Divine Simplicity
God is not assembled from parts; what he has, he simply is
Divine simplicity holds that God is not composed of parts, so that his attributes are not pieces added to him but identical with his very essence: he does not have goodness, he is goodness. Affirmed broadly in both East and West, and developed by Augustine in On the Trinity and by Aquinas, the doctrine has a strong Thomist formulation whose precise meaning and implications remain debated among theologians.
How it traveled
- Against Heresies: Book IILyons · 202explains
- A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity.Rome · 258explains
- The LettersCaesarea (Cappadocia) · 379explains
- Select Orations of Saint Gregory NazianzenNazianzus · 390explains
- Against EunomiusNyssa · 395explains
- Answer to Eunomius' Second BookNyssa · 395explains
- Exposition of the Christian FaithMilan · 397explains
- On the Holy TrinityHippo Regius · 430explains
- The ConfessionsHippo Regius · 430explains
- City of GodHippo Regius · 430explains
- Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the ManichæansHippo Regius · 430explains
- On the Morals of the ManichæansHippo Regius · 430explains
- John of Damascus: Exposition of the Orthodox FaithDamascus · 749explains
- MonologiumCanterbury · 1109explains
- ProslogiumCanterbury · 1109explains
- Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26])Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on The Most Holy Trinity (QQ[27-43])Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on the Angels (qq[50]-64)Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on Man (qq[75]-102)Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on the Incarnation (qq[1]-59)Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on the Conservation and Government of Creatures (qq[103]-119)Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on The Distinction of Things In General (Q[47])Paris · 1274explains
- Book First. of the Knowledge of God the CreatorGeneva · 1564explains
- Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the WorldNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
Key passages(20)
City of God · Augustine of Hippo
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
On the Holy Trinity · Augustine of Hippo
On the Holy Trinity · Augustine of Hippo
Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin
City of God · Augustine of Hippo
On the Holy Trinity · Augustine of Hippo