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The treatise on God the creator is divided into three
parts:
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1. the production of creatures.
2. the distinction of things in general and in
particular. This part has three treatises: a) the
angels, b) corporeal creatures, c) man.
3. the conservation and governance of things in general
and in particular.
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The order of this division is logical. First we treat of
the production of being created from nothing, clearly
distinguishing between creation and every other production
of things; secondly, we treat of the distinction between
created things, and here we take up the problem of how a
multitude can proceed from the supreme unity. Plato,
Aristotle, and Plotinus were unable to solve this
problem. The first two did not attain to an explicit
notion of creation from nothing, and Plotinus substituted
pantheistic emanationism for creation. In this second
part we also consider the distinction between good and
evil. Finally, we logically treat of the governance of
all these creatures, both spiritual and corporeal,
inasmuch as their actions are ordered by divine direction
and motion to the end of the whole universe.
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