 It should be emphasised that Olivi accepts the idea that nothing can remain in existence without God (Summa II q. 116, p. 346: “That which arises indirectly from the first cause requires the first causes’s power and sustenance no less than does that which arises immediately. Hence at the cessation of God’s entire influence it would be deprived of its existence no less than would those things that arise immediately”). His claim has a more limited scope, as it pertains to the nature of causality in a world that remains in existence only with the help of God. Although natural agents need God to exist, they can cause their effects without God’s direct participation in the causal process: “[…] many natural powers are sufficiently applied to their acts from their creation or generation, so that they need only the presence of a suitable object” (Summa II q. 116, p. 340).