Necessaria est inquisitio rationis ante iudicium de eligendis (et haec inquisitio consilium vocatur), quia actiones sunt circa singularia contingentia, quae propter sui variabilitatem incerta sunt; et in rebus dubiis et incertis ratio non profert iudicium absque inquisitione praecedente.
The inquiry of formal aspect is necessary before judgment on the objects of choice (and this inquiry is called counsel), because actions are concerned with contingent singulars, which by reason of their vicissitude, are uncertain; and in things doubtful and uncertain aspectual apprehension does not pronounce judgment without previous inquiry.
Propter quod philosophus dicit, in III Ethic., quod "electio est appetitus praeconsiliati".
Hence the Philosopher says (Ethic. iii, 2) that choice is the "desire of what has been already counselled."
Gregorius Nyssenus dicit, "omne quidem consilium quaestio est; non autem omnis quaestio consilium."
Gregory of Nyssa [Nemesius, De Nat. Hom. xxxiv.] says: "Every counsel is an investigation; but not every investigation is a counsel."
Consilium attribuitur Deo quantum ad certitudinem sententiae vel iudicii, quae in nobis provenit ex inquisitione consilii. Sed huiusmodi inquisitio in Deo locum non habet, et ideo consilium secundum hoc Deo non attribuitur. Et secundum hoc Damascenus dicit quod "Deus non consiliatur, ignorantis enim est consiliari".
We ascribe counsel to God, as to the certainty of His knowledge or judgment, which certainty in us arises from the inquiry of counsel. But such inquiry has no place in God; wherefore in this respect it is not ascribed to God: in which sense Damascene says (De Fide Orth. ii, 22): "God takes not counsel: those only take counsel who lack knowledge."