Breviloquium

But concerning the fullness of the wisdom of Christ in the intellect this is to be held: that in the incarnate Word, namely Christ our Lord, was the fullness of all wisdom¹ not only as to things known, but also as to modes and differences of knowing. — For in Christ was everlasting knowledge on the part of Deity, sensible knowledge on the part of sensuality and flesh, sciential knowledge on the part of mind and spirit; and this was threefold: namely one through nature, one through grace and one through glory. Whence he had wisdom both as God and as man, as comprehensor and as wayfarer, as illuminated through grace and as rightly formed through nature; and thus in all there were in Christ five modes of knowing. — The first is according to the divine nature; and in this mode he knew all actual and possible, finite and infinite, with actual and comprehensive knowledge. — The second is through glory; and in this mode he knew all actual and finite, with actual and comprehensive knowledge; but the infinite² perchance only with habitual or excessive knowledge. — The third, through grace; and in this mode he knew all things pertaining to the redemption of the human race. — The fourth, according to integral nature, of which sort it was in Adam; and in this mode he knew all things which pertain to the constitution of the universe. — The fifth, according to sensible experience; and in this mode he knew those things which come to the organs of senses, according to which mode it is said that he learned, from those things which he suffered, obedience³.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because, as it is of the reparative principle to repair us through most liberal grace; so also through most provident wisdom. For what was founded according to the order of wisdom cannot without the light and order of wisdom be repaired; and therefore, as Christ had to be immune from all fault, so he had to be entirely free from all ignorance, and thereby totally replete with the light and circumfulgence of supernal wisdom. Wherefore he had perfect knowledge according to both natures and cognitive power and according to all existence of things.

Since therefore things have being in eternal art and in human mind and in their proper genus⁴; it was necessary that Christ have this threefold knowledge of things. But because a thing can be known in art in two ways, namely either by the artificer himself, or by another contemplating art; likewise it has to be and be known in mind in two ways, even apart from acquisition, which befits not Christ on account of imperfection, namely either according to innate habit, or according to infused habit: hence it is that it was necessary for the perfect fullness of wisdom that the five aforesaid modes be found in Christ God and man, that in eternal art he know⁵ things both through the nature of Deity and through the glory of comprehension; in his mind through natural and innate habit, as Adam and the Angels knew; and through gratuitous and infused habit, as the Saints of God illuminated through the Holy Spirit; but in their proper genus he know through way of sense, memory and experience, which in us makes the unknown thing be known⁶, but in Christ made the thing known according to one mode be known according to another.

But since the divine substance, virtue and operation is immense, hence it is that according to the first mode, which is through the nature of Deity, he actually comprehends the infinite; for in some ineffable mode to the supremely infinite all infinity is finite.

But because the substance, virtue and operation of the creature howsoever sublimated is finite, yet so that the human mind rests not except in the infinite good, nor yet properly comprehends it, because the infinite is not comprehended by the finite, taking comprehension properly: hence it is that as to the second mode of knowing the soul of Christ through the glory of comprehension takes as much as finite nature can take, beatified through the infinite good, to which it is supremely united; and thereby to finite things it extends by actually comprehending, but to infinite things perchance only habitually, or even by exceeding. For the soul cannot be equaled to the Word⁷, neither in science nor in anything else.

Again, because grace most regards the work of reparation; hence it is that according to the third mode of knowing through most perfect grace Christ knew all things which pertain to our reparation, far more excellently and better than any of the Prophets, or even of the Angels.

Further, because the well-instituted nature of man was born to preside over all creatures and to know them as those which ought to serve it, as was clear in the condition of the first man⁸: hence it is that as to the fourth mode of knowing Christ knew all things which pertain to constructing the mundane machine, far more excellently than Adam.

Lastly, because sense is not perceptive of things except at the presence of the object⁹; hence it is that according to sensitive knowledge he did not at once know all, but now these, now those, according as it was opportune for making the reparation of the human race.