"providence means not that by which God idly observes [(otiosus
speculetur)] from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as
keeper of the keys, he governs all events.
Thus it pertains no less to his hands than to his eyes [(veluti clavum
tenens, eventus omnes moderatur. Ita non
minus ad manus quam ad oculos pertinent)]."
John Calvin, Institutes I.xvi.4, trans. Battles (who, unlike Beveridge below, reads clavem (claves) for clavum, rudder, helm, or (under "nail") "symbol of immovable firmness"; cf. patron de nauire (skipper/(ship)master/coxswain of [a] boat) in Calvin's French, below) =CO
2, 147. Thus Beveridge: "the providence we mean is not one by which
the Deity, sitting idly in heaven, looks on at what is taking place in the
world, but one by which he, as it were, holds the helm, and overrules all
events. Hence his providence extends not
less to the hand than to the eye." From p.
75 of the French edition published in Geneva in 1560 (note the additional line
at the end):
la prouidence de Dieu . . . ne signifie pas qu’estant oisif au ciel il specule ce qui se fait en terre: mais plustost qu’il est cóme vn patron de nauire, qui tient le gouuernail pour adresser tous euenemés. ainsi ce mot s’estend tant à sa main qu’à ses yeux: c’est à dire que non seulement il voit, mais aussi ordonne ce qu’il veut estre fait.
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