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Hexaemeron

St Ambrose of Milan, tr. Savage, 1961

2. Hexameron, Book Two: The Second Day

The Third Homily: Chapter 1

WE HAVE FINISHED as best we could our discussion of the first day—or, rather, of one day, in order to keep to the phrase preferred by the inspired book. On this day, by the work of the omnipotent God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Spirit, we know that the heavens were founded, the earth was created, the waters and the air were sent forth around us, and a separation was made between light and darkness.

Who, therefore, does not marvel at the fact that a world formed of dissimilar elements should rise to the level of unity in one body, that this body should combine by indissoluble laws of concord and love to link together and form a union of such discordant elements? Furthermore, who does not marvel that these elements so naturally separate should be tied together in the bonds of unity and peace as if by an indivisible compact? Or who in a moment of weakness would, on beholding this, question the possibilities of order or plans? All these elements a divine power incomprehensible to human minds and incapable of being expressed in our language has by the might of His will woven closely together.

God, therefore, created the heavens and the earth and those things which He as Author has ordained to exist, not just as a designer of their form but as a Creator of their nature. How, in fact, can the creative power of God which is impassive and the nature of matter which is passive form an agreement together, as if one borrowed from the other what was lacking in each? If matter is uncreated, then God is without the power to create matter and must borrow from matter what is a conditional basis for His work. If, however, matter is unformed, it surely is remarkable that such material, co-eternal with God, which has not received from the Creator its substance, but has itself possessed it in timeless existence, has been unable to bestow beauty on itself. The Creator of all things, therefore, would have found ready for His work more things than He contributed to it. He would have found material on which to work and would have merely bestowed the form which would confer beauty on what has already been found.

Hence, such a day should be distinguished from the others as ‘one day,’ and should not be compared with other days as ‘the first day,’ for on it the foundations of all things were laid and there began to come into existence the causes of all things on which the substance of this world and of the entire visible creation is based. Wherefore, our discourse can now proceed to the wonderful works of the second day. The importance of these works should not be rated by what we have achieved in our discussion, but should, in accordance with Scripture, be referred to the praise of the Creator.

I bid you, therefore, be considerate enough to regard in a natural sense our plausible discourse and to weigh our statements in simplicity of mind and with attentive intellect, not following the traditions of philosophy nor those who gather the semblance of truth in the ‘vain deceit’¹ of the arts of persuasion, but in accordance with the rule of truth, which is set forth in the inspired words of God and is poured into the hearts of the faithful by the contemplation of such sublimity. For it is written: ‘Strengthen thou me in thy words.’ ‘The wicked have told me fables but not as thy law, O Lord. All thy statutes are truth.’² Therefore, not the nature of the elements, but Christ Himself, who created the world in the abundance and plenitude of His divinity, should be our standard in the examination of what was created and in the question as to what natural power is able to achieve. The people who beheld with their own eyes the miracles related in the Gospel of the healing of the leper and that of giving sight to the blind did not regard these as a medical process, but rather, marveling at the power of the Lord, ‘gave praise to God,’ as it is written.³ Moses did not follow the calculations of the Egyptians and the conjunctions of the stars and the relations of the elements when he stretched out his hand to divide the Red Sea, but was complying with the commands of divine power. Hence, he says himself: ‘Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath broken the enemy.’⁴ To Him, therefore, ye faithful people, lift up your mind and bring to Him all your heart. God does not see as man does: God sees with His mind; man sees with his countenance. Therefore, man does not see as God does. Give ear to what God saw and what He praised. Do not, therefore, estimate with your eyes nor weigh with your mind the problem of creation. Rather, you should not regard as a subject for debate what God saw and approved of.

Chapter 2

And God said: ‘Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters, and it was so.’⁵ Listen to the words of God: ‘Let there be,’ He said. This is the word of a commander, not of an adviser. He gives orders to nature and does not comply with its power. He does not regard its measurements, nor does He examine its weight. His will is the measure of things and His word is the completion of the work. ‘Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters,’ He said. Firm is everything which God has established. Appropriately enough has He stated: ‘Let there be a firmament made’ before He added ‘amidst the waters,’ in order that you might first believe that the firmament was made by God’s command before you would begin to doubt about the problem of the fluid nature of water. If the nature of the elements is taken into consideration, how it is possible for the firmament to be stable between the waters? The one is liquid, the other solid; one is active, the other, passive. ‘And let it divide the waters from the waters,’ He said. But water usually mingles, not separates. How, then, does He command what He knows to be a contradiction in terms of the first principles of the elements? But, since His word is nature’s birth, justly therefore does He who gave nature its origin presume to give nature its law.

But first let us discuss the problem of the nature of the firmament, whether it is the same as what God previously called heaven or something different? The question also arises whether there are two heavens or more. There are some who say that there is but one heaven. Moreover, they maintain, since there was only one ὕλη, as they call it, that there could not be at hand material for making a second heaven. Moreover, since this material had been already consumed in the first heaven, there would be nothing left over in their opinion which would furnish material for a second or third heaven. On the other hand, an opinion that there are countless heavens is held by others,⁶ who thereby furnish an occasion for laughter to some members of their own school (contending among themselves even more than they do with us), who pretend to prove by mathematical means and the law of necessity that another heaven could not exist. Again, they maintain that nature could not allow that a second or a third such entity should exist and it would not be a fitting exercise of power for a Creator to bring into existence many heavens.

And who would not find the crafty and eloquent phrases of these men a subject of ridicule? They would not deny the human capacity of making more objects of the same kind from one and the same material, yet they doubt whether the Creator of all things can make more heavens, of whom it is written: ‘But the Lord made the heavens,’ and elsewhere: ‘He hath done all things whatsoever he would.’⁷ Why is it difficult for one whose wishes are acts? Their theory that this impossibility exists is, therefore, unsubstantial when they treat of God, of whom in truth it is said: ‘Nothing is impossible to thee.’⁸

Accordingly, we cannot deny the existence of not only a second heaven, but also of a third, since the Apostle attests in his writings that he ‘was caught up to the third heaven.’⁹ David, too, introduced ‘Heaven of heavens’ into the chorus of those who give praise to God. In imitation of him philosophers introduced the harmonious movement of five constellations along with the sun and moon, to whose spheres or, rather, round bodies they state that all things are connected.¹⁰ They consider that these bodies, bound together and, as it were, linked one with the other, are borne in a backward motion and one contrary to the rest of things. By the impact and motion of these spheres there is produced a tone full of sweetness, the fruit of consummate art and of most delightful modulation, inasmuch as the air, torn apart by such artful motion, combines in even and melodious fashion high and low notes to such a degree that it surpasses in sweetness any other musical composition.

If you should inquire into the truth of this phenomenon and demand that proof be presented to our senses and to our hearing, these philosophers are embarrassed. For, if what they say were true, how is it possible that we who are accustomed to hear lesser sounds do not perceive the impact of the movement of the sphere? This takes place, according to their theory, when in the course of the sphere’s motion the celestial sphere, to which the course of the constellations is uninterruptedly attached, produces by its swifter motion a high tone, while the lunar sphere gives us a deeper tone. If, then, we demand a proof of that hypothesis from the evidence of our sense of hearing, they report that our ears have become deafened and our sense of hearing has become dulled because we have become accustomed to that sound from the first moment of our birth. And they present an illustration from the river Nile, the mightiest of rivers. In that place where that river flows precipitously from the highest mountains into the Cataracts, the noise of the waterfall is so great that the ears of the natives are affected to the extent that they are said to be deaf.

But experience itself presents us an easy rebuttal to their arguments. We are able to hear thunderbolts produced by the collision of clouds; how, then, are we unable to hear the revolution of such mighty spheres which, in proportion surely to their swifter motion, should produce sounds all the more resounding? They maintain, furthermore, that such music does not reach the earth. Otherwise, men, captivated by the sweetness and charm which that exceedingly swift motion of the heavens produces, would from the regions of the east as far as the west have abandoned all their occupations and labors. Thus, everything here would be in a state of inactivity as a result of what might be called the rapture of men at the sound of celestial music. But subjects which are alien to our purpose and to divine testimony should be left to those ‘who are outside.’¹¹ We should adhere closely to the doctrine laid down by the celestial Scriptures.

Chapter 3

Our argument, then, is based on the word of God: ‘Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.’¹² And from this arises the question whether He calls the firmament the heaven which He had already created, concerning which it is written: ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth.’¹³ I am not unaware of the interpretation which some have held on this subject, namely, that as the creation at the hands of God and the foundation of heaven has been before expressly stated by Scripture, so a clearer exposition of the work of creation is here given. Whereas in one place a summary of the work, as it were, is briefly stated, in the other, the nature of the operation is depicted according to the specific aspect of things as they appear at the same moment of creation. But there is something which needs our consideration: there is question of another word for heaven, ‘firmament,’ and there emerges an aspect and condition of more solid character, to which is added the person of a co-operating agent. For it is written: ‘And God divided the waters that were under the firmament from those that were above the firmament.’¹⁴

And first of all these interpreters wish to destroy the profound impressions which frequent reading of the Scriptures have made in our mind, maintaining that waters cannot exist above the heavens. That heavenly sphere, they say, is round, with the earth in the middle of it; hence, water cannot stay on that circular surface, from which it needs must flow easily away, falling from a higher to a lower position. For how, they say, can water remain on a sphere when the sphere itself revolves?

This is one of those sophistical arguments of the subtlest kind. Grant me an opportunity to reply. If it is not granted, there need be no further room for discussion.

They ask us to concede to them that heaven turns on its axis with a swift motion, while the sphere of the earth remains motionless, so as to conclude that waters cannot stay above the heavens, because the axis of heaven as it revolved would cause these to flow off. They wish, in fact, that we grant them their premise and that our reply be based on their beliefs. In this way they would avoid the question of the existence of length and breadth in that height and depth,¹⁵ a fact which no one can comprehend except Him who is filled ‘with the fullness of the Godhead,’¹⁶ as the Apostle says. For who can easily set himself up to be a judge of God’s work? There exists, therefore, breadth in the very heights of heaven.

To speak of matters within our knowledge, there are a great many buildings which are round in the exterior but are square-shaped within, and vice-versa. These buildings have level places on top, where water usually collects. We are led to mention these matters in order to draw the attention of these interpreters to the fact that their opinions can be confuted by other opinions closer to the truth and that they may cease measuring such a mighty work of God in terms of human work and merely on an estimate of our own capacities.

We follow the tradition of the Scriptures and we value the work by our esteem of the Author, as to what was said, who said it, and to whom it was said. ‘Let there be a firmament made,’ He said, ‘amidst the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.’¹⁷ From this I learn that the firmament is made by a command by which the water was to be separated and the water above be divided from the water below. What is clearer than this?

He who commanded the waters to be separated by the interposition of the firmament lying between them provided also the manner of their remaining in position, once they were divided and separated. The word of God gives nature its power and an enduring quality to its matter, as long as He who established it wishes it to be so, as it is written: ‘He hath established them forever and for ages of ages. He hath made a decree and it shall not pass away.’ And that you may know that He said this concerning these waters which you say cannot exist in the higher parts of the heavens, listen to the words which precede: ‘Praise him, ye heaven of heavens, and let all the waters above the heavens praise the name of the Lord.’¹⁸

Did He not speak to you in such a way as to answer your objections? ‘For he spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created. He hath established them forever and for ages of ages. He hath made a decree and it shall not pass away.’¹⁹ Does He not seem to you to be one who is fitted to give a law to His work? Here speaks to you a God venerable by nature, inestimable in magnitude, in rewards immeasurable, in His works incomprehensible, the depth of whose wisdom who can ever strive to measure?²⁰ But He speaks to His Son, that is, to His arm; He speaks to His power; He speaks to His wisdom, to His justice. And the Son acts as one who is powerful; He acts as the power of God; He acts as the wisdom of God, as divine justice. When you hear this, why do you marvel if, by the operation of such majesty, water can be held suspended above the celestial firmament?

Reflect on this when dealing with other matters, with what is seen by the eyes of men—reflect on this if you look for an explanation of how the sea divided at the crossing of the Jews. This is not a customary act of nature that water should separate itself from water and that the waters intermingling in the midst of the earth should be divided. The waves became solid, we are told, and like the waters in the firmament they checked their course when they reached their unusual boundaries.²¹ Could not the Lord have set free the Hebrew people in a quite different manner? But He wished to show that by taking note of such a spectacle you might come to think that what is not even visible to your eyes ought to inspire belief. The Jordan, too, inverting its course, returned to its source.²² That water in its course should stand still is considered to be unusual. That it should flow upwards without any external aid is considered to be impossible. But why is it impossible for Him who gave strength to the weak, so that they could say: ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me.’²³

Let them tell us whether, when ‘the air thickens into cloud,’²⁴ rain is then produced by clouds or whether it is collected in the lap of the clouds? We so frequently see clouds issuing from the mountains. I ask you: Does the water rise from the earth or does the water which is over the heavens fall in copious rain? If water rises, it surely is against nature that the element which is heavier should be borne to a higher place and that it should be carried there by air, although this is a lighter element. Or if water is whirled by the rapid motion of the entire world system, in that case it is absorbed from the lowest sphere and, likewise, it is poured forth from the highest. If it does not cease to be poured forth, as they claim, surely it does not cease to be absorbed, because, if the axis of the heavens is ever in movement, the water, too, is always being absorbed. If water descends, then it is clear that it is continuously above the heavens in a position from which it can flow downwards.

What prevents us, then, from admitting that water is suspended above the heavens? How can they say that the earth, although it is certainly heavier than water, stays suspended and immobile in the middle? Following the same principle, they can admit the water which is above the heavens does not descend because of the rotation of that celestial sphere. Just as the earth is suspended in the void and stays immobile in position, its weight being balanced on every side,²⁵ in like manner the water, too, is balanced by weights either equal to or greater than that of the earth. For the same reason, the sea does not tend to inundate the land without a special command to do so.

When they state again that the glittering sphere of heaven revolves with its fiery stars, did not Divine Providence necessarily foresee that water more than sufficient to temper the heat of the burning axis should exist within the sphere of heaven and above it? For the reason that fire makes its presence felt everywhere, for the same reason, too, water abounded on the earth, lest it be parched by the heat of the burning sun and of the twinkling stars and thus delicate things be injured at their birth by an unfamiliar warmth.²⁶ How great a number of springs, rivers, and lakes irrigate the earth, parched, as it is, by some fire within!²⁷ If, too, that interior fire does not give life to them, how could the trees or grain germinate or seedling burst forth or, when they have sprouted, be brought to maturity? Fire, also, frequently issues forth from rocks and from wood itself when a tree is being cut down. Fire, therefore, is a necessary element in the work of creation in order that things remain in due order and arrangement and that the clemency of the sky may temper the rigidity of water. In like manner even excessive quantities of water are not superfluous, where there is danger of one element being consumed by another; unless the proportion of both elements is a suitable one, then fire may dry up the water, just as water, too, extinguishes fire.

Accordingly, God balanced the universe with weights and measures. He has measured even the drops of rain, as we read in the book of Job.²⁸ Knowing that either there would be a tendency toward a failure or a dissolution of the universe, if one element preponderated over the other, He controlled for that reason the extent of each, so that fire would not supply more heat, or water more moisture, than would lead to the diminution of either under His guidance, by which the superfluous was drained off and a sufficiency was held in reserve.

Such great streams of mighty rivers still burst forth from the earth. We have the Nile that inundates Egypt with its overflowing waters; the Danube which divides the barbarians of the eastern regions from the Roman people, until it hides itself in the Black Sea; the Rhine which directs its course from a defile in the Alps until it reaches the depths of the ocean—a notable barricade for the Roman empire against savage nations; the Po, a trusty conveyor of maritime produce for the support of Italy; the Rhone, which with its rapid current cuts the waters of the Tyrrhenian sea, thereby adding to the perils of sailors, according to report, because of the struggle for mastery between the river currents and the sea waves; and, rising in the northern regions and combining in the Caucasus Mountains with many other streams, the Phasis River rushes headlong to the sea. It would be tedious to enumerate the names of each and every river which either flows into our sea or empties itself into the ocean. Notwithstanding such an abundance of water in the world, the soil in the southern zone for the most part is still scorched and reduced to dust by excessive heat. The toil of the unhappy farmer is spent in vain, so much so that, when the wells and streams are dried up, he frequently fails to find enough water to sustain life. And there will be a time when He will say to the deep: ‘Be thou desolate and I will dry up all the rivers,’²⁹ as through Isaias He announced the future. But before that day established by the divine will shall come, no little conflict among themselves is presented by the specific natures of the elements. Hence, the world is frequently affected by violent inundations or is afflicted by the extremes of heat and aridity.

Be not concerned, therefore, with the extraordinary excess of water in the world; take note, rather, of the force exercised by heat and you will not be incredulous. Fire is able to absorb much, a fact which ought to be clear to us from an experiment. When physicians burn a small candle and attach it to the inside of certain types of vases, narrow in the spout, rather flat on top and hollow within, how does it happen that this heat attracts to itself all the moisture? Who, therefore, doubts that the burning æther, glowing with mighty heat, would cause everything to be consumed by fire if it were not held in check by a law laid down by its Author, so that neither rivers nor lakes nor the seas themselves could subdue its strength? And so, water falling from above gushes forth generally in such storms of rain that rivers and lakes suddenly are filled and the very seas overflow. Hence, we often see the sun, too, veiled in vaporous exhalations. This is clear proof that the sun, in order to temper its heat, has appropriated to itself the element of water.

So great is their zeal in assailing truth that they go as far as to assert that the sun itself is devoid of heat by nature, for the reason that it is white and not ruddy or red as fire is. And so they say it is not fiery by nature and, if it has some heat, they maintain that this is the result of the unusual speed of its revolutions. This theory ought to be accepted, they claim, for the reason that the sun does not seem to consume any moisture, because it does not have a natural heat by means of which moisture is either diminished or very often drained off. Notwithstanding these arguments they do not succeed in their purpose, because it makes no difference whether heat is natural or acquired or proceeds from some other cause, since every fire is a consumer of moisture or of any material such as can be burned by the application of fire. For, if you touch leaves with a spark obtained, not from wood which is already partly burned, but from one produced by the friction of sticks, such a flame increases its strength, just as if you were to light a torch from a fire. But if you should kindle a light from a flame or another lighted object, these two have a fire of the same appearance and character as if the fire were produced, not by nature, but by accident.³⁰ These men should, from the point of view, at least, of the heat of the sun, take note that God has set different times and places for the sun’s courses, lest, if it should linger always in the same places, it might burn them up with its daily heat. Concerning the reasons for the bitter and salty nature of sea water, the same people relate that so much water is absorbed by heat as it is obtained from the confluent rivers, and that so much water is evaporated each day by the heat as is furnished by the daily inflow from the various rivers. This phenomenon is held to take place by a certain power of selection on the part of the sun, which takes to itself what is pure and light and leaves what is heavy and earthy. As a result, there is left that salty and dry quality in the water, unsuited to man’s consumption and enjoyment.

Chapter 4

But let us return to our theme: ‘Let there be a firmament made amidst the water.’³¹ Let it not disturb you, as I have already said, that above He speaks of heaven and here of a firmament, since David also says: ‘The heavens narrate the glory of God and the firmament declareth the work of his hands.’³² That is to say, the created world, when one beholds it, praises its own Author, for His invisible majesty is recognized through the things that are visible.³³ It seems to me that the word ‘heaven’ is a generic term, because Scripture testifies to the existence of very many heavens. The word ‘firmament’ is more specific, since here also we read: ‘And he called the firmament, heaven.’³⁴ In a general way, He would seem to have said above that heaven was made in the beginning so as to take in the entire fabric of celestial creation, and that here the specific solidity of this exterior firmament is meant. This is called the firmament of heaven, as we read in the prophetic hymn, ‘Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven.’³⁵

For heaven, which in Greek is called οὐρανός, in Latin, caelum, is connected with the word ‘stamped’ [caelatum], because the heavens have the lights of the stars impressed on them like embossed work, just as silver plate is said to be ‘stamped’ when it glitters with figures in relief. The word οὐρανός seems to be derived from the Greek verb ‘to be seen’ [ὁρᾶσθαι]. In distinction, therefore, to the earth, which is darker, the sky is called οὐρανός, because it is bright, that is to say, visible. Hence, I believe, is the origin of that expression: ‘The winged ones of heaven always behold the face of my Father, who is in heaven.’³⁶ And again: ‘The winged fowl above the firmament of heaven.’³⁷ The powers which exist in that visible place behold all these things and have them subject to their observation.

Therefore, the heavens were closed in the times of Elias when godlessness reigned with Achab and Jezabel,³⁸ since the people were made responsible for the sacrilege of their kings. For that reason, no one attempted to raise his eyes to heaven, no one paid reverence to his Creator, but, rather, worshiped sticks and stones. How do we come to this conclusion? Because in His maledictions against the people of Israel God said: ‘The heaven that is over thee will be of brass and your soil of iron,’ when paying the price of godlessness, the people of Juda were punished by the inclemency of heaven and the sterility of earth—for heaven is the source of fertility. Therefore, Moses, too, granted this blessing to the tribe of Joseph: ‘From the confines of heaven and from the dew and from the deep that lieth beneath and from the course of the sun in accordance with the season and from the months that meet and from the tops of the mountains and the eternal hills.’³⁹ For it is true that the fruitfulness of the earth is sustained by heavenly guidance.

Hence, the sky which gives forth no moisture at a time when no showers break through the clouds has the appearance of iron. The sky is also of ‘iron’ when the air is dark and dense, with clouds of the color of iron rust, at a time when the earth is held in bonds by the rigidity of cold. Then moisture seems to be suspended over our heads and to be ready to fall at any moment. Frequently, too, water is solidified in the form of snow when subjected to icy winds at a time when snow falls through the cleft air.

This firmament cannot be broken, you see, without a noise. It also is called a firmament because it is not weak nor without resistance. Hence, in dealing with thunderbolts, which give forth a tremendous crash when currents of air on the point of arising in the midst of the clouds meet together in collision, the Scripture speaks of strengthening the thunderbolt.⁴⁰ Therefore, the firmament is called because of its firmness or because it has been made firm by divine power, just as Scripture teaches us, saying: ‘Praise ye him in the firmament of his power.’⁴¹

And I am not unaware that some refer ‘the heaven of heavens’ to the intelligible powers, the firmament to the efficient powers and that the heavens praise and ‘shine forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth it’⁴²—yet, as we have said above, they declare them not as spiritual powers, but as things of the world. Others also interpret the waters to mean the purificatory powers. We accept this interpretation as a simple adornment to our treatise. To us, however, it does not appear to be inappropriate nor absurd, if we are to understand these to be real waters for the reasons given above. According to the hymn of the Prophet, dew, frost, cold and heat bless the Lord, the earth, too, blesses Him.⁴³ Furthermore, we do not understand the stars to be unseen powers of nature, but as having real existence. Even dragons give praise to the Lord, because their nature and aspect, if one examines them closely, are not without presenting a certain modicum of beauty and design.

Chapter 5

‘And God saw that it was good.’⁴⁴ The Son does what the Father desires. No degeneration of nature is found in Him whose work does not degenerate from the will of the Father. He saw, it is certain, but not with corporeal eyes. He designated that the limit of vision should conform to the plenitude of His grace,⁴⁵ by which means His judgment may be made known to us, for we in fact often dispute even on subjects which are divine.

What wonder is it, then, if those men who are able to turn their attention to the work of creation also raise questions on the generation of the Creator Himself. Him they call to judgment; Him they dare refer to as unjust and unworthy of His descent. And so you read both ‘God spoke’ and ‘God created,’ in which both Father and Son are honored with the same name of majesty. ‘And God saw that it was good.’ He spoke as if speaking to one who knew all the wishes of His Father. He saw as if He knew all that His Son had accomplished, acting with Him in community of operation.

‘He saw that it was good.’ He did not, of course, recognize that of which He was ignorant. Rather, His approval was given to what gave Him pleasure. The work did not please Him as something unknown, just as the Father, who was pleased with the Son, was not like one unknown, as it is written: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’⁴⁶ The Son always knows the will of the Father and the Father that of the Son. And the Son listens to the Father and the Father hears the Son through the unity of nature, will, and substance. The Son, therefore, bears witness to this in the Gospel, speaking to the Father: ‘I know that thou always hearest me.’⁴⁷

The Son is ‘the image of the invisible God.’⁴⁸ All that the Father is, the Son sets forth as an image. The Father illumines and makes Him manifest for us all as ‘the brightness of his glory.’⁴⁹ The Son, too, beholds the work of the Father and the Father that of the Son, as the Lord Himself has declared: ‘The Son can do nothing of himself but only what he sees the Father doing.’⁵⁰ He sees, therefore, the Father doing and sees and hears Him in like manner through the hidden power of His invisible nature. Therefore, He says: As I hear, so do I judge, and ‘my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but with me is he who sent me, the Father.’⁵¹

This is the mystic sense. The moral sense is this: ‘He saw’ for me; ‘He approved’ for me. What God has approved, do not consider worthy of blame, since you recall that the statement, ‘What God has cleansed, do not thou call common,’⁵² has been written for you. Hence, let no one blaspheme what is good before God! If the firmament is good, how much more so is its Creator, even if the Arians would not admit it and the followers of Eunomianus should object, the no less corrupt fruit of a degenerate root!

‘God saw that it was good.’ Artists usually work first on individual parts and afterwards join them together with skill. Those who start to carve out of marble the features or bodies of men or mould them in bronze or wax⁵³ do not know exactly how the individual components will blend together, nor the beauty which will be the result of the final work. And so they dare not praise fully, but praise only in part.

God, however, as judge of the whole work, foreseeing what is going to happen as something completed, commends that part of His work which is still in its initial stages, being already cognizant of its termination. This is not to be wondered at, since in His case the completion of a thing does not depend on the termination of the actual work. It rests, rather, on the predetermination of His will. He praises each individual part as befitting what is to come. He praises the total work, which is compounded of the elegance of each part. True beauty, in fact, consists of a fitting adjustment in each part and in the whole, so that the charm in each part and the full appropriateness of the form in the completed work are worthy of commendation.⁵⁴

But now let us put an end to the second day, lest, while we are attending to the work of the firmament, we may cause our hearers to languish because of the prolixity of our discourse—in a discourse which, prolonged into a night which is still devoid of the light of a moon and stars, may bring obscurity to those who are returning home. For the luminaries of the heavens have not as yet been created. Our purpose is also to allow our hearers to refresh themselves with food and drink, so that, while their minds have banqueted, the frailty of their flesh may not find cause to complain of a fast lasting even until nightfall.

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