Dist. 30
Book I: On the Mystery of the Trinity · Distinction 30
DISTINCTIO XXX.
De his quae temporaliter de Deo dicuntur et relative secundum accidens, quod non Deo, sed creaturis accidit.
Sunt enim quaedam, quae ex tempore de Deo dicuntur eique temporaliter conveniunt sine sui mutatione et relative dicuntur secundum accidens, non quod accidat Deo, sed quod accidit creaturis, ut creator, dominus, refugium, datum vel donatum et huiusmodi. De his Augustinus in quinto libro de Trinitate3 ait: «Creator relative dicitur ad creaturam, sicut dominus ad servum.» Item4: «Non moveat, quod Spiritus sanctus, cum sit coaeternus Patri et Filio, dicitur tamen aliquid ex tempore, veluti hoc ipsum quod donatum diximus. Nam sempiterne Spiritus est donum, temporaliter autem donatum. Et si dominus non dicitur, nisi cum habere incipit servum, etiam ista appellatio relativa ex tempore est Deo. Non enim sempiterna creatura est, cuius ille dominus est: ergo dominum esse non sempiternum habet, ne cogamur etiam creaturam sempiternam dicere, quia ille sempiterne non dominaretur, nisi etiam ista sempiterne famularetur. Sicut autem non potest esse servus qui non habet dominum, sic nec dominus qui non habet servum.»
Sed hic aliquis dicet, quod non ex tempore competit Deo haec appellatio, qua dicitur dominus, quia non est tantum dominus rerum, quae ex tempore coeperunt, sed etiam illius rei, quae non coepit ex tempore, id est ipsius temporis, quod non coepit ex tempore, quia non erat ante5 tempus quam inciperet: et ideo non coepit esse dominus ex tempore.
Ad quod dici potest, quia licet non coeperit ex tempore esse dominus temporis, coepit tamen esse dominus temporis, quia non semper fuit tempus; et ipsius hominis ex tempore coepit esse dominus16. De hoc Augustinus in eodem libro7 continue ita dicit: «Quisquis extiterit, qui aeternum Deum solum dicat, tempora vero non esse aeterna propter varietatem et mutabilitatem, sed tamen ipsa tempora non in tempore esse coepisse, quia non erat tempus, antequam tempora inciperent, et ideo non in tempore accidere8 Deo, ut dominus esset, quia ipsorum temporum dominus erat, quae utique non in tempore esse coeperunt — quid respondebit de homine, qui in tempore factus est, cuius utique dominus non erat, antequam esset? Certe, ut dominus hominis esset, ex tempore accidit Deo, et ut omnis amoveatur controversia, certe ut tuus dominus esset, vel meus, qui modo esse coepimus, ex tempore habuit. Quomodo igitur obtinebimus, nihil secundum accidens dici de Deo? Nisi quia ipsius naturae nihil accidit, quo mutetur; ut ea sint accidentia relativa, quae cum aliqua mutatione rerum, de quibus dicuntur, accidunt, sicut amicus relative dicitur. Non enim amicus esse incipit, nisi cum amare coeperit: fit ergo aliqua mutatio voluntatis, ut amicus dicatur. Nummus vero, cum dicitur pretium, relative dicitur; nec tamen mutatus est, cum esse coeperit pretium, nec cum dicitur pignus et huiusmodi. Si ergo nummus potest nulla sui mutatione toties dici relative, ut neque cum incipit dici neque cum desinit, aliquid in eius natura vel forma, qua nummus est, mutationis fiat; quanto facilius de illa incommutabili Dei substantia debemus accipere, quod ita dicatur relative aliquid ad creaturam, ut, quamvis temporaliter incipiat dici, non tamen ipsi substantiae Dei accidisse aliqua intelligatur, sed illi creaturae, ad quam dicitur. Qualiter etiam refugium nostrum9 dicitur: refugium enim nostrum dicitur Deus relative; ad nos enim refertur, et tunc refugium nostrum fit, cum ad eum refugimus. Nunquid tunc fit aliquid in eius natura, quod, antequam
refugiens ad eum, non erat? In nobis ergo fit aliqua mutatio, qui ad eum refugiendo efficimur meliores; in illo autem nulla. Sic et pater noster esse incipit, cum per eius gratiam regeneramur, qui dedit nobis potestatem filios Dei fieri. Substantia igitur nostra mutatur in melius, cum filii eius efficimur. Similiter et ille pater noster esse incipit, sed nulla suae commutationis substantiae. Quod ergo temporaliter dici incipit Deus, quod antea non dicebatur, manifestum est relative dici, non tamen secundum accidens Dei, quod ei aliquid acciderit, sed plane secundum accidens eius, ad quod dici aliquid Deus incipit relative.» Ex his aperte ostendilur, quod quaedam de Deo temporaliter dicuntur relative ad creaturas sine mutatione Dei, sed non sine mutatione creaturae: et ita accidens est in creatura, non in Creatore, et appellatio, qua creatura relative dicitur ad Creatorem, relativa est et relationem notat, quae est in ipsa creatura. Appellatio vero illa, qua Creator relative dicitur ad creaturam, relativa quidem est, sed nullam notat relationem, quae sit in Creatore.
An Spiritus sanctus dicatur datum vel donatum relative ad se, cum a se detur.
Hic potest solvi quaestio superius2 proposita, ubi quaerebatur, cum Spiritus sanctus dicatur datum vel donatum — quod autem datur refertur et ad eum qui dat, et ad illum cui datur — et quod Spiritus sanctus det se ipsum, utrum ad se ipsum relative dicatur, cum dicitur dari vel donari. Cui quaestioni respondentes dicimus, Spiritum sanctum dici datum vel donatum relative et ad dantem, et ad illum cui datur10. Dans autem sive donator est Pater cum Filio et Spiritu sancto. Nec tamen dicimus, Spiritum sanctum referri ad se, sed appellatio dati vel donati refertur et ad dantem et ad recipientem, quia non potest aliquid dici datum, nisi ab aliquo et alicui detur. Cum autem Spiritus sanctus dari a se vel datus a se dicitur, relative quidem dicitur ad illum cui datur; et est appellatio relativa, et in illo cui datur mutatio fit, non in dante.
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DISTINCTION XXX.
On those things that are said of God temporally and relatively according to accident, which befalls not God but creatures.
For there are certain things that are said of God in time and are suited to Him temporally without any change in Himself, and they are said relatively according to accident — not because the accident befalls God, but because it befalls creatures: such as creator, lord, refuge, gift or donated and the like. Concerning these things Augustine in the fifth book On the Trinity3 says: "Creator is said relatively in relation to the creature, just as lord in relation to servant." Likewise4: "Let it not trouble anyone that the Holy Spirit, although He is co-eternal with the Father and the Son, is yet said to be something in time, as for instance this very thing which we called donated. For the Spirit is eternally gift, but temporally donated. And if He is not called lord except when He begins to have a servant, then even that relative appellation exists for God in time. For the creature of which He is lord is not eternal: therefore He does not have it as an eternal thing to be lord, lest we be compelled to say the creature is also eternal, since He would not have ruled eternally unless the creature had also served eternally. But just as there cannot be a servant who has no lord, so neither a lord who has no servant."
But someone here will say that this appellation by which He is called lord did not come to God in time, because He is lord not only of things that began to be in time, but also of that thing that did not begin in time, namely of time itself, which did not begin in time, because there was no time5 before time began: and therefore He did not begin to be lord in time.
To which it can be said: although He did not begin in time to be lord of time, He nevertheless began to be lord of time, because time did not always exist; and of man himself He began in time to be lord16. Concerning this Augustine in the same book7 continues thus saying: "Whoever maintains that God alone is eternal, but that the times are not eternal on account of their variability and mutability — but that the times themselves did not begin to be in time, since there was no time before the times began, and therefore that it did not happen8 to God in time that He should be lord, since He was lord of those times themselves which certainly did not begin to be in time — what will he answer concerning man, who was made in time, whose lord certainly He was not before man existed? Surely, that He should be lord of man happened to God in time, and that all controversy might be removed — surely that He should be your lord, or mine, we who have recently begun to be, He obtained in time. How then will we maintain that nothing is said of God according to accident? Only because nothing happens to His own nature whereby He is changed; so that there are relative accidents, which happen together with some change in the things of which they are said, just as friend is said relatively. For one does not begin to be a friend except when one has begun to love: therefore some change of will occurs, that one may be called friend. A coin, on the other hand, when it is called price, is said relatively; and yet it has not been changed when it has begun to be price, nor when it is called pledge and the like. If therefore a coin can be said relatively so many times without any change of itself, so that neither when it begins to be said [such] nor when it ceases [to be so called] does any change occur in its nature or form by which it is a coin; how much more easily ought we to accept concerning that unchangeable substance of God, that something is thus said of Him relatively in relation to the creature, so that, although it begins to be said temporally, yet no accident is understood to have happened to the very substance of God, but to that creature in relation to which it is said. In like manner also our refuge9 is spoken of: for God is called our refuge relatively; for He is referred to us, and then our refuge comes to be, when we flee to Him. Is anything then brought into being in His nature, when someone
flees to Him, which was not there before? In us therefore some change occurs, who by fleeing to Him are made better; but in Him none. So also He begins to be our father, when through His grace we are regenerated, who gave us power to become sons of God. Our substance therefore is changed for the better when we become His sons. Likewise also He begins to be our father, but with no change of His own substance. Therefore that which God begins to be called temporally, which He was not called before, is manifestly said relatively, yet not according to an accident of God, as if something had happened to Him, but plainly according to an accident of that to which God begins to be said relatively." From these things it is plainly shown that certain things are said of God temporally, relatively to creatures, without any change in God, but not without change in the creature: and so the accident is in the creature, not in the Creator, and the appellation by which the creature is said relatively to the Creator is relative and denotes a relation which is in the creature itself. But that appellation by which the Creator is said relatively to the creature is indeed relative, but denotes no relation which is in the Creator.
Whether the Holy Spirit is said to be given or donated relatively to Himself, when He is given from Himself.
Here can be solved the question proposed above2, where it was asked — since the Holy Spirit is said to be gift or donated, but what is given is referred both to the one who gives and to the one to whom it is given — and since the Holy Spirit gives Himself, whether He is said relatively to Himself when He is said to be given or donated. In answering this question we say that the Holy Spirit is said to be given or donated relatively both in relation to the giver and in relation to the one to whom He is given10. The giver or donor is the Father with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet we do not say the Holy Spirit is referred to Himself; rather, the appellation of given or donated is referred both to the giver and to the recipient, since nothing can be called given unless it is given by someone and to someone. But when the Holy Spirit is said to be given from Himself or to have been given from Himself, He is indeed said relatively to the one to whom He is given; and the appellation is relative, and in the one to whom He is given a change occurs, not in the giver.
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- Pro habet principium Vat. cum cod. cc perperam incipit esse; nonnulli codd. post principium adiungunt et, ac cod. (in marg.) post incipit addit esse.For habet principium ("has a beginning"), the Vatican [edition] together with codex cc reads, erroneously, incipit esse ("begins to be"); several codices add et after principium, and a codex (in the margin) adds esse after incipit.
- Cfr. supra d. 9. q. 3. ad 3.Compare above, dist. 9, q. 3, ad 3.
- Cap. 13. n. 14. — Paulo superius fide codd. BCE et ed. 1 posuimus accidat Deo pro accidit Deo.Chapter 13, n. 14. — A little above, following codices BCE and edition 1, we placed accidat Deo in place of accidit Deo.
- Ibid. c. 16. n. 17: in quo textu Vat. excepta ante moveat addit aliquem contra codd. et originale, et paulo post eadem cum aliis edd. sanctus post Spiritus.The same, c. 16, n. 17: in this text the Vatican [edition] alone, against the codices and the original, adds aliquem before moveat, and a little later the same [Vatican] with the other editions [adds] sanctus after Spiritus.
- Cod. A. et ed. 1 verba hunc transponunt sic: non erat tempus, antequam inciperet.Codex A and edition 1 transpose these words thus: non erat tempus, antequam inciperet.
- Nostri codd. hic adiiciunt notulam hanc: Quando coepit tempus, Deus coepit esse dominus, nec ante tempus fuit dominus, sed cum tempore, non ex tempore vel in tempore, quia non ante fuit tempus quam ipse dominus, sed simul. Cfr. S. Bonav. hic dub. 2.Our codices here add this note: "When time began, God began to be lord, nor was He lord before time, but with time — not from time or in time — because time did not exist before the lord Himself, but simultaneously." Compare St. Bonaventure here, dubium 2.
- Loc. cit. Sed nonnulla a Magistro omissa vel mutata sunt.Same place cited. But several things [are] omitted or changed by the Master.
- Omnes codd. et edd. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 acciderit, sed incongruе. Originale, utendo alia constructione, recte accidit.All the codices and editions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 [read] acciderit, but incongruously. The original, using a different construction, correctly [has] accidit.
- Psalm. 17, 2, et passim; alius locus s. Scripturae est Ioan. 1, 12.Psalm. 17:2, and passim; another passage of holy Scripture is John 1:12.
- Codd. DE donatur.Codices DE [read] donatur.