Annotation CCCXXIII

”Which God promised before the ages of the world.” — Titus 1:2

Angels existing long before the world.

Jerome, in the commentary on the epistle to Titus, explaining this, teaches that the angels were founded [created] before this visible world, saying: “SIX thousand years of our world are not yet fulfilled: and how many eternities before — how many times, how many origins of ages — is it to be thought there were, in which the angels, thrones, dominations, and the other virtues served God, and, without the vicissitudes of times and measures, subsisted at God’s bidding?” Inspect [look at] Annotation five of the fifth book.