Sentences, Books I–II

Chapter 1 (41).

Why the Holy Spirit, though he is from the Father’s substance, is not called begotten or Son, but only proceeding. After this we must consider, «as far as people such as we can understand», since the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is of the Father’s substance, «why he is not called born, but rather proceeding», and why he is not called Son. — Augustine shows why the Holy Spirit is not called or considered born, and therefore is not Son, in Book XV of De Trinitate¹, saying: «If the Holy Spirit were called a son, he would surely be called the son of both, which is utterly absurd. No one is the son of two except a father and mother; far be it from us to imagine anything of that sort between God the Father and God the Son!» «It would therefore be most absurd to call him the son of both», that is, the Father and Son; «for he would be called the son of both if both had begotten him, which is abhorrent to the understanding of all sound minds. He was therefore not begotten by both, but proceeds from both, the Spirit of both». These words show why the Holy Spirit, though he is from the Father, is not called begotten or Son.

² om. BCPRVW. 11 dedit] et add. LOPX. 15 seipso] semetipso BCR (Augustine). 11 etiam] et LMRWX, om. N (Augustine).]

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Chapters 1–3: Cf. Summa sententiarum, I, 7 (PL 171, 1079 B–D; 176, 53 B–D); Rolandus, Sent., 31s.

Chapter 2 (42).

If the Spirit is not called begotten, why is the Son said to proceed? Since the Holy Spirit is not called begotten but only proceeding, it is commonly asked why the Son is not called only begotten but also proceeding, as he himself says in John’s Gospel⁵: «I proceeded or came forth from God and came into the world». Thus not only the Holy Spirit but also the Son proceeds from the Father. — We answer that both proceed from the Father, but in different ways. For «the Holy Spirit, as Augustine says in Book V of De Trinitate⁶, proceeds from the Father not as one born, but as one given», or as a gift; the Son, however, proceeded by being born and came forth as one begotten. «Thus it becomes clear, as far as possible, why the Holy Spirit is not also a son, although he too comes forth from the Father: namely, because he was neither born, like the Only-begotten, nor made so as to be born into adoption by God’s grace»⁷, as we are.

⁸ sit add. NVW (Augustine). 8 est] etiam add. OP. 19 nasci eum trp. BCLVWX. 26 hanc] istam OPX. 28 ait] om. OP.]

Chapter 3 (43).

1. We cannot distinguish between the Son’s generation and the Holy Spirit’s procession. While we live here, we are not able to distinguish the Son’s generation from the Holy Spirit’s procession.

⁹ om. LMNOR. 10 sensibus] sensus MNR. 19 quod] quia OP. 24 scilicet] spiritus LNV.]

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2. Maximinus’s question. Augustine, replying to Maximinus when he raised the foregoing question again—asking why the Holy Spirit was not called Son, since he was of the Father’s substance—says: «You ask me: if the Son is of the Father’s substance, and the Holy Spirit too is of the Father’s substance, why is one a son and the other not a son?»

3. Augustine’s reply.—The Father is the source of the Holy Spirit’s procession. «Behold, I answer, whether you grasp it or not: the Son is from the Father, and the Holy Spirit is from the Father; but the one is begotten, the other proceeding. Therefore the one is the Son of the Father, from whom he was begotten; the other is the Spirit of both, because he proceeds from both. But when the Son spoke of him, he said¹¹, “He proceeds from the Father,” because the Father is the source of his procession: he begot such a Son and, by begetting him, gave him that the Holy Spirit should proceed from him too. For unless he also proceeded from the Son, the Son would not have said to his disciples¹², “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and given him by breathing upon them, plainly showing by his breath that the Spirit also proceeds from him, which he gave secretly by breathing. Therefore, if the Spirit were born, he would surely be born not from the Father alone or from the Son alone, but from both, and so would undoubtedly be called the son of both. Since in no way could he be the son of both, it was not fitting for him to be born from both; he is therefore the Spirit of both, proceeding from both».

4. Here he says that one cannot distinguish between the two. «Who can explain, when speaking of that most excellent nature, what difference there is between being born and proceeding? Not everything that proceeds is born, although everything that is born proceeds; just as not everything that is two-footed is human, although everyone who is human is two-footed. This I know. But I do not know, cannot, and am unable to distinguish between that generation and this procession. And since both are ineffable, just as the Prophet says most truly of the Son¹³, “Who shall declare his generation?”, so it is said of the Holy Spirit: “Who shall declare his procession?” Let it be enough for us, then, that the Son is not from himself but from the one from whom he was born; the Holy Spirit is not from himself but from the one from whom he proceeds, and, as we have already shown, he proceeds from both».

5. We have already discussed above, as far as seemed appropriate, how the Holy Spirit is from God and yet is not himself the Son, since he is read to be from God by proceeding, not by being born.

¹⁴ sit add. NVW (Augustine). 8 est] etiam add. OP. || est] om. OP (Augustine). 19 nasci eum trp. BCLVWX. 26 hanc] istam OPX. 28 ait] om. OP.]

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Chapter 4 (44).

1. Whether the Holy Spirit should be called unbegotten. Now we must consider, since the Holy Spirit is not begotten, whether he should be called unbegotten.

2. We say that the Holy Spirit should be called neither begotten nor unbegotten. Hence Augustine says in Ad Orosium¹⁶: «Certain faith declares that the Holy Spirit is neither begotten nor unbegotten: for if we say “unbegotten,” we will seem to affirm two fathers; but if “begotten,” we will be accused of believing in two sons». — For just as the Son alone is called begotten, so the Father alone is called unbegotten, because he is not from another. Hence Augustine says in Book XV of De Trinitate¹⁷: «The Father alone, he says, is not from another; therefore he alone is called unbegotten—not in Scripture, but in the customary language of those disputing and speaking as best they can about so great a matter. The Son was born from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds principally from the Father and in common from both. Therefore, since we do not call the Holy Spirit begotten, neither do we dare call him unbegotten, lest anyone suspect from this word that there are either two fathers in that Trinity or two who are not from another». By these words he plainly shows that the Holy Spirit should be called neither begotten nor unbegotten.

3. Jerome says the Holy Spirit is unbegotten, which seems contrary to the foregoing. Jerome, however, in Regulae definitionum contra haereticos¹⁸ says that the Holy Spirit is unbegotten, in these words: «The Holy Spirit is not the Father, but is unbegotten and uncreated. He is not the Father because he belongs to the Father and is in the Father. He has procession from the Father, not birth. He is not the Son because he is not begotten». Behold, these words say that the Holy Spirit is unbegotten, which seems contrary to Augustine’s foregoing words.

4. Determination: they spoke according to different meanings of the term. To remove this apparent contradiction, we say that Jerome and Augustine understood the name «unbegotten» differently. Augustine understands «unbegotten» as one or that which is not from another; in this sense it is said of the Father alone. Jerome, however, uses «unbegotten» to mean «not begotten»; in this sense it can be said of the Spirit, since the Holy Spirit is not begotten.

¹⁹ om. OP, mg. T. 10 Trinitate] ait add. OP. 12 valuerint] maluerint OP. 28 abigamus] abiciamus OP.]

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5. From Jerome’s words he shows in what sense he called the Holy Spirit unbegotten. That Jerome understood the word in this way is shown by his own words in the same treatise²¹, where he makes this division: «Everything that exists is either unbegotten, begotten, or made». — This division must be carefully noted²² — «There is, then, that which is neither born nor made; there is that which is born but not made; there is that which is neither born nor made; there is that which is made but not born; there is that which is made, born, and reborn; and there is that which is made and born but not reborn. Let us now assign subsistence to each of the things listed above. That which is neither born nor made is the Father, for he is from no one. That which is born but not made is the Son, who was begotten from the Father, not made. That which again is neither born nor made is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father. That which is made but not born is heaven and earth and the other things that are insensible. That which is made, born, and reborn is a human being. Those things which are made and born but not reborn are animals». By these words Jerome shows that he understands «unbegotten» to mean «not born». Otherwise, the division stated above—«everything that exists is either unbegotten, begotten, or made»—would not be true. And in carrying out this division, whenever he assigns what is unbegotten, he uses «not born».

²³ accepit CLNVX. 4 potest dici transposed in P. Spiritu (5) LNRX. 5 Spiritus sancto added in LRX. 9 ingenitum... genitum transposed in LOPW. || genitum] est added in OP. 11 natum] est added in MRV. 14 subsistentiam] substantiam in OP. 19 ceteraque] et cetera BCR, cunctaque X.]

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