Folia Theologica 9. (1998)

Tibor Somlyói Tóth: "Habitu inventus ut homo"

“HABITU INVENTUS UT HOMO’

191

incarnation, by which the son of God “was made in the likeness of men”, was included in the work of the six days.33

The same segment of the Philippians text is brought into the discussion on guardian angels (Prima pars, q. 113, art. 4), where the question is asked whether all men have a guardian angel. The first argument, using Philippians 2,7 to show that Christ had a human nature, poses the problem that, if he had a human nature, and all human beings have a guardian angel, then he must have had a guardian angel, too — “but this seems inappropriate, since Christ is greater than all the angels”. Thomas replies that Christ, according to his humanity, did not have a guardian angel because he was directly ruled by the divine Word. Nevertheless, although he did not need an angel as a guardian, he was ministered to by those who are inferior.34

Subsequent references in the Summa to Philippians 2,6-7 are all made in the Tertia pars, touching on aspects of the union of God and man in Christ. Question 2 is concerned with the mode of the incarnation, and article 5 asks whether there was a union of body and soul in Christ. The response indicates that Christ may be called a man univocally with other men, as existing in the same species, because of what we find in Philippians 2,7, in similitudinem hominum factus. It follows that there was a union of body and soul in Christ, because it pertains to the ratio of human nature that soul is united to body.35 The next article asks whether human nature was united accidentally to the Word, bringing forward as the first argument habitu inventus ut homo to show that, since habitus comes to something as an accident, the human nature referred to as habitus must have come to theory or third opinion, and the errors into which it appeared to lead, are recapitulated in Thomas’s response. In reply, then, to the first argument, Thomas uses a text from book three of

33 AQUINAS, Summa theol., T, q. 73, a. 1, p. 431b: “Ad 2m... Et similiter incarnationis opera, quia, ut dicitur Philipp. 2,7, Filius Dei est ’in similitudinem hominum factus’.

34 AQUINAS, Summa theol., Ia, q. 113, a. 4, p. 673b, 674a: “II. Dicitur enim de Christo, Philipp. 2,7, quod est ’in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo.’ Si igitur omnibus hominibus angeli ad custodiam deputantur, etiam Christus angelum custodem habuisset. Sed hoc videtur inconveniens...”

35 AQUINAS, Summa theol., 3a, q. 2, a. 5, p. 2429b: “Resp.: Dicendum quod Christus dicitur homo univoce cum aliis hominibus, utpote eiusdem speciei existens, secundum illud Apostoli, Philipp. 2,7 Tn similitudinem hominum factus’. Pertinet autem ad rationem speciei humanae quod anima corpori uniatur...”