Sunday, July 05, 2009

Q106 A3: Whether an inferior angel can enlighten a superior angel?

No. The inferior angels never enlighten the superior, but are always enlightened by them, because one order is under another, as cause is under cause; and hence as cause is ordered to cause, so is order to order.

Inferiores Angeli nunquam illuminant superiores, sed semper ab eis illuminantur, quia, sicut supra dictum est, ordo continetur sub ordine, sicut causa continetur sub causa. Unde sicut ordinatur causa ad causam, ita ordo ad ordinem.

God may work something miraculously outside the order of corporeal nature, that men may be ordered to the knowledge of Him. But the passing over of the order that belongs to spiritual substances, in no way belongs to the ordering of men to God, since the angelic operations are not made known to us, as are the operations of sensible bodies.

Praeter ordinem naturae corporalis, aliquid Deus miraculose operetur, ad ordinandum homines in eius cognitionem. Sed praetermissio ordinis qui debetur spiritualibus substantiis, in nullo pertinet ad ordinationem hominum in Deum, cum operationes Angelorum non sint nobis manifestae, sicut operationes visibilium corporum.

Thus the order which belongs to spiritual substances is never passed over by God, so that the inferiors are always moved by the superior, and not conversely.

Et ideo ordo qui convenit spiritualibus substantiis, nunquam a Deo praetermittitur, quin semper inferiora moveantur per superiora, et non e converso.

Dionysius says that "this is the Divine unalterable law, that inferior things are led to God by the superior" (Coel. Hier. iv; Eccl. Hier. v).

Dionysius dicit "hanc legem esse divinitatis immobiliter firmatam, ut inferiora reducantur in Deum per superiora."