us and everybody in the whole world, although we cannot now understand the reason of this justice and goodness, nay, although many decrees may now appear unjust and inconsistent to our un derstanding, as I now proceed to prove. If we have once rightly seen the matter and formed our judgment on it, the conclusion shall follow of its own accord, that, namely, ive must be always completely and quietly resigned to the will of God.
This resolution of our will we expect and humbly beg of Thee, O God of goodness, through the prayers of Thy Mother Mary, from whose hands Thou hast decreed that all graces should come, and through the intercession of our holy guardian angels.
We must always give a celebrated artist the credit of working according to rule, although we may not understand the work. The proverb says that every master should be believed in his own art, and he who sees an artist at work, if he is discreet, must at once conclude that whatever the artist is doing is according to rule, although he who forms that opinion may not be able to see the design of the work; this is especially the case when the artist is celebrated, and still more so when he has said that the work he is engaged on will be a beautiful one. We form the same opinion of works that we may never have seen. Thus if a man says: I have at home a picture by Rubens, every one who hears him and knows anything of Rubens’ fame will at once exclaim: What a beautiful picture it must be! But how do you know that? I ask. You have not seen the picture nor the painter, nor do you even know what the subject of the painting is. Why do you not go and examine it before approving of it? No; that is not necessary, will be the answer; I need not see either the picture or the painter, or know what subject he has chosen; if Rubens’ name is on the canvas it is enough for me to conclude that the work must be a fine one. When the Indians first saw a clock they were so struck with admiration that they would spend the whole day gazing at it open-mouthed; they saw the pendulum swinging to and fro, and heard the rattling of the wheels when the clock struck; sometimes it struck one, sometimes two or three, and so on. What a strange thing, thought they; there must be something hidden in it! Is it altogether natural? But the simple people nevertheless praised the work, and were of the opinion that great skill was required to complete it; great was their admiration of the man who could make such a wonderful machine, and if they could have got hold of him, there is little doubt they would have looked on him as a kind of god.
