CHAPTER 49

The angels too are not endowed with bodies, but are intellects separate from matter. However, they are the objects of an act,¹ and God has created them, as will be explained.² The Sages say in Bereshith Rabbah;³ The flaming sword which turns every way,⁴ is called thus with reference to the verse: His ministers a flaming fire.⁵ [The expression], which turns every way, [55b] alludes to the fact that sometimes they turn into men, sometimes into women, sometimes into spirits, and sometimes into angels. Through this dictum they have made it clear that the angels are not endowed with matter and that outside the mind they have no fixed corporeal shape, but that all such shapes are only to be perceived in the vision of prophecy in consequence of the action of the imaginative capacity, as will be mentioned in connection with the notion of the true reality of prophecy. As for their dictum, sometimes into women—which implies that the prophets likewise sometimes see the angels in the vision of the prophecy in the form of women—it refers to the dictum of Zechariah, peace be on him: And, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings, and so on.6

Now you already know that it is very difficult for man to apprehend, except after strenuous training, that which is pure of matter and absolutely devoid of corporeality. It is particularly difficult for one who does not differentiate between that which is cognized by the intellect and that which is imagined and who tends mostly toward imaginative apprehension alone. For such a one everything that is imagined exists or can exist, whereas that which does not enter within the net of imagination is in his opinion nonexistent and incapable of existing. Accordingly, to individuals of this kind—and they form the majority of those engaged in speculation—the true reality of a notion never becomes known, nor does a difficulty ever become clear to them. Because of the difficulty of this matter, the books of the prophets likewise contain dicta whose external sense can be understood as signifying that the angels are corporeal, that they move, that they are in the form of men, that they are given orders by God, and that they carry out His orders and do what He wishes in virtue of His orders. All this is said so as to guide the mind to a knowledge of their existence and of their being alive and perfect, as we have explained with regard to God.⁷

However, if one would stop at this imagining with regard to the angels, their true reality and essence would be like the essence of God as it is conceived in the imagination of the multitude. For about God too, [56a] statements are made from whose external sense it appears that He is a living, mobile8 body, having the form of a man. Therefore the mind is guided toward a knowledge of the fact that the rank of the existence of the angels is below the rank of the deity through the admixture with their shape of something belonging to the shape of irrational animals, so that what is understood with regard to the existence of the Creator should be more perfect than what is understood with regard to their existence, just as man is more perfect than the irrational animals. However, an animal shape is attributed to them by attribution of wings only and in no other way. For flying cannot be represented to oneself without wings, just as walking cannot be represented to oneself without legs. For the existence of these faculties cannot possibly be represented to oneself except in so far as they subsist in these substrata. The motion of flying has been chosen in order to point to the angels being living beings. For it is the most perfect and the noblest of the motions of the irrational animals, and man believes it to be a great perfection; so that he even wishes to fly in order that it might be easy for him to flee from all that harms him and that he might betake himself swiftly to whatever agrees with him, even if it be far off. Accordingly this motion is ascribed to the angels. Moreover, a bird appears and is hidden, approaches and moves far away, in very quick time; and all these are characteristics that, as shall be explained,9 it behooves us to believe that the angels possess.

However, this which is deemed to be perfection, I mean the motion of flying, is not in any way ascribed to God, because it is a motion pertaining to an animal not endowed with reason. For you should not make a mistake with regard to the dictum, And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly,¹⁰ for it is the cherub that did fly. And this parable is merely intended to indicate the swiftness of the coming to pass of that matter.¹¹ Similarly Scripture says: Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt,¹² which refers to the swiftness of the descent upon them of the calamity referred to.

Nor should you be led into error by what you find especially in Ezekiel with regard to the face of an ox and the face of a lion and the face of an eagle and the sole of the foot of a calf.¹³ For this has [56b] another interpretation, which you will hear.14 It is also merely a description of the animals. These intentions will be explained by means of hints sufficient to awaken the attention.

As for the motion of flying, it occurs in the texts in every passage, and it cannot be represented to oneself without a wing. Accordingly it was supposed that the angels had wings in order that guidance be given concerning the state of their existence, but not with a view to obtaining knowledge of the true reality of their essence. Know that everyone who accomplishes a very swift movement is described as flying so as to indicate the swiftness of the movement. Thus Scripture says: As the eagle swoopeth down.¹⁵ For the eagle is swifter in his flight and swoop than any other bird; for this reason it is used in the parable. Know also that the two wings are the causes of flying. For this reason the number of wings seen in the prophetic vision corresponded to that of the causes of motion of a moving¹⁶ thing. However, this is not the subject of this chapter.