PROLOGUE
In the son of God dearest to him brother Baxiano, lector of the order of preachers from Venice, brother Thomas de Aquinas, of the same order, greetings in the son of the glorious virgin. After reading your letter I found that your charity required me to reply in the words below, of course.
QUESTIONS
[70481] Of the 30 articles, arg. 1
Are angels the movers of the heavenly bodies?
[70482] Of the 30 articles, arg. 2
Again, whether the Angels, mediating the movements of the heavenly bodies, are the cause of all that is naturally generated and corrupted in this world.
[70483] Of the 30 articles, arg. 3
Likewise, whether God moves any body immediately.
[70484] Of the 30 articles, arg. 4
Likewise, whether some have estimated that it has been infallibly proved that angels are the movers of the heavenly bodies.
[70485] Of the 30 articles, arg. 5
Again, whether the angels moving the heavenly bodies are of the order of the virtues.
[70486] Of the 30 articles, arg. 6
Likewise, whether what is said in Ecclesiastes: the spirit goes round and round , can of course be explained in this way, namely: the angelic goes round and round the heaven, that is, by operation because it moves the heaven in a circle.
[70487] Of the 30 articles, arg. 7
Likewise, whether the Angels, by mediating the motions of the heavenly bodies, are the makers of all naturally composed bodies, whether human or otherwise.
[70488] Of the 30 articles, arg. 8
Again, is every corruptible elemental body dissolved into elements in a moment when the motions of the heavenly bodies cease?
[70489] Of the 30 articles, arg. 9
Also, whether a carpenter could naturally move his hand to hammer or to do any other work without angels moving the heavenly bodies.
[70490] Of the 30 articles, arg. 10
Again, whether the angels moving the heavenly bodies by their command move them by the power entrusted to them by God.
[70491] Of the 30 articles, arg. 11
Likewise, if the lights of the stars did not exist, all other corruptible things would die in a moment.
[70492] Of the 30 articles, arg. 12
Again, whether after the day of judgment the bodies of the saints are incorruptible in three ways, namely, by divine justice, also by glory, and also naturally or by nature.
[70493] Of the 30 articles, arg. 13
Likewise, whether after the day of judgment the bodies of the damned would be incorruptible in two ways, namely, by divine justice and naturally or by nature.
[70494] Of the 30 articles, arg. 14
Likewise, whether it is possible to know the distance from the surface of the earth to the center.
[70495] Of the 30 articles, arg. 15
Also, whether after the day of judgment the bodies of the saints will shine much more than the sun.
[70496] Of the 30 articles, arg. 16
Also, whether it can be debated in the schools whether the soul of Christ is from translation.
[70497] Of the 30 articles, arg. 17
Likewise, whether the nature of the heavenly body comes virtually into the composition of a body composed of four elements, whether animate or inanimate.
[70498] Of the 30 articles, arg. 18
Likewise, whether the holy angels sometimes behave in the manner of those who grieve or weep, although they do not really grieve or weep.
[70499] Of the 30 articles, arg. 19
Also, whether demons can know all the thoughts of the heart which are accompanied by certain passions in the body.
[70500] Of the 30 articles, arg. 20
Likewise, what Aristotle says in his book on animals: the body of the sperm, with which the spirit, which is the power of the principle of the soul, is separated from the body and the divine thing, and such is said that the intellect can and should be explained in this way. similitude, because just as the intellect works without an organ, so does that virtue.
[70501] Of the 30 articles, arg. 21
Likewise, whether Christ came principally to take away original sin with respect to all sins.
[70502] Of the 30 articles, arg. 22
Again, may God work all miracles by the ministry of angels.
[70503] Of the 30 articles, arg. 23
Likewise, whether all the miracles that Christ did were done by God or by the divinity in him through the humanity of Christ himself.
[70504] Of the 30 articles, arg. 24
Likewise, whether the divinity in Christ worked miracles by authority, and humanity worked miracles in the same ministry.
[70505] Of the 30 articles, arg. 25
Again, whether all the miracles which are wrought by the ministry of any creature are wrought by divine authority, that is, by divine power without which nothing can be done.
[70506] Of the 30 articles, arg. 26
Likewise, whether God can move any body immediately so that moving that which is divisible by measured time is an action of God.
[70507] Of the 30 articles, arg. 27
Likewise, whether an angel has infinite power below and in duration.
[70508] Of the 30 articles, arg. 28
Also, whether the damned in their passions suffer from the fire of Hell, because they receive the appearance of the fire of Hell in the manner of being afflicted or injured.
[70509] Of the 30 articles, arg. 29
Likewise, whether God moves any body immediately in miracles.
[70510] Of the 30 articles, arg. 30
Likewise, if God were to move any body directly by his command, that is, no creature would move it, but God alone would then move it, which would be equivalent or analogous to moving all creatures, and it would be there to be moved without moving, which is the action of the creator or the creature in measured time.
THE SOLUTION
[70511] Of the 30 articles, to 1
I say in the first place that this has not only been proved in many ways by the philosophers, but is also clearly asserted by the sacred teachers. For Augustine says, III of the Trinity, that just as grosser and lower bodies are governed by a certain order by finer ones, so all bodies are governed by the rational spirit of life. In the book of 83 questions he also says that every visible thing in this world has an angelic power assigned to it.
[70512] Of the 30 articles, to 2
To the second I say that this necessarily follows if the Angels are the cause of the movement of the heavens, which is the cause of generation and corruption in the lower bodies, as Dionysius says, chapter 4. of the divine names, for what is the cause of the cause is the cause of the caused.
[70513] Of the 30 articles, to 3
To the third, I say that this is true as regards all those movements of the body which cannot be done by a creature.
[70514] Of the 30 articles, to 4
To the fourth I say that the books of the philosophers abound in proofs of this kind, which they themselves consider demonstrations; It also seems to me that it can be demonstratively proved that the heavenly bodies are moved by some intellect, that is, either directly by God or by mediating angels. But that he moves them through the mediation of angels, this is more consistent with the order of things which Dionysius asserts is infallible, that the lower things are administered by God through the means according to a common course.
[70515] Of the 30 articles, to 5
To the fifth I say that this indeed seems to me, especially if the order of the virtues is called the middle order of the second hierarchy, as Dionysius wishes. For this order holds the first place among the executors of external ministries; whence Dionysius says ch. 8 of the celestial hierarchy, because the name of the virtues shows a certain divine and unshaken strength for all deiform operations. Now there is nothing in external ministries that seems to be greater than the disposition of universal causes except the administration of the heavenly bodies, and therefore the administration of the heavenly bodies seems to belong to the order of the virtues. Whence Origen, explaining that word in Matt. 24 The virtues of the heavens will be shaken , says that it is appropriate for the rational virtues of the heavens to suffer astonishment, being removed from their first functions .
[70516] Of the 30 articles, to 6
To the sixth I say that I do not see why it cannot of course be explained, since this sentence is true, according to the aforesaid, and this way of speaking does not differ from the custom of the sacred Scriptures, as it is said in Rom. 8 What the spirit interrupts, that is, it causes to interrupt.
[70517] Of the 30 articles, to 7
To the seventh I say that the word of making is attributed to artificial causes, and so it cannot be said that angels or heavenly bodies are the makers of human bodies and other mixed bodies. Again, it is sometimes attributed to natural causes, and thus it can be said that angels and heavenly bodies are the makers of human and other mixed bodies, although it seems vain to argue about names when it is clear about things.
[70518] Of the 30 articles, to 8
To the eighth I say that this is understood in one way as true and in another as false. It is necessary that the motion of the heavens, like every other motion, should cease in a moment or in an instant; because the last instant of time corresponds to the last instant of motion. If, therefore, it is understood that the corruption of these bodies, or the resolution into elements, is in the instant, it is true as regards its principle. But if as to its term, it is false. For the heavenly bodies are the causing and preserving causes as well as the moving causes, hence the corruption or dissolution which occurs from the subtraction of such a cause must be by motion. But the limit and the beginning of no movement can be at the same moment, because every movement needs some time.
[70519] Of the 30 articles, to 9
To the ninth I say that it is evident that all mixed bodies are preserved in existence by the motion of the celestial bodies, from the fact that at a certain period of celestial motion they are both preserved and corrupted, and according to some elongation or approach of some celestial bodies they are generated, preserved and corrupted. If, then, it is understood that what has been said is that when the movement of the heavenly bodies, which is through the Angels, ceases, all the bodies of carpenters and hammers and all other mixed bodies according to the order of nature would be corrupted, unless they were preserved in being by supernatural power. what is said has truth. For if the body of the smith were to be dissolved, it is clear that the smith would not be able to move his hand to the hammer.
[70520] Of the 30 articles, to 10
In the tenth place I say that indeed I do not fully see that there can be any doubt about this. For I do not esteem any one to doubt that all that the angels do is done by the power given by God. But if this is turned into a doubt that they are said to move the heavenly bodies by their command, it seems to be an unreasonable doubt. For they cannot move any body by the contact of quantity, since they are incorporeal, but by the contact of power. But there is nothing deeper in the angels than their intellect, since they themselves are called intellects or minds by Dionysius; whence their motions proceed from the power of the intellect. Now the very conception of the intellect, in so far as it has the efficacy of transforming something, is called control; therefore, if they move, they can move in no way except by command.
[70521] Of the 30 articles, to 11
To the eleventh I say that this indeed seems to me to have been said above in article 8; for death is by the separation of the soul from the body, which takes place only by some change of the body from its natural disposition, which cannot be entirely in the instant, but its cause and principle is in the instant.
[70522] Of the 30 articles, to 12
To the twelfth I say that as to the first two, this cannot be slandered. As for the third, it might be a slander if it is understood that nature alone is sufficient for the corruption of the human body, as if the incorruption of the human body is caused by nature as by an agent. However, it is true that the natural cause of corruption, which is the motion of the heavens, will then be removed, because just as the motion of the heavens is the cause of the generation and preservation of mixed bodies, so it is also the cause of their corruption. and according to this it may be said that that incorruption was by nature, that is to say, the cause of natural corruption will be taken away.
[70523] Of the 30 articles, to 13
To the thirteenth I say that this has the same reason as the preceding one.
[70524] Of the 30 articles, to 14
To the fourteenth I say that he can.
[70525] Of the 30 articles, to 15
To the fifteenth I say that I see no danger in supposing that after the resurrection the moon shines as much as the sun, but the sun shines seven times as much, and so on.
[70526] Of the 30 articles, to 16
To the sixteenth I say that I do not see why this should not be allowed.
[70527] Of the 30 articles, to the 17
To the seventeenth I say that this is necessarily true, since the heavenly bodies are the cause of generation and corruption in these lower ones, as Dionysius says.
[70528] Of the 30 articles, to 18
For the eighteenth time I say that this is necessarily true, and it is the opinion of Augustine, who says thus in the 9th chapter of the city of God. 5: The holy angels also punish without anger those whom they receive to be punished by the eternal law of God, and they come to the poor without compassion for misery, and they help those who are in danger, whom they love, without fear. and yet, by the custom of human speech, the names of these passions are also used in them because of a certain similarity of the works, not because of the weakness of the affections .
[70529] Of the 30 articles, to the 19
To the nineteenth I say that this is true. Augustine also says this in his book on the divination of demons: the dispositions of men , he says, are not only uttered by voice, but also conceived by thought; which, while they are expressed in the body from the mind, they are lost with all ease . Regarding this also in the book of Retractions he says that it was discovered by certain experiments that these things came to the notice of the demons. But whether certain signs are given from the body of those who think, and whether they are sensible to us by latent or other spiritual power, it can either be found with great difficulty by men, or it cannot be discovered at all . But if they know thoughts by spiritual power, much more so do bodily movements, from which even men sometimes know their inner dispositions, so that the second does not exclude the first, but adds more.
[70530] From 30 articles, to 20
For the twentieth time I say that the Commentator puts this explanation in VII Metaph. on top of that: therefore, just as it was said that in substance is the principle and the rest, and these are his words. That is why Aristotle says in his book on animals that the virtues that are in seeds are similar to the intellect, namely because they act by the action of the intellect and that these virtues are assimilated to the intellect in that they do not act through a bodily instrument .
[70531] Of the 30 articles, to the 21
To the twenty-first I say that just as the common good is better than the particular good of one, so the common evil of many is worse, whence Christ came more principally to take away the original sin which had infected the whole human nature, than the particular sins of individuals, whence above Jo. 1: behold he that taketh away the sins of the world . Therefore Christ came more principally to take away original sin than others, because to take away natural sins belongs to the main intention of Christ who came to save the world according to Luke. 5: I came to call sinners to repentance.
[70532] Of the 30 articles, to 22
For the twenty second I say that I think it is true that God works all miracles by the ministry of angels, whether visible or invisible, so that the ministry of angels does not extend to everything that is done in a miracle.
[70533] Of the 30 articles, to 23
To the twenty-third I say that this is true, that the divinity of Christ worked miracles through humanity, as through an organ, as Damascene says.
[70534] Of the 30 articles, to 24
To the twenty-fourth I say that this is true because the divinity of Christ worked miracles through humanity, as through an organ, as Damascene says. The same is the case in the operation of the minister's organ, because both move by the fact that they are moved by the other.
[70535] From 30 articles, to 25
For the twenty-fifth time I say that this is true.
[70536] Of the 30 articles, to 26
To the twenty-sixth, I say that God can neither mediately nor directly move any body, so that to move that which is divisible and measured in time is the action of God, which is its simplest essence; for God cannot do this, nor wills that his action, which is his essence, be divisible and measured in time.
[70537] Of the 30 articles, to 27
To the twenty-seventh point, I say that when it is said that the power of an angel is infinite below, it is not to be understood that it is not determined to specific effects, but because it does not suffer weariness or failure in producing its effects. Likewise, it has power of infinite duration on the part of the latter, because its nature can last forever. For its duration is not measured by any period of time.
[70538] Of the 30 articles, to 28
For the twenty-eighth time I say that I do not see how this can be a slander. For if impassiveness is generally assumed to be the gift of a glorious body, it is fitting that non-glorious bodies will be passible. Now that they receive the appearance of fire in themselves by way of affliction, this cannot be denied except by him who denies that such bodies feel the fire of Hell. For it is necessary for the species to become sensible in the sense that affliction follows.
[70539] Of the 30 articles, to 29
As for the twenty-sixth, I say that not so much as for the joint effects, because in them the ministry of angels is not wanting.
[70540] Of the 30 articles, to 30
To the thirtieth I say that not only God but also every intellect moves by command. But the government of the intellect is nothing else than the conception of an effect when it is ordered to be fulfilled by the will; But God's will and understanding is nothing other than his own essence. Hence, just as the action by which God created things, so the action by which God can directly move the body is nothing other than understanding and its will. May your charity continue for a long time and for this work you will repay me with the votes of your prayers.