We're quite certain that is all behind them.
It was ordained at the beginning of the world that certain signs should prefigure certain events.
Certain signs are the forerunners of certain events.
Certain signs precede certain events.
Not to be avaricious is money; not to be fond of buying is a revenue; but to be content with our own is the greatest and most certain wealth of all.
Thus in the beginning the world was so made that certain signs come before certain events.