Whether Any Name Can Be Applied to God Substantially?
Objection 1: It seems that no name can be applied to God
substantially. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. i, 9): "Everything
said of God signifies not His substance, but rather shows forth what
He is not; or expresses some relation, or something following from His
nature or operation."
Obj. 2: Further, Dionysius says (Div. Nom. i): "You will find a
chorus of holy doctors addressed to the end of distinguishing clearly
and praiseworthily the divine processions in the denomination of God."
Thus the names applied by the holy doctors in praising God are
distinguished according to the divine processions themselves. But what
expresses the procession of anything, does not signify its essence.
Therefore the names applied to God are not said of Him substantially.
Obj. 3: Further, a thing is named by us according as we
understand it. But God is not understood by us in this life in His
substance. Therefore neither is any name we can use applied
substantially to God.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Trin. vi): "The being of God is
the being strong, or the being wise, or whatever else we may say of
that simplicity whereby His substance is signified." Therefore all
names of this kind signify the divine substance.
_I answer that,_ Negative names applied to God, or signifying His
relation to creatures manifestly do not at all signify His substance,
but rather express the distance of the creature from Him, or His
relation to something else, or rather, the relation of creatures to
Himself.
But as regards absolute and affirmative names of God, as "good,"
"wise," and the like, various and many opinions have been given. For
some have said that all such names, although they are applied to God
affirmatively, nevertheless have been brought into use more to express
some remotion from God, rather than to express anything that exists
positively in Him. Hence they assert that when we say that God lives,
we mean that God is not like an inanimate thing; and the same in like
manner applies to other names; and this was taught by Rabbi Moses.
Others say that these names applied to God signify His relationship
towards creatures: thus in the words, "God is good," we mean, God is
the cause of goodness in things; and the same rule applies to other
names.
Both of these opinions, however, seem to be untrue for three reasons.
First because in neither of them can a reason be assigned why some
names more than others are applied to God. For He is assuredly the
cause of bodies in the same way as He is the cause of good things;
therefore if the words "God is good," signified no more than, "God is
the cause of good things," it might in like manner be said that God is
a body, inasmuch as He is the cause of bodies. So also to say that He
is a body implies that He is not a mere potentiality, as is primary
matter. Secondly, because it would follow that all names applied to
God would be said of Him by way of being taken in a secondary sense,
as healthy is secondarily said of medicine, forasmuch as it signifies
only the cause of the health in the animal which primarily is called
healthy. Thirdly, because this is against the intention of those who
speak of God. For in saying that God lives, they assuredly mean more
than to say the He is the cause of our life, or that He differs from
inanimate bodies.
Therefore we must hold a different doctrine--viz. that these names
signify the divine substance, and are predicated substantially of God,
although they fall short of a full representation of Him. Which is
proved thus. For these names express God, so far as our intellects
know Him. Now since our intellect knows God from creatures, it knows
Him as far as creatures represent Him. Now it is shown above
(Q. 4, A. 2) that God prepossesses in Himself all the perfections
of creatures, being Himself simply and universally perfect. Hence
every creature represents Him, and is like Him so far as it possesses
some perfection; yet it represents Him not as something of the same
species or genus, but as the excelling principle of whose form the
effects fall short, although they derive some kind of likeness
thereto, even as the forms of inferior bodies represent the power of
the sun. This was explained above (Q. 4, A. 3), in treating of the
divine perfection. Therefore the aforesaid names signify the divine
substance, but in an imperfect manner, even as creatures represent it
imperfectly. So when we say, "God is good," the meaning is not, "God
is the cause of goodness," or "God is not evil"; but the meaning is,
"Whatever good we attribute to creatures, pre-exists in God," and in a
more excellent and higher way. Hence it does not follow that God is
good, because He causes goodness; but rather, on the contrary, He
causes goodness in things because He is good; according to what
Augustine says (De Doctr. Christ. i, 32), "Because He is good, we
are."
Reply Obj. 1: Damascene says that these names do not signify what God
is, forasmuch as by none of these names is perfectly expressed what
He is; but each one signifies Him in an imperfect manner, even as
creatures represent Him imperfectly.
Reply Obj. 2: In the significance of names, that from which the name
is derived is different sometimes from what it is intended to
signify, as for instance, this name "stone" [lapis] is imposed from
the fact that it hurts the foot [loedit pedem], but it is not imposed
to signify that which hurts the foot, but rather to signify a certain
kind of body; otherwise everything that hurts the foot would be a
stone [*This refers to the Latin etymology of the word _lapis,_ which
has no place in English]. So we must say that these kinds of divine
names are imposed from the divine processions; for as according to
the diverse processions of their perfections, creatures are the
representations of God, although in an imperfect manner; so likewise
our intellect knows and names God according to each kind of
procession; but nevertheless these names are not imposed to signify
the procession themselves, as if when we say "God lives," the sense
were, "life proceeds from Him"; but to signify the principle itself
of things, in so far as life pre-exists in Him, although it
pre-exists in Him in a more eminent way than can be understood or
signified.
Reply Obj. 3: We cannot know the essence of God in this life, as He
really is in Himself; but we know Him accordingly as He is
represented in the perfections of creatures; and thus the names
imposed by us signify Him in that manner only.
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