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[n]ot essential but [... ... ... ... ...] wicked [...] are [...] essences and [...] not [...] some [...] For thus would [...] vain [...] of the saving economy [...], but it did not happen in vain; for it was a correction for the [...]. Therefore, by their own impulse, some things are good and others evil among living rational beings. Therefore, the firmament that came to be in the midst of the water is a principle making manifest the difference that would exist according to judgment, which, being placed in the ruling faculty by God, separates the wicked things from the good, so that it may thus choose. But you would not take this separation in a bodily sense, considering how it was said by Abraham to the rich man who asked that Lazarus be sent to him: "A great chasm has been fixed between", indicating that virtue is separated from vice not by place but by a change of difference and by opposition. For since righteousness cannot coexist with unrighteousness, the righteous and the unrighteous cannot be in the same 21 place, and by 'in the same,' I mean not in place but in state and disposition. Therefore, just as there the difference between virtue and vice is called a chasm dividing evil from good, so also now God has made a firmament in the midst of the water, that is, in the ruling faculty, so that a distinction between good and evil might be made. And since by nature the good is borne upward, but evil drags downward the one who willingly uses it—"for the feet of folly bring down those who use it with death into Hades"—, the worse things are below, but those that use virtue happen to be akin to the things above—"for the Lord lifts up the meek"—, the firmament, which is a principle of faith and virtue, usefully separating the worse from the good, so that neither [...] nor [...] ... [...] ... [...] ... [...] but the firmament according to nature [...] is not otherwise a solid body [...] having [...] a state, but also thus [...] surpassing all bodily substance. Therefore God said for a firmament to come to be in the midst of the water; for the water is one, being understood by the law of allegory, the rational substance being one according to its substrate, and the different judgment created the separation. 10, 6. And it was so. For it was necessary for the will of the God of all to come to be, the work being shown more quickly and subsisting at the same time as the word and the will. But His will is the Son, through whom all things were constituted, being the Wisdom of the one who begot Him, saying: "When He prepared the heaven, I was with Him." Therefore, if we hear 'God said' and 'it was so,' understanding the Son as the one who hears and 22 fulfills the will [...] we understand [...] not [...] so that also he might hear [...] do [...] but so that we, having the union of the Father and the Son through these words, might believe the Father and the Son to be the creator of all things, not as though the Father works some things and His Son others; for it was said by the Son Himself: "For whatever He does, these things the Son also does likewise." 10, 7. And God made the firmament, and God separated between the water which was under the firmament and between the water which was above the firmament. [...] of the water, as has been said before, [...] but under the firmament it happened [...] all [...] the following things [...] this work that [...] of the preceding things. 10, 8. And God called the firmament heaven, and God saw that it was good. [...] indeed [...] God saw that it was good, but so much praise must be spoken, that [...] immediately the 'saw' reveals beauty but [...] it has the approval [...] of the [...] and of the analogy he praises, seeing that good [...] virtue is a judgment of [...] by testing the needs and the causes and the [...]. since [...] the ambitious construction [...] for 23 exceedingly weak

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[ο]ὐκ οὐσιώδης αλ·[··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··]·κακαι[··· ··]ται ε[··]· ουσιαι κα···[··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··]· ουκα[··· ··]· τιν[··] Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν πα·[··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··]ματη ···[·] τῆς [σωτ]ηρίου οἰκονομίας σ[··· ··], ἀλλ' οὐ μάτην γέγονε[ν]· διόρθω[σ]ις γὰρ ὑπῆρξεν τοῖς ασ[···] ··· ἰδίᾳ ἄρα ὁρμῇ τὰ μὲν [ἀ]γαθά, τὰ δὲ κακὰ συνζώντω̣[ν λο]γ̣ικῶν ὑπάρχει. Τὸ γεγο[ν]ὸς οὖν στ[ερ]έωμα ἐμμέσῳ τοῦ ὕδα̣τός ἐστιν λόγος διαφορὰν ὑπάρξ[ου]σαν κατὰ γνώμην φανερὰν καθιστῶν, ὅστις ἐγκείμ[ε]νος τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ παρὰ Θεοῦ χωρίζει τὰ φα̣ῦλα τῶν ἀγαθῶν, [ἵ]ν' οὕτω καὶ ἕληται. Τὸν δὲ χωρισμὸν οὕτως ἂν οὐ σωματικῶς ἐκλάβοις, θεωρήσας πῶς εἴρηται ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν πλούσιον αἰτήσαντα ἀποσταλῆναι πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Λάζαρον· "6Χάσμα μεταξὺ μέγα ἐστήρικται"6, δη̣λοῦντος ὅτι ἡ ἀρετὴ τῆς κακίας διέστηκεν οὐ τόπῳ ἀλλὰ διαφορᾶς ἐξαλλαγῇ καὶ ἐναντιότητι. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀσυνύπαρκτός ἐστιν ἡ δικαιοσύνη τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, οὐ δύναται ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ εἶναι 21 ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ὁ ἄδικος, ἐν ταὐτῷ δὲ οὐ τόπῳ λέγω ἀλλ' ἕξει̣ καὶ διαθ̣ε´̣σ̣ει. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκεῖ διαφορὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς κακίας χάσμα εἰ´̣ρη̣ται διαιροῦν τὸ κακὸν ἀπ[ὸ] τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὕτω καὶ νῦν στ̣[ερέ]ωμα̣ π̣εποίηκεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐμμέσῳ τοῦ ὕδατος, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἡγεμο[νι]κῷ, ἵνα τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ διάκρισις γένηται. Καὶ ἐπεὶ τῇ φύσει τὸ ἀ[γα]θὸν ἀνώφορόν ἐστιν, τὸ δὲ κακὸν κάτω ἕλκον τὸν αὐτῷ ἑκου[σί]ω̣ς χρώμενον-"6τῆς γὰρ ἀφροσύνης οἱ πόδες κατάγουσιν τοὺς [χ]ρωμένους αὐτῇ μετὰ θανάτου εἰς τὸν ᾅδην"6-, κάτω μέν ἐσ̣τ̣ι̣ τὰ χείρο̣ν̣α̣ τὰ δὲ τῇ ἀρετῇ χρώμενα οἰκεῖα τοῖς ἄνω τυγχα´̣[νει]-"6ἀναλαμβάνων"6 γὰρ "6πραεῖς ὁ Κύριος"6-, χρησίμως τοῦ στερεώματος, ὅ ἐστι λόγος πίστεως καὶ ἀρετῆς, διείργοντος τὸ χεῖρον τῶν σπουδαίων, ἵνα μήτ̣ε συν[··]·ι·η μητε κατα[··· ··· ··] ···ολο··· ··θηση εξ·[···]ς̣· ε[··· ··] επτειν··ν ·α [··· ··· ··· ··]··· ··· ··· τὸ στερέω[μα] δὲ π[ρὸς τ]ὴν φύσι[ν ··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ·· οὐ]κ ἔστιν ἑτερ[··]·ως [στ]ερεὸν σῶμα ·[··· ··· ··· ··]·ρις̣· δ̣[··] στασις ἔχον ὑπάρχε̣ι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτω λ[··]η̣το[··· ··]ν̣ καὶ πᾶσαν ὑπερβάλ[λ]ων σώματ[ος] οὐσίαν. Εἶπεν ο[ὖν ὁ] Θεὸς [στερέ]ωμα γενέσθαι ἐμμ[έσ]ῳ τοῦ ὕδατος̣· ἓν γάρ ἐστιν τὸ ὕδ[ωρ ἐκλ]ημφθὲν νόμῳ ἀλλη- γορίας, μιᾶς οὔσης τῆς λογικῆς οὐσίας [κα]τὰ τὸ ὑποκείμενον, καὶ ἡ διάφορος γν[ώ]μη τὸν χωρισμὸν ἐνε[ποί]ησεν. ι, 6. Καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως. Ἔδει γὰρ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ γε[ν]έ[σθ]α̣ι, τοῦ ἔργου θᾶττον δειχθέντος καὶ ἅμα τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τῷ θελήματι [ὑ]ποστάντος. Θέλημα δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ Υἱὸς ὑπάρχει, δι' οὗ τὰ ὅλα συνέστη, Σοφία ὢν τοῦ γεννήσαντος λέγουσα· "6Ἡνίκα ἡτοίμαζεν τὸν οὐρανόν, συμπαρήμην αὐτῷ."6 ∆ιόπ[ερ] ἐὰν ἀ[κ]ούωμεν εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τὸ ἐγένετο οὕτως, τὸν Υἱὸν νοο̣ῦντες τὸν ἀκούοντα καὶ 22 πληροῦντα τὸ βούλημα [··· ··· ··· ··· ····]ωπινως διαλαμβάνομεν ου····ν·ε̣ι̣· ··· ··· ··· ···· ˉοˉυˉς ·ινα καὶ ακου ·[··] ποιησ̣ι····ˉαˉ̣ˉ······ ··· ···εν ἀλλ' ἵνα ἡμεῖς Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ ἕνωσιν ἔχον̣τες [διὰ τ]ούτων τῶν λέξεων δημιουργὸν τῶν ὅλων τὸν [Πατέρα] κ̣[αὶ τὸν] Υἱὸν πιστεύωμεν, οὐχ ἕτερα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ ἕτερα [τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐρ]γαζομένου· εἴρηται γὰρ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· "6Ἃ γὰρ [ἂν ἐκεῖνος ποι]ῇ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ."6 ι, 7. [Καὶ] ἐπ[οίησεν ὁ] Θεὸς τὸ στερέωμα καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀνὰ μέσο[ν τοῦ ὕ]δατος ὃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ στερεώ- ματο[ς] καὶ ἀνὰ [μέσον τοῦ] ὕδατος τοῦ ἐπάνω το[ῦ στ]ερεώματος. ∆····[··· ····]τοῦ ὕδατος, ὥ[σπερ πρ]ότερ[ον] ε̣ἴρη- ται, ··· ····[·]·[··· ····] δὲ ὑπὸ τὸ στ[ερέωμ]α ε·[··] ἔτυχε ·····[·]·[·]·[····]·[·]···παντα τ̣·[····]·οπ̣· [···]·ιτὰ ἑξῆς δε··· ··[··· ···]υτο ἔργοντα ὅτι επ̣α- να[·]···εστι το··· ··[····]·ν τῶν φθα̣σά[ν]τω[ν]. ι, 8. Καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς το`̣ σ̣[τερέωμα οὐ]ρανὸν καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι καλόν. ·[···]ησαι̣ μὲν ·α··· ·· [εἶδεν] ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι καλόν, τ̣ο̣σοῦτον δὲ ἔπ̣α̣ι̣νο̣ν ῥητέον ὅτι̣ ο̣····[···]νομενον εὐθὺς̣ τὸ εἶδ[ε]ν ὑποφαίνει κάλλος αλλ··· ···[··]····ενον ἔχει τὴν ἀποδοχὴν ··ερον πα· των··· ···[··]···τιας καὶ τ[ῆς] α᾿̣ν̣αλογίας ἐπ̣αινεῖ ὁρῶν ὅτι καλ··· ··· ···ομεν̣ ··· ···οντι ἡ α᾿̣ρετὴ κρ̣ίσις τῶν ··· ··· ···ε· τῷ δοκιμάζειν τὰς χρείας καὶ τὰς αἰτίας κ̣αὶ τὰς ··α··· ···η̣ν. επει··· ···ο φιλ[ό]τιμος κα̣τασκευ̣·· ασ̣θε̣···· γ̣ὰρ 23 σφόδρα̣