““Commonly, that is to say metaphysically, either faith takes the place of reason when reason can no longer establish plainly what faith then assumes in a simple holding-for-true, namely by belief and opinion: the hierarchy of the genres of knowledge authorizes the weaker one when the surer one falters. Or one will say that our faith (our adhesion by will to a statement) will increase to the very extent that it can be grounded on a clear and distinct knowledge of this statement, obtained by reason and its evidence: from a great light in the intellect there follows a great propensity in faith. Thus faith and reason either grow in inverse proportion or in direct proportion, but always starting from reason, which serves as the positive or negative condition of faith.””
