Homilies on the Hexaemeron

OF OUR HOLY FATHER

BASIL, ARCHBISHOP OF CÆSAREA IN CAPPADOCIA, NINE HOMILIES ON THE HEXAEMERON

HOMILY I.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

1. It is a fitting beginning for one who is about to discourse on the structure of the world to set at the head of his account the beginning of the ordering of visible things. For the creation of the heaven and the earth is about to be delivered, not brought into existence automatically, as some have imagined, but receiving its cause from God. What sense is worthy of the magnitude of these words? How is it becoming to approach the hearing of such great matters with a prepared soul? It should be pure from the passions of the flesh, unblinded by worldly cares, industrious, searching, looking about on every side to see if it might receive some worthy thought of God. But before we examine the precision of the words, and—

^A let us weigh and explore how much is signified by these small utterances, and consider who it is that speaks to us. For although we do not reach the profound meanings of the writer due to the weakness of our mind, nevertheless, by being attentive to the credibility of the one who speaks, we shall be led automatically to assent to what has been said. Moses, therefore, is the one who puts forth this writing; that Moses who ^B was testified to be comely before God even while he was still an infant at the breast; whom the daughter of Pharaoh adopted and raised in royal fashion, setting over him for his education the wise men of the Egyptians; who, hating the pride of tyranny and having fled toward the lowly among his own kin, chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin; who acquired the love of righteousness from his very nature, seeing that even before he was entrusted with the leadership of the people, he is shown, due to the hatred of evil inherent in his nature, to have avenged the oppressed even to the point of death; who, having been driven away by those he had benefited, and having gladly left behind the Egyptian tumults, arrived in Ethiopia, and there, having taken complete rest from all other matters, devoted himself for forty whole years to the contemplation of existing things; who, already eighty years of age, saw God as it is possible for a man to see Him, or rather, as it was granted to no one else, according to the very testimony ^C of God Himself: "If there be a prophet among you to the Lord, I will make myself known to him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream. Not so, my servant Moses, in all my house he is faithful: mouth to mouth I will speak to him, in appearance, and not by riddles." This man, therefore, deemed worthy to the same degree as the angels of the face-to-face vision of God, speaks to us of those things which he heard from God. Let us therefore listen to the words of truth, not in the persuasive arguments of human wisdom, but as spoken in the teachings of the Spirit, whose end is not the praise of the hearers, but the salvation of those who are taught.

2. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The wonder of this thought stops my speech. What shall I say first? Where shall I begin my exposition? Shall I refute the vanity of those outside ^D the faith? Or

shall I praise our own truth? The philosophers of the Greeks have written much about nature, and not one of their doctrines has remained firm and unshaken, for each successor always overturns the one before him. Therefore, we have no labor in refuting them; they are sufficient for their own overthrow. For those who did not know God did not allow that an intelligent cause presided over the generation of the universe, but logically concluded following the sequence of their initial ignorance. For this reason, some have taken refuge in material hypotheses, attributing the cause of the universe to the elements of the world; others have imagined that atoms, indivisible bodies, masses, and passages hold together the nature of visible things. ^B Now, indeed, with indivisible bodies conjoining, and now again separating, they have thought that generations and corruptions arise, and that the cause of the duration of the more durable bodies proceeds from the stronger entanglement of atoms with one another. Truly, those who write these things weave a spider’s web, positing such tenuous and unsubstantial principles of heaven, earth, and sea. For they knew not how to say: *In the beginning God created heaven and earth.* Because of the ignorance of the Divinity dwelling within them, they fell into this error, believing that all things, as if moved by chance and at random, are neither ruled nor governed. Lest this happen to us, he who wrote the account of the world's creation immediately in the first words illuminated our understanding by the name of God, saying: *In the beginning God created.* What a beautiful order! ^C First he placed "In the beginning," lest any should imagine the world to be without beginning; then he added "created," so that it might be shown that the thing made is the smallest part of the Creator’s power. For just as a potter, after fashioning countless vessels with the same art, has not exhausted either his art or his power; so also the Maker of this universe, having a creative power not confined to one world, but exceeding it by an infinite degree, brought the magnitudes of the visible world into being by the mere movement of His will. Since, therefore, the world has a beginning and has been made, inquire who it is that gave it a beginning, and who its maker is. Nay rather, lest you go astray from the truth by searching with human reasonings, He anticipates us with this teaching, as if with a seal and a safeguard for ^D our souls.

^A Having cast into our souls the precious name of God, He said: *In the beginning God created.* The blessed nature, the boundless goodness, that which is lovable to all who have partaken of reason, the much-desired beauty, the origin of things that exist, the fountain of life, the intellectual light, the unapproachable wisdom—He it is who *in the beginning created the heaven and the earth.*

3. Do not, O man, imagine that those things which are seen are without beginning, nor, because in heaven things that move revolve in a circle, and the beginning of a circle is not easily grasped by our ready perception, suppose that the nature of these circular bodies is without beginning. For this circle—I mean the plane figure enclosed by one line—because it escapes ^B our perception, and we can neither discover where it began nor where it ended, we are not on that account to suppose that it is without beginning. But even if it escapes our sense, in truth it certainly began from some point, from which it was described with a center and a certain interval. So do not you, because things that move in a circle return upon themselves, and the uniformity of their movement is not interrupted by any middle point, be led into the error of thinking that the world is without beginning and will have no end. For *the fashion of this world passes away*, and, *Heaven and earth shall pass away.* This is an announcement beforehand of the doctrines regarding the consummation and the transformation of the world, which are now briefly delivered at the beginning of this divinely inspired instruction: *In the beginning God created.* Everything that has begun in time must of necessity also end in time. If it has a temporal beginning, do not doubt ^C about the end. For geometry and arithmetic methods, and investigations into solids, and the much-celebrated astronomy—that busy vanity—to what end do they lead? Since those who have made these things their study have conceived this visible world to be co-eternal with God, the Creator of all; and because the world is circumscribed, and possesses a body compacted of matter, [one might think]—but we assume that to be a rashly spoken doctrine. The reason, however, why he judges so is this: because angels and souls have had a beginning, yet are never to cease. But who does not see that an undeserved dispute is being brought against Basil, since it is evident that in this place he is not speaking of angels or of the soul, but only of visible things? Let us hear him: *Since,* he says, *those who have studied these matters have decreed that this visible world is co-eternal with God, the Creator of the universe.* Since, therefore, angels and the soul are not in themselves perceptible, nor can they be discerned by the eyes, the words of Basil should not be taken as referring to this, nor to those. The sole aim and purpose of this most grave Father is to show that the world is not by itself and by its own nature eternal, but that whatever is visible and sensible in the world is all subject to corruption. Basil himself immediately ^D assigns the cause of this thing: *Nor,* he says, *could they perceive this, that it is necessary that the whole, whose parts are subject to corruption and change, should itself also at some time be liable to the same affections, as are its parts.* This method of argumentation, by the leave of the most learned man, I would say has much weight and strength. Ambrose followed Basil, *lib. 1 in Hexaem., p. 6, num. 10.*

^A attributing the same glory to the incomprehensible and invisible nature. They were not even able to observe that which is necessary, that a whole, whose parts are subject to corruption and change, must itself also at some time be subject to the same affections as its own parts. But they became so "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools," that some affirmed the heaven to have existed from eternity together with God; while others determined that it was itself God, without beginning and without end, and the cause of the order of things in detail.

4. Verily, this abundance of worldly wisdom will one day bring a more grievous condemnation, because, being so keen-sighted in vain things, they have of their own accord blinded themselves to the understanding of the truth. For those who measure the distances of the stars, and record those which are always visible and those which are northern, and describe those which are situated about the southern pole—which are visible to those living there, but unknown to us—and who divide the northern breadth and the zodiacal circle into countless intervals; and who diligently observe the turnings of the stars, their stations, their declinations, and the motion of them all towards the preceding points, and in how much time each of the wandering stars completes its own period: they have not found one single art among them all by which to recognize God as the Creator of the universe, and a just Judge, who renders to everyone reward according to the merits of their lives; nor have they taken into their minds this thought of the consummation of the judgment, which is consistent with the doctrine of the judgment—namely that the world must necessarily be transformed, if the state of souls is to pass into another mode of life. For just as the present life has a nature akin to this world, so also the future mode of life of our souls shall receive its lot appropriate to its state. ^B But they are so far from attending to these truths as if they were real, that they even pour forth loud laughter at us when we speak of the consummation of this world and the regeneration of the age. Since, however, the beginning is by nature placed before those things which proceed from it, necessarily, when he was about to discourse concerning those things which have their existence from time, he placed this utterance before all others, saying: "In the beginning God created." ^{C D}

^A For there was, as it seems, even before the constitution of this world, something which is indeed conceivable by our understanding, but which has been left unrecorded because it was by no means suitable for those who are still being instructed and are as yet infants in knowledge. There was a state more ancient than the creation of the world, befitting the supramundane powers, a state beyond time, eternal, everlasting. In it, the Founder and Artificer of all things fashioned his works: spiritual light, befitting the blessedness of those who love the Lord; rational and invisible natures; and all the orderly arrangement of the intelligible realm, which surpasses our understanding—things whose very names it is not possible to discover. These ^B fill up the essence of the invisible world, as Paul teaches us, saying: "For in him were created all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers, or virtues, or the hosts of angels, or the commands of archangels."

But when it was necessary, finally, for this world also to be introduced to the things that already existed, it was intended, first, as a school and place of instruction for human souls, and then, in general, as a dwelling-place suitable for all things that are subject to generation and corruption.

Consequently, the course of time was brought into being, connatural with the world and with the animals and plants in it; it is always pressing forward, flowing past, and never resting from its journey. For is not time of such a nature that the part which is past has vanished, the future is not yet present, and the present escapes the senses before it can be known? Such too is the nature of generated things—entirely either growing or decaying, possessing no evident stability or permanence. ^C It was fitting, therefore, that the bodies of animals and plants, which are bound by necessity to a kind of flux, and are held fast by a motion leading to generation or corruption, should be encompassed by the nature of time, which possesses a property related to things that are mutable. Hence, he who wisely instructs us concerning the origins of the world aptly began his discourse about it, saying: "In the beginning he created"—that is, in this beginning which is according to time. For he does not mean to witness that it surpassed all created things in antiquity when he says it was made "in the beginning"; but he is narrating that, after the invisible and intelligible things, these visible and sensible things had the beginning of their existence. ^D

^A And indeed the first motion is also called a "beginning"—for example: "The beginning of a good way is to do just things" (Prov. xvi, 5), for from just actions we are first moved toward the blessed life. Again, that from which something comes into being is also called a "beginning," when something else happens to be present within it, as a foundation in a house, or a keel in a ship; according to which interpretation it is said: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord" (Prov. i, 7). For piety is as a base and foundation for perfection. Likewise, art is the beginning of technical works, as the wisdom of Beseleel was the beginning of the ornamentation of the tabernacle. Often, too, the useful end of things being done is the beginning of actions; for instance, the winning of God’s grace is the beginning of almsgiving. Likewise, the end of the promises is the beginning of any action whatsoever that proceeds from virtue.

^B Since, therefore, I would have you consider whether this word "beginning" fits each of these meanings: you can, in fact, learn from what time the structure of this world began, if only, progressing from the present to the previous ages, you strive to find the first day of the world's generation. For in this way you will discover whence the first motion was present in time; then, that heaven and earth were established beforehand as a kind of foundation and base; then, that there is a certain intelligent design—as the word "beginning" indicates to you—that presides over the order and arrangement of visible things. Finally, you will grasp that the world was thought out not rashly ^C nor in vain, but for a useful end, and one that would be of great service to all things that exist; since it is truly a gymnasium for souls endowed with reason, and a place where knowledge of God is acquired—inasmuch as it leads the mind, as if by the hand, through visible and sensible things to the contemplation of things invisible, as the Apostle says: "For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. i, 20).

Or perhaps it is said, "In the beginning he made," because of the instantaneous and timeless nature of the creation, since the beginning is something indivisible and ^D without dimension. For just as the beginning of a road is not yet the road, and the beginning of a house is by no means a house, so too the beginning of time is not yet time, nor even the smallest part of it. But if anyone, disputing, should say that the beginning is time, he must know that he would divide it into the parts of time. These are the beginning, the middle, and the end. But to think of a beginning of the beginning is utterly ridiculous. And one who divides the beginning into two will make two instead of one—or rather, infinite ones, since that which is divided is always cut into other parts. In order, therefore, that we may be taught together...

that the world was brought into existence by the will of God without any interval of time, it is said: *In the beginning he made*. Which other interpreters ^A, expounding the meaning more clearly, have rendered: *In a summary [or, in a head/chapter] he made, God*, that is, at once and in a short space. So much, then, for the *beginning*, to say a little out of many things.

7. But since, among the arts, some are called productive, others practical, and others speculative; and since the end of the speculative is the operation of the mind itself, but the end of the practical is the very movement of the body, which, when it ceases, nothing subsists nor remains for those who see it—for there is no end to dancing or the art of flute-playing, but the action itself terminates in itself—whereas in the productive arts, even when the operation ^B has ceased, the work remains; as for instance, the work of the art of building, of carpentry, of smithing, of weaving, and as many as are such, which, even if the craftsman is not present, sufficiently show the technical principles within themselves, and you are able to admire the builder from the work, and the smith, and the weaver. In order, therefore, to show that the world is an artificial structure, set forth before all for contemplation, so that through it the wisdom of him who made it might be known, the wise Moses used no other word concerning it, but said ^C: *In the beginning he made*. He did not say "he operated," nor "he brought into existence," but *He made*. And inasmuch as many of those who imagined that the world had existed with God from eternity, did not allow that it had been generated by Him, but [thought it] as if it were a shadow of His power having subsisted automatically; and although they admit God to be its cause, yet [that He is] a cause unintentionally—just as the body [is] to the shadow, and that which reflects light to the radiance—the prophet, correcting this such error, used this precision of words, saying: *In the beginning God made*. He dHe did not merely provide this very thing as the cause of being, but as one who is good, he made what is useful; as one who is wise, the most beautiful; as one who is powerful, the greatest. Only

^A he showed you the Artificer not only entering into the creation of the whole, and fitting the individual parts to one another, but also making the whole world consistent with itself, and harmonious, and beautifully ordered. *In the beginning God created heaven and earth.* By these two extremes ^B he hinted at the existence of the universe, assigning the precedence of creation to the heaven, and speaking of the earth as secondary in existence. And certainly, whatever is intermediate between these was generated along with the extremities. So even if he says nothing about the elements—fire, and water, and air—you should nevertheless realize by your own intelligence, first, that all things are mixed in all things, and that you will find water, and air, and fire in the earth; since fire is struck from stones, and from iron, which itself also derives its origin from the earth, abundant fire is wont to flash forth upon friction. And this too is worthy of admiration: how the fire that exists in bodies ^C lies hidden inside without causing harm; yet when it is called forth to the outside, it is destructive to those things that were just now preserving it. The well-diggers demonstrate the nature of water existing in the earth; and the nature of the air is shown by those exhalations sent up from beneath, when the earth becomes moist and is warmed by the sun. Furthermore, if by nature the heaven occupies the upper place, and the earth is the lowest—since light things are naturally borne toward heaven, and heavy things are naturally inclined toward the earth, and "above" and "below" are most opposed to each other—he who mentioned things most distant in nature from one another has also, by inclusion, indicated those which fill the space between them. So do not seek ^D the explanation of every single item, but understand the things passed over in silence through the things that have been declared. For 8 *In the beginning God created heaven and earth.* The inquiry into the essence of each of the things that exist, whether those that fall under our contemplation or those that are presented to our senses, introduces for the interpretation a long and rambling discourse, since in examining this problem more words would have to be expended than in the rest of what can be said about each of the things being investigated; furthermore, it would not be worth the effort for the edification of the Church to spend time on these things. But regarding the essence of heaven, those things said by Isaiah are sufficient for us, who, in common words, has instilled in us a sufficient understanding of its nature, saying: *He who established the heaven as smoke.*

^A Let us use the same advice for ourselves regarding the earth, not to be overly curious about what its substance might be, nor to wear ourselves out with reasoning in order to search out the underlying subject itself, nor to seek some nature bereft of qualities, existing without qualities in its own definition, but rather to know well that all things observed in it relate to the rationale of its existence, being complementary to its substance. For you will end up with nothing if you try to remove each of the qualities inherent in it by reasoning. For if you take away the blackness, the cold, the weight, the density, the qualities pertaining to taste inherent in it, or whatever other qualities are observed in it, there will be no subject left. Having left these things behind, then, I also advise you not to seek that upon which it stands. For the mind will grow dizzy ^B even in this way, with reasoning continuing to no agreed-upon end. For if you say that air is spread out beneath the breadth of the earth, you will wonder how a soft and porous nature holds up when compressed by such great weight, and does not rather slip away from every side, escaping the compression, and always pouring upwards over that which compresses it. Again, if you suppose to yourself that water is placed beneath the earth, and you inquire in that way, how does a heavy and dense body not penetrate the water, but rather a thing far heavier is held up by a weaker nature? To this you will also look for the base of the water itself, and again you will doubt upon what solid and resistant support its lowest foundation rests.

^C 9. If you posit another, heavier and more solid body to prevent the earth from moving downward, you will realize that that too needs some similar support which upholds it and does not allow it to fall. And if we are able to fashion and place something beneath that, our mind will again seek the support of that, and thus we will fall into the infinite, always imagining other foundations beyond those found. And the further we proceed with our reasoning, the greater must we be forced to introduce a supporting power that will be able to resist the entire mass placed upon it. ^D

Therefore, set boundaries to your understanding, lest you be rebuked by the sentiment of Job, if you investigate things incomprehensible, and be asked by him yourselfself: *Upon what are its bases fastened?* But even if you should sometimes hear in the Psalms: *I have established its pillars* (Ps. LXXIV, 4), understand "pillars" to be its supporting power. For what else does *He has founded it upon the seas* (Ps. XXIII, 2) signify, than the nature of water being poured around the earth on all sides? How then, since water is fluid and by its very nature tends to flow downward, does it remain suspended and never flow away? Do you not consider (66) that the earth, suspended by itself, presents the same or even a greater difficulty to reason, since it is by nature heavier? But it is necessary, whether we concede that the earth consists by itself, or say that it is thrown upon the waters, never to depart from the pious view, but to confess that all things alike are held together by the power of the Creator. These things, therefore, we ought to say to ourselves and to those who inquire of us upon what support this vast and intolerable weight of the earth rests, that *In the hand of God are the ends of the earth* (Ps. XCV, 4). This is for us the safest thing to grasp, and profitable to those who hear.

10. But there are some of the natural scientists (68) who, with great preparation of words, say that the earth remains motionless by causes of this kind. They say that because it has occupied the middle region of the universe, and because it has nowhere to incline, being equally distant from the extremes on every side, it of necessity remains in itself, since the equality lying about it on every side makes it impossible for it to incline at all in any direction. They contend also that the earth did not obtain the middle place by lot or by chance, but that this is its natural and necessary position. For since the heavenly body occupies the extreme region upward, whatever weights we might assume to fall from the heights, they say (69), would be gathered from all sides toward the middle. And indeed, into whatever part they are carried, into that, obviously, the whole will also be pressed. If stones and wood and all earthy things fall downward, this would indeed be the location proper and appropriate to the whole earth; and if anything light is raised from the middle, it will obviously move toward the highest point. So that a downward movement is proper to the heaviest things; and the middle is the lowest, as the argument has shown here. Do not, therefore, marvel if the earth nowhere falls away, since it holds its natural place, the middle. For it is of absolute necessity ^D that it remain fixed in its place, or, if it should move contrary to nature, that it be displaced from its own seat.

^A If any of these things that have been said should appear plausible to you, transfer your wonder to the wisdom of God, who ordered these things in such a way. For the astonishment that arises in view of the greatest things is by no means diminished because the manner in which some of the wonders occur has been discovered; if not, then at least let the simplicity of faith be stronger than logical demonstrations.

11. We say the same thing about the heavens, that many and very wordy speculations have been proposed by the wise men of this world concerning the heavenly nature. Some have said that it is composite, formed from the four elements, since it falls within the sense of touch and sight, and is a participant in earth because of its solidity, in fire because it is visible, and in the others because of their mixture. ^B Others, having rejected this view as improbable, have, of their own accord and rashly and unadvisedly, introduced a fifth kind of body to constitute the heavens. And there is among them a certain "ethereal" body, which they claim is neither fire, nor air, nor earth, nor water, nor anything at all among the simple elements; because the proper motion of the simple elements is in a straight line, with the light things moving upward and the heavy [things] downward. But to be borne upward or downward is not the same as to revolve in a circle; and in short, they consider that linear and circular motion differ greatly from one another. But ^C of those whose motions are by nature different, their essences must also, they say, be different. But we cannot even assume that the heaven is composed of the primary bodies, which we call elements, because things made up of different [elements] cannot have an even and unforced motion, since each of the simple elements existing within the composite [whole] has an impulse from nature that is different from the others. Therefore, ^D composite things are first of all held together in continuous motion only with great effort, because one motion cannot be suitable and agreeable to all opposites; but that which is proper to the light element is hostile to the heaviest. For when we move upward, we are weighed down by the earthy element; when we move downward, we force move the fiery element, dragging it downward against its nature. And this pulling of the elements toward opposite directions is the cause of their disruption. For that which is forced and contrary to nature, having resisted for a little while, and that only violently and with difficulty, is quickly dissolved into those [elements] from which it was composed, as each of the joined parts returns to its own proper place. By these, as they say, necessities of reasoning, those who preceded...

^A having discarded the arguments, were in need of their own hypothesis, postulating a fifth nature of body for the generation of the heaven and the stars within it. But some other one of those vigorous in the art of persuasion, having risen up against these in turn, refuted and dissolved these things, and introduced his own opinion in place of them. If we should now undertake to speak about these, we would fall into the same futility as they. But let us leave them to overthrow and refute one another, and now, dropping the discourse about substance, let us put faith in Moses, that "God created the heaven and the earth," and let us glorify the Master Craftsman for the things which were wisely and skillfully made, and from the beauty of the things that are seen, let us conceive in our mind Him who surpasses all beauty, and from the magnitude of these sensible and circumscribed bodies, let us understand Him who is infinite and immense, and who exceeds every thought in the multitude of His own power. For even if we are ignorant of the nature of the things that have been made, yet that which falls under our sense in a general way holds such wonder that even the most acute mind appears less than the least of the things in the world, to be able either to express it according to its worth, or to fulfill the praise owed to the Creator; to whom be all glory, honor, ^B and power, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY II. On the fact that "the earth was invisible and unformed."

1. Having lingered in the morning over the explanation of a few words, we have found such a hidden depth of meaning that we might despair altogether of the things that follow. For if the outer courts of the saints are such, and the vestibules of the temple are so venerable and magnificent, that the excellence of their beauty dazzles the eyes of our mind, what must the Holy of Holies be? And who will be found fit ^C to dare to enter the innermost shrines? Or who will behold the secret things? For even the mere sight of them is inaccessible, and the things that are conceived by the mind can hardly be explained in words at all. Nevertheless, since with a just judge there is a set reward, even for the sole fact of having proposed to oneself the duty that ought to be done—and that is a reward not to be despised—let us not be slothful ^D toward the investigation. For even if we fall short of the worthiness, yet if we do not fall away from the intention of the Scripture,

Homily II

^A With the help of the Spirit, we ourselves shall not be judged altogether reprobate, and with the cooperation of grace, we shall provide some edification to the Church of God. "The earth," he says, "was invisible and unformed." How is it that, whereas both heaven and earth were created with equal honor, the heaven was perfected, while the earth remained incomplete and unworked? ^B Or generally, what is the "unformed" state of the earth? And for what reason was it invisible? Now, the perfect formation of the earth is its fruitfulness: the sprouting of all kinds of plants, the pushing forth of trees both fruit-bearing and sterile, the bright colors and fragrances of flowers, and all that, a little later, is destined by the command of God to spring up and adorn the earth that gave it birth. Since none of these things existed yet, reason quite rightly called it "unformed." We might say the same things regarding the heaven: that it, too, was not yet fully worked out, nor had it received its own proper adornment, inasmuch as it was not yet illuminated by the sun or moon, nor crowned by the choirs of the stars. For these things had not yet come into being. So you will not be straying from the truth if you say the heaven was also "unformed." He called the earth "invisible" for two reasons: either because man, its witness, did not yet exist, or because, being submerged, it could not be seen on account of the water floating upon its surface. For the waters had not yet been gathered into their own proper places, which God later gathered and called seas. What, then, is "invisible"? On one hand, it is that which by nature cannot be seen by the eyes of flesh, such as our mind. On the other hand, it is that which is ^C visible by nature but is hidden by the interposition of a body placed over it, like iron lying in the depths of a pool. It is according to this meaning that we now consider the earth to have been termed invisible, as it was hidden by the waters. Moreover, since light had not yet been made, it was nothing wonderful that, being situated in darkness, the earth was also called invisible by Scripture on account of the air above it being unilluminated.

2. But the adulterators of the truth, who do not teach their mind to follow the Scripture, but rather distort the sense of the Scriptures towards their own whim, say that matter is signified by these words. For this, they say, ^D is in its own nature both invisible and unformed, being without quality.

^A and separated from every form and shape, which the Artificer took, fashioned by His own wisdom, brought into order, and so through it gave subsistence to the things that are seen.

If, then, it is unbegotten, it is, in the first place, equal in honor to God and deemed worthy of the same prerogatives. What could be more impious than for that which is without quality, without shape, the ultimate deformity, an unformed disgrace (for I use their very own terms) to be deemed worthy of the same rank as the wise, powerful, and supremely beautiful Artificer and Creator of all? Next, if it is so great ^B that it can receive the whole knowledge of God, then in some way they set its substance against the unsearchable power of God, if it suffices to contain within itself the whole understanding of God. But if matter is inferior to God’s activity, then their reasoning will be turned toward an even more absurd blasphemy, as they would represent God as inactive and idle in the completion and fulfillment of His own works owing to a lack of matter.

But it is the poverty of human nature that has deceived them. And because each craft among us is confined to some specific material—the blacksmith’s craft, for instance, to iron, and carpentry to wood—and in these things the subject is one thing, the form another, and what is produced from the form is yet another; and since the material is taken from outside, the form is applied by [the] art, and the result is what is composed of both, of the form and of the material—so they think it is also with the divine creation, that the design of the world was brought forth ^C by the wisdom of the Maker of all, but that the matter was provided from the outside to the Creator, and that the world was created as a composite, having its subject and essence from elsewhere, but having received its design and form from God. And from this it follows for them to deny that the great God was the one who presided over the constitution of existing things; they speak as though He were merely the provider of some contribution, having contributed some small share of His own to the generation of existing things, not being able, because of the lowliness of their own reasonings, to look up to the height ^D of the truth: that in our world, the crafts are secondary to the materials, having been introduced into life because of the necessity of need. For wool existed beforehand, and the art of weaving came after, fulfilling what was lacking in nature from itself. And wood existed, and carpentry, having taken it up, by shaping the material to the need sought for each time, revealed to us the usefulness of wood—the oar...

^A to sailors, the shovel to farmers, and the spear to armed soldiers. But God, before anything of the things now seen had come into being, having turned his mind to it and having set out to bring into existence the things that were not, at once both conceived what kind of world it was necessary for there to be, and together with its form brought forth the matter suitable to it. To the heaven, indeed, he assigned the nature suitable to the heaven; but to the shape of the earth, he submitted the substance proper and owed to it. Fire, and water, and air he also fashioned as he willed, and he brought them into substance as the reason of each of the things coming into being demanded. And the whole world, being composed of unlike parts, he bound together into one fellowship and harmony by a certain unbreakable bond of friendship; so that even the things that are most distant from one another in position seem to be united through sympathy. Let those, therefore, cease from their mythical fabrications, who, in the weakness of their own reasoning, ^B measure out the power of the mind, which is incomprehensible and altogether inexpressible by human voice.

3. God made the heaven and the earth; not out of a half portion of each, but the whole heaven and the whole earth, the substance itself being joined with the form. For he is not an inventor of shapes, but the creator of the very nature of things that exist. Otherwise, let them answer us, how the active power of God and the passive nature of matter came together with one another: the one providing the subject matter without form, and the other, having the knowledge of shapes without the matter, so that what was lacking to each might be supplied by the other; to the creator, the having where he might display his craft, and to the matter, the laying aside of its formlessness and the privation of form. But enough of these things for now; let us return to the starting point. *The earth was invisible and unorganized.* ^C Having said, *In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth*, he remained silent about many things—water, air, fire, and the conditions born out of these—all of which, clearly, as things filling out the universe, subsisted together with the whole. But history passed them over, exercising our mind toward alertness, providing from a few starting points that we might infer what was left out. Since, therefore, it is not stated concerning the water that God made it, but it is stated that the earth was invisible, consider for yourself by what veil it was covered that it did not appear. Neither, therefore, was fire able to cover

it. For fire is illuminating and provides clarity to those things to which it is present, rather than casting darkness. Nor yet was air a covering for the earth at that time. For the nature of air is rare and transparent, receiving all the forms of visible things and transmitting them to the eyes of those who behold them. It remains, therefore, for us to understand ^A that water rested upon the surface of the earth, when this liquid substance had not yet been separated into its own proper place. From this, therefore, the earth was not only invisible, but also unadorned. For the redundancy of moisture even now hinders the birth of fruits. The cause, therefore, is the same why it was both invisible and unadorned. For the apparatus of the earth is that very adornment which is proper and natural to it, such as crops waving in the valleys, meadows green and burgeoning with various flowers, lush glens, and mountain peaks shaded by forests: none of which it yet possessed, although it was laboring with the generation of all things because of the power deposited in it by the Creator, yet awaiting the appropriate times, so that at the divine command it might bring forth its offspring into the open. ^B

4. "But darkness," he says, "was upon the abyss." Again there are other occasions for myths and beginnings of more impious inventions for those who twist these words to their own opinions. For they do not explain darkness, as is customary, as a certain lightless air, or a place shaded by the interposition of a body, or in any way at all as a place deprived of light, but they explain darkness as an evil power, or rather as evil itself, having its origin from itself, opposed and contrary to the goodness of God. For if God is light, they say, it is evident that the power waging war against Him would be darkness, ^C according to the consequence of their reasoning. Darkness, they say, does not have its being from another, but is evil self-begotten. Darkness is an enemy of souls, a producer of death, an opposition to virtue: and they are deceived by the words of the prophet, thinking that it is indicated by these things both that it exists and that it was not created by God. From this, indeed, what has not been fashioned of evil and impious dogmas? What grievous wolves ^D tearing apart the flock of God have not, taking their beginning from this small saying, overrun souls? Are not the Marcionites from here? Are not the Valentinians from here? Is not the abominable heresy of the Manichæans—which if one were to call the rot of the Churches, he will not err from what is proper—from here? What...

Why dost thou wander far from the truth, O man, devising for thyself pretexts for perdition? The statement is simple and easily comprehended by all. The earth was invisible, he says. What is the cause? Because it had an abyss ^A overlying it. And what is the meaning of abyss? Much water, having its limit downward difficult to attain. But we know many things are often seen through thinner and clearer water. How, then, was no part of the earth made visible through the waters? Because the air poured out over it was still dark and wrapped in shadows. For when a sunbeam penetrates through waters, it often reveals pebbles in the depths; but in the deep of night, no one could in any way see what is beneath the water. So that the statement which follows, that the abyss was overlying it, and this [abyss] was darkened, is the cause of the earth having been invisible. Neither, therefore, is the abyss a multitude of opposing powers, as some have imagined, nor is darkness some primal and evil power arrayed against the good. For two things equal to each other in contrariety will necessarily be destructive to each other's constitution; and theythey will have trouble continually and will cause trouble ceaselessly to each other, joined in war. And if one of the opposing things surpasses the other in power, it becomes a consumer of all that is conquered. So if they say the contrariety of evil to good is balanced, they introduce a ceaseless war and perpetual corruption, with [them] partly winning and partly being overcome; but if the good excels in power, what is the cause of the nature of evil not being utterly destroyed? But if—it is not lawful to say—I wonder how they do not recoil from themselves, having fallen into such impious blasphemies. Furthermore, it is not pious to say that evil has its genesis from God, because nothing of what is contrary is born from its contrary. For neither does life generate death, nor is darkness the principle of light, nor is disease the maker of health; ^C but in the changes of states there are transitions from opposites to opposites; in generations, however, each of the things that come into being comes forth not from opposites, but from things of the same kind. If, therefore, [they] say, it is neither unbegotten nor made by God, whence does it have its nature? For no one who participates in life will deny that evils exist. What, then, do we say? That evil is not a living and animate substance, but a disposition in the soul, having a contrary relation to virtue, coming to pass in the slothful ^D because of their falling away from the good.

5. Do not, therefore, look for evil from without, nor

^A imagine some primigenial nature of malice; but let everyone recognize himself as the author of the wickedness that is in him. For of the things that occur, some always come to us by nature, such as old age and infirmities; others happen by chance, such as irrational occurrences that befall us from other causes, often resulting in things dismal or even more cheerful; as the discovery of a treasure to one digging a well, or the encounter with a rabid dog to one hastening to the marketplace. Still others depend upon us, such as to master desires or not to curb pleasures; such as to control anger, or to lay hands on one who has provoked; to speak truth, or to lie; to be of a gentle and moderate character, or to be puffed up and boastful. Of these things, therefore, over which thou art master, do not seek the principles ^B elsewhere; but recognize that evil, properly so called, has taken its beginning from the lapses of the will. For if evil were not voluntary and not in our power, such great fear of the laws would not hang over the unjust, nor would the punishments of the courts be so inexorable, determining for the evildoers a retribution according to their desert. Let this be said by me concerning evil—properly so called. For disease, and poverty, and ignominy, and death, and whatever is burdensome to men, it is not proper to reckon among the number of evils, because we do not even count the things opposed to them among the greatest goods; some of which exist by nature, while others appear to have happened beneficially to many. Therefore, ^C putting aside for the present every interpretation consisting in tropes and allegories, let us receive the notion of darkness simply and without curiosity, following the intent of Scripture. Reason asks, however, whether darkness was created along with the world, and whether it is older than light, and why that which is worse existed first. We say, therefore, that this darkness did not subsist in substance, but was an affection in the air produced by the privation of light. Of what light, then, was the place in the world suddenly found destitute, so that darkness should be upon the face of the waters? We judge, then, that if anything existed [(31)] before the constitution of this sensible and corruptible world, it evidently was in light. For neither the orders of angels, nor all the heavenly hosts, nor in general whatever is named or unnamed among intellectual natures and ministering spirits, lived in darkness; ^D [marginal apparatus omitted]

^A but they had the state befitting them in light and in every spiritual joy. And no one will gainsay this, certainly not he who awaits the supercelestial light in the promises of good things, concerning which Solomon says: *Light for the righteous for all time* (Prov. XIII, 9); and the Apostle: *Giving thanks to God and the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light* (Coloss. I, 12). For if those who are condemned are sent into the *outer darkness* (Matth. XXII, 13), clearly those who have wrought things worthy of acceptance possess their rest in the supercosmic light. Since, therefore, the heaven was made by the command of God, suddenly surrounding those within, it was comprised by its own circumference, having a continuous body capable of separating the things within from the things without; of necessity it rendered the region ^B left behind in it lightless, by cutting off the radiance from without. For three things must concur for a shadow: light, the body, and the dark space. Thus, the inner-cosmic darkness came into existence alongside the shadow of the heavenly body. Understand what I say by a clear example: imagine, at high noon, you have placed around yourself a tent made of dense and impenetrable material, and enclosed yourself in an improvised darkness. Conceive of that darkness in the same way, not having existed primarily, but having followed upon other things. This darkness, indeed, is said to *be upon the abyss* (Gen. I, 2), because the extremities of the air are wont to be joined to the surfaces of bodies. At that time, water was overspreading all things. Wherefore it is with good reason said that the darkness was upon the abyss. ^C

6. *And the Spirit of God*, he says, *was moving over the waters.*

^A Or if you understand this Spirit to be the diffusion of the air, take the parts of the world as the writer enumerates them to you, that God made heaven, earth, water, and air, and that this was already being poured out and flowing. Or, what is even truer ^B and approved by our predecessors, let it be called the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit; because it is observed that Scripture specifically and especially honors him with such an appellation, and that no other is called the Spirit of God save that holy one who completes the divine and blessed Trinity. And if you accept this understanding, you will find a greater benefit from it. How, then, was this ^C moving over the water? I will tell you not my own account, but the account of a Syrian man, who was as far removed from worldly wisdom as he was close to the knowledge of the truth. He said, therefore, that the language of the Syrians is more expressive and, by reason of its kinship with the Hebrew tongue, approaches in some way closer to the meaning of the Scriptures. The meaning of the statement, therefore, he said, was这样的. He said that the word "moved" is interpreted by them as "warmed" and "gave life to the nature of the waters," after the likeness of a brooding bird, and imparting a certain vital power to the things being fostered. They say that such a meaning is indicated by this word, as of the Spirit moving over; that is, preparing the nature of the water for the animation of life; so that from this, it is sufficiently shown that ^D the Holy Spirit is not absent from the creative operation.

7. *And God said, Let there be light.* The first nature of God’s light created, dissipated the darkness, dispelled the gloom, brightened the world, and all at once imparted a charming and pleasant appearance to all things. For the heaven, having been covered hitherto by darkness, was made visible, and its beauty was such as eyes even now attest. And the air was illuminated; or rather, it held light mixed within it throughout its whole extent.

^A sending forth the swift distributions of its brilliance to its own boundaries. For upwards it reached unto the ether itself and the heaven; while in breadth it illuminated all the regions of the world—northern and southern, eastern and western—in a swift moment of time. For such is its nature, thin and transparent, that light traveling through it needs no extension of time. Just as it transmits our vision instantly to the objects seen, so too does it receive the impacts of light instantaneously, and indeed with a speed such that no one could conceive of a shorter moment of time, reaching all its own ends. And the ether became more pleasant after the light, and the waters more clear, not only receiving the brightness, but also themselves sending it back by the reflection ^B of the light, with shimmers of sparkle cast off from the water from every side. The divine voice transformed all things toward that which is most pleasant and most precious. For just as those who pour oil into the depths cause clarity in that place, so the Creator of all things, by speaking, suddenly infused the grace of light into the world. Let there be light. And the command was a work; and a nature came into being, than which it is impossible for human reason to conceive of anything more delightful to enjoy. But when we speak of a voice, word, and command in God, we do not understand a sound sent forth by vocal organs, nor air shaped by a tongue, as the divine Word, but we consider the inclination of the will to be fashioned in the form of a command for the sake of ^C what is easily grasped by those being taught. And God saw the light, that it was good. What praise could we ourselves find worthy of light, which already possesses the testimony from the Creator that it is good? And for us, the discourse refers the judgment to the eyes, for it has nothing greater to say than that which the sense of sight already testifies in advance. But if that which is in the body of—

^A part-to-part symmetry and the appearing beauty of color originates, how—given that light is simple in nature and consists of uniform parts—is the principle of beauty preserved? Is it because the tempering of light is not considered to exist in its own parts, but in a certain cheerfulness and gentleness offered to the view? For thus gold also is beautiful, not from the symmetry of its parts, but from the good quality of color alone, possessing an allure and pleasure to exhilarate the sight. Hesperus, too, is the most beautiful of stars, not because there exists in the parts of which it consists a proportion or symmetry, but because a certain pleasant and sweet splendor from it reaches the eyes. Furthermore, this judgment of God concerning beauty was made not only with a view toward the delight of sight, but also looking forward to its future utility. For the eyes were not yet judges of the beauty that is in light. ^B And God divided between the light and between the darkness (Gen. 1, 4). That is to say, God rendered the nature of both incapable of any mixture, and set one against the other in opposition. For he distinguished and separated them by a very great interval.

8. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night (Gen. 1, 5). Now, in the time remaining after the generation of the sun, day is the very air illuminated by the sun while it shines in the hemisphere that is above the earth; night, however, is the darkening of the earth which occurs when the sun hides itself. But at that time, not according to solar motion, but as that primordial light was poured out and again contracted according to the measure defined by God, day came to be, and night succeeded it. ^C And there was evening, and there was morning, one day. Evening, therefore, is the common boundary of day and night; and morning likewise is the proximity of night to the day. Therefore, in order that he might attribute the prerogative of priority of generation to the day, he mentioned first the end of the day, then that of the night, as if the night followed the day. For that state which was in the world before the generation of light was not night, but darkness; yet that which was distinguished from the day and set in opposition to it, this was named night; which same thing obtained a more recent appellation than the day. There was, therefore, evening, and there was morning. ^D The day-and-night [period]...

^A has been allotted the universal designation by the prevailing element. This custom you may find in all of Scripture: in the measurement of time, days are enumerated, but not nights along with the days. "The days of our years," the Psalmist says. And again Jacob: "The days of the years of my life are few and evil." And again: "All the days of my life." So that the things now delivered in the form of a history are a legislation for what follows. "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." Why did He not say "the first," but "one"? And yet it would have been more sequential for someone who was going to introduce a second, a third, and a fourth day, to call the one initiating those that follow "the first." But He said "one," either as defining the measure of day and night, and joining together the time of the day-and-night period, as twenty-four hours fill the interval of one day, with it being understood, of course, that the night is included ^B along with the day, so that even if it happens during the solstices that one of them exceeds the other, yet by the fixed time the intervals of both are altogether circumscribed—as if He were to say: "the measure of twenty-four hours is the interval of one day"—or because the restoration of the heavens from the same sign to the same point again occurs in one day; so that as often as evening and morning by the revolution of the sun lay hold of the world, the circuit is completed not in a longer time, but in the interval of one day. Or, there is a more authoritative account handed down in the mysteries, that God, who established the nature of time, assigned to it as measures and signs the intervals of days, and by measuring it out with a week, He commands the week, by which the movement of time is enumerated, to be always revolving into itself, and again for one day, when it has returned seven times into itself, to make up a week. This is an orbicular shape ^C which begins from itself and ends in itself. Which indeed is also the property of the age (aion), to turn back into itself and nowhere be terminated. For this reason He called the head of time not "the first day," but "one," in order that, even from the appellation, it might have a kinship with the age. For the day that exhibits a character solitary and unsociable toward another has been properly and appositely named "one." And if Scripture sets many ages before us, saying in many places "age of the age" and "ages of ages," yet even there no "first," nor "second," nor "third age" is enumerated to us. Therefore, [it is] rather for us [as a mark] of differences of states and of various things ^D

successions of the ages are not demonstrated by this. For the day of the Lord, he says, is great and illustrious. And again: "Why do you seek the day of the Lord? It is darkness and not light." Yet for those who are worthy of darkness, it is indeed darkness. But Scripture knows that that day is without evening, free from succession and end: which the Psalmist also called the eighth, because it is situated outside this seven-day time. Wherefore, whether you say day or age, you express the same meaning. So if that state is called a day, it is one and not many; if it is called an age, it is certainly unique and not multiplex. Therefore, in order to transfer our thought to the life to come, he called it one day, which is an image of the age, the first fruits of days, coeval with light, the holy Lord's Day, honored by the resurrection of the Lord. There was, therefore, evening, he says, and there was morning, one day. But indeed, the words concerning that evening, being overtaken by the present evening, impose here an end upon our discourse. May the Father of true light, who adorned the day with celestial light, who cheered the night with the bright rays of fire, who prepared the rest of the future age with spiritual and perpetual light, illuminate your hearts in the knowledge of the truth and preserve your life unhindered, granting you to walk honestly as in the day, that you may shine like the sun in the glory of the saints, for my own exultation, in the day of Christ, to whom be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY III. On the firmament.

1. The works of the first day, or rather of the one day, have been commemorated. For God forbid that we should take away from it the dignity which it possesses by nature, as it was brought forth separately by the Creator and not numbered in the order of the others. However, since the discourse of yesterday has already recounted the things that were done in it, and since the exposition, having been divided for the hearers—as the morning nourishment of souls—^A has reached us, we rather show by this the difference of states and diverse things, but not the delimitations, limits, and successions of ages. For the day of the Lord, he says, is great and illustrious; and again: "Why do you seek the day of the Lord?" And this is darkness, and not light. But it is darkness, ^B clearly, to those who are worthy of darkness. Since the Word knows that day to be without evening, without succession, and without end, the Psalmist also called it "eighth," because it lies outside this hebdomadal time. So that whether you say "day" or "age," you will speak the same meaning. Whether, therefore, that state is called a day, it is one and not many; or whether it is called an age, it would be singular and not a component of a series. Therefore, in order to turn the thought toward the life to come ^C, he named the image of the age as one, the first-fruits of days, the contemporary of light, the holy Lord's Day, honored by the resurrection of the Lord. "And there was evening," he says, "and there was morning, one day." But indeed, those words concerning that evening, being caught by the present evening, bound the discourse for us here. May the Father of true light, who adorned the day with heavenly light, who gladdened the night with the rays of fire, who made ready the rest of the age to come with intellectual and never-failing light, shed light ^D upon your hearts in the knowledge of the truth, and keep your life unhindered, granting you to walk becomingly as in the day, that you may shine forth, as the sun in the brilliance of the saints, for a boast to me, in the day of Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY III. On the firmament.

1. The works of the first [day], or rather of the one [day], have been recorded. For let us not take away from it the dignity which it has in its nature, having been brought forth by itself by the Creator, and not having been numbered in the ranking with the others; save that since the discourse yesterday went over the things that came to pass in it and divided the ^C explanation for the listeners—the morning food of souls, and the evening refreshment—it now passes on the second [day's] wonders.

I say this, not referring to the power of the one who explains, but to the grace of the things written, which by nature possesses the quality of being readily accepted and is gentle and dear to every heart of those who prefer the truth to the plausible. In accordance with this, the Psalmist also, presenting most emphatically the sweetness that comes from the truth, says: "How sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth" (Ps. cxvii, 105). Yesterday, then, as far as was possible, having gladdened your souls with the discussion concerning the words of God, we have met again today on the second day, to contemplate the wonders of the works of the second day. ^B But indeed, it does not escape me that many artisans of the mechanical arts, who with difficulty procure their food for themselves from their daily labor, are standing around us, and they are cutting short our discourse, so that they may not be drawn away for too long from their work. What shall I say to them? That the portion of time lent to God is in no way lost, but is repaid by Him with great interest. For whatever circumstances bring hindrance to their work, these the Lord will remove; and He will grant physical strength, cheerfulness of mind, ease in transactions, and prosperity for one's whole life to those who prefer spiritual things. And even if in the present, things hoped for do not turn out according to our expectations, the teaching of the Spirit is at any rate a good treasure for the life to come. Remove, therefore, from your heart all anxiety for your livelihood, and gather your whole self to me here. For there is no benefit in the presence of the body if your heart is occupied with acquiring earthly treasure.

^C 2. *And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be dividing between water and water* (Gen. 1, 7). Already yesterday we heard the words of God: *Let there be light*. And today: *Let there be a firmament*. But the present words seem to have something more, in that the discourse did not remain in a bare command, but also declared the reason why the structure of the firmament is required, while it says: *That it may be dividing between water and water*. First then, let us take up and inquire: How does God speak? Is it after our manner, so that first the form of objects is imprinted on the intellect, ^D and then, after the image has been conceived in the mind, one's own

significations proper and appropriate to each are chosen and announced? And then, having delivered the conceived thoughts to the service of the vocal organs, does He manifest the internal thought through the impression on the air, in accordance with the articulated motion of the voice ^A? And how is it not fabulous to say that God, in order to declare His own thoughts, needs such a circuitous process? Is it not more pious to say that the divine will, and the primary impulse of the intelligent movement, is the Word of God? Scripture, however, describes and outlines this very thing through an encompassing of words, so that it may demonstrate that He did not will for the creature to be made merely, but to be brought into the light through some associate and partner in His work. For He could have, as He spoke in the beginning, spoken of each thing individually: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth"; then: "He made the light"; then: "He made the firmament." But now, by introducing God as commanding and conversing, Scripture silently indicates the One whom He commands and with whom He converses, not out of envy of knowledge toward us, but by inflaming us with desire, through the traces and impressions of the mystery that He presents to us. For what is obtained by labor is received with joy and carefully guarded; whereas, things easily acquired are possessed with contempt. For this reason, by a certain way and order, He leads us to the knowledge of the Only-Begotten ^B. And certainly, there was no need for vocal speech for an incorporeal nature, since the things that had been thought could be communicated with Him who was the associate and partner in the work. Why, therefore, was there a necessity of speech for those who could make each other participants in their own counsels by thought alone? For voice is for the sake of hearing, and hearing is for the sake of voice. But where there is no air, nor tongue, nor ear, nor winding passage referring the sounds to the perception stored within the head, there is no use for words; but the communication of the will occurs from the very thought of the mind, so to speak. Wherefore, as I was saying, in order that our mind might be awakened to the investigation of the Person to whom this speech is directed, this form of discourse has been wisely and skillfully adopted.

3. It must be inquired, in the second place, whether the firmament is something else apart from that heaven ^C which had been made in the beginning—which itself was also called heaven, and whether, in short, there are two heavens; a position which those who have philosophized about the heaven would prefer to lose their tongues rather than admit as true. For they posit that there is one heaven, and that it is not of such a nature that a second, or a third, or a multiple heaven could be added to it, since, as they think, the whole substance of the celestial body ^D has been consumed in the constitution of the one.

Such, then, are the imaginings of those who bring in an unbegotten matter to the Creator, led on from a first myth-making to the subsequent falsehood; but we ask the wise men of the Greeks not to mock us ^A before they have reached an agreement among themselves. For there are among them those who declare that the heavens and the worlds are infinite; and when those who use more weighty arguments and geometric proofs refute the incredibility of this view, and demonstrate by geometric necessities that it is not in the nature of things for another heaven to come into being besides the one, then we shall even more ^B rightfully laugh at their linear and artificial trifling—if, seeing bubbles arise from the same cause, whether one or many, they nonetheless doubt about a multiplicity of heavens, [asking] whether the creative power suffices to bring them into existence. We consider their power and magnitude to differ in no way from the concave moisture that swells up in splashing fountains, when we look ^C toward the preeminence of the power of God. So that their argument about what is impossible is laughable. But we are so far from doubting a second heaven, that we even seek for a third, to the sight of which the blessed Paul was deemed worthy. But the Psalm, naming the heavens of heavens 38, has also given us the notion of a greater multitude. And surely these things are not more strange than the seven circles in which the seven stars are, by the consensus of almost everyone, acknowledged to be carried, which they also say are fitted one ^D into another, after the likeness of jars inserted into one another. These, they say, being carried in a direction opposite to the universe, with the ether being divided by them, give forth a certain well-sounding and harmonious tone, so that it surpasses all pleasure in melodies. Then, when those who say such things are asked for the proof provided by the senses, what do they answer? [They say] that because of our initial familiarity with the sound, having been accustomed to it from our very birth, we are deprived of the sense [of hearing it] by the long exercise of hearing; just as those who are continually struck by the noise in coppersmiths' shops. To refute the sophistry and hollowness of this, which is so clearly manifest to everyone upon first hearing, is not for a man who knows either how to spare time or how to consider the intelligence of his hearers. But leaving the affairs of those outside to those outside, we return to the ecclesiastical discourse. There has, however, been stated by some before us, lest

The children of the Greeks...

should say ^A that this is the generation of a second heaven, but rather an explanation of the first, because the creation of heaven and earth is delivered there in summary, but here the Scripture delivers to us more elaborately the mode by which each thing has come to be. But we say that since both a different name and a distinct function of the second heaven are delivered, this is distinct from the one which was made in the beginning, being of a more solid nature, and providing an exceptional service to the whole.

^B 4. *And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be dividing between water and water. And God made the firmament: and God divided between the water which was under the firmament, and between the water which was above the firmament.* But before we touch upon the meaning of the written words, let us endeavor to dissolve the objection brought forward by others. For they ask us: if the body of the firmament is spherical, as the eyes themselves testify, and if water is of such a nature as to flow away and slide down on all sides from the heights, how could it have been established upon the gibbous circumference of the firmament? ^C What then shall we answer to this? First of all, that even if something appears to us round according to its internal concavity, it is not at all necessary that its external surface should also have been fashioned according to the manner of a sphere, or that the whole should be perfectly turned on a lathe and smoothly and evenly rounded; since we see stone roofs of baths and the structures of buildings built in the shape of a cavern, which, although they are rounded into a semicircle in terms of their internal appearance, often have a smooth and flat surface on the upper parts of the roof. Neither, therefore, on account of this matter let them make trouble for themselves, nor let them provide it for us, as though we were unable to hold the water in the upper parts.

It would be consequent, however, to say what the nature of the firmament is, and for what cause it was ordered to hold a certain middle place between the water. ^D Scripture is accustomed to use the name of "firmament" for those things that are preeminent in strength and power; as when it says: *The Lord is my firmament and my refuge*; and: *I have established the columns of it*; and that: *Praise him in the firmament of his power*. And indeed, philosophers call this body "firm," by which they mean something solid and full, which is so called in order to distinguish it from the "mathematical." Now, that is "mathematical" which consists only in dimensions, existing in breadth, I say, and depth, and height.

But that is "firm" in which, besides dimensions, there is also hardness and resistance. Furthermore, Scripture is accustomed to call what is strong and inflexible a "firmament," so that it uses this very word often even when it wishes to designate air that has been greatly condensed, as when it says: "Establishing the thunder" (Amos iv. 13). For Scripture called the "firming of thunder" the solidity and resistance of the spirit which, being enclosed in the hollows of the clouds, produces by its violent eruption the noises that accompany thunder. And now, therefore, we believe that this term has been applied to imply a solid nature capable of supporting slippery and easily dissolved water. And not at all, because according to common assumption it is thought to have had its genesis from water, are we to suppose that it is right to think it is similar to frozen water, or to some such material that takes its beginning from the filtration of moisture, such as the nature of crystal—which they say is transformed by an excessive freezing of water—or the nature of the "specular" stone ^B which forms among metals. And it is a transparent stone, possessing a peculiar and most pure clarity, which, if found accurate according to its own nature, neither eaten away by any decay nor split by fissures extending to its inner parts, appears in its splendor almost like the air. We do not, therefore, liken the firmament to any of these things. For it is truly the mark of a childish and simple mind to have such opinions about heavenly things. Nor, however, because all things are in all things—fire in the earth, air in water, and likewise one thing in another among the rest—and because none of the elements subject to the senses is pure and unmixed, excluding all association either with the medium or with the opposite, do we therefore dare to say that the firmament is fashioned either from one of the simple elements or is a certain mixture of these; ^C since we have been instructed by Scripture to allow our mind to imagine nothing beyond what has been granted. Nor let that point escape us either as unimportant: that after God gave the command,

^A “Let there be a firmament,” it is not said simply, “And there was a firmament,” but, “And God made the firmament;” and again, “And God divided.” Hear, you deaf, and see, you blind. And who is deaf, unless it be he who does not hear the Spirit crying out with such a great voice? And who is blind? He who does not see such clear proofs regarding the Only-Begotten. “Let there be a firmament.” This is the voice of the initiating cause. “And God made the firmament.” This is the testimony of the creative and formative power.

5. But let us return the discourse to the continuation of the explanation. “Let there be,” he says, “a division between water and water.” ^B Boundless, as it appears, was the outpouring of the waters, covering the earth from every side and hanging suspended above it, so that there would seem to be no proportion at all between these and the other elements. For this reason, it was said earlier that the abyss had encompassed the earth on all sides. We shall, however, provide the reason for their abundance in what follows. Surely none of you, not even those who have a very well-trained mind and who look acutely at this mortal and flowing nature, will attack this opinion as if we were proposing things impossible according to reason or fictitious; nor will anyone demand of us that we investigate upon what fulcrum the nature of the waters has been made firm. For by that same reasoning by which they draw the earth, which is heavier than water, from the extremities and place it suspended in the center, by that same reasoning, surely, they will all agree that that infinite water was also compelled to rest around the earth, both because of its natural impetus downward, and because of the equal weight from every side. The immense nature of water, therefore, was poured around the earth, yet not having a proportion to it, but far exceeding it, as the great Craftsman saw the future from the beginning and ordained the first things for the sake of the subsequent need. What need, then, was there for the water to exceed beyond what can be said? Because the substance of fire is necessary for the universe, not only for the ordering of terrestrial things, but also for the completion of the whole. For the whole would be mutilated if it ^C were lacking one of these—the greatest and most essential of all elements. Now, these are opposed to each other and one is destructive of the other: fire is destructive of water when it prevails in power, and water of fire when it prevails in quantity. ^D

It was necessary, however, that there should be no sedition between them, nor any occasion given for the dissolution of the universe through the total failure of either. ^A The Governor of all things so apportioned the nature of moisture that it might resist until the determined limits of the world’s constitution, while the fire is gradually consumed by its force. And indeed, He who arranged all things by weight and measure (for the drops of rain are numbered by Him, according to Job), knew for how much time He had destined the world to endure, and how much fuel was needed to be prepared for the fire. For this reason, there was such an abundance of water in the creation. ^B Indeed, no one is so far removed from life as to require reasoning to be convinced that fire is necessary to the world; not only because the arts by which our life is preserved all stand in need of the activity of fire—I mean weaving, shoemaking, building, and agriculture—but because neither the sprouting of trees, nor the ripening of fruits, nor the generation of land or water animals, nor their nourishment either could have subsisted from the beginning or continued for any length of time, if heat were not present. Therefore, the creation of heat is necessary for the constitution and endurance of everything that comes into being; and the abundance of water is necessary for the unceasing and inevitable consumption of the fire. ^C Furthermore, the water is necessary because the consuming force of the fire cannot be at rest or avoided.

6. Examine all creation, and you will see the power of heat in all things that come into being and pass away, dominating them. For this reason, much water is poured out over the earth, carried beyond what is seen, and furthermore, sown throughout the entire depth of the earth. ^D Hence come the abundance of springs, the gatherings of wells, and the streams of rivers, both those that are torrential and those that are perennial, so that moisture might be preserved in many and various storehouses. Now, from the East, from the winter solstice, flows the river Indus, the greatest stream of all riverine waters, as those who have recorded the circuits of the earth have recounted; from the middle of the East, the Bactrus, and the Choaspes, and the Araxes, from which the Tanais also branches off and flows out into the Maeotian marsh; and in addition to these, the Phasis, flowing from the Caucasian mountains, and countless others from the northern regions are carried into the Euxine Pontus. On the other hand, from the summer sunsets, beneath the Pyrenean mountain, flow the Tartessus and the Ister: the former is discharged into the sea beyond the Columns, while the Ister, flowing through Europe, pours into the Pontus. And what need is there to enumerate the others which the Ripaean mountains produce,

^A which are situated far beyond the deepest part of Scythia? Among which is the Rhodanus, along with infinite other rivers, themselves also navigable, which flow past the western Galatae and Celts, and the barbarians neighboring them, all of whom empty into the western sea. Others from the south, from the upper regions, pass through Ethiopia; some come to our sea, while others are emptied into that which lies outside the navigable ocean; such as the Aegon and the Nyses, and he who is called Chremes, and furthermore the Nile, which is not even like other rivers in its nature, as it floods Egypt like a sea. Thus is the place of our habitable earth encompassed by water, bound by vast seas and irrigated by myriad perennial rivers, through the unspeakable wisdom of Him who arranged that a nature contrary to fire should be difficult to consume. Yet there shall be a time when all things shall burn with fire, as Isaiah says when he speaks to the God of the universe: "Who sayest to the abyss, Be desolate, and I will dry up thy rivers." Wherefore, put away the wisdom that has been fooled, and receive ^B with us the doctrine of the truth, unlearned indeed in speech, but stable and firm in knowledge.

7. Therefore, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it distinguish between water and water. It has already been said what the name "firmament" signifies in Scripture. It does not at all mean a nature that is resistant and solid, endowed with weight and resistance. Otherwise, the earth would have more rightfully claimed such a name for itself. But because the nature of the superior bodies is fine and rare, and cannot be grasped by any sense, He called this a "firmament" by comparison to those things which are most fine and ^C beyond the reach of sense. Consider for me, then, a certain place gifted with the faculty of distinguishing moisture, which transmits the fine and filtered moisture upward, but sends the thicker and earthy part downward, so that from beginning to end the same temperament may be preserved, as the moisture is removed ^D part by part.

^A You distrust the quantity of water, yet you do not look to the quantity of the heat; which, even if it be small in size, is capable of consuming much moisture by its power. For it attracts the adjacent moisture, as a cupping-glass demonstrates; but it consumes what has been attracted, following the image of the light of a lamp, which, by drawing up the adjacent nourishment through the wick, quickly consumes it by transformation. And who doubts that the ether is fiery and burning? If it were not kept in check by the necessary decree of Him who created it, what would have prevented it from setting everything ablaze and burning up the things adjacent, consuming all the moisture in existing things at once? Therefore, atmospheric water arises when the place above is clouded over by the upward vapor—which rivers, springs, marshes, lakes, and all the seas throw off—so that the ether may not ignite ^B everything and seize upon it; especially since we see this sun in the summer season often leave a damp and marshy region completely moistureless and dry in the briefest moment of time. Whither, then, has that water gone? Let those who are so clever in all things show us. Is it not clear to everyone that it was dissolved and consumed by the heat of the sun? Yet those men say that the sun is not even hot; so much leisure do they have for talking. And observe upon what demonstration they rely, as they fight against the evidence. Since it is white, they say, in its color, and not reddish, nor yellow, for this reason it is not fiery in its nature; but they also say that its heat arises from its rapid rotation. What do they gain for themselves from this? That the sun might be thought to consume none of the moisture. But as for me, even if what is said is not true, yet I do not reject it, as it confirms my own argument. For it was said that the quantity of waters was necessary because of the consumption caused by the heat. But it makes no difference whether it is hot by nature or has the heat by affection, ^C in regards to producing the same effects upon the same materials. For whether wood, rubbed against itself, kindles fire and flame, or whether it is burned by a flame already lit, the end results from both are equal and similar. Yet we see the great wisdom of Him who governs all things, moving the sun from one place to another, so that, by not lingering always in the same places, it may not harm the order of nature through the superabundance of heat.

^A Observe, moreover, whether those who hold this opinion do not contradict themselves—those, namely, who say that the sea does not overflow because of the rivers, due to the consumption wrought by the sun, and, furthermore, that it remains salt and bitter because the fine and potable parts are consumed by the heat. This indeed happens most of all by that discerning power which the sun possesses, by which it carries away what is light, while it leaves behind the thick and earthy part, like a kind of silt or sediment; from which it results that bitterness, saltness, and a desiccating quality belong to the sea. But those who say these things about the sea, changing their opinion again, assert that there is no diminution of the liquid caused by the sun.

8. *And God called the firmament heaven* ^B; so that, while this appellation is properly applicable to something else, this also participates in the name through similarity. We have often observed that this visible place is called heaven, on account of the density and continuity of the air, which falls clearly under our vision, and because, being visible, it is deemed worthy of the name of heaven, in instances where it says: *The birds of heaven*; and again: *The things flying according to the firmament of heaven*. Such also is the expression: *They ascend even to the heavens*. And Moses, blessing the tribe of Joseph, imparts blessings ^C *from the ends of heaven, and from dew, and from the risings of the sun, and from the conjunctions of the months, and from the top of mountains and eternal hills*: for the place surrounding the earth ^D clearly.

^A receives blessings, as the region around the earth is made fruitful through the good order of these. But also in the curses upon Israel, "The heaven," He says, "which is over thy head, shall be brass." What does He mean by these words? An utter drought and lack of the aerial waters, through which the fertility of fruits exists for the earth. When, therefore, it speaks of dew or rain being brought from heaven, we understand the waters which have been ordered to occupy the region above. For when vapors are gathered ^B about the heights, and the air is condensed by the compression of the winds, when the moisture that was previously dispersed in the cloud, vapor-like and thin, approaches itself, drops are formed, which fall downwards by the weight of the accumulated volume; and this is the origin of rain. But when the moisture is dissipated by the force of the winds, and reduced to foam, and then, having been cooled to the extreme, is altogether congealed, the cloud being broken, snow descends. And in general, according to the same reasoning, it is possible for you to see the entire nature of moisture forming around the air above our heads. And let no one compare out of curiosity the simplicity and unadorned character of our spiritual discourses ^C with the refined discourses of those who have philosophized about the heaven. For by as much as the beauty of chaste women is to be preferred to that of harlots, by so much do our discourses excel those from without. For the latter bring persuasion to their arguments by constraint; but here, the truth is presented naked and devoid of artifice. And what need is there for us to labor in refuting their falsehoods, when it suffices for us, having compared their books one with another, to sit as spectators of their war in great leisure? For neither fewer in number, nor inferior in dignity, but even far superior in loquacity, do they refute the opinion contrary to their own—the ones who claim that the universe is burnt up, and ^D that it lives again from certain seminal reasons which remain in the burnt-up things; whence they also introduce infinite destructions and regenerations of the world. But they, being severed to both sides of the truth, find for themselves turnings into error from here and there.

9. But there is also a discourse for us against certain writers regarding the separated waters, who, under the pretext of anagogy and higher understanding, have taken refuge in allegories, saying that spiritual and incorporeal powers are tropologically signified by the waters; and that the superior ones have remained above the firmament, while the evil ones have settled below in terrestrial and material places. For this reason, they say, even the waters that are above the heavens praise God; that is, the good powers, worthy because of the purity of their governing faculty to...

^A render praise to the Creator. But the waters below the heavens are, they say, spiritual wickednesses, which have fallen from their natural height to the abyss of wickedness; and these, being turbulent and seditious, and surging with the tumults of the passions, have been called "sea" because of the instability and inconstancy of movements arising from the will. Rejecting such discourses, therefore, as comparisons of dreams and old wives' fables, let us understand water as water, and let us accept the separation that took place by the firmament according to the reason already offered. ^B Indeed, even if the waters established above the heavens are sometimes brought forward to praise the common Lord of all, we do not on that account suppose them to be of a rational nature. For the heavens are not living beings simply because "they declare the glory of God," nor is the firmament a sentient creature simply because "it proclaims the work of His hands." And if someone says that the heavens are the contemplative virtues, and the firmament the active powers that effect what is seemly, we accept this discourse as cleverly fashioned, but we will not altogether grant it to be true. For by this logic, dew, and frost, and cold, and heat—since they were commanded by Daniel ^C to praise the Maker of all—would also be a certain spiritual and invisible nature. But such a manner of speaking, if it is accepted in these passages by those who are wise in a spiritual way, fulfills the laudation of the Creator. For not only does the water laid up above the heavens, which is decorated with special honors because of the excellence inherent in it from virtue, pay praise to God, but also, "Praise Him," it says, "you who are from the earth, dragons and all abysses." Therefore, even the abyss, which those who use allegories have cast into the worse part, was not seen as despicable and to be rejected by the Psalmist, since it was invited into the common chorus ^D of creatures; but even that, according to the principles inherent within it, harmoniously completes the hymn to its Maker.

10. *And God saw that it was good.* The things made by Him do not in any way bring pleasurable delight to God, nor is the recommendation of beautiful things to Him the same as it is among us; but that is beautiful which is perfected and absolute according to the reason of art, and which contributes to the utility of the end. He, therefore, having set before Himself the manifest target of the things that come to be, reviewing the individual things—as they fulfill the end—according to the principles of His own art, approved them. For if the hand by itself, or the eye privately, or each of the [next page continues...]

if the separate members of a statue were to lie scattered, they would appear beautiful to no one; but if they are restored to their proper place and order, the beauty that arises from their proportion, which before hardly came into view, now becomes manifest even to the unlearned and unskilled observer. ^A Yet the artist, even before the assembly of the parts, knows the beauty of each, and praises them singly, as he directs his mind to their end. God is therefore described now as a sort of craftsman of this kind, who praises each individual work, and indeed does not hesitate to award fitting praise to the whole world once it is completed. But let our discourses on the second day end here, so that an opportunity may be offered to studious listeners to weigh what they have heard, so that if there is anything useful in it, they may retain it in their memory; and through diligent meditation, as if by a certain process of digestion, they may await the distribution of those things which are beneficial. And let it give leisure to those who are occupied with providing their livelihood, that, arranging their affairs in the intervening time, they may appear with a soul purged of cares for the evening banquet of words. May God, who has created the great things and has ordained that these small things be spoken of, grant you understanding in all the truth of Himself, so that from the things that are seen you may perceive the invisible, and from the magnitude and beauty of the creatures you may acquire the fitting opinion regarding our Creator. ^B For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that in the earth, in the air, in the heaven, in the water, in the night, in the day, and in all visible things, we may clearly receive reminders of our Benefactor. ^C For neither shall we give any occasion for sins, nor shall we leave any place for the enemy in our hearts, if we have God dwelling within us through constant memory; to whom be all glory and adoration, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY IV. On the gathering of the waters.

1. There are certain cities which feast the eyes from early morning until the very evening with all kinds of shows by prestidigitators. And indeed, although they sing certain dissolute and corrupt songs, and those which in every way generate much impurity in souls,

they never grow sated. Many people also count such crowds blessed, because they have left behind the commerce of the marketplace, or the inventions of the arts that look to the preservation of life, and spend the time of life allotted to them in complete leisure and pleasure; not knowing that the orchestra, which abounds with impure spectacles, is a common and public workshop of lasciviousness for those who sit there. But even those ^A flute melodies, being very elegant, and the harlot-like songs, settling into the minds of the listeners, persuade everyone—inasmuch as they emulate the striking of the citharists or the flute players—to do nothing other than behave shamefully. Indeed, there are some now who are so horse-mad that they struggle over horses even in their dreams, swapping chariots and changing drivers, and in short, they do not refrain from their daytime folly even in their dream-time fantasies. But we, whom the Lord, the great creator and artificer of marvelous things, has called to the demonstration of His works, shall we grow weary in contemplating and listening to the oracles of the Spirit, or shall we be lazy? Shall we not rather, by standing around this great and manifold workshop of divine creation, and by each of us returning in mind to the ages of old, contemplate the ordering of the whole world? The heaven, indeed, according to the prophetic discourse, ^B fashioned like a vault; the earth, infinite in size and weight, resting upon itself; the air, diffused, soft, and moist by nature, providing a proper and perpetual nourishment to those who breathe, yet yielding and being parted by things that move through it because of its softness, so that it is no obstacle to those passing through it, as it easily returns and flows around to the backs of those who divide it. Finally, you will contemplate the nature of water, both that which provides nourishment and that which is intended for our other uses, and at the same time its orderly gathering into the defined places, from what has just been read to us. ^C

2. 34 And God said: Let the water under heaven be gathered into one congregation, and let the dry land appear. And it was so: and the water which was under heaven was gathered into its congregations: and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gatherings of the waters He called Seas 61. How many matters you set before me in the previous discourses, while you kept asking for the reason how the earth was invisible: when indeed any body naturally possesses color, and every color ^D

^A is apprehended by the sense of sight; and perhaps what has been said did not seem sufficient to you, in that "invisible" was spoken not with respect to nature, but with respect to us, because of the interposition of the water which then covered the whole earth. Behold now, hear the Scripture itself explaining itself: *Let the waters be gathered together, and let the dry land appear.* The veils are drawn aside, so that that which was not previously seen may present itself to our gaze.

Perhaps someone might also inquire further on these matters. First, why does the discourse refer to the command of the Creator that which naturally belongs to water, namely, to be carried toward a decline? For as long as water happens to be lying on level ground, it is stationary, having nowhere to flow off; but once it encounters some slope, immediately the leading part being set in motion, the part continuous with it occupies the base of that which has been moved, and the following part occupies the place of that one; and thus the part that leads always escapes, and the one coming up behind pushes it on; and the motion becomes all the faster the greater the weight of what is being carried, and the deeper the basin toward which the flow is directed. If, then, such is the nature of water, the command bidding it to be gathered into one collection would be idle and superfluous. For surely it was destined, because of its natural proclivity toward the depths, to concede of its own accord to the most concave location of all, and not to stand still until its back was leveled. For there is no location so ^B level as the surface of water.

Next, one might ask, how were the waters commanded to run together into one collection, since many seas are seen, and they are separated from one another by a very great interval and position? Now, as to the first of the questions, we say this: that you did indeed acknowledge the movements of the water well enough after the Master’s command—that it is flowing and unstable, and by its nature is carried toward slopes and hollows; but what strength it possessed before this movement was implanted in it by that command, you neither saw yourself, nor have you heard from anyone who saw it. For reflect that the voice of God is the maker of nature, and the command that was given at that time to the creation provided a subsequent sequence for the things being created. Day and night were created once, and from that time they have not ceased to succeed one another, and to divide time into equal parts.

^C 3. *Let the waters be gathered together.* It was commanded that the nature of the waters run, and it never tires of being perpetually urged by that command. I say this, referring to the fluid portion of the waters. For some flow of their own accord, such as springs and rivers; others are collected and stationary. But my discourse now concerns the rushing waters. ^D

^A Has it ever occurred to you, as you stood by a fountain producing abundant water, to wonder who it is that impels this water from the bowels of the earth? Who urges it forward? What are the storehouses from which it proceeds? What is the place to which it hastens? How is it that these do not run dry, nor those become full? These things depend upon that first command. From that time the water was incited to run. In every history of waters, be mindful of that first voice: "Let the waters be gathered together." It behooved them to run, that they might occupy their proper place; then, being collected into the appointed spots, to remain within themselves and not advance further. For this reason, according to the word of the Preacher, "All the torrents go into the sea, and the sea is not filled" (Eccl. 1, 7). For both the flowing of the waters and the circumscription of the sea within its own boundaries depend upon that first legislative decree: "Let the waters be gathered together into one congregation." So that the flowing water, spreading into the regions that receive it, moving onward constantly and filling one place after another, might not inundate the whole of the continent, it was commanded to be gathered into one congregation. ^B On this account, the sea, often raging from the winds and rising to a vast height with its waves, as soon as it touches the shores, breaks its force into foam and turns back. "Will you not fear me," says the Lord, "who have placed the sand as a bound for the sea?" (Jer. 5, 22). By the weakest of all things, by sand, that force which is unendurable is bridled and restrained. For what else would prevent the Red Sea from invading the whole of Egypt, which is lower than itself, and being joined to the sea that lies adjacent to Egypt, if it were not bound by the command of the Creator? For that Egypt is lower than the Red Sea, those who desired to join the seas together—the Egyptian sea and the Indian sea, in which the Red Sea is—persuaded us by the deed itself. On this account, that Egyptian Sesostris, ^C who first attempted it, and later Darius the Mede, who planned to accomplish this very thing, desisted from their undertaking. These things I have said, that we might understand the power and efficacy of that command: "Let the waters be gathered together into one congregation." That is to say, let no other congregation be formed after this one, but let that which has been collected remain in its first collection.

4. "Then he who said, 'Let the waters be gathered together into one ^D congregation,' showed you that the waters were once divided into many places. But..."

^A For the hollows of the mountains, broken through by deep ravines, contained the collection of waters. And furthermore, many plains and low-lying lands, nothing inferior in size to the greatest seas, and countless dales, and valleys excavated in various shapes—all these were then filled with water—were emptied by the divine command, as the water from everywhere was driven toward one congregation.

And let no one say, "If there was water upon the earth, all the hollows that now receive the sea must have been filled." Where, then, were the collections of water to be made, if the hollows were already occupied? To this we shall answer that the receptacles were prepared at that very time, when it was necessary for the water to be separated into one coacervation. For there was not then the sea beyond the Pillars of Hercules; ^B nor that great and terrible sea to those who sail, which encompasses the British island and the western Iberians; but after the most spacious place was formed by the command of God, then the multitudes of water betook themselves into it.

As for the objection that the theory of the creation of the world as held by us is contrary to experience (for it is clear that not all the water has run into one congregation), much could be said, and things known to everyone of themselves; but perhaps it is ridiculous even to contend with such arguments. For are they going to bring forward the marshy waters against us, and those collected from rains, and think that by these they can refute our position? Nay, Scripture has called the greatest and most perfect ^C gathering of waters "one congregation." For wells are also man-made collections of water, when moisture flows into the hollowed part of the earth. Therefore, the term "congregation" does not indicate just any collection of waters, but the primary and greatest one, in which the whole element is displayed in one mass. For just as fire is divided into small parts for our use here, and is diffused in a mass in the ether; and just as air is divided into small parts, yet also occupies the space around the earth in a mass; ^D so also with water: even if there are some small, divided gatherings, yet there is one "congregation" which distinguishes the whole element from the rest. For the lakes—both those situated in the northern regions, and those around the Greek territory, and those occupying Macedonia and the region of the Bithynians and the Palestinians—are indeed congregations; but our discourse now is about the one that is the greatest of all, and which is equal in magnitude to the earth. That they contain a multitude of water no one will deny; yet no one would call them "seas" by a proper appellation.

^A For one might even, with good reason, deny that they share anything resembling the great sea, like the Asphaltite lake in Judaea, or the Serbonis, which stretches between Egypt and Palestine through the Arabian desert. For these are lakes, but the sea is one, as those who have traveled round the earth relate. Even if some think that the Hyrcanian and the Caspian are circumscribed within themselves, yet if one must place any trust in the geographies of those who have studied them, they are perforated into one another, and all of them drain into the greatest sea; just as they say the Red Sea is connected to what lies beyond Gades. How then, one asks, did God call the collections of water "seas"? ^B Because, although the waters flowed together into one gathering, the Lord called the coacervations of water—that is, the gulfs which are held within their own shape by the surrounding land—"seas." There is the northern sea, the southern sea, the eastern sea, and another to the west. There are also the proper names of the seas: the Euxine Pontus, the Propontis, the Hellespont, the Aegean and the Ionian, the Sardinian sea and the Sicilian, and the Tyrrhenian, which is another. And there are countless names of seas, which it would be long and clearly absurd to enumerate accurately at this time. Therefore God called the coacervations of waters "seas." But the sequence of the discourse has led us to this point; let us now return to what we originally proposed.

5. ^C *And God said, Let the waters be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear.* He did not say: "And let the earth appear," lest He should again show it to be unformed, muddy, mixed with water, not yet clothed with its own proper form or power. At the same time, we should avoid attributing the cause of the dryness to the sun, for the Creator prepared the dryness of the earth before the generation of the sun. But pay close attention to the meaning of what is written: that not only did the overflowing water drain away from the earth, but also whatever was mixed into it through the deeper places, this too withdrew, obeying the inevitable command of the Master. And it was so. This addition sufficiently demonstrated that the voice of the Creator had reached its effect; yet it is added in many manuscripts: *And the water which was under the heaven was gathered into its gatherings, and the dry land appeared.* ^D

These things neither have any of the other interpreters ^A handed down, nor does the usage of the Hebrews appear to possess them. For indeed, after that testimony, *It was so*, the repetition of the same things is superfluous. The more accurate copies, therefore, have been marked with an obelus; but the obelus is a symbol of rejection. *And God called the dry land Earth, and the collections of the waters He called Seas* (96). Why is it also mentioned in what follows: *Let the waters be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear*, but it is not written: *And let the earth appear*? And here again: *The dry land appeared, and God called the dry land Earth*? Because "dry land" is, as it were, a property, which in a way expresses and designates the nature of the subject; but "earth" is a bare name of the thing. For just as "rational" is the property of man, while "man" signifies the animal itself in which that property resides; so also "dry" is the proper and peculiar quality of the earth. Therefore, that in which dryness inherently resides is called earth; just as that in which "neighing" inherently resides is named a horse.

Neither does this hold true only for the earth; but every one of the other ^B elements possesses a distinct and allotted quality, by which it is distinguished from the others, and each one is recognized for what it is. Water, indeed, has for its proper quality coldness; air, moisture; and fire, heat. But these things are considered by reason as primary elements of composite bodies in the manner stated; whereas those which are already arranged in a body and fall under the senses have joined qualities. And nothing of the things seen and perceived by the senses is absolutely isolated, nor simple, nor pure; but the earth is dry and cold; water is moist and cold; again, air is hot and moist, and fire is hot and dry. For in this way, through the joined quality, the power ^C proceeds to be mixed one with another. For each element is mingled with its neighbor through the common quality, and through the fellowship which it has with the near, it is joined to its opposite (98). For example, the earth, being dry and cold, is united to water by the affinity of coldness, and is united to air through the water; since water, being set in the middle of both, as if by the application of two hands, touches each of the adjacent qualities, namely, the coldness of the earth and the moisture of the air. Again, the air, by its own mediation, becomes a reconciler of the warring nature of water and ^D fire, being joined to water through moisture and to fire through heat. Moreover, fire, which by its own nature

^A is hot and dry, is joined by means of the heat to the air, and by means of the dryness it returns to communion with the earth. And thus there comes to be a circle and a harmonious chorus, all things agreeing and coordinating with one another. Whence the designation of the elements has been properly applied to them. These things I have said in order to state the reason why God called the dry 'earth,' but did not call the earth 'dry.' For the dry is not one of those things which were later added to the earth, but one of those things which from the beginning constitute its very essence. Moreover, those things which are the cause of something's existence are by nature prior and more excellent than those things which come subsequently. Wherefore, certain distinguishing marks from the earlier and more ancient things were rightly devised to designate the earth.

6. *And God saw that it was good.* The Scripture ^B does not indicate that a certain pleasant aspect of the sea was presented to God. For the Creator does not look upon the beauty of the creation with eyes, but contemplates the things that are made with ineffable wisdom. It is indeed a pleasant spectacle when the sea is whitening, while a stable tranquility possesses it; it is also pleasant when its surface, roughened by gentle breezes, offers to those who see it a purple or azure color: when it does not beat violently against the neighboring land, but embraces it as if with certain peaceful caresses. Yet we must not suppose that the Scripture intended to say in this manner that the sea appeared beautiful and pleasant to God; but rather, beauty here is judged by the reason of its creation. First, because the water of the sea is the fountain and origin of all the moisture of the earth. This is distributed through hidden channels, as the porous and hollow parts of the continents ^C indicate, into which the sea enters; which, when it is enclosed in winding, and not straight-running, byroads, and is impelled by the wind that moves it, then bursts forth, having broken through the surface; and as the percolation improves its bitterness, it becomes suitable for drinking. But now, having also received a hotter quality from minerals in its passage, because of the same cause that moves it, it becomes, for the most part, hot and fiery: which it is possible to observe in many islands and many maritime places. Furthermore, that we may compare small things with great, in the inland regions ^D certain places bordering on river waters experience something similar. What, then, is the reason why this has been said by me? Because the whole earth is honeycombed, being filled and replenished by water passing underneath through hidden channels from the sources of the sea.

flowing into the deep, ^B is indeed beautiful, for being a reservoir for rivers, it receives into itself the currents from everywhere, and remains within its own boundaries. It is beautiful, too, because it is a beginning and a sort of fountain of the waters of the air, warmed by the ray of the sun, and giving off the thinner part of the water through vapors; this, when drawn up to the higher place, is then cooled because it has risen above the reflection of the rays from the ground, and at the same time, the shadow of the cloud intensifying the cooling, it becomes rain and fertilizes the earth. And no one would disbelieve this at all who has considered cauldrons being heated, which, being full of liquid, are often left empty, the whole of what was boiling having been separated off into vapor. Moreover, one may see this very water of the sea being boiled by those who sail; they, receiving the vapors with sponges, provide a moderate relief for their needs in times of necessity. ^C It is beautiful also in another way before God, because it girds and encircles the islands, providing them at once with both adornment and safety through itself; then also because it connects through itself the continents that are very far apart from one another, providing an unimpeded intercourse for those who sail, through whom it also bestows stories of things unknown, and produces wealth for merchants, and easily corrects the necessities of life, providing for the distribution of excess goods to those who have an abundance, and granting the correction of what is lacking to those in need. But whence is it permitted to me to see with such accuracy the whole beauty of the sea, as much as it appeared to the eye of the Creator? And if the sea is beautiful and commendable before God, how much more beautiful is the assembly of such a church as this, in which a mixed sound, like that of some wave striking the shore, of men and women and children, is sent forth according to our supplications ^D to God? A deep calm preserves it unshaken, since the spirits of wickedness have not been able to disturb it with heretical doctrines. Be therefore worthy of the acceptance of the Lord, by preserving this good order in the most seemly manner, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY V

On the germination of the earth

1. And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass of hay, sowing seed according to its kind, and fruit-bearing wood making fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in it. Conformably, after the earth had rested, having put aside the weight of the water, the command came to it to germinate; which indeed we see still happening even now.

^A For that voice of old, and that first command, became a kind of law of nature, and remained in the earth, providing it with the power to generate and bear fruit for the future. "Let the earth bring forth." First in the generation of things that grow is germination; then, when the sprouts have protruded a little, it becomes an herb; then, when it has increased, it is hay, as the plants are little by little articulated and proceed until they arrive at the perfection of the seed. For all things grow green and flourish in exactly the same way. ^B "Let the earth bring forth the herb of hay." Let the earth by itself bring forth the germination, needing no help from elsewhere. Since some think that the sun is the cause of the things that grow from the earth, drawing the power that is in the depths to the surface by the attraction of heat, for this reason the adornment of the earth is older than the sun, so that those who are deceived by error might cease to worship the sun as the author of things pertaining to life. Therefore, if they were persuaded that the whole earth had been adorned before the rising of the sun itself, they would even remit the immoderate admiration conceived for it, when it comes into their minds that the origin of the sun is posterior to hay and herb. ^C Is food, then, prepared for the cattle, but nothing thought worthy of our own provision? Indeed, He who prepared pasture for the oxen and horses prepares riches and comforts especially for you. For He who feeds your cattle increases the equipment of your life. Furthermore, what else is the generation of seeds but the preparation of your own life? Add to this that many of those things which are still herbs and vegetables exist as food for men.

2. "Let the earth bring forth the herb of hay, sowing seed," He says, "according to its kind." Although, therefore, some species of herb is useful to other living creatures, nevertheless their utility comes back to us, and the use of the seeds is assigned to us; so that the sense of what was said is such: "Let the earth bring forth the herb of hay, and seed sowing according to its kind." For thus the order and series of the words will be able to be restored (for now the construction seems inept and incongruent), ^D and will follow the requirements of the things managed by nature. First, indeed, germination...

then green grass, then the increase of hay, and lastly the completion and perfection of things growing by means of seed. How then, they ask, does Scripture indicate that all things growing out of the earth are seed-bearing, when neither the reed, nor grass, nor mint, nor crocus, nor garlic, nor the flowering rush, nor countless other genera of plants appear to produce seed? To this indeed we say that many things growing from the earth include the power and virtue of seeds in their lowest parts and in the root. For example, the reed, after its annual growth, sends forth from the root a certain projection which has the character of seed for the future. And countless other things do this, which, being spread through the earth, conclude their succession in their roots. So it is truer than all else that in each of the growing things there is either seed or a certain seminal virtue existing within. ^B And this is that which is meant by "According to its kind." For the shoot of a reed is not productive of an olive tree, but from a reed another reed is born, and from seeds sprout things akin to those that were cast. And thus that which was brought forth from the earth in the first generation is even now preserved, with the kind kept safe by the sequence of succession. Let the earth bring forth. Consider, I pray you, the earth, cold and barren, suddenly, at this small sound and such a brief command, bringing forth and stirred up toward the bearing of fruit, just as if it had cast off a certain gloomy and mourning cloak, being reclothed in one more radiant and exulting in its own proper ornaments, and bringing forth the myriad kinds of growing things. I wish for the wonder of the creation to be more firmly imprinted in you, so that wherever you may be, and to whatever kind of growing things you may encounter, you may clearly remember the Creator. ^C First, indeed, when you see the herb of the hay and the flower, let there come into your mind human nature, by remembering that image of the wise Isaiah: "All flesh is as hay, and all the glory of man as the flower of hay" (Isa. XL, 6). For the short-lived nature of life, and the joy and cheerfulness of human prosperity that lasts not for long, have found a most appropriate comparison in the prophet. Today he who flourishes in body, who is fleshy from luxuries, who bears before him a complexion blooming with the flower of age, who is vigorous and sharp, and whose impulse cannot be withstood, this same person tomorrow is miserable, either withered by time or dissolved by disease. Some person has become famous for an abundance of riches, and a multitude of flatterers surrounds him; there is a company of feigned friends hunting for his favor; ^D numerous are his kinsmen, and these skilled in the contrivance of simulation; there is a countless swarm of those following after him.

^A And those, who in part for the sake of obtaining food, and in part for other needs, stand by him—whom, both as he goes out and again when he returns, he drags along with him—excite envy in those who encounter them. To ^B wealth, add also some civic power, or those honors conferred by kings; or the administration of nations; or the command of armies: the herald crying out with a loud voice before him; the lictors on either side, striking the deepest terror into those who are subject; the blows, the confiscations, the arrests, the prisons, from which an unbearable fear is gathered together by those who are under his hand. And what after this? One night, or one fever, or pleurisy, or inflammation of the lungs, snatches this man away from men, and immediately strips bare his whole stage, and that glory is proved to be like a dream. Wherefore the prophet compared human glory to the weakest bloom.

3. Let the earth sprout the herb of the hay, sowing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness. Even now, the order of things being born witnesses to the first arrangement: for germination precedes every herb and every grass. ^C For whether anything shoots forth from the root by an interior projection, as the crocus and grass, it must germinate and appear on the outside; or whether it is born from seed, thus also it is necessary first that there be germination, then an herb, then the hay growing green, and finally the fruit swelling in the now dry and thick stalk. Let the earth sprout the herb of the hay. When the seed falls into earth endowed with moderate moisture and heat, becoming lax and full of many pores, it grasps the adjacent earth, and draws to itself what is its own and related. But the minute parts of the earth, slipping into those pores and inserting themselves into them, further dilate its mass: so that it drives roots downward, indeed, but rises upward, with as many stalks, clearly, as there are ^D roots emerging. But as the sprout is always warmed, the moisture attracted through the roots, through the attraction of heat, brings up moderate nourishment from the earth; and this is distributed into the stalk, and into the bark, and into the husks of the grain, and into the wheat itself, and into the ears. And every thing being born, having thus gradually received its increase, arrives at its suitable and proper measure, whether it belongs to the genus of grain, or of pulse, or of herbs, or of shrubs. One hay, and one herb, is enough to occupy your whole mind in the contemplation of the art that produced them, as to how the stalk of wheat is girded with joints, by which as if with ligatures

they may easily bear the weight of the ears when, filled with grain, they bow down toward the ground. For this reason the oat is completely empty, as its head is burdened by nothing; but nature secured the wheat with these ligatures. And having stored the grain in a sheath, so that it might not be easily carried off by seed-stealing birds; furthermore, by the projection of the awns, like spikes, it wards off harm and damage from small animals.

4. ^B What shall I say? What shall I pass over in silence? ^C In the treasury of the creation, the discovery of the more precious is difficult, but the loss of what is passed over is most distressing. *Let the earth sprout with the herb of grass.* And at once along with the nourishment, poisons were brought forth: with the wheat, hemlock; along with other foodstuffs, hellebore, and aconite, and mandrake, and the juice of the poppy. What then? Shall we, neglecting to give thanks for the useful things, accuse the Creator because of those things that are destructive to our life? And shall we not consider that not everything was created for the sake of our belly? But for us, the appointed foods are ready at hand and known to all; yet each of the things that have been created fulfills a certain reason of its own in the creation. ^D For, because bull’s blood is a toxin to you, did it therefore behoove the animal either not to be produced, or, when produced, to be bloodless, whose strength our life requires for so many and such great things? But you have your own indwelling reason sufficient for the avoidance of destructive things. For do not sheep and goats know how to avoid things that harm their life, discerning what is harmful by sense alone? And to you, who possess both reason and the medical art that provides what is useful, and the experience of those who have gone before, which imparts the avoidance of harmful things, is it difficult, tell me, to beware of poisons? There is nothing, moreover, among these things that was created in vain, nothing uselessly brought into the light. For they either provide food for some of the irrational animals, or they have been discovered even by us ourselves, through the medical art, for the soothing of certain ailments. For starlings feed on hemlock, avoiding the harm from the poison due to the constitution of their body; for having narrow passages at the heart, they manage to digest what has been swallowed before the chill from it can touch the vital parts. Hellebore, however, is food for quails, who avoid the harm by the property of their temperament. And these very things are sometimes useful to us as well, given the occasion. For by means of mandrake, doctors induce sleep; and with opium, they put to rest severe pains of the body. Indeed, some have already deadened a maddened appetite with hemlock, and have rooted out many chronic diseases with hellebore. So that [if you thought you had grounds for complaint against the Creator—]

this has yielded to you as an additional cause for thanksgiving.

5. *Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass.* What an abundant supply of food, offered spontaneously by nature, is enclosed in these words! It is found in the roots, in the herb itself, and already in the fruits! And how great is the amount that comes to us from diligence and agriculture! He did not immediately command the seed and the fruit to be brought forth, but rather that the earth should germinate and grow green, and only then reach perfection in seed, ^B so that that first command might become a foundational lesson for nature regarding the sequence to follow. How then, they ask, does the earth bring forth seeds according to their kind, when often, after sowing wheat, we harvest this black grain? But this is by no means a transmutation into another species, but rather a kind of disease and ailment of the seed. For it has not ceased to be wheat, but, as one may learn from its very name, it has turned black through scorching. For, scorched by excessive cold, it has degenerated into another color and flavor. Yet they say that if it obtains suitable soil and well-tempered air, it returns again to its original form. Thus, you will discover nothing in growing things occurring contrary to the command. Furthermore, what is called darnel, and the other adulterated seeds which are mixed in with edible ones—which Scripture is accustomed to call tares—do not arise from the transformation of wheat, but subsist from their own proper origin and possess their own distinct kind. ^C These indeed form an image of those who adulterate the teachings of the Lord and, not having been legitimately instructed in the Word, but corrupted by the doctrine of the evil one, nevertheless mingle themselves with the healthy body of the Church, so that they may secretly instill their own harms into the more simple-minded. Now the Lord also compares the perfection of those who have believed in Him to the growth of seeds, saying: *As if a man should cast seed into the earth, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not. For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear ^D.* (Mark IV, 26-28). *Let the earth bring forth the herb.* In the smallest moment of time, the earth, beginning from the germination so as to keep the laws of its Creator, passing through every form of growth, immediately led the sprouts to perfection. And indeed, the meadows were weighed down by an abundance of grass; and

the fields, bristling with crops ^A, preserved the image of a surging sea through the movement of the ears of grain. Every herb and every species of garden vegetable, and whatever was found among shrubs or legumes, then exceeded the earth in every abundance. For there was no failure in those things that were then brought forth, neither from the inexperience of farmers, nor from the inclemency of the air, nor from any other cause harming the things that were coming into being. Nor did the condemnatory judgment impede the fertility of the earth. For these things are older than the sin, on account of which we were condemned to eat bread in the sweat of our face 67.

6. "But let the earth bring forth the fruit-bearing tree, producing fruit ^B, whose seed is in itself according to its kind and according to likeness upon the earth." At this word, all the thickets were thickening, and all trees springing up: those which are accustomed to rise to the greatest height, firs and cedars, and cypresses, and pines. And all shrubs were immediately leaf-crowned and dense. There also came forth the plants that are called coronal, and the rose-beds, and myrtles, and laurels. Everything which previously did not exist upon the earth came in one moment of time to be, each with its own property, divided by most evident differences from those which are of a different kind, and each marked by its own characteristic. Only this: the rose ^C was then without a thorn, but later the thorn was joined to the beauty of the flower, so that pain might be contiguous to the enjoyment of pleasure, that we might be reminded of the sin on account of which the earth was condemned to bring forth for us thorns and thistles 69. "But," they say, "it was commanded, 'Let the earth bring forth the fruit-bearing tree, producing fruit upon the earth, whose seed is in itself,' and yet we see many of the trees possessed of neither fruits nor seeds 70." What, then, shall we say? That the things which are more precious by nature have attained to primary mention; and then, that to one considering it accurately, it will be manifest that all things either bear seed or possess a power equivalent to seeds. For black poplars and willows, and elms, and white poplars, and all things of that kind,

^A even if they appear openy to bear no fruit, yet if one should examine them diligently, he will find that each of these trees possesses a seed. For that grain which is situated under the leaf—which some who labor at coining names call *mischon*—possesses the power and virtue of a seed. For whatever is accustomed to shoot forth from the branches, from there for the most part they cast out roots. Perhaps also those shoots which sprout from the roots hold the place of seed; the cultivators of plants, by pulling these away, multiply their kind. Before this, however, as we have said, mention was made of those trees which are more conducive to our life and which, by endowing man with their own fruits, were to supply him with a bountiful sustenance: the vine, indeed, destined to produce wine to gladden the heart of man; the olive, moreover, destined to produce fruit that can delight the face of a man with oil. ^B How many things ran together in one place, produced with haste by nature! The root of the vine; the shoots spreading circularly, verdant and far-reaching over the earth; the germ, the tendrils, the unripe grape, the clusters. If you look attentively with your eyes at the vine, it itself sufficiently recalls you to the memory of nature. For you remember, of course, the similitude of the Lord: that He calls Himself the vine, and the Father the husbandman, and He has called us, who are individually inserted into the Church through faith, branches; and He invites us to fruitfulness, lest, being condemned for uselessness, we be delivered to the fire; nor does He cease to compare the souls of men everywhere to vines. For "A vineyard," He says, "was made for the beloved, in a horn, in a fat place" (Isa. v, 1); and, "I planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about" (Isa. v, 2). ^C He speaks, clearly, of human souls as the vineyard, which He has hedged around with the protection, that is to say, of the commandments and the guardianship of the angels. "For the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him" (Ps. xxxiii, 8). Then, also, by appointing in the Church primarily apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, He fixed, as it were, walls for us. And by the examples of the ancients and blessed men, He raised our mind on high, and allowed it not to be cast down to the ground, nor to be worthy of being trampled upon. But He wishes us, as if by certain tendrils, to embrace our neighbor with the embraces of charity, and to find rest in these, so that, always striving with a continuous impulse upwards, ^D just like certain vines climbing trees, we may make ourselves equal to the summits of the highest things. Moreover, He also demands of us that, while we are being dug up, we should endure it. For the soul is dug up when, with the cares of the world which are a burden to our hearts,

^A it strips itself off. Wherefore, he who has laid aside fleshly love, or his own zeal for wealth, or who has deemed this miserable, short-lived reputation as something to be spat upon and held in contempt, has, as it were, been dug up and has breathed again, having cast off the vain burden of worldly thinking. But one must, according to the word of the proverb, neither run wild—that is to say, not conduct one’s life for the sake of show—nor hunt after the praise of those on the outside, but be fruitful, storing up the evidence of one's works for the true Husbandman. Do you, however, be

As a fruitful olive tree in the house of God

7. But let us return to the investigation of the ordinances of nature. How many kinds of plants then sprang up, some fruitful, others fit for roofing, others suitable for shipbuilding, others for burning! In these, again, there is a manifold ornamentation of the parts of each tree, and the discovery of the property of each is difficult to grasp, as is the understanding of the differences in relation to the others, even though they are of a different kind. How some of their roots are deep, while others are shallow; and how some grow upright with a single trunk, while others are low-growing and divided into many shoots directly from the root. How those whose branches are long and extended far into the air also have deep roots, distributed ^C in a circle to a great extent, just as if nature had placed certain foundations corresponding to the weight of what hangs above. How many differences there are in the barks! For some of the plants have smooth bark, others have rugged bark; and some are of a single layer, others are many-layered. And what is wonderful is that you may find symptoms similar to human youth and old age even in plants. For upon the young and flourishing, a bark is stretched out; but upon the aging, it becomes, as it were, wrinkled and rough. And some sprout again when cut, while others remain without successors, having endured the cutting as a kind of death. Indeed, some have observed that pine trees, when cut or even burned, are transformed ^D into oak forests. Moreover, we have known the natural defects of certain trees to be cured by the diligence of farmers; such are the sour pomegranates and the more bitter almonds, which, when they have received a rich wedge of pine wood driven through the middle of the pith into the trunk, perforated at the root, then transform the harshness of their sap into a good quality. Let no one, therefore, who is living in wickedness despair of himself, knowing that husbandry changes the qualities of plants, but the

care of the soul ^A can overcome all manner of bodily ailments. And the difference in the fruit-bearing of fruit-bearing plants is so great that no one could even describe it in words. For not only is there a diversity of fruits among different kinds of trees, but even within the same species 63 of tree there is a great difference; where, indeed, another 64 character of fruit is distinguished by husbandmen between male and female, seeing that they even divide palm trees into males and females. And you may sometimes see the one called female by them lowering its branches, as if inflamed with desire and longing for the embrace of the male, and the cultivators of the plants inserting into the branches what are, as it were, the seeds of the males, which are called *psenes*; and thus, as if in a perception of enjoyment, it becomes composed, and the branches rise up again, and the foliage of this tree is restored to its proper form. They say the same things also regarding figs. Whence some plant 65 wild figs beside the cultivated ones; others, by binding on the young green figs, cure the weakness of the fruitful and cultivated figs, applying the green figs to the fruit that is already flowing and scattering. What does this riddle 66 of nature want to tell you? That we often ought to acquire from those who are outside the faith a certain vigor for the demonstration of good works. For if you see a person in the life of a pagan, or one cut off from the Church owing to some perverse heresy, ^C yet applying himself to a sober life and the rest of the good order of character, sharpen your own zeal all the more, so that you may be like the fruit-bearing fig tree, which gathers strength from the presence of the wild ones, and checks the shedding, while more diligently nurturing the fruit 67.

8. Such, then, are the differences regarding the mode of their generation, to mention a few from many. But as for the variety of the fruits themselves, their shapes, colors, the property of their flavors, and the utility of each—who could recount them? How some nakedly ripen in the sun, while others are filled while covered in husks; and of the trees whose fruit is tender, there is a thick covering of leaf, as in the fig-tree; while of those whose fruits are firmer, the protection of the leaves is light, as in the nut-tree. For the former, because of their weakness, needed greater aid; while for the latter, a thicker covering would have been harmful due to the shade of the leaves. How the leaf of the vine is cleft, so that the bunch of grapes may resist the injuries of the air, and yet receive the ray of the sun abundantly through its openness. Nothing is—

^A Nothing is without cause, nothing is by chance; all things possess a certain ineffable wisdom. What discourse could attain to these things? How could the human mind follow all things with such accuracy as to perceive the properties, and clearly distinguish the differences of each, and set forth the hidden causes without deficiency? The same water, drawn through the root, differently nourishes the root itself, differently the bark of the stem, differently the wood, and differently again the pith. It becomes also the leaf, and is divided into twigs and branches, and provides the growth for the fruits; and the tear of the plant and its sap proceed from the same cause: how great is the difference between them, no discourse could express. For the tear of the lentisk is one thing, and the sap of the balsam another; and certain ferulae in Egypt and Libya distill a different kind of sap. They say also that amber is a sap of plants, hardened into the nature of stone. Moreover, the pieces of straw and the most minute insects appearing in it are testimony to this opinion, which, because they settled in the tender and soft sap, are held trapped within. And in sum, one who has not been taught by experience how much the qualities of saps differ from one another will find no discourse to explain their power and efficacy. How again, from the same moisture, is wine produced in the vine, but oil in the olive? And it is not only this which is to be marveled at—how the moisture became sweet here, and oily there—but that even in sweet fruits there is an ineffable change of quality. For the sweetness in the vine is one thing, and that in the apple, the fig, and the date ^B another. Furthermore, I wish you to examine this with greater artistry: how the same water is now smooth to the sense, when, having lodged in certain plants, it becomes sweet; but now it pricks the taste, when, being led through other plants, it becomes sharp. And again, having changed into extreme bitterness, it irritates the sense when it settles in wormwood or scammony; and in acorns or the fruit of the cornel tree, it passes over into an astringent and harsh quality; but in terebinths and nuts ^C it is transformed into a tender and oily nature.

9. But why must I speak of things far off, when in the same fig tree it passes into the most contrary qualities? For it is most bitter in the sap, but most sweet in the fruit itself. And in the vine, it is most astringent in the twigs, but most pleasant in the clusters of grapes. And how many are the differences in colors! You might see in a meadow this same water becoming reddish in this flower, and in another purple, and blue in this one, and white in another; and it provides an even greater difference in odors than there is a variety of colors. But indeed I see my discourse ^D

^A falling into an insatiable desire for contemplation, and if I do not bind it to necessity and lead it back to the law of creation, the day will fail me while I demonstrate to you the great wisdom from the most minute things. "Let the earth bring forth the fruit-bearing tree, yielding fruit upon the earth." And suddenly the summits of the mountains were clothed in foliage; gardens were skillfully adorned, and the banks of rivers were graced with countless species of plants. And some of these were ordered to decorate the table of men, while others provided food for beasts from their leaves and fruits. Others offer us the aids of medicine—juices, liquors, stalks, barks, fruits; and, in a word, everything that long experience has found for us, as it gathers what is useful from individual instances—all these the ^B sharp providence of the Creator, foreseeing from the beginning, brought forth and produced. But you, when you see garden plants, wild plants, water-loving plants, land plants, flowering plants, or those without flowers, recognizing the great in the small, always fix more and more your admiration, and I would wish you to increase your love for your Creator. Weigh how He has fashioned some trees as ever-living, while others are subject to becoming bare; and among those that always appear green, how some shed their leaves, while others always keep them. For indeed the olive and the pine are stripped of their leaves; yet they change their foliage slowly and secretly, so that they never seem to be denuded of their hair. The palm, ^C however, retains its leaves forever, inasmuch as it remains with the same leaves from the first germination to the very end. Then also observe this: how the tamarisk is, as it were, of a double nature; it is indeed counted among water-plants, and yet it abounds in the deserts. Wherefore Jeremiah also rightly compares the worse and equivocal character of men to such a plant. ^D "Let the earth bring forth." This short command was immediately a great nature and an artful discourse, more quickly bringing forth to our thought the myriad properties of growing things. That command, which even now exists in the earth, urges it every year to exert all the power with which it is endowed for the generation of herbs, seeds, and trees. For just as tops, at the first blow struck upon them, accomplish the cycles that follow as they spin upon themselves, with their center fixed: so also the order of nature, having received its beginning from this first command, passes through all the time that follows, until it arrives at the common consummation of the universe. Toward which may we all, filled with fruits and full of good works, hasten, so that, being planted in the house of the Lord, we may blossom in the courts of our God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, may we flourish in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY VI. On the creation of the luminaries.

^A be raised up to heaven. If we learn these things, we shall recognize ourselves; we shall recognize God; we shall worship the Creator; we shall serve the Lord; we shall glorify the Father; we shall love our Nourisher; we shall revere our Benefactor; we shall not cease to honor the Author of our present and our future life—He who, indeed, through those riches which He has already bestowed, also makes credible the promises of future goods, and confirms to us by the experience of present things that which is expected. For if worldly things are such, what must the eternal ones be? And if visible things are so beautiful, how must the invisible be judged? If the magnitude of the heaven exceeds the measure of human understanding, what mind shall be able to investigate the nature of eternal things? If the sun, ^B which is subject to corruption, is so beautiful and so great—swift in its motion, completing its measured circuits, possessing a magnitude so accommodated to the universe that it does not exceed the proportion it holds with the whole, and by its beauty, like a pellucid eye, adorning all created things—if the sight of this is insatiable, what is the beauty of the Sun of Justice? If it is a disadvantage for a blind man not to see this sun, what is the disadvantage for the sinner to be deprived of the true Light?

2. *And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: that they may divide the day and the night*. Heaven and earth had preceded; after this, light had been created; day and night had been distinguished; likewise ^C the firmament had been made, and the dry land had been revealed. The water had been gathered into a stable and defined congregation. The earth was replete with its own natural fruits, since it had brought forth innumerable kinds of grasses and abounded in every form of plant. Yet there was not yet a sun, nor a moon, lest they should call the sun the author and father of light, and lest those who were ignorant of God might think it to be the maker of things growing from the earth. Wherefore the fourth day had already arrived, and then God said: *Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven*. When you recognize the speaker, immediately join in your mind the one who heard. *God said: Let there be lights... and God made the two lights*. Who spoke, and who made? Do you not perceive in this a double Person? Everywhere, ^D in a mystical way, the dogma of theology is interspersed in the history. The necessity for the generation of the lights is also added: *For illumination*, He says, *upon the earth*. If the generation of light had preceded, how is the sun now again said to have been brought forth for illumination? First of all, then, let not the peculiar character of this expression provoke your laughter; for we do not pursue that refined choice of words of yours, nor are we concerned...

with the sonorousness of terms, but everywhere we prefer the clarity of the names. ^A Consider, then, whether he has not sufficiently indicated what he meant by this word; for in place of "illumination" he has said "the phausis" (the shedding of light). And this is in no way in conflict with what was said regarding the light. For at that time the very nature of light was produced, but now this solar body has been prepared to be a vehicle for that primordial light. For just as fire is one thing and a lamp is another—the former having the power of illuminating, the latter being made to provide light to those in need—so too have these luminaries now been prepared as a vehicle for that most pure and sincere and immaterial light. For as the Apostle says that some are "lights in the world" ^B (Phil. ii, 15), yet there is another true light of the world, by participation in which the saints became lights to the souls they trained, rescuing them from the darkness of ignorance; so also has the Creator of all now kindled this sun in the world, having fitted it to that most brilliant light, after it had been created.

3. Let it not seem incredible to anyone that has been said, that the brilliance of light is one thing, and the body underlying the light is something else. First of all, then, from the fact that all composite things are thus divided by us into the receptive substance and the quality that is added to it. Just as, therefore, whiteness is one thing by nature, and the whitened body is another, so also the things just mentioned, though different in nature, ^C are united by the power of the One who created them. And do not tell me that it is impossible for these to be separated from one another. For I do not say that the separation of the light from the solar body is possible for me and for you; but I do say that those things which are separable in our thought can also, by the very operation of the Maker of their nature, be parted. For even for you, it is impossible to separate the burning power of fire from its brightness; yet God, wishing to turn his servant toward Himself by a marvelous sight, placed fire on the bush ^D which acted solely from its brightness, while having its power to burn idle. As also the Psalmist (Ps. xxviii, 7) testifies, saying, "The voice of the Lord dividing the flame of fire." Whence also in the retributions of our lives, a certain secret teaching instructs us that the nature of fire shall be divided, and that the light shall be destined for the enjoyment of the righteous, but the painful quality of burning for those being punished. And furthermore, we can bring confirmation of these things from the phenomena concerning the moon. For when it wanes and decreases, it is not consumed in its entire body, but by laying aside its surrounding light and assuming it again, it...

provides us with the appearances of waning and waxing. And that its body is not destroyed as it wanes is clearly proved by what we see. For it is possible for you, even in a clear sky, free from all mist, when it happens to be ^A in a crescent shape, to observe—if you watch carefully—its dark and unilluminated part being outlined by an arc of the same size as that which fills it out entirely in the full moons. Thus, the full circle is clearly seen, provided that the sight refers the opaque and shadowy hollow to the illuminated part. And do not, I beg you, tell me that the light of the moon is adventitious, for the reason that it wanes as it approaches the sun and waxes again as it departs. For it is not that which is proposed for us to investigate at present, but rather that its body is one thing, and the illuminating force is another. Think of something similar in my view regarding the sun: except that the sun, having once received the light and having it tempered to itself, does not lay it aside; whereas the moon, by continually, as it were, putting off and putting on the light, confirms by its own self the things that have been said about the sun. ^B These luminaries were also commanded to separate the day from the night. For God previously divided the light from the darkness, and then He parted their nature into the contrary, so that no intermingling might occur between them, and light might have no communion with darkness. For what the shadow is in the day, that must one consider the nature of darkness to be at night. Since every shadow, when some splendor shines, falls from bodies on the side opposite to the light, and in the morning it stretches toward the west, and in the evening it inclines toward the east, and at midday it turns toward the north; so also, night withdraws into parts opposite to the rays, being by nature nothing other than the shadow of the earth. For just as shadow subsists in the day because something obstructs the light, so naturally night is born when the air surrounding the earth is shaded. Therefore, this is what was said: "God divided the light ^C from the darkness," since the darkness avoids the approaches of the light, a natural alienation having been established between them at the first creation. But now, having measured the sun, He has set it over the day; and the moon, when it has been completed in its own circle with all its numbers, He has appointed as the ruler of the night. For then, the luminaries are almost opposite each other by the diameter. For at full moon, when the sun rises, the moon vanishes from sight; on the contrary, when the sun sets, ^D this same moon often rises from the east. And if, in the other phases, the lunar light is not perfectly balanced with the night, it makes no difference to the discourse at hand. Nevertheless, when it reaches its most perfect state, it holds the primacy of the night, with its own light and splendor.

and divides the measures of time equally with the sun. 4. ^A *Let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years.* The indications given by the luminaries are necessary for human life. For if someone does not investigate the signs from them beyond what is reasonable, he will find their observations, derived from long experience, to be useful. For it is possible to learn much about rain, much about droughts, and about the movement of winds—whether particular or general, violent or gentle. For the Lord even revealed to us one of the signs from the sun when He said, "There will be a storm, for the sky is red and gloomy" (Matth. XVI, 3). For when the sun rises through a mist, its rays are dimmed, and it appears coal-colored and reddish in hue, because the thickness of the air creates this impression for the eyes. And the air, which had been thick and dense, not having been dispersed by the ray, becomes evident because it is unable to be broken through by the exhalation of vapors from the earth; rather, by the abundance of moisture, it is about to bring a storm upon the regions around which it gathers. ^B Similarly, also, when the moon is surrounded by a halo; and when what are called haloes are drawn around the sun, they signify either an abundance of aerial water or the motion of violent winds; or even those which they call "anthelia," when they run around with the sun’s course, become signs of certain aerial occurrences. Just as, then, those rods which imitate the color of the rainbow and appear straight in the clouds indicate rain or extraordinary storms, or generally a change in the air of the greatest magnitude. Those who have devoted themselves to these things have observed many noteworthy features regarding the waxing or waning moon, as the air surrounding the earth necessarily changes along with its phases. For when it is thin and clear around the third day, it promises steady fine weather; but when it appears thick and reddish at its horns, it threatens either torrential rain from the clouds or the violent movement of a south wind. ^C And who is unaware of how much utility the observation of these things provides to life? For it is possible for a sailor to keep his ship inside the harbors, foreseeing dangers from the winds; it is possible for a traveler to avoid harms from afar, expecting a change in air from the gloominess of the sky. Farmers, too, who labor over seeds and the care of plants, find from this all the opportunities for their works. ^D And indeed, the Lord has also foretold that signs of the dissolution of the universe will appear in the sun, and the moon, and the stars.

^A The Lord said that these things would appear: The sun shall be turned into blood, and the moon shall not give her light. These are signs of the completion of the universe.

5. But those who trespass beyond their rightful limits ^B divert this text to defend the art of the genethliacs, and they say that our life hangs upon the motion of the heavens; and therefore, the occurrences that befall us are signified by the Chaldaeans through the agency of the stars. And they interpret the simple wording of Scripture, "Let them be for signs," not as referring to the changes of the air or the variations of the seasons, but as referring to the lot of our lives, according to what seems good to them. For what do they say? That the conjunction of these planets, when they come together in such and such a shape with the stars that are situated in the zodiac, produces such and such births; and that a different position of the same stars produces the opposite lot in life. Concerning which, perhaps for the sake of clarity, it will not be useless to repeat a little from further back and discuss the matter. I shall say nothing of my own, but to refute them I shall use their own words; so that I may bring some remedy to those already occupied by this malady, and provide a bulwark and protection for the others, so that they do not fall into similar errors. The inventors of this genethliology, understanding that in the breadth of time and space many configurations escape them, have narrowed the measures of time completely into a small compass: as if even within the smallest and briefest interval, such as the Apostle says, "in a moment, in an instant of an eye," there exists the greatest difference ^C between birth and birth. And hence, he who was born in this moment is a king of cities, and a most wealthy and powerful prince of peoples; but he who was born in the other point of time is to be some beggar, and a wanderer, going from door to door for the sake of procuring his daily food. For this reason, since they divided the circle called the sign-bearer into twelve parts, because the sun traverses the twelfth part of that sphere which is called the inerrant one in the space of thirty days, they have therefore divided each of those twelve parts into thirty portions. Then, having divided the individual parts into sixty, they have again cut each of the sixties sixty times. Now, therefore, since they predetermine the births of those being born, let us see

if they are able to preserve this precision in the division of time. For exactly when the child is born, the midwife observes whether the newborn is male or female; then she waits for the cry, which is a sign of the life of the one just born. How many sixtieths do you wish to have passed in this interval? She declares to the Chaldean what has been born. How many of the finest parts, do you wish, shall we assume to have elapsed while the midwife was speaking? Especially if it happens that the one who is observing and charting the hour was standing outside the women's quarters? For it is necessary that he who intends to master the horoscopes accurately record the hour, whether they be diurnal or nocturnal. How great a multitude of sixtieths again flows by in this stretch of time? For it is necessary to find the star ^A that is in the ascendant, not only according to which twelfth part it occupies, but also according to which degree of that twelfth part, and in which sixtieth—into which we have said the degree is divided; or, so that the truth of the matter may be found, in which sixtieth of those parts that were subdivided from the first sixtieths. And they say that it is necessary to perform this so fine and incomprehensible investigation of time for each of the planets, so that it might be discovered what relation they had to the fixed stars, and what was their configuration toward one another at the time of the birth of the one being born. So if it is impossible to attain the hour accurately, and yet the slightest variation causes one to miss the truth entirely, worthy of ridicule are both those who have ^B spent their labor on this non-existent art, and those who gape at them as if they were able to know the things concerning themselves.

6. What sort of effects do they produce? The hair, they say, will be curly, and the eyes attractive: for he has the hour of Aries; and that animal is, in a way, like that in appearance. But he will also be magnanimous, since Aries is a leader; and he will be liberal, and again gainful, since this animal sheds its wool without pain, and in turn is easily clothed by nature. But he who is born in Taurus, they say, is long-suffering and servile, because the bull is subject to the yoke. And the one who is born in Scorpio is a striker, on account of his resemblance to that beast. And the one born under Libra is just, because of the ^C equality of the scales among us. What could be more ridiculous than these things? That Aries, from which you derive the birth of a man, is a twelfth part of the heaven, in which, when the sun is present, it touches the spring signs. And Libra, and Taurus likewise; each of these is a twelfth part of the so-called zodiacal circle.

How then, claiming that the primary causes for human lives proceed from thence, do you characterize the morals of those born from our own flocks? For the ram ^A is open-handed, not because that part of the heaven is productive of such a character, but because such a nature is inherent in that animal. Why then do you overawe us with the credibility of the stars, while attempting to persuade us by means of bleating? For if the heaven receives such properties of character from the animals, it is itself subject to foreign principles, inasmuch as it derives its causes from these flocks. But if it is ridiculous to assert this, it is far more ridiculous to attempt to render that opinion credible and probable from things between which no connection exists. And yet these subtleties of theirs are like spiders' (29) webs, in which, when a gnat, or a fly, or any other animal similar to these in weakness becomes entangled, it is caught and held fast; but when a stronger animal approaches, it easily passes right through, and breaks and dissipates the fragile fabric.

7. And not only in regard to these matters do they stop ^B, but also in those things where the free choice of each one of us is sovereign (I mean, the pursuits of virtue or vice), they attribute the causes even of these to the heavenly bodies. To contradict whom, while otherwise ridiculous, is yet perhaps necessary not to pass over in silence, because the majority are preoccupied by that error. First, then, let us ask them this: do the configurations of the stars not change six hundred times every single day? For since those stars which are called wandering stars are always in motion—and some, moving more quickly, overtake one another, while others make slower circuits—at the same hour they often both behold each other and are hidden; and since, at the time of birth, it is of the greatest importance whether one ^C is looked upon by a beneficent star, as they call it, or by a maleficent one; and since often they do not attain to the time when the beneficent star was bearing witness, and because of the ignorance of a single most minute interval, they have recorded this very birth as though it were situated in misfortune (I am compelled to use their very own words). Truly there is much madness in these words, but far more impiety. For the maleficent stars transfer the cause of their own malignancy onto their Creator. For if evil is in them by nature, the Creator will be the ^D author of evil; but if they become evil of their own accord and will, in the first place they will be animals endowed with the faculty of choice, using untethered and sovereign impulses—and to falsely invent this concerning inanimate things is the height of madness. Then, how contrary to reason it is that bad or good are not distributed to each according to their merit.

^A And since it is in this position, it is considered beneficent, and because it is seen from here, therefore it becomes malicious; and when it again deviates slightly from the figure, does it immediately forget its malice? And this, indeed, so much for that.

But if at every instantaneous moment of time they are transformed into one shape after another, and in these myriad changes, often many times a day, the configurations defining royal births are completed, why are kings not born every day? Or why, in general, are royal successions among them paternal? For no king carefully adjusts the birth of his own son to the royal configuration of the stars. For what man is master of such a thing? How then did Uzziah beget Jotham, Jotham Ahaz, and Ahaz Hezekiah, and none of them happened to be born at a servile hour of birth? ^B Furthermore, if the principles of vices or virtues are not situated within us, but are necessities depending upon birth, then legislators are useless, who prescribe to us what should be done and what avoided; useless, too, are judges, who honor virtue and punish wickedness. For the injustice is not of the thief, nor of the murderer, who—even if he willed it—could not restrain his hand on account of the inescapable necessity compelling him to the deed.

Most vain of all are those who labor at the arts; for the farmer will have abundance even if he does not cast seeds into the ground nor sharpen his sickle; and the merchant, whether he likes it or not, will grow rich beyond measure, with fate gathering wealth for him. ^C But those great hopes of the Christians will vanish for us, since neither justice is honored nor sin punished, because nothing is accomplished by men through free exercise of the will. For where necessity and fate rule, merit and worth have no place—which, however, is the principal foundation of just judgment.

And so much for those [arguments]. Neither do you stand in need of more words, being of sound mind yourselves, nor does the occasion permit us to inveigh against them beyond measure.

8. But let us return to the following words: ^D "Let them be," he says, "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years" [c] (Gen. 1, 14). We have already spoken concerning the signs. We consider that by "seasons" he means the changes of the weather—of winter, and spring, and summer, and autumn—which the ordained motion of the luminaries provides, so that we may orderly...

^A trace the sequence of our cycle. For winter occurs when the sun abides in the southern regions, casting much nocturnal shadow upon our parts; the result is that the air encompassing the earth is chilled, and all the humid exhalations concentrating about us become the cause and origin of rains, frosts, and unmeasured snows. But when it returns again from the southern regions and stands in the middle, so as to divide the time between night and day equally, then by as much as it lingers longer over the places above the earth, by so much does it gradually bring back a mild temperature. And spring comes to pass, the initiator of growth for all plants, providing to most trees a reanimation, and preserving for land and water animals alike their kind through the succession of those born. ^B From there the sun, already traveling toward the summer solstice toward the very north, presents us with the longest days. And because it dwells for a very long time in the air, it scorches the air immediately above our heads and dries up the entire earth, in this way aiding the seeds toward maturity and hastening the fruit of the trees toward ripening—when the sun is also at its most flaming, causing the shadows at midday to be short, because it illuminates the region around us from a high point. For the days are at their longest when the shadows are at their shortest, and conversely, the days are at their shortest which have the longest shadows. ^C And this happens to us who are called "heteroscii," we who inhabit the northern parts of the earth. For there are those who for two days of the whole year are completely shadowless at midday, because the sun, shining from directly overhead, illuminates them equally from all sides, so that even the water of deep wells is lit up through their narrow mouths; whence some call them "ascii." But those who live beyond the aromatic land shift their shadows toward both sides. For only those in our habitable world cast their shadows toward the south at midday; whence some have named them "amphiscii." And all these things happen when the sun has already traveled toward the northern part. From these things it is possible to conjecture the ^D maturation which comes from the solar ray.

^A From this, the season of autumn, having taken us in charge, breaks the excess of the heat, and by gradually lessening the warmth, through the temperate nature of this mixture, it leads us unharmed through itself into the winter, as the sun obviously returns again from the northern regions to the southern. These revolutions of the seasons, following the motions of the sun, order our life for us. "Let them be," he says, "also for days"; not in the sense that they create days, but in the sense that they preside over the days. For day and night preceded the creation of the luminaries. The psalm declares this same thing to us, in which it is said: "He set the sun for the power of the day; the moon and the stars for the power of the night." How then does the sun hold the power of the day? Because, carrying the light within itself, whenever it has crossed our horizon, it brings the day, having dissolved and scattered the darkness. Therefore, one would not be wrong if he defined day as being the air illuminated by the sun, or as a measure of time during which the sun remains in the hemisphere above the earth. But also for years were the sun and moon appointed. The moon indeed, when it has completed its own course twelve times, is productive of a year; except that often a month of intercalation is needed for the accurate coincidence of the seasons, just as the Hebrews formerly ^B computed the year, and the most ancient of the Greeks. But a solar year is the return of the sun from the same sign to the same sign according to the proper motion of the sun.

9. "And God made the two great luminaries." Since "great" in one sense has an absolute meaning—as the heaven is great, and the earth is great, and the sea is great—and since, for the most part, it is of such a nature as to be referred to something else—as a horse is great, or an ox is great (for such things do not obtain the testimony of greatness because of the vast bulk of their corporeal mass, but because of a comparison made with like things)—how then are we to receive the notion of "great"? Are we to call them great in the way we call an ant, or some other animal small by nature, “great” by noting its superiority in comparison to those of the same kind? Or is “great” now to be understood in this way, as the greatness appearing in the very constitution of the luminaries themselves? I for my part think this. For they are not great because they are larger than the lesser stars, but because they have such a circumference that the radiance poured out from them is sufficient to illuminate both heaven and air, and is spread out alike over all the earth and the sea. For as they come to be in every part of the heaven, and as they rise and set and occupy the middle, they appear the same from everywhere to men, which is ^C a clear proof of the abundance of their magnitude, by the fact that they do not at all show... ^D

breadth of the earth brings nothing to bear so that they might appear either larger or smaller. For we see things that are far away as somewhat smaller; but the closer we approach them, the better we discover their true magnitude. But for the sun, no one is nearer and no one farther; rather, it strikes those dwelling in every part of the earth from an equal distance. A proof of this is that both the Indians and the Britons see it the same. For neither does it diminish in magnitude when it sets for those who inhabit the east, nor does it appear smaller when rising for those settled in the regions of the west; nor indeed, when it reaches the middle of the sky, does it deviate ^A in its appearance to one side or the other. Let not the appearance deceive you; nor, because it appears a cubit in size to those who behold it, should you reckon it to be so much. For it is natural for the magnitudes of visible objects to shrink at very great distances, since the power of sight is not able to traverse the intervening space, but is, as it were, consumed in the middle, and only a small part of it reaches the objects seen. Therefore, since our vision becomes small, it makes the things seen appear small, transferring its own condition to the objects viewed. Since, then, the vision is deceived, no faith should be placed in its judgment. Remember, moreover, your own experiences, and from yourself you will have the argument and proof for what is being said. If you have ever looked from the summit of a great mountain ^B at a plain that is vast and flat, how large did the yokes of oxen appear to you? And how large the plowmen themselves? Did they not present to you an image of ants? And if you have cast your eyes from a vantage point over the vast sea, how large did the greatest of the islands appear to you? And how large, again, did some heavy-laden, very great merchant ship appear to you, carried over the blue sea with white sails? Did it not present to you an image smaller than any dove? Because, as I said, the vision, being consumed in the air and becoming faint, is insufficient for an accurate apprehension of the things seen. And even now, the vision says that the greatest mountains, cut through by deep ravines ^C, are rounded and smooth, hitting only the projections and, due to weakness, unable to enter into the intermediate hollows. Thus, it does not even preserve the shapes of bodies as they are; but it thinks the square towers are round. Therefore, it is clear from every side that at the greatest distances it does not take a distinct, but a confused impression of bodies ^D.

^A Great, then, is the luminary, according to the testimony of Scripture, and far greater than it appears.

10. And let this also be evident to you as a sign of its magnitude. Although the multitude of stars in the heavens is numberless, the light gathered from them is not sufficient to dissolve the sadness of night. But that single luminary, as soon as it appears above the horizon, or rather even while it is still expected, before it is fully above the earth, has already vanished the darkness, outshone the stars, and melted and dispersed the air around the earth that was hitherto frozen and dense. Hence it is that morning winds and dews flow around the earth in clear weather. And being so great as the earth is, how could it illuminate the whole in a single moment of time, unless it were emitting its light from a great orb? Learn here, I pray you, the wisdom of the Creator, how He bestowed upon it heat proportional to this distance. For its fiery nature is so tempered that it neither burns the earth through excess, nor leaves it frozen and barren through deficiency. ^B Let the things concerning the moon be understood as akin to what has been said. For its body also is great, and truly most shining after the sun. Yet its magnitude does not remain always visible; but now it appears perfect in its circle, and now deficient and diminished, pointing out elsewhere the part of itself that is missing. For it is eclipsed in one part as it increases, and another part of it is hidden at the time of its waning. And there is a certain ineffable reason for this varied change of shapes on the part of the wise Creator. It is either to provide us with a manifest example of our own nature: that nothing of human things is stable; but that things which were not, proceed to perfection, and others, having reached their own prime and attained the highest measure of their growth, again gradually diminish, decay, and are destroyed, and, becoming lessened, are abolished. ^C So that from the spectacle of the moon we may be taught our own affairs, and receiving the concept of the rapid turning of human things, we may not think highly of the good fortunes of life, not boast in powers, not be puffed up by the uncertainty of wealth, but despise the flesh which is subject to alteration, and take care of the soul whose good is immovable. But if the moon, consuming its light by small degrees, causes you sadness, let there be greater pain in you for a soul that has acquired virtue, and through neglect causes the good to vanish, and never remains in the same disposition, but is frequently turned ^D and changed.

^A For in truth, according to the saying, "The fool changes as the moon" (Eccli. XXVII, 12). I believe also that the moon’s change contributes not a little to the formation of living creatures and to the maturation of other things that grow from the earth. For bodies are affected in one way when it is waning, and in another way when it is waxing. Now, as it fails, they become porous and empty, while now, as it increases and hastens toward fullness, they are in turn filled again; because it secretly injects a certain moisture mixed with heat, which reaches into the inner parts. ^B Those who sleep under the moonlight, having the cavities of their heads filled with abundant moisture, declare this; as do meats that have been freshly slaughtered, which are quickly altered by the moon’s influence; as well as the brains of animals, the most moisture-laden parts of sea creatures, and the piths of trees. All of these would not have been able to change through its own alteration, had there not been something extraordinary and supereminent in power, according to the testimony of Scripture.

11. And the states of the air are affected by the moon's changes, as is testified to us by the sudden disturbances that often arise at the new moon from calm and still weather, with clouds being agitated and colliding with one another, as well as the ebb and flow of the straits, and the tide of the sea ^C which is called the Ocean, which those who dwell nearby have discovered to correspond in an orderly fashion to the circuits of the moon. For the straits flow back and forth during the other phases of the moon; but at the time of its new (or "birth") phase, they do not remain at rest even for the shortest moment, but remain in continuous surge and oscillation, until, having reappeared again, it provides a certain order to the ebb and flow. The western sea undergoes these tides, now receding and then flooding back again, as if drawn backward by the inhalations of the moon, and again driven to its own measure by its exhalations. These things have been said by me to demonstrate the magnitude of the luminaries, and to establish that not even a single syllable of the divinely inspired words is idle; ^D although our discourse has touched upon almost nothing of what is of any significant or primary importance; for one who has not cursorily examined their energies and powers could think up many things through reasoning regarding the magnitudes and distances of the sun and moon. Therefore, we ought to candidly accuse our own weakness, so that the greatest of the works of creation may not be measured by our own discourse, but rather from a few...

things that come to our attention and from noting how great and how numerous are those which have been passed over. Do not, therefore, measure the moon with the eye, but with reason, which is far more accurate than the eyes for finding the truth. Certain ridiculous fables, foolishly invented by drunken old women, have been spread everywhere, suggesting that by certain incantations the moon is moved from its proper seat and brought down toward the earth. How then could the incantation of sorcerers move that which the Most High Himself has established? And what place could have received it, had it been dragged down? Do you wish to take the proof of its size from small indications? Cities throughout the inhabited world, although separated from one another by the greatest distances, all receive the light of the moon equally in the streets that face toward the east. If it were not opposite to them all, it would certainly illuminate those directly in line with the streets, while casting its rays obliquely onto the sides ^B of those beyond its width. This is something that can also be seen happening with lamps in homes. When many people stand around a lamp, the shadow of the one standing directly in front extends straight, while the others deviate to either side. So, if the celestial body of the moon were not something vast and of exceeding size, it would not extend itself as it does to all people. For just as it rises from the equinoctial regions, so those who dwell in the frozen zone and are situated beneath the revolutions of the Bear, as well as those who are neighbors to the hollows of the burning southern region, all enjoy the moon rising from the equinoctial places equally, and to all of them, encountering them perpendicularly along its width, it provides the clearest testimony of its size. Who, then, will deny that its body is vast, since it is equated to such great and such numerous distances at once? And so much regarding the sizes of the sun and moon. ^C May He who has granted us the intellect to learn the great wisdom of the Artificer from the smallest things of creation, grant us also that we may obtain greater thoughts of the Creator from the great things. Yet, in comparison to the Creator, the sun and the moon hold the ratio of a gnat and an ant. For no notion worthy of the greatness of the God of all can be derived from these, but we are encouraged by these small and faint impressions, just as we are by each of the smallest things among animals or herbs. Let us be content with what has been said. I, for my part, give thanks to Him who bestowed upon me this small ministry of the word; ^D may you render thanks to Him who nourishes you with spiritual food, who even now has fed you, as it were, with a barley loaf through the humility of my voice, and may He continue to feed you forever, according to the...

ever may the Spirit, according to the portion of faith, grant you the manifestation in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen. ^A

HOMILY VII. Concerning reptiles.

1. *And God said, Let the waters bring forth the moving creature that hath life after his kind, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven after his kind.* After the creation of the luminaries, the waters also are filled with living creatures, so that this portion of the world might likewise be adorned. For the earth had received its adornment from its own proper vegetation; the heaven had received the flowers of the stars, and had been adorned, as it were, by the convergence of twin eyes, namely, the conjunction of the great luminaries. It remained for the waters also to have their own proper adornment bestowed upon them. The command came, and immediately the rivers were gifted with the power of production, and individual pools brought forth their own natural ^B kinds. Nay, the sea also brought forth all manner of swimming creatures; and not even the water that was in the muddy and swampy places remained idle, nor did it deviate from the end proposed in the creation. For truly from them there emerged in abundance frogs, gnats, and flies. For those which are still seen even now are a proof of what happened in the past. Thus did every water hasten to carry out the command of its Creator; and as to those whose kinds no one could even count, their life was immediately rendered active and endowed with movement by the great and ineffable power of God, as soon as the waters were made suitable by that command for the production of animals. *Let the waters bring forth the moving creature that hath life.* ^C Now for the first time is created an animal which is animate and a participant in sensation. For plants and trees, even if they are said to live because they possess a certain faculty by which they are nourished and grow, nevertheless are not animals, nor are they animate. For this reason, *Let the waters bring forth moving creatures*. Every swimming thing, whether it swims on the surface of the water or cleaves the water in the depths, belongs to the nature of a reptile, inasmuch as it drags itself through the body of the water. Although some of the aquatic animals have feet and walk (most of these being amphibious, such as seals, crocodiles, river horses, frogs, and crabs), yet the swimming faculty ^D holds the highest place. Therefore, *Let the waters bring forth moving creatures.* In these few words, what kind is omitted? What is not included in this command of the creation? Are not those things which bring forth animals included—

such as seals, dolphins, torpedines, and similar creatures, the so-called cartilaginous fish? Or those that produce eggs, which include almost every genus of fish? Or all the scaly ones, all the shell-bearing ones, or those with fins and those without them? The voice of the command is small—indeed, it is not even a voice, but merely a beckoning and an impulse of the will. Yet the intent hidden within the command is as multitudinous ^A as the differences and commonalities of the fish themselves. To go through all of these with precision is like trying to count the waves of the sea or to measure the water of the ocean with the palm of one's hand. Let the waters bring forth moving creatures. In these are the pelagic, the littoral, those that dwell in the depths, those that cling to rocks, those that live in schools, the solitary, the whales, the humongous, and the tiniest of fish. For by that same power and by the same command, both the great and the small partake of existence. Let the waters bring forth. He has shown you the natural affinity that swimming creatures have for water; for being separated from the water even for a short time, fish perish. For they do not have respiration ^B such that they can draw in this air; rather, what air is to land animals, water is to the swimming kind. And the cause is clear and manifest. For in us there is a lung, a porous organ full of many ducts, which, by the expansion of the chest, receives air and ventilates and cools our internal heat; whereas in them, the expansion and contraction of the gills, while they receive and release water, fulfill the function of respiration. The lot of fish is unique, their nature is distinct, their diet is separate, and their life is peculiar. For this reason, none of the swimming creatures accepts being tamed, nor does it endure the touch of a human hand at all.

2. Let the waters bring forth moving creatures ^C according to their kind. Now He commands the first-fruits of each kind, so to speak, certain seeds of nature, to be brought forth; but their multitude is reserved for the succession that follows, when it is necessary for them to grow and be multiplied. Another genus consists of those called testaceous—such as mussels, scallops, sea snails, strombi, and the countless varieties of oysters. Yet another genus, different from these, are the aforementioned crustacea: lobsters, crabs, and things similar to these. Another genus different from these are those called mollusks, whose flesh is tender and loose: octopuses, cuttlefish, and the like. And in these, again, there are countless differences. For dragons, moray eels, ^D and eels that are produced in muddy rivers and lakes approach more nearly to venomous reptiles than to fish according to the similarity of their nature. Another genus is that of the egg-bearers, and another is that of the live-bearers. Those of the musteloid genus produce life, as do the dogfish, and in

^A short, whatever is called cartilaginous. And most of the great sea-beasts are live-bearing: dolphins and seals, which, it is said, take their young ones back into their bellies to protect them if they are frightened by any cause. "Let the waters bring forth" according to their kind. The genus of the great sea-beasts is one thing, and that of the small fish is another. Again, among fish there are myriads of differences divided according to kinds, of which there are distinct names, and varied food, and figure, and size, and qualities of flesh, all separated from one another by the greatest differences and established in different species. Who, therefore, are the explorers of the thunny that can enumerate to us the differences of their kinds? Although they say that in the vast schools of fish they even declare their number. But who among those who have grown old around the shores and the coasts can accurately disclose and reveal to us the history of all? ^B There are some kinds known to those who fish in the Indian sea, others to those who hunt in the Egyptian gulf, others to islanders, and others to the Moors. Yet all alike, both small and great, that first command and that ineffable power brought forth. Great is the diversity of their modes of life; great, too, is the difference concerning the succession of each kind. Most fish do not hatch their eggs like birds, nor do they build nests, nor do they feed their young with labor; but the water, receiving the egg that has been shed, makes it a living creature. And in each kind the succession is unchangeable and unmixable with any other nature; not like the mingling of mules upon the land, or some birds, which corrupt the kinds. Among fish, nothing is half-*equipped with teeth, as are the ox and sheep among us; for none of them ruminates, unless it be the scarus alone, as some report. ^C But all fish are strengthened with the sharpest edges of dense teeth, so that their food may not be wasted during prolonged mastication; for it had to be, if not quickly cut up and sent into the belly, dissipated and broken down by the water in the process of mincing.

3. Different food is allotted to different fish according to their kind. For some feed on mud, others upon algae; others are content with herbs that grow in the water. Conversely, most of the fish devour one another, and the smaller is food for the greater among them. And if it ever happens that he who had overcome a smaller one becomes the prey of another, ^D both enter into a single belly of the last. What, then, do we humans do differently when we oppress our inferiors with tyranny and power? How does he differ from the last fish, who, through a voracious desire for riches, gathers the weak into the insatiable folds of his own avarice;

^A he possessed the goods of the poor, but you made him, once seized, a part of your own wealth. You have shown yourself more unjust than the unjust, and more greedy than the greedy. See that the same end that awaits the fish—a hook, perhaps, or a fish-pot, or a net—does not await you. For certainly, if we too have gone far into injustice, we shall not escape the final punishment.

But now, having observed much craftiness and treacherous behavior even in a weak animal, I wish you to flee the imitation of evildoers. The crab desires the flesh of the oyster, but this prey is difficult for him to catch because of the protection of the shell. For nature has fortified the softness of its flesh with an unbreakable barrier. On this account, it is also called "shell-skinned." And since two hollows, accurately fitted to one another, wrap around and enclose the oyster, the claws of the crab are necessarily useless. What, then, does he do? When he sees it basking with pleasure in quiet places, and opening its valves to the rays of the sun, then, secretly throwing in a pebble, he prevents it from closing; and thus, what was lacking in strength is obtained through cunning. Such is the malice of those who possess neither reason nor voice. I, however, wish you, while imitating the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the crabs in securing food, to abstain from harming your neighbors. Such is the man who approaches his brother with deceit, who attacks the misfortunes of his neighbors ^B at inappropriate times, and who exults in the calamities of others. Flee the imitation of reprobate men. Be content with your own affairs. Poverty, when there is a true sufficiency of necessary things, is preferred by the wise to every pleasure.

I would not pass over the guile and thievery of the octopus, which, to whatever rock it happens to attach itself, assumes that rock's color; so that many fish, swimming incautiously, encounter the octopus as if it were a rock, and offer themselves as ready prey to that crafty creature. Such in character are those who accommodate themselves to the powers that be, whatever they may be at any time, and adapt themselves to every need, not standing fast by the same intent, but easily becoming different at different times, honoring temperance with the temperate, yet being ^C licentious with the licentious, shifting their opinions to win the favor of each. It is not easy to avoid these men, or to guard oneself against the harm they cause, because their carefully crafted wickedness is hidden deep under the guise of friendship. Such characters the Lord calls “ravening wolves” in sheep’s clothing. Flee this multifaceted and complex way of life; pursue truth, sincerity, simplicity. The serpent is variegated; for this reason, he was condemned to crawl. The just man is without guile, such as was Jacob. ^D Therefore the Lord calls such characters ravening wolves, appearing in sheep’s clothing. Flee such various and manifold ways; rather, pursue truth, sincerity, simplicity. Variegated is the serpent, and therefore he is condemned to crawl. The just man is without fiction, such as was Jacob. Therefore the Lord

^A makes those of one way to inhabit in a house. This is the great and wide sea, wherein there are creeping things innumerable, small animals with great. Yet truly there is amongst them a wise and well-ordered arrangement. For we ought not only to accuse the fish; there are also things worth imitating in them. How is it that each of the kinds of fish, having apportioned to itself a region suited to it, does not intrude upon the others, but dwells within its own boundaries? No geometer has distributed their habitations among these kinds of fish; they are not circumscribed by walls, nor divided by frontiers; and yet by nature, what is useful is automatically assigned to each. For this bay feeds certain kinds of fish, and that one others; and things that abound here, you will scarcely find elsewhere. No mountain stretched out with sharp peaks separates them; no river cuts off their passage: but there is a certain law of nature, which ^B equally and justly prescribes the manner of living to each, as if by lot.

4. But we are by no means like these. Whence comes it that we transfer the eternal boundaries which our fathers have set? We wrongly cut up the earth; we join house to house, and field to field, that we may take something away from our neighbor. The whales know the manner of living established for them by nature; they occupy that sea which lies beyond the habitable zones, which lacks islands, and to which no continent is set opposite. Therefore it is unnavigable, and neither any desire for knowledge nor any necessity has ever persuaded sailors to attempt it. The whales occupy that sea, similar in size to the greatest mountains, as those who have seen them tell; they remain within their own boundaries, harming neither islands nor maritime ^C cities. Thus, therefore, each kind dwells in the parts of the sea assigned to it, just as in cities, or in certain villages, or in ancient fatherlands. Moreover, some fish are migratory, as if sent to foreign regions from a common council, they all set out under one signal. For when the appointed time for spawning arrives, they migrate, some from one bay, others from another, and, stirred by the common law of nature, they hasten to the northern sea. And you may see them at the time of their ascent, gathered like a certain current of fish, flows through the Propontis into the Euxine Sea.

^A Who moves them? What royal decree is this? What proclamations are spread in the marketplace to declare the time limit? Who are their guides? You see how the divine ordinance fills all things and pervades even the smallest matters. The fish does not contradict the law of God, and yet we do not endure the life-saving teachings. Do not despise the fish because they are mute and utterly devoid of reason; rather, fear lest you be even more irrational than they, by resisting the command of the Creator. Hear the fish, as they almost speak with a voice through what they do: "We are set upon this long journey for the preservation of our kind." They possess no reason of their own, but they have the law of nature firmly implanted within them, pointing out what must be done.

"Let us go," they say, "to the northern sea." ^B For that water is sweeter than the rest of the sea, because the sun, dwelling upon it for a short time, does not draw out from it whatever is potable by its rays. Even sea creatures delight in sweet waters; hence they often swim up to rivers and travel far from the sea. For this reason, the Pontus is preferred by them over other bays, as being suitable for spawning and rearing their offspring. And when that which was sought is fulfilled in abundance, they all return again in a body to their own places. And let us hear from these silent creatures what the reason for their return is. "The northern sea," they say, "is not deep, and since it lies exposed, it is laid open to the violence of the winds, and has few shores and few recesses. ^C For this reason, the winds easily disturb it from the very bottom, so that even the sand which settled at the bottom is mixed with the waves. And it is also cold in the winter season, since it is filled by many and great rivers. Therefore, having enjoyed it in moderation during the summer, they hasten again in the winter toward the warmth preserved in the depths and to the sunny places, and fleeing the stormy northern winds, they take refuge as if in harbors in bays that are less agitated."

5. I have seen these things, and I have marveled at the wisdom of God in all of them. ^D If brute animals are inventive and protective of their own safety, and if the fish knows what is to be chosen and what to be avoided, what shall we say, we who are honored with reason, instructed by law, prompted by promises, and made wise by the Spirit, yet who dispose of our own affairs more foolishly than the fish themselves? For they know how to provide in a certain way for future things, but we, having cast aside the hope of the future, consume our lives in bestial pleasures. The fish traverses so many seas to find some benefit; what will you say, you who spend your life in idleness and sloth? For idleness is the origin of wickedness. Let no one use ignorance as a pretext. Innate in us is a natural reason, which...

^A teaches us to seek the good and to alienate ourselves from harmful things. I do not depart from marine examples, since these are set before us for examination. I have heard from a certain seafarer that the sea urchin, a tiny and utterly insignificant creature, often becomes a teacher of calm and storm to those who sail. For when it foresees a disturbance arising from the winds, it gets beneath a solid pebble, and standing upon it, as if upon an anchor, it sways securely, held down by the weight so as not to be easily swept away by the waves. When the sailors see this sign, they know that violent agitation of the winds is expected. No astrologer, no Chaldean, inferring the disturbances of the air from the risings of the stars, taught the urchin these things; but the Lord of the sea and the winds imprinted upon this tiny animal an evident and clear trace of His great wisdom. Nothing is unprovided for, nothing has been neglected by God. That unsleeping eye observes everything. He is present to all, granting to each the means to obtain salvation. If God does not exclude the sea urchin from His providence, does He not provide for your affairs? Husbands, love your wives (Ephes. v, 25), even if you have come together into the fellowship of marriage from far apart. Let this bond of nature, this yoke imposed through the blessing, be a union of those who were separated. The viper, most destructive of reptiles, hastens to the marriage of the sea moray, and when it has announced its presence with a hiss, it calls her up from the depths to a nuptial union. She obeys and copulates with the venomous beast. What is the meaning of this discourse for me? It is precisely this, that even if a spouse is harsh, or savage in character, there is a necessity to bear with one’s partner, and for no reason whatsoever to accept the dissolution of the union. Is he a striker? Yet he is your husband. Is he a drunkard? Yet he is joined to you by nature. Is he hard and ungentle? Yet he is already your member, and the most excellent of members ^B.

6. But let the husband also hear the appropriate admonition. The viper vomits forth its poison, showing reverence for the marriage; do you not lay aside the hardness and inhumanity of your soul out of reverence for the union? ^C Or perhaps the example of the viper will benefit us in another way: for this coupling of the viper and the moray is a sort of adultery of nature. Let those, therefore, who lie in wait for the marriages of others learn to what kind of reptile they are similar. My one goal is to build up the Church from every side. Let the passions of the incontinent be calmed, restrained by both terrestrial and marine examples. Here both the weakness of my body and the approaching evening compel me to bring my discourse to an end, even though there is still much to say ^D to those who listen willingly.

^A I could have added many things worthy of admiration regarding the things that grow in the sea; regarding the sea itself, how the water congeals into salt; how the most precious stone, coral, is a plant while in the sea, but once it is brought out into the air, it hardens into the solidity of a stone; whence nature has placed the valuable pearl [(20)] in that most lowly creature, the oyster. For the things that royal treasuries covet are cast about along the shores, the banks, and the rugged rocks, contained within the shells of oysters. Whence the pinna-mussels nourish their golden fleece, which no dyer has ever yet been able to imitate; whence the shellfish provide kings with purple, which even surpasses the flowers of the meadows in the excellence of its color. "Let the waters bring forth" [(22)]. And what necessary thing has not been created? What precious thing has not been granted to life? Some things are for the service of men, others for the contemplation of the miracle of creation. ^B There are other terrifying things that educate our sloth [(23)]. "God created the great whales." They are not called great because they are larger than a shrimp or a picarel, but because they are leveled with the greatest mountains in the bulk of their bodies; so that they often present the appearance of islands when they chance to swim up to the surface of the water. Yet these, as vast as they are, do not linger around the banks or shores [(24)], but inhabit that sea which is called the Atlantic. Such are the animals created for our terror and astonishment. But if you hear that the Echeneis, a tiny little fish, so easily stops the largest ships, even when they are carried by a following wind with their sails spread, so as to hold the ship motionless for a very long time, as if it had taken root [(25)] in the very sea, do you not perceive in this small fish the same proof of the Creator's power? For not only are the swordfish, the sawfish, the dogfish, the whales, and the hammerheads to be feared, ^C but also the sting of the marine stingray, even when it is dead, and the sea hare are no less to be feared, for they bring about a swift and inevitable destruction. Thus the Creator wishes you to be vigilant in all things, so that, with your hope placed in God, you may avoid the harm impending from them. But now, rising from the depths, let us take refuge on the mainland. For indeed, the miracles of the Creator, occurring to us one after another, like certain waves, have submerged our discourse with their frequent and alternating excursions [(D)]. Although it would be no wonder at all if my own [discourse], upon admiration...

of greater paradoxes on land, should flee again to the sea after the example of Jonah. It seems to me that the discourse, having fallen into ten thousand wonders, has forgotten its own symmetry, and suffered the same fate as those sailing on the high seas, who, lacking any fixed landmark by which to judge their movement, often do not know how far they have traveled. This also seems to have happened to us; for as the discourse ran through creation, we did not perceive the multitude of things mentioned. But if this venerable audience willingly listens, and if the narration of the Lord's miracles is pleasant to the ears of servants, let us pause our discourse here and await the day to complete what is lacking. Let us all, therefore, rise and give thanks for what has been recounted, and let us pray that what remains may be fulfilled. May there be among you, even while taking meals at your table, these items for conversation—those which I have explained in the morning and evening addresses: and may you, even when occupied by sleep with thoughts of these things, enjoy ^B by night the gladness you had by day, so that you may be able to say: "I sleep, and my heart waketh," as one who meditates day and night upon the law of the Lord, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY VIII. Concerning birds and aquatic creatures

1. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living soul according to its kind, quadrupeds and creeping things and beasts according to their kind. And it was so." The command came, proceeding in order, and the earth also received its proper adornment. There [it was said], "Let the waters bring forth creeping ^C things of living souls": here, "Let the earth bring forth living soul." Is the earth then endowed with a soul? Do the foolish Manichaeans now have room [to argue], who attribute a soul to the earth? It is not because He said, "Bring forth," that it produced what was already placed within it; rather, He who gave the command also granted it the power and faculty to bring forth. For neither when the earth heard, "Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass and fruit-bearing trees," did it bring forth the grass which it had stored up within itself; nor did it bring to the surface the palm, or the oak, or the cypress, which were hidden somewhere deep in the recesses of its womb. But the divine Word is the nature of the things that come to be. "Let the earth bring forth"—not that it should give what it has, but ^D that it should acquire what it does not have, since God grants it the power of action and production. So also now, "Let the earth bring forth living soul"—not that which was in it, but that which was given to it by God through the command.

^A Furthermore, the argument will turn against them. For if the earth brought forth the soul, it would have left itself destitute of soul. But the detestable nature of their opinion is evident from the very thing itself. Why, however, were the waters commanded to bring forth creeping things with living souls, while the earth was commanded to bring forth a living soul? We consider, therefore, that the nature of swimming creatures seems to be partaker of a somewhat more imperfect life, because they dwell in the thickness of the water. For among them, hearing is heavy, and they see dimly, since they look through the water; and there is in them neither memory, nor imagination, nor knowledge of what is customary. For this reason, the discourse, as it were, signifies that in aquatic animals, a carnal life presides over the movements of the soul; but in land animals, because they are endowed with a more perfect life, the soul is entrusted with the entire governance. For their senses are more ^B acute, their perceptions of present things are keen, and in most quadrupeds, their memories of past things are accurate. For this reason, it seems, bodies endowed with soul were created in the case of water-creatures (for creeping things with living souls were brought forth from the waters), whereas in the case of land animals, a soul was commanded to come into being to govern their bodies, as these creatures, dwelling upon the earth, partake of something more in the way of vital power.

For although land animals are irrational, yet each one, by the voice given to it by nature, signifies many of its soul's affections. For by sound they declare joy and grief, the recognition of what is customary, the need for food, the separation from those with whom they grazed, and countless other impressions. But aquatic creatures are not only mute, but also untamed, and unteachable, and intractable to all companionship with men. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's manger; but ^C a fish could not recognize the one who feeds it. The ass knows the familiar voice; it knows the path it has often walked; and sometimes it even becomes a guide to a man who has gone astray. And the keenness of hearing with which this animal is endowed is said to be possessed by no other land animal. But what could any of the marine creatures imitate of the camel's memory of injuries, its heavy-spiritedness, and its persistence in wrath? A camel struck long ago, having stored its rancor for a long time, returns the evil when it finds an opportunity. Hear, you who are heavy-spirited, who cultivate the memory of injuries as if it were a virtue; to whom are you like when you keep malice against your neighbor, like a spark hidden in ashes, until, having ^D seized upon material, you kindle your wrath like a flame?

2. *Let the earth bring forth a living soul.* Why does it bring forth a living soul? So that you may learn the difference between the soul of a beast and the soul of man. A little later you will learn how the soul of man was constituted; but now, hear concerning the soul of irrational creatures. ¶

^B Since, according to the Scripture, the soul of every animal is its very blood, and blood, when it has coagulated, is naturally wont to turn into flesh, and flesh, when corrupted, is resolved into earth; it is with good reason and justly that the soul of brute animals is terrestrial. Therefore, let the earth bring forth a living soul. Observe the connection of soul to blood, of blood to flesh, and of flesh to the earth; and, by reversing the order, go back again through the same steps: from the earth to the flesh, from the flesh to the blood, and from the blood to the soul. You will find that the soul of beasts is earth. Do not think it to be older than the constitution of their bodies, nor that it survives after the dissolution of the flesh. Flee the ravings of arrogant philosophers, who are not ashamed to posit that their own souls and those of dogs are of the same species, they who teach that they themselves were once women, shrubs, and sea fish. For my part, I would not say whether they were ever fish, but I would most firmly assert that, while they were writing such things, they were more irrational than fish.

Let the earth bring forth a living soul. Why, while our discourse was flowing along readily, I kept silence for no small time, perhaps many wonder; but the more diligent among the audience are not ignorant of the cause of the pause. For how could they be? Those very people, by mutual glances and nods, turned me back to themselves and brought to mind the things that had been omitted. For an entire species of creation, and not a small one, escaped us, and our discourse had all but passed it by, leaving it entirely unexamined. ^C For [let the waters bring forth] reptiles of living souls after their kind, and birds flying above the earth according to the firmament of heaven. We discoursed about the swimming creatures as much as the evening time allowed; today we have moved on to the examination of land animals. The winged creature in our midst escaped us. It is necessary, therefore, like forgetful travelers who, when they have left behind something of importance, even if they have traveled far on their journey, return again to the same spot, paying the penalty for their negligence by undergoing the labor and annoyance of the journey: so, as it seems, must we also repeat the same path. For the thing left behind is not to be scorned, but it seems to be the third portion of the created animal kingdom. For there are three kinds of animals: the terrestrial, the volatile, and the aquatic. ^D Let the waters bring forth, he says, reptiles of living souls after their kind, and birds flying above the earth under the firmament of heaven after their kind. Why also do [birds originate] from the waters...

Because there is a kind of kinship between those that fly and those that swim. For just as fish cut the water, proceeding forward by the movement of their fins, and by the turning of their tail steering for themselves both their circular movements and their straight courses, so too one can see in [the case of] winged creatures as they swim through the air with their wings in a similar manner. ^A Since, therefore, the act of swimming is a unique characteristic in both, a single kinship was provided for them through their origin from the waters. Nevertheless, no winged creature is footless, because their food comes to all of them from the earth, and all necessarily require the ministry of feet. For to the birds of prey, the sharpness of their claws is conceded for the catching of prey, while for the rest, the use of their feet is necessarily granted for the procuring of food and for the conduct of the remainder of their life. Few of the birds are “bad-footed,” being unfit for either walking or hunting with their feet; such are the swallows ^B and the so-called swifts (drepanes), for whom food is devised from the things carried in the air. For the swallow, the proximity of its flight serves in place of the ministry of the feet.

3. There are, however, countless genera of birds, which if anyone were to examine in the same manner as we touched upon in part the investigation of the fish, he will find a single name for [the category of] winged creatures, but countless differences among them in sizes, in shapes, and in colors; and in their lives, their actions, and their habits, he will discover an indescribable variation among them. Now, indeed, some have attempted to use coined names, as if by certain brandings of an unusual and foreign appellation, ^C the characteristic of each genus might be recognized. And some they named “schizoptera” (split-winged), as the eagles; others “dermoptera” (skin-winged), as the bats; and others still [are called] coleoptera, those which are born in certain sheaths and coverings which, once ruptured, fly off.

3. Furthermore, there are innumerable differences of genera among birds: if anyone runs through these in that same manner in which we touched upon the class of fishes, he will find one name for [all] birds, but he will find differences of size, of figure, and of color within them. And as regards their life, their actions, and their habits, he will discover an unspeakable variation among them. Now, indeed, some have attempted to use invented names, so that, as if by certain branding-marks of an unusual and strange appellation, the property of each genus might be known. ^D And some birds they have named schizopteras, as eagles; others dermopteras, as bats; others again [coleopteras...].

as beetles; and whatever others are generated within some sheaths and coverings, which, once the casing is ruptured, are set free for flight. But for us, sufficient notice for the property of the genera is common usage, and the distinctions regarding clean and unclean animals in Scripture. There is, therefore, one genus of carnivorous birds, and another constitution suited to their manner of life: the sharpness of their claws, and a curved beak, and swift wings, so that the prey may be easily caught, and, being torn to pieces, become food for the predator. Other is the constitution of those that collect seeds; other of those that are nourished by anything that they happen upon. And in these there are very many differences. For some of them are gregarious, except for the birds of prey; among these there is no society, except for the union of pairing. But countless others have chosen a communal life, as pigeons, and cranes, and starlings, and jackdaws. Again, among these, some are leaderless and, as it were, autonomous; but others submit to being ordered under a leader, as cranes. There is, moreover, another difference among them, according to which some never change their place and are indigenous; others are accustomed to depart for very long distances, and, as winter approaches, for the most part remove themselves to another place. And many birds, when they are reared, become tame and domesticated, except for the weak and infirm ones, which, on account of excessive timidity and cowardice, do not endure the constant annoyance of the hand. But some birds also enjoy human society, and dwell in the same habitations ^B as we ourselves do: others inhabit the mountains and delight in solitude. ^C That property of each one which pertains to voice also creates a very great distinction. For some birds are loquacious and garrulous; others are silent. These indeed are tuneful and very clamorous; those are entirely devoid of modulation and song. And some are imitative, receiving this ability either from nature or from training; others emit the same and immutable voice. The cock is proud; the peacock is a lover of adornment and elegance; pigeons are lustful, just as are domestic hens, which indulge in lust at every season. The partridge is deceitful and jealous, maliciously contributing its help to hunters for the capture of the prey.

4. There are countless, as we have said, even of the actions and lives, differences. ^D There are also some among these irrational animals that are political, if indeed it is the property of a polity to have the actions of each individual converge toward one common end, as one might see in the case of bees. For of these, the dwelling is common, and the flight is common, and the work of all is one; and most importantly, they engage in their tasks under a ruler and leader, and they do not...

^A deign to go forth to the meadows before they see the king leading the flight. And for them, the king is not chosen by hand (for often the lack of judgment of the people 54 has set the worst man in charge), nor does he hold his power by lot (for the chance occurrences of lots are irrational, often bringing to power the most base of all), nor is he established on the throne by paternal succession (for these men, too, usually become uneducated and ignorant of every virtue, on account of their luxury and the flattery they receive), but by nature he possesses the primacy over all, and he excels in size, in form, and in the gentleness of his character. Although the king has a sting, he does not use it for vengeance. These are certain unwritten laws of nature for me, that those who have been raised to the greatest power should be slow to punish. But even among the bees, if any do not follow the example of the king, they quickly repent of their folly, because they perish by the stroke of their own sting 55. Let Christians hear this, for whom the command is to return no one evil for evil, but to overcome evil with good. Imitate the peculiar character of the bee, which, harming no one and destroying no one’s fruit, constructs and fastens its honeycombs. For it gathers the wax openly from the flowers 56, but the honey—the moisture scattered like dew upon the flowers—it draws up with its mouth and deposits into the cavities of the combs. Hence, it is liquid at first; then, ^B thickened by time, it returns to its proper consistency and sweetness. This bee has received noble and fitting praise from the Proverbs 57, being called both wise and industrious; in this way, it gathers food with such labor (the fruits of which, he says, kings and commoners use for their health), and in this way, it wisely and artfully fashions the storehouses of its honey (for, having stretched the wax into a thin membrane, it builds the cavities thick and continuous with one another), so that the density of the ^C binding of these minute cells to one another becomes a stay and support for the whole. For each cell 58 is attached to another, separated from it by a thin partition, and yet at the same time connected to it by that same partition. Then, these tubes are built one upon another, two or three stories high. For it takes care 59 not to make one continuous cavity, lest the liquid leak out on the outside due to its weight. Learn how the inventions of geometry ^D are secondary to the work of the wisest bee. For all the tubes of the honeycombs are hexagonal and equilateral, not placed in a straight line

so that the bottoms may not get weary from being fitted into the gaps; but the angles of the hexagons below are the base and support for those above, so that they may safely carry the weights above them, and so that in each individual cavity the liquid may be contained.

5. How could I recount for you with precision all the properties pertaining to the life of birds? How cranes take turns at keeping watch during the night ^B, and while some sleep, others, walking in a circle, provide them all with safety during their sleep; then, when the time of the watch is filled, the one that cried out turns to sleep, and the other, receiving the succession, returns in its turn the safety which it received. You will observe this order also in their very flight. For one is sometimes the leader of the journey; but when it has stood at the head of the flight for some time, it retires to the rear and hands over the leadership of the way to the one following. And the manner of action of the storks is not far from rational intelligence; for they all arrive at these regions at one and the same time; and in this way, under a single signal, they all depart. Our own crows accompany them, ^C and, in my opinion, escort them, providing, as it were, some alliance against hostile birds. The first proof of this matter is that during that time no crow at all appears; then, because they return with wounds, they bring clear signs of the protection and auxiliary support they provided. Who has prescribed for them the laws of hospitality? Who has threatened them with a charge of desertion from the military, so that not one of them withdraws from the company? Let them hear, those who are harsh and ungracious toward guests, and who shut their doors, and do not receive strangers under their roof ^D even in winter or at night. Furthermore, the care which storks show toward those worn out by old age would be enough to excite our children to the love of their parents, if they were willing to pay attention. For there is no man so entirely lacking in mind that he does not judge it a thing worthy of shame for him to be inferior in virtue to the most unreasoning birds. They circle around the father, who is laboring under the shedding of feathers from old age, and warm him with their own feathers, and providing food in abundance, they offer him aid that is possible even in flight, gently lifting him from both sides with their wings. And this is so celebrated among all, that now some call the repayment of benefits "antipelargosis" (stork-repayment). Let no one lament over poverty; nor let him despair of his life who has no wealth left at home, if he observes the industry of the swallow. For that bird, building its nest, carries the twigs in its mouth; but since it cannot take up the mud with its feet, moistening the tips of its wings with water, and then rolling itself in the finest dust, it thus makes use of mud

and by binding the twigs together little by little with the mud as if with some kind of glue, it brings up its young within it. If one puts out the eyes of these ^A young, nature has bestowed upon it a certain medical art by which it restores the sight of its offspring to health. Let these things admonish you not to turn to wrongdoing because of poverty, nor to lie idle and inactive in the most grievous sufferings, having thrown away all hope; but to flee to God, who, if He bestows such great things upon a swallow, how much greater things will He grant to those who call upon Him with their whole heart?

The halcyon is a sea bird. It is its nature to nest along ^B the shores, laying its eggs in the sand; and it nests somewhere about the middle of winter, at the time when the sea is dashed against the land by many violent winds. Nevertheless, all the winds are lulled to sleep, and the sea waves are quiet, when the halcyon is incubating for seven days. For in just so many days it hatches its young. But since they also need food, God, most bountiful, has granted this tiny animal another seven days for the growth of its young. Wherefore all sailors know this, and call those days "halcyonean." These things have been ordained and appointed by Divine providence over brute animals, so that you, encouraged by them, might ask of God those things that pertain to your salvation. For what wonder could not happen for your sake—you who have been made in the image of God—when, for the sake of such a small little bird, the vast and terrible sea is commanded to be calm and is checked and reined in in the midst of winter?

6. They say that the turtledove, ^C once separated from its mate, no longer admits to fellowship with another, but remains unmarried, refusing a union with another in memory of the one to whom it was once joined. Let women hear how, even among brute animals, the dignity and honesty of widowhood is preferred to the indecency of frequent marriages. The eagle is most unjust in the rearing of its offspring. For when it has hatched two chicks, it thrusts one of them to the earth, driving it away with the beats of its wings; and it takes only the other as its own, disowning the one it begot on account of the difficulty of procuring food. But, as they say, the ossifrage does not allow this one to perish; rather, it takes it up and rears it together with its own chicks. Such are those parents who, under the pretext of poverty, ^D expose their infants: or who indeed in the distribution of their estate are most unequal...

^A toward their offspring. For it is just, just as they have equally shared the gift of being with each one, so also to provide them with the means of living equally and honorably. Do not imitate the cruelty of the hook-clawed birds, which, when they see their own young ones ready to dare flight, cast them from the nest, striking them with their wings and pushing them, and take no further care for them. The love of the crow for its young is commendable; for it accompanies them even when they are already flying, feeding and nurturing them for the longest time. Many species of birds have no need of the mating of males for conception; but in other species eggs produced without mating are infertile. They say, however, that vultures for the most part produce young without mating, although they are extremely long-lived: for their life generally extends even up to a hundred years. I would wish you to have this ^B noted and observed from the history of birds, so that if you ever see some people mocking our mystery, as though it were impossible and contrary to nature for a virgin to give birth while her virginity remained undefiled, it may come to your mind that God, whom it pleased to save those who believe by the folly of the preaching, had, in advance, laid down ^C myriads of evidence derived from nature itself to win faith for even such stupendous things.

7. *Let the waters bring forth crawling creatures of living beings, and birds flying above the earth, according to the firmament of heaven.* They were commanded to fly above the earth, because the earth provides food for all: but according to the firmament of heaven, because, as we have said before, the air is called heaven in this place, taking its name, so to speak, from the word meaning "to be seen." Indeed, it is even called a firmament, because that air which hangs over our heads, when compared to the ethereal body, is of a somewhat denser composition, and is the more compressed by the exhalations rising from the lowest places. You have, therefore, the heaven adorned, the earth decorated, the sea abounding in its own offspring, the air filled with the birds flying through it. All these things, which have been brought into being from nothing by the commandment of ^D God—and the rest which our discourse has now omitted, avoiding a longer lingering upon these things, lest it seem to exceed the limit—do you, as a student, think upon them with yourself, and learning the wisdom of God in all things, never cease from your wonder, nor from praising the Creator by means of all creation.

^A You have in the darkness the nocturnal species of birds; in the light, those that go by day. For bats, and owls, and night-ravens are of the nocturnal sort. So that at any time when sleep is not present to you, it suffices to occupy yourself with these, and to examine the properties that belong to them, for the glorification of the Creator. How the nightingale is wakeful, when she is brooding, not ceasing from her melody through the whole night. How the bat is the same both as a quadruped and as a winged creature. How it alone among birds uses teeth, and brings forth its young 81 like the quadrupeds, yet moves about in the air, not raised by feathers, but by a certain leathery membrane. How, furthermore, it possesses this 82 communal affection in its nature, and just as a hanging chain, the bats hold onto one another, and each is suspended from the next: a thing which is not easy for us humans to accomplish. For that which is detached and private is preferred by most people to that which is social and united. How like the eyes of the owl are those who have spent their time on vain wisdom. ^B For as the vision of that bird is strong by night, but is dimmed when the sun shines, so the mind of these people is indeed most sharp for the contemplation of vanity, but is darkened for the understanding of the true light. In the day, it is also very easy for you to gather from every side the miracle of the Creator. How the domestic bird rouses you to work, with a sharp voice crying out and announcing from far away the sun still approaching, keeping watch with travelers, and leading forth the farmers to the harvest. How wakeful is the race of geese, and most sharp in the perception of things that are hidden, which once also saved the royal city, by disclosing some enemies who were already about to seize the citadel of Rome beneath the earth through hidden tunnels 85. In what genus of birds does nature not show some singular miracle? Who 86 announces to the vultures the death of men, when they make war upon one another? For you might see myriads of flocks of vultures following the camps, judging the outcome from the preparation of the weapons. This, however, is not far 87 from human reasoning. How shall I recount to you the terrible expeditions of the locust, which, raised by one signal, and having encamped over the breadth of the land, does not touch the crops before the divine command is given to it? How does the *seleucis* follow as a remedy for the plague, having an endless power of eating, because the philanthropic God, for the benefit of ^D humanity, has fashioned its nature as insatiable 88?

^A? What is the method of the cicada’s music? And how is it that they are more sonorous at midday, since the sound is produced by the drawing in of air, which happens when they expand their thorax? But indeed I feel myself even less capable in speech of explaining the miracles of the winged creatures than if I were to attempt to match their speed with my feet. When you see those winged creatures that are called insects, such as bees and wasps (for they have been named so because they show certain incisions on all sides), think upon the fact that they have no respiration, nor even lungs, but are nourished entirely through and through by the air. For this reason, if they are dampened with oil, they perish, because their pores become obstructed; but if vinegar is immediately applied, they revive again, as the passages are opened. God, our Creator, has fashioned nothing superfluous to our needs, nor has He left anything essential lacking. Again, if you examine the creatures that love the water, you will find a different structure in them: feet that are not cloven, like those of a crow, nor hooked like those of carnivorous birds, but broad and webbed, so that they may easily swim upon the waves, pushing the water with the membranes of their feet as if they were oars. If you observe how the swan, plunging its neck into the deep water, brings up its food from the bottom, then you will discover the wisdom of the Creator, who for this very reason granted it a neck longer than its feet, so that, letting it down like a fishing line, it might search out and extract the food hidden in the depths.

8. If the words of Scripture are read simply, they are but small syllables ^C: "Let the waters bring forth winged creatures flying over the earth according to the firmament of heaven"; but when the meaning of the words is investigated, then the great miracle of the wisdom of the Creator appears. How many differences of winged creatures did He provide for? How did He separate them one from another according to their kind? How did He mark each one with distinct characteristics? The day fails me as I describe to you the miracles of the air. The dry land calls us to bring forth the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the cattle into our midst; for it is ready to present something that is not unequal to the plants, the swimming kind, and all the winged creatures. "Let the earth bring forth the living soul of cattle and wild beasts and reptiles according to their kind." What do you say, you who do not have faith in Paul ^D concerning the change that will take place at the resurrection, when you see many of the airy creatures changing their forms? Such things are reported even of the Indian horned worm, which, having first been changed into a caterpillar, then in the progress of time becomes a silkworm, and does not remain even in this form, but takes on loose and broad plates as wings. When, therefore, you women sit and unwind the work of these creatures—I mean the threads which the Seres send to you for soft garments

^A, keeping in mind the transformation of this animal, receive a clear notion of the resurrection, and do not disbelieve the change which Paul proclaims to all. But I perceive that my discourse is exceeding its proper measure. For when I look toward the abundance of what has been spoken, I see myself being carried beyond the ends and the measure; but again, when I look toward the variety of the wisdom shining in the works of creation, I think that I have not even begun the narrative. And yet, to detain you for a longer time is not useless. For what else could one do until evening? Your hosts do not press you, and no banquet awaits you. ^B Therefore, if it seems good, let us use our corporal fasting for the exhilaration of our souls. You have often served your flesh for the sake of pleasure; today, persist in the service of the soul. *Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the petitions of your heart.* If you are of a mind for wealth, you have spiritual riches: *The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone.* If you are given to enjoyments and a lover of pleasure, you have at hand the utterances of God, which are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to him who has his spiritual senses in good health. If I dismiss you and dissolve the assembly, some will run to the dice. There are oaths there, and grievous contentions, and the goads of avarice. ^C A demon stands by, kindling madness through the marked bones, and transferring the same money to one side or the other; now he exalts one man with victory, and causes sadness in another, and again he shows the one exulting, and renders the other ashamed. What is the profit, I ask, of fasting in the body, while the soul is filled with countless evils? And he who does not gamble, but passes the time in other ways, what vain things does he not say? What absurd things does he not hear? For leisure, deprived of the fear of God, is a teacher of wickedness to those who do not know how to use their time. Perhaps, therefore, some benefit will be found in what is being said; but if not, at least it is possible for you through your present occupation not to sin. ^D Wherefore, to detain you longer is to keep you longer removed from offenses. Yet the things which have been mentioned are sufficient for a fair judge, if one does not look toward the riches of creation, but toward the weakness of our own strength, and toward those things which are sufficient for those who happen to be gathered for the sake of pleasure. The earth received you with its own shoots; the sea with fish, the air with birds. The dry land is ready to show that it is not unequal to these things. But let this be the limit and measure

your morning feast, so that excessive satiety may not make you ^A sluggish for taking the evening meals. Moreover, may He who has filled all things with His creation, and who left us clear monuments of His wonders in everything, fill your hearts with all spiritual joy in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY IX. On Terrestrial Things.

1. How does the morning banquet of words appear to you? For it occurred to me to compare my discourse to the benevolence of a certain poor host: who, desiring to be numbered among those who build up opulent tables, afflicts his guests on account of the scarcity of costly things, because he brings forward a poor preparation for the table too ^B lavishly, so that his ambition results in the reproach of absurdity for him. Such, indeed, might be our manner of proceeding here, unless you say something else. But whatever these things may be, they are by no means to be spurned by you. For neither did those who lived with Elisha turn away from him as a bad host, even though he received his friends with wild herbs. I know the laws of allegory, even if I have not devised them myself, but have stumbled upon the labors of others. Those who do not accept the common understandings of the Scriptures say that water is not water, but some other nature, and they interpret the plant and the fish according to their own opinion. Furthermore, they explain the generation of reptiles and cattle as twisted into their own allegories, just as certain interpreters of things appearing to the imagination during sleep, who adapt their interpretations to their own purpose. ^C But I, when I hear "grass," I understand grass; and plant, and fish, and beast, and cattle, I accept everything exactly as it was said. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. Nor, because those who have written about the world have argued much about the shapes of the earth—whether the earth is a sphere, or a cylinder, or whether it is like a disk and turned equally from every side, or whether it has the appearance of a winnowing fan and is hollow in the middle (for indeed, those who have written about the world have fallen into all these opinions, each one dissolving the tenets of the others)—shall I therefore be induced to call our own account of creation less honorable, ^D since God's servant Moses spoke nothing about shapes, nor did he say that the earth is a sphere or a cylinder.

^A And he did not measure how far the shadow of the earth extends during the motion of the sun beneath the earth, nor how this, when it comes upon the moon, causes eclipses. Because he passed over as useless to us things that have no bearing on us, shall I for this reason consider the oracles of the Spirit to be of less value than the wisdom that has been made foolish? Or shall I rather give glory to Him who did not occupy our minds with vanities, but ordained that all things should be written for our edification and for the perfecting of our souls? This is something which some, it seems to me, have failed to understand; for they have attempted to superimpose upon the written text a certain dignity from their own minds by means of various deductions and figurative interpretations. ^B But this is the act of one who makes himself wiser than the oracles of the Spirit, and who, under the pretext of interpretation, introduces his own ideas. Let it therefore be understood as it is written.

2. "Let the earth bring forth a living soul of cattle and wild beasts and creeping things."

2. Homily IX

we have seen formed in no other way than from slime; whose succession neither an egg nor any other manner produces, but they have their origin from the earth. ^A 5. Bring forth, earth, a living soul. The beasts are earthly and inclined toward the earth. But man, who is a heavenly plant, differs just as much in the dignity of his soul as he does in the form of his bodily structure. What is the form of four-footed animals? Their head is inclined toward the earth, it looks at the belly, and it pursues its pleasure in every way. Your head is raised toward heaven; your eyes look at the things above 19. So that, if ever you also debase yourself with the passions of the flesh, serving the belly and the things beneath the belly, you are compared to the senseless beasts and made like unto them 18. A different care becomes you: to seek, namely, the things which are above, where Christ is 13, and to raise your mind above earthly things. As you have been formed, so also set your own life in order. Let your conversation be in the heavens: your true fatherland is the heavenly Jerusalem, citizens and tribesmen, the first-born themselves: Who are written in the heavens 15.

16 3. Bring forth, earth, a living soul. Therefore, the soul of the brute animals did not emerge as something recondite in the earth, but it came into being together with the command. And there is but one soul of the brute animals; for the privation of reason is its distinguishing mark. But by different properties each of the animals is distinguished 21. For the ox is steady and firm, the ass is sluggish, the horse bold toward the desire of the female 22, the wolf is untameable, the fox is wily, the deer is timid, the ant is industrious, ^C the dog is pleasing and mindful of friendship. For as soon as any animal was created, the property of its own nature was introduced with it. A vehement spirit was born together with the lion, a solitary manner of living, a character somewhat unsociable toward its own tribesmen. For, like a certain tyrant of the brute animals, because of the pride of his nature, he does not allow many to be his peers and equals. He, indeed, neither admits yesterday’s food, nor does he return to the remains of his own prey: to whom nature has also given such organs of voice that many animals, far swifter than he, are often captured by his roar alone. The panther is vehement and quick to sudden attacks; its body is suited for agility and lightness, and it is joined to such as corresponds to the movements of its soul. The nature of the bear is sluggish, its character is peculiar, its habits are ^D wily and deeply hidden 24. It is also clothed...

with a body—heavy, compact, and with joints not clearly articulated—befitting a creature that truly dwells in a frozen lair. If we were to pursue with our discourse how great an untaught and natural care for their own lives resides in these irrational creatures, or if we were to be moved toward the preservation of ourselves and the concern for the salvation of our souls, we would be either more highly motivated or further condemned, when we are found failing even the imitation of the beasts. ^A A bear, often wounded with very deep gashes, heals itself, using all sorts of devices to cover its wounds with this flame-like substance which has a naturally dry quality. You might also see a fox healing itself with the tears of a pine tree. A tortoise, having gorged itself on the flesh of a viper, escapes the harm of the venomous creature through the contrary nature of marjoram. And a snake, having fed on fennel, remedies the injury to its eyes. ^B And what rational prudence does not exceed their foreknowledge of the change of the air? For instance, when winter is approaching, a sheep eagerly consumes its food, as if it were laying in provisions for the coming scarcity; and oxen, having been kept shut up for a long time during the winter season, when at last the spring begins to approach, perceiving the change by natural sense, look from their stalls toward the exits, and all, as if by a single signal, change their position. Indeed, some of the diligent have even observed that the land hedgehog constructs two breathing vents in its lair, blocking the northern vent when the north wind is going to blow, and again, when the south wind takes over, moving toward the northern one. What is indicated to us men by these things? ^C Not only that the care of Him who created us extends through all things, but also that there is some sense of the future in the irrational creatures, so that we too might not be glued to the present life, but might bestow all our zeal upon the future age. Will you not work zealously for yourself, O man? Will you not store up in the present age things that pertain to the rest of the future age, when you have looked to the example of the ant? Which in summer stores up for itself its winter food, and does not, because the discomforts of winter are not yet present, pass the time in sloth; but with an inexorable zeal it stretches itself toward the work, until it has stored up sufficient food in its storehouses; and it does not even do this flippantly, but with a certain wise ingenuity ^D [it manages] for the food to last for the longest possible time; for it slices the middle of the grains with its claws, lest...

they sprout and become useless for its food. And it dries them out when it senses that they have become damp; and it does not bring them out at just any time, but when it foresees that the air will remain in a calm state. ^A Indeed, you would not see rain flowing down from the clouds as long as the wheat is spread out by the ants. What language could attain this? What hearing could contain it? What time would suffice to tell and narrate all the miracles of the Creator? Let us also say with the Prophet: "How magnified are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have made them all." Therefore, we will not be able to excuse ourselves on the grounds that we have not been taught the things that are beneficial in books, since we are permitted by the law of nature to choose that which is useful without instruction. You know what good you ought to do for your neighbor? What you wish to happen to yourself from another. You know what evil is? What you yourself would not wish to suffer from another. No art of cutting roots, nor any experience of herbs, has brought to brute animals a knowledge of what is useful; but naturally each animal has known the means of procuring its own salvation, and possesses a certain ineffable tendency toward what is according to nature.

4. Moreover, there are also in us virtues according to nature, ^B toward which the affinity of the soul exists, not from the teaching of men, but from nature itself. For just as no schooling teaches us to hate disease, but of our own accord we turn away from those things that cause us distress, so too there is in the soul a mode of instruction-less avoidance of evil. For every vice is an illness of the soul, but virtue holds the position of health. For some have rightly defined health as the stability of the natural operations. And he who says the same concerning the healthy state of the soul will not stray from what is fitting. Hence the soul is, without instruction, appetitive of that which is proper to it and according to its nature. ^C Therefore, temperance is praised by all, and justice is approved, and courage is worthy of admiration, and prudence is greatly sought after. These virtues pertain more properly to the soul than health does to the body. "Children, love your parents." "You parents, do not provoke your children to wrath." Does not nature itself say these things? Paul advises nothing new, but strengthens the bonds of nature. If the lioness loves her offspring and the wolf fights for its cubs, ^D what shall a man say who disobeys the commandment and corrupts nature, when a child dishonors the old age of a parent, or a parent through a second…

marriage forgets his ^A earlier children? Great is the affection in irrational animals between offspring and parents, because God, who created them, compensated for their lack of reason with a greater capacity for perception. For whence does a lamb, leaping out from among countless sheep in the folds, recognize the color and voice of its mother, and hasten toward her, seeking its own fountains of milk? And even if it encounters poor, empty teats, it is content with them, having passed by many teats that are full and heavy. And how does the mother, among so many lambs, recognize her own? The voice is one, the appearance is the same, the scent is similar to all, as far as our sense of smell can discern; yet there is in them a certain sense, sharper than our own understanding, by which it is possible for each to distinguish what is its own. ^B The puppy does not yet have teeth, and yet it defends itself with its mouth against those who annoy it. The calf does not yet have horns, and yet it knows where its weapons will grow. These things prove that the natures of all things are untaught, and that there is nothing disorderly or improvident in existing things, but that all things bear the traces of the wisdom of their Creator, showing in themselves that they were produced well-equipped for the preservation of their own safety. The dog is devoid of reason, yet it possesses a sense not inferior to reason. For those things which the wise men of the world, spending much of their life in leisure, have barely discovered—I mean the complexities of syllogisms—these things the dog shows himself to have been taught by nature. For when he investigates the track of a wild beast, ^C and finds it broken in many ways, having gone over the turnings leading in every direction, he all but utters the syllogistic voice through the actions he performs: "The beast," he says, "turned either this way, or that way, or in this direction; but it did not go this way, nor that way; it remains that it must have rushed this way." And thus, by the elimination of the false, he finds the true. What more do those who sit gravely over their diagrams, drawing lines in the dust, and, rejecting two of three propositions, find the truth in the one that remains? Furthermore, the memory of a kindness preserved by this animal—what ungrateful man toward his benefactors does it not shame? Since many dogs are ^D remembered for having died alongside their masters who were killed in the wilderness. Indeed, some dogs, while the slaughter was still fresh, have even become guides to those searching for the murderers, and have been the cause of the evildoers being brought to justice. What are they to say who not only do not love the Lord who created and feeds them, but even >

associate with those who speak iniquity against God, and partake of the same table as those who speak against Him, and endure at that very banquet the blasphemies uttered against Him who feeds them? ^B

5. But let us return to the contemplation of creation. The animals that are more easily caught are more prolific. For this reason, hares, wild goats, and wild sheep are prolific, producing twins, so that the species may not fail by being consumed by those that hunt for raw flesh. But those that destroy others are less prolific. Hence, a lioness is scarcely the mother of a single lion. For, as they say, having lacerated the womb with the point of its claws, it emerges, just as vipers also are born by eating through the womb, paying back the deserved reward to the mother who bore them. ^C So nothing in existence is without providence, nor lacking the care that is due to it. And if you examine the very limbs of animals, you will find that the Creator has added nothing superfluous, nor taken anything away from what is necessary. He has fitted sharp teeth to carnivorous animals; for such were needed for that kind of food. But those that are only half-armed with teeth, He has equipped with many and various receptacles for food. For because the food is not sufficiently ground up by them the first time, they have been given the faculty of bringing back the swallowed food, so that, ground by rumination, it may be made suitable for the one being nourished. The stomachs, the omasum, the reticulum, and the large intestines are not placed in the animals that have them for no purpose; rather, each fulfills the need of what is necessary. The camel's neck is long so that it may be on a level with ^D its feet and reach the grass upon which it lives. The neck of the bear, and of the lion, and of the tiger, and of the others of this genus is short and set into the shoulders; because grass is not their food, nor have they any need to bow down to the ground, being carnivorous and sustaining themselves from the prey of animals. What is the intent of the proboscis in the elephant? Because it is a great animal, and the greatest of land animals, brought forth to strike terror into those it encounters, it had to have a fleshy and obese body. If a large neck, equal to its feet, had been granted to it, it would have been difficult to manage, inasmuch as—

^A vergeret. Now, however, the head is joined to the spine by only a few vertebrae of the neck; but it possesses a proboscis, discharging the office and duty of a neck, through which it takes in food and draws up drink. Moreover, its feet are without joints, like solid columns, supporting its weight. For if loose and flexible limbs had been placed under it, constant dislocations of the joints would have occurred, as they would not have been sufficient to relieve the weight while it was crouching or rising. But now, a small talus lies beneath the elephant's foot, nor is it jointed either into a hock or into a knee. For the slippery nature of joints could not have borne the great corpulence of the animal, poured around it and trembling. Hence the need for that trunk which descends to the feet. Do you not see how in wars they go before the line of battle like certain living towers? Or how, like certain fleshy hills, they break through the dense ranks of the enemy when driven by an unbearable momentum? To which, if the parts below did not correspond, the animal could not persist for any length of time. But now some report that the elephant lives for three hundred years and more; for this reason its limbs are compact and not articulated. And the trunk, as we have said, carries food up from the ground to its height, being something serpentine and of a more flexible nature. Thus the saying is true, that nothing superfluous or lacking can be found in created things. Yet God has put this creature of such magnitude under our control (so that it may even be taught to understand, and to endure being struck), clearly teaching us that He subjected all things to us, because we were made in the image of the Creator. And it is possible to perceive ^B the unsearchable wisdom, not only in great animals, but also to collect no less miracles in the very smallest things. For just as I do not wonder more at the great mountain summits, which due to their nearness to the clouds preserve the winter chill through continuous currents, than at the hollows in the valleys, which not only avoid the violence of high winds but also always hold warm air; so in the composition of animals, I do not admire the elephant ^C more for its size than the mouse, which is feared by the elephant; or the very fine sting of the scorpion, how the Craftsman himself hollowed it out like a flute, so that through it the venom might be injected into those wounded. And let no one blame the Maker for this reason, that He introduced poisonous, destructive, and hostile animals into our life; for either ^D

^A one could with equal reason blame a tutor who brings the levity and instability of boys into order, and who chastises their wantonness and insolence with blows and scourges.

6. What! Do you lack faith? *You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon* (Ps. xc, 13). You have through faith the power to walk upon serpents and scorpions. Do you not see that when the viper fastened itself upon Paul, who was gathering sticks, it caused him no harm, because the saint was found to be full of faith? But if you are faithless, fear not the beast so much as your own unbelief, by which you have made yourself vulnerable to every corruption.

But I perceive that I have long been asked for an explanation of the generation of man, and I seem all but to hear the listeners crying out in their hearts that we are being taught what we are by nature, but we are ignorant of ourselves. It is necessary, therefore, having cast aside all hesitation that held us back, to discuss these things. And indeed, to know oneself appears to be the most difficult thing of all. For not only does the eye ^B looking outward not use its sight to see itself, but our own mind, while sharply observing the sins of others, is slow to recognize its own failings. For this reason, even now, our discourse, though it has diligently gone through the affairs of others, is sluggish and full of hesitation in investigating those things which pertain to us; although it is not possible to know God more from heaven and earth than from our own constitution, at least for one who has prudently examined himself, as the Prophet says: *Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me* (Ps. cxxxviii, 6); that is, when I knew myself, I learned of the excellence of the wisdom that is in Thee.

And God said: *Let us make man* (Gen. i, 26). Where, I ask, is the Jew, who in what went before, while the light of theology shone out as if through certain windows, and while the second Person was ^C mystically shown, though not yet clearly manifested, was fighting against the truth and asserting that God was talking to Himself? For He said, he claims, and He Himself did it. *Let there be light, and there was light* (Gen. i, 3). Even then, there was an obvious and manifest absurdity in their words. For what smith, or carpenter, or shoemaker, sitting alone among the tools of his craft, with no one helping him, says to himself: "Let us make the sword, or let us fashion the plow, or let us complete the shoe," and does not rather perform the work that is appropriate for him in silence? For they are indeed notable follies if someone sits and commands, and exercises authority over himself, ^D and acts toward himself in a lordly and severe manner.

^A Yet those who have not hesitated to slander the Lord Himself, what would they not say, having a tongue practiced in falsehood? But the present utterance entirely stops their mouths: *And God said, Let us make man.* Tell me, is the person also singular here? For it is not written, "Let man be made," but, *Let us make man.* As long as the one being taught was not apparent, the proclamation of theology was hidden in the depths; but when the generation of man is expected, the faith is laid bare, and the dogma of the truth is more clearly revealed. *Let us make man.* You hear, O opponent of Christ, that He speaks to the partner of the creation, *through whom also He made the ages*, and who *upholds all things by the word of His power*. But the opponent of piety does not quietly accept the word; but just as the most man-hating of beasts, when locked in cages, roar within their enclosures, displaying the bitterness and ferocity of their nature, yet are unable to fulfill their madness, so also that race hostile to the truth, the Jews, being pressed into a corner, say ^B that there are many persons to whom the word of God has come. For He says to the angels standing by Him, "Let us make man." This is a Jewish fabrication, a myth born of their ease; that they might not accept the One, they introduce thousands. And rejecting the Son, they attach the dignity of the counsel to servants, and make our fellow-servants the masters of our creation. Man, when perfected, is raised to the dignity of the angels. Yet what creature can be equal to the Creator? Consider also what follows: *According to our image.* What do you say to this? Is there one image of God and of the angels? For as regards the Son and the Father, it is entirely necessary that there be the same form—the form, that is to say, understood in a manner worthy of God, not in a bodily figure, but in the peculiarity of the Godhead. Hear also, you who are of the new concision, who practice Judaism under the guise of Christianity. To whom does He say, *According to our image*? To whom else but to the *outshining of the glory, and the express image of His substance*, who is the *image of the invisible God*? To His own living image, therefore, the One who said, *I and the Father are one*, and, *Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father*, to Him He says, *Let us make man according to our image*. Where there is one image,

how it was that there was dissimilarity. *And God made man.* Not, *They made*. He avoided in this place a multitude of persons. But after He had by those means instructed the Jew, and by these latter means excluded the error of the pagans, He returned safely to the unity, so that you might understand the Son with the Father, and escape the danger of a multitude of gods. ^B *In the image of God He made him.* Again, He brought in the person of Him who was working with Him; for He did not say, *In the image of Himself*, but, *In the image of God*. Now, in what respect man may possess the *according to the image of God*, and in what way he participates in the *according to likeness*, will be stated in what follows, God granting it. But for the present, let this much be said: if there is one image, whence did it come into your mind to profess an impiety so intolerable as to call the Son unlike to the Father? O ungrateful soul! Since you have been made a participant in that likeness, do you not render it back to the author of the benefit? Do you consider those things which were granted to you as a gift to remain your own property, yet you do not permit the Son to possess the likeness to His Begetter received from nature? But the approaching time, ^C inasmuch as it has long since sent the sun to the west, imposes silence upon us. Here, therefore, let us also be content with what has been said, and put our discourse to rest. For the present, we have touched upon the subject only so far as was sufficient to stir up your zeal; but we shall provide a more perfect examination of the matters proposed in the following sessions, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Depart rejoicing, O Christ-loving assembly, and instead of every sumptuous feast and various condiments, adorn your honorable tables with the memory of what we have said. Let the man who introduces dissimilarity be confounded: let the Jew be put to shame: let the pious man rejoice in the dogmas of truth: let the Lord be glorified, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

MONITUM

We have judged that the orations of Basil on the Psalms should be published after the *Opus sex dierum* (the Hexaemeron). For it seemed right not to separate Scripture from Scripture. But if we wish to compare both series of orations—those on the Hexaemeron and those on the Psalms—with each other, I will not indeed deny that the former were far more celebrated among the ancients than the latter; but I would not easily concede that they are more useful. And to say once what I think, if eloquence and variety of argument are considered, I would allow the Hexaemeron to be preferred; if fruit and utility, not so. Basil interpreted only a few Psalms, or at least only the interpretation of a few has reached us.

it is certain. For my part, I have no doubt that this grave Father interpreted other psalms, since scarcely any reason can be brought forward why he would have expounded only those we possess. Yet I cannot agree with those who think a most certain and evident argument can be drawn from the interpretation of the thirty-seventh psalm. For what they say—that the explanation of the sixth psalm is cited in this interpretation, and yet it nowhere appears—is altogether futile and empty. For that interpretation of the thirty-seventh psalm, as we shall show, is the offspring of Eusebius, not of Basil. We are not unaware that other psalms besides those we possess are cited by the Metaphrast; but the authority of the Metaphrast in such writings is not such that we are compelled to follow him with blind impulse. There are seventeen Homilies on the Psalms in circulation under Basil’s name. But it is generally agreed among the learned that the other homily on the twenty-eighth psalm does not belong to him at all, but is the work of a plagiarist, or rather of some diligent person who wished to exercise himself and imitate Basil. The discourse on the thirty-seventh psalm also seemed suspicious to Combefis, but he would not determine or declare anything. He could have done so, however, since that discourse, as we noted, has an author not in Basil, but in Eusebius; of these matters, we speak more fully in the Preface. The remaining fifteen discourses are considered by everyone to be the genuine work of Basil. I am indeed greatly moved by the authority of so many learned men, but many and most grave factors prevent my yielding to their opinion. Since the matter requires a longer and more diligent investigation, we shall perform this much more conveniently in the general preface. I will say in passing that the discourses which are truly Basil’s were delivered to the people and pronounced in public assembly, and whatever does not bear this mark should, on that account alone, be considered suspicious.

As I was reading this work, which the very learned Balthasar Corderius took care to have published, a not insignificant difficulty arose. For I discovered that the greatest part of what I was reading in the Commentary of Theodorus Heracleota was nothing other than the very explanation of Basil on the Psalms, and that word for word. On one hand, I feared to strip that Commentary from Theodorus, because of the authority of ancient books, to whose trust this work has been attributed; on the other hand, I could not heap the disgrace and infamy of theft upon Basil, the best of orators. But I did not remain suspended and uncertain for long. For I immediately recognized that the Commentary which circulates under the name of Theodorus is not the work of Theodorus alone, but of many: Origen, Eusebius, Basil himself, Didymus, John Chrysostom, Theodoret, etc. In a word, it will be clear from the preface that the Commentary hitherto attributed to Theodorus Heracleota can deservedly be relegated to the number of Catenae. From which it follows that our Basil must be entirely removed from all suspicion of plunder and theft.

Now if anyone should ask at what time, or at what place, those discourses of Basil on the Psalms were delivered, it will not be easy to answer. For we believe that scarcely anything certain can be established regarding that matter. We prefer, however, to be silent on such things than to declare something false or uncertain. Anyone a little more cultured knows that Ambrose, when he wrote his books on the *Hexaemeron*, took very many things word for word from Basil; but it is not so well known that he did the same thing when interpreting certain psalms. Nor should it seem strange to anyone, since Ambrose did not borrow very much from Basil in explaining the Psalms. Yet, since there are those for whom it is pleasant and agreeable to know what one writer has taken from another, it will not be a bother to note those places of Ambrose, however few they are, in their proper place.

In the Latin editions, one can see certain Scholia on the Psalms which are attributed to Basil; but it does not seem necessary to discourse on them at length. For it is known that they are an epitome poorly patched together from the books of Chrysostom and Theodoret. Since, therefore, everyone admits that those Scholia ought to be placed among the spurious and adulterated works, it will suffice to have noted this once, and we shall not mention them anywhere again. For we do not think we should waste time and arguments on matters that are transparent.

SANCTI PATRIS NOSTRI BASILII, Cæsareae Cappadociae archiepiscopi, HOMILY ON PSALM ONE

1. All Scripture is divinely inspired and profitable, and therefore written by the Holy Spirit, in order that, as in a common infirmary of souls, each of us, as we are all men, may select the remedy for our own particular illness.

^A For healing, Scripture says, will sedate great sins. The prophets teach one thing, the historians another, the law something else, and the species of exhortation found in the Proverbs is yet another. But the book of Psalms contains the useful from all of them. It prophesies future things; it reminds us of histories; it legislates for life; it proposes what ought to be done; and in a word, it is a common treasure-house of good teachings, discovering what is useful to each person according to their diligence. For it heals the old wounds of souls and brings about rapid recovery ^B for the newly wounded; it tends to what is sick and preserves what is whole. In short, it removes the passions, as far as is possible, which variously hold sway over souls in the life of men; and it does this with a certain melodious charm and pleasure that produces sober thought. For since the Holy Spirit saw that the human race was difficult to lead toward virtue, and that because of our propensity for pleasure we neglected the straight path of a righteous life, what does He do? He mixed the sweetness of melody into the doctrines, so that we might imperceptibly receive the useful from the words through the pleasant and smooth quality of the hearing; just like the wise physicians who, when they are about to give ^C the bitterest of potions to the squeamish, often coat the cup with honey. For this reason, these harmonious melodies of the psalms have been devised for us, so that those who are children by age, or even those who are young in behavior, while singing in appearance, may in reality instruct their own souls. For scarcely ever does any one of the many and slothful depart having retained in his memory an apostolic or prophetic command; but they sing the sayings of the psalms at home and carry them about in the marketplace. And if someone is fiercely seething like a wild beast due to anger, once he begins to be charmed by the psalm, he leaves immediately, having lulled the wildness of his soul to sleep by ^D the melody.

2. A psalm is a tranquility of souls, an arbiter of peace, calming the tumultuous and surging tide of thoughts. For it softens the angry part of the soul and brings the licentious under control. A psalm is a creator of friendship, a union of those who are estranged, a reconciler of those at enmity. For who still can consider as an enemy him with whom he has joined in uttering one voice to God? So, the singing of psalms provides the greatest of goods, charity, having devised the harmony as a sort of bond for entering into concord, and bringing the people together into the symphony of a single choir. A psalm is a fugitive of demons, an invoker of the assistance of angels; a weapon amidst nocturnal fears, a rest from daily labors; a safety for infants, a decoration for the youth, a comfort for the elderly, a most fitting ornament for women.

it frequents the solitudes, it amends the forum. ^A A psalm is a beginning for those who are starting, an increase for those who are progressing, a firmament for those who are perfect; it is the voice of the Church. It makes the feast days glad; it creates that sorrow which is according to God. Indeed, a psalm calls forth a tear even from a heart of stone. A psalm is the work of angels, a heavenly conversation, a spiritual incense. O the wise invention of the Teacher, who devised a method so that we might sing and at the same time learn what is profitable! Whence it is that precepts are in a certain way more deeply imprinted upon our souls. For a lesson learned with violence is not prone to remain, but those things which enter in with pleasure and grace sit more firmly in our souls. For what could you not learn from it? ^B The magnificence of fortitude? The accuracy of justice? The gravity of temperance? The perfection of prudence? Are there not modes of repentance? Are there not measures of patience? Are there not, in short, all the goods that can possibly be mentioned? Here is perfect theology; here is the prophecy of Christ’s coming in the flesh, the threat of judgment, the hope of resurrection, the fear of punishment, the promises of glory, the revelation of mysteries; all things, as if in some great and common storehouse, are treasured up in the Book of Psalms. This book, although there are various musical instruments, the Prophet joined to the one they call the "psaltery," showing, as I believe, the grace from on high resonating within it by the Holy Spirit, because this alone of musical instruments has the cause of its produced sounds from a higher place. ^C For in the cithara and the lyre, the bronze gives forth sound from the lower part toward the plectrum; but the psaltery takes the source of its harmonious modulation from the upper part, so that we too might strive to seek the things which are above, and not be dragged down to the passions of the flesh by the sweetness of the melody. Moreover, I believe that the prophetic word, through the structure of this instrument, shows us in a deep and wise manner that those whose soul is equable and well-composed, for them an easy path to the things above is opened. But let us see the beginning of the Psalms.

3. *Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.* ^D For builders, when they raise a mass of buildings to a great height, lay foundations that are proportionate to the height; and shipbuilders, when they construct a massive freighter, lay the keel which is sufficient for the weight of its cargo. And in the generation of animals, the heart, which is the first thing fashioned by nature, receives from nature a foundation proportionate to the animal that is to be formed; therefore, when the body is adjusted according to its proper principles, the diverse sizes of animals are produced. Just as, therefore, a foundation is to a house...

a keel to a ship, and a heart to the body of a living creature, so also does this brief prologue hold the same position relative to the general argument of the Psalms. ^B For since he is about to exhort them through the course of his discourse to many and difficult things, filled with countless toils and labors, he has indicated beforehand the blessed end to the champions of piety, so that through the hope of the goods laid up for us, we may endure the hardships of life with a steady mind. Thus, for those traveling a rough and difficult road, the expectation of a suitable inn provides relief for enduring their toils; and the desire for acquiring merchandise gives courage to merchants to traverse the sea; and for farmers, the hope of the harvest in some way takes away the sense of their labors. Wherefore also the common corrector of life, that great teacher, the Spirit of Truth, wisely and skillfully set forth the rewards at the very beginning, so that, being lifted above the labors at hand, we might hasten in our mind toward the enjoyment of eternal goods. *Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.* For that which is truly and primarily blessed is that which is truly good. And this is God. Whence also Paul, being about to make mention of Christ, says: *According to the manifestation of the blessed God, and our Savior Jesus Christ.* For that is truly blessed which is good in itself, toward which all things look, which all things desire, the immutable nature, the sovereign dignity, the life subject to no disturbance, the joyful way of existing, which cannot be altered or changed, the gushing fountain, the abundant grace, the inexhaustible treasure. But ignorant men, lovers of the world, ^C not knowing the nature of the Good itself, often call blessed things of no value—wealth, health, the splendor of life—of which not one is good by its own nature; not only because it has an easy conversion toward their opposites, but because they cannot even make their possessors good. For who is just because of wealth? Who is temperate because of health? On the contrary, indeed, each of these often serves as a handmaiden to sin for those who use them ill. Blessed, therefore, is he who possesses those things which are of the greatest value, and who is a participant of those goods which cannot be taken away. How then shall we recognize him? *Who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.* But before I explain what it is not to have walked in the counsel of the ungodly, I wish to resolve for you the question of this passage. Why, you ask, does the Prophet choose only the man and proclaim him blessed? ^D Has he excluded women from blessedness? Far be it! For the virtue of man and woman is one, since their creation is equal in honor, and consequently the reward for both is the same. Hear Genesis: *God created man*, it says;

in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them*. ^A Since their nature is one, their actions also are the same; and since their work is equal, their reward is likewise equal. Why then, having mentioned the man, did he pass over the woman in silence? Because he judged it sufficient, since the nature of both is one, to signify the whole by way of the more dominant part.

*Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.* Consider the accuracy of the words, how each diction is filled with doctrines. He did not say, "Who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly," but, "Who has not walked." For one who is still in this life is not yet to be pronounced blessed, because of the uncertainty of the outcome; but one who has completed the required duties and has brought his life to a close with a definite ending, he is already securely called blessed. Why then are those who *walk* in the law of the Lord blessed? For the discourse does not declare those who *have* walked there blessed, but those who are still walking; because ^B those who do good receive approval in the very act, but those who avoid evil are not to be praised if they have avoided sin once or twice, but if they are able to escape the experience of evil altogether.

From the sequence of the discourse, another difficulty also appeared to us. Why does he not call the one who achieves virtue blessed, but rather the one who has not committed sin? For in this way, a horse, an ox, and a stone would be called blessed. For what inanimate object stood in the *way of sinners*? Or what irrational creature sat on the *seat of the pestilent*? If you wait but a little, you will find the remedy. For he adds (ver. 2): *But his will is in the law of the Lord.* The meditation of the divine law applies only to one who is a participant of reason. We would also say this: that the beginning for the acquisition of good things is the withdrawal from evil things. *Decline from evil*, he says, *and do good*.

4. Therefore he wisely and skillfully made the flight from vices the beginning of good things. For if he had immediately proposed to you things that are perfect, you would have been more hesitant to attempt them; but now he accustoms you ^C to those things that are easier to grasp, so that you may undertake what follows. I, for my part, would say that the exercise of piety is like a ladder—that ladder which blessed Jacob once saw, part of which touched the earth and was pressed to the ground, while the other part stretched out above him to heaven itself. Therefore, it is necessary for those who are being instructed in the life of virtue to place their footsteps on the first rungs, and from there to always step onto the next, until, by advancing little by little, they ascend to the height attainable by human nature. ^D

^A Just as, therefore, the first step of a ladder is the withdrawal from the ground, so in the way of life according to God, the beginning of progress is the withdrawal from evil. Moreover, it is entirely easier to have complete inactivity than to perform any given work; for example: *You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal*. Any one of these requires a mere deprivation of action and movement. But that other command, *You shall love your neighbor as yourself*, and, *Sell what you have and give to the poor*, and, *If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two*, are works worthy of athletes, which require a soul already strong and vigorous to achieve. Therefore, admire the wisdom of Him who leads us to perfection through things that are easier and more readily grasped.

He has set before us three things worthy of our caution, namely, that we should not walk in the counsel of the impious, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the pestilent. Following the nature of things, He arranged these words in this order: for first we deliberate, then we strengthen the deliberation, and finally we persist in the things deliberated. Above all, therefore, the purity of our mind was rightly declared blessed, since the intent of the heart is the root of bodily actions. For adultery, having first been kindled in the soul of the lecherous person, thus produces the corruption that occurs through the body. Whence also the Lord says that it is from within that those things proceed which defile a man. Since, however, sin committed against God is properly called impiety, may it never be that we should ever entertain any doubt about God because of unbelief! ^B For this is what it means to have walked in the counsel of the impious, if you say in your heart: "Is there a God who governs and steers the universe? Is there a God in heaven who manages each individual thing? Is there judgment? Is there a reward to be returned to each according to his works? Why, then, do the just become needy, while sinners abound in wealth? Do the former suffer illness, while the latter are in sound health? Are the former without honor, while the latter are in the greatest honor? Is this world perhaps carried by chance, and do some irrational accidents recklessly distribute lives to each?" If you have thought these things, you have walked in the counsel of the impious. Blessed, therefore, is he who has had no doubt about God, who has not been faint-hearted regarding present things but awaits those that are expected; who has not harbored an unbelieving opinion about Him who created us. ^C Blessed also is he who has not stood in the way of sinners. For life is called a "way" because everyone who has entered into life is hastening toward the end. For just as those who sleep in ships are carried automatically by the wind into ports, even if they themselves do not perceive it, yet the course urges them toward the destination; so also we, as the time of our life flows away, are being hastened—each one by a continuous and restless motion, as it were, and by the imperceptible course of our life—toward our own proper end. For instance, you are sleeping, and time is running past you; you are awake, and you are busy

^A with something in your mind; life, nevertheless, is being consumed, even if we do not perceive it. We all, therefore, run a certain course, each one of us hastening toward his own proper goal; for this reason, we are all on a way. And you may grasp the notion of the way in this manner, too. You are a traveler standing in this life; all things pass by, all things come to be behind you. You have seen a plant on the way, or grass, or water, or anything else worthy of sight; you were delighted for a little while, and then you passed on. Again, you have met with stones, and ravines, and precipices, and crags, and thorns, and other vexatious things; you were troubled for a little while, and then you left them behind. Such is life, possessing neither pleasures that are permanent nor sorrows that are lasting. The way is not yours, nor are the things present yours. Among travelers, as soon as the first has moved his foot, the one next to him plants his step, and after him another who follows.

5. Consider also whether the affairs of life are not similar. Today you have tilled the land, and tomorrow another man, and after him another. Do you see these fields ^B and these expensive houses? How many times have they changed their names since each of them came into existence! They were said to belong to such a one, then they were renamed after another; they passed to one person, and now they are said to belong to someone else. Is our life not, then, a way, at one time receiving one person and at another another, and having all who follow one another? Blessed, therefore, is he who has not stood in the way of sinners. But what is "has not stood"? While we are still in the first age, we are neither wicked nor endowed with virtue (for that age is not capable of either habit); but when our reason is perfected and comes to maturity, then that which is written comes to pass: *But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.* ^C For evil thoughts arise, generated in our souls from the passions of the flesh. In truth, when the commandment—that is, the discernment of good—has come, if it does not overcome the worse thought, but allows the mind to be enslaved by the passions, sin indeed has revived, but the mind has died, having become dead through transgressions. Blessed, therefore, is he who has not lingered in the way of those who sin, but has leaped toward a pious life with a better judgment. For there are two ways ^D that are contrary to one another: the one is broad and spacious, and the other is narrow and afflicted. And there are two guides, each one of whom tries to turn the traveler toward himself. The smooth and downward-sloping way has a deceitful guide, the evil demon, who drags those who follow him toward destruction through pleasure; but the rough and steep way has the good angel, who, through the labors of virtue, leads his followers toward the blessed

end. As long, therefore, as each of us is a child, pursuing the pleasure of the present, he takes no thought for the future; but when he has become a man, having reached the maturity of his faculties, it is as if he sees his life divided between virtue and vice. Casting the eyes of his soul repeatedly upon both, he judges the properties of each as being equally different from the other. The life of sinners shows us all the delights of the present age, while the life of the righteous reveals only the goods of the age to come. The way of those being saved, in proportion as it promises beautiful things for the future, makes the present life more laborious; but the life of pleasure and licentiousness offers not a deferred enjoyment, but one present and already at hand. Every soul is therefore dizzy and wavers in its reasoning, whenever it contemplates eternal things, choosing virtue, but when it looks toward present things, preferring pleasure. Here it sees the indulgence of the flesh, there the enslavement of the flesh; here drunkenness, there fasting; here unbridled laughter, there abundant tears; here dancing, there prayer; here pipes, there groans; here fornication, there virginity. Since, therefore, that which is truly good can be grasped only by reason through faith (for it is far removed, and eye has not seen, nor ear heard [cf. 1 Cor. 2:9]), while the sweetness of sin has its enjoyment ready at hand and flowing through every sense, blessed is he who, through the enticements of pleasure, has not been led toward destruction, but waiting with patience for the hope of salvation, in distinguishing between the two ways, does not embark upon the path that leads to the worse things.

6. ^A *Ver. 1. And he hath not sat in the chair of pestilence.* Does he mean those chairs upon which we rest our bodies? And what fellowship is there between wood and sin, that I must flee a chair occupied by a sinner as if it were deadly? Or must we not consider that a "chair" is spoken of as a firm and stable lingering in the judgment of wickedness? This is what we must beware of; because a strenuous lingering in sins engenders in the soul a certain habit which can scarcely be cast off. For an inveterate disease of the soul is with difficulty healed, and the practice of evil, confirmed by time, is hard to cure, or indeed altogether incurable, if custom passes into nature, as is usually the case. It would have been desirable, therefore, not to touch evil at all. But a second navigation remains: immediately after the experience, to flee from it as from the stroke of a poisonous beast, according to what Solomon wrote ^B concerning the wicked woman: "Do not cast your eye upon her, but recoil; do not linger" [Prov. 23:26, var.]. Now, I know some who in their youth, toward the things of the flesh... ^{C D}

have slipped, and by reason of the habit of evil, have persevered in their sins even unto old age. For just as swine, rolling in the mire, are always increasingly splattered with mud, so do these men, day by day, smear upon themselves the shame of pleasure. Blessed, then, is he who has not pondered evil; but if, by the entrapment of the enemy, you have received thoughts of impiety into your soul, do not stand your ground in sin. And if you have even fallen into this, do not dwell in that evil. Do not, therefore, sit in the "seat of the pestilent." If you have understood what chair the Scripture speaks of—namely, a lasting persistence in evil—I would further have you examine whom it calls "pestilent."

The experts in such matters say that a pestilence, once it has touched a single man or beast, spreads by contagion to all who draw near. For they contend that the nature of the disease is such that it causes everyone to infect one another with the malady. Such are the workers of iniquity. For they transmit the disease one to another, they sicken in concert, and they perish together. Do you not see those sodomites sitting in the market, mocking the chaste, reciting their own works of shame—they who count the pursuits of darkness and the passions of dishonor as heroic exploits or other great virtues? ^B These are the pestilent ones, who strive to bring their own evil upon everyone else, and who are ambitious to make many like themselves, so that through this communion in evil they may escape the disgrace. For just as it is impossible for fire, once it has touched matter suitable for burning, not to spread over the whole of it—especially if a favoring wind happens to carry the flame—so too is it impossible for sin, once it has touched one man, not to pass on to all who draw near, as the spirits of wickedness fan it into a flame. For the spirit of fornication does not allow the dishonor to reside in one person, but immediately, those of like age are gathered in: revels, drunken bouts, and obscene narratives; a harlot drinking with them, smiling at one, provoking another, and inflaming all toward the same sin. Is this pestilence a small thing, or is the contagion of evil slight?

What then of the one who emulates the greedy man, or him who, through some other wickedness, has acquired some conspicuous political power, or holds authority over nations, or is a commander of armies, and then, being contaminated by the foulest passions, has he not received the pestilence into his very soul, making the evil of the one he emulates his own? For the splendors of life also bring to notice the lives of those held in high regard; and soldiers, for the most part, become like their commanders; and the people in the cities imitate the magistrates. ^C

^A And in sum, when the wickedness of one is deemed worthy of imitation by the many, it will be properly and rightly said that a certain pestilence of souls prevails in life. For prominence joined to wickedness draws many of those who are prone to slip into a similar zeal. Since, therefore, corruption flows from one to another, let the souls of such be called affected by the pestilence. Do not, then, sit in the seat of the pestilent, ^B or become a partaker of the counsel of the corrupt and destructive, or remain in the beginnings. ^C But I see the length of the account exceeding its measure, so that it is neither easy for you to retain much, nor for me, as my voice fails me due to my customary infirmity, to pursue the discourse. Although the things we have said may have been stated imperfectly, as the flight from evil has been demonstrated but the perfection acquired through good works has been omitted, nevertheless, commending these present words to your kindly ears, we promise, God granting, to complete what remains, provided we are not henceforth consigned to total silence. May the Lord grant us a reward for what we have said, and to you the fruit of what you have heard, by the grace of His Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

BY THE SAME: ON PSALM VII

1. The inscription of the seventh Psalm seems in some way to face in the direction of the history of the Kingdoms, where things concerning David are written. ^A Since it might appear to refer to the history of the Kingdom, where the things concerning David are recorded, one is led to compare it with those events. These, then, are the words: *A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Chusi the son of Gemini.* Nor does Jerome translate it otherwise, who from the Hebrew thus translates: *An ignorance of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of an Ethiopian, the son of Gemini.* I have brought these things forward to make it clear that certain interpreters wrote—not illogically—*Ethiopian* for *Chusi*, and that by the name of Ethiopian, Saul, endowed with Ethiopian habits, could be understood by learned men, and for that reason Basil could appear to have been able to reconcile the inscription of this Psalm far more easily with what is said in II Kings xv, 5. For it would have been to his advantage if he had said that the discourse concerned two men, not one—here concerning Saul, there concerning Chusi the son of Arachi. I would like you to read the Chaldean paraphrase, and the notes of Ducaeus. It seemed strange to the most learned Ducaeus that Basil should say a little later that neither Chusi nor anyone else is found in the history of the Kings as the son of Gemini, when Semei is named in II Kings xix, 16 as the son of Gera, the son of Gemini. It ^B must indeed seem strange that Basil, a man most skilled in the Scriptures, should have fallen into such an error; but it is worth noting that the whole of that passage does not appear in the Colbertine manuscripts, the fourth and the seventh. Whence perhaps a suspicion might arise for some that these words, first placed in the margin of the book, crept into the text itself in the course of time. But yet, to tell the truth, I think that Basil wrote it, and that it was omitted in the Colbertine copies for no other reason than that it was written continuously at the end of two periods. For they know, who are even slightly experienced in such matters, that it happens not rarely that scribes then omit the second period.

^A the inscription of the seventh psalm. For there, Chusi is recorded as the chief friend [(44)] of David, and the son of Arachi, but here he is Chusi, the son of Jemeni. And neither is this man, nor anyone else among those appearing there, the son of Jemeni. May it be, then, because he displayed great prowess and noble achievement from the guise surrounding his friendship, when he seemingly went over to Absalom, but was undoing the counsels of Achitophel—a man most shrewd and most skilled in military strategy [(45)], who was tendering his opinions—that he was for this reason called the son of Jemeni? Now, the son of Jemeni is interpreted as the "son of the right hand." For when that man was advising that no time be granted to affairs, but that the father be attacked immediately and unprepared, saying, "That the Lord might bring ^B upon Absalom all these evils [(46)]"—he prevented the counsel of Achitophel from being admitted, as he saw that it was more plausible to suggest delays and wasted time to them, to give David an opportunity to gather his forces. Whence he was also acceptable to Absalom, who said, "The counsel of Chusi the son of Arachi is better than the counsel of Achitophel." To David, however, he made known through the priests Sadoc and Abiathar the things that had been arranged, and he commanded him not to lodge in the Araboth of the desert, but urged him toward the crossing. Since, therefore, he became a "right hand" to David by means of his good counsel, he obtained the designation from his noble achievement. For this reason is he called the son of Jemeni, that is, the son of the right hand. ^C This is the custom of Scripture: both to name the worse sort from their sin rather than from their fathers, and to name the better sort as sons from the virtue which characterizes them individually. Thus, the Apostle calls the devil the son of perdition: "For unless the lawless one, the son of perdition, be revealed [(50)]." And the Lord in the Gospel called Judas the son of perdition: "For none," he says, "perished except the son of perdition." But those who are instructed and fashioned in the knowledge of God, he calls sons of wisdom: "And wisdom is justified by her children [(48)] [(49)]"; and, "If there be," he says, "there a son of peace [(46)]." ^D

It is therefore no wonder if now also his physical father is passed over in silence, and the friend of David, called the son of the right hand, is named, for he had acquired a name befitting himself from his own deeds.^A

2. VERSE 2. *O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped, save me.* It is thought to be a simple thing, and one that can be rightly uttered by anyone, namely: *O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped, save me.* Perhaps the matter is not so. For he who hopes in a man, or is puffed up by some other thing in this life—for instance, by power or riches, or by any other of those things which are regarded by many as glorious—cannot say: *O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped.* For it is a command not to hope in princes; and, *Cursed is the man who puts his hope in man.* Just as it is not fitting to worship anything other than God, so neither is it fitting to place hope in anyone other than the Lord of all, God. *For the Lord is my hope,* he says, *and my praise.* But why does he first pray to be saved from those who pursue him, and then to be delivered? A punctuation mark will clarify the meaning: *Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, (VERSE 3) lest he seize my soul like a lion.* What, therefore, is the difference between being saved and being delivered? Clearly, the weak stand in need of salvation, but those held in captivity need to be delivered. Therefore, he who is weak in himself, but still retains faith within himself, is prepared for salvation through his own faith. *For thy faith,* he says, *hath saved thee*; and, *Be it done unto thee as thou hast believed.* But he who is to be delivered expects a price to be paid for his sake from elsewhere. Therefore, he to whom death is imminent and threatening, since he is conscious that there is one Savior, and one Deliverer, says: "In thee have I hoped; save me from my weakness, and deliver me from my captivity."^B

I think, moreover, that the valiant athletes of God, who have struggled mightily throughout their entire lives against invisible enemies, once they have escaped all their persecutions and have come to the end of their lives, are examined by the prince of this age, so that if they are found to have wounds from the struggles, or certain stains and marks of sin, they might be detained; but if they are found unhurt and unstained, as being unconquerable, as being free, they might be given rest by Christ. He prays, therefore, for the present life and for that which is to come. For, he says, "Save me here"^CD

^A from those who pursue me; but deliver me there in the time of examination, lest at any time he seize my soul like a lion. And you might learn this from the Lord Himself, saying regarding the time of His passion: "Now the prince of this world comes, and in me he will have nothing." But He who had not committed sin said He had nothing; yet it would be sufficient for a man, if he should dare to say, "The prince of this world comes, and in me he will have but few and small things." But there is a danger of suffering these things if we do not have Him who ransoms us, nor Him who saves us. To the two things set before us, two things are added: "Save me from the multitude of those who pursue me, and deliver me," lest at any time I be snatched away, as if there were no one to ransom me.

3. O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have rendered to those who render evils to me, I would surely fall away from my enemies empty. Let the enemy, therefore, pursue my soul, and let him overtake it. It is customary for the Scripture not only to use the name of retribution in the case of things that are supposed, as though some good or evil had already existed, but also in the case of those things that are initiated; as in the passage: "Render to thy servant." For instead of saying, "Give," it is said, "Render." Giving, then, is the initiation of a benefit, while rendering is the act of one who has received a benefit, returning like for like; but retribution is a certain secondary beginning and exchange of goods or evils brought unto certain persons. I believe, therefore, that when the discourse uses the name instead of a petition, as if making a certain demand, and asks for retribution, it conveys such a meaning as this: that the debt of care which is necessarily owed by nature from parents to their offspring—this do Thou provide for me. For the provision for life is owed by a father to his children according to natural affection. For parents, he says, ought to lay up treasure for their children, so that, beyond life, they also provide them with the means of livelihood. ^B Such is how "rendering," or "retribution," is often used in the Scripture for initial actions. But now the prophet appears to be confident in the fact that he has neither rendered evils to those who render them, nor rendered the like. If, therefore, I have done this, and if I have rendered to those who render evils to me, I would surely fall away from my enemies empty. He who falls away from the grace that is from the fullness of Christ falls empty from his enemies. Let the enemy, therefore, pursue my soul, and let him overtake it, and let him trample my life into the ground. For the soul of the righteous man, being separated from the sympathy for the body ^C, has its life hidden with Christ in God, so that it may be able to say with the Apostle: "But now I no longer live, but Christ lives in me"; ^D

"; and, "The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith." But the soul of the sinner, who lives according to the flesh and is defiled by the pleasures of the body, is as it were wallowed in the mire of the passions of the flesh. The enemy, trampling it underfoot, strives to defile it all the more and, as it were, to bury it under the earth, rushing upon the one who has fallen and trampling him with his own feet into the earth—that is, into the body—crushing the life of the one who has slipped. "And let him bring down my glory to the dust" (Ps. VII, 6). For the glory of the saints, who have their citizenship in heaven and store up for themselves good things in the eternal treasures, is in heaven; but the glory of those who are earthly and live according to the flesh is said to dwell in the dust. For whoever boasts in earthly riches, pursues the honor of men which lasts for a short time, and trusts in an abundance of material things, procures for himself glory that does not look up to heaven, but remains in the dust ^A.

VERS. 7. *Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath: be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies.* The Prophet longs for the mystery of the resurrection already to be fulfilled for the abolition of their sin; or else he refers to that exaltation upon the cross, which was destined to occur after the malice of the enemies had been raised to its final limit. Or also by the words, *Be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies*, a certain idea is suggested: namely, that however much malice may have risen, even if it has arrived at an immense scale and poured itself out to infinity, by the abundance of power that you possess, you are able, just as a good physician occupying the boundaries of a spreading disease, to stop the sickness from feeding and creeping, and to cut off its continuity with your corrective stripes ^B.

*And arise, O Lord my God, in the decree which thou hast commanded.* This expression can also be referred to the mystery of the resurrection, in that the Prophet exhorts the Judge to arise for the vengeance of every sin, and for the fulfillment of the commandments which he previously prescribed to us. It can also be understood in relation to the state of the Prophet's affairs as it then was, as if he were asking God to arise for the vengeance of the commandment which he had given. Now the commandment given by God was: *Honor thy father and thy mother* (Exod. XX, 12), which his own son had already transgressed. Therefore he urges God not to hesitate to correct both that individual and to restrain many others: but to arise in wrath, and upon arising, to vindicate his own commandment. "For it is not me," he says, "that you will avenge, but your neglected commandment, which you yourself commanded." VERS. 8. *And a congregation of peoples shall surround thee.* For it is certain that, when one wicked man is punished, many will be converted ^C. And so his malice ^D

therefore, restrain, so that a large congregation of peoples may surround thee. And for the sake of this, return to the height. For the sake of the congregation that surrounds thee—which thou didst acquire through the condescension and dispensation of grace—return to the height of that glory which thou hadst before the world was created.

VERS. 9. *The Lord shall judge the peoples.* ^B In many places of Scripture, the discourse concerning judgment is interspersed, as it is most necessary and most effective for the instruction in piety of those who have believed in God through Jesus Christ. But since the discourse concerning judgment is written in many ways, it will seem to cause some confusion to those who do not accurately distinguish the meanings. For *he who believes in me is not judged, but he who does not believe has already been judged* (John III, 18). But if he who does not believe is like the ungodly, how has it been said that *the ungodly shall not rise in judgment* (Psal. I, 5)? And if those who believe have become sons of God through faith, and are therefore worthy to be called gods themselves, how shall God stand in the *synagogue of the gods, and in the midst judge the gods* (Psal. LXXXI, 1)? But it seems that the term "to judge" is sometimes taken by Scripture to mean "to prove," and sometimes to mean "to condemn." It is taken to mean "to prove," for example: *Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence* (Psal. XXV, 1); for he subjoins there: *Prove me, O Lord, and test me*. It is taken to mean "to condemn," as in the passage: *For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged* (1 Cor. XI, 31); for he says, if we examined ourselves, we would not be subjected to condemnation. Again, it is said that the Lord will judge unto all flesh; that is, in the examination of the deeds of each one, he submits himself to the judgment and contrasts his own commandments with the deeds of those who have sinned, excusing himself with proofs that he has done everything concerning him for the salvation of those being judged, so that those who have sinned, having been convinced that they are guilty of their sins, and accepting the divine justice, willingly undergo the penalty imposed upon them.

5. But the word to judge also has another ^C meaning, as the Lord says: *The Queen of the South shall rise in the judgment, and shall condemn this generation* (Matt. XII, 42). For those who turn away from divine teaching, and are unrefined, and altogether have turned away from the doctrines of wisdom that train the soul, he says receive a heavier [penalty] for the things they have overlooked, by the comparison and setting against them of those of their own generation who have excelled in the zeal for good things. ^D

^A I believe, however, that not all those who have received this earthly body will be judged in the same way by the just Judge, because the external circumstances that befall each of us are vastly different, and thus the judgment for each person is made variable. 66 For the concurrence of things that are not in our power, but which surround us even against our will, either weighs down our sins or makes them lighter. Let it be supposed, for the sake of argument, that the matter being judged is fornication. Now, one man might have committed this sin, having been nurtured in evil ways from the very beginning; for he was brought into life by profligate parents and was raised in a habit of shameful acts, in drunkenness, in revelries, and in obscene talk. Another man, however, who had many things urging him toward the most excellent things—education, teachers, the hearing of more divine words, 67 salutary readings, the admonitions of parents, conversations modeling gravity and chastity, a temperate lifestyle—if he should then fall into the same sin as the other, and have to give an account of his life, will he not most justly be deemed worthy of heavier punishments than the other? For the one will be called to account solely because he did not rightly use the incentives for salvation sown within his mind; whereas the other, in addition to this, [will be called to account] because, having encountered many aids for his salvation, he betrayed himself through intemperance and negligence in a very short time. ^B Similarly, he who was instructed from the beginning in piety, and who avoided all perversity in the dogmas concerning God, and was nourished in the law of God—which accuses every sin and calls [the soul] to the contrary—will not have the same excuse for idolatry as he who was reared by lawless parents and taught from the beginning by nations to worship idols. "The Lord shall judge the peoples." He judges the Jew in one way, and the Scythian in another. For the former rests in the Law, and boasts in God, and tests the things that differ. Being instructed out of the Law, and constantly enchanted by common notions, and educated in the prophetic and legal scriptures, if he is found to have transgressed against the Law, his sins will be reckoned as much heavier. But the Scythian nomads, brought up in savage and inhuman customs, accustomed to rapine and mutual abuse, 69 highly intemperate in their anger, easily stirred up toward mutual provocations, accustomed to settle every dispute with iron, and taught to end battles with blood—if they show any humanity or kindness to one another, they prepare for us a bitterer vengeance through their own noble deeds. ^D "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my innocence upon me." These words might seem to have something arrogant about them, and to be similar to the prayer of the Pharisee who exalted himself; yet to one who looks at them candidly, the Prophet will be judged to be far removed from such a disposition. "Judge me, O Lord," he says, "according to my righteousness..." [alt-version omitted]

me, O Lord, according to my righteousness. ^A Much, he says, is the discourse concerning righteousness, and the boundaries of perfect righteousness are difficult to attain. For there is also a righteousness of angels which far surpasses that of men, and if there is any power superior to the angels, it possesses a superiority of righteousness corresponding to its magnitude; and the righteousness of God Himself, which surpasses all intellect, being ineffable and incomprehensible to every created nature (70).

6. Judge me, therefore, O Lord, according to my righteousness: that is, the righteousness which is attainable by men, and possible for those who live in the flesh. And according to my innocence within me. For thus the disposition of the speaker is most clearly shown to be far removed from the pride of the Pharisees. For he names as his "innocence" a kind of simpleness and ignorance of those things which are useful to know, according to that which is said in the Proverbs, that "The innocent man believes every word." Since, therefore, we men stumble in many things incautiously out of ignorance, he beseeches God, and asks to obtain forgiveness on account of this innocence. From this it is manifest that the speaker’s humility is shown by these words rather than his pride. For "Judge me," he says, "according to my righteousness, and judge me according to the innocence that is in me." Comparing, as it were, my righteous acts with human frailty, judge me thus; but having well considered the simplicity of my conduct, do not condemn me as a sinner as if I were crafty, or circumspect in the affairs of this world. ^C Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to an end. He who prays thus is clearly a disciple of the evangelical precepts. For he prays for those who are persecuting him, asking that the wickedness of those who sin might be limited by a certain end and boundary. Just as if someone, praying for those who are sick in body, were to say: "May the disease of those who are sick now be brought to an end." For in order that the sin, creeping forward, may not take root like gangrene (72), he prays to God that the further outpouring of sin may be stayed and bounded; for he loved his enemies, and wished to do good to those by whom he was hated, and therefore he prayed for those who were persecuting him. And Thou shalt direct the righteous. The righteous man is called "upright": likewise the heart that is straightened. ^D What, then, does the prayer of the Prophet mean here? For he prays that he who is already righteous may be directed. For no one would say that there is anything crooked or twisted or tangled in the righteous man. But perhaps this petition is necessary for the righteous man, that his upright purpose and the immutability of his mind may be directed by the guidance of God, so that he may never, through infirmity, deviate from the, as it were, canon of the truth (74), nor be harmed by the enemy of the truth with perverse dogmas. Scrutinizing hearts and

reins, O God, justly.* Since Scripture often takes the "heart" for the governing part of the soul, and the "reins" for its appetitive part, it signifies the same thing here: namely, "Judge me, O God, both by the dogmas I hold concerning piety and by the movements of my passions; for You are the one who scrutinizes hearts and reins." A scrutiny in the proper sense is an examination accompanied by every form of torture, which judges apply to those under interrogation, so that those who conceal the matters sought may, by the necessity of suffering, bring what was hidden into the open. For in the unerring examinations of the Judge, our thoughts are scrutinized, and our actions are scrutinized as well. Let no one, therefore, anticipate ^C the true Judge, nor let anyone judge before the time, *until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and manifest the counsels of the hearts.* 66 Thus, while God scrutinizes hearts and reins, He reveals His own justice. And indeed, the heart of Abraham was scrutinized, as to whether he loved God from his whole soul and from his whole heart, when he was commanded to offer Isaac as a whole burnt offering, so that it might be manifest that he did not love his son more than God. Jacob was also scrutinized when he was assailed by the treachery of his brother, so that his brotherly love might appear in no way lessened by the many sins of Esau. Thus, the hearts of these men were subjected to scrutiny. Nay, even the reins of Joseph were weighed, when, while his wanton mistress raged with love for him, he preferred the integrity of chastity to most shameful pleasure. He was proven on this account, so that ^D observers of the judgment of God might acknowledge by common consent that the honor was rightfully bestowed upon him, because his chastity shone forth in an amazing way amidst great perils.

7. *My help comes from the Lord.* Those who are besieged, whether in wars against the onsets of enemies or otherwise, seek help. And so, here too, anyone who senses his invisible enemies and gazes upon the danger hanging over him from the enemy encamped around him, will say: "My help is not from riches, nor from any bodily support, nor from any power or strength of my own, nor from any human kinship, but *My help is from the Lord*." What kind of aid the Lord sends to those who fear Him, we learn elsewhere from the Psalm, which says: *The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about those who fear Him, and shall deliver them.* 67 And elsewhere: *The angel who delivers me.* 68 *Who saves the upright in heart.* The "upright in heart" is he whose mind does not incline toward excess nor toward deficiency, but is directed toward the mean of virtue. For he who declines from courage toward lesser things is corrupted by timidity; but he who proceeds toward greater things falls into audacity. Wherefore Scripture calls such men who deviate from the mean, either by excess or by defect, crooked and perverse. 69 For just as a line that is oblique

^A from which it comes about, that its straightness is bent now into a convex form, now into a concave—so also is the crooked heart, now puffed up through arrogance, now brought low through sorrows and dejection. Wherefore the Ecclesiastes says, *that which is perverse cannot be straightened.*

*God is a just judge and strong and long-suffering, and not bringing indignation upon every day.* In this, the Prophet seems to be addressing those who might at some time be disturbed by events, to calm the distress of men, lest they should ever lose faith in the providence that governs all things, seeing a father left unavenged when his son rises up against him, and the wickedness of Absalom succeeding in the things he had purposed. ^B Correcting, therefore, the foolishness of their thoughts, he testified to them: *God is a just judge and strong and long-suffering, and not bringing indignation upon every day.* Nothing of what happens comes to pass without judgment; rather, God measures out according to the measure of each person, just as He had previously measured out their actions throughout life. Since, therefore, I have committed some sin, I receive the recompense according to my own desert. Do not, therefore, speak iniquity against God; for God is a just judge. Nor think so basely of God as to suppose Him powerless to take vengeance; for He is also strong. What, then, is the reason that He does not immediately inflict punishment upon those who sin? Because He is long-suffering, *not bringing indignation upon every day.*

*If you be not converted, He will sharpen His sword.* The language is threatening, leading the slow to repentance. ^C He does not immediately threaten wounds and blows and deaths, but the sharpening of weapons, and as it were, a certain preparation for defense. For just as those who polish their weapons signify by this their impulse for war, so also the Word, wishing to show God’s movement toward punishing, said that His sword was being sharpened. *He has bent His bow and made it ready and in it he prepared instruments of death.* It is not any sinew that draws the bow of God, but the power of punishment, which is sometimes stretched tight, and sometimes slackened. The Scripture, therefore, threatens the sinner that future punishments are prepared for him. ^D

^A For *instruments of death* have been *prepared* for him *in the bow*. Now the instruments of death are powers that exterminate the enemies of God. He made his arrows *for the burning ones*. For just as fire was fashioned by the Creator for burning material—for it was not created for the diamond, which is not melted by fire, but for the wood that is consumed—so too were the arrows of God fashioned by Him for those souls that are easily set on fire, among whom much material suited for destruction has been gathered. Therefore, those who have previously received and hold within themselves the flaming arrows of the devil ^B are the ones who receive the arrows of God. For this reason he says: *He fashioned his arrows for the burning ones.* Now, carnal desires burn the soul, and burning and melting the soul are fears, the lusts for money, and heated anger, and griefs which are foreign to God. But he who is uninjured by the arrows of the enemy, and clothed in the armor of God, remains untouched by the death-bearing arrows.

8. VERS. 15. *Behold, he has travailed with injustice, he has conceived pain, and has brought forth lawlessness.* And indeed, as far as the order is concerned, these words seem to be in confusion. For first those who are pregnant conceive, then they labor, and lastly they bring forth. Here, however, first come the pains of childbirth, then the conception, and lastly the birth. But these things explain the conception of the heart most emphatically. ^C For the irrational impulses of intemperate men, and the mad and frenzied desires, are called the pains of childbirth, because they arise in the soul with intensity and pain. According to such an impulse, he who does not master wicked thoughts has *conceived pain*; and he who has inflamed the malice in his heart by wicked actions has *brought forth lawlessness*. It seems, moreover, that he says these things because he is ashamed to be the father of a lawless son. "He is not my son," he says, "but has become the son of that father to whom he made himself a slave by sin." For according to John: *He who commits sin is born of the devil.* Behold, therefore, the devil has travailed with him through injustice, and he has conceived him—that is, he has held him fast in the inmost recesses of himself, and has drawn him under the bowels of his own disposition; and being pregnant with him, he then brought him forth when he made his lawlessness manifest, for his rebellion against the father was proclaimed to all by a herald. ^D VERS. 16. *He opened a pit and dug it.* We do not find the name of "pit" used in a good sense in the divine Scriptures; just as neither is a "well of water" used in a worse sense. For a pit is...

in ^A truth, that into which Joseph was cast by his brothers. And when the slaughter was made from the first-born of Pharaoh even to the first-born of the captive who was in the pit. And in the Psalms: "I was counted with them that go down into the pit." And in Jeremiah he says: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged them broken pits, that will not be able to hold water." But also in Daniel a "den of lions" is recorded, into which Daniel himself is thrown. But Abraham and the servants of Isaac dig a well; and Moses, having gone forth to a well, rested. And we receive a command from Solomon to drink water from our own vessels and from the fountain of our own wells. And the Savior himself discourses about divine mysteries by the well with the Samaritan woman. ^B We think the reason why pits are used in a worse sense, but wells in a better, is this: that water in pits is adventitious, as it falls from heaven; but in wells, the veins of water are hidden beneath the earth before the places are dug, and they reveal themselves if only the mounds covering them or any other substance lying upon them—which is the whole earth itself—is removed. And indeed, just as it is a ditch in souls into which the best things fall, only to be changed and adulterated when someone drives away the thoughts of the honest and right that have come upon him, distorting them towards worse things and towards those that are contrary to truth—for he has resolved to have no good that is familial and proper. On the contrary, ^C there are wells in the soul when, after the vices that covered it have been removed, light shines forth, and a fountain of water is able to be given through speech and dogmas. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to prepare for himself a well, that he may keep the aforementioned commandment which says: "Drink waters from thy vessels, and from the fountain of thy wells." For thus shall we be called children of those who dug the wells, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. A pit, however, is not to be made, lest we fall into the ditch as is said here, nor hear those things written in Jeremiah for the reproach and disgrace of sinners, when God says concerning them what we brought forward a little ^D before: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged them broken pits, that will not be able to hold water for them."

ON PSALM XIV

^A having employed a certain order and method regarding the things contemplated around him, has made its beginning from the more immediate and primary things. Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? "Dwelling" (paroikia) denotes a temporary sojourn, not a settled life, but one that is transitory, signifying the hope of moving on to better things. It is for the holy man to pass through this life, but to hasten toward another. Therefore David also says concerning himself: "I am a sojourner with thee, and a stranger, as all my fathers were." For Abraham was a sojourner, not having possessed so much as a foot's breadth of his own land; but when he had need of a burial place, he is shown to have purchased it with silver. The Scripture signifies that it behooves him who lives in the flesh to be a sojourner, but upon departing from this life, to find rest in his own proper places. For this reason, in this life ^B he sojourns among strangers, but in his burial he procured the land that would receive his body as his own property. It is truly blessed, in reality, not to be so attached to things on earth as if they were one's own, nor to cling to the things present as if to some natural fatherland, but to know the fall from better things, and, being burdened by the life conducted here due to judgment, to sojourn in such a way as those who have been driven into exile from their homeland by certain judges on account of some offenses. Rare is such a man, who does not attend to present things as if they were his own; who understands that the use of wealth is granted only for a time; who considers the good health of the body to be of short duration; who recognizes the flower of human glory ^C to be unstable. Who, then, shall dwell in thy tabernacle? The tent (tabernaculum) of God is called the flesh, which He Himself gave to the human soul as a place of habitation. Who will attend to this flesh as if it were another's? Just as sojourners, having rented land that belongs to another, cultivate the country according to the will of the lessor, so to us also the care of the flesh has been committed by covenant, so that by cultivating it decently, we may return it fruitful to the Giver. And if the flesh is worthy of God, it truly becomes the tent of God according to His indwelling in the saints. Such is the state of the sojourner. Therefore, Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Then follows a certain advance and progression toward something more perfect. And who shall rest in thy holy mountain? The Jew, who is earthly, when he hears of a mountain, ^D runs to Sion. Who shall rest in thy holy mountain? He who has lived in the flesh as a sojourner shall rest in thy holy mountain.

^A That mountain signifies the heavenly place, splendid and conspicuous, of which the Apostle says: *You have come to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, in which is the celebration of angels, and the Church of the firstborn who are written in the heavens*. ^B 2. Since, therefore, someone has passed through this life in the flesh as if in transit, without attachment, using it as something foreign and not clinging to it as his own, he, because he has mortified his members which are upon the earth, and has accomplished holiness, is worthy of dwelling in the holy mountain; desiring which, the Psalmist said: *I will pass into the place of the wonderful tabernacle*; and: *How beloved are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts*. There, both the love toward our neighbor—which is afforded as the cause for enjoying that rest in the mountain—and the friendship that arises from the mammon of iniquity, provide a dwelling. *For make to yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles*. Concerning this conduct, the Lord said in the manner of prayer: *Father holy, grant that where I am, they also may be*. Rare, however, is he who dwells in the body as a sojourner, just as he who rests on the mountain. For this reason, ^C the Scripture speaks as if in doubt: *Who shall sojourn? And, Who shall rest?* Just as: *Who has known the mind of the Lord?* and: *Who shall announce to you that fire burns?* and: *Who shall announce to you the eternal place?* and: *Who, thinkest thou, is the faithful and prudent steward?* Perhaps the word *Who* is also used interrogatively, as if seeking an answer from the holy Lord to whom He speaks. To which the divine voice, resolving the question, what does it say? ^D *Who walks without blemish and works justice*. If he who lacks none of the good things, and passes his life without stumbling from any wickedness, is without blemish, what difference is there between him and one who does justice? Does it, therefore, express the same meaning in double terms: *Who walks without blemish, and works justice?* Or does either word convey a specific meaning of its own? So that he is "without blemish" who is absolute in every perfection of virtue according to the hidden man, but he who "works justice" is he who perfects his active power through bodily actions. For it is necessary not only to do the just deed, but also to work from a just disposition; according to what has been said, that thou shalt pursue justice justly.

^A For instance, an unskilled person may indeed prepare some medical remedy that leads to the benefit of the sick, but such a person has not acted medically, because he does not possess any of the art that accompanies the work. Therefore, he who walks blamelessly is perfect in mind; but he who works justice is, according to the voice of the Apostle, a worker for the Lord who has no cause to be ashamed. [He does not say,] "having walked blamelessly," but, "walking blamelessly"; nor, "having worked justice," but, "working." For a single action does not make a man upright, but it is necessary that works of virtue be stretched out across one's entire life. *Speaking the truth in his heart, who has not practiced deceit with his tongue.* Again, here too, speaking truth in the heart and not practicing deceit with the tongue have the same kinship with each other that existed between being blameless and working justice. For just as there Scripture presents both the one who is perfect in secret and the one who rightly uses the faculty of action, so also here ^B—since what is spoken comes from the abundance of the heart, as if from a fountain flowing with the word of internal disposition—it first spoke of truth in the heart, then of the lack of deceit in the word which is performed through the tongue. We shall find two meanings of truth: one, the comprehension of matters that lead to a blessed life; the other, the sound knowledge of anything pertaining to life. That truth, therefore, which is the helper of salvation, dwelling in the heart of the perfect man, ought to be delivered without deceit to one’s neighbor in all things. But in worldly affairs, if a man of virtue should by chance fall away from the truth, nothing will hinder him from attaining what is proposed. For how many stadia of earth or sea there are, and how many stars move, and how much one excels another in speed—if we are ignorant of the truth in these matters, nothing will prevent us from attaining the blessedness promised in the Gospels. Perhaps the Scripture is also declaring something of this sort to us: that it is not fitting to speak the things that pertain to truth—that is, the mysteries—to everyone, but rather to a neighbor; that is, not to reveal them to the common people, but to those who have participated in the mysteries. But if ^C truth is our Lord, let each of us keep this truth impressed and, as it were, sealed within his own heart; for, speaking of this within our hearts to ourselves, let us not defile the word of the Gospel in announcing the proclamation to our neighbors. *Who has not practiced deceit with his tongue.* Deceit is condemned in many places of Scripture as an enemy of God. *May the Lord destroy*, it says, *all deceitful lips.* Again, ^D

^A *Deceit in the heart of them that devise* 8 *evils.* Everything that is better is said to be adulterated by the admixture of something worse, just as wine is adulterated when something worse is mixed into it 9, or water is poured into it; gold also is adulterated when it is joined to silver and copper. So too, truth is adulterated when blasphemies are woven into it along with holy words.

4. *Nor has done evil to his neighbor.* ^B No one who has heard the Gospel doubts whom the Word calls "neighbor," for to the one who asked, *And who is my neighbor?*, the Lord told the parable of the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and then asked, *Which of these seems to you to have been a neighbor?* And he answered, *He who showed mercy upon him.* For by these words He taught that every man is to be considered a neighbor. But even this is difficult to achieve, and needs much diligence, not to harm one's neighbor in either small or great matters: not to harm by word 10, not to deprive him of any of his dues, not to wish him harm, not to use envy against the successes of one's peers. *And has not accepted a reproach against those nearest to him.* The expression is ambiguous: whether he himself did not do anything worthy of being reproached by those nearest to him, and for this reason did not receive reproach from them; or whether he did not reproach any of those nearest to him—those who have happened into human faults, or who are found with bodily mutilations, or other such defects of the flesh. ^C For neither is the one who sins to be reproached, according to what is written: *Do not reproach a man who is turning from sin.* For we have never known reproach to have been employed for the benefit of those who commit faults, since the Apostle, in his instructions to his own disciple Timothy, permits correction and exhortation and rebuke, but nowhere has he accepted reproach, as being contrary and opposite. And it seems that rebuke has as its goal the correction of the sinner, whereas reproach is brought about for the confusion of the one who has slipped. To reproach poverty, or baseness of birth, or lack of learning, or bodily infirmity is altogether irrational, and alien to the character of a good man. For what befalls us not by our own choice, these things are involuntary; and for involuntary shortcomings, one should rather show pity than heap abuse on those who are unfortunate. ^D For those who fear...

^B the Lord, He glorifies. It is the mark of a truly great mind—one unmoved by the necessities of human affairs and highly cultivated in the habit of justice—to render to each man his due; and to bring those who do evil to naught, even if they hold great principalities, even if they abound in wealth, even if they are conspicuous for the splendor of their birth, and even if they claim eminence for themselves. Yet, if iniquity alone is found in them, to bring such men to naught—that is, to esteem them as nothing—is the mark of, I say, a great mind. On the contrary, to glorify those who fear the Lord, even if they are poor, even if they are of obscure birth, even if they are unskilled in speech or infirm in body, and to extol them with the highest praises and deem them blessed (since instructing to call such men blessed is taught by the Spirit—for "Blessed," He says, "are all who fear the Lord"), is also the mark of the same mind. For it is the same disposition of mind both to bring to naught the evildoer, even if he be exalted by eminence, and to glorify one who fears the Lord, even if he be lowly, poor in life, contemptible, and possessing nothing external that might invite esteem.

*He who swears to his neighbor, and does not deceive.* Why on earth is swearing permitted here among the virtues that befit a perfect man, while in the Gospel it is entirely forbidden? *Who shall dwell, and who shall rest* ^C *upon Thy holy mountain? He who swears to his neighbor, and does not deceive.* But there, *I say to you, do not swear at all.* What then shall we say? That the Lord keeps to the same purpose everywhere, forestalling the consequences of sins and cutting off iniquity from its very inception. For just as the old law said, *You shall not commit adultery,* but the Lord, *You shall not even lust*; and the former said, *You shall not kill,* but the One who legislates more perfect things said, *You shall not even be angry*; so indeed in this place, the one is content with an honest oath, while the other cuts off the very occasion for perjury. For he who swears rightly and truly might perhaps even be deceived against his will, but he who does not swear has avoided the danger of perjury. In many places, He calls an oath a firm and immutable resolve regarding any matter, as it is written, *I swore, and I have set myself to keep the judgments of Thy righteousness*; and, *The Lord has sworn, and* ^D

He will not repent*. Not that He brought God in to bear witness to what was spoken as if to resolve His own doubt, but that God confirmed the grace of the promise to David with immutable and unshakable decrees. Thus, therefore, it is possible for it to be said here also: *He that sweareth to his neighbor*—that is, he who gives an assurance to his neighbor and does not break it—so that it may be in agreement with what was said by the Lord: *Let your word be, Yea, yea; and Nay, nay* (Matth. v, 37). Regarding such matters, give your assent with an assurance; and regarding things that are not, even if all men should persuade you, never be persuaded to give an assurance contrary to the truth of nature. If the thing has not happened, let a denial follow; if the thing has happened, let an affirmation confirm it. Without any entanglement with another matter, try to present the truth in itself, having used simple affirmations. Let the unbeliever bear the harm of his unbelief. For it is altogether disgraceful and foolish to accuse oneself of being unworthy of belief and to bring forward the security of oaths. ^B There are, however, some words which have the appearance of oaths but are not oaths, but rather an act of consideration toward the hearers. Just as Joseph, to win favor with the Egyptian, swore by the health of Pharaoh (Gen. xlii, 15). And the Apostle, demonstrating his love for the Corinthians, said: *By your boasting which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord* (1 Cor. xv, 31). For he who had been entrusted with the Gospel did not disobey the evangelical teaching, but put forth a simple word in the form of an oath, showing by such a manner that the boasting which he had in them was most precious to him of all things.

6. *Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away* (Matth. v, 42). The word calls us to that which is communal, and towards mutual affection, and to that which is proper by nature. For man is a political and social animal. ^C In the common life and in our intercourse with one another, it is necessary to be ready to give, for the correction of one who is in need. *Give to him that asketh thee.* He wills that you be free in simplicity toward those who ask, out of love, but that you again discern by reason the need of each of those ^D

^A requesting. And this we have learned in the Acts, in what way it is possible to achieve this by those who are skillfully fulfilling the aim of piety. "For as many," he says, "as were owners of lands or houses, selling them, they brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them at the feet of the apostles. And it was distributed to each according as anyone had need." For since many, surpassing the use of necessary things, make the request an opportunity for business and a pretext for shameful luxury, it was necessary that the collection of money be made by those entrusted with the care of the poor, so that from this [common] storehouse the distribution of necessary things might be made wisely and economically to the needs of each. For just as wine is often necessary for those who are sick, but it is not for everyone to judge the time, the measure, and the quality; but a doctor is needed for the giving of wine; so too can the stewardship concerning the care of the needy not be usefully administered by all. For indeed, for those who compose mournful songs to deceive women, and who show off mutilations of the body and sores as an opportunity for gain ^B, a large and liberal subsidy will be in no way profitable. For generosity will become an opportunity and material for vice for them. But with a small gift one must ward off the barking of such as these, showing sympathy and brotherly love toward those who have learned to bear affliction with patience; for whom it shall also be said: "I was hungry, and you gave me to eat," and the rest. "And from him who wishes to borrow from thee, do not turn away." And this commandment holds together with the former ones. For indeed, even he who begs here, being poor, asks for a loan from you, showing you the Rich One in heaven, who will pay the debt to you on his behalf. For "he who has pity on the poor," he says, "lends to God." And the kingdom of heaven is the pledge and guarantee of the loan. May we all attain this, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SAME HOMILY ON A PART OF THE FOURTEENTH PSALM, AND AGAINST USURERS

1. Yesterday, when we had the sermon on the fourteenth psalm ^C among you, it was not permitted us to reach the end of the discourse ^D.

Now, however, we have come as grateful debtors, paying back the debts of what was left out for you. ^A What remains is brief to hear, so it seems, and perhaps it escaped many of you, so that you might think nothing at all was left out of the psalm. Nevertheless, having perceived that this brief expression possesses great power for the affairs of life, we did not think we should overlook the profit that comes from examining it. The Prophet, sketching the perfect man who is to ascend to the life that cannot be shaken, counted among his noble deeds that "he has not given his silver to usury." This sin is denounced in many places in Scripture. For both Ezekiel ^B ranks taking usury and increase among the greatest evils, and the Law expressly forbids it: "You shall not charge interest to your brother or neighbor." And again it says: "Deceit upon deceit, and usury upon usury." And what does the psalm say regarding a city that prospers in a multitude of evils? "Usury and deceit have not departed from its streets." And now the Prophet has adopted this very thing as a character and sign of human perfection, saying: "(VERS. 5) He has not given his silver to usury." For is it not in truth the height of inhumanity that the one who is in need of necessities should seek a loan to provide for his life, while the other is not content with the principal, but devises from the calamities of the poor revenues for himself and gathers wealth? The Lord himself clearly commanded us, saying: ^C "And the one who wishes to borrow from you, do not turn away." The miser, however, when he sees a man bowed down by necessity, supplicating before his knees, what abject and humble thing does he not do? What does he not say? He has no pity for one suffering adversity beyond his deserts; he does not consider their human nature; he does not yield to their entreaties, but stands inflexible and implacable. He does not yield to supplications, he is not softened by tears, he persists in his refusal. He swears, and invoking curses upon himself, he asserts that he is completely lacking in money, and that he himself is looking around to see if he can find someone who might lend to him, ^D and confirming his lie through oaths, he acquires as an additional evil to his inhumanity the charge of perjury. But when the one seeking the loan mentions usury and names collateral, then, lowering his brow, he smiles, and perhaps even recalls a paternal friendship, and speaks of him as an acquaintance and a friend; and, "We shall see," he says, "if there is any silver laid aside for us." But there is a deposit.

^A which a man, a friend, has entrusted to us for the sake of gain. But that man, for his part, fixes heavy interest upon it; and we, for our part, shall certainly remit something, and we shall give it at a lower rate of interest. By pretending such things, and by coaxing and baiting the miserable man with words of this sort, he binds him further with written contracts, and, in addition to the poverty that is already afflicting him, he even robs the man of his liberty, and goes his way. For he who has made himself liable to interest, the repayment of which he cannot sustain, has accepted voluntary slavery for the rest of his life.

Tell me, do you seek money and profit from one who is destitute? And if he had been able to make you wealthier, why would he have come to your doors? He came to find help, but he found an enemy. While seeking a remedy, he encountered poison. Your duty was to relieve the man's poverty, but you increase his indigence, seeking to exhaust the resources of a man who is already stripped bare. It is as if some physician, visiting the sick, instead of restoring health to them, were to take away even the little remaining strength they had: just so, you make the misfortunes of the miserable an opportunity for gain. ^B And just as farmers pray for showers for the multiplication of their seeds, so you, too, pray for the indigence and need of men, so that your money may become productive for you. Do you not know that you are making a greater addition to your sins than the increase which you expect to gain from interest?

The man who seeks a loan, caught in the midst of perplexity, when he looks at his poverty, despairs of being able to pay; but when he looks at his present necessity, he dares to take the loan. Then, the one is overcome and yields to his need, and the other departs, having secured him with documents and guarantees.

2. But he who receives the money, at first, indeed, is splendid and cheerful, gladdened by an alien bloom, and he becomes notable by the change in his life. ^C For the table is sumptuous, the clothing is more precious; his servants are adorned in a more splendid manner, and he has flatterers and drinking companions—myriad drones of his house. But as the money gradually flows away, and time, as it progresses, brings interest along with it, the nights bring him no rest, the day is not cheerful, the sun is not pleasant, but he finds life burdensome; he hates the days as they hasten toward the deadline; he fears the months as the parents of interest. If he sleeps, he sees the lender in his dreams—a bad dream—standing over his head; and if he is awake, his thought and constant concern is the interest. ^D

^A The lender, he says, and the debtor meet together, and the Lord brings visitation upon them both. The one, like a dog, rushes upon his prey, while the other shrinks from the meeting as if at some ready-made quarry. For poverty strips a man of his freedom of speech. The reckoning for both is on their fingers: the one rejoicing at the increase of interest, the other groaning at the accumulation of his misfortunes. "Drink waters from your own vessels"—that is, look to your own resources, do not walk toward the springs of others, but from your own wells gather for yourself the comforts of life. Do you have copper vessels, clothing, a beast of burden, articles of every kind? Sell these; be content to let everything go, except your freedom. "But I am ashamed to expose them to public sale," he says. What then? After a little while, will another not produce them, and proclaim your own goods, and before your eyes, disparaging them, put them up for auction? ^B Do not walk to the doors of others. For the well of another is indeed narrow. It is better to alleviate your need little by little with your own resources than to be suddenly lifted up by the things of others, only to be stripped later of everything you possess all at once. If, therefore, you have the means to pay, why do you not resolve your present inadequacy through these very resources? But if you are at a loss for how to pay, you are curing one evil with another. Do not admit a lender to besiege you. Do not endure being sought out and tracked like some other quarry. The beginning of falsehood is the borrowing of money; it is a source of ingratitude, thoughtlessness, and perjury. Different are the words of the borrower, and different are those of the one demanding payment. "If only I had not met you then!" "I would have already found the means to escape this necessity." "Did you not thrust the money into my hands against my will?" ^C Your gold was of poor quality and the coin was counterfeit. Whether, then, your creditor is a friend, do not lose his friendship; or if he is an enemy, do not become subject to a hater. Having adorned yourself briefly with the belongings of others, you will afterward be estranged even from your patrimony. You are poor now, but you are free. If you borrow money, you will not become rich, and you will be robbed of your freedom. The borrower is a slave to the one who lent, and a slave who pays a wage, bearing an inescapable service. Dogs are tamed by receiving food, but the lender is provoked by receiving payment. For he does not cease to bark, but demands more. If you swear an oath, he does not believe you; he searches your inner rooms, he examines your dealings ^D and your transactions.

^A If you go outside, it drags you toward itself and pulls you down; if you hide yourself inside, it stands at your house and knocks at the door. It brings shame upon you in the presence of your wife; it heaps insults upon you before your friends; it throttles you in the marketplace. It is an evil encounter for a feast; it makes your life unlivable. But you say, "The necessity is great, and there is no other source of money." What, then, is the benefit of postponing today? For poverty will come to you again like a good runner, and the same necessity will be present with interest. For a loan provides not a total release, but a small delay of your helplessness. Let us suffer the hardships of poverty today, and not put them off until tomorrow. For if you do not take out a loan, you will be poor today and hereafter in the same way; but if you take out a loan, with the interest increasing your poverty, you will be tormented more bitterly. Now, indeed, no one reproaches you for being poor, since the evil is involuntary; but if you are liable for interest, there is no one who will not blame you for your lack of judgment.

3. Therefore, let us not invite a voluntary evil upon ourselves in addition to the involuntary evils, ^B through our own folly. It is the mark of a foolish mind not to regulate itself according to its current resources, but to entrust itself to uncertain hopes and to gamble on manifest and evident harm. Now consider from where you will repay. From the money you are receiving? But it is not sufficient for your needs and for the repayment. And if you also calculate the interest, from where will the money multiply to such a degree that, on one hand, it heals your need, and on the other, satisfies the principal, and furthermore brings forth interest from outside? But you will ^C not repay the loan from that which you receive. From another source? Let us wait for those hopes, then, and not rush toward the bait like fish. For just as they swallow the hook along with the food, so also do we allow ourselves to be pierced by interest for the sake of money. Poverty brings no shame. Why, then, do we heap upon ourselves the reproaches that come from being in debt? No one heals a wound with a wound, nor does one cure evil with evil, nor does one correct poverty with interest. Are you rich? Do not lend. ^D

Are you poor? Do not borrow. If you have resources, you do not need a loan; if you have nothing, you will not be able to repay the loan. Do not surrender your life to later regret, lest you deem the days before the interest happy. In this one thing, ^A we poor are better off than the wealthy: in our freedom from care. While they are sleepless and always anxious and distracted, we laugh at them, being ourselves asleep and carefree and relaxed. Though the borrower is poor, he is also full of cares: he is sleepless at night, restless during the day, distracted in thought throughout the whole time. Now he appraises his own property, now the luxurious houses, the fields of the rich, the garments of those he encounters, the vessels of those who host diners. "If those were mine," he says, "I would sell them for so-and-so much and be freed from the interest." These things sit ^B upon his heart even at night and possess his thoughts during the day! If you knock on the door, the debtor creeps under the bed. Someone runs up quickly; his heart pounds. A dog barks? He breaks out in a sweat, is seized with anxiety, and looks about to see where to flee. When the appointed day for payment approaches, he worries about what lie he will tell, what feigned excuse he will concoct to put off the creditor. Do not think only of yourself receiving, but also of being dunned. Why do you yoke yourself to a beast of such multiple offspring? ^C They say that hares simultaneously give birth, nurse, and conceive again. So it is with the money of usurers: at the same time it is lent and brings forth and proliferates. For you have not even received it into your hands, and you have already been asked for the profit or earnings of the current month. And this money, again being lent at interest, has nurtured another evil, and that another, and so the evil continues to infinity. For this reason, this form of greed has been granted this name (usury). For interest (*tokos*), I suppose, is so called because of the multiple offspring of the evil. For whence else? Or perhaps it is called *tokos* because of the travails and pains it is ^D born to produce in the souls of those who have borrowed. For just as the travail comes upon the woman in labor, so does the due date come upon the debtor. Interest upon interest, the evil offspring of evil parents. Let these be called the brood of vipers, the progeny of interest. They say that vipers, while being born, eat through the mother's belly. Interests likewise consume the houses of those who owe, and are then born. Seeds grow in time, and living creatures come to maturity in time; but interest—

^A is generated today, and today it begins to bring forth. Those animals which produce quickly, quickly cease from producing; but moneys, having received a swift beginning of increase, admit of an endless addition toward more. Every one of the things that grow, when it has arrived at its own proper magnitude, ceases to grow; but the money of the usurer grows throughout all time along with it. Animals, having delivered the power of begetting to their offspring, themselves cease from pregnancy; but the moneys of the lenders bring forth both what is added and what is newly begotten, and make the old young again. Do not you come to experience this monstrous beast. It is born today, and today it begins to beget.

4. ^B Do you see the sun freely? Do you grudge yourself the freedom of life? No boxer flees the blows of his opponent as he who has borrowed money flees the meeting with the lender, shading his head behind columns and walls. How, then, shall I be sustained? you say. You have hands, you have a trade; apply your labor for the sake of gain, serve; there are many plans for providing a livelihood, many opportunities. Can you not do this? Beg from those who have. But is it shameful to ask? It would be more shameful, in any case, to defraud the creditor of the money given at interest. I do not say these things, to be sure, in order to lay down a law, but to show that everything is more bearable for you than to take money at interest. The ant, although it neither begs nor receives money at interest, is yet able to be fed; and the bee likewise bestows the remnants of its food upon kings, to whom nature has given neither hands nor trades. But you, the resourceful animal, man, will you not find one craft out of all to pass your life? And yet we see that it is not those who are in need of the necessities of life who come to the loan (for no one trusts them), but men borrow, giving themselves over to unrestrained expenditures and useless luxuries, they who are ^C enslaved to feminine pleasures. For to me, she says, is needed costly clothing and golden vessels; the children are in need of a decent and suitable ornament of garments; and furthermore, the servants are to be clothed in blooming and variegated coverings; a sumptuous table is to be prepared. He who provides such things for a woman comes to the money-changer, and before he uses the money obtained, he changes one master after another, and by constantly adding other lenders to the others, he covers his poverty with that continuous succession of evil. And just as those suffering from dropsy are under the impression of having great bulk, so also this man exists in a fantasy of wealth, always receiving, and always giving, and from the second ^D [paying] what has gone before, [hiding] the credibility for receiving from the continuity of the evil.