"It is because the contemporary alternatives seem so one-sided and are not more evidently solutions to the problems which Thomas faced, and partly solved, that we return to him and to the tradition of theology and philosophy in which his Summa Theologiae appears: theology as the science of the first principle and this as the total knowledge of reality in its unity." -- Wayne J. Hankey, God in Himself (Oxford University Press, 1987), p.159.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Q47 A1: Whether the multitude and distinction of things come from God?
Yes. We must say that the distinction and multitude of things come from the intention of the first agent (who is God) because goodness, which in God is simple and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided (and hence the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever).