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048 - Xlviii That God Knows Only Himself First And Per Se · Summa Contra Gentiles, First Book (On God)

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  Speaker 1: Chapter forty eight of Suma Contragentilees, First Book on God
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  Speaker 1: by Saint Thomas aquinas translated by the Fathers of the
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  Speaker 1: English Dominican Province. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter forty eight. That God knows only himself first and
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  Speaker 1: per se. From the foregoing, it follows that God first
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  Speaker 1: and per se knows himself alone, for that thing alone
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  Speaker 1: is known first and per se by whose species the
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  Speaker 1: intellect understands, because the operation is proportionate to the form,
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  Speaker 1: which is the principle of the operation. Now, that by
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  Speaker 1: which God understands is nothing else than his essence, as
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  Speaker 1: we have proved. Therefore, that which is understood by Him
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  Speaker 1: first and per se is nothing else than himself. Again,
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  Speaker 1: it is impossible to understand simultaneously several things first and
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  Speaker 1: per se, since one operation cannot terminate simultaneously in several things. Now,
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  Speaker 1: God understands himself sometimes, as we have proved. Therefore, if
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  Speaker 1: He understands something else by way of an object understood
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  Speaker 1: first and per se, it follows that his intellect is
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  Speaker 1: changed from consideration to consideration of that thing. But this
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  Speaker 1: thing is less excellent than he. Therefore the divine intellect
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  Speaker 1: would be changed for the worse, which is impossible. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: the operations of the intellect are distinguished in relation to
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  Speaker 1: their objects. If therefore, God understands himself and something other
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  Speaker 1: than himself as principal object, he will have several intellectual operations. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: either his essence will be divided into several parts, or
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  Speaker 1: he will have an intellectual operation that is not his substance,
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  Speaker 1: both of which have been proved to be impossible. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: it follows that nothing is known by God as understood
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  Speaker 1: first and per se, except his essence. Again, the intellect,
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  Speaker 1: in so far as it is distinct from the object
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  Speaker 1: of its intelligence, is in potentiality in its regard. If
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  Speaker 1: then something else is understood by God first and per se,
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  Speaker 1: it will follow that he is in potentiality in respect
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  Speaker 1: of something else, and this is impossible, as we have
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  Speaker 1: shown above. Further, the thing understood is the perfection of
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  Speaker 1: the one who understands, because the intellect is perfect in
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  Speaker 1: so far as it actually understands, and this is through
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  Speaker 1: its being one with the thing understood. Therefore, if something
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  Speaker 1: other than God be first understood by him, something else
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  Speaker 1: will be his perfection. And more excellent than he, but
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  Speaker 1: this is impossible. Moreover, the knowledge of one who understands
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  Speaker 1: is the product of many things understood. Accordingly, if many
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  Speaker 1: things are known by God as known principally and per se,
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  Speaker 1: it follows that God's knowledge is composed of many. And
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  Speaker 1: thus either God's essence will be composite, or knowledge will
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  Speaker 1: be accidental to God. But either of these is clearly
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  Speaker 1: impossible from what has been said. It remains therefore, that
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  Speaker 1: that which is understood by God first and per se
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  Speaker 1: is nothing else than his substance. Further, the intellectual operation
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  Speaker 1: takes its species and excellence from that which is understood
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  Speaker 1: first and per se, since this is its object. If
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  Speaker 1: therefore God understood a thing other than himself, as though
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  Speaker 1: it were understood first and per se, his intellectual operation
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  Speaker 1: would derive its species and excellence from that which is
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  Speaker 1: other than himself. But this is impossible, since his operation
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  Speaker 1: is his essence. As we have shown, it is accordingly
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  Speaker 1: impossible for that which God understands first and per se
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  Speaker 1: to be other than himself. End of Chapter forty eight,
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  Speaker 1: read by Michael Shane, Craig, Lambert Elsie