Natural Knowledge of God in the Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquina

so
human beiDg', with inte11igbo.. By udng hi' taoul ty ot r.a.en:'.an oan
know that H. Who oODllllUllioatel being to Hie .tt.ot. ie intrinsioally po.­
••••• d ot the pert.otion. B. b.,tows on or.ature. aooording to the d.termination.
ot their r •• peotiT. es,.no.,. Proportionally, the oreature i •
..,
like Bi. Creator. 1h.ret'ore, the unity, goodn... and pur. p.rt.otions di.-
.
oover.d in I.naibl. thing I are to b ••••• ntially predioat.d ot' God.
In
_kiDg aualog!oal predioation., .... remoTe trfR the pert.otion all that
indioates it. oreat.d .ode, we raise it to the d.gre. ot .up.r..tn.no.
worthy ot Ood. 20 1bat i. what ..... u wh.n we .ay, ~ i., aooordin, ~
20St• '!ho •• , CoDtra (Jent., I, chap. %xx, pp. '12-'1'.
ror .i.o. enry pert.otion ot oreatur •• i. to b. tound in God, alb.it
in anoth.r and .ore e.1nbt .... ,., whateT.r terms d.Dote p.rt.otion ab.olut.ly
and without any d.t •• t what.Ter, are predioat.d ot God and ot oth.r thillg.,
tor in.tanoe. gooda.e.. wildo. and eo torth ••••
Wow, I .ay that eOM ot the atore.aid tera. d.note p.rt.otion wi thout
d.t.ot, a. r.gard. that which the tera 1a emplo,.d to dp!t'7. tor a.
regare. the .,do ot aignitioation .very tara is d.t.otiTe. 'or we .%pr ....
thing. by a tera ae we oono.ift the. by the int.ll.ot: and our int.ll.ot,
.ino. It, knowl.dg. orig1aate. trom the .en'.s, do •• not .urpas. the mod.
whioh we tind in •• nsibl. obj.ots, wherein the tora i. di.tinet tro. the
.ubjeot ot the tora, on aocount ot th. oompolition ot tora and _tter ••••
Aooordlngly in .Tery tera -.ployed by us, there il impert.otion as r.gard.
the DIOd. ot ligaftoation, and iIIp.rtootion 1a unbeooming to God, although
the thing lignit1.d i. beooming to God 1n .ome 8JI11lont way. as instano.d .
in the t.ra eoa •••• r the lOj;' 16ft acto ••• 1 ligalf'1., by _y of' nalub.i,tenGe,
ud G. gconip i •• by ... y ot oonoret10Jl. In this r.,p.ot
no term 18 becoming 1,. appli.d to God, but only in r.lpeet ot that whlola the
term 11 .aploJed to dga1ty ••• Bow the mode ot aup.remi1l .... ill whio; the
alor •• aid p.rt.ct10D. are tood ift God, eaDl10t b ••%pre... d in t'1"Il' .mple,.d
by v,, .xo.pt .ither by n.gatioll, ae .whn we .ay God is .ternal or
intin! te, or by r.t.rrin.g Bill to oth.r thing., al wh.n we .ay that it. 11
the first caus. or the 8ov.reiF good. For we are able to gn.p. Bot what
God il. but &10 H. 1. not, an the r.lationl ot other thinge to Bia.
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