← Back to Distinction 2

Dist. 2, Part 1, Art. 2, Q. 3

Book II: On the Creation of Things · Distinction 2

Textus Latinus
p. 67

Quaestio III. Utrum spirituales et corporales substantiae simul creatae sint.

Tertio quaeritur, utrum spirituales substantiae et corporales simul sint creatae. Et videtur, quod sic.

1. In Genesi1: In principio creavit Deus etc.; Glossa: «id est spiritualem et corporalem naturam».

2. Item, duodecimo Confessionum2: «Duo invenio, quae fecisti carentia temporibus: unum, quod tua immutabilitate perfruitur, alterum, quod ita informe erat, ut ex forma in quam formam mutaretur, non haberet».

3. Item, ratione videtur. Constat, quod Angeli non sunt creati sine loco, quia tunc unus non haberet ordinem ad alium secundum existentiam: oportuit ergo quod fieret empyreum; et iterum, illius concavitas non poterat esse vacua: ergo etc.

4. Item, distinctio dierum attenditur secundum distinctionem rerum3, ergo productio ex nihilo praecedit omnem diem: ergo cum materia rerum corporalium sit ex nihilo producta, sicut et natura angelica, quemadmodum natura angelica est ante tempus, similiter videtur, quod materia: et si hoc, ergo in principio durationis: ergo simul.

Contra:

1. Ecclesiastici primo4: Prior omnium creata est sapientia; constat, quod loquitur de sapientia non divina, sed quae est creata; haec autem est Angelus, ut dicit Glossa. Si tu dicas, quod prius est dignitate; obiicitur de Hilario duodecimo de Trinitate5: «Quid magnum, ut ante omnem creaturam Deus Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum genuerit, cum et Angelorum origo terrae creatione reperiatur antiquior».

2. Item, hoc videtur ratione, quam facit Isidorus6: «In rerum conditione primaria conditus est locus poenarum»; sed Deus non praeparavit poenam innocenti: ergo diabolus peccavit ante productionem rerum.

3. Item, videtur, quod non simul potuerint7, quia nulla virtus maior est infinita; sed ad productionem unius creaturae necesse est virtutem infinitam exponi: ergo si ad hunc effectum requiritur virtus infinita, et infinito nihil plus potest, ergo virtus illa non potest pro tempore illo alium effectum producere.

4. Item, simplex ad quod se convertit, totaliter se convertit8: ergo si divina virtus est simplicissima, cum se convertit ad aliquem effectum producendum, impossibile est, quod ad aliud se convertat, et ita quod aliud producat: ergo impossibile est, quod simul plura producat.

p. 68

5. Item, quaeritur: quare tantum ista quatuor dicuntur primo esse creata?

Conclusio

Quatuor fuerunt primo creata, scilicet caelum empyreum, angelica natura, materia et tempus.

Respondeo: Ad praedictorum intelligentiam notandum, quod, sicut extrahitur a Glossa9, quatuor fuerunt primo creata, scilicet caelum empyreum, angelica natura, materia et tempus.

Huius autem ratio duplex potest assignari: una, quia in principio debuerunt prima in omni genere creari, scilicet in rebus et mensuris, et in rebus corporalibus et spiritualibus, et in corporalibus activis et passivis. Quoniam igitur prima inter substantias spirituales est Angelus, prima inter substantias corporales activas est empyreum, et prima inter passivas est materia elementorum, et prima inter mensuras est tempus, quia non tantum dicit mensuram durationis, sed etiam egressionis: ideo haec quatuor dicuntur primo creata.

Alia ratio potest reddi, quod substantia spiritualis angelica primum debuit fieri tanquam caput et minus dependens, et cum facta fuit, simul habuit distinctionem et ordinem10; sed ordinem existentiae non habuit nisi in aliquo continente: ergo simul factum est caelum empyreum supremum corporum, et ideo capacissimum. Et rursus, cum non posset esse vacuum, necesse fuit, fieri materiam corporalem sive molem; et quia omnis productio est in aliqua mensura, haec tria de necessitate consequitur tempus.

Concedendum igitur, quod quatuor sunt primo creata, et quod angelica natura et corporea simul sunt creatae quantum ad mensurarum concomitantiam, quia simul incepit11 duratio materiae et intelligentiae, sicut probatum est.

1. 2. Quod ergo obiicitur, quod prior omnium etc.; dicendum, quod, sicut dicit Augustinus in fine duodecimi Confessionum12, prius dicitur quatuor modis, scilicet aeternitate, tempore, electione, origine. Aeternitate Deus praecedit omnia, tempore flos fructum, electione fructus florem, origine sonus cantum. Prioritate ergo durationis13 nec corporalis natura ante angelicam, nec e converso; prioritate autem electionis sive dignitatis prior omnium creata est sapientia. — Ad auctoritates Hilarii et Isidori, dicendum, quod ipsi loquuntur secundum illam positionem, quae posuit, creationem tempore praecedere distinctionem. Unde in principio temporis Angelus et materia sunt creata; sed res non fuerunt distinctae usque ad tertium diem. — Vel potest dici, quod Hilarius loquitur secundum opinionem14, et Isidorus de prioritate secundum praevisionem.

3. Quod obiicitur, quod Deus totam potentiam exponit ad productionem unius rei; dicendum, quod quamvis totam exponat, non tamen totaliter exponit. Virtus enim divina non tantum dicitur infinita, quia possit de non-ente facere ens, sed etiam quia non potest tot, quin plura; unde nunquam tot simul producit, quin adhuc possit plura; unde potest, quantum est de se, in infinitum intensione et extensione15. Et ideo non valet illud.

4. Quod obiicitur de simplici, dicendum, quod illud habet locum in illo simplici, in quo simul est simplicitas et finitas; sed de illo, quod simplex est et infinitum simul et semel, veritatem non habet. Illud enim etsi ratione simplicitatis totum se convertat ad id, ad quod se convertit, tamen ratione immensitatis nunquam se totaliter ad effectum producendum convertit.

Scholion

I. Inter doctores Latinos ad quaestionem communiter affirmative respondetur, praesertim post Concil. Lateranense IV., in quo (Cap. Firmiter) definitur, quod Deus «simul ab initio temporis utramque de nihilo condidit creaturam spiritualem et corporalem». Sed inter Patres, praecipue Graecos, non desunt, qui contrariam sententiam tenent; unde multi opinantur, per dicta verba Concilii contrariam sententiam non esse reprobatam. Etiam S. Thom. in Summa theolog. (loc. cit.) dicit: «Quamvis contrarium non sit reputandum erroneum, praecipue propter sententiam Gregorii Nazianzeni, cuius tanta est in doctrina christiana auctoritas, ut nullus unquam eius dictis calumniam inferre praesumserit, sicut nec Athanasii documentis, ut Hieronymus dicit».

II. Alex. Hal., S. p. II. q. 19. m. 1. — Loci Scoti collecti a Montefortino, S. tom. II. p. I. q. 61. a. 3. — S. Thom., hic q. 1. a. 3; S. I. q. 61. a. 3; de Potent. q. 3. a. 18. 19. — B. Albert., hic a. 1; S. p. II. tr. 3. q. 11. — Petr. a Tar., hic q. 2. a. 3. quaestiunc. 2. — Richard. a Med., hic a. 2. q. 1. — Aegid. R., hic q. 1. a. 1. — Dionys. Carth., hic q. 1.

---

English Translation

Question III. Whether spiritual and corporeal substances were created simultaneously.

Thirdly it is asked whether spiritual and corporeal substances were created simultaneously. And it seems that [they were] so.

1. In Genesis1: In the beginning God created etc.; the Gloss: «that is, spiritual and corporeal nature».

2. Likewise, the twelfth [book] of the Confessions2: «I find two [things] which you made lacking in times: one which enjoys your immutability, the other which was so formless that it had not [a form] out of which to be changed into [another] form».

3. Likewise, it seems [so] by reason. It is established that the Angels were not created without place, because then one would not have an order to another according to existence: it was therefore necessary that the empyrean be made; and again, its concavity could not be empty: therefore etc.

4. Likewise, the distinction of days is reckoned according to the distinction of things3, therefore the production out of nothing precedes every day: therefore since the matter of corporeal things was produced out of nothing, just as also the angelic nature, then just as the angelic nature is before time, similarly it seems [so] of matter: and if this [is so], then [it was] at the beginning of duration: therefore simultaneously.

On the contrary:

1. Ecclesiasticus, chapter one4: Wisdom was created before all things; it is established that it speaks not of divine wisdom, but of that which is created; and this is the Angel, as the Gloss says. If you say that it is prior in dignity; the objection [is made] from Hilary, twelfth [book] On the Trinity5: «What [is it so] great, that before every creature God should have begotten our Lord Jesus Christ, when even the origin of the Angels is found older than the creation of the earth».

2. Likewise, this seems [so] by the reason which Isidore makes6: «In the primary founding of things the place of punishments was founded»; but God did not prepare punishment for the innocent: therefore the devil sinned before the production of things.

3. Likewise, it seems that they could not [be produced] simultaneously7, because no power is greater than the infinite; but for the production of one creature it is necessary that an infinite power be expended: therefore if for this effect an infinite power is required, and to the infinite nothing more can [be added], then that power cannot for that time produce another effect.

4. Likewise, the simple [agent] turns itself wholly to that to which it turns itself8: therefore if the divine power is most simple, when it turns itself to producing some effect, it is impossible that it turn itself to another, and so that it produce another: therefore it is impossible that it produce several [things] simultaneously.

p. 68

5. Likewise, it is asked: why only these four are said to have been created first?

Conclusion

Four [things] were created first, namely the empyrean heaven, the angelic nature, matter, and time.

I respond: For the understanding of the aforesaid it must be noted that, as is drawn out from the Gloss9, four [things] were created first, namely the empyrean heaven, the angelic nature, matter, and time.

A twofold reason for this can be assigned: one, because in the beginning the first [members] in every genus had to be created, namely among things and measures, and among corporeal and spiritual things, and among corporeal active and passive [things]. Since therefore the first among spiritual substances is the Angel, the first among corporeal active substances is the empyrean, and the first among the passive [ones] is the matter of the elements, and the first among measures is time — because it states not only the measure of duration but also of issuing-forth: therefore these four are said to have been created first.

Another reason can be given: that the spiritual angelic substance had to be made first as a head and as less dependent, and when it was made, it at once had distinction and order10; but it did not have an order of existence except in some container: therefore at once was made the empyrean heaven, the highest of bodies, and therefore the most capacious. And again, since it could not be empty, it was necessary that corporeal matter or mass be made; and because every production is in some measure, these three of necessity entail time.

It must therefore be granted that four [things] are created first, and that the angelic nature and the corporeal [nature] are created simultaneously as regards the concomitance of the measures, because the duration of matter and of intelligence began11 together, as has been proved.

1. 2. To what then is objected, that [wisdom was created] before all things etc.; it must be said that, as Augustine says at the end of the twelfth [book] of the Confessions12, prior is said in four ways, namely by eternity, by time, by election, by origin. By eternity God precedes all things, by time the flower [precedes] the fruit, by election the fruit [precedes] the flower, by origin the sound [precedes] the song. By priority therefore of duration13 neither is the corporeal nature before the angelic, nor conversely; but by priority of election or dignity wisdom was created before all things. — To the authorities of Hilary and Isidore it must be said that they speak according to that position which held that creation precedes distinction in time. Hence at the beginning of time the Angel and matter were created; but things were not distinct until the third day. — Or it can be said that Hilary speaks according to [an] opinion14, and Isidore of the priority according to foresight.

3. To what is objected, that God expends his whole power for the production of one thing; it must be said that although he may expend the whole [of it], yet he does not expend it wholly. For the divine power is said [to be] infinite not only because it can make a being out of non-being, but also because it cannot [make] so many [things] but [that it can make] more; hence it never produces so many at once but that it can still [produce] more; hence it can, as far as in it lies, [proceed] to infinity in intensity and extension15. And therefore that [argument] does not hold.

4. To what is objected about the simple [agent], it must be said that this holds in that simple [thing] in which simplicity and finitude are together; but of that which is simple and infinite at once and at one time, it is not true. For that [agent], although by reason of [its] simplicity it turns itself wholly to that to which it turns itself, yet by reason of [its] immensity it never turns itself wholly to producing the effect.

Scholion

I. Among the Latin doctors the question is commonly answered affirmatively, especially after the Fourth Lateran Council, in which (chapter Firmiter) it is defined that God «at once, from the beginning of time, founded each creature, the spiritual and the corporeal, out of nothing». But among the Fathers, especially the Greeks, there are not lacking those who hold the contrary opinion; whence many think that, by the said words of the Council, the contrary opinion was not reproved. Even St. Thomas in the Summa theologiae (loc. cit.) says: «Although the contrary is not to be reckoned erroneous, especially because of the opinion of Gregory Nazianzen, whose authority in Christian doctrine is so great that no one ever presumed to bring a calumny against his sayings, just as neither against the writings of Athanasius, as Jerome says».

II. Alexander of Hales, S. p. II, q. 19, m. 1. — The passages of Scotus collected by Montefortino, S. tom. II, p. I, q. 61, a. 3. — St. Thomas, here q. 1, a. 3; S. I, q. 61, a. 3; de Potentia q. 3, a. 18, 19. — Bl. Albert, here a. 1; S. p. II, tr. 3, q. 11. — Peter of Tarentaise, here q. 2, a. 3, quaestiuncula 2. — Richard of Middleton, here a. 2, q. 1. — Giles of Rome, here q. 1, a. 1. — Dionysius the Carthusian, here q. 1.

---

Apparatus Criticus
  1. Cap. 1, 1. — Glossa, quae mox allegatur, est interlinearis apud Lyranum.
    Chapter 1:1. — The Gloss, which is cited shortly after, is the interlinear [Gloss] in Lyra.
  2. Cap. 12. n. 15. Vide supra pag. 60, nota 1. In hoc verbo aliqui codd. ut F K cum textu originali ut ex qua forma pro ut ex forma.
    Chapter 12, n. 15. See above p. 60, note 1. In this word some codices, as F K, with the original text [read] out of which form for out of [a] form.
  3. Vat. adiungit corporalium.
    The Vatican edition adds of corporeal [things].
  4. Vers. 4. — Glossa paulo inferius citata sumta est ex Isidor., 1. Sententiarum seu de Summo bono, c. 10. n. 3. Idem docet August., de Gen. ad lit. (liber imperf.) c. 5. n. 21; 1. de Gen. ad lit. c. 9. n. 17; XI. de Civ. Dei, c. 9. et 33. — Plures codd. sed quae est creatura pro sed quae est creata.
    Verse 4. — The Gloss cited a little below is taken from Isidore, 1 Sententiae or On the Highest Good, c. 10, n. 3. The same is taught by Augustine, On Genesis according to the Letter (the unfinished book) c. 5, n. 21; 1 On Genesis according to the Letter c. 9, n. 17; XI On the City of God, c. 9 and 33. — Several codices [read] but that which is a creature for but that which is created.
  5. Num. 37: Quid enim magnum est, ut ante terram Deus etc.
    Number 37: For what [is it so] great, that before the earth God etc.
  6. Libr. de Ordine creaturarum, c. 8. n. 7: Qui vivit in aeternum, creavit omnia simul (Eccli. 18, 1.). In quibus omnibus etiam infernalis ille ignis aeternus, de quo Dominus dicit: Ite in ignem aeternum, quem praeparavit Pater meus diabolo et angelis eius (Matth. 25, 41.), simul factus fuisse minime dubitatur... Cui ergo carcer in illa creaturarum conditione praeparatus est etc. — Idem habetur 1. de Mirabil. Script. c. 2. (inter opera August.).
    The book On the Order of Creatures, c. 8, n. 7: He who lives forever created all things together (Ecclesiasticus 18:1). Among all which [things] even that eternal infernal fire, of which the Lord says: Go into the eternal fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), is by no means doubted to have been made at once... For whom therefore the prison was prepared in that founding of creatures etc. — The same is found in 1 On the Wonders of Scripture c. 2 (among the works of Augustine).
  7. Subaudi: produci. — Cod. cc et ed. 1 potuerit scil. Deus producere. Aliquanto inferius non pauci codd. pro et infinito nihil plus potest ponunt et infinita nihil plus potest.
    Supply: to be produced. — Codex cc and ed. 1 [read] he could have, namely God [could have] produced. Somewhat below, not a few codices, for and to the infinite nothing more can [be added], put and the infinite nothing more can [add].
  8. Cfr. Aristot., III. de Anima, text. 36. (c. 7.).
    Cf. Aristotle, III On the Soul, text 36 (c. 7).
  9. Quae sumta est ex Bedae Exposit. in Gen. 1, et ex Quaestionibus super Gen. (cfr. August., 1. de Gen. contra Manich. c. 2.). — Vat. post materia adiungit prima.
    Which is taken from Bede's Exposition on Genesis 1, and from the Questions on Genesis (cf. Augustine, 1 On Genesis against the Manichees c. 2). — The Vatican edition, after matter, adds first.
  10. In cod. 1 adiungitur existentiae. — Cfr. p. II. a. 2. q. 1.
    In codex 1 there is added of existence. — Cf. p. II, a. 2, q. 1.
  11. Plurimi codd. cum Vat. coepit, cod. cc autem et ed. 1 incepit.
    Most codices, with the Vatican edition, [read] coepit (began), but codex cc and ed. 1 [read] incepit (began).
  12. Cap. 29. n. 40.
    Chapter 29, n. 40.
  13. Cod. A durationis sive temporis.
    Codex A [reads] of duration or of time.
  14. Id est, non asserendo. — Vat. adiungit aliorum.
    That is, not asserting [it]. — The Vatican edition adds of others.
  15. Cfr. 1. Sent. d. 43. q. 1. 3. 4. — Vat. omittit in ante infinitum, quae etiam paulo superius post potest [codd. F T potest facere] tot, quin supplet possit.
    Cf. 1 Sent. d. 43, q. 1, 3, 4. — The Vatican edition omits in before infinitum, [the edition] which also a little above, after potest [codices F T potest facere], supplies possit in tot, quin. ---
← Dist. 2, Part 1, Art. 2, Q. 2Dist. 2, Part 2, Art. 1, Q. 1→