§3Sed de corpore interim taceo; de anima conqueror, de spontaneo et uiuido motu, de actu, de uita, de inmortalitate, denique conqueror, quod aliquam rem ista omnia sine dei bonitate habere posse miserrimus credidi, quod quanta essent, neglegenter adtendi: hoc mihi gemendum ac deflendum puto.
But of the body in the meantime I am silent; of the soul I complain, of its spontaneous and vivid motion, of its activity, of its life, of its immortality—finally I complain that I, most miserable, believed that any thing could possess all these without the goodness of God, and that I carelessly attended to how great they were: this I think is to be groaned and wept over by me.
uoluerem mecum haec, loquerer mecum, deferrem ad illos; quae uis esset intellegendi, quam nihil esset in homine. quod huic excellentiae possemus conferre, proponerem.
I would turn these things over within myself, I would speak with myself, I would refer them to those men; I would propose what the power of understanding was, and how there was nothing in man that we could compare to this excellence.
ubi mihi hoc homines, si modo essent homines, concessissent, quaererem, utrum his oculis uidere id est intellegere; ubi negauissent, colligerem primo longe esse sensui oculorum istorum intellegentiam mentis anteponendam; deinde subiungerem, id quod re meliore perciperemus, necessario melius iudicandum.
Where men—if only they were men—had granted this to me, I would ask whether to see with these eyes is to understand; where they had denied it, I would gather first that the intellect of the mind is to be preferred by far to the sense of these eyes; then I would subjoin that what we perceive by a better thing must of necessity be judged to be better.
quis hoc non daret? ergo pergerem quaerere animam illam, quam malam dicerent, oculisne sentiretur istis. an mente intellegeretur.
Who would not grant this? Therefore, I would go on to ask whether that soul, which they called evil, was perceived by these eyes or understood by the mind.
mente faterentur.
They would confess: by the mind.
quibus omnibus inter nos conuenientibus atque firmatis. quid conficeretur ostenderem, animam illam scilicet. quam execrarentur. luce ista, quam uenerarentur, esse meliorem, quandoquidem illa intellectu mentis. haec sensu corporis innotescit.
With all these things agreed upon and confirmed between us, I would show what was concluded: namely, that that soul which they execrated was better than that light which they worshiped, since the former becomes known by the intellect of the mind, the latter by the sense of the body.
hic uero haererent fortasse ducemque rationem sequi recusarent: tanta est uis ueternosarum opinionum et diu defensae atque creditae falsitatis.
But here indeed they would perhaps stick, and refuse to follow reason as their leader: so great is the force of deeply-rooted opinions and of falsehood long defended and believed.
sed ego instarem magis haerentibus. non aspere. non pueriliter, non peruicaciter; repeterem quae concessa sunt, et quam essent concedenda, monstrarem.
But I would press more upon them as they hesitated, not harshly, not childishly, not obstinately; I would repeat what had been granted, and show how they were to be granted.
hortarer ut in commune consulerent; uiderent certe. quid nobis negandum esset: utrum intellectum istis carneis luminibus praeferendum, an excellentius esse, quod animi excellentia quam quod debili sensu corporis cognoscitur, falsum putarent; an illas animas, quas alienigenas crederent. tantum intellegendo. id est ipsa animi excellentia sciri posse nollent fateri: an solem ac lunam non nisi istis oculis notos fieri uellent abnuere.
I would exhort them to consult in common; they would surely see what we had to deny: whether they thought it false that the intellect is to be preferred to these fleshly lights, or that what is known by the excellence of the soul is more excellent than what is known by the weak sense of the body; or whether they would refuse to confess that those souls, which they believed to be alien, can be known only by understanding, that is, by the very excellence of the soul; or whether they would wish to deny that the sun and the moon become known to us by nothing but these eyes.
quod si nihil horum nisi absurdissime atque inpudentissime negari posse animum aduerterent, suaderem non eos oportere dubitare istam lucem, quam colendam praedicarent, esse anima illa uiliorem, quam fugiendam monerent.
If they should perceive that none of these things could be denied except most absurdly and impudently, I would persuade them that they ought not to doubt that that light, which they preached as to be worshiped, is baser than that soul, which they warned us to flee.
§4Atque hic si forte turbati a me quaererent, num etiam muscae animam huic luci praestare censerem, responderem: etiam.
And here, if perchance they, being troubled, should ask of me whether I thought that even the soul of a fly is superior to this light, I would answer: Yes.
nec me terreret musca quod parua est, sed quod uiua firmaret.
Nor would the fly terrify me because it is small, but because it is alive it would confirm me.
quaeritur enim, quid illa membra tam exigua uegetet, quid huc atque illuc pro naturali adpetitu tantillum corpusculum ducat, quid currentis pedes in numerum moueat, aut quid uolantis pennulas moderetur ac uibret.
For it is asked, what quickens those members so tiny, what leads that so small a body hither and thither according to its natural appetite, what moves the feet of it as it runs in order, or what governs and vibrates its little wings as it flies.
quod qualecumque est, bene considerantibus in tam paruo tam magnum eminet, ut cuiuis fulgori praestringenti oculos praeferatur.
Which, of whatever kind it is, stands out so great in so small a thing to those who consider it well, that it is preferred to any brightness that dazzles the eyes.
Certe quod nemo dubitat, quicquid id est, intellegibile est, quod omni sensibili et ob hoc huic etiam luci diuinis legibus antecellit.
Certainly, as no one doubts, whatever it is, it is intelligible, which by divine laws surpasses every sensible thing, and for this reason even this light.
quid enim cogitatione percipimus, quaeso, si hoc non percipimus aliud esse mente intellegere, aliud sentire per corpus et prius illud ab hoc posteriore incomparabili sublimitate distare ideoque non posse intellegibilia sensibilibus non praeferri, cum ipse intellectus tantum sensibus praeferatur?
For what do we perceive by thought, I ask, if we do not perceive this: that to understand with the mind is one thing, to feel through the body is another, and that the former differs from the latter by an incomparable sublimity, and therefore that intelligible things cannot but be preferred to sensible things, since the intellect itself is so much preferred to the senses?
§5Hinc illud etiam fortasse cognoscerem, quod consequens esse manifestum est, cum iniustitia et intemperantia ceteraque animi uitia non sentiantur, sed intellegantur: quomodo fiat, ut etiam ista, quae detestamur et damnanda censemus, tamen quoniam intellegibilia sunt, anteire hanc lucem queant, cum in suo genere ista laudanda sit.
Hence also I would perhaps recognize that which is clearly a consequence, since injustice and intemperance and other vices of the soul are not felt, but understood: how it happens that even these things, which we detest and judge to be condemned, yet because they are intelligible, can surpass this light, although in its own kind this light is to be praised.
suggeritur enim animo bene se deo subicienti primo non omne, quod laudamus. omni. quod uituperamus. esse anteponendum.
For to a mind well subjecting itself to God, it is first suggested that not everything we praise is to be preferred to everything we blame.
neque enim quia laudo purgatissimum plumbum. ob hoc illud uituperando auro pluris aestimo.
For neither, because I praise most purified lead, do I on this account value it more than blamed gold.
in suo enim genere quidque considerandum est.
For everything is to be considered in its own kind.
inprobo iurisconsultum multas leges ignorantem, sed eum tamen probatissimo sutori sic praefero, ut ne comparandum quidem putem.
I disapprove of a lawyer who is ignorant of many laws, yet I so prefer him to a most approved shoemaker that I do not even think them to be compared.
at istum laudo, quod suae artis peritissimus sit; illum autem. quod suam professionem minus inpleat, iure reprehendo.
But I praise the latter because he is most skilled in his art; whereas I rightly reprehend the former because he fulfills his profession less.
ex quo reperire deberem lucem istam, quod in genere proprio perfecta esset. iure laudari; tamen quia sensibilium rerum numero includitur, quod genus intellegibilium generi cedat necesse est, infra iniustas et intemperantes animas, quoniam sunt intellegibiles, esse deputandam, quamuis istas non iniuria damnatione dignissimas iudicemus.
From which I ought to find out that that light, because it was perfect in its own kind, was rightly praised; yet because it is included in the number of sensible things, which kind must of necessity yield to the kind of intelligible things, it is to be deputed below unjust and intemperate souls, since they are intelligible, although we judge them not unjustly to be most worthy of condemnation.
quaerimus namque in his quod concilietur deo, non quod isti fulgori praeferatur.
For we seek in these that which may be reconciled to God, not what may be preferred to that brightness.
quapropter quisquis hoc lumen ex deo esse contenderet, non repugnarem, sed magis animas dicerem, uitiosas etiam, non in quantum uitiosae. sed in quantum animae sunt, deum sibi esse creatorem fateri oportere.
Wherefore, whoever should contend that this light is from God, I would not fight back, but rather I would say that souls, even vicious ones, not insofar as they are vicious, but insofar as they are souls, ought to confess God as their creator.