First Proof: The beauty of a finely worked object points to the beauty of the craftsmanship. The beauty of the craftsmanship points to the beauty of the name which was the source of the craftsmanship. The beauty of the name of the craftsman’s art points to the beauty of the craftsman’s attributes manifested in that art. The beauty of his attributes points to the beauty of his talent and abilities. And the beauty of his abilities points self-evidently to the beauty of his essential self and his reality.
In exactly the same way, the beauty in all the fine creatures which fill the universe, all exquisitely made, testifies decisively to the beauty of the acts of the All-Glorious Craftsman. And the beauty of the acts points indubitably to the beauty of the titles, that is, Names, that look to those acts. And the beauty of the Names testifies certainly to the beauty of the sacred attributes that are the source of the Names. And the beauty of the attributes testifies to the beauty of the essential qualities and abilities that are the source of the attributes. And the beauty of the essential qualities and abilities testifies self-evidently to the beauty and sacred perfection of the Essence which is the source of the acts and is qualified by the Names and attributes, and to the holy beauty of His reality.
That is to say, the All-Beauteous Maker possesses an infinite beauty and loveliness which are fitting for His Most Sacred Essence, one shadow of which has beautified all beings from top to bottom; He possesses a transcendent, sacred beauty a single manifestation of which has endowed with beauty the whole universe, and has adorned and illuminated with its flashes the entire sphere of contingency.
Yes, just as a crafted work cannot have come into existence without an act, so an act cannot occur without the performer of the act. And just as it is impossible for there to be names without the one they signify, so attributes cannot be without the one they qualify. Since the existence of a work of art self-evidently points to the act which crafted it, and the existence of the act points to the existence of the worker of the act and his title, and to the existence of the attribute and name which gave rise to the work; the perfection and beauty of the work of art point also to the beauty and perfection particular to the act which crafted it, and they point to the beauty particular to and fitting for the name of the performer of the act, and, with ‘knowledge of certainty,’ to the beauty and perfection of his essence and reality, which are fitting and appropriate to them.
In just the same way, since it is impossible for the constant activity under the veil of the works of art in the universe to be without the causer of the activity, and the names whose manifestations and inscriptions are