“Just as the beginning of natural knowledge consists in a knowing about creatures as a result of sense perception, so the beginning of the knowledge that is given from above consists in the knowing of the first truth by means of infused faith. As a consequence, the process from such beginnings follows different orders. The philosophers, who follow the order of natural cognition, place the scientific knowledge of creatures before the divine science; that is, the philosophy of nature comes before metaphysics. On the other hand, the contrary procedure is followed among the theologians, so that the consideration of the Creator precedes the consideration of creatures.”
(St. Thomas: Exposition of Boethius on the Trinity, Prologue.)
On the Use of Philosophy by the Theologian
“As sacred doctrine is based on the light of faith, so is philosophy founded on the natural light of reason. Hence, it is impossible for items that belong to philosophy to be contrary to those that pertain to faith; but the former may be defective in comparison to the latter. Yet, they contain some likenesses and some prolegomena to the latter, just as nature is a preamble to grace. If any point among the statements of the philosophers is found contrary to the faith, this is not philosophy but rather an abuse of philosophy, resulting from a defect in reasoning. So, it is possible, from the principles of philosophy, to refute an error of this kind, either by showing that it is an impossibility, or by showing that it is not a necessary conclusion. Just as items of faith cannot be proved demonstratively, so items that are contrary to them cannot demonstratively be shown to be false; yet it is possible to show that they are not necessarily convincing.
"And so, we can use philosophy in sacred doctrine in three ways: (1) to demonstrate items that are preambles to faith, such as those things that are proved about God by natural processes of reasoning: that God exists, that God is one, and similar points about God or creatures that are proved in philosophy and which faith takes as established; (2) to make known those items that belong to the faith by means of certain similitudes; thus Augustine (in his book On Order, 9-12) uses many likenesses taken from philosophical teachings to show something about the Trinity; and (3) to oppose statements against the faith, either by showing that they are false, or by showing that they are not necessarily true.”
(St. Thomas: Exposition of Boethius on the Trinity, II, 3.)
Source: Translated by Vernon J. Bourke in The Pocket Aquinas.
Read more: Super Boethium De Trinitate by Thomas Aquinas.
Boethius teaching his students.
Initial in a 1385 Italian manuscript of the Consolation.
