 Physico-mathematical objects (e.g., quantity, number, and extension) stand at a second ‘degree’ of abstraction. While they cannot exist without the existence of material things, once known, they can be conceived of without any reference to such objects. Finally, metaphysical or speculative knowledge deals with objects existing at a third degree of abstraction (i.e., independently of matter), such as substance, quality, goodness, and the divine. Because of the nature of the objects of metaphysics, this latter kind of knowledge does not involve logical inference as much as reasoning by analogy or what Maritain calls ananoetic knowledge. Such knowledge (e.g., of the divine) is not through any direct apprehension, but indirectly, through creatures.