Obscure certainty: divine faith, then moral human faith that excludes rash doubt
Obscure certainty begins with divine faith, to which no falsehood can attach.
Next is moral or human-faith certainty—like believing famous cities exist—strong enough that contrary doubt is rash, though not absolutely infallible.
Latin
IV. Certitudo Obscura est earum rerum quas sola fide, vel opinione tenemus. Cujus certitudinis primum gradum habent quae propter divinam authoritatem certo creduntur. Et haec est certitudo fidei divinae, estque simpliciter & absolute certitudo, quoniam nulla ratione potest ei subesse falsum. Secundum gradum obscurae certitudinis habent ea quae creduntur ob authoritatem humanam, sed ita confirmatam & celebrem, ut omnem prorsus formidinem excludat. Qualia sunt Ciceronem & Virgilium fuisse insignes viros, Augustum magnae parti Orbis terrarum feliciter imperasse, multas esse civitates praeclaras in provinciis a nobis longe dissitis, Constantinopolim in Thracia, Goam in India, Mexico in America. Atque haec dicitur certitudo fidei humanae, sive certitudo moralis. Quae tametsi non tanta sit, ut ei nullo modo falsum subesse possit (si quidem omnis homo mendax), tamen tanta est, ut temerarius merito judicetur, qui contra sentiat, aut disputet.
About this text
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.
English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).
Catalogue & scope
ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
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.