Mathematical Mirror

continues that which cannot happen to us in this life: for we cannot, in the present, gaze into the uncreated exemplar itself; rather, we hunt for the nature of the exemplar itself from those things which were made according to this exemplar, proceeding from effects to the cause. This, indeed, is most true: if it were granted to us to gaze into these exemplars, we would possess the most perfect science. For science is the knowledge of a thing through its causes, and those immediate ones, from which the other attributes follow, which are posited by the Philosopher in 1 Posterior Analytics, text 9. The first and immediate, and thus the adequate cause of each thing, is the idea proper to each; for each thing has as much of essence as it participates in the divine essence, and it participates as much as its own Idea brings to it. For an Idea, as in Book 2 of our Antidotarium Antidotary/Pharmacopoeia, is nothing other than that which a creature can participate in and imitate from the divine essence. Therefore, we can know as much about any thing as there is of its Idea: we would know so much, indeed, if it were permitted to pursue the Idea of each thing distinctly and perfectly through intuitive cognition. Yet, it is permitted to God in all ways to pursue the Ideas; I do not say individual ones, but one and all: for He has them in Himself, and they are not distinct from Him, and He knows both Himself and them. Whence, among the Doctors, He is said to behold all things in His essence with a single intuition. Therefore, His possession is perfect science and wisdom. Among the Doctors, there is a twofold science of God: one of vision, the other of simple intelligence. With respect to those things which either are in act, or have been, or will be, He is said to have the science of vision. For God, existing in eternity without succession, ignorant of past and future, beholds all things with a present intuition. But He is said to have the science of simple intelligence with respect to those things which can be brought about either by Him or by a creature, yet which neither are, nor have been, nor will be, as is taught on this matter in Thomas Thomas Aquinas, 1st part, q. 14, art. 9. There is doubt, however, whether both sciences are from Ideas. Here we can speak in two ways: either that both sciences are according to Ideas, in that Ideas are not said to be according to what the creatures actually imitate, but what they can imitate, which in the schools is called the imitabilitas essentiae imitability of essence in Ideas. And thus it would be said that there are Ideas of all possible things, but there are no Ideas of impossible things. For those are impossible which have existence conjoined with repugnance; this repugnance is a contradiction, for those things alone are not said to fall under the power of God which involve