Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 4

III. The arguments derived from the intellect are of two kinds. The one is derived from a consideration of the recipient, and the other from a consideration of the giver.

1. The first is as follows: The intellectual power in man can not have been intended merely for the preservation of the species, for we see that the other species are preserved without it. Since therefore we see that man has this superiority to the lower animals, it is unlikely that he would be abandoned to himself and no notice be taken of his particular affairs, as is the case with the lower animals, since he is superior to them in knowledge.

To this argument God alludes in His first answer to Job, where He first enumerates the benefits He bestows upon the various animal species in providing for each one specially, as distinct from the other species, by preserving it or by giving it a peculiar perfection different from that of other species: “Who provideth for the raven his prey … Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?… Hast thou given the horse his strength?” Then he describes the benefit He bestows upon man in implanting in his nature a peculiar perfection, namely the power to apprehend intelligible concepts: “Who hath given understanding to the mind?” The Hebrew word sekvi denotes the intellectual power in man, as I explained in the First Book. First he says: “Who hath implanted secure wisdom?” alluding to the “prima intelligibilia” or axioms, which were placed in man at the basis of his created nature. These first intelligibilia are the real causes which make demonstration possible, preventing an infinite regress. (The bet, the first letter of the Hebrew word battuhot, is part of the root, as was explained in the First Book.) He says this in order to explain that this gift that was given to man was without doubt intended for a more noble purpose than is realized in the lower animals. This superiority of man indicates that he is taken more notice of by God than any other animal species. This being so, it follows that divine providence should attach to him in a greater degree in accordance with the superiority of his intellect to that of the lower animals. Maimonides has the same idea, namely that the degree of divine providence one enjoys depends upon the degree of intellectual power he possesses. It follows that he who perfects his intellect as far as lies in his power will enjoy a greater degree of divine providence than one who has not done so. On the other hand, he who does not perfect his soul at all and wastes his intellectual energies is reduced to the degree of the lower animals, and loses divine providence altogether. This is a conclusive proof that the measure of divine providence attaching to a rational individual depends upon the perfection of his reason, just as in the beginning, when the human species was created, Providence took more notice of man than of the other animal species in giving him that ability.

David also uses the intellectual faculty in man as a proof that divine providence takes care of the sublunar world: “O Lord, our Lord, what glory is there in Thy name in all the earth!” The word mah (how, what) is derogatory, as in the expression: “and what (mah) are we …” The Psalmist expresses his wonder and says, what worth and glory can there be for Thy name upon all the earth, seeing that “Thou hast put Thy majesty above the heavens,” which are as “strong as a molten mirror,” and permanent and bright without any doubt? I do not see that among the creatures of the earth there is any one through whose creation one may have an idea of Thy dignity and the glory of Thy name. But when I consider the matter carefully, I find that, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength,” i. e. valid propositions or principles, which are innate in man and not derived from experience and habit. These are the “prima intelligibilia,” which are in the mouth of babes and sucklings, or the “sensibilia,” all of which are strong foundations of knowledge and proofs of the reality of Providence; “because of Thine adversaries,” those who say: “The Lord hath forsaken the land,” and, “that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger,” who afflicts the poor and the needy, and follows his own desires, since he denies Providence.

Then he explains at length the same topic, which he has stated briefly: “When I behold Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers … What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” That is, when I behold the heavens and their noble beauty and the structure of the moon and the stars, which Thou hast established, I say in my heart, What is man …? For man is nothing in comparison with their nobility, and he is not worthy of divine providence, since he is a lowly creature made of waste matter and a putrid drop. Then again he contradicts this idea, and says: “Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels” … That is, when I consider the creation of man and see the perfection thereof, namely that he possesses an intellectual faculty by which he comes near to the angels (being only a little below them, they being active intelligences, while he is a potential intelligence)—“Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels”—through the glory and the honor and the beautiful divine crown with which Thou didst crown him, and by means of this power “Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands;” for without it he could not have subdued, and would not have been worthy of subduing, all the animals, which are stronger and mightier than he, and of putting them all under his feet; nor could he have made a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters; all of which shows that the divine power mingles with him through his intellect and he has some of the knowledge of his Maker,—this being so, I say that from the creations of the earth proof may be derived of the glory of Thy name and Thy worth, since Thou didst bestow a rational faculty upon so coarse a matter. Therein can be seen Thy noble perfection, for the worth of an artisan can be seen when he bestows perfection upon an inferior material which is far from perfection, as I explained in the first chapter of the Second Book. Hence he concludes, “O Lord, our Lord, How glorious is Thy name in all the earth!” The word mah (how, what) in this passage is intended to magnify the attribute, as in the expression: “How (mah) manifold are Thy works, O Lord!” “How (mah) great are Thy works, O Lord!” The meaning is this: Although the heavens are made of a much nobler material than the sublunar creatures, nevertheless, from the rational faculty in man, who is but little lower than the angels, we can infer that Thy name is glorious in all the earth and that Thy providence takes care of the human race in the sublunar world.

2. The second proof is taken from a consideration of the giver, and has two forms. One is based upon God’s wisdom and power and the other upon the consideration that man is the work of His hands.

A. The first, based upon God’s wisdom and power, is as follows: It is an axiomatic proposition that all kinds of perfection should be ascribed to God, and all kinds of defects should be denied of Him. Now it is a sign of perfection in man if he takes care of the work of his hands so that it may completely realize its purpose. It is also a sign of perfection in a master if he takes care of those who are governed by him, whom he guides with righteousness and justice. And if they fail to do this, it is a sign of a defect in the man and the master respectively. A human being may have such defect for lack of knowledge or of power. A master who has the necessary ability may owe his defect to the fact that he is wicked, unjust or indifferent. But God is “Wise in heart and mighty in strength,” as Job himself says. Hence He has absolute power, and there can be no failure of providence on account of weakness and inability to satisfy the needs of those governed by Him. And since He is wise there can be no failure of Providence on account of ignorance. Nor can there be a failure to take care of those under His guidance by reason of wickedness or injustice, as Job argued when he said that God, being one without any one to oppose Him, does wrong, if He so desires, to those dependent upon His rule: “But He is at one with Himself and who can turn Him?” also: “There is no arbiter betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.” For Elihu answered this argument when he said: “Far be it from God, that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity.” “Far be it from God,” refers to His absolute power, for the word El (God) denotes power. And since He has absolute power, He does no wrong or iniquity by failing to punish evil-doers. Nor can He fail to take care of the work of His hands and reward the righteous because He can not supply their needs, for He is Shaddai (lit. having enough), Almighty, who has enough in His being to bestow upon everything its final perfection. Having enough therefore to supply every one his need, if He did not do so, it would be iniquity. Hence he says: “And [far be it] from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity.”

Then he says: “For the work of man will He requite unto him,” alluding to reward; “And cause every man to find according to his ways,” an allusion to the punishment which comes upon the wicked. Then he emphasizes his argument from power and says: “Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.” That is to say, God has absolute power, as we have seen and as the word El (God) signifies. Also, He can supply every existing thing with the perfection of which it is capable, as is indicated in the word Shaddai (Almighty). But this can not be unless He takes care of the particular acts of man and recompenses every one according to his work, and causes every man to find according to his ways. For if He does not pay the wicked according to his wickedness, it would be wickedness in God, and God does not do wickedness. Also, if He does not reward the righteous according to his ways, it is perversion of justice, and the Almighty does not pervert justice. We must therefore say that God does take notice of human acts, and requites every one according to his ways.

He then proves that God has absolute power: “Who gave Him a charge over the earth?” i. e. Who is in charge of Him, who commanded Him to make the earth, and has more power than He? “Or who hath disposed the whole world?” and is more generous than He? “If He set His heart upon man, If He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh would perish together …” The meaning is, Who is the one in charge, who has more power than He, so that if he set his heart upon the world of nature, all flesh would perish together, and man would return unto dust? There is no other being who can do all this except Him, hence it is clear that He has absolute power. And since this is clear, He can not do this, for it would be wickedness or iniquity, and He would be a hater of justice. Therefore he says: “If now thou hast understanding, hear this; Hearken to the voice of my words. Shall even one that hateth right govern? And wilt thou condemn Him that is just and mighty—Is it fit to say to a king: ‘Thou art base?’ Or to nobles: ‘Ye are wicked?’ That respecteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? For they all are the work of His hands.” The meaning is, Since we have shown that He has power and is king of all, we can not say that a lord who hates justice can govern. Nor can we condemn the one who is absolutely righteous. We can not say to a king who has absolute power that he is base and does iniquity and chooses to be called a wrongdoer. Nor is it proper to call a generous person who can give as much as he pleases, wicked. For he would not choose to be called wicked or iniquitous by withholding the good that is due to the deserving and failing to reward him according to his righteousness. Nor can we say that He does this because He is obliged to respect the great ones of the land, for God respects no persons, as we read, “That respecteth not the persons of princes … For they are all the work of His hands,” and should therefore be judged all of them in an equal manner, since He has the power to do so and there is no one who can prevent Him; “For in a moment they die, even at midnight; the people are shaken and pass away,” through His messengers, “and they [the messengers] take away the mighty and the strong without touching them with the hand.” This proves that “His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” This is the style of the whole second reply in which Elihu argues to prove the existence of Providence on the basis of God’s power.

B. The second form of the proof, which is based upon the fact that man is the work of God’s hands, is given by Elihu in his fourth speech, as follows: The strongest argument which Job advanced against the idea of Providence is based upon man’s inferiority, “What is man, that Thou shouldest magnify him, and that Thou shouldest set Thy heart upon him, and that Thou shouldest remember him every morning, and try him every moment?” Job thought that because man was despicable and contemptible in the sight of God, He does not pay any attention to his various deeds any more than He takes notice of the acts of the pig, for the same reason. At the same time Job held this to be unjust on the part of God, and an improper withholding from man of that which is his due, since man is the work of God’s hands and is endowed with a rational faculty. For this reason he calls man God’s “handiwork,” because his origin is not due to nature alone, like the lower animals, but to nature and the divine power, i. e. the intellectual power with which man is endowed, as we are told, “Let us make man in our image, etc.” Accordingly Job said that it was injustice in God to deprive man of God’s care on the ground of man’s great inferiority to God; for it is not proper for a perfect being to despise the work of His hands and to reject it because it is inferior. Hence he said: “Is it good unto Thee that Thou shouldest oppress, that Thou shouldest despise the work of Thy hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?” The meaning is, Dost Thou think it is right, because Thou art absolutely perfect and man is lowly and despicable in comparison with Thy greatness, that Thou shouldest deprive him of his due and prevent him from attaining that perfection of which he is capable through the rational power which Thou gavest him, and abandon him by reason of his worthlessness, thus despising the work of Thy hands? By so acting Thou art, as it were, confirming the words of the wicked, who say that right doing is of no benefit.

Accordingly Elihu in his fourth reply undertakes to answer the argument based upon man’s inferiority: “Behold, God is mighty and despiseth not him who is mighty in strength of understanding.” The meaning is, It is impossible that God should ignore the human species by reason of their inferiority. For it is not the nature of a wise agent to abandon the work of his hands because of its inferiority, seeing that he can improve it. “God is mighty,” i. e. He is all-powerful and all-wise in actuality, being able to cause man to attain the measure of perfection of which he is capable, by reason of His great power. Hence it is not possible that He should despise man, who has a strong intellectual potentiality, and is capable of intelligence. Since man has intellect potentially, it stands to reason that God will help him to bring it to actuality and would not rob mankind of the perfection which it is capable of attaining, for this would be a defect in God, since He has the power. As Job said at the end of his argument: “Thou shinest upon the counsel of the wicked,” Elihu says here that it is not so, but the converse is true: “He preserveth not the life of the wicked; but giveth to the poor their right. He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous; But with kings upon the throne He setteth them forever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; then He declareth unto them their work, and their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.” In this way he shows that all evil that comes to the righteous is due to divine providence.

At the end of this reply, following this argument, he concludes by calling attention to the wonderful phenomenon of rain, which indicates wisdom and Providence, and the marvels of the thunder, which is evidence of power, wisdom and power being very strong arguments, which God Himself emphasizes in His two replies. In one answer He proves His wisdom and providence from the wisdom that is evident in the formation of the animals and the providence which is similarly evident in the way in which the various species of animals are provided with their appropriate protection and endowed with their specific form of perfection. This denotes wisdom, which it is the purpose of that reply to prove. In the second reply He proves power: “Wilt thou even make void My judgment? Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be justified?” The meaning is, Wilt thou deny My providence and say that I do not deal justly with existing things, as if I were not able to do so? “Or hast thou an arm like God? And canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? Deck thyself with majesty and excellency, … And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.”

The whole answer proceeds in this style to point out the great power of God to create huge creatures which man is afraid to look at, and at the sight of which he falls full length upon the ground. Hence He says: “Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?” All this is to show that since God has absolute power, it is impossible to attribute to Him any inability in any respect. Nor can we attribute to Him lack of knowledge after seeing the extraordinary wisdom contained in all the things which He created. As a result of this Job was reconciled and admitted the two arguments. He acknowledged the argument proving God’s power when he said: “I know that Thou canst do everything,” and the argument proving God’s knowledge in the expression: “And that no purpose can be withholden from Thee.”