THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
gratia habitualis from the Logos to the human nature. Thereby all human potentialities are made perfect in Jesus. Besides the perfections given by the \ision of God, which Jesus enjoyed from the beginning, he receives all others by the gratia habitualis. In so far, however, as it is the limited human nature which receives these perfections, they are finite. This holds both of the knowledge and the will of Christ. The Logos impresses the species intelligibiles of all created things on the soul, but the intellectus agens transforms them gradually into the impressions of sense. On another side the soul of Christ works miracles only as instrument of the Logos, since omnipotence in no way appertains to this human soul in itself. Furthermore, Christ's human nature partook of imperfections, on the one side to make his true humanity evident, on another side because he would bear the general consequences of sin for humanity. Christ experienced suffering, but blessedness reigned in his soul, which, however, did not extend to his body. Concerning redemption, Thomas teaches that Christ is to be regarded as redeemer after his human nature but in such way that the human nature produces divine effects as organ of divinity. The one side of the work of redemption consists herein, that Christ as head of humanity imparts ordo, perfectio, and virtus to his members. He is the teacher and example of humanity; his whole life and suffering as well as his work after he is exalted serve this end. The love wrought hereby in men effects, according to Luke vii. 47 the forgiveness of sins.
This is the first course of thought. Then follows a second complex of thoughts which has the idea of satisfaction as its center. To be sure, God as the highest being could forgive sins without satisfaction ; but because his justice and mercy could be best revealed through satisfaction he chose this way. As little, however, as satisfaction is necessary in itself, so little does it offer an equivalent, in a correct sense, for guilt; it is rather a " superabundant satisfaction," since on account of the divine subject in Christ in a certain sense his suffering and activity are infinite. With this thought the strict logical deduction of Anselm's theory is given up. Christ's suffering bore personal character in that it proceeded " out of love and obedience." It was an offering brought to God, which as personal act had the character of merit. Thereby Christ " merited " salvation for men. As Christ, exalted, still influences men, so does he still work in their behalf continually in heaven through the intercession (interpellatio) . In this way Christ as head of humanity effects the forgiveness of their sins, their reconciliation with God, their immunity from punishment, deliverance from the devil, and the opening of heaven's gate. But inasmuch as all these benefits are already offered through the inner operation of the love of Christ, Thomas has combined the theories of Ansolm and Abelard by joining the one to the other.
The doctrine of the sacraments follows the Christology; for the sacraments " have efficacy from the incarnate Word himself." The sacraments are signs, which, however, not only signify sanctification but also effect it. That they bring spiritual gifts
in sensuous form, moreover, is inevitable because of the sensuous nature of man. The res sensi-
biles are the matter, the words of in-
7. The stitution the form of the sacraments.
Sacraments. Contrary to the Franciscan view that
the sacraments are mere symbols whose efficacy God accompanies with a directly following creative act in the soul, Thomas holds it not unfit to say with Hugo of St. Victor that " a sacrament contains grace," or to teach of the sacraments that they " cause grace." The difficulty of a sensuous thing producing a creative effect, Thomas attempts to remove by a distinction between the causa principalis et instrumentalis. God as the principal cause works through the sensuous thing as the means ordained by him for his end. " Just as instrumental power is acquired by the instrument from this, that it is moved by the principal agent, so also the sacrament obtains spiritual powei from the benediction of Christ and the applicatior of the minister to the use of the sacrament. There is spiritual power in the sacraments in so far as the} have been ordained by God for a spiritual effect.' And this spiritual power remains in the sensuous thing until it has attained its purpose. At the same time Thomas distinguished the gratia sacramentalii from the gratia virtutum et donorum, in that the former in general perfects the essence and the powers of the soul, and the latter in particulai brings to pass necessary spiritual effects for the Christian life. Later this distinction was ignored In a single statement the effect of the sacraments is to infuse justifying grace into men. What Chrisl effects is achieved through the sacraments. Christ': humanity was the instrument for the operation 01 his divinity; the sacraments are the instruments through which this operation of Christ's humanitj passes over to men. Christ's humanity served his divinity as instrumentum conjunctum, like the hand: the sacraments are instrumenta separata like a staff; the former can use the latter, as the hand can use a staff. For a more detailed exposition cf. Seeberg, ut sup., ii. 112 sqq. Of Thomas eschatology, according to the commentary on the " Sentences," only a brief account can here be given. Everlasting blessedness consists for Thomas in the vision of God: and this vision consists not ir an abstraction or in a mental image supernaturall) produced, but the divine substance itself is beheld and in such manner that God himself becomes immediately the form of the beholding intellect that is, God is the object of the vision and at the same time causes the vision. The perfection of the blessed also demands that the body be restored tc the soul as something to be made perfect by it Since blessedness consist in opera Ho, it is made more perfect in that the soul has a definite operatic with the body, although the peculiar act of blessedness (i.e., the vision of God) has nothing to dc with the body.
For two gifts before all others is Thomas to be praised; namely, his great talent for systematizing and his power of simple and lucid exposition. Tc be sure the work of preceding generations, espmall) of Alexander of Hales, had lightened his task a.! concerns the selection and ordering of the material