Sunday, February 22, 2009

Q79 A1: Whether the intellect is a power of the soul?

Yes. The intellect is a power of the soul, and not the very essence of the soul, because in God alone is His intellect His essence; while in other intellectual creatures, the intellect is power.

Intellectus sit aliqua potentia animae, et non ipsa animae essentia quia in solo Deo intellectus est eius essentia; in aliis autem creaturis intellectualibus intellectus est quaedam potentia intelligentis.

For then alone the essence of that which operates is the immediate principle of operation, when operation itself is its be-ing; for as power is to operation as to its act, so is the essence to be-ing. But in God alone His action of understanding is His very be-ing.

Tunc enim solum immediatum principium operationis est ipsa essentia rei operantis, quando ipsa operatio est eius esse, sicut enim potentia se habet ad operationem ut ad suum actum, ita se habet essentia ad esse. In solo Deo autem idem est intelligere quod suum esse.

In the angels there is no other power besides the intellect, and the will, which follows the intellect. And for this reason an angel is called a "mind" or an "intellect"; because his whole power consists in this. But the soul has many other powers, such as the sensitive and nutritive powers.

In Angelis non est alia vis nisi intellectiva, et voluntas, quae ad intellectum consequitur. Et propter hoc Angelus dicitur "mens" vel "intellectus", quia tota virtus sua in hoc consistit. Anima autem habet multas alias vires, sicut sensitivas et nutritivas, et ideo non est simile.

The immateriality of the created intelligent substance is not its intellect; rather, through its immateriality it has the power of intelligence. Wherefore it follows not that the intellect is the substance of the soul, but that it is its virtue and power.

Ipsa immaterialitas substantiae intelligentis creatae non est eius intellectus; sed ex immaterialitate habet virtutem ad intelligendum. Unde non oportet quod intellectus sit substantia animae, sed eius virtus et potentia.