94. Grace, Theological Virtues, and the Powers of the Soul

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Analogy Between Soul-Powers and Grace-Virtues #

Berquist develops a fundamental analogy:

• Soul → Powers: Just as reason and will naturally flow from the soul’s nature as properties
• Grace → Virtues: Just as faith, hope, and charity naturally flow from sanctifying grace when the soul is elevated

This is not a matter of arbitrary connection but of natural emanation (flowing). When the soul receives sanctifying grace—a participation in divine nature (per St. Peter’s teaching)—the theological virtues necessarily follow in the soul’s powers:

• Faith resides in the intellect/reason, elevating it with a supernatural light
• Hope and Charity reside in the will, elevating it with supernatural vigor

The Distinction Between Grace and the Virtues #

While grace and the virtues are intimately connected and flow together, they are not identical:

• Grace is in the soul as its subject (the elevation of the soul’s very nature)
• The virtues are in the powers of the soul (intellect and will)
• The virtues flow from grace in the same way powers flow from the soul
• This is a proportional likeness, not an exact identity

The Nature of Sanctifying Grace #

• Sanctifying grace is a permanent elevation of the soul beyond its natural capacity
• It is distinct from actual grace (which assists in particular acts)
• Grace is a “share in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)
• When grace is present, the theological virtues naturally follow
• There is an especially strong connection between grace and charity: loss of charity entails loss of grace and vice versa

The Problem of Formation in Faith #

• There can be “unformed faith” (fides informis) if one loses grace
• But this would not be “formed faith” (fides formata)—not the full virtue
• Only grace-elevated faith possesses the full perfection of the virtue

Article 7: Whether One Power of the Soul Proceeds from Another #

Berquist introduces the key question: Can one power of the soul arise from another power when all powers are created simultaneously with the soul?

The Problem of Simultaneity: Things created at the same time appear not to arise from one another, yet the powers do seem to have an order among them.

The Solution: Multiple senses of “before” and causality must be distinguished:

1. Before in time - temporal priority (yesterday before today)
2. Before in being - essential priority (what can exist without another, but not vice versa)
   • Example: Bricks are before a brick wall in being; one is before two in being even if twins are born simultaneously
   • Simultaneity in time does not preclude priority in being

Four Senses of Causality #

Thomas teaches that one thing can be a cause of another in multiple ways:

1. As an end/purpose - what something is for
2. As an active principle - what moves or produces something
3. As a material cause - what serves as the subject or substrate
4. As a formal cause - what determines the nature of something

The soul is cause of its powers in all these ways.

The Order Among Powers #

• Powers proceed from the soul “in order” (in ordine)
• One power can be “before” another according to different senses of priority
• Example from sensation and intellect: Sense comes before intellect in generation (temporal/material order) but intellect is before sense in perfection (formal/final order)
• The “first thing” (the soul) is the cause of everything that flows from it

Key Arguments #

Against One Power Proceeding from Another #

Objection 1: All powers are created together with the soul (simul); what comes together does not arise from another

• Reply: Simultaneity in duration does not prevent causal priority in being or in the order of nature
• Example: The statement “you are sitting down” is true simultaneously with your sitting, yet your sitting causes the truth of the statement
• Just as two can have one before it in being even if twins are born simultaneously

Objection 2: One accident cannot be the subject of another; powers are accidents; therefore one power cannot arise from another

• Reply: Powers do arise from the soul in an ordered fashion; this order is real and knowable through their acts

Objection 3: Opposites do not arise from opposites; powers are divided by opposites; therefore one does not proceed from another

• Reply: The acts of one power are caused by another (e.g., imagination/phantasia is caused by sensation)
• The objective diversity of powers does not prevent causal connection among them

Important Definitions #

Simul (Together) #

• Refers to things existing or being created simultaneously in time
• Distinguished from temporal sequence (before and after)
• One thing can proceed from another and still be simul with it in duration
• Opposite and complement to “before and after” (prius et posterius)

Property (Proprietas) #

• A quality or characteristic that naturally follows from a thing’s nature
• Differs from an accident that is extrinsic or merely contingent
• Example: That a triangle’s angles equal two right angles is a property; that it is green is an accident
• Properties naturally follow at the same time as their subject exists

Emanatio (Emanation/Flowing) #

• The natural resulting or proceeding of properties from a thing’s nature
• Not a change or motion (transmutatio) in the thing itself
• Like how equal opposite angles naturally result from intersecting straight lines
• The mode by which the soul is cause of its powers

Ordine (In Order) #

• The structured, hierarchical relationship among the powers of the soul
• One power can be before another in being while being after in time
• The soul is the “beginning” (principium) from which this order flows

Prius et Posterius (Before and After) #

• General principle that in a series proceeding from one source, what is nearer to the beginning is in some way cause of what is more remote
• Not necessarily temporal priority but can be priority in perfection, in being, or in nature

Examples & Illustrations #

The Analogy of Light and Properties #

Berquist does not fully develop this here, but references it: Just as light naturally results in colors being visible, grace naturally results in the theological virtues.

Geometrical Examples #

• Intersecting straight lines: Equal opposite angles naturally result from the very nature of intersecting straight lines; this is a property, not an extrinsic accident
• Triangle: The interior angles equaling two right angles naturally follows from the definition of a triangle; not added extrinsically
• Number two: Half of four, third of six, fourth of eight all naturally follow from the nature of being two

Temporal Examples with Simultaneity #

• Twins: Two children born simultaneously yet one is still “before” two in being (one can exist without two, but not vice versa). Simultaneity in time does not negate priority in being.
• Sliced bread: One slice before two both in time and in being (sequential cutting)
• Stamped machine: All slices cut simultaneously (zero to twelve at once) yet still one is before two in being

Sensory and Emotional Examples #

• Smell and hunger: Smelling bacon naturally produces desire to eat; there is an order between sensation and appetite
• Image formation: Closing eyes after seeing someone—the image remains but is weaker than actual sensation (like billiard balls transferring motion, with decreasing force)
• Understanding and physical wellbeing: Understanding a truth can produce physical warmth and better feeling; overflow from higher to lower powers
• Command of reason over imagination: When I decide to think about a triangle, my reason commands the imagination to form an image; reason has priority in perfection even though imagination is prior in material causation

Personal Anecdote on Language and Understanding #

Berquist recounts being a child reading a geography book about peanut production and pretending to eat peanuts while reading. A nun corrected him, saying not to pretend but to actually pay attention. This illustrates how our faculties naturally interconnect: imagination and emotion follow upon intellectual engagement.

Questions Addressed #

What is the relationship between grace and the theological virtues? #

Grace and the virtues are distinct but intimately united through natural flowing. Grace resides in the soul itself as its subject; the virtues reside in the soul’s powers (intellect and will). Just as the powers naturally flow from the soul’s essence, the virtues naturally flow from grace elevated soul. This is a proportional likeness: soul:powers :: grace:virtues.

Can faith exist without grace? #

Yes, but only as “unformed faith.” For faith to be a complete theological virtue (formed faith/fides formata), it must be informed by grace. An unformed faith lacks the supernatural perfection and efficacy that grace provides.

How can powers created simultaneously have one proceed from another? #

Simultaneity in time does not preclude causal priority in being or nature. One power can be before another in being (essential order) even if both are created at the same instant. The example of twins clarifies this: two children can be born at the same moment, yet “one” is still before “two” in being because one can exist without two, but not vice versa.

What does it mean that grace “flows” into the virtues? #

The flowing (emanatio) is not a temporal process but a natural resulting. It resembles how geometric properties necessarily result from geometric essences (angles in a triangle equaling two right angles results from being a triangle, not through any motion). When grace elevates the soul, the theological virtues necessarily follow in the soul’s powers as a matter of natural consequence.

How does understanding the soul-powers relationship illuminate understanding grace-virtues? #

Berquist emphasizes this as a pedagogical principle: If you understand how reason and will naturally flow from the soul’s nature, you can understand by analogy how faith, hope, and charity flow from grace elevated in the soul. Both exhibit the structure of a hierarchical emanation from a principle to its natural effects.

Theological Notes #

Grace as Supernatural Elevation #

• Sanctifying grace is not merely a natural perfection but a participation in divine nature itself
• It elevates the soul above its natural capacity, making it capable of supernatural acts
• The theological virtues are the fruit of this elevation in the soul’s operative powers
• This reflects the Augustinian principle: “God became man so that man might become God” (Deus homo factus est ut homo fierit Deus)

The Strength of Charity #

• Among the theological virtues, charity is supreme (the greatest)
• Yet there is a special connection between grace and charity: they cannot be separated
• Loss of charity entails loss of grace; loss of grace entails loss of charity
• This shows the organic unity of grace and the virtues, not a mere collection of disconnected realities

Connections to Aristotelian Philosophy #

Berquist references key Aristotelian doctrines:

• The distinction between substantial and accidental form
• The four senses of “before” (prius) from Aristotle’s Categories, Chapter 12
• The principle that in hierarchical emanation, what is nearer to the source is cause of what is more remote
• The distinction between matter and form, and their causal roles

Methodological Notes #

Berquist emphasizes the importance of:

• Recognizing equivocal terms and their multiple senses (e.g., “before,” “cause,” “arising from”)
• Not confusing temporal sequence with causal priority
• Understanding analogical thinking: using one known relationship to illuminate another
• Recognizing the natural hierarchy and order in creation (soul → powers; grace → virtues)