Nor should we suppose that there are many rulers and makers of creation. Rather, for exact piety and truth, it is fitting to believe that its Creator is one; creation itself plainly shows this. A sure sign that the Maker of the whole is one is this: the world is not many but one. For if there were many gods, there ought also to be many and different worlds. It would be fitting neither for many to fashion one world nor for one world to be made by many, because of the absurdities that follow from this.
First, if the one world had been made by many, that would show weakness in those who made it, since one work was completed by many. This would be no small sign that each had imperfect skill for making it. For if one had been sufficient, the many would not have made up for one another’s deficiency. But to say that there is any deficiency in God is not only impious but beyond all that is lawful. Even among human beings no one would call an artisan perfect but weak if he completed a single work not alone but together with many.
If, on the other hand, each was capable of completing the whole, but they all worked because they wished to share in what was made, this would be laughable if each worked for glory so that he would not be thought incapable. But again, to speak of vainglory among gods is utterly absurd.
Further, if each was sufficient to create the whole, what need was there for many when one was self-sufficient for all? And it would appear impious and absurd if the thing made were one while those who made it were different and many, since it is a natural principle that what is one and perfect is better than what is diverse.
And this too must be known: if the world had been made by many, its movements would have been different and unlike one another. For as it looked to each of those who made it, its movements too would have differed. But in such difference, as was said before, there would again be disorder and confusion in the whole. A ship governed by many will not sail straight unless one pilot holds the helm; nor will a lyre struck by many produce a harmonious sound unless one skilled musician is the one who plays it.
Since, then, creation is one, the world is one, and its order is one, we must understand that its King and Creator, the Lord, is also one. This is also why the Creator Himself made the whole world one, so that the existence of many worlds would not lead people to suppose there were many creators, but that because the work is one, its Maker might also be believed to be one. It is not because the Creator is one that the world must therefore be one—for God could also have made other worlds. Rather, because the world that has been made is one, it is necessary to believe that its Creator also is one.
Nor should we suppose that there are many rulers and makers of creation. Rather, for exact piety and truth, it is fitting to believe that its Creator is one; creation itself plainly shows this. A sure sign that the Maker of the whole is one is this: the world is not many but one. For if there were many gods, there ought also to be many and different worlds. It would be fitting neither for many to fashion one world nor for one world to be made by many, because of the absurdities that follow from this.
First, if the one world had been made by many, that would show weakness in those who made it, since one work was completed by many. This would be no small sign that each had imperfect skill for making it. For if one had been sufficient, the many would not have made up for one another’s deficiency. But to say that there is any deficiency in God is not only impious but beyond all that is lawful. Even among human beings no one would call an artisan perfect but weak if he completed a single work not alone but together with many.
If, on the other hand, each was capable of completing the whole, but they all worked because they wished to share in what was made, this would be laughable if each worked for glory so that he would not be thought incapable. But again, to speak of vainglory among gods is utterly absurd.
Further, if each was sufficient to create the whole, what need was there for many when one was self-sufficient for all? And it would appear impious and absurd if the thing made were one while those who made it were different and many, since it is a natural principle that what is one and perfect is better than what is diverse.
And this too must be known: if the world had been made by many, its movements would have been different and unlike one another. For as it looked to each of those who made it, its movements too would have differed. But in such difference, as was said before, there would again be disorder and confusion in the whole. A ship governed by many will not sail straight unless one pilot holds the helm; nor will a lyre struck by many produce a harmonious sound unless one skilled musician is the one who plays it.
Since, then, creation is one, the world is one, and its order is one, we must understand that its King and Creator, the Lord, is also one. This is also why the Creator Himself made the whole world one, so that the existence of many worlds would not lead people to suppose there were many creators, but that because the work is one, its Maker might also be believed to be one. It is not because the Creator is one that the world must therefore be one—for God could also have made other worlds. Rather, because the world that has been made is one, it is necessary to believe that its Creator also is one.