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past infinite world would be free of the first limitation but not the last two. It is interesting that
while Aquinas does not attribute to eternity any extension, he does attribute to it a kind of
duration associated with actuality. 49 By distinguishing between extension and duration, Aquinas
seeks to prevent an erroneous perception of the divine eternity as a static moment. Due to
limitations in human understanding we tend to imagine the divine eternity as either an infinite
extension or an enduring present moment. While both images seek to depict the divine eternity,
neither one does so perfectly. Infinite extension resembles the divine eternity in its lack of
beginning and end, but it differs because it is composed of a continuous flow of parts. Similarly,
a temporal “now” resembles the divine eternity in its lack of extension, but differs from it on
account of its lack of activity. Aquinas’s emphasis on the distinction between eternity and
infinite temporal extension has an underlying motive to protect the otherness of divinity. No
creature can be equal to God, so even if a creature can be eternal, then its eternity is essentially
different from the eternity of God.
49
Ibid, 544.
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