A KEY TO PHYSIC,

...say that a cause is nothing more than that which gives existence to another thing, which is the effect of it, in whatever way it occurs, according to the various types of causes.

The First Cause, which acts by itself and by its own supreme power and will, is God. This is a truth so evident and so obvious that it cannot be denied. The existence of a First Cause may be deduced from the certainty of our own existence; for the fact that we exist in the world is a self-evident truth, but that we came into it on our own, or by accident original: "casualty", necessity, or chance, is absolutely impossible. The source of our existence must therefore be derived from some being who, as the author, must also be the free principle of that essence or life we possess. To say that we ourselves were the cause of our own being would be ridiculous, because it would follow from that logic that we existed before we had an existence; that we gave ourselves that which we did not already possess; and that the cause and the effect were one and the same thing—which is also impossible. It is no less an error to claim that we are in the world by necessity; for if that were the case, our existence would never have had a beginning, and we would have been unchanging, independent, and infinite in every kind of perfection. But, as these qualities are only applicable to a first cause, it follows that such a cause must be Almighty.

Those who are convinced of the existence of a first cause must necessarily attribute to it all the perfections which are or can be in the world. It is not only most perfect and most noble, but also, all the effects which it has produced, or is capable of producing, are contained within itself in the utmost perfection; and every one of them is infinite in the unity of its being. It is necessary that it should possess the perfections of those beings it has produced or can produce; otherwise, it would be said to provide what it neither has nor can have. The first cause would not be absolutely perfect if it were not eternal; for then it would have had a beginning and might have an end, and then it could not have been the first cause, since it would have derived its existence from something that existed before it. Consequently, this cause, which we suppose to be the first, would actually be a second cause, limited in its being and perfections as well as in its duration; it would seem to depend upon another. However, when we suppose it to be the first, all others must depend upon and be subordinate to it. From this it follows that these qualities must be inseparable from it: independence, eternity, infinity, and supreme authority. We cannot conceive of any first cause without at the same time acknowledging the existence of God.

This first cause, which is God, must necessarily have that perfect unity which allows no multiplication of either nature or perfections. Certainly, if God were not one in His being but had several natures, the number of them would have to be infinite, and