Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Objection 1: It would seem possible that something may occur outside the order of the Divine government. For Boethius says (De Consol. iii) that "God disposes all for good." Therefore, if nothing happens outside the order of the Divine government, it would follow that no evil exists.

Objection 2: Further, nothing that is in accordance with the pre-ordination of a ruler occurs by chance. Therefore, if nothing occurs outside the order of the Divine government, it follows that there is nothing fortuitous and casual.

Objection 3: Further, the order of Divine Providence is certain and unchangeable; because it is in accordance with the eternal design. Therefore, if nothing happens outside the order of the Divine government, it follows that all things happen by necessity, and nothing is contingent; which is false. Therefore it is possible for something to occur outside the order of the Divine government.

On the contrary, It is written (Esther 13:9): "O Lord, Lord, almighty King, all things are in Thy power, and there is none that can resist Thy will."

I answer that, It is possible for an effect to result outside the order of some particular cause; but not outside the order of the universal cause. The reason of this is that no effect results outside the order of a particular cause, except through some other impeding cause; which other cause must itself be reduced to the first universal cause; as indigestion may occur outside the order of the nutritive power by some such impediment as the coarseness of the food, which again is to be ascribed to some other cause, and so on till we come to the first universal cause. Therefore as God is the first universal cause, not of one genus only, but of all being in general, it is impossible for anything to occur outside the order of the Divine government; but from the very fact that from one point of view something seems to evade the order of Divine providence considered in regard to one particular cause, it must necessarily come back to that order as regards some other cause.

Reply to Objection 1: There is nothing wholly evil in the world, for evil is ever founded on good, as shown above (Question 48, Article 3). Therefore something is said to be evil through its escaping from the order of some particular good. If it wholly escaped from the order of the Divine government, it would wholly cease to exist.

Reply to Objection 2: Things are said to be fortuitous as regards some particular cause from the order of which they escape. But as to the order of Divine providence, "nothing in the world happens by chance," as Augustine declares (Questions. 83, qu. 24).

Reply to Objection 3: Certain effects are said to be contingent as compared to their proximate causes, which may fail in their effects; and not as though anything could happen entirely outside the order of Divine government. The very fact that something occurs outside the order of some proximate cause, is owing to some other cause, itself subject to the Divine government.

Articulus 7

Argumentum 1

Ad septimum sic proceditur. Videtur quod aliquid praeter ordinem divinae gubernationis contingere possit.

Dicit enim boetius, in III de consol., quod deus per bonum cuncta disponit.

Si ergo nihil in rebus contingit praeter ordinem divinae gubernationis, sequeretur quod nihil esset malum in rebus.

Argumentum 2

Praeterea, nihil est casuale quod evenit secundum praeordinationem alicuius gubernantis. Si igitur nihil accidit in rebus praeter ordinem gubernationis divinae, sequitur quod nihil in rebus sit fortuitum et casuale.

Argumentum 3

Praeterea, ordo divinae gubernationis est certus et immutabilis, quia est secundum rationem aeternam. Si igitur nihil possit contingere in rebus praeter ordinem divinae gubernationis, sequitur quod omnia ex necessitate eveniant, et nihil sit in rebus contingens, quod est inconveniens. Potest igitur in rebus aliquid contingere praeter ordinem gubernationis divinae.

Sed Contra

Sed contra est quod dicitur esther XIII, domine deus, rex omnipotens, in ditione tua cuncta sunt posita, et non est qui possit resistere tuae voluntati.

Corpus

Respondeo dicendum quod praeter ordinem alicuius particularis causae, aliquis effectus evenire potest; non autem praeter ordinem causae universalis. Cuius ratio est, quia praeter ordinem particularis causae nihil provenit nisi ex aliqua alia causa impediente, quam quidem causam necesse est reducere in primam causam universalem, sicut indigestio contingit praeter ordinem virtutis nutritivae, ex aliquo impedimento, puta ex grossitie cibi, quam necesse est reducere in aliquam aliam causam, et sic usque ad causam primam universalem. Cum igitur deus sit prima causa universalis non unius generis tantum, sed universaliter totius entis; impossibile est quod aliquid contingat praeter ordinem divinae gubernationis, sed ex hoc ipso quod aliquid ex una parte videtur exire ab ordine divinae providentiae qui consideratur secundum aliquam particularem causam, necesse est quod in eundem ordinem relabatur secundum aliam causam.

Ad 1

Ad primum ergo dicendum quod nihil invenitur in mundo quod sit totaliter malum, quia malum semper fundatur in bono, ut supra ostensum est.

Et ideo res aliqua dicitur mala, per hoc quod exit ab ordine alicuius particularis boni.

Si autem totaliter exiret ab ordine gubernationis divinae, totaliter nihil esset.

Ad 2

Ad secundum dicendum quod aliqua dicuntur esse casualia in rebus, per ordinem ad causas particulares, extra quarum ordinem fiunt. Sed quantum ad divinam providentiam pertinet, nihil fit casu in mundo, ut Augustinus dicit in libro octoginta trium quaest..

Ad 3

Ad tertium dicendum quod dicuntur aliqui effectus contingentes, per comparationem ad proximas causas, quae in suis effectibus deficere possunt, non propter hoc quod aliquid fieri possit extra totum ordinem gubernationis divinae. Quia hoc ipsum quod aliquid contingit praeter ordinem causae proximae, est ex aliqua causa subiecta gubernationi divinae.