The philosophy of La Rochefoucauld, which influenced French intellectuals as diverse as Voltaire and the Jansenists, is captured here in more than 600 penetrating and pithy aphorisms.

    In his time, many Calvinists thought that because all things come to pass according to God's will, then taking precautions against the plague or avoiding sick people shows lack of faith in God's providence. Beza takes a hammer to this fatalism and shows that, just because God decrees all things does not mean that we should not love our neighbor by all means within our power.This treatise is a reminder that God's people have faced plague and contagion before, and that a faithful and loving response is possible for a Christian, no matter the time or place.