GLOSSARY
Glossary
absolute. Not having any relation to anything else, relationless, independent, or unconditional.
absolute attribute of God. An attribute that describes God as He is in Himself, not as He relates to the created world.
act first. To act in the first place, not in reaction to something else.
act of itself (per se). To act by one’s own nature or power, not by the power of something else. For example, one who opens a window shade lights up a room, but not by his own power. The sun, however, lights up the room by its own power. The sun acts per se, of itself.
actuality, primary (actus primus). The essence of a thing and its integrity, or the bare existence of a thing.
actuality, secondary (actus secundus). The function of a thing.
adjunct. Something added to or connected with. Essential feature.
aeviternity. The measure of the duration of an unchangeable yet created being, such as an angel.
benediction (benedictio). The effectual speaking of a good thing upon someone else.
blessedness (beatitudo). A state of life perfected by every aggregation of good things. A state of sacred happiness or bliss.
component, first (momentum primum). A noncomplex principle, namely, “essence,” composed of matter and form.
component, second (momentum secundum). A noncomplex principle, namely, “existence,” composed of subject and accidents.
distribution. When something whole is explained more broadly by separating it into parts (either properly or analogously).
entity. Character of being.
entity, minimal. A characterization of prime matter (q.v.). It is so low in the scale of being as to be nonactual.
entity, supreme. A characterization of God. God’s essence is the highest of all beings.
evil of fault. An evil that is constituted by deliberate fault or guilt.
evil of punishment. The punishment that God renders for sin according to His justice.
factual material (
). Explains the “things” or facts of a topic. An explanation of the actual subject matter. See nomenclature.
fallacy of “in a certain manner and simply.” Taking something that was stated only in a certain manner or respect and applying it simply or absolutely.
fallacy of multiple questions as of one. An argument in which something absurd is concluded from one answer given to multiple different or opposite questions. For example, if one asks, “Is Bill a man and Joe not a man?” no matter whether one answers “yes” or “no,” he will answer falsely.
fallacy of the consequent. Or “fallacy of the conclusion,” committed by confusing the antecedent and consequent parts of a conditional sentence. For example, it is true that if Joe is a man, he is an animal. But it is a fallacy of the consequent to say that if Spot is an animal, he is a man.
formal principal (formale). That which makes something what it is.
habit (habitus). A durable, accidental quality in the nature of a thing; or a disposition or inclination toward something. Sometimes a synonym of habitudo, relation.
hypostasis. Subsistence, person. See suppositum.
matter, prime. Or “primary matter.” Purely potential matter, without any form or actuality. When form and matter are combined, they produce actually existing beings. On the scale of beings, God is at the top, as pure actuality, and primary matter is at the bottom, as pure potentiality.
mediation of addition (suppositum). An agent is said to work without the mediation of addition when it works without any cause interposed between the agent and that upon which it acts.
mediation of might. An agent is said to work without the mediation of might when it acts with its own might, which is not begged from elsewhere.
mode, first. Plato’s “first mode” of genera, dealing with “essence,” that which pertains to the definition of a thing.
necessity of the consequence. A necessity that is based on contingent circumstances. It is a necessity by which something is not necessary by its own nature but only on the supposition of something antecedent. For example, supposing that all the boys in Illinois own a ball, it is necessary that John, who lives in Chicago, owns a ball. Yet there is no intrinsic relationship of living in Chicago and owning a ball.
necessity of the consequent. The necessity that stems from an intrinsic connection of cause with effect.
nomenclature (
). Explains the “words” of a topic. See factual material.
notional actions of God. Eternal actions of God that constitute the distinguishing characteristics of the divine persons. For example, the begetting of the Son and the breathing of the Holy Spirit.
“That it is,” that is, the question as to the existence of a thing. See 
potential, active. The capability of acting upon something else. Opposite of “passive potential.”
potential, passive. The capability to be acted upon by something else. Opposite of “active potential.”
power of God, absolute. The omnipotence of God limited only by His own nature.
power of God, ordinary. Or “ordained power.” What God can do given the fact that He has created this world and wants to preserve it.
predication in quid. A statement that has to do with the essence (quiddity) of a thing.
predication, denominative. A statement that names. A manner of predicating accidents of a substance.
prime matter. See matter, prime.
primitive words. Words not derived from others.
principle of number. “One” in the genus of mathematics. Thomas Aquinas, ST, p. 1, q. 11, art. 3 ad 2: “ ‘One,’ according as it is the principle of number, is not predicated of God, but only of those things which have being in material. For ‘one,’ which is the principle of number, is of the genus of mathematics, which has being in material but is abstracted from material by reason.”
quiddity. What a thing is. The essence of a thing.
relation of reason. A relation produced by the mind and existent only in the mind.
respectively. In a relative sense.
sense, composite. The meaning of a concept when considered together with other facts or concepts.
sense, divided. The meaning of a concept in itself, apart from its relation to other facts or concepts. For example, in the proposition “It is possible for one sitting to run,” if running is taken in the composite sense with sitting, the proposition is false because one cannot sit and run at the same time. But if running is divided, or taken in the divided sense, from sitting, the proposition is true because the one who is now sitting can run later.
substance, first. Substance that is concrete and individual. Cf. Thomas Aquinas, ST, 1a, q. 29, art. 1, reply to 2.
substance, second. Substance that is abstract and general. Cf. Thomas Aquinas, ST, 1a, q. 29, art. 1, reply to 2.
suppositum. A complete substantial nature, subsisting of itself. Individual substance that underlies all the accidents of a thing. Synonym of hypostasis.
“What it is,” that is, the question as to the essence or nature of a thing. See 
will of good-pleasure (voluntas beneplaciti). What God is well-pleased to do, which is not (always) revealed to humanity.
will of the sign (voluntas signi). God’s will as it is revealed to humanity.