Chapter XIV: The Use of this Commonplace, § 155
CHAPTER XIV: THE USE OF THIS COMMONPLACE
§ 155. This concludes our discussion on divine providence. Only now can we claim: we have finally grasped its true use if we acknowledge with true subjection the universal power [imperium] of God by which in His great goodness and wisdom He governs each and every thing, celebrate it with a grateful heart, and revere it with true devotion of our heart; if we seek all things necessary to sustain life from that all-sufficient and most kind Ruler of the universe and credit all the good things we have received to Him; if we remember the gifts which divine providence already a long time ago conferred upon us richly, note the provident concern of God toward things far inferior to us, cling to Him with firm confidence of heart, and cast off our worry about the future, filled as it is with distrust; if in all the adversities which happen to us we fix our gaze on God while confessing that not even a hair of our head has fallen or falls without His will [Matt. 10:30], and accordingly hope for either freedom from or the easing of our adversities from Him, even if2 no secondary causes may appear to us; if we look at the happiness of the wicked and the troubles of the devout without turning back our eyes, occupy our souls in patience, do not puff ourselves up in good times nor become filled with despair in adversities; and, finally, if we permit no evils and perils to pull us away from this most excellent, wise, and powerful Ruler of all things, but believe with undoubting faith that all things finally work together for our good because of His miraculous counsel [Rom. 8:28].
1 In Latin the word fate (fatum) is etymologically related to the verb “to speak” (fari) and can simply mean “something spoken.”
2 Read si vel maxime with Cotta instead of si vel maximae.