Saturday, October 28, 2006

Q53 A3: Whether the movement of an angel is instantaneous?

No. The movement of an angel is in time because it is in continuous time if his movement be continuous, and in non-continuous time if his movement is non-continuous for, as was said (Q53 A1), his movement can be of either kind, since the continuity of time comes of the continuity of movement, as the Philosopher says (Phys. iv, text 99).

In every change there is a before and after. Now the before and after of movement is reckoned by time. Consequently every movement, even of an angel, is in time, since there is a before and after in it.