Dist. 8, Part 1, Divisio Textus
Book I: On the Mystery of the Trinity · Distinction 8
# COMMENTARIUS IN DISTINCTIONEM VIII.
De proprietatibus et conditionibus essentialibus Trinitatis et Unitatis.
## Pars I.
De veritate et immutabilitate Dei.
Nunc de veritate sive de proprietate et incommutabilitate etc.
## DIVISIO TEXTUS.
Terminatis superius duabus partibus istius partis principalis, quae est de Trinitate secundum quod intelligitur, in quibus ad probandam Trinitatem Magister adduxit rationes et removit dubitationes; in hac tertia parte determinat Magister ipsius1 Trinitatis et Unitatis proprietates et conditiones. Et quoniam quaedam sunt proprietates respicientes essentiam, ut veritas, quaedam personas, ut generatio, quaedam utrasque, ut aequalitas: ideo haec pars tres habet partes. In prima parte agit Magister de proprietatibus essentialibus; in secunda, de proprietatibus personalibus, infra distinctione nona: Nunc ad distinctionem personarum etc.; in tertia,
de proprietatibus et conditionibus quodam modo essentialibus et quodam modo personalibus, sicut est aequalitas personarum in aeternitate, magnitudine et virtute2, infra distinctione decima nona: Nunc postquam coaeternitatem trium personarum etc.
Prima pars, quae continet praesentem distinctionem, tres habet partes secundum tres proprietates, quas assignat; et prima est de veritate; secunda de immutabilitate, et haec ponitur tertio capitulo3: Dei etiam solius essentia proprie incommutabilis dicitur; tertia de simplicitate, quae ponitur quarto capitulo4: Eademque sola proprie, ac vere simplex est etc.
Item prima pars habet duas partes, quia primo attribuit Deo proprietatem veritatis; secundo removet dubitationem habentem ortum ex praedictis, secundo capitulo: Hic diligenter advertendum est. Similiter secunda pars habet duas: in prima assignat Deo5 proprietatem incommutabilitatis et probat auctoritate Augustini; in secunda confirmat per Apostolum, ibi: Ideoque Apostolus loquens etc. Tertia, de simplicitate infra subdividetur.
## TRACTATIO QUAESTIONUM.
In parte ista6 ad evidentiam duarum primarum proprietatum, quas Magister primo assignat, scilicet veritatis et incommutabilitatis, duo principaliter quaeruntur7:
Primo quaeritur de ipsa veritate.
Secundo de immutabilitate.
De veritate iterum quaeruntur duo:
Primo, utrum veritas sit proprietas divini esse.
Secundo, utrum sit eius proprietas in summo, id est, adeo quod non possit cogitari non esse.
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# COMMENTARY ON DISTINCTION VIII.
On the essential properties and conditions of the Trinity and of the Unity.
## Part I.
On the truth and immutability of God.
Now concerning truth or concerning the property and incommutability etc.
## DIVISION OF THE TEXT.
The two preceding parts of this principal part — which concerns the Trinity according as it is understood, in which, to prove the Trinity, the Master adduced reasons and removed doubts — having been concluded; in this third part the Master determines the properties and conditions of the1 Trinity and of the Unity themselves. And since certain properties regard the essence, as truth; certain ones [regard] the persons, as generation; certain ones [regard] both, as equality: therefore this part has three parts. In the first part the Master treats of the essential properties; in the second, of the personal properties, below at distinction nine: Now to the distinction of persons etc.; in the third,
of the properties and conditions which are in some manner essential and in some manner personal, such as is the equality of the persons in eternity, magnitude, and power2, below at distinction nineteen: Now after [having treated] the co-eternity of the three persons etc.
The first part, which contains the present distinction, has three parts according to the three properties which he assigns; and the first is on truth; the second on immutability, and this is placed in the third chapter3: And the essence of God alone is properly called incommutable; the third on simplicity, which is placed in the fourth chapter4: And the same alone is properly and truly simple etc.
Likewise the first part has two parts, because first he attributes to God the property of truth; second he removes a doubt having its origin from the aforesaid [matters], in the second chapter: Here it must be carefully observed. Similarly the second part has two: in the first he assigns to God5 the property of incommutability and proves [it] by the authority of Augustine; in the second he confirms [it] through the Apostle, there: And therefore the Apostle, speaking etc. The third, on simplicity, will be subdivided below.
## TREATMENT OF THE QUESTIONS.
In this6 part, for the elucidation of the two first properties which the Master first assigns, namely of truth and of incommutability, two [questions] are principally asked7:
First it is asked concerning truth itself.
Second concerning immutability.
Concerning truth two [questions] in turn are asked:
First, whether truth is a property of the divine being.
Second, whether it is its property in the highest degree, that is, to such an extent that it cannot be thought not to be.
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- Praeter fidem mss. et ed. 1, omisso Magister, substituit Vat. istius loco ipsius et paulo infra utraque pro utrasque.Beyond the warrant of the manuscripts and edition 1, with Magister omitted, the Vatican [edition] substitutes istius in place of ipsius and a little below utraque for utrasque.
- Vat. unitate pro virtute, sed contra textum Magistri et codd.The Vatican [edition reads] unitate for virtute, but against the text of the Master and [against] the codices.
- Ita codd. cum ed. 1 ad normam alterius divisionis capitulorum; in nostra vide c. 2. — Vat. hic et in seqq. ibi.Thus the codices with edition 1, according to the standard of the other division of chapters; in our [edition] see c. 2. — The Vatican [edition], here and in what follows, [reads] ibi.
- In nostra ed. c. 3. — Vat. et haec loco quae, sed contra mss.In our edition c. 3. — The Vatican [edition reads] et haec in place of quae, but against the manuscripts.
- Codd. cum ed. 1 omittunt Deo et incommutabilitatis.The codices with edition 1 omit Deo and incommutabilitatis.
- Vat. contra mss. et ed. 1 hac pro ista; mox dicitur primarum, quia ut tertia proprietas a Magistro enumeratur simplicitas; omittitur tamen primarum a paucis codd. et ed. 4.The Vatican [edition], against the manuscripts and edition 1, [reads] hac for ista; shortly after it says primarum, because simplicity is enumerated by the Master as the third property; primarum, however, is omitted by a few codices and by edition 4.
- Ex antiquioribus mss. et ed. 1 adiecimus quaeritur.From the older manuscripts and edition 1 we have added quaeritur.