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MT203-P01.
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We said above that finite or imperfect being cannot be conceived,
except we first have some concept of infinite and perfect being,
i.e., of God. Therefore God alone can be said to
be absolutely infinite, since He alone possesses an infinite perfection.
He may be called great, however, or interminable, so
far as we think that there is no being able to impose limitations
upon Him. From which it follows that the infinity of
God --an inapt expression --is something essentially positive.
For, so far as we conceive Him to be infinite, so far we
have reference to His essence or His absolute perfection. The
greatness of God is but a relative term; it is not used
when we consider God as an absolute or perfect being, but only so
far as He is considered as a "first cause." Here,
although He may not be perfect except in respect to the creation of
the world, nevertheless He is to be considered
great. For no being can be conceived, and consequently there is no
being more perfect than God by which He can
be limited or measured. (Concerning this see Ax. 9, Pt. 1.).
In what sense God is called infinite, in what sense great. There are some authors who, when they speak of the greatness of God, seem to attribute quantity to Him. They do this because from this attribute they wish to conclude that God is everywhere present. As if they thought that, were God not in every place He is limited. This is even more apparent in the reasons they adduce to show that God is infinite or great (for they confuse these terms). If God, they say, is actus purus, as from necessity He is, He is everywhere present and infinite; for if He is not in every place either He is not able to be wherever He wishes or from necessity (N.B.) He must be moved. From this it is evident that they attribute greatness to God under the concept of quantity. From the properties of extension they look for their arguments for affirming the greatness of God, which absurd. If now you ask us how we prove that God is everywhere present, we respond that this has already been clearly proven above, when we showed that nothing could exist even for a single moment unless procreated continually by the power of God. Before we can fully understand the omnipresence of God, we must understand the nature of the divine Will. For by this all things have been created, and are continually preserved. Since this is beyond the limits of human knowledge it is impossible to explain His omnipresence. There are some who think that God's greatness is three-fold, namely, He is great in His essence, in His power, and in His efficacy. But this is nonsense, for they distinguish between God's essence and His power.
MT203-P06.
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Others affirm the same thing more openly when they say that God is
everywhere in power, but not in essence. As if God's power could be
distinguished from His other attributes or from His infinite essence,
when it is nothing else but this. For if it were anything but this it
would either be something created or some accident of the
divine essence, without which He could still be conceived. But these
suppositions are both absurd. If it were something created it would
need God's power to be conserved, and so a progression to infinity
would be given. But if it were some accident of His being, God would
not be a simple being, which is contrary to what was demonstrated above.
God's power is not to be distinguished from his essence. Finally, by the greatness of His efficacy they wish to understand something beside the essence of God by which all things are created and conserved. Which is clearly a great absurdity, and one into which they fall, because they confuse the divine intellect and the human, and compare God's power with the power of kings. |
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