 Lipsius was nonetheless prepared to accept the view of God as the world soul, which permeates every living thing (Physiologia I.8–9). He identified fate with God’s providential reason (Physiologia I.12) and adopted St Augustine’s view (De civitate Dei V.8) that fate does not impinge in any way on the free will of God (Physiologia I.12). Although fate causes everything, not every action is a direct result of it. Human beings thus preserve their moral liberty and responsibility in the sphere of causae secundae (“secondary causes”). Lipsius was a Christian thinker, as well as a Stoic one, and in this capacity he drew on Aristotle’s De generatione animalium (769a-773a) to explain the existence of evil in a world created by a supremely benevolent God: deformed creatures and monstrosities which seem to be contrary to nature are actually in accordance with the overall plan of nature and divine providence (Physiologia I.13).