584 GOTTFRIEDLEIBNIZ
- LOVINGGODDEMANDSCOMPLETESATISFACTION WITH
ANDACQUIESCENCE IN WHATHEDOES, BUTWEDONOT,
ON THATACCOUNT, HAV E T O B EQUIETISTS
The general recognition of this great truth—that God always acts in the most perfect
and desirable manner possible—is to my mind the basis of the love we owe to God con-
cerning all things. For he who loves seeks his satisfaction in the happiness or perfection
of the loved one and his actions. “True friendship is to want the same and to reject the
same.” And I think that it is difficult to love God well when not disposed to will what He
wills, if changing that were in our power. Indeed those who are not satisfied with what
He does seem to me like discontented subjects of a king or of a republic whose inten-
tions are little different from those of rebels.
Hence, in accordance with these principles, I hold that to act in conformity with
the love of God it is not enough to be patient under duress. We must be truly satisfied
with all that happens to us in consequence of His will. I mean this acquiescence to apply
to the past. As far as the future is concerned, we must not be quietists nor wait ridicu-
lously with arms folded for what God will do, in accordance with the sophism the
Ancients called 〈logon aegon〉lazy reason. On the contrary, we must act in accordance
with the presumptive will of God, as far as we can judge it, trying with all our ability to
contribute to the general good, especially to the adornment and perfection of what con-
cerns us or is near us, or, so to speak, within our range. For when the outcome shows
that God may perhaps not want our good will to have its effect for the present, it does
not follow that He does not want us to do what we have done. On the contrary, since He
is the best of all masters, He never asks for more than the right intentions, and it is for
Him to know the hour and the place for bringing good plans to fruition.
- WHATARE THERULES OFPERFECTION OFGOD’SCONDUCT;
AND THAT THESIMPLICITY OFMEANSISBALANCED
BY THERICHNESS OFEFFECTS
Hence it is enough to have this confidence in God, that He does everything for the best
and that nothing can harm those who love him. But to know in detail the reasons that
could have moved Him to choose this order of the universe, to allow sins, or to dispense
His saving grace in a particular way, is beyond the power of a finite mind, particularly
of a finite mind that has not yet attained enjoyment of the sight of God.
Nevertheless, some general remarks can be made on the conduct of Providence in
the government of things. Thus it can be said that whatever encloses more reality in less
volume is more perfect, that he who acts perfectly is like an excellent geometer who
knows how to find the best constructions for a problem; like a good architect who
arranges his site and the funds intended for the building in the most advantageous man-
ner, so as to leave nothing that jars or lacks the beauty of which it is capable; like a good
householder who uses his property so that nothing is left uncultivated or barren; like a
skilled engineer who achieves his result by the least complicated way that could be cho-
sen; like an experienced author who includes as much reality as he is able in the least
space. Now the most perfect of all beings, occupying the least volume, in other words,
those which hinder the least, are minds, and their perfections are the virtues. That is why
we must not doubt that the happiness of minds is the principal objective of God and that
He pursues it as much as the general harmony allows. More will be said of this presently.