  Part 1.3 of On the Universe is a lengthy treatise on God's providence. William believes the denial of God's providence, and in particular the denial that the good will be rewarded and the evil punished, is an error “so harmful and so pernicious for human beings that it eliminates from human beings by their roots all concern for moral goodness, all the honor of the virtues, and all hope of future happiness” (OO I, 776a; Teske 2007, 92).