ARTICLE VII

In the Seventh Article We Ask: IS THE WORD RELATED TO THOSE THINGS WHICH DO NOT EXIST, WILL NOT EXIST, AND NEVER HAVE EXISTED?

Difficulties:

It seems that it is, for

1. A word implies something proceeding from an intellect. Now, the divine intellect knows also those things which are not, will not be, and never have been. This we showed when we treated God's knowledge. Hence, the Word can be related to these things.

2. According to Augustine: "The Son is the Father's art, filled with the ideas of living things." But, as Augustine says elsewhere: "Even if nothing comes into being because of an idea, it is rightly called an idea." Hence, the Word is also related to those things which will not be or have not been made.

3. The Word would not be perfect unless it contained in itself all that is contained in the knowledge of Him who utters it. But the knowledge of the Father, who utters the Word, includes those things which never will be and never were. Therefore, these things also are contained in the Word.

To the Contrary:

1'. Anselm says: "There can be no word of that which does not exist, will not exist, and never has existed."

2'. That whatever a person says takes place is a sign of his power. Now, God is most powerful. Hence, His Word does not pertain to anything which will not, at some time, take place.

REPLY:

A thing can be in the Word in two ways. First, it can be in the Word as what the Word knows, or what can be known in the Word. It is in this latter way that those things exist in the Word that do not exist, have not existed, and will not exist; for the Word knows these things just as the Father does, and they can be known in the Word just as they can be known in the Father. Second, a thing is said to be in the Word as something spoken through the Word. Now, whatever is spoken by a word is in some way directed to be carried out, because it is by means of words that we incite others to action and arrange for them to carry out our ideas. This is why God's utterance is called His arrangement, as the Gloss says, commenting on the words of the Psalmist (Psalms 61:12): "God hath spoken once. . . ." Hence, just as God does not dispose things unless they are, will be, or have been, so also He does not utter such things. Consequently, the Word is related to these things only, namely, the things that are actually uttered. But knowledge, art, and idea (in other words, intelligible representation) do not imply a relation to execution. Hence, no parallel exists between them and the Word.

From this, our replies to the difficulties are clear.