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Inferences and conclusion.

7. Now, from these distinct modes of subsistence, objects, or persons, in the Divine Essence, and from the incommunicable relation in which they stand to each other, and from their number being neither more nor less than three,-we may fairly infer, that the Divine Being, by the full and perfect exercise of its own intellectual powers, fully knows the eternity of its own wisdom, and all its other attributes; and upon this principle, each mode of distinct subsistence, or distinct object or person, having all the Divine Essence and perfections subsisting distinctly, not separately, within itself, sees and knows, by its own intelligence, or perceptive powers, the whole of the Divine Essence and perfections, as subsisting distinctly, not separately, in the other mode, object, or person. And thus one mode, object, or person, is a standard to the other, and affords a comparison for the intuitive decision of the innate ideas, or for the decision of the intellectual powers of the Divine Essence, subsisting distinctly in each, and being the very same in each; each being co-equal, co-eternal, co-immense, and co-immutable, with the other; and, in all respects, the very same with the other, except dis tinct subsistence, in an incommunicable relation to the other.

And thus a full, absolute, necessary, and per fect discovery of the Divine Essence and perfec

tions has been made, by the Divine Being, to itself, within its own essence, by the distinct modes of its subsistence, entirely independent of all created beings; and was so from everlasting, and will be so to everlasting, without beginning and without ending, according to the economy of the intelligence of the Divine Essence, as selfexistent, active, and every way inadequate to the knowledge of itself, and to its own perfection and happiness.

8. And hence, farther, it is as plain as demonstration can make it, that the eternity, and all the other attributes of the divine wisdom, can only be fully and perfectly known to the Divine Being, by the exercise of the divine intelligence, in three distinct modes of subsistence, within the Divine Essence itself; and this can only be done, ad intra, by one distinct mode or person comparing itself with another, in all respects, necessarily and essentially, the very same, from everlasting to everlasting. Therefore, demonstration makes

it

appear, with the most legitimate, clear, cogent, and irresistible conclusions, that the divine intelligence must subsist in three, and can subsist in neither more nor less than three, distinct modes or persons in the Divine Essence, in order that the Divine Being may fully know, and perfectly comprehend, the absolute eternity, and all the other attributes of its own wisdom, intuitively. And thus the eternity of the Divine Essence and perfections can only be known by the Divine

Being itself, according to the doctrine of three distinct modes or persons, co-equally, co-eternally, co-immensely, and co-immutably, subsisting in the Divine Essence, standing in an incommunicable relation the one to the other; and, by direct consequence and conclusion, the active operation of the perfect, absolute, and ever-living intelligence of the Divine Being, can only be demonstrated on the same principle.

According to this principle, both the modes of distinct subsistence, and the order of the incommunicable relation in which they stand to each other, and the activity, energy, operation, and influence of the divine perfections, and the efficiency and the intelligence of which we have treated, should be all kept under the view at once. For whatever is true concerning the distinct subsistence of the divine efficiency, is equally true concerning the distinct subsistence of the divine intelligence; and whatever is true concerning the distinct subsistence of the divine modes or persons, is equally true concerning both; and thus the Divine Essence and perfections, and persons, and efficiency, and intelligence, subsist in three distinct modes, necessarily, essentially, eternally, immensely, and immutably, in an incommunicable relation the one to the other; which relation can neither vary, change, nor cease, more than the Divine Being itself can.

* See Note F. on the preceding Proposition.

PROPOSITION VII.

PROVING THE DOCTRINE FROM THE EXERCISE OF THE DIVINE INTELLIGENCE, IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE IMMENSITY OF THE DIVINE GOODNESS, AND ALL OTHER DIVINE PERFECTIONS.

[The Divine Mind cannot know its own immensity, if it subsist in one mode only-A brief explanation of the intelligence of the human mind-A comparison between the exercise of created and uncreated intelligence-The modes must subsist in personality-A view of this, two ways-A view of the equality of the distinct modes of subsistence, or persons, in the Divine Essence-The exercise of the divine intelligence never had a beginning, and never will have an end-The impossibility of more than three persons-Another method of demonstration.]

1. HAVING investigated the intelligence of the Divine Mind, with respect to the full and perfect knowledge of the eternity of its own wisdom, and having, it is hoped, clearly and satisfactorily proved, that this knowledge can neither be reasonably conceived nor imagined to be upon any other principle than that of the subsistence of the Divine Essence in three, and in neither more nor less than three, distinct, not separate, modes or persons, we shall now attempt to prove the same doctrine, by the investigation of the intelli

gence of the Divine Mind, with respect to its knowledge of its own immensity.

A similar train of reasoning to that already laid down, with proper variations, will prove no Jess clearly, that, as far as we can understand, it is impossible for the Divine Being to know the immensity of its own goodness, and of all its other perfections, if there be but one, and can be no more than one, mode of subsistence, or person, in the Divine Essence. Arguing that there is one, and only one, we are compelled, upon this hypothesis, to consider the Divine Being as necessarily and absolutely solitary before creation and providence; and supposing it as subsisting in one solitary mode, we are not able to conceive how it could know the immen

sity of its own goodness. We have already

shewed in what sense we are to understand the reasoning which ascends from the creature to the Creator: and we fully admit, that there can be no absolute comparison between the created and the uncreated mind; yet, as the perfections of the created intelligent being are derived from the uncreated, they afford us a ray by which we may venture to glance at those uncreated perfections, in all their boundless and unlimited extent and glory.

Now, intelligence is surely a very high and distinguishing perfection inhering in the created mind. By it, the created mind is conscious of

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