Natural Knowledge of God in the Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquina

41
of human intelligence that a plurality of names is predicated of 3Od. 45
.
.. 47
In either case it becomes evident that names of God are many. firBt, because
created perfectionB are many; the multiplicity and variety of creatures
is, as it were. God's way of ftcompensatingft for the inability of
the finite perfeotly to reproduce the Infinite. Second, names of God are
many because the finite intellect can acquire knowledge of the Infinite
only according to ~~~ being; its very.nature requires it to employ
many concepts.
It is by reasoning from the manifold perfections of
finite beings that man i. led to conolude that in their First Cause, perfections
that appear in creatures as many and diversified. necessarily
exist as one. His names are many, but God is One.
We have seen that man is indebted to the oreature for the positive
attributions that ~atural reason can make of God. From the perfeotions
of Hi. effect., whether they are the perfeotions of an amoeba or of a
Rooky Mountain system, of a stone or of man,--from these perfections we
name the perfection of God.
It is the finite, manifold and diversified
45St• Thomas" Sentences. d. 2, q. 1, a. 3, as quoted by Ge.rrigou­
Lagrange • ...2,£. ~. Vol. II, p. 6. footnote 7:
1hat God exceeds the power of our intelleot is due, ~ ~ part !!.!
~ Himself. ~ the plenitude 2!.!!!! perfection, ~!!!2. ~ ~ part, ~
~ feebleness 2!.~ intellect whioh tailB to oomprehend ~ ierfection.
Hence it is evident that a plurality of these notions is not on y due to
the nature of our intellect but also because of God Himself. in that Hi.
perfection surpasses each concept of our intellect. 1herefore, ther~ i.
something in the object which corresponds to the plurality of those notions,
aB to what God iB. not indeed the plurality of the object, but a fullness
of perfection, and hence it comes that about that these concepts are applied
to it.
I