Nothingness

Use in the book

The spider-web account of creation calls what we name nothingness God’s invisible fullness. The phrase unsettles the observer’s label rather than presenting an empty receptacle from which things are mechanically produced. The first-person reflection on falsehood has a different limit: what seems false does not exist “for me,” and comparison with something existent is needed before it can be refuted. That statement must not be generalized into a declaration that every falsehood is literally nonexistent.

The late imperative turns being and nothingness toward attention after loss: think of what remains rather than what is no longer yours. The distinction becomes practical without losing the larger vocabulary. These divergent uses help the reader avoid treating every occurrence as one settled metaphysical thesis.

Places to read

1. I, p. 146, entry 8, ¶1Apparently empty nothingness is recast as invisible fullness in the creation image.
2. I, p. 305, entry 4, ¶1What seems false gives the speaker’s mind no argumentative hold.
3. II, p. 862, entry 10, ¶1Being/nothingness directs attention toward what remains.

Translation in this edition

The English translation retains nothingness and the local qualifications “what we call” and “for my mind.” The second-person counsel at II.862 does not acquire a named addressee or an external philosophical school.

Use in the book

Being raised from nothing makes existence itself a gift before any particular possession is counted. The recipient has no earlier stock of merit or property against which to reckon the world. This beginning amplifies the surprise that the created soul can become an extensive temple of knowledge and love.

IV.87 places creation beside redemption: God loves where there was no creature, then loves creatures who are evil. Human love can imitate the second generosity by benefiting those who deserve nothing. V.4 goes further in describing nothing as obedient to power and capable of receiving perfections. The language is deliberately personifying; it expresses unrestricted creative capacity rather than identifying a hidden material called nothing.

Places to read

1. I.92The joy of existence begins in being raised from nothing to enjoy the world.
2. IV.87Creation from nothing and redemption from evil model unmerited love.
3. V.4Nothing is figuratively presented as the subject upon which almighty power can work.

In this edition

Nought can mean evil or worthless as well as nonexistent. IV.87 exploits their proximity while keeping creation and redemption as distinct acts.