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Summa Theologiae · I, q. 58

Question 58. Of the Mode of the Angelic Knowledge

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part. 7 articles.

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Text: Summa Theologiae, Project Gutenberg #17611, First Part (Prima Pars), translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. The First Part of the Summa in the English Dominican translation (first printed 1911 to 1925; second and revised edition from 1920). A sample check on 2026-11-09 against pre-1931 printings at the Internet Archive (first printings of 1915 and 1916 and the second and revised edition of the 1920s) found that the article text matches, with no 1947 introduction, synopsis, or index. The phrase “From the Complete American Edition” in Gutenberg's catalog title is a provenance note only. Question and article numbers were added by the transcriber. Rights: Public domain (US)

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After the foregoing we have now to treat of the mode of the angelic knowledge, concerning which there are seven points of inquiry:

(1) Whether the angel's intellect be sometimes in potentiality, and sometimes in act?

(2) Whether the angel can understand many things at the same time?

(3) Whether the angel's knowledge is discursive?

(4) Whether he understands by composing and dividing?

(5) Whether there can be error in the angel's intellect?

(6) Whether his knowledge can be styled as morning and evening?

(7) Whether the morning and evening knowledge are the same, or do they differ?

Articles

  1. Whether the Angel's Intellect Is Sometimes in Potentiality, Sometimes in Act?
  2. Whether an Angel Can Understand Many Things at the Same Time?
  3. Whether an Angel's Knowledge Is Discursive?
  4. Whether the Angels Understand by Composing and Dividing?
  5. Whether There Can Be Falsehood in the Intellect of an Angel?
  6. Whether There Is a "Morning" and an "Evening" Knowledge in the Angels?
  7. Whether the Morning and Evening Knowledge Are One?

Also online, linked only: the same translation at New Advent and the Latin text at Corpus Thomisticum. Neither is copied here.

Source: Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, First Part. Project Gutenberg #17611. Project Gutenberg record. Public domain in the USA. Outside the U.S., check local copyright rules. Project Gutenberg notices retained. The full Project Gutenberg license is kept in the hosted text.