Moreover, in the observable world, a condition for being a knower is that knowledge subsists in one. The same applies to power and the other attributes. A condition does not differ between the observable and the unseen.

I say: Although this approach can be formulated in this way, it can also be formulated more fully. Nevertheless, he has said, “Reliance on this argument is exceedingly tenuous,” and has objected that it rests on drawing an analogy between the observable and the unseen.

We have discussed what he and others have said elsewhere, and have explained that this argument does not require such an analogy. Even if it did, that analogy would be valid, for it is an a fortiori argument: whatever necessarily accompanies perfection is more fittingly affirmed of the Creator than of the creature, as has been discussed elsewhere.

The point here, however, is that he objected to their statement that, if He did not possess this attribute, He would possess its opposite in the broad sense, which includes negation; yet here he has stated that he established it.

He said: “As for their statement, ‘If He did not possess these attributes, while being