St Thomas evidently considers this conclusion absurd. The only absurdity that I see in it arises from free will entering in as an element in some portion of the conduct of the robbers and their victim. Substitute a terrier and a rabbit, and the chain of physical causation, from eating salt vegetables to being worried by a dog, is necessary, so long as all the relevant antecedents in the case, positive and negative, remain unaltered.

Of God and His Creatures: 3.94