C. 6 - On Life

On Life

Lectio 1

On the Universal Causality of God with Respect to Life and with Respect to Whatever Proprieties of Living in the Angels

285. But concerning those indeed let it have been said more opportunely in other works.

C. VI. § 1. Yet now we must praise eternal life, from which is per se life and every life and from which to live is disseminated to all things participating life in whatever mode according to the propriety of each.

286. And indeed, the life and immortality of the immortal angels and that not destructive of sempiternal angelic motion, from this and on account of this they both are and subsist; on account of which they are called both always living and immortal; and not immortal again, because they do not have it to be immortal and to live eternally from themselves, but from the vivifying cause effective and contentive of all life.

287. And as in existing we said that also of this itself which is per se being there is the aevum, so also here again, that also of per se life itself, the super-living divine life is vivifying and substantifying, and every life and vivifying motion is from the life that is above every life and every principle of every life.

288. From this also souls have the not destructible, and all animals and plants, according to the last resonance of life, have it to live. With which destroyed, according to the eloquence, every life fails, and to which also those things that have failed to participate this, converted again, again animals are made (Ps 104:29–30).

§2. 289. And indeed it gives first to per se life to be life and to every and particular life to be properly each thing that has being naturally. And to supercelestial lives indeed immaterial and deiform and invariable immortality and strong and indeclinable sempiternal motion, super-extended on account of the abundance of goodness even to the life of demons; for neither does that have being from another cause, but from this one also being has both life and permanence.

674. After Denys has determined about existing, here he determines about life, because the procession of life is less common than the procession of being itself, and about this he does two things:

first, he proposes how, by the name of life, there is shown in God the causality of every life;

second, he manifests the causality of the divine life, at and indeed, the life and immortality.

675. Therefore he says, first, that concerning those things that pertain to being, it has been said more diffusely and more diligently in other books: for he made many books that we do not have. But now God must be praised through what is said: eternal life, according to 1 John 5:20: this is true God and true life; as that from which there is* per se *life itself, that is, common life itself, and every particular life, and to live is disseminated, that is, distributed, from the divine life to all things that participate life, in whatever mode according to the propriety of each, as though he were to say that God is called eternal life inasmuch as he is the cause of common and particular life and of all living things.

676. Then when he says, and indeed, the life and immortality, he manifests the causality of the divine life; and about this he does three things:

first, he manifests the universal causality of God with respect to life;

second, he shows his causality with respect to whatever propriety of living, at and indeed it gives first to* per se *life;

third, he shows how is the comparison of whatever life to the first life, at and whether you should say intellectual or rational.

677. About the first, he does three things:

first, he manifests the causality of God with respect to the supreme life that is of the angels;

second, with respect to common life, at and as in existing we said;

third, as regards the lowest life, at from this also souls have the not destructible.

678. About the first, it must be considered that those things properly are called living in bodily things that have motion from themselves, not moved extrinsically by another, as animals and plants. And because whatever operation in a certain way is a motion, whatever things have operation from themselves, not actualized or moved to acting by other exterior things, these are called living. And because the operation of a thing follows its existence, in the name of life two things are understood, namely: the being itself of a living thing, and that it might be such that there applies to it to operate through itself on account of the fact that the operation or motion of a living thing is in it through itself.

679. Therefore as regards the first of these, he says that from this divine life, as from a first active principle, and on account of this, as on account of an end, the life and immortality of the angels, of immortally living things, has not only being, but also persisting.

Whereas as regards the second, he says that the existence of life is the very incorruptibility of sempiternal angelic motion, that is, of the operation of the angels enduring in perpetuity. And because they can always live and operate, they can be called immortal; but this very fact that they are immoral and live in perpetuity, they do not have from themselves, but from a first cause that is effective and conservative of all life. Yet that properly and truly is immortal, which does not require anything extrinsic in order that it should live always, but has it to live always from itself, and thus God alone is called immortal, according to 1 Timothy 1:17: to the King of Ages immortal and invisible, God alone, be honor and glory.

680. Then when he says, and as in existing we said, he manifests the divine causality with respect to common life; and he says that, as it has been said above that first being itself is the aevum, that is, the measure and cause of that which is* per se *being, that is, of common being itself, so here it must be said that the divine life, which is supereminently living, is the factive and conservative cause of* per se *life itself, that is, of common life; and consequently, every particular life and every vital motion and every principle of whatever life, proceeds from the divine life which is above every life.

681. Then when he says, from this also souls have the not destructible, he manifests the divine causality with respect to inferior life, and he says that from the divine life human souls also have it to live incorruptibly, and from the divine life there are those animals that live by sensitive life, and all plants that have life according to the last resonance, that is, according to the extreme and lowest participation of life, because life does not proceed beyond plants. Yet with the life participated in creatures destroyed, every life is destroyed, according to the doctrine of Sacred Scripture, where it is said in Psalm 103:29: remove their spirit and they shall fail and be returned into their dust. But inasmuch as those things that, through infirmity of nature, fail of the participation of life again are converted to life, again animals or whatever living things are made, as is clear in plants and animals generated from putrefaction; and on account of this in the same place there is added: send out thy spirit and they shall be created and thou shalt renew the face of the earth (Ps. 103:30).

682. Then when he says, and indeed it gives first to* per se *life, he manifests the causality of the divine life as regards the proprieties of whatever life; and this on account of certain men who said that God is the cause of common life, nevertheless the particular proprieties of living are from proper causes, through which the effects of the common cause are determined to their proper species; and about this, he does three things:

first, he shows the causality of the divine life as regards the proprieties of living that are in the supreme living things, namely in the angels and in demons;

second, as regards the proprieties of living that are in men, at yet giving also to men as commixed;

third, as regards the proprieties of living that are in the lowest living things, namely animals and plants, at from this both all animals and plants.

683. Therefore he says, first, that God not only gives to common life that it should be life, but also to whatever particular life he gives that it should be properly that which applies to it according to nature; as to the supercelestial lives of the angels, as regards indeed the being of living things, it gives immortal life:

first of all immaterial, because they do not have life joined to matter;

second, deiform life, because they are conformed to the divine life from this very fact that they live without matter;

third, it follows that they have invariable life, because the subject of variation and motion is matter.

684. Also as regards the operation of life, he posits three things contrary to those that are in us.

For in us intellectual operation first of all is infirm for the comprehension of truth, and against this he says that they have strong motion, that is, intellectual operation;

second, intellectual operation in us can be perverted into false opinion, and against this he says that they have indeclinable motion;

third, intellectual operation in us cannot be continuous because we cannot always and continuously meditate; and against this he says that they have sempiternal motion.

685. And because those proprieties are manifestly apparent in the blessed angels, lest anyone should wish to exclude the life of demons from the causality of the divine life, he adds that the divine life is super-extended through the mode of influence and causality, and by abundance of its goodness, even to the life of demons, which could not be conserved by another cause except by the divine life, from which it has that it should be life and should remain conserved in being.

Lectio 2

On the Divine Causality as Regards the Propriety of Human Life and of Inferior Living Things

290. Yet giving also to men as commixed, contingent life unto the form of the angels;

291. and the super-emanation of goodness, and converting us, receding, and calling back to itself.

292. And that indeed is more divine, that it promises that it will transfer us whole, I say souls and bodies joined, to perfect life and immortality. The thing indeed apparent to antiquity equally beyond nature, yet to me and to you and to truth both divine and above nature: yet I say seeming above nature according to us, not according to the omnipotent of the divine life. For to this, as to the existing nature of all lives, and especially of the divine, no life is beyond nature or above nature. Wherefore concerning this let the contradictory words of the stupidity of Simon be expelled far from the divine chorus and your holy soul: for it was hidden from him, as I reckon, that he was thought to be wise in those things, that it is not necessary that one knowing well should use the manifest ratio of sense, fighting against the hidden cause of all things, and this must be said to say beyond nature for this. For to this nothing is contrary.

§3. 293. From this both all animals and plants are vivified and circum-flourish.

294. And whether you should say intellectual or rational or sensible and augmentative or whatever sort of life or principle of life or substance of life, from this they both live and vivify, which is above every life, and in it, according to cause, they uniformly preexist.

295. For the super-living and foremost life of life is the cause of every life and generative of life and fulfilling and divisive of life and must be praised from every life, according to the great fecundity of all lives, as most lavish and comprehended and praised by the contemplation of every life;

296. and as not needy, yet rather super-full of life, per se living and as above every life vivifying and super-living, or how someone should praise the life super-living and humanly ineffable.

686. Here Denys manifests the divine causality as regards the propriety of human life;

and first, as regards the life of nature;

second, as regards the life of grace, when he says, and the super-emanation of goodness;

third, as regards the life of glory, which shall be in those rising, at and that indeed is more divine.

687. Yet natural life in men in something is conformed to angelic life, as it is intellectual, and in something it differs from it, inasmuch as it is life joined to matter; and for this reason he says that the divine life gives to men, as though to those commixed from spiritual and bodily nature, life unto the likeness of the angels, not perfectly, but as befits them.

688. Then, as regards the life of grace, he says that the divine life, through the super-emanation of its goodness, converts us, even when receding from it through sin, and calls us back to itself, according to Lamentations 5:21: convert us, O Lord, to thyself, and we shall be converted.

689. Whereas as regards the life of glory of those rising, he adds that the divine life promises that it transfers us whole, that is, souls and the same bodies that now are joined to our souls, to perfect, that is, blessed and immortal, life; and this he says is more divine, because it is more an indication of divine virtue.

690. And these things indeed commonly were apparent to the ancients beyond nature, namely that dead bodies would rise, but to me and to you, that is, to all the faithful, according to the truth of the faith, there is apparent a certain something divine and above nature, namely, that is known by us in those particular things, yet not above the omnipotent nature of the divine life, because for the divine life, which is the natural principle of all lives and especially of divine lives of which it is the immediate principle, no life is beyond nature or above nature, because it is under its virtue to give life to whom it should will.

Whence the most stupid words of Simon, which contradict the resurrection, must be repelled far off from the divine Church and from your holy soul, namely lest you should acquiesce to them in any way. For although he was reputed to be wise in those sensible and natural things, nevertheless it was hidden from him that it is not necessary that he who has the science of these sensible things that are apparent, should use the ratio that is taken from things apparent according to sense, to impugn the universal cause of all things, which on account of its excellence is hidden; because the virtue of the universal cause cannot be comprehended or measured through those things that are apparent in the senses. And it must be said to Simon that when something is said to be against nature, this is understood: namely that it is against the most manifest ratio of sense, but to this hidden and universal cause of all things, nothing can be contrary, because all things whatsoever are derived from this.

691. Then when he says, from this both all animals and plants, he shows the causality of the divine life with respect to inferior living things, namely animals and plants; and he says that from the divine life both all animals and also plants are vivified interiorly and circum-flourish exteriorly. For whatever is exteriorly apparent in them pertaining to the adornment of life, the whole is derived from the divine life.

692. Then when he says, and whether you should say intellectual or rational, he shows the habitude of the divine life to all lives.

And first, he posits two habitudes of the divine life to all lives;

of which the first is: God is the cause of every life; and this is what he says: that whether you should say intellectual life, as is in the angels, or rational, as is in men, or sensible, as is in animals, and augmentative, as is in plants, or whatever sort of life, even if there were other modes of living; and not only every life, but also every principle of life and every substance having life, living substances have from the divine life which is above every life that they should live and principles of life that they should vivify.

The second habitude is that every life preexists in the divine life; and this is what he says: that all of the aforementioned lives preexist causally in this divine life, not indeed according to any composition, but uniformly according to the unity and simplicity of the divine life.

693. Second, at for the super-living and foremost life, he manifests the two aforementioned habitudes, and he says to manifest the first habitude that the divine life, which is above every life and which rules over every life, is the cause of every life, as regards the first origin of life; and is generative of life, because this very fact that one living thing can be generated from another living thing is from the divine life; and is fulfilling of life, because that a living thing is led from the imperfect to the perfect is from the divine life; and is divisive of life, because the diversities of living things proceed from the virtue of the divine life.

Yet to manifest the second habitude, namely that every life exists in it, he adds that the divine life is praised from every life on account of its fecundity by which it produces all lives. And this indeed applies to the divine life, inasmuch as it is most lavish, as though not restricted to any species of life, but having the comprehensive amplitude of every life, and thence it is that it is comprehended and praised from the contemplation of every life.

694. Third, at and as not needy, yet rather super-full, he posits the conditions of the divine life, through which it differs from others:

and first of all there is found our life, needing many things for the conservation of life, as food and other things of this sort; and to remove this he says that the divine life is not needy, but rather is superabundantly full.

Whereas second, that which lives in those inferior things does not live per se, but the body lives through the soul. But the divine life is per se living, because there is not anything else vivifying in God; and supereminently living or however someone could praise with human words the divine life, supereminently living and ineffable.