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De Trinitate

XVIII.

[XVIII 33] Quamquam nescio quemadmodum isti intellegant quod Danieli apparuerit antiquus dierum a quo filius hominis quod propter nos esse dignatus est accepisse intellegitur regnum, ab illo scilicet qui ei dicit in psalmis: Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te; postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes haereditatem tuam, et qui omnia subiecit sub pedibus eius. Si ergo Danieli et pater dans regnum et filius accipiens apparuerunt in specie corporali, quomodo isti dicunt patrem numquam visum esse prophetis et ideo solum debere intellegi invisibilem, quem nemo hominum vidit nec videre potest?

Ita enim narravit Daniel: Aspiciebam, inquit, donec throni positi sunt, et vetustus dierum sedebat. Et indumentum eius quasi nix album, et capillus capitis eius quasi lana munda; thronus eius flamma ignis, rotae eius ignis flagrans, et flumen ignis trahebat in conspectu eius. Et mille milia deserviebant ei, et dena milia denum milium assistebant ei. Et iudicium conlocavit, et libri aperti sunt, et cetera. Et paulo post: Aspiciebam, inquit, in visu noctis; et ecce cum caeli nubibus quasi filius hominis veniens erat, et usque ad veterem dierum pervenit et oblatus est ei. Et ipsi datus est principatus et honor et regnum; et omnes populi, tribus, linguae ipsi servient. Potestas eius potestas aeterna quae non praeteribit, et regnum eius non corrumpetur. Ecce pater dans et filius accipiens regnum sempiternum, et sunt ambo in conspectu prophetantis visibili specie. Non ergo inconvenienter creditur etiam deus pater eo modo solere apparere mortalibus.

[34] Nisi forte aliquis dicet ideo non esse visibilem patrem quia in conspectu somniantis apparuit, ideo autem filium visibilem et spiritum sanctum quia Moyses illa omnia vigilans viderit. Quasi vero verbum et sapientiam dei viderit Moyses carnalibus oculis, aut videri spiritus vel humanus potest qui carnem istam vivificat vel ipse corporeus qui ventus dicitur, quanto minus ille spiritus dei qui omnium hominum et angelorum mentes ineffabili excellentia divinae substantiae supergreditur; aut quisquam tali praecipitetur errore ut audeat dicere filium et spiritum sanctum etiam vigilantibus hominibus esse visibilem, patrem autem non nisi somniantibus. Quomodo ergo de patre solo accipiunt: Quem nemo hominum vidit nec videre potest? An cum dormiunt homines, tunc non sunt homines? Aut qui formare similitudinem corporis potest ad se significandum per visa somniantium non potest formare ipsam corpoream creaturam ad se significandum oculis vigilantium, cum eius ipsa substantia qua est ipse quod est nulla corporis similitudine dormienti, nulla corporea specie vigilanti possit ostendi, sed non solum patris verum etiam filii et spiritus sancti? Et certe qui vigilantium visis moventur ut non patrem sed tantum filium vel spiritum sanctum credant corporalibus hominum apparuisse conspectibus, ut omittam tantam latitudinem sanctarum paginarum et tam multiplicem earum intellegentiam unde nemo sani capitis affirmare debet nusquam personam patris per aliquam speciem corporalem vigilantium oculis demonstratam; sed ut hoc, ut dixi, omittam, quid dicunt de patre nostro Abraham cui certe vigilanti et ministranti, cum scriptura praemisisset dicens: Visus est dominus Abrahae, non unus aut duo sed tres apparuerunt viri quorum nullus excelsius aliis eminuisse dictus est, nullus honoratius effulsisse, nullus imperiosius egisse?

[35] Quapropter quoniam in illa tripertita nostra distributione primum quaerere instituimus utrum pater an filius an spiritus sanctus; an aliquando pater, aliquando filius, aliquando spiritus sanctus; an sine ulla distinctione personarum sicut dicitur deus unus et solus, id est ipsa trinitas, per illas creaturae formas patribus apparuerit; interrogatis quae potuimus quantum sufficere visum est sanctarum scripturarum locis, nihil aliud, quantum existimo, divinorum sacramentorum modesta et cauta consideratio persuadet nisi ut temere non dicamus quaenam ex trinitate persona cuilibet patrum vel prophetarum in aliquo corpore vel similitudine corporis apparuerit nisi cum continentia lectionis aliqua probabilia circumponit indicia. Ipsa enim natura vel substantia vel essentia vel quolibet alio nomine appellandum est id ipsum quod deus est, quidquid illud est, corporaliter videri non potest. Per subiectam vero creaturam non solum filium vel spiritum sanctum sed etiam patrem corporali specie sive similitudine mortalibus sensibus significationem sui dare potuisse credendum est. Quae cum ita sint, ne immoderatius progrediatur secundi huius voluminis longitudo, ea quae restant in consequentibus videamus.

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The Fifteen Books of Aurelius Augustinus, Bishop of Hippo, on the Trinity

Chapter 18.--The Vision of Daniel.

33. ¹ I do not know in what manner these men understand that the Ancient of Days appeared to Daniel, from whom the Son of man, which He deigned to be for our sakes, is understood to have received the kingdom; namely, from Him who says to Him in the Psalms, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee; ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance;" ² and who has "put all things under His feet." ³ If, however, both the Father giving the kingdom, and the Son receiving it, appeared to Daniel in bodily form, how can those men say that the Father never appeared to the prophets, and, therefore, that He only ought to be understood to be invisible whom no man has seen, nor can see? For Daniel has told us thus: "I beheld," he says, "till the thrones were set, ⁴ and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened," etc. And a little after, "I saw," he says, "in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." ⁵ Behold the Father giving, and the Son receiving, an eternal kingdom; and both are in the sight of him who prophesies, in a visible form. It is not, therefore, unsuitably believed that God the Father also was wont to appear in that manner to mortals.

34. Unless, perhaps, some one shall say, that the Father is therefore not visible, because He appeared within the sight of one who was dreaming; but that therefore the Son and the Holy Spirit are visible, because Moses saw all those things being awake; as if, forsooth, Moses saw the Word and the Wisdom of God with fleshly eyes, or that even the human spirit which quickens that flesh can be seen, or even that corporeal thing which is called wind;--how much less can that Spirit of God be seen, who transcends the minds of all men, and of angels, by the ineffable excellence of the divine substance? Or can any one fall headlong into such an error as to dare to say, that the Son and the Holy Spirit are visible also to men who are awake, but that the Father is not visible except to those who dream? How, then, do they understand that of the Father alone, "Whom no man hath seen, nor can see."? When men sleep, are they then not men? Or cannot He, who can fashion the likeness of a body to signify Himself through the visions of dreamers, also fashion that same bodily creature to signify Himself to the eyes of those who are awake? Whereas His own very substance, whereby He Himself is that which He is, cannot be shown by any bodily likeness to one who sleeps, or by any bodily appearance to one who is awake; but this not of the Father only, but also of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And certainly, as to those who are moved by the visions of waking men to believe that not the Father, but only the Son, or the Holy Spirit, appeared to the corporeal sight of men,--to omit the great extent of the sacred pages, and their manifold interpretation, such that no one of sound reason ought to affirm that the person of the Father was nowhere shown to the eyes of waking men by any corporeal appearance;--but, as I said, to omit this, what do they say of our father Abraham, who was certainly awake and ministering, when, after Scripture had premised, "The Lord appeared unto Abraham," not one, or two, but three men appeared to him; no one of whom is said to have stood prominently above the others, no one more than the others to have shone with greater glory, or to have acted more authoritatively? ⁶

35. Wherefore, since in that our threefold division we determined to inquire, ⁷ first, whether the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit; or whether sometimes the Father, sometimes the Son, sometimes the Holy Spirit; or whether, without any distinction of persons, as it is said, the one and only God, that is, the Trinity itself, appeared to the fathers through those forms of the creature: now that we have examined, so far as appeared to be sufficient what places of the Holy Scriptures we could, a modest and cautious consideration of divine mysteries leads, as far as I can judge, to no other conclusion, unless that we may not rashly affirm which person of the Trinity appeared to this or that of the fathers or the prophets in some body or likeness of body, unless when the context attaches to the narrative some probable intimations on the subject. For the nature itself, or substance, or essence, or by whatever other name that very thing, which is God, whatever it be, is to be called, cannot be seen corporeally: but we must believe that by means of the creature made subject to Him, not only the Son, or the Holy Spirit, but also the Father, may have given intimations of Himself to mortal senses by a corporeal form or likeness. And since the case stands thus, that this second book may not extend to an immoderate length, let us consider what remains in those which follow.