DP 191
One's Own Prudence Is Not Real
and Only Appears to Be,
and Also
Ought to So Appear;
but Divine Providence,
Owing to its Presence in the
Least Particulars,
Is Universal
The idea that one's own prudence is not real
is altogether contrary to
the appearance
and so contrary to many people's belief.
And because that
is the case,
no one who, owing to the appearance,
holds the belief
that
human prudence accomplishes all things,
can be convinced otherwise
except by the arguments of a deeper investigation,
which must be drawn
from causes.
The appearance is an effect,
and causes disclose the reason
for it.
Contrary to the appearance
is the teaching of the church
that love
and faith spring not from man but from God,
likewise wisdom and
intelligence,
and so, too, prudence -
in general all goodness and truth.
When these tenets are accepted,
accepted also must be the idea
that
one's own prudence is not real,
but only appears to be.
Prudence is
simply the product
of intelligence and wisdom,
and these two are
produced
simply by the intellect and its ensuing thought
about truth and
goodness.
This - what we have just stated -
is accepted and
believed by people
who acknowledge Divine providence,
but not by those
who acknowledge only human prudence.
Now either what the church teaches must be true,
that
all wisdom and prudence spring from God,
or what the world teaches,
that
all wisdom and prudence spring from man.
Can these views be
reconciled in any other way
than to say
that what the church teaches is
the truth
and that what the world teaches is the appearance?
For the
church affirms
its teaching in the light of the Word,
while the world
affirms its in the light of human nature,
and the Word originates from
God,
while human nature originates from man.
Since prudence
springs from God and not from man,
therefore when the Christian person
is engaged in prayer,
he prays that God may guide
his thoughts,
intentions and deeds,
and also adds as the reason
that he cannot do so
of himself.
Moreover, when he sees someone doing good,
he says that God
led him to do it,
and many other like things.
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