 Book Three discusses the nature of created effects and the meaning of “creation from nothing” (creatio ex nihilo). The term “nothing” has two meanings: it can mean “nothing through privation” (nihil per privationem), or “nothing on account of excellence” (nihil per excellentiam). The lowest rung in the hierarchy of being, unformed matter, is “almost nothing” (prope nihil), or “nothing through privation”. In contrast, God is non-being through the excellence of His nature which transcends all being. Since there is nothing outside God, “creation from nothing” cannot mean creation from some principle outside God, rather it means: creation out of God’s superabundant nothingness. God creates out of himself (a se) and all creation remains within him.