{"slug":"tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1","title":"In HexameronSancti Basilii Latina Metaphrasis","title_source":"In HexameronSancti Basilii Latina Metaphrasis","author":"Eustathius","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor","provider":"Baidu","generated":"2026-11-15T21:23:31Z","cost_usd":0.016636},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp886/tmp886/tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":181,"english_words":47175,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":188248,"commentary_units":0,"commentary_kinds":0,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":0,"work_notes":0,"external_links":0,"timeline":0},"summary":{},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp886/tmp886/tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp886.tmp886.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":181,"translated":181,"commentary_passages":0,"commentary_units":0,"english_words":47175,"source_letters":186987,"commentary_kinds":0},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Latin; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 181 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":181},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"EUSTATHII IN HEXAEMERON S. BASILII LATINA METAPHRASIS.\n\na Eustathius Syncleticæ germance diaconissæ salutem in Christo.\n\nReligiosus, simulque studiosus animus tuæ germanitatis, dum plenitudinem cælestium nosse desiderat Scripturarum, cunctas bibliothecas ecclesiasticas et earum qui fuerint conditores, crebris lectionibus investigans, pervenit tandem ad Hexaemeron sancti ac venerabilis episcopi Dasilii, Græco sermone conscriptum: quod dum monumentis inserere linguæ Latialis affectat, mihi hanc curam censuit esse mandandam. Sed ego considerans, quia hoc amore potius quam judicio præcepisti: festinabam quidem simplicibus jussis obsequi, tua commonitus caritate: sed promittere nOR audebam, propriam contemplatus infantiam. Itaque gemina cogitatione distractus quid agerem nesciebam: terebar enim si negare maluissem, mentem pie de me præsumentis offendere. Si parere, susceptum officium navare non posse. Quæ cum ita essent, statui magis operam meam fideliter exhibere, quam sermonem pertinaciter excusare: confidens quia si displicuero, dabis veniam quæ jussisti. Non enim meo vition sed tuo judicio, quod evenerit imputabis: mihi satis est peregisse mandata.","english":"EUSTATHIUS'S LATIN METAPHRASIS OF ST. BASIL'S HEXAEMERON.\n\nEustathius to his sister Syncletica, deaconess, greeting in Christ.\n\nThe devout and at the same time studious mind of your sisterhood, while it desires to know the fullness of the heavenly Scriptures, searching through all the ecclesiastical libraries and those who founded them by frequent reading, has come at last to the Hexaemeron of the holy and venerable bishop Basil, written in the Greek tongue; and while it strives to commit it to the records of the Latin language, it has judged that this task should be entrusted to me. But I, considering that you have commanded this out of love rather than judgment, was indeed hastening to obey the simple orders, admonished by your charity; but I did not dare to promise, beholding my own infancy. And so, distracted by twofold thought, I did not know what to do: for I was afraid that, if I preferred to refuse, I would offend the mind of one who presumed piously of me; but if to obey, that I could not fulfill the office undertaken. Since this was so, I decided rather to offer my labor faithfully than to excuse my speech stubbornly: trusting that if I have displeased, you will grant pardon for what you commanded. For you will impute what has come of it not to my fault but to your own judgment: for me it is enough to have carried out the commands.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"HEXAEMERI LIBER PRIMUS.\n\ni. In principio fecit Deus carlum et terram. Conveniens exordium de mundi compositione narralurus assumpsit decorationem gestorum operum, sui faciens sermonis initium. Coeli enim terraque factura referenda est non sponte formata, ut quidam opinali sunt, sed ex Deo causas propriæ e nacta substantiæ. Qualis igitur auditus dignus sit magnitudine relatorum, vel quemadmodum instructus esse debcat anitnus, ad rerum ejusmodi perceptionem! nimirum qui vitiis carnalibus est immunis, et ærumnis minime sæcularibus obfuscalus, quin etiam laboriosus et solers, et omnia circumspectans, ut. meritam Dei notionem possit attrahere. Sed antequam de verborum subtilitate disceptemus, et perscrutemur quanta sit harum vocum significatio, cogitemus quis est qui nos affatur. Nam licet altiludine cordis historici non valeamus attingere propter imbecillitatem no. stri videlicet intellectus: attamen praerogativa loquentis inspecta, ultro ad consentiendum his qum dicta sunt adducemur. Moyses itaque est editor hujusce scripture, Moyses ille qui perhibetur venustus apud Deum fuisse, cum adhuc maternis uberibu; inhiaret, quem adoptavit fiiia Pharaonis. et regio cultu liberaliter educavii, pbilosopbis Ægyptiorum eruditioni cjus magistris adhibitis (Act.","english":"BOOK ONE OF THE HEXAEMERON.\n\ni. In the beginning God made heaven and earth. About to narrate the composition of the world, he took as his opening the adornment of the works done, making this the beginning of his discourse—a fitting exordium. For the making of heaven and earth must be reported as formed not of itself, as some have opined, but as having received from God the causes of its own substance. What kind of hearing, then, is worthy of the magnitude of the things related, and how should the mind be equipped for the perception of such matters? Surely one that is free from carnal vices and scarcely clouded by worldly troubles, and indeed diligent and skilled and looking about on all sides, so that it may be able to draw in a worthy notion of God. But before we dispute about the subtlety of the words and examine how great is the meaning of these utterances, let us consider who it is that addresses us. For although we cannot reach the height of the historian's heart because of the weakness of our own intellect, nevertheless, once the pre-eminence of the speaker has been examined, we shall be led of our own accord to agree with what has been said. It is Moses, then, who is the author of this scripture—that Moses who is said to have been comely before God while he still hung upon his mother's breasts, whom the daughter of Pharaoh adopted and generously educated in royal fashion, with the philosophers of the Egyptians appointed as his teachers of learning (Act.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"VII, 22), qui fastum tyrannidis exhorruit, et ad humilitatem suorum civium se convertit, contentus a afflictari potius cum populo Dei, quam fructum peccati capere temporalem. Qui armorem justitiæ de ipsa natura sortitus est, quippe qui priusquam plebis acciperet principatum, propter odium nequitiæ naturale, usque ad necem videtur improbos persecutus. Qui ab his effugatus est, quibus ipse fuerat opitulatus: qui libentissime tumultibus Ægypti derelictis, ad Æthiopiam profectus est, ibique cæterorum vacuus negoti rum, per annos quadraginta rerum contemplationi dans operam, octogesimumque aetatis agens an um, vidit Deum, ut erat homini videre possibile, imo ut c.ini potius licuit alii, secundum testimonium ipsius Dei: Quia si fuerit propheta quis vestrum Domino, proprie per visum ei cognoscar, et per sOmnium loquar: sed non ita famulus meus Moyses, q'ii in onmi domo mea fidelis est. Ore ad os colloquar ei: in specie, et non per figuram ( Num. XII, 6-8). Hic itaque qui in potiendis præsentibus Dei conspectibus, angelis fuerat coicquatus; quæ auscultavit a Deo disserit nobis. Audiamus igitur veritatem verborum, non in persuasione humanæ sapientiæ, sed in probatissimis spiritalis doctrinæ sermonibus, quorum finis non audientium laus est, sed discentium salus.","english":"who despised the arrogance of tyranny and turned to the humility of his own citizens, content rather to be afflicted with the people of God than to reap the temporal fruit of sin. He received his love of justice from nature itself, since, before he took up the leadership of the people, out of a natural hatred of wickedness he seems to have pursued the wicked even to death. He was driven out by those whom he himself had helped; and, most willingly leaving behind the tumults of Egypt, he set out for Ethiopia, and there, free from other business, devoting forty years to the contemplation of things, and in the eightieth year of his age, he saw God, as it was possible for a man to see, or rather as it was permitted to him beyond others, according to the testimony of God himself: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will be known to him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream; but not so my servant Moses, who is faithful in all my house. I will speak with him mouth to mouth, and in a form, and not by a figure. So then this man, who in obtaining the present sight of God had been made equal to the angels, sets before us what he heard from God. Let us therefore hear the truth of his words, not in the persuasion of human wisdom, but in the most approved utterances of spiritual teaching, whose end is not the praise of the hearers, but the salvation of the learners.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"In principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram (Cen. I, 1). Retardat igitur sermonem meum mentis admiratio: cogitans quid primum dicam, vel unde capiam narrationis exordium, arguamne vanitatem sæcularium, aut nostrorum potius prædicem veritatem? Plurima super rerum natura Grecorum philosophi disputarunt: sed nullus apud eos sermo fixus habetur et stabilis, priore semper a sequente dejecto. Nihilque nobis operæ pretium est, quæ illoruin sunt infirmare: cum ad destructionem propriam sibimet ipsi sufliciant. a Qui coint Deum nescire potuerunt, sapientiam rebus præesse mortalium nullatenus concesserunt, sed familiari ignoratione sublapsi variis omnia definitionibus concluserunt. Propterea multi eorum ad confusam informemque se materiam redegerunt, elementis mundi causas omnium rerum deputantes. Alii atomos, et individua corpora, et tun;ores, et meatus continere naturam visibilium tradiderunt: modo concurrentibus sibi levibus illis rotundisque corpusculis, modo recedentibus a se atque discretis, ortus obiturque perficere, ct in perseveratioribus corporibus complexionem atomorum locatam, validius causas xternitatis exprimere. Vere telam araneae texunt, qui ista describunt: et qui tam vacua inaniaque principia, cœlo, terne, marique conscribunt. Neque enim sciebant dicere: In principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram: propterea sine e moderamine, et guhernationc, fortuitoque casu.","english":"In the beginning God made heaven and earth. The wonder of my mind therefore delays my speech: as I consider what I should say first, or from where I should take the beginning of my narrative—whether I should refute the vanity of the worldly, or rather proclaim the truth of our own. The philosophers of the Greeks disputed very many things about the nature of things, but no account among them is held fixed and stable, the earlier always being overthrown by the later. And it is of no profit to us to refute their views, since they are sufficient for their own destruction. Those who could not know God did not in any way concede that wisdom presides over the affairs of mortals, but, having slipped down through their familiar ignorance, they enclosed all things in various definitions. For this reason many of them reduced themselves to confused and formless matter, reckoning the elements of the world to be the causes of all things. Others handed down that atoms, and indivisible bodies, and pores, and passages contain the nature of visible things: at one time those light and round corpuscles coming together, at another withdrawing from one another and being separated, they accomplish births and deaths, and in more enduring bodies the combination of atoms, once situated there, expresses the causes of permanence more strongly. Truly those who describe these things weave a spider's web, and they who ascribe such empty and vain principles to heaven, earth, and sea. For they did not know how to say: In the beginning God made heaven and earth; therefore [they held that all things came to be] without governance and direction, and by chance.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"agi et ferri omnia, insito sibi impietatis decepti errore, dixerunt. QuoJ ne nos quoque pateremur, primis statim suæ narrationis elogiis mundi fabricationis expositor, Dei commemoratione sensus nostros illuminans, dixit: In principio fecit Deus. Quam bonus ordo principium \\ mimo posuit: ut non ingenitum quidam mundum arbitrarentur. Deinde subdidit, quia fecit: ut ostenderet quia creatura opus, pars exigua virtutis est conditoris. Nam sicut ligulus, vasis deformatis, nec artem potest amittere, nec virtutem: sic opifex reruin Deus, non uni facturae sufficientem potentiam possidens, sed infinitate penitus excedens, solo momento propriae voluntatis, magnitudinem eorum quæ cernuntur exstruxit. Quod si et principium mundus habet, et factus est; quære quis illi dedit principium, et quis ejus fabricator est. Quod ne humana forsitan cogitatione discutiens, a veritati tramite deviares: prævenit instruens nos doctrinis. et animis nostris, tanquam signaculum cujusdam custodiæ figens, venerabile mox Dei nomen inseruit dicens: In principio fecit Deus. Igitur beata natura,et opulenta bonitas, dilectissimaque cunctis rationem, habentibus, ac nimium carissima pulchritudo, princeps omnium quæ sunt, fons vitne, intelligibile lumen, inaccessibilis sapientia, Ipse fecit in principio cælum et terram.","english":"They said that all things are driven and carried along by the error of impiety implanted in them. So that we too might not suffer this, the expounder of the world's making, at the very first praises of his narrative, illuminating our senses with the mention of God, said: In the beginning God made. How good is the order that he placed the beginning first: so that they might not think the world unbegotten. Then he added that he made it: to show that the creature is a work, a tiny part of the Creator's power. For just as a potter, once the vessels are formed, can lose neither his craft nor his power, so God, the craftsman of things, possessing a power not sufficient for one work alone but wholly exceeding it in infinity, by a single moment of his own will built up the magnitude of those things which are seen. But if the world both has a beginning and was made, ask who gave it its beginning, and who is its fabricator. Lest perhaps, examining this by human thought, you should wander from the path of truth, he anticipated us, instructing us with teachings, and fixing in our minds, as it were the seal of a certain guard, he at once inserted the venerable name of God, saying: In the beginning God made. Therefore the blessed nature, and the rich goodness, and the beauty most beloved of all who have reason, and exceedingly dear, the prince of all things that are, the fountain of life, the intelligible light, the inaccessible wisdom, he himself made in the beginning heaven and earth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Non ergo infecta esse vel improvida quæ videntur opineris, o homo; nec quia circum te discurrunt ea quae moventur in coelo, nec quod ipsius circuli initium, nostro sensui comprebensibile non habetur, idcirco sine principio esse vertibilium corporum natura credenda est. Neque enim orbis iste, id est, planum hoc rotundumque schema, quod sub uno pundo continetur, quia nostrum diffugit intellectum, nec unde coeperit, aut quo reciderit possumus invenire: ob hoc etiam non esse compositum debemus asserere, aut quia sensus omnino nostros elabitur, ideo revera \" minus aliunde cœpisse putabitur. Sic et tu non quia in semetipsa feruntur ea quæ volvenda circumspicis, et quod planities eorum nullis mediis interponatur obstaculis, ob hoc sine principio vel line mundum haberi decipiaris. Transi' enim schema ejus (I Cor. VII, 31); et, cœlum terraque præteribit (Matth. XXIV, 31): praedicatio autem cunctorum de consummatione sæculi mandatorum, et de reformatione mundi, secundum notationem magisterii spiritalis, ex his quae in præsentia brevitcr tradita sunt declaratur. In principio fecit Deus coelum et terram. Omnia quæ ex tempore cœperunt, necesse est tempore terminari. Si est initium temporale, de fine non dubites. Geometrica et arithmetica disciplina, commentitiæque scripturae, et fabulosa astrologia, id est occupatissima vanitas.","english":"Do not think, then, O man, that the things which are seen are uncreated or without providence; nor, because the things that move in the sky run about around you, nor because the beginning of that very circuit is not held as comprehensible by our senses, should you therefore believe that the nature of the revolving bodies is without a beginning. For neither should we assert that this circle—that is, this flat and round figure, which is contained under a single point—is not composed, because it escapes our intellect, and we cannot find whence it began or whither it has fallen back; nor, because it wholly eludes our senses, will it therefore truly be thought to have begun from something less. So too, you should not be deceived into thinking that the world is without a beginning or a limit because the things you see revolving around are carried in themselves, and because their flat surface has no intervening obstacles. For the figure of this world passes away (1 Cor 7:31), and heaven and earth will pass away (Matt 24:31); but the proclamation of all the commandments concerning the consummation of the age, and concerning the reformation of the world, according to the marking of spiritual teaching, is declared from these things which have been briefly handed down in the present. In the beginning God made heaven and earth. All things that have begun in time must necessarily be ended in time. If there is a temporal beginning, do not doubt concerning the end. Geometric and arithmetic discipline, and fabricated writings, and fabulous astrology—that is, the most occupied vanity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Ad qualem igitur terminum concludenda est, cum ii qui circa memoratarum rerum indaginem vacaverunt, coæternum creatori omnium Deo, visibilem hunc mundum esse pronuntiant, ad illius gloriam referentes circumscriptum hunc orbem, corpusque habentem compositum, quæ est incomprehensibilis invisibilisque natura? Qui ne hoc quidem perspicere potuerunt: quia cui singula membra solutioni corruptelæque subjecta sunt, ejus etiam universum corpus iisdem casibus interire necesse est. Sed usque adeo cogitationibus evanuerunt, et excæcatum est irrationabile cor eorum, dicentesque se esse sapientes, stulti prorsus effecti sunt (Rom. I,21,22), ut etiam quidam eorum sempiternum esse cum Deo polum, et sine principio ac fine baberi, rerumque per partes e institutarum auctorem # dispensatoremque esse audeant aflirmare.\n\nQuibus, ubi, vel quando sapientia sæcularis, formidinem futurae condemnationis initiet, qui sic acute res vauissimas intuentes, ad concipiendam veritatis prudentiam, sponte cæcati sunt. Alii stellarum intervalla dinumcrant, earumque arctoas semper lucentes describunt, et quantae illarum quæ sub axe moventur australi, a certis quidem suspiciuntur hominibus, nobis autem habentur ignotæ.","english":"To what end, then, must this be brought, when those who have devoted themselves to the investigation of the things mentioned declare that this visible world is coeternal with God, the creator of all things, referring to His glory this bounded orb and its composite body—which is the incomprehensible and invisible nature? They could not even perceive this: that for whatever thing its individual members are subject to dissolution and corruption, its whole body must necessarily perish by the same falls. But they have vanished away in their thoughts to such a degree, and their foolish heart has been blinded, and saying that they were wise, they became utterly foolish (Rom. 1:21-22), that even certain of them dare to affirm that the pole is eternal with God, and is held to be without beginning and end, and that it is the author and dispenser of things established in their parts.\n\nFor them, when or where shall secular wisdom bring the fear of future condemnation—they who, gazing so sharply upon the most empty things, have been spontaneously blinded to conceiving the prudence of truth? Others count out the intervals of the stars, and describe their northern stars that always shine, and how many of those that move beneath the southern axis are indeed beheld by certain men, but are unknown to us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Vel borealem latitudinem, nec non signiferum circulum mille spaHis dividentes, astrorumque discursus, et præclusiones, et omnium motus principales subtiliter observautes, et post quantum temporis, unaquæque planetarum propriam circuitionem solet explere: unam omnium rationem reperire minime potuerunt, ut dicerent Deum mundi totius esse factorem, justoque judicio dignam remunerationem cuique pro suis facinoribus tributurum. Qui nec futuræ examinationis intuitu, congruam cogitationem de rerum omnium fine ceperunt: considerantes, quia mundum quoque reformari necesse est, si ad aliud vitæ schema animorum status transferendus est. Sicut enim præsens vita cognatam habet mundi hujus naturam: ita et futura animorum conversatio familiarem speciei suæ sumptura est habitum. Sed tantum absunt credere quod hæc vera sint, ut passim de nobis rideant, cum mundi hujus consummationem et reformationem saeculi praedicamus. Sane quoniam naturaliter omnium rerum sunt prima principia, idcirco super his quae ex tempore coeperunt, scriptor disserens hanc vocem præmisit dicens: In principio fecit.","english":"Or the northern latitude, and likewise the zodiac circle, dividing them into a thousand intervals, and closely observing the courses of the stars, their enclosures, and the principal motions of all things, and after how much time each of the planets is accustomed to complete its own circuit: they were utterly unable to discover the one principle of all things, so as to say that God is the maker of the whole world, and that by just judgment he will render to each a recompense worthy of his deeds. Nor did they, with a view to the future examination, conceive a fitting thought concerning the end of all things: considering that the world too must needs be reformed, if the state of souls is to be transferred to another scheme of life. For just as the present life has a nature akin to this world, so too the future converse of souls will take on a form familiar to its own kind. But they are so far from believing that these things are true that they laugh at us everywhere, when we preach the consummation of this world and the reformation of the age. Indeed, since the first principles of all things are naturally so, for this reason the writer, discoursing on those things which began in time, premised this utterance, saying: In the beginning he made.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Erat enim quaedam, ut vides, ante hunc mtmdum substantia intellectui quidem nostro contemplabilis, sed inaudita relicta est: propterea quod ab his qui imbuebantur propter sensus parvitatem, facile comprehendi non poterat. Erat antiquissima creaturae ordinatio; illis quae extra mundum sunt, apta virtotibus, orta sine tempore, sempiterna sibique propria: in qua conditor omnium Deus opera cuncta constituit, id est, lumen intellectibile conveniens beatitudini amantium Dominum. Rationabiles, invisibilesque dico naturas, et omnium intellectibilium decorationem, quae capacitatem nostræ mentis excedunt, quorum nec vocabula reperire possibile est. Haec substantiam invisibilis mundi replevisse sciendum est, sicut docet nos Paulus dicens: Quia in ipso creata sunt omnia, sive visibilia, sive invisibilia, sive throni, sive dominationes, sive principatus, sive potestates, seu virtutes (Col. I, 16), seu angelorum militiæ, seu archangelorum conventus. Cum vero Decesse erat superduci rebus hunc mundum, qui est praecipue castigatio, et doctrina humanorum animorum, deinde cunctis quae oriuntur et occidunt, opportunum domicilium: tunc etiam decursio temporis, simul cum ipso mundo, et animantibus quæ in eo sunt, congenerata dignoscitur: eaque semper urgetur, et effluit, finemque nequaquam percipit commeandi.","english":"For there was, as you see, a certain substance before this world, contemplable indeed by our intellect, but left unheard of, for the reason that it could not easily be comprehended by those who were being instructed, on account of the smallness of their senses. There was a most ancient ordering of creation, suited to the powers that are outside the world, arisen without time, everlasting and proper to itself, in which God the founder of all things established all his works, that is, the intelligible light befitting the blessedness of those who love the Lord. I mean the rational and invisible natures, and the adornment of all intelligible things, which exceed the capacity of our mind, whose names it is not even possible to find. It must be known that these filled the substance of the invisible world, as Paul teaches us, saying: Because in him all things were created, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, or virtues (Col. 1:16), or the armies of angels, or the assemblies of archangels. But when it was necessary that this world be brought in upon things, which is chiefly a chastening and instruction of human souls, and then a fitting dwelling for all things that rise and set, then also the course of time is recognized as begotten together with the world itself and with the living things that are in it, and it is ever pressed on and flows away, and never perceives an end of its passing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Aut non ejusmodi tempus esse dicimus, cujus pars quae emensa est non videtur, quæ autem ventura est necdum adfuit, quæ vero præsto est, aotequam sensui nostro notescat, elabitur? Talis etiam natura gignentium est, aut crescens videlicet, aut decrescens: cujus stabilitas et fundatio nibil babet certi. a Paria fuerunt ergo animantium arbustorumque corpora, tanquam vi cujusdam torrentis ad necessitatem insitam relegata, et illi motui subjecta, qui al ortus obitusque perducit, et ex natura temporis continetur, cognatam proprietatem rebus mutabilibus possidente. Hinc consequenter relator exorsus est, manifeste de mundi constructione nos edocens, in principio fecisse Deum. Principium autem est quod ad tempus pertinet, non quod ad antiquitatem respicit, qua; est omnibus rebus anterior. Ergo nou seeundum eam dixit In principio fecit Deus, sed post illa invisibilia et intellectibilia initium generationis corum quae cernuntur, sensuque comprehenduntur, enarrat. Dicitur quidem principium, et prima motio: sicut principium recti itineris est justa facere (Prov. xvi, 5). Ex juslis enim operibus incitamur ad beate vivendum. Dicitur etiam principium ejus rei quæ fit ex aliqua subsistente materia, sicut in domibus fundamentum, in navibus carina, et secundum quod dictum est: Initium sapientiæ timor Domini (Prov. i, 7).","english":"Or do we not say that time is of such a kind that the part of it which has been measured out is not seen, while the part which is to come has not yet arrived, and the part which is at hand slips away before it becomes known to our senses? Such also is the nature of things that are born, namely either growing or diminishing, whose stability and foundation have nothing certain. Therefore the bodies of living creatures and of trees were alike, as if carried off by the force of some torrent to an implanted necessity, and subjected to that motion which leads to births and deaths and is contained by the nature of time, which possesses a kindred property with mutable things. Hence the narrator, beginning consequently, clearly teaches us about the construction of the world, that God made it in the beginning. But the beginning is that which pertains to time, not that which looks to antiquity, which is prior to all things. Therefore he did not say, \"In the beginning God made,\" according to that antiquity, but after those invisible and intelligible things he recounts the beginning of the generation of those things which are seen and comprehended by sense. For a beginning is spoken of, and also a first motion: just as the beginning of a right path is to do justly (Prov. 16:5). For by just works we are stirred to live blessedly. A beginning is also spoken of for that thing which is made from some underlying matter, as in houses the foundation, in ships the keel, and according to what was said: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Etenim tanquam munimentum et fulcimentum quoddam ad lidei firmitatem, præfertur semper cum timore religio. Sed et structibilium operum prima pars principium nuncupatur: sicut sapientia Beselehel erga tabernaculi decus. Actuum quoque fit plerumque principium bonus exitus inceptorum: sicut in largitate miscricordiæ, sequitur prosperitas Dei, et in operatione virtutum, finis ille habetur, qui in promissionibus est locatus.\n\nToties igitur nominato principio, considera si non præsens vox omnibus significatis accommoda est. Etenim ex eo tempore quo mundi coepit institutio, possibile tibi est dicere, si de præsentibus ad præterita repedando, principalem diem mundanx creationis inquiras: unde tempori motus primus accesserit. Deinde quia velut sedes et repagula quædam, cœlum terraque fundata sunt; et quia est artifex Verbum, quod decorationem omnium quæ videntur effecit, sicut vox relati monstrat initii: et quia non sine ratione, vel frustra formatus est mundus. Quippe qui utilem necessariumque rebus esset exitum præbiturus, si revera animorum rationabilium, sicut diximus, magisterium, et divinæ notionis eruditionem, per visibilia hæc et sensibilia tribuit menti nostræ regens nos, ut ita dixerim, manu, quo facilius invisihilia contemplemur, sicut dicit Apostolus: Quia invisibilia ejus, a mundi compositione per ea quæ facta sunt, intellecta conspiciuntur (Rom. i, 20).","english":"For indeed, as a kind of bulwark and support for the firmness of faith, religion is always set forth together with fear. But also the first part of things that are to be built is called the beginning, as the wisdom of Bezalel in relation to the adornment of the tabernacle. And often the good outcome of undertakings becomes the beginning of actions, as in the giving of mercy the prosperity of God follows, and in the working of virtues that end is held which has been placed in the promises.\n\nTherefore, since \"beginning\" has been named so many times, consider whether the present word is not suited to all the things signified. For from that time when the founding of the world began, it is possible for you to say, if by going back from present things to past things you inquire into the principal day of the world's creation, whence the first motion came to time. Then, because heaven and earth have been founded as a kind of seat and barrier, and because the Word is the craftsman who accomplished the adornment of all things that are seen, as the wording of the beginning that has been related shows; and because the world was not formed without reason or in vain. Indeed, it was going to provide a useful and necessary outcome for things, if truly, as we have said, it granted to our mind the instruction of rational souls and the teaching of the divine notion through these visible and sensible things, guiding us, so to speak, by the hand, so that we might more easily contemplate invisible things, as the Apostle says: That his invisible things, from the composition of the world, are understood and seen through the things that have been made (Rom. 1:20).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Fortassis autem propter celeritatem creaturæ. quæ sine ullo momento temporis cst constructa, dictum est: In principio fecit; quoniam individua quædam res est, et iudistincta, principium. Sicut enim initium viæ necdum via est, et initium domus, necdum domus est: sic et temporis initium, necdum plenum tempus est; sed nec exigua pars temporis. Quod si repugnans forte quispiam principium dixerit esse tempus, sciat hoc esse divisurum in multiplices portiones, id est in primam, mediam et extremam. Principium autem principii quærere ridiculum penitus et ineptum est. Et qui dividit principium, duas necessario faciet pro una partes, vel potius, plures; quoniam semper illud quo i divisum fucrit, in duas sine dubio scinditur portiones. Ergo ut doceremur simul cum Dei voluntate mundum sine tempore substitisse, dixit: In principio fecit. Quam rem certi interpretes planius exponentes, dixerunt: Summatim fecit Deus, id est brevi subitoquc. Igitur super priucipio pauca de multis hactenus disseruisse sufficiat.","english":"But perhaps this was said on account of the swiftness of the creation, which was constructed without any moment of time: In the beginning he made; since the beginning is a certain indivisible and indistinct thing. For just as the beginning of a road is not yet a road, and the beginning of a house is not yet a house, so too the beginning of time is not yet full time, but not even a small part of time. But if perhaps someone contentious should say that the beginning is time, let him know that this will be divided into multiple portions, that is, into first, middle, and last. But to seek the beginning of the beginning is altogether ridiculous and absurd. And one who divides the beginning will necessarily make two parts out of one, or rather many; since whatever that is which has been divided is always without doubt split into two portions. Therefore, so that we might be taught that the world subsisted without time, together with God's will, he said: In the beginning he made. Explaining this matter more plainly, certain interpreters said: God made in summary, that is, briefly and suddenly. Therefore, concerning the beginning, let it suffice to have discussed thus far a few things out of many.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Sane sciendum quoniam artium omnium, aliæ factriccs, aliæ negotiales appellantur, aliæ contemplatoriæ, et contemplatoriarum quidem finis est sola mentis intentio, negotialium autem motus ipse corporis: qui cum desierit, nihil reliqui est, nec ultra videntibus demonstratur. Nam saltationis et cantuum nullus exitus est: sed in semetipsam operatio tota consumitur. In arlibus vero factricibns, etiamsi labor actusque cessaverit, manifestum tamen est opus earum, sicut fabrilitatis, et architecturae, et texturæ et his similium, quarum licet arLifex præsto non fuerit, ratio tamen artis ipsius apparet, possumusque de opere conspecto peritiam cujusque artificis admirari. Ergo ut certum fieret quia mundus arte perfectus est, qui cunctorum visibus habetur exposituS, quatenus per eum fabricatoris sui sapientia nosceretufr: non alia voce Moyses usus est, sed dixit: In principio fecit Deus. Non construxit aut composuit, sed fecit. Quamvis nonnulli eorum qui vana opinione præventi sunt, sempiternum mundum cum Deo esse dicentes, nullo modo ab ipso iactum concesserunt, sed tanquam obumbrationem quamdam virtutis esse divinæ. Ferunt enim eum sponte compositum, ct quamvis Deum ejus haberi fateantur auctorem; ita tamen fatentur, ut sine voluntate ipsius processisse confirment, sicut ex corpore umbram, vel ex luce fulgorem.","english":"Indeed, it must be known that of all arts, some are called productive, some practical, and some contemplative. Of the contemplative arts, the end is the mind's intent alone; of the practical, the motion of the body itself, which, when it has ceased, leaves nothing behind, nor is it further displayed to onlookers. For of dancing and songs there is no product, but the whole operation is consumed in itself. In the productive arts, however, even if the labor and activity have ceased, their work is nevertheless manifest, as in carpentry, architecture, weaving, and the like, whose craftsman, though he be not present, the principle of the art itself nevertheless appears, and from the work seen we can admire the skill of each craftsman. Therefore, so that it might be certain that the world was made by art—the world which is exposed to the sight of all, so that through it the wisdom of its Maker might be known—Moses used no other word, but said: In the beginning God made. He did not say \"constructed\" or \"composed,\" but \"made.\" Although some who have been forestalled by a vain opinion, saying that the world is eternal with God, have in no way conceded that it was cast forth by him, but [claim] that it is, as it were, a certain shadow of the divine power. For they say that it was composed of itself, and although they confess that God is held to be its author, they nevertheless confess it in such a way as to affirm that it proceeded without his will, as a shadow from a body, or a radiance from light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Volens itaque hujusmodi errorem propheta corrigere, hac verborum subtilitate potius usus est dicens: In principio fecit Deus, id est non causam præstitit ut esset solum, sed fecit ut bonus utilem, ut sapiens optimum, ut potens maximum. Cum enim dicit: Quia fecit, quemdam sine dubio declarat artiflcem, qui singulorum compositione membrorum, per omnia convenientem sibimet et congruum formavit mundum. In principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram. Ex duobus igitur summatibus elementis, omnium substantiam designat a exstructam: cælo quidem privilegia digniora contribuens, terram vero in secundo creaturarum loco conslitueus; et si quid aliud est medium, cum principalibus istis una perfectum est. Ita quamvis nihil de aere, vel igne, vel aqua dictum sit: te tamen prudentia propria necesse est intelligere. Primo quidem, quia omnia in omnibus sunt permixta. Siquidem aquam, et aerem, et ignem terrae cohærere certissimum est: nam et ex ferro et ex lapidibus ignis per fricationem solet excuti: quæ utique de tellure nascuntur. Et est mirum quomodo dum in memoratis abstrusa est flamma, corporibus habetur innoxia, cum vero fuerit extrinsecus elicita, devorat eam materiam in qua fuerat custodita.","english":"Wishing therefore to correct an error of this kind, the prophet rather used this subtlety of words, saying: In the beginning God made, that is, he did not merely supply the cause for it to exist, but made it good for a useful purpose, wise for the best, powerful for the greatest. For when he says: Because he made, he undoubtedly declares a certain craftsman, who by the composition of individual members formed the world wholly fitting and harmonious to itself. In the beginning God made heaven and earth. From two therefore, the highest elements, he designates the substance of all things as constructed: assigning indeed to heaven the more worthy privileges, but establishing the earth in the second place of created things; and if there is anything else in between, it is made perfect together with these principal ones. Thus although nothing has been said of air, or fire, or water, you must nevertheless understand it by your own prudence. First indeed, because all things are mingled in all things. Since it is most certain that water, and air, and fire cohere with the earth: for fire is accustomed to be struck out by friction both from iron and from stones, which surely are born from the earth. And it is wonderful how, while the flame is hidden in the things mentioned, it is held harmless to bodies, but when it has been drawn out from outside, it devours the matter in which it had been kept.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"Aquarum quoque naturam venis subesse terrarum fossores indicant puteorum: quibus etiam aerem esse permixtum ex eo cognoscere possumus, quod cum fuerit humectata tellus, et temperiem solis acceperit, mox vapores exhalat largissimos. Deinde si naturaliter sedem superiorem coelum sortitum est, terra vero habetur inferior; ob hoc quia quae leviora sunt ferimtur ad coelum, quae autem gravia sunt devehuntur ad terram. Contraria autem sibi sunt inferna et superna. Quid dicendum est, nisi quia ille qui res disjunctissimas præcepti societate conjunxit, etiam ea quæ medius utriusque elementi locus amplectitur, suo dispensavit arbitrio? Non ergo quæras de singulis rationem, sed illa quoque quæ silentio Scriplura præteriit, ex his quæ relata sunt debebis advertere.\n\nIn principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram. Igitur terrena substantia, et inquisitio singulorum quae nosiris sensibus exposita sunt, tam longum nobis faciunt narrationis affatum, ut multo plures sermones in hujusmodi examinatione disserendi sint, quam in cæteris omnibus quæ explicari possibile est. De qua re nulla penitus commoditas aedificandae confertur Ecclesiæ, sed super cœli quidem natura contenti simus his quæ retulit Isaias, qui verbis usus simplicibus sufficientem nobis 4e eo perhibuit intellectum dicens: Qui firmavit cælum sicut fumum (Isai.","english":"The diggers of wells also show that the nature of waters lies beneath the veins of the earth; and we can recognize from this that air is mixed in with them as well, because when the earth has been moistened and has received the tempering of the sun, it soon exhales very abundant vapors. Then, if heaven has naturally obtained the higher seat, while earth is held to be lower, it is for this reason that lighter things are borne toward heaven, while heavy things are carried down to earth. But things below and things above are contrary to one another. What is to be said, except that he who joined things most widely separated by the fellowship of a command also dispensed by his own will those things which the middle place of each element embraces? Do not therefore seek the reason for individual things, but those things also which Scripture has passed over in silence you will be able to discern from those which have been related.\n\nIn the beginning God made heaven and earth. Therefore the earthly substance, and the inquiry into individual things which have been exposed to our senses, make for us so long a discourse of narration that many more words must be discussed in an examination of this kind than in all the other things which can be explained. From this matter no advantage at all is conferred for building up the Church, but concerning the nature of heaven let us be content with those things which Isaiah related, who, using simple words, provided us a sufficient understanding of it, saying: Who established heaven like smoke.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"LI, 6), id est qui minime fortem crassamque naturam in cœli compositione substituit. De schemate etiam ejus satis ab eo dictum est, cum gloriflcalione Dei. Quis stabilivit coelum, ut cameram (Isai. XL, 22)? Eadem etiam de terra sentiri suademus: minime videlicet discutientes qualis sit ejus substantia, nec conficere e noscogitationibus perscrutantes quid ei subjaceat, nec scrutari naturam qualitatibus vacuam et informem, sed tantum scire nos convenit, quia omnia quæ erga terram videmus, ad hoc solum ut essent ordinata sunt, quibus rebus substantia compleretur. Itaquead nullum pervenies terminum, si singulas ejus qualitates persequi sermone tentaveris. Si enim discreveris ejus nigrorem, i frigiditatem, gravitudinem, densitatem, et eas qualitates quæ sapore gustus comprehensibiles habentur, nihil erit penitus quod telluri subjaceat. Hæc igitur emittentes, nec illud hortamur inquiri, super quid sit terra firmata. Torquebitur enim mens ad nullum certum exitum perveniente discorsionis indagine. Sive enim aerem dixeris ejus subesse fundamini: profecto deficies cogitaodo, quemadmodum liquida et diffusa natura, tanto pondere depressa subsistit ac non potius iabitur: undique terræ diffugiens densitatem, ac semper eminentior cum premente consistens.","english":"(LI, 6), that is, he who in the composition of the heaven set in place a nature that is by no means strong and solid. Concerning its form as well, enough has been said by him, with the glorification of God. Who established the heaven like a vault (Isa. 40:22)? We urge that the same be understood concerning the earth: namely, that we by no means dispute what its substance is, nor, investigating with our thoughts, determine what lies beneath it, nor scrutinize a nature devoid of qualities and formless, but it is fitting for us only to know that all the things we see concerning the earth have been ordered for this sole purpose, that they might exist, by which things its substance might be filled out. And so you will reach no limit if you attempt to pursue each of its qualities in speech. For if you distinguish its blackness, its coldness, its weight, its density, and those qualities that are held to be comprehensible by the taste of the palate, there will be nothing at all that lies beneath the earth. Therefore, setting these aside, we do not urge that this be inquired into either: upon what the earth is firmly established. For the mind will be tormented, arriving at no certain outcome through its investigation of discordant reasoning. For whether you say that air lies beneath its foundation, you will surely fail in thought as to how a liquid and diffuse nature, pressed down by so great a weight, subsists and is not rather borne away, fleeing on all sides from the density of the earth, and always remaining higher while standing together with what presses upon it.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"Quod si aquam posueris terreMe stabilitati esse subditam, nihilominus percunctari necesse est, quomodo moles tam gravis et spissa, minime sub aqua demergitur, sed ab iufirmiore natura, superjectio tanti ponderis sustentatur. Si quidem ipsius etiam aquae fundamenta quaerenda sunt, et iterum deficiendum est cum invenire volueris quo fulcimine resisten te fundus ultimus continetur.\n\nSin autem aliud quoddam validius esse corpus induxeris, quod terram prohibeat ad ima descendere: cogitare debebis illud quoque ipsum simili fundatum repagulo, quod non sinat inferius decidere quae portantur. Huic quoque ipsi, si quid confingentes potuerimus opponere, denuo aliud subesse munimen: necessario discursura est mens, et ita in infinitum cogitatione ducemur, semper his quae inveniuntur firmamentis, alia nova quærentes. Et quanto longius sermone progredimur, tanto magis virtutem sustentatricem terrae superducere compellemur: quæ simul omnia quæ superjecta sinit valeat sustentare. Propterea disquisitioni metas debehis imponere: ne quandoque curiositati tuæ, nimis incomprehensibilia pertractanti, verbum Job videatur obsistere, et interrogeris super quid circuli ejus infixi sunt (Job XXXVIII, 6). Sed et si unquam in psalmo audieris: Ego confirmavi columnas ejus (Psal. LXXIV,4), compositoriam profecto virtutem ejus, columnas intellige. Quod autem dictum est: Ipse super maria fundavit eam (Psal.","english":"But if you have supposed that the water is subject to the stability of the earth, it is nonetheless necessary to ask how a mass so heavy and dense is not at all submerged beneath the water, but is supported by a weaker nature, with so great a weight placed upon it. For indeed the foundations of the water itself must also be sought, and again one must give up when you wish to find by what supporting prop the lowest bottom is held in place as it resists.\n\nBut if you have introduced some other, stronger body that prevents the earth from descending to the depths, you will have to think that this very body is likewise founded upon a similar barrier, which does not allow the things that are carried to fall lower. If we are able, by inventing something, to oppose this too, then again another defense lies beneath it; the mind will necessarily run to and fro, and so we will be led in thought to infinity, always seeking new foundations for the things that are found. And the further we proceed in discourse, the more we are compelled to bring in a sustaining power for the earth, one that can support all the things placed upon it at once. Therefore you must set limits to your inquiry, lest at some point your curiosity, handling things too incomprehensible, seem to be opposed by the word of Job, and you are asked, upon what are its circles fixed (Job 38:6). But even if you ever hear in the psalm: I have strengthened its columns (Ps. 74:4), understand the columns to be, of course, its composing power. But what was said: He founded it upon the seas (Ps.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"XXIII. 2), quid aliud scilicet significat, quam quia undique orbem terre, aquarum natura circumfusa complectitur? Quomodo ergo cum ait aqua fluida, semperque ad decliviora contendere soleat, pendula est, et in neutram diffunditur partem? Illud quoque non reputas, quia non minorem, sed etiam majorem dinicultatem nobis ipsa tellus importat, cum tanto sui pondere librata teneatur in aere. Sed necesse est, sive super se ipsam locatam esse concesseris, sive super aquas eam ferri dixerimus: nusquam nos a pietatis cogitatione discedere conveniet, sed contineri virtute creatoris omnia fateamur. Haec itaque nos oportet, et nobis ipsis suadere, et sciscitantibus ubi sit ampla, et insustentahilis terræ gravitudo firmata, respondere, dicentes: Quia terræ fines in manu sunt Dei (Psal. XCIV, 4). Hoc nihilominus, vel nobis ad credendum commodius, vel auscultantibus utilius poterit inveniri.","english":"XXIII. 2), what else does this signify, surely, than that the nature of the waters, poured around on every side, encompasses the orb of the earth? How then, when he says that water is fluid and is always accustomed to strive toward the lower places, is it suspended and not diffused into either part? Do you not also consider this, that the earth itself brings upon us no smaller, but even a greater, difficulty, since it is held balanced in the air by so great a weight of its own? But whether you grant that it is placed upon itself, or we say that it is borne upon the waters, it will be fitting that we never depart from the thought of piety, but confess that all things are held together by the power of the Creator. These things, then, we ought both to persuade to ourselves and to answer those who ask where the vast and insupportable weight of the earth is fixed, saying: For the ends of the earth are in the hand of God (Ps. XCIV, 4). This nonetheless will be able to be found either more fitting for us to believe or more useful for those who listen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Licet quidam de physicis philosophis a tali quadam dispositione commententur terram immobilem permanere. Ferunt enim quod in mundo sita sit, et paribus undique collecta spatiis, ad summitatem usque non habere, quo magis valeat inclinari, et ob hoc semper in semetipsa consistit, impossibileque esse, ut eam patiatur æqualitas circumdata, ullum invenire momentum, in alium flectendi se locum. Mediam autem regionem, non fortuito vel sponte: nec aliqua sorte quaesitam tenere tellurem: sed naturaliter necessarieque situi ejus esse decretam. Coclesti enim corpore, ulteriorem in superioribus nacto sedem; quaecunque, inquiunt, arbitramur pondera de locis summioribus ad ima descendere, in medium congregantur locum; et in eas stationes totum deduci necesse est corpus in quas singulæ partes coierint. Quod si lapides et ligna, cunctaque terrena, semper ad inferiora pelluntur: ibi erit sine dubio propria conveniensque terræ positio. Si vero aliquid de levioribus ex media regione movebitur, id ad superna ferri certissimum est: quoniam familiare est rebus gravissimis ima semper appetere. Ima autem dicimus, medium totius mundi locum. Non ergo mireris, si nusquam se tellus inclinat, ut pote mediam omnium sortita sedem, in qua eam necesse est semper stare, nullatenusque contra naturam, de propriis limbus submoveri.","english":"Although certain of the natural philosophers speculate from some such arrangement as this that the earth remains immobile. For they say that it is situated in the world, and, gathered on every side by equal spaces, has nothing up to its summit toward which it might be able to incline more, and for this reason it always remains in itself, and it is impossible that the equality surrounding it should allow it to find any momentum for bending itself into another place. But the earth holds the middle region not by chance or of its own accord, nor as sought by any lot, but by nature and necessarily its position has been decreed. For since the heavenly body has obtained a more distant seat in the upper regions, whatever weights, they say, we judge to descend from the highest places to the lowest are gathered into the middle place; and the whole body must be brought to those stations into which its individual parts have come together. But if stones and wood and all earthly things are always driven to the lower parts, there will without doubt be the proper and fitting position of the earth. But if anything of the lighter things is moved from the middle region, it is most certain that it is borne to the upper parts, since it is familiar to the heaviest things always to seek the lowest. But we call the lowest the middle place of the whole world. Do not therefore wonder if the earth nowhere inclines itself, since it has obtained the middle seat of all things, in which it must always stand, and in no way against nature be moved from its own bounds.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"Horum igitur si quid tibi probabile videatur, ad sapientiam creatoris, qui hæc ita disposuit, oportet te hujusmodi transferre miracula. Neque enim mianetur rerum dignitas maximarum, si quæ sit earum ratio detegamus, aut si secus evenerit, simplicitatem fidei potiorem cxleris fieri suadeo documentis.\n\nii. De cœlo quoque si eadem dixeris non pec. cabis, licet philosophorum multiloquax disputatio a plurimum super coeli natura disserucrit. Quo rum alii compositum ex quatuor asserunt elementis, ipsumque esse invisibilem, partemque habere lelluris, propter insitam sibi duritiem, habere etiam ignis societatem, ex quo quasi perspicuum putatur esse, nihilominus etiam reliquarum portionum permixtiones amplectitur. Nonnulli autem, hujusmodi opinione contempta, quintam quamdam naturam, in cæli compositione proprio commenti arbitrio, subjunxerunt: quibus videtur corpus æthereum, non aer esse, non terra, non aqua, non ignis nec aliud penitus guod simplex esse credatur, ob hoc videlicet, quod simplicibns familiare est, motum semper habere directum, quorum leviora sursum semper intendunt, graviora vero deorsum labuntur. Sed nec superior aut inferior pars telluris, e vertibili motu, idem omnino vel directum erga circuli rotunditatem continet intervallum. Quorum autem naturales motus mutari solent, eorum etiam qualitates ipsas mutabiles esse necesse est.","english":"If, then, any of these things seems probable to you, you must refer miracles of this kind to the wisdom of the Creator, who so arranged them. For the dignity of the greatest things is not diminished if we uncover what their rationale is; or if it should turn out otherwise, I advise that the simplicity of faith be made preferable to other demonstrations.\n\nii. Concerning heaven too, if you say the same things, you will not sin, although the verbose disputation of the philosophers has discoursed at great length about the nature of heaven. Some of them assert that it is composed of the four elements, and that it is itself invisible, and that it has a part of earth because of the hardness implanted in it, and that it also has a fellowship with fire, from which it is thought to be, as it were, transparent; nonetheless it also embraces mixtures of the remaining portions. But some, despising this opinion, have devised by their own arbitrary judgment a certain fifth nature and added it to the composition of heaven: to them the ethereal body seems to be neither air nor earth nor water nor fire nor anything else that is believed to be simple, evidently for this reason, that it is familiar to simple bodies always to have direct motion, of which the lighter things always strive upward, while the heavier sink downward. But neither the upper nor the lower part of the earth, by reason of its revolving motion, maintains altogether the same interval in relation to the roundness of the circle. But those whose natural motions are accustomed to change, their qualities too must necessarily be changeable.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"Licet nec de illis principalibus corporibus, quæ vocantur elementa, possibile nobis est credere coelum fuisse compositum: quoniam ea quae ex diversa materia construuntur, minime sibi conveniunt, nec possunt sine vi aliqua motum tenere concordem, ut pote singulis partibus, alium atque alium impetum habentibus ex natura, nimioque labore quæ composita sunt, in motu continentur assiduo. Neque enim potest una atque eadem ratio, i rebus inter se dissimilibus ac repugnantibus consonare: cum ea quæ levioribus sunt amica, gravioribus contraria judicentur. Nam cum ad superna et coelestia properamus, pondere terreno deprimimur. Cum autem ad ima demergimur, vim facimus igni, contra naturam suam eum pertrahentes inferius. Elementorum autem distractio in partes ducta diversas ruinæ causas et solutionis importat. Quod enim violenter natura recusante tentatur, celeriter dissipatur: ut pote singulis partibus per quas moles constructa subsistit, ad suum principium redeuntibus. Propter harum igitur opinionum necessitates, secta priorum philosophorum, hi qui postea successere rescissa, proprias assertiones subjicere sestinarunt: quintam quamdam naturam corporis, ut diximus, in coeli siderumque substantiam subesse firmantes. Alius autem quidam de acrioribus, hæc quidem quae narravimus cuncta destruxit, proprium vero dogma visus est commendare.","english":"Although it is not possible for us to believe that heaven was composed of those principal bodies which are called elements, since things constructed from different matter do not agree with one another, nor can they maintain a harmonious motion without some force, inasmuch as individual parts have different impulses by nature, and things that are composed are held in constant motion with excessive labor. For one and the same principle cannot be in harmony with things that are dissimilar and opposed to one another, since things that are friendly to lighter bodies are judged contrary to heavier ones. For when we hasten toward things above and heavenly, we are pressed down by earthly weight. But when we are plunged toward things below, we do violence to fire, dragging it downward against its nature. Moreover, the separation of the elements, drawn into different parts, brings causes of ruin and dissolution. For whatever is attempted by violence while nature refuses is quickly dissipated, inasmuch as the individual parts by which the constructed mass subsists return to their own principle. On account of the necessities of these opinions, therefore, the sect of the earlier philosophers was split apart, and those who succeeded afterward hastened to put forward their own assertions, affirming, as we said, that a certain fifth nature of body underlies the substance of heaven and the stars. But another one, of the sharper sort, destroyed all these things that we have related, and seemed to commend his own doctrine.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"De quibus si referre singula maluerimus, similem illis patiemur errorem. Sed eos a semetipsis vicissim dejici relinquamus, et omni illorum contentione postposita, sequamur Moysen dicentem: ln principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram, Conditoremque optimum rerum sapientissime formatarum glorificemus, et ex visibilium pulchritudine, illum qui nimis optimus est contemplemur. Et ex magnitudiuc corporum circumscriptorum metiamur illum infinitum, et maximum, omnemque cogitationem cordis humani suæ virtutis amplitudine transgredientem. Nam licet creaturæ naturam minime comprehendamus, tamen idipsum quod tenuiter nostro subjicilur intellectui, tantum habet admirationis, ut etiam velocissima mens inferior videatur his rebus quæ in hoc mundo habentur exiguæ, debitamque super omnibus laudem Conditori referamus impensius: cui gloria et honor, nuuc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.","english":"If we preferred to recount each of these things, we would suffer an error like theirs. But let us leave them to be refuted by one another in turn, and, setting aside all their contention, let us follow Moses as he says: In the beginning God made heaven and earth, and let us glorify the best Creator of things most wisely formed, and from the beauty of visible things let us contemplate him who is exceedingly best. And from the magnitude of the circumscribed bodies let us measure him who is infinite and greatest, and who surpasses every thought of the human heart by the amplitude of his power. For although we do not at all comprehend the nature of creation, nevertheless that very thing which is faintly submitted to our intellect has so much of wonder in it that even the swiftest mind seems inferior to these things which are held to be slight in this world, and let us render the due praise to the Creator over all things more earnestly: to whom be glory and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"LIBER SECUNDUS.\n\nModicis mane decursis scrmonibus, usque adeo Abditam altitudinem intellectus invenimus, ut liberct omnino de sequentibus desperare: si enim sanctorum talis introitus est, et vestibulum templi sic decorum et splendidum, ut elegantia suæ pulchritudinis oculus nostrae mentis irradiet, qualia censenda sum sancta sanctorum? Quis ergo sit ausus impossibilia contrectare; aut quis intucbitur ineffabilia, quorum et visus cst inaccessibilis, et ratio intellectus ineffabilis? Tamcn quoniam apud justum judicem, et pro solo studio meliorum, nos contemplibilis merres est deputata: minime nos pigeat explorare. Nam quamvis multum dignitate hujusmodi abesse credamur, tamen si voluntatem Scriplurx sequamur, suffragante sancto Spiritu, nec nos improbabiles judicabimur, et nutu gratiæ cælestis ædificationem aliquam conferemus Ecclesiae. Terra autem, inquit, erat invisibilis et incomposita. Quomodo igitur utrisque elementis, id est coelo et terra, pari honorc constructis, cœlum quidem perfectum fuerat, tellus vero adhuc incomposita cat? Aut quid omnino causæ fuit, quo minus perficerctur, et visibilis non esset? Igitur terræ plena compositio est propria fecunditas, id est universarum germinatio plantarum, et arborum fructiferarum vel a infructiferarumeopia, nec non colores odoresque floret, et alia quae paulo post divino jussu progenita, decoravere tellurem.","english":"BOOK TWO.\n\nHaving run through these brief remarks at the start, we have found the hidden depth of understanding to be so great that one might well despair altogether of what follows. For if such is the entrance of the saints, and the vestibule of the temple so adorned and splendid that the elegance of its beauty illuminates the eye of our mind, what must we judge the holy of holies to be? Who then would dare to handle things impossible, or who will look into things ineffable, whose very sight is inaccessible and whose understanding is beyond reason? Nevertheless, since before a just judge we are reckoned worthy of regard for our zeal for better things alone, let it not displease us to investigate. For although we are believed to be far removed from such dignity, yet if we follow the will of Scripture, with the Holy Spirit aiding us, we shall not be judged unworthy, and by the nod of heavenly grace we shall contribute some edification to the Church. \"But the earth,\" it says, \"was invisible and unformed.\" How then, when both elements, that is, heaven and earth, were established with equal honor, was heaven indeed perfect, while the earth was still unformed? Or what was the cause at all that it was not perfected and was not visible? Therefore the full formation of the earth is its own fertility, that is, the sprouting of all plants, and the abundance of fruit-bearing or unfruitful trees, and it flourishes with colors and fragrances, and the other things which, brought forth shortly afterward by divine command, adorned the earth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"Quorum quia nondum aliquid exstiterat, merito eam sermo Scripturæ incompositam nominavit. Hæc autem etiam de coelo imperfecto rite dicemus, quoniam nec ipsum proprium sumpsisset ornatum, quippe quod minime solis adhuc et lunae fuerat fulgore lustratum, nec choris siderum coronatum. Ita non videberis a veritate deflectere, si etiam coelum incompositum dixeris. Terram autem invisibilem dixit ob duas causas, aut quia necdum spectator ejus processerat homo, aut quia sub aquis, quæ tunc ei supererant, latens, nullo modo cernebatur. Nondum enim aquae congregatae fuerant in propriis conceptaculis, quas in unum postea collectas Dominus maria nuncupavit. Invisibile itaque est, vel quod oculis non potest carnalibus comprehendi, sicut mens nostra, vel illud quod natura quidem cerni potest, sed propter obductum sibi velamentum corporis alicujus absconditur, sicut ferrum quod in profundo jacet. Hac itaque ratione nunc invisibilem terram dictam esSe putandum est, e ut pote quæ aquarum superficie tegebatur. Deinde quia necdum luce constituta, mirum non est si haberetur invisibilis: cum aer ipse splendore carens esset obscurus.","english":"Because nothing of these had yet come into being, the word of Scripture rightly called it unadorned. We shall rightly say this also of the heaven that was imperfect, since it had not yet taken on its proper adornment, inasmuch as it had not yet been illuminated by the brightness of the sun and moon, nor crowned with the choirs of the stars. Thus you will not seem to deviate from the truth if you also call the heaven unadorned. But it called the earth invisible for two reasons: either because the human who would behold it had not yet come forth, or because, lying hidden beneath the waters that then still covered it, it was in no way visible. For the waters had not yet been gathered into their proper receptacles, which the Lord, once gathered together, later called seas. So it is invisible either because it cannot be comprehended by carnal eyes, as our mind is, or because it is by nature visible but is hidden by some covering of a body drawn over it, like iron that lies in the deep. By this reasoning, then, we must think that the earth was here called invisible, inasmuch as it was covered by the surface of the waters. Then, because light had not yet been established, it is no wonder if it was held to be invisible, since the air itself, lacking splendor, was dark.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"Sed obtrectatores veritatis, sensu proprio Scripturas minime consequentes, ad suumque arbitrium interpretationem trahentes earum, materiam rerum dicunt per hujuscemodi verba monstrari, quæ quasi natura invisibilis et incomposita atque informis erat, et omni specie schemateque privata, quam assumptam artifex pro sua sapientia conformavit, atque ita per eam omnia quæ videntur effecit. Quam si dixerimus ingenitam, sine dubio coæquari Deo cum in promerendis.estimatur honoribus, et iisdem quibus ille privilegiis digna censebitur. Quo quid sit nefandius ac sceleratius, quam ut res confusa penitusque deformis, pari dignitate praedita judicetur qua sapiens et potens nimiumque bonus et omnium conditor Deus? Deiude si tauta est ut omnem divinam possit capere disciplinam, nihilominus I ejus substantiam Dei videbuntur potentiæ coæquare, si tamen valet tellus cunctam per se Dei sapientiam metiri. Sin autem minor est materia divinae potentiæ, et sic in atrociorem blasphemiam eorum sermo ducetur; quippe qui propter inopiam materiæ, ineflicacem et otiosum in suis operibus Deum conantur asserere, quos quidem humanæ naturae talia sentire dccepit indigentia.","english":"But the detractors of the truth, following the Scriptures with their own understanding not at all, and dragging their interpretation to their own arbitrary judgment, say that the matter of things is shown by words of this kind—a matter that was, as it were, by nature invisible and unarranged and formless, and deprived of every appearance and shape—which the Craftsman, having taken it up, formed according to his wisdom, and thus through it made all things that are seen. If we were to say that this matter is unbegotten, it will without doubt be judged equal to God in the honors that are to be ascribed to it, and it will be deemed worthy of the same privileges as he. And what could be more abominable and more wicked than that a confused and utterly deformed thing should be judged to possess equal dignity with God, who is wise and powerful and exceedingly good and the Creator of all things? Then, if it is of such a nature that it can receive all divine instruction, they will nonetheless seem to equate its substance with the powers of God—if, that is, the earth is able by itself to measure all the wisdom of God. But if matter is less than the divine power, then their discourse will be led into even more atrocious blasphemy; for on account of the scarcity of matter they attempt to assert that God is ineffective and idle in his works—they whom the neediness of human nature has taught to think such things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":26,"ref":"p26","source":"Sane a quoniam apud nos ars unaquæque erga aliquam adhibitam materiam exercetur, sicut fabrilitas circa ferrum, carpentaria circa lignum, et in his aliud est quod subjacet, aliud species, aliud quod formatur ex specie: nam materia est quæ extrinsecus assumitur, species quæ ex arte producitur, perfectio autem est quæ ex utraque componitur, id est de specie atque materia: sic opinantur et de divina operatione, schema quitlem mundo de sapientia conditoris allatum, materiam vero extrinsecus creatori fuisse subjectam: atque ita universum mundum esse constructum, qui substantiam quidem possidet aliunde quæsitam, schema vero et figuram, ex Dei virtute perceptam. Hinc illis datur occasio negandi, causis Deum praeesse mundanis, et tanquam a stiItis alicujus rerum genituræ portionem exiguam contulisse: minime valentes, propter intellectus inopiam, ad culmen respicere veritatis. Nec considerarunt quia hic quidem ars post materiam noscitur adhibita, vitæ gratia dispensandæ. Nam lana quidem fuit anterior, texendi autem usus postea rcpertus est, ut id quod per naturam minus fuerat suppleretur ex arte; lignum quoque prius fuit, quod ars dolatoria postmodum percipiens, in ususque necessarios formans, commoditatem nobis non parvam contulit. Nam et remum nautis, et agricultoribus ventilabrum, et bellatoribus hastam dedit.","english":"Of course, since among us each art is practiced upon some material applied to it—as carpentry works on wood, smithing on iron—and in these things one element is the underlying material, another the form, and another what is formed from the form: for the material is what is taken from outside, the form is what is produced by the art, and the completion is what is composed from both, that is, from form and material—so they suppose also concerning the divine operation: that the shape was brought to the world from the wisdom of the Creator, but the material was supplied to the Creator from outside; and that thus the whole world was constructed, possessing its substance indeed sought from elsewhere, but its shape and figure received from the power of God. Hence the occasion is given to them for denying that God presides over the causes of the world, and for saying that, as if by some sort of artisans, only a tiny portion was contributed to the generation of things—being in no way able, because of the poverty of their understanding, to look up to the summit of truth. Nor did they consider that here indeed the art is known as applied after the material, for the sake of dispensing life. For the wool was prior, but the use of weaving was discovered afterward, so that what was lacking by nature might be supplied by art; wood also was prior, which the carpentering art afterward takes up and forms for necessary uses, conferring no small convenience upon us. For it gave the oar to sailors, the winnowing fan to farmers, and the spear to warriors.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":27,"ref":"p27","source":"Deus autem, priusquam fierent quæ videntur, omnia mente complexus, volensque in e nativitatem producere quæ non erant, consideravit qualis mundus esse deberet, ejusque speciei congruam materiam congeneravit. Et coelo quidem deputavit decentem sibi naturam, terrarum vero schemati familiarem debitamque substantiam commodavit. Ignem vero, et aquam, et aerem distinxit ot voluit: et in ordinem deduxit quem singulorum ratio flagitabat. Totum autem mundum, cum esset sui dissimilis, et ex diversitate compositus, inviolabilibus cujusdam concordiae vinculis arctalum, in unam socictatem compaginationemque devinxit, ut etiam illa quæ multum a se positione distabant, permixtione mutua pulata credantur. Cessent ergo fabulosis figmentis, ac miserabili suarum cogitationum sensu virtutem mente incomprehensibilem et humanis sermonibus ineffabilem contrectare.","english":"But God, before the things that are seen came to be, comprehended all things in his mind, and wishing to bring into being the things that were not, considered what kind of world ought to exist, and brought forth matter congenial to its form. To heaven indeed he assigned the nature befitting it, and to the shape of the earth he furnished the substance familiar and due to it. Fire, water, and air he distinguished and willed, and reduced to the order that the reason of each demanded. But the whole world, though it was unlike itself and composed of diversity, he bound fast by certain inviolable bonds of concord and joined into one society and fitting together, so that even those things which stood far apart from one another in position are believed to be united by mutual mingling. Let them therefore cease from fabulous fictions and from the wretched sense of their own thoughts, and not lay hold of the power that is incomprehensible to the mind and ineffable by human speech.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":28,"ref":"p28","source":"Fecit Deus cœlum et terram, non singula ex dimidia parte, sed integrum cælum et integram terram, id est ipsam substantiam cum specie comprehensam. Non enim schematum repertor est Deus, sed totius naturæ creator. Nam respondeant nobis quomodo sibi conveniunt operatrix Dei virtus et passibilis natura materiæ, quarum una, quod subjectum est, solummodo sine figura præstitit; altera schematum peritiam possidens, ordinavit oblata, ut utrique quod deerat præberetur ex altero, Conditori quidem, ut haberet in quo posset artis ostendere scientiam a materiæ vero ut informitate deposita, vultum sumeret speciosum. Sed super his hactenus; ad illa vero quae proposuimus revertamur: Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita. Cum diceret: In principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram, plura rcticuit, id est, ignem, aquam, aerem, quæ utique passiones quædam de illis principalibus procreatae sunt, quæ omnia, ut pote mundi consummatoria, simul sine dubio processerunt. Sed historicus haec consulto praeteriit, ut nostrum cor acueret ad industriam ex paucis occasionibus capiendam, quæ facit nos cogitantes investigare quæ desunt.","english":"God made heaven and earth, not each of them in half part, but the whole heaven and the whole earth, that is, substance itself comprehended together with form. For God is not an inventor of shapes, but the creator of all nature. For let them answer us how the operative power of God and the passible nature of matter agree with each other, of which the one, being the subject, provided only without figure; the other, possessing skill in shapes, ordered what was offered, so that what was lacking to each might be supplied from the other—to the Creator indeed, that he might have that in which he could show the knowledge of his art; to matter truly, that, with formlessness laid aside, it might assume a beautiful countenance. But concerning these things, enough so far; let us return to those things which we proposed: But the earth was invisible and unformed. When he said: In the beginning God made heaven and earth, he passed over many things, that is, fire, water, air, which certainly are certain passions begotten from those principal things, all of which, as being completive of the world, undoubtedly came forth together. But the historian deliberately omitted these things, that he might sharpen our heart to industry, to be grasped from few occasions, which makes us, thinking, investigate the things that are missing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":29,"ref":"p29","source":"Ergo quoniam minime de aqua dictum fuerat quia fecit eam, dixit nutem quod terra invisibilis habebatur, tu tecum reputare debebis quo tegmine terra velata non apparebat, quam nec ignis abscondere poterat, qui utique lucidus potius quam tenebrosus est, nec aer operire, cujns certe natura perspicua est: quippe qui omnium rerum species liquido i visentibus manifestat. Reliquum est igitur ut intelligamus aquam fuisse summitati telluris obductam; nondum enim in sua conceptacula humoris natura defluxerat. Ob hoc ergo non solum invisibilis terra, sed etiam incomposita nominatur. Licet etiam nunc aquarum abundantia impedimento est terne, quominus fructuum copia ministre. tur. Hæc ergo causa exstitit, ut nec videri possit ari. da, ct haberetur incomposita. Si quidem terræ compositio est suus, ut diximus, naturalis ornatus, id. est, segetes in planitie fluctuantes, nec non prata virentia, varioque florum colore splendentia, colles uberrimi, montiumque vertices arboribus excelsis opaci, quorum nihil habebat terra, parturiens adhuc nativilatem cunctorum propter insitam sibimet a creatore virtutem: sed tempus exspectabat, ut præceptione divina conceptus suos proferret ad lucem.","english":"Therefore, since it had been said of the water not at all that he made it, but he said that the earth was held to be invisible, you must consider with yourself by what covering the earth, veiled, did not appear—which neither fire could hide, since it is certainly bright rather than dark, nor air cover, whose nature is certainly transparent, seeing that it clearly makes the appearance of all things manifest to those who look. It remains, therefore, that we understand that water had been spread over the surface of the earth; for the nature of moisture had not yet flowed down into its receptacles. For this reason, then, the earth is called not only invisible but also unadorned. Even now, indeed, an abundance of waters is an impediment to the earth, preventing it from supplying an abundance of fruits. This, then, was the cause that it could not be seen as dry and was held to be unadorned. For the adorning of the earth is, as we have said, its own natural beauty—that is, crops waving on the plain, and green meadows shining with the varied color of flowers, hills most fertile, and the tops of mountains shaded by lofty trees. The earth had none of these, still in labor with the birth of all things because of the power implanted in it by the Creator; but it was awaiting the time when, by divine command, it should bring forth its conceptions into the light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":30,"ref":"p30","source":"A. Et erant, inquil, tenebræ super abyssum. Rursusque aliae fabularum occasiones, et iniandorum figmentorum dantur his qui ad arbitrium suum detorquent verba Scripturae. Tenebras enim non eo modo quo natæ sunt interpretantur, id est aerem quemdam obscurum, vel locum inlerjectione alicujus corporis obscuratum; sed virtutem dicunt malignam, vel potius ipsam malitiam habentem ex semetipsa principium, adversariam bonitati Dei, et hanc asserunt tenebrarum esse naturam. Si enim Deus lumen est, inquiunt, sine dubio repugnans ei virtus obscuritas est secundum rationem sensus, non ex alio quodam mutuata substantiam, sed est malitia sui genitrix, labes animarum, mortis effectrix, probitati contraria, quam et subsistere, et a Deo factam esse contendunt. Ex hoc igitur quod non impium et profanum dogma fingatur? Qui non lupi raptores, dilaniantes gregem Domini, ex hac voce sumentes exordium, simplicibus animabus obripiant? Hinc Marcionis et Valentini, et exsecrabilis Manichæorum secta manavit: quam putredinem quis Ecclesiarum nominans non peccabit? Quid longius a veritate secedis, o homo, causas ipse libi perditionis exquirens, cum sit sermo simplex et omnibus planus? Invisibilis, inquit, erat terra. Cur? quia videlicet superjecta illi fuerat abyssus. Abyssi autem qui est intellectus, aqua nimia infinitum habens profundum.","english":"And there were, he says, darkness upon the abyss. And again other occasions for fables, and for shameful fabrications, are given to those who twist the words of Scripture according to their own whim. For they do not interpret the darkness in the way it was born, that is, a certain dark air, or a place darkened by the interposition of some body; but they say it is an evil power, or rather malice itself having its beginning from itself, an adversary to the goodness of God, and they assert that this is the nature of darkness. For if God is light, they say, without doubt the power opposed to him is darkness according to the reckoning of sense, not borrowing its substance from some other source, but it is malice, its own begetter, the stain of souls, the producer of death, contrary to goodness, which they contend both subsists and was made by God. From this, then, what impious and profane dogma is fashioned? Who are these ravening wolves, tearing apart the flock of the Lord, taking their beginning from this utterance, who snatch away simple souls? From here the sect of Marcion and Valentinus, and the accursed sect of the Manichaeans, flowed forth: and who, naming this rottenness of the Churches, will not sin? Why do you withdraw further from the truth, O man, seeking for yourself the causes of perdition, when the word is simple and plain to all? The earth, he says, was invisible. Why? Because, evidently, the abyss had been spread over it. But what is the understanding of the abyss? Water exceedingly great, having infinite depth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":31,"ref":"p31","source":"Sed scimus, inquiunt, multa corpora etiam per aquam lucidam plerumque spectari. Quomodo ergo tunc nulla pars terræ per aquas ostendebatur? quoniam lumine carebat, et obscuratus erat adhuc superfusus aquis aer. Nam cum radii solis aquam penetraverint, calculos eos qui habentur in altum saepe prospicimus: quod certe nullo modo fieri nocte potest. Causa ergo ut esset terra invisibilis, superjectio fuit aquarum. Dicit enim abyssum fuisse, qui retardaret aspectum: et ipsa abyssus obscurata erat. Ergo nec abyssum contrariarum virtutum multitudinem, ut quidam falso disputant, nec tenebrarum principalem quamdam malignamque substantiam, bonitatique repugnautcm esse dicimus. Duo enim proposita sibi per contrarietatem, necesse est alternæ fore perniciosa substantiæ, jurgiaque sibi sempiterna parientia; ut pote mutuis inter se pugnandi contentionibus obligata. Quorum si unum superaverit, sine dubio contraria pars devicta consumitur. Quod si semper æquiparare malitiam bonitati voluerint; a incessabilem rebus conilictum corruptelamque subjicient, modo superantibus invicem se partibus, modo sibi cedentibus. Verum si maliliam a bonitate superari pronuntient, quæ ra1io est ut natura malitiæ non videatur funditus interiisse? Sin e autem, quod dicere nefas est, miror quomodo non fugiunt, tam sacrilegam blaspbemiam proferentes.","english":"But we know, they say, that many bodies are often seen even through clear water. How then was no part of the earth shown through the waters at that time? Because it lacked light, and the air poured over the waters was still darkened. For when the sun's rays have penetrated the water, we often see the pebbles that lie in the depth—which certainly can in no way happen at night. The cause, then, of the earth's being invisible was the overlaying of the waters. For he says that there was an abyss which hindered the view, and the abyss itself was darkened. Therefore we say that the abyss is neither a multitude of hostile powers, as some falsely argue, nor a certain principal and malignant substance of darkness that fights against goodness. For two things set against each other by contrariety must necessarily be destructive to each other's substance, and produce eternal quarrels between themselves, as being bound together in mutual struggles of fighting against one another. If one of these has prevailed, the opposing part is without doubt defeated and consumed. But if they wish malice always to be equal to goodness, they will subject things to an unceasing conflict and corruption, with the parts now overcoming one another, now yielding to one another. But if they declare that malice is overcome by goodness, what reason is there that the nature of malice should not seem to have been utterly destroyed? But if not—which it is impious to say—I wonder how they do not shrink from uttering such sacrilegious blasphemy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":32,"ref":"p32","source":"Sed nos malitiam nascendi principium a Deo non accepisse hac ratione firmamus, quia nihil eorumquæ sibi contraria sunt, potest sui quidpiam generare i dissimile. Neque enim vel ex vita mortis origo processit, vel tenebras constat a luce formatas, vel ex ægritudine sanitatem; sed in affectuum mutationibus semper ex contrariis ad contraria translationes efficiuntur. In nativiLatibus vero non ex contrariis, sed ex similibus res unaquæque succedit. Ergo, inquiunt, si neque genitales sunt tenebræ, neque ex Deo factæ, unde illis origo est? Nam quia sint malae, nullus audet repugnare vivorum. Quid ergo nos dicimus? Quia malum est non aliqua viva et animata substantia, sed affectus quidam virtuti contrarius, et a bonitate dejectus, et in pravissimorum mentibus collocatus.\n\nQuapropter nolo te malum extraneum arbitrari, nec idem principalem naturam nequitiae possidens opinari: sed suae quisque malitiæ se auctorem esse cognoscat. Eorum enim quae nobis eveniunt, alia sunt ex natura, id est senectus et laiguor, alia sponte succedunt, id est fortuiti casus, qui alienis a se plerumque negotiis incursantes vel lætitiam DObis afferunt, vel mœrorem, sicut puteum fodientibus occurrit thesauri latentis inventio; aut ad forum pergentibus fit obviam rabidi canis adventus.","english":"But we establish by this reasoning that evil did not receive its beginning of birth from God, because nothing of those things which are contrary to itself can generate anything unlike itself. For neither did the origin of death proceed from life, nor is it established that darkness was formed by light, nor health by sickness; but in the changes of affections, translations are always effected from contraries to contraries. In births, however, each thing succeeds not from contraries but from similars. Therefore, they say, if darkness is neither generative nor made by God, whence does it have its origin? For since it is evil, no one of the living dares to contradict this. What then do we say? That evil is not some living and animated substance, but a certain affection contrary to virtue, and cast down from goodness, and placed in the minds of the most depraved.\n\nWherefore I do not wish you to judge evil to be something external, nor to suppose it to possess a principal nature of wickedness; but let each one know himself to be the author of his own malice. For of those things which happen to us, some are from nature, that is, old age and sickness; others come about of their own accord, that is, chance occurrences, which, rushing in for the most part upon affairs alien to themselves, either bring joy to us or sorrow, as to those digging a well there occurs the discovery of a hidden treasure; or to those going to the marketplace there happens the arrival of a rabid dog.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":33,"ref":"p33","source":"Alia vero in nostra sunt potestate: sicut voluptatum frenare i cupidines, temperare libidines, iracundiam cohibere; vel instigantem vitare, vel veritatem sequi, vel odisse mendacium, mitem moribus esse vel asperum, humilem vel elatum. Quarum igitur rerum domini habemur, earum aliunde non mutuamur initia. Itaque recognosce quia quod proprie malum est, ex commissis arbitrii liberi capit exordium. Neque enim si malum ex necessitate descenderet, tantus peccantibus legum metus incumberet: aut judices supplicia criminosis digna statuerent. Hæc mihi dicta sint super eo quod proprie malum est. Ægritudinem vero vel egestatem, aut ignominiam, et alia quae solent moestificare mortales, a necdum in malorum censeo partem ponenda; quia nec eorum contrariæ causæ in maximis bonorum sedibus collocantur: quorum alia sunt naturalia, quæ plerumque nobis videntur uliliter evenire. Quapropter suspectam de moribus narrationem in presentia compescentes, considerationem potius tenebrarum simpliciter, ac sine ulla calliditate nostris mentibus attrahamus. Flagitat autem sermo scire nos, si tenebrae congeneratæ sunt mundo, etsi anteriores putandæ sunt esse quam lux. Quod si ita est, cur deterior res meliore habetur antiquior? Qnanquam asseramus has quoque tenebras non ex sui constare substantia, sed esse vitium quoddam in aere, subtracta luce confectum.","english":"But other things are in our power: for example, to restrain the desires of pleasures, to temper lusts, to curb anger; either to avoid what incites us, or to follow truth, or to hate falsehood, to be gentle in character or harsh, humble or exalted. Therefore, of the things whose masters we are held to be, we do not borrow the beginnings from elsewhere. So recognize that what is properly evil takes its beginning from the free choices of the will. For if evil descended from necessity, such great fear of the laws would not rest upon sinners, nor would judges decree punishments worthy of criminals. Let these things be said by me concerning what is properly evil. But sickness, or poverty, or disgrace, and other things which are accustomed to make mortals sorrowful, I judge are not yet to be placed in the category of evils, because neither are their contrary causes placed among the greatest seats of goods; some of these are natural, which for the most part seem to us to come about usefully. Therefore, restraining for the present the narrative concerning morals that is suspect, let us rather draw the consideration of darkness, simply and without any cunning, into our minds. But the discourse demands that we know whether darkness was begotten together with the world, even if it is to be thought to be earlier than light. But if this is so, why is the worse thing held to be older than the better? Although we assert that this darkness too does not consist of its own substance, but is a certain defect in the air, produced when light is withdrawn.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":34,"ref":"p34","source":"Et rursus quærendum est qua luce locus mundi repente privatus est. Arbitramur enim quia si fuit quidpiam, ante institutionem sensibilis hujus et corruptibilis mundi, profecto in luce fuit. Neque enim dignitas angelorum, nec omnium coelestium militiæ, vel si quid est nominatum, aut incompellabile, aut aliqua rationabilis virtus, vel ministralor spiritus, degere posset in tenebris, sed in luce, et lætitia decentem sibi habitum possidebat. De qua re neminem uto contradicturum. Quisquis ergo lumen illud quod super coelos est in bonorum promissionibus opperilur, de quo Salomon dicit: Lux justis semper (Prov. XIII, 9). Et Aposlolus: Gratias agentes Deo et Patri, qui nos fecit idoneos in portione sortis sanctorum in luce (Col. I, 12). Si enim damnati in tenebras ultimas abigantur, hi qui remunerationem pro dignis operibus præstolantur, in ea sine dubio luce, quæ est extra mundum, quietis domicilium sortientur. Igilur quia constat factum esse coelum præceptione Dei, subitoque distensum, ac familiari circum terram rotunditate conclusum, habens corpus spissum. et adeo validum, ut possit ea quae extrinsecus babentur ab interioribus separare; ob hoc necessario post se regionem rclictam, carentem luce constituit. ut pote fulgore qui desuper radiabat excluso. Tria enim simul oportet in umbra facienda concurrere, lucem, corpus, et obscuratum locum.","english":"And again it must be asked by what light the place of the world was suddenly deprived. For we judge that if there was anything at all before the establishment of this sensible and corruptible world, it was certainly in light. For neither the dignity of the angels, nor the whole heavenly host, nor whatever is named, or unutterable, or any rational power, or ministering spirit, could dwell in darkness, but in light and joy it possessed the dwelling fitting for itself. On this matter no one will contradict. Whoever therefore awaits that light which is above the heavens among the promises of good things, of which Solomon says: Light is for the righteous always (Prov. XIII, 9). And the Apostle: Giving thanks to God and the Father, who has made us fit for a portion of the lot of the saints in light (Col. I, 12). For if the damned are driven away into the outermost darkness, these who await recompense for worthy works will without doubt obtain the dwelling of rest in that light which is outside the world. Therefore, since it is established that heaven was made by the command of God, and suddenly stretched out, and enclosed by a familiar roundness around the earth, having a dense body and so strong that it can separate the things which are outside from those within; for this reason it necessarily established behind itself a region left behind, lacking light, since the splendor which radiated from above was shut out. For three things must concur at once for a shadow to be made: light, a body, and a darkened place.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":35,"ref":"p35","source":"Ergo mundanas tenebras, ex umbra coelesti corporis exstitisse sciendum est. Tu vero per exemplum manifestum adverte quæ dicimus. Si sub meridianis horis tabernaculum tibi quoddam ex materia densa nimis et opaca fundaveris, in spontaneis te ibidem tenebris collocabis. Tales ergo et illas tenebras esse opinare, non principaliter substitutas, sed processum secutas alterius. Has autem tenebras ferunt abysso superferri: quia extremitas aeris solita est conjungi corporum speciebus. Sed tunc aqua erat omnibus superjecta, propter quod necessario tenebras super abyssum fuisse relatum est.\n\nEt spiritus, inquit, Dei ferebatur super aquam. Sive diffusionem acris istius, spiritum dicit, percipe scriptorem portiones tibi mundi singulas enumerantem; nam fecisse Deum dicit cœlum et terram, aquam ct aerem, hunc liquidum atque diffusum; sive, quod verum magis existimo, et quod his qui ante nos fuere probatum est, SpiritUm Dei dicit, id est sanctum. Reservavit enim Scriptura, ut præcipuam hujus competenter mentionem nominis declararet: nullumque alium spiritum dictum debemus credere, nisi sanctum, qui beatae ac venerabilis Trinitatis expletor est, et hunc intellectum capiens, majus tibi subinde commodum conferri reperies. Quomodo ergo hic spiritus aquis superferebatur?","english":"Therefore it must be known that the worldly darkness came into being from the heavenly shadow of a body. But do you attend to what we say by means of a clear example. If at the midday hours you were to set up for yourself a certain tent made of very dense and opaque material, you will place yourself there in spontaneous darkness. Therefore judge that those darknesses are of such a kind, not established as primary, but following upon the advance of another. Moreover, they report that these darknesses were borne over the abyss: because the extremity of the air is accustomed to be joined to the appearances of bodies. But at that time water had been placed over all things, on which account it was necessarily reported that darkness was over the abyss.\n\nAnd the Spirit, he says, of God was borne over the water. Whether he calls the diffusion of this air the spirit—perceive the writer enumerating to you the individual portions of the world; for he says that God made heaven and earth, water and air, this latter fluid and diffused—or, what I consider more true, and what has been approved by those who came before us, he calls the Spirit of God, that is, the holy [Spirit]. For Scripture has reserved it, so that it might declare the preeminent mention of this name fittingly: and we ought to believe that no other spirit is called [spirit] except the holy one, who is the completer of the blessed and venerable Trinity, and grasping this understanding, you will find that a greater benefit is conferred upon you in turn. How, then, was this spirit borne over the waters?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":36,"ref":"p36","source":"dicam tibi non meum sermonem, sed viri cujusdam genere Syri, qui tantum aberat a sapientia sæculi quantum veræ do ctrinæ proximus habebatur. Dicebat CAim Syrorum vocem facundiorem esse, et propter Hebraicæ e linguæ cognationem, Scripturarum magis sermonibus indulsisse. Sensus itaque dicti illius hoc modo est: Superferebatur, inquit, Spiritus, hoc est fovebat et viviticabat aquarum naturam, ad similitudinem gallinae cubantis: vitalem virtutem his quæ fovebantur injiciens. Hujusmodi ergo ratio quod dixit superferebatur, sic interpretatur, id est ad vivificandam aquarum naturam compellebat. Ex quo suflicienter etiam illuJ quod a quibusdam valde requirilur, approbari potest: quia nec genitali potentia Spiritus sanctus caret.\n\ni. Et dixit Dcus, Fiat lux. Prima vox Dei naturam luminis fabricavit, ac tenebras dispulit, mœroremque dissolvit, et omnem subito lætam speciem jucundamque produxit. Polus tunc apparuit, qui erat interim celatus a Domino; tantaque ejus pulchritudo perclaruit, quantam nunc etiam testificatur aspectus. Aer autem illustrabatur ex ea luce quæ sibi erat admixta, acutamque penetrationem proprii fulgoris, ubique per omnes suos terminos intendebat.","english":"I will tell you not my own discourse, but that of a certain man by birth a Syrian, who was as far removed from the wisdom of this world as he was held to be near to true doctrine. He used to say that the Syriac tongue is more eloquent than the Hebrew, and that on account of its kinship with the Hebrew language it gave itself more readily to the words of the Scriptures. The sense, then, of his saying is as follows: \"The Spirit,\" he says, \"was borne over,\" that is, it cherished and gave life to the nature of the waters, after the likeness of a hen brooding: imparting vital power to the things that were being cherished. Therefore the account of this kind interprets what he said, \"was borne over,\" in this way, that is, it compelled the nature of the waters to give life. From this, moreover, that point which is greatly sought after by certain people can be sufficiently approved: that the Holy Spirit is not lacking in generative power.\n\n1. And God said, Let there be light. The first utterance of God fashioned the nature of light, and drove away the darkness, and dissolved gloom, and suddenly brought forth every glad and pleasant appearance. Then the sky appeared, which had in the meantime been hidden by the Lord; and its beauty shone forth as great as even now sight bears witness to. But the air was illuminated by that light which was mingled with it, and it extended the keen penetration of its own brightness everywhere throughout all its bounds.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":37,"ref":"p37","source":"Sursum enim ætheri erat coeloque vicinus; latitudine autem boreales simul et australes, eoasque partes, necnon et occiduas contingebat, quippe cujus natura lucida est atque perspicua, propter quod nullas moras aut tempora lux per eum commeans sustinebat. Sicut' enim obtutus nostros, sine ullo momento temporis, aer mox ad ea dirigit quae videntur; ita lucis accessum velociter, et omni celeritale perceptum, per omnes fines suæ complexionis infudit. Æther quoque venustius a illuminatum efficitur, et aquæ splendidiores apparent, non solum quia lucis candore lustrantur, sed etiam repercussione ejus emicantes, clariorem reddunt aeris effiglem. Ita omnia vox divina, grata et honesta constituit. Nam sicut hi qui olei aspergine perspicuum sibi profundum maris efficiunt, sic rerum conditor Deus sui oris amatu, jucunditatem lucis, mundo repente constituit. Fiat lux, dixit Deus: confestimque præceptio fuit opus, et facta natura est, quia nihil voluptuosius in fruendo cogitationem poterit subire mortalium. Sed et si. quando vocem sermonemque, vel preceptionem Dei dicimus, debes advertere non intentione motuque corporis vocem reddentis sonum quempiam destinari, nec aerem lingua e verberatum, esse Dei sermonem: sed voluntatis suae momentum, quoniam propter eos qui docentur utilius esse censemus, speciatim figurare praeceptum. Et vidit Deus quia lux bona.","english":"For it was above, near to the ether and the heaven; but in breadth it reached both the northern and southern regions, and the eastern parts as well as the western, since its nature is bright and clear, on account of which the light passing through it endured no delays or periods of time. For just as the air, without any moment of time, directs our eyes at once to the things that are seen, so it poured out the approach of light swiftly, and perceived with all speed, through all the bounds of its composition. The ether too is made more beautifully illumined by it, and the waters appear more splendid, not only because they are washed by the brightness of the light, but also, gleaming by its reflection, they render the appearance of the air clearer. Thus the divine word established all things, pleasing and honorable. For just as those who by sprinkling oil make the deep of the sea clear to themselves, so God, the creator of things, by the love of his mouth, suddenly established for the world the sweetness of light. God said, Let there be light: and immediately the command was a work, and nature was made, because nothing more delightful in enjoyment could enter the thought of mortals. But even if at some time we speak of the voice, the speech, or the command of God, you ought to notice that it is not by the intention or motion of a body producing a sound that any sound is assigned as the word of God, nor is the word of God air struck by the tongue; but it is the impulse of his will, since for the sake of those who are taught we judge it more useful to represent the command in a specific figure. And God saw that the light was good.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":38,"ref":"p38","source":"Quibus igitur lucem celebrare nos poterimus laudibus, cum tale de sua bonitate testimonium a Conditore meruerit? Licet divina verba nostros paria oculos de illa judicare compellant, nam sermo non sufficit explicare quantum seDsus aciei praeveniens attestatur. Si enim pulchritudo corporta ex a membris inter se rite compositis, et ex coloris venustate formatur, quomodo lucem cujus natura simplex est, sibique per omnia similis, plena prædicatione quod bona sit, possumus explicare? Ita enim et aurum bonum dicimus, non quia bene operatum est, sed quia coloris sui magna nobis oblectamenta largitur. Similiter etiam stella quæ vocitatur Antifer, omnium siderum pulcherrima nominatur, e non propter eximiam compaginationem membrorum, quæ nulla sunt ei, sed quia lætum alacremque fulgorem nostris impendit obtutibus. Hujusmodi ergo Dei testimonium, non ad hoc solum respicit quod per se lux bona est et jueunda cernentibus, sed etiam propter utilitatem quae postmodam ex ea fuit collata mortalibus, bonam dixit. Et separavit Deus inter lucem et tenebras, id est incommixtam naturam illarum, sibique ex contrarietate disparem fabricavit; quippe quas prolixis a se spatiis et destituit et discrevit, sicut dictum est: Et vocarit Deus lucem diem, et tenebras vocavit noctem.","english":"With what praises, then, shall we be able to celebrate the light, since it has deserved such a testimony to its goodness from the Creator? Granted that the divine words compel our eyes to judge likewise concerning it, for speech does not suffice to explain how much the keenness of our sense, anticipating it, attests. For if the beauty of a body is formed from its members duly composed among themselves, and from the loveliness of color, how can we explain the light, whose nature is simple and in all things like itself, with full proclamation that it is good? For thus we also call gold good, not because it has been well worked, but because it bestows on us great delights of its color. Similarly also the star that is called Antifer is named the most beautiful of all the stars, not on account of any excellent composition of members, which it has none of, but because it pours forth a glad and lively splendor upon our gaze. A testimony of God of this kind, therefore, looks not only to this, that light is good in itself and pleasant to those who behold it, but also on account of the usefulness that was afterward conferred on mortals from it, he said it was good. And God separated between the light and the darkness, that is, their unmingled nature, and made them unlike each other by their contrariety; for he both set them apart from each other by long distances and distinguished them, as it is said: And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":39,"ref":"p39","source":"Nunc quidem post solis creationem dies appellatur, id est aer sole illustratus, cum in hemisphærio quod supra terram est commoratur; nox autem dicitur terrae obumbratio, quæ sole in occasu condito gencratur, tunc autem non solum corporis motu, sed diffusione principalis luminis, modo se subducentis, modo denuo reducentis, secundum divinam praeceptionem dies fiebat, noxque sequebatur. Et tacta esi vespera, et factum est mane dies unus. Vesperæ igitur nuncupatio, communiter intelligenda est. Nam et incipiente die, et ad occasum vergente, nox ei sua vicinitate contigua est: verumtamen ul nativitatis diurnæ privilegia reservaret, dixit primo vesperam, dicens quia nox diem comitatur. Nam antequam lux crearetur, nox non habebatur in mundo, sed tenebrae. Obumbratio ergo terræ quam supra diximus intercidens diem nox appellata est: et ideo novo nomine post generationem vocitata est: Facta est itaque vespera, et factum est mane: non dixit dies atque nox, sed vespera et mane, ut vocabuli videlicet dignitatem parti meliori tribueret. Nam dies æque vesperam maneque contingit, et hanc consuetudinem reperies ubique custodire Scripturam in temporibus numerandis. Dicimus enim tot dies elapsos esse, nullam facientes noctium mentionem, sicut psalmus docet: Dies annorum nostrorum (Psal. LXXXIX, 10). Et iterum Jacob: Dies vitæ meæ breves et mali (Gen. XLVII, 9).","english":"Now indeed, after the creation of the sun, that is called day which is air illuminated by the sun, when it abides in the hemisphere that is above the earth; and night is called the overshadowing of the earth, which is generated when the sun is set in its going down. But then day was made not only by the motion of a body, but by the diffusion of the principal light, now withdrawing itself, now again bringing itself back, according to the divine command, and night followed. And evening was touched, and morning was made, one day. Therefore the naming of evening is to be understood in a common sense. For both when the day is beginning and when it is verging toward its setting, night is contiguous to it by its own nearness; yet so as to preserve the privileges of the day's nativity, he spoke of evening first, saying that night accompanies day. For before the light was created, night was not reckoned in the world, but darkness. Therefore the overshadowing of the earth, which we mentioned above, intervening, was called night in place of day; and therefore after its generation it was named by a new name. And so evening was made, and morning was made: he did not say day and night, but evening and morning, so that he might assign the dignity of the name, evidently, to the better part. For day equally touches evening and morning, and you will find Scripture everywhere observing this custom in reckoning times. For we say that so many days have elapsed, making no mention of nights, as the psalm teaches: The days of our years (Ps. 89:10). And again Jacob: The days of my life are few and evil (Gen. 47:9).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":40,"ref":"p40","source":"Et alibi: Omnes dies vitæ mece (Psal. XXII, 6). Ergo quæ tunc historiæ causa relata sunt, pro legibus in posterum valitura scriptor instituit. Et fuit vespera, et fuit mane dies unus, Quamobrem non dixit, primus, sed unus? Et certe consequentius fuerat ei, qui dicturus erat de secundo et tertio, et quarto, primum diem potius appellare quam unum. Sed hoc dixit, aut mensuram diei simul noctisque definiens, et tempus a utriusque conjungens: ut viginti quatuor horæ unius spatium diei viderentur efficere, subaudientibus videlicet nobis, qnia nuncupatione dici, nox quoque debet intelligi. Unde, etiamsi unum ex his fieri longiorem, solstitiali immutatione contigerit, præfinitum tamen tempus horarum utriusque complectitur intervalla, tanquam si dixeris viginti quatuor horas ad mensuram unius diei pertinere: vel unum forsitan dixit, ob hoc, quia in coelo de certis signis in eadem iterum sub uno die processio solis et reversio celebratur. Ita quoties vespera vel mane, secundum solis circuitum, terrarum orbem complectitur, non ampliore tempore quam unius diei spatio, propria solet curricula definire.","english":"And elsewhere: All the days of my life. Therefore the things that were then related for the sake of history, the writer established to be valid as laws for the future. And there was evening, and there was morning, one day. For what reason did he not say \"first,\" but \"one\"? And certainly it would have been more consistent for him, who was going to speak of the second and third and fourth, to call it the first day rather than one. But he said this either defining the measure of the day together with the night, and joining the time from both, so that twenty-four hours would be seen to make up the span of one day—we, of course, understanding by implication that by the naming of day the night also ought to be understood. Whence, even if by solstitial change it should happen that one of these becomes longer, nevertheless the pre-established time of hours embraces the intervals of both, as if you were to say that twenty-four hours belong to the measure of one day; or perhaps he said \"one\" for this reason, that in heaven, from certain signs, the procession and return of the sun is celebrated again within the same one day. Thus, as often as evening or morning, according to the circuit of the sun, encompasses the orb of the earth, it is accustomed to define its own courses in no greater a time than the space of one day.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":41,"ref":"p41","source":"Vel sicut secretior tradit ratio, Deus cum naturam temporis procrearet, et mensuram ci signaque certa ex dierum constituit intervallis: et per septimanam numerari voluit, eamque semper in semetipsam converti præcepit, motum temporis metientem, rursusque septimanam suppleri jussit unius diei spatio, quæ septies in semetipsa reflectitur. Hac enim ratio est volubilium schematum, ut a se incipienlia semper in semetipsa ferantur. Quod etiam saeculorum proprium est, quæ per sua se incessanter vestigia revolvendo, terminum nulla ratione percipiunt. Propterea verticem temporis non primum, sed unum nuncupavit diem: ut ex ipsa nuncupatione cum saeculo sibi servaretur affinitas. Rerum enim simplicium, nihilque commune enm aliis habentium, specimen indicans, congrue penitus et dccenter nominatus est unus. Et quamvis multa sæcula nobis Scriptura declaret dicens sæculorum esse sæcula, tamen cec ibi primum, aut secundum, aut tertiam saeculum numeratur. Unde causarum potius diversarum actuumque differentias, et non sæculorum circuitus et successiones ac tines datur intelligi. Dies enim, inquit, Domini magnus et lucidus (Joel. n, 11). Et alibi: Quid vobis quærere diem Domini? Qui tamen tenebras habet, non lucem (Amos v, i8). Sed tenebras eas dixit quae deputatx sunt sibi dignis.","english":"Or, as a more profound account teaches, when God created the nature of time and established for it a measure and fixed signs from the intervals of days, he willed that it be counted by the week, and commanded that it always turn back upon itself, measuring the motion of time; and again he ordered that the week be made complete by the space of one day, which is reflected seven times upon itself. For this is the nature of revolving figures, that beginning from themselves they are always carried back into themselves. This is also proper to the ages, which by ceaselessly rolling through their own traces receive no end by any reckoning. For this reason he called the summit of time not \"the first\" but \"one\" day, so that from that very naming an affinity with the age might be preserved for it. For indicating the model of simple things, which have nothing in common with others, it is wholly fittingly and properly called \"one.\" And although Scripture declares many ages to us, saying that there are ages of ages, yet there neither a first, nor a second, nor a third age is numbered. Hence we are given to understand the differences of diverse causes and acts, and not the circuits and successions and ends of ages. For the day of the Lord, it says, is great and bright. And elsewhere: Why do you seek the day of the Lord? Yet it has darkness, not light. But he called those darknesses which are appointed for those who are worthy of them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":42,"ref":"p42","source":"Nam inocciduum et sempiternum diem illum sermo testatur, quem etiam octavum psalmus appellat: quippe qui extra tempus habetur. Sive ergo diem, sive sæculum, sive septimum dixeris, ex eodem trahitur intellectu, singulariter et non multipliciter declaratur. Itaque ut ad futuram vitam nostra cogitala dirigeret, diem principalem, qui est imago sæculorum, unum non immerito vocitavit, ut pole lumini æquævum. Dico autem sanctum Dominicum qui resurrectione glorificatus est Salvatoris. Et hoc est quod dixit: Facta est vespera, et factum est mane dies unus. Sed vesperæ quidem illius narratio occupata, præsenti vespera modum cursui nostræ disputationis imponit. Pater autem verae lucis, qui dicm coelesti lumine decoravit, et noctem ignis radiis clarefecit, qui venturi sæculi requiem merentibus præparavit, corda vestra perlustret agnitione veritatis, et intemeratam custodiat vitam vestram, præstans vobis honeste ambulare, quatenus fulgeatis ut sol in claritudine sanctorum suorum, ad exsultationem meam in diem Domini, cui gloria et honor, nunc et semper et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.","english":"For the word testifies that that day is without setting and everlasting, which the psalm also calls the eighth: since it is held outside of time. Therefore whether you call it a day, or an age, or the seventh, it is drawn from the same understanding, and is declared singularly and not in multiplicity. And so, in order to direct our thoughts toward the future life, he rightly called that principal day, which is the image of the ages, one, as being coeval with the light. I mean the holy Lord's day, which was glorified by the Savior's resurrection. And this is what he said: There was evening, and there was morning, one day. But the account of that evening, having been occupied, imposes a limit on the course of our disputation with the present evening. But the Father of true light, who adorned the day with heavenly light, and made the night bright with rays of fire, who prepared the rest of the age to come for those who are worthy, may he illuminate your hearts with the knowledge of the truth, and keep your life undefiled, granting you to walk honorably, so that you may shine like the sun in the brightness of his saints, to my exultation on the day of the Lord, to whom be glory and honor, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":43,"ref":"p43","source":"LIBER TERTIUS.\n\ni. Primae diei opera, vel potius unius, neque enim fas est ei nos detrahere dignitatem quam a Conditore promeruit, cum per se singulariter ederetur, nullatenus aliarum connumerata curriculis, a cum omnia quae in ea facta sunt, heri noster sermo disseruit. Et hæc passim dividens, alimoniam matutinam, vespertinamque lætitiam præstitit animis auditorum; nunc autem ad miracula secundi diei properamus. Hoc autem commemorans, non in referentis potentia colloco quæ dicuntur, sed in Scripturæ gratia, quae naturalitcr possidens intelligendi facilitatem, illis amorem suum cordibus inspiravit, qui persuasioni superfluae anteferunt veritatem; sicut et psalmus veri suavitatem demonstrans, ita dicit: Dulcia faucibus meis verba tua, super mel ori meo (Paul. CXVIII, 103). Heri itaque, quantum possibile fuit, erga verba Domini commorantes vestros sensus delectatione replevimus. In hodiernumque diem festinanter occurrimus, sequentium rerum miracula spectaturi. Verumtamen minime latere nos potuit, quia multi opifices labore suarum manuum victitantes, circumstant nos, et admonent ut narrationem propositam brevitate stringamus, ne diutius extrahantur ab opere. Quibus hoc respondeo, quia pars modica temporis fenerata D o, non solum ipsa non deperit, sed cum magnis ab co rependitur incrementis.","english":"BOOK THREE.\n\ni. The works of the first day—or rather of the one day, for it is not right that we detract from it the dignity it merited from the Creator, since it was brought forth by itself uniquely, in no way counted among the courses of the other days—our discourse of yesterday set forth, together with all things that were made in it. And dividing these things as they came, it provided morning nourishment and evening gladness to the minds of the hearers; but now we hasten to the wonders of the second day. In recalling this, however, I do not place what is said in the power of the speaker, but in the grace of Scripture, which naturally possessing ease of understanding, inspired its love in those hearts which prefer truth to superfluous persuasion; just as the psalm also, showing the sweetness of truth, says: Your words are sweet to my throat, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Yesterday, therefore, as far as was possible, lingering over the words of the Lord, we filled your senses with delight. And to today we run eagerly, about to behold the wonders of the things that follow. Yet it could not escape us at all that many craftsmen, living by the labor of their own hands, stand around us and admonish us to compress the proposed narration with brevity, lest they be drawn away from their work too long. To them I reply that a small portion of time lent to God not only does not itself perish, but is repaid by him with great increase.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":44,"ref":"p44","source":"Omnes enim res quæ occupationum causas efficiunt, Dominus omnipotens opportune scilicet tribuens corporibus fortitudinem, animisque lætitiam, nec non facultatem negotiis peragendis, si tamen nos sæcularibus praeponenda spiritalia censeamus. Quod si forsitan in praesenti vita, remunerationem bene gestorum recipere non potuerimus, futuris tamen saeculis, copiosos sine dubio thesauros sortiemur. Quapropter obsecro vos ut omnes cogitationes mundanas de vestris mentibus excludatis, et penitus mihi vos integros præbeatis. Neque enim ullum commodum capiet præsentia corporalis; cum mens curis implicata terrestribus, creditur a absentare.\n\nEt dixit Deus: Fiat firmamentum; et ait separans inter aquam et aquam. Jam quidem hesterno die audivinus verba Domini dicentis: Fiat lux, hodie, Fiat firmamentum. Plus tamen quiddam videntur habere praesentia. Neque enim verbum in nudo praecepto remansit, sed causa per quam quæritur iirmamenti productio apertius declaratur; id est, ut dividat inter aquam et aquam.","english":"For all things that produce the causes of occupations, the Lord Almighty supplies in due season strength to bodies and gladness to souls, and also the ability to accomplish affairs, if only we judge spiritual things to be preferable to worldly ones. But if perhaps in the present life we have not been able to receive the reward of things well done, yet in future ages we shall without doubt obtain abundant treasures. Wherefore I beseech you that you exclude all worldly thoughts from your minds, and present yourselves to me wholly and entirely. For the present bodily state will gain no advantage, since the mind, entangled in earthly cares, is believed to be absent.\n\nAnd God said: Let there be a firmament; and it said, dividing between the water and the water. Yesterday indeed we heard the words of the Lord saying: Let there be light; today, Let there be a firmament. Yet the present words seem to have something more. For the word did not remain in a bare command, but the cause for which the production of the firmament is sought is declared more openly; that is, that it divide between the water and the water.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":45,"ref":"p45","source":"Primo quidem reputemus, discutientes quomodo Deus alloquitur, nostro ne, id est hominum more, qui prius futurae rei formam concipimus intellectu; deinde ex subjectis congruas et familiares unicuique significationes colligentes exprimimus, et post hoc ministeriis vocalium officiorum cogilata manifestantes, per aeris crepitum et articulali sermonis obsequium, publicamus sensum corde conceptum. Et quomodo non insanire dicendus est qui Deum talibus officiis indigere pronuntiat ad explananda quæ cogitat; cum magis pium sit asserere, quia voluntas divina, et prior impetus mentis ejus, Verbum est Dei? Quod ideo in specie quadam Scriptura figuravit, utostenderet quia non solum fieri voluit creaturam, sed etiam e aliquo cooperante perfecit. Poterat enim sicut ex initio de omnibus historicus, et modo referre, quia in principio fecit Deus cœlum, deinde fecit lucem, et postea firmamentum: nunc autem Deum jubentem et loquentem videtur inducere, nullo nos impediens fascino quominus vestigiis indiciisque perducti, ad contemplationem ejus qui est ineffabilis veniamus. Quae enim labore quaesita sunt, et jocunde percipiuntur, et diligentissime conservantur. Nam quorum facilis habetur adeptio, eorum sine dubio fastidiosa possessio est, propterea nos tramitem veræ rationis ingressos, ad explorandum dirigit Unigenitum.","english":"First, indeed, let us consider, as we examine how God speaks—whether in our manner, that is, the manner of men, who first conceive in the intellect the form of a thing to come; then, gathering from the things at hand fitting and familiar significations for each, we express them; and after this, making known our thoughts through the services of vocal functions, through the vibration of the air and the compliance of articulate speech, we publish abroad the sense conceived in the heart. And how is he not to be called insane who declares that God needs such functions to explain what he thinks, when it is rather pious to assert that the divine will, and the first impulse of his mind, is the Word of God? This Scripture has therefore figured in a certain form, to show that he not only willed the creature to be made, but also brought it to completion with some cooperation. For he could, as from the beginning, have reported historically concerning all things, that in the beginning God made heaven, then made light, and afterward the firmament; but now he seems to introduce God as commanding and speaking, hindering us by no illusion from coming, led by traces and indications, to the contemplation of him who is ineffable. For things sought with labor are both perceived with delight and preserved with the greatest care. For those whose attainment is easy are undoubtedly possessed with distaste; therefore he directs us, having entered the path of true reason, to the Unbegotten for exploration.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":46,"ref":"p46","source":"Et certe vocifero senuone non erat opus incorporeae naturae, cum e destinatio cogitationis cooperantem latere non posset, quippe quibus consiliorum societas, ex ipsa potestate suppedilate Nam vox propter auditum necessaria est, et auditus propter vocem. Ubi vero nec aer est, nec lingua, nec aures, nec tactus asperior, ad sensum capitis repercussum sonitum perducendo, ibi nec sermo necessarius est, sed ex ipsa, ut ita dixerim, cardinali cogitatione fit participatio voluntatis. Sicul ergo prædiximus, ut mens nostra consurgeret ad inquisitionem vultus ejus de quo agimus, prudenter et optime schema hujusmodi elocutionis assumpsit.\n\nSecundo loco quaerendum est si aliud præter id quod initio factum est coelum, firmamentum fuit, quod tamen et ipsum cælum vocitatur; vel si certe duo coeli sunt, quanquam philosophi de coelo disputantes tolerabilius acquiescent linguas suas truncandas exponere, quam ut duos coelos esse concedant. Unum enim asserunt coelum, cujus naturam minime pati confirmant, ut secundum vel tertium adjiciatur ei, quoniam, inquiunt, tota coeli substantia in unius conformatione consumpta est. Singulare namque ferunt corpus esse vertibile, certoque ambitu circumseptum, quod quia in primi coeli creatione profecit, nihil reliqui esse ad secundi vel tertii compositionem.","english":"And indeed, the incorporeal nature had no need of a spoken voice, since the purpose of thought could not lie hidden from those who shared in counsel, supplied as it were from the very power itself. For speech is necessary on account of hearing, and hearing on account of speech. But where there is neither air, nor tongue, nor ears, nor a touch harsher than needed to carry the sound back to the sense of the head, there speech is not necessary either; rather, from the very thought itself, so to speak, as from a cardinal point, the sharing of the will takes place. Therefore, as we said before, in order that our mind might rise to the seeking of his face of whom we speak, he wisely and excellently assumed this kind of form of expression.\n\nIn the second place it must be asked whether, besides that heaven which was made in the beginning, there was a firmament, which is itself also called heaven; or whether there are certainly two heavens—although the philosophers who dispute about heaven would more tolerably consent to have their tongues cut off than to concede that there are two heavens. For they assert that there is one heaven, whose nature they affirm by no means permits a second or a third to be added to it, since, they say, the whole substance of heaven was consumed in the forming of one. For they declare that there is a single body that is turned, and enclosed by a fixed circuit; and because it was brought forth in the creation of the first heaven, nothing remains for the composition of a second or a third.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":47,"ref":"p47","source":"Sed haec dicentes materiam quamdam ingenitam Conditori opinantur habitam, ex prima fabulositate sequentium mendacia contexentes. Nos autem rogamus Graecorum philosophos, non antea nostra reprehendere, quam inter se valeant ipsi tenere concordiam. Nonnulli enim ex his infinitos esse coelos asserunt, et mundos innumerabiles: quorum quando malesuadam professionem superaverint acriores, probationibus quibusdam ex geometriae necessitate collectis, rursus affirmare se putant, eo quod natura non ferat, ut aliod coelum praeter unum generari potuerit. i Sed eos tunc magis nos risu dignos dicimus, maxime quia videntur sæpe quoque in aqua fieri plurimi, unde dubitandum non est de multitudine caelorum, et quod vivida creatrix omnium virtus, in eorum constructione suffecerit, quorum fortitudinem et magnitudinem, si Dei potentiam contemplati fuerimus, non arbitrabimur discrepare a fluxu liquoris, qui cum in vacua vasa diffunditur, quibusdam interdum reflationibus intumescit. Ergo risibilis eorum penitus propositio est, de omnipotentis impossibilitate certantium. Nos autem tantum absumus secundo coelo discredere: quia et tertium profitemur, cujus beatissimus Paulus non est fraudatus aspectu (II Cor. XII, 2). Nam psalmus nominans coelorum coelos etiam plurimorum nobis subjicit intellectum.","english":"But in saying these things they suppose that a certain unbegotten matter was available to the Creator, weaving the lies of those who followed out of the first fable. But we ask the philosophers of the Greeks not to censure our teachings before they themselves are able to hold agreement among themselves. For some of them assert that the heavens are infinite and the worlds innumerable; when the keener among them have overcome that mischievous profession, having gathered certain proofs from the necessity of geometry, they think they can affirm again that nature does not allow another heaven besides one to be generated. But we say that they are then especially worthy of our laughter, chiefly because they often appear to claim that many are also made in water, from which one must not doubt the multitude of heavens, and that the living power, the creatress of all things, sufficed for their construction—whose strength and magnitude, if we contemplate the power of God, we shall not judge to differ from the flow of a liquid which, when poured into empty vessels, sometimes swells up with certain refillings. Therefore their proposition is altogether laughable, as they contend about the impossibility of the Almighty. But we are so far from disbelieving in a second heaven that we also profess a third, whose most blessed Paul was not deprived of the sight (2 Cor 12:2). For the psalm, naming the heavens of heavens, also suggests to us the understanding of many.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":48,"ref":"p48","source":"Nec tamen admirabilior ista quaestio, septem illis a orbibus videtur, secundum quos ferri septem stellae, consonanter ab omnibus praedicantur: quos etiam reconditos in se dicunt, exemplo cadorum uno super alium commissorum, et eos contrariis adversus se motibus impulsos, et acuta cum gravibus temperantes, concentum quemdam et harmoniæ melos reddere dulce contirmant. Cujus rei assertores, cum fidem dictorum suorum ratione communis sensus approbare cogantur, hoc dicuut quia per veterem consuetudinem intenti auribus, erga crepitum illum qui ex prima nativitate resonuit, usu quotidiano, oppletarum aurium sensus obsurduit, atque ideo minus harmoniam possumus auscultare, sicut in onicina fabrili, assiduis ictibus operantium contusus hebescit auditus. Verum has sæculariorum « meditatas astutias illis tractare permittentes, nos ad sermonem redeamus Ecclesiæ. Dictum est itaque a præcessoribus nostris, non esse hanc secundi coeli creationem, sed prioris expositionem. Ibi enim carptim Scriptura retulit coeli terraeque facturam; hic curiosius rationem tradidit nobis, qua unumquodque confectum sit elementum. Nos autem dicimus quia quando et nomen aliud, et usus proprius est in secundo, aliud esse necessario illud * quod primo factum est coelum habens naturam validiorem, quæ praestat rebus omnibus utilitatem præcipuam.","english":"Nor is that question more admirable, as it seems to those seven circles according to which the seven stars are said to be borne in harmony by all: which they also say are hidden within themselves, after the example of the falls joined one upon another, and driven by contrary motions against one another, and tempering sharp with heavy, they affirm that they give back a certain concord and a sweet melody of harmony. The asserters of this matter, when they are compelled to approve the faith of their sayings by the reasoning of common sense, say this: that we, intent with ears through old custom toward that creaking which resounded from our first birth, by daily use, the sense of our ears being filled has grown deaf, and therefore we are less able to listen to the harmony, just as in a craftsman's workshop the hearing grows dull and blunted by the constant blows of the workers. But permitting the worldly to treat these studied subtleties, let us return to the discourse of the Church. It has therefore been said by our predecessors that this is not the creation of the second heaven, but the exposition of the first. For there Scripture reported in brief the making of heaven and earth; here it handed down to us more curiously the reason by which each element was made. But we say that since both the name is different and the use is proper in the second, that heaven which was made first must necessarily be different, having a stronger nature, which provides the chief benefit to all things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":49,"ref":"p49","source":"Et dixit Deus: Fiat firmamentum, et sit dividens inter aquam et aquam. Igitur antequam radicem eorum quae scripta sunt attingamus, experiamur ea quae nobis objicienda putamus ab aliis improbare. Sciscitantur namque nos, proponentes, si sphæræ simile habetur firmamenti corpus, sicut visio ipsa testatur, quomodo fluitans aqua, semperque ad iureriora delubricans, potcrat in globositate curvati firmamenti consistere? Quid respondemus? quia non omnimodis, quod videtur nobis suspicienlibus intrinsecus esse volubile, hoc etiam extrinsecus in sphaerae similitudinem creditur esse formatum. Siquidem lavacrorum marmoreas videmus cameras, interius quidem semirotundo schemate fabricatas, in fastigiis vero suis habere planitiem. Cessent ergo super hoc nobis calumniam generare, jactantes quod aqua non possit in superioribus partibus contineri. Reliquum est ut dicatur quae natura sit firmamenti, et cujus rei gratia intercedere statuta est aquis. Solemne igitur Scripturæ est in causis virtute præstantibus, hæc proferre, velut si dicatur: Dominus firmamentum meum et refugium meum (Psal. XVII, 3). Et alibi: Ego firmavi columnas ejus (Paal. LXXIV, 4). Et: Laudate eum in firmamento potentiæ suæ (Psal. CL, i).","english":"And God said: Let there be a firmament, and let it be dividing between water and water. Therefore, before we touch the root of those things which have been written, let us test whether we can refute those things which we think are to be objected to us by others. For they question us, proposing: if the body of the firmament is held to be like a sphere, as the vision itself testifies, how could flowing water, ever slipping down to the lower parts, have stood upon the globosity of the curved firmament? What do we answer? That it is not in every respect the case that what seems to us, who suspect it to be revolving within, is also believed to have been formed on the outside in the likeness of a sphere. For we see marble vaults of baths, fashioned within indeed in a half-rounded form, but at their peaks having a flat surface. Let them therefore cease to generate calumny against us on this point, boasting that water cannot be contained in the upper parts. It remains that it be said what the nature of the firmament is, and for the sake of what thing it was established to intervene between the waters. It is therefore customary for Scripture, in causes excelling in virtue, to bring forth these things, as if it were said: The Lord is my firmament and my refuge. And elsewhere: I have strengthened its columns. And: Praise him in the firmament of his power.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":50,"ref":"p50","source":"Et sæculares quidem firmum corpus dicunt, quasi condensatum; et referunt quod ad distinctionem mathematici corporis indicatur; aliud est enim mathematicum, et aliud quod intervallorum prolixitate subsistit, id est, in altitudine et latitudine distensum. Quod autem firmum est, cum sit disjunctum spatiis, etiam duritam possidct. Sed Scriptura consuevit illud corpus quod est validum nimis et solidum vocare firmamentum, sicut et aerem craFsum et concretum eodem solet sæpius appellare vocabulo, cum dicit: Qui firmavit tonitruum (Amos iv, 13). Spissitudinis enim duritiem, quia spiritus conceptus in nubibus violenterque proruptus efficit sonum tonitrualem, firmationem tonationis appellat. i Unde nunc quoque arbitramur in aliqua firmissima natura, meatum aquarum lubricationemque consistere, et contentam vocis hujus repagulo sustineri, quoniam de aquarum communium editione nativitatem creditur habuisse, vel certe humori coagulato similem esse convenit æstimare: aut ejusmodi alicui materiæ, quæ ex diffusione liquoris sumpsit originem, qualis est lapidis natura crystallini, quem ferunt ex aquarum concretione generari.","english":"And the secular writers indeed call a firm body, as it were condensed; and they refer to what is indicated for the distinction of a mathematical body; for one thing is mathematical, and another which subsists by the extent of intervals, that is, stretched out in height and breadth. But what is firm, since it is separated by spaces, also possesses hardness. But Scripture is accustomed to call that body which is exceedingly strong and solid the firmament, just as it also frequently calls the thick and condensed air by the same word, when it says: Who made firm the thunder (Amos 4:13). For because the spirit conceived in the clouds and violently burst forth produces the sound of thunder, it calls the hardness of thickness the firming of the thunder. Hence now too we judge that in some most firm nature the passage and smooth flowing of waters consist, and are held contained by the barrier of this word, since it is believed to have received its origin from the issuing of common waters, or certainly it is fitting to judge that it is similar to a coagulated liquid: or to some matter of this kind, which took its origin from the diffusion of a liquid, such as is the nature of crystal stone, which they report is generated from the concretion of waters.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":51,"ref":"p51","source":"Lapis vero qui proprie lucidam possidet perspicuitatem, et qui secundum suam naturam fuerit sincerus inventus, nec alicujus putretlinis admixtione i fœdatus, nec fundus rimis aliquibus fixus est, aeri similis habetur in colore; sed nulli eorum conferre nos fas est firmamentum. Puerilis enim revcra et insipientis e mentis, talem capere de coelestibus opinionem. Sed neque si omnia in omnibus sunt, id est, ignis in terra, aer in aqua, in aliis alia, nec quia eorum elementorum quae nostris sensibus subjiciuntur, nihil sociale habetur, yel mediarum, vel contrariarum communione causarum: oh hoc etiam arbitrari debemus, firmamentum, aut unum ex simplicibus esse, aut quod ex eis processit esse promiscuum, cum manifeste nobis Scriptura præcipiat nihil sensui nostro licere amplius quam concessum est opinari. Nec illud nos, quæso, prætereat indiscussum, quod postquam Deus præcepit. dicens: Fiat firmamentum, non sine ratione a adjecit historicus: Et factum est firmamentum. Nam ante fecit Deus firmamentum. Et iterum: Divisit Deus. Auscultent igitur surdi, et illuminentur ad videndum acci. Quis autem tam surdus est, quam qui non audit ita palam vociferantem Scripturam? vel quis tam cacus, nisi qui evidentibus documentis instructus gloriam Unigeniti non respectat? Et dixit Deus: Fiat firmamentum. Hæc vox destinationis indicat causam.","english":"But the stone which properly possesses lucid transparency, and which is found pure according to its nature, neither defiled by the admixture of any rottenness, nor is its base fixed with any cracks, is considered similar to air in color; but it is not lawful for us to compare the firmament to any of these. For truly it is the mark of a childish and foolish mind to hold such an opinion about heavenly things. But neither, if all things are in all things—that is, fire in earth, air in water, and other things in others—nor because of those elements which are subject to our senses, nothing is held to be social, whether by communion of intermediate or of contrary causes: for this reason also we ought to judge that the firmament is either one of the simple elements, or that what proceeded from them is mixed, since Scripture manifestly commands us that nothing is permitted to our sense to opine beyond what has been granted. Nor, I ask, let that pass undiscussed by us, that after God commanded, saying: Let the firmament be made, not without reason the historian added: And the firmament was made. For before, God made the firmament. And again: God divided. Let the deaf therefore listen, and be enlightened to see. But who is so deaf as he who does not hear Scripture crying out so openly? Or who is so blind, unless one instructed by evident proofs does not regard the glory of the Only-begotten? And God said: Let the firmament be made. This word indicates the cause of its designation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":52,"ref":"p52","source":"Quod autem dixit: Quia fecit Deus firmamentum, perfectionis est demonstratio.\n\nNunc in reliqua sermo vertatur. Et ait dividens inter aquam et aquam. Infinita erat, quantum datur intelligi, aquarum diffusio, undique alluentium terram, ita ut aliorum etiam elementorum statutos ter. minos vidcretur excedere; propterea in sequentibus dicilur abyssus circumdedisse tellurem. Sed multitudinis quidem aquarum causam paulo inferius expoDemus. Verumtamen nullus nostrum, sed nec eorum qui valde sunt cruditi et acutissime intuentes ad corruptibilem hanc fluxamque naturam, opinando valebit reprehendere, vel impossibilia vel figmentis quibusdam narrationi conglutinata nos verba proferre; nec exiget probationes per quas possumus astruere super quid aquarum fuerit natura fundata. Ea enim ratione qua terram aquis graviorem firmantes, in media omnium hanc libratam esse pronuntiant, illam quoque coelestem aquam, propter naturalem impetum ejus, semper ad ima tendentem, et propter aequalitatem ex omni parte collocatam, necesse est super orbem terrarum stabiliter permanere. Ergo ampla nimis erat aquarum natura, ac non pro terne dimensione diffusa, sed multo largius illius ambitum superabat. Ita ex initio magnificentissimus artifex futura prospiciens, sequentium utilitatem ex priorum dispositione constituit. Quae causa fuit ergo ut aquæ enormilas exuberaret in terris?","english":"But what he said—\"Because God made the firmament\"—is a demonstration of perfection.\n\nNow let the discourse turn to what remains. And it says, dividing between the water and the water. Infinite, as far as can be understood, was the diffusion of the waters, flowing around the earth on every side, so that it seemed even to exceed the fixed boundaries of the other elements; for this reason it is said in what follows that the abyss surrounded the earth. But the cause of the multitude of waters we shall explain a little further on. Nevertheless, none of us—nor even of those who are greatly learned and who look most sharply into this corruptible and fleeting nature—will be able by conjecture to reproach us, either that we utter impossible words or words patched together with certain fictions for the narrative; nor will he demand proofs by which we can establish upon what the nature of the waters was founded. For by that reasoning by which, establishing the earth as heavier than the waters, they declare it to be balanced in the midst of all things, that heavenly water also, on account of its natural impulse, always tending downward, and on account of its equilibrium placed on every side, must necessarily remain firmly above the orb of the earth. Therefore the nature of the waters was exceedingly vast, and was not spread out according to the measure of the earth, but far more abundantly surpassed its circumference. Thus from the beginning the most magnificent Artisan, foreseeing things to come, established the usefulness of later things by the disposition of earlier ones. What cause was there, then, that the enormity of the waters should abound upon the earth?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":53,"ref":"p53","source":"Quoniam necessaria erat rebus ignis natura, non solum erga dispensationem terrestrium, sed etiam ad perfectionem cunctorum. Etenim brevissima semiplenaque forent omnia, si maximis ac principalibus elementis aliquid minus esset, quæ quidem contraria sibimet, atque alternae substantia devoratoria scimus esse. Ignis enim consumit aquam, quando virtute præcellit, aqua vero cum abundaverit exstinguit ignem. Erat ergo necessarium, neque concordare inter se firmiter hæc elementa, nee integra penitus defectione alterius, præbere causam solutionis rerum omnium, ideoque sufficientem gubernator mundi reposuit humoris copiam, ut præscriptos sibi terminos non excedens, igneæ posset edacitati resistere. Deus enim, qui omnia sub ponderationis et mensurae ordinalione constituit, cui etiam guttæ imbrium numeratæ sunt, teste Job (XXXVI, 27), noverat quanto tempore aqua in orbe terrarum permanere deberet, et vel quantam igni alimoniam praepararet. Hæc est aquarum ratio secundum creaturam. Verumtamen usus ignis quam necessarius sit rebus humanis, quis ita vivendi peoitus expers habetur, ut hoc non aliter nisi ex e doctrinae traditione cognoverit?","english":"Since the nature of fire was necessary for things, not only with regard to the ordering of earthly matters, but also for the perfection of all things. For indeed all things would be very brief and half-complete, if something were lacking to the greatest and principal elements, which we know are contrary to one another and by turns destructive of each other's substance. For fire consumes water when it excels in power, but water, when it has abounded, extinguishes fire. It was therefore necessary that these elements neither agree firmly among themselves, nor by the complete destruction of one of them provide the cause of the dissolution of all things, and for this reason the governor of the world set in place a sufficient supply of moisture, so that, not exceeding the limits prescribed for it, it might resist the devouring greed of fire. For God, who established all things in the ordering of weight and measure, to whom even the drops of rain are numbered, as Job testifies, knew for how long a time water ought to remain in the world, and how much nourishment it should prepare for fire. This is the account of the waters according to creation. Yet how necessary the use of fire is for human affairs, who is so utterly devoid of the experience of living that he has learned this only from the tradition of teaching?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":54,"ref":"p54","source":"Nam non solum eae artes quae vitæ humanæ sustentatrices sunt, indigent ignis auxilio, sed arborum etiam germinatio, fructuumque maturitas, et animalium tam terrestrium quam marinorum nativitas, neque principio processisset, neque perduraret in tempora, si caloris beneficium defuisset. Aquarum quoque abundantia valde fuit necessaria, ut incessabiliter et sine intermissione pastum sibi de his ignis attraheret.\n\nIntuere denique diligentius creaturam, et invenies vim fervoris cunctis quae oriuntur et occidant, potenter haerere. Propterea terris aquae largissimae sunt infusae, ultraque quam videntur sunt extensae, quae et fundum telluris attingunt; unde etiam fontibus et puteis largior copia manandi suppeditat, praecipitesque torrentium cursus, ut humor in multis ac diversis videlicet horreis conderetur. Itaque abOrienlis partibus hibernis progreditur Indus fluvius, omniumviolentior fluentorum, sicut speculati sunt ii qui lum orbis descripsere terrarum. De meridianis autem locis Bactrus effluit et Choaspis, et Araxes, ex quo Tanais, abruptus in Mæoticam transit paludem. Phasis autem de Caucasiis exit montibus, et innomerabiles alii g, de regionibus arctois ad Euxinum feruntur Pontum. Ab Occidentis vero climatibus aestivis, subPyrenaeo vertice Tartesus, atque Ister, quorum unus in exteriora maria decurrit, alter veniens per Europam, digeritur in Pontum.","english":"For not only do those arts which sustain human life need the aid of fire, but even the germination of trees, the ripening of fruits, and the birth of animals both terrestrial and marine would neither have begun in the first place nor endured through the ages, if the benefit of heat had been lacking. An abundance of waters was also greatly necessary, so that fire might draw its nourishment from them ceaselessly and without interruption.\n\nConsider the creation, then, more diligently, and you will find that the power of heat clings mightily to all things that rise and set. For this reason waters in very great abundance have been poured upon the lands, and they extend beyond what they appear to be, reaching even the floor of the earth; from this source a more plentiful supply of flowing is furnished to springs and wells, and the headlong courses of torrents, so that moisture might be stored, as it were, in many and diverse granaries. And so from the eastern regions, in winter, proceeds the river Indus, more violent than all streams, as those who described the circle of the world have observed. From the southern regions, however, flow the Bactrus and the Choaspis, and the Araxes, from which the Tanais, broken off, passes into the Maeotic marsh. The Phasis, moreover, issues from the Caucasian mountains, and countless others are borne from the northern regions to the Euxine Pontus. From the western climes, however, in summer, beneath the Pyrenean peak, are the Tartessus and the Ister, of which one runs down into the outer seas, while the other, coming through Europe, is dispersed into the Pontus.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":55,"ref":"p55","source":"Eos autem quid necessc est enumerare, qui de Riphæis Scythiæ interioris montibus oriuntur? Quorum est Rhodanus, qui cum pluribus aliis navigalibus iluviis, Galatas et Hesperios, Celtorumque gentem, multasque finitimas præteriens nationes, pelago miscetur Occiduo. Nam eorum qui ex superiore meridie per Æthiopiam descendunt, id est, a Tages, et Nisus, et Cremeas, et Nilus; alii in nostrum mare influunt, alii in citeriorem devolvuntur Oceanum; licet Nilus non sit Ouminihus comparandus, quippe qui more pelagi, tempore diffusus aestivo, terram stagnare consuevit Ægyptiam. Ita mundi pars habitabilis aquis tota repleta est, non minus fluctibus xquoreis circumsepta, quam amnibus irrigata, propter ineffabilem sapientiam Conditoris, qui repugnatricem calori naturam, ut esset sufficiens ordinavit. Erit autem tempus quo ignis cuncta torrebit, ut testatur Isaias, loquens ad omnium Dominum Deum: Qui dicit abysso: Dissipaberis, et omnia flumina tua siccabo (Isai. XLIV, 27). Despecta ergo sapientia sæculari, recipe una nobiscum magisterium veritatis, nullis quidem facundiæ pbaleris exornatum, scientiæ vero ratione potissimum.","english":"But what need is there to enumerate those rivers which rise from the Riphaean mountains of inner Scythia? Among them is the Rhodanus, which, together with many other navigable streams, passing by the Galatians and the Hesperians and the race of the Celts and many neighboring nations, mingles with the Western sea. For of those which descend from the upper south through Ethiopia—that is, from the Tages, the Nisus, the Cremeas, and the Nile—some flow into our sea, others roll down into the nearer Ocean; although the Nile is not to be compared with all of them, since, in the manner of the sea, spread abroad in summer time, it is accustomed to flood the land of Egypt. Thus the habitable part of the world is wholly filled with waters, no less surrounded by the waves of the sea than irrigated by rivers, on account of the ineffable wisdom of the Creator, who ordained the nature that resists heat to be sufficient. But there will be a time when fire shall scorch all things, as Isaiah testifies, speaking to the Lord God of all: Who says to the abyss: You shall be scattered, and all your rivers I will dry up. Therefore, despising worldly wisdom, receive with us the teaching of truth, adorned indeed with no beauties of eloquence, but most powerful in the reasoning of knowledge.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":56,"ref":"p56","source":"Propterea: Fiat firmamentum in medio aquæ, et sit dividens inter aquam et aquam. Diximus quid signiiicat appellatio firmamenti: id est, non duram fortemque naturam, quæ fulcimine aliquo sustentatur et pondere. Nam multo proprius ejusmodi vocabulum terra meruisset, sed propter substantiam superiorum, quæ subtilis et rara est, nulloque sensu comprehensibilis habetur, firmamentum nuncupavit, comparatione scilicet corporum leviorum, quæ nec visu, nec tactu valemus attingere. Et simul cogita locum quemdam, qui discernit humorem, cujus partem tenuiorem supernis stationibus deputavit, crassiorem vero limosamque inferioribus destinavit, ut illa quae ex initio facta est temperatio permaneret, aquarum paulatim minutione confecta. Sed tu quidem liquoris amplitudini non discredis, ad ignis autem vim non respectas, qui licet exiguus habeatur in visu, multitudinem tamen aquarum valet expendere. Semper enim trahit ad se subjectas undas, in modum medicatoriæ cucurbitæ; facileque consumit eas exemplo Inminis lucernalis, quod per appositam stuppam lambens oleum mox peredit. Æther autem quis dubitet flammeum esse atque torridum? Quod nisi statutis sibi a Creatore finibus frenaretur, facile cuncta consumeret: quæ res prohibet ut non totus humor qui rebus diversis insertus est calore solis voratus aresceret.","english":"Therefore: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between water and water. We have said what the term \"firmament\" signifies: that is, not a hard and strong nature, which is supported by some prop and weight. For such a word would have been far more properly deserved by the earth, but on account of the substance of the things above, which is subtle and rare, and is held to be comprehensible by no sense, he called it \"firmament,\" namely by comparison with lighter bodies, which we are able to reach neither by sight nor by touch. And at the same time consider a certain place which separates the moisture, a thinner part of which he assigned to the stations above, but the thicker and muddy part he destined for the lower regions, so that that tempering which was made from the beginning might remain, effected by the gradual lessening of the waters. But you indeed do not disbelieve the abundance of liquid, yet you do not regard the force of fire, which, although it is held to be slight in appearance, is nevertheless able to weigh out a multitude of waters. For it always draws to itself the waters placed beneath it, in the manner of a medical cupping-glass; and it easily consumes them by the example of a lamp's flame, which, licking the oil through the attached wick, soon devours it. But who would doubt that the aether is fiery and scorching? Which, unless it were restrained by the limits established for it by the Creator, would easily consume all things: this very thing prevents the whole moisture which has been inserted into diverse things from being devoured by the heat of the sun and drying up.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":57,"ref":"p57","source":"Ob hoc coelestis facta est aqua loco superiore collecta, quam paludes, et fluvii, pelagusque surgentibus de se vaporibus exhalant, ut non ardor aethereus omnia quæ subjecta sunt conflagraret. Siquidem solem quoque videmus, aestate stagna leviora brevissimo temporis spatio repente siccare. Ubi ergo est aqua illaY Demonstrent nobis callidi, dubium ne cuipiam potest esse quin fervore solis expensa defccerit? Licet nec calidum solon dicant csse, tanta illis suppeditat in loquendo facultas. Et considerate quo freti documento, rebus evidentissimis adversantur. Quoniam, inquiunt, candidus color ejus est, cl non rubeus, aut puniceus habetur, ob hoc non igncum solem esse contendunt. Calorem' autem ferunt ex e asperiore ejus circumversione procedere, hoc vidclicet argumentantes, ul asserant solcm nihil expendere de humore. Sed ego, ctiamsi non verum sit quod objicitur, non refutabo sermonem, ulpotc mihi astipulantem. Dicebatur enim propter ignis edacitatem aquarum necessariam esse multitudinem: nihil tamen interest utrum naturalis sit an quæsitus ardor, dummodo circa eamdem materiam similes casus exerceat, id est, sive cum inter se ligna fricantur, flamma consurgit, sive sponte succensus ignis, quæ fucrint injecta consumpserit, unus scilicet atque idem exitus ab utroque procedit.","english":"For this reason the water collected in the higher place became heavenly, which the marshes and rivers and the sea exhale as vapors rising from themselves, so that the ethereal heat might not set ablaze all things that are subject to it. Indeed, we see that the sun in summer suddenly dries up shallower pools in a very brief span of time. Where, then, is that water? Let the clever ones show us—can it be doubtful to anyone that it has been used up and has failed through the sun's heat? Although they say that the sun is not hot, such great facility in speaking supplies them. And consider on what evidence they rely when they oppose the most evident facts. Because, they say, its color is white and is not considered red or purple, for this reason they contend that the sun is not fiery. But they claim that heat proceeds from its rather rough revolution, arguing this, of course, so as to assert that the sun consumes nothing of the moisture. But I, even if what is objected is not true, will not refute the argument, inasmuch as it supports me. For it was said that on account of the devouring nature of fire a multitude of waters is necessary; yet it makes no difference whether the heat is natural or acquired, provided that it produces similar effects upon the same matter—that is, whether flame arises when pieces of wood are rubbed together, or fire kindled of its own accord consumes whatever has been thrown into it, one and the same outcome proceeds from both.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":58,"ref":"p58","source":"Et certe videmus moderatricem sapientiam Dei, solem in alias partes ex aliis transponentem, ut non semper in eisdem commoratus locis, fervoris aviditate mundanum depopuletur ornatum. Sed nunc eum ad Australem zonam, nunc ad signa solstitialia pro temporum mutatione traducit, atque inde in arctoam regionem convertit, ut paulatim per diversa commigrans terrenis fructibus temperamenta custodiat. Videant tamen si non ipsi sibi probantur obsistere, cum mare ideo confirmant incrementis fluvialibus non augeri, quia calore solis absorbetur, unde etiam salsa et amara ejus aqua perficitur, ut pote quae saporem propriæ dulcedinis, raptu fervoris amittit et ubi leviorem quidem partem secum aufert, graviorem vero et limosam, velut fæcem aliquam hic relinquit. Sed qui de mari modo talia disserebant, rursum mutati nullam defectionem ficri liquoris a sole pronunntiant.","english":"And indeed we see the governing wisdom of God, transferring the sun from one region to another, so that, not always dwelling in the same places, it might not, by the greed of its heat, lay waste the ornament of the world. But now it leads it to the southern zone, now to the solstitial signs, according to the changes of the seasons, and from there turns it back to the northern region, so that, migrating gradually through different parts, it may preserve moderate temperatures for earthly fruits. Yet let them consider whether they are not shown to contradict themselves, since they maintain that the sea is not increased by the swelling of rivers for the reason that it is absorbed by the heat of the sun, from which cause also its water is made salt and bitter, inasmuch as it loses the taste of its own sweetness by the seizure of heat, and where the sun carries off with it the lighter part, it leaves behind here the heavier and muddy part, as it were some dregs. But those who were just now discoursing such things about the sea, having changed their minds again, declare that no loss of liquid is caused by the sun.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":59,"ref":"p59","source":"Et vocavit Deus firmamentum cælum. Proprie quidem aliud illi conveniens fuerat nomen. Scimus tamen saepissimae cœlum dici locuin spissum densatumque aeris istius palam nostris obtulibus occurrentem. Cælum autem a cernendo vocari, quod ex Græcorum melius etymologia colligimus, quod appellant, sicut dicit Scriptura, volatilia coeli (Psal. VIII, 9); et alibi, volatilia secundum firmamentum cæli (Gen. I, 20). Tale est et quod dicitur: Ascendunt usque ad cœlum (Psal. CVI, 26). a Et Moyses benedicens tribum Joseph, ex finibus coeli, et mutatione solis, et concursione mensium, et ex vertice montium benedictionem dat (Deut. XXXIII, 13); ut pote regione telluris rerum talium copiis abundante. Sed et in maledictis Israel: Sit, inquit, tibi super caput cælum æneum (Deut. XXVIII, 23), indicans integram siccitatem, atque defectum liquoris aeris per quem terrenis fructibus fecunditas optata præstatur. Quando ergo de coelo dicit emitti rorem vel pluviam, aquas intellige, quæ superiorem tenere jussae sunt regionem. Conglomeratis enim vaporibus iit altum, et aere ventorum flatibus condensato, exhalationes hæ quæ subtiliter nubibus inseruntur, per mutuas accessiones guttæ perficiuntur, suoque pondere collisae deorsum pelluntur.","english":"And God called the firmament heaven. Indeed, another name would properly have suited it. Yet we know that very often \"heaven\" is said of the thick and condensed region of this air which plainly meets our eyes. But \"heaven\" (caelum) is so called from \"seeing\" (cernendo), which we gather better from the etymology of the Greeks, because they call the birds \"the birds of heaven,\" as Scripture says (Ps. VIII, 9); and elsewhere, \"the birds according to the firmament of heaven\" (Gen. I, 20). Such also is what is said: \"They ascend even to heaven\" (Ps. CVI, 26). And Moses, blessing the tribe of Joseph, gives a blessing from the ends of heaven, and from the changing of the sun, and from the concurrence of the months, and from the top of the mountains (Deut. XXXIII, 13); as though the region of the earth abounded in an abundance of such things. But also among the curses upon Israel: \"Let heaven,\" he says, \"be to you as brass over your head\" (Deut. XXVIII, 23), indicating complete drought, and a failure of the moisture of the air, through which the desired fertility is supplied to earthly fruits. When, therefore, he says that dew or rain is sent forth from heaven, understand the waters which were commanded to hold the higher region. For when the vapors had been gathered together, it went on high, and the air having been condensed by the blasts of the winds, these exhalations which are subtly inserted into the clouds are perfected into drops through mutual additions, and, colliding by their own weight, are driven downward.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":60,"ref":"p60","source":"Hæc est imbrium generatio; cum vero fuerit despumatus humor, flabrorum violentia repercussus, cum frigore vehementius Indurescit, concretis nebulis, nix gelata defertur ad terram. Et omnino secundum ejusmodi rationem, licet tibi omnem aquarum exspectare naturam, quomodo circumaerem qui super nos est congregantur. Nullus tamen argumentationi eorum qui de cœlo disputant, simplicitatem spiritualium velit conferre sermonum. Quantum enim recte viventium mulierum pulchritudo meretriciæ formositati præponitur, tantum noster sermo saeculari noscitur prælatus esse doctrinae. II! i enim coactam verbis suasionem soliti sunt aCferre; nos autem nudam fallendi proferimus veritatem. Sed quid opus est nos commovere certamen, illorum mendacia repellentes, cum possimus scripturas suas sibimet conferentes, sine nostro labore I illorum exspectare conflictum? Qui nec eloquentia differentes, nec numero pauciores, nec dignitate deteriores, suis adversariis repugnantes, cum ignem omnia torrere penitus ac devorare confirment, rursus de recidivis seminibus, quæ ignis conflagratio derelinquit, causas regenerationis inducunt. Unde e etiam mundos innumerabiles introducunt.","english":"This is the generation of rains; but when the moisture has been skimmed off, struck back by the violence of the winds, when it hardens more intensely with cold, with the clouds congealed, frozen snow is borne down to the earth. And altogether according to this kind of reasoning, you may expect the whole nature of waters, how the circumambient air that is above us is gathered together. Yet let no one wish to compare the simplicity of spiritual discourses to the argumentation of those who dispute about heaven. For as much as the beauty of rightly living women is preferred to the comeliness of a harlot, so much is our discourse known to be preferred to secular learning. For they are accustomed to bring a forced persuasion with words; but we bring forth the naked truth without deception. But what need is there for us to stir up a contest, repelling their lies, when we can, comparing their own scriptures to themselves, await their conflict without our labor? They, differing neither in eloquence nor fewer in number nor inferior in dignity, fighting against their own adversaries, when they affirm that fire utterly scorches and devours all things, again from the recurring seeds that the conflagration of fire leaves behind, they introduce causes of regeneration. Whence they even introduce innumerable worlds.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":61,"ref":"p61","source":"Sed illi utriusque professionis veritate privati, hinc inde per inopiam subsidia sui erroris exquirunt. Siquidem et de his aquis quas firmamenti interjectio separavit, occasione allegoriarum et sensus altioris, quasdam nobis figuras objiciunt, dicentes spirituales incorporeasque virtutes, mutabiliterf intelligi debere pro aquis, et sursum quidem super firmamentum remansisse digniores, in humilioribus autem diversoriis ut pote crassioribus et cœnosis, noxias constitisse. Propterea dicunt eas aquas quæ super coelos sunt, laudare Dominum, id est, optimas virtutes quæ dignae sunt, ob suæ meritum puritatis, decentibus celebrare laudibus Conditorem. Eas vero quae continentur inferius, spiritus esse pravitatis at.. firmant ex altitudine naturali in profundum malitiæ devolutos, quos ut turbidos, ac seditiosos, et vitiorum tumultibus fluctuantes, mare propter varietatem sui propositi, quod mutatur assidue, nuncupatos. Sed nos hujusmodi sermones, ut somniorum conjecturas et aniles fabulas omittentes, aquam intelligamus, aquam esse veram, separationemque firmamenti, ita ut Scriptura tradit, accipiamus. Et si quando laudem communi omnium Domino aquae dicantur offerre, non ob hoc aestimandae sunt rationabilis esse naturæ. Neque enim quia cæli enarrant gloriam Dei (Psal.","english":"But those deprived of the truth of both professions seek from this side and that, through want, supports for their own error. Indeed, even concerning these waters which the interposition of the firmament separated, by occasion of allegories and a deeper sense, they set certain figures before us, saying that spiritual and incorporeal powers ought to be understood, with change, in place of the waters, and that the more worthy remained above the firmament, while the harmful ones were established in the lower regions, as being coarser and muddy. Therefore they say that those waters which are above the heavens praise the Lord, that is, the best powers which are worthy, by the merit of their purity, to celebrate the Creator with fitting praises. But those which are contained below, they affirm to be spirits of wickedness, fallen from their natural height into the depth of malice, which, as turbulent and seditious and tossing with the uproars of vices, are called the sea because of the variety of their purpose, which is changed continually. But we, dismissing speeches of this kind as conjectures of dreams and old wives' tales, let us understand water to be true water, and let us accept the separation of the firmament just as the Scripture hands it down. And if at any time the waters are said to offer praise to the common Lord of all, they are not for this reason to be judged to be of a rational nature. For neither because the heavens declare the glory of God (Psal.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":62,"ref":"p62","source":"XVIII, 2),modis omnibus animati sunt, nec firmamentum sensibile animal esse putandum est, quia enuntiat facturam manuum suarum. Quod etsi dixerit quispiam, cœlos quidem contemplabiles esse virtutes, firmamentum autem factricem Dei potentiam, sermonem quidem nos hujusmodi, quamvis sit commentitius, tamen non aspernanter admittimus, seJ verum hunc esse nullatenus patiemur. Nam nec ros, aut bruma, vel frigus, aut aestus, quoniam laudare omnium creatorem jubentur, ut ait Daniel (Cap. III), sensibilis esse vel invisibilis intelligenda natura sunt; sed consideratio eorum prudenter a sensum habentibus contemplata, glorificationem perficit Creatoris. Non solum enim aqua quae super coelos est, tanquam caeteris honore praecellens propter insitam sibimet venustatem, laudem dependit Domino; sed idem facere etiam quæ in terra sunt invilantur, id est, dracones, et omnes abyssi (Psal. CXLVIII, 7). Ita nec abyssus, quam in pejorem partem conantur abjicere fabricatores allegoriarum, refutabilis æstimatur a Psalmista: cum et ipsa secundum suam qualitatem hymnos potentiæ Conditoris emittit.","english":"XVIII, 2), they are encouraged in every way, nor is the firmament to be thought a sensible living being, because it declares the work of his hands. And even if someone should say that the heavens are contemplative powers, but the firmament is the creative power of God, we do not disdainfully reject such a statement of ours, although it is fictitious, but we will by no means allow it to be true. For neither dew, nor winter, nor cold, nor heat, since they are bidden to praise the creator of all things, as Daniel says (Cap. III), are to be understood as being of a sensible or invisible nature; but the consideration of them, prudently contemplated by those who have sense, accomplishes the glorification of the Creator. For not only does the water which is above the heavens, as though surpassing the rest in honor because of the beauty implanted in itself, pay praise to the Lord; but those things which are on the earth are also invited to do the same, that is, the dragons and all the deeps (Psal. CXLVIII, 7). Thus neither is the abyss, which the fabricators of allegories strive to cast into a worse part, judged refutable by the Psalmist, since it too, according to its own quality, sends forth hymns of the power of the Creator.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":63,"ref":"p63","source":"Et vidit Deus a quia bonum est firmamentum. Non oculorum probatione dixit bonum. Neque enim corpoream delectationem praestant nobis quæ constituuntur a Deo, nec ea illorum percipienda voluptas est quae videntur jocunda mortalibus; sed bonum dixit opus quod artis suae ratione pensalur, et ad finem futurae commoditatis intendit. Merito ergo quidem in rationem gignentium manifestam esse proposuit; illa quæ subinde per partes a effecta sunt, opifico suae virtutis sermone percurrens, ut pote mundi consummatoria collaudavit. Nam manus et oculus, cæteraque membra simulacri ænei sparsim projecta nulli videntur esse bona; cum autem in suum ordinem composita redigantur, speciemque congruæ formationis acceperint, a quolibet imperito facile discernuntur. At vero elementorum Creator, et ante singulorum compositionem, noverat cujusque operis bonum: singulaque collaudans, cogitationem suæ mentis ad ® futurum exitum dirigit formatorum. Talis ergo nunc quoque artifex singularum partium Deus, assertor et prædicator; sed paulo post omni pariter mundo, competentem laudem, cum fuerit consummatus, impertiet.","english":"And God saw that the firmament was good. He did not call it good by the testing of eyes. For the things established by God do not furnish us bodily pleasure, nor is the delight to be taken from them the pleasure of those things which seem pleasant to mortals; but He called that work good which is weighed by the reason of its art and directed toward the end of future usefulness. Rightly, then, He set forth that the reason of things generated is manifest; running through those things which were afterward effected part by part by the creative word of His power, He praised them as being the consummators of the world. For the hands and eye and the other members of a bronze statue, scattered about, seem good to no one; but when they are brought together and arranged in their proper order, and have received the appearance of fitting formation, they are easily discerned by anyone, even the unskilled. But the Creator of the elements, even before the composition of each individual thing, knew the good of each work; and praising each one, the Fashioner directs the thought of His mind toward the future outcome of the things formed. Such, then, is God now also as the Artificer, Assertor, and Proclaimer of the individual parts; but a little later, when the whole world alike has been consummated, He will impart to it the praise that is fitting.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":64,"ref":"p64","source":"Sed hic jam narratio matutina secundæ diei terminum sortiatur: ut auditoribus studiosis inducias præbeamus, quo inter se conferre quae dicta sunt, memoriæque beneficio, in intimis cordibus ad utilitatem propriam retinere cuncta procureut, et usu meditationis assiduæ, doctrinae cibum ruminantes, post digestionem salubrem, residui flagitent alimenta sermonis. His vero qui vivendi causas manibus exercent indulgentiam medio tempore tribuamus; ut completis operibus animum curarum nexu solutum, rursus dapibus exhibeant vespertinis. Interea, Dominus, qui magnifica fecit ex nihilo, et a nobis hæc parva verborum proferri libamina dispensavit, det vobis intellectum suæ veritatis; ut ex visibilibus invisibilem reputetis, et ex magnitudine ac pulchritudine creaturae, decentem gloriam Conditoris meus vestra percipiat, ut et in terra, et in aere, et in coelo, et in aquis, et inter diem et noctem, et in omnibus quae cernuntur benefactoris monumenta certissima capiatis. Neque enim aut peccatis tempus dabitur, aut inimico locus suggerendi contraria relinquetur, Domino vestris sensibus adhaerente; cui gloria et veneratio, nunc et semper, et per omnia sæcula saeculorum. Amen.","english":"But now let the morning account of the second day receive its limit here, so that we may give studious hearers a respite, in which they may compare with one another the things that have been said, and by the benefit of memory take care to retain all things in the depths of their hearts for their own profit, and, chewing the food of doctrine by the practice of constant meditation, after wholesome digestion may seek the remaining nourishment of the discourse. But to those who carry out the business of living with their hands, let us grant indulgence in the meantime, so that, when their works are completed, they may present their mind, freed from the knot of cares, again to the evening banquet. Meanwhile, may the Lord, who made magnificent things out of nothing and appointed that these small libations of words be brought forth by us, give you understanding of his truth, so that from visible things you may reckon the invisible, and from the greatness and beauty of the creature my Conditor may receive the glory due to him, so that both on earth and in the air and in heaven and in the waters and between day and night and in all things that are seen you may grasp the most certain monuments of the Benefactor. For neither will time be given to sins, nor will a place be left to the enemy for suggesting contrary things, with the Lord clinging to your senses; to whom be glory and veneration, now and always and through all ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":65,"ref":"p65","source":"LIBER QUARTUS.\n\nDe congregatione aquarum, et apparitione aridæ disputatio.\n\nSunt urbes quaedam quarum populi spectaculis mirabilibus a matutino tempore usque ad vesperum, proprios oculos pascendo reficiunt: cantus etiam blandos, a modulationesque lascivas, luxum nimium generantes, sensibus suis injiciunt, quorum auscultanone diutius oblectati, nullatenus satiantur. Et tamen eos homines multi beatos appellare consueverunt, quia necessaria negotia deserentes, et artes quibus vivendi subsidia comparantur, per desidiam et voluptatem statutum sibi tempus vitae peragentes, inanibus actibus occupantur, ignorantes quia saltatio spectationibus approbata turpissimis, publicum et commune perficit magisterium vitiorum. Lyrica etiam carmina, cantusque tibicinum, et meretriciae cautiones, cordibus audientium lapsae, quid aliud quam infamiam spectatoribus inolescunt aemulantibus histriones? Nonnulli autem circensium furiali ardore detenti, noctibus somniantes pro equorum velocitate contendunt, modo « currus rotantes, modo aurigas in partem aliam transferentes, omnemque prorsus diurnam cogitationem tempore soporis revolvere non desistunt.","english":"BOOK FOUR.\n\nA discussion concerning the gathering of the waters and the appearing of the dry land.\n\nThere are certain cities whose peoples refresh themselves from morning until evening by feeding their own eyes on wondrous spectacles; they also thrust into their senses soft songs and wanton melodies, breeding excessive luxury, and in listening to these they are delighted for a long while yet in no way satisfied. And yet many are accustomed to call these men blessed, because, abandoning necessary business and the arts by which the means of living are procured, passing the appointed time of their life in idleness and pleasure, they are occupied with empty acts, not knowing that dancing, approved by the most shameful spectacles, accomplishes a public and common school of vices. Lyric poems also, and the songs of flute-players, and harlots' ditties, having slipped into the hearts of their hearers, what else do they implant in the spectators but infamy, as they emulate actors? Some, moreover, held fast by the mad frenzy of the circus games, contend in their dreams at night for the speed of horses, now \"rolling the chariots,\" now \"transferring the charioteers to the other side,\" and they do not cease to turn over their whole daytime thought in the time of sleep.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":66,"ref":"p66","source":"Nos autem quos Dominus, qui opifex rerum maximus et valde mirificus habetur, ad demonstrationem suorum operum convocavit, deficere non debemus erga eorum spectacula, nec desides fieri in auscultandis Spiritus sancti sermonibus; sed circumdantes præclaram hanc divini operis stationem, transactaque tempora cogitationibus reputantes, contemplemur coelum quidem levatum ut camcram, sicut dicit propheta (Isai. XL, 22), terram autem vastam nimis, immensitate vel pondere in semetipsam constare fundatam, aeremque diffusum liquidumque natura; congruam et incessabilem spirantibus alimoniam ministrantem, scindentemque sc moventibus omnibus, leniterque cedentem mollitudinis intercessu; aquam vero altricem corporum, et liumano gencri nimis ulilcm constitutam, ac moderate in deputatis sibi conceptaculis permanentem. Quas res, ita se habere, dc his quæ recenter lecta sunt approbabis.","english":"But we, whom the Lord—who is held to be the greatest maker of things and greatly to be marveled at—has summoned to the demonstration of his works, must not grow faint in beholding them, nor become slothful in listening to the words of the Holy Spirit; but surrounding this splendid station of the divine work, and reckoning past times in our thoughts, let us contemplate the heaven indeed raised up like a vault, as the prophet says, and the earth exceedingly vast, standing founded upon itself by its immensity or weight, and the air diffused and liquid by nature, ministering fitting and unceasing nourishment to those who breathe, and dividing itself for all things that move, and yielding gently through the interposition of its softness; and the water, the nurturer of bodies and established as greatly useful to the human race, and remaining in moderation within the receptacles assigned to it. You will approve that these things are so from those things which have just been read.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":67,"ref":"p67","source":"Et dixit Deus: Congregentur aquæ quæ sub coelo sunt in congregationibus suis, et appareat arida. Et vocavit Deus aridam terram, et congregationes aquarum vocavit maria. Quantas mihi calumnias in his quæ sequuntur objeceris, exigens quemadmodum terra possit invisibilis haberi, colore præsente, siquidem color omnis sensu comprehenditur visionis, cL fortasse tibi non videtur esse sufficiens quod diximus; quia non ad naturam, sed ad nos invisibilis fuisse terra relata est, propter aquarum videlicet inc jectioncm, quæ tunc * omnes terras operuissent. Nunc vero ausculta Scripturam, quomodo scipsam declarat: Congregentur, inquit, aquæ, et appareat arida. Velamentum subducitur, ut conspicua fieret, quæ interim non videbatur. Illud etiam forsitan quis requiret, cur id quod per naturam subest aquis, id cst, ut. semper ad procliviora contendant, hoc ad præceptionem Creatoris sermo convertit. Donec enim in planitie fuerit aqua recondita, stabilis est, non invcnicns quo declinet, ubi vero descensus occurrerit, irrumpente protinus parte priore, reliqua multitudo consequitur properanter effugiens, quae præcedit urgente venientis impulsu: tantoque velocior meatus aspicitur, quanto majoris ponderis fuerit aqua quæ confluit, locusque devexior. Si ergo talis natura liquoris est, differret utique præceptionem qua jusserat aquas in unum conceptaculum congregari.","english":"And God said: Let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into their gatherings, and let the dry land appear. And God called the dry land earth, and the gatherings of waters he called seas. How many accusations will you bring against me in what follows, demanding how the earth could be held to be invisible when color is present—since all color is comprehended by the sense of sight—or perhaps what we have said does not seem sufficient to you: that the earth was said to have been invisible not in respect of its nature, but in relation to us, evidently because of the casting over of the waters, which at that time had covered all lands. But now hear the Scripture, how it declares itself: Let the waters, it says, be gathered, and let the dry land appear. The veil is drawn back, so that what was not then visible might become conspicuous. Perhaps someone may also ask why that which is naturally inherent in waters—namely, that they always strive toward the more downward places—the word turns to the command of the Creator. For as long as water is hidden in a plain, it is stable, finding no place to descend; but where a descent presents itself, the front part rushing forth at once, the remaining multitude follows swiftly, fleeing as the one that goes before presses on with the impulse of the one coming: and the flow is seen to be all the swifter, the greater the weight of the water that flows together, and the more sloping the place. If, then, such is the nature of the liquid, it would surely have delayed the command by which he had ordered the waters to be gathered into one receptacle.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":68,"ref":"p68","source":"Poterat enim sine dubio, propter naturalem inpetum in regiones concavas sponte decurrere, priusquam terga compleret: nullus enim terrarum locus sic æqualis est, ut aquarum situs. Deinde, inquiunt, quomodo in unam congregationem jussa cst convenire. cum maria esse diversa sciamus, quæ certe multum a se distare noscuntur? A! illud igitur quod primum quæsitum est, hoc respondebimus: quia tu quidem post editionem præcepti divini humoris motum cognovisti, et quia circumfluus habetur semperque decurrens. Nam priusquam mcatum caperet ex auctoritate cælesti, nec tu eum vidisti, nec ab alio qui viderat didieisti: unde debebis advertere quia vox Dei, naturæ formatrix est, et praeceptio quæ tunc data cst creatune, dispositionem cunctis quae forent gignenda præbebat. Nam et dies et nox semel factx sunt, et ex illo usque nunc, sibimet vicibus succedendo, curriculorum suorum tempora certis portionibus divisa custodiunt.","english":"For it could without doubt, by its natural impulse, have flowed spontaneously into the hollow regions before it filled the backs [of the earth]; for no place of the earth is so level as the site of the waters. Then, they say, how was it commanded to come together into one gathering, when we know that the seas are diverse, which are certainly known to be far distant from one another? To that, then, which was first asked, we shall respond: because you indeed came to know the motion of the moisture after the issuing of the divine command, and because it is held to be circumfluent and always flowing down. For before it received motion from heavenly authority, neither did you see it, nor did you learn it from another who had seen it: hence you ought to observe that the word of God is the fashioner of nature, and the precept that was then given to creation furnished the arrangement for all things that were to be begotten. For both day and night were made once, and from that time until now, succeeding one another in turn, they keep the times of their courses divided into fixed portions.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":69,"ref":"p69","source":"Congregentur aquæ. Jussum est aquarum naturam diffluere, et nunquam deficit obsequendo mandatis. Hoc autem dico respiciens ad liquidam aquarum sortem, quarum aliæ semper manant ut fontes et fluvii, alias congregatae sunt et sistentes. Sed mihi nunc de fluentibus sermo est. Congregentur aquæ in congregationem unam. Si quando te e stantem juxta rivum subit cogitatio, reputans cujus impulsu de telluribus aqua progreditur, vel quae sunt horrea de quibus tam largiter effunditur, aut qui locus ad quem cogitur pervenire, vel quomodo nec illa dcficit qua sequitur, nec ca quæ praecessit exubcrat; profecto reperies omnia haec ex voce prima teneri, unde etiam meatus illi suppetit sempiternus. Quamobrem in omni semper historia memento primae præceptionis, quas dicit: Congregentur aquæ. Etenim oportebat eas decurrere properanter, ut devenirent ad propriam regionem: et postquam ventum esset, stare in conceptaculis deputatis, atque ultra nontenderc. Propterca est ab Ecclesiaste dictum: In mare fluvii delabuntur, sed mare non superimpletur (Eccle. I, 7). Quia et quod aquarum cursus urgetur, et quod mare certis drcumscriptum finibus retinetur, primæ præceptionis virtus est: Congregentur aquæ in unam congregationem: ut non scilicet illa quae innuit, expletis conceptaculis superfusa, cunctos similiter terrarum terminos inundaret; idciroo jussa fuit in unam se congregationem redigere.","english":"Let the waters be gathered. The nature of the waters was commanded to flow forth, and it never fails in obeying the commands. But I say this with regard to the liquid kind of waters, of which some always flow, like springs and rivers, while others are gathered together and stand still. But my present discourse concerns the flowing ones. Let the waters be gathered into one gathering. If ever, as you stand beside a river, the thought comes to you, considering by whose impulse the water advances from the lands, or what storehouses there are from which it is poured out so abundantly, or what place it is driven to reach, or how neither that which follows fails nor that which has gone before overflows, you will surely find that all these things are held by the first utterance, from which that everlasting course is also supplied. Therefore, in every account, always remember the first command, which says: Let the waters be gathered. For it was fitting that they run swiftly, so that they might come to their own region; and after they had arrived, that they stand in the appointed receptacles and extend no further. For this reason it was said by the Ecclesiastes: The rivers run down into the sea, but the sea is not filled beyond measure (Eccl. 1:7). Because both that the course of the waters is driven on, and that the sea is kept within fixed boundaries, is the power of the first command: Let the waters be gathered into one gathering: so that, namely, those things which it indicates, having filled the receptacles and overflowed, might not likewise inundate all the ends of the earth; therefore it was commanded to gather itself into one gathering.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":70,"ref":"p70","source":"Propterea pelagus ventis saepe turbatum, ac fluctibus aestuans, in altumque consurgens, ubi littora vicina tetigerit, fervoris impetum spumando resolvens, mox frangitur atque subducicitur. Aut me non timebitis, dicit Dominus, qui arenam terminum pono mari (Jer. v, 22)? Etenim mirum est quomodo res omnium quae in terris habentur infirmior arena, jussu Dei violentiam maris frenat. Q tod si secus esset, quae ratio vetare poterat Rubrum mare, ut non Ægyptum totam, quæ utique dcvexior babetur, invaderet, proximoque pelago misceretur, nisi praecepto Conditoris esset inhibitum? Nam quia humilior est Ægyptus Rubro mari, certissime a docemur ab his qui Ægyptium et Iudicum mare conjungere Voluerunt, quorum primus est Sesostres Ægyptius, secundus Larius Medus. Hxc co dixr, ut divinæ sanctionis potentiam nosceremus. Congregentur aquæ in congregationem unam, id est, altera non procedat ex illa, sed in primo conceptaculo, quæ collecta est teneatur.","english":"For this reason the sea, often stirred up by winds and boiling with waves and rising on high, when it has touched the neighboring shores, dissolving the force of its seething by foaming, is presently broken and drawn back. Will you not fear me, says the Lord, who set the sand as a boundary for the sea (Jer. 5:22)? For it is wonderful how the sand, the weakest of all things that are on the earth, by the command of God bridles the violence of the sea. But if it were otherwise, what reason could have prevented the Red Sea from invading all Egypt, which is certainly reckoned lower, and from mingling with the neighboring sea, unless it had been restrained by the command of the Creator? For because Egypt is lower than the Red Sea, we are most certainly taught this by those who wished to join the Egyptian and the Jewish sea, the first of whom is Sesostres the Egyptian, the second Larius the Mede. I have said these things so that we might know the power of the divine decree. Let the waters be gathered into one gathering, that is, let not one proceed out of that, but let it be held in the first receptacle in which it was collected.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":71,"ref":"p71","source":"Deinde cum diceret: Congregentur in unam congregationem, docuitquia multae erant aquæ variis divisæ modis. Loca enim convallia, profundioribus naturaliter cavataspatiis, habebant aquam collectam, nec non etiam campi pleni erant, similitudinem pelagi referentes, aliaeque ejusmodi regiones, de quibus omnibus in unam congregationem confluere sunt præceptæ. Et nullus dicat, quia si totam terram, tunc aquarum texerat multitudo, nihilominus ea quoque loca, in quae postea jussæ sunt aquae concurrere, repleta tune erant. Ubi ergo deberet aqua colligi, quæ omnes terrarum partes invaserat? Ad hoc respondemus, quia quando præceptio data est ut in unam congregationem coirent, tunc et susceptionis earum causa processit. Neque enim eral illo tempore mare quod extra Gaddiros est, nec maximum illud, et solis audacibus navigabile pelagus, quod Britannicam insulam, et Hiberos occiduos alluit, habebatur, sed postmodum jussu Dei capacitas sufficiens preparata est, ut aquarum ibidem multitudo conflueret.","english":"Then, when he said, \"Let them be gathered into one gathering,\" he taught that many waters had been divided in various ways. For valley places, naturally hollowed out in deeper expanses, had water collected in them, and fields too were full, resembling the likeness of the sea, and other regions of this kind, all of which were commanded to flow together into one gathering. And let no one say that if the multitude of waters had then covered the whole earth, nonetheless those places into which the waters were afterward commanded to run together were then filled. Where, then, was the water to be gathered, which had invaded all parts of the earth? To this we answer that when the command was given for them to come together into one gathering, then also the cause of their reception proceeded. For neither was there at that time the sea which is beyond Gades, nor was that greatest sea, navigable only by the bold, which washes the island of Britain and the western Hiberi, reckoned to exist, but afterward by the command of God a sufficient capacity was prepared, so that the multitude of waters might flow together there.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":72,"ref":"p72","source":"De qua re quoniam repugnare videtur nostrae mundificationis sermo, dicentibus philosophis, eo quod minime in unam congregationem, sicut experti sumus, aqua collecta est, dicere quidem multa et omnibus nota possemus: sed ne contendere cum talibus ridiculum videatur, quanquam etiam objicere nobis deberent paludes et stagna, nec non eas aquas quæ colliguntur ex imbribus, ut per haec assertionem nostri sermonis infringerent, sciant tamen quia maximam, perfectamque aquarum omnium concursionem, Deus vocavit congregationem. Nam et puteus aquæ collectio est manufacta, in profundam cavationem liquore delapso. Non ergo quælibet aquarum conceptacula congregationis illius vocabulum manifestant, sed illa maxima excellensquesusceptio, in quem totum elementum repente collatum est. Nam sicut ignis in parvulis ac diversis quibusque materiis est dispersus, perhibens omnibus usum necessarium, totus tamen in aethere continetur, similiterque aer, licet singulis corporibus sit illapsus, universum tamen orbem terrae complectitur; sic ct aquarum nalura quamvis variis commissa stationibus teneatur, una tamen est maxima congregatio, quæ omne illud clementum discernit a exteris.","english":"On this matter, since the account of our purification seems to conflict with the philosophers who say that the water was by no means gathered into one gathering, as we have experienced, we could indeed say many things and things known to all; but lest we seem ridiculous contending with such people—although they ought also to object to us the marshes and pools, and indeed those waters that are collected from rains, so that through these they might weaken the assertion of our account—let them know nevertheless that God called the greatest and most perfect concourse of all waters a gathering. For even a well is a made collection of water, the liquid having flowed down into a deep hollow. Not therefore do any receptacles of waters whatsoever manifest the name of that gathering, but that greatest and most excellent receptacle, into which the whole element was suddenly gathered together. For just as fire is dispersed in small and various materials, providing necessary use for all, yet the whole of it is contained in the ether, and similarly air, although it has slipped into individual bodies, nevertheless encompasses the whole circle of the earth; so also the nature of waters, although it is held committed to various stations, is nevertheless one greatest gathering, which separates that whole element from things foreign to it.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":73,"ref":"p73","source":"Lacus enim qui circa regiones habentur arctoas, vcl in Hellesponto, seu in Macedonia, vel in Dithynia congregationes sine dubio nominanlur; sed modo nobis mentio est de illa, quæ reliquis omnibus ita prolixior est, ut terrarum amplitudini coæquetur. et quanquam e in minoribus quoque congregationibus aquarum inesse multitudinem nullus obsistat, non tamen illas quis rite maria nuncupabit: quamvis certae paludes salsugine maris infectæ sint, sicut illa quæ vocitatur Asfaltitis in partibus Judææ, vel Serbonitis, quæ inter Ægyptum Palæstiuamque jacens, deserta contingit Arabiæ. Omnes hæ quidem paludes sunt, unum tamen habetur mare, sicut asserunt qui peragrando terras omnes obicrunt. Scd Hyrcanium, Caspiumque lacum quidam in semetipsos circumscriptos esse pronuntiant. Et sane quoniam oportet nos historicorum cosmographiam diligentius intueri, quid de his relatum sit audiamus. Ferunt itaque memoratos lacus occultis quibusdam perforatos cavernis, in mare maximum suos meatus evolvere; unde etiam Rubrum pelagus affirmatur in mare quod ultra Gaddiros habetur eflluere.","english":"For the lakes situated in the northern regions, whether in the Hellespont, in Macedonia, or in Bithynia, are undoubtedly called gatherings; but for now our mention is of that one which is so much more extensive than all the rest that it is equal to the breadth of the lands. And although no one denies that there is a multitude of waters even in the smaller gatherings, nevertheless no one will rightly call those seas—though certain marshes are infected with the saltness of the sea, such as that which is called Asphaltitis in the parts of Judaea, or Serbonitis, which, lying between Egypt and Palestine, borders on the deserts of Arabia. All these indeed are marshes, yet there is reckoned one sea, as those assert who have traversed all lands in their travels. But some declare that the Hyrcanian and Caspian lake are enclosed within themselves. And indeed, since we ought to look more diligently into the cosmography of the historians, let us hear what has been reported concerning these. They say, then, that the aforementioned lakes, perforated by certain hidden caverns, discharge their channels into the greatest sea; whence also the Red Sea is affirmed to flow out into the sea which is beyond the Gaddirs.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":74,"ref":"p74","source":"Quomodo ergo, inquiunt, si Deus diversas aquarum stationes, maria vocavit, quoniam in unnm conceptaculum convenerunt, ct rursus congregationes omnes, id est sinus, quos pro schemate suo terræ circumdalio comprehendit, mana nihilominus appellantur, id est, mare Arctoum; mare Australe, mare Eoum, marc Occiduum, et iterum uniuscujusque pelagi propria nomina sunt, Euxinum, Hellespontum, Ægæum, Ionium, Siculum, Tyrrhenum, et alia plurima, quorum omnium singillalim vocabula percurrere longum nimis ct operosum est: propterea congregationes aquarum Deus maria nominavit. Sed nos qudem nunc ad hoc prætereuntis ordo sermonis adduxit: ad illud vero quod dudum coepimus revertamur.\n\nEt dixit Deus: Congregentur aquæ in congregalionem unam, et apparent arida. Non dixit appareat terra, ne iterum eam incompositam demonstraret, utpote limosam et adhuc ex aquarum inundatione deformem, alque invalidam; simulque ne soli quispiam causam terrenæ siccalionis ascriberet, merito nativitate solis anteriorem telluris ariditatem Creator instituit. Adverte namque sensu diligentius, quia non solum aqua, quæ superfuerat terræ, sed etiam illa quae in profundioribus partibus latitabat, famulata præcepto dominantis effluxit. Et factum est sic.","english":"How then,” they say, “if God called the various stations of the waters seas, because they came together into one receptacle, and again all the gatherings, that is, the bays which the encircling of the earth according to its configuration comprehends, are nonetheless called by the name ‘sea’—that is, the Arctic sea, the Southern sea, the Eastern sea, the Western sea—and again there are proper names for each individual expanse of sea: the Euxine, the Hellespont, the Aegean, the Ionian, the Sicilian, the Tyrrhenian, and very many others, all of whose names to run through one by one is far too long and laborious—for this reason God named the gatherings of waters seas. But now the order of the passing discourse has brought us to this point; let us return to that which we began some time ago.\n\nAnd God said: Let the waters be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear. He did not say “let the earth appear,” lest He again show it to be disordered, as being muddy and still deformed by the flooding of the waters, and weak; and at the same time lest anyone ascribe the cause of the earth’s drying to the sun—the Creator rightly established the drying of the earth as prior to the birth of the sun. For observe more carefully in your understanding that not only the water which had remained upon the earth, but also that which lay hidden in the deeper parts, flowed out in service to the command of the Lord. And it was so done.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":75,"ref":"p75","source":"Suflicit igitur adjectio ista, declarans vocem Condiloris effectui mancipatam; licet relatum sit in multis cosmographiae codicibus: quia collecta est aqua, quæ fuerat subter coelo in congregationes suas, et apparuit arida; quod certe nec rcliquorum commentariorum ita esse manifestat editio, nec usus exprimit Hebræorum. Nam revera superflua videretur post testimonium quo asseritur, quia factum est sic, rursus de iisdem repetita narratio. Et vocavit Deus aridam terram, et stationes aquarum a vocavit maria. Cur et in præce• dentibus dictum est, congregentur aquæ in congregationem unam, et appareat arida, cum magis dici debuisset, appareat terra; et iterum: apparuit arida, et vocavit Deus aridam terram? Quoniam arida videlicet proprietatis est species, designans illud quod naturæ subjectum est; terra vero nuda causæ nuncupatio est. Sicut enim rationabilitas propria est homini, homo autem ipse, vox est significatoria illius animalis, cujus est proprietas, ita terræ propria præcipuaque ariditas habetur. Ergo elementum quod proprie sortitum est siccitatem, terra non immerito nominatur; si. ut animal cui proprius est hinnitus equus appellatur.","english":"This addition, then, is sufficient, declaring that the word of the Creator was put into effect; although it has been related in many cosmography manuscripts that the water which was under heaven was gathered into its gatherings, and the dry land appeared; which certainly neither does the edition of the remaining commentaries show to be so, nor does the usage of the Hebrews express. For in truth it would seem superfluous, after the testimony by which it is asserted that it was done so, for the narrative to be repeated again concerning the same things. And God called the dry land earth, and the stations of the waters he called seas. Why also in the preceding passages was it said, Let the waters be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear, when it should rather have been said, Let the earth appear; and again: the dry land appeared, and God called the dry land earth? Since the dry land is evidently a species of property, designating that which is subject to nature; but earth is the bare naming of the cause. For just as rationality is proper to man, while man himself is the significative word of that animal whose property it is, so dryness is held to be the proper and principal quality of earth. Therefore the element which has properly obtained dryness is not undeservedly named earth; if, as the animal to which neighing is proper is called a horse.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":76,"ref":"p76","source":"Non solum autem hoc de tellure notandum est, sed etiam in aliis elementis propria cuique qualitas est decreta, per quam a cæteris singula discernuntur, et quale sit ipsum manifeste dignoscitur, id est, aqua suam retinens qualitatem, per quam frigida demonstratur, aer habet humiditatem, ignis ardorem. Sed ea quidem ut pole principalia compositarum re • rum elementa, socundum rationem quæ dicta est, mente sola possumus contemplari. Ea vero quæ in corporibus illapsa sunt, et visui subjiciuntur, conjunctas sibimet possident qualitates, nullumque eorum absolutum potest esse vel simplex, quippe quae oculis comprehenduntur, et sensu. Nam tellus est arida et frigida, aqua humida et frigida, acr ca!idus et humidus, ignis calidus et aridus; atque ita per hæc naturæ potentia provocata facit, ut temperamenlis permixtionis alternae sibimet omnia copulentur, vicinoque elemento per sociam qualitatem unumqvodque cohæreat, et propter insitam singulis communitatem, contrariis misceantur, sicut terra quæ arida est et frigida, connectitur aquis per cognationem frigiditatis; aeri autem per e aquam sociatur. Etenim media horum aqua posita, tanquam duarum porrectione manuum, gemina illis qualitate conjungitur, id est, per frigiditatem terræ, per humiditatem aeri.","english":"But this must be noted not only concerning the earth, but also in the other elements a quality proper to each has been appointed, by which individual things are distinguished from the rest and it is clearly discerned what each itself is—that is, water retaining its own quality, by which it is shown to be cold; air has moisture; fire has heat. But these, as being the principal elements of composite things, according to the account that has been given, we can contemplate with the mind alone. Those, however, which have slipped into bodies and are subjected to sight possess qualities joined together in themselves, and none of them can be absolute or simple, since they are comprehended by the eyes and by sense. For earth is dry and cold, water is moist and cold, air is hot and moist, fire is hot and dry; and thus the power of nature, stirred up through these, brings it about that all things are linked together by the temperings of alternating mixture, and each coheres to the neighboring element through a shared quality, and on account of the community implanted in each, they are mixed with their contraries—as earth, which is dry and cold, is connected to waters through the kinship of coldness; but to air it is joined through water. For water, placed as the middle between these, as if by the stretching out of two hands, is joined to them by a twofold quality—that is, to earth by coldness, to air by moisture.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":77,"ref":"p77","source":"Rursusque aer intercessione sua conciliator naturæ repugnantis efficitur, id est, ignis et aquæ: igni quidem sociatus per calorem, aquæ vcro per humorem. Ignis autem quoniam fervidus aridusque natura est, aeri quidem caloris interventu cohaeret, per siccitatem vero terræ communicat; et hoc modo quasi circulus quidam et chorus compaginatus, a!terutrum sibimet convenientibus elementis videtur esse perfectus. Hæc ideo disserui, ut ordo claresceret, propter quem aridam Dominus terram nominavit; ct non potius tellurem vocilavit aridam. Siccitas enim non postmodum secuta est, sed erat anterior; quippe quæ sit consummatoria substantiæ ejus, atque ideo jure vocabuli hujus privilegiis honoratur. Unde etiam tellus, ut pote principalis, causas suæ notionis assumpsit.\n\nEt vidit Deus quia bona est aqua. Non omnimodis speciositatem eam quæ ex vultu maris emicuit, bonam Domino fuisse visam, sermo significat pulchritudine creaturæ; sed ineffabili sapientia, quæ sunt facta intuetur. Nobis enim revera voluptuosum est mare, cum stabili cœperit tranquillitate candescere, aut cum lenibus asperatum flabris, purpureum colorem cernentibus I ostentat; et quando non violentis tellurem verberat fluctibus, sed velut pacilicis eam complexibus osculatur. Verumtamen non ita Deo videri bonum mare Scripturam dixisse putandum est; ibi enim bonum, non aspectu, sed facturæ ratione censetur.","english":"And again the air, by its interposition, is made the reconciler of opposing natures, that is, of fire and water: it is joined to fire indeed through heat, but to water through moisture. But fire, since by nature it is hot and dry, clings to the air through the intervention of heat, but through dryness it shares in the earth; and in this way, as it were a kind of circle and a compacted chorus, it seems to be made perfect by the elements agreeing with each other in turn. I have discussed these things for this reason, that the order might become clear on account of which the Lord named the dry land earth, and did not rather call the dry land soil. For dryness did not follow afterward, but was prior; inasmuch as it is the consummator of its substance, and therefore by right it is honored with the privileges of this name. Whence also the earth, as being principal, assumed the causes of its own designation.\n\nAnd God saw that the water is good. The discourse does not signify that the beauty which shone forth from the face of the sea seemed good to the Lord by the loveliness of the creature, but by the ineffable wisdom which beholds the things that have been made. For to us the sea is truly delightful when it begins to gleam with settled tranquility, or when, ruffled by gentle breezes, it displays a purple color to those looking on; and when it does not strike the earth with violent waves, but as with peaceful embraces kisses it. Nevertheless, it is not to be thought that Scripture said the sea seemed good to God in this way; for there good is judged not by appearance, but by the reason of its making.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":78,"ref":"p78","source":"Primo quia fons quidam totius humoris qui terram rigat est mare: quod in occullis diffusum venis, sicut approbant scrupea defossaque loca, per quæ commeans aqua marina cum aliquibus montuosis obstaculis retardata fuerit, impulsa spiritu quo urgetur perruptis obicihus procedit ad lucem, potabilis jam effecta, per defecationem, amaritudine deposita naturali; ilemque fervidam qualitatem rccipit, cum per certa quaedam metalla transcurrit, et fit non solum calida, sed et ardens. Quod etiam in insulis plurimis et in diversis littoribus maritimis invenimus, siquidem et in mediterraneis ita fieri regionibus constat. Cur autem hoc dixerimus? ut assererem quia tellus omnis per abditas invisibilesque venas, aquis est repleta manantibus quae trahunt ex mari principium.\n\nBonum etiam mare Deo visum est, et propter decursum quem peragit in profundo terrarum, et a receptaculum est fluviorum cunctarumque aquarum quae in se undique devolvuntur, manens intra terminos suos. Bonum quoque ob hoc, quod aquis acriis fons quidam et origo est. Quæ cum fuerit fota calore solano, deponit humorem subtiliorem per tenues vapores, qui tracti in altiorem locum, frigidique perfecti, ut pote qui nubibus obumbrantur, rores generant atque imbres.","english":"First, because the sea is a kind of fountain of all moisture that waters the earth; spread through hidden veins, as rocky and excavated places prove, the seawater passing through them, when it has been checked by certain mountainous obstacles, driven by the spirit by which it is urged, bursts through the broken barriers and comes forth into the light, now made drinkable, its natural bitterness laid aside through filtering; and it likewise receives a hot quality when it runs through certain metals, and becomes not only warm but even burning. This we find also in very many islands and on various maritime shores, since it is established that it happens thus even in inland regions. But why have we said this? To assert that every land is filled, through hidden and invisible veins, with flowing waters that draw their beginning from the sea.\n\nThe sea also seemed good to God, both because of the course it accomplishes in the depths of the earth, and because it is the receptacle of rivers and of all waters that roll down into it from every side, remaining within its own bounds. It is good also for this reason, that it is a kind of fountain and origin of the sharp waters. These, when warmed by the sun's heat, give off their finer moisture through subtle vapors, which, drawn up to a higher place and made cold, inasmuch as they are overshadowed by clouds, generate dews and rains.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":79,"ref":"p79","source":"Et huic rei nullus erit incredulus, si ad cacabos spumantes fervore respexerit, qui cum repleti aqua fuerint, igne supposito vacui sæpe redduntur; licet ipsa quoque maris aqua, solis dccoqui radiis, ut nautici referunt, affirmetur. Nam vapores exhalantes de pelago suscipiunt penicillis, atque ita sitis consolantur ardorem. Bonum nihilominus eo videtur mare, quia constringit insulas, non minus eis muuitionem perhibens quam ornatum, et quia classibus invectabilem præstat accessum, divitiarumque causas mercatoribus subministrat; et quia plurima terrarum incoHs ignota, navigantium relatione discuntur, multumque penitus vitæ hominum commoditatis cx mari tribuitur. Nam ea quæ nobis exuberant, in alias provincias regionesque transvehimus, ct inde rursus quae minus hic suppeditant apportantur. Sed unde mihi possibile erit maris pulchritudinem designare, ita ut Conditori visum cst? Quod si mate bonum atque laudabile esi apud Dcum, quomodo non coetus Ecclesiæ catholicæ pulchrior judicetur, in qua aetatum omnium sexuumque diversitas, vocibus glorificatoriis ad Deum fusis similem marinis fluctibus sonum reddit, quæ firmiter in pacis statione fundata, nullius quassationem turbinis sustentat hæretici? Quamobrem perficite vos dignos remuneratione cælesti, decus hujus ordinis conservantes in Christo Jesu, cui gloria nunc et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.","english":"And no one will disbelieve this, if he has looked at cauldrons foaming with heat, which, when they have been filled with water, with fire placed beneath, are often returned empty; although the sea's own water is also affirmed to be boiled away by the sun's rays, as sailors report. For the vapors exhaling from the deep are caught by brushes, and thus they console the burning of thirst. Nevertheless the sea seems good also because it confines the islands, affording them protection no less than adornment, and because it provides an approach navigable for fleets, and supplies merchants with the causes of wealth; and because very many parts of the earth unknown to their inhabitants are learned through the report of sailors, and much of the convenience of human life is contributed from the sea. For the things that abound with us we transport to other provinces and regions, and from there again what is less supplied here is brought in. But how will it be possible for me to describe the beauty of the sea, such as it seemed to the Creator? But if the sea is good and praiseworthy before God, how is the assembly of the catholic Church not judged more beautiful, in which the diversity of all ages and sexes, with voices of glorification poured out to God, returns a sound like the waves of the sea, which, firmly founded in the station of peace, sustains the shaking of no heretic's storm? Wherefore make yourselves worthy of heavenly reward, preserving the honor of this order in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":80,"ref":"p80","source":"LIBER QUINTUS.\n\nDe herba seu lignis disputatio.\n\ni. Et dixit Deus: Germinet terra herbam pabuli, seminans semen secundum genus, et lignum fructuosum, faciens fructum secundum genus: cujus semen in semetipso est. Consequenter itaque postquam tellus respiravit, eluctata jam pondus aquarum, datum illi praeceptum est germinare prius herbam, deinde pabulum: quod etiam modo fieri videmus. Nam vox quæ tunc emissa est, et prima illa præceptio It veluti lex quædam natune fuit, et inhæsit terræ: creandi fructificandique sibi perhibens in posterum facultatem. Germinet terra. Primum est in generatione nascentium germinatio, deinde cum paulisper emerserit, herba fit, et cum creverit, pabulum habetur. Eademque paulatim pubescens articulatur; et ita usque ad tempestivam maturitatem seminis coalescit. Nam herbosa viridisque species omnibus est communis. Gerrninet terra herbam pabuli. Per se videlicet tellus germinare praecepta est, nullius indigens adjumento.","english":"BOOK FIVE.\n\nDiscussion concerning the herb, or plants.\n\n1. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the herb of fodder, sowing seed according to its kind, and the fruitful tree, bearing fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself. Accordingly, after the earth had breathed again, having now struggled free from the weight of the waters, the command was given to it to bring forth first the herb, then the fodder: which we see even now come to pass. For the word that was then uttered, and that first command, was, as it were, a kind of law of nature, and it clung to the earth, granting it the power of creating and bearing fruit thereafter. Let the earth bring forth. First in the generation of things that spring up is the sprouting; then, when it has emerged a little, it becomes a herb; and when it has grown, it is reckoned as fodder. And the same thing, gradually maturing, is jointed; and so it coalesces all the way to the timely ripeness of seed. For the grassy and green kind is common to all. Let the earth bring forth the herb of fodder. That is, the earth was commanded to bring forth by itself, needing the aid of no one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":81,"ref":"p81","source":"Quoniam quidam opinantur plantis ac seminibus solem causas præstare crescendi, dum ea quæ de terra pullulant, proprii caloris attractu, ab imis sedibus ad superna producit, idcirco sole antiquior terrenæ fecunditatis ornatus emicuit, ut occasio venerandi salem, ut pole auctorem nascentium, his qui in errore positi sunt auferretur, si tamen suaderi potuerint quia priusquam ipse creatus est, erat jam terra suis fructibus dccora ta, considcrantes quod herbis ct pabulis sol in nascendo posterior est. Quid ergo dicemus, quia pecoribus quidem Conditor alimoniam. reponebat, nostrum vero genus nullius cura dignum provisionis habuerit? Non ita est. Nam qui bubus ct equis tuis paslum praeparavit, uberiores utique tibi divitias, et fruendi copiam ministravit, et subsidia tuæ vitæ per illorum nutrimenta recondidit. Seminum quoque produclio quid aliud debet intelligi quam tuæ dispensationis instructio? siquidem olera radicesque palmarum agrestium non sit dubium cibos hominibus ministrarc. Quod ctsi est aliquod genus herbarum, alienis, non nostris usibus aptatum; tamen id ipsum videtur nostro nihilominus lucro proficere, nobisque omnium seminum commoditas deputata sentitur: et hunc esse profecto constat super his quæ dicta sunt intellectum.","english":"Since some people think that the sun provides the causes of growth for plants and seeds, in that by drawing its own heat it brings forth from the depths of the earth to the heights those things which spring up from the ground, for this reason the adornment of the earth's fertility shone forth before the sun, so that the occasion of worshiping the sun, as though it were the author of things that grow, might be taken away from those who are placed in error—if indeed they can be persuaded that before the sun itself was created, the earth was already beautiful with its fruits, considering that the sun is later in coming to be than the herbs and fodder. What then shall we say—that the Creator indeed stored up nourishment for cattle, but had no care of provision worthy of our race? It is not so. For he who prepared pasture for your oxen and horses certainly supplied you with richer wealth and an abundance of enjoyment, and stored up supports for your life through their nourishment. And what else should the production of seeds be understood to be than the instruction of your stewardship? since it is not to be doubted that garden herbs and the roots of wild palms supply food to men. And although there is some kind of herbs suited to the uses of others, not our own, yet that very thing seems nonetheless to contribute to our profit, and the benefit of all seeds is felt to be assigned to us; and this is assuredly established to be the understanding concerning the things that have been said.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":82,"ref":"p82","source":"Germinet terra herbam pabuli et semen seminans secundum genus. Recte inquit; sic enim ct narralionis consequenter ordo constabit, qui nunc sibi quodammodo creditur repugnare; et necessitas naturalis dispensationis implebitur. Primo est enim germinatio, deinceps herba, post hoc pabuli successio; quai mox seminis perfectio comitatur. Quomodo ergo cuncta quæ nascuntur e terra, seminaria esse sermo declarat, cum nec calamus, nec gramen, nec menta, nec crocus, nec alia plurima nascendi principium sorliuntur ex semine? Ad hæc respondemus, quod a quædam eorum quæ terra producit, in radicibus et in fundo creduntur virtutem seminis obtinere, sicut calamus post incrementa recentia, rursus aliam sobolem de radice submittit reparationem stirpis in posterum porrecturam. Hoc autem facit non solum calamus, sed etiam alia mille, quæ sub tellure nascentia, redivivam prolem in radice custodiunt. Unde verum esse probatum est quia unicuique nascentium, aut semen suppetit renovandi generis, aut vis quaedam seminaria sit adjuncta. Et hoc est quod dicit secundum genus. Neque enim calami progenies potest olearum haberi creatrix; sed ex calamo calamus alter, per similitudinem cognationis exoritur, et ita quod de prima generatione tcrra produxit, usque nunc posteritatis successione servatur. Germinet terra.","english":"Let the earth bring forth the herb of fodder and seed-bearing seed according to its kind.\" He speaks rightly; for in this way the order of the narrative will stand consistently, which now is somehow thought to contradict itself; and the necessity of the natural dispensation will be fulfilled. For first there is germination, then the herb, after this the succession of fodder, which the perfection of seed soon accompanies. How then does the discourse declare that all things which are born from the earth are seed-bearing, when neither the reed, nor grass, nor mint, nor crocus, nor very many other things obtain the beginning of their birth from seed? To these things we answer that certain of those things which the earth produces are believed to possess the power of seed in their roots and in their base, just as the reed, after fresh growths, again sends up another offspring from its root, about to extend a renewal of its stalk for the future. But not only the reed does this, but also a thousand other things which, being born beneath the soil, preserve a reviving offspring in their root. Hence it has been proven true that for each of the things that are born, either seed is available for renewing its kind, or a certain seminal power is attached. And this is what he says, \"according to its kind.\" For the offspring of the reed cannot be held to be the creator of olive trees; but from a reed another reed arises, through the likeness of kinship, and thus what the earth produced from the first generation is preserved up to now by the succession of posterity. \"Let the earth bring forth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":83,"ref":"p83","source":"Respice quomodo ex parva voce, et praeceptione brevissima tellus arida, sterilisque repente parturicns, et ad fctum fructificationis impulsa, velut quodam luctuoso amictu deposito, sumptisque lxtioribus indumentis, et cullu proprii decoris exsultans, omnia quæ jussu cœlesti conceperat, effundebat. Cupio itaque in tuis sensibus altius hærere creaturae miracula: ut ubicunque repertus l.:eris et cuilibet nascentium generi spectator astiteris, magnificam percipias memoriam Conditoris, et ante omnia cum videris herbam feni, vel norc:n, mox te ad humanæ naturæ convertas imaginem: rccordatus Isaiæ sapientis exemplar: Quia omnis caro tanquam fenum, et omnis gloria hominis tanquam flos feni (Isai. XL, 6). Etenim vitre hujus brevitas, et minimum gaudium, et super rebus prosperis hilaritudo mortalium, congrue prorsus a propheta comparata est. Videtur enim hodie quispiam membris refectus, facie robustus, ætate primævus, fremens viribus, atque impetu non ferendus. IIic sequenti mox die miserabilis invenitur, dum aut senectute frangitur, aut languore tabescit. Alter itidem spectabilis habetur, et maximarum refertus opibus facultatum, fultus obsequiis, susceptorum amicorum etiam simulatorum stipatus examine, nec non parasitorum, vel affinium adulatorum circumseptus excubiis, a!ibus omnibus, et procedens, et rediens invidiam cum vitupcratione conquirit.","english":"Consider how from a small word and a very brief command the dry and barren earth suddenly gives birth, and, driven to the fruit of fruitfulness, as if having laid aside a kind of mourning garment and put on brighter clothing, exulting in the cultivation of its own beauty, it poured forth all that it had conceived at the heavenly command. I desire therefore that the wonders of creation should adhere more deeply in your senses: so that wherever you are found and have stood as a spectator of any kind of living thing, you may receive a magnificent remembrance of the Creator, and before all things, when you see the herb of hay or the flower, you may immediately turn yourself to the image of human nature, remembering the example of the wise Isaiah: \"All flesh is like hay, and all the glory of man is like the flower of hay\" (Isa. 40:6). For indeed the brevity of this life, and its least joy, and the gladness of mortals over prosperous things, has been quite fittingly compared by the prophet. For today someone seems refreshed in limbs, strong in face, in the prime of youth, raging in strength, and not to be borne in his onslaught. He is found miserable the very next day, when he is either broken by old age or wastes away with sickness. Another likewise is held in esteem, and filled with the greatest resources of wealth, supported by services, surrounded by a crowd of friends received—even pretended ones—and encircled by the watches of parasites or flattering relatives, and going out and coming in he incurs envy along with reproach.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":84,"ref":"p84","source":"Neque enim potest hunc morbum declinare qui eminet. Adde divitiis civilem quoque potentiam, et honores delatos a principibus, gentium regimenta, militum magisteria, præcones horrifica voce personantes ante seipsum, fasciumque vectorcs hinc et inde prosequentes, gravissimumque terrorem e supplicibus ferentes: adde verbera, proscriptiones, auctiones, vincula, carceres, ex quibus intolerabilis glomeratur formido subjectis. Quid postea? nox una, et febris accessio, lateris dolor, pulmonisque suspirium, divulsum ex hominibus ducit hominem, totaque ejus scena repente detegitur, et illa tanta potentia velut transactum somnium non videtur. Quapropter tempestive propheta florum imbecillitati, similitudinem gloriæ comparavit humunæ.\n\nGerminet terra herbam pabuli, seminaus temen secundum genus. Usque nunc igitur primæ dispositioni trstis est ordo nascentium. Germinatio enim omnia quae generantur antevenit, et si quid de radice prorumpit, ut crocus et gramen, prius id germinare nccesse est, et post hoc fenum viride videri, atque ita in frugem maturam, stipula jam flavescente perduci. Germinet terra herbam pabuli.","english":"For he cannot avoid this disease, since it stands out plainly. Add to riches civil power as well, and honors conferred by princes, governorships of nations, commands of soldiers, heralds resounding with terrifying voice before him, and lictors bearing the fasces accompanying him on this side and that, and bringing the heaviest terror upon suppliants; add beatings, proscriptions, public auctions, chains, prisons, from which an unbearable dread is heaped up for those subject to him. What then? One night, and an attack of fever, a pain in the side, and a gasping of the lung, tears the man away from among men, and his whole stage is suddenly uncovered, and that so great power is seen as if it were a dream that has passed. Therefore the prophet in timely fashion compared the likeness of human glory to the weakness of flowers.\n\nLet the earth bring forth grass for fodder, sowing seed according to its kind. Up to now, then, the order of things being born is a witness to the first arrangement. For germination comes before all things that are generated, and if anything bursts forth from the root, as the crocus and grass do, it must first germinate, and after this be seen as green hay, and thus be brought to ripe fruit, the stalk already turning yellow. Let the earth bring forth grass for fodder.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":85,"ref":"p85","source":"Semen igitur cum ceciderit in solum, et mediocriter humore fuerit et calore mollitum, mox gremio terræ connectitur, quædam subinde genitiva fomenta suscipiens et in venas ejus sensim labendo demergitur, sparsisque minutissimis fibris tumorem superjectæ telluris nascendo perrumpit, fundatumque jam firmiter, facite consurgit tot numero sursum calamos explicans, quot deorsum radices extenderit. Atque ita teneritudo germinis tepcfacta, subjecto vapore, qui tractu caloris illapsus est per radices, et terne nutrimentis \\ adhibetur: partem sui diffundit in culMum, partem ducit in corticcm, partem ministrat in grana, partem porrigit in aristas. Et hoc modo concretione perrecta, paulatim ad sui mensuram singula quæque perveniunt. Ergo sive triticum fuerit, sive legumen, sive olus, sive arbustum, sufficienter instrucre poterit luum sensum, quo possis intueri sapientiam conditoris artificis: qnomodo tanquam genibus quibusdam stipula frumenti succingitur, ut crebris compagibus alligata, facilius valeat onus subvectare spicarum, cum gravitudine maturitatis inflexæ deorsum cœperint inclinari. Et propterca calamus avenæ totus vacuus habetur: quia nullum scilicet gerit pondus in capite. Triticum autem longæ aliter natura munivit, cujus grana providenter admodum locavit in thecis, ut. non diripiantur ab avibus.","english":"When the seed, then, has fallen upon the soil and has been softened moderately by moisture and warmth, it is presently joined to the bosom of the earth, receiving thereafter certain generative nourishments, and gliding gradually it sinks into its veins; and with its exceedingly minute fibers spread out, by growing it bursts through the swelling of the earth above it, and now firmly established, it rises easily, unfolding upward as many stalks as it has extended roots downward. And thus the tenderness of the sprout, warmed by the heat beneath, which has slipped in through the roots by the drawing of warmth, and is applied to the earth's nourishments: it diffuses part of itself into the stalk, draws part into the bark, supplies part to the grains, extends part into the ears. And in this way, as the coalescing proceeds, each several part gradually arrives at its own measure. Therefore, whether it be wheat, or a legume, or a garden herb, or a shrub, it can sufficiently instruct your understanding, whereby you may behold the wisdom of the founder and craftsman: how the stalk of wheat is girded about as with knees, so that, bound by frequent joints, it may more easily bear up the burden of the ears, when, bent by the weight of maturity, they have begun to incline downward. And for this reason the stalk of oats is held to be wholly empty: because, that is, it bears no weight at its head. But the nature of wheat he fortified otherwise with long provisions, whose grains he placed with exceedingly great foresight in husks, so that they not be snatched away by birds.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":86,"ref":"p86","source":"Et idcirco ei rationabiliter aristas causa custodix, velut hastas apposuit, quarum aculeis minores bestiæ repellitur. 4. Quid loquar; quidve reticeam, tam copiosos respiciens thesauros creaturæ? est quidem difficilis assecutio meliorum, sed jactura non tolerabilis omissorum. Germinet terra herbam pabuli Mox cum victualibus et perniciosa procedunt, id est cum a tritico cicula, cum reliquis seminibus helleborus, et aconitum, et mandragora, et papaveris succus. Quid;rgo? postposita gratiarum actione super munificentia Conditoris, accusemus eum de noxiarum productione causarum? Minime: considerantes illud,quia non omnia propter nostrum facta sunt ventrem; sed vobis quidem deputatae dapes, tam promptæ quam notæsunt. Unumquodque vero eorum quæ generata sunt, habent propriam rationem. Neque enim quia taurini sanguinis haustus lethifer habetur, idcirco anirnal ipsum fieri non oportuit, aut penitus non videri, cujus utique labor, ad varios vitæ nostræ.sus valde necessarius æstimatur. Sed tibi quidem sufficiet rationabilitas familiaris hominibus, ad declinanda quæ noxia sunt.","english":"And for this reason the cause of the grain has reasonably set bristles around it, like spears, by whose points the smaller creatures are driven away. 4. Why should I speak, or why should I keep silent, as I look upon the abundant treasures of creation? To attain the better things is indeed difficult, but the loss of what is omitted is not to be borne. \"Let the earth bring forth the herb of fodder.\" Presently, along with the means of sustenance, harmful things also come forth—that is, with the wheat comes the tares, and with the other seeds come hellebore, and aconite, and mandrake, and the juice of the poppy. What then? Having set aside thanksgiving for the munificence of the Creator, shall we accuse him for the production of harmful things? By no means. Let us consider this: that not all things were made for our belly; but the banquets allotted to you are as ready as they are well known. But each one of the things that have been generated has its own proper reason. For it is not because the drinking of bull's blood is held to be deadly that the animal itself ought not to have been made, or not to be seen at all—the labor of which is certainly reckoned to be very necessary for the various uses of our life. But for you the reasonableness familiar to human beings will suffice for avoiding the things that are harmful.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":87,"ref":"p87","source":"Etenim si ovibus et capris sensus suppetit naturalis cavendi contraria, solo intellectu discernentibus lesionem: tu cui ct sermonis facultas præsto est, et artis medicinæ solertia suppetit, remedia sanitatis explorans, et rerum frequens cxperientia, malorum nobis effugia demonstrando, difficile, dic mihi, poteris periculosa vitare, quorum nihil est otiose vel inutiliter constitutum? Aut enim paslum ministrant certis quibusque pecudibus, aut nobis ægrotantibus solatia conferunt ad salutem. Nam cicutam sturni solent edere: cujus vcneaum pro qualitate sui corporis dicuntur effugere. Tenuissima enim sunt adjacentia eorum cordi spiramina, priusque illis evenit ut digcrant quæ sumpserunt, quam frigiditas ad intima eorum intestina perveniat. Coturnicibus etiam in usu escæ habctur helleborus, hujus virus pestiferum naturæ suæ quadam temperatione dcvitant; hæc autem omnia nos ipsos quoque juvarc creduntur. Ex mandragora enim somnifera medicamina componuntur gravissimis membrorum doloribus profutura. Quidam autem per cicutam molestissimam vescendi rabiem mitigarunt; nonnulli per helleborum diuturna vilia corporis exstinxerunt. Ergo unde putabas Condilori crimen objicere, inde potius referendae sibi laudis augmenta sortiris.","english":"For if sheep and goats possess a natural sense of avoiding harmful things, discerning injury by understanding alone, can you—who have at hand both the faculty of speech and the skill of the medical art, exploring remedies for health, and through frequent experience of things, by showing us escapes from evils—tell me, will you find it difficult to avoid dangers, when nothing of these things has been established idly or uselessly? For either they provide pasture for certain flocks, or they bring solace to us in sickness for health. For starlings are accustomed to eat hemlock, whose poison they are said to avoid in proportion to their own body. For the breathings adjacent to their heart are very thin, and it happens to them that they digest what they have taken before the coldness reaches their innermost intestines. Hellebore is also customary as food for quails; they avoid its pestilential venom by a certain tempering of their nature. But all these things are believed to help us as well. For from the sleep-inducing mandrake are compounded medicines that will benefit the most grievous pains of the limbs. Some have mitigated the most troublesome craving to eat by means of hemlock; certain others have extinguished longstanding vices of the body through hellebore. Therefore, from the very source from which you thought to bring a charge of crime against the Creator, you rather obtain for yourself increases of praise to be rendered.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":88,"ref":"p88","source":"Germinet terra. Quantam igitur dicit alimoniam sponte in foliis herbarum, et radicibus et seminibus inveniri, vel quantum ex cultu et diligentia conferri, quanquam non continuo præcepit fructum semenque produci, sed germinare prius statuit, et virere tellurem. et tunc maturare semen, ut prima illa præceptio documentum naturæ fieret ad rationem sequentium. Quomodo ergo secundum genus semina terra producit, cum fulvum triticum serentes, atrum plerumque colligimus? Quod non pertinet ad mulationem generis, sed infirmitatem quamdam et languorcm seminis fuisse diccmus. Neque enim desiit esse frumentum quod adustione nigratum est, sicut ex ipsa possimus appellatione cognoscere, quia nimietate frigoris excoctas species, in alium semen et colorem transtulit et saporem. Sicut econtra, si ager fecundus exstitcrit, et cœli clementia potiatur, mox ad pristinum schema revertitur. Loliurn vero et cætera adulterina genera, quæ zizania sole! nuncupare Scriptura, victualibus admixta segetibus, non ex tritici corruptione gignuntur, sed ex sua propria nascuntur origine.","english":"Let the earth bring forth. How much nourishment, then, does he say is found spontaneously in the leaves of herbs, in roots, and in seeds, or how much is contributed by cultivation and diligence—although he did not immediately command that fruit and seed be produced, but decreed that the earth first germinate and grow green, and then that the seed mature, so that that first command might become a document of nature for the principle of what follows. How, then, does the earth produce seeds according to their kind, when we sow golden wheat and often gather black? We shall say that this does not pertain to a change of kind, but was a certain weakness and languor of the seed. For what was blackened by scorching did not cease to be wheat, as we can recognize from the very name itself, because the species, parched by an excess of cold, transferred the seed into another color and flavor. And conversely, if the field proves fertile and enjoys the clemency of the sky, it soon reverts to its former appearance. But darnel and the other adulterated kinds, which Scripture now calls zizania, mixed in with the food crops, are not generated from the corruption of wheat, but are born from their own proper origin.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":89,"ref":"p89","source":"Horum consideratio illis conferenda est, qui Domini mandata subvertunt, et non sincere verbum monitionis accipiunt; sed maligno magisterio depravati, audent se membris Ecclesiæ salubribus admiscere, ut morbi sui clandeslinam perniciem latentcr mentibus integri inolescaut; licet Dominus perfectionem e credentium in eum merita semiais comparat incrementis, ita dicens: Ut homo mittat sementem super terram, et ille dormiat, et surgat nocte ac die, messis autem lavatur et crescit, ipso nesciente. Sponte enim terra fructiferat: primo fenum, postea spicam. Germinet terra herbam (Marc. IV, 26). Initur iu brevissimo temporis momento, a germinatione tellus incipiens, ut legem Creatoris impleret, per omnes crescendi profecta gradus, mox ad maturitatem quæ nascebantur evexit. Cerneres eo tempore, saltus omnes herbarum viriditate splendescere: campos etiam turgidis messibus exornatos, imaginem quodammodo pelagi fluctuantis spicarum motibus æmulari. Omne tunc fenum et omne genus olitorium; et si quid arbustivum vel seminarium est, copiosis super terram fructibus eminebat. Nulla tunc erat desperatio metuenda seminibus: non ignavia culpanda cultorum, non « aerum intemperantia, non ullius causae querela corruptelam frugibus apportantis, non condemnatio, quæ fertilitatem posset impedire terrarum.","english":"The consideration of these things must be applied to those who overturn the Lord's commandments and do not receive the word of admonition sincerely, but, corrupted by wicked teaching, dare to mingle themselves with the wholesome members of the Church, so that the hidden destruction of their disease may creep secretly into sound minds; although the Lord compares the perfection of those who believe in him to the gradual increases of seed, saying thus: As a man should cast seed upon the earth, and he should sleep and rise night and day, and the harvest is brought forth and grows, he himself not knowing. For the earth bears fruit of itself: first the grass, then the ear. Let the earth bring forth grass (Mark 4:26). It begins in the briefest moment of time, the earth starting from germination, so that it might fulfill the law of the Creator, having advanced through all the stages of growth, and soon it raised what was being born to maturity. You could see at that time all the glades shining with the greenness of herbs; the fields also adorned with swelling harvests, in some manner imitating the image of a tossing sea with the motions of the ears of grain. Then every grass and every kind of garden herb, and whatever is of shrubs or of seed, stood forth upon the earth with abundant fruits. Then there was no despair to be feared for the seeds: no sloth of the cultivators to be blamed, not the intemperance of the air, not the complaint of any cause bringing corruption to the crops, not any condemnation that could hinder the fertility of the lands.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":90,"ref":"p90","source":"Postea enim delictum exstitit; pro quo sumus addicti, ut in sudore nostri vultus panem manducaremus.\n\n6, Inter hæc præcepit quoque lignum nasci fructuosum faciens fructum; cujus semen in seipso cat secundum genus et similitudinem. Hujus igitur editione sermonis omnia confestim ncmora densabantur, arbores etiam quibus mos est in altum surgere, id.ist, olea, vel cedrus, et cypressus, et pinus, nec non frutices foliis vestiebantur, et frondibus virgulta. Quin etiam a quae coronaria vocitantur, roseta dico, tmyrteta, et laureta sub uno temporis momento, I:um ante non essent, singula cum sui proprietate surgebant: alterum ab altero, manifestissima probatione discretum, et certa designatione productum. Verumtamen illo tempore rosa sine spina fuit. Nam postea pulchritudini ejus adjuncta est, ut esset videlicet voluptati sollicitudo contigua, reminiscentibus nobis peccatum, cujus gratia dumos et vepres generare terra damnata est. Quæ quidem jubetur et lignum faciens fructum producere; sed multa ligna videmus, neque semen, neque fructum ferentia. Ad hoc dicemus, quia quae sunt utiliora, mandari memoriæ principaliter meruerunt, deinde subtiliter inquirentibus patefiet aut seminarias esse omnes arbores, aut similem semini habere virtutem.","english":"For afterward sin came into being, on account of which we were condemned to eat our bread in the sweat of our face.\n\n6. Among these things he also commanded that the fruit-bearing tree spring up, making fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind and likeness. Therefore at the utterance of this word all the groves were at once made dense, and even the trees whose custom it is to rise on high—that is, the olive, the cedar, the cypress, and the pine—and likewise the shrubs were clothed with leaves and the bushes with foliage. Nay, even those plants which are called garland-plants—I mean rose-beds, myrtle-groves, and laurel-groves—within a single moment of time, though before they did not exist, each sprang up with its own peculiar property, the one distinguished from the other by most manifest proof and brought forth by a definite designation. Yet at that time the rose was without a thorn. For afterward a thorn was added to its beauty, so that, clearly, anxiety might be close to pleasure, reminding us of sin, on account of which the earth was condemned to bring forth thorns and briars. Indeed, the earth is commanded also to produce the tree that makes fruit; but we see many trees bearing neither seed nor fruit. To this we shall say that the more useful things deserved to be committed to memory first of all; then, to those who inquire subtly, it will become clear either that all trees are seed-bearing or that they possess a power like that of seed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":91,"ref":"p91","source":"Populus enim vel ulmus, et salix, et aliæ tales, fructum quidem nullum videntur afferre manifestum; semen tamen in eis, si quis attentius scrutetur inveuiet. Subjectum est enim earum foliis granum quod mischum nuncupare solent hi qui vocabulorum compositionibus operam dederunt, hoc vim seminis obtinet. Nam, ea quæ de ramorum plantatione nascuntur, ex semetipsis, quamplurimum radicesfundunt. Forsitan et illae gemmæ quæ de stirpe truduntur, rationem quamdam seminis habent, quas agricultores avulsas reparandi causa generis, pastinare consueverunt. Primo tamen, ut supra diximus, arbores illæ dignæ memoratu habentur, quæ nostram vitam suis fruetibus sustentantes, atque hominem nutrientes invidiosam ei facturae erant fruendi libertatem: sicut vitis quæ vinum generat lætificans cor hominis, et olea fructum ferens, qui viltum exhilarat, in misericordia. e Quanta alia tunc simul emergebant urgenter, hæc producente natura!.Itaque radix vineæ habet in circo sarmenta virentia, diffusa per terram: ex quibus primo germen oritur, quod fit labrusca, post hoc uva. Sufficit igitur vinea quoque prudenter inspecta, recordationem tibi naturæ subjicere. Meministi enim dominici sermonis exemplum, quo se dicit esse vitem, Patrem vero cultorem.","english":"For the poplar, or the elm, and the willow, and other such trees, seem indeed to bring forth no manifest fruit; yet if anyone examines more attentively, he will find seed in them. For beneath their leaves there is placed a grain which those who devote themselves to the composition of words are accustomed to call the mischum; this possesses the power of seed. For those things which are born from the planting of branches pour forth roots from themselves in great abundance. Perhaps those buds also which are thrust out from the stock have a certain reason of seed, which farmers, having torn them off for the sake of propagating the kind, are accustomed to plant. Yet first, as we said above, those trees are held worthy of mention which, sustaining our life by their fruits and nourishing man, were to make the freedom of enjoying them an object of envy to him: as the vine which generates wine gladdening the heart of man, and the olive bearing fruit which gladdens the countenance in mercy. How many other things then were springing forth together urgently, nature producing them! And so the root of the vine has green shoots around it, spread through the earth, from which first a bud arises, which becomes a wild vine, and after this a grape. The vine, then, even when prudently inspected, is sufficient to suggest to you the remembrance of nature. For you remember the example of the Lord's discourse, in which he says that he is the vine, but the Father the cultivator.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":92,"ref":"p92","source":"Singulos autcm nostrum, qui per fidem inserti sumus Ecclesiæ, sarmenta nuncupavit: provocans nos ad fructificationem copiosam, ne desidiae accusati, flammis contradamur æternis. Denique non cessat; ubique animas hominum vitibus comparando. Sic enim dicit: Vinea facta est dilecto in cornu pingui (Isai. v, 1). Et iterum: V ineam plantivi, et sepe circumdedi (Matth. XXI, 33), animas videlicet indicans hominum; quas cœlestium mandatorum munitione consepsit: apposita nihilominus angelorum cuslodia., sicut scripltum est: Immitt et angelum Dominus in circuitu timentium eum, et eripiet eos (Psal. XXXIII, 8). Deinde velut vallos quosdam quibus fulciremur crexit: constilutis in Ecclesia, primo apostolis, secundo prophetis, tertio magistris (1 Cor. XII, 28). Atque ita nos exemplis veterum sanctorum suscitans in sublime provexit: nec omnino passus est mentem nostram humi jacentem, fieri dignam calcationihus aliorum. Vult etiam nos velut quibusdam viteis claviculis, id est, amplexibus caritatis astrictos, et proximum quemque diligentes, impetu animi semper ad superiora contendere: similes effectos sarmentis quæ solent paulatim crescendo, ad summos arborum vertices pervenire. Exigit nos etiam fossionem pati. Foditur autem mens, sæcularium depositione curarum; quae cordibus nostris onus grave conficiunt.","english":"But each one of us, who have been grafted into the Church through faith, he called branches, urging us to bear abundant fruit, lest, accused of sloth, we be given over to eternal flames. Moreover, he does not cease comparing the souls of men to vines everywhere. For thus he says: A vineyard was made for the beloved on a fat hill (Isa. 5:1). And again: I planted a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge (Matt. 21:33), indicating, that is, the souls of men, which he enclosed with the fortification of heavenly commandments, with the guardianship of angels likewise added, as it is written: The Lord shall send his angel round about those who fear him, and he shall deliver them (Ps. 33:8). Then, as it were, he raised up certain stakes by which we might be supported: those appointed in the Church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers (1 Cor. 12:28). And so, rousing us by the examples of the ancient saints, he led us upward on high, nor did he at all suffer our mind, lying on the ground, to become worthy of being trampled by others. He wishes us also, bound as it were by certain vine-tendrils, that is, by the embraces of charity, and loving each one our neighbor, always to strive with the impulse of the soul toward higher things, made like to branches which are accustomed, by growing little by little, to reach the very tops of trees. He requires us also to endure digging. For the mind is dug, by the laying aside of worldly cares, which make a heavy burden in our hearts.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":93,"ref":"p93","source":"Ergo qui illecebras corporeæ voluptatis abjecerit, et exsecrabilis ambitum gloriæ divitiarumque contempserit, tanquam fossionis cultura nitescens, aspirare libere incipit, omni labe terrenæ conversationis abstersa. Convenit etiam nos secundum proverbii rationem, minime luxuriantes effluere, id est, non ostentatorie vivere, nec captare decus laudis externæ; sed fertiles nos vero demonstratore cultori bonorum operum præferentes industriam. Tu autem sicut oliva fructifera nulla te spe nudaveris, sed semper babeto fidei viridem validamque constantiam. Ita enim vivacitatem illius arboris, et opulentiam fructuosam videberis imitari, si uberrime misericordiam omni tempore largiaris.\n\nSed jam redeamus i ad scrutationem dispositionis artificis. Quanta tunc genera exstitere lignorum, quorum quædam fecunda sunt, alia projectibilia, nonnulla navibus fabricandis accommoda, quædam focis necessaria? Rursus in his i varius spectatur ornatus, quorum et proprietatis investigatio difficilis habetur et differentia singułorum. Nam alia profundioribus, alia summis et levibus sunt annexa radicibus: alia in altum porrecta, singulisque defixa stipitibus, alia humiliora; et de a stirpibus suis oculos plures fundentia.","english":"Therefore, he who has cast aside the enticements of bodily pleasure and has despised the ambition of accursed glory and riches, shining like a well-tilled field, begins to breathe freely, with every stain of earthly conduct wiped away. It befits us also, according to the sense of the proverb, not to flow out in wanton excess—that is, not to live ostentatiously, nor to chase the splendor of outward praise—but to present ourselves as fruitful, showing diligence to the true cultivator and worker of good deeds. But you, like a fruitful olive tree, do not strip yourself bare of hope, but always keep the green and vigorous constancy of faith. For thus you will seem to imitate the vitality of that tree and its fruitful abundance, if you most generously bestow mercy at all times.\n\nBut now let us return to the examination of the Artisan's arrangement. How many kinds of trees existed then, of which some are fruitful, others fit for casting away, some suited for building ships, and some necessary for hearths? Again, in these a varied adornment is observed, whose peculiar nature is difficult to investigate, as is the difference of each. For some are attached by deeper roots, others by the surface and shallow ones; some stretch upward and are fixed to single trunks, others are lower; and some pour forth more shoots from their stems.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":94,"ref":"p94","source":"Et quorum vertices sunt excelsi, eorum radices multiplices et profundiores habentur, in circoque diffusæ: quas velut fun lamina quædam natura subjecit, quibus moles superposita valeat sustentari. Quanta etiam diversitas in corticibus est, quorum alii lenes sunt et nitidi, nonnulli nodosi et asperi, alii simplices, certi etiam multis conscrti caudicibus? Et quod magis miraberis, senectutis et juventutis humanae similitudo reperitur jn eis. Nam novellorum et pollentium virgultorum deductus et tensus est cortex; senescentium vero rugosus et scaber. Ex bis quædam cum fuerint amputata regerminant, alia mox cum truncantur arescunt, tanquam mortem quamdam ex incisionis injuria perferendo. Multis sane probatum est quia exustæ vel incisae e pinus in nemus glandiferum se transformant. Notum est etiam quasdam diligentia cultorum curatas, naturali penitus malitia caruisse. Nam mala punica quæ sunt acidiora, vel amaras amygdalas, hoc modo ferunt posse molliri, Ii juxta radicem, truncis earum terebratis tædæ cuneus per medium cardinis transfigatur, omnem molestiam saporis incongrui, mutatione dulcedinis exempturus. Idcirco nullus hominum caligine malignitatis offusus de propria salute desperet, sciens quod agricultura quidem pomorum qualitates reducit in melius, labor autem spiritalis potens est omnium morborum superare nequitiam.","english":"And those whose tops are lofty have roots that are manifold and deeper, and spread abroad in a circle; these nature has placed beneath them like a kind of foundation, so that the mass placed upon them may be supported. How great also is the diversity in their bark, of which some are smooth and glossy, some knotty and rough, others simple, and certain ones even bound together with many trunks? And what you will marvel at more, a likeness of human old age and youth is found in them. For the bark of young and vigorous shoots is drawn out and taut; but that of aging ones is wrinkled and rough. From these, certain ones, when they have been cut off, sprout again; others, as soon as they are truncated, dry up, as if enduring a kind of death from the injury of the cut. It has indeed been proven by many that pines, when burned or cut, transform themselves into a grove bearing acorns. It is known also that certain ones, tended by the diligence of cultivators, have been wholly freed from their natural badness. For pomegranates that are more sour, or bitter almonds, they say can be softened in this way: a wedge of pinewood, with their trunks bored through near the root, is driven through the middle of the hinge, about to remove all the unpleasantness of the unsuitable flavor by a change to sweetness. Therefore let no man, overshadowed by the darkness of malice, despair of his own salvation, knowing that agriculture indeed brings the qualities of fruits back to better, but spiritual labor is able to overcome the wickedness of all diseases.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":95,"ref":"p95","source":"Et sane tantam in arborum fecunditatibus videmus esse distantiam, quantam nec verbo quidem possumus explicare. Neque enim solum in alterno genere discretio fetuum continetur; sed in singulis etiam plurima diversitas invenitur. Siquidem aliud specimen masculini fructus, aliud feminini, cultorum fertur tradidisse solertia: e qui etiam palmas gemini esse sexus affirmant. Nam videtur quomodo apud eos quæ femina nominatur, ramos proprios incurvat ad marem velut concubitum petens, ut possit ex ejus admixtione concipere. Unde ingeniosi agricolæ, sublatos de masculo certos oculos, feminæ dicuntur inserere; et ita quasi coitu desiderato repleta confestim subductis brachiis pristinum recurrit ad statum. Hxc autem de ficis quoque narrantur. Nam quidam plantas agrestes hortensibus narratur apponcre: nonnulli etiam frucIum caprifici domesticis alligant, conferendæ valitudiuis causa, quo possint germina sua retinere cadentia. Cujus rei videlicet figura monere nos creditur ut agnoscamus quia oportet plerunque etiam ab alienigenis capero nos fidci documentum, ad professionem bonorum operum declarandam.","english":"And indeed we see such great difference in the fruitfulness of trees as we cannot explain even in words. For the distinction of fruits is not contained only in the alternating kind, but in individual trees also very great diversity is found. Since, indeed, one appearance is reported of the male fruit and another of the female, as the skill of cultivators has handed down; some of whom also affirm that palms are of twin sex. For she who is named female among them is seen, as it were, to bend her own branches toward the male, seeking intercourse, so that she may conceive from his mingling. Whence ingenious farmers, having taken certain eyes from the male, are said to insert them into the female; and thus, as if filled with the desired intercourse, with the arms immediately drawn back she returns to her former state. These things are also told concerning figs. For it is said that certain persons set wild plants beside garden plants; some also bind the fruit of the wild fig to domestic figs, for the sake of conferring health, so that they may be able to retain their fruits when falling. By the figure of this matter, evidently, we are believed to be warned to recognize that often we must also take an example of faith from foreigners, in order to declare the profession of good works.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":96,"ref":"p96","source":"S1f enim videris quempiam de genlilibus aut hæreticis ab Ecclesia Domini segregatum, vitæ morumque cultibus, honestatum; eniti debebis impensius, et studium tuum magis ac magis augere quo possis accedere prope iIlam fructiferam ficum, quae de societate silvestrium vigorem mutuata fecundum, vitia quidem molesti fluxus inbibuit, subsidia vero vicinae fertilitatis arripuit.\n\nIgitur si tanta ratio generationis illarum est, ut vix pauca pro multis potuerimus exponere, quis omnium fructuum varietates, qualitates schematave percurrat, et quanta in singulis habeatur utilitas, cum sint alae quæ sole I decoctæ maturescunt, aliae quae tegumentorum præsidio defensæ plenescunt? Et quomodo eorum quæ mollem fructum ferunt folia fortiora sunt, sicut fici; quorum autem fructus dunor habetur membranarum textura tencrior est, sicut nuces: quia ficus videlicet propter imbecillitatem nicrito flagitat opem majoris auxilii, nucibus autem læsionem facere potuisset denSior opacitas foliorum. Pampinus etiam quam rationabiliter multifida formatione perfectus est, ut uva per eam partem quæ tegitur, aeris repellat injuriam, per eam vero quæ patet, fomenta solani caloris excipiat. Nihil itaque fortuitum, nihil irrationabile factum videmus. Est in omnibus ineffabilis quædam mirandaque sapientia.","english":"For if you have seen anyone from among the Gentiles or heretics, separated from the Church of the Lord, honored by the refinements of life and morals, you must strive more earnestly and increase your zeal more and more, so that you may be able to draw near to that fruitful fig tree which, having borrowed vigor from association with the wild trees, has absorbed the faults of a troublesome flow and has seized the supports of neighboring fertility.\n\nTherefore, if such is the principle of their generation that we have been able to set forth but a few things in place of many, who could run through the varieties, qualities, and forms of all fruits, and how great the usefulness in each one, when some are ripened by being cooked by the sun, and others grow full when protected by the guard of coverings? And how is it that the leaves of those which bear soft fruit are stronger, as in the fig; while of those whose fruit is harder, the texture of the membranes is finer, as in nuts: because the fig, evidently on account of the weakness of its fruit, demands the help of greater assistance, while for nuts the denser shade of leaves could have caused injury. The vine-shoot also, how reasonably is it perfected in a many-cleft formation, so that the grape, through the part which is covered, may repel the injury of the air, but through the part which is open, may receive the nourishment of the sun's heat. We see nothing therefore done by chance, nothing irrational. There is in all things a certain ineffable and wondrous wisdom.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":97,"ref":"p97","source":"Quae autem mens aut cujus facundia sufficiet i comprehendere cuncta subtiliter, ut et contemplari proprietates valeat, et discernere differentias singulorum, vel latentium penitus causarum secreta rimari? Quomodo unus idemque humor per arbustorum radices attractus, in officia numerosa dispergitur, aliter ipsam radicem nutriens, aliter corticem, aliter truncum, et aliter medullam? et quomodo nunc folium fit, nunc in pahnites ramosque formatur, et fructibus præbet alimenta crescendi? Lacrymas etiam quasdam per ramos eadem fundit materia, quarqm quanta sit. nter se differentia quis poterit explicare? Alia est enim a lacryma schini, alius balsami succus, alius etiam de Ægyptiis Libycisque ferulis sudor emanat, Fama est quoque qnod electrum lacryma sit cujusdam ligni, more lapidis obdurata. Cujus rei testimonio sunt surculi, vel musculæ parvæ, quæ considentes in electri manantis succo, cum gelaretur hæserunt. Et omnino de eorum qualitatibus, nisi qui experiendo doctus fuerit, plenam rationem proferre non poterit: quomodo iterum ex ipso humore, vitis quidem vinum generat, olea oleum. Et non solum hoc mirabile est, quia dulcis hic, et ibi pinguis efficitur: sed quod in ipsis fructibus multiplex admodum saporis mutatione demonstratur.","english":"But what mind or whose eloquence will suffice to comprehend all these things in detail, so as to be able both to contemplate the properties and to discern the differences of each, or to search out the secrets of causes deeply hidden? How is it that one and the same moisture, drawn up through the roots of trees, is dispersed into numerous functions, nourishing the root itself in one way, the bark in another, the trunk in another, and the pith in another? And how does it now become a leaf, now is formed into vine-shoots and branches, and provides nourishment for the fruits to grow? The same material also pours forth, as it were, certain tears through the branches, and who could explain how great is the difference among them? For one is the tear of the schinus, another the juice of the balsam, and another is the sweat that flows from Egyptian and Libyan ferulas. There is also a report that electrum is the tear of a certain tree, hardened in the manner of stone. As testimony to this matter there are twigs, or small flies, which, settling in the flowing sap of electrum, stuck fast when it congealed. And altogether, no one except one who has been taught by experience can give a full account of their qualities: how again from that same moisture the vine produces wine, the olive oil. And this alone is not wonderful, that here it becomes sweet and there rich: but that in the fruits themselves a manifold variety is shown by the change of flavor.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":98,"ref":"p98","source":"Alia est enim dulcedinis qualitas in uva, alia in malo, alta in ficu, alia in dactylo, Volo itaque te adhuc hoc enucleatius exa- I minare negotium; quomodo labiorum sensui, gustuique placidissimus videtur humor, cum in quibusdam pomis allata maturitate dulcescit, in aliis acerbus habetur et anxius cum acescit. Contristat autem sensum per amaritudinem nimiam, cum se in absynthio vel in scamonia diffuderit. In quernis vero, vel in corneis pomis, stipticus et durus efficitur; in terebintho autem vel nuce, mollem recipit pinguemque substantiam.\n\nSed cur longinqua prosequimur, cum in una cademquc ficu, modo amarissimus sit humor in succo, modo dulcissimus in fructu, in vite autem sit acerbus cum germinat, suavis in uva matura? Colorum quoque quantas dicas esse discretiones? Denique si-quando florea rura respexeris, videbis eumdemliquorem, quomodo puniceus quidem habetur in hoc flore, purpureus autem vel candidus, vel au-' rosus in alio, majoremque rursus odoris differentiam, quam coloris ostendit. Sed jam sentio mihi sermonem in immensa spatia contemplationis aviditale proserpere. Quem nisi vinctum ad necessitatem creaturae redegero, dies me profecto deMet, magnificam vobis sapientiam, ex minorum comparatione pandentem, Germinet terra lignum fructuosum faciens fructum.","english":"For there is one quality of sweetness in the grape, another in the apple, another in the fig, another in the date. I wish you therefore to examine this matter still more closely: how it is that moisture seems most pleasant to the sense of the lips and to the taste, when in certain fruits, once maturity has been brought on, it grows sweet, while in others it is sharp and distressing when it turns sour. But it grieves the sense by excessive bitterness, when it has spread itself in wormwood or in scammony. In oak, however, or in cornelian fruits, it becomes astringent and harsh; in the terebinth, however, or in the nut, it receives a soft and fatty substance.\n\nBut why do we pursue distant examples, when in one and the same fig the moisture is sometimes most bitter in the sap, sometimes most sweet in the fruit, and in the vine it is sharp when it buds, sweet in the ripe grape? How great, too, would you say are the distinctions of colors? Finally, if ever you look upon flowering fields, you will see the same liquid, how it is indeed crimson in this flower, but purple or white or golden in another, and it shows again a greater difference of odor than of color. But now I feel that my discourse, through eagerness for contemplation, is creeping forth into immense expanses. Unless I bind it and bring it back to the necessity of creation, the day will surely fail me, as I unfold to you the magnificent wisdom from the comparison of lesser things: Let the earth bring forth a fruitful tree making fruit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":99,"ref":"p99","source":"Mox ut præceptum est datum, juga montium arboribus comantia crebrescebant, horti cernebantur exculti, ripæ fluminum diversis frondium generibus replebantur. Quarum quædam dispositæ sunt mensas exornare mortalium, nonnullæ pabuła prebere pecudibus, aliæ medicandi usibus aptaatur; et, ut carptim dicam, quaecunque nobis experientia rerum diuturna congessit, undique necessaria colligens, hæc velocissime dispensatio Conditoris, ab initio futura prospiciens generari constituit. Sed tu cum videris domestica, silvestria terrena, aquaria, florea, majorem recognosce per minima, ita tamen ut admirationi propriae dilectionem Creatoris adjidas, inquirendo quemadmodum certa lignorum facit semper esse virentia, nonnulla quae nudantur hyber no, et rursus eorum quæ semper virentia sunt, quæclam solent folia mutare latenter, ut per hoc nunquam possint propriis frondibus spoliari, sicut I est oliva vel piuus; alia sempilernis induta foliis esse præcipit, ut palmam, quibus ex principali germinatione perceptis usque ad extremum finem creditur esse contenta. Illud quoque considera, quomodo arbor ea quae myrice nominatur, velut ambigui generis est, quippe quæ non minus locis humidioribus quam siccioribus delectatur. Propter quod Hieremias (XVII, 16) mores varios et mutabiles huic virgulto prudenter æquiparat.","english":"As soon as the command was given and granted, the ridges of the mountains were thickly clad with leafy trees, cultivated gardens were seen, and the banks of rivers were filled with different kinds of foliage. Some of these were appointed to adorn the tables of mortals, some to provide fodder for cattle, others are suited for medicinal uses; and, to speak briefly, whatever the long experience of things has gathered for us, collecting from every side what is necessary, this the swift dispensation of the Creator, foreseeing from the beginning what was to be, established to be brought forth. But when you have seen domestic plants, woodland, earthly, aquatic, and flowering ones, recognize the greater through the least, yet in such a way that you add to your own admiration a love of the Creator, by inquiring how He makes certain kinds of trees always green, some which are stripped bare in winter, and again of those which are always green, certain ones are accustomed to change their leaves secretly, so that through this they can never be despoiled of their own foliage, as is the olive or the pine; others He ordains to be clothed with evergreen leaves, such as the palm, which, having received these from their first sprouting, are believed to be content with them to the very end. Consider this also, how the tree which is called the myrice is, as it were, of an ambiguous kind, since it delights no less in wetter places than in drier ones. For this reason Jeremiah wisely compares to this shrub the various and changeable manners of men.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":100,"ref":"p100","source":"Germinet terra, Igitur parva ista præceptio cogit eam vires proprias quanta habet, singulis annorum curriculis ad informandum genus herbarum, seminum lignorumque producere. Nam sicut turbo pineus, ictu prioris verberis incitatus, curvatis spatiis gyros explicat tortuosos, acutoque fundamine semel defixus semetipse circumfert; ita nature ratio ex priore Dei mandato sortita principium, per om::e transit sevum, donec ad communem terminum finemque perveniat. Ad quem nos quoquo bonorum operum repleti fructibus properemus, ut plantali in domo Domini, floreamus in aula Dei piissimi, in Christo Jesu, cui gloria et honor sit semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.\n\nLIBER SEXTUS.\n\ni. Athlelicorum certaminum spectatores, oportet dimicantium valetudinis esse consortes, quod ab editoribus ludorum lustralium facile probabitur, qui congregatos in stadio nudato capite sedere praecipiunt. Propterca, ut mihi videtur, ne non solum spectator intersit unusquisque, sed etiam particeps sudoris existat. Ita videlicet maximorum atque excellentium spectaculorum quæsitorem, et summæ sapientiæ atque ineffabilis auditorem convenit afferre proprias causas ad contemplationem rei proposite. mecumque a partiri laboris onus, ut poterit, socium se magis arbitrans astare quam judicem; ne forte lateat nos veritatis inventio, et mea culpa flat cum auditoribus commune dispendium. Quorsus hæc dixerim?","english":"Let the earth bring forth. Therefore this brief command compels the earth to bring forth its own powers, as great as it has, in each year's cycles, to form the kinds of herbs, seeds, and trees. For just as a pinewood top, set in motion by the stroke of the first blow, unfolds its twisting circles in curving courses, and once fixed on a sharp point spins itself around, so the reason of nature, having received its beginning from God's earlier command, passes through every age until it arrives at the common boundary and end. Let us too hasten to that end, filled with the fruits of good works, so that planted in the house of the Lord we may flourish in the court of the most loving God, in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and honor always, and forever and ever. Amen.\n\nBOOK SIX\n\n1. Spectators of athletic contests ought to share in the condition of the combatants, which will easily be approved by the producers of the quinquennial games, who order those gathered in the stadium to sit with heads bared. For this reason, as it seems to me, so that each person may be present not only as a spectator but also as a partaker of the sweat. Thus, clearly, the seeker of the greatest and most excellent spectacles, and the hearer of the highest and ineffable wisdom, ought to bring his own reasons to the contemplation of the matter proposed, and to share the burden of the labor with me as far as he can, judging himself to stand by rather as a partner than as a judge; lest perhaps the discovery of the truth escape us, and through my fault the loss become common with the hearers. To what end have I said this?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":101,"ref":"p101","source":"Quia videlicet proposita nobis est disputatio de mundi compositione, non ex sæculari sapientia nacta principium, sed ex quibus famulum suum Moysea Dominus docuit in specie, non per figuram locutus ad eum. Ergo necesse est maximarum rerum studiosissimos spectatores, a non inexercitato animo, 'questionibus interesse pResentibus. Itaque si quando sub serenitate nocturna, ineffabilem siderum pulchritudinem desuspexisti, credo te captum de rerum omnium conditore quæsisse, quis noribus ejusmodi coelum variaverit, et quomodo in iis quæ cernuntur major delectatione probatur utilitas, itemque si interdiu, sobria mente discutiens, considerasti diurna « miracula, per visibiliumque rationem, eum qui babetnr invisibilis reputasti, omnino promptus ad audiendum venisti, dignum te demonstrans celebritate honesti hujus beatique spectaculi. Quapropter faciam quod solent hi qui urbium peregrinos, manu comprebensos, ad destinata perducunt, id est, ut vos ad occulta miracula maximae hujus civitatis, utpote nescios introducam. In hac igitur urbe sita est antiqua patria nostra, ex qua nos traduxit homicida diabolus, suis sollicitatos illecebris.","english":"Since, namely, the discussion set before us concerns the composition of the world, having its beginning not from worldly wisdom but from the things the Lord taught his servant Moses in visible form, speaking to him not through a figure. Therefore it is necessary that those who are most zealous observers of the greatest matters engage these present questions with a mind not untrained. And so if at any time under a serene night you have looked up at the ineffable beauty of the stars, I believe that, captivated by the creator of all things, you have asked who it was that variegated the heaven with such lights, and how in those things which are seen their usefulness is approved with greater delight; and likewise if by day, examining with a sober mind, you have considered the daytime wonders, and through the reason of things visible have reckoned him who is held to be invisible, you have come altogether ready to hear, showing yourself worthy of the celebration of this honorable and blessed spectacle. Wherefore I will do what those men are accustomed to do who, taking strangers to cities by the hand, lead them to their destinations—that is, I will introduce you, as being ignorant, to the hidden wonders of this greatest city. In this city, then, is situated our ancient homeland, from which the murderous devil carried us away, enticed by his allurements.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":102,"ref":"p102","source":"Hic conspiciens primam hominis generationem, et mortem quæ nos subinde e secuta est, quam peperit peccatum, quod est primogenitum vetusti dæmonis germen; ibi recognoscis hominem, natura quidem terrenum, sed opus esse manuum divinarum; valetudine multum pecoribus deteriorem, sed animantium inanimatorumque principem constitutum; instrumentis naturalibus imbecillem, sed ad coelum ipsum ope rationis elatum. Si hæc didicerimus, nos quidem ipsos recongoscemus, Deum reminiscemur, Conditorem adorabimus, Domino serviemus, patrem glorificabimus, benefactorem reverebimur, auctorem vitæ nostræ præsentis et futuræ non cessabimus venerari, qui per eas quas largitus est nobis divitias, etiam earum fidem quas promisit ostentat, et qui experimento præsentium, illa quoque quæ sperantur affirmat. Si enim temporalia sunt ejusmodi, qualia sempiterna? Si visibilia tam bona, qualia quæ non videntur? Si cœli magnitudo mensuram humanæ mentis excedit, quis sempiternorum naturam sufficiat aestimare? Si corruptioni sol obnoxius, tam bonus et magnus est, mobilitate velox, discursibus ordinatus, habens congruam amplitudinem, qua statutam rebus omnibus mediocritatem transgredi non queat? Decor autem naturæ velut oculus quidam perspicuus ornamentum mundo perhibet. Si insatiabilis est ejus aspectio, qualis in pulchritudine sol putabitur esse justitiæ? Si cæco jactura est hunc non visere, quantum dispendium p.","english":"Here, beholding the first generation of man, and the death that thereafter followed upon us, which sin brought forth—sin being the firstborn offspring of the ancient demon—you recognize there that man is indeed earthly by nature, but the work of divine hands; in constitution far inferior to the beasts, yet appointed prince of things animate and inanimate; weak in his natural instruments, yet raised up to heaven itself by the aid of reason. If we have learned these things, we shall indeed recognize ourselves, we shall remember God, we shall adore the Creator, we shall serve the Lord, we shall glorify the Father, we shall revere the Benefactor, and we shall not cease to venerate the Author of our present and future life, who through the riches he has bestowed upon us also displays the trustworthiness of those things he has promised, and who by the experience of things present confirms also the things that are hoped for. For if temporal things are of such a kind, what must eternal things be? If visible things are so good, what must those that are not seen be? If the magnitude of the heaven exceeds the measure of the human mind, who could suffice to estimate the nature of eternal things? If the sun, subject to corruption, is so good and great—swift in motion, ordered in its courses, having a fitting magnitude, by which it cannot transgress the mean appointed for all things? Moreover, the beauty of nature, like a certain clear eye, furnishes ornament to the world. If the gazing upon it is insatiable, what will the sun of righteousness be thought to be in beauty? If it is a loss to the blind man not to see this sun, how great a loss p.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":103,"ref":"p103","source":"ttur peccator, vera luce fraudatus?\n\nEt dixit Deus: Fiant luminaria in firmamento coeli ad illuminandam terram, et dividant inter diem et noctem. Cælum scilicet et terra præcesserant, lux super his jam fuerat fabricata, dies a nocte discretus, arida jam rcvelata erat, aqua congregata in stationem sibi deputatam, terra suis erat fructibus repleta; quippe quae tot herbarum millia germinaverat et variis plantarum generibus abundabat: sol autem necdum erat et luna, ne principem videlicet patremque luminis eum vocarent, vel auctorem e terra nascentium, qui Deum nesciunt, opinarentur. Propterea quarto die dixit: FiatU luminaria, et fecit Deus duo luminaria. Quis præcepit? Quis obsecutus est? Num consideras in his duplicationem personarum? ubique igitur dogma Dcitatis mystica narratione consertum est historiæ, causaque præsto est creandorum luminariorum ad illustrandam terram. Quomodo ergo si lux antecesserat, nunc ad illuminationem sol dicitur constitutus? Primo quidem sermonis nostri simplicitas nullum tibi risum moveat, si facundiae vestrae non affectamus elegantiam, nec compositiones sequimur clausularum. Non enim consuevimus verbomm instructuras, vel euphoniam pronuntiationis excolere; sed honestam significationem nominum ubique ducimus præponendam.","english":"Is the sinner deprived of the true light?\n\nAnd God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to illuminate the earth, and let them divide between day and night. Heaven, of course, and earth had come first; light had already been made over them; day had been separated from night; the dry land had already been revealed; the water had been gathered into the station assigned to it; the earth was filled with its fruits—indeed, it had sprouted thousands of herbs and abounded in various kinds of plants. But the sun and moon did not yet exist, lest those who do not know God call him the prince and father of light, or suppose him to be the author of things that grow from the earth. For this reason, on the fourth day he said: Let there be lights, and God made two lights. Who gave the command? Who obeyed? Do you not observe in these words a doubling of persons? Everywhere, therefore, the doctrine of the Godhead is woven into the historical narrative by a mystical account, and the reason for creating the lights—namely, to illuminate the earth—is at hand. How is it, then, that if light had come before, the sun is now said to have been appointed for illumination? First of all, let the simplicity of our speech provoke no laughter in you, if we do not strive for the elegance of your eloquence, nor pursue the cadences of clauses. For we are not accustomed to cultivate elaborate arrangements of words or a euphonious delivery; but we hold that the honorable meaning of the words is everywhere to be preferred.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":104,"ref":"p104","source":"Adverte itaque quomodo per naturam sufficienter quod voluit, declaravit: pro illuminatione enim luminaria nominat, quod utique non repugnat his quæ de luce prædicta sunt. Tune enim natura luminis est producta; nunc autem sola num corpus effectum est, quo superfertur illud pri. mogenitum lumen. Sicut enim aliud est ignis, aliud lucerna, quorum unum illustrandi vim possidet, aliud ministrandi causa luminis, his qui ejus indigent est formatum; sic et mundissimæ illi et sincerissimæ luci pro vehiculis quibusdam luminaria ista subjecta sunt, licet Apostolus (Phil. II. 15) quosdam luminaria mundi nominat. Sed alia est vera lux mundi, ex cujus transfusione lustrati sancti, luminaria fiebant animabus his, quas veritatem docenles, de tenebris eas ignorantiæ liberabant. Sic et sol iste visibilis illo principali fulgore flammatus elucet.\n\nEt nulli videatur incredibile, quod diximus aliud esse luminis splendorem, aliud subjectum lumini corpus, primo quia quæ composita sunt, in duas partes dividuntur, id est, in materiam receptricem, et in eam quæ sibi evenerit qualitatem. Sicut ergo aliud est naturalis candor, et aliud quod candescit: sic illa quæ dicta sunt distare a se quidem natura videntur, sed Creatoris virtute conjuncla sunt.","english":"Notice, therefore, how by nature he sufficiently declared what he willed: for instead of illumination he names the luminaries, which is in no way contrary to what was said above concerning the light. For then the nature of light was produced; now, however, only the body was made, over which that firstborn light is borne. For just as fire is one thing and a lamp another—of which the one possesses the power of giving light, while the other is formed for the sake of ministering light to those who need it—so also those most pure and most sincere lights have these luminaries subjected to them as, so to speak, vehicles, although the Apostle calls certain ones luminaries of the world. But there is another true light of the world, from whose outpouring the saints, once illumined, became luminaries for those souls whom, teaching the truth, they freed from the darkness of ignorance. Thus also this visible sun shines, kindled by that principal splendor.\n\nAnd let it seem incredible to no one that we have said the splendor of light is one thing and the body subjected to the light another, first because composite things are divided into two parts, that is, into receptive matter and into the quality that has befallen it. Just as, therefore, natural brightness is one thing and that which glows is another, so those things which have been spoken of seem indeed to differ from one another by nature, but they are joined together by the power of the Creator.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":105,"ref":"p105","source":"Et non mihi dicas impossibile est hæc a ab alterutrum separari; neque enim ego separationem luminis a solano corpore comprehensibilem mihi tibique confirmo, sed quia nobis opinatione sola divisibilis æstimatur. Plane nutu Conditoris possunt hæc a natura sua facile sejungi. Denique nobis impossibile penitus est ardorem solis a splendore discernere, sed Deus volens famu lum suum mirifica visione convertere, sic apposuit rubo flammam, ut solam vim claritudinis ejus, deposita torriditate, monstraret. Sicut et psalmus testatur dicens: Vox Domini intercidentis flammam ignis (Psal. XXVIII, 7). Unde etiam in retributionibus dclictorum quæ in vita contraximus, ratio quædam nos secrelior docet partiendam ignis esse naturam: cujus lux ad illuminandos deputabitur justos, ardor autem ad concremandos proficiet peccatores. Licet ct dc lunae quoque passionibus facile queamus fidem capere quæsitorum, decrescens enim, non toto corpore prorsus expenditur; sed insertam sibi lucem modo deponens, modo recipiens, concietionis et ciiminutionis propriæ quasdam nobis exhibet fantasias. Nam quia senescente ea minime totum corpus ejus expeaditur, testimonio sunt quæ videmur: licet enim tibi aere libero ncbulosisque carente vaporibus, spectare lunam deficientem, quando rotunda sccundum schema est, quando globus ejus, ex eo latere quod tenebrosum est, tali orbe circumscribitur, quali cum luce plena est.","english":"And do not say to me that it is impossible for these to be separated from one another; for I do not establish for myself and for you a comprehensible separation of light from the body of the sun, but because it is reckoned by us to be divisible only in opinion. Clearly, by the nod of the Creator, these can easily be separated from their nature. Finally, it is altogether impossible for us to distinguish the heat of the sun from its brightness, but God, wishing to turn His fame to a wondrous vision, so applied flame to the bush that He showed only the power of its brightness, its burning heat being laid aside. As the psalm also testifies, saying: The voice of the Lord dividing the flame of fire. Hence also in the retributions of the sins that we have contracted in life, a certain more secret reasoning teaches us that the nature of fire is to be divided: its light will be assigned to enlighten the just, but its heat will profit to consume sinners. Although also concerning the passions of the moon we can easily grasp faith in the things sought, for as it wanes it is not entirely expended in its whole body; but, now laying aside and now receiving the light inserted in itself, it exhibits to us certain phantasies of its own conception and diminution. For because, as it ages, its whole body is by no means expended, the things we see are testimony: for it is permitted you, in air free and lacking cloudy vapors, to observe the waning moon, when it is round according to its shape, when its globe, from that side which is dark, is circumscribed by such an orb as when it is full of light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":106,"ref":"p106","source":"Quem evidenter integrum pei fectumque conspiciens, ea manifestatum parte qua fulget. Et non mihi dicas quia lux cius adventitia est, quoniam minuitur quidcm quando contra solem vertitur, crescit autem cum ab eo discesserit. Nam nec nobis hoc modo discutere propositum est, sed quia aliud est ejus corpus, aliud causa luminis. Tale quiddam ergo mihi, et de natura solis intellige, qui ob hoc tantum discrepare videtur a luna; quod hic quidem susceptam semel insitamque sibi lucem minime deponit, illa vero sæpius exuta, « iterumque induta lumen, facile poterit ex se etiam quæ de sole dicta sunt confirmare. Hæc ergo luminaria statuta sunt dividere inter diem et noctem, quorum naturam tunc ab alterna contrarietate destituit, ut erga se irreprehensibiliter haberentur, nullaque communitas tenebris esse possit cum luce. Quod enim est ulnbra interdiu, hoc obscuritas habetur in nocte. Et sicut omnis umbra de corporibus lumini subjectis emittitur, mane quidem tendens ad occasum, vespere vergens ad Orientem, meridianis se horis ad partem Septentrionis inclinans, nox quoque ipsa, retrorsum lucis radiis repercussa secedit. Cujus quid aliud intelligenda natura est, quam mundi obumbratio? Sicut enim lucido die stantem quempiam sub aurora solis mox umbra comitatur, sic obumbrato aere qui terras proximus est, nox efficitur, et hoc est quod dicit, Separavit Deus inter lucem et tenebras.","english":"Seeing it clearly whole and perfect, he revealed it in that part in which it shines. And do not say to me that its light is adventitious, since it diminishes when it is turned opposite the sun, and grows when it has departed from it. For it is not our purpose to discuss this in such a way, but rather that its body is one thing and the cause of its light another. Understand something of this sort, then, also concerning the nature of the sun, which for this reason alone seems to differ from the moon: that the former in no way lays down the light once received and implanted in itself, while the latter, often stripped and again clothed with light, will easily be able from itself to confirm even the things said about the sun. These luminaries, therefore, were appointed to divide between day and night, whose nature was then deprived of their alternating opposition, so that they might conduct themselves toward one another without reproach, and there could be no community of darkness with light. For what shadow is by day, this is reckoned as obscurity in the night. And just as every shadow is emitted from bodies subjected to light—in the morning stretching toward the west, in the evening inclining toward the east, and at the midday hours bending toward the north—so night itself also, driven back by the rays of light, withdraws. What else is its nature to be understood as, than the overshadowing of the world? For just as on a bright day a shadow soon accompanies anyone standing under the sunrise, so when the air nearest the lands is overshadowed, night is made; and this is what it says: God separated between the light and the darkness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":107,"ref":"p107","source":"Nam fere semper obscuritas refugit lucis adventum, quippe quibus ex prima generatione alienatio inter se naturaliter est aptata. Nunc autem solem precepit spatia diurna pcragere, lunam vero cum orbem suum compleverit, moderatricem noctis statuit: pro certaque dimensione invicem sibi luminaria ista succedunt. Nam sole procedente, luna si plena cst, statim du itur ad occasum. Rursus autem cum sol cursui suo metas posneriL, hæc incipit exoriri. Sed si secundum alia schemata minime spatio noctis lunare lumen aequiparat, non interest propositæ quæstionis, solum nubis illud asserentibus, quia quando perfecta est luna, noctis obticet principatum, proprio superans astra fulgorc, terramque perlustrans; temporis autem mensuram;rqualilcr cum sole par titur.\n\nEt sint, inquit, in signis, et in temporibus, et in diebus, et in annis. Nccessarias igitur humanae vitæ, sicut longior usus docet, signorum notationes ct observationes invenies, si tamen non amplius eas quam oportet inquiras. Multa enim super futuris imbribus i possumus discere; plurima quoque de vaporibus terrarum, motibusque ventorum, seu per partes venientium, seu generaliter ubique spirantium, et utrum violenter, an placide sint venturi. Unum itaque ex demonstrationibus habetur solum, quod ostendit nobis Dominus, dicens futuram tempestatem cum caelum coeperit igneo ruborc tristari (Matth. xvi, 3).","english":"For almost always darkness flees the approach of light, since for these from their first generation a natural estrangement has been fitted between them. But now he has appointed the sun to complete the spans of day, and the moon, when it has filled its own orb, he established as the ruler of the night; and by a fixed measure these luminaries yield place to one another in turn. For as the sun advances, the moon, if it is full, straightway is led to its setting. And again, when the sun has set bounds to its course, this one begins to rise. But if according to other configurations the lunar light does not equal the span of the night, it is of no concern to the question proposed, for those who assert it on account of a cloud, since when the moon is perfect it covers the sovereignty of the night, surpassing the stars with its own radiance and illuminating the earth; and it shares the measure of time equally with the sun.\n\nAnd let them be, he says, for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. You will therefore find the notations and observations of signs necessary for human life, as longer experience teaches, provided you do not inquire into them more than is fitting. For we can learn many things about future rains; very many also about the vapors of the earth and the motions of the winds, whether coming in parts or blowing generally everywhere, and whether they are going to come violently or gently. One thing therefore is held among the demonstrations, which the Lord showed us, saying that a storm is coming when the sky begins to be darkened with a fiery redness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":108,"ref":"p108","source":"Nebulis enim subeuntibus, obfuscati radii rutilo sanguineoque colore cernuntur; aeris videlicet densitate talem speciem nostris obtutibus exhibente, qui necdum vi caloris expressus, a propter exhalantes subinde vapores, et augmentis aquarum magis magisque crassatus, certissimam tempestatem regionibus in quibus fuerit glomeratus intentat. Similiter etiam fit quando habetur luna circumflua, vel cum solem circumdederit area quæ vocatur, nimirum aquarum multitudinem, aut ventorum fremitus futuros annuntiat, vel cum visi circa eum fuerint discurrentes, ii qui soles contrarii nominantur: profecto casus aliquos ætherei tractus imminere portendunt. Sicut et virgae illac quæ in iridis colore sub matutinis nubibus ostenduntur, vehementes pluvias et procellas, aut aliquam omnimodo cæli perturbationem significant. Plurima etiam indicia crescente vel senescente luna, qui huic scientiæ studuerunt notasse dicuntur: asserentes quod aer terræ proximus, necessario pro lunæ schematibus qualitatibusque vertatur. Nam cum fuerit tertia, si gracilis et minime cornibus obtusis appareat, serenitatem stabilem firmamque declarat. Sin autem rubicunda, pinguisque cornibus habeatur, imbres nimios, australemque violentiam minatur. Honim igitur observatio quantum commoditatis impendat hominibus, quis ignorat?","english":"For when clouds come up, the darkened rays are seen with a ruddy and blood-red color, since the density of the air evidently presents such an appearance to our eyes; and this air, not yet compressed by the force of heat, and being continually thickened by the vapors rising from it and by the increase of waters more and more, threatens the regions in which it has gathered with a most certain storm. The same also happens when the moon is seen surrounded by a halo, or when the circle called the \"area\" has encircled the sun; it surely announces a great abundance of waters or the roar of future winds, or when those things that are called \"counter-suns\" have been seen running about around it; indeed they portend that certain falls of the ethereal expanse are imminent. Just as those streaks also that appear in the color of the rainbow beneath the morning clouds signify violent rains and storms, or some disturbance of the sky in every way. Very many indications also, as the moon waxes or wanes, those who have devoted themselves to this science are said to have noted, asserting that the air nearest the earth is necessarily changed according to the phases and qualities of the moon. For when it is in its third phase, if it appears slender and with horns not at all blunt, it declares a stable and firm serenity. But if it is held to be ruddy and fat with horns, it threatens excessive rains and southern violence. Who, then, does not know how much advantage the observation of these things confers on men?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":109,"ref":"p109","source":"Possunt enim navigaturi intra portum retinere classem, futura pericula previdentes; viator item cautus effectus ex calli tristitia, tranquillitatis tempus exspectat; agricultores quoque seminibus et plantis sollicitam diligentiam commodantes, ex memoratis instructi signisopportunitatem congruam praestolantur. Quid, quod solutionis etiam rerum omnium in sole, lunaque et stetlis, visenda prodigia Dominus prædicavit dicens: Sol vertetur in sanguinem, et luna non dabit lucem suam (Joel. II,; Act. II, 20). Verum haec indicia sunt mundanae consummationis, ut diximus.\n\nSed illi qui ultra fossam sallus suos conantur extendere, ad rationem genesis cursum propositi sermonis inflectunt. Ferunt enim vitam nostram de motu pendere coelestium; propterea Chaldæi notationes astrorum ad casus humanos asserunt pertinere, simplexque dictum Scripturae quod ait in signis, non ad mutationem videlicet aeris vel temporum qualitatem, sed ad sortem vitæ transferentes humanae, prout sibi videtur, exponunt; dieentes quorumdam discurrentium siderum complexionem, cum ad illas stellas quae in zodiaco moventur circulo, si e secundum tale verbi gratia schema coierint, certam genesin solere perficere; rursusque si alter habitus illarum fuerit, contraria decreta componit. De quibus non erit fortassis inutile, si aperiendae quæstionis gratia, paulo superius repetita serie narrationis exordiar.","english":"For those about to sail can keep their fleet within the harbor, foreseeing dangers to come; likewise the traveler, made cautious by the gloom of the sky, waits for a time of calm; farmers too, giving careful attention to seeds and plants, instructed by the signs mentioned, await the fitting opportunity. What of the fact that the Lord also foretold portents to be seen in the sun, the moon, and the stars at the dissolution of all things, saying: The sun shall be turned into blood, and the moon shall not give her light. But these are signs of the world's consummation, as we have said.\n\nBut those who try to extend their salt-marsh beyond the ditch turn the course of the proposed discourse to the account of genesis. For they claim that our life depends on the motion of the heavenly bodies; and for this reason the Chaldeans assert that the notations of the stars pertain to human fortunes, and transferring the simple statement of Scripture, which says \"in signs,\" not, that is, to the change of the air or the quality of the seasons, but to the lot of human life, they expound it as seems to them; saying that the combination of certain wandering stars, when they come together in accordance with some such figure, for example, with those stars which move in the circle of the zodiac, is accustomed to produce a definite genesis; and again, if their arrangement is otherwise, it sets forth contrary decrees. Concerning these things it will perhaps not be useless, for the sake of opening up the question, if I begin a little further back with the series of the narrative repeated.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":110,"ref":"p110","source":"Dico autem non meum quid proprium, sed confutationis illorum causa, suis utar elogiis: ut et ii qui errore præventi sunt, remedia conceptæ læsionis accipiant, et cæteri munimen aliquod, ne similia patiantur, inveniaut. Repertores igitur genesiacæ rationis diuturnitate temporis experti, quod eos de schematibus multa diffugiant, in angustum penitus temporis redegere mensuram, ut etiam minutissimo intervallo, sicut dicit Apostolus: In momente, et in puncto (I Cor. xv. 52), magna sit inter geuesim genesimque distantia, asserentes quod ille qui natus est in hoc puncto rex erit gentium princepsque populorum, maximam potentiam multasque divilias sortiturus; eum autem qui in illo momento creatus est, mendicum, et vagum fore, quotidianique victus causa, diversorum januas obiturum. Ideo namque circulum qui signifer appellatur in duodecim partibus dividunt; quoniam sol per triginta dies egreditur duodecimum locum sphæræ, ejus quæ, id est, inerrabilis vocitatur. Et rursus unumquodque membrum partium tricenarum per spatia duodena deducunt: quorum singulas iterum portiones in alia sexaginta distribuunt, eorumque sexaginta sexagies portiones enumerant. Hujusmodi ergo nascentium genesim disponentes, videamus si possunt hanc subtilitatem sub temporis dimensione servare.","english":"But I say this not as something of my own, but for the sake of refuting them, I will use their own boasts: so that both those who have been overtaken by error may receive remedies for the injury they have conceived, and the rest may find some protection, lest they suffer similar things. Therefore the inventors of the genethliacal system, having learned by long experience that many things escape them in their schemes, have reduced it to a very narrow measure of time, so that even in the smallest interval, as the Apostle says: In a moment, and in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:52), there is a great difference between one geniture and another, asserting that he who is born in this point will be a king and leader of peoples, destined to obtain the greatest power and many riches; but he who is created in that moment will be a beggar and a wanderer, and for the sake of daily sustenance will go about the doors of various people. For this reason they divide the circle which is called the zodiac into twelve parts; since the sun passes through the twelfth place of the sphere in thirty days—the sphere which is called the inerrant one. And again they lead each member of the thirtyfold parts through spaces of twelve: whose individual portions they again distribute into another sixty, and they enumerate the portions of those sixty sixty times over. Therefore, arranging the geniture of those being born in this way, let us see whether they can preserve this subtlety under the dimension of time.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":111,"ref":"p111","source":"Mox enim ut infans processerit ex utero, speculari necesse est obstetricem quæ dicat puer sit an puella quod natum est, et exspectat vagitum quo capiat parvuli viventis indicium. Quanta vis dum haec aguntur, sexagies dicas transisse momenta. a Itaque dum manifestatur editus puer mathematico, quanta dicimus elapsa essepuncta, dum media responsa redduntur. Quod etsi configerit extra fores cubiculi stare eum qui nascentis horam colligit, oportet visitari laterculum, ut diligenter, et sine ulla iutermissione calculari possit cursus horarum, sive diurui fuerint, sive nocturni. Quantorum igitur sexagesimorumnumerus, eo ipso tempore præteriisse putabilur? Necesse est enim ut inveniatur stella, quæ non solum in quota parte duo lecimi spatii, sed etiam in quoto puncto duodecies divisæ portionis assistit, vel potius in quoto momento sexagesimorum reperitur, in quibus diximus decretorum sortem fuisse divisam, aut ut omnino veritas inquiratur, in quoto eorum scxagesimorum ostento, quæ a primis sunt sexagesimis reparata. Verum istam sic enucleatam, et incomprehensibilem temporis inventionem, in singulis quibusque planetis licri, necessarium esse confirmant: ut agnoscatur qualem habitum gesserit adversus erralicas stellas, vel quale inter se schema tenuerint, cum nasceretur infanlulus.","english":"For as soon as the infant has come forth from the womb, the midwife must be watching to say whether what has been born is a boy or a girl, and she waits for the cry by which she may take the sign of the little one being alive. How great a quantity of time, while these things are being done, you would say sixty moments have passed. And so, while it is being made known to the astrologer that the child has been brought forth, how many points we say have slipped by, while the answers are being given in the meantime. And even if it happens that the one who records the hour of the birth stands outside the doors of the chamber, the tablet must be consulted, so that the course of the hours, whether they were of the day or of the night, can be calculated carefully and without any interruption. How great a number of sixtieths, then, will be thought to have passed in that very time? For it is necessary that a star be found which stands not only in whatever part of the space of two-twelfths, but even in whatever point of the portion divided twelve times, or rather in whatever moment of the sixtieths it is found, in which we have said the lot of the decrees was divided, or, that the truth be sought altogether, in whatever one of those sixtieths I show, which are made up from the first sixtieths. But they affirm that this so thoroughly unraveled and incomprehensible discovery of the time must be made in each and every one of the planets: so that it may be known what disposition it bore toward the wandering stars, or what configuration they held among themselves, when the little infant was born.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":112,"ref":"p112","source":"Nam si hora sollicite non fuerit custodita, contigeritque vel modicum quid de illa subtilissima ratione mutari: prorsus observatio tota confunditur. Sunt quidem risu digni qui hojus inexplicabilis disciplinae studiis vacaverunt: sed multo magis illi qui avidius in eos inhiant, tanquam scientes aliquid.\n\nItaque solent eventus, et effigies quoque praedicere singulorum, declarantes illum crispo capillo futurum et alacrem; quoniam in ariete posita est ejus hora, talis enim species est ejus animalis; eritque magnæ potentiæ, quoniam principalis est aries. Praesidalcm quoque futurum, et quaestuosum, quoniam pecus istud sine molestia depositam lanam facile resumit ministrante natura. Qui autem sub tauro creatus est tyrannicus erit, et laboriosus, idemque servilis, taurus enim jugo submittere colla consuevit. Qui vcro signo scorpii nascitur, vulnificus habebitur, ut pote similis illi; qui autem sub hora libræ fuerit editus, justus efhcitur; propter æquitatem quæ servatur in trutina. Quod his risibilius fieri poterit? Aries igitur ex quo genesiru inutuaris hominibus, duodecima pars coeli habetur; in quo si sol constiterit, ætherea signa contingit; libra quoque vel taurus duodecima portio est signiferi circuli.","english":"For if the hour has not been carefully watched, and it happens that even a little of that most subtle reckoning is changed, the whole observation is utterly confounded. Those who have devoted themselves to the studies of this inexplicable discipline are indeed worthy of laughter, but far more so are those who eagerly gape at them as though they knew something.\n\nAnd so they are accustomed to foretell events and even the appearances of individuals, declaring that this one will be curly-haired and lively, since his hour is placed in Aries—for such is the appearance of that animal—and he will be of great power, since the ram is principal. They say he will also be a leader and a man of gain, since that flock easily takes back the wool it has laid down without trouble, nature ministering it. But one who is created under Taurus will be tyrannical and laborious, and likewise servile, for the bull is accustomed to submit its neck to the yoke. But one who is born under the sign of Scorpio will be held to be wound-inflicting, as being like that creature; but one who has been brought forth under the hour of Libra is made just, on account of the equity that is preserved in the balance. What could be more laughable than these things? Aries, then, from which they initiate nativities for men, is held to be the twelfth part of heaven; and if the sun has stood in it, ethereal signs occur; Libra also, or Taurus, is the twelfth portion of the zodiacal circle.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":113,"ref":"p113","source":"Quomodo ergo principales inde causas asserendo vitæ mortalium, de terrenis pecudibus nascentium formas mentes, et dicis munificum fore arietinum homhiem: non quia morum ejusmoJi pars illa coeli perfectrix est, sed quia natura talis est ovis? Hortaris ergo nos prælata dignitate stellarum, aut potius suadere conaris, per bestias mutas accommodare tibi consensum. Quod si de ani. malibus assumptas morum proprietatcs habet polus ipse quoque subjacet necessitatibus alienis; quippe quia nactus est ex quadrupedibus causarum ducta principia. Si autem hoc dicis ineptum esse, multo illud pronuntiabis ineptius, ut auderes de his rebus assertiones afferre, quæ nihil nobiscum videntur hahere commune. Verum hæc illorum argumenta siruilia sunt a cassibus aranearum, in quibus si culex, aut musca consederit, tenetur innexa; cum autem de fortioribus aliquid inciderit, ipsum quidem mox penetrat, textus vero perrumpit invalidos.","english":"How then do you assert the principal causes of mortal life from this, claiming that the minds of those born from earthly beasts take their forms from them, and saying that the ram-like man will be generous—not because that part of heaven which governs character is the perfecting cause of his ways, but because such is the nature of a sheep? You therefore urge us, by the pre-eminent dignity of the stars—or rather you try to persuade us—to lend you our assent through dumb beasts. But if the very pole itself has the properties of character taken from animals, it too is subject to alien necessities, since it has derived the first principles of causes from quadrupeds. But if you say this is absurd, you will pronounce that far more absurd—that you should dare to bring assertions concerning those things which appear to have nothing in common with us. Yet these arguments of theirs are like spiders' webs, in which, if a gnat or a fly has settled, it is caught entangled; but when something stronger falls upon them, it immediately passes through, and breaks the weak fabric.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":114,"ref":"p114","source":"Tamen his non usquequaque contenti sunt, sed longinquius progrediuntur errantes. Nam res quæ in arbitrii nostri libertate sunt positæ, id est, virtutes aut vitia, coelestium necessitatibus applicant. Quibus contradicere quamvis risibile sit, tamen quia plures hac seductione prolapsi sunt, congruum mihi videtur non transire silentio. A quibus illud principe in loco postulamus agnoscere: si non diebus singulis millies schemata mutantur astrorum. Semper enim moventur atque discurrunt eæ stellæ quæ planetæ vocantur, quarum aliæ celeribus se vestigiis consequuntur, nonnullæ tardius discurrentes, sub eadem hora sæpius, et aspiciunt se, et absconduntur. Maxima sane vis habetur in genesi, ut illi dicunt, si aut bona stella respexerit, aut maligna nascentem. Fit autem plerumque ut eo tempore, quo bona stella præfuerit, mathematicus non inveniens tempus edicere propter ignorationem unius minutissimarum, quas supra retulimus portionum, sub cacodæmone illum jacere describat, ut ipsorum sennonibus cogar uti, in quibus est quidem magna dementia, sed major habetur impietas. Nam maligniores stellæ causas nequitiæ propriae in suum transferunt conditorem: quibus si ex natura subesset improbitas, conditor profecto malignitatis auctor exstiterit.","english":"Yet they are not altogether content with these things, but wandering they proceed further. For matters that are placed in the freedom of our will—that is, virtues or vices—they attribute to the necessities of the heavenly bodies. Although it is laughable to contradict them, nevertheless, since many have fallen through this seduction, it seems fitting to me not to pass it over in silence. From them we ask first of all to acknowledge this: whether the configurations of the stars are not changed a thousand times each day. For those stars that are called planets are always moving and running about, some of them following with swift steps, some running more slowly, often within the same hour both beholding and hiding themselves. Surely the greatest force is held to lie in the geniture, as they say, if either a good star or a malignant one has looked upon the newborn. But it often happens that at the time when a good star has presided, the astrologer, not finding the time to declare it because of ignorance of one of the minutest portions that we mentioned above, describes that one as lying under an evil demon—so that I am compelled to use their own terms, in which there is indeed great folly, but greater impiety is held. For they transfer the causes of their own wickedness to their Maker, as if the more malignant stars were responsible: if wickedness were present in them by nature, the Maker would certainly have been the author of malignity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":115,"ref":"p115","source":"Sin autem proposito faciente sunt pessimae, primo quidem a animalia quædam putanda sunt arbitrio suo famulantia, absolutoque et libero impetu, ad hoc quod sibi libuerit incitata, siquidem totius modum furoris excedit insimulare res exanimes. Deinde quanta irrationabilitas est, bonum, malumve, non pro sua cujusque dignitate distinguere, sed ex loci qualitate, aut respectu alterius, vel optimum fieri definire, vel pessimum? Et cum paulisper de schemate stella diverterit, suae propriæ dicitur malignitatis oblita. Sed hæc quidem hactenus sane per singula momenta temporis, ut dicunt, in aliud atque aliud schema se transferunt. In his itaque tot tantarumque mutationum millibus, quanta quotidie natalium regiorum decreta formari putanda sunt. Cur ergo non singulis diebus principes procreantur? Aut quare apud illos successio semper pateru: custodiatur imperii? Quoniam Demo videlicet eventus suorum liberorum refert ad schema stellarum; quippe quibus regnum non genesis fato, sed generis jure defertur. Nonne igitur Joatham generavit Ozias, et de Joatham natus Acbam est? Et tamen nullus illorum servilis horam conditionis incurrit.","english":"But if they are made utterly base by their own purpose, then first indeed certain living things must be thought to be slaves of their own will, and driven by an unhindered and free impulse to whatever has pleased them, since it exceeds the measure of all madness to accuse lifeless things. Then how great an irrationality is it not to distinguish good or evil according to each one's own worth, but by the quality of a place, or in relation to another, to define either the best or the worst? And when the star has turned aside for a little while from its configuration, it is said to have forgotten its own malice. But these things, indeed, so far as this, at every single moment of time, as they say, transfer themselves into one configuration after another. In these, then, so many thousands of such great changes, how many decrees of royal births are to be thought to be formed every day? Why, then, are princes not produced on individual days? Or why is succession always preserved among them for the father of the empire? Because, evidently, the Demon refers the outcomes of his own children to the configuration of the stars; since for them kingship is conferred not by the fate of birth, but by the right of lineage. Did not Ozias, then, beget Joatham, and from Joatham was Acham born? And yet none of them incurred the hour of a servile condition.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":116,"ref":"p116","source":"Deinde si virtutum vitiorumque principia non ex arbitrio nostro, sed ex genesis necessitate sortimur, supe; flui sunt, ut viJeo, latores legum, sequenda nobis vel fugienda mandantes: superflui quoque judices honestos laudibus exornantes, improbos suppliciis punientes: insohs etiam censenda est homicidae, vel furis audacia, qui etsi cubibere manus proprias a faciuore maluissent,:ime potuissent, propter iudecliuabilem necessitatis impulsum. Vani omnes artifices æstimandi sunt, vitæ subsidia manuum labore quærentes. Supervacaneus porro sudor agricolarum, quibus copiæ fructuum possint etiam non operantibus abundare. Mercator etiam dives efficeretur in otio, cui vel nolenti pecu • niam genesis apportasset. Christianorum vero spes, quæ magna est, sublata penitus interisset, quoniam frustra vel justitia colitur, vel damnatur iniquitas, si omnino nihil ex sententia facere permittimur. Etenim quando genesiaca vis, et decretio fatalis incumbit, nullum locum prorsus invenit examinalio justi judicii. Hæc quidem adversus illos disseruisse sufficiat. Neque enim aut vos prolixioribus sermonibus indigetis, ut pote mentis santate pollentes, aut tempus patitur ulterius limitem disputationis extendi.","english":"Then, if we obtain the beginnings of virtues and vices not from our own free will but from the necessity of genesis, then, as I see it, lawgivers are superfluous, commanding us to pursue or avoid things; judges too are superfluous, adorning the honest with praise and punishing the wicked with penalties; the audacity of the murderer or thief must also be judged blameless, since, even if they had preferred to restrain their own hands from the deed, they could not have done so, on account of the inevitable impulse of necessity. All craftsmen must be reckoned vain, who seek the means of life by the labor of their hands. Further, the sweat of farmers is superfluous, since abundance of fruits could abound for them even without working. The merchant too would become rich in idleness, since genesis would have brought him money even against his will. But the hope of Christians, which is great, would have perished utterly, since in vain is justice cultivated or iniquity condemned, if we are permitted to do nothing at all according to our own judgment. For when the force of genesis and the fatal decree press upon us, the examination of just judgment finds no place at all. Let this much suffice to have been argued against them. For neither do you need longer discourses, since you abound in soundness of mind, nor does the time permit the limit of the disputation to be extended further.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":117,"ref":"p117","source":"Scd sermonem magis ad reliqua retorqueamus. Sint, inquit, in signis et in temporibus, et in diebus, et in annis. Diximus jam de signis: tempora sane intelligimus esse partes quatuor anni vertentis, id est, ver, æstatem, autumnum, atque hiemem. Hæc sibimet succedendo vicissim proluminariorum dispositis cursibus temperantur. Hiems enim fit in australibus sole regionibus commorante, nocturnamque opacitatem, circa clima, quod nos habitamus, spatio loagiore ducente. Unde fit ut aer terræ proximus frigidus efficiatur, omnesque nebulosi vapores conglomerati, pluvias et nives, glaciesque perficiant. Cum autem de meridiana plaga rediens sol, medium orbem cœli tenuerit, tunc diebus ac noctibus tempus æquale distribuit. Quantoque altius a terra subvehilur, tanto magis paulatim componit temperiem, per quam ver procedit, cujus beneficio frutices arboresque frondescunt, et animalia cuncta terrena, vel aquaria, genitali calore stimulata prupagationem generis, successione prolis extendunt. Inde sol mox ad æstivam lineam deflectendo, per confinia transit arctoa, dies nobis longiores efliciens, diutiusque commoratus in aere, ipsum quidem flagrantem reddit ac torridum, tellurem vero perficit sicciorem, unde maturandis seminibus, atque pomis, facultas optata præstatur.","english":"But let us turn our discourse back to the remaining points. Let them be, it says, for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. We have already spoken of the signs; by seasons we surely understand the four parts of the turning year, that is, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. These, succeeding one another in turn, are tempered by the ordered courses of the luminaries. For winter comes when the sun dwells in the southern regions, drawing out the darkness of night over the clime which we inhabit with a longer span. Hence it comes about that the air nearest the earth is made cold, and all the cloudy vapors, gathered together, produce rains and snows and ice. But when the sun, returning from the southern quarter, has held the middle of the circle of heaven, then it distributes an equal measure of time to days and nights. And the higher it is borne up from the earth, the more it gradually establishes a tempering, through which spring advances, by whose benefit shrubs and trees put forth leaves, and all animals, whether of the land or of the water, stirred by the generative warmth, extend the propagation of their kind through the succession of offspring. Then the sun, soon bending toward the summer line, passes through the borders of the northern region, making the days longer for us, and having lingered longer in the air, it renders that air indeed blazing and scorching, but makes the earth drier, whence the desired capacity is provided for ripening seeds and fruits.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":118,"ref":"p118","source":"Eoque tempore habetur ardenlior, et umbras meridianas facit breviores, quoniam de alto nimis loco nostram respicit regionem, dicsque majores habentur, tunc quando breves sunt umbra: sicut e contra dies parvi sunt, cum fuerint umbræ longiores: quod apud nos qui e eteroscii nominamur, i est, alias umbras habentes, et paries habitamus arctoas, ita contingit. Naiu sunt quidam qui per integrum duum singulis annis omnimodo sine umbra sunt cum sub Meridiano sole constiterint, quos, quia sol contra ipsum veriicem positus æqualibus undique spatiis illuminat, in nullam penitus partem flectere sinit umbras. Nam et putealis apud eos aqua, vix tenuissimum potest in alveum de sole lumen excipere, propter quod eos quidam ascios, id est, exumbres appellant. Illi autem qui extra terras odoriferas habitant, in utramque partem mutant umbras. Nam soli qui nostram videntur incolere regionem, adversus austrum semper, id est, ad meridiem umbras creduntur emittere: unde etiam a quibusdam amphiscii, a id est biumbres nominantur. Verum htec omnia solo ad partes boreales commeante proveniunt. Ex his considerandum est, quantus radiorum ferv habcatur, et quantos hominibus casus efficiat.","english":"And at that time it is held to be more intense, and it makes the midday shadows shorter, since from too high a place it looks down upon our region, and the days are held to be longer at the time when the shadows are short; and conversely the days are short when the shadows have become longer. This happens among us who are named Heteroscii, that is, having shadows otherwise, and who dwell in the northern parts. For there are certain people who for a whole period of two days each year are in every way without shadow when they have stood under the midday sun; because the sun, placed directly over their very head, illuminates them with equal spaces on every side and allows the shadows to bend into no part at all. For even the water in their wells can scarcely receive the thinnest light from the sun into its basin, and for this reason certain people call them Ascii, that is, shadowless. But those who dwell outside the fragrant lands change their shadows in both directions. For those who seem to inhabit our region are believed always to cast their shadows toward the south, that is, toward midday; whence also they are named by certain people Amphiscii, that is, having two shadows. But all these things come about only as the sun travels toward the northern parts. From these things one must consider how great a heat of rays is produced, and how great a downfall it brings upon men.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":119,"ref":"p119","source":"Post hæc igitur tempus autumnale succedit, quod frigoris ct caloris æquatas obtinens portiones, sine molestia nos tradit adventui a sequentis hibernii, denuo videlicet sole ad australem regionem de aquilonis partibus remeante. Hæ sunt vicissitudines temporum, quæ solis discursibus famulantes, vitam nostram dispensare creduntur. Et sint, inquit, in signis et in diebus: non ut diem faceret sol, sed ut diei moderaretur. Nam olim nox et dies, antequam luminaria crearentur, effectæ sunt, quod declarat et psalmus dicens: Posuit solem in potestatem diei, lunam, et stellas in potestatem nocti, (Psal. CXXXV, 8). Quomodo igitur sol habet diei potestatem? quia lucem in se ipse circumferens, cum ad orbem quem nos habitamus accesserit, solutis tenebris, diem præstat. Non ergo fallitur quisquis diem vocitaverit aerem istum, solis radiis illustratum, et hanc diurni temporis esse mensuram, quod in hemisphærio, ut opinantur, quod supra terrani est, commoratur. Sed et in annis, i.quit, signa ista disposita sunt. Cum duodecies igitur spatia sui cursus luna peregerit, annum facit: unum tamen inseii sibi flagitat mensem, ut diligentius horarum possit colligi perfecta concursio: sicut Hebræi annum antiquilus observabant, et Graecorum vetustissimi. Annus autem solauus vocatur ordinatio solis, de certo signo in eodem rursus per sua se vestigia revolventis.","english":"After these things, therefore, the autumn season succeeds, which, holding equal portions of cold and heat, delivers us without trouble to the arrival of the following winter, that is, when the sun returns again from the northern parts to the southern region. These are the vicissitudes of the seasons, which, serving the courses of the sun, are believed to dispense our life. And let them be, he says, for signs and for days: not that the sun might make the day, but that it might govern the day. For once night and day were made before the luminaries were created, which the psalm also declares, saying: He set the sun in power over the day, the moon and the stars in power over the night. How, then, does the sun have power over the day? Because, carrying light about in itself, when it has approached the orb which we inhabit, with the darkness dissolved, it provides the day. Therefore anyone is not mistaken who calls this air, illuminated by the rays of the sun, day, and holds that this is the measure of daytime, because it dwells in the hemisphere, as they think, which is above the earth. But also in years, he says, these signs are disposed. When the moon has completed the spaces of its course twelve times, it makes a year: yet it demands for itself one month unknown to itself, so that the perfect concurrence of hours may be gathered more diligently: just as the Hebrews observed the year in ancient times, and the most ancient of the Greeks. But the solar year is called the ordering of the sun, as it revolves again from a certain sign through its own footsteps into the same one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":120,"ref":"p120","source":"Et fecit Deus duo luminaria magna. Nuncupatio igitur magnorum duplex est, quorum una intellectum habet absolutum, alia vero est quæ rospectu minoris illud quod est majus assignat: ut puta magnus equus, aut magnus bos. Non enim ex nimia immensitate suorum corporum, sed ex comparatione alterius, testimonium sortiuntur ejusmodi. Quomodo ergo nunc sensum super magnorum appellalionem ducamus? Sed priorem sine dubio sensum. tanquam minora majoribus conferentes, velut formicam, aut aliud quoddam animal natura parvum maximorum collatione postpositum; an potius quia pro ingenti forma sua merilo luminaria magna dicuntur? Et magis opinor ita debere intelligi. Non enim quia majora sunt aliis stellis magna nuncupantur, sed quia tanta amplitudo est orbis illorum, ut fulgor qui ex ipsis eradiat, aerem totum sufficienter illuminet, et ubique porrectus, terras omnes mariaque contingat. Qui cum in qualibet poli parte, vel oriendo vel occidendo constiterit, cunctorum mortalium visibus acqualiter apparescit. Cujus magnitudo certissimum habet documentum: quia nec ipsorum luminariorum collatione latitudo terræ, quanta sit assignatur; ut per hoc sol et I una vel minores esse comprehendi valeant, vel majores. Nam semper ea quae eminus posita sunt, exigua nostris putantur obtutibus: cum vero juxta venerimus, magnitudinem corum quanta sit facilius reperimus.","english":"And God made two great lights. The designation of \"great\" therefore has a twofold sense: one of these has an absolute meaning, while the other assigns the name \"greater\" to that which is greater by comparison with something smaller—for example, a great horse or a great ox. For things of this sort receive such testimony not from the excessive vastness of their bodies, but from comparison with another. How, then, are we now to be led to the meaning of the appellation \"great\"? Surely to the former sense, as when we compare smaller things with greater—like an ant, or some other animal small by nature, set below the greatest by comparison. Or rather, is it because of their immense form that the lights are rightly called great? And I think it ought to be understood this way instead: for they are not called great because they are greater than the other stars, but because such is the amplitude of their orb that the radiance which streams out from them sufficiently illuminates the whole air, and, spread everywhere, reaches all lands and seas. And when it has stood in any part of the sky, whether rising or setting, it appears equally to the sight of all mortals. Its magnitude has a most certain proof: that not even by the comparison of these lights themselves is the breadth of the earth, how great it is, determined, so that through this the sun and the moon can be comprehended as either smaller or greater. For always those things which are placed far off seem tiny to our sight; but when we have come near, we more easily discover how great their magnitude is.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":121,"ref":"p121","source":"Sol autem nulli unquam, vel longius asseritur esse, vel propius, ita ex omni parte quæ subjecta sunt, æqua lance respectat: quem Indi atque Britanni similiter intuentur. Neque enim vergens in occasum, habitantibus Orientem, de sua quippiam magniludine sentitur amittere; nec in Occidente positis, minor apparet exoriens, nec quando medium coeli tenet axem, utriusque lateris immutat aspectum. Non te ergo brevitas ejus contemplata decipiat, Me quia cubitalis visentibus orbis suus putatur esse, revera talis haberi putandus est. Semper enim cohaerere solet intervallorum tractui rerum prolixitas spectatarum; aciesque oculorum interjecti spatii longitudinem non assequitur intuendo, sed tanquam deficiens expenditur, et magis aestimatione quam visu, ea quae cernuntur attingit: et ideo pro sua tenuitate res parvas existimat esse quae magnæ sunt, imbecillitatem videlicet suam bis quae conspicit ascribendo, Profecto ergo falluntur obtutus, et judicium fidele non habent. Recordare namque infir.nitatcm propriam, et ex te ipso capies eorum quæ dicta sunt argumentum. Itaque si quando ex alto montis vertice subjectam camporum planitiem respexisti, nonne juga boum tam grandia, vel aratores eorum, formias similes judicasti? Nihilominus etiam dum in excelsa specula locatus, oculos in pelagus convertisti, quales tibi videbantur insulæ?","english":"But the sun is never said to be either farther or nearer to anyone; rather, it regards all things subject to it from every side with an equal balance—the sun which Indians and Britons alike behold. For neither when it sinks toward its setting is it perceived by those dwelling in the East to lose anything of its greatness, nor does it appear smaller to those situated in the West when it rises, nor when it holds the middle axis of heaven does it change its appearance for either side. Therefore let not its brief extent, when contemplated, deceive you, so that you think it is truly to be regarded as such because its orb appears to viewers to be a cubit in size. For the length of things seen is always wont to correspond to the extent of the intervals between them; and the keenness of the eyes does not attain the length of the intervening space by looking, but is measured as if failing, and it reaches the things that are seen more by estimation than by sight. And therefore, in accordance with its own weakness, it judges small things to be those which are great, evidently ascribing its own feebleness to the things it beholds. Therefore surely the eyes are deceived, and they do not have faithful judgment. For remember your own infirmity, and from yourself you will grasp the proof of what has been said. So if ever you have looked down from the high summit of a mountain upon the plain of the fields spread below, did you not judge the yokes of oxen, so large, or their plowmen, to be like ants? Nevertheless also, while stationed on a lofty watchtower, you turned your eyes upon the sea—what did the islands seem to you to be like?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":122,"ref":"p122","source":"Nonne columbarum parvissimarum tibi phantasiam quamdam perhibebant? aut naves ingentes, velis e tumescentibus candidis prospectæ procul nigræ putabantur? Ob hoc videlicet, quia sensus ut diximus oculorum, aeris distentione tenuatus non sufficit comprehendere plenius quae visuntur. Nam et rupium maximarnm in altum cavatarum rotunda plenaque putatur aspectio; dum eminentibus undique marginibus occupata, medium cavationis locum, non valet visio defectionis attingere. Ita nec corporum schemata, qualia sint advertit intuitus, sed teretes esse turres quæ quadratxsunt opinantur. Certum est ergo, quia in prolixioribus intervallis non definitam, sed confusam corporum capimus visionem. Sic et magna luminaria, secundum Scripture testimonium, multipliciora sunt quam cernuntur.\n\nLicet illud quoque magnitudinis eorum sit probabile documentum, quia cum sint infinitæ numero stelLe, fulgor tamen qui procedit ex eis, non potest nocturnam scindere densitatem. Sol autem fusa per mundum luce, non modo cum visus fuerit, sed etiam cum venire speratur et antequam terras illuminet, obscuritatem noctis infringit, et superat astra candore, aeremque terrae proximum, frigore nebulisque concretum dissolvit v ac discutit: ex quo matutinus ventus, et humor roscidus, quando serenum est generatur.","english":"Did they not present to you a kind of image of the tiniest doves? Or were huge ships, seen from afar with white swelling sails, thought to be black? Evidently for this reason, because the sense of the eyes, as we said, thinned by the stretching of the air, is not sufficient to grasp more fully the things that are seen. For even the appearance of very great rocks hollowed out into the deep is thought to be round and full; while, occupied by the projecting edges on every side, the vision cannot reach the middle place of the hollowing on account of the failure. Thus the sight does not notice the shapes of bodies as they are, but towers that are square are thought to be round. It is certain, therefore, that at longer distances we receive not a definite but a confused vision of bodies. So also the great luminaries, according to the testimony of Scripture, are more numerous than they are perceived.\n\nIndeed, this too may be a probable proof of their magnitude, that although the stars are infinite in number, yet the brightness that proceeds from them cannot pierce the density of the night. But the sun, with light poured through the world, not only when it has been seen, but also when it is hoped to come and before it illuminates the lands, breaks the darkness of night and surpasses the stars in whiteness, and dissolves and shakes off the air nearest the earth, congealed with cold and clouds: from which the morning wind and the dewy moisture are generated when it is clear.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":123,"ref":"p123","source":"Tellus autem cum sit ampla nimium, quomodo poterat sub uno temporis momento, raJiis tota lustrari, nisi de maximo solis orbe lux ei largissima præberetur Hic nunc sapientiam Conditoris adverte, quomodo immensitati ejus mediocrem vim fervoris adhibuit: ut nec ardor immoderatus terram possit exurere, nec infructuosam eam denegatio penitus caloris efficeret. His vero consentanea de luna quoque intelligito, cujus corpus cum sit lucidum, non tamen semper magnitudo conspicua est, sed nunc a quidem perfecta videtur in globo, nunc semiplena scilicet, sed minuata monstratur, defectumque suum gemina parte designat. Alio enim latere deprehenditur esse tenebrosa, cum crescit, et alio cum senescit. Ratio sane secretior est, dispensationem declarans artificis Conditoris, per quam lunæ varietas, naturæ nostræ nobis exemplum subjicit, eo quod nihil in rebus humanis perseverabile, diutinumque consistat, sed ea quae de nihilo producuntur, ad aliquid cum adoleverint, ad summamque mensuram suæ fuerint aetatis erecta, paulatim tabescenlia dissolvuutur.","english":"But since the earth is exceedingly vast, how could it be wholly illuminated by the sun's rays in a single moment of time, unless a most abundant light were supplied to it from the greatest orb of the sun? Now observe the wisdom of the Creator here: how he applied a moderate force of heat to its immensity, so that neither could excessive burning scorch the earth, nor could the total denial of warmth make it unfruitful. Understand the same things to be consistent concerning the moon also: although its body is luminous, its magnitude is not always clearly visible, but now it appears perfect in its orb, now it is shown half-full, that is, diminished, and it marks its waning in two parts. For it is found to be dark on one side when it waxes, and on another when it wanes. The deeper reason, surely, declares the dispensation of the artisan Creator, through which the moon's variation sets before us an example of our nature, in that nothing among human affairs remains stable and lasting, but those things which are produced from nothing, when they have grown to something and been raised to the highest measure of their age, gradually wasting away, are dissolved.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":124,"ref":"p124","source":"Ex lunæ ergo consideratione docemur advertere res mortales, et mutabilitates illarum cogitatione capientes, cavere debemus ne rebus elati secundis, affectemus superbiam vel insolentiam, nec confidamus temporali potentiae, nec opibus, aut divitiis, quæ nimis incertæ sunt, exaltemur: sed cupiditatem corporis castigemus, quae maxime habetur instabilis, et diligentiam potius animæ tribuamus, cujus bonum semper manet immobile. Quod si te forsitan luna contristat, sensim deposita luce deficiens; plus te anima debebit afficere, quae honorem quem ex divina virtute percepit, amittit intemperantiæ vitio, nunquam firmum propositum servans, sed assidue se vertens, ut pote nullis constantiæ fulta repagulis. e Re enim vera secundum proverbium: Sine voce luna mutatur (Eccli., XXVII, 12). Opinor autem quod et animalibus creandis, caeterisque omnibus quae terra producit, non parva confertur ex lunae mutatione formatio. Aliter namque cum perfecta est, et aliter cum decrescit, eorum corpora disponuntur. Modo enim laxiora videntur et vacua cum senescit, modo integra et repleta cum crescit: quoniam humorem quemdam cum calore permixtum, interius his latenter infundit. Quod ita esse demonstrant ii qui sub divo dormientes lucente luna, postquam surrexerint, invemunt capita sua largissimo rore madentia. Sed ct recentes carnes, si sub luna jacuerint, fluida mox putredine corrumpuntur.","english":"From the consideration of the moon, then, we are taught to attend to mortal things, and grasping their mutability in thought, we ought to beware lest, elated by prosperity, we affect arrogance or insolence, nor trust in temporal power, nor be exalted by resources or riches, which are exceedingly uncertain; but let us chastise the desire of the body, which is held to be especially unstable, and rather bestow diligence upon the soul, whose good always remains immovable. But if perhaps the moon grieves you, waning as its light is gradually laid aside, the soul ought to affect you more, which loses the honor it received from divine power through the vice of intemperance, never preserving a firm purpose, but continually turning, as being supported by no bars of constancy. For in truth, according to the proverb: The moon is changed without a voice. But I think that even for the creation of animals and all the other things which the earth produces, no small formation is contributed by the moon's change. For otherwise when it is full, and otherwise when it wanes, are their bodies disposed. For now they seem looser and empty when it grows old, now whole and replete when it grows: since it pours into them inwardly, secretly, a certain moisture mixed with heat. That this is so, those demonstrate who, sleeping under the open sky when the moon shines, after they have risen, find their heads wet with the most abundant dew. But even fresh meats, if they have lain under the moon, are soon corrupted by flowing putrefaction.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":125,"ref":"p125","source":"Idemque significat pecorinum cerebrum, vel etiam viscera marinorum animalium, quae sunt humectiora, nec non arborum medullæ, quæ omnia utique nullatenus sufficeret ad suam luna redigere qualitatem, nisi amplitudine virtutis excelleret, secundum Scripturæ testimonium.\n\nii. Sed et acris motus, hisdem ipsis commutation bus continetur, sicut lunae novitas attestatur, quæ ex longa plerumque serenitate subito nubium glomerationes, et perturbationes exsuscitat. Euriporum quoque meatus refluus hoc indicat, vel etiam reciprocatio Syrtium, quæ vicinæ habentur Oceano, quas pro lunæ schematibus concilari locorum accolæ prodiderunt. Euripi etiam in utramque partem soliti sunt propria leniter fluenta convertere, rcliquo omni tempore: cum vero luna nascitur, nullomodo possunt quiescere, sed vehementi fervore semper exæ stuant, donet luna rursus appareat, sedationem commotis turbinibus allatura. Similiter occiduum mare crebros accessus patitur et recessus, modo a!luens littora fluctibus, modo destituens. Ita velut quibusdam lunae spiraminibus retro subducitur, et iterum ejus exundat impulsibus. Hæc igitur disserui ad exprimendam magnitudinem luminariorum, et quia nec usque ad unam syllabam otiosum quid esse potest spiritalium praeceptorum, cum certe nihil de secretioribus sermo deprompserit.","english":"The same is signified by the brain of cattle, and also by the entrails of sea animals, which are more moist, and by the pith of trees—all of which the moon could by no means reduce to its own quality, unless it excelled in the greatness of its power, according to the testimony of Scripture.\n\nii. But the motion of the air is also governed by these same changes, as the newness of the moon attests, which often, out of long serenity, suddenly stirs up gatherings of clouds and disturbances. The refluent course of the Euripi also indicates this, and likewise the reciprocation of the Syrtes, which are held to be near the Ocean, which the inhabitants of those places have reported to be stirred according to the phases of the moon. The Euripi too are accustomed to turn their own gentle currents in either direction at all other times; but when the moon is born, they can in no way be at rest, but always seethe with vehement heat until the moon again appears, about to bring calm to the stirred whirlpools. Similarly the western sea undergoes frequent advances and retreats, now washing the shores with waves, now abandoning them. Thus, as if by certain breathings of the moon, it is drawn back, and again overflows by its impulses. I have therefore discussed these things to express the greatness of the luminaries, and because not even to a single syllable can anything of the spiritual precepts be idle, since certainly the discourse has drawn nothing from the more secret matters.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":126,"ref":"p126","source":"Multa enim super amplitudine, vel intervallis solis et lunae, reperire poterit cogitando, qui non desidiose affectiones eorum virtutesque disquiriL. Quamobrem oportet accusare suam quemque potius imbecillitatem: ut non magnificentiam creaturæ verbis humanis metiri posse credatur. Sed ex paucis quæ dicta sunt, considerare convenit, quanta et qualia sint illa e quæ præterivimus. Non ergo velis oculis lunam, sed ratione potius æstimare, quæ validius quam aspectus, ad invenlionem valet veritatis accedere. Fabulae igitur aniles, atque risibiles ubique percrebuerunt: quia magicis carminibus luna sedibus evocata de propriis deducatur ad terram. Primo quidem quomodo potest vi cantuum submoveri, quam ipse firmavit alLissimus? Deinde quis eam locus susciperet descendentem? Vis tamen ex parvis indiciis magnitudinis ejus accipere documentum. Civitates igitur quae in orbe terrarum positæ sunt, longis a se spatiis disjungunlur. Harum plateæ, quæ ad partem respiciunt Orienlis, æqualiter omnes lunare lumen excipiunt. HiS igitur cunctis, nisi coram luna vidcretur, solos illos qui adversus eam positi sunt angiportus perlustraret, eos autem qui latitudinem illius excedunt, ut pote ex transverso venientes, nullo modo visitaret. Quod etiam Lucerna domi accensa declarat, quam si plures circumsteterint, umbra illorum qui coram fuerint recta porrigitur, reliquorum vero in utramque flectitur partem.","english":"For one who does not lazily investigate their affections and powers will be able to discover many things by thinking about the magnitude, or the intervals, of the sun and the moon. Therefore each person ought rather to accuse his own weakness, so that it may be believed that the majesty of the creation cannot be measured by human words. But from the few things that have been said, it is fitting to consider how great and of what kind are those things that we have passed over. Therefore do not wish to estimate the moon with the eyes, but rather with reason, which is more effective than sight at approaching the discovery of truth. Old wives' tales, then, and ridiculous ones, have spread everywhere: that the moon, summoned from its own seats by magical incantations, is led down to the earth. First of all, how can she be moved by the force of chants, whom the Most High himself established? Then, what place would receive her as she descends? Yet you may wish to receive a proof of her magnitude from small indications. The cities, then, which are situated on the circle of the earth, are separated from one another by long distances. The streets of these cities which face toward the east all receive the moon's light equally. For all these, unless the moon were seen face to face, it would visit only those narrow alleys which are positioned opposite to it, but those which exceed its breadth, as coming from the side, it would in no way visit. A lamp lit at home also makes this clear: if several people stand around it, the shadow of those who are in front is cast straight out, but the shadow of the rest is bent to either side.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":127,"ref":"p127","source":"Ita nisi immensitate et amplitudine lunare corpus excelleret, nunquam omnes simul attingeret. Nam cum de solstitialibus exoritur partibus, eos qui septentrionalis axis habitant frigidam regionem acqualiter illuminat, et illos a qui in inferioribus meridianæ plagæ solis sub zona versantur xstifcra valitudine complectens, certissimum propriæ nobis magnitudinis præstat indicium. Quis ergo contradicere potest, astruens non esse corpus ejus immensum, cum per tot tantaque terrarum intervalla tendatur? Et de magnitudine quidem solis et lunæ hactenus. Qui vero nobis præstitit intellectum, ut ex minimis creaturae rebus, infinitam sapientiam cognoscamus artificis, præstet etiam super majoribus nos maximas cogitationes de Conditore percipere, quanquam ejus cullatione, sol et luna formicarum credantur habere mensuram. Et ideo licet digna non sint, ut ex his divinæ magnitudinis contemplatio capiatur, ranis tamen quibusdam caliginosisque parabolis videmur instrui, sicut nonnunquam animalia minora, velherbas conferre solemus ingentibus. Nunc vero contenti simus serie narratorum; me videlicet agente gratias ei, qui mihi hoc pusillum sermonis exigui munus attribuit: vobis vero largitorem spiritalis alimoniæ prædicantibus.","english":"Thus, unless the body of the moon excelled in immensity and amplitude, it would never reach all things at once. For when it rises from the solstitial parts, it illuminates equally the cold region of those who dwell on the northern axis, and embracing those who are turned in the lower parts of the southern region under the zone of the sun with a fiery intensity, it provides us with the most certain indication of its own magnitude. Who, then, can contradict one who asserts that its body is not immense, when it extends through so many and such great intervals of lands? And concerning the magnitude of the sun and the moon, let this suffice. But may he who has granted us understanding, so that from the least of creation's things we may know the infinite wisdom of the Artisan, grant us also to receive the greatest thoughts concerning the Creator from greater things, although in comparison with him the sun and the moon are believed to have the measure of ants. And therefore, although they are not worthy that from them contemplation of the divine magnitude be grasped, yet we seem to be instructed by certain frogs and dark parables, just as we sometimes compare smaller animals or herbs to great things. Now, however, let us be content with the sequence of what has been narrated; I, indeed, giving thanks to him who has assigned to me this small gift of a meager discourse, while you proclaim the giver of spiritual nourishment.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":128,"ref":"p128","source":"qui vos velut bordeaceo pane, id est, nostræ vocis tenuitate cibavit in præsenti, pascatque in posterum; pro rata cujusque fidei portione, præstans nobis revelationem Spiritus (I Cor. XII, 7); cui gloria in Cbristo Jesu, nunc et semper, in saecula sæculorum. Amen.\n\nLIBER SEPTIMUS.\n\nEt dixit Deus: Ejiciant aquæ reptilia animarum tirarum, et volatilia volantia sub firmamento cœli. Post a luminariorum formationem, aqua etiam repletur animalibus; ut et hoc ornaretur videlicet elementum. Terra enim jam dudum de propriis germinibus congruum decus acceperat: cœlum quoque stellarum flores assumpserat: et velut geminis oculis, id est, conjunctione maximorum luminum fuerat venustatum. Reliquum erat, ut aquis etiam familiaris decoratio redderetur. Venit præceptio: confestimque lacus et fluvii pro suo quoque genere vel natura perficiebantur uberrimi, mare quin etiam ita diversorum natantium fetura complevit, ut cœnosæ paludes, vadosaque stagna otiosam vel irritam minime vim generandi tenuerint. Ranæ etiam et muscæ, culicesque inde sine dubio pullularunt. Nam ea quæ modo videntur, transactorum faciunt documentum. Ita omnis aqaa cogebatur opificibus servire præceptis. Nam quorum nec genera quidem quispiam sufficit explicare, eorum vitam mox vegctam, mobilemque monstravit ineffabilis et magnifica Dei virtus, simulque præceptionem, quae data est aquis, opportunitas vivificationis insequitur.","english":"who fed you in the present as with barley bread, that is, with the poverty of our speech, and may he feed you in the future, granting us the revelation of the Spirit in proportion to each one's measure of faith (I Cor. 12:7); to whom be glory in Christ Jesus, now and always, for ages of ages. Amen.\n\nBOOK SEVEN.\n\nAnd God said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creatures of living souls, and the birds flying under the firmament of heaven. After the formation of the luminaries, the water also is filled with animals, so that this element too, clearly, might be adorned. For the earth had already long since received its fitting beauty from its own plants; the heaven too had taken on the flowers of the stars, and had been made lovely as with twin eyes, that is, by the conjunction of the greatest luminaries. It remained that a decoration proper to the waters also be rendered. The command came, and at once lakes and rivers were made most abundant, each according to its own kind or nature; indeed the sea was so filled with the offspring of diverse swimming creatures that muddy marshes and shallow pools retained no idle or ineffective power of generation. Frogs too, and flies, and gnats undoubtedly sprang forth from there. For the things that are seen now furnish a record of things past. Thus all water was compelled to serve the commands of the Creator. For those whose kinds no one can even fully explain, their life—swift and mobile—the ineffable and magnificent power of God at once displayed, and together with the command that was given to the waters, the fitness for giving life followed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":129,"ref":"p129","source":"Ejiciant aquæ reptilia animarum vivarum. Nunc primum animalia spirantia, sensusque capacia generantur. Virgulta enim et arbores quanquam vivere dicuntur, utpote alendi crescendique nacta virtutem, non tamen continuo:minantia sunt intelligenda. Et ob hoc dixit: Ejiciant aquæ reptilia. Omne genus igitur natantium, sive quod summis fluctibus superfertur, sive quoa in altis gurgitibus diversatur, profecto uaturam reptandi sortitum est; dUm per aquam I corpus trahitur, quanquam et pedibus nonnulla utantur et gressibus. Et licet multa de illis habeantur ambigua, sicut vituli marini, et crocodili et ranæ ct cancri, tamen eis precipuus est natatus. Propterea, Ejiciant aquæ reptilia. In bis igitur brevissimis sermonibus omnia genera continentur. Quid enim non comprehensum est i præcepto creaturæ? Sive illa dixeris quæ calulos pariunt, id est, vitulos marinos, el torpedines, et delphinos, et his similia, sive ovifica nominaveris, qualia sunt omnia pene genera piscium. Et vox quidem praECeptionis exigua est, imo non vox, sed potius momentum solum, et impetus voluntatis: intellectus vero ejus tam multiplex habetur, quam ipsa piscium inter se potest esse discretio. Quos omnes verbis assequi non minus operosum est, quam si undarum numerum designare coneris: vel\" quot amphoras habeat pelagus explicare. Ejiciant aquæ reptile.","english":"Let the waters bring forth the creeping things of living souls. Now for the first time are breathing animals, capable of sensation, generated. For although shrubs and trees are said to live, inasmuch as they have obtained the power of being nourished and growing, they are not for that reason to be understood as having sensation. And for this reason he said: Let the waters bring forth creeping things. Every kind, then, of swimming creatures, whether that which is borne upon the topmost waves or that which dwells in the deep gulfs, has surely obtained a nature for creeping, since the body is drawn through the water, although some of them also use feet and steps. And although many things concerning them are held to be ambiguous, such as sea-calves, and crocodiles, and frogs, and crabs, yet swimming is their chief characteristic. Therefore, Let the waters bring forth creeping things. In these briefest words, then, all kinds are contained. For what is not comprehended in the command of the creature? Whether you name those which give birth to live young, that is, sea-calves, and torpedo fish, and dolphins, and the like, or whether you name the egg-laying kinds, such as are almost all the kinds of fish. And the word of command is indeed slight—nay, not a word, but rather only a moment and an impulse of the will—but its meaning is held to be as manifold as the very distinction among fish can be. To pursue all of these in words is no less laborious than if you were to attempt to designate the number of the waves, or to explain how many amphorae the sea contains. Let the waters bring forth creeping things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":130,"ref":"p130","source":"In his sunt æquorei, liLtorei, altivagi, petrei, gregales, belluini, immanes minutique pisces, sub eademque virtute præcepti, tam maximi, quam miniml continentur. Itaque cum diceret, Ejiciant aquæ: demonstravit quanta sit natantium cum aqua cognatio. Denique si paulisper ad terram fuerint educti deficiunt.: neque enim suppetit illis spiramen, quo possint auras vitales capere. Nam sicut terrenis animantibus datus aer est, sic piscibus aqua. Et ratio manifesta* est, quia nobis videlicet adjacet rarus et patulus pulmo, qui per distinctionem pectoris aerem trahens, interiorem calorem ventilando contemperat: illis autein faucium interseptio complicabilis, modo suscipiens, modo diffundens aquam, respirandi expie! officium. Est etiam propria sors piscibus propriaque natura, et cibus diOerens, certaque vivendi conditio. Propterea nihil de aquariis mansuescit, nec patitur hominum se manibus contrectari.","english":"Among these are the fishes of the sea, of the shore, of the deep, of the rocks, of the shoals, the monstrous, the huge, and the tiny; and under the same power of the command, both the largest and the smallest are contained. Therefore when He said, \"Let the waters bring forth,\" He showed how great is the kinship of swimming creatures with water. Indeed, if they are drawn out onto land for even a little while, they fail; for they do not have the breath by which they can take in the vital airs. For just as air is given to land animals, so water is given to fishes. And the reason is manifest, since obviously a sparse and broad lung lies within us, which, drawing air through the separation of the breast, tempers the inner heat by fanning it; but in them the foldable partition of the throat, now receiving, now diffusing the water, performs the office of breathing. There is also a proper lot for fishes and a proper nature, and different food, and a fixed condition of living. For this reason none of the water-dwellers becomes tame, nor does it suffer itself to be handled by the hands of men.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":131,"ref":"p131","source":"i. Ejiciant aquæ reptilia animarum vivarum. Uniuscujusque generis originem, nunc velut quoddam semen, præcepit educi, nam multitudinem postmodum servavit in sobole, quando eos crescere multiplicarique necesse est. Itaque alterius generis sunt, qui testicutes nominantur, sicut conchæ, pectines, et cochleæ marinæ, ac diversorum ostreorum millia, et alterius ea quæ mollitestia nominantur, id est astaci, cercini, et his proxima. Aliud quoque genus est illocum quæ Græce malacia vocitantur, id est quorum caro tenerior habetur et laxior, sicut sunt sepiæ et polypodes, et his similia. In his iterum magna differentia est. Draconcs enim et murænæ, et anguillae, quæ in coenosis fluviis paludibusque nascuntur, venenosis potius serpentibus, quam piscibus pro naturæ similitudine copulantur. Aliud etiam genus est, ovilicorum: et aliud catuligenorum. Facit autem catulos mustella, et asellus, et omnia quæ sine squamis sunt, quæ salatia Græci nominant. Sed et belluarum pars maxima, et delphini, et phocae catulos pariunt, quæ fetus suos recenter editos, cum ex aliqua causa territi fuerint, denuo sublapsos in uterum, protegere ac fovere narrantur. Ejiciant aquæ reptilia secundum genus. Aliud genus est immanium, et aliud minutorum piscium.","english":"Let the waters bring forth reptiles of living souls. He commanded the origin of each kind to be brought forth now as a kind of seed, for afterward He preserved the multitude in offspring, since it is necessary that they grow and multiply. And so of one kind are those that are called testaceans, such as conchs, scallops, and sea snails, and thousands of diverse oysters; and of another kind are those called mollusks, that is, lobsters, crabs, and those nearest to them. There is also another kind of those which in Greek are called malacia, that is, those whose flesh is held to be softer and looser, such as cuttlefish and polypodes and the like. In these again there is a great difference. For dracones and murænae and eels, which are born in muddy rivers and marshes, are joined by similarity of nature to venomous serpents rather than to fishes. There is also another kind, the egg-layers, and another, the live-bearers. For the mustella bears young, and the asellus, and all that are without scales, which the Greeks call salatia. But also the greatest part of sea-monsters, and the dolphin, and the seal bear young, which, when their newborn offspring have been frightened for some reason, are said to receive them back again, slipped back into the womb, and to protect and cherish them. Let the waters bring forth reptiles according to their kind. One kind is of the huge, and another of the small fishes.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":132,"ref":"p132","source":"Item in his ipsis multæ differentiæ, pra generis qualitate divisæ sunt, quibus et vocabula prepria sunt, et alimenta discreta, et magnitudo membrorum dispar, et diversa inter se specie separantur Quis igitur tynnorum speculator tantorum, nobis poterit explicare distantiam, quamquam eos asserunt conspectis piscium maximis gregibus non solum genas, sed etiam numerum posse signare? Quis autem nobis eorum artificum qui in liltoribus habitantes. et in marinis diversoriis senescentes, notitiam subti liter valebit patefacere singulorum? Alios cnim pisces noverunt hi qui in mare piscantur e Indiacum, et alios qui pelagus rimantur Ægyptium. Alios etiam sciunt insularum incolæ: et alios Maurusii piscatores. Sed omnes tam tenues, quam majores similiter prima præceptio, et ineffabilis virtus illa produxit. Magna est illis vivendi diversitas, nimia etiam in cujusque generis successione diseretio. Multi piscium non incubant suis ovis, sicut aves, nec nidos aedificant, nec cum labore proprios natos enutriunt: sed aqua suscipiens ovum, facit animal, manetque in singulis generibus immulahilis ad aliam naturam, inconfusaque progenies, ac non sicut mulorum terrestrium, vel alitum i manifestarum stirpem, adulterina corrumpit admixtio. Nullus piscium, ex parte dimidia, dentibus est armatus, sicut oves videmus esse et boves, nec ruminat quisquam piscium præter scarum, ut quidam tradiderunt.","english":"Likewise within these very kinds there are many differences, divided according to the quality of their kind, to which belong their own proper names, distinct foods, unequal size of members, and they are separated from one another by differing appearance. Who, then, as an observer of the tunny-fish, will be able to explain to us so great a distinction, although they claim that, when the greatest shoals of fish have been seen, they can mark not only their cheeks but even their number? Who, moreover, will be able to lay open to us in detail the knowledge of each one of those craftsmen who dwell on the shores and grow old in the haunts of the sea? For those who fish in the Indian Sea know some fish, and others those who search the Egyptian deep. The inhabitants of the islands know yet others, and the Moorish fishermen others. But all alike, both the small and the larger, that first command and that ineffable power brought forth. Great is their diversity of living, and exceedingly great the distinction in the succession of each kind. Many fish do not brood over their eggs, as birds do, nor build nests, nor with labor feed their own young; but the water, receiving the egg, makes the animal, and in each kind it remains unchangeable toward another nature, and the offspring is unconfused, and not, like the stock of earthly mules or of manifest birds, does an adulterous mixture corrupt it. No fish is armed with teeth on one half only, as we see sheep and oxen to be, nor does any fish chew the cud except the scarus, as some have handed down.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":133,"ref":"p133","source":"Cuncti vero pisces acutissima dentium acie condensantur: ut non esca diutius ore subacta difflueret, quæ nisi discerpta celeritcr utero traderetur, facile immutata, spargeretur a fluctibus.\n\na. Victus vero alius aliis secundum genus aptatu? est. Nam certi limo aluntur: nonnulli herbis quæ nascuntur in aqua, contenti sunt, plurimi autem devoratione satiantur alterna, semperque qui minor est apud eos, majori fit cibus. Et si quando contigerit eum qui minorem ceperat, morsu validioris absumi: in unum uterque alvum posterioris injicilur. Quasi vero nos homines aliud quid agamus dum inferiores a potentia premimus. Aul quid distat a pisce illo novissimo, vir qui divitiarum amore flammatus, captos inopes inexpletis hialibus propriæ rapacilalis absorbuit? Alter substantiam pauperis vi sublatam retentabat. Hunc tu minis ac terroribus circu.nventum tui recUti patrimonii portionem, atque ita injusto injustior exstitisti, et raptore rapacior. Cave igitur ne te idem qui pisces eventus excipiat, I. id est hamus, aut rete, vcl cophinus. Nam nos quoque necesse est, nefandis facinoribus inquinatos buprema supplicia non vitare. Præterea imbecillibus etiam animalibus subesse dolos et insidias expertus, malo te callidorum fraudes eflugere.","english":"All fish, however, are furnished with a very sharp edge of teeth, so that the food, once worked in the mouth, would not disperse too long; unless it were quickly torn apart and delivered to the belly, it would easily be altered and scattered by the waves.\n\nBut food has been appointed different for different kinds according to their genus. For certain ones are nourished on mud; some are content with the herbs that grow in the water; but very many are satisfied by devouring one another in turn, and always the smaller among them becomes food for the larger. And if it happens that the one who has caught the smaller is consumed by the bite of the stronger, both are cast into one belly of the latter. As if we humans were doing anything else when we oppress our inferiors by our power. Or in what does that man differ from that last-mentioned fish, who, inflamed with love of riches, has swallowed up the poor whom he has captured in the insatiable jaws of his own rapacity? The one was retaining by force the substance of a poor man taken away. Him, surrounded by your threats and terrors, you have stripped of a portion of your own patrimony, and so you have become more unjust than the unjust, and more rapacious than the rapacious. Beware, therefore, lest the same fate overtake you as the fish—that is, the hook, or the net, or the basket. For it is necessary that we too, stained with unspeakable crimes, not escape the final punishments. Moreover, having learned by experience that deceit and snares lie in wait even for weak animals, I prefer that you escape the frauds of the cunning.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":134,"ref":"p134","source":"Ferunt namque cercinum ostreæ carnem concupiscere: eujus captio difficilis est illi, propter operimenta testarum, quibus mollitudinem carnis cjus natura consepsit unde etiam testicoria nominatur. Ergo quia sunt concava, facile ostreæ interiores partes complicata defendunt, et ob hoc irrita fit impugnantis aggressio. Quid molitur ergo adversarius? Quando viderit in apricis locis ostream se libenter sub sole pandentem, minutum tenens calculum ei latenter apponit, cujus objectu nequeat sua tegimenta concludere, atque ita quod efficere virtute non valuerat, astu potuit impetrare. Hæc igitur est malitia eorum quibus nec ratio, nec vox ulla suppeditat. Sed ego te cupio lucrativa machinamenta cercini contemplatum, abstinere a kesionibus proximorum. Talis est enim qui subdolo animo pergit ad e fratrem: vel propinquorum bona devastat, vel qui alienis calamitatibus oblectatur. Quapropter desine vituperatos æmulari, paupertas enim cum veritate maximis upibus a sapiente præfertur. Itaque non praeteribo calliditatem fraudulenti furacisque polypedis, qui cum aliquod saxum porrectis crinibus amplexatur, tUtus assumit colorem, multique piscos illuc imprudentes allapsi, velut ad petram simpliciter se trahentes decipiuntur, facilem sui captionem maligno protinus exbibentes.","english":"For they say that the cercinus desires the flesh of the oyster, whose capture is difficult for it because of the coverings of shells with which nature has enclosed the softness of its flesh—whence it is also called testicoria. Therefore, because they are concave, they easily defend the inner parts of the oyster when folded together, and for this reason the attacker's assault becomes ineffective. What, then, does the adversary contrive? When it has seen the oyster willingly opening itself under the sun in sunny places, holding a tiny pebble it secretly places it against it, by whose obstruction it cannot close its coverings, and thus what it could not accomplish by strength, it was able to obtain by cunning. This, then, is the malice of those whom neither reason nor any voice supplies. But I wish you, having contemplated the gainful devices of the cercinus, to abstain from the possessions of neighbors. For such is the one who proceeds to his brother with a deceitful mind: either he lays waste the goods of relatives, or he is one who takes delight in others' calamities. Wherefore cease to emulate the condemned, for poverty with truth is preferred by the wise man to the greatest riches. Therefore I will not pass over the cunning of the fraudulent and thieving polypus, which, when it clings with its outstretched tendrils to some rock, safely assumes its color, and many fish slipping there imprudently, dragging themselves as if simply toward a rock, are deceived, immediately offering to the wicked one an easy capture of themselves.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":135,"ref":"p135","source":"Tales sunt qui summatibus obsequentes assidue, mentis varietate mutantur; nec in uno proposito perdurantes, alios atque alios se demonstrant, pudicitiam cum castis, luxuriam cuin libidinosis exercentes, et omnino ut cujusque mens fuerit, ita proprios aptantes mores. Quos etiam vitare difficile est, propter nequitiam quae in sim latione latet onicii. Hujusmodi homines lupos raplorcs Dominus appellavit, vestitu se simplices oves esse fiagentes (Matth. VII, 15). Fuge igitur ejusmodi morum varietatem, et sectare potius veritatem, sinceritatem, innocentiam, quoniam et vipera varia est; propter quod eam Dominus ventre serpere condemnavit. Justus nihil habet fictum sicut Jub: propterea Dominus inhabitare faciet unius moris in domo (Psal. LXVI), 7). Hoc mare magnum et spatiosum: illic serpentes quorum non est numerus, anirmalia pusilla et magna (Psal. CIII, 25). Sed tamen est in his sapiens quædem et moderata dispositio. Non ergo totos pisces debimus arguere, sed etiam certos quosque laudare atque imitari. Nam vide quomodo singula genera resiones sibi detinent deputatas; nullusque alterius fines occupal, sed suis quisque sedibus est contentus. Et certe nullus eis agri mensor habitacula defendenda distribuit, nec murorum circumscriptione signavit, nec terminos posuit observandos: sed omnibus utilitas in commune i collata est. Hic etenim sinus certum piscium genus nutrit, alter aliud.","english":"Such are those who constantly comply with the powerful: they are changed by the fickleness of their mind, and not persevering in one purpose, they show themselves now one thing and now another—practicing chastity with the chaste, and luxury with the lustful—and in short, adapting their own habits to whatever each person's mind happens to be. These are also difficult to avoid, because of the wickedness that lies hidden in the likeness of the onychion. The Lord called men of this sort ravening wolves, feigning themselves to be simple sheep (Matthew 7:15). Flee, therefore, this kind of fickleness of character, and pursue rather truth, sincerity, and innocence, since the viper too is variegated; for which reason the Lord condemned it to crawl on its belly. The righteous man has nothing feigned, like Job; therefore the Lord will make the single-hearted to dwell in a house (Psalm 66:7). This is the great and wide sea: there are serpents without number, small animals and great (Psalm 103:25). But nevertheless there is among them a certain wise and orderly arrangement. We ought not, then, to condemn all fish wholesale, but also to praise and imitate certain ones. For see how each kind keeps to the regions assigned to it; and no one occupies another's bounds, but each is content with its own dwelling-places. And surely no land-surveyor distributed to them their habitations to be defended, nor marked them out with the enclosure of walls, nor set boundaries to be observed; but the benefit of all has been conferred in common. For this bay nourishes one kind of fish, another bay another.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":136,"ref":"p136","source":"Et qui in hoc abundant loco, minus littoribus habentur in aliis: non quod aliquibus montium jugis asperrimis separentur, aut fluviorum interpositis obicibus arceantur a transilu; sed lex naturæ singulis aequabiliter proot usus cujusqne postulat, quod necessarium est impedendo, cunctos observatione suae sanctionis astrinxit.\n\nSed nos tales non samus: nam et majorum nostrorum fines audacter escedimus, et i saltus transgredimur vicinorum, et domos domibus, et agros agris adjungimus, et aliena jura mutilamus (Prov. xxn, 18). Sciunt marini cetus concessum sibi a natura diversorium, quod in extremis pelagi situm est partibus, eui nulla penitus in conspectu tem monstratur, quodque innavigabile penitus habetur. Nam nec quale sit, vel hisloria referente compertum est, ut pote nemine inde confidente transire. In hoc igitur loco memoratæ belluae quæ sunt instar montium commorantur, neque urbibus aliquibus, neque insulis infestantes. Ita singula genera in stationibus sibi datis a nalura, velut in regioaibus terrarum larem proprium incolere coguntur. Certi sane pisces, quasi communi quodam decreto civium, ad exteriora directi, laborem peregrinationis arripiunt, simulque omnes tanquam signo dato ad longinqua discedunt. Nam cum fetandi coeperit tempus vigere, alii ex alio sinu, naturæ legibus excitati, profectionem mox ad partes pelagi Borealis intendunt.","english":"And those who abound in this place are held less within shores in others: not because they are separated by some very rough mountain ridges, or kept from crossing by intervening barriers of rivers; but the law of nature, evenly for each according to the need of each one's use, by preventing what is necessary, has bound all by the observance of its sanction.\n\nBut we are not such: for we boldly cross the boundaries of our ancestors, and we transgress the pastures of neighbors, and we join houses to houses and fields to fields, and we mutilate the rights of others (Prov. 22:28). The sea monsters know the dwelling granted to them by nature, which is situated in the farthest parts of the sea, in whose sight nothing at all is shown, and which is considered wholly unnavigable. For neither what it is like has been discovered even by the report of history, since no one dares to cross from there. In this place, therefore, the aforementioned beasts, which are like mountains, dwell, harming neither any cities nor islands. Thus each kind is compelled by nature to inhabit its own home in the stations given to it, as if in regions of lands. Certain fish indeed, as if by a common decree of citizens, directed to the outer parts, undertake the labor of pilgrimage, and all at once, as if a signal had been given, depart for distant places. For when the time of breeding begins to prevail, some from one bay, others from another, stirred by the laws of nature, soon direct their journey to the parts of the northern sea.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":137,"ref":"p137","source":"Quos in revertendo cum videris densissima glomeratione consertos, torrentem violentissimum putabis effluere, per a Propontidis littus, ad mare commeautes Euxinum. Quis igitur eos exagitat? quæ imperantis auctoritas? quæ edicta proposita statutum illis tempus annuntiant? qui sunt duces eorum? Nonne vides ordinationem divinam cuncta complentem et per hæc etiam parva diOusam? Pisces igitur Dei legibus non repugnant, et homines minime doctrinam recipiunt salutarem. Non spernas pisces, quia muti sunt et irrationabiles, sed verere potius ne et illis e irrationabilior æstimeris, præceptionibus Creatoris obsistens. Ausculta pisces, qui tantum quod vocem non emittunt, nam certis significationibus rari videntur, quia propter immortalitatem generis desiderabilem peregrinationem subire coguntur. Hi non utuntur suis sermonibus, sed habent legem naturae fortiter illis hærentem, et quæ sunt agenda demonstrantem. Pergamus, inquiuat, ad Borinum pelagus, dulcior enim caeteris æquoribus est ejus aqua, quoniam brevi tempore sol ibidem commoratus, non totas penitus radiis potabiles exhaurit aquas. Nam dulcioribns aquis etiam marina animalia delectantur; unde procul a pelago vementes pisces per fluvios sæpe cernuntur ascendere. Propterea pontum libentius expetunt quam sinus alios, quia magis opportunus est eis ad edendam fevendamque progeNiem.","english":"When you see them in their return packed together in the densest throng, you will think that a most violent torrent is flowing out along the shore of the Propontis, on their way to the Euxine Sea. Who, then, drives them on? What authority of one commanding? What published edicts announce to them the appointed time? Who are their leaders? Do you not see the divine ordering fulfilling all things and, through these small creatures too, being made manifest? Fish, therefore, do not resist the laws of God, yet men scarcely receive the saving teaching. Do not despise the fish because they are mute and irrational, but rather fear lest you be judged more irrational than they, in withstanding the precepts of the Creator. Listen to the fish, which only lack the emission of voice; for they are seen to be rare by certain indications, because on account of the immortality of their kind they are compelled to undertake a migration to be desired. These do not use their own speeches, but have the law of nature clinging powerfully to them and showing them what must be done. Let us go, they say, to the Borine Sea, for its water is sweeter than the other seas, since the sun, staying there for a short time, does not entirely drain the drinkable waters with its rays. For marine animals too delight in sweeter waters; hence fish coming from far out at sea are often seen to ascend through rivers. For this reason they seek the deep sea more gladly than other bays, because it is more suitable for them for eating and for bringing forth their offspring.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":138,"ref":"p138","source":"Qui cum sufficienter destinata per gerint, catervatim cuncti simul revertuntur ad propria. Qaæ autem ratio sit, a tacitis audiamus. Quia humile videlicet est Arctoum pelagus et devexum, et ob hoc expositum violentiæ commotionique ventorum: quod tempestatibus exortis, ab imo fundo concutitur, adeo ut arena inferior nonnunquam summis fluctibus misceatur. Sed et frigidum nimis est hiemali tempore, at pote multis ac maximis amnibus repletum. Quo cum fuerint aestivis potiti mensibus, rursus asperitate succedentis bibemi deterriti, in altiora maris loca, quæ sunt tranquilliora, se conferunt.\n\nSpectavi hæc ego et admiratus sum Dei sapientiam, quia irrationabiles animantes, providæ custodesque salutis habentur propr iæ, ct intelligunt quid sibi sit conveniens, quid adversum. Nos igitur e quid dicemus, qui ratione sumus honestati. promissionibus invitati, spiritaliter eruditi, piscibus irrationabilius nostra negotia disponentes? Licet illis etiam studium sit scientiæ futurorum. Nos autem infidelitate futuri sæculi depravati, nostram vitam per actus fœdissimos, et illicitas voluptates expendimus. Pisces igitur tot maris intervalla transcurrunt, ut possint invenire quod utile est. Quid tandem tu dicturus es, habens cohærentem tibi desidiam, quæ nequitiæ prin. ceps e?","english":"When they have sufficiently accomplished what was appointed them, they all return together in throngs to their own places. But let us hear from the silent creatures what the reason is. For the northern sea is, plainly, shallow and sloping downward, and for this reason exposed to the violence and agitation of the winds; when storms arise it is shaken from its very bottom, so that sometimes the lower sand is mingled with the topmost waves. But it is also exceedingly cold in winter time, inasmuch as it is filled by many and very great rivers. When they have enjoyed the summer months there, they are again deterred by the harshness of the winter that follows, and betake themselves to the deeper parts of the sea, which are calmer.\n\nI have watched these things and marveled at the wisdom of God, because irrational creatures are held to be provident guardians of their own safety, and they understand what is fitting for them and what is adverse. What, then, shall we say, who have been honored with reason, invited by promises, spiritually instructed, yet order our affairs more irrationally than the fishes? They have even a zeal for the knowledge of things to come. But we, corrupted by unbelief concerning the age to come, spend our life in most shameful deeds and unlawful pleasures. The fishes, then, traverse so many stretches of the sea so that they may be able to find what is useful. What at last will you say, you who have sloth clinging to you, which is the chief of wickedness?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":139,"ref":"p139","source":"Nullus igitur de ignoratione causctur: raturalis enim nobis iisita est ratio, vel in appetendam bonorum familiaritatem, vel in declinandam noxiorum læsionem.Itaque non recedam ab exemplis animalium marinorum; quoniam hæc nobis exempla proposuimus examinanda. Audivi ego quemdam de littoreis habitatoribus referentem quia maritimus echinus, cum sit vilissimus ac sprebilis, fit index saepe navigantibus futurae serenitatis aut hiemis. Nam cum præsenserit flatus imminere ventorum, sub lapide?e col. locat, quo velut anchoræ dente subnixus, quassationem tempestatis evitet. Patiturque se tantisper deprimi pondere superposito, dummodo non jactetur a fluctibus. Hoc com viderint signum nautici, sciunt mox ventorum fremitum concitandum. Et certe nullus astrologus, aut Chaldæus ortu siderum colligens aeris qualitatem, docuit echinum: sed inanis tempestatumque Dominus huic quoque animali exiguo, magnificæ sapientiae suæ manifesta vestigia signavit. Ita nihil improvidum, nihil prætermissum est apud Deum: cuncta enim specu!atur oculus ille insopitus, et omnibus præsto est, remedia salutis portans. Qui si echinum suæ visitationis non reliquit exsortem: tc, tuaque o homo non respiciet? Viri, diligite vestras conjuges (Ephes. v, 25). Quod etsi terrarwu interjecta prolixitas disjungere vos ad tempus forte videbitur, naturæ tamen foedus, et benedictionis jugum sit vobis indiscreta conjunctio.","english":"Let no one, then, find fault on the ground of ignorance; for the principle of nature has been implanted in us, both for seeking the fellowship of good things and for avoiding the harm of injurious ones. Therefore I shall not depart from the examples of sea creatures, since we have set these examples before us to examine. I myself heard a certain man among the coastal dwellers report that the sea urchin, though it is the most worthless and contemptible of things, often becomes an indicator to sailors of coming calm or storm. For when it has sensed that the blasts of the winds are imminent, it places itself under a stone, where, supported as if by the tooth of an anchor, it may avoid the buffeting of the tempest. And it allows itself to be pressed down for a time by the weight placed over it, provided only that it is not tossed about by the waves. When the sailors have seen this sign, they know that the roaring of the winds will soon be stirred up. And certainly no astrologer, nor any Chaldean who gathers the quality of the air from the rising of the stars, taught the sea urchin; but the Lord of the winds and the tempests has marked even in this tiny animal clear traces of his magnificent wisdom. Thus nothing is unforeseen, nothing overlooked by God; for that unsleeping eye surveys all things and is present to all, bearing the remedies of salvation. If he has not left the sea urchin without a share in his visitation, will he not look upon you also, O man, and upon your own? Men, love your wives (Eph. 5:25). And even if the wide expanse of lands laid between may perhaps seem for a time to separate you, yet let the covenant of nature and the yoke of blessing be for you an undivided union.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":140,"ref":"p140","source":"Vipera cum sit sævissima serpentium, pergit ad connubium murænæ, sibilis;ue signiificans se venisse, provocat eam de profundo maiis, ad cousortium nuptiale procedere, quæ mox obediens copulatur ei. Quid igitur iste sermo desiderat? quia licet ct asper sit vir et moribus habeatur immitis, hunc tamen uxor ferre necessario debet, nullis occasionibus contractam semel dirimens affectionem. At vero dicis illum iracundum esse vel crudelem, sed maritus est; vinulentum, sed conjunctus tibi est per naturam; durum et implacabilem, sed corporis tu! pars habetur preliosior.\n\nAudiat et maritus congruam sibi admonitionem. Vipera pestiferum virus evomit nuptialis causa reverentiæ; tu feritatem animi et amariludinem non deponis, coactus pudore conjugii? Forte autem viperæ nobis exemplum alias etiam reperiemus esse convefiens, quia magis adulterium naturae facit coitio viperæ cum muræna. Recognoscant igitur, qui alienis matrimoniis insidias parant, quali bestinæ comparantur. Itaque ullum est semper propositum, quo possit Ecclesia fabricari: et ob hoc hortor, ut cessent libidines flagitiosorum marinis exemplis ct terrestribus castigandæ. Hic me sermonem statuere, tam vespertinum tempus, quam corporis cogit infirmitas.","english":"Although the viper is the fiercest of serpents, it goes to mate with the moray eel, and by hissing, signaling that it has come, it summons her from the deep to come forth to the nuptial union, and she, promptly obedient, is joined to him. What, then, does this account intend? That even if a man is harsh and is considered savage in his ways, his wife must nonetheless bear with him, never on any pretext breaking the affection once contracted. But you say that he is irascible or cruel—yet he is your husband; that he is given to wine—yet he is joined to you by nature; that he is hard and implacable—yet he is reckoned the more precious part of your body.\n\nLet the husband also hear the admonition that suits him. The viper vomits forth its deadly poison out of reverence for marriage; will you not lay aside the savagery and bitterness of your mind, compelled by the shame of wedlock? Perhaps we shall find that the example of the viper is fitting for us in other respects as well, because the mating of the viper with the moray eel makes adultery, so to speak, a matter of nature. Let those, therefore, who lay snares for others' marriages recognize what beast they are compared to. And so there is always some purpose by which the Church can be built up; and for this reason I urge that the lusts of the shameful cease, to be chastened by examples from the sea and from the land. Here I am compelled to set a limit to my discourse, both by the evening hour and by the weakness of my body.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":141,"ref":"p141","source":"Nam plura forent quæ a tractatui deberemus adjicere, praesertim cum studiosi sint auditores, et super his quæ in mari nascuntur, admiratione dignissimis, vel de ipso mari, quomodo aqua ejus gelatur in salem, vel quomodo lapis ille pretiosus, qui corallius nominatur, herba est dum habetur in pelago, postquam vero in aerem fuerit inde educta, mox mutatur in lapidem. Vel unde vilissimis animantium ostreis, margaritam pretio gravem natura subjicit, ut eam quam reges magnopere desiderant, per littus et asperas cautes teta inclusam conchæ, pauper piscator inveniat. Unde aurosam lanam maritimæ nutriunt pinnæ; vel unde purpuram conchilia ministrant imperatoribus, qu;c florum omnium pulchritudinem, venustate proprii coloris cxsuperat. Ejiciant aquæ. Quid non necessarium factum est? aut quid non optimum, vitæ nostræ collatum est? quorum pars ministeriis hominum proficit, alia sibi contemplatio mirabilis vindicat creatura. Nonnulla terribilia, quæ nostram scilicet desidiam coercerent. Fecit Deus cetos magnos, non vero quia ab aliis piscibus exiguis majus est, idcirco magnum dicitur, sed quia immanitate membrorum, montibus coæquatur excelsis, quod etiam sæpe putatur esse insula, cum se ad summas undas leni natatu sustuleriL. Hoc tamen non in littoribus usitalis, aut in locis habitabilibus diversatur, sed acti. quum pontum fertur incolere.","english":"For there would be many things that we ought to add to the treatise, especially since the hearers are eager, both concerning those things that are born in the sea, most worthy of admiration, and concerning the sea itself—how its water is frozen into salt, or how that precious stone which is called coral is a plant while it is held in the deep, but after it has been brought out from there into the air, it is presently changed into stone. Or whence nature subjects to the vilest of living things, the oyster, a pearl heavy with price, so that the poor fisherman may find the one that kings greatly desire, enclosed by the shell along the shore and rough crags. Whence the sea-pens nourish golden fleece; or whence the shellfish supply purple to emperors, which surpasses the beauty of all flowers by the loveliness of its own color. Let the waters bring forth. What has not been made necessary? Or what has not been conferred as best for our life? Of these things, a part profits the ministries of men, others the creature claims for itself as a marvelous contemplation. Some things are terrible, which would restrain our sloth. God made great sea-monsters, not indeed because it is greater than other small fish, and for that reason is called great, but because in the vastness of its limbs it is equaled to lofty mountains, which is even often thought to be an island, when it has raised itself to the top of the waves with gentle swimming. Yet this does not dwell on familiar shores, or in habitable places, but is said to inhabit the deep sea.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":142,"ref":"p142","source":"Tales igitur ad incatiendum nobis timorem atque terrorem belluæ sui formatæ. Cum vero audieris, quia naves ingentes, sinu tumentes velorum, ventoque prospero volitantes in pelago piscis tenuissimus ita retardat ac retinet, ut diutius efficiantur immobiles, velut quibusdam fundatæ radicibus in profundo: nonne et fer e hoc minimum animal divinae virtutis accipies documentum Neque enim solus canis aut xifius, aut balaena formis dolosa est; sed etiam pastinacæ aculeus, et certe defunctæ. lepusque marinus, pari timore caventur; indeclinabilem celeremque portando perniciem. Quæ cum ita sint, maluit te providentia Conditoris semper esse pervigilem: quatenus in eum fidens, cunctas subinde noxias pestes effugias. Sed jam de gurgile pelagi remeantes revertamur ad terram. Nam alia nobis ex aliis occurrentia creatune miracula, velut quidam fluctus crebris alternisque jactationibus nostrum submersere sermonem. Et a sane mirabor, si non sensus noster causis ingentioribus occupaius in terram denuo, sicut Jonas in mare refugiat. Quamobrem videtur mihi disputationis series nostre, multis implexa miraculorum millibus, ac suae mediocritatis oblita, similis esse navigantibus in alto, qui ad certum locum cursum miniine dirigentes, ignorant quantum spatii velificando peregerit.","english":"Such, then, are the beasts formed by him to inspire us with fear and terror. But when you have heard that a tiny fish so slows and holds back huge ships, swelling with the curve of their sails and flying over the deep with a favorable wind, that they are made motionless for a long time, as if founded on certain roots in the deep, will you not accept even this smallest animal as a proof of divine power? For not only the dog-fish, or the swordfish, or the whale is treacherous in form; but also the sting of the stingray, and that even when dead, and the sea-hare are guarded against with equal fear, since they carry a swift and unavoidable destruction. Since these things are so, the providence of the Creator preferred that you be always watchful, so that, trusting in him, you may thereafter escape all noxious pests. But now, returning from the whirlpool of the sea, let us return to the land. For other miracles of creation, meeting us one after another, have submerged our discourse like a kind of wave with their frequent and alternating tossings. And indeed I shall wonder if our mind, occupied with greater matters, does not flee again to the land, as Jonah fled to the sea. Wherefore the sequence of our argument seems to me, entangled in many thousands of miracles and forgetful of its own mediocrity, to be like those sailing on the deep, who, directing their course to no certain place, do not know how much space they have covered by sailing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":143,"ref":"p143","source":"Quod utique nostro sermoni provenisse probavimus, qui dum per cveatura tramites latius evagatur, multiludnem relatorum sensu non percipit. Sed quanquam sit cupidus audiendi coetus astantium, jucundissimaque cordibus corum videatur dominicorum narratio mirabilium; tamen hic finem facimus disserendi, sequenti die residua fenoris soluturi. Nunc vero simul omnesgratias super his quæ dicta sunt referamus: et supplementum eorum quæ minus explicuimus, postulemus, faciatque nos inter ipsas epulas reminisci, quæ vel mane, vel ad vesperam noster affatus exprompsit, eorumque memoriam cohaerere vobis, etiam cum somno quiescitis, et suavitatem quam interdiu percepistis, noctis quoque ruminare tempore; ut ita liccat vobis dicere, Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat (Cunt. v, 2), meditando die noctuque legem Domini, cui gloria et honor. nunc et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.","english":"We have certainly shown that this has happened to our discourse, which, while it wanders more widely through the paths of the meadows, does not grasp in understanding the multitude of the things reported. But although the assembly of those standing by may be eager to hear, and the narration of the Lord's wonders may seem most pleasant to their hearts, nevertheless we here make an end of speaking, intending to pay the remainder of the debt on the following day. But now let us all together give thanks for what has been said, and let us ask for a supplement to those things which we have explained too little; and may he cause us, even amid the feast itself, to remember what our address brought forth either in the morning or toward evening, and to hold their memory fast in you even when you rest in sleep, and to ruminate in the time of night as well the sweetness that you perceived during the day; so that you may thus be able to say, I sleep and my heart keeps watch, meditating on the law of the Lord day and night, to whom be glory and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":144,"ref":"p144","source":"LIBER OCTA V US.\n\nI. Et dixit Deus: Ejiciat terra animam secundum genus: quadrupedes, et serpentes, et bestias secundum genus. Et facfum est sic. Venit præceptio passim gradiens, et recepit terra proprium a cursum. Ibi jussit aquas ejicere reptilia animarum vitarum: hic, Ejiciat lerra animam vivam. Putasne ergo est animatatellus, ei locus præbebitur vaniloquis Manicbxis, animam terræ dandi? Non omnimodis, quia dixit, Ejiciat, quod in ipsa erat, eduxit, sed Dens qui præceptionem dedit, etiam virtutem terra tribuit educendi. Neque enim cum audisset, ut herbam germinaret feni, et lignum fructuosum, latens intra se videlicet, herbam feni tantum protulit, nec palmas, aut esculos, aut cypressos, in suis abstrusa sinibus, ad superna produxit; sed sermo divinus nascentium profecto creator est. Germinet terra, non ut quod habcbat, educeret; sed ut quod non haberet assumeret, Deo scilicet operalionis ci præbente virtutem. Sic et modo: Ejiciat animam: non eam quae recondita erat in terra, sed quæ illi a Deo collata est per mandatum. Deinde in contrarium Manichaeis sermo vertendus est. Si enim animam quam habebat tellus eduxit, exanimis ipsa facta est. Sed corum quidem detestabilitas nota subinde est. Illud sane videamus, cur aquæ jussæ sunt reptilia vivarum animarum producere, tellus autem animam vivam.","english":"BOOK EIGHT.\n\nI. And God said: Let the earth bring forth a living soul according to its kind: four-footed beasts, and serpents, and wild beasts according to their kind. And it was done so. The command came forth, advancing everywhere, and the earth received its proper course. There He ordered the waters to bring forth creeping things of living souls; here, Let the earth bring forth a living soul. Do you suppose, then, that the earth is animate, and that a place will be given to the vain-talking Manichaeans for assigning a soul to the earth? By no means, because He said, Let it bring forth, it brought out what was in itself; but God, who gave the command, also granted to the earth the power of bringing forth. For neither when it had heard that it should germinate the herb of hay and the fruitful tree—namely, what was hidden within itself—did it produce only the herb of hay, nor did it bring forth to the upper world palms, or esculi, or cypresses, hidden in its own bosoms; but the divine word is assuredly the creator of things that come to be. Let the earth germinate—not so that it might bring out what it had, but so that it might take up what it did not have, God, that is, supplying the power of working. So also now: Let it bring forth a soul—not the one that was concealed in the earth, but the one that was conferred on it by God through the command. Then the discourse must be turned against the Manichaeans. For if the earth brought out the soul that it had, it itself was made soulless. But their detestableness is noted again and again. Let us indeed see this: why the waters were ordered to produce creeping things of living souls, but the earth a living soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":145,"ref":"p145","source":"Arbitramur igitur eo quod natura natantium imperfectam quodammodo putatur habere vitam: ob hoc quia crassiores sunt aquæ. Nam denique tardior auditus cst animantibus in aqua degentibus, et visas hebetior, ut pote per aquam cernendo, nec ulla apud eos memoria, vel opinatio, vel agnitio est proximorum. Declarat ergo sermo divinus, quia vita carnalis aquariorum moderatur animi motionibus. Nam in terrigenis bestiis, quæ vitam perfectiorem sortitæ sunt, animus corporis obtinet principatum. Etenim sensus earum vegetior est, manifestaque animalia cum praesentium maximam curam gerant, tunc diligenter memoriam custodiunt transactorum. Unde considerandum est e quod piscium quidem corpora animala produxit aqua: reptilia enim animarum vivarum produxit, ut ScriptuM significat, in terrestribus autem anima corpus regens. generari præcepta est, ut pote quae plus vivificæ virtutis assumpserint, quanquam ipsa quoque terrestria sint irrationabilia, tamen unumquodque eorum multo per naturalem vocem super animi passione signiticat. Nam et lætitiam et moTorem, et inediam, et separationem suorum, variasque molestias voce declarant, cum aquaria non solum muta. sed etiam immitia sint et indocta, et ad omnem vitæ societatem prorsus bominibus iutractabilia. Recognovit bos possessorem suum, et asinus præsepe domini sui (Isai. I, 3), piscis vero nunquam potuit cognoscere nutrimenta præstantem.","english":"We consider, therefore, that the nature of swimming creatures is thought to have a life in some way imperfect, for the reason that the waters are denser. For in fact hearing is slower in animals living in water, and sight is duller, inasmuch as they see through water, nor is there in them any memory, or opinion, or recognition of those close to them. The divine word therefore declares that the carnal life of water-dwellers is governed by the motions of the soul. For in the beasts born of earth, which have obtained a more perfect life, the soul holds the principate over the body. For their senses are more vigorous, and these manifest animals, since they take the greatest care of things present, then diligently keep the memory of things past. Whence it is to be considered that the water produced the bodies of fish as living things—for it produced reptiles of living souls, as the Scripture indicates—but in earthly creatures the soul governs the body. The command was given that they be generated, as those which have assumed more of the life-giving power; although these earthly creatures themselves are also irrational, yet each one of them signifies much by its natural voice concerning the passion of the soul. For they declare both joy and sorrow, and hunger, and the separation of their own, and various troubles by voice, whereas water-dwellers are not only mute but also savage and untrained, and altogether intractable to men for every fellowship of life. The ox recognized its possessor, and the ass the manger of its lord (Isai. I, 3), but a fish could never recognize the one providing its nourishment.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":146,"ref":"p146","source":"Intelligit asinus et hominis consuetam vocem, novit iter quod sæpius ambalavit, interdumaque dux fit agitatori suo, cum erravcrit, ad audiendum ita vehementer acutus, ut nullum ei possit de terrcstribus comparari. Camelus habet semper tenacem memoriam malorum; et ad iracundiam gravis, et perseverans est. Denique si fuerit percussus, diu dissimulato dolore, cum reperit opportunum tempus. illatam protinus reponit injuriam. Sed hunc nulla do marinis belluis imitatur. Audite igitur, iracundi homi nes, qui recordationem dudum læsionis acceptæ pro virtute maxima affectatis, cui belluae similes habcimm, quando proprium bilem, tanquam aliquam scintillam cinere sopitam, usque eo retinetis in cordibus, quousque nacti occasionem, stimulos doloris, velut igniculum parvum, fomite nutritum suscitetis in flammam.\n\ni. Ejiciat terra animam vivam. Cur terra producit animam vivam? ut differentiam discas animæ pecoris hominisque. Et paulo quidem inferius cognosces quomodo anima sit hominis constituta: nunc vero audi de anima mutorum, quia secundum Scripturam, cunctorum animalium aniina sanguis est proprius. Sanguis autem gelatus converti solet in carnem, caro autem corrupta redit in terram. Merito ergo tabida est anima jumentorum. Ejiciat terra animam vivam. Vide consequenliam animac ad sanguinem, sanguinis ad carnem, caruis ad terram.","english":"The donkey understands even the familiar voice of a human, it knows the path it has walked more often, and sometimes it becomes a guide to its driver when he has gone astray, being so keen of hearing that none of the land animals can be compared to it. The camel always has a tenacious memory of wrongs; it is also prone to anger and persistent. Indeed, if it has been struck, it hides its pain for a long time, and when it finds a suitable opportunity, it immediately repays the injury inflicted on it. But no sea monster imitates this one. Hear, therefore, you angry men, who claim the remembrance of an injury received long ago as the greatest virtue—to which beast are we similar, when you keep your own bile, like some spark smothered in ashes, in your hearts all the way until, having seized an opportunity, you stir up the goads of pain, like a little fire nourished by kindling, into a flame.\n\ni. Let the earth bring forth a living soul. Why does the earth produce a living soul? So that you may learn the difference between the soul of a beast and of a man. And a little further down, indeed, you will learn how the soul of man is constituted; but now hear about the soul of brute animals, because according to Scripture, the soul of all animals is their own blood. Blood, however, when congealed, is accustomed to be turned into flesh, and flesh, when corrupted, returns to earth. Deservedly, therefore, the soul of beasts is subject to decay. Let the earth bring forth a living soul. See the sequence of soul to blood, of blood to flesh, of flesh to earth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":147,"ref":"p147","source":"Iterumque resolvens hæc, redi repedando per eadem, id est de terra ad carnem, a carne in sanguinem, a sanguine in animam, et invenies quia pecorum animus terra est. Nec eam opineris antiquiorem esse substantiae corporalis illorum: nec a exspectare, ut cum corpore dissolvatur. Fuge garrulitates anxias philosophorum, qui asserere non erubescunt suas canumqae animas similem tenere speciem. Siquidem profitentur etiam mulieres se quondam pisces fruticesque fuise. Ego autem si fuerunt aliquando pisces, quod non credam; tamen dum ista scriberent, irrationabiliores piscibus habebantur. Ejiciat terra animam vivant. Quare igitur passim currente sermone, subito non brevi tempore conticuerim, credo mirari nonnullos astantium, quanquam studiosissimos auditores non arbitror causas ignorare silentii; quippe qui respectu nutuque inter se vicissim, ad memoriam nos eorum, quae intermisinus reduxerunt. Certam enim partem creaturæ non vilissimam pene præterivimus indiscussam. Ejiciant equæ reptilia animarum vivarum, secundum genus, et volatilia volantia sub firmamento caeli. Dixeramus superius de natantibus, quantum tempus permiserat vesperti.um; hodie transimus ad examinationem terrestrium, Sed interea nos in narratione media volucres effugerunt.","english":"Resolving these things again, go back retracing through the same steps, that is, from earth to flesh, from flesh to blood, from blood to soul, and you will find that the soul of cattle is earth. Nor should you think it is older than their bodily substance, nor that it awaits dissolution together with the body. Flee the anxious chatter of the philosophers, who are not ashamed to assert that their souls and those of dogs hold a similar form. Indeed they profess that even women were once fish and shrubs. But if they ever were fish—which I do not believe—yet while they were writing these things they were reckoned more irrational than fish. Let the earth bring forth a living soul. Why then, when my discourse was running along in its course, did I suddenly fall silent for no short time? I believe some of those standing by wonder, though I do not think the most attentive hearers are ignorant of the causes of my silence; for by a look and a nod exchanged among themselves they have brought back to my memory those things which we passed over. For we have almost passed over undiscussed a certain not ignoble part of creation. Let the mares bring forth reptiles of living souls, according to their kind, and flying birds under the firmament of heaven. We had spoken above concerning swimming creatures, as far as the evening time permitted; today we pass to the examination of earthly creatures. But meanwhile, in the middle of my account, the birds have escaped me.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":148,"ref":"p148","source":"Quapropter imitandi sunt nobis obliviosi viatores, qui cum aliquid in mansione reliquerint pretiosum, quamvis maximam partem viæ progrediendo coufecerint, revertuntur: dignum laborem suae negligentiae perferentes: sic et nobi per eumdem quem venimos callem redeundum est. Neque enim contemptibile est quod omisimus: ut pote quae tertia portio sit animalium creaturæ. Nam tria genera sunt animantium, terrestrium, volatilium, marinorum. Ejiciant, inqnit, aquæ reptilia animarum vivarum secundum genus, et volatilia volantia sub firmamento coeli secundum genus. Cur igitur ex elemento maris, avibus quoque nativitatem tribuit? Quia velut affinitas quædam volucribus habetur et piscibus. Sicut enim pisces aquam secant motibus alaruni in priora tendentes, caulæ vero gubernaculo flexus dirigunt proprios, ita et aves aerem pennis creduntur natando perrumpere. Ergo quoniam una proprietas in genere utroque natandi est, e eadem illis etiam suppetit ex aqua cognatio. Quorum hæc differentia est, quia nullus alitum sine pedibus esse potest, ut pote qui pastum consequuntur e terra, et ob hoc necessario pedum potiunlur obsequio. Raptoribus autem etiam unguium acies, ad convectandas prædas accommodata est. Nam cæteris tam propter alimoniae quæstum, quam propter aliam vitæ dispensatinem pedum ministeria sunt tributa.","english":"Therefore we must imitate forgetful travelers, who, when they have left something precious at their lodging, even though they have completed the greatest part of their journey by advancing, turn back, enduring a labor worthy of their negligence; so too must we return by the same path by which we came. For what we have omitted is not to be despised, since it is the third portion of the creation of living things. For there are three kinds of living things: terrestrial, flying, and marine. Let the waters, he says, bring forth reptiles of living souls according to their kind, and let flying things fly under the firmament of heaven according to their kind. Why, then, does he assign birth to birds also from the element of the sea? Because there is, as it were, a certain affinity between birds and fish. For just as fish cut through the water by the motions of their fins, pressing forward, and direct their own turnings by the rudder of their tail, so too birds are believed to break through the air by swimming with their wings. Therefore, since there is one property of swimming in both kinds, the same kinship from the water is also available to them. Their difference is this: that no bird can be without feet, since it obtains its food from the earth, and for this reason necessarily enjoys the service of feet. But for birds of prey the sharpness of talons also is suited to carrying off their prey. For to the rest, both for the acquisition of nourishment and for the other ordering of life, the ministries of feet have been granted.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":149,"ref":"p149","source":"Pauce vero avium pedes inutiles habent, neque gressui neque venatui opportunos, sicut hirundines, meropesque, quibus esca solo præbetur ex aere. Sed hirundo solet volare depressior, terramque pene contingere, ut per hoc usum pedum videatur explere.\n\nSunt sane multa genera quæ, si quis eo mouo voluerit explicare quo nos pi cium multitudinem pro parte descripsimus, inveniet unum quidem avium cunctarum generate vocabulum, sed plurimas in bis differentias, vel habitus, vel magnitudinis, vel colorise Nam et morum, et actuum, et victus nimia diversitate distinctæ sunt. Quidam autem affectaverunt nominibus circa eas uti variis, ut tanquam per inusitata sigilla novæ inauditæque nuncupationis proprietas in singulis volucrum generibus agnoscatur. Sed nobis sufficiens est signiflcatio, ad qualitatem cujusque generis contemplandam, ususque communis Scriptune, quæ mundas irnmundasque discernit. Aliud enim est genus earum quae carne vescuntur, aliaque forma, suis congruens moribus: habent enim falcatos ungues, obuacu:n rostrum, volatom pernicem, quo præda citius capiatur, discerptaque pedibus, facilem cibum sugg*ral capto.-i. Alia species est earum quæ seminibus nutriuntur, et alia earum qw pro alimonia percipiunt quidquid casus obtulent. Et in his rursus maxima differentia est. Quædam enim sunt gregales, exceptis prædatricibus: quarum nulla cum aliis preter coitum sociatur.","english":"Few birds, however, have useless feet, suited neither for walking nor for hunting, such as swallows and bee-eaters, to which food is supplied from the air alone. But the swallow is accustomed to fly lower and almost touch the ground, so that by this it seems to fulfill the use of its feet.\n\nThere are, indeed, many kinds which, if anyone wished to explain in the manner in which we have partly described the multitude of fish, he will find that there is indeed one common name for all birds, but very many differences among them, whether of habit, or of size, or of color. For they are distinguished by an excessive diversity of manners, actions, and ways of living. Some, moreover, have affected to use various names for them, so that, as it were through unfamiliar seals, the peculiarity of a new and unheard-of designation might be recognized in each kind of bird. But for us the meaning is sufficient for contemplating the quality of each kind, and the common usage of Scripture, which distinguishes the clean from the unclean. For one kind is that of those which feed on flesh, and another form, corresponding to their manners: for they have curved talons, a hooked beak, swift flight, so that prey may be caught more quickly, and, once torn apart by their feet, food may be easily brought to the captured prey. Another species is that of those which are nourished by seeds, and another of those which receive for nourishment whatever chance brings. And in these again there is the greatest difference. For some are gregarious, except the predatory ones, none of which associates with others except for mating.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":150,"ref":"p150","source":"Aliæ sunt communiter viventes, sicut columbae, sturni, grues, et graculi: ex quibus quædam sine ducibus habentur, semetipsas regentes, aliæ sub moderamine continentur, ut grues. Est etiam in eis alia discretio, secundun. quam certas videras advenas esse, alias indigenas. Nonnullas hieme compellente, causa pastus, ad peregrina discedere. Plurimas mansuetas fieri, et patientes: exceptis infirmioribus, quæ propter nimiam timilitatem, contrectationem manus nequeunt tolerarc. Aliae inter homines diversantur, iisdem quibus illi domiciliis colnmanentes, aliæ lucis desertis ut montibus delectantur. Est etiam avibus magna differentia vocum, et sua cuique proprictas. Sunt cnim qu;rdam loquaccs et garrulæ, aliæ taciturnæ: nonnullæ canone atque clamosx, certæ stridulæ, nullumque penitus habentes cantum. Aliæ naturaliter æmulatrices sunt, vel ex hominum traditionibus eruditæ. Aliæ unicum, nunquamque mutabilem sonum vocis habent. Lascivus est gallus, diligens pavo, libidinosa columba, domesticaque gallina. Dolosus et zelotypus perdix; interdumque venanlibus hominibus, ad alioram captum malitiose consentiens; et omnino multiplex in illis actuum morumque discretio est.","english":"Others live in common, such as doves, starlings, cranes, and jackdaws; of these some are held to be without leaders, governing themselves, while others are kept under direction, like cranes. There is also another distinction among them, according to which certain ones are seen to be strangers and newcomers, others native. Some, when winter compels them, depart to foreign lands for the sake of food. Very many become tame and patient, except the weaker ones, which because of excessive timidity cannot endure the touch of a hand. Some dwell among men, residing in the same dwellings as they do, while others delight in deserted places such as mountains. There is also a great difference of voices among birds, and each has its own peculiarity. For some are talkative and garrulous, others silent; some are tuneful and clamorous, certain ones hissing, and having no song at all. Some are naturally emulous, or trained by human instruction. Others have a single, never-changing sound of voice. The rooster is lustful, the peacock fond of display, the dove libidinous, and so is the domestic hen. The partridge is crafty and jealous; and sometimes, to hunters, it maliciously consents to the capture of others; and altogether there is a manifold distinction of actions and manners in them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":151,"ref":"p151","source":"Sunt et certa animalia urbana, si tamen urbali tatis est ad unum communemque finem, operatioa in perducere singulorum: sicut in apibus est videre, quibus communis habitatio est, et volatus, et unus labor omnibus, et quod maximum est, sub rcgibus et ducibus unaquaeque proprium munus excrtt. Nec prius audent campos patentes appetere, quam suum principem viderint volasse. Rex autem apud eas non constituitur a populo, nam sæpe snffragia multitudinis imperite solent indignos ad culmen imperiale provehere, nec regnum sorte præstatur. Sunt enim irrationabiles exitus urnæ, quippe qure sæpius infimo cuique potestatum decernit insig ia. Sed nec ex parentum hæreditate imperialia sceptra traduntur, quoniam principum liberi per voluptates et delicias facile corrumpuntur, et vecordes rofficiuntur ac stulti. Sed naturae judicio, qui dignus fuerit, infulas a accipit principatus, non minus proceritate membrorum quam lenitate morum caeteris præstans, et babet spicula quædam, sed his ad læsionem non utitur aliorum. Ita leges quasdam tacitns eis natura praescripsit, quibus retinentur ad inferenda tormenta supplicibus. Ipsre vero apes si secutæ non fuerint instituta regnantium, propria pœnitudine castigantur. Nam si pupugerint aliquem, dimittuat anim am cum aculeo simul in vulnere. Audiant hæc Christiani, quibus mandatum est, nulli malum pro malo reponere, sed in bonitate superare malitiam.","english":"There are also certain gregarious animals—if indeed it belongs to gregariousness to lead the individuals to one common end—as may be seen in bees, which have a common dwelling, common flight, and one labor for all, and, what is greatest, under kings and leaders each performs its own proper task. Nor do they dare to seek the open fields before they have seen their prince fly. But a king is not appointed among them by the people, for often the ignorant suffrages of the multitude are wont to raise the unworthy to the imperial summit, nor is kingship bestowed by lot. For the outcomes of the urn are irrational, since it more often assigns the insignia of power to the lowest. Nor are imperial scepters handed down by inheritance from parents, since the children of princes are easily corrupted through pleasures and delights and are made foolish and stupid. But by the judgment of nature, he who is worthy receives the fillets of principality, surpassing the rest no less in the stature of his limbs than in the gentleness of his manners, and he has certain stings, but he does not use them for the injury of others. Thus nature has silently prescribed certain laws for them, by which they are restrained from inflicting torments on their subjects. But the bees themselves, if they have not followed the ordinances of their rulers, are punished by their own repentance. For if they have stung anyone, they send forth their soul together with the sting in the wound. Let Christians hear these things, to whom it is commanded to repay no one evil for evil, but to overcome malice in goodness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":152,"ref":"p152","source":"Quamobrem imitamini mores apium: quæ nulli n:olestiam facientes, nec aliena patrimonia rapientes, finguat quidem favos constructos ex floribus, mel autem de humore roscido, qui arborum foliis insidet, ore collectum in cereis recondunt cellis.Nam denique liquidius habetur mel, quod primo percipitur, deinde paulatim tempore procedente digestum, ad suam spissitudinem suavitatemque revertitur. Non homerito ergo tantarum laudum apes gloriam consequuntur: utpete quas laboriosas et sapientes vocitavit antiquitas. Ita studiose victum proprium reponentes, quarum usus, tam regibus quam privatis remedia salutis impertit. Et sic, quia sic sapienter horrea mellis ædificant. In tenera enim membrana crebras thecas, sibique contiguas exstruunt: ut earum condensatio tenuissimæ textu compaginationis arctata, et fulta velut quibusdam repogulis opus omne contineat. Unumquodque vero spiramen mutuo strictum nexu sustentatur ab alio, et subtilissima forulorum interseptione discluditur: qui binis aut ternis superse sunt ordinati tegminibus. Neque enim directas vel simplices cavernarum profunditates efficere maluei unt, ne sui pondere stipatus humor manaret exIrinsecus. Disce quomodo geometriæ affectatio. sapientissimis apbus comparata postponitur.","english":"For this reason, imitate the ways of the bees: they harm no one and seize no one else's inheritance; they fashion their combs built from flowers, and the honey they gather with their mouths from the dewy moisture that clings to the leaves of trees, they store away in waxen cells. For indeed, the honey that is taken first is held to be more liquid; then, gradually digested as time goes on, it returns to its own thickness and sweetness. Not without reason, therefore, do the bees obtain the glory of such great praises, inasmuch as antiquity has called them industrious and wise. Thus they diligently store up their own sustenance, and the use of them imparts remedies of health to kings as well as to private persons. And so, because they wisely build storehouses of honey. For they construct numerous cells in a delicate membrane, adjoining one another, so that their compression, compacted by the weaving of the most slender joining and supported as if by certain props, may hold the whole work together. Moreover, each breathing-hole, bound by mutual connection, is sustained by another and separated by the most subtle interweaving of the little cells; these are arranged with two or three coverings above them. For they preferred not to make the depths of the chambers straight or simple, lest the liquid, crowded together by its own weight, should flow out from within. Learn how the pursuit of geometry, compared with the most wise bees, is set behind them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":153,"ref":"p153","source":"Sex enim angulis totidemque lateribus, cerarum fistulæ continentur, nec tamen erectæ sunt, ne fundus videlicet laboraret, si juncturarum vacuus foret auxilio. Sed i: feriores illi sex anguli, sedes et firmamentum quoddam superjectis habentur: quo e tolcrabiliter pondus superpositum subvectarent, humoremque rcconditum in cavationibus singulis conservarent.\n\nQuis igitur volatilium valeat diligenter cunctas proprietates exponere? Vel quemadmodum grues excubias vicissim noctu suscipiunt, quarum aliis corpora sopore curantibus, nonnullæ tuitionem illis perhibent vigilando. Quae cum statutum sibi tempus excubandi peregerint, ipsae quidem clamore dato, quiescere incipiunt, aliæ vero sorte succedunt. Hunc autem ordinem et in volatu custodiunt, dum diversis vicibus operam ductandi coguntur explere. Ciconiæ sane non procul distant ab his, quibus rationabilis collata prudentia est. Nam uno tempore simul omnes adveniunt, itemque sub uno signo cunctæ pariter ad longinqua discedunt. Suffragantur autem eis cornices, quas et proficiscentes. honorifice prosequuntur, et sicut mihi videtur auxilium praestant illis, adversus quasdam volucres pugnaturis. Cujus rei certum est documentum: primum quidem, quia cornix eo tempore penitus non vidctur: deinde quod sauciæ redeuntes, manifestissima præliorum signa demonstrant. Quis, rogo, illis hospitalitatis jura mandavit?","english":"For the combs of wax are contained by six angles and as many sides, and yet they are not set upright, lest the base, being without the support of joints, should bear the labor. But those six lower angles serve as a seat and a kind of foundation for what is placed upon them, so that they might tolerably carry the weight placed on top and preserve the stored moisture in their individual hollows.\n\nWho, then, could worthily set forth all the properties of winged creatures? Or how the cranes take turns keeping watch by night, of which while some tend their bodies with sleep, certain others provide protection for them by keeping vigil. And when they have completed the appointed time of their watch, they themselves, having given a cry, begin to rest, and others succeed them by lot. This order they also keep in flight, when in turn they are compelled to fulfill the duty of leading. The storks are certainly not far removed from these, to whom a rational prudence has been granted. For at one time they all arrive together, and likewise under one sign they all depart together to distant places. The crows assist them, which they honorably escort as they set out, and, as it seems to me, they provide help to them against certain birds with which they are about to fight. Of this matter there is a certain proof: first indeed, because the crow is not seen at all at that time; then, because returning wounded, they show the most manifest signs of battles. Who, I ask, gave them the laws of hospitality?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":154,"ref":"p154","source":"Aut quis sub comminatione præcepit ut ciconias in procinctu positas suo non destituerent comitatu? Audiant hæc avari homines, qui negata peregrinus adventantibus humanitale, januas suas claudunt, et nec tectis eos succedere noctis aut biemis tempore patiuntur. Liberalilas vero quæ senibus ciconiis a junioribus exhibetur sufficeret hominum filios, si mallent advertere, amatores suorum reddere genitoruin. Quis enim tam insipiens est, ut non se a censcat ignominia notari, cum avibus irrationabilibus cullu postponitur pietatis? Illæ parentes suos ætate confectos pennisque eorum vetustate dejectis, circumstantes, propriis plumis fovent, alimoniamque convectant, et in volatu quod potuerint, binc inde se supponentes, senectæ lassitudinem consolantur, alarum suarum eas auxilio sustentantes. Quae res per omnes ubique gentes ita percrebuit, ut hodie remuneratio delati benclicii apud Græcos nominetur. Quapropter nemo se penitus obtentu paupertatis excusans, de vita propria desperet, quamvis nullæ domi suppeditent facultates, dum ingeniosam contemplatur birundinom. Illa enim in fabricando nido paleas quidem ore comportat, limum autem pedibus ferre non valens, alarum summitates humectat in fluvio, deinde in cinere volutata, cæmenti usum videtur explere. Paulatimque surculos inter se luto apposito, velut quadam glute conjungens, suos educat pullos.","english":"Or who gave a command under threat that the storks, set in readiness, should not abandon their own company? Let greedy men hear this, who, having denied humanity to strangers arriving, close their doors and do not allow them to come under their roofs in the time of night or winter. But the generosity that is shown by the younger storks to the old would be enough for the sons of men, if they preferred to attend to it, to make them lovers of their own parents. For who is so foolish as not to consider himself marked by disgrace, when he is ranked after irrational birds in the cultivation of piety? Those birds, surrounding their parents worn out by age and with their feathers cast down by their old age, warm them with their own plumage, carry food to them, and in flight, placing themselves underneath here and there as much as they can, console the weariness of old age, supporting them with the aid of their wings. This matter has spread so widely through all peoples everywhere that today the repayment of a conferred benefit is named among the Greeks. Therefore let no one, excusing himself entirely under the pretext of poverty, despair of his own life, although no resources supply him at home, while he contemplates the ingenious swallow. For she, in building her nest, gathers straws with her mouth, but, unable to carry mud with her feet, she moistens the tips of her wings in the river, then, rolled about in ashes, she seems to fulfill the use of cement. And gradually joining twigs to one another with mud applied, as if with a kind of glue, she rears her chicks.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":155,"ref":"p155","source":"Quorum si quispiam oculos effoderit, habet eorum mater a natura sibi traditam medicinam, qua mox ad sanitatem fetuum suorum reducat aspectum. Hæc te videlicet hortabuntur, ne ad improbitatem velis egestatis occasione converti, ncc in pessimis artibus spem vivendi collocans, immunis bonitatis exsorsque reddaris, sed ad Deum coafugias: qui cum hirundini tam magna donaverit, quanto majora præstabit his qui eum tota mentis intentione implorant? Alcyon avicula est quædam in littoribus marinis fetare consueta, quæ super ipsam arenam ponit ova, eo tempore quo mare multis gravibusque ventorum flatibus. ommovetur: sed tamen omnes tunc tempestates procellæque sedantur per integros septem dies, quibus avis memorata cubare narratur: nutriendorumque gratia pullorum, postquam fuerunt de ovis educti, septem dies alios illi Deus magnorum largilor adjecit, quos dies nautici diligentius observantes, atcyonios eos vocant. Hæc tibi præscripta sunt, super remediis indubitanter a Deo salutaribus deprecandis. Quid enim non mirabile fiat tui causa, qui ad imaginem Dei factus es, cum propter avem parvulam maxiinum formidolosumque mare videas tempestuoso tempore fieri tranquillum, divina præceptione irenatum?","english":"If anyone has gouged out their eyes, their mother has a remedy handed down to her by nature, by which she may soon restore her offspring's sight to health. These examples will surely exhort you not to wish to turn to wickedness on the occasion of poverty, nor, placing the hope of living in the worst arts, to be made devoid and deprived of goodness, but to flee to God: who, when he has given such great things to the swallow, how much greater will he bestow on those who implore him with the whole intention of their mind? The halcyon is a certain little bird accustomed to breed on the sea shores, which lays its eggs upon the very sand, at the time when the sea is stirred by many heavy blasts of winds: but nevertheless all storms and gales are then calmed for seven whole days, during which the aforementioned bird is said to brood: and for the sake of nourishing its chicks, after they have been brought out from the eggs, God, the bestower of great things, added to it another seven days, which days sailors, observing them more diligently, call halcyon days. These things have been set before you concerning imploring from God remedies that are undoubtedly salutary. For what would not be done wondrously for your sake, who were made in the image of God, when on account of a tiny bird you see the greatest and most fearsome sea made calm in a stormy time, calmed by divine command?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":156,"ref":"p156","source":"G. Turturem ferunt si quando casu aliquo separetur a conjuge, nullatenus coire cum allero, sed memoria prioris connubii perdurante, contractum secundæ copulationis abnuere. Audiant mulieres quomodo apud aves irrationabiles continentia viduitatis f. equentibus nuptiis antefertur. Aquila in educandis pullis propriis injusta fertur esse. Duobus enim proceatis, unum verberibus alarum mulctatus' projicit in terram, alterum retentalum fovet. Ita propter victus inopiam cogitur negare quem genuit, nec tamen eum sinit interire ossifragus, sed assumptum propriis applicat pullis, et studiose nutrit. Tales sunt nonnulli parentes hominum, qui paupertatem caasat! suos exponunt libero, vel hærelitatis sortem, non æquam constituunt inter cos. Quibus quoniam pares causas prætstere nascendi, justum esset ut his vivendi etiam parem tribuerent portionem. Ne velis ergo prædatricum avium mores æmulari, quæ cum viderint pullos suos jam volatui e confidentes, de uidis eos præcipites exturbant atque projiciunt, nullam penitus illis curam deinceps impendentes. Laudatur e contra circa natos cornicis affectio, quos et volantes prosequitur, et escam largitcr subministrat. Cfrtæ vero volucres, ad nutriendos fovendosque fetus, masculorum juvamine non utuntur. A!i;c sane earum quæ altius volitant steriles ommino sunt, sicut vultures, quos asserunt sine coitu generare, præcipue cum sint longævi.","english":"They say that a turtle-dove, if by some chance it is separated from its mate, in no way consorts with another, but with the memory of its former union enduring, it refuses the bond of a second coupling. Let women hear how among irrational birds the continence of widowhood is preferred to subsequent marriages. The eagle is said to be unjust in rearing its own young. For when two have been produced, it strikes one with blows of its wings and casts it to the ground, while it cherishes the other, which is kept. Thus on account of scarcity of food it is compelled to deny the one it begot, yet the ossifrage does not allow it to perish, but taking it up it joins it to its own young and diligently nourishes it. Such are certain parents among men, who, making poverty their excuse, expose their children, or who do not establish an equal share of inheritance among them. For since equal causes of being born were furnished to them, it would be just that they also grant them an equal portion of living. Do not wish, then, to emulate the ways of the plundering birds, which, when they see their young already trusting in flight, drive them headlong from the nest and cast them out, bestowing no care at all upon them thereafter. On the other hand, the affection of the crow toward its offspring is praised, which it both follows when they fly and generously supplies with food. But certain birds do not use the help of males for nourishing and cherishing their young. Some indeed of those that fly higher are altogether sterile, like vultures, which they assert generate without copulation, especially since they are long-lived.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":157,"ref":"p157","source":"Nam vitain eorum centum annis manere affirmant. Sit igitur hæc tibi pars historiæ notata de avibus, ut cum videris aliquos cachinuantes, propter ineffabile mysterium catholicae Me!, quod quasi impossibile sit, alienumque naturæ virgi. nem peperisse, statu virginitatis integro custodito, cogites quia ille qui dignatus est in stultitia prædicationis salvare credentes, idem quoque nobis innumerabiles causas ex natura sumptas ad fidelitatem mirabilium præstitit.\n\nEjiciant aquæ reptilia vivarum animarum, et rolatilia volantia super terram sub firmamento cæli. Volare ideo jussæ sunt super terram, quia victus omnibus e terra suppeditat. Sub frmamento autem cœi dixit, propter illa quæ supra disseruimus. Cœlum aute hic intelligere debemus, a cernendo dictum: Graece enim vocatur.Nam comparatione corporis ætherei, aer ite, qui super nos est, ex vaporibus terræ concretus et crassus efficitur. Habes igitur polum decoratum, terram furmosissimam, mare opulentissimum, aerem repletum avibus: quæ omnia ex nihilo ad hanc vitam Dei freceptione producta sunt. Et alia multa quæ nunc consulto sermo præteriit, ne in hisdem diutius commoratus, modum disputandi videretur excedere. Tu autem cuncta hæc tecum ipse reputans, et intente sapientiam Dei, quæ in omnibus habetur, inquirens, nuquam a deiicias admirando, nec Conditiorem glorificando desistas. Habes etiam volatilia nocturna et diurna.","english":"For they affirm that their life lasts a hundred years. Let this part of the history concerning birds be noted by you, so that when you see some people mocking because of the ineffable mystery of the catholic faith—that a virgin has given birth, which is, as it were, impossible and alien to nature, with the state of virginity kept intact—you may reflect that he who deigned to save believers through the foolishness of preaching has also furnished us with countless arguments drawn from nature for belief in his marvelous works.\n\nLet the waters bring forth the creeping things of living souls, and let flying creatures fly above the earth beneath the firmament of heaven. They were ordered to fly above the earth because sustenance for all is supplied from the earth. But he said beneath the firmament of heaven for the reasons we discussed above. But here we must understand heaven as so called from seeing; for in Greek it is called [ouranos]. For in comparison with the ethereal body, the air also, which is above us, is made thick and dense from the vapors of the earth. You have, therefore, the pole adorned, the earth most fertile, the sea most abundant, the air filled with birds: all these things were brought forth from nothing into this life by God's command. And many other things which the discourse has now deliberately passed over, lest, lingering too long on these same matters, it should seem to exceed the measure of discussion. But do you yourself, reckoning all these things within yourself and intently seeking the wisdom of God which is held in all things, never cease from marveling and glorifying the Creator. You have also birds of night and of day.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":158,"ref":"p158","source":"Vespertiliones enim et noctuæ lucifugæ sunt. Lrgo si quando te minime sopor oppresserit, sufficiet te conversationis eorum examinatio, vitæque proprictas ad prædicandam sapienliam Creatoris impellere, quomodo luscinia vigilat ovis incubans omni tempore noctis cantilenam trahendo, quomodo etiam vespertiliones non minus quadrupedes sunt quam pennatæ, quas etiam solas ex avibus omnibus dentes habere conslat; et catulos procreare feruntur; aut in aere non plumis, sed quadam membrana pellita volare. Est etiam illis mutua inter se magnaque dilectio per naturam. Nam velut setæ quædam piscatoriae de alternis hærent nexibus: quod in hominibus utique videmus non facile provenire, quorum nonnulli separati ah aliorum conversationibus singularitate et solitudine delectantur. Quomodo etiam noctuarum oculis similes habentur sæcularis sapientiæ professores. Nam et illarum aspectus noctibus quidem acrior est, exorto autem sole cæcatur, sicut istorum cum sit acutissimus ad contemplandam vanitatem sensus, erga inquisilionem veræ lucis hebescit. Interdiu autem facile tibi est admirationem Conditoris undique attrahere; quemadmodum gallus domesticus homines ad labores compellit et opera, claraque voce proclamans, solem procul advenire significat. Anserum quoque genus, quam vigilans habetur et providum, ct cito sentiens quæ tentantur occulte!","english":"For bats and owls are light-shunning. Therefore, if ever sleep has not oppressed you, the examination of their manner of life will suffice to impel you to proclaim the wisdom of the Creator, and the peculiarity of their life: how the nightingale keeps watch, incubating her eggs, drawing out her song through every time of night; how also bats are no less four-footed than winged, which alone of all birds are known to have teeth; and they are said to produce young; or to fly in the air not with feathers but with a certain leathery membrane. There is also a mutual and great affection among them by nature. For like certain fishing nets they cling together in alternating knots; which we certainly see not easily to come about among men, some of whom, separated from the company of others, delight in singularity and solitude. How also the professors of worldly wisdom are held to be like the eyes of owls. For their sight is sharper in the nights, but at sunrise it is blinded, just as the sense of those men, though it is very sharp for contemplating vanity, grows dull toward the investigation of the true light. In the daytime, however, it is easy for you to draw admiration of the Creator from every side: how the domestic cock compels men to labors and works, and proclaiming with a clear voice signifies that the sun is approaching from afar. Also the race of geese, how watchful and provident it is held to be, and how quickly it perceives what is attempted in secret!","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":159,"ref":"p159","source":"Ii quondam urbem Romam nocturnis hostium liberasse dicuntur insidiis: quos per occultos aditus latenter ingredi molientes arcemque pervadere, festinanter prodidere clama; do. In quo autem genere propria miracula non usquequaque natura demonstrat? Quis vulturibus futuram nuntiat hominum mortem, quos contra se ella gesturos, mox catervæ vulturum proscquuntur, armorumque instructione vel apparatu, qualis sit exitus habendus intelligunt? Quod quidem non procui est ralionis humanæ. Quemadmodum etiam tibi locustarum expeditiones aperiam? Quæ sub uno signo I ropriis egressae de sedibus in spatioso campo castra constituunt, et non ante subjecta contingunt, quani datur eis divina præceptio. Quomodo etiam mergus insatiabilem vescendi patitur orexim, per quam vulueribus sui ventris remedia sanitatis acquirit. virtutis admiratio cœlestis! quæ rabiem famis in usum medicaminis reformavit. Quanta quoque ratio est in cantibus cicadarum, quæ sub ardenti sole plus resonant tractu acris impulsae, qui per earum pectus illabitur dum respirant? Sed jam sentio sermonem nostruni noa minus miraculis volatilium superari, quam si experirer ipse pernicitatem suam meis pedibus antcire. Sane cum videris apes et vespas, considcra quia nullus eis spiritus aut pulmo subest, sed semper ex aere nutriuntur.","english":"Those geese once are said to have freed the city of Rome from the nocturnal ambushes of the enemy: as the enemy were striving to enter secretly through hidden approaches and to overrun the citadel, the geese betrayed them by their clamor and hastened [to reveal them]. But in what kind of creature does nature not everywhere display its own wonders? Who announces to the vultures the future death of men, so that the flocks of vultures follow after those who will soon act against them, and from the array or equipment of arms they understand what outcome is to be expected? This indeed is not far from human reason. How also shall I reveal to you the expeditions of the locusts? They, having gone forth from their own dwellings under one sign, pitch camp in a spacious field, and they do not touch the things set before them until the divine command is given to them. How also does the diver endure an insatiable craving for feeding, through which it obtains remedies of health for the wounds of its own belly? O admiration of heavenly power! which reformed the fury of hunger into the use of medicine. How great also is the reason in the songs of the cicadas, which under the burning sun resound the more when struck by the touch of air, which flows through their breast while they breathe? But now I feel that our discourse is no less surpassed by the wonders of flying creatures than if I myself were to try to outrun their swiftness with my own feet. Indeed, when you have seen bees and wasps, consider that no breath or lung lies beneath them, but they are always nourished from the air.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":160,"ref":"p160","source":"Denique si oleo tactæ fuerint, continuo perimuntur, utpote præclusis carum spira mentis: et si aceto « rursus illas aspereris, reviviscunt, venarum videlicet meatibus patefactis. Ita nihil quod supersit, aut desit nostris utilitatibus, fecit Dcu:. Iterum si aquariorum genus examinare volucris, inveuics in illis aliam dispositionem. Pcles enim non habent fissos ut corvus, nec uncos ut aquila, sed latos atque membraneos, ut natantes facile supererantur undis, tanquam remis quibusdam pedum nisibus repellentes aquam. Item si consideres quomodo cycnus in altum guttur extendens, ab imo fundo trahit alimoniam, tunc advertere poteris sapientiam Creatoris, qui ob hoc illi longiora colla quam pedes adhibuit, ut tanquam setam quamdam porrigens se in profundum, reconditum possit invenire nutrimen.\n\nIgitur simpliciter inspecta verba Scripturæ syllabæ quædam videntur esse: Ejiciant aquæ volatilia volantia super terram sub firmamento cæli. Si considcrala fuerit vis verborum, tunc Conditoris mirificatio declaratur, qui futuras avium differentias longe prævidit, easque secundum genus a se discrevit. Dies me profecto deficiet, si cuncta vobis aeria miracula referre voluero. Verumtamen terra nos vocat ad inspiciendas bestias, et pecudes ac serpentes. Parata est enim similia piscibus et volatilibus quadrupedum et virgultorum genera demonstrare: Ejiciat terra animam vivam.","english":"Furthermore, if they are touched with oil, they are immediately killed, since their breathing passages are closed off; and if you sprinkle them again with vinegar, they revive, evidently because the channels of their veins are opened. Thus God has made nothing that is either superfluous or lacking for our uses. Again, if you wish to examine the family of waterfowl, you will find in them another arrangement. For they do not have cloven feet like the crow, nor hooked ones like the eagle, but broad and membranous, so that as they swim they may easily ride over the waves, pushing back the water with the thrusts of their feet as with certain oars. Likewise, if you consider how the swan, stretching its neck on high, draws its food from the very bottom, then you will be able to notice the wisdom of the Creator, who for this reason gave it a neck longer than its feet, so that, extending itself into the deep like a kind of bristle, it might be able to find the hidden nourishment.\n\nTherefore, when the words of Scripture are inspected superficially, they seem to be a kind of syllables: Let the waters bring forth flying creatures that fly over the earth beneath the firmament of heaven. If the force of the words is considered, then the wonder of the Creator is declared, who foresaw long beforehand the future differences among birds, and distinguished them from one another according to kind. The day would truly fail me if I wished to recount to you all the wonders of the air. However, the earth calls us to inspect the beasts, and the cattle and the serpents. For it is ready to show forth kinds of four-footed creatures and of plants similar to the fishes and birds: Let the earth bring forth a living soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":161,"ref":"p161","source":"Quid dicitis, qui Paulo apostolo de resurrectione non creditis, cum videatis certa de acreis animantibus figuram propriam commutare, sicut Indiacum vermem, qui est corniger, primo in i verucæ se speciem transformantem, deinde fieri bombulionem, nec tamen in eo schemate persistentem, sed membranis mollioribus i ac latioribus plumescentem aligcrum reddi? Itaque vos, matronæ, quando sedetis eorum revolventes opera, id est stamina quæ Sercs huc dirigunt ad confectionem vestium delicatarum. reminiscimini hujus animalis refigurationem, ut eviceus de resurrectione capiatis exemplum, eL nihil dubitetis de reformatione corporis, quam Paulus exjonit. Sed jam sentio me modum disputationis exccdere. Etenim si al multitudinem respexero relatorum, ia infinitum videhor sermone a prolapsus. Sin autem oculos ad diversitatem creaturæ convertero, nec exordium narrationis arbitror assumpsisse. Verumtamen non est utile vos praeterire transcursu. Quid enim facietis usque ad vesperam? A pransoribus certe non urgemini, nec conviviorum apparatus abirc pos admonet, quoniam tempus jejunandi est. Quapropter si placet, abstinentiam corporis in voluptates animi convertamus. Sæpius utique corporibus paruist s, hos saltem dies deputemus usihus animo! uni, sicut scriptum est: Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui (Psul. XXXVI, 4).","english":"What do you say, you who do not believe the apostle Paul concerning the resurrection, when you see that certain winged creatures change their own proper form, like the Indian worm, which is horned, first transforming itself into the appearance of a grub, then becoming a cocoon, and yet not persisting in that shape, but growing feathery with softer and broader membranes, being made into a winged creature? Therefore you, matrons, when you sit turning over their works, that is, the threads which the Seres direct hither for the making of delicate garments, remember the reshaping of this animal, so that from it you may take an example of the resurrection, and not doubt concerning the reformation of the body, which Paul sets forth. But now I perceive that I am exceeding the measure of my argument. For if I look to the multitude of things related, I seem to have slipped into an endless discourse. But if I turn my eyes to the diversity of creation, I do not think I have even begun the narration. Nevertheless it is not useful to pass over you in a cursory manner. For what will you do until evening? Certainly you are not pressed by those who have already dined, nor does the preparation of banquets remind us that it is time to depart, since it is the time of fasting. Wherefore, if it pleases you, let us convert bodily abstinence into pleasures of the mind. For we have often been too indulgent to our bodies; let us devote at least these days to the uses of the mind alone, as it is written: Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart (Ps. XXXVI, 4).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":162,"ref":"p162","source":"Si divitias amas, opes tibi præsto sunt spirituales id est, judicia Dei vera, justificata in semetipsa, desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem pretiosum (Psal. XVIII, 10). Si elax et gulusus es, habes verba Domini dulciora super mel et favum (Ibid.). Nunc si dimisero vos coctumque!issolvero, alii mox vestrum currunt properanter a! aleam, in qua juratio et contentio vehemens, et lucrandi cupiditas habetur, astatque dæmon obscenus. modo hunc crigens exsultatione victoriæ, faciensque adversarium tristem, modo illum alacrem superbumque demonstrans. Quid juvat corpore jejunare, si animus multis pravitatum millibus oneratur? Porro qui non ludit tesseris, sed vacat, quas non vanitates ex ore depromit, aut quid non percipit auribus exsecrandum? Ita otiositas sine timore Dei magistra nequitiæ est. Et quidem præsumo aliquid vobis utilitatis ex his quae locuti sumus acquiri. Quod si secus fuerit, lamen peccato vos vacuos commoratio loci hujuscemodi perficiet. Quantoque plus vos in Ecclesia Domini retentamus, tanto magis a malorum cogitationibus separamus. Sufficientia sunt quæ discrunnus apud aequissimum cognitorem, si tamen non ad copiosas creaturæ divitias, sed ad parvitatem nostræ possibilitatis aspexerit, vel ad mensuram super lætitia capienda præsentium. Sit itaque terminus lic matutini convivii, ne ultra modum ingesta satietas fastidium vespertinæ vobis epulationis injiciat.","english":"If you love riches, spiritual wealth is at hand for you, that is, the true judgments of God, justified in themselves, to be desired above gold and precious stone. If you are luxurious and a glutton, you have the words of the Lord sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Now if I dismiss you and dissolve the gathering, presently some of you run swiftly to the dice, in which there is swearing and violent contention and the desire for gain, and an obscene demon stands by, now raising this one up in exultation of victory and making that one sad as his opponent, now showing another eager and proud. What does it profit to fast in the body if the mind is burdened with many thousands of wickednesses? Moreover, he who does not play at dice but is at leisure—what vanities does he not bring forth from his mouth, or what execrable thing does he not take in with his ears? Thus idleness without the fear of God is the teacher of wickedness. And indeed I presume that some benefit is acquired for you from what we have said. But if it should be otherwise, nevertheless this manner of dwelling in this place will make you free from sin. And the more we retain you in the Lord's Church, the more we separate you from evil thoughts. What we have discussed is sufficient before the most just knower, if only he looks not to the abundant riches of creation but to the smallness of our ability, or to the measure for receiving the joy of present things. So let this be the limit of the morning banquet, lest satiety taken in beyond measure inject disgust for the evening feasting into you.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":163,"ref":"p163","source":"Dominus sane, qui creaturæ suæ copiis cuncta complevit, et qui in rebus omnibus mirabilium suorum nobis æterna monimenta præbuit, cumulet mentes nostras gaudio spiritali in Christo Jcsu, cui gloria et honor nunc et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.\n\nLIBER NONUS.\n\ni. Dicite quæso qualis vobis nostræ fermocinationis matutina visa est mensa. Mihi enim a libet comparare tenuitatem nostram egeno cuipiam exhibenti convivium, qui munificentiam animi sui copiose desiderans ostentare, deficit facultatum retardatus inopia, et ob hoc apparatum pauperem qualiscunque est, largius ministrare molitur, risum de se perhibens invitatis. Ita fit ut exprobrationis ignominia liberalitas adectata non carcat. Talc quiddam est et in nobis, si tamcn vos non aliter sentietis: verumtamen utcunque se habent nostra, ncn extenuabuntur a vobis. Ncque cuim Helisæum ut improbam pastorem refutabant illius temporis convivæ (IV Reg. IV, 59): ea. certe agrestibus eos reficiebat olusculis.","english":"The Lord indeed, who has filled all things with the riches of his creation, and who in all things has provided for us eternal memorials of his wonders, fill our minds with spiritual joy in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and honor now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.\n\nBOOK NINE.\n\ni. Tell me, I ask, how did the morning table of our discourse seem to you? For I should like to compare our poor fare to someone who sets a banquet before a needy man: desiring abundantly to display the generosity of his heart, he is held back by lack of means and hindered by poverty, and for this reason he strives to serve a poor provision, such as it is, all the more lavishly, making himself a laughingstock to his guests. Thus it happens that ostentatious liberality does not lack the disgrace of reproach. Something of this sort is also in us, if only you will not think otherwise; yet however our offerings stand, they will not be disparaged by you. For the guests of that time did not reject Elisha as a wicked shepherd (IV Kings 4:39); certainly he refreshed them with wild herbs.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":164,"ref":"p164","source":"Compertas itaque habeo leges quasdam super allegoria, non quas ex meipso confeci, sed quas didici aliorum voluminibus recensitis, per quas hi qui acquiescunt communibus consentire scripturis, aquam dicunt non esse aquam, sed aliam quamdam naturam, pisces quoque vel serpentes, aut bestias, non pro veritatis rationc, sed pro suo commentantur arbitrio: sicut interpretes somniorum, visis per soporem variis imaginibus, quid futurum sit pro sua voluntate pronuntiant. Ego autem cum audiero fenum, hoc intelligo quod dictum est. Item pisces aut qUI. drupedes, aut virgulta, quomodo relata sunt, ita percipio: Neque enim erubesco Evangelium (Rom. II, 16). Nam licet hi qui de mundo plura scripserunt. certa de terræ schematibus disputarint, modo eam sphæræ, modo cylindro, modo circulo similem, et æqualibus undique collectam partibus designantes, et in medio esse cavam. Ad omnes eram hujusmodi opiniones, scriptores cosmographiæ prolapsi sunt, alter alterius dogmata rescindendo. Ego tamen non adducor ut dicam idcirco deteriorem nostram mundificationem videri: quia nihil de schematibus ejus famulus Dei disseruit, et quia non dixit tot millia stadiorum ambitum telluris tenere, vel quod mctitus non est quantis spatiis obumbratio ejns in acre: distenditur, cum sol proprios cursus agit sub teria, qui cum lunæ, propinquaverit, luminis ei defectum præstat.","english":"I have therefore ascertained certain laws concerning allegory—not ones I devised from myself, but ones I learned by reviewing the volumes of others—by which those who acquiesce claim that water is not water, but some other nature, and likewise fish or serpents or beasts they invent according to their own whim, not according to the reckoning of truth—just like interpreters of dreams, who declare what is to come according to their own will from the various images seen in sleep. But when I hear \"hay,\" I understand what was said. Likewise fish or quadrupeds or shrubs, I perceive just as they were related; for I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Rom 1:16). For although those who have written much about the world have disputed certain things about the shapes of the earth, designating it now like a sphere, now like a cylinder, now like a circle, and gathered together from equal parts on every side, and hollow in the middle—all the writers of cosmography have slipped into opinions of this kind, each tearing down the doctrines of the other. Yet I am not led to say that our account of the world is therefore worse because the servant of God discoursed nothing about its shapes, and because he did not say that the circuit of the earth holds so many thousands of stadia, or that it is not measured by how great the spaces of its shadow are spread in the air, when the sun drives its own courses under the earth, which, when it has drawn near to the moon, causes a failure of its light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":165,"ref":"p165","source":"De quibus omnibus prudenter ille reticuit, sciens inutilia nobis haberi quæ ad nos minime pertinerent. Ideone * debemus verba spiritualia viliora esse vanissimis philosophorum assertionibus arbitrari, et non glorificare potius Deum qui nostram mentem superfluis quidem questionibus liberavit, ad excitandas vero æ,dificandasque nostras animas proiicere ncta disposuit? Unde videntur mihi quidum rcrum ignari, seductionibus pravis et suasionibus falsis eniti, quo possint honestatis quemdam colorem, per argumenta propria, divinis Scripturis obducere. Quod quid aliud intelligendum est, quam sapientiores se esse tales homines verbis spiritalibus profiteri, suaque magis dicta sub prætextu interpretationis astruere? Quapropter ut scriptum est intelligatur: Ejiciat terra animam vivam pecudum et bestiarum et serpentum.\n\ni. Adverte igitur Dei verbum currens per omnem creaturam. Quod quidem olim cœpit: sed usque nunc operatur et properat ad finem, donec consummationem mundus accipiat. Sicut enim pila cum ab aliquo fuerit impulsa, cum spatia devexa repererit, ipsa sui volubilitate, locique proclivitate velocius incitata perfertur, nec prius stare poterit, quam ad plana descendat, ita natura rerum Dei præceptione commota, nascentium morientiumque facturam passim penctrans, uniuscu jusquc generis sobolem per similitudinem sui custodit æqualiter, donec ad statutum terminum valeat pervenire.","english":"Concerning all these things he wisely kept silent, knowing that those things which in no way pertained to us are held by us to be useless. Are we therefore to judge that spiritual words are more worthless than the most empty assertions of the philosophers, and not rather to glorify God, who has freed our mind from superfluous questions, but has arranged to set before us things suited to stirring up and building up our souls? Hence certain men, ignorant of things, seem to me to strive by depraved seductions and false persuasions to overlay the divine Scriptures, by means of their own arguments, with a certain color of respectability. What else is this to be understood as, than that such men profess themselves wiser than the spiritual words, and establish their own sayings under the pretext of interpretation? Wherefore, as it is written, let it be understood: Let the earth bring forth the living soul of cattle and beasts and serpents.\n\ni. Observe therefore the word of God running through every creature. It indeed began long ago, but even now it works and hastens toward the end, until the world receives its consummation. For just as a ball, when it has been struck by someone, when it finds sloping spaces, is carried along more swiftly, urged on by its own rolling and by the downward slope of the place, and cannot stand still before it descends to level ground, so the nature of things, set in motion by God's command, passing everywhere through the making of things that are born and die, preserves the offspring of each kind equally through likeness to itself, until it is able to arrive at the appointed limit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":166,"ref":"p166","source":"Equum enim facit equo succedere, et leonem leoni, et aquilam aquilae, et singulas animantes sequentium successione servata, u-que ad finem rerum omnium exitumque perducit. Nullum enim tempus valebit proprietates animantium commutare, sed tanquam nuper constituta natura sit, ita recens fertur cum tempore. Ejiciat terra animam vivam. Hæc præceptio mansit in terra, et nullatcnus famulando desinit Conditori. Certa enim ex eorum posteritate quæ prima facta sunt, nasci non dubium est, alia de terra nunc etiam formari ct vivilicari conspicimus. Non enim cicadas solum ex imbribus rigata producit, vel alia plurima volatilium millia, quorum maxima pars propter sui tenuitatem vocabulis caret; sed etiam mures et ranas ex terra generari videmus. Denique in Ægyptiacis Thebis, si pluvias largiores æstivo tempore fudcrit, mox infinitis muribus regio tota completur. Anguillas etiam non aliter nisi de coeno nasci certissimum est, quarum genus nec ovum, nec alter aliquis partus instaurat, sed,ut diximus, de limo gignendi sorliuutur originem. Ejiciat terra animam vivum. Pecudes omnes terrena; sunt, ob hcc inclinantur ad terram. Sed alia est planta cœlestis homo: qui quantum habitu figuræ, tantum dignitate distat a pecoribus.","english":"For he makes horse succeed horse, lion succeed lion, eagle succeed eagle, and each living creature, preserving the succession of those that follow, he leads on to the end and final issue of all things. For no span of time will be able to change the properties of living creatures, but as though nature had been established but recently, so it is borne along fresh with time. Let the earth bring forth the living soul. This command has remained in the earth, and in no way does it cease to serve the Creator. For it is beyond doubt that from the offspring of those things which were first made, certain things are born, while we see others even now being formed from the earth and given life. For it produces not only cicadas when the earth is soaked by rains, or many other thousands of flying creatures, the greatest part of which, on account of their smallness, lack names; but we also see mice and frogs generated from the earth. Indeed, in Egyptian Thebes, if rather abundant rains have poured down in summer time, the whole region is soon filled with countless mice. It is also most certain that eels are born in no other way than from mud, whose kind neither an egg nor any other birth renews, but, as we have said, they obtain their origin from the slime by lot. Let the earth bring forth the living soul. All cattle are earthly; for this reason they are inclined toward the earth. But man is a heavenly plant: who, as much as he differs in the form of his appearance, so much does he stand apart from the cattle in dignity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":167,"ref":"p167","source":"e Illorum Caries deorsum flexa, uterumque prospectat, et quod ejus libidini jucundum est, hoc sectatur: tuum vero caput ad cœlum semper crigitur, oculi tui superna respiciunt. Sed si tu quoque corporis te voluptatibus fœdaveris, obediendo luxui ventris, et inferionibus ejus partibus, comparatus es jumentis insensibilibus, et similis illis factus ( Psal. XLVIII, 15). At vero tibi alia sollicitudo nimisque decora est quærendi sublimia, uhi habetur Christus (Col. in, i). Convenit enim altius te ferri terrestribus, ut quomodo natus es. ita propriam disponas vitam. Conversalio tua sit in cælo (Philip. III, 20), vera tibi patria est superior Hierusalem, cives et sodales habes primogenitos ascriptos in cœlo (Hebr. XII, 2).\n\nEjiciat terra animam vivam. Igitur quadrupedum anima, non olim sub terra reposita, subito tunc ejecta prosiluit, sed simul creata est cum præcepto. Una est illis anima, et decor omnis in figura I locatus: proprietatibus variis singulæ discernuntur. Boves graves sunt, et constantes, asini hebetes, calidi equi desiderio feminarum. Lupus indomitus vulpes dolosa, cervus limidus, laboriosa formica, gratificus canis, et memor amicitiæ, sitgularumque nativitatibus morum etiam qualitates aptate sunt, sicut iracundia congenerata leoni est, et solitudo conversationis, similiumque vitatio.","english":"Their flesh is bent downward and looks toward the belly, and whatever is pleasant to their desire, that they pursue; but your head is always raised toward heaven, your eyes look upon things above. But if you too defile yourself with bodily pleasures, obeying the luxury of the belly and its lower parts, you are compared to senseless beasts and have become like them (Ps. XLVIII, 15). But you have another concern, and one most fitting: to seek things on high, where Christ is (Col. III, 1). For it is fitting that you be carried higher than earthly things, so that, just as you were born, so you may order your own life. Let your conversation be in heaven (Phil. III, 20); your true homeland is the Jerusalem above; you have as citizens and companions the firstborn enrolled in heaven (Hebr. XII, 2).\n\nLet the earth bring forth the living soul. Therefore the soul of the quadrupeds was not stored away long ago beneath the earth and then suddenly cast forth and leaped out, but it was created together with the command. They have one soul, and all their beauty is placed in their form; each is distinguished by various properties. Oxen are grave and steady, asses dull, horses hot with desire for females. The wolf is untamed, the fox deceitful, the deer timid, the ant laborious, the dog pleasing and mindful of friendship, and to the nativities of each, the qualities of their manners have also been fitted, just as irascibility is inborn in the lion, and a solitary way of life and the avoidance of their own kind.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":168,"ref":"p168","source":"Nam vc!ut tyrannus qudiam bestiarum, vitio superbiæ naturalis elatus refugit aliorum consociationem, nec quotidiano ciho pascilur, quamvis reliquias suæ cajtionis adierit. Huic nimium grandc vocis ministerium natura perhibuit, adeo ut certæ quadrupedes cum sint cursu velociores, rugitu eius pavefactæ deficiant. Torvus est parJus et acutus in impetu, conveniensque animi sui motibus habet corpus. Ursorum segnior natura est, mens aspera, subdola, et non minus fetis, quam simultate contecta. Quod si sermonem latius extendentes, voluerimus asserere quanta multis animalibus diligentia conservandæ propriæ salutis sine cujusquam, traditionc suppeditet, fortasse quidem incitabimur erga studium nostræ munitionis: sed vereor ne in æmulandis quoque bestiis minores esse credamur. Ursus lethali vulnere sæpe transfixus, omnibus utitur machinamentis, ut se curare prævaleat, herba præcipue quadam natura sicciore plagas proprias oppilando. Vulpes etiam frequentius deprehensa est, succo pineo sibiMet remedium contulisse. Testudo autcm cum viperinis visceribus ingluviem ventris expleverit, organi medicamine quod est serpentibus contrarium, pestem venenost cibi fertur effugere. Coluber vero dolores gravissimos oculorum, feniculum depastus exstinguit. Nam præscientia pccudum de futuris coeli mutatioriibus, a quam non rationabilem prudentiam creditur superare?","english":"For like some tyrant among beasts, elated by the vice of natural pride, it shuns the company of others, nor is it fed by daily food, though it has approached the remnants of its own hunting. Nature has granted it an exceedingly great ministry of voice, so that certain quadrupeds, though swifter in running, are terrified by its roar and fail. Its appearance is grim and sharp in attack, and it has a body suited to the motions of its mind. The nature of bears is slower, their mind harsh, crafty, and concealed no less by deceit than by savagery. But if, extending our discourse more widely, we wished to assert with how great diligence many animals provide for the preservation of their own safety without anyone's instruction, perhaps indeed we would be stirred toward the zeal of our own defense; but I fear lest we be thought lesser even in emulating beasts. The bear, often pierced by a lethal wound, uses every device so that it may prevail to cure itself, especially by blocking its own wounds with a certain herb of drier nature. The fox, too, has more frequently been caught having brought remedy to itself with pine juice. But the tortoise, when it has filled the gullet of its belly with viper's flesh, is said to escape the pestilence of the poisonous food by the medicine of an organ that is contrary to serpents. But the snake, having grazed on fennel, extinguishes the most grievous pains of the eyes. For what rational prudence is believed to surpass the foreknowledge of cattle concerning future changes of the sky?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":169,"ref":"p169","source":"ltaque ovis, impendente hieme, herbam carpit avidius, tanquam. reficere se largius indicans ad tolerandam ex futura tempestate penuriam. Boves autem cum diutius inclusi tempore fuerint hiberno, perturbationem aeris naturali præsentientes intellectu, de stabulo foris simul omnes aspiciunt mutantes vultum. Multi sane homines cchinum terrestrem captaverunt duplices cavernas in suis fecisse cubilibus, ut cum flatibus aquilonis urgetur, ad australem se conferat partem; iterumque cum notus spiravcrit, boreale foramen aperiat. Quid igitur nobis hominibus per hæc signa Scriptura significat? non solum ut per omnia nostri Creatoris quanta sit erga nos indulgentia contemplemur, sed etiam consideremus, quia cum nimia futurorum providentia in mutis pecoribus habeatur, nec utique nos debemus præsentis vitæ voluptatibus contaminare, sed intentionem nostram ad venturum sæculum destinare. Tu ne ergo homo non laborabis in hoc mundo, ut possis tibi subsidia quietis futuræ reponere, cum videas formicam hiemis memorem, vicLum sibi studiose tempore ætatis attrahere? Quæ non ideo minus diligens est, quia nondum pcricula experitur hiberni, quin potius omni nisu curaque I pervigili laborat et operatur, cunctaque discurrendo pertentat, quo possit sufficientia sibimet alimenta recondere: mirabilique prudentia prospicit, ne species quæ collectæ sunt corrumpantur.","english":"And so the sheep, when winter presses near, crops the grass more eagerly, as if indicating that it is restoring itself more abundantly to endure the scarcity to come from the approaching storm. But oxen, when they have been shut in for a longer time in the winter season, perceiving the disturbance of the air by their natural understanding, all at once look out from the stall, changing their expression. Indeed, many men have observed that the land hedgehog has made double chambers in its dens, so that when it is pressed by the blasts of the north wind, it betakes itself to the southern part; and again, when the south wind has blown, it opens the northern opening. What, then, does Scripture signify to us men through these signs? Not only that through all things we should contemplate how great is our Creator's kindness toward us, but also that we should consider that, since the greatest forethought for the future is found in mute beasts, we certainly ought not to defile ourselves with the pleasures of the present life, but should direct our intention to the age to come. Will you not, then, O man, labor in this world, so that you may be able to lay up for yourself the supports of future rest, when you see the ant mindful of winter, diligently drawing provisions to itself in the time of its life? It is not less diligent because it does not yet experience the dangers of winter; rather, with all effort and watchful care it labors and works, and by running about tries all things, so that it may store up sufficient food for itself; and by wondrous prudence it provides that the kinds of things collected are not corrupted.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":170,"ref":"p170","source":"Secat enim dentibus granum, ne incipiens germinare pastum sibi praeberet inutilem: semen quoque ipsum si fuerit humectatum vapore telluris, siccat in solem; nec tamen semper hoc facit, sed cum serenitatem stabilem fore præsenserit, Denique non videbis imbres emitti de nubibus, quousque formica torrendum sub sole semen exponit. Quis igitur sermo comprehenderc, quis auditus capere, vel quanlum temporis sufficere poterit, ad explananda cuucla mirabilia? Quapropter et nos simul cum propbeta dicamus: Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! omnia in sapientia fecisti (Psal. CIII, X4). Ergo non proderit nobis illa satisfactio, qua putamus excusare nos posse dicentes, minirne litteris didicisse quod expedit, cum legis rnagislerio naturalis electionem utilium percepisse credamur. Nosti enim tu bonum quod facere debebis in proximum, et malum quod idem nolis aL alio perpeti. Nulla scilicet ars medendi, nec aliquis usus herbarum remedia pecoribus querenda monstravit, sed naturaliter animal unumquodque novit propriæ saluti consulere, et ineffabilem diligentiam genitiva captare prudentia.","english":"For it cuts the grain with its teeth, lest, beginning to sprout, it offer itself as useless food; and the seed itself, if it has been moistened by the vapor of the earth, it dries in the sun; yet it does not always do this, but when it has forefelt that the clear weather will be stable. Finally, you will not see rains sent forth from the clouds until the ant exposes the seed to be parched in the sun. What speech, then, could comprehend, what hearing grasp, or how much time could suffice to explain all these wonders? Wherefore let us also say together with the prophet: How magnificent are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom. Therefore that excuse will not profit us by which we think we can defend ourselves, saying that we have learned scarcely anything in letters of what is expedient, since we are believed to have received the choice of useful things rather through the teaching of nature's law. For you know the good that you ought to do to your neighbor, and the evil that you would not wish to suffer from another. Surely no art of healing, nor any use of herbs, has shown remedies to be sought for flocks, but by nature each animal knows how to consult its own safety and to grasp the ineffable diligence by an innate prudence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":171,"ref":"p171","source":"Sunt tamen et apud nos genera nonnulla virtutum: quas non ex hominum doctrina, sed ex naturæ traditione sortimur. Sicut enim nulla nos institutio monet odisse languorem, sed sponlaneum habemus erga omnia quæ nos contristare creduntur horrorem; sic et animo nalurale subest officium noxia declinare. Omne autem * malum morbus est animi, virtus autem rationem sanitatis apportat. Unde bone quidam statuerunt, asserentes sanitatem esse motuum naturalium constantiam. Quod etiam in animi vigore profitendo quis non judicabilur errare? Sui enim seniper appetens est naturaliter animus: idcoque laudanda prudentibus est castitas, assequenda justitia, sectanda sapientia, miranda fortitudo. Quæ res magis animis familiares sunt quam corporibus valetudo. Parentes, diligite filios: filii, nolite parentes exasperare (Ephes. VI, 4). Nunquid non hoc idem natura pnecepit? Nihil ergo novi Paulus hortatur, sed astringit altius vineula naturæ. Cujus tanta vis est in affectu, ut etiam lupus pro catulis suis pugnet. Quid dicturus est homo, qui et mandatum spernit, et naturam despicit, cum aut juvenis deformat injuriis canitiem genitoris, aut pater secundas nactus nuptias liberos ex patrimonio priore contristat? Infucatus est amor ferarum inter parentes et filios, quoniam qui eas creavit Deus quod minus illis in ratione præstitit, sensus beneficio compensavit.","english":"There are, however, also among us certain kinds of virtues, which we obtain not from the teaching of men but from the tradition of nature. For just as no instruction persuades us to hate sickness, but we have a spontaneous horror of all things that are believed to grieve us, so also there lies naturally within the mind the duty of avoiding harmful things. Now every evil is a disease of the mind, but virtue brings the principle of health. Whence certain good men established and asserted that health is the constancy of natural motions. And in professing this vigor of the mind, who would be judged to err? For the mind is always naturally desirous of its own good; and therefore chastity is to be praised by the prudent, justice to be pursued, wisdom to be followed, fortitude to be admired. These things are more intimately familiar to minds than health is to bodies. Parents, love your children; children, do not provoke your parents (Eph. 6:4). Did nature not command this very thing? Paul therefore urges nothing new, but binds more tightly the bonds of nature. Of which nature such is the power in affection that even a wolf fights for its cubs. What will man say, who both spurns the commandment and despises nature, when either a young man disfigures his father's gray hairs with injuries, or a father, having obtained a second marriage, grieves his children from the former estate? The love between parents and children among wild beasts is unfeigned, because God who created them compensated with the gift of sense for what he granted them less in reason.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":172,"ref":"p172","source":"Ex quo fit ut præsentibus tot ovium millibus, de mandra laxatus agnus mox matris vocem agnoscat: et ad eam currat exsullans, fontesque lactis inquirat. Quod etsi forte mater sterilior habeatur, ipsa sola contentus ubera præterit aliena, quamvis copiosa sint et referta. Materque nihilominus in tanta multitudine suum recognoscit fetum. Et certe vox una est in diversis, color unus et odor idem, quantum nos videlicet nostro possumus odore colligere: verumtamen est illis acutior intellectus a ab homine: per quem cuique suppetit agnitio propriorum. Necdum scilicet catulo dentes formali sunt, et tamen infestantes conatur ore repellere. Nondum vitulo cornua surrexerunt, et novit jam in qua parte futura sibi sint arma pugnandi. Hæc igitur indicium nobis faciunt, quia naturalis prudentia doctrinæ traditione non utitur, et quia nihil inordinatum, vel improvidum habetur in rebus: sed omnia certissimum specimen in se sapientiæ Couditoris ostentant, qui sic instructas pecudes ad defensionem propriæ salutis in tituit. Expers quidem rationis est canis, sed æquiparantem rationi sensum creditur possidere.","english":"From this it comes about that, with so many thousands of sheep present, the lamb, once released from the fold, at once recognizes its mother's voice and runs to her exulting, and seeks out the fountains of milk. And even if the mother happens to be considered rather barren, content with her alone it passes by the udders of others, however abundant and full they may be. And the mother nonetheless recognizes her own offspring amid so great a multitude. And certainly the voice is one among different ones, the color one and the odor the same, as far as we, that is, are able to gather by our sense of smell; yet their understanding is keener than man's, through which the recognition of their own is supplied to each. The teeth of the puppy, to be sure, are not yet formed, and yet it tries to drive off its attackers with its mouth. The horns of the calf have not yet risen, and it already knows in what part the weapons for fighting will be for it. These things, therefore, give us an indication that natural prudence does not use the tradition of teaching, and that nothing is held to be disordered or improvident in things; but all things display in themselves the most certain proof of the wisdom of their Creator, who thus instructed the flocks for the defense of their own safety. The dog is indeed devoid of reason, but it is believed to possess a sense that is equal to reason.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":173,"ref":"p173","source":"Nam ea quæ per otium vitæ longum quidam sedentes vix invenire potuerunt, id est philosophi sxculares, syllogismorum dico tendiculas beneficio naturali canis consecutus asseritur quia vestigia ferarum sagaciter indagando, cum viderit multipliciter intercisas semitas, omnes discursibus interrumpit, vocem tantum articulatam non emittens: nam per ea quæ agit indicat profecto, quo bestiæ quæ lustrantur abierint. Nec illum relinquens inexploratum locum, ubi suspicio nulla vestigii est, donec omnibus odore repetilis explicatisque fallentibus viis, cubile reperiet. Quid amplius hi faciunt in descriptionibus, qui otiose sedentes, pulverem stylo signant, et ex tribus propositionibus duas aurerunt, in illa autem quae reliqua est inveniunt veritatem? Memoria igitur canis erga depensum sibi beneficium, quem non ingratum hominem suo benefactori pudore confundit, cum etiam dominis interfectis in loco deserto, multi canes observatione longissima defecerunt? Alii peremptis dominis indices homicidii fuerunt, reosque præsentavere judiciis, accusationem latratu peragentes. Quid igitur dicturi sunt qui creatorem pastoremque suum Deum non modo non diUgunt, sed etiam maledicos ejus habent amicos, et in eadem cum illis simul cibantur mensa, largitoremque epularum sacrilegis blasphemorum sermonibus e lacerari patiuntur?","english":"For what certain men, sitting at leisure, were scarcely able to discover through the long life of leisure—that is, the secular philosophers—I mean the snares of syllogisms, the dog is asserted to have attained by natural endowment, since by sagaciously tracking the footprints of wild beasts, when it has seen the paths cut off in many ways, it breaks them all off by its running about, uttering no articulate voice at all; for by what it does it plainly indicates where the beast that is being tracked has gone. Nor does it leave unexplored that place where there is no suspicion of a footprint, until, all the scents having been revisited and the deceptive paths having been sorted out, it finds the lair. What more do these men do in their descriptions, who sit idly, mark the dust with the pen, and draw two conclusions from three propositions, and in that one which remains they find the truth? Therefore, the memory of the dog toward the benefit bestowed on it—a man whom shame confounds as ungrateful to his benefactor, when even after their masters had been killed in a deserted place, many dogs wasted away in the longest watchfulness? Others, when their masters had been slain, were informants of the murder and brought the guilty before the courts, carrying out the accusation by barking. What then will they say who not only do not love God their Creator and Shepherd, but even have as friends those who speak evil of Him, and eat at the same table with them, and allow the Giver of feasts to be torn to pieces by the sacrilegious words of blasphemers?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":174,"ref":"p174","source":"Sed nunc ad creaturae contemplationem redeamus. Ideo scilicet imbėcilliores bestiæ fecundiores sunt, id est lepores et damæ, ovesque silvestres: ut non facile deleretur genus earum, a carnificibus expensum feris. Hae autem quæ devoratrices sunt aliarum, steriliores habentur. Nam denique leoni vix leæna fit mater: unguibus enim dum nascitur, vulvam genitricis exulcerat, sicut vipera quæ non aliter nisi matris exeso discerptoque ventre procedit, congruam crealrici mercedem pro tali partu rependens. Ita nihil in rebus humanis habetur improvidum: nec ulla diligentiæ sibi competentis immunitas est. Quod si studiosius ipsa pecorum membra discusseris, invenies nihil illis superfluum dedisse Conditorem, nihil necessarium denegasse. Belluis namque carnisumis acutos dentes apposuit, quoniam talibus opus erat ad speciem alimonix præfinitæ ministeriis. Eis vero quibus ex una parte dentes instituit, plurimorum receptacula pabulorum inesse disposuit, ut pars prior assumpta est de stomacho, denuo decurrat ad dentes, quo facilius eam possit ruminando conterere, ac sine labore digerere. Neque enim sine causa gurgulionem, stomachumque certis animalibus dedit, utpote necessarios usus praebentem. Camelus igitur idcirco longum guttur habet: ut coæquatum pe dibus, facile escam quam quaerit attingeret.","english":"But now let us return to the contemplation of creation. For this reason, evidently, the weaker beasts are more fecund—that is, hares and does and wild sheep—so that their kind might not easily be destroyed, being expended as food for the carnivores. But those that are devourers of others are held to be more sterile. For indeed a lioness scarcely becomes a mother to a lion, for with its claws while being born it ulcerates the womb of its mother, just as the viper does not come forth except by the mother's belly having been gnawed away and torn apart, repaying to its creator a fitting reward for such a birth. Thus nothing in human affairs is held to be without foresight, nor is there any exemption from the diligence that befits it. But if you examine more carefully the very limbs of the flocks, you will find that the Creator has given them nothing superfluous, and denied nothing necessary. For to flesh-eating beasts he has set sharp teeth, since such were needed for the purpose of the appointed nourishment through their ministries. But to those in which he established teeth on one side only, he disposed receptacles for many foods to be present, so that the portion first taken from the stomach may run back again to the teeth, whereby it may more easily be crushed by chewing and digested without labor. For not without cause did he give a gullet and stomach to certain animals, as providing necessary uses. The camel, therefore, has a long neck for this reason: so that, being level with its feet, it might easily reach the food it seeks.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":175,"ref":"p175","source":"Brevis autem humerisque suppressa cervix ursorum est, itemque leonis et tygridis, et similium ferarum, quibus herbosa non sunt alimenta, nec habent aliquam necessitatem inclinandi se ad terram: quippe quæ carne vescuntur. Quid de promuscide elephanti dicamus, qui cum omnium sit maximus belluarum, visentibuque terribilis, par fuit ut membris immanibus formaretur? Quorum magnitudini si cervix fuisset aequiparans, immobilis haberetur, pondere ipso deorsum curvatus. Nunc autem paucis ossibus cervices et caput innexum spinæ cohaeret, habetque promuscidem ministerium sibi colli longioris explentem, quæ pastum percipit et aquam trabit. Pedesque ejus nullis geniculorum conjunguntur articulis, ut tanquam columnae quædam gravitatem superjecti ponderis subvectarent. Si enim gracilia nutantiaque ejus fuissent crura, sine dubio ejectiones juncturarum pateretur assiduas, utpote non sufficientium molem tantam sublevare, cum sur geret. Itaque vides quomodo velut quædam corporeæ turres belli tempore locantur ante aciem, vel montes animati opponuntur, hostium munimenta rupturi. Quorum si magnitudini fundamina gressuum non haberentur æqualia, nullatenus tanta membrositas portaretur. Fertur i autem elephantum trecentos annos et amplius vivere, ministerioque promuscidis cibum sibimet, ut diximus, admovere; qui velut serpens quidam siauosus et lubricus, huc atque illuc flectitur.","english":"But the neck of bears is short and pressed down upon the shoulders, and likewise that of the lion and the tiger and similar wild beasts, which do not have grassy plants for food, nor have any need of bending down to the earth, since they feed on flesh. What shall we say of the elephant's trunk, which, since it is the largest of all beasts and terrible to those who see it, was fittingly formed with huge limbs? For if its neck had been equal to their magnitude, it would be held immobile, bent downward by its very weight. But as it is, the neck and head are joined to the spine by a few bones, and it has the trunk to serve in place of the longer neck it lacks, which takes up pasture and draws water. And its feet are joined by no joints of knees, so that like certain columns they might bear up the weight of the mass placed upon them. For if its legs had been slender and tottering, it would undoubtedly suffer constant dislocations of the joints, as being unable to lift so great a mass when it rose. So you see how, like certain bodily towers, they are stationed before the battle line in time of war, or like animated mountains they are set against the foe, to break through the enemy's fortifications. If foundations for their steps were not equal to their magnitude, such a bulk of limbs could in no way be carried. It is said, moreover, that the elephant lives three hundred years and more, and by the service of its trunk, as we have said, brings food to itself; which trunk, like a certain winding and slippery serpent, is bent hither and thither.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":176,"ref":"p176","source":"Ita verus est sermo qui asserit nihil minus, nihil superfluum in a rerum creatura reperiri. Hanc tamen ipsam belluam tam ingentem Deus subjectam nobis esse præcepit, ut ot quod doceretur intelligat, et dum cæditur patiatur, manifeste declarans cuncta nobis ideo fuisse suhjugata, quia nos ad imaginem Dei facti sumus, et non solum in maximis animalibus ejus inæstimabilem sapientiam possumus contemplari, sed in minimis quoque bestiolis eadem considerare miracula. Sicut enim non satis admiror magnorum vertices montium quia, cum proximi nubibus habeantur, assiduis flatibus gravissimas perferunt tempestates, vel e contra speluncarum cavationes, quia non solum ventorum fremitus evitare solent, quibus ardua quatiuntur, sed sempiterna etiam temperie gratulantur: sic et in animalium forma, non tantam vastitudinem elepbanti stupeo, quantum murem, qui formidolosus elephanto est, vcl aculeum subtilissimum scorpii, quem tanquam tistulam quamdam sapientia perforavit artificis, ut per eam virus a se vulneratis injiceret. Sed nullus ob hoc reprehendat Conditorem: qoed vitæ nostræ bestias venenosas adhibuit. Ita enim quis et præceptorem insimulabit infantum, qui officia eos disciplinæ eustodire compellens, lascivias et protervitates illorum minis verberibusque castigat.","english":"Thus true is the statement that asserts nothing less and nothing superfluous is found in the creation of things. Yet God commanded this very beast, so huge, to be subject to us, so that it understands what it is taught and endures when it is struck, plainly declaring that all things were for this reason subjected to us, because we were made in the image of God; and not only in the greatest animals can we contemplate His inestimable wisdom, but in the smallest creatures as well we may consider the same wonders. For just as I do not sufficiently marvel at the summits of great mountains, because, though they are held close to the clouds, they endure the heaviest storms from unceasing blasts, or on the other hand at the hollows of caves, because they are accustomed not only to avoid the roaring of the winds by which the heights are shaken, but also rejoice in perpetual mildness: so too in the form of animals, I am not so astonished at the vast bulk of the elephant as at the mouse, which is a terror to the elephant, or at the most subtle sting of the scorpion, which the wisdom of the Artisan pierced like a kind of pipe, so that through it He might inject venom into those wounded by it. But let no one on this account reproach the Creator, because He has appointed venomous beasts for our life. For in this way one would also accuse the teacher of infants, who, compelling them to observe the duties of discipline, chastises their wantonness and insolence with threats and blows.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":177,"ref":"p177","source":"G. Quin potius confessionem fidei nobis intelligimus res noxias indicare. Si enim confidis in Dominum, super aspidem et batiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et draconem (Psal. xc, 45). Remini- I scere namque quomodo Paulus cum ligna colligeret morsu viperx sauciatus, nihil læsionis accepit: ob boc scilicet, quod fidei plenus vir ille sanctissimus habebatur. Sin auLcm fueris infidelis, non tam serpentem metuere debebis, sed infidelitatem propriam, per quam tu te ipse perditioni obnoxium perfecisti. e Sed jam sentio me humanae nativitatis debito flagitari, et auditorum voces in cordibns audio mussitantes, eo quod nostra quidem qualia sint doceamus, nosmet vero ipsos ignoremus. Necessarium est ergo, nubem illam quae hominum sensus caligat eripere: nam rcvera omnium causarum difficillimum est se ipsum cognoscere. Non enim solus oculus ea quæ extrinsecus habentur inspiciens, seipsum non valet intucri: sed etiam mens ipsa satis acute aliena delicta contemplans, tardior est erga suorum cognitionem vitiorum, unde etiain nunc quoque velociter alienis acUbus sermo decursis, obtusior habetur et pigrior ad cxaminanda quæ sunt: et non tam ex elementorum compositione reputare possumus Cunditorem, quam etiam ex nostra ipsorum formatione: si tamen se quisque velit prudenter inspicere, sicut dicit propheta: Mirificata est notio tua ex me (Psal.","english":"G. Rather, let us understand that the confession of faith indicates to us things that are harmful. For if you trust in the Lord, you will walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you will trample the lion and the dragon (Ps. 90:13). For remember how Paul, when he was gathering wood and was wounded by the bite of a viper, received no harm—evidently for this reason, that that most holy man was reckoned full of faith. But if you are faithless, you ought not so much to fear the serpent as your own faithlessness, through which you have made yourself liable to perdition. But now I feel that I am being pressed by the debt of human birth, and I hear in my heart the murmuring voices of my hearers, saying that we teach what sort of things our own are, while we ourselves do not know ourselves. It is necessary, therefore, to remove that cloud which darkens human senses; for in truth the most difficult of all causes is to know oneself. For not only is the eye, which inspects the things that are outside, unable to look upon itself, but even the mind itself, which contemplates the faults of others quite keenly, is slower in the knowledge of its own vices; hence even now also, when discourse has swiftly run through the deeds of others, it is duller and lazier for examining the things that are its own. And we cannot so much reckon the Creator from the composition of the elements as also from our own formation—if only each one wishes to inspect himself wisely, as the prophet says: Your knowledge has been made wonderful from me (Ps. 138:6).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":178,"ref":"p178","source":"CXXXVIII, 6); id est, dum me ipsum intueor, ineffabilis ture sapientiæ disco virtutem. Et dixit Deus, faciamus hominem. Ubi sunt nunc Judæi, qui I in sequentibus vclut per quasdam cavernas Deitatis luce fulgente, secundaque persona quæ mystice quidem declaratur, necdum tamen manifeste conspicitur, repugnabant dicentes sibimet ipsum loqui Deum, quoniam ipse dixit et ipse fecit, Fiat lux, et facta est lux? Erant quidem in promptu, et nunc quae modo proferuntur ab eis ineptiæ. Quis enim faber ferrarius, aut carpentarius, aut conorum cmfector solus in suo consistens ergastulo, cui uullus artis socius præsto est, sibimet ipse dicit, faciamus gladium, vel aratrum compaginemus, aut fonuemus calceum; et non magis tacitus speciem quam mente destinavit inceptat? Etenim vana garrulitas est, hominum quempiam, velut judicem aut censorem di. stricte sibimet aliquid imperare. Quanquam hi quo. que qui Dominum crucifixerunt, quid non dicturi sint, eXercitatas ad mendacium linguas habentes, licet præsens vox eorum penitus ora præcluserit? Et dixit Deus, Faciamus hominem. Donec igitur uninime qui doceretur existeret, in profundo fuit abdita prædicatio Deitatis. Ubi vero cœpit hominis exspectari creatio, revelata est fides, et evidenter dogma veritatis emicuit.","english":"138, 6); that is, while I look upon myself, I learn the power of the ineffable wisdom. And God said, Let us make man. Where are the Jews now, who in the following passages, as if through certain caverns with the light of the Godhead shining forth, and with the second person who is indeed mystically declared but not yet manifestly seen, were contradicting, saying that God spoke to himself, since he himself said and himself did, Let there be light, and there was light? Indeed, the absurdities which are now brought forward by them were also at hand then. For what blacksmith, or carpenter, or shoemaker, standing alone in his workshop, with no partner of his craft present, says to himself, Let us make a sword, or let us join together a plough, or let us fashion a shoe; and does not rather begin in silence the form which he has purposed in his mind? For it is empty chatter for any man, as though a judge or censor, to command something strictly to himself. Although these men also, who crucified the Lord, what will they not say, having tongues trained to falsehood, even though the present utterance has wholly closed their mouths? And God said, Let us make man. Therefore, as long as there was no one to be taught, the preaching of the Godhead lay hidden in the deep. But when the creation of man began to be expected, the faith was revealed, and the doctrine of the truth shone forth clearly.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":179,"ref":"p179","source":"Ausculta, Judæe Christi repugnator, quomodo socium mundificationis alloquitur, per quem sæcula fecit, qui agit omnia verbo potentiæ suae: sed tuus animus verba non recipit pietatis. Sicut enim feræ cum includuntur in caveis, vulvas earum dentibus exedunt, amaritudinem propriam demonstrantes, furorem tamen suum nequcunt explere: sic Judæus adversarius veritatis, alligationum coarctatus angustiis, multas asserit esse personas, ad quas Verbum Dci processisse mentitur. Ferunt enim, quod angelis dixerit: Faciamus hominem, Judaica vere fictio, suaeque digna perfidiæ fabulositas! It unum non recipiant, plurimos confitentur, filiumque famulis per participationem dignitatis asciscunt, et a conlbertos nostros auctores humanæ formationis efficiunt, hominisque perfectorum volunt angelis coæquare, cum sit absurdum ut qualibet factura possit æqualis esse factori. Consideremus quoque sequentia: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem nostram. Quid respondes? Nunquid Dei et angelorum una imago est? Nam Patris nccesse est eamdem esse quam Fil.i, sic tamen, ut Dco decens intelligatur esse figura, id est, non in habitu corporeo, sed in divina proprietate consistens. Ausculta tu etiam, qui de nova circumcisione progrederis, Judaismi cultum sub Christianitatis simulationc compend ins.Cui dicit, Ad imaginem nostram nisi illuminationi glori æ, et titulo paternæ sub stantiæ, qua est imago Dei invisibilis(Hebr.","english":"Listen, Jew, opponent of Christ, how he addresses the partner of purification, through whom he made the ages, who accomplishes all things by the word of his power; but your mind does not receive the words of piety. For just as wild beasts, when they are shut in cages, gnaw their own bellies with their teeth, demonstrating their own bitterness, yet cannot discharge their fury: so the Jew, adversary of the truth, constrained by the narrow straits of his arguments, asserts that there are many persons to whom he falsely claims the Word of God came. For they say that he spoke to the angels: Let us make man—a truly Jewish fiction, and a fable worthy of their own perfidy! They do not receive the one, yet they confess many, and they claim the Son for servants by a sharing of dignity, and they make our fellow servants the authors of human formation, and they wish to equate the perfecting of man with the angels, although it is absurd that any creature can be equal to its maker. Let us consider also what follows: Let us make man in our image. What do you answer? Is there perhaps one image of God and of the angels? For it must necessarily be the same as that of the Son of the Father, yet in such a way that the figure is understood to be fitting for God, that is, not consisting in bodily appearance, but in divine property. Listen also, you who come forward concerning the new circumcision, making a mockery of the worship of Judaism under the pretense of Christianity. To whom does he say, In our image, except to the illumination of glory, and the title of the paternal substance, by which he is the image of the invisible God (Hebr.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":180,"ref":"p180","source":"I, 3)? Suas ergo loquitur imagini, quæ dixit: Ego et Pater unum tumus (Joan. x, 30); et, Qui me videt et Patrem meum videt (Joan. XIV, 9), huic dicit: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem nostram. Etenim ubi unitas imaginis est, nihil potest esse dissimile. Non enim dixit ad imagines nostras, sicut et Scriptura testatur: Fecit Deus, inquit, hominem; non fecerunt. Prudenter vitavit nunc multitudinem personarum: ut ubi quidem Judæum confunderet, hic ritum gentilitatis excluderet. Ideo commemoravit unitatem, ut et Filium simul esse cum Patre cognosceres: et periculum de personarum multitudinedeclinares.Ad imaginem Dei fecit hominem. Rursum cooperantis persona u inducit. Non enim dixit: Fccit ad imaginem suam, sed ad imagin Dei. Et in quo quidem dispositum est hahere hominem imaginem Dei. vel quomodo recipit similitudinem Divinitatis, in sequentibus Chri-. sto sensum largiente narrabitur, nunc vero tantum dixisse suflicict, quia una imago est. Tibi vero cur incidit in mentem, tam sacrilege blasphemare, ut diceres Filium Patri esse dissimilem? animum ingratum! similitudinem Dei quam tu ipse sunpsistl, benefactorem tuum habere non pateris. Et tibi quidem proprium vis esse quod de coelesti gratia percepisti, filio autem simililudincm natura insitam, cum genitore non sinis esse communem. Sed jam nobis silentium vespere tempus indicit: dudum ad occasum sole delapso.","english":"He therefore speaks to his image, which said: I and the Father are one; and, He who sees me sees my Father also. To this image he says: Let us make man in our image. For where there is unity of image, nothing can be dissimilar. For he did not say \"in our images,\" as also the Scripture testifies: God, it says, made man; they did not make him. Prudently he avoided a multitude of persons here, so that where indeed he might confound the Jew, he might exclude the rite of the Gentiles. Therefore he mentioned unity, so that you might recognize that the Son is together with the Father, and might avoid the danger of a multitude of persons. God made man in the image of God. Again he introduces the person of the co-worker. For he did not say: He made in his own image, but \"in the image of God.\" And in what way it was arranged that man possess the image of God, or how he receives the likeness of the Divinity, will be narrated in what follows, with Christ granting understanding; but for now it will suffice to have said only this, that the image is one. But why did it occur to you to blaspheme so sacrilegiously as to say that the Son is unlike the Father? Ungrateful mind! The likeness of God, which you yourself have taken up, you do not permit your benefactor to have. And you wish what you received from heavenly grace to be your own, but you do not allow the likeness implanted by nature in the Son to be shared with the one who begot him. But now the evening time imposes silence upon us, the sun having long since slipped down to its setting.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":181,"ref":"p181","source":"Quapropter hie os etiam sermonis e curricula terminemus, his contenti quæ dicta sunt. Tantum enim in præsentia disseruimus, quantum intentionem vestram possumus acuere. Pleniorem vero de propositis quæstionem alias vobis, sancto Spiritu astipulante, reddemus. Ita nunc exsultantes, et pro dapibus copiosis pomisque diversis, memoria relatorum mensas vestras instruite. Confundatur impius, erubescat Judæus, exsultet justus prædicationibus veritatis: glorificetur Dominus, nunc et semper et in sæcula saeculorum. Amen.","english":"Wherefore let us also here bring the course of our discourse to its end, content with what has been said. For we have now discussed only as much as we are able to sharpen your attention. But a fuller treatment of the questions proposed we will render to you another time, with the Holy Spirit's assistance. So now, rejoicing, and in place of rich feasts and various fruits, set your tables with the memory of what has been related. Let the impious be confounded, let the Jew blush, let the just man exult in the proclamations of truth: let the Lord be glorified, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]}]}