The world is conserved positively, directly, immediately in its being by God.

By “world” is meant everything that exists outside of God. Therefore it includes incorruptible beings that by their nature demand that they always remain in existence.

Conservation:

1. Passive, or on the part of the thing conserved, is its permanence in being, depending on some cause,
2. Active, or on the part of the subject conserving, is in general that on which the permanence in being of the thing depends in some way.

Active is:

1. Negative (improper) or the omission of an action destroying the being of a thing, for example, the non-destruction of a statue,
2. Positive (proper) or an action influencing the permanence of a thing in being.

Direct is: a) Mediate or the apposition of the cause directly conserving the thing, b) Immediate or the influx intrinsically received in maintaining the existence of a thing.

The subject here is: not formally about passive conservation, although it is obviously implied, but about active conservation; not about the negative form, since it is easily admitted that the world is at least conserved by God; and it is not about positive indirect conservation, which is easily evident and which pertains rather to government; but it is about direct and also immediate conservation. Finally, the mediate form that may be admitted to be present on some level is neither affirmed nor denied in the article.

In its being. Being is understood here simply, or according as it is opposed to nothing, so that conservation excludes annihilation; therefore it is not with reservations (secundum quid), or for this specific or accidental being, therefore according as it is opposed to some other being, so that conservation excludes corruption, and therefore it is indirect and concerned rather with government.

By God. God Himself conserves the things in this world positively, directly, immediately. But “by God alone” is not said in the article, in order to exclude in it the subject of mediate conservation, or about the cooperation of a creature in the conservation of other things, which perhaps might be admitted to some extent; something will be said about this later.