16. The Life May Be the Light of Others Besides.
Let us suggest another question, namely, whether the
life was the light of men only, and not of every being as well that is
in blessedness. For if the life were the same thing as the light
of men, and if the light of Christ were for men alone, then the life
also would be only for men. But such a view is both foolish and
impious, since the other Scriptures testify against this interpretation
and declare that, when we are somewhat more advanced, we shall be equal
to the angels. The question
is to be solved on the principle that when a predicate is applied to
certain persons, it is not to be at once taken to apply to them
alone. Thus, when the light of men is spoken of, it is not the
light of men only; had that been the meaning, a word would have been
added to express it; the life, it would have read, was the light of men
only. For it is possible for the light of men to be the light of
others besides men, just as it is possible that certain animals and
certain plants may form the food of men, and that the same animals and
plants should be the food of other creatures too. That is an
example from common life; it is fitting that another analogy should be
adduced from the inspired books. Now the question here
before us, is why the light of men
should not be the light of other creatures also, and we have seen that
to speak of the light of men by no means excludes the possibility that
the light may be that of other beings besides man, whether inferior to
him or like him. Now a name is given to God; He is said to be the
God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. He, then, who infers
from the saying, “The life was the light of men,” that the
light is for no other than for men, ought also to conclude that the God
of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is the God of no
one else but these three patriarchs. But He is also the God of
Elijah, and, as Judith
says, of her father Simeon, and the God of the
Hebrews. By analogy of reasoning, then, if nothing prevents Him
from being the God of others, nothing prevents the light of men from
being the light of others besides men.