≫ contraction of the light immediately found a place, that he called night. 4 "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." And be persuaded by the great Basil, saying that the condition in the world before the generation of light was not night, but darkness. However, that which was divided toward the day, this was called night, which obtained a newer designation after the day. Therefore, the day precedes the night. For that light which was diffused everywhere was contracted by the command of the God who produced it, and being contracted, it gave way to the night, as Justin the philosopher, who is also a witness for Christ, says, and after him the great Basil. Hence, Moses, joining together the length of both and calling it one day, thus performs the measurement of time, saying: A "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." Understand then, beloved, that since that darkness preceded the day, from thence Moses made his measurement of the days. These things are confirmed by him of the golden tongue himself. For in his third homily on the Six Days (Hexaemeron) he says that by Moses saying, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day," he showed clearly that the end of the night is the completion of the day; for on this account he reasonably called the length of both one day. B Thus, then, the great Basil speaks concerning Moses, so that he might yield the primacy of generation to the day, he spoke first of the end of the day, then of the night, as the night follows the day. Therefore, leave aside the things of Josephus; for as he was a Jew full of darkness, he did not wish to look up to the light. Hence, he placed the night before the day.
"And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." For what reason did he say "one day" here, and not say "first day"? Although this would have been more logical, since he was about to say after this, "And there was evening, and there was morning, second day"; for the first necessarily begins and precedes the second and third. He said therefore "one day," defining the measure of day and night, and joining together the time of the day-and-night, as twenty-four hours fulfill the interval of a day, with the night obviously being understood along with the day; for the return of the heaven from the same point to the same point happens in one day.
And concerning the essence of the heaven, one should not be too curious, C since indeed the prophet Isaiah also says it was solidified by God like smoke, thereby presenting its nature, that it is very thin. Plato says the heaven was endowed with essence from the most self-similar part of the four elements, and in this it differs from the remaining bodies; for these bodies have obtained their generation from the thicker portion. Plato certainly thought these things, because he supposed the incorporeal matter to pre-exist, from which, then, the four elements came. But let them perish, as great Maximus says, those who say that nothing was made from non-existence; for we say that just as there is no end to the greatness of the Maker, so there is no grasp of His wisdom and power. Aristotle calls the heaven heterou-sian (of a different substance) and a fifth body. He calls it heterousian and something else besides the four, because the motion of both is different. For those move upward as light things, D while others again have their motion downward as being heavy; but the heaven has circular motion, on which account he considers it something else besides the four. And these, then, are [their opinions]. But we, leaving them to be cast down by one another, let us be persuaded by the God-seer Moses, saying, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And thence, from the beauty of the things seen, we understand the supremely beautiful; likewise, from their size we calculate the infinitely great; for according to the wise Solomon, from the greatness and beauty of the creatures, their Creator is contemplated. And what need to say much? The creatures were composed of four elements, except that the elements did not receive their being from incorporeal matter according to those outside, but from the Creator and God of all Himself; for on the first day, in which God brought the heaven and the earth from non-existence, at that time He also brought into existence the elements themselves, so that from then on all things might be brought to being. And such is the case concerning the heaven. And concerning the earth, you should know that it is suspended in the middle of all things. And you might know this from the motion of the stars. For all appear to us to be of equal size as they rise, reach the meridian, and set. And this is what the great Basil says in his sixth homily regarding the luminaries: "To the sun, no one is nearest and no one is furthest, but it strikes with equal distance those living in every part of the earth." Observe, therefore. For if the earth had shifted from the middle, it would have been necessary that toward whichever of the surrounding parts it had moved, one would see the stars become larger there, while from those from which it had moved away, one would behold them smaller. But now, because they are seen to be equal from everywhere, it gives us to understand that the earth is suspended in the middle of all. For if this were not so, if it were not suspended as we said at the beginning, its local motions would not be caused by winds. For God is the cause of the earthquake according to the prophet who said, "who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble," but the continuous...
the ocean’s waves, and we are illuminated by it at one time in one way, and at another in another, according to the sun’s A light. Is the sun not great, if it is many times larger than the earth itself? For if this were not the case, it would not have been able, upon appearing above the horizon, to encompass everything at that moment with its own power. Great, too—as has been stated—is the body of the moon, and truly the most luminous after the sun. For even if its light does not remain entirely immobile, this must be referred to the ineffable wisdom of the Creator of all things, so that by the spectacle of the moon we might be instructed in our own affairs and might from this source become thoughtful regarding the swift vicissitudes of human life. I also believe that the constitution of animals and of other things growing from the earth has no small dependence upon the change occurring in the moon; for bodies are affected differently when it is waning and differently when it is waxing, becoming—while it is failing—loose and empty, but, when it is waxing and brought toward its fullness, they too are again filled, because it silently injects a certain moisture tempered with heat into their very depths. This is also demonstrated by those who sleep under the moonlight and find the cavities of their heads filled with excess moisture, and furthermore by the flesh of newly slaughtered animals, which quickly spoils when subjected to the moon's influence. For this reason, they place the moon on a chariot with two bulls harnessed to it, as if it were circling the world, plowing and sowing, moistening B and heating. Yet all these things it could not have accomplished by its own changing, if it did not possess a certain transcendent and surpassing power, according to the testimony of the Scripture. Thus, from this cause, the affections of the air also arise, as is witnessed for us by the sudden disturbances that often occur at the time of the new moon—when, from a state of calm and stillness, clouds are suddenly agitated and collide with one another—as well as the flux and reflux in the straits, and the ebb and flow in what is called the Ocean, which those who dwell nearby have discovered to follow the moon in its courses in an orderly fashion. These things, then, the great Basil also discusses, wishing to demonstrate the magnitude of these luminaries. But you, beloved, in addition to what has been said, must also know this: that all the other stars possess their own light, that is, the light originally C distributed and given to them, while the moon alone possesses no light of its own. For even if some say that it also possesses some faint light, nevertheless its increments and decrements—in which it is seen as crescent, full, and gibbous—all surely come to it from the sun, according to their conjunction and separation. Learn, therefore, that the moon puts on alien light, and that the part which faces the sun—that is, the sun itself—is illuminated by it. And this is clear from D
ANNALIUM PARS I.
A inquiry is not necessary, if the prophet Isaiah says that it was established by God like smoke, thereby demonstrating its nature, that it is extremely subtle. Plato says the heaven was endowed with substance from the more self-similar portion of the four elements, and in this it differs from the rest of the bodies; for these had their origin from the thicker portion. Plato held these opinions absolutely, since he supposed that incorporeal matter pre-existed, from which the four elements were derived. But let those be dismissed, as the great Maximus says, who say that nothing was made from non-existence; for we say that just as there is no limit to the greatness of the Maker, so there is no grasp of His wisdom and power. B Aristotle calls the heaven of a different substance and a fifth body. He calls it of a different substance and something other than the four, because the motion of both is different. For things above are carried as light, while those again possess their movement downwards as being heavy; but the heaven has a circular motion, from which he supposes it to be something other than the four. And these are the opinions of those.
But we, leaving them to be overthrown by one another, let us be persuaded by the man of God, Moses, saying: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And from here, from the beauty of the things seen, we perceive the super-beautiful, and likewise from their magnitude we calculate the super-great and infinite; for according to the wise Solomon, from the greatness and beauty of the creatures their Originator is contemplated. C And what need is there for many words? Therefore, the creatures consisted of four elements, but the elements did not receive their existence from incorporeal matter according to those outside, but from the Creator and God of all Himself; for on the first day, when God brought forth the heaven and the earth from non-existence, at that time He brought forth the elements themselves with them, so that from this everything is brought forth to exist. And such things regarding the heaven.
Regarding the earth, you must know that it is suspended in the middle of the whole. And you would know this from the movement of the stars. For all appear to us to be of equal size when rising, and when in mid-heaven, and when setting. And this is what the great Basil says in his sixth homily on the luminaries: "To the sun, no one is nearest D and no one is furthest, but it approaches those inhabiting every part of the earth from an equal distance." Take heed, therefore. For if the earth had shifted from the center, it would have been necessary for the stars, upon approaching either of the surrounding parts, to be seen larger there, and from those from which it is distant, to observe them as smaller. But now, from all sides...
a body to be a vehicle for that primordial light, B and transmits an energy from it. C That this is so, and that the moon borrows its light from the sun, one might clearly learn from the lunar eclipses themselves. And how, listen. The luminaries have set themselves in opposition, and between them the body of the earth itself is suspended. The solar rays, therefore, rush as is their custom to pass through and grant illumination to the lunar disk, but they do not manage to reach it, inasmuch as the body of the earth, as we said, intervenes and obstructs them. And do not ask me, if things are in this state, why a lunar eclipse does not occur at every opposition; for I am not suitably prepared to answer you on this point in the present treatise; and for this reason, forgive me. D For those who are occupied with such matters [say that] some ecliptic nodes, as they are called, must necessarily be present during the conjunctions and full moons. For the body of the moon or the earth alone cannot cause an obstruction, whether in the case of the sun or in the case of the moon, unless an ecliptic node is also found there, as they are lead to believe. And specifically, an eclipse would be said to occur in the case of the moon itself; for because it is clothed in solar light, it is stripped of it again for the reason we stated. In the case of the sun, we have learned to call it not an eclipse, but an obscuration. For the solar light will never be eclipsed; but because the lunar body, being closer to the earth, happens to run underneath during the time of conjunction, and thus obstructs the solar rays, the air above our heads is at that time cast into darkness, inasmuch as those [rays] are not cast downward to illuminate the perigee. If you also seek to learn, among other things, how and in what manner the moon, having possessed no light of its own from the beginning, borrows it from the sun, you ought to know that the Creator and Maker of all things, God, did not introduce this novelty because He was lacking another light, but in order that a rhythm and order might be instilled in creation, according to John Damascene, of one that rules and one that is ruled, and so that we ourselves may also be taught from this to share and impart to one another.
this body was made to be a vessel for that primal light, conveying its energy. A For as fire is one thing and the lamp another—the former having the power to illuminate, while the latter is fashioned to display it to those in need—so too were the luminaries now fashioned as a vessel for that purest, sincere, and pristine light.
But proceeding further, he continues word for word: "And let the sun be for the rule of the day." How is it, he says, that the sun possesses the rule of the day? Because, carrying light within itself, whenever it crosses the horizon, it provides day by dissipating darkness, so that no one would err by defining day as the air illuminated by the sun. B Clearly, then, the great one here showed that they were merely light-receptacles, not the light itself, that were created on the fourth day. They were created, however, in order to receive that first light and to shine upon the earth. God did this, as Theodoret says, so that the primal light—being divided into both small and great luminaries—might emit a radiance proportionate to the eyes of living creatures. For had this not been the case, animals with eyes could not have endured the excess of such light. The great Basil confirms this as well, saying: "The sun is beautiful—that is, the solar disk—in which, as in a lamp, that primal light was deposited; and it is beautiful also because of its moderation: for neither, because of that light's subtlety, does the fire go beyond its bounds and consume everything, nor because of its density does it send a C duller force toward us."
Now before the fourth day, that is, before the disks were created—as Justin the philosopher and witness of Christ says, along with the rest of the catalog of the Fathers—the light, being diffused everywhere through the air, neither moved in a steady course nor defined the measures of the day, but by contracting gave way to the night. "And it was," as it says, "evening, and it was morning, one day." But when it was later joined to the solar disk, it completes the journey of the day's hours through the body [of the sun] without fail; and hence the rising sun makes the day, while setting beneath D the earth it becomes the cause of the night. For this night is nothing other than the shadow of the earth, as the sun travels beneath the earth. This darkness was named "night" (nyx) because it pricks (nytto) the man who is sleeping, and thus, as it were, speaks to him: "Know, O man, that being mortal, you are a slave to sleep." That night is a piercing (katanygmos), the prophet David also declared, saying: "What you say in your hearts, be pierced (katanygete) upon your beds." By these same terms, the light, as something gentle and pleasant, was called "day" (hemera), because it makes all things mild (hemeroun); and for this reason even tame animals (hemera) are so called.
D Those things which are present more sharply in domestic plants are transmitted invisibly to wild ones. They also cure the feebleness of fruitful and domestic trees by grafting wild figs onto them, checking the fruit that is already flowing and scattering by connecting the wild figs to them. The Creator of these has permitted these things to happen in such a paradoxical way, so that we too might often gain strength from the things that oppose us, even for the showing forth of virtues; for not a few of them choose to live lawfully, even if they err in their dogmas. But the palm tree also, while bearing sweet fruit, is mostly found in salty places; this very thing hints that we ourselves are able not to destroy what is in accordance with our purpose, even if we live among certain opposites. See, beloved, that all fragrant things, when garlic and onions are planted beside them, become more fragrant, because whatever is sharp-smelling and foul-smelling in them naturally flows off into the sharper of the seeds, and what remains becomes most fragrant. And rue, when planted under a fig tree, becomes sharper than itself; for the heavy scent in the fig tree is transferred into it, and from thence the figs become better. Furthermore, certain meats hung near a fig tree become tender. For the plant, as has been said, is the most oposite of all. It emits a hot, sharp, and cutting spirit, and this breaks down and ripens the flesh of the bird. Whence even the most ferocious of bulls, when tied to a fig tree, remains quiet and endures being touched, and lets go of its rage as if it were withering away. This spirit, therefore, when it falls upon meats, separates the flesh and tenderizes it. For these reasons, even before the sweet fig, other figs called "wild figs" (olunthoi) draw the useless moisture of the plant into themselves and release it more wholesome. For this reason Scripture says: "The fig tree brought forth its wild figs," that is, the soul, through purification, brought forth and drained away all the uselessness as if it were a wild fig. Nor is this worth your passing over; for there is a theory that amber is also the sap of plants hardening into the nature of a stone. But some plants are evergreen, while others are stripped bare; and of the evergreens, some are deciduous while others are always leafy. Deciduous are the olive and the pine (for they change their leaves stealthily, so as never to appear stripped of their foliage), but the palm is ever-leafy, having the same leaf remaining from its first sprouting until the end. And so much for these things. Do not marvel, beloved, if holy Scripture says that the water was gathered into "one collection," but where into "collections"; for both this and that happened, and they are not mutually opposed. Theodoretus says that it is well said both "collection" and "collections" regarding the waters; for the seas seem to be divided according to their external surface (for the Indian sea is one thing, and the Hyrcanian another), but from below they are connected through certain subterranean channels. Externally, the great sea lies upon us, that is, the Ocean, which is also called the Atlantic. It is called so because of the mountain there, Atlas. This Atlas is so high that it is even called a pillar of heaven by the poets; no one has seen its head because it is covered with snow. Thus said the aforementioned Theodoretus, while the great Basil says that "into one collection" is well stated. For so that the water flowing in, overflowing the places receiving it, might not transit further, and by filling one after another, continually flood the entire continent, He said "let the waters be gathered into one collection," that is, let no other reach out from this, but let what is gathered remain in the first gathering. In accordance with this, Ecclesiastes also says that all the torrents go into the sea, and the sea is not filled, since the flowing is in the waters because of the divine command.