On the Divine Names and the Mystical Theology — trans. C. E. Rolt
The translator’s English as printed (C. E. Rolt). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
1 St. Thomas speaks of aevum as standing between Eternity and Time and participating in both. Time, he says, consists in succession, Aevum does not but is capable of it, Eternity does not and is incapable of it (Summa, Pars I. Q. x. Art. v.). Thus the heavenly bodies, he says, are changeless in essence, but capable of motion from place to place; and the angels are changeless in nature, but capable of choice and so of spiritual movement. Maximus’s note on the present passage explains this to be D.’s meaning.
There is in each one of us a timeless self. It is spoken of by all the Christian Mystics as the root of our being, or as the spark, or the Synteresis, etc. Our perfection consists in this ultimate reality, which is each man’s self, shining through his whole being and transforming it. Hence man is at last lifted on to the eternal plane from that of time. The movements of his spirit will then be so intense that they will attain a totum simul. We get a foretaste of this when, in the experience of deep spiritual joy, the successive parts of Time so coalesce (as it were) that an hour seems like a moment. Eternity is Rest and Time is Motion. Accelerate the motion in the individual soul, through the intensification of that soul’s bliss to infinity. There is now in the soul an infinite motion. But Infinite Motion is above succession, and therefore is itself a form of repose. Thus Motion has been changed into Rest, Time into Eternity. Mechanical Time, or dead Time (of which Aristotle speaks as mere movement or succession) is the Time measured by the clock; developing or living Time (which is Plato’s “incomplete life”) is real Time, and this is Aevum, which partakes both of mechanical Time and of Eternity. The best treatment of the subject is probably to be found in Bergson’s theory of durée. (Cf. Von Hiigel’s Zternal Life.)
The words “eternal,” “everlasting,” etc., being loosely employed, may refer to three different things: (1) endless mechanical Time, i.e. mere endless succession; (2) Aevum, or developing and finally perfected Divine Time; (3) True Timeless Eternity.
1 St. Thomas speaks of aevum as standing between Eternity and Time and participating in both. Time, he says, consists in succession; Aevum does not, but is capable of it; Eternity does not, and is incapable of it (Summa, Pars I. Q. x. Art. v.). Thus the heavenly bodies, he says, are changeless in essence but capable of motion from place to place; and the angels are changeless in nature but capable of choice, and so of spiritual movement. Maximus’s note on the present passage explains this to be D.’s meaning.
There is in each one of us a timeless self. All the Christian Mystics speak of it as the root of our being, or as the spark, or the Synteresis, etc. Our perfection consists in this ultimate reality, which is each man’s self, shining through his whole being and transforming it. So man is at last lifted from the plane of time onto the eternal plane. The movements of his spirit will then be so intense that they attain a simultaneous whole (totum simul). We get a foretaste of this when, in the experience of deep spiritual joy, the successive parts of Time so coalesce (as it were) that an hour seems like a moment.
Eternity is Rest and Time is Motion. Accelerate the motion in the individual soul by intensifying that soul’s bliss to infinity: there is now an infinite motion in the soul. But Infinite Motion is above succession, and is therefore itself a form of repose. Thus Motion has been changed into Rest, and Time into Eternity.
Mechanical Time, or dead Time (which Aristotle speaks of as mere movement or succession), is the Time measured by the clock; developing or living Time (Plato’s “incomplete life”) is real Time, and this is Aeviternity (Aevum), which partakes both of mechanical Time and of Eternity. The best treatment of the subject is probably to be found in Bergson’s theory of duration (durée). (Cf. Von Hügel’s Eternal Life.)
The words “eternal,” “everlasting,” etc., being loosely used, may refer to three different things: (1) endless mechanical Time, i.e. mere endless succession; (2) Aevum, or developing and finally perfected Divine Time; (3) True Timeless Eternity.