Chapter 2

There are reciprocal connections or relationships between entia
which are essential to them and make them what they are.

1124. The marvellous connection between animality and intellectuality receives light that enables us to deduce the laws which human nature follows in its activity if we recall the ontological teaching about relationships essential to entia. These relationships are called 'essential' because they form part of the constitution of entia. First, however, we must remember that the entia about which we are speaking are those which occur in our mental conceptions. If we did not conceive them mentally, we could not even speak about them.

1125. These entia which have their place in our conception possess some essential relationships in themselves without which they could not be that which they are. Consequently, they change their nature in our mind in so far as our thought considers them with some of these essential relationships or with others. The removal from a mentally conceived ens of an essential relationship is alone sufficient to make it another ens, expressed with another word. Again, the addition of some relationship makes the ens something other than it was. This happens because we are dealing with essential relationships which form part of the essence of an ens, that is, the ens itself. This reminder will be clear to those who are already aware of my teaching on the synthesism of being. We now have to apply this teaching to the different entities which form part of the constitution of the human soul. If we are to deduce the laws of these entities, we have to know their nature and their intimate connection.