 At first they think of these laws as conventions they designed to enhance their well-being, given the needs that they have and the scarcity of means to satisfy them. But as they discover the existence of God, they recognize that God, by disposing of everything in nature, is the ultimate source of goods and evils that may befall human beings. Moral laws then acquire a providential meaning: by obeying these laws, humans obey God himself, who is the author of nature. The laws of morality are both natural laws and laws of divine institution, since nature is God’s creation. But given that the proportion of goods and evils in this life does not correspond to the merits and demerits of individuals, it is necessary to postulate a life after death where the just will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished.