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despise? As was said earlier in the discourse, we know that the first man, not having kept the fast, was established in punishments and utter poverty, and was far from paradise on account of his contempt for it. 2. Let us hear, then, from the beginning the history which the God-seer Moses related to later generations, or rather, which the Master of Moses, as a loving father, revealed to us. But pay attention, I beg you, to what is being said; for I wish to go through this narrative in brief. In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth; and the earth was unseen and unformed, and darkness was over the abyss, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light; and God saw the light, that it was good. Do you see, beloved, how Scripture bestows on us the clearest solution? And God saw that it was good. For before the light came into the world, he knew its substance, that it was good; but stirring up our minds to the power and might of what was being made. For if 56.529 it were not good, he would not have made it, nor separated the darkness from it; if it were not desirable, he would not have called it light, and the darkness night, so that we might walk continually in his light, and occupy ourselves in his pursuits. For God was able with one word and one impulse to bring forth all that he made in the six days as in the twinkling of an eye. But he gave no room to those who came later; I mean the Greeks and the wise, who were made foolish in their wisdom; for they did not keep his law, for which reason their wisdom was also condemned as foolishness. For those who spin fables about creation did not hesitate to say that the things created in six days came into being automatically, both the heaven and the earth, sun and moon and all visible things. If the wisdom of God had made these things in one hour, what pretext for shamelessness would they not have put forward? But he himself, as a provider, hindered their unjust and venomous tongues, which were raised up against the maker, and which served creation rather than the creator. But let us return to the subject at hand, carrying the train of the narrative forward. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light; and God called the light day, and the darkness he called night; and there was evening, and there was morning, one day. And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be dividing between water and water." And God called the firmament heaven. Have you seen a work that amazes the minds of mortals, that without pillars and without levers this creation has stood firm until the end of the age? How wonderful are the works of the Lord, and who is sufficient to trace them out? And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning, a second day. And God said, "Let the water that is under the heaven be gathered into one collection, and let the dry land appear;" and the water that was under the heaven was gathered into their collections, and the dry land appeared; and God called the dry land, earth, and the systems of the waters he called seas. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grassy vegetation, sowing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and fruit-bearing wood yielding fruit." These things came into being completely at the word of the one commanding; there was nothing hindering, nothing obstructing. And there was evening, and there was morning, a third day. Do you see Scripture opening our minds to the most perfect things? Where are those who say, "This fruit is bitter, this herb brings poison, what good does this flesh-eating bird do for us?" Another, crying death

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ἐξουθενεῖ; Καθὼς ἀνωτέρω τοῦ λόγου εἴρηται, τὸν πρῶτον ἄνθρωπον μὴ φυλάξαντα τὴν νηστείαν, ἐν ἐπιτιμίοις καὶ ἐσχάτῃ πτωχείᾳ καθεστῶτα, καὶ πόῤῥω τοῦ παραδείσου γεγονότα διὰ τὴν ταύτης καταφρόνησιν ἔγνωμεν. βʹ. Ἀκούσωμεν οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τῆς ἱστορίας ἣν ὁ θεόπτης Μωϋσῆς ταῖς μετέπειτα γενεαῖς ἐξηγήσατο, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ ∆εσπότης τοῦ Μωϋσέως, ὡς πατὴρ φιλόστοργος, ἡμῖν ἀπεκάλυψεν. Ἀλλὰ προσέχετε, παρακαλῶ, τοῖς λεγομένοις· καὶ γὰρ τὴν διήγησιν ταύτην ἐν ἐπιτόμῳ βούλομαι διεξελθεῖν. Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, καὶ σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς· καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φῶς, ὅτι καλόν. Εἶδες, ἀγαπητὲ, τὴν Γραφὴν, πῶς σαφεστέραν ἡμῖν τὴν λύσιν χαρίζεται; Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι καλόν. Πρὸ γὰρ τοῦ ἐλθεῖν τὸ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἐγίνωσκε τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ ὅτι καλὸν ἦν· ἀλλὰ τὰς ἡμετέρας διανοίας ἐγείρων πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κατασκευαζομένου δύναμιν καὶ δυναστείαν. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ 56.529 ἦν καλὸν, οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸ ἐποίησε, καὶ τὸ σκότος ἀπ' αὐτοῦ διεχώρισεν· εἰ μὴ ποθεινὸν ἦν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ φῶς, καὶ τὸ σκότος νύκτα, ἵνα ἐν τῷ φωτὶ αὐτοῦ πορευώμεθα διαπαντὸς, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτοῦ ἀδολεσχῶμεν. Ἠδύνατο γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἑνὶ λόγῳ καὶ μιᾷ ῥοπῇ πάντα ἃ ἐποίησεν ἐν ταῖς ἓξ ἡμέραις ὡς ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ παραστῆσαι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔδωκε χώραν τοῖς μετέπειτα γινομένοις· Ἕλλησι λέγω καὶ τοῖς σοφοῖς, οἳ ἐμωράνθησαν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτῶν· τὸν γὰρ νόμον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐφύλαξαν, διὸ καὶ ἡ σοφία αὐτῶν εἰς ἀσυνεσίαν κατεγνώσθη. Τὰ γὰρ ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις δημιουργηθέντα οὐκ ὤκνησαν οἱ τὴν κτίσιν μυθολογοῦντες εἰπεῖν αὐτομάτως γενέσθαι, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ πάντα τὰ ὁρώμενα. Εἰ ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ταῦτα ἡ σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐποίησε, τίνα οὐκ ἂν πρόφασιν ἀναισχυντίας προβάλλεσθαι εἶχον; Ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὡς προνοητὴς ἐκώλυσεν αὐτῶν τὰς ἀδίκους γλώσσας καὶ ἰοβόλους, τὰς κατὰ τοῦ ποιητοῦ ἐπαιρομένας, καὶ παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα τῇ κτίσει λατρευσάσας. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν, τὸν εἱρμὸν τῆς διηγήσεως ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω φέροντες. Εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φῶς ἡμέραν, καὶ τὸ σκότος ἐκάλεσε νύκτα· καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα, καὶ ἐγένετο πρωῒ, ἡμέρα μία. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Γενηθήτω στερέωμα ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ ἔστω διαχωρίζον ἀνὰ μέσον ὕδατος, καὶ ὕδατος. Καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ στερέωμα οὐρανόν. Εἶδες ἔργον ἐκπλῆττον διανοίας βροτῶν, ὅτι ἄνευ στύλων καὶ ἄνευ μοχλῶν τὸ δημιούργημα τοῦτο συνέστηκε μέχρι συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος; Ὡς θαυμαστὰ τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου, καὶ τίς ἱκανὸς ἐξιχνιάσαι αὐτά; Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι καλόν. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα, καὶ ἐγένετο πρωῒ, ἡμέρα δευτέρα. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Συναχθήτω τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἰς συναγωγὴν μίαν, καὶ ὀφθήτω ἡ ξηρά· καὶ συνήχθη τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ ὤφθη ἡ ξηρά· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ξηρὰν, γῆν, καὶ τὰ συστήματα τῶν ὑδάτων ἐκάλεσε θαλάσσας. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Βλαστησάτω ἡ γῆ βοτάνην χόρτου, σπεῖρον σπέρμα κατὰ γένος καὶ καθ' ὁμοιότητα, καὶ ξύλον κάρπιμον ποιοῦν καρπόν. Ταῦτα τῷ ῥήματι τοῦ προστάσσοντος ἄρδην παρίσταντο· οὐδὲν ὑπῆρχε τὸ κωλύον, οὐδὲν τὸ παρεμποδίζον. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα, καὶ ἐγένετο πρωῒ, ἡμέρα τρίτη. Ὁρᾷς τὴν Γραφὴν διανοίγουσαν ἡμῶν τὰς διανοίας πρὸς τὰ τελειότατα; Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ λέγοντες, Οὗτος ὁ καρπὸς πικρὸς, αὕτη ἡ βοτάνη δηλητήριον ἐπάγεται, τοῦτο τὸ ὄρνεον σαρκοβόρον τί ἡμῖν καλὸν προξενεῖ; Ἄλλο κράξαν θάνατον