government over His rational creatures. It may be considered in three aspects. In its philosophical aspect, Providence is a direct corollary of the causality of God. If God is the true first cause, that is, if He called all existing things into existence by the exertion of His power, then ultimately they all depend upon Him, and it is impossible to see how they can finally go a way to which He does not consent. If creation includes the gift of free will (q.v.), then there may be opposition to God's will on the part of the creature, or sin. But even the range of this and its outcome will be under God's government, so that it cannot go further than He will have it, and in the realm of nature everything must reflect His will perfectly. In its religious aspect the doctrine of Providence meets a universal demand of the moral nature of man. Man demands religion, that is, communion with God. He needs prayer, and the answer of prayer. He needs to know that he can confide himself to the wise and fatherly care of God and will thus be put in safety and under perfect guidance. Particularly in the stress of life, under its burdens and afflictions, he needs to feel that God is supreme, that what is sent to him is for his good and ultimately good itself—else he cannot resign himself to his lot or live in peace of heart and in confidence as to the eternal future. The great proof of Providence from these considerations arises from the conviction that the deepest nature of man reflects God's will, and that demands which He has himself created in man He will satisfy. Providence viewed religiously is of two kinds, general, by which God governs the world at large according to certain wise plans, and special, by which He cares for each individual according to his personal necessities.
In its biblical aspect, the doctrine of divine providence is a revealed truth. The Bible is full of expressions of the control of God over nature and man. These expressions are very comprehensive, and often assert, according to Jewish modes of speech, His direct participation in everything, even in the sin of man. He is said to ‘create evil,’ and to ‘harden Pharaoh's heart,’ His foreknowledge extends to men's volitions, even their most trifling ones, and to the secrets of their hearts. But the main current of biblical thought provides the due corrective against the hasty erection of such expressions into dogmatic propositions. Man's free will is abundantly recognized, and his responsibility for his sin emphasized. The true meaning of these biblical expressions is that nothing takes place outside of the divine control. That very process which is said to have hardened Pharaoh's heart was designed and calculated to soften it, since it was a long exhibition both of the power and the mercy and forbearance of God. And in the end Pharaoh's wickedness was controlled by God's hand and prevented from going to the point of defeating the divine purposes. The caution may need repeating that we are not to take the popular forms of biblical speech as declaring with metaphysical exactness that no future event can escape the foreknowledge (q.v.) of God and no volition lie outside the scope of His eternal decree. The Bible gives the general law. This is divine government over all things. Ultimately, in the sense of bounding and limiting, every event is governed, in the strictest sense. See Predestination.
PROVIDENCE. The second largest city in New England, the capital of Rhode Island, and the county-seat of Providence County; 44 miles southwest of Boston and 188 miles northeast of New York (Map: Rhode Island, C 2). It is situated about 35 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, at the head of the Providence River, an arm of Narragansett Bay. Several steamship lines connect with Atlantic coast ports, and the railroad facilities comprise the New York, New Haven and Hartford and leased roads.
The city lies on both sides of the Providence River, its easterly limits being marked by the Seekonk River. Its area is nearly 18 square miles. The surface of Providence is uneven, the west side consisting practically of a sandy plain, while on the east side, the more interesting part of the city, there are several hills, the greatest height of which is some 200 feet. This elevated section offers beautiful sites for residences. The business district is in the centre of the city, and some of the finest business houses are built on made land. There are 228 miles of paved streets, two-thirds of this distance being laid with macadam. In the older part of the city the thoroughfares are narrow and crooked. Providence has 540 acres in public parks, among which is the noteworthy Roger Williams Park. This has been improved at a considerable expense and is a beautiful pleasure-ground. It has a fine system of boulevards, artificial lakes, zoological gardens, and a statue of Roger Williams. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument stands in front of the city hall, and near by is a statue of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. What Cheer Rock, on the Seekonk River, is of historic interest as the landing place of Roger Williams.
The new State House, first occupied in 1900, and the city hall are among the finest buildings in Providence. The former is a massive edifice of marble and granite, and has a large dome. Other prominent structures are the public library, the Federal Government building, the county court-house, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the high-school buildings, and the Union Railway Station. Among business structures the Arcade is noteworthy, and there are a number of commodious office buildings of recent construction. Brown University (q.v.), with its large buildings on the east side, is one of the principal features of the city. Providence has several noted charitable institutions, among which are the Rhode Island Hospital, Rhode Island Homeopathic Hospital, Butler Hospital for the Insane, Saint Joseph's Hospital, the Dexter Asylum for the Poor, and the State Institute for the Deaf. Besides Brown University, the educational institutions include the Friends' School, which dates from 1818, the State Normal School, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Rhode Island Law School. The public library contains about 90,000 volumes. Other important libraries are the State Law Library, and those maintained by the Providence Athenæum (62,000 volumes), the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the Rhode Island Medical Society. The Historical Society possesses also a collection of relics, and the Athenæum some valuable pictures.
Providence is a port of entry, but is noted primarily for its manufacturing interests. Its foreign trade in 1901 was valued at $1,154,000,
