On Self-subsistence
XII. On Self-subsistence
God subsists in Himself as power,
will and wisdom,
and is able to achieve all He seeks to attain.[1]
2. God is cause rather than caused;
all men, therefore, are obliged
to obey His will.
3. God is abundant in Himself
and has created us for His own sake:
such self-subsistence is glorious.
4. God in Himself is paternity,
filiation and spirability;[2]
He is self-subsistent, then, as a Trinity.
5. God subsists in Himself as goodness,
infinity and eternity:
in Himself, therefore, must He be loved.
6. Whoever loves God in order to save himself
and so that he may avoid going to Hell,
knows little about the nature of love.
7. No man can subsist by himself
nor by himself can he do any good,
for which reason he should not rely upon himself.
8. No man by himself is lord,
which is why he is not entitled to have servants,
since in himself he possesses no honours.
9. Since I am not created by myself,
I am at fault and commit great sin
should I wish to be honoured for my own self.
10. Man as such is a sinner
and the enemy of virtuous love,
which is why I have great fear of myself.