(17:12) If, they
contend, God had created everything which is in his intellect, he would
not be able to create anything more, and this, they think, would clash
with God's omnipotence; therefore, they prefer to assert that God is
indifferent to all things, and that he creates nothing except that
which he has decided, by some absolute exercise of will, to create.
(17:13) However, I think I have shown sufficiently clearly (by [xvi] ),
that from God's supreme power, or infinite nature, an infinite number of
things, that is, all things have necessarily flowed forth in an infinite
number of ways, or always follow from the same necessity; in the same
way as from the nature of a triangle it follows from eternity and for
eternity, that its three interior angles are equal to two right angles.
(17:14) Wherefore the omnipotence of God has been displayed from all
eternity, and will for all eternity remain in the same state of activity.
(15) This manner of treating the question attributes to God an omnipotence,
in my opinion, far more perfect. (16) For, otherwise, we are compelled to
confess that God understands an infinite number of creatable things,
which he will never be able to create, for, if he created all that he
understands, he would, according to this showing, exhaust his omnipotence,
and render himself imperfect. (17:17) Wherefore, in order to establish
that God is perfect, we should be reduced to establishing at the same time,
that he cannot bring to pass everything over which his power extends;
this seems to be an hypothesis most absurd, and most repugnant to God's
omnipotence.
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