Page:Complete Works of Count Tolstoy - 13.djvu/248

 ‘Divine providence is the constant action of the almightiness, wisdom, and goodness of God, by which he preserves the being and powers of the creatures, directs them to good ends, assists all that is good; but the evil that springs up by departure from good he cuts off, or corrects and turns to good consequences.’ In this way three particular actions are distinguished in the general concept of the divine providence: the preservation of the creatures, the cooperation, or assistance, given to them, and the direction of them.

“The preservation of the creatures is a divine action by which the Almighty preserves the being of both the whole world, and also the separate creatures who are contained in it, with their powers, laws, and activities. The cooperation, or assistance, given to the creatures is a divine action by which the All-good, permitting them to make use of their own powers and laws, at the same time offers them his aid and succour during their activities. This is especially palpable in relation to the rational and free creatures, who are all the time in need of the grace of God in order to progress in the spiritual life. However, in relation to the moral beings the actual coöperation of God takes place only when they freely choose and do the good; but in all those cases when they according to their own will choose and do the evil, there takes place only the permission, but not the cooperation, of God, for God cannot do evil, and does not wish to deprive the moral beings of the freedom which he has granted to them.

“Finally, the direction of the creatures is a divine action, by which the infinitely All-wise directs them with all their lives and activities toward their predestined ends, correcting and turning, as far as possible, their very worst deeds toward good results. From this it can be seen that all the above mentioned actions of the divine providence differ among themselves. The preservation embraces also the existence of the creatures, and their powers and activi-