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the sound was for all, nor would the melody have been formed at all; so also the mixture of the universe in the variety of individual things seen in the world, through a certain ordered and inviolable rhythm, touching itself and working the good harmony of the parts to the whole, creates this all-harmonious melody in the universe, of which the mind becomes the listener, in no way using this sense of hearing, but stooping over the senses of the flesh and being on high, thus it understands the hymnody of the heavens. As it seems to me, the great David also heard, when through their observed artful and all-wise motion, he listened to them recounting the glory of God who works these things in them. For truly the symphony of all creation with itself, blended through opposites, is a hymn of the unattainable and ineffable glory of God, brought forth with such a rhythm. For stability and motion are opposite to each other, but these have been mixed with one another in the nature of things, and a certain amazing mixture of opposites is seen in them, so that in motion stability is shown, and in that which is not moved, the ever-moving. For all things in heaven are always moved, either revolving together in the circle of the fixed stars or uncoiling in the opposite direction through the planets. But the sequence in these things always stands firm and remains in the same state, never changing from what it is to something else new, 5.32 but always being the same and abiding in the same. Therefore, the union of the stationary with the moving, happening in a certain ordered and inviolable good harmony throughout, is a certain musical harmony, producing a blended and divine hymnody of the power that holds all things together. Of which it seems to me the great David, being in audience, also spoke in one of the psalms, that all the other powers in heaven praise God, and the starry light, both the sun and the moon, and the heavens of heavens and the water above the heavens, whatever he means by water, and all the following things that creation has. For the conspiracy and sympathy of all things with each other, governed by order and cosmos and sequence, is the first and archetypal and true music; which the harmonizer of the universe, with the ineffable word of wisdom, skillfully strikes up through the things that are always coming into being [in wisdom]. If, therefore, the whole ordered universe is a certain musical harmony, of which God is the artisan and craftsman, as the apostle says, and man is a small world, and this same one is also made an imitation of the one who harmonized the world, what the word knows concerning the great world, this it also likely sees in the small; for the part of the whole is in every way homogeneous with the whole. For just as in a tiny fragment of glass, in its gleaming part, it is possible to see the entire circle of the sun shown as in a mirror, as far as the smallness of the gleaming thing allows, so also in the small world, I mean in human nature, all the music seen in the universe is observed, corresponding to the whole through 5.33 the part, as the whole is contained by the part. And the instrumental arrangement of our body shows this, having been artfully contrived by nature for the production of music. Do you see the pipe of the windpipe, the bridge of the palate, the cithara-playing through tongue and cheeks and mouth, as through strings and a plectrum? Since, therefore, everything according to nature is dear to nature, and music has been shown to be according to our nature, for this reason the great David mixed melody with the philosophy concerning virtues, pouring down a certain pleasure of honey on the lofty doctrines, through which nature in a way re-examines and heals itself. For the therapy of nature is the good rhythm of life, which it seems to me the melody advises through riddles. For perhaps this very thing becomes an exhortation toward the higher state of life: that the character of those living in virtue must not be unmusical and deviant and dissonant, nor beyond measure, with the string too high-pitched; for the good harmony of the string is completely broken when overstretched;

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πᾶσιν ὁ φθόγγος ἦν, οὐδ' ἂν συνέστη πάντως τὸ μέλος· οὕτως καὶ ἡ τοῦ παντὸς κρᾶσις ἐν ποικίλοις τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θεωρουμένων διά τινος τεταγμένου τε καὶ ἀπαραβάτου ῥυθμοῦ αὐτὴ ἑαυτῆς ἁπτομένη καὶ τὴν τῶν μερῶν πρὸς τὸ ὅλον εὐαρμοστίαν ἐργαζομένη τὴν παναρμόνιον ταύτην ἐν τῷ παντὶ μουσουργεῖ μελῳδίαν, ἧς ἀκροατὴς ὁ νοῦς γίνεται κατ' οὐδὲν τῇ ἀκοῇ ταύτῃ συγχρώμενος, ἀλλ' ὑπερκύπτων τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς αἰσθητήρια καὶ ἄνω γενόμενος, οὕτως ἐπαίει τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν ὑμνῳδίας. ὥς μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ μέγας ἀκηκοέναι ∆αβίδ, ὅτε διὰ τῆς θεωρουμένης αὐτοῖς τεχνικῆς τε καὶ πανσόφου κινήσεως, τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς ταῦτα ἐνεργοῦντος θεοῦ διηγου μένων ἐπηκροάσατο. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ τῆς ἀνεφίκτου τε καὶ ἀφράστου θεοῦ δόξης ὕμνος ἐστὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ ῥυθμῷ προαγόμενος ἡ τῆς κτίσεως πάσης πρὸς ἑαυτὴν συνῳδία διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων συγκεκραμένη. ἐναντίως γὰρ ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα στάσις καὶ κίνησις, ταῦτα δὲ κέκραται μετ' ἀλλήλων ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν ὄντων καί τις ἀμήχανος ἐν αὐτοῖς καθορᾶται τῶν ἀντικει μένων μίξις, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῇ κινήσει τὸ στάσιμον δείκνυσθαι καὶ ἐν τῷ μὴ κινουμένῳ τὸ ἀεικίνητον. κινεῖται μὲν γὰρ τὰ κατ' οὐρανὸν ἀεὶ πάντα ἢ τῷ ἀπλανεῖ συμπεριπολοῦντα κύκλῳ ἢ κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον διὰ τῶν πλανητῶν ἀνελισσόμενα. ἕστηκε δὲ πάντοτε καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ταυτότητος μένει ὁ ἐν τούτοις εἱρμὸς οὐδέ ποτε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἐφ' ἕτερόν τι καινὸν 5.32 μεθιστάμενος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχων καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ διαμένων. ἡ τοίνυν τοῦ ἑστῶτος πρὸς τὸ κινούμενον σύνοδος ἐν τεταγμένῃ τινὶ καὶ ἀπαραβάτῳ γινομένη διὰ παντὸς εὐαρμοστίᾳ μουσική τίς ἐστιν ἁρμονία σύγκρατον καὶ θεσπεσίαν τῆς τὸ πᾶν διακρατούσης δυνάμεως ὑμνῳδίαν ἀποτελοῦσα. ἧς μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ μέγας ∆αβὶδ ἐν ἀκροάσει γενόμενος εἰπεῖν ἔν τινι τῶν ψαλμῶν, ὅτι αἰνοῦσι τὸν θεὸν αἵ τε ἄλλαι δυνάμεις αἱ κατ' οὐρανὸν πᾶσαι καὶ τὸ ἀστρῷον φῶς, ὅ τε ἥλιος καὶ ἡ σελήνη καὶ οἱ τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐρανοὶ καὶ τὸ ὑπερουράνιον ὕδωρ, ὅτι ποτὲ τὸ ὕδωρ λέγει, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς πάντα ὅσα ἡ κτίσις ἔχει. ἡ γὰρ τῶν πάντων πρὸς ἄλληλα σύμπνοιά τε καὶ συμπάθεια τάξει καὶ κόσμῳ καὶ ἀκολουθίᾳ διοικουμένη ἡ πρώτη τε καὶ ἀρχέτυπος καὶ ἀληθής ἐστι μουσική· ἣν ὁ τοῦ παντὸς ἁρμοστὴς τῷ ἀρρήτῳ τῆς σοφίας λόγῳ διὰ τῶν ἀεὶ γινομένων [ἐν σοφίᾳ] τεχνικῶς ἀνακρούεται. εἰ οὖν ὁ διάκοσμος ὅλος μουσική τις ἁρμονία ἐστίν, Ἧς τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ θεός, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, μικρὸς δὲ κόσμος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς οὗτος καὶ μίμημα τοῦ ἁρμοσαμένου τὸν κόσμον πεποίηται, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγάλου κόσμου οἶδεν ὁ λόγος, τοῦτο κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς καὶ ἐν τῷ μικρῷ βλέπει· τὸ γὰρ μέρος τοῦ ὅλου ὁμογενές ἐστι πάντως τῷ ὅλῳ. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ψήγματι βραχείας ὑάλου κατὰ τὸ στίλβον μέρος ὅλον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ τὸν κύκλον τοῦ ἡλίου δεικνύμενον, καθὼς χωρεῖ ἡ βραχύτης τοῦ στίλβοντος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ μικρῷ κόσμῳ, τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ λέγω φύσει, πᾶσα ἡ ἐν τῷ παντὶ θεωρουμένη μουσικὴ καθορᾶται ἀναλογοῦσα τῷ ὅλῳ διὰ 5.33 τοῦ μέρους, ὡς χωρεῖται τὸ ὅλον ὑπὸ τοῦ μέρους. δείκνυσι δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ ὀργανικὴ τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν διασκευὴ πρὸς ἐργασίαν μουσικῆς φιλοτεχνηθεῖσα παρὰ τῆς φύσεως. ὁρᾷς τὸν τῆς ἀρτηρίας αὐλόν, τὴν τῆς ὑπερῴας μαγάδα, τὴν διὰ γλώττης καὶ παρειῶν καὶ στόματος, ὡς διὰ χορδῶν καὶ πλήκτρου, κιθαρῳδίαν; Ἐπεὶ οὖν πᾶν τὸ κατὰ φύσιν φίλον τῇ φύσει, ἀπεδείχθη δὲ κατὰ φύσιν ἡμῖν οὖσα ἡ μουσική, τούτου χάριν ὁ μέγας ∆αβὶδ τῇ περὶ τῶν ἀρετῶν φιλοσοφίᾳ τὴν μελῳδίαν κατέμιξεν, οἷόν τινα μέλιτος ἡδονὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν καταχέας δογμάτων, δι' ἧς ἑαυτὴν ἀναθεωρεῖ τρόπον τινὰ καὶ θεραπεύει ἡ φύσις. θεραπεία γὰρ φύσεώς ἐστιν ἡ τῆς ζωῆς εὐρυθμία, ἥν μοι δοκεῖ συμβουλεύειν δι' αἰνιγμάτων ἡ μελῳδία. τάχα γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν ὑψηλοτέραν τοῦ βίου κατάστασιν παραίνεσις γίνεται τὸ μὴ δεῖν ἄμουσόν τε καὶ ἔκτροπον καὶ παρηχημένον τῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ ζώντων εἶναι τὸ ἦθος, μήτε πέρα τοῦ μέτρου τῆς χορδῆς ὀξυτονούσης· ῥήγνυται γὰρ πάντως ὑπερτεινό μενον τῆς χορδῆς τὸ εὐάρμοστον·