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This may be enough to prevent any one from supposing, when we speak of
the apostate angels, that they could have another nature, derived, as
it were, from some different origin, and not from God. From the
great impiety of this error we shall disentangle ourselves the more
readily and easily, the more distinctly we understand that which God
spoke by the angel when He sent Moses to the children of Israel:
"I am that I am." For since God is the supreme existence, that
is to say, supremely is, and is therefore unchangeable, the things
that He made He empowered to be, but not to be supremely like
Himself. To some He communicated a more ample, to others a more
limited existence, and thus arranged the natures of beings in ranks.
For as from sapere comes sapientia, so from esse comes essentia, a
new word indeed, which the old Latin writers did not use, but which
is naturalized in our day, that our language may not want an equivalent
for the Greek ousia. For this is expressed word for word by
essentia. Consequently, to that nature which supremely is, and which
created all else that exists, no nature is contrary save that which
does not exist. For nonentity is the contrary of that which is. And
thus there is no being contrary to God, the Supreme Being, and
Author of all beings whatsoever.
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