Augustine
thinks, of the subjection of populations to empires. He says:
God, therefore, the author and giver of happiness, because he is the only true God,
himself gives earthly kingdoms to both good men and bad. He does not do this
rashly, or as it were at random, for he is God, not Fortune. Rather he acts in accordance
with an order of things and times which is hidden from us, but entirely
known to him.