III. To the Arguments for the Opposite

347. As to the reason for the opposite [nn.297, 238]: Ambrose is speaking of the conversion of terms not according to ‘being simply’ but according to ‘being in a certain respect’.

348. As to the next, about creation [n.298], the answer is plain from the solution to the last argument of the first part [n.346].

349. As to Augustine [n.299] I reply that God does not annihilate things by any positive action; but just as he conserves things by acting positively, so annihilating creatures is to stop conserving them, and God can do this.