summa-contra-gentiles

CHAPTER XVII 25
But matter is a being in potentiality.
is
pure act must needs be simply prior to matter, and
Therefore God Who
consequently the cause thereof. Therefore matter is not
necessarily presupposed for His action.
Again. Primary matter is in some way, for it is a being
in potentiality. Now God is the cause of all things that
are, as we have proved.^ Therefore God is the cause of
primary matter : to which nothing is pre-existent. Therefore
the divine action needs no pre-existing nature.
Divine Scripture confirms this truth, saying (Gen. i. i) :
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. For to
create is
nothing else than to bring something into being
without prejacent matter.
Hereby is refuted the error of the ancient philosophers
who asserted that matter has no cause whatever, because
they observed that in the actions of particular agents
something is always prejacent to action whence : they
drew the opinion common to all that from nothing naught
is made.^ This is true in particular agents. But they had
not yet arrived at the knowledge of the universal agent,
which is the active cause of all being, and of necessity
presupposes nothing for His action.
CHAPTER XVII
THAT CRE-ATION IS NEITHER MOVEMENT NOR CHANGE
Having proved the foregoing,
it is evident that God's
action, which is without prejacent matter and is called
creation, is neither movement nor change, properly
speaking.
For all movement or change is the action of that which
is in potentiality as such.^ Now in this action there preexists
nothing in potentiality to receive the action, as we
have proved.* Therefore it is neither movement nor change.
Again. The extremes of a movement or change are
included in the same order : either because they come under
^ Ch. XV. « Cf. I Phys. iv. 2.
' 3 Phys.
i. 6. « Ch. xvl