Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Q107 A1: Whether one angel speaks to another?

Yes. The angels speak in a certain way because as sense is aroused by the sensible sign, so the mind of an angel can be aroused to attention by some intelligible power.

In Angelis est aliqua locutio quia sicut per signum sensibile excitatur sensus, ita per aliquam virtutem intelligibilem potest excitari mens Angeli ad attendendum.

By the fact that the concept of the angelic mind is ordered to be made known to another by the will of the angel himself, the concept of the mind of one angel is made known to another. In this way one angel speaks to another. For to speak to another only means to make known the mental concept to another.

Ex hoc vero quod conceptus mentis angelicae ordinatur ad manifestandum alteri, per voluntatem ipsius Angeli, conceptus mentis unius Angeli innotescit alteri. Et sic loquitur unus Angelus alteri. Nihil est enim aliud loqui ad alterum, quam conceptum mentis alteri manifestare.

When the mind turns itself to the actual consideration of any habitual knowledge, then a person speaks to himself; for the concept of the mind is called "the interior word."

Quando autem mens convertit se ad actu considerandum quod habet in habitu, loquitur aliquis sibi ipsi, nam ipse conceptus mentis "interius verbum" vocatur.

External speech, made by the voice, is a necessity for us on account of the obstacle of the body. Hence it does not befit an angel, but only interior speech belongs to him; and this includes not only the interior speech by mental concept, but also its being ordered to another's knowledge by the will.

Locutio exterior, quae fit per vocem, est nobis necessaria propter obstaculum corporis. Unde non convenit Angelo, sed sola locutio interior; ad quam pertinet non solum quod loquatur sibi interius concipiendo, sed etiam quod ordinet per voluntatem ad alterius manifestationem.

Gregory says (Moral. ii): "It is fitting that our mind, rising above the properties of bodily speech, should be lifted to the sublime and unknown methods of interior speech."

Dicit Gregorius II Moral., "dignum est ut mens nostra, qualitatem corporeae locutionis excedens, ad sublimes atque incognitos modos locutionis intimae suspendatur."