it may be said: “No existent can be conceived as neither beginningless nor originated; likewise, no existent can be conceived as neither separate nor spatially coincident,” or similar formulations that make clear the parallel between the two kinds of separation.

To clarify this further: someone who says that the world is beginningless, that the Creator precedes it in essence, supremacy, and other respects, and that the world is originated insofar as He precedes it, can also say that the Creator is above the world in essence, supremacy, rank, and other respects, and that the world is beneath Him insofar as He is above it.

Someone who says that He truly precedes the world, such that the mind can conceive of endless stretches of time between His existence and the world’s existence—just as it can conceive of them when considering His existence alone, even though they have no existence—can likewise say that He truly stands above and is exalted over the world, such that the mind can conceive of empty regions of space between Him and the world, just as it can when considering His existence and the world’s existence. If this is a mental supposition of something that has no existence outside the mind, then whoever makes His elevation above the world nothing more than elevation in rank, power, and the like resembles someone who makes His precedence over the world nothing more than precedence in rank and generation