Fathers

Two Dissertations · §40

Cap. 4 Mem. 3: Absolute vs ordinary power — faith possible by ordinary power

Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.

Second, when we refer this possibility of having faith to God’s active power, and to the human being’s receptive power, this is to be understood not of God’s absolute power only, but of God’s ordinary power. For among Theologians some things are called possible by God’s absolute power, some by ordinary power. It will not be foreign to our purpose to give this distinction explained in a few words. That, then, is called possible by God’s absolute power which from the nature of the thing does not involve a contradiction if it were done; that, on the contrary, is impossible which would involve a contradiction. And under this consideration, as Thomas rightly has it, whatever can have the ratio of a being is counted among these absolute possibles; but among impossibles, what cannot have the ratio of a being — such as whatever implies in itself to be and not to be at once. That such things are not subject to Divine omnipotence argues no defect in God. Because just as there is no defect of the power of sight when it is not directed to what is not visible, so neither is there a defect of absolute power because it is not terminated to what is impossible. It therefore suffices for establishing God’s omnipotence that he can do whatever is possible to be done: but of those things that are otherwise disposed it is more fittingly said that such things cannot be done, than that God cannot do such things. To this some refer that of (Luke 1:37): No word will be impossible with God — that is, Whatever can be conceived by any intellect without implication of contradiction, that can be done by God. The norm, then, for judging what God can do by absolute power ought to be taken from the thing itself; because where there is no defect of possibility on the thing’s part, there is no defect of power on God’s part.

But this absolute power is not the one we properly and proximately look to in our thesis, but rather that which we call ordained or ordinary. That is taken in relation to some common law given and promulgated by God, according to which something is understood as possible to be done or not done, or also according to the common course of natural or moral things, as Báñez rightly has it. In this sense we affirm that, however unknown to us the secret decree of the Divine will may be concerning giving or not giving faith to singular persons, yet because there is no common law promulgated by God deciding the opposite, we ought to pronounce concerning any wayfarer that the condition of faith and penitence is possible for him according to God’s ordinary power: just as, on the contrary, we rightly say that according to ordained or ordinary power faith and penitence are already impossible for any damned person.

Latin

Secundo, quando hanc fidei habendae possibilitatem ad potentiam Dei activam referimus, et ad potentiam hominis receptivam, hoc intelligendum est non de potentia Dei absoluta tantummodo, sed de potentia Dei ordinaria. Nam apud Theologos quaedam dicuntur possibilia per potentiam Dei absolutam, quaedam per potentiam ordinariam. Quam distinctionem paucis explicatam dare non erit a proposito nostro alienum. Illud itaque dicitur possibile per potentiam Dei absolutam, quod ex natura rei non involvit contradictionem si fieret: illud, e contra, impossibile, quod involveret contradictionem. Atque sub hac consideratione, ut recte Thomas, quicquid habere potest rationem entis, censetur in hisce possibilibus absolutis: in impossibilibus autem, quod rationem entis habere non potest; quale est, quicquid implicat in se esse et non esse simul. Quod talia non subsunt Divinae omnipotentiae, haud arguit ullum defectum in Deo. Quia sicut non est defectus visivae potentiae, cum minime feratur in illud quod non est visibile; ita neque defectus est potentiae absolutae, quod minime terminetur ad illud quod id impossibile. Sufficit itaque ad omnipotentiam Dei stabiliendam, quod possit facere quicquid est factu possibile: de eis autem quae aliter se habent convenientius dicitur quod talia non possunt fieri, quam quod Deus talia non possit facere. Huc referunt nonnulli illud Luc. i. 37, Non erit impossibile apud Deum omne verbum, idest, Quicquid concipi potest sine implicatione contradictionis a quocunque intellectu, illud a Deo fieri potest. Norma itaque judicandi quid Deus possit facere de potentia absoluta, ab ipsa re sumi debet; quia ubi non est defectus possibilitatis ex parte rei, non est defectus potentiae ex parte Dei. Sed haec absoluta potentia non illa est quam proprie et proxime respicimus in thesi nostra, sed potius illa, quam ordinatam sive ordinariam appellamus. Ea autem accipitur in ordine ad legem aliquam communem datam et promulgatam a Deo, secundum quam aliquid intelligitur possibile fieri vel non fieri, aut etiam secundum communem cursum rerum naturalium vel moralium, ut recte Bannes. Hoc sensu affirmamus, utcunque nobis ignotum sit arcanum decretum Divinae voluntatis de danda fide aut non danda personis singularibus, tamen quia non est lex communis a Deo promulgata decernens oppositum, debere nos de quolibet viatore pronuntiare, Fidei et poenitentiae conditionem secundum ordinariam Dei potentiam esse illi possibilem: sicut e contra recte dicimus secundum potentiam ordinatam vel ordinariam fidem ac poenitentiam esse jam cuivis damnato impossibilem.

About this text

John Davenant — Dissertationes duae from the 1650 Cambridge Latin. Honest partial through De praedestinatione Cap. 1 subject tip; Cap. 1 mid-Thesis and remainder remain; De praedestinatione Cap. 1 Prolegomena IV distinguishing conditions tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Variae (Pelagian opening) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Scholastici / Vasquez Arg. 1 tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 2 praescientia tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 3 (1 Cor. 2:9) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 4 (2 Tim. 2:21) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 5 (1 Tim. 2:4) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 6 (James 2:5) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 7 (Apoc. 3:11) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 1 (common inefficacious will) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 2 (Vasquez physical vs moral media) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 3 (king/prize / victory foresight) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 4 (optimum modus / crown of justice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 5 (acceptor personarum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 6 (misericordia/congruitas) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 7 (equal disposition) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 8 (few saved / major part) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 9 (Stephen / glory from others' sins) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 10 (mere beneplacitum / Predestinati) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III reprobation ratio (foresight of sin) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 12 (efficacious election / free choice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 13 (hortation/prayer) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 14 (decree/execution conformity) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arminianorum open tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 1 Sol tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 7 (τρόπος; Rom. 9:22) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 8 (ordo exsecutionis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 9 (Christus fundamentum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 1 (amor ad salutem) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 2 (actualis vitae datio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 3 (qualis existens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 4 (justitiae satisfactio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 5 (natura vitae aeternae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 6 (Christus a decreto) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 7 (Evangelium invertitur) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 8 (arcana/revelata) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI (Orthodoxa sententia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 2 (gratia specialis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 3 (Scripturae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 4 (vocatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 5 (adjutorium) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 7 (inconveniens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 8 (perseverantia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 9 (unica ratio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 10 (abyssus) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 11 (efficacia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 12 (segregativum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 13 (pura gratia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII open (reprobatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII Junius trifariam tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VIII open (adversariorum) tip; Cap. VIII peccata-causa tip; Cap. VIII fewer-reprobates tip; Cap. VIII Argentina tip; Cap. VIII dives-misericordia tip; Cap. VIII Corvinus tip into Cap. IX; Cap. IX Ab Adae tip; Cap. IX Ab Adae Christus omnibus+Minor tip; Cap. IX Arg. 3 Sol tip; Cap. IX vocatione Evangelica tip; Cap. IX vocatione Sol cont. tip; Cap. IX Arg. 6 Sol cont. tip.

English follows locked 1650 Cambridge Latin of De morte Christi Cap. 1-6 opening (origin + Thesis 1 + Cap. 2 Rat. 1-ultima + Cap. 3 Satisfit through Obj. 17 + Cap. 4 Thesis 2 tip through Mem. 1 close + Cap. 4 Mem. 2 through Mem. 3 tip + Cap. 4 Mem. 3 possible-faith through Thesis 2 close + Cap. 5 Thesis 3 tip through Mem. 2 Scripture close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Rat. 1-4 + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Fathers tip + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Huberiana objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 elect-from-eternity objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Scripture elect objections tip through Cap. 5 thesis close + Cap. 6 opening tip through Arg. 1 close before Arg. 2), reconstructed from the Internet Archive PDF (pdftotext + tesseract) of the Roger Daniel folio with DjVu OCR check. The 1683 reprint was not used as copy-text. No modern English was copied.

Witnesses

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.