Authors/Thomas Aquinas/metaphysics/liber12/lect8

Lecture 8

Latin	English
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 1 Hic philosophus comparat primum quod movet sicut intelligibile et desiderabile, ad id quod intelligit et desiderat ipsum: necesse est enim, si primum movens movet sicut primum intellectum et desideratum, quod primum mobile desideret et intelligat ipsum. Et hoc quidem verum est secundum opinionem Aristotelis, inquantum caelum ponitur animatum anima intelligente et desiderante. Circa hoc igitur tria facit. Primo ostendit delectationem sequi animam caeli desiderantem et intelligentem ex primo movente desiderato et intellecto; dicens, quod quaedam deductio est, idest delectabilis dispositio ipsius desiderantis et intelligentis primum intelligibile, qualis optima potest esse nobis aliquo parvo tempore. Est enim intelligens et desiderans semper in tali dispositione delectabili, quod nobis est impossibile, scilicet quod semper simus in illa delectabili et optima dispositione.	2536. Here the Philosopher relates the first being, which causes Motion as something intelligible and something desirable, to that which understands and desires it. For if the first mover causes motion inasmuch as it is the first thing understood and desired, the first thing moved by it must understand and desire it. This is true according to the opinion of Aristotle inasmuch as he considered a heaven to be animated by a soul which understands and desires. In regard to this he does three things. First (1071)C 2536), he shows that pleasure naturally belongs to the soul of a heaven, which desires and understands, as a result of its understanding and desiring the first mover. He says that “its course of life,” i.e., the pleasurable state of the thing understanding and desiring the first intelligible being, is like the best which we can enjoy for a short time. For that which understands and desires this being is always in such a pleasurable state, though this is impossible for us, i.e., that we should always be in that state which is pleasant and best.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 2 Hoc autem quod dictum est, consequenter ostendit cum dicit quoniam est. Quia scilicet in actu huius desiderantis et intelligentis primum principium est delectatio. Delectatio enim consequitur operationem connaturalem alicuius intelligentis et desiderantis, ut patet in decimo Ethicorum. Et signum huius est, quia delectatio maxime est in vigilia et sensu actuali, et intelligentia. Habent enim se intellectus et sensus in actu ad sensum et intellectum in potentia, sicut vigilia ad somnum. Et quod ista sint maxime delectabilia, patet ex hoc, quod alia non sunt delectabilia, nisi propter hoc. Species enim in memoria sunt delectabiles, inquantum praeteritas vel futuras operationes delectabiles ingerunt animis ut praesentes.	2537. For its operation (1072). Then he proves his statement. Pleasure attends the activity of the thing that understands and desires the first principle, for pleasure follows upon the operation connatural to anything that understands and desires, as is evident in Book X of the Ethics. A sign of this is that pleasure is greatest when a person is awake and actually sensing and understanding. For intellect and sense in actual use are to intellect and sense in potential use as being awake is to being asleep.—That these states are the most pleasant is clear from the fact that other states are pleasant only because of these; for hope and memory are pleasant inasmuch as they bring past or future pleasant activities into consciousness as present.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 3 Quia igitur in actu sensus et intellectus delectatio consistit, manifestum est, quod intelligentia, idest actus intellectus inquantum huiusmodi, est eius quod est secundum se optimum. Bonum enim intelligibile excedit bonum sensibile, sicut bonum immobile et universale bonum mutabile et particulare. Etiam sequitur quod delectatio, quae est in actu intellectus, sit eminentior delectatione quae est in actu sensus. Et per consequens oportet quod maxima et perfectissima intelligentia sit maxime optimi; et ita sequitur maxima delectatio. Sic igitur manifestum est, quod in illa intelligentia, qua intelligitur primum movens, quod etiam est primum intelligibile, est maxima delectatio.	2538. Hence, since pleasure consists in the actual use of intellect and sense, it is evident “that understanding,” i.e., the activity of the intellect as such, is concerned with what is best in itself; for an intelligible good surpasses a sensible good just as an unchangeable and universal good surpasses a changeable and particular good. It also follows that the pleasure experienced in intellectual activity is of a higher kind than that experienced in sensory activity. Hence the best and most perfect intellectual activity is concerned with what is best in the highest degree, so that the greatest pleasure follows. Therefore it is evident that the greatest pleasure is experienced in those intellectual activities by which the first mover is understood, who is also the first intelligible object.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 4 Deinde cum dicit seipsum autem ostendit, quod in primo intelligibili est adhuc perfectior intelligentia et delectatio quam in intelligente et desiderante ipsum. Et dicit, quod hoc est de ratione intellectus, quod intelligat seipsum inquantum transumit vel concipit in se aliquid intelligibile; fit enim intellectus intelligibilis per hoc quod attingit aliquod intelligibile. Et ideo, cum ipse intellectus fiat intelligibilis concipiendo aliquod intelligibile, sequetur quod idem sit intellectus et intelligibile.	2539. And an intellect (1073). Then he shows that the act of understanding and the pleasure found in the first intelligible object are even more perfect than those found in the thing that understands and desires it. He says that it is characteristic of an intellect to understand itself inasmuch as it takes on or conceives within itself some intelligible object; for an intellect becomes intelligible by reason of the fact that it apprehends something intelligible. Hence, since the intellect becomes intelligible by conceiving some intelligible object, it follows that the intellect and its intelligible object are the same.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 5 Quomodo autem intellectus attingat intelligibile exponit. Intellectus enim comparatur ad intelligibile sicut potentia ad actum, et perfectibile ad perfectionem: et sicut perfectibile est susceptivum perfectionis, ita intellectus est susceptivus sui intelligibilis. Intelligibile autem proprie est substantia; nam obiectum intellectus est quod quid est; et propter hoc dicit, quod intellectus est susceptivus intelligibilis et substantiae. Et quia unumquodque fit actu inquantum recipit intelligibile: hoc autem est esse actu in genere intelligibilium, quod est esse intelligibile. Et, quia unumquodque inquantum est actu, est agens, sequitur quod intellectus inquantum attingit intelligibile, fiat agens et operans, idest intelligens.	2540. He explains how an intellect attains its intelligible object. For an intellect is related to an intelligible object as potentiality is to actuality, and as something perfectible to its perfection. And just as something perfectible is receptive of a perfection, so too an intellect is receptive of its intelligible object. Now its proper intelligible object is substance, since the object of the intellect is a quiddity. Hence he says that the intellect is receptive of something intelligible and of substance. And since each thing becomes actual inasmuch as it attains its own perfection, it follows that the intellect becomes actual inasmuch as it receives its intelligible object. Now to be intelligible is to be actual in the class of intelligible things. And since each thing is active to the extent that it is actual, it follows that the intellect becomes active or operative, i.e., understanding, to the extent that it attains its intelligible object.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 6 Sed sciendum est quod substantiae materiales non sunt intelligibiles actu, sed potentia; fiunt autem intelligibiles actu per hoc quod mediantibus virtutibus sensitivis earum similitudines immateriales redduntur per intellectum agentem. Illae autem similitudines non sunt substantiae, sed quaedam species intelligibiles in intellectu possibili receptae. Sed secundum Platonem, species intelligibiles rerum materialium erant per se subsistentes. Unde ponebat, quod intellectus noster fit intelligens actu per hoc quod attingit ad huiusmodi species separatas per se subsistentes. Sed secundum opinionem Aristotelis, intelligibiles species rerum materialium non sunt substantiae per se subsistentes.	2541. But it should be borne in mind that material substances are not actually intelligible but only potentially; and they become actually intelligible by reason of the fact that the likenesses of them which are gotten by way of the sensory powers are made immaterial by the agent intellect. And these likenesses are not substances but certain intelligible forms received into the possible intellect. But according to Plato the intelligible forms of material things are self-subsistent entities. Hence he claimed that our intellect becomes actually understanding by coming in contact with separate self-subsistent forms of this kind. But in Aristotle’s opinion the intelligible forms of material things are not substances which subsist of themselves.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 7 Est tamen aliqua substantia intelligibilis per se subsistens, de qua nunc agit. Oportet enim esse primum movens substantiam intelligentem et intelligibilem. Relinquitur igitur, quod talis est comparatio intellectus primi mobilis ad illam primam intelligibilem substantiam moventem, qualis est secundum Platonicos comparatio intellectus nostri ad species intelligibiles separatas, secundum quarum contactum et participationem fit intellectus actu, ut ipse dicit. Unde intellectus primi mobilis fit intelligens in actu per contactum aliqualem primae substantiae intelligibilis.	2542. Yet there is an intelligible substance which subsists of itself, and it is of this that he is now speaking. For the first mover must be a substance which is both understanding and intelligible. Hence it follows that the relationship between the intellect of the first sphere and the first intelligible substance, which causes motion, is similar to the relationship which the Platonists posited between our intellect and the separate intelligible Forms, inasmuch as our intellect becomes actual by coming in contact with and participating in these Formi, as Plato himself says. Hence the intellect of the first sphere becomes actually understanding through some kind of contact with the first intelligible substance.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 8 Propter quod autem unumquodque tale, et illud magis. Et ideo sequitur quod quicquid divinum et nobile, sicut est intelligere et delectari, invenitur in intellectu attingente, multo magis invenitur in intelligibili primo quod attingitur. Et ideo consideratio eiusdem, et delectabilissima est et optima. Huiusmodi autem primum intelligibile dicitur Deus. Cum igitur delectatio, quam nos habemus intelligendo, sit optima, quamvis eam non possimus habere nisi modico tempore, si Deus semper eam habet, sicut nos quandoque, mirabilis est eius felicitas. Sed adhuc mirabilior, si eam habet potiorem semper, quam nos modico tempore.	2543. Further, since the cause of some attribute of a thing has that attribute in a higher degree, it follows that anything that is divine and noble, such as understanding and taking pleasure, which is found in the intellect having the contact, is found in a much higher degree in the first intelligible object with which it is in contact. Hence its intellectual activity is most pleasant and best. But the first intelligible object of this kind is God. Therefore, since the pleasure which we experience in understanding is the highest, although we can enjoy it only for a short time, if God is always in that state in which we sometimes are, His happiness is wondrous. But if He is always in that state (which we enjoy for only a short time) in a higher degree, this is even more wondrous.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 9 Deinde cum dicit et vita autem tertio, quia dixerat quod Deo competit consideratio, ostendit quomodo se habeat ad eam. Et dicit quod Deus est ipsa vita. Quod sic probat: actus intellectus, idest intelligere, vita quaedam est, et est perfectissimum quod est in vita. Nam actus, secundum quod ostensum est, perfectior est potentia. Unde intellectus in actu perfectius vivit quam intellectus in potentia, sicut vigilans quam dormiens. Sed illud primum, scilicet Deus, est ipse actus. Intellectus enim eius est ipsum suum intelligere. Alioquin compararetur ad ipsum ut potentia ad actum. Ostensum autem est supra, quod eius substantia est actus. Unde relinquitur quod ipsa Dei substantia sit vita, et actus eius sit vita ipsius optima et sempiterna, quae est secundum se subsistens. Et inde est quod in fama hominum dicitur quod Deus est animal sempiternum et optimum. Vita enim apud nos in solis animalibus apparet manifeste. Inde est ergo quod dicitur animal, quia vita competit ei. Quare manifestum est ex praemissis, quod vita et duratio continua et sempiterna inest Deo, quia Deus hoc ipsum est quod est sua vita sempiterna; non quod aliud sit ipse, et vita eius.	2544. Life, then, also belongs (1074). Third, since he has said that intellectual activity is proper to God, he shows how this applies to Him. He says that God is life itself, and he proves this as follows. “Intellectual activity,” i.e., understanding, is a kind of life; and it is the most perfect kind of life that there is. For according to what has been shown, actuality is more perfect than potentiality; and therefore an intellect which is actually understanding leads a more perfect life than one which is potentially understanding, just as being awake is more perfect than being asleep. But the first being, God, is actuality itself; for His intellect is His intellectual activity; otherwise He would be related to His intellectual activity as potentiality to actuality. Moreover, it has been shown (1066:C 2517) that His substance is actuality. Thus it follows that the very substance of God is life, and that His actuality is His life, and that it is the life which is best and eternal and subsists of itself. This is why common opinion holds that God is an animal which is eternal and best; for around us life is clearly apparent only in animals, and therefore God is called an animal because life belongs to Him. Hence, from what has been said it is evident that life and continuous and eternal duration belong to God, because God is identical with His own eternal life; for He and His life are not different.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 10 Deinde cum dicit quicumque autem excludit opinionem attribuentium imperfectionem primo principio; dicens, quod non recte existimant quicumque non ponunt optimum et nobilissimum inveniri in primo principio, ut Pythagorici et Leucippus: qui ex hoc movebantur, quod principia animalium et plantarum sunt quaedam causae boni et perfectionis: sed bonum et perfectum non invenitur in principiis, sed in his quae producuntur ex eis: sicut semina, quae sunt principia animalium et plantarum imperfecta, sunt ex aliquibus aliis prioribus perfectis.	2545. And all those (1075). Then he rejects the opinion of those who attributed imperfection to the first principle. He says that the opinion of all those who claim that goodness and excellence are not found in the first principle are false. He cites as examples the Pythagoreans and Speusippus (1109:C 2644), who acted on the supposition that, while the principles of plants and animals are causes of goodness and perfection, goodness and perfection are not found in these principles but in the things produced from them. Thus seeds, which are imperfect principles of plants and animals, come from other individual things which are prior and perfect.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 11 Hoc igitur solvit interimendo motivum eorum. Sperma enim non est primum simpliciter, sed aliquid perfectum; ut si quis dicat hominem esse priorem spermate, non quidem eum qui dicitur nasci ex spermate, sed alterum ex quo sperma resolvitur. Probatum est enim supra, quod actus simpliciter est prior potentia, licet in uno et eodem, ordine generationis et temporis, potentia praecedat actum.	2546. He rejects this opinion by disposing of the view which influenced these thinkers. For it is not seed that is first absolutely, but the perfect being. Hence, if someone says that the man is prior to the seed, it is not the man who is said to be born from the seed in question, but a different man from whom the seed comes. For it has been proved above (1059-60:C 2500-03) that actuality is prior absolutely to potentiality, though in one and the same subject potentiality is prior to actuality in the order of generation and of time.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 12 His autem habitis, epilogando concludit manifestum esse ex dictis, quod est aliqua substantia sempiterna et immobilis, separata a sensibilibus.	2547. In view of the points established he terminates his discussion by concluding that it is evident that there is a substance which is eternal and unchangeable and separate from sensible things.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 13 Deinde cum dicit ostensum est prosequitur quaedam, quae adhuc consideranda restant de praedicta substantia. Et primo ostendit, quod est incorporea; dicens, quod ostensum est in octavo physicorum, quod huiusmodi substantia nullam magnitudinem potest habere, sed est impartibilis et indivisibilis.	2548. And it has been shown (1076). Then he proceeds to examine certain points which still remain to be considered about the above-mentioned substance. First, he shows that it is incorporeal. He says that it has been proved in Book VIII of the Physics that this kind of substance can have no magnitude but is without parts and indivisible.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 14 Cuius breviter resumit probationem, dicens, quod huiusmodi substantia movet in infinito tempore, cum primus motus sit sempiternus, ut supra dixit. Ex hoc autem sequitur quod eius virtus sit infinita. Videmus enim in moventibus inferioribus, quod quanto aliquid est maioris virtutis, tanto virtus se extendit ad diuturniorem operationem. Nullum autem finitum potest habere potentiam infinitam. Unde sequitur, quod propter hoc praedicta substantia non habebit magnitudinem finitam. Magnitudinem autem infinitam habere non potest, quia nulla magnitudo est infinita, ut supra probatum est. Quia igitur omnis magnitudo vel est finita vel infinita, relinquitur quod praedicta substantia sit omnino absque magnitudine.	2549. He briefly restates the proof, saying that a substance of this kind moves in infinite time, since the first mover is eternal, as he said above (1075:C 2547). And from this it follows that its power is infinite. For we see that the more powerful any inferior mover is, the more capable it is of acting for a longer time. But nothing finite can have an infinite power. Hence it follows that the above-mentioned substance is not finite in magnitude. Moreover, it cannot be infinite in magnitude because an infinite magnitude is impossible, as has been proved above (1076:C 2548). Therefore, since every magnitude is either finite or infinite, it follows that the above-mentioned substance lacks magnitude in every way.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 15 Non autem virtus huius substantiae dicitur infinita privative, secundum quod infinitum congruit quantitati; sed dicitur negative, prout scilicet non limitatur ad aliquem determinatum effectum. Non autem potest dici virtus caelestis corporis infinita, etiam si infinito tempore moveat inferiora corpora; quia non movet nisi motum. Et ita influentia est ex primo movente. Sed nec etiam potest dici quod in corpore caelesti sit virtus infinita, etsi infinito tempore esse habeat; quia in eo non est virtus activa sui esse, sed solum susceptiva. Unde infinita eius duratio ostendit virtutem infinitam exterioris principii. Sed ad hoc quod ipsum suscipiat incorruptibile esse ab infinita virtute, requiritur quod in ipso non sit principium corruptionis, neque potentia ad non esse.	2550. Moreover, the power of this substance is not said to be infinite in a privative sense, in the way that infinity pertains to quantity; but the term is used in a negative sense, i.e., inasmuch as it is not limited to some definite effect. It cannot be said of a heavenly body, however, that its power is infinite even though it may move inferior bodies in an infinite time, because it causes motion only by being moved, and thus its influence is from the first mover. Nor can it be said that the power of a heavenly body is infinite even though it has being in infinite time, because it has no active power of being but only the ability to receive. Hence its infinite duration points to the infinite power of an external principle. But in order to receive indestructible existence from an infinite power a heavenly body must not have any principle of destruction or any potentiality to non-existence.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 16 At vero secundo, quia supra ostenderat quod primum movens non movetur motu locali, ostendit consequenter quod nec etiam aliis motibus; dicens, quod etiam impossibile est esse alterabile primum movens. Ostensum enim est supra, quod non movetur motu locali. Omnes autem alii motus sunt posteriores isto motu, qui est secundum locum. Remoto igitur primo necesse est removeri posteriora. Unde quicquid invenitur moveri aliis motibus, movetur motu locali.	2551. It has also been shown (1077). Second, since he has shown above (1066:C 2517) that the first mover is not moved with local motion, he next shows that it is not moved with the other kinds of motion. He says that it is also impossible for the first mover to be alterable, for it has been shown above (1066:C 2517) that it is not moved with local motion. But all other motions are subsequent to such motion, which pertains to place. Therefore, when the former is removed, so also must the latter be. Hence whatever is found to be moved with the other kinds of motion is moved with local motion.
lib. 12 l. 8 n. 17 Ultimo autem concludit, quod manifestum est quod praedicta se habeant, sicut determinatum est.	2552. Last, he concludes that the things discussed above are evidently such as he has established them to be.