of David, who said ( | |
| 2080 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.115.11" target="asv">Ps. 115:11</a>): "I said in my excess: Every man is a liar." Thirdly, so that he contemplates it in its essence. Such was the rapture of | |
| 2081 Paul, as also of Moses [*Cf. Q[174], A[4]]; and not without reason, since as Moses was the first Teacher of the Jews, so was | |
| 2082 Paul the first "Teacher of the gentiles" [*Cf. | |
| 2083 <a id="SS_Q175_A3-p8.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q68_A4.html">FP, Q[68], A[4]</a>]. | |
| 2084 </p> | |
| 2085 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p9"> | |
| 2086 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The Divine essence cannot be seen by a created intellect save through the light of glory, of which it is written ( | |
| 2087 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.35.10" target="asv">Ps. 35:10</a>): "In Thy light we shall see light." But this light can be shared in two ways. First by way of an abiding form, and thus | |
| 2088 it beatifies the saints in heaven. Secondly, by way of a transitory passion, as stated above ( | |
| 2089 <a id="SS_Q175_A3-p9.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html">Q[171] , A[2]</a>) of the light of prophecy; and in this way that light | |
| 2090 was in Paul when he was in rapture. Hence this vision did not beatify him simply, so as to overflow into his body, but only | |
| 2091 in a restricted sense. Consequently this rapture pertains somewhat to prophecy. | |
| 2092 </p> | |
| 2093 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p10"> | |
| 2094 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Since, in his rapture, Paul was beatified not as to the habit, but only as to the act of the blessed, it follows that he | |
| 2095 had not the act of faith at the same time, although he had the habit. | |
| 2096 </p> | |
| 2097 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p11"> | |
| 2098 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> In one way by the third heaven we may understand something corporeal, and thus the third heaven denotes the empyrean [* | |
| 2099 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p11.1" href="./asv.html#iTim.2.7" target="asv">1 Tim. 2:7</a>; Cf. | |
| 2100 <a id="SS_Q175_A3-p11.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q12_A11.html">FP, Q[12], A[11]</a>, ad 2], which is described as the "third," in relation to the aerial and starry heavens, or better still, in relation to | |
| 2101 the aqueous and crystalline heavens. Moreover Paul is stated to be rapt to the "third heaven," not as though his rapture consisted | |
| 2102 in | |
| 2103 the vision of something corporeal, but because this place is appointed for the contemplation of the blessed. Hence the gloss | |
| 2104 on | |
| 2105 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p11.3" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12" target="asv">2 Cor. 12</a> says that the "third heaven is a spiritual heaven, where the angels and the holy souls enjoy the contemplation of God: and | |
| 2106 when Paul says that he was rapt to this heaven he means that God showed him the life wherein He is to be seen forevermore." | |
| 2107 </p> | |
| 2108 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p12"> In another way the third heaven may signify a supra-mundane vision. Such a vision may be called the third heaven in three | |
| 2109 ways. First, according to the order of the cognitive powers. In this way the first heaven would indicate a supramundane bodily | |
| 2110 vision, conveyed through the senses; thus was seen the hand of one writing on the wall ( | |
| 2111 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p12.1" href="./asv.html#Dan.5.5" target="asv">Dan. 5:5</a>); the second heaven would be an imaginary vision such as Isaias saw, and John in the Apocalypse; and the third | |
| 2112 heaven would denote an intellectual vision according to Augustine's explanation (Gen. ad lit. xii, 26,28,34). Secondly, the | |
| 2113 third heaven may be taken according to the order of things knowable, the first heaven being "the knowledge of heavenly bodies, | |
| 2114 the second the knowledge of heavenly spirits, the third the knowledge of God Himself." Thirdly, the third heaven may denote | |
| 2115 the contemplation of God according to the degrees of knowledge whereby God is seen. The first of these degrees belongs to | |
| 2116 the angels of the lowest hierarchy [*Cf. | |
| 2117 <a id="SS_Q175_A3-p12.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q108_A1.html">FP, Q[108], A[1]</a>], the second to the angels of the middle hierarchy, the third to the angels of the highest hierarchy, according to the gloss | |
| 2118 on | |
| 2119 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A3-p12.3" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12" target="asv">2 Cor. 12</a>. | |
| 2120 </p> | |
| 2121 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p13"> And since the vision of God cannot be without delight, he says that he was not only "rapt to the third heaven" by reason | |
| 2122 of his contemplation, but also into "Paradise" by reason of the consequent delight. | |
| 2123 </p> | |
| 2124 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p14"></p> | |
| 2125 <p id="SS_Q175_A3-p15"></p> | |
| 2126 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2127 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html"></a> | |
| 2128 </div> | |
| 2129 <div id="SS_Q175_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 2130 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A3.html"></a> | |
| 2131 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A5.html"></a> | |
| 2132 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A4-p0.1">Whether Paul, when in rapture, was withdrawn from his senses?</h4> | |
| 2133 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 2134 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p2"> | |
| 2135 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that Paul, when in rapture, was not withdrawn from his senses. For Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 28): "Why | |
| 2136 should we not believe that when so great an apostle, the teacher of the gentiles, was rapt to this most sublime vision, God | |
| 2137 was willing to vouchsafe him a glimpse of that eternal life which is to take the place of the present life?" Now in that future | |
| 2138 life after the resurrection the saints will see the Divine essence without being | |
| 2139 withdrawn from the senses of the body. Therefore neither did such a withdrawal take place in Paul. | |
| 2140 </p> | |
| 2141 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p3"> | |
| 2142 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Christ was truly a wayfarer, and also enjoyed an uninterrupted vision of the Divine essence, without, however, being | |
| 2143 withdrawn from His senses. Therefore there was no need for Paul to be withdrawn from his senses in order for him to see the | |
| 2144 essence of God. | |
| 2145 </p> | |
| 2146 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p4"> | |
| 2147 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, after seeing God in His essence, Paul remembered what he had seen in that vision; hence he said ( | |
| 2148 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A4-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.4" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:4</a>): "He heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter." Now the memory belongs to the sensitive faculty according | |
| 2149 to the Philosopher (De Mem. et Remin. i). Therefore it seems that Paul, while seeing the essence of God, was not withdrawn | |
| 2150 from his senses. | |
| 2151 </p> | |
| 2152 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p5"> | |
| 2153 <b>On the contrary,</b> Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 27): "Unless a man in some way depart this life, whether by going altogether out of his | |
| 2154 body or by turning away and withdrawing from his carnal senses, so that he truly knows not as the Apostle said, whether he | |
| 2155 be in the body or out of the body, he is not rapt and caught up into that vision.*" [*The text of St. Augustine reads: "when | |
| 2156 he is rapt," etc.] | |
| 2157 </p> | |
| 2158 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p6"> | |
| 2159 <b>I answer that,</b> The Divine essence cannot be seen by man through any cognitive power other than the intellect. Now the human intellect does | |
| 2160 not turn to intelligible objects except by means of the phantasms [*Cf. | |
| 2161 <a id="SS_Q175_A4-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q84_A7.html">FP, Q[84], A[7]</a>] which it takes from the senses through the intelligible species; and it is in considering these phantasms that the intellect | |
| 2162 judges of and coordinates sensible objects. Hence in any operation that requires abstraction of the | |
| 2163 intellect from phantasms, there must be also withdrawal of the intellect from the senses. Now in the state of the wayfarer | |
| 2164 it is necessary for man's intellect, if it see God's essence, to be withdrawn from phantasms. For God's essence cannot be | |
| 2165 seen by means of a phantasm, nor indeed by any created intelligible species [*Cf. | |
| 2166 <a id="SS_Q175_A4-p6.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q12_A2.html">FP, Q[12], A[2]</a>], since God's essence infinitely transcends not only all bodies, which are represented by phantasms, but also all intelligible | |
| 2167 creatures. Now when man's intellect is uplifted to the sublime vision of God's essence, it is necessary that his mind's whole | |
| 2168 attention should be summoned to that purpose in such a way that he understand naught else by phantasms, and be absorbed entirely | |
| 2169 in God. Therefore it is impossible for man while a wayfarer to see God in His essence without being withdrawn from his senses. | |
| 2170 </p> | |
| 2171 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p7"> | |
| 2172 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above (A[3], OBJ[2]), after the resurrection, in the blessed who see God in His essence, there will be an overflow | |
| 2173 from the intellect to the lower powers and even to the body. Hence it is in keeping with the rule itself of the divine vision | |
| 2174 that the soul will turn towards phantasms and sensible objects. But there is no such overflow in those who are raptured, as | |
| 2175 stated (A[3], OBJ[2], ad 2), and consequently the comparison fails. | |
| 2176 </p> | |
| 2177 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p8"> | |
| 2178 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The intellect of Christ's soul was glorified by the habit of the light of glory, whereby He saw the Divine essence much more | |
| 2179 fully than an angel or a man. He was, however, a wayfarer on account of the passibility of His body, in respect of which He | |
| 2180 was "made a little lower than the angels" ( | |
| 2181 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A4-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Heb.2.9" target="asv">Heb. 2:9</a>), by dispensation, and not on account of any defect on the part of His intellect. Hence there is no comparison between Him | |
| 2182 and other | |
| 2183 wayfarers. | |
| 2184 </p> | |
| 2185 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p9"> | |
| 2186 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Paul, after seeing God in His essence, remembered what he had known in that vision, by means of certain intelligible species | |
| 2187 that remained in his intellect by way of habit; even as in the absence of the sensible object, certain impressions remain | |
| 2188 in the soul which it recollects when it turns to the phantasms. And so this was the knowledge that he was unable wholly to | |
| 2189 think over or express in words. | |
| 2190 </p> | |
| 2191 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p10"></p> | |
| 2192 <p id="SS_Q175_A4-p11"></p> | |
| 2193 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A3.html"></a> | |
| 2194 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A5.html"></a> | |
| 2195 </div> | |
| 2196 <div id="SS_Q175_A5" class="div4"> | |
| 2197 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html"></a> | |
| 2198 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A6.html"></a> | |
| 2199 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A5-p0.1">Whether, while in this state, Paul's soul was wholly separated from his body?</h4> | |
| 2200 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p1"></p> | |
| 2201 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p2"> | |
| 2202 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that, while in this state, Paul's soul was wholly separated from his body. For the Apostle says ( | |
| 2203 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A5-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.5.6" target="asv">2 Cor. 5:6,7</a>): "While we are in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, and not by sight" [*'Per speciem,' i.e. by | |
| 2204 an intelligible species]. Now, while in that state, Paul was not absent from the Lord, for he saw Him by a species, as stated | |
| 2205 above | |
| 2206 <a id="SS_Q175_A5-p2.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q175_A3.html">(A[3])</a>. Therefore he was not in the | |
| 2207 body. | |
| 2208 </p> | |
| 2209 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p3"> | |
| 2210 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, a power of the soul cannot be uplifted above the soul's essence wherein it is rooted. Now in this rapture the intellect, | |
| 2211 which is a power of the soul, was withdrawn from its bodily surroundings through being uplifted to divine contemplation. Much | |
| 2212 more therefore was the essence of the soul separated from the body. | |
| 2213 </p> | |
| 2214 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p4"> | |
| 2215 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the forces of the vegetative soul are more material than those of the sensitive soul. Now in order for him to be | |
| 2216 rapt to the vision of God, it was necessary for him to be withdrawn from the forces of the sensitive soul, as stated above | |
| 2217 | |
| 2218 <a id="SS_Q175_A5-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html">(A[4])</a>. Much more, therefore, was it necessary for him to be withdrawn from the forces of the vegetative soul. Now when these forces | |
| 2219 cease to operate, the soul is no longer in any way united to | |
| 2220 the body. Therefore it would seem that in Paul's rapture it was necessary for the soul to be wholly separated from the body. | |
| 2221 </p> | |
| 2222 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p5"> | |
| 2223 <b>On the contrary,</b> Augustine says (Ep. CXLVII, 13, ad Paulin.; de videndo Deum): "It is not incredible that this sublime revelation" (namely, | |
| 2224 that they should see God in His essence) "was vouchsafed certain saints, without their departing this life so completely as | |
| 2225 to leave nothing but a corpse for burial." Therefore it was not necessary for Paul's soul, when in rapture, to be wholly separated | |
| 2226 from his body. | |
| 2227 </p> | |
| 2228 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p6"> | |
| 2229 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above (A[1], OBJ[1]), in the rapture of which we are speaking now, man is uplifted by God's power, "from that which | |
| 2230 is according to nature to that which is above nature." Wherefore two things have to be considered: first, what pertains to | |
| 2231 man according to nature; secondly, what has to be done by God in man above his nature. Now, since the soul is united to the | |
| 2232 body as its natural form, it belongs to the soul to have a natural disposition to | |
| 2233 understand by turning to phantasms; and this is not withdrawn by the divine power from the soul in rapture, since its state | |
| 2234 undergoes no change, as stated above (A[3], ad 2,3). Yet, this state remaining, actual conversion to phantasms and sensible | |
| 2235 objects is withdrawn from the soul, lest it be hindered from being uplifted to that which transcends all phantasms, as stated | |
| 2236 above | |
| 2237 <a id="SS_Q175_A5-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html">(A[4])</a>. Therefore it was not necessary that his soul in rapture should be so separated from | |
| 2238 the body as to cease to be united thereto as its form; and yet it was necessary for his intellect to be withdrawn from phantasms | |
| 2239 and the perception of sensible objects. | |
| 2240 </p> | |
| 2241 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p7"> | |
| 2242 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> In this rapture Paul was absent from the Lord as regards his state, since he was still in the state of a wayfarer, but not | |
| 2243 as regards the act by which he saw God by a species, as stated above (A[3], ad 2,3). | |
| 2244 </p> | |
| 2245 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p8"> | |
| 2246 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> A faculty of the soul is not uplifted by the natural power above the mode becoming the essence of the soul; but it can be | |
| 2247 uplifted by the divine power to something higher, even as a body by the violence of a stronger power is lifted up above the | |
| 2248 place befitting it according to its specific nature. | |
| 2249 </p> | |
| 2250 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p9"> | |
| 2251 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The forces of the vegetative soul do not operate through the soul being intent thereon, as do the sensitive forces, but by | |
| 2252 way of nature. Hence in the case of rapture there is no need for withdrawal from them, as from the sensitive powers, whose | |
| 2253 operations would lessen the intentness of the soul on intellective knowledge. | |
| 2254 </p> | |
| 2255 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p10"></p> | |
| 2256 <p id="SS_Q175_A5-p11"></p> | |
| 2257 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A4.html"></a> | |
| 2258 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A6.html"></a> | |
| 2259 </div> | |
| 2260 <div id="SS_Q175_A6" class="div4"> | |
| 2261 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A5.html"></a> | |
| 2262 <a href="summa.SS_Q176.html"></a> | |
| 2263 <h4 id="SS_Q175_A6-p0.1">Did Paul know whether his soul were separated from his body?</h4> | |
| 2264 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p1"></p> | |
| 2265 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p2"> | |
| 2266 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that Paul was not ignorant whether his soul were separated from his body. For he says ( | |
| 2267 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A6-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.2" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:2</a>): "I know a man in Christ rapt even to the third heaven." Now man denotes something composed of soul and body; and rapture | |
| 2268 differs from death. Seemingly therefore he knew that his soul was not separated from his body by death, which is the more | |
| 2269 probable seeing that this is the common opinion of the Doctors. | |
| 2270 </p> | |
| 2271 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p3"> | |
| 2272 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, it appears from the same words of the Apostle that he knew whither he was rapt, since it was "to the third heaven." | |
| 2273 Now this shows that he knew whether he was in the body or not, for if he knew the third heaven to be something corporeal, | |
| 2274 he must have known that his soul was not separated from his body, since a corporeal thing cannot be an object of sight save | |
| 2275 through the body. Therefore it would seem that he was not ignorant whether his soul were | |
| 2276 separated from his body. | |
| 2277 </p> | |
| 2278 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p4"> | |
| 2279 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 28) that "when in rapture, he saw God with the same vision as the saints see Him | |
| 2280 in heaven." Now from the very fact that the saints see God, they know whether their soul is separated from their body. Therefore | |
| 2281 Paul too knew this. | |
| 2282 </p> | |
| 2283 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p5"> | |
| 2284 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 2285 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A6-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.12.3" target="asv">2 Cor. 12:3</a>): "Whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not, God knoweth." | |
| 2286 </p> | |
| 2287 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p6"> | |
| 2288 <b>I answer that,</b> The true answer to this question must be gathered from the Apostle's very words, whereby he says he knew something, namely | |
| 2289 that he was "rapt even to the third heaven," and that something he knew not, namely "whether" he were "in the body or out | |
| 2290 of the body." This may be understood in two ways. First, the words "whether in the body or out of the body" may refer not | |
| 2291 to the very being of the man who was rapt (as though he knew not whether his soul were in his | |
| 2292 body or not), but to the mode of rapture, so that he ignored whether his body besides his soul, or, on the other hand, his | |
| 2293 soul alone, were rapt to the third heaven. Thus Ezechiel is stated ( | |
| 2294 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q175_A6-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Ezek.8.3" target="asv">Ezech. 8:3</a>) to have been "brought in the vision of God into Jerusalem." This was the explanation of a certain Jew according to Jerome | |
| 2295 (Prolog. super Daniel.), where he says that "lastly our Apostle" (thus said the Jew) "durst not assert that he was rapt in | |
| 2296 his body, but said: 'Whether | |
| 2297 in the body or out of the body, I know not.'" | |
| 2298 </p> | |
| 2299 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p7"> Augustine, however, disapproves of this explanation (Gen. ad lit. xii, 3 seqq.) for this reason that the Apostle states that | |
| 2300 he knew he was rapt even to the third heaven. Wherefore he knew it to be really the third heaven to which he was rapt, and | |
| 2301 not an imaginary likeness of the third heaven: otherwise if he gave the name of third heaven to an imaginary third heaven, | |
| 2302 in the same way he might state that he was rapt in the body, meaning, by body, an image of his body, such as | |
| 2303 appears in one's dreams. Now if he knew it to be really the third heaven, it follows that either he knew it to be something | |
| 2304 spiritual and incorporeal, and then his body could not be rapt thither; or he knew it to be something corporeal, and then | |
| 2305 his soul could not be rapt thither without his body, unless it were separated from his body. Consequently we must explain | |
| 2306 the matter otherwise, by saying that the Apostle knew himself to be rapt both in soul and body, but that he ignored how his | |
| 2307 soul | |
| 2308 stood in relation to his body, to wit, whether it were accompanied by his body or not. | |
| 2309 </p> | |
| 2310 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p8"> Here we find a diversity of opinions. For some say that the Apostle knew his soul to be united to his body as its form, but | |
| 2311 ignored whether it were abstracted from its senses, or again whether it were abstracted from the operations of the vegetative | |
| 2312 soul. But he could not but know that it was abstracted from the senses, seeing that he knew himself to be rapt; and as to | |
| 2313 his being abstracted from the operation of the vegetative soul, this was not of such importance as to require | |
| 2314 him to be so careful in mentioning it. It follows, then, that the Apostle ignored whether his soul were united to his body | |
| 2315 as its form, or separated from it by death. Some, however, granting this say that the Apostle did not consider the matter | |
| 2316 while he was in rapture, because he was wholly intent upon God, but that afterwards he questioned the point, when taking cognizance | |
| 2317 of what he had seen. But this also is contrary to the Apostle's words, for he there distinguishes between the past and | |
| 2318 what happened subsequently, since he states that at the present time he knows that he was rapt "fourteen years ago," and that | |
| 2319 at the present time he knows not "whether he was in the body or out of the body." | |
| 2320 </p> | |
| 2321 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p9"> Consequently we must assert that both before and after he ignored whether his soul were separated from his body. Wherefore | |
| 2322 Augustine (Gen. ad lit. xii, 5), after discussing the question at length, concludes: "Perhaps then we must infer that he ignored | |
| 2323 whether, when he was rapt to the third heaven, his soul was in his body (in the same way as the soul is in the body, when | |
| 2324 we speak of a living body either of a waking or of a sleeping man, or of one that is withdrawn from his | |
| 2325 bodily senses during ecstasy), or whether his soul went out of his body altogether, so that his body lay dead." | |
| 2326 </p> | |
| 2327 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p10"> | |
| 2328 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Sometimes by the figure of synecdoche a part of man, especially the soul which is the principal part, denotes a man. or again | |
| 2329 we might take this to mean that he whom he states to have been rapt was a man not at the time of his rapture, but fourteen | |
| 2330 years afterwards: for he says "I know a man," not "I know a rapt man." Again nothing hinders death brought about by God being | |
| 2331 called rapture; and thus Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 3): "If the Apostle | |
| 2332 doubted the matter, who of us will dare to be certain about it?" Wherefore those who have something to say on this subject | |
| 2333 speak with more conjecture than certainty. | |
| 2334 </p> | |
| 2335 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p11"> | |
| 2336 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The Apostle knew that either the heaven in question was something incorporeal, or that he saw something incorporeal in that | |
| 2337 heaven; yet this could be done by his intellect, even without his soul being separated from his body. | |
| 2338 </p> | |
| 2339 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p12"> | |
| 2340 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Paul's vision, while he was in rapture, was like the vision of the blessed in one respect, namely as to the thing seen; and, | |
| 2341 unlike, in another respect, namely as to the mode of seeing, because he saw not so perfectly as do the saints in heaven. Hence | |
| 2342 Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 36): "Although, when the Apostle was rapt from his carnal senses to the third heaven, he | |
| 2343 lacked that full and perfect knowledge of things which is in the angels, in that | |
| 2344 he knew not whether he was in the body, or out of the body, this will surely not be lacking after reunion with the body in | |
| 2345 the resurrection of the dead, when this corruptible will put on incorruption." | |
| 2346 </p> | |
| 2347 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p13"></p> | |
| 2348 <p id="SS_Q175_A6-p14"></p> | |
| 2349 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A5.html"></a> | |
| 2350 <a href="summa.SS_Q176.html"></a> | |
| 2351 </div> | |
| 2352 <a href="summa.SS_Q174_A6.html"></a> | |
| 2353 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2354 </div> | |
| 2355 <div id="SS_Q176" class="div3"> | |
| 2356 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A6.html"></a> | |
| 2357 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2358 <h3 id="SS_Q176-p0.1">OF THE GRACE OF TONGUES (TWO ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 2359 <p id="SS_Q176-p1"></p> | |
| 2360 <p id="SS_Q176-p2"></p> | |
| 2361 <p id="SS_Q176-p3"> We must now consider those gratuitous graces that pertain to speech, and (1) the grace of tongues; (2) the grace of the word | |
| 2362 of wisdom and knowledge. Under the first head there are two points of inquiry: | |
| 2363 </p> | |
| 2364 <p id="SS_Q176-p4"> (1) Whether by the grace of tongues a man acquires the knowledge of all languages?</p> | |
| 2365 <p id="SS_Q176-p5"> (2) Of the comparison between this gift and the grace of prophecy.</p> | |
| 2366 <div id="SS_Q176_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 2367 <a href="summa.SS_Q176.html"></a> | |
| 2368 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2369 <h4 id="SS_Q176_A1-p0.1">Whether those who received the gift of tongues spoke in every language?</h4> | |
| 2370 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 2371 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p2"> | |
| 2372 <b>Objection 1:</b> It seems that those who received the gift of tongues did not speak in every language. For that which is granted to certain | |
| 2373 persons by the divine power is the best of its kind: thus our Lord turned the water into good wine, as stated in | |
| 2374 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p2.1" href="./asv.html#John.2.10" target="asv"> Jn. 2:10.</a> Now those who had the gift of tongues spoke better in their own language; since a gloss on | |
| 2375 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p2.2" href="./asv.html#Heb.1" target="asv">Heb. 1</a>, says that "it is not surprising that the epistle to the Hebrews is more graceful in style than the | |
| 2376 other epistles, since it is natural for a man to have more command over his own than over a strange language. For the Apostle | |
| 2377 wrote the other epistles in a foreign, namely the Greek, idiom; whereas he wrote this in the Hebrew tongue." Therefore the | |
| 2378 apostles did not receive the knowledge of all languages by a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2379 </p> | |
| 2380 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p3"> | |
| 2381 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, nature does not employ many means where one is sufficient; and much less does God Whose work is more orderly than | |
| 2382 nature's. Now God could make His disciples to be understood by all, while speaking one tongue: hence a gloss on | |
| 2383 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.6" target="asv"> Acts 2:6, </a> "Every man heard them speak in his own tongue," says that "they spoke in every tongue, or speaking in their own, namely the | |
| 2384 Hebrew language, were understood by all, as though they spoke the language | |
| 2385 proper to each." Therefore it would seem that they had not the knowledge to speak in all languages. | |
| 2386 </p> | |
| 2387 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p4"> | |
| 2388 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, all graces flow from Christ to His body, which is the Church, according to | |
| 2389 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#John.1.16" target="asv"> Jn. 1:16, </a> "Of His fullness we all have received." Now we do not read that Christ spoke more than one language, nor does each one of | |
| 2390 the faithful now speak save in one tongue. Therefore it would seem that Christ's disciples did not receive the grace to the | |
| 2391 extent of speaking in all languages. | |
| 2392 </p> | |
| 2393 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p5"> | |
| 2394 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 2395 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.4" target="asv">Acts 2:4</a>) that "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost | |
| 2396 gave them to speak"; on which passage a gloss of Gregory [*Hom. xxx in Ev.] says that "the Holy Ghost appeared over the disciples | |
| 2397 under the form of fiery tongues, and gave them the knowledge of all tongues." | |
| 2398 </p> | |
| 2399 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p6"> | |
| 2400 <b>I answer that,</b> Christ's first disciples were chosen by Him in order that they might disperse throughout the whole world, and preach His | |
| 2401 faith everywhere, according to | |
| 2402 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.28.19" target="asv"> Mat. 28:19, </a> "Going . . . teach ye all nations." Now it was not fitting that they who were being sent to teach others should need to be | |
| 2403 taught by others, either as to how they should speak to other people, or as to how they were to understand those who spoke | |
| 2404 to them; and all the more seeing | |
| 2405 that those who were being sent were of one nation, that of Judea, according to | |
| 2406 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Isa.27.6" target="asv"> Is. 27:6, </a> "When they shall rush out from Jacob [*Vulg.: 'When they shall rush in unto Jacob,' etc.] . . . they shall fill the face | |
| 2407 of the world with seed." Moreover those who were being sent were poor and powerless; nor at the outset could they have easily | |
| 2408 found someone to interpret their words faithfully to others, or to explain what others said to them, especially as they were | |
| 2409 sent to | |
| 2410 unbelievers. Consequently it was necessary, in this respect, that God should provide them with the gift of tongues; in order | |
| 2411 that, as the diversity of tongues was brought upon the nations when they fell away to idolatry, according to | |
| 2412 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Gen.11" target="asv">Gn. 11</a>, so when the nations were to be recalled to the worship of one God a remedy to this diversity might be applied by the gift | |
| 2413 of tongues. | |
| 2414 </p> | |
| 2415 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p7"> | |
| 2416 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As it is written ( | |
| 2417 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.7" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:7</a>), "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit"; and consequently both Paul and the other apostles | |
| 2418 were divinely instructed in the languages of all nations sufficiently for the requirements of the teaching of the faith. But | |
| 2419 as regards the grace and elegance of style which human art adds to a language, the Apostle was instructed in his own, but | |
| 2420 not in a foreign tongue. Even so | |
| 2421 they were sufficiently instructed in wisdom and scientific knowledge, as required for teaching the faith, but not as to all | |
| 2422 things known by acquired science, for instance the conclusions of arithmetic and geometry. | |
| 2423 </p> | |
| 2424 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p8"> | |
| 2425 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Although either was possible, namely that, while speaking in one tongue they should be understood by all, or that they should | |
| 2426 speak in all tongues, it was more fitting that they should speak in all tongues, because this pertained to the perfection | |
| 2427 of their knowledge, whereby they were able not only to speak, but also to understand what was said by others. Whereas if their | |
| 2428 one language were intelligible to all, this would either have been due to the | |
| 2429 knowledge of those who understood their speech, or it would have amounted to an illusion, since a man's words would have had | |
| 2430 a different sound in another's ears, from that with which they were uttered. Hence a gloss says on | |
| 2431 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.6" target="asv"> Acts 2:6 </a>that "it was a greater miracle that they should speak all kinds of tongues"; and Paul says ( | |
| 2432 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A1-p8.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.18" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:18</a>): "I thank my God I speak with all your tongues." | |
| 2433 </p> | |
| 2434 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p9"> | |
| 2435 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Christ in His own person purposed preaching to only one nation, namely the Jews. Consequently, although without any doubt | |
| 2436 He possessed most perfectly the knowledge of all languages, there was no need for Him to speak in every tongue. And therefore, | |
| 2437 as Augustine says (Tract. xxxii in Joan.), "whereas even now the Holy Ghost is received, yet no one speaks in the tongues | |
| 2438 of all nations, because the Church herself already speaks the languages of all | |
| 2439 nations: since whoever is not in the Church, receives not the Holy Ghost." | |
| 2440 </p> | |
| 2441 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p10"></p> | |
| 2442 <p id="SS_Q176_A1-p11"></p> | |
| 2443 <a href="summa.SS_Q176.html"></a> | |
| 2444 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2445 </div> | |
| 2446 <div id="SS_Q176_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 2447 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2448 <a href="summa.SS_Q177.html"></a> | |
| 2449 <h4 id="SS_Q176_A2-p0.1">Whether the gift of tongues is more excellent than the grace of prophecy?</h4> | |
| 2450 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 2451 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p2"> | |
| 2452 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the gift of tongues is more excellent than the grace of prophecy. For, seemingly, better things are proper | |
| 2453 to better persons, according to the Philosopher (Topic. iii, 1). Now the gift of tongues is proper to the New Testament, hence | |
| 2454 we sing in the sequence of Pentecost [*The sequence: 'Sancti Spiritus adsit nobis gratia' ascribed to King Robert of France, | |
| 2455 the reputed author of the 'Veni Sancte Spiritus.' Cf. Migne, Patr. Lat. tom. CXLI]: | |
| 2456 "On this day Thou gavest Christ's apostles an unwonted gift, a marvel to all time": whereas prophecy is more pertinent to | |
| 2457 the Old Testament, according to | |
| 2458 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Heb.1.1" target="asv"> Heb. 1:1, </a> "God Who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets." Therefore it would seem | |
| 2459 that the gift of tongues is more excellent than the gift of prophecy. | |
| 2460 </p> | |
| 2461 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p3"> | |
| 2462 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, that whereby we are directed to God is seemingly more excellent than that whereby we are directed to men. Now, by | |
| 2463 the gift of tongues, man is directed to God, whereas by prophecy he is directed to man; for it is written ( | |
| 2464 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.2" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:2,3</a>): "He that speaketh in a tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God . . . but he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men unto | |
| 2465 edification." Therefore it would seem that the gift of tongues is more | |
| 2466 excellent than the gift of prophecy. | |
| 2467 </p> | |
| 2468 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p4"> | |
| 2469 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the gift of tongues abides like a habit in the person who has it, and "he can use it when he will"; wherefore it | |
| 2470 is written ( | |
| 2471 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.18" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:18</a>): "I thank my God I speak with all your tongues." But it is not so with the gift of prophecy, as stated above ( | |
| 2472 <a id="SS_Q176_A2-p4.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q171_A2.html">Q[171], A[2]</a>). Therefore the gift of tongues would seem to be more excellent than the gift of prophecy. | |
| 2473 </p> | |
| 2474 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p5"> | |
| 2475 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, the "interpretation of speeches" would seem to be contained under prophecy, because the Scriptures are expounded | |
| 2476 by the same Spirit from Whom they originated. Now the interpretation of speeches is placed after "divers kinds of tongues" | |
| 2477 ( | |
| 2478 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.10" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:10</a>). Therefore it seems that the gift of tongues is more excellent than the gift of prophecy, particularly as regards a part | |
| 2479 of the latter. | |
| 2480 </p> | |
| 2481 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p6"> | |
| 2482 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Apostle says ( | |
| 2483 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.5" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:5</a>): "Greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues." | |
| 2484 </p> | |
| 2485 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p7"> | |
| 2486 <b>I answer that,</b> The gift of prophecy surpasses the gift of tongues, in three ways. First, because the gift of tongues regards the utterance | |
| 2487 of certain words, which signify an intelligible truth, and this again is signified by the phantasms which appear in an imaginary | |
| 2488 vision; wherefore Augustine compares (Gen. ad lit. xii, 8) the gift of tongues to an imaginary vision. On the other hand, | |
| 2489 it has been stated above ( | |
| 2490 <a id="SS_Q176_A2-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q173_A2.html">Q[173], A[2]</a>) that the gift of | |
| 2491 prophecy consists in the mind itself being enlightened so as to know an intelligible truth. Wherefore, as the prophetic enlightenment | |
| 2492 is more excellent than the imaginary vision, as stated above ( | |
| 2493 <a id="SS_Q176_A2-p7.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A2.html">Q[174], A[2]</a>), so also is prophecy more excellent than the gift of tongues considered in itself. Secondly, because the gift of prophecy | |
| 2494 regards the knowledge of things, which is more excellent than the knowledge of words, to which the gift of tongues pertains. | |
| 2495 </p> | |
| 2496 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p8"> Thirdly, because the gift of prophecy is more profitable. The Apostle proves this in three ways ( | |
| 2497 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14" target="asv">1 Cor. 14</a>); first, because prophecy is more profitable to the edification of the Church, for which purpose he that speaketh in tongues | |
| 2498 profiteth nothing, unless interpretation follow ( | |
| 2499 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:4,5</a>). Secondly, as regards the speaker himself, for if he be enabled to speak in divers tongues without understanding them, which | |
| 2500 pertains to the gift of prophecy, his | |
| 2501 own mind would not be edified ( | |
| 2502 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.7" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:7-14</a>). Thirdly, as to unbelievers for whose especial benefit the gift of tongues seems to have been given; since perchance they | |
| 2503 might think those who speak in tongues to be mad ( | |
| 2504 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.4" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.23" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:23</a>), for instance the Jews deemed the apostles drunk when the latter spoke in various tongues ( | |
| 2505 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.5" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.13" target="asv">Acts 2:13</a>): whereas by prophecies the unbeliever is convinced, because the secrets of his heart are made | |
| 2506 manifest ( | |
| 2507 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p8.6" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.25" target="asv">Acts 2:25</a>). | |
| 2508 </p> | |
| 2509 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p9"> | |
| 2510 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above ( | |
| 2511 <a id="SS_Q176_A2-p9.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q174_A3.html">Q[174], A[3]</a>, ad 1), it belongs to the excellence of prophecy that a man is not only enlightened by an intelligible light, but also that | |
| 2512 he should perceive an imaginary vision: and so again it belongs to the perfection of the Holy Ghost's operation, not only | |
| 2513 to fill the mind with the prophetic light, and the imagination with the imaginary vision, as happened in the Old Testament, | |
| 2514 but also to endow the tongue | |
| 2515 with external erudition, in the utterance of various signs of speech. All this is done in the New Testament, according to | |
| 2516 | |
| 2517 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p9.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.26" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:26, </a> "Every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation," i.e. a prophetic revelation. | |
| 2518 </p> | |
| 2519 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p10"> | |
| 2520 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> By the gift of prophecy man is directed to God in his mind, which is more excellent than being directed to Him in his tongue. | |
| 2521 "He that speaketh in a tongue "is said to speak "not unto men," i.e. to men's understanding or profit, but unto God's understanding | |
| 2522 and praise. On the other hand, by prophecy a man is directed both to God and to man; wherefore it is the more perfect gift. | |
| 2523 </p> | |
| 2524 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p11"> | |
| 2525 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Prophetic revelation extends to the knowledge of all things supernatural; wherefore from its very perfection it results that | |
| 2526 in this imperfect state of life it cannot be had perfectly by way of habit, but only imperfectly by way of passion. on the | |
| 2527 other hand, the gift of tongues is confined to a certain particular knowledge, namely of human words; wherefore it is not | |
| 2528 inconsistent with the imperfection of this life, that it should be had perfectly and | |
| 2529 by way of habit. | |
| 2530 </p> | |
| 2531 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p12"> | |
| 2532 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> The interpretation of speeches is reducible to the gift of prophecy, inasmuch as the mind is enlightened so as to understand | |
| 2533 and explain any obscurities of speech arising either from a difficulty in the things signified, or from the words uttered | |
| 2534 being unknown, or from the figures of speech employed, according to | |
| 2535 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p12.1" href="./asv.html#Dan.5.16" target="asv"> Dan. 5:16, </a> "I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure things, and resolve difficult things." Hence the | |
| 2536 interpretation of speeches is more excellent than the gift of tongues, as appears from the saying of the Apostle ( | |
| 2537 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q176_A2-p12.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.5" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:5</a>), "Greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues; unless perhaps he interpret." Yet the interpretation | |
| 2538 of speeches is placed after the gift of tongues, because the interpretation of speeches extends even to the interpretation | |
| 2539 of divers kinds of tongues. | |
| 2540 </p> | |
| 2541 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p13"></p> | |
| 2542 <p id="SS_Q176_A2-p14"></p> | |
| 2543 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2544 <a href="summa.SS_Q177.html"></a> | |
| 2545 </div> | |
| 2546 <a href="summa.SS_Q175_A6.html"></a> | |
| 2547 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2548 </div> | |
| 2549 <div id="SS_Q177" class="div3"> | |
| 2550 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2551 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2552 <h3 id="SS_Q177-p0.1">OF THE GRATUITOUS GRACE CONSISTING IN WORDS (TWO ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 2553 <p id="SS_Q177-p1"></p> | |
| 2554 <p id="SS_Q177-p2"> We must now consider the gratuitous grace that attaches to words; of which the Apostle says ( | |
| 2555 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.8" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:8</a>): "To one . . . by the Spirit is given the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge." Under this head there are | |
| 2556 two points of inquiry: | |
| 2557 </p> | |
| 2558 <p id="SS_Q177-p3"> (1) Whether any gratuitous grace attaches to words?</p> | |
| 2559 <p id="SS_Q177-p4"> (2) To whom is the grace becoming?</p> | |
| 2560 <div id="SS_Q177_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 2561 <a href="summa.SS_Q177.html"></a> | |
| 2562 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2563 <h4 id="SS_Q177_A1-p0.1">Whether any gratuitous grace attaches to words?</h4> | |
| 2564 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 2565 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p2"> | |
| 2566 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that a gratuitous grace does not attach to words. For grace is given for that which surpasses the faculty of | |
| 2567 nature. But natural reason has devised the art of rhetoric whereby a man is able to speak so as to teach, please, and persuade, | |
| 2568 as Augustine says (De Doctr. Christ. iv, 12). Now this belongs to the grace of words. Therefore it would seem that the grace | |
| 2569 of words is not a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2570 </p> | |
| 2571 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p3"> | |
| 2572 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, all grace pertains to the kingdom of God. But the Apostle says ( | |
| 2573 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.4.20" target="asv">1 Cor. 4:20</a>): "The kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power." Therefore there is no gratuitous grace connected with words. | |
| 2574 </p> | |
| 2575 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p4"> | |
| 2576 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, no grace is given through merit, since "if by grace, it is not now of works" ( | |
| 2577 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.11.6" target="asv">Rom. 11:6</a>). But the word is sometimes given to a man on his merits. For Gregory says (Moral. xi, 15) in explanation of | |
| 2578 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p4.2" href="./asv.html#Ps.118.43" target="asv">Ps. 118:43</a>, "Take not Thou the word of truth utterly out of my mouth" that "the word of truth is that which Almighty God gives to them | |
| 2579 that do it, and takes away from them that do it not." Therefore it would seem that the gift of the word | |
| 2580 is not a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2581 </p> | |
| 2582 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p5"> | |
| 2583 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, it behooves man to declare in words things pertaining to the virtue of faith, no less than those pertaining to the | |
| 2584 gift of wisdom or of knowledge. Therefore if the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are reckoned gratuitous graces, | |
| 2585 the word of faith should likewise be placed among the gratuitous graces. | |
| 2586 </p> | |
| 2587 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p6"> | |
| 2588 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written ( | |
| 2589 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Sir.6.5" target="asv">Ecclus. 6:5</a>): "A gracious tongue in a good man shall abound [Vulg.: 'aboundeth']." Now man's goodness is by grace. Therefore graciousness | |
| 2590 in words is also by grace. | |
| 2591 </p> | |
| 2592 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p7"> | |
| 2593 <b>I answer that,</b> The gratuitous graces are given for the profit of others, as stated above ( | |
| 2594 <a id="SS_Q177_A1-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q111_A1.html">FS, Q[111], AA[1]</a>,4). Now the knowledge a man receives from God cannot be turned to another's profit, except by means of speech. And since | |
| 2595 the Holy Ghost does not fail in anything that pertains to the profit of the Church, He provides also the members of the Church | |
| 2596 with speech; to the effect that a man not only speaks so as to be understood by different | |
| 2597 people, which pertains to the gift of tongues, but also speaks with effect, and this pertains to the grace "of the word." | |
| 2598 </p> | |
| 2599 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p8"> This happens in three ways. First, in order to instruct the intellect, and this is the case when a man speaks so as "to teach." | |
| 2600 Secondly, in order to move the affections, so that a man willingly hearkens to the word of God. This is the case when a man | |
| 2601 speaks so as "to please" his hearers, not indeed with a view to his own favor, but in order to draw them to listen to God's | |
| 2602 word. Thirdly, in order that men may love that which is signified by the word, and desire to fulfill it, | |
| 2603 and this is the case when a man so speaks as "to sway" his hearers. In order to effect this the Holy Ghost makes use of the | |
| 2604 human tongue as of an instrument; but He it is Who perfects the work within. Hence Gregory says in a homily for Pentecost | |
| 2605 (Hom. xxx in Ev.): "Unless the Holy Ghost fill the hearts of the hearers, in vain does the voice of the teacher resound in | |
| 2606 the ears of the body." | |
| 2607 </p> | |
| 2608 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p9"> | |
| 2609 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Even as by a miracle God sometimes works in a more excellent way those things which nature also can work, so too the Holy | |
| 2610 Ghost effects more excellently by the grace of words that which art can effect in a less efficient manner. | |
| 2611 </p> | |
| 2612 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p10"> | |
| 2613 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The Apostle is speaking there of the word that relies on human eloquence without the power of the Holy Ghost. Wherefore he | |
| 2614 says just before ( | |
| 2615 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p10.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.4.19" target="asv">1 Cor. 4:19</a>): "I . . . will know, not the speech of them that are puffed up, but the power": and of himself he had already said ( | |
| 2616 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A1-p10.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.2.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 2:4</a>): "My speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the showing of the spirit and power." | |
| 2617 </p> | |
| 2618 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p11"> | |
| 2619 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> As stated above, the grace of the word is given to a man for the profit of others. Hence it is withdrawn sometimes through | |
| 2620 the fault of the hearer, and sometimes through the fault of the speaker. The good works of either of them do not merit this | |
| 2621 grace directly, but only remove the obstacles thereto. For sanctifying grace also is withdrawn on account of a person's fault, | |
| 2622 and yet he does not merit it by his good works, which, however, remove the | |
| 2623 obstacles to grace. | |
| 2624 </p> | |
| 2625 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p12"> | |
| 2626 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> As stated above, the grace of the word is directed to the profit of others. Now if a man communicates his faith to others | |
| 2627 this is by the word of knowledge or of wisdom. Hence Augustine says (De Trin. xiv, 1) that "to know how faith may profit the | |
| 2628 godly and be defended against the ungodly, is apparently what the Apostle means by knowledge." Hence it was not necessary | |
| 2629 for him to mention the word of faith, but it was sufficient for him to mention the | |
| 2630 word of knowledge and of wisdom. | |
| 2631 </p> | |
| 2632 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p13"></p> | |
| 2633 <p id="SS_Q177_A1-p14"></p> | |
| 2634 <a href="summa.SS_Q177.html"></a> | |
| 2635 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2636 </div> | |
| 2637 <div id="SS_Q177_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 2638 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2639 <a href="summa.SS_Q178.html"></a> | |
| 2640 <h4 id="SS_Q177_A2-p0.1">Whether the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming to women?</h4> | |
| 2641 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 2642 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p2"> | |
| 2643 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming even to women. For teaching is pertinent to | |
| 2644 this grace, as stated in the foregoing Article. Now it is becoming to a woman to teach; for it is written ( | |
| 2645 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Prov.4.3" target="asv">Prov. 4:3,4</a>): "I was an only son in the sight of my mother, and she taught me [*Vulg.: 'I was my father's son, tender, and as an only | |
| 2646 son in the sight of my mother. And he taught me.']." Therefore this grace is | |
| 2647 becoming to women. | |
| 2648 </p> | |
| 2649 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p3"> | |
| 2650 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the grace of prophecy is greater than the grace of the word, even as the contemplation of truth is greater than | |
| 2651 its utterance. But prophecy is granted to women, as we read of Deborah ( | |
| 2652 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Judg.4.4" target="asv">Judges 4:4</a>), and of Holda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum ( | |
| 2653 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p3.2" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 22:14</a>), and of the four daughters of Philip ( | |
| 2654 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p3.3" href="./asv.html#Acts.21.9" target="asv">Acts 21:9</a>). Moreover the Apostle says ( | |
| 2655 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p3.4" href="./asv.html#iCor.11.5" target="asv">1 Cor. 11:5</a>): "Every woman praying or prophesying," | |
| 2656 etc. Much more therefore would it seem that the grace of the word is becoming to a woman. | |
| 2657 </p> | |
| 2658 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p4"> | |
| 2659 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, it is written ( | |
| 2660 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iPet.4.10" target="asv">1 Pet. 4:10</a>): "As every man hath received grace ministering the same one to another." Now some women receive the grace of wisdom and | |
| 2661 knowledge, which they cannot minister to others except by the grace of the word. Therefore the grace of the word is becoming | |
| 2662 to women. | |
| 2663 </p> | |
| 2664 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p5"> | |
| 2665 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Apostle says ( | |
| 2666 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p5.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.14.34" target="asv">1 Cor. 14:34</a>): "Let women keep silence in the churches," and ( | |
| 2667 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p5.2" href="./asv.html#iTim.2.12" target="asv">1 Tim. 2:12</a>): "I suffer not a woman to teach." Now this pertains especially to the grace of the word. Therefore the grace of the word | |
| 2668 is not becoming to women. | |
| 2669 </p> | |
| 2670 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p6"> | |
| 2671 <b>I answer that,</b> Speech may be employed in two ways: in one way privately, to one or a few, in familiar conversation, and in this respect | |
| 2672 the grace of the word may be becoming to women; in another way, publicly, addressing oneself to the whole church, and this | |
| 2673 is not permitted to women. First and chiefly, on account of the condition attaching to the female sex, whereby woman should | |
| 2674 be subject to man, as appears from | |
| 2675 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.3.16" target="asv">Gn. 3:16</a>. Now teaching and persuading publicly in the | |
| 2676 church belong not to subjects but to the prelates (although men who are subjects may do these things if they be so commissioned, | |
| 2677 because their subjection is not a result of their natural sex, as it is with women, but of some thing supervening by accident). | |
| 2678 Secondly, lest men's minds be enticed to lust, for it is written ( | |
| 2679 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Sir.9.11" target="asv">Ecclus. 9:11</a>): "Her conversation burneth as fire." Thirdly, because as a rule women are not perfected in wisdom, so as to be fit to be | |
| 2680 intrusted with | |
| 2681 public teaching. | |
| 2682 </p> | |
| 2683 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p7"> | |
| 2684 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The passage quoted speaks of private teaching whereby a father instructs his son. | |
| 2685 </p> | |
| 2686 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p8"> | |
| 2687 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The grace of prophecy consists in God enlightening the mind, on the part of which there is no difference of sex among men, | |
| 2688 according to | |
| 2689 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q177_A2-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Col.3.10" target="asv"> Col. 3:10,11, </a> "Putting on the new" man, "him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that created him, where there | |
| 2690 is neither male nor female [*Vulg.: 'Neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond | |
| 2691 nor free.' Cf. | |
| 2692 <a id="SS_Q177_A2-p8.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q93_A6.html">FP, Q[93], A[6]</a>, ad 2 footnote]." Now the grace of the word pertains to the instruction of men among whom the difference of sex is found. | |
| 2693 Hence the comparison fails. | |
| 2694 </p> | |
| 2695 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p9"> | |
| 2696 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The recipients of a divinely conferred grace administer it in different ways according to their various conditions. Hence | |
| 2697 women, if they have the grace of wisdom or of knowledge, can administer it by teaching privately but not publicly. | |
| 2698 </p> | |
| 2699 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p10"></p> | |
| 2700 <p id="SS_Q177_A2-p11"></p> | |
| 2701 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2702 <a href="summa.SS_Q178.html"></a> | |
| 2703 </div> | |
| 2704 <a href="summa.SS_Q176_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2705 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2706 </div> | |
| 2707 <div id="SS_Q178" class="div3"> | |
| 2708 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2709 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2710 <h3 id="SS_Q178-p0.1">OF THE GRACE OF MIRACLES (TWO ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 2711 <p id="SS_Q178-p1"></p> | |
| 2712 <p id="SS_Q178-p2"></p> | |
| 2713 <p id="SS_Q178-p3"> We must next consider the grace of miracles, under which head there are two points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 2714 <p id="SS_Q178-p4"> (1) Whether there is a gratuitous grace of working miracles?</p> | |
| 2715 <p id="SS_Q178-p5"> (2) To whom is it becoming?</p> | |
| 2716 <div id="SS_Q178_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 2717 <a href="summa.SS_Q178.html"></a> | |
| 2718 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2719 <h4 id="SS_Q178_A1-p0.1">Whether there is a gratuitous grace of working miracles?</h4> | |
| 2720 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 2721 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p2"> | |
| 2722 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that no gratuitous grace is directed to the working of miracles. For every grace puts something in the one | |
| 2723 to whom it is given (Cf. | |
| 2724 <a id="SS_Q178_A1-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q90_A1.html">FS, Q[90], A[1]</a>). Now the working of miracles puts nothing in the soul of the man who receives it since miracles are wrought at the touch | |
| 2725 even of a dead body. Thus we read ( | |
| 2726 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p2.2" href="./asv.html#." target="asv">4 Kings 13:21</a>) that "some . . . cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. And when it had touched | |
| 2727 the bones of Eliseus, the man came to life, and stood upon his feet." Therefore the working of miracles does not belong to | |
| 2728 a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2729 </p> | |
| 2730 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p3"> | |
| 2731 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the gratuitous graces are from the Holy Ghost, according to | |
| 2732 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.4" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:4, </a> "There are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit." Now the working of miracles is effected even by the unclean spirit, | |
| 2733 according to | |
| 2734 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Matt.24.24" target="asv"> Mat. 24:24, </a> "There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders." Therefore it would seem that | |
| 2735 the working of miracles does not belong to a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2736 </p> | |
| 2737 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p4"> | |
| 2738 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, miracles are divided into "signs," "wonders" or "portents," and "virtues." [*Cf. | |
| 2739 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iiThess.2.9" target="asv">2 Thess. 2:9, </a> where the Douay version renders 'virtus' by 'power.' The use of the word 'virtue' in the sense of a miracle is now obsolete, | |
| 2740 and the generic term 'miracle' is elsewhere used in its stead: Cf. | |
| 2741 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p4.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.10" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:10</a>, | |
| 2742 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p4.3" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.28" target="asv">28</a>; | |
| 2743 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p4.4" href="./asv.html#Heb.2.4" target="asv"> Heb. 2:4</a>; | |
| 2744 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p4.5" href="./asv.html#Acts.2.22" target="asv"> Acts 2:22</a>]. Therefore it is unreasonable to reckon the | |
| 2745 "working of miracles" a gratuitous grace, any more than the "working of signs" and "wonders." | |
| 2746 </p> | |
| 2747 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p5"> | |
| 2748 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, the miraculous restoring to health is done by the power of God. Therefore the grace of healing should not be distinguished | |
| 2749 from the working of miracles. | |
| 2750 </p> | |
| 2751 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p6"> | |
| 2752 <b>Objection 5:</b> Further, the working of miracles results from faith---either of the worker, according to | |
| 2753 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.2" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:2, </a> "If I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains," or of other persons for whose sake miracles are wrought, | |
| 2754 according to | |
| 2755 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Matt.13.58" target="asv"> Mat. 13:58, </a> "And He wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief." Therefore, if faith be reckoned a gratuitous grace, | |
| 2756 it is superfluous to reckon in addition the working of | |
| 2757 signs as another gratuitous grace. | |
| 2758 </p> | |
| 2759 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p7"> | |
| 2760 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Apostle ( | |
| 2761 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p7.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.9" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:9,10</a>) says that among other gratuitous graces, "to another" is given "the grace of healing . . . to another, the working of miracles." | |
| 2762 </p> | |
| 2763 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p8"> | |
| 2764 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 2765 <a id="SS_Q178_A1-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q177_A1.html">Q[177], A[1]</a>), the Holy Ghost provides sufficiently for the Church in matters profitable unto salvation, to which purpose the gratuitous | |
| 2766 graces are directed. Now just as the knowledge which a man receives from God needs to be brought to the knowledge of others | |
| 2767 through the gift of tongues and the grace of the word, so too the word uttered needs to be confirmed in order that it be rendered | |
| 2768 credible. This is done by | |
| 2769 the working of miracles, according to | |
| 2770 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p8.2" href="./asv.html#Mark.16.20" target="asv"> Mk. 16:20, </a> "And confirming the word with signs that followed": and reasonably so. For it is natural to man to arrive at the intelligible | |
| 2771 truth through its sensible effects. Wherefore just as man led by his natural reason is able to arrive at some knowledge of | |
| 2772 God through His natural effects, so is he brought to a certain degree of supernatural knowledge of the objects of faith by | |
| 2773 certain supernatural effects which are called miracles. | |
| 2774 Therefore the working of miracles belongs to a gratuitous grace. | |
| 2775 </p> | |
| 2776 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p9"> | |
| 2777 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Just as prophecy extends to whatever can be known supernaturally, so the working of miracles extends to all things that can | |
| 2778 be done supernaturally; the cause whereof is the divine omnipotence which cannot be communicated to any creature. Hence it | |
| 2779 is impossible for the principle of working miracles to be a quality abiding as a habit in the soul. On the other hand, just | |
| 2780 as the prophet's mind is moved by divine inspiration to know something | |
| 2781 supernaturally, so too is it possible for the mind of the miracle worker to be moved to do something resulting in the miraculous | |
| 2782 effect which God causes by His power. Sometimes this takes place after prayer, as when Peter raised to life the dead Tabitha | |
| 2783 ( | |
| 2784 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.9.40" target="asv">Acts 9:40</a>): sometimes without any previous prayer being expressed, as when Peter by upbraiding the lying Ananias and Saphira delivered | |
| 2785 them to death ( | |
| 2786 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p9.2" href="./asv.html#Acts.5.4" target="asv">Acts 5:4</a>, | |
| 2787 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p9.3" href="./asv.html#Acts.5.9" target="asv">9</a>). Hence Gregory says (Dial. ii, 30) that "the saints work | |
| 2788 miracles, sometimes by authority, sometimes by prayer." In either case, however, God is the principal worker, for He uses | |
| 2789 instrumentally either man's inward movement, or his speech, or some outward action, or again the bodily contact of even a | |
| 2790 dead body. Thus when Josue had said as though authoritatively ( | |
| 2791 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p9.4" href="./asv.html#Josh.10.12" target="asv">Josh. 10:12</a>): "Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon," it is said afterwards ( | |
| 2792 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p9.5" href="./asv.html#Josh.10.14" target="asv">Josh. 10:14</a>): "There was not before or after so long a day, the Lord obeying | |
| 2793 the voice of a man." | |
| 2794 </p> | |
| 2795 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p10"> | |
| 2796 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Our Lord is speaking there of the miracles to be wrought at the time of Antichrist, of which the Apostle says ( | |
| 2797 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A1-p10.1" href="./asv.html#iiThess.2.9" target="asv">2 Thess. 2:9</a>) that the coming of Antichrist will be "according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders." To | |
| 2798 quote the words of Augustine (De Civ. Dei xx, 19), "it is a matter of debate whether they are called signs and lying wonders, | |
| 2799 because he will deceive the senses of mortals by imaginary | |
| 2800 visions, in that he will seem to do what he does not, or because, though they be real wonders, they will seduce into falsehood | |
| 2801 them that believe." They are said to be real, because the things themselves will be real, just as Pharaoh's magicians made | |
| 2802 real frogs and real serpents; but they will not be real miracles, because they will be done by the power of natural causes, | |
| 2803 as stated in the | |
| 2804 <a id="SS_Q178_A1-p10.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q114_A4.html">FP, Q[114], A[4]</a>; whereas the working of miracles which is ascribed to a | |
| 2805 gratuitous grace, is done by God's power for man's profit. | |
| 2806 </p> | |
| 2807 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p11"> | |
| 2808 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Two things may be considered in miracles. One is that which is done: this is something surpassing the faculty of nature, | |
| 2809 and in this respect miracles are called "virtues." The other thing is the purpose for which miracles are wrought, namely the | |
| 2810 manifestation of something supernatural, and in this respect they are commonly called "signs": but on account of some excellence | |
| 2811 they receive the name of "wonder" or "prodigy," as showing something from afar | |
| 2812 [procul]. | |
| 2813 </p> | |
| 2814 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p12"> | |
| 2815 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> The "grace of healing" is mentioned separately, because by its means a benefit, namely bodily health, is conferred on man | |
| 2816 in addition to the common benefit bestowed in all miracles, namely the bringing of men to the knowledge of God. | |
| 2817 </p> | |
| 2818 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p13"> | |
| 2819 <b>Reply to Objection 5:</b> The working of miracles is ascribed to faith for two reasons. First, because it is directed to the confirmation of faith, | |
| 2820 secondly, because it proceeds from God's omnipotence on which faith relies. Nevertheless, just as besides the grace of faith, | |
| 2821 the grace of the word is necessary that people may be instructed in the faith, so too is the grace of miracles necessary that | |
| 2822 people may be confirmed in their faith. | |
| 2823 </p> | |
| 2824 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p14"></p> | |
| 2825 <p id="SS_Q178_A1-p15"></p> | |
| 2826 <a href="summa.SS_Q178.html"></a> | |
| 2827 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2828 </div> | |
| 2829 <div id="SS_Q178_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 2830 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2831 <a href="summa.SS_Q179.html"></a> | |
| 2832 <h4 id="SS_Q178_A2-p0.1">Whether the wicked can work miracles?</h4> | |
| 2833 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 2834 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p2"> | |
| 2835 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the wicked cannot work miracles. For miracles are wrought through prayer, as stated above (A[1], ad 1). | |
| 2836 Now the prayer of a sinner is not granted, according to | |
| 2837 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#John.9.31" target="asv"> Jn. 9:31, </a> "We know that God doth not hear sinners," and | |
| 2838 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p2.2" href="./asv.html#Prov.28.9" target="asv"> Prov. 28:9, </a> "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer shall be an abomination." Therefore it would seem that the | |
| 2839 wicked cannot work miracles. | |
| 2840 </p> | |
| 2841 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p3"> | |
| 2842 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, miracles are ascribed to faith, according to | |
| 2843 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.17.19" target="asv"> Mat. 17:19, </a> "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you shall say to this mountain: Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove." | |
| 2844 Now "faith without works is dead," according to | |
| 2845 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Jas.2.20" target="asv"> James 2:20, </a> so that, seemingly, it is devoid of its proper operation. Therefore it would seem that the wicked, since they do not good | |
| 2846 works, cannot work miracles. | |
| 2847 </p> | |
| 2848 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p4"> | |
| 2849 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, miracles are divine attestations, according to | |
| 2850 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Heb.2.4" target="asv"> Heb. 2:4, </a> "God also bearing them witness by signs and wonders and divers miracles": wherefore in the Church the canonization of certain | |
| 2851 persons is based on the attestation of miracles. Now God cannot bear witness to a falsehood. Therefore it would seem that | |
| 2852 wicked men cannot work miracles. | |
| 2853 </p> | |
| 2854 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p5"> | |
| 2855 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, the good are more closely united to God than the wicked. But the good do not all work miracles. Much less therefore | |
| 2856 do the wicked. | |
| 2857 </p> | |
| 2858 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p6"> | |
| 2859 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Apostle says ( | |
| 2860 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p6.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.2" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:2</a>): "If I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." Now whosoever has not | |
| 2861 charity is wicked, because "this gift alone of the Holy Ghost distinguishes the children of the kingdom from the children | |
| 2862 of perdition," as Augustine says (De Trin. xv, 18). Therefore it would seem that even the wicked can work miracles. | |
| 2863 </p> | |
| 2864 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p7"> | |
| 2865 <b>I answer that,</b> Some miracles are not true but imaginary deeds, because they delude man by the appearance of that which is not; while others | |
| 2866 are true deeds, yet they have not the character of a true miracle, because they are done by the power of some natural cause. | |
| 2867 Both of these can be done by the demons, as stated above (A[1], ad 2). | |
| 2868 </p> | |
| 2869 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p8"> True miracles cannot be wrought save by the power of God, because God works them for man's benefit, and this in two ways: | |
| 2870 in one way for the confirmation of truth declared, in another way in proof of a person's holiness, which God desires to propose | |
| 2871 as an example of virtue. In the first way miracles can be wrought by any one who preaches the true faith and calls upon Christ's | |
| 2872 name, as even the wicked do sometimes. In this way even the wicked can work miracles. Hence Jerome | |
| 2873 commenting on | |
| 2874 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.7.22" target="asv">Mat. 7:22</a>, "Have not we prophesied in Thy name?" says: "Sometimes prophesying, the working of miracles, and the casting out of demons | |
| 2875 are accorded not to the merit of those who do these things, but to the invoking of Christ's name, that men may honor God, | |
| 2876 by invoking Whom such great miracles are wrought." | |
| 2877 </p> | |
| 2878 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p9"> In the second way miracles are not wrought except by the saints, since it is in proof of their holiness that miracles are | |
| 2879 wrought during their lifetime or after death, either by themselves or by others. For we read ( | |
| 2880 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Acts.19.11" target="asv">Acts 19:11,12</a>) that "God wrought by the hand of Paul . . . miracles" and "even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs | |
| 2881 . . . and the diseases departed from them." In this way indeed there is nothing to prevent a sinner from | |
| 2882 working miracles by invoking a saint; but the miracle is ascribed not to him, but to the one in proof of whose holiness such | |
| 2883 things are done. | |
| 2884 </p> | |
| 2885 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p10"> | |
| 2886 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above ( | |
| 2887 <a id="SS_Q178_A2-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q83_A16.html">Q[83], A[16]</a>) when we were treating of prayer, the prayer of impetration relies not on merit but on God's mercy, which extends even to | |
| 2888 the wicked, wherefore the prayers even of sinners are sometimes granted by God. Hence Augustine says (Tract. xliv in Joan.) | |
| 2889 that "the blind man spoke these words before he was anointed," that is, before he was perfectly enlightened; "since God does | |
| 2890 hear sinners." When it is | |
| 2891 said that the prayer of one who hears not the law is an abomination, this must be understood so far as the sinner's merit | |
| 2892 is concerned; yet it is sometimes granted, either for the spiritual welfare of the one who prays---as the publican was heard | |
| 2893 ( | |
| 2894 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q178_A2-p10.2" href="./asv.html#Luke.18.14" target="asv">Lk. 18:14</a>)---or for the good of others and for God's glory. | |
| 2895 </p> | |
| 2896 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p11"> | |
| 2897 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Faith without works is said to be dead, as regards the believer, who lives not, by faith, with the life of grace. But nothing | |
| 2898 hinders a living thing from working through a dead instrument, as a man through a stick. It is thus that God works while employing | |
| 2899 instrumentally the faith of a sinner. | |
| 2900 </p> | |
| 2901 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p12"> | |
| 2902 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Miracles are always true witnesses to the purpose for which they are wrought. Hence wicked men who teach a false doctrine | |
| 2903 never work true miracles in confirmation of their teaching, although sometimes they may do so in praise of Christ's name which | |
| 2904 they invoke, and by the power of the sacraments which they administer. If they teach a true doctrine, sometimes they work | |
| 2905 true miracles as confirming their teaching, but not as an attestation of holiness. | |
| 2906 Hence Augustine says (QQ. lxxxiii, qu. 79): "Magicians work miracles in one way, good Christians in another, wicked Christians | |
| 2907 in another. Magicians by private compact with the demons, good Christians by their manifest righteousness, evil Christians | |
| 2908 by the outward signs of righteousness." | |
| 2909 </p> | |
| 2910 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p13"> | |
| 2911 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> As Augustine says (QQ. lxxxiii, qu. 79), "the reason why these are not granted to all holy men is lest by a most baneful | |
| 2912 error the weak be deceived into thinking such deeds to imply greater gifts than the deeds of righteousness whereby eternal | |
| 2913 life is obtained." | |
| 2914 </p> | |
| 2915 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p14"></p> | |
| 2916 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p15"></p> | |
| 2917 <p id="SS_Q178_A2-p16"></p> | |
| 2918 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2919 <a href="summa.SS_Q179.html"></a> | |
| 2920 </div> | |
| 2921 <a href="summa.SS_Q177_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2922 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2923 </div> | |
| 2924 <div id="SS_Q179" class="div3"> | |
| 2925 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2926 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2927 <h3 id="SS_Q179-p0.1">OF THE DIVISION OF LIFE INTO ACTIVE AND CONTEMPLATIVE (TWO ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 2928 <p id="SS_Q179-p1"></p> | |
| 2929 <p id="SS_Q179-p2"> We must next consider active and contemplative life. This consideration will be fourfold: (1) Of the division of life into | |
| 2930 active and contemplative; (2) Of the contemplative life; (3) Of the active life; (4) Of the comparison between the active | |
| 2931 and the contemplative life. | |
| 2932 </p> | |
| 2933 <p id="SS_Q179-p3"> Under the first head there are two points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 2934 <p id="SS_Q179-p4"> (1) Whether life is fittingly divided into active and contemplative?</p> | |
| 2935 <p id="SS_Q179-p5"> (2) Whether this is an adequate division?</p> | |
| 2936 <div id="SS_Q179_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 2937 <a href="summa.SS_Q179.html"></a> | |
| 2938 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2939 <h4 id="SS_Q179_A1-p0.1">Whether life is fittingly divided into active and contemplative?</h4> | |
| 2940 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 2941 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p2"> | |
| 2942 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that life is not fittingly divided into active and contemplative. For the soul is the principle of life by | |
| 2943 its essence: since the Philosopher says (De Anima ii, 4) that "in living things to live is to be." Now the soul is the principle | |
| 2944 of action and contemplation by its powers. Therefore it would seem that life is not fittingly divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 2945 </p> | |
| 2946 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p3"> | |
| 2947 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the division of that which comes afterwards is unfittingly applied to that which comes first. Now active and contemplative, | |
| 2948 or "speculative" and "practical," are differences of the intellect (De Anima iii, 10); while "to live" comes before "to understand," | |
| 2949 since "to live" comes first to living things through the vegetative soul, as the Philosopher states (De Anima ii, 4). Therefore | |
| 2950 life is unfittingly divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 2951 </p> | |
| 2952 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p4"> | |
| 2953 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the word "life" implies movement, according to Dionysius (Div. Nom. vi): whereas contemplation consists rather in | |
| 2954 rest, according to | |
| 2955 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q179_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.8.16" target="asv"> Wis. 8:16</a>: "When I enter into my house, I shall repose myself with her." Therefore it would seem that life is unfittingly divided into | |
| 2956 active and contemplative. | |
| 2957 </p> | |
| 2958 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p5"> | |
| 2959 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. xiv super Ezech.): "There is a twofold life wherein Almighty God instructs us by His holy word, the active | |
| 2960 life and the contemplative." | |
| 2961 </p> | |
| 2962 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p6"> | |
| 2963 <b>I answer that,</b> Properly speaking, those things are said to live whose movement or operation is from within themselves. Now that which is | |
| 2964 proper to a thing and to which it is most inclined is that which is most becoming to it from itself; wherefore every living | |
| 2965 thing gives proof of its life by that operation which is most proper to it, and to which it is most inclined. Thus the life | |
| 2966 of plants is said to consist in nourishment and generation; the life of animals in sensation | |
| 2967 and movement; and the life of men in their understanding and acting according to reason. Wherefore also in men the life of | |
| 2968 every man would seem to be that wherein he delights most, and on which he is most intent; thus especially does he wish "to | |
| 2969 associate with his friends" (Ethic. ix, 12). | |
| 2970 </p> | |
| 2971 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p7"> Accordingly since certain men are especially intent on the contemplation of truth, while others are especially intent on | |
| 2972 external actions, it follows that man's life is fittingly divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 2973 </p> | |
| 2974 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p8"> | |
| 2975 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Each thing's proper form that makes it actually "to be" is properly that thing's principle of operation. Hence "to live" | |
| 2976 is, in living things, "to be," because living things through having "being" from their form, act in such and such a way. | |
| 2977 </p> | |
| 2978 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p9"> | |
| 2979 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Life in general is not divided into active and contemplative, but the life of man, who derives his species from having an | |
| 2980 intellect, wherefore the same division applies to intellect and human life. | |
| 2981 </p> | |
| 2982 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p10"> | |
| 2983 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> It is true that contemplation enjoys rest from external movements. Nevertheless to contemplate is itself a movement of the | |
| 2984 intellect, in so far as every operation is described as a movement; in which sense the Philosopher says (De Anima iii, 7) | |
| 2985 that sensation and understanding are movements of a kind, in so far as movement is defined "the act of a perfect thing." In | |
| 2986 this way Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv) ascribes three movements to the soul in | |
| 2987 contemplation, namely, "straight," "circular," and "oblique" [*Cf. | |
| 2988 <a id="SS_Q179_A1-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A6.html"> Q[180], A[6]</a>]. | |
| 2989 </p> | |
| 2990 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p11"></p> | |
| 2991 <p id="SS_Q179_A1-p12"></p> | |
| 2992 <a href="summa.SS_Q179.html"></a> | |
| 2993 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A2.html"></a> | |
| 2994 </div> | |
| 2995 <div id="SS_Q179_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 2996 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A1.html"></a> | |
| 2997 <a href="summa.SS_Q180.html"></a> | |
| 2998 <h4 id="SS_Q179_A2-p0.1">Whether life is adequately divided into active and contemplative?</h4> | |
| 2999 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 3000 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p2"> | |
| 3001 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that life is not adequately divided into active and contemplative. For the Philosopher says (Ethic. i, 5) that | |
| 3002 there are three most prominent kinds of life, the life of "pleasure," the "civil" which would seem to be the same as the active, | |
| 3003 and the "contemplative" life. Therefore the division of life into active and contemplative would seem to be inadequate. | |
| 3004 </p> | |
| 3005 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p3"> | |
| 3006 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Augustine (De Civ. Dei xix, 1,2,3,19) mentions three kinds of life, namely the life of "leisure" which pertains | |
| 3007 to the contemplative, the "busy" life which pertains to the active, and a third "composed of both." Therefore it would seem | |
| 3008 that life is inadequately divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 3009 </p> | |
| 3010 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p4"> | |
| 3011 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, man's life is diversified according to the divers actions in which men are occupied. Now there are more than two | |
| 3012 occupations of human actions. Therefore it would seem that life should be divided into more kinds than the active and the | |
| 3013 contemplative. | |
| 3014 </p> | |
| 3015 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p5"> | |
| 3016 <b>On the contrary,</b> These two lives are signified by the two wives of Jacob; the active by Lia, and the contemplative by Rachel: and by the two | |
| 3017 hostesses of our Lord; the contemplative life by Mary, and the active life by Martha, as Gregory declares (Moral. vi, 37 [*Hom. | |
| 3018 xiv in Ezech.]). Now this signification would not be fitting if there were more than two lives. Therefore life is adequately | |
| 3019 divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 3020 </p> | |
| 3021 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p6"> | |
| 3022 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above (A[1], ad 2), this division applies to the human life as derived from the intellect. Now the intellect is | |
| 3023 divided into active and contemplative, since the end of intellective knowledge is either the knowledge itself of truth, which | |
| 3024 pertains to the contemplative intellect, or some external action, which pertains to the practical or active intellect. Therefore | |
| 3025 life too is adequately divided into active and contemplative. | |
| 3026 </p> | |
| 3027 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p7"> | |
| 3028 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The life of pleasure places its end in pleasures of the body, which are common to us and dumb animals; wherefore as the Philosopher | |
| 3029 says (Ethic. Ethic. i, 5), it is the life "of a beast." Hence it is not included in this division of the life of a man into | |
| 3030 active and contemplative. | |
| 3031 </p> | |
| 3032 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p8"> | |
| 3033 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> A mean is a combination of extremes, wherefore it is virtually contained in them, as tepid in hot and cold, and pale in white | |
| 3034 and black. In like manner active and contemplative comprise that which is composed of both. Nevertheless as in every mixture | |
| 3035 one of the simples predominates, so too in the mean state of life sometimes the contemplative, sometimes the active element, | |
| 3036 abounds. | |
| 3037 </p> | |
| 3038 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p9"> | |
| 3039 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> All the occupations of human actions, if directed to the requirements of the present life in accord with right reason, belong | |
| 3040 to the active life which provides for the necessities of the present life by means of well-ordered activity. If, on the other | |
| 3041 hand, they minister to any concupiscence whatever, they belong to the life of pleasure, which is not comprised under the active | |
| 3042 life. Those human occupations that are directed to the consideration of | |
| 3043 truth belong to the contemplative life. | |
| 3044 </p> | |
| 3045 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p10"></p> | |
| 3046 <p id="SS_Q179_A2-p11"></p> | |
| 3047 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3048 <a href="summa.SS_Q180.html"></a> | |
| 3049 </div> | |
| 3050 <a href="summa.SS_Q178_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3051 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3052 </div> | |
| 3053 <div id="SS_Q180" class="div3"> | |
| 3054 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3055 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3056 <h3 id="SS_Q180-p0.1">OF THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE (EIGHT ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 3057 <p id="SS_Q180-p1"></p> | |
| 3058 <p id="SS_Q180-p2"> We must now consider the contemplative life, under which head there are eight points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 3059 <p id="SS_Q180-p3"> (1) Whether the contemplative life pertains to the intellect only, or also to the affections?</p> | |
| 3060 <p id="SS_Q180-p4"> (2) Whether the moral virtues pertain to the contemplative life?</p> | |
| 3061 <p id="SS_Q180-p5"> (3) Whether the contemplative life consists in one action or in several?</p> | |
| 3062 <p id="SS_Q180-p6"> (4) Whether the consideration of any truth whatever pertains to the contemplative life?</p> | |
| 3063 <p id="SS_Q180-p7"> (5) Whether the contemplative life of man in this state can arise to the vision of God?</p> | |
| 3064 <p id="SS_Q180-p8"> (6) Of the movements of contemplation assigned by Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv);</p> | |
| 3065 <p id="SS_Q180-p9"> (7) Of the pleasure of contemplation;</p> | |
| 3066 <p id="SS_Q180-p10"> (8) Of the duration of contemplation.</p> | |
| 3067 <p id="SS_Q180-p11"></p> | |
| 3068 <div id="SS_Q180_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 3069 <a href="summa.SS_Q180.html"></a> | |
| 3070 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3071 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A1-p0.1">Whether the contemplative life has nothing to do with the affections, and pertains wholly to the intellect?</h4> | |
| 3072 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 3073 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p2"> | |
| 3074 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the contemplative life has nothing to do with the affections and pertains wholly to the intellect. For | |
| 3075 the Philosopher says (Metaph. ii, text. 3 [*Ed Did. ia, 1]) that "the end of contemplation is truth." Now truth pertains wholly | |
| 3076 to the intellect. Therefore it would seem that the contemplative life wholly regards the intellect. | |
| 3077 </p> | |
| 3078 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p3"> | |
| 3079 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37; Hom. xix in Ezech.) that "Rachel, which is interpreted 'vision of the principle' [*Or | |
| 3080 rather, 'One seeing the principle,' if derived from {rah} and {irzn}; Cf. Jerome, De Nom. Hebr.], signifies the contemplative | |
| 3081 life." Now the vision of a principle belongs properly to the intellect. Therefore the contemplative life belongs properly | |
| 3082 to the intellect. | |
| 3083 </p> | |
| 3084 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p4"> | |
| 3085 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that it belongs to the contemplative life, "to rest from external action." Now | |
| 3086 the affective or appetitive power inclines to external actions. Therefore it would seem that the contemplative life has nothing | |
| 3087 to do with the appetitive power. | |
| 3088 </p> | |
| 3089 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p5"> | |
| 3090 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "the contemplative life is to cling with our whole mind to the love of God and our | |
| 3091 neighbor, and to desire nothing beside our Creator." Now desire and love pertain to the affective or appetitive power, as | |
| 3092 stated above ( | |
| 3093 <a id="SS_Q180_A1-p5.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q25_A2.html">FS, Q[25], A[2]</a>; | |
| 3094 <a id="SS_Q180_A1-p5.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q26_A2.html">FS, Q[26], A[2]</a>). Therefore the contemplative life has also something to do with the affective or appetitive power. | |
| 3095 </p> | |
| 3096 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p6"> | |
| 3097 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above (Q[179], A[1]) theirs is said to be the contemplative who are chiefly intent on the contemplation of truth. | |
| 3098 Now intention is an act of the will, as stated above ( | |
| 3099 <a id="SS_Q180_A1-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q12_A1.html">FS, Q[12], A[1]</a>), because intention is of the end which is the object of the will. Consequently the contemplative life, as regards the essence | |
| 3100 of the action, pertains to the intellect, but as regards the motive cause of the exercise of that action it belongs | |
| 3101 to the will, which moves all the other powers, even the intellect, to their actions, as stated above ( | |
| 3102 <a id="SS_Q180_A1-p6.2" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q82_A4.html">FP, Q[82], A[4]</a>; | |
| 3103 <a id="SS_Q180_A1-p6.3" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q9_A1.html">FS, Q[9], A[1]</a>). | |
| 3104 </p> | |
| 3105 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p7"> Now the appetitive power moves one to observe things either with the senses or with the intellect, sometimes for love of | |
| 3106 the thing seen because, as it is written ( | |
| 3107 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A1-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Matt.6.21" target="asv">Mat. 6:21</a>), "where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also," sometimes for love of the very knowledge that one acquires by observation. | |
| 3108 Wherefore Gregory makes the contemplative life to consist in the "love of God," inasmuch as through loving God we are aflame | |
| 3109 to gaze on His beauty. And since | |
| 3110 everyone delights when he obtains what he loves, it follows that the contemplative life terminates in delight, which is seated | |
| 3111 in the affective power, the result being that love also becomes more intense. | |
| 3112 </p> | |
| 3113 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p8"> | |
| 3114 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> From the very fact that truth is the end of contemplation, it has the aspect of an appetible good, both lovable and delightful, | |
| 3115 and in this respect it pertains to the appetitive power. | |
| 3116 </p> | |
| 3117 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p9"> | |
| 3118 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> We are urged to the vision of the first principle, namely God, by the love thereof; wherefore Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) | |
| 3119 that "the contemplative life tramples on all cares and longs to see the face of its Creator." | |
| 3120 </p> | |
| 3121 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p10"> | |
| 3122 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The appetitive power moves not only the bodily members to perform external actions, but also the intellect to practice the | |
| 3123 act of contemplation, as stated above. | |
| 3124 </p> | |
| 3125 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p11"></p> | |
| 3126 <p id="SS_Q180_A1-p12"></p> | |
| 3127 <a href="summa.SS_Q180.html"></a> | |
| 3128 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3129 </div> | |
| 3130 <div id="SS_Q180_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 3131 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3132 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3133 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A2-p0.1">Whether the moral virtues pertain to the contemplative life?</h4> | |
| 3134 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 3135 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p2"> | |
| 3136 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the moral virtues pertain to the contemplative life. For Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "the contemplative | |
| 3137 life is to cling to the love of God and our neighbor with the whole mind." Now all the moral virtues, since their acts are | |
| 3138 prescribed by the precepts of the Law, are reducible to the love of God and of our neighbor, for "love . . . is the fulfilling | |
| 3139 of the Law" ( | |
| 3140 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.13.10" target="asv">Rom. 13:10</a>). Therefore it would seem that the | |
| 3141 moral virtues belong to the contemplative life. | |
| 3142 </p> | |
| 3143 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p3"> | |
| 3144 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the contemplative life is chiefly directed to the contemplation of God; for Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that | |
| 3145 "the mind tramples on all cares and longs to gaze on the face of its Creator." Now no one can accomplish this without cleanness | |
| 3146 of heart, which is a result of moral virtue [*Cf. | |
| 3147 <a id="SS_Q180_A2-p3.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q8_A7.html"> Q[8], A[7]</a>]. For it is written ( | |
| 3148 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p3.2" href="./asv.html#Matt.5.8" target="asv">Mat. 5:8</a>): "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God": and ( | |
| 3149 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p3.3" href="./asv.html#Heb.12.14" target="asv">Heb. 12:14</a>): | |
| 3150 "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God." Therefore it would seem that the moral virtues | |
| 3151 pertain to the contemplative life. | |
| 3152 </p> | |
| 3153 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p4"> | |
| 3154 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "the contemplative life gives beauty to the soul," wherefore it is signified | |
| 3155 by Rachel, of whom it is said ( | |
| 3156 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p4.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.29.17" target="asv">Gn. 29:17</a>) that she was "of a beautiful countenance." Now the beauty of the soul consists in the moral virtues, especially temperance, | |
| 3157 as Ambrose says (De Offic. i, 43,45,46). Therefore it seems that the moral virtues pertain to the contemplative life. | |
| 3158 </p> | |
| 3159 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p5"> | |
| 3160 <b>On the contrary,</b> The moral virtues are directed to external actions. Now Gregory says (Moral. vi [*Hom. xiv in Ezech.; Cf. A[1], OBJ[3]]) | |
| 3161 that it belongs to the contemplative life "to rest from external action." Therefore the moral virtues do not pertain to the | |
| 3162 contemplative life. | |
| 3163 </p> | |
| 3164 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p6"> | |
| 3165 <b>I answer that,</b> A thing may belong to the contemplative life in two ways, essentially or dispositively. The moral virtues do not belong to | |
| 3166 the contemplative life essentially, because the end of the contemplative life is the consideration of truth: and as the Philosopher | |
| 3167 states (Ethic. ii, 4), "knowledge," which pertains to the consideration of truth, "has little influence on the moral virtues": | |
| 3168 wherefore he declares (Ethic. x, 8) that the moral virtues pertain to active but | |
| 3169 not to contemplative happiness. | |
| 3170 </p> | |
| 3171 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p7"> On the other hand, the moral virtues belong to the contemplative life dispositively. For the act of contemplation, wherein | |
| 3172 the contemplative life essentially consists, is hindered both by the impetuosity of the passions which withdraw the soul's | |
| 3173 intention from intelligible to sensible things, and by outward disturbances. Now the moral virtues curb the impetuosity of | |
| 3174 the passions, and quell the disturbance of outward occupations. Hence moral virtues belong dispositively to the | |
| 3175 contemplative life. | |
| 3176 </p> | |
| 3177 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p8"> | |
| 3178 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above | |
| 3179 <a id="SS_Q180_A2-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html">(A[1])</a>, the contemplative life has its motive cause on the part of the affections, and in this respect the love of God and our neighbor | |
| 3180 is requisite to the contemplative life. Now motive causes do not enter into the essence of a thing, but dispose and perfect | |
| 3181 it. Wherefore it does not follow that the moral virtues belong essentially to the contemplative life. | |
| 3182 </p> | |
| 3183 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p9"> | |
| 3184 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Holiness or cleanness of heart is caused by the virtues that are concerned with the passions which hinder the purity of the | |
| 3185 reason; and peace is caused by justice which is about operations, according to | |
| 3186 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p9.1" href="./asv.html#Isa.32.17" target="asv"> Is. 32:17, </a> "The work of justice shall be peace": since he who refrains from wronging others lessens the occasions of quarrels and disturbances. | |
| 3187 Hence the moral virtues dispose one to the contemplative life by causing peace and | |
| 3188 cleanness of heart. | |
| 3189 </p> | |
| 3190 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p10"> | |
| 3191 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Beauty, as stated above ( | |
| 3192 <a id="SS_Q180_A2-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q145_A2.html">Q[145], A[2]</a>), consists in a certain clarity and due proportion. Now each of these is found radically in the reason; because both the | |
| 3193 light that makes beauty seen, and the establishing of due proportion among things belong to reason. Hence since the contemplative | |
| 3194 life consists in an act of the reason, there is beauty in it by its very nature and essence; wherefore it is written ( | |
| 3195 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A2-p10.2" href="./asv.html#Wis.8.2" target="asv">Wis. | |
| 3196 8:2 | |
| 3197 </a>) of the contemplation of wisdom: "I became a lover of her beauty." | |
| 3198 </p> | |
| 3199 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p11"> On the other hand, beauty is in the moral virtues by participation, in so far as they participate in the order of reason; | |
| 3200 and especially is it in temperance, which restrains the concupiscences which especially darken the light of reason. Hence | |
| 3201 it is that the virtue of chastity most of all makes man apt for contemplation, since venereal pleasures most of all weigh | |
| 3202 the mind down to sensible objects, as Augustine says (Soliloq. i, 10). | |
| 3203 </p> | |
| 3204 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p12"></p> | |
| 3205 <p id="SS_Q180_A2-p13"></p> | |
| 3206 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3207 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3208 </div> | |
| 3209 <div id="SS_Q180_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 3210 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3211 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3212 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A3-p0.1">Whether there are various actions pertaining to the contemplative life?</h4> | |
| 3213 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 3214 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p2"> | |
| 3215 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that there are various actions pertaining to the contemplative life. For Richard of St. Victor [*De Grat. Contempl. | |
| 3216 i, 3,4] distinguishes between "contemplation," "meditation," and "cogitation." Yet all these apparently pertain to contemplation. | |
| 3217 Therefore it would seem that there are various actions pertaining to the contemplative life. | |
| 3218 </p> | |
| 3219 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p3"> | |
| 3220 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the Apostle says ( | |
| 3221 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A3-p3.1" href="./asv.html#iiCor.3.18" target="asv">2 Cor. 3:18</a>): "But we . . . beholding [speculantes] the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same clarity [*Vulg.: | |
| 3222 'into the same image from glory to glory.']." Now this belongs to the contemplative life. Therefore in addition to the three | |
| 3223 aforesaid, vision [speculatio] belongs to the contemplative life. | |
| 3224 </p> | |
| 3225 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p4"> | |
| 3226 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Bernard says (De Consid. v, 14) that "the first and greatest contemplation is admiration of the Majesty." Now according | |
| 3227 to Damascene (De Fide Orth. ii, 15) admiration is a kind of fear. Therefore it would seem that several acts are requisite | |
| 3228 for the contemplative life. | |
| 3229 </p> | |
| 3230 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p5"> | |
| 3231 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, "Prayer," "reading," and "meditation" [*Hugh of St. Victor, Alleg. in N.T. iii, 4] are said to belong to the contemplative | |
| 3232 life. Again, "hearing" belongs to the contemplative life: since it is stated that Mary (by whom the contemplative life is | |
| 3233 signified) "sitting . . . at the Lord's feet, heard His word" ( | |
| 3234 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A3-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.39" target="asv">Lk. 10:39</a>). Therefore it would seem that several acts are requisite for the contemplative life. | |
| 3235 </p> | |
| 3236 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p6"> | |
| 3237 <b>On the contrary,</b> Life signifies here the operation on which a man is chiefly intent. Wherefore if there are several operations of the contemplative | |
| 3238 life, there will be, not one, but several contemplative lives. | |
| 3239 </p> | |
| 3240 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p7"> | |
| 3241 <b>I answer that,</b> We are now speaking of the contemplative life as applicable to man. Now according to Dionysius (Div. Nom. vii) between man | |
| 3242 and angel there is this difference, that an angel perceives the truth by simple apprehension, whereas man arrives at the perception | |
| 3243 of a simple truth by a process from several premises. Accordingly, then, the contemplative life has one act wherein it is | |
| 3244 finally completed, namely the contemplation of truth, and from this act it derives | |
| 3245 its unity. Yet it has many acts whereby it arrives at this final act. Some of these pertain to the reception of principles, | |
| 3246 from which it proceeds to the contemplation of truth; others are concerned with deducing from the principles, the truth, the | |
| 3247 knowledge of which is sought; and the last and crowning act is the contemplation itself of the truth. | |
| 3248 </p> | |
| 3249 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p8"> | |
| 3250 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> According to Richard of St. Victor "cogitation" would seem to regard the consideration of the many things from which a person | |
| 3251 intends to gather one simple truth. Hence cogitation may comprise not only the perceptions of the senses in taking cognizance | |
| 3252 of certain effects, but also the imaginations. and again the reason's discussion of the various signs or of anything that | |
| 3253 conduces to the truth in view: although, according to Augustine (De Trin. xiv, | |
| 3254 7), cogitation may signify any actual operation of the intellect. "Meditation" would seem to be the process of reason from | |
| 3255 certain principles that lead to the contemplation of some truth: and "consideration" has the same meaning, according to Bernard | |
| 3256 (De Consid. ii, 2), although, according to the Philosopher (De Anima ii, 1), every operation of the intellect may be called | |
| 3257 "consideration." But "contemplation" regards the simple act of gazing on the truth; wherefore Richard says again (De Grat. | |
| 3258 Contempl. i, 4) that "contemplation is the soul's clear and free dwelling upon the object of its gaze; meditation is the survey | |
| 3259 of the mind while occupied in searching for the truth: and cogitation is the mind's glance which is prone to wander." | |
| 3260 </p> | |
| 3261 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p9"> | |
| 3262 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> According to a gloss [*Cf. De Trin. xv, 8] of Augustine on this passage, "beholding" [speculatio] denotes "seeing in a mirror | |
| 3263 [speculo], not from a watch-tower [specula]." Now to see a thing in a mirror is to see a cause in its effect wherein its likeness | |
| 3264 is reflected. Hence "beholding" would seem to be reducible to meditation. | |
| 3265 </p> | |
| 3266 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p10"> | |
| 3267 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Admiration is a kind of fear resulting from the apprehension of a thing that surpasses our faculties: hence it results from | |
| 3268 the contemplation of the sublime truth. For it was stated above | |
| 3269 <a id="SS_Q180_A3-p10.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html">(A[1])</a> that contemplation terminates in the affections. | |
| 3270 </p> | |
| 3271 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p11"> | |
| 3272 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> Man reaches the knowledge of truth in two ways. First, by means of things received from another. In this way, as regards | |
| 3273 the things he receives from God, he needs "prayer," according to | |
| 3274 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A3-p11.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.7.7" target="asv"> Wis. 7:7, </a> "I called upon" God, "and the spirit of wisdom came upon me": while as regards the things he receives from man, he needs | |
| 3275 "hearing," in so far as he receives from the spoken word, and "reading," in so far as he receives from the tradition | |
| 3276 of Holy Writ. Secondly, he needs to apply himself by his personal study, and thus he requires "meditation." | |
| 3277 </p> | |
| 3278 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p12"></p> | |
| 3279 <p id="SS_Q180_A3-p13"></p> | |
| 3280 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3281 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3282 </div> | |
| 3283 <div id="SS_Q180_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 3284 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3285 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A5.html"></a> | |
| 3286 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A4-p0.1">Whether the contemplative life consists in the mere contemplation of God, or also in the consideration of any truth whatever?</h4> | |
| 3287 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 3288 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p2"> | |
| 3289 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the contemplative life consists not only in the contemplation of God, but also in the consideration of | |
| 3290 any truth. For it is written ( | |
| 3291 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A4-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.138.14" target="asv">Ps. 138:14</a>): "Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knoweth right well." Now the knowledge of God's works is effected by any contemplation | |
| 3292 of the truth. Therefore it would seem that it pertains to the contemplative life to contemplate not only the divine truth, | |
| 3293 but also any other. | |
| 3294 </p> | |
| 3295 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p3"> | |
| 3296 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Bernard says (De Consid. v, 14) that "contemplation consists in admiration first of God's majesty, secondly of His | |
| 3297 judgments, thirdly of His benefits, fourthly of His promises." Now of these four the first alone regards the divine truth, | |
| 3298 and the other three pertain to His effects. Therefore the contemplative life consists not only in the contemplation of the | |
| 3299 divine truth, but also in the consideration of truth regarding the divine effects. | |
| 3300 </p> | |
| 3301 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p4"> | |
| 3302 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Richard of St. Victor [*De Grat. Contempl. i, 6] distinguishes six species of contemplation. The first belongs to | |
| 3303 "the imagination alone," and consists in thinking of corporeal things. The second is in "the imagination guided by reason," | |
| 3304 and consists in considering the order and disposition of sensible objects. The third is in "the reason based on the imagination"; | |
| 3305 when, to wit, from the consideration of the visible we rise to the invisible. The | |
| 3306 fourth is in "the reason and conducted by the reason," when the mind is intent on things invisible of which the imagination | |
| 3307 has no cognizance. The fifth is "above the reason," but not contrary to reason, when by divine revelation we become cognizant | |
| 3308 of things that cannot be comprehended by the human reason. The sixth is "above reason and contrary to reason"; when, to wit, | |
| 3309 by the divine enlightening we know things that seem contrary to human reason, such as the doctrine of the mystery of the | |
| 3310 Trinity. Now only the last of these would seem to pertain to the divine truth. Therefore the contemplation of truth regards | |
| 3311 not only the divine truth, but also that which is considered in creatures. | |
| 3312 </p> | |
| 3313 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p5"> | |
| 3314 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, in the contemplative life the contemplation of truth is sought as being the perfection of man. Now any truth is | |
| 3315 a perfection of the human intellect. Therefore the contemplative life consists in the contemplation of any truth. | |
| 3316 </p> | |
| 3317 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p6"> | |
| 3318 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37) that "in contemplation we seek the principle which is God." | |
| 3319 </p> | |
| 3320 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p7"> | |
| 3321 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above | |
| 3322 <a id="SS_Q180_A4-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html">(A[2])</a>, a thing may belong to the contemplative life in two ways: principally, and secondarily, or dispositively. That which belongs | |
| 3323 principally to the contemplative life is the contemplation of the divine truth, because this contemplation is the end of the | |
| 3324 whole human life. Hence Augustine says (De Trin. i, 8) that "the contemplation of God is promised us as being the goal of | |
| 3325 all our actions and the everlasting | |
| 3326 perfection of our joys." This contemplation will be perfect in the life to come, when we shall see God face to face, wherefore | |
| 3327 it will make us perfectly happy: whereas now the contemplation of the divine truth is competent to us imperfectly, namely | |
| 3328 "through a glass" and "in a dark manner" ( | |
| 3329 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A4-p7.2" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.12" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:12</a>). Hence it bestows on us a certain inchoate beatitude, which begins now and will be continued in the life to come; wherefore | |
| 3330 the Philosopher (Ethic. x, 7) places man's | |
| 3331 ultimate happiness in the contemplation of the supreme intelligible good. | |
| 3332 </p> | |
| 3333 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p8"> Since, however, God's effects show us the way to the contemplation of God Himself, according to | |
| 3334 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A4-p8.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.1.20" target="asv"> Rom. 1:20, </a> "The invisible things of God . . . are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made," it follows that the contemplation | |
| 3335 of the divine effects also belongs to the contemplative life, inasmuch as man is guided thereby to the knowledge of God. Hence | |
| 3336 Augustine says (De Vera Relig. xxix) that "in the study of creatures we must not exercise an | |
| 3337 empty and futile curiosity, but should make them the stepping-stone to things unperishable and everlasting." | |
| 3338 </p> | |
| 3339 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p9"> Accordingly it is clear from what has been said ( | |
| 3340 <a id="SS_Q180_A4-p9.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html">AA[1]</a>,2,3) that four things pertain, in a certain order, to the contemplative life; first, the moral virtues; secondly, other acts | |
| 3341 exclusive of contemplation; thirdly, contemplation of the divine effects; fourthly, the complement of all which is the contemplation | |
| 3342 of the divine truth itself. | |
| 3343 </p> | |
| 3344 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p10"> | |
| 3345 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> David sought the knowledge of God's works, so that he might be led by them to God; wherefore he says elsewhere ( | |
| 3346 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A4-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.142.5" target="asv">Ps. 142:5,6</a>): "I meditated on all Thy works: I meditated upon the works of Thy hands: I stretched forth my hands to Thee." | |
| 3347 </p> | |
| 3348 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p11"> | |
| 3349 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> By considering the divine judgments man is guided to the consideration of the divine justice; and by considering the divine | |
| 3350 benefits and promises, man is led to the knowledge of God's mercy or goodness, as by effects already manifested or yet to | |
| 3351 be vouchsafed. | |
| 3352 </p> | |
| 3353 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p12"> | |
| 3354 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> These six denote the steps whereby we ascend by means of creatures to the contemplation of God. For the first step consists | |
| 3355 in the mere consideration of sensible objects; the second step consists in going forward from sensible to intelligible objects; | |
| 3356 the third step is to judge of sensible objects according to intelligible things; the fourth is the absolute consideration | |
| 3357 of the intelligible objects to which one has attained by means of sensibles; the | |
| 3358 fifth is the contemplation of those intelligible objects that are unattainable by means of sensibles, but which the reason | |
| 3359 is able to grasp; the sixth step is the consideration of such intelligible things as the reason can neither discover nor grasp, | |
| 3360 which pertain to the sublime contemplation of divine truth, wherein contemplation is ultimately perfected. | |
| 3361 </p> | |
| 3362 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p13"> | |
| 3363 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> The ultimate perfection of the human intellect is the divine truth: and other truths perfect the intellect in relation to | |
| 3364 the divine truth. | |
| 3365 </p> | |
| 3366 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p14"></p> | |
| 3367 <p id="SS_Q180_A4-p15"></p> | |
| 3368 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3369 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A5.html"></a> | |
| 3370 </div> | |
| 3371 <div id="SS_Q180_A5" class="div4"> | |
| 3372 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3373 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A6.html"></a> | |
| 3374 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A5-p0.1">Whether in the present state of life the contemplative life can reach to the vision of the Divine essence?</h4> | |
| 3375 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p1"></p> | |
| 3376 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p2"> | |
| 3377 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that in the present state of life the contemplative life can reach to the vision of the Divine essence. For, | |
| 3378 as stated in | |
| 3379 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A5-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.32.30" target="asv">Gn. 32:30</a>, Jacob said: "I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved." Now the vision of God's face is the vision of the | |
| 3380 Divine essence. Therefore it would seem that in the present life one may come, by means of contemplation, to see God in His | |
| 3381 essence. | |
| 3382 </p> | |
| 3383 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p3"> | |
| 3384 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37) that "contemplative men withdraw within themselves in order to explore spiritual things, | |
| 3385 nor do they ever carry with them the shadows of things corporeal, or if these follow them they prudently drive them away: | |
| 3386 but being desirous of seeing the incomprehensible light, they suppress all the images of their limited comprehension, and | |
| 3387 through longing to reach what is above them, they overcome that which they are." Now man is | |
| 3388 not hindered from seeing the Divine essence, which is the incomprehensible light, save by the necessity of turning to corporeal | |
| 3389 phantasms. Therefore it would seem that the contemplation of the present life can extend to the vision of the incomprehensible | |
| 3390 light in its essence. | |
| 3391 </p> | |
| 3392 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p4"> | |
| 3393 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Gregory says (Dial. ii, 35): "All creatures are small to the soul that sees its Creator: wherefore when the man | |
| 3394 of God," the blessed Benedict, to wit, "saw a fiery globe in the tower and angels returning to heaven, without doubt he could | |
| 3395 only see such things by the light of God." Now the blessed Benedict was still in this life. Therefore the contemplation of | |
| 3396 the present life can extend to the vision of the essence of God. | |
| 3397 </p> | |
| 3398 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p5"> | |
| 3399 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "As long as we live in this mortal flesh, no one reaches such a height of contemplation | |
| 3400 as to fix the eyes of his mind on the ray itself of incomprehensible light." | |
| 3401 </p> | |
| 3402 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p6"> | |
| 3403 <b>I answer that,</b> As Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 27), "no one seeing God lives this mortal life wherein the bodily senses have their | |
| 3404 play: and unless in some way he depart this life, whether by going altogether out of his body, or by withdrawing from his | |
| 3405 carnal senses, he is not caught up into that vision." This has been carefully discussed above (Q[175], AA[4],5), where we | |
| 3406 spoke of rapture, and in the | |
| 3407 <a id="SS_Q180_A5-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q12_A2.html">FP, Q[12], A[2]</a>, where we treated of the | |
| 3408 vision of God. | |
| 3409 </p> | |
| 3410 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p7"> Accordingly we must state that one may be in this life in two ways. First, with regard to act, that is to say by actually | |
| 3411 making use of the bodily senses, and thus contemplation in the present life can nowise attain to the vision of God's essence. | |
| 3412 Secondly, one may be in this life potentially and not with regard to act, that is to say, when the soul is united to the mortal | |
| 3413 body as its form, yet so as to make use neither of the bodily senses, nor even of the imagination, as | |
| 3414 happens in rapture; and in this way the contemplation of the present life can attain to the vision of the Divine essence. | |
| 3415 Consequently the highest degree of contemplation in the present life is that which Paul had in rapture, whereby he was in | |
| 3416 a middle state between the present life and the life to come. | |
| 3417 </p> | |
| 3418 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p8"> | |
| 3419 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As Dionysius says (Ep. i ad Caium. Monach.), "if anyone seeing God, understood what he saw, he saw not God Himself, but something | |
| 3420 belonging to God." And Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "By no means is God seen now in His glory; but the soul sees something | |
| 3421 of lower degree, and is thereby refreshed so that afterwards it may attain to the glory of vision." Accordingly the words | |
| 3422 of Jacob, "I saw God face to face" do not imply that he saw God's essence, | |
| 3423 but that he saw some shape [*Cf. | |
| 3424 <a id="SS_Q180_A5-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FP_Q12_A11.html">FP, Q[12], A[11]</a>, ad 1], imaginary of course, wherein God spoke to him. Or, "since we know a man by his face, by the face of God he signified | |
| 3425 his knowledge of Him," according to a gloss of Gregory on the same passage. | |
| 3426 </p> | |
| 3427 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p9"> | |
| 3428 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> In the present state of life human contemplation is impossible without phantasms, because it is connatural to man to see | |
| 3429 the intelligible species in the phantasms, as the Philosopher states (De Anima iii, 7). Yet intellectual knowledge does not | |
| 3430 consist in the phantasms themselves, but in our contemplating in them the purity of the intelligible truth: and this not only | |
| 3431 in natural knowledge, but also in that which we obtain by revelation. For Dionysius | |
| 3432 says (Coel. Hier. i) that "the Divine glory shows us the angelic hierarchies under certain symbolic figures, and by its power | |
| 3433 we are brought back to the single ray of light," i.e. to the simple knowledge of the intelligible truth. It is in this sense | |
| 3434 that we must understand the statement of Gregory that "contemplatives do not carry along with them the shadows of things corporeal," | |
| 3435 since their contemplation is not fixed on them, but on the consideration of the intelligible truth. | |
| 3436 </p> | |
| 3437 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p10"> | |
| 3438 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> By these words Gregory does not imply that the blessed Benedict, in that vision, saw God in His essence, but he wishes to | |
| 3439 show that because "all creatures are small to him that sees God," it follows that all things can easily be seen through the | |
| 3440 enlightenment of the Divine light. Wherefore he adds: "For however little he may see of the Creator's light, all created things | |
| 3441 become petty to him." | |
| 3442 </p> | |
| 3443 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p11"></p> | |
| 3444 <p id="SS_Q180_A5-p12"></p> | |
| 3445 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3446 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A6.html"></a> | |
| 3447 </div> | |
| 3448 <div id="SS_Q180_A6" class="div4"> | |
| 3449 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A5.html"></a> | |
| 3450 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A7.html"></a> | |
| 3451 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A6-p0.1">Whether the operation of contemplation is fittingly divided into a threefold movement, circular, straight and oblique?</h4> | |
| 3452 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p1"></p> | |
| 3453 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p2"> | |
| 3454 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the operation of contemplation is unfittingly divided into a threefold movement, "circular," "straight," | |
| 3455 and "oblique" (Div. Nom. iv). For contemplation pertains exclusively to rest, according to | |
| 3456 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A6-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.8.16" target="asv"> Wis. 8:16, </a> "When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her." Now movement is opposed to rest. Therefore the operations of the | |
| 3457 contemplative life should not be described as movements. | |
| 3458 </p> | |
| 3459 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p3"> | |
| 3460 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the action of the contemplative life pertains to the intellect, whereby man is like the angels. Now Dionysius describes | |
| 3461 these movements as being different in the angels from what they are in the soul. For he says (Div. Nom. iv) that the "circular" | |
| 3462 movement in the angel is "according to his enlightenment by the beautiful and the good." On the other hand, he assigns the | |
| 3463 circular movement of the soul to several things: the first of which is the | |
| 3464 "withdrawal of the soul into itself from externals"; the second is "a certain concentration of its powers, whereby it is rendered | |
| 3465 free of error and of outward occupation"; and the third is "union with those things that are above it." Again, he describes | |
| 3466 differently their respective straight movements. For he says that the straight movement of the angel is that by which he proceeds | |
| 3467 to the care of those things that are beneath him. On the other hand, he describes the straight movement of the soul | |
| 3468 as being twofold: first, "its progress towards things that are near it"; secondly, "its uplifting from external things to | |
| 3469 simple contemplation." Further, he assigns a different oblique movement to each. For he assigns the oblique movement of the | |
| 3470 angels to the fact that "while providing for those who have less they remain unchanged in relation to God": whereas he assigns | |
| 3471 the oblique movement of the soul to the fact that "the soul is enlightened in Divine knowledge by reasoning and discoursing." | |
| 3472 Therefore it would seem that the operations of contemplation are unfittingly assigned according to the ways mentioned above. | |
| 3473 </p> | |
| 3474 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p4"> | |
| 3475 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Richard of St. Victor (De Contempl. i, 5) mentions many other different movements in likeness to the birds of the | |
| 3476 air. "For some of these rise at one time to a great height, at another swoop down to earth, and they do so repeatedly; others | |
| 3477 fly now to the right, now to the left again and again; others go forwards or lag behind many times; others fly in a circle | |
| 3478 now more now less extended; and others remain suspended almost immovably in one place." | |
| 3479 Therefore it would seem that there are only three movements of contemplation. | |
| 3480 </p> | |
| 3481 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p5"> | |
| 3482 <b>On the contrary,</b> stands the authority of Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv). | |
| 3483 </p> | |
| 3484 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p6"> | |
| 3485 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 3486 <a id="SS_Q180_A6-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q119_A1.html">Q[119], A[1]</a>, ad 3), the operation of the intellect, wherein contemplation essentially consists, is called a movement, in so far as movement | |
| 3487 is the act of a perfect thing, according to the Philosopher (De Anima iii, 1). Since, however, it is through sensible objects | |
| 3488 that we come to the knowledge of intelligible things, and since sensible operations do not take place without movement, the | |
| 3489 result is that even | |
| 3490 intelligible operations are described as movements, and are differentiated in likeness to various movements. Now of bodily | |
| 3491 movements, local movements are the most perfect and come first, as proved in Phys. viii, 7; wherefore the foremost among intelligible | |
| 3492 operations are described by being likened to them. These movements are of three kinds; for there is the "circular" movement, | |
| 3493 by which a thing moves uniformly round one point as center, another is the "straight" movement, by which a thing goes | |
| 3494 from one point to another; the third is "oblique," being composed as it were of both the others. Consequently, in intelligible | |
| 3495 operations, that which is simply uniform is compared to circular movement; the intelligible operation by which one proceeds | |
| 3496 from one point to another is compared to the straight movement; while the intelligible operation which unites something of | |
| 3497 uniformity with progress to various points is compared to the oblique movement. | |
| 3498 </p> | |
| 3499 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p7"> | |
| 3500 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> External bodily movements are opposed to the quiet of contemplation, which consists in rest from outward occupations: but | |
| 3501 the movements of intellectual operations belong to the quiet of contemplation. | |
| 3502 </p> | |
| 3503 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p8"> | |
| 3504 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Man is like the angels in intellect generically, but the intellective power is much higher in the angel than in man. Consequently | |
| 3505 these movements must be ascribed to souls and angels in different ways, according as they are differently related to uniformity. | |
| 3506 For the angelic intellect has uniform knowledge in two respects. First, because it does not acquire intelligible truth from | |
| 3507 the variety of composite objects; secondly, because it understands the | |
| 3508 truth of intelligible objects not discursively, but by simple intuition. On the other hand, the intellect of the soul acquires | |
| 3509 intelligible truth from sensible objects, and understands it by a certain discoursing of the reason. | |
| 3510 </p> | |
| 3511 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p9"> Wherefore Dionysius assigns the "circular" movement of the angels to the fact that their intuition of God is uniform and | |
| 3512 unceasing, having neither beginning nor end: even as a circular movement having neither beginning nor end is uniformly around | |
| 3513 the one same center. But on the part of the soul, ere it arrive at this uniformity, its twofold lack of uniformity needs to | |
| 3514 be removed. First, that which arises from the variety of external things: this is removed by the soul | |
| 3515 withdrawing from externals, and so the first thing he mentions regarding the circular movement of the soul is "the soul's | |
| 3516 withdrawal into itself from external objects." Secondly, another lack of uniformity requires to be removed from the soul, | |
| 3517 and this is owing to the discoursing of reason. This is done by directing all the soul's operations to the simple contemplation | |
| 3518 of the intelligible truth, and this is indicated by his saying in the second place that "the soul's intellectual powers must | |
| 3519 be | |
| 3520 uniformly concentrated," in other words that discoursing must be laid aside and the soul's gaze fixed on the contemplation | |
| 3521 of the one simple truth. In this operation of the soul there is no error, even as there is clearly no error in the understanding | |
| 3522 of first principles which we know by simple intuition. Afterwards these two things being done, he mentions thirdly the uniformity | |
| 3523 which is like that of the angels, for then all things being laid aside, the soul continues in the contemplation of | |
| 3524 God alone. This he expresses by saying: "Then being thus made uniform unitedly," i.e. conformably, "by the union of its powers, | |
| 3525 it is conducted to the good and the beautiful." The "straight" movement of the angel cannot apply to his proceeding from one | |
| 3526 thing to another by considering them, but only to the order of his providence, namely to the fact that the higher angel enlightens | |
| 3527 the lower angels through the angels that are intermediate. He indicates this when he says: "The angel's movement | |
| 3528 takes a straight line when he proceeds to the care of things subject to him, taking in his course whatever things are direct," | |
| 3529 i.e. in keeping with the dispositions of the direct order. Whereas he ascribes the "straight" movement in the soul to the | |
| 3530 soul's proceeding from exterior sensibles to the knowledge of intelligible objects. The "oblique" movement in the angels he | |
| 3531 describes as being composed of the straight and circular movements, inasmuch as their care for those beneath them is in | |
| 3532 accordance with their contemplation of God: while the "oblique" movement in the soul he also declares to be partly straight | |
| 3533 and partly circular, in so far as in reasoning it makes use of the light received from God. | |
| 3534 </p> | |
| 3535 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p10"> | |
| 3536 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> These varieties of movement that are taken from the distinction between above and below, right and left, forwards and backwards, | |
| 3537 and from varying circles, are all comprised under either straight and oblique movement, because they all denote discursions | |
| 3538 of reason. For if the reason pass from the genus to the species, or from the part to the whole, it will be, as he explains, | |
| 3539 from above to below: if from one opposite to another, it will be from right to | |
| 3540 left; if from the cause to the effect, it will be backwards and forwards; if it be about accidents that surround a thing near | |
| 3541 at hand or far remote, the movement will be circular. The discoursing of reason from sensible to intelligible objects, if | |
| 3542 it be according to the order of natural reason, belongs to the straight movement; but if it be according to the Divine enlightenment, | |
| 3543 it will belong to the oblique movement as explained above (ad 2). That alone which he describes as immobility belongs | |
| 3544 to the circular movement. | |
| 3545 </p> | |
| 3546 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p11"> Wherefore it is evident that Dionysius describes the movement of contemplation with much greater fulness and depth.</p> | |
| 3547 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p12"></p> | |
| 3548 <p id="SS_Q180_A6-p13"></p> | |
| 3549 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A5.html"></a> | |
| 3550 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A7.html"></a> | |
| 3551 </div> | |
| 3552 <div id="SS_Q180_A7" class="div4"> | |
| 3553 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A6.html"></a> | |
| 3554 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A8.html"></a> | |
| 3555 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A7-p0.1">Whether there is delight in contemplation?</h4> | |
| 3556 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p1"></p> | |
| 3557 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p2"> | |
| 3558 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that there is no delight in contemplation. For delight belongs to the appetitive power; whereas contemplation | |
| 3559 resides chiefly in the intellect. Therefore it would seem that there is no delight in contemplation. | |
| 3560 </p> | |
| 3561 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p3"> | |
| 3562 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, all strife and struggle is a hindrance to delight. Now there is strife and struggle in contemplation. For Gregory | |
| 3563 says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "when the soul strives to contemplate God, it is in a state of struggle; at one time it almost | |
| 3564 overcomes, because by understanding and feeling it tastes something of the incomprehensible light, and at another time it | |
| 3565 almost succumbs, because even while tasting, it fails." Therefore there is no delight in | |
| 3566 contemplation. | |
| 3567 </p> | |
| 3568 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p4"> | |
| 3569 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, delight is the result of a perfect operation, as stated in Ethic. x, 4. Now the contemplation of wayfarers is imperfect, | |
| 3570 according to | |
| 3571 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.12" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:12, </a> "We see now through a glass in a dark manner." Therefore seemingly there is no delight in the contemplative life. | |
| 3572 </p> | |
| 3573 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p5"> | |
| 3574 <b>Objection 4:</b> Further, a lesion of the body is an obstacle to delight. Now contemplation causes a lesion of the body; wherefore it is stated | |
| 3575 ( | |
| 3576 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Gen.32" target="asv">Gn. 32</a>) that after Jacob had said ( | |
| 3577 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p5.2" href="./asv.html#Gen.32.30" target="asv">Gn. 32:30</a>), "'I have seen God face to face' . . . he halted on his foot ( | |
| 3578 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p5.3" href="./asv.html#Gen.32.31" target="asv">Gn. 32:31</a>) . . . because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank" ( | |
| 3579 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p5.4" href="./asv.html#Gen.32.32" target="asv">Gn. 32:32</a>). Therefore seemingly there is no delight in contemplation. | |
| 3580 </p> | |
| 3581 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p6"> | |
| 3582 <b>On the contrary,</b> It is written of the contemplation of wisdom ( | |
| 3583 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p6.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.8.16" target="asv">Wis. 8:16</a>): "Her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness": and Gregory says (Hom. xiv | |
| 3584 in Ezech.) that "the contemplative life is sweetness exceedingly lovable." | |
| 3585 </p> | |
| 3586 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p7"> | |
| 3587 <b>I answer that,</b> There may be delight in any particular contemplation in two ways. First by reason of the operation itself [*Cf. | |
| 3588 <a id="SS_Q180_A7-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q3_A5.html">FS, Q[3], A[5]</a>], because each individual delights in the operation which befits him according to his own nature or habit. Now contemplation | |
| 3589 of the truth befits a man according to his nature as a rational animal: the result being that "all men naturally desire to | |
| 3590 know," so that consequently they delight in the knowledge of | |
| 3591 truth. And more delightful still does this become to one who has the habit of wisdom and knowledge, the result of which is | |
| 3592 that he contemplates without difficulty. Secondly, contemplation may be delightful on the part of its object, in so far as | |
| 3593 one contemplates that which one loves; even as bodily vision gives pleasure, not only because to see is pleasurable in itself, | |
| 3594 but because one sees a person whom one loves. Since, then, the contemplative life consists chiefly in the contemplation of | |
| 3595 God, of which charity is the motive, as stated above ( | |
| 3596 <a id="SS_Q180_A7-p7.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html">AA[1]</a>,2, ad 1), it follows that there is delight in the contemplative life, not only by reason of the contemplation itself, but | |
| 3597 also by reason of the Divine love. | |
| 3598 </p> | |
| 3599 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p8"> In both respects the delight thereof surpasses all human delight, both because spiritual delight is greater than carnal pleasure, | |
| 3600 as stated above ( | |
| 3601 <a id="SS_Q180_A7-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q31_A5.html">FS, Q[31], A[5]</a>), when we were treating of the passions, and because the love whereby God is loved out of charity surpasses all love. Hence | |
| 3602 it is written ( | |
| 3603 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p8.2" href="./asv.html#Ps.33.9" target="asv">Ps. 33:9</a>): "O taste and see that the Lord is sweet." | |
| 3604 </p> | |
| 3605 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p9"> | |
| 3606 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Although the contemplative life consists chiefly in an act of the intellect, it has its beginning in the appetite, since | |
| 3607 it is through charity that one is urged to the contemplation of God. And since the end corresponds to the beginning, it follows | |
| 3608 that the term also and the end of the contemplative life has its being in the appetite, since one delights in seeing the object | |
| 3609 loved, and the very delight in the object seen arouses a yet greater love. | |
| 3610 Wherefore Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "when we see one whom we love, we are so aflame as to love him more." And | |
| 3611 this is the ultimate perfection of the contemplative life, namely that the Divine truth be not only seen but also loved. | |
| 3612 </p> | |
| 3613 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p10"> | |
| 3614 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Strife or struggle arising from the opposition of an external thing, hinders delight in that thing. For a man delights not | |
| 3615 in a thing against which he strives: but in that for which he strives; when he has obtained it, other things being equal, | |
| 3616 he delights yet more: wherefore Augustine says (Confess. viii, 3) that "the more peril there was in the battle, the greater | |
| 3617 the joy in the triumph." But there is no strife or struggle in contemplation on the | |
| 3618 part of the truth which we contemplate, though there is on the part of our defective understanding and our corruptible body | |
| 3619 which drags us down to lower things, according to | |
| 3620 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Wis.9.15" target="asv"> Wis. 9:15, </a> "The corruptible body ss a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things." | |
| 3621 Hence it is that when man attains to the contemplation of truth, he loves it yet more, while he hates the more his own deficiency | |
| 3622 and the weight of his corruptible | |
| 3623 body, so as to say with the Apostle ( | |
| 3624 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p10.2" href="./asv.html#Rom.7.24" target="asv">Rom. 7:24</a>): "Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Wherefore Gregory say (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): | |
| 3625 "When God is once known by desire and understanding, He withers all carnal pleasure in us." | |
| 3626 </p> | |
| 3627 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p11"> | |
| 3628 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The contemplation of God in this life is imperfect in comparison with the contemplation in heaven; and in like manner the | |
| 3629 delight of the wayfarer's contemplation is imperfect as compared with the delight of contemplation in heaven, of which it | |
| 3630 is written ( | |
| 3631 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A7-p11.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.35.9" target="asv">Ps. 35:9</a>): "Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure." Yet, though the contemplation of Divine things which is to | |
| 3632 be had by wayfarers is imperfect, it is more | |
| 3633 delightful than all other contemplation however perfect, on account of the excellence of that which is contemplated. Hence | |
| 3634 the Philosopher says (De Part. Animal. i, 5): "We may happen to have our own little theories about those sublime beings and | |
| 3635 godlike substances, and though we grasp them but feebly, nevertheless so elevating is the knowledge that they give us more | |
| 3636 delight than any of those things that are round about us": and Gregory says in the same sense (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "The | |
| 3637 contemplative life is sweetness exceedingly lovable; for it carries the soul away above itself, it opens heaven and discovers | |
| 3638 the spiritual world to the eyes of the mind." | |
| 3639 </p> | |
| 3640 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p12"> | |
| 3641 <b>Reply to Objection 4:</b> After contemplation Jacob halted with one foot, "because we need to grow weak in the love of the world ere we wax strong | |
| 3642 in the love of God," as Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.). "Thus when we have known the sweetness of God, we have one foot | |
| 3643 sound while the other halts; since every one who halts on one foot leans only on that foot which is sound." | |
| 3644 </p> | |
| 3645 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p13"></p> | |
| 3646 <p id="SS_Q180_A7-p14"></p> | |
| 3647 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A6.html"></a> | |
| 3648 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A8.html"></a> | |
| 3649 </div> | |
| 3650 <div id="SS_Q180_A8" class="div4"> | |
| 3651 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A7.html"></a> | |
| 3652 <a href="summa.SS_Q181.html"></a> | |
| 3653 <h4 id="SS_Q180_A8-p0.1">Whether the contemplative life is continuous?</h4> | |
| 3654 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p1"></p> | |
| 3655 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p2"> | |
| 3656 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the contemplative life is not continuous. For the contemplative life consists essentially in things pertaining | |
| 3657 to the intellect. Now all the intellectual perfections of this life will be made void, according to | |
| 3658 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A8-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.13.8" target="asv">1 Cor. 13:8, </a> "Whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed." Therefore the contemplative | |
| 3659 life is made void. | |
| 3660 </p> | |
| 3661 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p3"> | |
| 3662 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, a man tastes the sweetness of contemplation by snatches and for a short time only: wherefore Augustine says (Confess. | |
| 3663 x, 40), "Thou admittest me to a most unwonted affection in my inmost soul, to a strange sweetness . . . yet through my grievous | |
| 3664 weight I sink down again." Again, Gregory commenting on the words of | |
| 3665 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A8-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Job.4.15" target="asv"> Job 4:15, </a> "When a spirit passed before me," says (Moral. v, 33): "The mind does not remain long at rest in the | |
| 3666 sweetness of inward contemplation, for it is recalled to itself and beaten back by the very immensity of the light." Therefore | |
| 3667 the contemplative life is not continuous. | |
| 3668 </p> | |
| 3669 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p4"> | |
| 3670 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, that which is not connatural to man cannot be continuous. Now the contemplative life, according to the Philosopher | |
| 3671 (Ethic. x, 7), "is better than the life which is according to man." Therefore seemingly the contemplative life is not continuous. | |
| 3672 </p> | |
| 3673 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p5"> | |
| 3674 <b>On the contrary,</b> our Lord said ( | |
| 3675 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q180_A8-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.42" target="asv">Lk. 10:42</a>): "Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her," since as Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.), "the | |
| 3676 contemplative life begins here so that it may be perfected in our heavenly home." | |
| 3677 </p> | |
| 3678 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p6"> | |
| 3679 <b>I answer that,</b> A thing may be described as continuous in two ways: first, in regard to its nature; secondly, in regard to us. It is evident | |
| 3680 that in regard to itself contemplative life is continuous for two reasons: first, because it is about incorruptible and unchangeable | |
| 3681 things; secondly, because it has no contrary, for there is nothing contrary to the pleasure of contemplation, as stated in | |
| 3682 Topic. i, 13. But even in our regard contemplative life is continuous---both | |
| 3683 because it is competent to us in respect of the incorruptible part of the soul, namely the intellect, wherefore it can endure | |
| 3684 after this life---and because in the works of the contemplative life we work not with our bodies, so that we are the more | |
| 3685 able to persevere in the works thereof, as the Philosopher observes (Ethic. x, 7). | |
| 3686 </p> | |
| 3687 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p7"> | |
| 3688 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The manner of contemplation is not the same here as in heaven: yet the contemplative life is said to remain by reason of | |
| 3689 charity, wherein it has both its beginning and its end. Gregory speaks in this sense (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "The contemplative | |
| 3690 life begins here, so as to be perfected in our heavenly home, because the fire of love which begins to burn here is aflame | |
| 3691 with a yet greater love when we see Him Whom we love." | |
| 3692 </p> | |
| 3693 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p8"> | |
| 3694 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> No action can last long at its highest pitch. Now the highest point of contemplation is to reach the uniformity of Divine | |
| 3695 contemplation, according to Dionysius [*Cf. Coel. Hier. iii], and as we have stated above (A[6], ad 2). Hence although contemplation | |
| 3696 cannot last long in this respect, it can be of long duration as regards the other contemplative acts. | |
| 3697 </p> | |
| 3698 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p9"> | |
| 3699 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> The Philosopher declares the contemplative life to be above man, because it befits us "so far as there is in us something | |
| 3700 divine" (Ethic. x, 7), namely the intellect, which is incorruptible and impassible in itself, wherefore its act can endure | |
| 3701 longer. | |
| 3702 </p> | |
| 3703 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p10"></p> | |
| 3704 <p id="SS_Q180_A8-p11"></p> | |
| 3705 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A7.html"></a> | |
| 3706 <a href="summa.SS_Q181.html"></a> | |
| 3707 </div> | |
| 3708 <a href="summa.SS_Q179_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3709 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3710 </div> | |
| 3711 <div id="SS_Q181" class="div3"> | |
| 3712 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A8.html"></a> | |
| 3713 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3714 <h3 id="SS_Q181-p0.1">OF THE ACTIVE LIFE (FOUR ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 3715 <p id="SS_Q181-p1"></p> | |
| 3716 <p id="SS_Q181-p2"> We must now consider the active life, under which head there are four points of inquiry:</p> | |
| 3717 <p id="SS_Q181-p3"> (1) Whether all the works of the moral virtues pertain to the active life?</p> | |
| 3718 <p id="SS_Q181-p4"> (2) Whether prudence pertains to the active life?</p> | |
| 3719 <p id="SS_Q181-p5"> (3) Whether teaching pertains to the active life?</p> | |
| 3720 <p id="SS_Q181-p6"> (4) Of the duration of the active life.</p> | |
| 3721 <div id="SS_Q181_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 3722 <a href="summa.SS_Q181.html"></a> | |
| 3723 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3724 <h4 id="SS_Q181_A1-p0.1">Whether all the actions of the moral virtues pertain to the active life?</h4> | |
| 3725 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 3726 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p2"> | |
| 3727 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the acts of the moral virtues do not all pertain to the active life. For seemingly the active life regards | |
| 3728 only our relations with other persons: hence Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "the active life is to give bread to the | |
| 3729 hungry," and after mentioning many things that regard our relations with other people he adds finally, "and to give to each | |
| 3730 and every one whatever he needs." Now we are directed in our relations to others, not by | |
| 3731 all the acts of moral virtues, but only by those of justice and its parts, as stated above (Q[58], AA[2],8; | |
| 3732 <a id="SS_Q181_A1-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q60_A2.html">FS, Q[60], AA[2]</a>,3). Therefore the acts of the moral virtues do not all pertain to the active life. | |
| 3733 </p> | |
| 3734 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p3"> | |
| 3735 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that Lia who was blear-eyed but fruitful signifies the active life: which "being | |
| 3736 occupied with work, sees less, and yet since it urges one's neighbor both by word and example to its imitation it begets a | |
| 3737 numerous offspring of good deeds." Now this would seem to belong to charity, whereby we love our neighbor, rather than to | |
| 3738 the moral virtues. Therefore seemingly the acts of moral virtue do not pertain to the active | |
| 3739 life. | |
| 3740 </p> | |
| 3741 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p4"> | |
| 3742 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, as stated above ( | |
| 3743 <a id="SS_Q181_A1-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A2.html">Q[180], A[2]</a>), the moral virtues dispose one to the contemplative life. Now disposition and perfection belong to the same thing. Therefore | |
| 3744 it would seem that the moral virtues do not pertain to the active life. | |
| 3745 </p> | |
| 3746 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p5"> | |
| 3747 <b>On the contrary,</b> Isidore says (De Summo Bono iii, 15): "In the active life all vices must first of all be extirpated by the practice of good | |
| 3748 works, in order that in the contemplative life the mind's eye being purified one may advance to the contemplation of the Divine | |
| 3749 light." Now all vices are not extirpated save by acts of the moral virtues. Therefore the acts of the moral virtues pertain | |
| 3750 to the active life. | |
| 3751 </p> | |
| 3752 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p6"> | |
| 3753 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 3754 <a id="SS_Q181_A1-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q179_A1.html">Q[179], A[1]</a>) the active and the contemplative life differ according to the different occupations of men intent on different ends: one | |
| 3755 of which occupations is the consideration of the truth; and this is the end of the contemplative life, while the other is | |
| 3756 external work to which the active life is directed. | |
| 3757 </p> | |
| 3758 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p7"> Now it is evident that the moral virtues are directed chiefly, not to the contemplation of truth but to operation. Wherefore | |
| 3759 the Philosopher says (Ethic. ii, 4) that "for virtue knowledge is of little or no avail." Hence it is clear that the moral | |
| 3760 virtues belong essentially to the active life; for which reason the Philosopher (Ethic. x, 8) subordinates the moral virtues | |
| 3761 to active happiness. | |
| 3762 </p> | |
| 3763 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p8"> | |
| 3764 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The chief of the moral virtues is justice by which one man is directed in his relations towards another, as the Philosopher | |
| 3765 proves (Ethic. v, 1). Hence the active life is described with reference to our relations with other people, because it consists | |
| 3766 in these things, not exclusively, but principally. | |
| 3767 </p> | |
| 3768 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p9"> | |
| 3769 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> It is possible, by the acts of all the moral virtues, for one to direct one's neighbor to good by example: and this is what | |
| 3770 Gregory here ascribes to the active life. | |
| 3771 </p> | |
| 3772 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p10"> | |
| 3773 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Even as the virtue that is directed to the end of another virtue passes, as it were, into the species of the latter virtue, | |
| 3774 so again when a man makes use of things pertaining to the active life, merely as dispositions to contemplation, such things | |
| 3775 are comprised under the contemplative life. On the other hand, when we practice the works of the moral virtues, as being good | |
| 3776 in themselves, and not as dispositions to the contemplative life, the moral | |
| 3777 virtues belong to the active life. | |
| 3778 </p> | |
| 3779 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p11"> It may also be replied, however, that the active life is a disposition to the contemplative life.</p> | |
| 3780 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p12"></p> | |
| 3781 <p id="SS_Q181_A1-p13"></p> | |
| 3782 <a href="summa.SS_Q181.html"></a> | |
| 3783 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3784 </div> | |
| 3785 <div id="SS_Q181_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 3786 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3787 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3788 <h4 id="SS_Q181_A2-p0.1">Whether prudence pertains to the active life?</h4> | |
| 3789 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 3790 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p2"> | |
| 3791 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that prudence does not pertain to the active life. For just as the contemplative life belongs to the cognitive | |
| 3792 power, so the active life belongs to the appetitive power. Now prudence belongs not to the appetitive but to the cognitive | |
| 3793 power. Therefore prudence does not belong to the active life. | |
| 3794 </p> | |
| 3795 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p3"> | |
| 3796 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that the "active life being occupied with work, sees less," wherefore it is signified | |
| 3797 by Lia who was blear-eyed. But prudence requires clear eyes, so that one may judge aright of what has to be done. Therefore | |
| 3798 it seems that prudence does not pertain to the active life. | |
| 3799 </p> | |
| 3800 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p4"> | |
| 3801 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, prudence stands between the moral and the intellectual virtues. Now just as the moral virtues belong to the active | |
| 3802 life, as stated above | |
| 3803 <a id="SS_Q181_A2-p4.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html">(A[1])</a>, so do the intellectual virtues pertain to the contemplative life. Therefore it would seem that prudence pertains neither | |
| 3804 to the active nor to the contemplative life, but to an intermediate kind of life, of which Augustine makes mention (De Civ. | |
| 3805 Dei xix, 2,3,19). | |
| 3806 </p> | |
| 3807 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p5"> | |
| 3808 <b>On the contrary,</b> The Philosopher says (Ethic. x, 8) that prudence pertains to active happiness, to which the moral virtues belong. | |
| 3809 </p> | |
| 3810 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p6"> | |
| 3811 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above (A[1], ad 3; | |
| 3812 <a id="SS_Q181_A2-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q18_A6.html">FS, Q[18], A[6]</a>), if one thing be directed to another as its end, it is drawn, especially in moral matters, to the species of the thing to | |
| 3813 which it is directed: for instance "he who commits adultery that he may steal, is a thief rather than an adulterer," according | |
| 3814 to the Philosopher (Ethic. v, 2). Now it is evident that the knowledge of prudence is directed to the works of the moral virtues | |
| 3815 as its end, | |
| 3816 since it is "right reason applied to action" (Ethic. vi, 5); so that the ends of the moral virtues are the principles of prudence, | |
| 3817 as the Philosopher says in the same book. Accordingly, as it was stated above (A[1], ad 3) that the moral virtues in one who | |
| 3818 directs them to the quiet of contemplation belong to the contemplative life, so the knowledge of prudence, which is of itself | |
| 3819 directed to the works of the moral virtues, belongs directly to the active life, provided we take prudence in its | |
| 3820 proper sense as the Philosopher speaks of it. | |
| 3821 </p> | |
| 3822 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p7"> If, however, we take it in a more general sense, as comprising any kind of human knowledge, then prudence, as regards a certain | |
| 3823 part thereof, belongs to the contemplative life. In this sense Tully (De Offic. i, 5) says that "the man who is able most | |
| 3824 clearly and quickly to grasp the truth and to unfold his reasons, is wont to be considered most prudent and wise." | |
| 3825 </p> | |
| 3826 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p8"> | |
| 3827 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Moral works take their species from their end, as stated above ( | |
| 3828 <a id="SS_Q181_A2-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q18_A4.html">FS, Q[18], AA[4]</a>,6), wherefore the knowledge pertaining to the contemplative life is that which has its end in the very knowledge of truth; | |
| 3829 whereas the knowledge of prudence, through having its end in an act of the appetitive power, belongs to the active life. | |
| 3830 </p> | |
| 3831 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p9"> | |
| 3832 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> External occupation makes a man see less in intelligible things, which are separated from sensible objects with which the | |
| 3833 works of the active life are concerned. Nevertheless the external occupation of the active life enables a man to see more | |
| 3834 clearly in judging of what is to be done, which belongs to prudence, both on account of experience, and on account of the | |
| 3835 mind's attention, since "brains avail when the mind is attentive" as Sallust observes | |
| 3836 [*Bell. Catilin., LI]. | |
| 3837 </p> | |
| 3838 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p10"> | |
| 3839 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Prudence is said to be intermediate between the intellectual and the moral virtues because it resides in the same subject | |
| 3840 as the intellectual virtues, and has absolutely the same matter as the moral virtues. But this third kind of life is intermediate | |
| 3841 between the active and the contemplative life as regards the things about which it is occupied, because it is occupied sometimes | |
| 3842 with the contemplation of the truth, sometimes with eternal things. | |
| 3843 </p> | |
| 3844 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p11"></p> | |
| 3845 <p id="SS_Q181_A2-p12"></p> | |
| 3846 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3847 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3848 </div> | |
| 3849 <div id="SS_Q181_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 3850 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3851 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3852 <h4 id="SS_Q181_A3-p0.1">Whether teaching is a work of the active or of the contemplative life?</h4> | |
| 3853 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 3854 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p2"> | |
| 3855 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that teaching is a work not of the active but of the contemplative life. For Gregory says (Hom. v in Ezech.) | |
| 3856 that "the perfect who have been able to contemplate heavenly goods, at least through a glass, proclaim them to their brethren, | |
| 3857 whose minds they inflame with love for their hidden beauty." But this pertains to teaching. Therefore teaching is a work of | |
| 3858 the contemplative life. | |
| 3859 </p> | |
| 3860 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p3"> | |
| 3861 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, act and habit would seem to be referable to the same kind of life. Now teaching is an act of wisdom: for the Philosopher | |
| 3862 says (Metaph. i, 1) that "to be able to teach is an indication of knowledge." Therefore since wisdom or knowledge pertain | |
| 3863 to the contemplative life, it would seem that teaching also belongs to the contemplative life. | |
| 3864 </p> | |
| 3865 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p4"> | |
| 3866 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, prayer, no less than contemplation, is an act of the contemplative life. Now prayer, even when one prays for another, | |
| 3867 belongs to the contemplative life. Therefore it would seem that it belongs also to the contemplative life to acquaint another, | |
| 3868 by teaching him, of the truth we have meditated. | |
| 3869 </p> | |
| 3870 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p5"> | |
| 3871 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "The active life is to give bread to the hungry, to teach the ignorant the words of wisdom." | |
| 3872 </p> | |
| 3873 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p6"> | |
| 3874 <b>I answer that,</b> The act of teaching has a twofold object. For teaching is conveyed by speech, and speech is the audible sign of the interior | |
| 3875 concept. Accordingly one object of teaching is the matter or object of the interior concept; and as to this object teaching | |
| 3876 belongs sometimes to the active, sometimes to the contemplative life. It belongs to the active life, when a man conceives | |
| 3877 a truth inwardly, so as to be directed thereby in his outward action; but it belongs to the | |
| 3878 contemplative life when a man conceives an intelligible truth, in the consideration and love whereof he delights. Hence Augustine | |
| 3879 says (De Verb. Dom. Serm. civ, 1): "Let them choose for themselves the better part," namely the contemplative life, "let them | |
| 3880 be busy with the word, long for the sweetness of teaching, occupy themselves with salutary knowledge," thus stating clearly | |
| 3881 that teaching belongs to the contemplative life. | |
| 3882 </p> | |
| 3883 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p7"> The other object of teaching is on the part of the speech heard, and thus the object of teaching is the hearer. As to this | |
| 3884 object all doctrine belongs to the active life to which external actions pertain. | |
| 3885 </p> | |
| 3886 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p8"> | |
| 3887 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The authority quoted speaks expressly of doctrine as to its matter, in so far as it is concerned with the consideration and | |
| 3888 love of truth. | |
| 3889 </p> | |
| 3890 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p9"> | |
| 3891 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Habit and act have a common object. Hence this argument clearly considers the matter of the interior concept. For it pertains | |
| 3892 to the man having wisdom and knowledge to be able to teach, in so far as he is able to express his interior concept in words, | |
| 3893 so as to bring another man to understand the truth. | |
| 3894 </p> | |
| 3895 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p10"> | |
| 3896 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> He who prays for another does nothing towards the man for whom he prays, but only towards God Who is the intelligible truth; | |
| 3897 whereas he who teaches another does something in his regard by external action. Hence the comparison fails. | |
| 3898 </p> | |
| 3899 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p11"></p> | |
| 3900 <p id="SS_Q181_A3-p12"></p> | |
| 3901 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3902 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3903 </div> | |
| 3904 <div id="SS_Q181_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 3905 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3906 <a href="summa.SS_Q182.html"></a> | |
| 3907 <h4 id="SS_Q181_A4-p0.1">Whether the active life remains after this life?</h4> | |
| 3908 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 3909 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p2"> | |
| 3910 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the active life remains after this life. For the acts of the moral virtues belong to the active life, | |
| 3911 as stated above | |
| 3912 <a id="SS_Q181_A4-p2.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html">(A[1])</a>. But the moral virtues endure after this life according to Augustine (De Trin. xiv, 9). Therefore the active life remains | |
| 3913 after this life. | |
| 3914 </p> | |
| 3915 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p3"> | |
| 3916 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, teaching others belongs to the active life, as stated above | |
| 3917 <a id="SS_Q181_A4-p3.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q181_A3.html">(A[3])</a>. But in the life to come when "we shall be like the angels," teaching will be possible: even as apparently it is in the angels | |
| 3918 of whom one "enlightens, cleanses, and perfects" [*Coel. Hier. iii, viii] another, which refers to the "receiving of knowledge," | |
| 3919 according to Dionysius (Coel. Hier. vii). Therefore it would seem that the active life remains after this | |
| 3920 life. | |
| 3921 </p> | |
| 3922 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p4"> | |
| 3923 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, the more lasting a thing is in itself, the more is it able to endure after this life. But the active life is seemingly | |
| 3924 more lasting in itself: for Gregory says (Hom. v in Ezech.) that "we can remain fixed in the active life, whereas we are nowise | |
| 3925 able to maintain an attentive mind in the contemplative life." Therefore the active life is much more able than the contemplative | |
| 3926 to endure after this life. | |
| 3927 </p> | |
| 3928 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p5"> | |
| 3929 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "The active life ends with this world, but the contemplative life begins here, to be perfected | |
| 3930 in our heavenly home." | |
| 3931 </p> | |
| 3932 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p6"> | |
| 3933 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above | |
| 3934 <a id="SS_Q181_A4-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html">(A[1])</a>, the active life has its end in external actions: and if these be referred to the quiet of contemplation, for that very reason | |
| 3935 they belong to the contemplative life. But in the future life of the blessed the occupation of external actions will cease, | |
| 3936 and if there be any external actions at all, these will be referred to contemplation as their end. For, as Augustine says | |
| 3937 at the end of De Civitate Dei xxii, 30, | |
| 3938 "there we shall rest and we shall see, we shall see and love, we shall love and praise." And he had said before (De Civ. Dei | |
| 3939 xxii, 30) that "there God will be seen without end, loved without wearying, praised without tiring: such will be the occupation | |
| 3940 of all, the common love, the universal activity." | |
| 3941 </p> | |
| 3942 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p7"> | |
| 3943 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> As stated above ( | |
| 3944 <a id="SS_Q181_A4-p7.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q136_A1.html">Q[136], A[1]</a>, ad 1), the moral virtues will remain not as to those actions which are about the means, but as to the actions which are | |
| 3945 about the end. Such acts are those that conduce to the quiet of contemplation, which in the words quoted above Augustine denotes | |
| 3946 by "rest," and this rest excludes not only outward disturbances but also the inward disturbance of the passions. | |
| 3947 </p> | |
| 3948 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p8"> | |
| 3949 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The contemplative life, as stated above ( | |
| 3950 <a id="SS_Q181_A4-p8.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A4.html">Q[180], A[4]</a>), consists chiefly in the contemplation of God, and as to this, one angel does not teach another, since according to | |
| 3951 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q181_A4-p8.2" href="./asv.html#Matt.18.10" target="asv"> Mat. 18:10, </a> "the little ones' angels," who belong to the lower order, "always see the face of the Father"; and so, in the life to come, | |
| 3952 no man will teach another of God, but "we shall" all "see Him as He is" ( | |
| 3953 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q181_A4-p8.3" href="./asv.html#iJohn.3.2" target="asv">1 Jn. | |
| 3954 3:2 | |
| 3955 </a>). This is in keeping with the saying of | |
| 3956 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q181_A4-p8.4" href="./asv.html#Jer.31.34" target="asv"> Jeremiah 31:34</a>: "They shall teach no more every man his neighbor . . . saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them | |
| 3957 even to the greatest." | |
| 3958 </p> | |
| 3959 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p9"> But as regards things pertaining to the "dispensation of the mysteries of God," one angel teaches another by cleansing, enlightening, | |
| 3960 and perfecting him: and thus they have something of the active life so long as the world lasts, from the fact that they are | |
| 3961 occupied in administering to the creatures below them. This is signified by the fact that Jacob saw angels "ascending" the | |
| 3962 ladder---which refers to contemplation---and "descending" ---which refers to action. Nevertheless, as | |
| 3963 Gregory remarks (Moral. ii, 3), "they do not wander abroad from the Divine vision, so as to be deprived of the joys of inward | |
| 3964 contemplation." Hence in them the active life does not differ from the contemplative life as it does in us for whom the works | |
| 3965 of the active life are a hindrance to contemplation. | |
| 3966 </p> | |
| 3967 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p10"> Nor is the likeness to the angels promised to us as regards the administering to lower creatures, for this is competent to | |
| 3968 us not by reason of our natural order, as it is to the angels, but by reason of our seeing God. | |
| 3969 </p> | |
| 3970 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p11"> | |
| 3971 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> That the durability of the active life in the present state surpasses the durability of the contemplative life arises not | |
| 3972 from any property of either life considered in itself, but from our own deficiency, since we are withheld from the heights | |
| 3973 of contemplation by the weight of the body. Hence Gregory adds (Moral. ii, 3) that "the mind through its very weakness being | |
| 3974 repelled from that immense height recoils on itself." | |
| 3975 </p> | |
| 3976 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p12"></p> | |
| 3977 <p id="SS_Q181_A4-p13"></p> | |
| 3978 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A3.html"></a> | |
| 3979 <a href="summa.SS_Q182.html"></a> | |
| 3980 </div> | |
| 3981 <a href="summa.SS_Q180_A8.html"></a> | |
| 3982 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3983 </div> | |
| 3984 <div id="SS_Q182" class="div3"> | |
| 3985 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A4.html"></a> | |
| 3986 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A1.html"></a> | |
| 3987 <h3 id="SS_Q182-p0.1">OF THE ACTIVE LIFE IN COMPARISON WITH THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE (FOUR ARTICLES)</h3> | |
| 3988 <p id="SS_Q182-p1"></p> | |
| 3989 <p id="SS_Q182-p2"> We must now consider the active life in comparison with the contemplative life, under which head there are four points of | |
| 3990 inquiry: | |
| 3991 </p> | |
| 3992 <p id="SS_Q182-p3"> (1) Which of them is of greater import or excellence?</p> | |
| 3993 <p id="SS_Q182-p4"> (2) Which of them has the greater merit?</p> | |
| 3994 <p id="SS_Q182-p5"> (3) Whether the contemplative life is hindered by the active life?</p> | |
| 3995 <p id="SS_Q182-p6"> (4) Of their order.</p> | |
| 3996 <div id="SS_Q182_A1" class="div4"> | |
| 3997 <a href="summa.SS_Q182.html"></a> | |
| 3998 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A2.html"></a> | |
| 3999 <h4 id="SS_Q182_A1-p0.1">Whether the active life is more excellent than the contemplative?</h4> | |
| 4000 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p1"></p> | |
| 4001 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p2"> | |
| 4002 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the active life is more excellent than the contemplative. For "that which belongs to better men would | |
| 4003 seem to be worthier and better," as the Philosopher says (Top. iii, 1). Now the active life belongs to persons of higher rank, | |
| 4004 namely prelates, who are placed in a position of honor and power; wherefore Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xix, 19) that "in | |
| 4005 our actions we must not love honor or power in this life." Therefore it would seem that the | |
| 4006 active life is more excellent than the contemplative. | |
| 4007 </p> | |
| 4008 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p3"> | |
| 4009 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, in all habits and acts, direction belongs to the more important; thus the military art, being the more important, | |
| 4010 directs the art of the bridle-maker [*Ethic. i, 1]. Now it belongs to the active life to direct and command the contemplative, | |
| 4011 as appears from the words addressed to Moses ( | |
| 4012 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p3.1" href="./asv.html#Exod.19.21" target="asv">Ex. 19:21</a>), "Go down and charge the people, lest they should have a mind to pass the" fixed "limits to see the Lord." Therefore the | |
| 4013 active life is | |
| 4014 more excellent than the contemplative. | |
| 4015 </p> | |
| 4016 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p4"> | |
| 4017 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, no man should be taken away from a greater thing in order to be occupied with lesser things: for the Apostle says | |
| 4018 ( | |
| 4019 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p4.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.12.31" target="asv">1 Cor. 12:31</a>): "Be zealous for the better gifts." Now some are taken away from the state of the contemplative life to the occupations | |
| 4020 of the active life, as in the case of those who are transferred to the state of prelacy. Therefore it would seem that the | |
| 4021 active life is more excellent than the contemplative. | |
| 4022 </p> | |
| 4023 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p5"> | |
| 4024 <b>On the contrary,</b> Our Lord said ( | |
| 4025 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p5.1" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.42" target="asv">Lk. 10:42</a>): "Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her." Now Mary figures the contemplative life. Therefore | |
| 4026 the contemplative life is more excellent than the active. | |
| 4027 </p> | |
| 4028 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p6"> | |
| 4029 <b>I answer that,</b> Nothing prevents certain things being more excellent in themselves, whereas they are surpassed by another in some respect. | |
| 4030 Accordingly we must reply that the contemplative life is simply more excellent than the active: and the Philosopher proves | |
| 4031 this by eight reasons (Ethic. x, 7,8). The first is, because the contemplative life becomes man according to that which is | |
| 4032 best in him, namely the intellect, and according to its proper objects, namely things | |
| 4033 intelligible; whereas the active life is occupied with externals. Hence Rachael, by whom the contemplative life is signified, | |
| 4034 is interpreted "the vision of the principle," [*Or rather, 'One seeing the principle,' if derived from {rah} and {irzn}; Cf. | |
| 4035 Jerome, De Nom. Hebr.] whereas as Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37) the active life is signified by Lia who was blear-eyed. The | |
| 4036 second reason is because the contemplative life can be more continuous, although not as regards the highest degree of | |
| 4037 contemplation, as stated above ( | |
| 4038 <a id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q180_A8.html">Q[180], A[8]</a>, ad 2; | |
| 4039 <a id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.2" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q181_A4.html"> Q[181], A[4]</a>, ad 3), wherefore Mary, by whom the contemplative life is signified, is described as "sitting" all the time "at the Lord's | |
| 4040 feet." Thirdly, because the contemplative life is more delightful than the active; wherefore Augustine says (De Verb. Dom. | |
| 4041 Serm. ciii) that "Martha was troubled, but Mary feasted." Fourthly, because in the contemplative life man is more self-sufficient, | |
| 4042 since | |
| 4043 he needs fewer things for that purpose; wherefore it was said ( | |
| 4044 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.3" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.41" target="asv">Lk. 10:41</a>): "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things." Fifthly, because the contemplative life is loved | |
| 4045 more for its own sake, while the active life is directed to something else. Hence it is written ( | |
| 4046 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.4" href="./asv.html#Ps.36.4" target="asv">Ps. 36:4</a>): "One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of | |
| 4047 my life, that I may see the delight of the Lord." | |
| 4048 Sixthly, because the contemplative life consists in leisure and rest, according to | |
| 4049 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.5" href="./asv.html#Ps.45.11" target="asv"> Ps. 45:11, </a> "Be still and see that I am God." Seventhly, because the contemplative life is according to Divine things, whereas active | |
| 4050 life is according to human things; wherefore Augustine says (De Verb. Dom. Serm. civ): "'In the beginning was the Word': to | |
| 4051 Him was Mary hearkening: 'The Word was made flesh': Him was Martha serving." Eighthly, because the contemplative life is according | |
| 4052 to that | |
| 4053 which is most proper to man, namely his intellect; whereas in the works of the active life the lower powers also, which are | |
| 4054 common to us and brutes, have their part; wherefore ( | |
| 4055 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.6" href="./asv.html#Ps.35.7" target="asv">Ps. 35:7</a>) after the words, "Men and beasts Thou wilt preserve, O Lord," that which is special to man is added ( | |
| 4056 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p6.7" href="./asv.html#Ps.35.10" target="asv">Ps. 35:10</a>): "In Thy light we shall see light." | |
| 4057 </p> | |
| 4058 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p7"> Our Lord adds a ninth reason ( | |
| 4059 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A1-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.42" target="asv">Lk. 10:42</a>) when He says: "Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her," which words Augustine (De Verb. | |
| 4060 Dom. Serm. ciii) expounds thus: "Not---Thou hast chosen badly but---She has chosen better. Why better? Listen---because it | |
| 4061 shall not be taken away from her. But the burden of necessity shall at length be taken from thee: whereas the sweetness of | |
| 4062 truth is eternal." | |
| 4063 </p> | |
| 4064 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p8"> Yet in a restricted sense and in a particular case one should prefer the active life on account of the needs of the present | |
| 4065 life. Thus too the Philosopher says (Topic. iii, 2): "It is better to be wise than to be rich, yet for one who is in need, | |
| 4066 it is better to be rich . . ." | |
| 4067 </p> | |
| 4068 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p9"> | |
| 4069 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> Not only the active life concerns prelates, they should also excel in the contemplative life; hence Gregory says (Pastor. | |
| 4070 ii, 1): "A prelate should be foremost in action, more uplifted than others in contemplation." | |
| 4071 </p> | |
| 4072 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p10"> | |
| 4073 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> The contemplative life consists in a certain liberty of mind. For Gregory says (Hom. iii in Ezech.) that "the contemplative | |
| 4074 life obtains a certain freedom of mind, for it thinks not of temporal but of eternal things." And Boethius says (De Consol. | |
| 4075 v, 2): "The soul of man must needs be more free while it continues to gaze on the Divine mind, and less so when it stoops | |
| 4076 to bodily things." Wherefore it is evident that the active life does not directly | |
| 4077 command the contemplative life, but prescribes certain works of the active life as dispositions to the contemplative life; | |
| 4078 which it accordingly serves rather than commands. Gregory refers to this when he says (Hom. iii in Ezech.) that "the active | |
| 4079 life is bondage, whereas the contemplative life is freedom." | |
| 4080 </p> | |
| 4081 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p11"> | |
| 4082 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> Sometimes a man is called away from the contemplative life to the works of the active life, on account of some necessity | |
| 4083 of the present life, yet not so as to be compelled to forsake contemplation altogether. Hence Augustine says (De Civ. Dei | |
| 4084 xix, 19): "The love of truth seeks a holy leisure, the demands of charity undertake an honest toil," the work namely of the | |
| 4085 active life. "If no one imposes this burden upon us we must devote ourselves to the | |
| 4086 research and contemplation of truth, but if it be imposed on us, we must bear it because charity demands it of us. Yet even | |
| 4087 then we must not altogether forsake the delights of truth, lest we deprive ourselves of its sweetness, and this burden overwhelm | |
| 4088 us." Hence it is clear that when a person is called from the contemplative life to the active life, this is done by way not | |
| 4089 of subtraction but of addition. | |
| 4090 </p> | |
| 4091 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p12"></p> | |
| 4092 <p id="SS_Q182_A1-p13"></p> | |
| 4093 <a href="summa.SS_Q182.html"></a> | |
| 4094 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A2.html"></a> | |
| 4095 </div> | |
| 4096 <div id="SS_Q182_A2" class="div4"> | |
| 4097 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A1.html"></a> | |
| 4098 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A3.html"></a> | |
| 4099 <h4 id="SS_Q182_A2-p0.1">Whether the active life is of greater merit than the contemplative?</h4> | |
| 4100 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p1"></p> | |
| 4101 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p2"> | |
| 4102 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the active life is of greater merit than the contemplative. For merit implies relation to meed; and meed | |
| 4103 is due to labor, according to | |
| 4104 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p2.1" href="./asv.html#iCor.3.8" target="asv">1 Cor. 3:8, </a> "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." Now labor is ascribed to the active life, and rest to | |
| 4105 the contemplative life; for Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "Whosoever is converted to God must first of all sweat from | |
| 4106 labor, i.e. he must take Lia, | |
| 4107 that afterwards he may rest in the embraces of Rachel so as to see the principle." Therefore the active life is of greater | |
| 4108 merit than the contemplative. | |
| 4109 </p> | |
| 4110 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p3"> | |
| 4111 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, the contemplative life is a beginning of the happiness to come; wherefore Augustine commenting on | |
| 4112 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p3.1" href="./asv.html#John.21.22" target="asv"> Jn. 21:22, </a> "So I will have him to remain till I come," says (Tract. cxxiv in Joan.): "This may be expressed more clearly: Let perfect | |
| 4113 works follow Me conformed to the example of My passion, and let contemplation begun here remain until I come, that it may | |
| 4114 be perfected when I shall come." And Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that | |
| 4115 "contemplation begins here, so as to be perfected in our heavenly home." Now the life to come will be a state not of meriting | |
| 4116 but of receiving the reward of our merits. Therefore the contemplative life would seem to have less of the character of merit | |
| 4117 than the active, but more of the character of reward. | |
| 4118 </p> | |
| 4119 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p4"> | |
| 4120 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xii in Ezech.) that "no sacrifice is more acceptable to God than zeal for souls." Now by the | |
| 4121 zeal for souls a man turns to the occupations of the active life. Therefore it would seem that the contemplative life is not | |
| 4122 of greater merit than the active. | |
| 4123 </p> | |
| 4124 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p5"> | |
| 4125 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37): "Great are the merits of the active life, but greater still those of the contemplative." | |
| 4126 </p> | |
| 4127 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p6"> | |
| 4128 <b>I answer that,</b> As stated above ( | |
| 4129 <a id="SS_Q182_A2-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.FS_Q114_A4.html">FS, Q[114], A[4]</a>), the root of merit is charity; and, while, as stated above (Q[25], A[1]), charity consists in the love of God and our neighbor, | |
| 4130 the love of God is by itself more meritorious than the love of our neighbor, as stated above (Q[27], A[8]). Wherefore that | |
| 4131 which pertains more directly to the love of God is generically more meritorious than that which pertains directly to the love | |
| 4132 of our neighbor for | |
| 4133 God's sake. Now the contemplative life pertains directly and immediately to the love of God; for Augustine says (De Civ. Dei | |
| 4134 xix, 19) that "the love of" the Divine "truth seeks a holy leisure," namely of the contemplative life, for it is that truth | |
| 4135 above all which the contemplative life seeks, as stated above (Q[181], A[4], ad 2). On the other hand, the active life is | |
| 4136 more directly concerned with the love of our neighbor, because it is "busy about much serving" ( | |
| 4137 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p6.2" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.40" target="asv">Lk. 10:40</a>). | |
| 4138 Wherefore the contemplative life is generically of greater merit than the active life. This is moreover asserted by Gregory | |
| 4139 (Hom. iii in Ezech.): "The contemplative life surpasses in merit the active life, because the latter labors under the stress | |
| 4140 of present work," by reason of the necessity of assisting our neighbor, "while the former with heartfelt relish has a foretaste | |
| 4141 of the coming rest," i.e. the contemplation of God. | |
| 4142 </p> | |
| 4143 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p7"> Nevertheless it may happen that one man merits more by the works of the active life than another by the works of the contemplative | |
| 4144 life. For instance through excess of Divine love a man may now and then suffer separation from the sweetness of Divine contemplation | |
| 4145 for the time being, that God's will may be done and for His glory's sake. Thus the Apostle says ( | |
| 4146 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p7.1" href="./asv.html#Rom.9.3" target="asv">Rom. 9:3</a>): "I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren"; which words Chrysostom | |
| 4147 expounds as follows (De Compunct. i, 7 [*Ad Demetr. de Compunct. Cordis.]): "His mind was so steeped in the love of Christ | |
| 4148 that, although he desired above all to be with Christ, he despised even this, because thus he pleased Christ." | |
| 4149 </p> | |
| 4150 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p8"> | |
| 4151 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> External labor conduces to the increase of the accidental reward; but the increase of merit with regard to the essential | |
| 4152 reward consists chiefly in charity, whereof external labor borne for Christ's sake is a sign. Yet a much more expressive sign | |
| 4153 thereof is shown when a man, renouncing whatsoever pertains to this life, delights to occupy himself entirely with Divine | |
| 4154 contemplation. | |
| 4155 </p> | |
| 4156 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p9"> | |
| 4157 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> In the state of future happiness man has arrived at perfection, wherefore there is no room for advancement by merit; and | |
| 4158 if there were, the merit would be more efficacious by reason of the greater charity. But in the present life contemplation | |
| 4159 is not without some imperfection, and can always become more perfect; wherefore it does not remove the idea of merit, but | |
| 4160 causes a yet greater merit on account of the practice of greater Divine charity. | |
| 4161 </p> | |
| 4162 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p10"> | |
| 4163 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> A sacrifice is rendered to God spiritually when something is offered to Him; and of all man's goods, God specially accepts | |
| 4164 that of the human soul when it is offered to Him in sacrifice. Now a man ought to offer to God, in the first place, his soul, | |
| 4165 according to | |
| 4166 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p10.1" href="./asv.html#Sir.30.24" target="asv"> Ecclus. 30:24, </a> "Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God"; in the second place, the souls of others, according to | |
| 4167 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A2-p10.2" href="./asv.html#Rev.22.17" target="asv"> Apoc. 22:17, </a> "He that heareth, let him | |
| 4168 say: Come." And the more closely a man unites his own or another's soul to God, the more acceptable is his sacrifice to God; | |
| 4169 wherefore it is more acceptable to God that one apply one's own soul and the souls of others to contemplation than to action. | |
| 4170 Consequently the statement that "no sacrifice is more acceptable to God than zeal for souls," does not mean that the merit | |
| 4171 of the active life is preferable to the merit of the contemplative life, but that it is more meritorious to offer to God | |
| 4172 one's own soul and the souls of others, than any other external gifts. | |
| 4173 </p> | |
| 4174 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p11"></p> | |
| 4175 <p id="SS_Q182_A2-p12"></p> | |
| 4176 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A1.html"></a> | |
| 4177 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A3.html"></a> | |
| 4178 </div> | |
| 4179 <div id="SS_Q182_A3" class="div4"> | |
| 4180 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A2.html"></a> | |
| 4181 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A4.html"></a> | |
| 4182 <h4 id="SS_Q182_A3-p0.1">Whether the contemplative life is hindered by the active life?</h4> | |
| 4183 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p1"></p> | |
| 4184 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p2"> | |
| 4185 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the contemplative life is hindered by the active life. For the contemplative life requires a certain stillness | |
| 4186 of mind, according to | |
| 4187 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A3-p2.1" href="./asv.html#Ps.45.11" target="asv"> Ps. 45:11, </a> "Be still, and see that I am God"; whereas the active life involves restlessness, according to | |
| 4188 <a class="scripRef" id="SS_Q182_A3-p2.2" href="./asv.html#Luke.10.41" target="asv"> Lk. 10:41, </a> "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things." Therefore the active life hinders the contemplative. | |
| 4189 </p> | |
| 4190 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p3"> | |
| 4191 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, clearness of vision is a requisite for the contemplative life. Now active life is a hindrance to clear vision; for | |
| 4192 Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that it "is blear-eyed and fruitful, because the active life, being occupied with work, | |
| 4193 sees less." Therefore the active life hinders the contemplative. | |
| 4194 </p> | |
| 4195 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p4"> | |
| 4196 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, one contrary hinders the other. Now the active and the contemplative life are apparently contrary to one another, | |
| 4197 since the active life is busy about many things, while the contemplative life attends to the contemplation of one; wherefore | |
| 4198 they differ in opposition to one another. Therefore it would seem that the contemplative life is hindered by the active. | |
| 4199 </p> | |
| 4200 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p5"> | |
| 4201 <b>On the contrary,</b> Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37): "Those who wish to hold the fortress of contemplation, must first of all train in the camp | |
| 4202 of action." | |
| 4203 </p> | |
| 4204 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p6"> | |
| 4205 <b>I answer that,</b> The active life may be considered from two points of view. First, as regards the attention to and practice of external works: | |
| 4206 and thus it is evident that the active life hinders the contemplative, in so far as it is impossible for one to be busy with | |
| 4207 external action, and at the same time give oneself to Divine contemplation. Secondly, active life may be considered as quieting | |
| 4208 and directing the internal passions of the soul; and from this point of view the | |
| 4209 active life is a help to the contemplative, since the latter is hindered by the inordinateness of the internal passions. Hence | |
| 4210 Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37): "Those who wish to hold the fortress of contemplation must first of all train in the camp of | |
| 4211 action. Thus after careful study they will learn whether they no longer wrong their neighbor, whether they bear with equanimity | |
| 4212 the wrongs their neighbors do to them, whether their soul is neither overcome with joy in the presence of temporal goods, | |
| 4213 nor cast down with too great a sorrow when those goods are withdrawn. In this way they will known when they withdraw within | |
| 4214 themselves, in order to explore spiritual things, whether they no longer carry with them the shadows of the things corporeal, | |
| 4215 or, if these follow them, whether they prudently drive them away." Hence the work of the active life conduces to the contemplative, | |
| 4216 by quelling the interior passions which give rise to the phantasms whereby contemplation is hindered. | |
| 4217 </p> | |
| 4218 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p7"> This suffices for the Replies to the Objections; for these arguments consider the occupation itself of external actions, | |
| 4219 and not the effect which is the quelling of the passions. | |
| 4220 </p> | |
| 4221 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p8"></p> | |
| 4222 <p id="SS_Q182_A3-p9"></p> | |
| 4223 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A2.html"></a> | |
| 4224 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A4.html"></a> | |
| 4225 </div> | |
| 4226 <div id="SS_Q182_A4" class="div4"> | |
| 4227 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A3.html"></a> | |
| 4228 <a href="summa.SS.v.html"></a> | |
| 4229 <h4 id="SS_Q182_A4-p0.1">Whether the active life precedes the contemplative?</h4> | |
| 4230 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p1"></p> | |
| 4231 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p2"> | |
| 4232 <b>Objection 1:</b> It would seem that the active life does not precede the contemplative. For the contemplative life pertains directly to the | |
| 4233 love of God; while the active life pertains to the love of our neighbor. Now the love of God precedes the love of our neighbor, | |
| 4234 since we love our neighbor for God's sake. Seemingly therefore the contemplative life also precedes the active life. | |
| 4235 </p> | |
| 4236 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p3"> | |
| 4237 <b>Objection 2:</b> Further, Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "It should be observed that while a well-ordered life proceeds from action to | |
| 4238 contemplation, sometimes it is useful for the soul to turn from the contemplative to the active life." Therefore the active | |
| 4239 is not simply prior to the contemplative. | |
| 4240 </p> | |
| 4241 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p4"> | |
| 4242 <b>Objection 3:</b> Further, it would seem that there is not necessarily any order between things that are suitable to different subjects. Now | |
| 4243 the active and the contemplative life are suitable to different subjects; for Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37): "Often those who | |
| 4244 were able to contemplate God so long as they were undisturbed have fallen when pressed with occupation; and frequently they | |
| 4245 who might live advantageously occupied with the service of their fellow-creatures are killed | |
| 4246 by the sword of their inaction." | |
| 4247 </p> | |
| 4248 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p5"> | |
| 4249 <b>I answer that,</b> A thing is said to precede in two ways. First, with regard to its nature; and in this way the contemplative life precedes | |
| 4250 the active, inasmuch as it applies itself to things which precede and are better than others, wherefore it moves and directs | |
| 4251 the active life. For the higher reason which is assigned to contemplation is compared to the lower reason which is assigned | |
| 4252 to action, and the husband is compared to his wife, who should be ruled by her husband, as | |
| 4253 Augustine says (De Trin. xii, 3,7,12). | |
| 4254 </p> | |
| 4255 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p6"> Secondly, a thing precedes with regard to us, because it comes first in the order of generation. In this way the active precedes | |
| 4256 the contemplative life, because it disposes one to it, as stated above | |
| 4257 <a id="SS_Q182_A4-p6.1" shape="rect" href="summa.SS_Q182_A1.html">(A[1];</a> Q[181], A[1], ad 3); and, in the order of generation, disposition precedes form, although the latter precedes simply and | |
| 4258 according to its nature. | |
| 4259 </p> | |
| 4260 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p7"> | |
| 4261 <b>Reply to Objection 1:</b> The contemplative life is directed to the love of God, not of any degree, but to that which is perfect; whereas the active | |
| 4262 life is necessary for any degree of the love of our neighbor. Hence Gregory says (Hom. iii in Ezech.): "Without the contemplative | |
| 4263 life it is possible to enter the heavenly kingdom, provided one omit not the good actions we are able to do; but we cannot | |
| 4264 enter therein without the active life, if we neglect to do the good we can do." | |
| 4265 </p> | |
| 4266 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p8"> From this it is also evident that the active precedes the contemplative life, as that which is common to all precedes, in | |
| 4267 the order of generation, that which is proper to the perfect. | |
| 4268 </p> | |
| 4269 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p9"> | |
| 4270 <b>Reply to Objection 2:</b> Progress from the active to the contemplative life is according to the order of generation; whereas the return from the contemplative | |
| 4271 life to the active is according to the order of direction, in so far as the active life is directed by the contemplative. | |
| 4272 Even thus habit is acquired by acts, and by the acquired habit one acts yet more perfectly, as stated in Ethic. ii, 7. | |
| 4273 </p> | |
| 4274 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p10"> | |
| 4275 <b>Reply to Objection 3:</b> He that is prone to yield to his passions on account of his impulse to action is simply more apt for the active life by reason | |
| 4276 of his restless spirit. Hence Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37) that "there be some so restless that when they are free from labor | |
| 4277 they labor all the more, because the more leisure they have for thought, the worse interior turmoil they have to bear." Others, | |
| 4278 on the contrary, have the mind naturally pure and restful, so that they | |
| 4279 are apt for contemplation, and if they were to apply themselves wholly to action, this would be detrimental to them. Wherefore | |
| 4280 Gregory says (Moral. vi, 37) that "some are so slothful of mind that if they chance to have any hard work to do they give | |
| 4281 way at the very outset." Yet, as he adds further on, "often . . . love stimulates slothful souls to work, and fear restrains | |
| 4282 souls that are disturbed in contemplation." Consequently those who are more adapted to the active life can prepare themselves | |
| 4283 for the contemplative by the practice of the active life; while none the less, those who are more adapted to the contemplative | |
| 4284 life can take upon themselves the works of the active life, so as to become yet more apt for contemplation. | |
| 4285 </p> | |
| 4286 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p11"></p> | |
| 4287 <p id="SS_Q182_A4-p12"></p> | |
| 4288 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A3.html"></a> | |
| 4289 <a href="summa.SS.v.html"></a> | |
| 4290 </div> | |
| 4291 <a href="summa.SS_Q181_A4.html"></a> | |
| 4292 <a href="summa.SS_Q182_A1.html"></a> | |
| 4293 </div> | |
| 4294 <a href="summa.SS_Q170_A2.html"></a> | |
| 4295 <a href="summa.SS_Q171.html"></a> | |
| 4296 ` | |
| 4297 </div> |