Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's birth should not have been manifested by means of the angels. For angels are spiritual substances, according to Ps. 103:4: "Who maketh His angels, spirits." But Christ's birth was in the flesh, and not in His spiritual substance. Therefore it should not have been manifested by means of angels.

Objection 2: Further, the righteous are more akin to the angels than to any other, according to Ps. 33:8: "The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them." But Christ's birth was not announced to the righteous, viz. Simeon and Anna, through the angels. Therefore neither should it have been announced to the shepherds by means of the angels.

Objection 3: Further, it seems that neither ought it to have been announced to the Magi by means of the star. For this seems to favor the error of those who think that man's birth is influenced by the stars. But occasions of sin should be taken away from man. Therefore it was not fitting that Christ's birth should be announced by a star.

Objection 4: Further, a sign should be certain, in order that something be made known thereby. But a star does not seem to be a certain sign of Christ's birth. Therefore Christ's birth was not suitably announced by a star.

On the contrary, It is written (Dt. 32:4): "The works of God are perfect." But this manifestation is the work of God. Therefore it was accomplished by means of suitable signs.

I answer that, As knowledge is imparted through a syllogism from something which we know better, so knowledge given by signs must be conveyed through things which are familiar to those to whom the knowledge is imparted. Now, it is clear that the righteous have, through the spirit of prophecy, a certain familiarity with the interior instinct of the Holy Ghost, and are wont to be taught thereby, without the guidance of sensible signs. Whereas others, occupied with material things, are led through the domain of the senses to that of the intellect. The Jews, however, were accustomed to receive Divine answers through the angels; through whom they also received the Law, according to Acts 7:53: "You . . . have received the Law by the disposition of angels." And the Gentiles, especially astrologers, were wont to observe the course of the stars. And therefore Christ's birth was made known to the righteous, viz. Simeon and Anna, by the interior instinct of the Holy Ghost, according to Lk. 2:26: "He had received an answer from the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord." But to the shepherds and Magi, as being occupied with material things, Christ's birth was made known by means of visible apparitions. And since this birth was not only earthly, but also, in a way, heavenly, to both (shepherds and Magi) it is revealed through heavenly signs: for, as Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany (cciv): "The angels inhabit, and the stars adorn, the heavens: by both, therefore, do the 'heavens show forth the glory of God.'" Moreover, it was not without reason that Christ's birth was made known, by means of angels, to the shepherds, who, being Jews, were accustomed to frequent apparitions of the angels: whereas it was revealed by means of a star to the Magi, who were wont to consider the heavenly bodies. Because, as Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.): "Our Lord deigned to call them through things to which they were accustomed." There is also another reason. For, as Gregory says (Hom. x in Evang.): "To the Jews, as rational beings, it was fitting that a rational animal ," viz. an angel, "should preach. Whereas the Gentiles, who were unable to come to the knowledge of God through the reason, were led to God, not by words, but by signs. And as our Lord, when He was able to speak, was announced by heralds who spoke, so before He could speak He was manifested by speechless elements." Again, there is yet another reason. For, as Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany: "To Abraham was promised an innumerable progeny, begotten, not of carnal propagation, but of the fruitfulness of faith. For this reason it is compared to the multitude of stars; that a heavenly progeny might be hoped for." Wherefore the Gentiles, "who are thus designated by the stars, are by the rising of a new star stimulated" to seek Christ, through whom they are made the seed of Abraham.

Reply to Objection 1: That which of itself is hidden needs to be manifested, but not that which in itself is manifest. Now, the flesh of Him who was born was manifest, whereas the Godhead was hidden. And therefore it was fitting that this birth should be made known by angels, who are the ministers of God. Wherefore also a certain "brightness" (Lk. 2:9) accompanied the angelic apparition, to indicate that He who was just born was the "Brightness of" the Father's "glory."

Reply to Objection 2: The righteous did not need the visible apparition of the angel; on account of their perfection the interior instinct of the Holy Ghost was enough for them.

Reply to Objection 3: The star which manifested Christ's birth removed all occasion of error. For, as Augustine says (Contra Faust. ii): "No astrologer has ever so far connected the stars with man's fate at the time of his birth as to assert that one of the stars, at the birth of any man, left its orbit and made its way to him who was just born": as happened in the case of the star which made known the birth of Christ. Consequently this does not corroborate the error of those who "think there is a connection between man's birth and the course of the stars, for they do not hold that the course of the stars can be changed at a man's birth."

In the same sense Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.): "It is not an astronomer's business to know from the stars those who are born, but to tell the future from the hour of a man's birth: whereas the Magi did not know the time of the birth, so as to conclude therefrom some knowledge of the future; rather was it the other way about."

Reply to Objection 4: Chrysostom relates (Hom. ii in Matth.) that, according to some apocryphal books, a certain tribe in the far east near the ocean was in the possession of a document written by Seth, referring to this star and to the presents to be offered: which tribe watched attentively for the rising of this star, twelve men being appointed to take observations, who at stated times repaired to the summit of a mountain with faithful assiduity: whence they subsequently perceived the star containing the figure of a small child, and above it the form of a cross.

Or we may say, as may be read in the book De Qq. Vet. et Nov. Test., qu. lxiii, that "these Magi followed the tradition of Balaam," who said, "'A star shall rise out of Jacob.' Wherefore observing this star to be a stranger to the system of this world, they gathered that it was the one foretold by Balaam to indicate the King of the Jews."

Or again, it may be said with Augustine, in a sermon on the Epiphany (ccclxxiv), that "the Magi had received a revelation through the angels" that the star was a sign of the birth of Christ: and he thinks it probable that these were "good angels; since in adoring Christ they were seeking for salvation."

Or with Pope Leo, in a sermon on the Epiphany (xxxiv), that "besides the outward form which aroused the attention of their corporeal eyes, a more brilliant ray enlightened their minds with the light of faith."

Articulus 5

Argumentum 1

Ad quintum sic proceditur. Videtur quod non debuerit manifestari per Angelos christi nativitas.

Angeli enim sunt spirituales substantiae, secundum illud Psalmi, qui facit Angelos suos spiritus.

Sed christi nativitas erat secundum carnem, non autem secundum spiritualem eius substantiam. Ergo non debuit per Angelos manifestari.

Argumentum 2

Praeterea, maior est affinitas iustorum ad Angelos quam ad quoscumque alios, secundum illud Psalmi, immittet Angelus domini in circuitu timentium eum, et eripiet eos.

Sed iustis, scilicet simeoni et Annae, non est manifestata christi nativitas per Angelos. Ergo nec pastoribus per Angelos manifestari debuit.

Argumentum 3

Item, videtur quod nec magis debuit manifestari per stellam.

Hoc enim videtur esse erroris occasio quantum ad illos qui existimant sidera nativitatibus hominum dominari. Sed occasiones peccandi sunt hominibus auferendae. Non ergo fuit conveniens quod per stellam christi nativitas manifestaretur.

Argumentum 4

Praeterea, signum oportet esse certum, ad hoc quod per ipsum aliquid manifestetur. Sed stella non videtur esse signum certum nativitatis christi. Ergo inconvenienter fuit christi nativitas per stellam manifestata.

Sed Contra

Sed contra est quod dicitur Deut. XXXII, dei perfecta sunt opera.

Sed talis manifestatio fuit opus divinum.

Ergo per convenientia signa fuit effecta.

Corpus

Respondeo dicendum quod, sicut manifestatio syllogistica fit per ea quae sunt magis nota ei cui est aliquid manifestandum, ita manifestatio quae fit per signa, debet fieri per ea quae sunt familiaria illis quibus manifestatur. Manifestum est autem quod viris iustis est familiare et consuetum interiori spiritus sancti edoceri instinctu, absque signorum sensibilium demonstratione, scilicet per spiritum prophetiae. Alii vero, corporalibus rebus dediti, per sensibilia ad intelligibilia adducuntur. Iudaei tamen consueti erant divina responsa per Angelos accipere, per quos etiam legem acceperant, secundum illud Act. VII, acceptis legem in dispositione Angelorum.

Gentiles vero, et maxime astrologi, consueti sunt stellarum cursus aspicere. Et ideo iustis, scilicet simeoni et Annae, manifestata est christi nativitas per interiorem instinctum spiritus sancti, secundum illud Luc. II responsum accepit a spiritu sancto non visurum se mortem nisi prius videret christum domini.

Pastoribus autem et magis, tanquam rebus corporalibus deditis, manifestata est christi nativitas per apparitiones visibiles. Et quia nativitas non erat pure terrena, sed quodammodo caelestis, ideo per signa caelestia utrisque nativitas christi revelatur, ut enim Augustinus dicit, in sermone de epiphania, caelos Angeli habitant, et sidera ornant, utrisque ergo caeli enarrant gloriam dei.

Rationabiliter autem pastoribus, tanquam Iudaeis, apud quos frequenter factae sunt apparitiones Angelorum, revelata est nativitas christi per Angelos, magis autem, assuetis in consideratione caelestium corporum, manifestata est per signum stellae.

Quia, ut chrysostomus dicit, per consueta eos dominus vocare voluit, eis condescendens.

Est autem et alia ratio.

Quia, ut Gregorius dicit, Iudaeis, tanquam ratione utentibus, rationale animal, idest Angelus, praedicare debuit. Gentiles vero, qui uti ratione nesciebant ad cognoscendum deum, non per vocem, sed per signa perducuntur.

Et sicut dominum iam loquentem annuntiaverunt gentibus praedicatores loquentes, ita eum nondum loquentem elementa muta praedicaverunt.

Est autem et alia ratio. Quia, ut Augustinus dicit, in sermone epiphaniae, Abrahae innumerabilis erat promissa successio non carnis semine, sed fidei fecunditate generanda. Et ideo stellarum multitudini est comparata, ut caelestis progenies speraretur.

Et ideo gentiles, in sideribus designati, ortu novi sideris excitantur ut perveniant ad christum, per quem efficiuntur semen Abrahae.

Ad 1

Ad primum ergo dicendum quod illud manifestatione indiget quod de se est occultum, non autem illud quod de se est manifestum.

Caro autem eius qui nascebatur erat manifesta, sed divinitas erat occulta. Et ideo convenienter manifestata est illa nativitas per Angelos, qui sunt dei ministri. Unde et cum claritate Angelus apparuit, ut ostenderetur quod ille qui nascebatur erat splendor paternae gloriae.

Ad 2

Ad secundum dicendum quod iusti non indigebant visibili apparitione Angelorum, sed eis sufficiebat interior instinctus spiritus sancti, propter eorum perfectionem.

Ad 3

Ad tertium dicendum quod stella quae nativitatem christi manifestavit, omnem occasionem erroris subtraxit.

Ut enim Augustinus dicit, contra faustum, nulli astrologi constituerunt ita nascentium hominum fata sub stellis, ut aliquam stellarum, homine aliquo nato, circuitus sui ordinem reliquisse, et ad eum qui natus est perrexisse asseverent, sicut accidit circa stellam quae demonstravit nativitatem christi.

Et ideo per hoc non confirmatur error eorum qui sortem nascentium hominum astrorum ordini colligari arbitrantur, non autem credunt astrorum ordinem ad hominis nativitatem posse mutari.

Similiter etiam, ut chrysostomus dicit, non est hoc astronomiae opus, a stellis scire eos qui nascuntur, sed ab hora nativitatis futura praedicere. Magi autem tempus nativitatis non cognoverunt, ut, hinc sumentes initium, a stellarum motu futura cognoscerent, sed potius e converso.

Ad 4

Ad quartum dicendum quod, sicut chrysostomus refert, in quibusdam scriptis apocryphis legitur quod quaedam gens in extremo orientis, iuxta Oceanum, quandam Scripturam habebat, ex nomine seth, de hac stella et muneribus huiusmodi offerendis.

Quae gens diligenter observabat huius stellae exortum, positis exploratoribus duodecim, qui certis temporibus devote ascendebant in montem. In quo postmodum viderunt eam habentem in se quasi parvuli formam, et super se similitudinem crucis.

Vel dicendum quod, sicut dicitur in libro de quaest. Nov. Et vet. Test., magi illi traditionem Balaam sequebantur, qui dixit, orietur stella ex Iacob. Unde, videntes stellam extra ordinem mundi, hanc esse intellexerunt quam Balaam futuram indicem regis Iudaeorum prophetaverat.

Vel dicendum, sicut Augustinus dicit, in sermone de epiphania, quod ab Angelis aliqua monitione revelationis audierunt magi quod stella christum natum significaret. Et probabile videtur quod a bonis, quando in christo adorando salus eorum iam quaerebatur.

Vel, sicut leo Papa dicit, in sermone de epiphania, praeter illam speciem quae corporeum incitavit obtutum, fulgentior veritatis radius eorum corda perdocuit quod ad illuminationem fidei pertinebat.