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| The Annunciation, with St. Emidius (1486), Carlo Crivelli |
First, by observation of things themselves: for we observe that in nature things happen always or nearly always for the best; which would not be the case unless some sort of providence directed nature toward good as an end; which is to govern. Wherefore the unfailing order we observe in things is a sign of their being governed . . . Secondly, this is clear from a consideration of Divine goodness, which . . . was the cause of the production of things in existence. For as it belongs to the best to produce the best, it is not fitting that the supreme goodness of God should produce things without giving them their perfection. Now a thing’s ultimate perfection consists in the attainment of its end. Therefore it belongs to the Divine goodness, as it brought things into existence, so to lead them to their end: and this is to govern.
De gubernatione mundi, Thomas Aquinas 1596
