Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Objection 1: It would seem that "Love" is not the proper name of the Holy Ghost. For Augustine says (De Trin. xv, 17): "As the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are called Wisdom, and are not three Wisdoms, but one; I know not why the Father, Son and Holy Ghost should not be called Charity, and all together one Charity." But no name which is predicated in the singular of each person and of all together, is a proper name of a person. Therefore this name, "Love," is not the proper name of the Holy Ghost.

Objection 2: Further, the Holy Ghost is a subsisting person, but love is not used to signify a subsisting person, but rather an action passing from the lover to the beloved. Therefore Love is not the proper name of the Holy Ghost.

Objection 3: Further, Love is the bond between lovers, for as Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv): "Love is a unitive force." But a bond is a medium between what it joins together, not something proceeding from them. Therefore, since the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, as was shown above (Question 36, Article 2), it seems that He is not the Love or bond of the Father and the Son.

Objection 4: Further, Love belongs to every lover. But the Holy Ghost is a lover: therefore He has love. So if the Holy Ghost is Love, He must be love of love, and spirit from spirit; which is not admissible.

On the contrary, Gregory says (Hom. xxx, in Pentecost.): "The Holy Ghost Himself is Love."

I answer that, The name Love in God can be taken essentially and personally. If taken personally it is the proper name of the Holy Ghost; as Word is the proper name of the Son.

To see this we must know that since as shown above (Question 27, Articles 2,3,4,5), there are two processions in God, one by way of the intellect, which is the procession of the Word, and another by way of the will, which is the procession of Love; forasmuch as the former is the more known to us, we have been able to apply more suitable names to express our various considerations as regards that procession, but not as regards the procession of the will. Hence, we are obliged to employ circumlocution as regards the person Who proceeds, and the relations following from this procession which are called "procession" and "spiration," as stated above (Question 27, Article 4, ad 3), and yet express the origin rather than the relation in the strict sense of the term. Nevertheless we must consider them in respect of each procession simply. For as when a thing is understood by anyone, there results in the one who understands a conception of the object understood, which conception we call word; so when anyone loves an object, a certain impression results, so to speak, of the thing loved in the affection of the lover; by reason of which the object loved is said to be in the lover; as also the thing understood is in the one who understands; so that when anyone understands and loves himself he is in himself, not only by real identity, but also as the object understood is in the one who understands, and the thing loved is in the lover. As regards the intellect, however, words have been found to describe the mutual relation of the one who understands the object understood, as appears in the word "to understand"; and other words are used to express the procession of the intellectual conception---namely, "to speak," and "word." Hence in God, "to understand" is applied only to the essence; because it does not import relation to the Word that proceeds; whereas "Word" is said personally, because it signifies what proceeds; and the term "to speak" is a notional term as importing the relation of the principle of the Word to the Word Himself. On the other hand, on the part of the will, with the exception of the words "dilection" and "love," which express the relation of the lover to the object loved, there are no other terms in use, which express the relation of the impression or affection of the object loved, produced in the lover by fact that he loves---to the principle of that impression, or "vice versa." And therefore, on account of the poverty of our vocabulary, we express these relations by the words "love" and "dilection": just as if we were to call the Word "intelligence conceived," or "wisdom begotten."

It follows that so far as love means only the relation of the lover to the object loved, "love" and "to love" are said of the essence, as "understanding" and "to understand"; but, on the other hand, so far as these words are used to express the relation to its principle, of what proceeds by way of love, and "vice versa," so that by "love" is understood the "love proceeding," and by "to love" is understood "the spiration of the love proceeding," in that sense "love" is the name of the person and "to love" is a notional term, as "to speak" and "to beget."

Reply to Objection 1: Augustine is there speaking of charity as it means the divine essence, as was said above (here and Question 24, Article 2, ad 4).

Reply to Objection 2: Although to understand, and to will, and to love signify actions passing on to their objects, nevertheless they are actions that remain in the agents, as stated above (Question 14, Article 4), yet in such a way that in the agent itself they import a certain relation to their object. Hence, love also in ourselves is something that abides in the lover, and the word of the heart is something abiding in the speaker; yet with a relation to the thing expressed by word, or loved. But in God, in whom there is nothing accidental, there is more than this; because both Word and Love are subsistent. Therefore, when we say that the Holy Ghost is the Love of the Father for the Son, or for something else; we do not mean anything that passes into another, but only the relation of love to the beloved; as also in the Word is imported the relation of the Word to the thing expressed by the Word.

Reply to Objection 3: The Holy Ghost is said to be the bond of the Father and Son, inasmuch as He is Love; because, since the Father loves Himself and the Son with one Love, and conversely, there is expressed in the Holy Ghost, as Love, the relation of the Father to the Son, and conversely, as that of the lover to the beloved. But from the fact that the Father and the Son mutually love one another, it necessarily follows that this mutual Love, the Holy Ghost, proceeds from both. As regards origin, therefore, the Holy Ghost is not the medium, but the third person in the Trinity; whereas as regards the aforesaid relation He is the bond between the two persons, as proceeding from both.

Reply to Objection 4: As it does not belong to the Son, though He understands, to produce a word, for it belongs to Him to understand as the word proceeding; so in like manner, although the Holy Ghost loves, taking Love as an essential term, still it does not belong to Him to spirate love, which is to take love as a notional term; because He loves essentially as love proceeding; but not as the one whence love proceeds.

Articulus 1

Argumentum 1

Ad primum sic proceditur. Videtur quod amor non sit proprium nomen spiritus sancti.

Dicit enim Augustinus, XV de Trin., nescio cur, sicut sapientia dicitur et pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, et simul omnes non tres sed una sapientia, non ita et caritas dicatur pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, et simul omnes una caritas.

Sed nullum nomen quod de singulis personis praedicatur et de omnibus in communi singulariter, est nomen proprium alicuius personae. Ergo hoc nomen amor non est proprium spiritus sancti.

Argumentum 2

Praeterea, spiritus sanctus est persona subsistens. Sed amor non significatur ut persona subsistens, sed ut actio quaedam ab amante transiens in amatum.

Ergo amor non est proprium nomen spiritus sancti.

Argumentum 3

Praeterea, amor est nexus amantium, quia secundum dionysium, IV cap. De div. Nom., est quaedam vis unitiva. Sed nexus est medium inter ea quae connectit, non autem aliquid ab eis procedens. Cum igitur spiritus sanctus procedat a patre et filio, sicut ostensum est, videtur quod non sit amor aut nexus patris et filii.

Argumentum 4

Praeterea, cuiuslibet amantis est aliquis amor. Sed spiritus sanctus est amans. Ergo eius est aliquis amor. Si igitur spiritus sanctus est amor, erit amor amoris, et spiritus a spiritu. Quod est inconveniens.

Sed Contra

Sed contra est quod Gregorius dicit, in homilia Pentecostes, ipse spiritus sanctus est amor.

Corpus

Respondeo dicendum quod nomen amoris in divinis sumi potest et essentialiter et personaliter. Et secundum quod personaliter sumitur, est proprium nomen spiritus sancti; sicut verbum est proprium nomen filii. Ad cuius evidentiam, sciendum est quod, cum in divinis, ut supra ostensum est, sint duae processiones, una per modum intellectus, quae est processio verbi; alia per modum voluntatis, quae est processio amoris, quia prima est nobis magis nota, ad singula significanda quae in ea considerari possunt, sunt magis propria nomina adinventa; non autem in processione voluntatis. Unde et quibusdam circumlocutionibus utimur ad significandam personam procedentem, et relationes etiam quae accipiuntur secundum hanc processionem, et processionis et spirationis nominibus nominantur, ut supra dictum est, quae tamen sunt magis nomina originis quam relationis, secundum proprietatem vocabuli.

Et tamen similiter utramque processionem considerari oportet.

Sicut enim ex hoc quod aliquis rem aliquam intelligit, provenit quaedam intellectualis conceptio rei intellectae in intelligente, quae dicitur verbum; ita ex hoc quod aliquis rem aliquam amat, provenit quaedam impressio, ut ita loquar, rei amatae in affectu amantis, secundum quam amatum dicitur esse in amante, sicut et intellectum in intelligente. Ita quod, cum aliquis seipsum intelligit et amat, est in seipso non solum per identitatem rei, sed etiam ut intellectum in intelligente, et amatum in amante.

Sed ex parte intellectus, sunt vocabula adinventa ad significandum respectum intelligentis ad rem intellectam, ut patet in hoc quod dico intelligere, et sunt etiam alia vocabula adinventa ad significandum processum intellectualis conceptionis, scilicet ipsum dicere, et verbum. Unde in divinis intelligere solum essentialiter dicitur, quia non importat habitudinem ad verbum procedens, sed verbum personaliter dicitur, quia significat id quod procedit, ipsum vero dicere dicitur notionaliter, quia importat habitudinem principii verbi ad verbum ipsum.

Ex parte autem voluntatis, praeter diligere et amare, quae important habitudinem amantis ad rem amatam, non sunt aliqua vocabula imposita, quae importent habitudinem ipsius impressionis vel affectionis rei amatae, quae provenit in amante ex hoc quod amat, ad suum principium, aut e converso. Et ideo, propter vocabulorum inopiam, huiusmodi habitudines significamus vocabulis amoris et dilectionis; sicut si verbum nominaremus intelligentiam conceptam, vel sapientiam genitam.

Sic igitur, inquantum in amore vel dilectione non importatur nisi habitudo amantis ad rem amatam, amor et diligere essentialiter dicuntur, sicut intelligentia et intelligere.

Inquantum vero his vocabulis utimur ad exprimendam habitudinem eius rei quae procedit per modum amoris, ad suum principium, et e converso; ita quod per amorem intelligatur amor procedens, et per diligere intelligatur spirare amorem procedentem, sic amor est nomen personae, et diligere vel amare est verbum notionale, sicut dicere vel generare.

Ad 1

Ad primum ergo dicendum quod Augustinus loquitur de caritate, secundum quod essentialiter sumitur in divinis, ut dictum est.

Ad 2

Ad secundum dicendum quod intelligere et velle et amare, licet significentur per modum actionum transeuntium in obiecta, sunt tamen actiones manentes in agentibus, ut supra dictum est; ita tamen quod in ipso agente important habitudinem quandam ad obiectum. Unde amor, etiam in nobis, est aliquid manens in amante, et verbum cordis manens in dicente; tamen cum habitudine ad rem verbo expressam, vel amatam. Sed in deo, in quo nullum est accidens, plus habet, quia tam verbum quam amor est subsistens. Cum ergo dicitur quod spiritus sanctus est amor patris in filium, vel in quidquam aliud, non significatur aliquid transiens in alium; sed solum habitudo amoris ad rem amatam; sicut et in verbo importatur habitudo verbi ad rem verbo expressam.

Ad 3

Ad tertium dicendum quod spiritus sanctus dicitur esse nexus patris et filii, inquantum est amor, quia, cum pater amet unica dilectione se et filium, et e converso, importatur in spiritu sancto, prout est amor, habitudo patris ad filium, et e converso, ut amantis ad amatum. Sed ex hoc ipso quod pater et filius se mutuo amant, oportet quod mutuus amor, qui est spiritus sanctus, ab utroque procedat. Secundum igitur originem, spiritus sanctus non est medius, sed tertia in trinitate persona.

Secundum vero praedictam habitudinem, est medius nexus duorum, ab utroque procedens.

Ad 4

Ad quartum dicendum quod, sicut filio, licet intelligat, non tamen sibi competit producere verbum, quia intelligere convenit ei ut verbo procedenti; ita, licet spiritus sanctus amet, essentialiter accipiendo, non tamen convenit ei quod spiret amorem, quod est diligere notionaliter sumptum; quia sic diligit essentialiter ut amor procedens, non ut a quo procedit amor.