135. Image as a Personal Name in God

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Image vs. Likeness vs. Exemplar: Image is not mere likeness; it requires (1) likeness in form or species, (2) a manifestation of that form (like shape/figure), and (3) origin from another. God is the exemplar (original pattern) according to which creatures are fashioned, but the Son is the image of the Father because he proceeds from the Father.
• Image as a Personal Name: Because image implies origin and proceeding from another, it is a personal name (pertaining to the relations that distinguish divine persons) rather than an essential name (applying to the common divine nature).
• The Distinction Between Thought and Love: The Son proceeds as the thought (verbum/logos) of the Father—and thought characteristically proceeds as a likeness of what is understood. The Holy Spirit proceeds as love, which does not proceed as a likeness but as an inclination toward the beloved. This explains why the Son is called the image and the Holy Spirit is not.
• The Problem of Temporal Priority: Image seems to imply a before-and-after (imitation). Thomas resolves this by distinguishing between temporal sequence and origin: God has one from another without temporal priority (ordo naturae, not temporal order).
• Nomenclature and Translation: The Latin verbum (and Greek logos) stand in etymological relation to their verbal forms, unlike in English where ’thought’ and ’thinking’ clearly distinguish the product from the act. Augustine uses cogitare for ’to think’ with assent or consent.

Key Arguments #

Article 1: Is Image Said Personally in God? #

Objections:

• Augustine says the image is the divinity of the Trinity, suggesting it is essential, not personal
• Hillary defines image as a form that differs in no way, implying it is said essentially (like forma or species)
• Image implies imitation, which requires before-and-after; but there is no temporal sequence in God
• One egg is not the image of another egg because it does not proceed from it

Thomas’s Resolution:

• Image requires three components: (1) likeness in form/species, (2) the figure or shape manifesting that species, and (3) origin from another
• Shape (figura) is the primary mark of a thing’s species because diverse animals have diverse figures but not necessarily diverse colors
• Depicting only the color of something on a wall does not make it an image; the figure must be depicted
• Origin is essential: Augustine’s example—one egg is not the image of another because neither proceeds from the other
• Since things implying origin and proceeding in God are personal (relating to the distinctions between persons), image is a personal name
• “Before and after” in imitation refers to origin (one from another), not temporal sequence; God has this without temporal priority

Article 2: Is Image Proper to the Son? #

The Core Distinction:

• The Son proceeds by way of intellect/understanding (as the Word of the Father)
• A thought proceeds as a likeness of what is understood
• The Holy Spirit proceeds by way of love/will
• Love does not proceed as a likeness; it is an inclination toward the beloved
• Therefore, the Son is properly called the image; the Holy Spirit is not

Supporting Points:

• Scripture calls the Son “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and “the figure of his substance” (Hebrews 1:3)
• Scripture never calls the Holy Spirit an image, though Greek doctors sometimes do
• Although the Holy Spirit is perfectly like the Father and Son (being God), the mode of his proceeding does not fit the definition of image
• Man is the image of God in a secondary or analogical sense (not the identical nature, as the Son has)

Important Definitions #

• Image (imago): A likeness that (1) manifests the form or species of a thing, (2) proceeds from that thing, and (3) is derived from it. Properly speaking, image is always relational—the image of something. Distinct from mere similarity (similitude) and from exemplar.
• Exemplar: The original pattern or model. God is the exemplar of creatures; creatures are fashioned according to God but are not properly images of God.
• Proceeding (processio / ἐκπόρευσις): The going forth of one thing from another within God. Two modes: proceeding by intellect (the Son) and proceeding by will/love (the Holy Spirit).
• Personal Name: A name pertaining to one divine person, distinguishing it by its origin or relation. Image is a personal name because it implies origin from another.
• Species (species): The form or nature that manifests what a thing is. Shape/figure is the primary sensible sign of species in material things.
• Verbum / logos: The Word—that which proceeds from intellection as a likeness of what is understood. The proper term for the Son’s proceeding.
• Ordo naturae: Order of nature (origin), distinguished from temporal order. God has one from another (ordo naturae) without temporal sequence.

Examples & Illustrations #

• One Egg and Another: One egg is not the image of another egg, despite their similarity, because neither proceeds from the other. This illustrates that mere likeness is insufficient; origin is necessary.
• Depicting on a Wall: If you depict only the color of a thing on a wall, it is not called an image or likeness. Only if you depict the figure or shape does it become an image. This shows that shape manifests species more than color.
• Different Animals: Diverse animals have diverse figures (shapes) distinguishing their species, but not necessarily diverse colors. A cat and dog may be the same color but have different shapes.
• Thought and Love: If I meet someone and a likeness of that person proceeds from my encounter, an image proceeds. But if I love this person, my love is not proceeding as an image of them; it is an inclination toward them.
• Touch and Sight: Only touch and sight can know the shape or figure of something. This is why these senses have a special excellence—they alone apprehend the form that manifests a thing’s species.
• Thomas Doubting: The apostle Thomas wanted to put his hand to Christ to feel His shape, trusting touch more than sight, though sight has the excellence of clarity over other senses.

Notable Quotes #

“So to say, image is to say, not to another, right? Or to be said absolutely in this other way of speaking. So it’s much more absurd than to say that it’s absolute rather than towards another. Therefore, image is said in divine things relatively, and thus it is a personal name.”

“But neither does the likeness of the species suffice or the figure, but there’s required for the notion of image the idea of origin, right? Because as Augustine says in the book of the 83 questions, one egg is not a what, image of another. Because it is not expressed from that.”

“So once you understand what an image is, right, then you see that what? It’s going to pertain personally, right? Because those things which imply a precession or origin in divine things are what? Personal, right?”

“The divine nature is in the father not from another the divine nature is in the son from the father and the divine nature is in the holy spirit from the father and the son.”

Questions Addressed #

Q: How can image be a personal name if it seems to apply essentially to the divine nature? A: Image properly requires origin and proceeding, which are personal relations distinguishing the persons. While all three persons are alike (being the same God), only the Son’s proceeding fits the definition of image as the thought of the Father.

Q: Why is the Holy Spirit not called an image, even though he proceeds from the Father and Son? A: The Holy Spirit proceeds by way of love, not intellect. Love does not proceed as a likeness but as an inclination toward the beloved. Although the Holy Spirit is God and perfectly like the Father and Son, the mode of his proceeding does not constitute him an image.

Q: How does Augustine’s use of ‘image’ for the divinity itself fit with Thomas’s definition? A: Augustine is using ‘image’ loosely or in a secondary sense. Thomas clarifies that properly, image pertains personally to the Son alone, as the thought of the Father. Man is called the image of God not because man is God’s image properly, but because man is fashioned according to God as exemplar.

Q: What does ‘origin’ mean in God without implying temporal sequence? A: ‘Origin’ means one from another (ordo naturae), not one after another (temporal sequence). The Father and Son have an order of nature—the Son is from the Father—without the Father being temporally prior. This is distinguished from the four Aristotelian senses of ‘before and after’ in time.

Q: Why is shape/figure more important than color in identifying a thing’s species? A: Shape manifests the specific form of a thing more than color does. Diverse animals have diverse shapes but may share colors. Only touch and sight apprehend shape, making these senses primary in knowing a thing’s species or kind.