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2

the other, non-sensory things to the sensory nerves, and made the living creature a composite of non-sensory and sensory things, and showed it to be not only a composite but also one being; thus also He has acted in the rest of creation according to kind, connecting things to each other by a gradual affinity and variation of nature, so that the completely inanimate things are not greatly separated from the plants that possess nutritive power, nor these in turn from the irrational and sensory animals, nor indeed are the irrational things completely alienated from the rational, incompatible and without some connatural and physical bond. For even stone differs from stone in some power, but the magnetic stone seems to have surpassed the nature and power of other stones in manifestly drawing iron to itself and holding it, as if wishing to make it its food, and not only to do this with one piece of iron, but also to hold another through another by imparting its own power to all that are attached; for indeed iron also holds iron when it is held by the magnet. Then again, proceeding in order from plants to animals, He did not rush at once to the locomotive and sensory nature, but advanced to it harmoniously, little by little; for He fashioned the pinnae and sea-nettles like sensory trees (for He rooted them in the sea like plants and placed shells around them like wood and set them up as plants, but He gave them the sense of touch, the common sense of all animals), so that they share with plants in being rooted and fixed, and with animals in their sense of touch. Indeed, Aristotle has recorded that the sponge, although attached to rocks, both contracts and defends itself when it perceives something approaching; wherefore the wise men of old are accustomed to call all such things zoophytes. Again, to the pinnae and such creatures He joined the generation of animals that are locomotive, but are not able to proceed far, but move right there on the spot; such are most of the shellfish and the so-called 'earth's intestines'. Then, by thus adding gradually, to some more senses, to others locomotion to a greater degree, He arrived at the more perfect of the irrational animals; and by more perfect I mean those that have all the senses and are able to go far. Again, passing from the irrational to the rational animal, man, He did not fashion this one at once either, but first He instilled in the other animals certain natural intelligences and devices and crafts for their preservation, so that they appear close to rational beings, and thus He brought forth the truly rational animal, man; in the same way, if you investigate, you will find in the case of the voice that from the simple and uniform cry of horses and oxen it was gradually brought forward to the varied and diverse voice of crows and mimicking birds, until it ended in the articulate and perfect voice of man; and again He connected articulate speech to thought and reason, making it a messenger of the movements of the mind. And so He harmoniously fitted all things to all things and bound them together and brought them into one, both the intelligible and the visible, through the medium of the generation of men. Wherefore Moses, in setting forth the creation, well said that man was created last, not only because, since all things were made for his sake, it was fitting that the things for his use should be prepared first and then he who was to use them should be brought forth, but also because, since an intelligible and again a visible substance had been created, there needed to be some bond between both, so that the universe might be one and in sympathy with itself and not alien to itself. Therefore, the living creature that binds both natures together, man, was created. Such, then, to speak briefly, are the things of the wisdom of the Creator. Man, therefore, having been placed on the boundary of the irrational and rational nature, if he inclines toward the body and loves the things of the body more, he embraces the life of the irrational animals and will be numbered with them and will be called 'earthly' according to Paul and will hear: You are earth and to earth you shall return, and: He was compared to the mindless beasts and was made like them; but if toward the

2

τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ἀναίσθητα τοῖς αἰσθητικοῖς νεύροις, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐξ ἀναισθήτων καὶ αἰσθητικῶν συγκείμενον τὸ ζῷον, καὶ οὐ μόνον συγκείμενον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἓν ὂν ἀπέδειξεν· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἄλλης κατ' εἶδος κτίσεως πεποίηκε, συνάπτων ἀλλήλοις τῇ κατ' ὀλίγον οἰκειότητι καὶ παραλλαγῇ τῆς φύσεως, ὡς μὴ κατὰ πολὺ διεστάναι τὰ πάντῃ ἄψυχα τῶν ἐχόντων φυτῶν τὴν θρεπτικὴν δύναμιν, μηδ' αὖ ταῦτα τῶν ἀλόγων καὶ αἰσθητικῶν ζῴων, μήτε μὴν τὰ ἄλογα τῶν λογικῶν ἀπηλλοτριῶσθαι πάντῃ καὶ ἀσύμβατα καὶ ἄνευ δεσμοῦ τινος εἶναι συμφυοῦς καὶ φυσικοῦ. διαλλάττει μὲν γὰρ καὶ λίθος λίθου δυνάμει τινί, ἀλλ' ἡ μαγνῆτις λίθος ἐξεληλυθέναι δοκεῖ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων λίθων φύσιν τε καὶ δύναμιν ἐν τῷ προφανῶς ἕλκειν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν καὶ κατέχειν τὸν σίδηρον, ὥσπερ τροφὴν αὐτὸν ποιήσασθαι βουλομένη, καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐφ' ἑνὸς σιδήρου τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλον δι' ἄλλου κατέχειν τῷ μεταδιδόναι τοῖς ἐχομένοις πᾶσιν τῆς δυνάμεως ἑαυτῆς· κατέχει γοῦν καὶ ὁ σίδηρος σίδηρον ὅταν ὑπὸ τῆς μαγνήτιδος ἔχηται. εἶτα πάλιν ἑξῆς ἀπὸ τῶν φυτῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ζῷα μετιών, οὐκ ἀθρόως ἐπὶ τὴν μεταβατικὴν καὶ αἰσθητικὴν ὥρμησε φύσιν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ κατ' ὀλίγον ἐπὶ ταύτην ἐμμελῶς προῆλθεν· τὰς γὰρ πίννας καὶ τὰς ἀκαλήφας ὥσπερ αἰσθητικὰ δένδρα κατεσκεύασεν (ἐρρίζωσε μὲν γὰρ αὐτὰς ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ δίκην φυτῶν καὶ ὥσπερ ξύλα τὰ ὄστρακα περιέθηκε καὶ ἔστησεν ὡς φυτά, αἴσθησιν δὲ αὐταῖς ἐνέδωκε τὴν ἁπτικὴν τὴν κοινὴν πάντων ζῴων αἴσθησιν), ὡς κοινωνεῖν τοῖς μὲν φυτοῖς κατὰ τὸ ἐρριζῶσθαι καὶ ἑστάναι, τοῖς δὲ ζῴοις κατὰ τὴν ἁφήν. τὸν γοῦν σπόγγον, καίτοι προσπεφυκότα ταῖς πέτραις καὶ συστέλλεσθαι καὶ ἀμύνεσθαι ὅταν προσιόντος αἴσθηταί τινος Ἀριστοτέλης ἱστόρησεν· διὸ τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα ζωόφυτα καλεῖν ἔθος ἔχουσιν οἱ παλαιοὶ τῶν σοφῶν. πάλιν δὲ ταῖς πίνναις καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις συνῆψε τὴν τῶν μεταβατικῶν μὲν ζῴων γένεσιν, μακρὰν δὲ προελθεῖν μὴ δυναμένων ἀλλ' αὐτόθεν αὐτοῦ που κινουμένων· τοιαῦτα δέ ἐστιν τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων καὶ τὰ καλούμενα γῆς ἔντερα. εἶθ' οὕτω κατὰ μέρος προστιθεὶς τοῖς μὲν αἰσθήσεις πλείους, τοῖς δὲ τὸ μεταβατικὸν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον, εἰς τὰ τελειότερα τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων κατήντησεν· λέγω δὲ τελειότερα τὰ πάσας ἔχοντα τὰς αἰσθήσεις καὶ προϊέναι μακρὰν δυνάμενα. πάλιν δὲ μετα βαίνων ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλόγων ἐπὶ τὸ λογικὸν ζῷον τὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀθρόως κατεσκεύασεν ἀλλὰ πρότερον καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζῴοις φυσικάς τινας συνέσεις καὶ μηχανὰς καὶ πανουργίας πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἐνέθηκεν, ὡς ἐγγὺς λογικῶν αὐτὰ φαίνεσθαι, καὶ οὕτω τὸ ἀληθῶς λογικὸν ζῷον τὸν ἄνθρωπον προεβάλετο· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς φωνῆς ζητῶν εὑρήσεις ἐξ ἁπλῆς καὶ μονοειδοῦς τῆς ἵππων καὶ βοῶν ἐκφωνήσεως κατὰ μέρος εἰς ποικίλην καὶ διάφορον προαχθεῖσαν τὴν τῶν κοράκων καὶ μιμηλῶν ὀρνέων φωνὴν ἕως εἰς τὴν ἔναρθρον καὶ τελείαν τὴν ἀνθρώπου κατέληξε· πάλιν δὲ τὴν ἔναρθρον διάλεκτον ἐξῆψε τῆς διανοίας καὶ τοῦ λογισμοῦ, ἐξάγγελον ποιήσας αὐτὴν τῶν κατὰ νοῦν κινημάτων. καὶ οὕτω πᾶσι πάντα μουσικῶς συνήρμοσε καὶ συνέδησε καὶ εἰς ἓν συνήγαγε τά τε νοητὰ καὶ τὰ ὁρατὰ διὰ μέσης τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων γενέσεως. διὸ καὶ καλῶς ὁ Μωυσῆς τὴν δημιουργίαν ἐκτιθέμενος τελευταῖον ἔφησε τὸν ἄνθρωπον γεγενῆσθαι, οὐ μόνον ὅτι πάντων δι' αὐτὸν γενομένων ἀκόλουθον ἦν πρῶτον τὰ πρὸς τὴν χρῆσιν αὐτοῦ παρασκευασθῆναι καὶ οὕτως αὐτὸν τὸν χρησόμενον παραχθῆναι, ἀλλ' ὅτι νοητῆς γενομένης οὐσίας καὶ πάλιν ὁρατῆς ἔδει γενέσθαι τινὰ καὶ σύνδεσμον ἀμφοτέρων, ἵνα ἓν ᾖ τὸ πᾶν καὶ συμπαθὲς ἑαυτῷ καὶ μὴ ἀλλότριον αὐτὸ ἑαυτοῦ. ἐγένετο οὖν τὸ συνδέον ἀμφοτέρας τὰς φύσεις ζῷον ὁ ἄνθρωπος. τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς σοφίας τοῦ δημιουργοῦ συντόμως εἰπεῖν τοιαῦτα. ἐν μεθορίοις οὖν τῆς ἀλόγου καὶ λογικῆς φύσεως ὁ ἄνθρωπος ταχθείς, ἐὰν μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ σῶμα ῥέψῃ καὶ τὰ τοῦ σώματος πλέον ἀγαπήσῃ, τὸν τῶν ἀλόγων ἀσπάζεται βίον καὶ τούτοις συναριθμηθήσεται καὶ χοϊκὸς κληθήσεται κατὰ Παῦλον καὶ ἀκούσεται· γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ, καί· παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς· ἐὰν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ