ORIGINATION OF THINGS 345 



God acts not only physically but also freely, how not 

 only the efficient but also the final cause of things is in 

 Him, and how He manifests not only His greatness and 

 power in the mechanism of the world as already con- 

 structed, but also His wisdom and goodness in the 

 constructing of it 29 . 



And lest any one should think that we are here con- 

 founding moral perfection or goodness with metaphysical 

 perfection or greatness and, allowing the latter, should 

 deny the former, it is to be observed that it follows from 

 what has been said not only that the world is most 

 perfect physically, or, if you prefer it, metaphysically, 

 that is to say, that that series of things has come into 

 existence in which the greatest amount of reality is 

 actually manifested, but also that the world is most 

 perfect morally because genuine moral perfection is phy- 

 sical 30 perfection in minds [mentes] themselves. Where- 

 fore the world is not only the most admirable mechanism, 

 but it is also, in so far as it is made up of minds [mentes], 

 the best commonwealth, through which there is be- 

 stowed upon minds the greatest possible happiness or 

 joy, in which their physical perfection consists 31 . 



interpretation, the passage would mean that all the states of the 

 world must come from God, in whose nature is to be found the 

 sufficient reason of all and of each, and not from the world itself, 

 which cannot supply the sufficient reason of any. On Kirchmann's 

 interpretation, the meaning would be that each state of the world 

 comes from God by a ' continual creation,' because there is no reason 

 why God should create one state rather than another. Both inter- 

 pretations are possible ; but Janet's seems the more natural. 



29 Cf. Monadology, 47, 48, 55. 



so i Physical ' here means ' natural ' or ' according to the specific 

 nature (Averts] of the thing ' in contrast with ' metaphysical ' in the 

 sense of ' absolute, independent of the specific nature of the thing.' 

 Thus (cf. supra} l the world is most perfect physically ' means that 

 its individual members or elements are as perfect as the nature of 

 each allows, while ' the world is most perfect metaphysically ' means 

 that the world as a whole is the most perfect possible. So also 

 ' genuine moral perfection is physical perfection in minds them- 

 selves ' means that the specific natural perfection of mind is moral 

 perfection. 



31 Cf. Monadology, 86 sqq. 'Felicity is to persons what per- 

 fection is to beings.' Paper without a title (1686) (G. iv. 462). 



