ul, as Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv). The first
is by the soul "passing from exterior things to concentrate its
powers on itself"; the second is by the soul ascending "so as to be
associated with the united superior powers," namely the angels; the
third is when the soul is "led on" yet further "to the supreme good,"
that is, to God.

In virtue of the first movement of the soul from exterior things to
itself, the soul's knowledge is perfected. This is because the
intellectual operation of the soul has a natural order to external
things, as we have said above (Q. 87, A. 3): and so by the knowledge
thereof, our intellectual operation can be known perfectly, as an act
through its object. And through the intellectual operation itself,
the human intellect can be known perfectly, as a power through its
proper act. But in the second movement we do not find perfect
knowledge. Because, since the angel does not understand by turning to
phantasms, but by a far more excellent process, as we have said above
(Q. 55, A. 2); the above-mentioned mode of knowledge, by which the
soul knows itself, is not sufficient to lead it to the knowledge of
an angel. Much less does the third movement lead to perfect
knowledge: for even the angels themselves, by the fact that they know
themselves, are not able to arrive at the knowledge of the Divine
Substance, by reason of its surpassing excellence. Therefore the soul
of the first man could not see the angels in their essence.
Nevertheless he had a more excellent mode of knowledge regarding the
angels than we possess, because his knowledge of intelligible things
within him was more certain and fixed than our knowledge. And it was
on account of this excellence of knowledge that Gregory says that "he
enjoyed the company of the angelic spirits."

This makes clear the reply to the first objection.

Reply Obj. 2: That the soul of the first man fell short of the
knowledge regarding separate substances, was not owing to the fact
that the body was a load upon it; but to the fact that its connatural
object fell short of the excellence of separate substances. We, in
our present state, fall short on account of both these reasons.

Reply Obj. 3: The soul of the first man was not able to arrive at
knowledge of separate substances by means of its self-knowledge, as
we have shown above; for even each separate substance knows others
in its own measure.
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THIRD ARTICLE [I, Q. 94, Art. 3]