ous,
composed of dissimilar parts. Now in every homogeneous whole, the
whole is made up of parts having the form of the whole; as, for
instance, every part of water is water; and such is the constitution
of a continuous thing made up of its parts. In every heterogeneous
whole, however, every part is wanting in the form belonging to the
whole; as, for instance, no part of a house is a house, nor is any
part of a man a man. Now multitude is such a kind of a whole.
Therefore inasmuch as its part has not the form of the multitude, the
latter is composed of unities, as a house is composed of not houses;
not, indeed, as if unities constituted multitude so far as they are
undivided, in which way they are opposed to multitude; but so far as
they have being, as also the parts of a house make up the house by
the fact that they are beings, not by the fact that they are not
houses.

Reply Obj. 3: "Many" is taken in two ways: absolutely, and in that
sense it is opposed to "one"; in another way as importing some kind
of excess, in which sense it is opposed to "few"; hence in the first
sense two are many but not in the second sense.

Reply Obj. 4: "One" is opposed to "many" privatively, inasmuch as the
idea of "many" involves division. Hence division must be prior to
unity, not absolutely in itself, but according to our way of
apprehension. For we apprehend simple things by compound things; and
hence we define a point to be, "what has no part," or "the beginning
of a line." "Multitude" also, in idea, follows on "one"; because we
do not understand divided things to convey the idea of multitude
except by the fact that we attribute unity to every part. Hence "one"
is placed in the definition of "multitude"; but "multitude" is not
placed in the definition of "one." But division comes to be
understood from the very negation of being: so what first comes to
mind is being; secondly, that this being is not that being, and thus
we apprehend division as a consequence; thirdly, comes the notion of
one; fourthly, the notion of multitude.
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THIRD ARTICLE [I, Q. 11, Art. 3]

Whether God Is One?

Objection 1: It seems that God is not one. For it is written "For
there be many gods and many lords" (1 Cor. 8:5).

Obj. 2: Further, "One," as the principle of number, cannot be
predicated of God, since quantity is not predicated of God; likewise,
neither can "one" which is convertible with "being" be predicated of
God, beca