Saturday, April 18, 2009

Q89 A2: Whether the separated soul understands separate substances?

Yes. The soul apart from the body has perfect knowledge of other separated souls, but it has an imperfect and defective knowledge of the angels, so far as its natural knowledge is concerned, because, as Augustine says (De Trin. ix, 3), "our mind acquires the knowledge of incorporeal things by itself"--i.e., by knowing itself (Q88, A1, ad 1).

De aliis animabus separatis perfectam cognitionem habet, de Angelis autem imperfectam et deficientem, loquendo de cognitione naturali animae separatae, quia sicut Augustinus dicit in IX de Trin., "mens nostra cognitionem rerum incorporearum per seipsam accipit", idest cognoscendo seipsam.

Therefore from the knowledge which the separated soul has of itself, we can judge how it knows other separate things. Now it was said above (Q89, A1), that as long as it is united to the body the soul understands by turning to phantasms, and therefore it does not understand itself save through becoming actually intelligent by means of ideas abstracted from phantasms; for thus it understands itself through its own act, as shown above (Q87, A1).

Per hoc ergo quod anima separata cognoscit seipsam, accipere possumus qualiter cognoscit alias substantias separatas. Dictum est autem quod quandiu anima corpori est unita, intelligit convertendo se ad phantasmata. Et ideo nec seipsam potest intelligere nisi inquantum fit actu intelligens per speciem a phantasmatibus abstractam, sic enim per actum suum intelligit seipsam, ut supra dictum est.

When, however, it is separated from the body, it understands no longer by turning to phantasms, but by turning to simply intelligible objects; hence in that state it understands itself through itself. Now, every separate substance "understands what is above itself and what is below itself, according to the mode of its substance" (De Causis viii): for a thing is understood according as it is in the one who understands; while one thing is in another according to the nature of that in which it is. And the mode of existence of a separated soul is inferior to that of an angel, but is the same as that of other separated souls.

Sed cum fuerit a corpore separata, intelliget non convertendo se ad phantasmata, sed ad ea quae sunt secundum se intelligibilia, unde seipsam per seipsam intelliget. Est autem commune omni substantiae separatae quod intelligat id quod est supra se, et id quod est infra se, per modum suae substantiae, sic enim intelligitur aliquid secundum quod est in intelligente; est autem aliquid in altero per modum eius in quo est. Modus autem substantiae animae separatae est infra modum substantiae angelicae, sed est conformis modo aliarum animarum separatarum.

The separated soul understands the angels by means of divinely impressed ideas; which, however, fail to give perfect knowledge of them, inasmuch as the nature of the soul is inferior to that of an angel.

Anima separata intelligit Angelos per similitudines divinitus impressas. Quae tamen deficiunt a perfecta repraesentatione eorum, propter hoc quod animae natura est inferior quam Angeli.

Man's ultimate happiness consists not in the knowledge of any separate substances; but in the knowledge of God, Who is seen only by grace. The knowledge of other separate substances, if perfectly understood, gives great happiness, yet not final and ultimate happiness. But the separated soul does not understand them perfectly.

In cognitione substantiarum separatarum non quarumcumque, consistit ultima hominis felicitas, sed solius Dei, qui non potest videri nisi per gratiam. In cognitione vero aliarum substantiarum separatarum est magna felicitas, etsi non ultima, si tamen perfecte intelligantur. Sed anima separata naturali cognitione non perfecte eas intelligit.