"For some of these rise at one time to a great height, at another
swoop down to earth, and they do so repeatedly; others fly now to the
right, now to the left again and again; others go forwards or lag
behind many times; others fly in a circle now more now less extended;
and others remain suspended almost immovably in one place." Therefore
it would seem that there are only three movements of contemplation.

_On the contrary,_ stands the authority of Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv).

_I answer that,_ As stated above (Q. 119, A. 1, ad 3), the operation
of the intellect, wherein contemplation essentially consists, is
called a movement, in so far as movement is the act of a perfect
thing, according to the Philosopher (De Anima iii, 1). Since,
however, it is through sensible objects that we come to the knowledge
of intelligible things, and since sensible operations do not take
place without movement, the result is that even intelligible
operations are described as movements, and are differentiated in
likeness to various movements. Now of bodily movements, local
movements are the most perfect and come first, as proved in _Phys._
viii, 7; wherefore the foremost among intelligible operations are
described by being likened to them. These movements are of three
kinds; for there is the "circular" movement, by which a thing moves
uniformly round one point as center, another is the "straight"
movement, by which a thing goes from one point to another; the third
is "oblique," being composed as it were of both the others.
Consequently, in intelligible operations, that which is simply
uniform is compared to circular movement; the intelligible operation
by which one proceeds from one point to another is compared to the
straight movement; while the intelligible operation which unites
something of uniformity with progress to various points is compared
to the oblique movement.

Reply Obj. 1: External bodily movements are opposed to the quiet of
contemplation, which consists in rest from outward occupations: but
the movements of intellectual operations belong to the quiet of
contemplation.

Reply Obj. 2: Man is like the angels in intellect generically, but
the intellective power is much higher in the angel than in man.
Consequently these movements must be ascribed to souls and angels in
different ways, according as they are differently related to
uniformity. For the angelic intellect has uniform knowledge in two
respects. First, because it d