Roman school grants moral evidence and arguments that make doctrine clearly credible

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First: the Pontificii will not allow the things that belong to faith of themselves to be self-evident or demonstrable — and we have already granted that. Still they do not deny that matters of faith carry a kind of outward, moral evidence. Beside their Church's authority they admit many arguments by which Christian doctrine and sacred Scripture are proved and, in their phrase, made evidently credible.

Thomas's commentators teach this commonly on the Secunda secundae, question 1, article 4, where he asks whether the object of faith can be something seen. Thomas holds that faith's object is not something seen or evident; then he faces the Apostle's line in 1 Corinthians 13, We see as through a mirror. Paul is speaking of faith's knowledge, yet says that through it we see as through a mirror — so the believer seems to see faith's object, and faith would be of things seen.

Thomas answers that the things of faith may be taken in special, and then cannot be seen and believed at once; or in general, under the common reason of what is credible, and then the believer does see them. He would not believe, Thomas says, unless he saw that they ought to be believed — either by the evidence of signs or by something of that kind. From those words the scholastics draw this: what falls under faith is not evidently true, yet it is evidently credible, and is urged by many weighty arguments and strong reasons. Each writer then lists the proofs that seem strongest to him — Dominic Banñez, John of Poitiers, Pesantius, and others on that same article of Thomas.

Latin

X. Primum igitur, licet Pontificii nolint ea quae per se et proprie ad fidem pertinent res esse per se notas, aut quae demonstrari possint, quod etiam supra fassi sumus, non negant tamen rebus fidei competere evidentiam quandam externam et moralem; et praeter Ecclesiae suae authoritatem, agnoscunt esse plurima argumenta quibus doctrina Christiana et Scriptura sacra comprobatur, et, ut loquuntur, evidenter credibilis redditur. Id docent communiter commentatores Thomae in secundam secundae quaest. 1. art. 4. Ubi Thomas illud discutit, An objectum fidei possit esse aliquid visum. Nam in eo articulo Thomas, qui statuit objectum fidei non esse aliquid visum sive evidens, sibi objicit locum Apostoli, 1 Corinth. 13. Videmus tanquam per speculum. Ubi Apostolus loquitur de cognitione fidei: Et tamen dicit nos per eam, tanquam per speculum videre. Unde sequitur objectum fidei a credente videri, adeoque fidem esse eorum quae videntur. Ad quod respondet Doctor ille, ea quae sunt fidei considerari posse, uno modo in speciali, et sic non posse esse simul visa et credita: alio modo in generali, scilicet, in communi ratione credibilis, et sic visa esse ab eo qui credit. Non enim, inquit, crederet, nisi videret ea esse credenda, vel propter evidentiam signorum, vel propter aliquid hujusmodi. Ex quibus Thomae verbis Scholastici istud sensum colligunt, ea quae sub fidem cadunt non esse evidenter vera: attamen evidenter esse credibilia et persuaderi multis argumentis maxime gravibus et rationibus admodum validis. Quae argumenta deinde enumerant, quisque, scilicet ea quae sibi maxime valida videntur. Ut videre est apud Dominicum Bannem, Johannem Puteanum, Pesantium, et alios ad locum Thomae supra memoratum.

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.