Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Objection 1: It would seem the Scripture does not use suitable words to express the works of the six days. For as light, the firmament, and other similar works were made by the Word of God, so were the heaven and the earth. For "all things were made by Him" (Jn. 1:3). Therefore in the creation of heaven and earth, as in the other works, mention should have been made of the Word of God.

Objection 2: Further, the water was created by God, yet its creation is not mentioned. Therefore the creation of the world is not sufficiently described.

Objection 3: Further, it is said (Gn. 1:31): "God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good." It ought, then, to have been said of each work, "God saw that it was good." The omission, therefore, of these words in the work of creation and in that of the second day, is not fitting.

Objection 4: Further, the Spirit of God is God Himself. But it does not befit God to move and to occupy place. Therefore the words, "The Spirit of God moved over the waters," are unbecoming.

Objection 5: Further, what is already made is not made over again. Therefore to the words, "God said: Let the firmament be made . . . and it was so," it is superfluous to add, "God made the firmament." And the like is to be said of other works.

Objection 6: Further, evening and morning do not sufficiently divide the day, since the day has many parts. Therefore the words, "The evening and morning were the second day" or, "the third day," are not suitable.

Objection 7: Further, "first," not "one," corresponds to "second" and "third." It should therefore have been said that, "The evening and the morning were the first day," rather than "one day."

Reply to Objection 1: According to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. i, 4), the person of the Son is mentioned both in the first creation of the world, and in its distinction and adornment, but differently in either place. For distinction and adornment belong to the work by which the world receives its form. But as the giving form to a work of art is by means of the form of the art in the mind of the artist, which may be called his intelligible word, so the giving form to every creature is by the word of God; and for this reason in the works of distinction and adornment the Word is mentioned. But in creation the Son is mentioned as the beginning, by the words, "In the beginning God created," since by creation is understood the production of formless matter. But according to those who hold that the elements were created from the first under their proper forms, another explanation must be given; and therefore Basil says (Hom. ii, iii in Hexaem.) that the words, "God said," signify a Divine command. Such a command, however, could not have been given before creatures had been produced that could obey it.

Reply to Objection 2: According to Augustine (De Civ. Dei ix, 33), by the heaven is understood the formless spiritual nature, and by the earth, the formless matter of all corporeal things, and thus no creature is omitted. But, according to Basil (Hom. i in Hexaem.), the heaven and the earth, as the two extremes, are alone mentioned, the intervening things being left to be understood, since all these move heavenwards, if light, or earthwards, if heavy. And others say that under the word, "earth," Scripture is accustomed to include all the four elements as (Ps. 148:7,8) after the words, "Praise the Lord from the earth," is added, "fire, hail, snow, and ice."

Reply to Objection 3: In the account of the creation there is found something to correspond to the words, "God saw that it was good," used in the work of distinction and adornment, and this appears from the consideration that the Holy Spirit is Love. Now, "there are two things," says Augustine (Gen. ad lit. i, 8) which came from God's love of His creatures, their existence and their permanence. That they might then exist, and exist permanently, "the Spirit of God," it is said, "moved over the waters"---that is to say, over that formless matter, signified by water, even as the love of the artist moves over the materials of his art, that out of them he may form his work. And the words, "God saw that it was good," signify that the things that He had made were to endure, since they express a certain satisfaction taken by God in His works, as of an artist in his art: not as though He knew the creature otherwise, or that the creature was pleasing to Him otherwise, than before He made it. Thus in either work, of creation and of formation, the Trinity of Persons is implied. In creation the Person of the Father is indicated by God the Creator, the Person of the Son by the beginning, in which He created, and the Person of the Holy Ghost by the Spirit that moved over the waters. But in the formation, the Person of the Father is indicated by God that speaks, and the Person of the Son by the Word in which He speaks, and the Person of the Holy Spirit by the satisfaction with which God saw that what was made was good. And if the words, "God saw that it was good," are not said of the work of the second day, this is because the work of distinguishing the waters was only begun on that day, but perfected on the third. Hence these words, that are said of the third day, refer also to the second. Or it may be that Scripture does not use these words of approval of the second days' work, because this is concerned with the distinction of things not evident to the senses of mankind. Or, again, because by the firmament is simply understood the cloudy region of the air, which is not one of the permanent parts of the universe, nor of the principal divisions of the world. The above three reasons are given by Rabbi Moses , and to these may be added a mystical one derived from numbers and assigned by some writers, according to whom the work of the second day is not marked with approval because the second number is an imperfect number, as receding from the perfection of unity.

Reply to Objection 4: Rabbi Moses (Perplex. ii) understands by the "Spirit of the Lord," the air or the wind, as Plato also did, and says that it is so called according to the custom of Scripture, in which these things are throughout attributed to God. But according to the holy writers, the Spirit of the Lord signifies the Holy Ghost, Who is said to "move over the water"---that is to say, over what Augustine holds to mean formless matter, lest it should be supposed that God loved of necessity the works He was to produce, as though He stood in need of them. For love of that kind is subject to, not superior to, the object of love. Moreover, it is fittingly implied that the Spirit moved over that which was incomplete and unfinished, since that movement is not one of place, but of pre-eminent power, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. i, 7). It is the opinion, however, of Basil (Hom. ii in Hexaem.) that the Spirit moved over the element of water, "fostering and quickening its nature and impressing vital power, as the hen broods over her chickens." For water has especially a life-giving power, since many animals are generated in water, and the seed of all animals is liquid. Also the life of the soul is given by the water of baptism, according to Jn. 3:5: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

Reply to Objection 5: According to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. i, 8), these three phrases denote the threefold being of creatures; first, their being in the Word, denoted by the command "Let . . . be made"; secondly, their being in the angelic mind, signified by the words, "It was . . . done"; thirdly, their being in their proper nature, by the words, "He made." And because the formation of the angels is recorded on the first day, it was not necessary there to add, "He made." It may also be said, following other writers, that the words, "He said," and "Let . . . be made," denote God's command, and the words, "It was done," the fulfilment of that command. But as it was necessary, for the sake of those especially who have asserted that all visible things were made by the angels, to mention how things were made, it is added, in order to remove that error, that God Himself made them. Hence, in each work, after the words, "It was done," some act of God is expressed by some such words as, "He made," or, "He divided," or, "He called."

Reply to Objection 6: According to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. iv, 22,30), by the "evening" and the "morning" are understood the evening and the morning knowledge of the angels, which has been explained (Question 58, Article 6,7). But, according to Basil (Hom. ii in Hexaem.), the entire period takes its name, as is customary, from its more important part, the day. And instance of this is found in the words of Jacob, "The days of my pilgrimage," where night is not mentioned at all. But the evening and the morning are mentioned as being the ends of the day, since day begins with morning and ends with evening, or because evening denotes the beginning of night, and morning the beginning of day. It seems fitting, also, that where the first distinction of creatures is described, divisions of time should be denoted only by what marks their beginning. And the reason for mentioning the evening first is that as the evening ends the day, which begins with the light, the termination of the light at evening precedes the termination of the darkness, which ends with the morning. But Chrysostom's explanation is that thereby it is intended to show that the natural day does not end with the evening, but with the morning (Hom. v in Gen.).

Reply to Objection 7: The words "one day" are used when day is first instituted, to denote that one day is made up of twenty-four hours. Hence, by mentioning "one," the measure of a natural day is fixed. Another reason may be to signify that a day is completed by the return of the sun to the point from which it commenced its course. And yet another, because at the completion of a week of seven days, the first day returns which is one with the eighth day. The three reasons assigned above are those given by Basil (Hom. ii in Hexaem.).

Articulus 3

Argumentum 1

Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod Scriptura non utatur convenientibus verbis ad exprimendum opera sex dierum.

Sicut enim lux et firmamentum et huiusmodi opera per dei verbum sunt facta, ita caelum et terra, quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt, ut dicitur Ioan. I.

Ergo in creatione caeli et terrae debuit fieri mentio de verbo dei, sicut in aliis operibus.

Argumentum 2

Praeterea, aqua est creata a deo, quae tamen creata non commemoratur. Insufficienter ergo rerum creatio describitur.

Argumentum 3

Praeterea, sicut dicitur Gen. I, vidit deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona.

In singulis ergo operibus debuit dici, vidit deus quod esset bonum.

Inconvenienter ergo praetermittitur in opere creationis, et in opere secundae diei.

Argumentum 4

Praeterea, spiritus dei est deus. Deo autem non competit ferri, nec situm habere. Inconvenienter ergo dicitur quod spiritus dei ferebatur super aquas.

Argumentum 5

Praeterea, nullus facit quod iam factum est.

Inconvenienter ergo, postquam dictum est, dixit deus, fiat firmamentum, et factum est ita, subditur, et fecit deus firmamentum.

Et similiter in aliis operibus.

Argumentum 6

Praeterea, vespere et mane non sufficienter dividunt diem, cum sint plures partes diei. Ergo inconvenienter dicitur quod factum est vespere et mane dies secundus, vel tertius.

Argumentum 7

Praeterea, secundo et tertio non convenienter correspondet unum, sed primum. Debuit ergo dici, factum est vespere et mane dies primus, ubi dicitur dies unus.

Ad 1

Respondeo dicendum ad primum, quod secundum Augustinum, persona filii commemoratur tam in prima rerum creatione, quam in rerum distinctione et ornatu; aliter tamen et aliter.

Distinctio enim et ornatus pertinet ad rerum formationem.

Sicut autem formatio artificiatorum est per formam artis quae est in mente artificis, quae potest dici intelligibile verbum ipsius; ita formatio totius creaturae est per verbum dei.

Et ideo in opere distinctionis et ornatus fit mentio de verbo.

In creatione autem commemoratur filius ut principium, cum dicitur, in principio creavit deus, quia per creationem intelligitur productio informis materiae.

Secundum vero alios, qui ponunt primo creata elementa sub propriis formis, oportet aliter dici.

Basilius enim dicit quod per hoc quod dicitur, dixit deus, importatur divinum imperium. Prius autem oportuit produci creaturam quae obediret, quam fieri mentionem de divino imperio.

Ad 2

Ad secundum dicendum quod, secundum Augustinum, per caelum intelligitur spiritualis natura informis; per terram autem materia informis omnium corporum. Et sic nulla creatura est praetermissa.

Secundum basilium vero, ponuntur caelum et terra tanquam duo extrema, ut ex his intelligantur media; praecipue quia omnium mediorum motus vel est ad caelum ut levium, vel ad terram, ut gravium.

Alii vero dicunt quod sub nomine terrae comprehendere solet Scriptura omnia quatuor elementa.

Unde in Psalmo CXLVIII, postquam dictum est, laudate dominum de terra, subditur, ignis, grando, nix, glacies.

Ad 3

Ad tertium dicendum quod in opere creationis ponitur aliquid correspondens ei quod dicitur in opere distinctionis et ornatus, vidit deus hoc vel illud esse bonum.

Ad cuius evidentiam, considerandum est quod spiritus sanctus amor est.

Duo autem sunt, ut Augustinus dicit I super Gen. Ad litt., propter quae deus amat creaturam suam, scilicet ut sit, et ut permaneat. Ut ergo esset quod permaneret, dicitur quod spiritus dei ferebatur super aquam (secundum quod per aquam materia informis intelligitur; sicut amor artificis fertur super materiam aliquam, ut ex ea formet opus), ut autem maneret quod fecerat, dicitur, vidit deus quod esset bonum.

In hoc enim significatur quaedam complacentia dei opificis in re facta, non quod alio modo cognosceret, aut placeret ei creatura iam facta, quam antequam faceret. Et sic in utroque opere creationis et formationis, trinitas personarum insinuatur.

In creatione quidem, persona patris per deum creantem; persona filii, per principium in quo creavit; spiritus sancti, qui superfertur aquis. In formatione vero, persona patris in deo dicente; persona vero filii, in verbo quo dicitur; persona spiritus sancti, in complacentia qua vidit deus esse bonum quod factum erat.

In opere vero secundae diei non ponitur, vidit deus quod esset bonum, quia opus distinctionis aquarum tunc inchoatur, et in tertio die perficitur, unde quod ponitur in tertia die, refertur etiam ad secundam. Vel, quia distinctio quae ponitur secunda die, est de his quae non sunt manifesta populo, ideo huiusmodi approbatione Scriptura non utitur. Vel iterum propter hoc, quod per firmamentum intelligitur aer nubilosus, qui non est de partibus permanentibus in universo, seu de partibus principalibus mundi.

Et has tres rationes Rabbi Moyses ponit. Quidam autem assignant rationem mysticam ex parte numeri. Quia binarius ab unitate recedit, unde opus secundae diei non approbatur.

Ad 4

Ad quartum dicendum quod Rabbi Moyses per spiritum domini intelligit aerem vel ventum, sicut et Plato intellexit. Et dicit quod dicitur spiritus domini, secundum quod Scriptura consuevit ubique flatum ventorum deo attribuere.

Sed secundum sanctos, per spiritum domini intelligitur spiritus sanctus. Qui dicitur superferri aquae, idest materiae informi secundum Augustinum, ne facienda opera sua propter indigentiae necessitatem putaretur deus amare, indigentiae enim amor rebus quas diligit subiicitur. Commode, autem factum est, ut prius insinuaretur aliquid inchoatum, cui superferri diceretur, non enim superfertur loco, sed praeexcellente potentia, ut Augustinus dicit I super Gen. Ad litt.. Secundum basilium vero, super ferebatur elemento aquae; idest, fovebat et vivificabat aquarum naturam, ad similitudinem gallinae cubantis, vitalem virtutem his quae foventur iniiciens.

Habet enim aqua praecipue vitalem virtutem, quia plurima animalia generantur in aqua, et omnium animalium semina sunt humida. Vita etiam spiritualis datur per aquam baptismi, unde dicitur Ioan. III, nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu sancto.

Ad 5

Ad quintum dicendum quod, secundum Augustinum, per illa tria designatur triplex esse rerum, primo quidem esse rerum in verbo, per hoc quod dixit, fiat; secundo, esse rerum in mente angelica per hoc quod dixit, factum est; tertio, esse rerum in propria natura, per hoc quod dixit, fecit. Et quia in primo die describitur formatio Angelorum, non fuit necesse ut ibi adderetur, fecit.

Secundum alios vero, potest dici quod in hoc quod dicit, dixit deus fiat, importatur imperium dei de faciendo. Per hoc autem quod dicit, factum est, importatur complementum operis. Oportuit autem ut subderetur quomodo factum fuit, praecipue propter illos qui dixerunt omnia visibilia per Angelos facta.

Et ideo ad hoc removendum, subditur quod ipse deus fecit.

Unde in singulis operibus, postquam dicitur, et factum est, aliquis actus dei subditur; vel fecit, vel distinxit, vel vocavit, vel aliquid huiusmodi.

Ad 6

Ad sextum dicendum quod, secundum Augustinum, per vespere et mane intelligitur vespertina et matutina cognitio in Angelis, de quibus dictum est supra.

Vel, secundum basilium, totum tempus consuevit denominari a principaliori parte, scilicet a die, secundum quod dixit Iacob, dies peregrinationis meae, nulla mentione facta de nocte.

Vespere autem et mane ponuntur ut termini diei; cuius mane est principium, sed vespere finis.

Vel quia per vespere designatur principium noctis, per mane principium diei. Congruum autem fuit, ut ubi commemoratur prima distinctio rerum, sola principia temporum designarentur.

Praemittitur autem vespere, quia, cum a luce dies incoeperit, prius occurrit terminus lucis, quod est vespere, quam terminus tenebrarum et noctis, quod est mane.

Vel, secundum chrysostomum, ut designetur quod dies naturalis non terminatur in vespere, sed in mane.

Ad 7

Ad septimum dicendum quod dicitur unus dies in prima diei institutione, ad designandum quod viginti quatuor horarum spatia pertinent ad unum diem. Unde per hoc quod dicitur unus, praefigitur mensura diei naturalis. Vel propter hoc, ut significaret diem consummari per reditum solis ad unum et idem punctum. Vel quia completo septenario dierum, reditur ad primum diem, qui est unus cum octavo.

Et has tres rationes basilius assignat.