Whether faith is a discursive assent; and whether the Papists use a circular discourse in establishing faith
Article XVI. Whether faith is a discursive assent; and whether the Papists use a circular discourse in establishing faith.
1. Assent is simple — to propositions clear by their own light — or discursive — to a conclusion because of premises.
2. Divine faith is discursive: we assent to the articles because God has spoken, or Scripture testifies. It is not simple noetic assent; faith's mysteries are not self-evident to nature's light.
3. Papists establish faith by a vicious circle: Scripture is God's word because the Church says so; the Church is infallible because Scripture says so. That tends to destroy divine faith.
4. Orthodox deny the circle. Faith's principle is God's word authenticating itself by intrinsic marks and the Spirit's internal testimony — not Rome's authority as first foundation.
Latin
ART. XVI. An fides sit assensus discursivus? Et an Pontificii utantur circulari discursu in stabilienda fide. 1. Assensus dividi solet in simplicem (noeticum) & dianoeticum seu discursivum. Simplex assensus est, quo intellectus assentitur propositionibus sua luce claris & manifestis. Discursivus, quo assentitur conclusioni propter praemissas. 2. Fides divina est assensus discursivus: assentimur articulis fidei propter hoc medium — DEUS dixit, seu Scriptura testatur. Non est assensus simplex noeticus, quia mysteria fidei non sunt per se nota lumine naturae. 3. Pontificii in stabilienda fide utuntur discursu circulari: Scripturam esse DEI verbum probant ex Ecclesiae testimonio; Ecclesiam esse infallibilem probant ex Scriptura. Hic circulus vitiosus est, & fidem divinam destruere tendit. 4. Orthodoxi negant circulum: principium fidei est ipsum DEI verbum seipsum authenticans per notas intrinsecas & testimonium Spiritus Sancti internum — non Ecclesiae Romanае authoritas tanquam fundamentum primum.
About this text
Robert Baron, Philosophia Theologiae Ancillans (Philosophy in Service to Theology): the first exercise, on being and essence, and the second, on the origin of the soul and the spread of sin — newly rendered from Latin. Later exercises are not in this volume.
English follows locked 1658 Oxford Latin. Prima Art. I-XII from IA PDF leaves ~15-53. Secunda Art. I-XV from PDF leaves 56-107 / printed pp.54-105 (tess+pdftotext+DjVu). No modern English copied. Exercitatio Tertia+ remain.
Catalogue & scope
Wing B887. IA bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_philosophia-theologi-an_baron-robert_1658. Exercitatio Prima Art. I-XII; Exercitatio Secunda Art. I-XV (De origine animae & propagatione peccati). Not whole Philosophia (213 pp). Exercitatio Tertia+ remain.
Witnesses
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This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.