What is it to know truth?
To know truth is to know things as they are.
What then is it not to know things as they are?
It is to be in Ignorance or in error.
Is there any difference between being in ignorance and being in error?
Yes, there is a great difference; to be in ignorance is merely not to know things as they are; whereas to be in error is to affirm that a thing is, when it is not, or conversely.
Is it an evil for man to be in error?
Yes, it is a great evil, because man's proper good consists in knowledge of the truth which is the good of his intellect.
Has man a knowledge of the truth at birth?
No, at birth man has no knowledge of the truth; for Ihough he then has an intellect it is in an entirely undeveloped state; its unfolding, necessary for the attainment of truth, awaits the development of the powers of sense which are its handmaids
When then does man begin to know truth?
Man begins to know truth when he has attained the use of reason, that is at about the age of seven years.
Can man know all things by his reason?
No, man cannot know all by his reason adequately, that is if one considers his reason within the limits of natural powers
What things can man know by the natural force of reason?
By the natural power of his reason man can know things attainable by his senses and all that these things manifest.
Can man know himself by the natural power of his reason?
Yes, because he himself is a thing attainable by the power of sense, and by the help of other things that fall within the scope of his senses, he is able, by reasoning, come to a knowledge of himself
Can man know the angels or pure spirits?
Yes, but he can know them only imperfectly.
Why can he know them only imperfectly?
It is because he cannot know them in themselves reason of their nature; for they do not belong to the category of things attainable by sense, which things a the proper object of man's reason
Can man know God in Himself?
No, man cannot know God in Himself by the natural force of his reason, for God is infinite above all things I sense, which alone are the objects proportionate to the natural power of man's reason
Left then to his natural powers man can know God only imperfectly by his reason?
Yes.
Is it nevertheless a good thing for man to be able to know God only imperfectly by his reason?
Yes. Indeed it is a great perfection for man to know God by his reason however imperfect the knowledge be; because thereby man is lifted up in an eminent degree above the rest of creatures that are devoid of reason; it is moreover owing to the possibility of this knowledge that God has raised man to the sovereign dignity of being child of His grace; in this happy state man's reason flows God as He is in Himself, at first imperfectly by the light of faith, but at length perfectly by the light of glory
By the fact that man can be raised to the dignity of becoming a child of God by grace, is he placed on a level with the angels?
Yes. Raised to the dignity of a child of God by grace, man is in some sort on an equal footing with the angels; indeed he can even ascend higher than they in this order of grace, although in the order of nature he always remains inferior to them
XVI. OF MAN'S POWERS OF LOVING: FREE WILL
Are there any other powers in man beside those of knowing?
Yes, there are also the powers of loving.
What is understood by these powers?
By the powers of loving we understand that there is in man a power by which he is drawn through the medium of his powers of knowing to seek whatsoever presents itself as a good, and to turn away from whatsoever presents itself as an evil.
Are there several powers of loving in man?
They are twofold by reason of the two kinds of knowledge in man.
What are these powers of loving called?
The first is called the heart or the affections in the material sense of the word; the second is called the will
May not man's will also be called the heart?
Yes, but in a higher and wholly immaterial sense of the word.
Which is the more perfect of these two powers of loving?
The will.
Is it because man has a will that he is said to be free?
Yes, for his will is not drawn of itself or of necessity to a good except under the general aspect of good; hence provided the good presented to the will is only some particular good the will is master of its own act in so far as it is able to choose or not to choose that particular good
Is man's free will dependent upon his will only?
No, man's free will results from a combination of his will with his reason or intellect.
Is man by his intellect and will, and his power of freedom the king of all creatures in this world?
Yes, this is so; for all things else by their very nature are inferior to man and were made to serve him.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Check with your doctor