hich it is not granted to man to utter." Now the
memory belongs to the sensitive faculty according to the Philosopher
(De Mem. et Remin. i). Therefore it seems that Paul, while seeing the
essence of God, was not withdrawn from his senses.

_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 27): "Unless a
man in some way depart this life, whether by going altogether out of
his body or by turning away and withdrawing from his carnal senses,
so that he truly knows not as the Apostle said, whether he be in the
body or out of the body, he is not rapt and caught up into that
vision.*" [*The text of St. Augustine reads: "when he is rapt," etc.]

_I answer that,_ The Divine essence cannot be seen by man through any
cognitive power other than the intellect. Now the human intellect
does not turn to intelligible objects except by means of the
phantasms [*Cf. I, Q. 84, A. 7] which it takes from the senses
through the intelligible species; and it is in considering these
phantasms that the intellect judges of and coordinates sensible
objects. Hence in any operation that requires abstraction of the
intellect from phantasms, there must be also withdrawal of the
intellect from the senses. Now in the state of the wayfarer it is
necessary for man's intellect, if it see God's essence, to be
withdrawn from phantasms. For God's essence cannot be seen by means
of a phantasm, nor indeed by any created intelligible species [*Cf.
I, Q. 12, A. 2], since God's essence infinitely transcends not only
all bodies, which are represented by phantasms, but also all
intelligible creatures. Now when man's intellect is uplifted to the
sublime vision of God's essence, it is necessary that his mind's
whole attention should be summoned to that purpose in such a way that
he understand naught else by phantasms, and be absorbed entirely in
God. Therefore it is impossible for man while a wayfarer to see God
in His essence without being withdrawn from his senses.

Reply Obj. 1: As stated above (A. 3, Obj. 2), after the resurrection,
in the blessed who see God in His essence, there will be an overflow
from the intellect to the lower powers and even to the body. Hence it
is in keeping with the rule itself of the divine vision that the soul
will turn towards phantasms and sensible objects. But there is no
such overflow in those who are raptured, as stated (A. 3, Obj. 2, ad
2), and consequently the comparison fails.

Reply Obj. 2: The intellect of Christ's soul w