ON GOD, THE SOUL, AND EVIL.

A 3

[...unless] we first note what could have acted as a midwife obstetricari; a Socratic metaphor for helping an idea be born to this profession of ignorance.

III. Truly, it is a prejudice held by many that spiritual things are unthinkable original: "incogitabiles"—that is, they are of such a nature that they cannot be represented by thought, but exist beyond all thinking. Hence, whatever can be thought (precisely because it is being thought, and clearly so) is denied by these people to be part of the nature of spiritual things. The result is that, for them, a "spiritual nature" is nothing other than that which is neither conceived nor can be conceived. Of such a thing, I admit, no knowledge can be given.

This is exactly the same way that the "forms" of bodies—which they call substantial forms In older philosophy, "substantial forms" were the inner essences that made a thing what it was, often considered mysterious and hidden from the senses—are imagined by their defenders to be so unthinkable that whatever is clearly conceived in bodies is denied the status of being a "form." Nothing remains but a void that cannot be known, decorated with the empty name of "forms," which they even admit are unknown to them.

One may note (and I will occasionally follow this method of deriving less abstract points here and there, lest the rest of the work seem too thin and of no use), one may note, I say, the contagion of this disease in many people. For even in Theological matters, if something is explained in a way that can be understood with a new and easy clarity, some will often fear—because of that very evidence of clarity—that the truth might not be found there. Yet they persuade themselves that truth is present when obscurity and clouds of terminology wrap the matter so tightly that it cannot be understood, leaving room for an undue state of awe original: "stupori", a state of being dazed or stunned by something incomprehensible.

So it is in practice: a very simple life—which is removed from the confusion of the crowd and from craftiness, just as clear ideas are removed from confused ones—is considered by the common folk to be "no life" at all. In general, anything clear, plain, easy, and simple—which, because of its natural harmony with our ability to understand, does not strike, disturb, or move us violently—is considered worthless. Instead, other unknown things must be substituted for reality, as these can be presumed to be greater and more wonderful.

Although such a boast of ignorance might perhaps please some because it seems to have the appearance of sincerity, humility, and modesty (since it confesses its own defects so openly), if we are to speak the truth, it is to be feared that this is a sign of a mind that is both profane—not caring (to use sacred words) to have God in its knowledge A reference to Romans 1:28—and also proud and crude. Such a person, failing to notice the things that are within themselves, not only refuses to seem inferior or even equal to others who do know these things, but even wants to seem superior. They rejoice in trampling every kind of knowledge and saying to everyone: "You not only know nothing, just like me; but I have this advantage over you: I know that you and others know nothing, whereas you do not even know that."

IV. There are others who deny that knowledge of spiritual things is given because...