. . . the distinction and multitude of things come from the intention of the first agent, who is God. . . . [B]ecause His goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, He produced many and diverse creatures, that what was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another.
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (New York: Benziger Brothers, [1947]), Part I, Q. 47, A. 1, body.
