And it is a general rule and the matter is that of which I spoke, that because existence which is innovated from Him may He be blessed, is necessitated by him in general, therefore it is supported only by that which His straight will wants of it. And understand well that only His will and his decree is the place for all that exist, and without it there would not be a place at all. And therefore He may His name be blessed certainly precedes but His creation is not preexistent, to exclude that which the heretics say, that since he is preexistent then the universe must also be preexistent.
For until he willed and decreed this, there was not place for creations to exist; just the opposite, according to His existence may He be blessed, they have no argument, for they are not according to the that which is engraved in the rule of the nature of man, rather He alone may He be blessed must exist out of necessity and nothing other than Him, and this is straightforward. But rather since He willed them, and decreed this that the creations should exist, therefore they have a place and not without this. And we find, that when he decreed this - He gave a place for all of the constructions that he made after that: