Articulus 3 Article 3 Utrum nomen personae sit ponendum in divinis Whether the word ‘person’ should be said of God? Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod nomen personae non sit ponendum in divinis. Dicit enim Dionysius, in principio de Div. Nom. universaliter non est audendum aliquid dicere nec cogitare de supersubstantiali occulta divinitate, praeter ea quae divinitus nobis ex sanctis eloquiis sunt expressa. Sed nomen personae non exprimitur nobis in sacra Scriptura novi vel veteris testamenti. Ergo non est nomine personae utendum in divinis. Objection 1: It would seem that the name person should not be said of God. For Dionysius says (Div. Nom.): No one should ever dare to say or think anything of the supersubstantial and hidden Divinity, beyond what has been divinely expressed to us by the oracles. But the name person is not expressed to us in the Old or New Testament. Therefore person is not to be applied to God. Praeterea, Boetius dicit, in libro de Duab. Natur., nomen personae videtur traductum ex his personis quae in comoediis tragoediisque homines repraesentabant; persona enim dicta est a personando, quia concavitate ipsa maior necesse est ut volvatur sonus. Graeci vero has personas prosopa vocant, ab eo quod ponantur in facie, atque ante oculos obtegant vultum. Sed hoc non potest competere in divinis, nisi forte secundum metaphoram. Ergo nomen personae non dicitur de Deo nisi metaphorice. Obj. 2: Further, Boethius says (De Duab. Nat.): The word person seems to be taken from those persons who represented men in comedies and tragedies. For person comes from sounding through, since a greater volume of sound is produced through the cavity in the mask. These persons or masks the Greeks called prosopa, as they were placed on the face and covered the features before the eyes. This, however, can apply to God only in a metaphorical sense. Therefore the word person is only applied to God metaphorically. Praeterea, omnis persona est hypostasis. Sed nomen hypostasis non videtur Deo competere, cum, secundum Boetium, significet id quod subiicitur accidentibus, quae in Deo non sunt. Hieronymus etiam dicit quod in hoc nomine hypostasis, venenum latet sub melle. Ergo hoc nomen persona non est dicendum de Deo. Obj. 3: Further, every person is a hypostasis. But the word hypostasis does not apply to God, since, as Boethius says (De Duab. Nat.), it signifies what is the subject of accidents, which do not exist in God. Jerome also says (Ep. ad Damas.) that, in this word hypostasis, poison lurks in honey. Therefore the word person should not be said of God. Praeterea, a quocumque removetur definitio, et definitum. Sed definitio personae supra posita non videtur Deo competere. Tum quia ratio importat discursivam cognitionem, quae non competit Deo, ut supra ostensum est, et sic Deus non potest dici rationalis naturae. Tum etiam quia Deus dici non potest individua substantia, cum principium individuationis sit materia, Deus autem immaterialis est; neque etiam accidentibus substat, ut substantia dici possit. Nomen ergo personae Deo attribui non debet. Obj. 4: Further, if a definition is denied of anything, the thing defined is also denied of it. But the definition of person, as given above, does not apply to God. Both because reason implies a discursive knowledge, which does not apply to God, as we proved above (Q. 14, A. 12); and thus God cannot be said to have a rational nature. And also because God cannot be called an individual substance, since the principle of individuation is matter; while God is immaterial: nor is He the subject of accidents, so as to be called a substance. Therefore the word person ought not to be attributed to God. Sed contra est quod dicitur in symbolo Athanasii, alia est persona patris, alia filii, alia spiritus sancti. On the contrary, In the Creed of Athanasius we say: One is the person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. Respondeo dicendum quod persona significat id quod est perfectissimum in tota natura, scilicet subsistens in rationali natura. Unde, cum omne illud quod est perfectionis, Deo sit attribuendum, eo quod eius essentia continet in se omnem perfectionem; conveniens est ut hoc nomen persona de Deo dicatur. Non tamen eodem modo quo dicitur de creaturis, sed excellentiori modo; sicut et alia nomina quae, creaturis a nobis imposita, Deo attribuuntur; sicut supra ostensum est, cum de divinis nominibus ageretur. I answer that, Person signifies what is most perfect in all nature—that is, a subsistent individual of a rational nature. Hence, since everything that is perfect must be attributed to God, forasmuch as His essence contains every perfection, this name person is fittingly applied to God; not, however, as it is applied to creatures, but in a more excellent way; as other names also, which, while giving them to creatures, we attribute to God; as we showed above when treating of the names of God (Q. 13, A. 2). Ad primum ergo dicendum quod, licet nomen personae in Scriptura veteris vel novi testamenti non inveniatur dictum de Deo, tamen id quod nomen significat, multipliciter in sacra Scriptura invenitur assertum de Deo; scilicet quod est maxime per se ens, et perfectissime intelligens. Si autem oporteret de Deo dici solum illa, secundum vocem, quae sacra Scriptura de Deo tradit, sequeretur quod nunquam in alia lingua posset aliquis loqui de Deo, nisi in illa in qua primo tradita est Scriptura veteris vel novi testamenti. Ad inveniendum autem nova nomina, antiquam fidem de Deo significantia, coegit necessitas disputandi cum haereticis. Nec haec novitas vitanda est, cum non sit profana, utpote a Scripturarum sensu non discordans, docet autem Apostolus profanas vocum novitates vitare, I ad Tim. ult. Reply Obj. 1: Although the word person is not found applied to God in Scripture, either in the Old or New Testament, nevertheless what the word signifies is found to be affirmed of God in many places of Scripture; as that He is the supreme self-subsisting being, and the most perfectly intelligent being. If we could speak of God only in the very terms themselves of Scripture, it would follow that no one could speak about God in any but the original language of the Old or New Testament. The urgency of confuting heretics made it necessary to find new words to express the ancient faith about God. Nor is such a kind of novelty to be shunned; since it is by no means profane, for it does not lead us astray from the sense of Scripture. The Apostle warns us to avoid profane novelties of words (1 Tim 6:20). Ad secundum dicendum quod, quamvis hoc nomen persona non conveniat Deo quantum ad id a quo impositum est nomen, tamen quantum ad id ad quod significandum imponitur, maxime Deo convenit. Quia enim in comoediis et tragoediis repraesentabantur aliqui homines famosi, impositum est hoc nomen persona ad significandum aliquos dignitatem habentes. Unde consueverunt dici personae in Ecclesiis, quae habent aliquam dignitatem. Propter quod quidam definiunt personam, dicentes quod persona est hypostasis proprietate distincta ad dignitatem pertinente. Et quia magnae dignitatis est in rationali natura subsistere, ideo omne individuum rationalis naturae dicitur persona, ut dictum est. Sed dignitas divinae naturae excedit omnem dignitatem, et secundum hoc maxime competit Deo nomen personae. Reply Obj. 2: Although this name person may not belong to God as regards the origin of the term, nevertheless it excellently belongs to God in its objective meaning. For as famous men were represented in comedies and tragedies, the name person was given to signify those who held high dignity. Hence, those who held high rank in the Church came to be called persons. Thence by some the definition of person is given as hypostasis distinct by reason of dignity. And because subsistence in a rational nature is of high dignity, therefore every individual of the rational nature is called a person. Now the dignity of the divine nature excels every other dignity; and thus the name person pre-eminently belongs to God. Ad tertium dicendum quod nomen hypostasis non competit Deo quantum ad id a quo est impositum nomen, cum non substet accidentibus, competit autem ei quantum ad id, quod est impositum ad significandum rem subsistentem. Hieronymus autem dicit sub hoc nomine venenum latere, quia antequam significatio huius nominis esset plene nota apud Latinos, haeretici per hoc nomen simplices decipiebant, ut confiterentur plures essentias, sicut confitentur plures hypostases; propter hoc quod nomen substantiae, cui respondet in Graeco nomen hypostasis, communiter accipitur apud nos pro essentia. Reply Obj. 3: The word hypostasis does not apply to God as regards its source of origin, since He does not underlie accidents; but it applies to Him in its objective sense, for it is imposed to signify the subsistence. Jerome said that poison lurks in this word, forasmuch as before it was fully understood by the Latins, the heretics used this term to deceive the simple, to make people profess many essences as they profess several hypostases, inasmuch as the word substance, which corresponds to hypostasis in Greek, is commonly taken among us to mean essence. Ad quartum dicendum quod Deus potest dici rationalis naturae, secundum quod ratio non importat discursum, sed communiter intellectualem naturam. Individuum autem Deo competere non potest quantum ad hoc quod individuationis principium est materia, sed solum secundum quod importat incommunicabilitatem. Substantia vero convenit Deo, secundum quod significat existere per se. Quidam tamen dicunt quod definitio superius a Boetio data, non est definitio personae secundum quod personas in Deo dicimus. Propter quod Ricardus de sancto Victore, corrigere volens hanc definitionem, dixit quod persona, secundum quod de Deo dicitur, est divinae naturae incommunicabilis existentia. Reply Obj. 4: It may be said that God has a rational nature, if reason be taken to mean, not discursive thought, but in a general sense, an intelligent nature. But God cannot be called an individual in the sense that His individuality comes from matter; but only in the sense which implies incommunicability. Substance can be applied to God in the sense of signifying self-subsistence. There are some, however, who say that the definition of Boethius, quoted above (A. 1), is not a definition of person in the sense we use when speaking of persons in God. Therefore Richard of St. Victor amends this definition by adding that Person in God is the incommunicable existence of the divine nature. Articulus 4 Article 4 Utrum hoc nomen persona non significet relationem, sed substantiam, in divinis Whether this word ‘person’ signifies relation? Ad quartum sic proceditur. Videtur quod hoc nomen persona non significet relationem, sed substantiam, in divinis. Dicit enim Augustinus, in VII de Trin., cum dicimus personam patris, non aliud dicimus quam substantiam patris; ad se quippe dicitur persona, non ad filium. Objection 1: It would seem that this word person, as applied to God, does not signify relation, but substance. For Augustine says (De Trin. vii, 6): When we speak of the person of the Father, we mean nothing else but the substance of the Father, for person is said in regard to Himself, and not in regard to the Son. Praeterea, quid quaerit de essentia. Sed, sicut dicit Augustinus in eodem loco, cum dicitur, tres sunt qui testimonium dant in caelo, pater, verbum et spiritus sanctus; et quaeritur, quid tres? Respondetur, tres personae. Ergo hoc nomen persona significat essentiam. Obj. 2: Further, the interrogation What? refers to essence. But, as Augustine says: When we say there are three who bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and it is asked, Three what? the answer is, Three persons. Therefore person signifies essence. Praeterea, secundum Philosophum, IV Metaphys., id quod significatur per nomen, est eius definitio. Sed definitio personae est rationalis naturae individua substantia, ut dictum est. Ergo hoc nomen persona significat substantiam. Obj. 3: According to the Philosopher (Metaph. iv), the meaning of a word is its definition. But the definition of person is this: The individual substance of the rational nature, as above stated. Therefore person signifies substance. Praeterea, persona in hominibus et angelis non significat relationem, sed aliquid absolutum. Si igitur in Deo significaret relationem, diceretur aequivoce de Deo et hominibus et angelis. Obj. 4: Further, person in men and angels does not signify relation, but something absolute. Therefore, if in God it signified relation, it would bear an equivocal meaning in God, in man, and in angels. Sed contra est quod dicit Boetius, in libro de Trin., quod omne nomen ad personas pertinens, relationem significat. Sed nullum nomen magis pertinet ad personas, quam hoc nomen persona. Ergo hoc nomen persona relationem significat. On the contrary, Boethius says (De Trin.) that every word that refers to the persons signifies relation. But no word belongs to person more strictly than the very word person itself. Therefore this word person signifies relation. Respondeo dicendum quod circa significationem huius nominis persona in divinis, difficultatem ingerit quod pluraliter de tribus praedicatur, praeter naturam essentialium nominum; neque etiam ad aliquid dicitur, sicut nomina quae relationem significant. I answer that, A difficulty arises concerning the meaning of this word person in God, from the fact that it is predicated plurally of the Three in contrast to the nature of the names belonging to the essence; nor does it in itself refer to another, as do the words which express relation. Unde quibusdam visum est quod hoc nomen persona simpliciter, ex virtute vocabuli, essentiam significet in divinis, sicut hoc nomen Deus, et hoc nomen sapiens, sed propter instantiam haereticorum, est accommodatum, ex ordinatione Concilii, ut possit poni pro relativis; et praecipue in plurali, vel cum nomine partitivo, ut cum dicimus tres personas, vel alia est persona patris, alia filii. In singulari vero potest sumi pro absoluto, et pro relativo. Sed haec non videtur sufficiens ratio. Quia si hoc nomen persona, ex vi suae significationis, non habet quod significet nisi essentiam in divinis; ex hoc quod dictum est tres personas, non fuisset haereticorum quietata calumnia, sed maioris calumniae data esset eis occasio. Hence some have thought that this word person of itself expresses absolutely the divine essence; as this name God and this word Wise; but that to meet heretical attack, it was ordained by conciliar decree that it was to be taken in a relative sense, and especially in the plural, or with the addition of a distinguishing adjective; as when we say, Three persons, or, one is the person of the Father, another of the Son, etc. Used, however, in the singular, it may be either absolute or relative. But this does not seem to be a satisfactory explanation; for, if this word person, by force of its own signification, expresses the divine essence only, it follows that forasmuch as we speak of three persons, so far from the heretics being silenced, they had still more reason to argue. Et ideo alii dixerunt quod hoc nomen persona in divinis significat simul essentiam et relationem. Quorum quidam dixerunt quod significat essentiam in recto, et relationem in obliquo. Quia persona dicitur quasi per se una, unitas autem pertinet ad essentiam. Quod autem dicitur per se, implicat relationem oblique, intelligitur enim pater per se esse, quasi relatione distinctus a filio. Quidam vero dixerunt e converso, quod significat relationem in recto, et essentiam in obliquo, quia in definitione personae, natura ponitur in obliquo. Et isti propinquius ad veritatem accesserunt. Seeing this, others maintained that this word person in God signifies both the essence and the relation. Some of these said that it signifies directly the essence, and relation indirectly, forasmuch as person means as it were by itself one; and unity belongs to the essence. And what is by itself implies relation indirectly; for the Father is understood to exist by Himself, as relatively distinct from the Son. Others, however, said, on the contrary, that it signifies relation directly; and essence indirectly; forasmuch as in the definition of person the term nature is mentioned indirectly; and these come nearer to the truth. Ad evidentiam igitur huius quaestionis, considerandum est quod aliquid est de significatione minus communis, quod tamen non est de significatione magis communis, rationale enim includitur in significatione hominis, quod tamen non est de significatione animalis. Unde aliud est quaerere de significatione animalis, et aliud est quaerere de significatione animalis quod est homo. Similiter aliud est quaerere de significatione huius nominis persona in communi, et aliud de significatione personae divinae. Persona enim in communi significat substantiam individuam rationalis naturae, ut dictum est. Individuum autem est quod est in se indistinctum, ab aliis vero distinctum. Persona igitur, in quacumque natura, significat id quod est distinctum in natura illa sicut in humana natura significat has carnes et haec ossa et hanc animam, quae sunt principia individuantia hominem; quae quidem, licet non sint de significatione personae, sunt tamen de significatione personae humanae. To determine the question, we must consider that something may be included in the meaning of a less common term, which is not included in the more common term; as rational is included in the meaning of man, and not in the meaning of animal. So that it is one thing to ask the meaning of the word animal, and another to ask its meaning when the animal in question is man. Also, it is one thing to ask the meaning of this word person in general; and another to ask the meaning of person as applied to God. For person in general signifies the individual substance of a rational figure. The individual in itself is undivided, but is distinct from others. Therefore person in any nature signifies what is distinct in that nature: thus in human nature it signifies this flesh, these bones, and this soul, which are the individuating principles of a man, and which, though not belonging to person in general, nevertheless do belong to the meaning of a particular human person. Distinctio autem in divinis non fit nisi per relationes originis, ut dictum est supra. Relatio autem in divinis non est sicut accidens inhaerens subiecto, sed est ipsa divina essentia, unde est subsistens, sicut essentia divina subsistit. Sicut ergo deitas est Deus, ita paternitas divina est Deus pater, qui est persona divina. Persona igitur divina significat relationem ut subsistentem. Et hoc est significare relationem per modum substantiae quae est hypostasis subsistens in natura divina; licet subsistens in natura divina non sit aliud quam natura divina. Now distinction in God is only by relation of origin, as stated above (Q. 28, AA. 2, 3), while relation in God is not as an accident in a subject, but is the divine essence itself; and so it is subsistent, for the divine essence subsists. Therefore, as the Godhead is God so the divine paternity is God the Father, Who is a divine person. Therefore a divine person signifies a relation as subsisting. And this is to signify relation by way of substance, and such a relation is a hypostasis subsisting in the divine nature, although in truth that which subsists in the divine nature is the divine nature itself. Et secundum hoc, verum est quod hoc nomen persona significat relationem in recto, et essentiam in obliquo, non tamen relationem inquantum est relatio, sed inquantum significatur per modum hypostasis. Similiter etiam significat essentiam in recto, et relationem in obliquo, inquantum essentia idem est quod hypostasis; hypostasis autem significatur in divinis ut relatione distincta; et sic relatio, per modum relationis significata, cadit in ratione personae in obliquo. Et secundum hoc etiam dici potest, quod haec significatio huius nominis persona non erat percepta ante haereticorum calumniam, unde non erat in usu hoc nomen persona, nisi sicut unum aliorum absolutorum. Sed postmodum accommodatum est hoc nomen persona ad standum pro relativo, ex congruentia suae significationis, ut scilicet hoc quod stat pro relativo, non solum habeat ex usu, ut prima opinio dicebat, sed etiam ex significatione sua. Thus it is true to say that the name person signifies relation directly, and the essence indirectly; not, however, the relation as such, but as expressed by way of a hypostasis. So likewise it signifies directly the essence, and indirectly the relation, inasmuch as the essence is the same as the hypostasis: while in God the hypostasis is expressed as distinct by the relation: and thus relation, as such, enters into the notion of the person indirectly. Thus we can say that this signification of the word person was not clearly perceived before it was attacked by heretics. Hence, this word person was used just as any other absolute term. But afterwards it was applied to express relation, as it lent itself to that signification, so that this word person means relation not only by use and custom, according to the first opinion, but also by force of its own proper signification. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod hoc nomen persona dicitur ad se, non ad alterum, quia significat relationem, non per modum relationis, sed per modum substantiae quae est hypostasis. Et secundum hoc Augustinus dicit quod significat essentiam, prout in Deo essentia est idem cum hypostasi, quia in Deo non differt quod est et quo est. Reply Obj. 1: This word person is said in respect to itself, not to another; forasmuch as it signifies relation not as such, but by way of a substance—which is a hypostasis. In that sense Augustine says that it signifies the essence, inasmuch as in God essence is the same as the hypostasis, because in God what He is, and whereby He is are the same. Ad secundum dicendum quod quid quandoque quaerit de natura quam significat definitio; ut cum quaeritur, quid est homo? Et respondetur, animal rationale mortale. Quandoque vero quaerit suppositum; ut cum quaeritur, quid natat in mari? Et respondetur, piscis. Et sic quaerentibus quid tres? Responsum est, tres personae. Reply Obj. 2: The term what refers sometimes to the nature expressed by the definition, as when we ask, What is man? and we answer: A mortal rational animal. Sometimes it refers to the suppositum, as when we ask, What swims in the sea? and answer, A fish. So to those who ask, Three what? we answer, Three persons. Ad tertium dicendum quod in intellectu substantiae individuae, idest distinctae vel incommunicabilis, intelligitur in divinis relatio, ut dictum est. Reply Obj. 3: In God, the individual—i.e., distinct and incommunicable substance—includes the idea of relation, as above explained. Ad quartum dicendum quod diversa ratio minus communium non facit aequivocationem in magis communi. Licet enim sit alia propria definitio equi et asini, tamen univocantur in nomine animalis, quia communis definitio animalis convenit utrique. Unde non sequitur quod, licet in significatione personae divinae contineatur relatio, non autem in significatione angelicae personae vel humanae, quod nomen personae aequivoce dicatur. Licet nec etiam dicatur univoce, cum nihil univoce de Deo dici possit et de creaturis, ut supra ostensum est. Reply Obj. 4: The different sense of the less common term does not produce equivocation in the more common. Although a horse and an ass have their own proper definitions, nevertheless they agree univocally in animal, because the common definition of animal applies to both. So it does not follow that, although relation is contained in the signification of divine person, but not in that of an angelic or of a human person, the word person is used in an equivocal sense. Though neither is it applied univocally, since nothing can be said univocally of God and creatures (Q. 13, A. 5). Quaestio 30 Question 30 De pluralitate personarum The Plurality of Persons in God Deinde quaeritur de pluralitate personarum. Et circa hoc quaeruntur quatuor. We are now led to consider the plurality of the persons: about which there are four points of inquiry: Primo, utrum sint plures personae in divinis. (1) Whether there are several persons in God? Secundo, quot sunt. (2) How many are they? Tertio, quid significent termini numerales in divinis. (3) What the numeral terms signify in God? Quarto, de communitate huius nominis persona. (4) The community of the term person.