128. Exclusive Diction and the Trinity: Solus in Divine Things

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Problem of Exclusive Diction in Theology #

• Whether ‘solus’ (alone) can be properly added to essential divine terms
• The tension between scriptural language (e.g., 1 Tim 1:17: “the only God”) and theological precision
• How exclusive language must be interpreted to avoid denying either the Trinity or divine unity

Categorimatic vs. Syncategorimatic Speech #

Categorimatic (κατηγοριματικά)

• A word that directly predicates something about a subject
• Example: In “man is white,” white is categorimatic
• When ‘solus’ functions this way (“God is alone”), it falsely implies God has solitude as a quality
• This contradicts the Trinity by suggesting God lacks the society of persons

Syncategorimatic (συγκατηγοριματικά)

• A word that modifies the relationship between predicate and subject without itself being predicated
• Examples: “every,” “none,” “alone”
• When ‘solus’ functions this way (“God alone creates”), it excludes other subjects from sharing that predicate
• Does not predicate solitude of God; rather, it indicates exclusive agency or property

Translation and Linguistic Challenges #

• The distinction between Latin solus (alone) and English only (an adverb)
• Word order effects meaning: “only Socrates thinks” differs from “Socrates only thinks”
• “Only” can modify either subject or predicate; solus primarily modifies the subject

Key Arguments #

Argument Against Saying “God Is Alone” (Categorimatic Reading) #

1. According to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations, “alone” means “not with another”
2. But God exists with angels and holy souls
3. Therefore, one cannot say God is alone

Thomas’s Response:

• Solitude concerns association with things of the same nature
• One can be alone in a garden despite plants and animals present (different natures)
• Similarly, God remains solitary regarding persons (the Trinity) even with angels and souls present
• God would be solitary only if there were not plurality of persons within the divine nature

The Problem of Descent Under Exclusive Diction #

• The sophists noted that exclusive diction “immobilizes” (immobilitate) the term to which it is joined
• This prevents logical descent from a universal term to its particulars
• Example: “Man alone is a rational animal” does not entail “Socrates alone is a rational animal”
  • Socrates is a man, so if we descended, we’d get a false statement
• Similarly: “God alone creates” does not entail “the Father alone creates”
  • The Father is God, but the Son is also a creator (not another suppositum outside God)

Syncategorimatic Reading: “God Alone Creates” #

• This statement is true
• It excludes all creatures from the act of creation
• Does not imply each divine person creates alone
• The exclusive diction properly regards the subject (suppositum), not the predicate (nature/essence)

Important Definitions #

Solus (Alone) #

• Categorimatice: Predicates solitude as a quality of the subject (false when applied to God)
• Syncategorimatice: Excludes other subjects from consorting in a predicate (can be true)

Supposit(um) / Hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) #

• The individual substance or concrete person
• Three supposita in God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) but one nature/essence
• Distinguished from what is predicated of the supposit

Consortium #

• Partnership or sharing in a predicate
• “God alone creates” means no other subject shares in the predicate of creation

Terminus #

• Originates in logic as a term of a syllogism (the three elements of a statement)
• Extended to mean “name” or “word” in philosophical usage
• Related etymologically to terminus (limit, boundary)

Examples & Illustrations #

Linguistic Examples #

• “Socrates alone writes”: Socrates is the only one engaged in writing, though others are present. The exclusive diction does not predicate solitude of Socrates
• “Two alone is half of four”: Nothing else besides two constitutes half of four, yet this does not mean two is solitary
• “The philosopher alone is a lover of wisdom”: Only the philosopher (as a class) loves wisdom in the defining sense, not that individual philosophers are solitary
• “Only Socrates thinks” vs. “Socrates only thinks”: Different scope and meaning depending on word position in English

Theological Examples #

• “God alone is wise”: True because only God possesses wisdom in the absolute, complete sense. Not even Lucifer (the highest creature) is wise in this manner
• “The Father is God alone” (from Augustine): Properly understood as “the one who alone is called Father is God,” not excluding the Son and Spirit from divinity
• 1 Timothy 1:17, “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God”: Should not be applied to the person of the Father alone but to the whole Trinity; some heretics misuse this to deny the divinity of the Son

Numerical Example #

• Four is double of two (absolutely true)
• Four is double of two and half of eight (relatively true)
• Illustrates the distinction between absolute and relative predication

Questions Addressed #

Can we say “God is alone”? #

• No (categorimatically), because this would falsely predicate solitude, contradicting the Trinity
• Yes (syncategorimatically, with qualification), but this is not the proper or primary way to speak
• Thomas appears to resist saying this directly, preferring other formulations

Can we say “God alone creates”? #

• Yes, because this excludes other subjects (creatures) from the act of creation while affirming the Trinity
• This does not entail “the Father alone creates” because exclusive diction prevents descent from the universal term “God” to the particular person “Father”
• The exclusive word immobilizes the term and bars descent

How do we interpret “only God”? #

• The adjective/adverb tantum (only) can modify either subject or predicate
• “Only Socrates is white” excludes other subjects from whiteness (subject-side modification)
• “Socrates is only white” suggests whiteness is all he is (predicate-side modification)
• In theological contexts, care must be taken about which is intended

Why can we not say “The Father alone is God” (categorimatically)? #

• This would seem to imply the Father’s solitude regarding divinity
• Would contradict the unity of the divine nature shared by all three persons
• Augustine permits the phrasing only if understood implicitly: “the one who alone is called Father is God”

Tangential but Instructive Material #

On Grammar and Philosophy #

• Berquist critiques grammarians for prioritizing correct form over truth
• Notes that sophists (σοφισταί) originally meant those who studied grammar and the properties of words
• Emphasizes that while precision in language is necessary, philosophy must ultimately concern itself with reality, not merely with linguistic correctness

On Custom and Language #

• References Shakespeare: “custom is a tiger” - it compels certain modes of speech
• Sometimes what custom forces us to say is less precise than what reason would prefer
• Medieval thinkers had to work within linguistic constraints of Latin and theological tradition