XXIII. Homo quid ante eum et futura ignorat.
XXIII. Homo quid ante eum et futura ignorat.
The greatness of that same man extends from the beginning of creation to the end of the age, because man, from the moment he was made until his own downfall, will be able to speak. What happens before him, or what will happen after him, he does not know. For God has neither beginning nor end. What was before the beginning of the world, God knows. Therefore, that man is above the clouds in the most serene heavens, because only he knows what was before the beginning of the world in the secret of divine clarity. For God is above all and excels in everything, so that neither angels nor the souls of the just can lead Him to an end. For from Him all living things come, and He Himself has no beginning; He alone remains in Himself, for He lives in Himself, can do all things in Himself, and knows all things in Himself. Who lives, who has power, and who knows, is God; and in these three powers, all the distinct and perfect works of God exist, and in Him, His works have the possibility of being accomplished.
Read the original Latin
Et ejusdem viri proceritas tanta est, quod a principio creaturarum usque in finem saeculi extenditur, quoniam homo, ex quo factus est usque ad defectum suum, ioqui poterit.
Quid autem ante eum, vel quid post eum futurum sit, ignorat.
Nam Deus nec initium nec finem habet. xxniL Quid ante principium mundi fuerit, Deus novit.
Unde idem vir ab humeris suis sursum supra nubes in serenissimo aethere est, quoniam quid ante principium mundi fuerit, ipse solus in secreto divinae claritatis novit.
Nam Deus super omnia et in omnibus excellentissimus esl, ita quod nec angeli, nec animae justorum eum ad finem perducere possunt.
Ex ipso enim omnia viventia procedunt, nec ipse inceptionem principii habet, sed solus in se permanet; nam in se vivit, in se potest, in se et scit.
Qui vivit, et qui potest, et qui scit, Deus est; ac in his tribus viribus •) omnia opera Dei distincta et perfecta sunty et in ipso opera ejus possibilitatem operandi habent.
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