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Library / Commentaries and Disputations on Genesis, Volume I

Book Two — the heavens and the stars

QUESTION IV. On the number of the heavens

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QUESTION IV. On the number of the heavens.1

QUAESTIO IV. De numero caelorum.

NON est in hac quam instituimus tractatione praetermittenda disputatio de numero caelorum. Ad Ptolemaei usque tempora, Mathematici iuxta et Philosophi octo esse caelos, septem planetarum et octavum inerrantium syderum, censuerunt. Ptolemaeus et posteriores Mathematici, comperto motu octavi orbis ab occasu ad ortum, nonum caelum addiderunt. Ante annos vero fere trecentos, praeter motum raptus et motum ab occasu ad ortum octavi caeli, certa observatione deprehensus est a Mathematicis alius quidam eiusdem orbis motus, quem illi trepidationis appellaverunt: quamobrem decimum caelum ponere coacti sunt. Ex sententia igitur Mathematicorum, quae nunc fere recepta est in scholis et plerisque omnibus probata, decem sunt caeli mobiles: quibus addendum est undecimum, quod Theologi empyreum nominarunt. Quaeritur igitur an usquam divina Scriptura quicquam certi de numero caelorum aperte tradat, et an communis opinio de numero undecim caelorum sacris litteris adversetur.
In this treatment which we have undertaken, the disputation about the number of the heavens is not to be passed over. Down to the times of Ptolemy, the Mathematicians as well as the Philosophers judged that there are eight heavens, those of the seven planets and an eighth of the fixed stars. Ptolemy and the later Mathematicians, having discovered the motion of the eighth orb from west to east, added a ninth heaven. But about three hundred years ago, besides the motion of the daily rotation and the motion of the eighth heaven from west to east, there was detected by the Mathematicians, by sure observation, a certain other motion of the same orb, which they called the motion of trepidation: for which reason they were compelled to posit a tenth heaven. According to the opinion of the Mathematicians, then, which is now generally received in the schools and approved by almost all, there are ten mobile heavens; to which is to be added an eleventh, which the Theologians have named the Empyrean. It is asked, therefore, whether divine Scripture anywhere openly delivers anything certain about the number of the heavens, and whether the common opinion of eleven heavens is contrary to the sacred writings.2
S. CHRYSOSTOMUS ho. 4 in Genesim, explanans verba illa, Fiat firmamentum, non dubitavit affirmare qui multos caelos faciunt eos divinae scripturae et doctrinis Ecclesiasticis adversari, suaque ipsorum commenta et figmenta sequi. Moyses enim unum tantummodo caelum tradidit, quod appellavit firmamentum: nam cum ante dixit, In principio fecit Deus caelum et terram, nomine caeli et terrae designare voluit totum mundum, cuius opificium summatim ante proposuit; deinde vero quemadmodum per partes a Deo sit factum distincte ac sigillatim enarravit. Nec debet quemquam movere quod Scriptura nonnunquam numero plurali utitur nomine caeli, veluti cum...
St. CHRYSOSTOM, in homily 4 on Genesis, explaining those words, Let there be a firmament, did not hesitate to affirm that those who make many heavens contradict the divine scripture and the Ecclesiastical doctrines, and follow their own inventions and fabrications. For Moses delivered only one heaven, which he called the firmament: for when he had earlier said, In the beginning God made heaven and earth, by the name of heaven and earth he meant to designate the whole world, whose making he had summarily set forth beforehand; and then he narrated distinctly and one by one in what manner it was made by God part by part. Nor ought it to move anyone that Scripture sometimes uses the name of heaven in the plural number, as when...3
...cum ait, Caeli caelorum, et rursus, Aquae quae super caelos sunt: in huiusmodi namque locutione servat proprietatem linguae Hebraeae, in qua nomen caeli caret numero singulari, sicut apud Latinos Athenae, Venetiae, Syracusae. Hactenus ex Chrysost. Sed quia dictum hoc doctrinae omnium philosophorum et Theologorum contrarium est, propterea B. Thomas, qua erat singulari erga sanctos Patres pietate et observantia, in bona parte illud interpretari voluit. Ait enim in 1 p. q. 68 non damnari a Chrysostomo eos qui corpus caeleste in multos orbes distingunt, sed haereticos quosdam et philosophos qui extra hunc mundum et caelos nobis aspectabiles alios esse caelos aliosque mundos fabulantur. Quae interpretatio quam apte congruat sententiae verborum Chrysostomi, lectori existimandum iudicandumque permitto.
...as when it says, The heavens of the heavens, and again, The waters that are above the heavens: for in speech of this kind it preserves the property of the Hebrew tongue, in which the name of heaven lacks the singular number, just as among the Latins Athenae, Venetiae, Syracusae. Thus far from Chrysostom. But because this saying is contrary to the doctrine of all the philosophers and theologians, therefore the blessed Thomas, with that singular piety and reverence which he had toward the holy Fathers, wished to interpret it in a good sense. For he says, in the First Part, question 68, that Chrysostom does not condemn those who distinguish the celestial body into many orbs, but certain heretics and philosophers who fable that beyond this world and the heavens visible to us there are other heavens and other worlds. How aptly this interpretation accords with the meaning of Chrysostom's words, I leave to the reader to estimate and judge.4
Iustinus martyr, respondens ad q. 67 Orthod. (quae erat haec: Cum Moyses in principio lib. Geneseos duorum tantum meminerit caelorum, cur alibi Scriptura plures caelos tradat? nam Paulus ait 2 Cor. c. 12 se ad tertium usque caelum esse raptum), ad hanc, inquam, Iustinus quaestionem respondens ait re vera duos tantummodo esse caelos, ut ita dicam, totales, sed hos distinguit in varia spatia, quae interdum Scriptura etiam caelos appellat. Simile est quod tradit Theodor. q. 11 in Gene.: Qui non credit, inquit, secundum esse caelum, semitam rectam transgreditur; qui vero plures numerare conatur, adhaeret fabulis, postposita divini Spiritus doctrina. Basil. homil. 3 in Gen. affirmat secundum Scripturam non duos tantum caelos, sed etiam plures, certe minimum tres statui oportere: Paulus enim perspicue narrat raptum se esse usque ad tertium caelum.
Justin Martyr, answering the 67th question of the Orthodox (which was this: Since Moses, at the beginning of the book of Genesis, mentions only two heavens, why does Scripture elsewhere deliver more heavens? for Paul says, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, that he was caught up even to the third heaven)—answering this question, I say, Justin says that there are in truth only two heavens, so to speak, ‘total’ ones, but that he distinguishes these into various spaces, which Scripture sometimes also calls heavens. Like to this is what Theodoret delivers in question 11 on Genesis: He who does not believe, he says, that there is a second heaven, departs from the straight path; but he who tries to number more, clings to fables, having set aside the doctrine of the divine Spirit. Basil, in homily 3 on Genesis, affirms that according to Scripture not two heavens only, but even more—at least three at the least—must be posited: for Paul plainly relates that he was caught up to the third heaven.5
Philastrius in catalogo haereseon commemorat haeresim quorundam de caelorum multitudine et diversitate ambigentium: ipse autem sentire videtur quanta sit caelorum multitudo ex sacris litteris esse incompertum, quippe cum ea de re Scriptura variis in locis varie loqui videatur. Ex verbis enim Mosis quae sunt in 1 c. lib. Genes. colliguntur duo caeli, alterum in principio factum simul cum terra, alterum nomine firmamenti secundo die conditum. David vero sex esse caelos innuit, cum inquit, Laudate Dominum caeli caelorum, et aqua quae super caelos sunt, laudent nomen Domini: nam cum ter enunciet nomen caeli numero plurali, minimum indicat sex caelos. In Deuter. autem c. 10, cum dicitur Caelum et caelum caeli, tres demonstrantur; sicut etiam apud Paulum, cum se ipse dicit raptum ad tertium caelum. Haec Philastrius.
Philastrius, in his catalogue of heresies, mentions the heresy of certain men who were in doubt about the multitude and diversity of the heavens; but he himself seems to hold that how great the multitude of the heavens may be is undiscovered from the sacred writings, since Scripture seems to speak variously on that matter in various places. For from the words of Moses in the first chapter of the book of Genesis two heavens are gathered: one made in the beginning together with the earth, the other founded under the name of the firmament on the second day. But David hints that there are six heavens, when he says, Praise the Lord, you heavens of the heavens, and let the waters that are above the heavens praise the name of the Lord: for since he utters the name of heaven three times in the plural number, he indicates at the least six heavens. And in Deuteronomy chapter 10, when it is said, The heaven and the heaven of heaven, three are shown; as also in Paul, when he says that he himself was caught up to the third heaven. Thus Philastrius.6
SANCTUS Thomas prima parte quaestione 68 articulo quarto observavit nomen caeli partim in sacris litteris partim apud sanctos Patres variis modis sumi. Primo quidem proprie pro vero corpore caelesti, atque ita distinguitur triplex caelum: primum totum lucidum et immobile, quod est empyreum; alterum totum expers lucis et diaphanum, mobile tamen, et vocatur chrystallinum; tertium partim diaphanum partim lucens, et est caelum sydereum, octavum orbem et septem subiectos planetarum orbes complectens. Altero modo caelum dicitur non quod naturam habet caelestem, sed quia similitudinem habet alicuius proprietatis caelestis: quomodo in Scriptu[ra]...
St. Thomas, in the First Part, question 68, article 4, observed that the name of heaven is taken in various ways, partly in the sacred writings, partly among the holy Fathers. First, properly, for the true celestial body, and thus a threefold heaven is distinguished: the first wholly luminous and immobile, which is the Empyrean; the second wholly devoid of light and diaphanous, yet mobile, and is called the Crystalline; the third partly diaphanous, partly shining, and is the starry heaven, embracing the eighth orb and the seven planetary orbs beneath it. In a second way ‘heaven’ is said of what does not have a celestial nature, but because it has a likeness of some celestial property: as, in Scriptu[re]...7
...[Scriptu]ra saepenumero aër nominatur caelum, quocirca Damascenus triplex facit caelum, aërium, sydereum, et aliud his superius invisibile ac divinum. Tertio modo caelum dicitur per metaphoram et secundum sensum mysticum, incomprehensibilis illa sublimitas et lux inaccessibilis divinae Maiestatis, cuius similitudinem et aequalitatem affectans Lucifer Isaiae 14 dixit, In caelum ascendam. Quarto modo tria genera supernaturalium visionum, hoc est visionis corporalis, imaginariae et intellectualis, tres caeli nominantur: secundum quam caeli significationem Pauli raptum ad tertium caelum lib. 12 de Genesi ad litteram Augustinus interpretatur. Porro, cum in Scriptura dicitur Caelum caeli vel Caeli caelorum, phrasi Hebraica significatur summum et praestantissimum caelum, hoc est vel caelum empyreum respectu aliorum caelorum, vel complexio cunctorum orbium caelestium respectu aëris, qui etiam caelum in Scriptura, ut iam dixi, saepe appellatur.
...in Scripture the air is often named heaven; wherefore Damascene makes a threefold heaven—the aerial, the starry, and another higher than these, invisible and divine. In a third way ‘heaven’ is said by metaphor and according to a mystical sense: that incomprehensible sublimity and inaccessible light of the divine Majesty, whose likeness and equality Lucifer, aspiring to it, in Isaiah 14 said, I will ascend into heaven. In a fourth way the three kinds of supernatural visions—that is, corporeal, imaginary, and intellectual vision—are called three heavens: according to which signification of ‘heaven’ Augustine, in book 12 of On Genesis according to the Letter, interprets Paul's rapture to the third heaven. Moreover, when in Scripture it is said The heaven of heaven, or The heavens of the heavens, by the Hebrew idiom is signified the highest and most excellent heaven—that is, either the Empyrean heaven in respect of the other heavens, or the complex of all the celestial orbs in respect of the air, which is also, as I have already said, often called heaven in Scripture.8
Haec omnia eo commemoravimus ut palam esset nusquam in sacris litteris certum numerum caelorum esse proditum, nec eos qui caelos plures tribus ponunt, videlicet vel novem vel decem vel undecim, sacris litteris contradicere. Quapropter cum Philosophi et Mathematici manifestis et necessariis rationibus concludant esse octo aut novem aut etiam plures caelos, inscienter admodum profecto, ne dicam stulte, nunc faceret Theologus et sacrarum litterarum Interpres, si eorum opinionem tanquam divinae Scripturae contrariam vel alienam reiiceret atque damnaret.
All these things we have recounted to the end that it might be plain that nowhere in the sacred writings is a certain number of the heavens delivered, and that those who posit more heavens than three—namely either nine or ten or eleven—do not contradict the sacred writings. Wherefore, since the Philosophers and Mathematicians conclude by manifest and necessary reasons that there are eight or nine or even more heavens, a Theologian and Interpreter of the sacred writings would certainly act very ignorantly—not to say foolishly—were he now to reject and condemn their opinion as contrary or foreign to divine Scripture.9

Translator’s notes

  1. The fourth question of Book II. ↩
  2. The history of the count: to Ptolemy's time, 8 heavens (7 planets + the 8th of the fixed stars); Ptolemy added a 9th (the 8th orb's west-to-east motion); ~300 years ago a 10th (the motion of trepidation); so 10 mobile heavens, plus an 11th = the Empyrean (the Theologians). ↩
  3. Marginal gloss: "Chrysostomus unum duntaxat caelum secundum sacram Scripturam admittit." Chrysostom, Hom. 4 in Genesim (on ‘Let there be a firmament’). Sentence continues onto the next page (catchword ‘cum’). ↩
  4. Marginal gloss: "Quomodo B. Thomas dictum Chrysostomi interpretetur." Psalm 148:4 (‘Caeli caelorum’ / ‘Aquae quae super caelos sunt’); the Hebrew שמים (‘heaven’) lacks a singular, like the Latin plural place-names Athenae, Venetiae, Syracusae. Aquinas, ST I q.68. ↩
  5. Marginal glosses: "Iustini martyris de numero caelorum opinio", "Theodoretus duos tantum ponit caelos", "Basilio ut minimum tres sunt caeli." Justin (Quaest. ad orth. 67); 2 Corinthians 12:2 (caught up to the third heaven); Theodoret (Qu. 11 in Gen.); Basil (Hom. 3 in Gen.). ↩
  6. Marginal glosses: "Philastrio incertus videtur secundum divinam Scripturam caelorum numerus"; "Psal. 148." Philastrius, De haeresibus. From Genesis 1: two heavens (one with the earth, one = the firmament on day 2); David (Psalm 148:4) hints at six (three plural namings); Deuteronomy 10:14 (‘the heaven and the heaven of heaven’) = three; Paul's third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2). ↩
  7. Marginal gloss: "Varie sumi in sacris litteris nomen caeli, tradit B. Thomas." Aquinas, ST I q.68 a.4. ‘Heaven’ taken (1) properly for the celestial body — threefold: Empyrean (wholly luminous, immobile), Crystalline (lightless, diaphanous, yet mobile), Starry (the 8th orb with the 7 planetary orbs); (2) for what has a celestial-like property. Sentence continues onto the next page (catchword ‘Scriptu’). ↩
  8. Marginal gloss: "Damascenus, lib. 2 de Fide orthodoxa." John Damascene's threefold heaven (aerial, starry, and a higher invisible and divine); the mystical heaven = the inaccessible light of the divine Majesty (Lucifer, Isaiah 14:13, ‘I will ascend into heaven’); the three kinds of supernatural vision = three heavens (Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram 12, on Paul's rapture, 2 Cor. 12). ‘The heaven of heaven’ = the highest heaven. ↩
  9. Conclusion of Quaestio IV: Scripture nowhere fixes the number of the heavens; positing more than three (9, 10, 11) does not contradict it; the theologian would act foolishly to reject the astronomers' demonstrated conclusion as anti-scriptural. ↩