Of God and His Creatures
That nothing can be a Cause to the Divine Will
THOUGH some reason may be assigned for the divine will, yet it does not
follow that there is any cause of that will's volition. For the cause
of volition is the end in view: now the end in view of the divine will
is its own goodness: that then is God's cause of willing, which is also
His own act of willing. But of other objects willed by God none is to
God a cause of willing, but one of them is cause to another of its
being referred to the divine goodness, and thus God is understood to
will one for the sake of another. But clearly we must suppose no
passing from point to point of God's will, where there is only one act,
as shown above of the divine intellect (Chap. LVII). For God by one act wills His own goodness
and all other things, as His action is His essence. By this and the
previous chapter the error is excluded of some who say that all things
proceed from God by sheer will, so that no reason is to be rendered of
anything that He does beyond the fact that God so wills. Which position
is even contrary to divine Scripture, which tells us that God has done
all things according to the order of His wisdom: Thou hast done all
things in wisdom (Ps. ciii, 24) ; and God has shed wisdom over
all his works (Ecclus i,10).
1.86 : That Reason can be assigned for the Divine Will
1.88 : That there is Free Will in God