ay that all things were
created by God, as appears from what has been said (Q. 44, A. 1). For
when anyone makes one thing from another, this latter thing from
which he makes is presupposed to his action, and is not produced by
his action; thus the craftsman works from natural things, as wood or
brass, which are caused not by the action of art, but by the action
of nature. So also nature itself causes natural things as regards
their form, but presupposes matter. If therefore God did only act
from something presupposed, it would follow that the thing
presupposed would not be caused by Him. Now it has been shown above
(Q. 44, AA. 1, 2), that nothing can be, unless it is from God, Who is
the universal cause of all being. Hence it is necessary to say that
God brings things into being from nothing.

Reply Obj. 1: Ancient philosophers, as is said above (Q. 44, A. 2),
considered only the emanation of particular effects from particular
causes, which necessarily presuppose something in their action;
whence came their common opinion that "nothing is made from nothing."
But this has no place in the first emanation from the universal
principle of things.

Reply Obj. 2: Creation is not change, except according to a mode of
understanding. For change means that the same something should be
different now from what it was previously. Sometimes, indeed, the
same actual thing is different now from what it was before, as in
motion according to quantity, quality and place; but sometimes it is
the same being only in potentiality, as in substantial change, the
subject of which is matter. But in creation, by which the whole
substance of a thing is produced, the same thing can be taken as
different now and before only according to our way of understanding,
so that a thing is understood as first not existing at all, and
afterwards as existing. But as action and passion coincide as to the
substance of motion, and differ only according to diverse relations
(Phys. iii, text 20, 21), it must follow that when motion is
withdrawn, only diverse relations remain in the Creator and in the
creature. But because the mode of signification follows the mode of
understanding as was said above (Q. 13, A. 1), creation is signified
by mode of change; and on this account it is said that to create is
to make something from nothing. And yet "to make" and "to be made"
are more suitable expressions here than "to change" and "to be
changed," because "to make" and "to