Truth in All Its Splendor

"You alone are the First Truth.  Indeed, the false is not what it seems to be.  Hence something besides itself is the basis for what it appears to be, for were its nature alone the basis, it would appear to be what it really is.  But for You there is no other ground or basis for what appears, because in Your essence which is first apparent to Yourself all things appear, and by that very fact nothing subsequent is the basis for what appears to You.  In that essence, I say, whatever can be known in all the fulness of its meaning is present to Your intellect.  You are then Truth in all its splendor, infallible Truth, comprehending every intelligible truth with certainty.  For the other things apparent to You do not seem to exist in You in such a way that they deceive You simply because they appear in You.  For the ground or reason for the appearance does not prevent the proper meaning of what it reveals from appearing to Your intellect as is the case with our visual deceptions, when the appearance of something else prevents us from seeing what is really there.  This is not so in Your intellect; quite the contrary, so perfect in its clarity is the vision of Your essence that whatever is displayed therein appears to You in all its proper meaning.  For my purposes there is no need to treat at greater length the subject of Your truth or of the ideas in You.  Much indeed has been said about the ideas, but even were it never said, indeed were the ideas never mentioned, no less will be known of your perfection.  This is clear, because Your essence is the perfect ground for knowing each and every thing that can be known to the extent that it can be known.  He who wishes may call this an idea, but here I do not care to dwell further upon this Greek and Platonic word."

- Blessed John Duns Scotus,  A Treatise on God as First Principle, para. 4.85, ca. 1305, translated from the Latin by Allan B. Wolter, O.F.M., c. 1966 by Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 145-146 [capitalization added for clarification].