336、至于圣治作用于手段，并通过这些手段形成并完善人所用的方法，它们同样数量无限，种类无限。它们与神性智慧出于神性之爱拯救人的运作一样多，因而与圣治照着前面所论述的其律法的运作一样多。我在前面（参看164，180，296节）已经说明这些方法何等秘密，它们就像灵魂在身体里面的运作方法那样深深隐藏；人对这些方法知道得如此之少，以至于几乎等于一无所知；如眼睛如何看见，耳朵如何听见，鼻子如何闻见，舌头如何品尝，皮肤如何感觉，胃如何消化，肠系膜如何产生乳糜，肝脏如何作用于血液；胰腺和脾脏如何净化血液，肾脏如何把它与不洁的体液分离，心脏如何把它收进来并输送出去，肺脏如何净化它；大脑如何提炼血液，并赋予它新生命；此外还有无数其它过程；它们都是秘密，我们的科学几乎无法探测到这些领域。我们知道它的律法就足够了。
336. The methods, on the other hand, by which Divine providence operates upon the means and through the means to form the person and perfect him, are also infinite in number and infinite in their variety, being as many as the operations of Divine wisdom out of Divine love to save mankind. Thus they are as many as the operations of Divine providence in accordance with its laws, laws which we have discussed above.
That these methods are most secret is something we illustrated by the operations of the soul in the body, of which a person knows so little as to know scarcely anything - as for example, how the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin sense what they sense, or how the stomach digests, how the mesentery produces chyle, how the liver enriches the blood, how the pancreas and spleen purify it, how the kidneys separate it from impure humors, how the heart collects and distributes it, how the lungs purge it, and how the brain refines the blood and vivifies it anew, besides countless other operations, all of which go on in secret, into which scarcely any science can penetrate.
It is apparent from this that still less is it possible to penetrate into the secret operations of Divine providence. It is enough to know its laws.
336. As for the ways divine providence works with its means, and uses them to form us and bring us toward perfection, they are infinite in number and infinite in variety as well. There are as many of them as there are actions of divine wisdom, prompted by divine love, for our salvation; as many therefore as there are things that divine providence does in keeping with its laws, as already discussed.
I have already shown [164, 180, 296] that these ways are deeply hidden by comparing them with the way our souls work within our bodies, ways we know little or almost nothing about--how our eyes, ears, nostrils, tongue, and skin register sensations, for example, how our stomach digests, our mesentery produces chyle, our liver works on our blood, our pancreas and spleen purify it, our kidneys separate it from contaminating fluids, our heart gathers it in and sends it out, our lungs cleanse it, and our brain refines it and gives it new life, along with countless other processes, all subtle, whose depths our science can scarcely plumb.
We can see from this that we are even less able to plumb the depths of the subtle workings of divine providence. It is enough that we know its laws.
336. Moreover, the methods by which the Divine Providence operates upon the means and through these to form man and to perfect him are also infinite in number and variety. They are as numerous as the operations of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love to save man, and thus as numerous as the operations of the Divine Providence in accordance with its laws which have been previously treated of. That these methods are of a very hidden nature was illustrated above by the operations of the soul upon the body, about which man knows so little that it scarcely amounts to anything; as how the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue and the skin function; how the stomach digests, the mesentery prepares the chyle and the liver the blood; how the pancreas and the spleen purify the blood, the kidneys separate it from impure humours, the heart collects and distributes it and the lungs purify it and pass it on; and how the brain refines the blood and vivifies it anew; besides innumerable other things which are all hidden into which scarcely any knowledge can enter. From this it is clear that still less can the hidden operations of the Divine Providence be entered into; it is enough that its laws are known.
336. The modes, however, by which the Divine providence operates upon the means and by the means to form man and to perfect him are also infinite in number and infinite in variety; they are as numerous as the operations of the Divine wisdom from the Divine love to save man, thus as numerous as the operations of the Divine providence in accordance with its laws, which have been treated of above. How secret these modes are has been illustrated above by the operations of the soul upon the body, of which man knows so little as to amount to scarcely anything; as how the eye sees, the ear hears, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, and the skin feels, how the stomach digests, the mesentery elaborates the chyle, and the liver the blood; how the pancreas and spleen purify the blood, the kidneys separate it from impure humors, the heart collects and distributes it, the lungs clarify it; and how the brain refines the blood and vivifies it anew; besides innumerable other things, all of which are secrets into which scarcely any science can penetrate. Evidently then it can penetrate still less into the secret operations of the Divine providence; it is enough to know its laws.
336. Modi autem, per quos Divina Providentia operatur in media, et per media ad formandum hominem, et ad perficiendum illum, sunt etiam infiniti numero et infiniti varietate, totidem quot sunt operationes Divinae Sapientiae ex Divino Amore ad salvandum hominem; ita quot sunt operationes Divinae Providentiae secundum leges suas, de quibus supra actum est. Quod modi illi arcanissimi sint, supra illustratum est per operationes animae in corpus, de quibus homo tam parum novit, ut vix aliquid; ut quomodo oculus, auris, naris, lingua, cuticula, sentiunt, ac quomodo ventriculus digerit, mesenterium chylificat, hepar sanguinem elaborat, pancreas et lien purificant, renes ab humoribus impuris secernunt, cor illum colligit et distribuit, pulmo illum decantat, et quomodo cerebrum sanguinem sublimat, et e novo vivificat, praeter innumera alia, quae omnia sunt arcana, in quae vix aliqua scientia potest intrare. Ex his patet, quod adhuc minus possit intrari in arcanas operationes Divinae Providentiae; satis est quod sciantur Leges ejus.