Of God and His Creatures
That it is an advantage for the Truths of God, known
by Natural Reason, to be proposed to men to be believed on faith
IF a truth of this nature were left to the sole enquiry of reason,
three disadvantages would follow. One is that the knowledge of God
would be confined to few. The discovery of truth is the fruit of
studious enquiry. From this very many are hindered. Some are hindered
by a constitutional unfitness, their natures being ill-disposed to the
acquisition of knowledge. They could never arrive by study to the
highest grade of human knowledge, which consists in the knowledge of
God. Others are hindered by the needs of business and the ties of the
management of property. There must be in human society some men devoted
to temporal affairs. These could not possibly spend time enough in the
learned lessons of speculative enquiry to arrive at the highest point
of human enquiry, the knowledge of God. Some again are hindered by
sloth. The knowledge of the truths that reason can investigate
concerning God presupposes much previous knowledge. Indeed almost the
entire study of philosophy is directed to the knowledge of God. Hence,
of all parts of philosophy, that part stands over to be learnt last,
which consists of metaphysics dealing with points of Divinity.* Thus, only with great labour of study is it
possible to arrive at the searching out of the aforesaid truth; and
this labour few are willing to undergo for sheer love of knowledge.
Another disadvantage is that such as did arrive at the knowledge or
discovery of the aforesaid truth would take a long time over it, on
account of the profundity of such truth, and the many prerequisites to
the study, and also because in youth and early manhood, the soul,
tossed to and fro on the waves of passion, is not fit for the study of
such high truth: only in settled age does the soul become prudent and
scientific, as the Philosopher says. Thus, if the only way open to the
knowledge of God were the way of reason, the human race would dwell
long in thick darkness of ignorance: as the knowledge of God, the best
instrument for making men perfect and good, would accrue only to a few,
and to those few after a considerable lapse of time.
A third disadvantage is that, owing to the infirmity of our judgement
and the perturbing force of imagination, there is some admixture of
error in most of the investigations of human reason. This would be a
reason to many for continuing to doubt even of the most accurate
demonstrations, not perceiving the force of the demonstration, and
seeing the divers judgements of divers persons who have the name of
being wise men. Besides, in the midst of much demonstrated truth there
is sometimes an element of error, not demonstrated but asserted on the
strength of some plausible and sophistic reasoning that is taken for a
demonstration. And therefore it was necessary for the real truth
concerning divine things to be presented to men with fixed certainty by
way of faith. Wholesome therefore is the arrangement of divine
clemency, whereby things even that reason can investigate are commanded
to be held on faith, so that all might easily be partakers of the
knowledge of God, and that without doubt and error.* Hence it is said: Now ye walk not as the
Gentiles walk in the vanity of their own notions, having the
understanding darkened (Eph. iv, 17, 18); and, I will make all
thy sons taught of the Lord (Isa. liv, 1, 5).
1.3 : That the Truths which we confess concerning God fall under two Modes or Categories
1.5 : That it is an Advantage for things that cannot be searched out by Reason to be proposed as Tenets of Faith