e whereby He is in all creatures. But He is in all creatures
immediately by essence, power and presence. Much more, therefore, is
the Son of God united to flesh without the medium of the soul.

Obj. 2: Further, the soul and flesh are united to the Word of God in
unity of hypostasis or person. But the body pertains immediately to
the human hypostasis or person, even as the soul. Indeed, the human
body, since it is matter, would rather seem to be nearer the
hypostasis than the soul, which is a form, since the principle of
individuation, which is implied in the word "hypostasis," would seem
to be matter. Hence the Son of God did not assume flesh through the
medium of the soul.

Obj. 3: Further, take away the medium and you separate what were
joined by the medium; for example, if the superficies be removed
color would leave the body, since it adheres to the body through the
medium of the superficies. But though the soul was separated from the
body by death, yet there still remained the union of the Word to the
flesh, as will be shown (Q. 50, AA. 2, 3). Hence the Word was not
joined to flesh through the medium of the soul.

_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (Ep. ad Volusianum cxxxvi): "The
greatness of the Divine power fitted to itself a rational soul, and
through it a human body, so as to raise the whole man to something
higher."

_I answer that,_ A medium is in reference to a beginning and an end.
Hence as beginning and end imply order, so also does a medium. Now
there is a twofold order: one, of time; the other, of nature. But in
the mystery of the Incarnation nothing is said to be a medium in the
order of time, for the Word of God united the whole human nature to
Himself at the same time, as will appear (Q. 30, A. 3). An order of
nature between things may be taken in two ways: first, as regards
rank of dignity, as we say the angels are midway between man and God;
secondly, as regards the idea of causality, as we say a cause is
midway between the first cause and the last effect. And this second
order follows the first to some extent; for as Dionysius says (Coel.
Hier. xiii), God acts upon the more remote substances through the
less remote. Hence if we consider the rank of dignity, the soul is
found to be midway between God and flesh; and in this way it may be
said that the Son of God united flesh to Himself, through the medium
of the soul. But even as regards the second order of causality the
soul is to some extent t