that it is equal to his. For he said that the attribute of bringing things into existence and acting is not, as such, an attribute of perfection, even though He came to possess it after not possessing it.

He may therefore be told: There is no difference between the two except that one is within Himself, while the other is separate from Him. It is well known that one who acts within himself is more perfect than one who does not.

[The fourth argument]

It may be said: You state, “Either it is, in itself, an attribute of perfection, or it is not.”

We reply: “It is not, in itself, an attribute of perfection.”

You say: “Then it follows that the Lord possesses something that is not an attribute of perfection, and that is impossible.”

We reply: “When is this impossible: when that attribute, together with another, constitutes an attribute of perfection, or when it does not? Something on its own may not be an attribute of perfection, yet together with something else it may constitute an attribute of perfection. In such a case, the Lord cannot possess it on its own, but He may possess it together with the other. Its not being an attribute of perfection does not entail that it cannot subsist in the Lord under any circumstances.”