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...