assist him before becoming capable himself; yet he would not become capable until the former made him capable or assisted him. Thus, if each depended upon the other’s assistance in acting, neither could be capable. It would therefore be impossible for each one (1) of them to perform any act (2), whether separately or together (3). It follows that each one (4) of them must be capable when acting independently. Hence, if another god were posited alongside Him, each would necessarily be capable on his own.

That being so, if the act of either necessarily entailed an act by the other, such that (5) neither could do anything unless the other contributed to it, neither would be capable independently. Their dependence (6) upon cooperation for the very act itself would thereby recur, and this is necessarily impossible.

One of them must therefore be able to perform an act in which the other has no share. What one brought about would then be distinct (7) from what the other brought about, and what the latter brought about would be distinct (8) from what the former brought about. Thus, each god would take away what he had created—one with his own creatures and the other with his own creatures (9).

It is therefore clear that, if there were another god alongside Him, each god would take away his own creatures (10), and this does not