Quaestio 61 Question 61 De productione angelorum in esse naturae The Production of the Angels in their Nature Post ea quae praemissa sunt de natura angelorum, et cognitione et voluntate eorum, restat considerandum de eorum creatione, sive universaliter de eorum exordio. After dealing with the nature of the angels, their knowledge and will, it now remains for us to treat of their creation, or, speaking in a general way, of their origin. Et haec consideratio est tripartita. Nam primo considerabimus quomodo producti sunt in esse naturae; secundo, quomodo perfecti sunt in gratia vel gloria; tertio, quomodo aliqui ex eis facti sunt mali. Such consideration is threefold. In the first place we must see how they were brought into natural existence; second, how they were made perfect in grace or glory; and third, how some of them became wicked. Circa primum quaeruntur quatuor. Under the first heading there are four points of inquiry: Primo, utrum angelus habeat causam sui esse. (1) Whether the angel has a cause of his existence? Secundo, utrum angelus sit ab aeterno. (2) Whether he has existed from eternity? Tertio, utrum angelus sit creatus ante corporalem creaturam. (3) Whether he was created before corporeal creatures? Quarto, utrum angeli fuerint creati in caelo Empyreo. (4) Whether the angels were created in the empyrean heaven? Articulus 1 Article 1 Utrum angeli habeant causam sui esse Whether the angels have a cause of their existence? Ad primum sic proceditur. Videtur quod angeli non habeant causam sui esse. De his enim quae sunt a Deo creata, agitur Genesis I. Sed nulla mentio fit ibi de angelis. Ergo angeli non sunt creati a Deo. Objection 1: It would seem that the angels have no cause of their existence. For the first chapter of Genesis treats of things created by God. But there is no mention of angels. Therefore the angels were not created by God. Praeterea, Philosophus dicit, in VIII Metaphys., quod si aliqua substantia sit forma sine materia, statim per seipsam est ens et unum, et non habet causam quae faciat eam ens et unum. Sed angeli sunt formae immateriales, ut supra ostensum est. Ergo non habent causam sui esse. Obj. 2: Further, the Philosopher says (Metaph. viii, text. 16) that if any substance be a form without matter, straightway it has being and unity of itself, and has no cause of its being and unity. But the angels are immaterial forms, as was shown above (Q. 50, A. 2). Therefore they have no cause of their being. Praeterea, omne quod fit ab aliquo agente, per hoc quod fit, accipit formam ab eo. Sed angeli, cum sint formae, non accipiunt formam ab aliquo agente. Ergo angeli non habent causam agentem. Obj. 3: Further, whatever is produced by any agent, from the very fact of its being produced, receives form from it. But since the angels are forms, they do not derive their form from any agent. Therefore the angels have no agent cause. Sed contra est quod dicitur in Psalmo CXLVIII, Laudate eum, omnes angeli eius. Et postea subdit, Quoniam ipse dixit, et facta sunt. On the contrary, It is said (Ps 148:2): Praise ye Him, all His angels; and further on, verse 5: For He spoke and they were made. Respondeo dicendum quod necesse est dicere et angelos, et omne id quod praeter Deum est, a Deo factum esse. Solus enim Deus est suum esse, in omnibus autem aliis differt essentia rei et esse eius, ut ex superioribus patet. Et ex hoc manifestum est quod solus Deus est ens per suam essentiam, omnia vero alia sunt entia per participationem. Omne autem quod est per participationem causatur ab eo quod est per essentiam, sicut omne ignitum causatur ab igne. Unde necesse est angelos a Deo creatos esse. I answer that, It must be affirmed that angels and everything existing, except God, were made by God. God alone is His own existence; while in everything else the essence differs from the existence, as was shown above (Q. 3, A. 4). From this it is clear that God alone exists of His own essence: while all other things have their existence by participation. Now whatever exists by participation is caused by what exists essentially; as everything ignited is caused by fire. Consequently the angels, of necessity, were made by God. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod Augustinus dicit, in XI de Civ. Dei, quod angeli non sunt praetermissi in illa prima rerum creatione, sed significantur nomine caeli, aut etiam lucis. Ideo autem vel praetermissi sunt, vel nominibus rerum corporalium significati, quia Moyses rudi populo loquebatur, qui nondum capere poterat incorpoream naturam; et si eis fuisset expressum aliquas res esse super omnem naturam corpoream, fuisset eis occasio idololatriae, ad quam proni erant, et a qua Moyses eos praecipue revocare intendebat. Reply Obj. 1: Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xi, 50) that the angels were not passed over in that account of the first creation of things, but are designated by the name heavens or of light. And they were either passed over, or else designated by the names of corporeal things, because Moses was addressing an uncultured people, as yet incapable of understanding an incorporeal nature; and if it had been divulged that there were creatures existing beyond corporeal nature, it would have proved to them an occasion of idolatry, to which they were inclined, and from which Moses especially meant to safeguard them. Ad secundum dicendum quod substantiae quae sunt formae subsistentes, non habent causam aliquam formalem sui esse et suae unitatis, nec causam agentem per transmutationem materiae de potentia in actum, sed habent causam producentem totam substantiam. Reply Obj. 2: Substances that are subsisting forms have no ‘formal’ cause of their existence and unity, nor such agent cause as produces its effect by changing the matter from a state of potentiality to actuality; but they have a cause productive of their entire substance. Et per hoc patet solutio ad tertium. From this the solution of the third difficulty is manifest. Articulus 2 Article 2 Utrum angelus sit productus a Deo ab aeterno Whether the angel was produced by God from eternity? Ad secundum sic proceditur. Videtur quod angelus sit productus a Deo ab aeterno. Deus enim est causa angeli per suum esse, non enim agit per aliquid additum suae essentiae. Sed esse eius est aeternum. Ergo ab aeterno angelos produxit. Objection 1: It would seem that the angel was produced by God from eternity. For God is the cause of the angel by His being: for He does not act through something besides His essence. But His being is eternal. Therefore He produced the angels from eternity. Praeterea, omne quod quandoque est et quandoque non est, subiacet tempori. Sed angelus est supra tempus, ut dicitur in libro de Causis. Ergo angelus non quandoque est, et quandoque non est, sed semper. Obj. 2: Further, everything which exists at one period and not at another, is subject to time. But the angel is above time, as is laid down in the book De Causis. Therefore the angel is not at one time existing and at another non-existing, but exists always. Praeterea, Augustinus probat incorruptibilitatem animae per hoc, quod per intellectum est capax veritatis. Sed sicut veritas est incorruptibilis, ita est aeterna. Ergo natura intellectualis et animae et angeli, non solum est incorruptibilis, sed etiam aeterna. Obj. 3: Further, Augustine (De Trin. xiii) proves the soul’s incorruptibility by the fact that the mind is capable of truth. But as truth is incorruptible, so is it eternal. Therefore the intellectual nature of the soul and of the angel is not only incorruptible, but likewise eternal. Sed contra est quod dicitur Prov. VIII, ex persona sapientiae genitae, Dominus possedit me ab initio viarum suarum, antequam quidquam faceret a principio. Sed angeli sunt facti a Deo, ut ostensum est. Ergo angeli aliquando non fuerunt. On the contrary, It is said (Prov 8:22), in the person of begotten Wisdom: The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning. But, as was shown above (A. 1), the angels were made by God. Therefore at one time the angels were not. Respondeo dicendum quod solus Deus, pater et filius et Spiritus Sanctus, est ab aeterno. Hoc enim fides Catholica indubitanter tenet; et omne contrarium est sicut haereticum refutandum. Sic enim Deus creaturas produxit, quod eas ex nihilo fecit, idest postquam nihil fuerat. I answer that, God alone, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is from eternity. Catholic Faith holds this without doubt; and everything to the contrary must be rejected as heretical. For God so produced creatures that He made them from nothing; that is, after they had not been. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod esse Dei est ipsum eius velle. Per hoc ergo quod Deus produxit angelos et alias creaturas per suum esse, non excluditur quin eas produxerit per suam voluntatem. Voluntas autem Dei non de necessitate se habet ad productionem creaturarum, ut supra dictum est. Et ideo produxit et quae voluit, et quando voluit. Reply Obj. 1: God’s being is His will. So the fact that God produced the angels and other creatures by His being does not exclude that He made them also by His will. But, as was shown above (Q. 19, A. 3; Q. 46, A. 1), God’s will does not act by necessity in producing creatures. Therefore He produced such as He willed, and when He willed. Ad secundum dicendum quod angelus est supra tempus quod est numerus motus caeli, quia est supra omnem motum corporalis naturae. Non tamen est supra tempus quod est numerus successionis esse eius post non esse, et etiam quod est numerus successionis quae est in operationibus eius. Unde Augustinus dicit, VIII super Gen. ad Litt., quod Deus movet creaturam spiritualem per tempus. Reply Obj. 2: An angel is above that time which is the measure of the movement of the heavens; because he is above every movement of a corporeal nature. Nevertheless he is not above time which is the measure of the succession of his existence after his non-existence, and which is also the measure of the succession which is in his operations. Hence Augustine says (Gen ad lit. viii, 20,21) that God moves the spiritual creature according to time. Ad tertium dicendum quod angeli et animae intellectivae, ex hoc ipso quod habent naturam per quam sunt capaces veritatis, sunt incorruptibiles. Sed hanc naturam non habuerunt ab aeterno; sed data fuit eis a Deo quando ipse voluit. Unde non sequitur quod angeli sint ab aeterno. Reply Obj. 3: Angels and intelligent souls are incorruptible by the very fact of their having a nature whereby they are capable of truth. But they did not possess this nature from eternity; it was bestowed upon them when God Himself willed it. Consequently it does not follow that the angels existed from eternity. Articulus 3 Article 3 Utrum angeli fuerint creati ante mundum corporeum Whether the angels were created before the corporeal world? Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod angeli fuerint creati ante mundum corporeum. Dicit enim Hieronymus, super Epistolam ad Titum, Sex millia nondum nostri temporis complentur annorum; et quanta tempora, quantasque saeculorum origines fuisse arbitrandum est, in quibus angeli, throni, dominationes, ceterique ordines Deo servierunt? Damascenus etiam dicit, in II libro, quidam dicunt quod ante omnem creationem geniti sunt angeli; ut theologus dicit Gregorius, primum quidem excogitavit angelicas virtutes et caelestes, et excogitatio opus eius fuit. Objection 1: It would seem that the angels were created before the corporeal world. For Jerome says (In Ep. ad Tit. i, 2): Six thousand years of our time have not yet elapsed; yet how shall we measure the time, how shall we count the ages, in which the Angels, Thrones, Dominations, and the other orders served God? Damascene also says (De Fide Orth. ii): Some say that the angels were begotten before all creation; as Gregory the Theologian declares, He first of all devised the angelic and heavenly powers, and the devising was the making thereof. Praeterea, angelica natura est media inter naturam divinam et naturam corpoream. Sed natura divina est ab aeterno, natura autem corporea ex tempore. Ergo natura angelica facta est ante creationem temporis, et post aeternitatem. Obj. 2: Further, the angelic nature stands midway between the Divine and the corporeal natures. But the Divine nature is from eternity; while corporeal nature is from time. Therefore the angelic nature was produced ere time was made, and after eternity. Praeterea, plus distat natura angelica a natura corporali, quam una natura corporalis ab alia. Sed una natura corporalis fuit facta ante aliam, unde et sex dies productionis rerum in principio Genesis describuntur. Ergo multo magis natura angelica facta est ante omnem naturam corporalem. Obj. 3: Further, the angelic nature is more remote from the corporeal nature than one corporeal nature is from another. But one corporeal nature was made before another; hence the six days of the production of things are set forth in the opening of Genesis. Much more, therefore, was the angelic nature made before every corporeal nature. Sed contra est quod dicitur Gen. I, in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Non autem hoc esset verum, si aliquid creasset antea. Ergo angeli non sunt ante naturam corpoream creati. On the contrary, It is said (Gen 1:1): In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now, this would not be true if anything had been created previously. Consequently the angels were not created before corporeal nature. Respondeo dicendum quod circa hoc invenitur duplex sanctorum doctorum sententia, illa tamen probabilior videtur, quod angeli simul cum creatura corporea sunt creati. Angeli enim sunt quaedam pars universi, non enim constituunt per se unum universum, sed tam ipsi quam creatura corporea in constitutionem unius universi conveniunt. Quod apparet ex ordine unius creaturae ad aliam, ordo enim rerum ad invicem est bonum universi. Nulla autem pars perfecta est a suo toto separata. Non est igitur probabile ut Deus, cuius perfecta sunt opera, ut dicitur Deut. XXXII, creaturam angelicam seorsum ante alias creaturas creaverit. I answer that, There is a twofold opinion on this point to be found in the writings of the Fathers. The more probable one holds that the angels were created at the same time as corporeal creatures. For the angels are part of the universe: they do not constitute a universe of themselves; but both they and corporeal natures unite in constituting one universe. This stands in evidence from the relationship of creature to creature; because the mutual relationship of creatures makes up the good of the universe. But no part is perfect if separate from the whole. Consequently it is improbable that God, Whose works are perfect, as it is said Deut. 32:4, should have created the angelic creature before other creatures.