and the dependence they speak of when discussing a thing’s dependence on its attribute and on a part of itself. This is of the same kind as its dependence on itself. Thus, its being unable to exist without its attribute—without which its essence cannot exist—is like its being unable to exist without its own existence. This is like its being necessary in itself. Undoubtedly, the mind may err, imagining that what is necessary in itself is its own cause and that there is