Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Q116 A2: Whether fate is in created things?

Yes. Fate is in the created causes themselves, as ordered by God to the production of their effects, because Divine Providence produces effects through mediate causes.

Fatum est in ipsis causis creatis, inquantum sunt ordinatae a Deo ad effectus producendos, quia divina providentia per causas medias suos effectus exequitur.

Boethius says (De Consol. iv): "Fate is a disposition inherent to changeable things."

Boetius dicit, in IV de Consol. quod "fatum est dispositio rebus mobilibus inhaerens."

Fate has the formal aspect of a cause, just as much as the second causes themselves, the ordering of which is called fate.

Intantum fatum habet rationem causae, inquantum et ipsae causae secundae, quarum ordinatio fatum vocatur.

The ordering itself of second causes, which Augustine (De Civ. Dei v, 8) calls the "series of causes," has not the formal aspect of fate, except as dependent on God. Wherefore the Divine power or will can be called fate, as being the cause of fate. But essentially fate is the very disposition or "series," i.e. order, of second causes.

Ipsa ordinatio causarum secundarum, quam Augustinus seriem causarum nominat, non habet rationem fati, nisi secundum quod dependet a Deo. Et ideo causaliter Dei potestas vel voluntas dici potest fatum. Essentialiter vero fatum est ipsa dispositio seu series, idest ordo, causarum secundarum.

Fate is called a disposition, not that disposition which is a species of quality, but in the sense in which it signifies order, which is not a substance, but a relation. And if this order be considered in relation to its principle, it is one; and thus fate is one. But if it be considered in relation to its effects, or to the mediate causes, this fate is multiple. In this sense the poet wrote: "Thy fates draw thee."

Fatum dicitur dispositio, non quae est in genere qualitatis; sed secundum quod dispositio designat ordinem, qui non est substantia, sed relatio. Qui quidem ordo, si consideretur per comparationem ad suum principium, est unus, et sic dicitur unum fatum. Si autem consideretur per comparationem ad effectus, vel ad ipsas causas medias, sic multiplicatur, per quem modum poeta dixit, te tua "fata trahunt". [Vergil, Aeneid 5.709]