Boethius
Anicii Manlii Severini Boethii
v.c. et inl. excons. ord. patricii
ad Iohannem Diaconum
Utrum Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus de Divinitate Substantialiter Praedicentur
Quaero an pater et filius ac spiritus sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur an alio quolibet modo; viamque indaginis hinc arbitror esse sumendam, unde rerum omnium manifestum constat exordium, 5 id est ab ipsis catholicae fidei fundamentis. Si igitur interrogem, an qui dicitur pater substantia sit, respondetur esse substantia. Quod si quaeram, an filius substantia sit, idem dicitur. Spiritum quoque sanctum substantiam esse nemo dubitaverit. Sed cum 10 rursus colligo patrem filium spiritum sanctum, non plures sed una occurrit esse substantia. Una igitur substantia trium nec separari ullo modo aut disiungi potest nec velut partibus in unum coniuncta est, sed est una simpliciter. Quaecumque igitur de divina 15 substantia praedicantur, ea tribus oportet esse communia; idque signi erit quae sint quae de divinitatis
Utrum Pater Et Filius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius
most honourable, of the illustrious order of ex-consuls, patrician
to John the Deacon
Whether Father, Son, and HolySpirit are Substantially Predicated of the Divinity
I Ask whether Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are predicated of the divinity substantially or in any other way. And I think that the method of our inquiry must be borrowed from what is admittedly the surest source of all truth, namely, the fundamental doctrines of the catholic faith. If, then, I ask whether he who is called the Father is a substance, the answer is that he is a substance. And if I ask whether the Son is a substance, the reply is the same. So, too, no one would doubt that the Holy Spirit is also a substance. But when, on the other hand, I take together Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the result is not several substances but one substance. The one substance of the Three, then, cannot be separated in any way or divided, nor is it combined into one as if from parts: it is simply one. Everything, therefore, that is predicated of the divine substance must be common to the Three, and this will be a sign of what sort of thing