7

acknowledging servitude, and to Noah again entering the ark, like sheep both a lion followed and a leopard and the most bitter of the reptiles; and to Daniel the lions stood by, desiring food, but not daring to approach. For they saw in him the godlike characters of the divine image, thus a viper having fastened its teeth on the apostle's hand, and not finding the flabby and loose quality of sin, immediately leaped off and sprang into the fire, as if exacting punishment from itself, because it had attacked a body to which it was in no way suited. But we fear the wild beasts, because we do not have a life of virtue; and so God, caring for the negligent, allotted to them the more desolate places, and assigned to them the time of night for sustenance; "For in it," he says, "all the beasts of the forest will roam." To the 20 reptiles, he has given the holes in the earth, so that hiding in them they might not harm the race of men; but lest, remaining entirely unharmed, we might despise them as being least able to harm; there are times when he who wisely governs our affairs allows some two or three out of many myriads to be stung by scorpions or bitten by snakes; so that we, fearing lest we suffer something similar, may call upon God the creator for aid, and may entreat to be guarded by that all-powerful providence. Besides, wild beasts are not useless to us in other ways either; for the disciples of physicians prepare many antidotes from them as well; therefore let no one, examining the wild beast by itself, find fault with the creator, but let him seek out its use. Since also the human body has much beauty and harmony and use of its parts; but it also has mucus and spittle and foul-smelling dung being secreted; but no one in his right mind slanders the living creature because of these things; for without these it is impossible to live, for being watered by these it flourishes. For it needs both phlegm and blood and both kinds of bile; but just as it is constituted by these, so also by these it is destroyed; for an excess or deficiency of one of the aforesaid things dissolves the living creature. So again if someone cuts off one of the finger joints, he will see it is completely useless, but when attached it provides the greatest use to the body. Thus, then, it is fitting for us to do, not to examine each part of creation by itself, but to seek if it is useful to the whole. Since fire too is caustic; and not only does it destroy bodies, but it also burns down houses and ships and crops; but nevertheless it is one of the four elements by which all things are composed and without it, it is impossible for mortal nature to live. And water likewise floods the earth, destroys houses, and kills very many sailors; 21 and it also harms those who endure drinking unseasonably and immoderately, but no one who is not completely mad has called water destructive. For this both waters the earth and nourishes the plants and the irrational animals and the nature of men; so then let us examine each of the other things, not testing it by itself, whether it is harmful or beneficial; but whether it contributes some use to the common good; for wild beasts indeed respect man because of the authority over them given to him from the beginning, but since he has transgressed the divine law, there are times when they despise him; for wicked slaves are accustomed to spurn those commanded by their masters to direct them, whenever they see them deprived of authority because of transgressions. XIX To whom did God say, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness"? Some of the ill-named heretics said that he spoke to the angels, and the evil demons, those thunderstruck ones not understanding the "in our image." For of God and of angels and of demons neither the substance nor the image is the same; for the one has an eternal nature, but the others have him as their maker and creator, having received their being from him, and the demons willingly turned to wickedness. Therefore it is of the utmost folly, to suppose one image of those

7

δουλείαν ὁμολογοῦντα, καὶ τῷ Νῶε πάλιν εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν εἰσιόντι, δίκην προβάτων καὶ λέων ἠκο λούθει καὶ πάρδαλις καὶ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τὰ πικρότατα· καὶ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ πα ρεστήκεισαν οἱ λέοντες, ὀρεγόμενοι μὲν τροφῆς, πελάσαι δὲ μὴ τολμῶντες. τοὺς γὰρ θεοειδεῖς τῆς θείας εἰκόνος ἑώρων ἐν αὐτῷ χαρακτῆρας, οὕτως ἔχις τῇ τοῦ ἀποστόλου χειρὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας ἐμβαλοῦσα, καὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὸ χαῦνον καὶ χαλαρὸν οὐχ εὑροῦσα, ἀπεπήδησε παραυτίκα καὶ κατὰ τῆς πυρᾶς ἥλατο, ὥσπερ δίκας ἑαυτὴν εἰσπραττομένη, ὅτι τῷ μηδα μόθεν προσήκοντι προσέβαλε σώματι. ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ θηρία δεδοίκαμεν, ἐπει δὴ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν πολιτείαν οὐκ ἔχομεν· καὶ οὕτω δὲ ῥαθυμούντων κηδό μενος ὁ Θεός, τοὺς ἐρημοτέρους ἐκείνοις ἀπεκλήρωσε τόπους, καὶ τὸν τῆς νυκτὸς αὐτοῖς καιρὸν ἀπένειμεν εἰς διατροφήν· " ἐν αὐτῇ , γάρ φησι, διελεύσεται πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ δρυμοῦ ". τοῖς 20 ἑρπετοῖς δέ, τοὺς ἐν τῇ γῇ δέδωκε χηραμούς, ὅπως ἐν ἐκείνοις κρυπτόμενα μὴ λυμαίνωσι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος· ἵνα δὲ μὴ παντάπασιν ἀλώβητοι διαμένοντες καταφρονῶμεν αὐτῶν, ὡς βλάπτειν ἥκιστα δυναμένων· ἔστιν ὅτε συγχωρεῖ δύο τινὰς ἢ τρεῖς ἐκ πολλῶν μυριάδων ὁ σοφῶς τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς πρυτανεύων, ἢ ὑπὸ σκορπίων κεντεῖσθαι ἢ ὑπὸ ὄφεων δάκνεσθαι· ἵν' ἡμεῖς ὡς δεδιότες μή τι παραπλήσιον πάθοιμεν, εἰς ἐπικουρίαν καλῶμεν τὸν πεποιηκότα Θεόν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς παναλκοῦς ἐκείνης προμηθείας φρου ρεῖσθαι παρακαλῶμεν. ἄλλως τε οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἡμῖν ἄχρηστα τὰ θηρία· πολλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἀλεξίκακα ἰατρῶν παῖδες κατασκευάζουσι φάρμακα· μηδεὶς τοίνυν αὐτὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸ τὸ θηρίον ἐξετάζων ἐπιμεμφέσθω τῷ ποιητῇ, ἀλλὰ τὴν χρείαν ἐπιζητείτω. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἀνθρώπινον πολλὴν ἔχει καὶ ὥραν καὶ ἁρμονίαν καὶ τῶν μωρίων τὴν χρείαν· ἀλλ' ἔχει καὶ κόρυζαν καὶ πτύελον καὶ δυσώδη κόπρον ἐκκρινομένην· ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς εὖ φρονῶν, ἀπὸ τούτων διαβάλλει τὸ ζῷον· δίχα γὰρ τούτων βιῶναι τῶν ἀδυνάτων, διὰ γὰρ τούτων ἀρδευόμενον τέθηλεν. χρῄζει γὰρ καὶ φλέγματος καὶ αἵματος καὶ χολῆς ἑκατέρας· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ διὰ τούτων συνέ στηκεν, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τούτων διόλλυται· ἑνὸς γὰρ τῶν εἰρημένων ἢ πλεο νασμὸς ἢ ἔνδεια διαλύει τὸ ζῷον. οὕτω πάλιν εἴ τις μίαν τῶν δακτύλων ἐκτέμῃ σκυταλίδα, ὄψεται παντελῶς αὐτὴν ἄχρηστον, ἀλλὰ συνημμένη πλείστην παρέχει τῷ σώματι χρείαν. οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ ἡμᾶς προσήκει ποιεῖν, μὴ αὐτὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸ ἕκαστον μέρος ἐξετάζει τῆς κτίσεως, ἀλλὰ ζητεῖν εἰ τῷ παντὶ χρήσιμον. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ πῦρ καυστικόν ἐστι· καὶ οὐ μόνον σώματα διαφθείρει, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἴκους ἐμπίπρησι καὶ πλοῖα καὶ λήϊα· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἕν ἐστι τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων δι' ὧν τὰ πάντα συνήρμοσται καὶ δίχα τούτου τὴν θνητὴν φύσιν διαβιῶναι τῶν ἀδυνάτων. καὶ ὕδωρ ὡσαύτως ἐπικλύζει τὴν γῆν, οἰκίας καταλύει, παμπόλλους τῶν ναυτιλ λομένων διόλλυσι· λυμαίνεται δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀκαίρως καὶ ἀμέτρως πίνειν 21 ἀνεχομένους, ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς μὴ κομιδῇ παραπαίων ὀλέθριον τὸ ὕδωρ ὠνό μασε. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τὴν γῆν ἄρδει καὶ τὰ φυτὰ τρέφει καὶ τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν· οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ἐξε τάζομεν, μὴ αὐτὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸ βασανίζοντες, εἴ τε λυμαντικόν ἐστιν εἴ τε ὠφέλιμον· ἀλλ' εἰ τῷ κοινῷ συντελεῖ τινα χρείαν· καὶ θηρία γὰρ αἰδεῖται μὲν τὸν ἄνθρωπον διὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ κατ' αὐτῶν ἐξουσίαν, ὡς παραβεβηκότος δὲ τὸν θεῖον νόμον, ἔστιν ὅτε καταφρονεῖ· καὶ γὰρ οἱ πονηροὶ δοῦλοι διαπτύειν εἰώθασι τοὺς ἰθύνειν αὐτοὺς παρὰ τῶν δεσ ποτῶν κεκελευσμένους, ὅταν ἴδωσι διὰ πλημμελήματα παρρησίας ἐστερη μένους. XIX Τίνι ὁ Θεὸς εἴρηκε " ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν "; Τινὲς μὲν τῶν δυσωνύμων αἱρετικῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι, καὶ τοὺς πονηροὺς δαίμονας ἔφασαν, οὐ συνιέντες οἱ ἐμβρόντητοι τὸ " κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν " Θεοῦ δὲ καὶ ἀγγέλων καὶ δαιμόνων οὔτε ἡ οὐσία οὔτε εἰκὼν ἡ αὐτή· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀΐδιον ἔχει τὴν φύσιν, οἱ δὲ αὐτὸν ἔχουσι ποιητὴν καὶ δημιουργὸν παρ' αὐτοῦ δεδεγμένοι τὸ εἶναι, οἱ δὲ δαίμονες καὶ εἰς πονηρίαν ἑκόντες ἐτράπησαν. ἀνοίας τοίνυν ἐσχάτης, τὸ μίαν ὑπολαβεῖν εἰκόνα τῶν