4994. 'He himself is no greater in this house than I am' means that that good is prior in respect of time but not of state. This is clear from the meaning of 'his being no greater in this house than I am' as the fact that the lordship of the one has equal status with that of the other, and therefore both are prior. But from the train of thought in the internal sense it is evident that unspiritual natural good is prior in respect of time, and that spiritual natural good is prior in respect of state, as is also plain from what has been shown above in 4992. To be prior in respect of state means to be superior as regards essential nature.