d in two ways: either according as many things
are proportionate to one, thus for example "healthy" predicated of
medicine and urine in relation and in proportion to health of a body,
of which the former is the sign and the latter the cause: or
according as one thing is proportionate to another, thus "healthy" is
said of medicine and animal, since medicine is the cause of health in
the animal body. And in this way some things are said of God and
creatures analogically, and not in a purely equivocal nor in a purely
univocal sense. For we can name God only from creatures (A. 1). Thus
whatever is said of God and creatures, is said according to the
relation of a creature to God as its principle and cause, wherein all
perfections of things pre-exist excellently. Now this mode of
community of idea is a mean between pure equivocation and simple
univocation. For in analogies the idea is not, as it is in univocals,
one and the same, yet it is not totally diverse as in equivocals; but
a term which is thus used in a multiple sense signifies various
proportions to some one thing; thus "healthy" applied to urine
signifies the sign of animal health, and applied to medicine
signifies the cause of the same health.

Reply Obj. 1: Although equivocal predications must be reduced to
univocal, still in actions, the non-univocal agent must precede the
univocal agent. For the non-univocal agent is the universal cause of
the whole species, as for instance the sun is the cause of the
generation of all men; whereas the univocal agent is not the
universal efficient cause of the whole species (otherwise it would be
the cause of itself, since it is contained in the species), but is a
particular cause of this individual which it places under the species
by way of participation. Therefore the universal cause of the whole
species is not an univocal agent; and the universal cause comes
before the particular cause. But this universal agent, whilst it is
not univocal, nevertheless is not altogether equivocal, otherwise it
could not produce its own likeness, but rather it is to be called an
analogical agent, as all univocal predications are reduced to one
first non-univocal analogical predication, which is being.

Reply Obj. 2: The likeness of the creature to God is imperfect, for
it does not represent one and the same generic thing (Q. 4, A. 3).

Reply Obj. 3: God is not the measure proportioned to things measured;
hence it is not necessary that God a