that is passive and corresponds to its object, neither conferring an attribute upon it nor acquiring an attribute from it. Regarding both knowledge and speech, they say: “Neither confers any positive attribute upon its object.” Although this is closer to the truth than the first view, it remains deficient. Rather, the correct view is that knowledge, as a category, encompasses both aspects. The former concede that He knows Himself, and this knowledge has no effect on its object. The latter say that will is conditional upon knowledge, thereby acknowledging that the resulting act depends upon knowledge. Our concern here, however, is with knowledge that affects its object, namely practical knowledge. We therefore say:

It is self-evident and necessarily known through our innate nature that, when a person acts voluntarily, he finds within himself an awareness of what he intends to do. Alongside this awareness, he must also will the act, and alongside both he must have the power to perform it. He finds that his perception and awareness prompt him to will and love the act. He is aware of the end for which he acts, of the love and will within himself directed toward that desired end, and of the action by which he reaches it.

These, then, are four realities: an object desired and sought through action; a will within the soul directed toward it; an action leading to it; and a will directed toward that action. Take food, for example. Awareness relates to all four: when a hungry person is told of food, he senses his appetite and love for it and wishes to eat it. His aim is to experience the pleasure of eating and relieve the pain of hunger. He distinguishes the objects themselves and the pleasure derived from them from his desire for these. He then wills the act of eating that leads to the desired end and performs that act. The same applies to sexual desire and to all actions, whether acts of worship or otherwise. Knowledge precedes will