Uncaused first being — fountain of all entity and perfection
Creatures' bounded perfections prove they received being from another.
First being has no cause — exists by His essence.
He is the fountain of all entity and perfection — not a measured grade.
Latin
XVII. Sed praeterea quod in Deo sit omnis perfectio quae esse & haberi potest, inde, ut jam dictum, aliunde probatur, quod Deus qui est prima rerum omnium causa nullam ipse causam habet, sed est primum ens omnino independens, quod a seipso est, non ab ullo alio. Nam quod rerum creatarum natura & perfectio certa & determinata est, ita ut haec habeat unam perfectionem, ista vero aliam: inde fit quod ab alio suum esse acceperunt. Istud enim earum discrimen, & ista determinatio, omnino referri debet ad causam efficientem, quae singulis talem naturam indulsit, istumque, non alium, perfectionis gradum. Adeoque primum ens, quod suum esse non accepit ab alio, sed per seipsum est, & vi suae essentiae existit, non potest habere certam perfectionis mensuram, & esse quiddam ad hoc & illud determinatum: sed est ipse totius esse fons & origo prima, quae in se continet omnem entitatem & perfectionem.
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.