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God made and created
the whole world
of His own will so
that He might have
something that
might deserve His goodness
if it did not hold itself apart from Him.
And so
he established this world.
Not because
it made him better
or because he had any need for it. But he made it out of his goodness
and his very great love (see note). For being very loving he wanted
someone else to share in Himself and all that He has.
And that every other creature, each according to its nature, should feel His
power, to the degree it could. Therefore
God wanted to establish this world, so that something could come into being in it
that could understand and know the nobility of His power
and of His wisdom, and of the good that He made for earthly
man, so that he could serve Him in such a manner that
he might deserve the great goods that He had