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on the chief point of the divine word, that “And God saw everything that he had made, and 84 behold, it was very good.” But if all things that God made are good, and the abyss and what is around it are not outside of the things that have come to be from God; then these things too are good in their own principle, even if it is an abyss, and even if the light inherent in things does not yet shine around it. Therefore, having heard 'abyss' from Scripture, I say that the multitude of waters is signified. For thus also the Psalter defines it, saying: “The abysses were troubled, the multitude of the sound of waters;” and having heard of the darkness around it, I understood that the illuminating power inherent in the nature of things had not yet appeared. And being taught by Scripture of a separation of waters, made through the firmament, do I not seem to myself to act reasonably, and according to the meaning of the name, in understanding a separation in the water, so as to think and be persuaded that the nature of each is different? the one to be upward-tending and light, and lighter than the lightness of fire; so that, remaining above the hot substance, it is neither displaced by the motion of what lies beneath, nor is it set in an opposing order by the heat, but both remains itself undiminished, and allows no passage through itself for the fire running below. For how could the immaterial become a place for the material? The other water is this, whose nature we know by sight, touch, and taste. For that which is carried downwards, and is seen as transparent, and is known by taste through its inherent quality, the nature of what is known does not compel us to transfer this to some other meaning. But that water so-called, which is neither seen nor flows, nor is contained at all by those things by which a liquid nature is wont to be held, but is outside of place, and unmixed with any quality known by sense, I do not think that anyone of those who examine matters critically, both because it is borne up by the Spirit of God, and because it is believed to be above the heavens, and because it remains outside of all things known through sense, would not understand something other than the common water, being carried by their suppositions toward the intelligible substance. For from our investigations we have supposed this, that everything that moves is enclosed within the intelligible nature, and has its revolution around itself. And the limit for things that move is the end of the dimensional nature, after which the intelligible and non-dimensional nature is found, pure of local and dimensional properties. Therefore, the uttermost limit of the sensible substance, beyond which there is nothing such as is known among phenomena, this we say is signified by the name of the firmament, Scripture confirming our supposition for us, which says: “And God separated between the water that was under the firmament, and the water that was above the firmament”. For it is shown through these things that this water was not even at the beginning mixed with that water, but in the 85 community of names, the nature was unmixed, in saying, not that it came to be under, or was above the firmament; and what was under the firmament, something else was above. But if the one is straightway defined in darkness towards the lower position, but the other is not in darkness—for what is in the Spirit of God is certainly in light, and is separated from darkness—and at the same time was also above the firmament that was shown in between, let the intelligent hearer judge if our account has in any way missed the mark of a fitting supposition in what has been said. Therefore, the things supposed by us concerning the first constitution of beings, and how in the power of the substance the light of beings is not second, even if Scripture says that darkness is recorded before the light, and as many things as we have conjecturally conceived concerning the firmament, and concerning the difference of the waters, whose nature, being divided into the downward-tending and the light, instills in us fitting suppositions concerning each of the things spoken of homonymously, are these and such as these. But since the waters were distinguished from one another, both the seen and the intelligible, and a middle boundary was shown

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ἐπὶ κεφαλαίου τοῦ θείου λόγου, ὅτι «Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν, καὶ 84 ἰδοὺ τὰ πάντα καλὰ λίαν.» Εἰ δὲ πάντα καλὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἡ δὲ ἄβυσσος καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν οὐκ ἔξω τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγονότων ἐστίν· ἄρα καλὰ καὶ ταῦτα τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ, κἂν ἄβυσσος ᾗ, κἂν μήπω περὶ αὐτὴν λάμπῃ τὸ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐγκείμενον φῶς. Οὐκοῦν ἄβυσσον μὲν παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς ἀκού σας, τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὑδάτων σημαίνεσθαι λέγω. Οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ ἡ ψαλμῳδία ὁρίζεται λέγουσα· «Ἐτα ράχθησαν αἱ ἄβυσσοι, πλῆθος ἤχους ὑδάτων·» τὸ δὲ περὶ αὐτὴν σκότος ἀκούσας, τὸ μήπω πεφηνέναι τὴν φωτιστικὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐγκειμένην τῇ φύσει τῶν ὄντων ἐνόησα. Χωρισμὸν δὲ ὑδάτων, διὰ τοῦ στε ρεώματος γεγονότα παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς διδασκόμενος, οὐκ ἔξω μοι δοκῶ τοῦ εἰκότος ποιεῖν, καὶ τῆς κατ' ὄνομα σημασίας, ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος χωρισμὸν ἐννοῶν, ὥστε διάφορον ἑκατέρου τὴν φύσιν οἴεσθαι καὶ πε πεῖσθαι; τὸ μὲν ἀνωφερές τε καὶ κοῦφον εἶναι, καὶ τῆς κουφότητος τοῦ πυρὸς ἐλαφρότερον· ὥστε ὑπερ άνω τῆς θερμῆς οὐσίας μένον, μήτε τῇ κινήσει τοῦ ὑποκειμένου συμμετατίθεσθαι, μήτε τῇ θερμότητι πρὸς ἀντίπαλον τάξιν ἀποκαθίστασθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτό τε μένειν ἀμείωτον, τῷ τε ὑποτρέχοντι πυρὶ μηδεμίαν δι' ἑαυτοῦ πάροδον ἐᾷν. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν τόπος τῷ ὑλικῷ τὸ ἄϋλον γένοιτο; Τὸ δὲ ἕτερον ὕδωρ τοῦτο εἶναι, οὗ τὴν φύσιν καὶ ὀφθαλμῷ καὶ ἁφῇ καὶ γεύσει γνωρί ζομεν. Ὃ γὰρ καὶ κάτω φέρεται, καὶ διειδὲς καθ ορᾶται, καὶ τῇ γεύσει γινώσκεται, διὰ τῆς ἐγκειμένης ποιότητος, τοῦτο πρὸς ἄλλην τινὰ μεταφέρειν ἔννοιαν, ἡ τοῦ γνωριζομένου φύσις οὐκ ἀναγκάζει. Ἐκεῖνο μέν τοι τὸ λεγόμενον ὕδωρ, ὃ μήτε ὁρᾶται μήτε ῥεῖ, μήτε τισὶ περιέχεται ὅλως, οἷς ἡ ὑγρὰ πέφυκε δια κρατεῖσθαι φύσις, ἀλλ' ἔξω μὲν τόπου ἐστὶν, ἀμιγὲς δὲ πάσης τῆς κατ' αἴσθησιν γνωριζομένης ποιότητος, οὐκ ἄν τινα οἶμαι τῶν κρίνειν ἐπεσκεμμένων, διά τε τὸ ὑποφέρεσθαι τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ διὰ τὸ ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν εἶναι πιστεύειν, καὶ διὰ τὸ πάντων τῶν δι' αἰσθήσεως γινωσκομένων μένειν ἐξώτερον, μὴ ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὸ κοινὸν ἐννοεῖν ὕδωρ πρὸς τὴν νοητὴν οὐσίαν ταῖς ὑπονοίαις φερόμενον. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἐξητασμένων ὑπενοήσαμεν, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ κινούμενον ἐντὸς τῆς νοητῆς φύσεως περιείργεται, καὶ περὶ ἑαυτὸ τὴν ἀναστροφὴν ἔχει. Ὅρος δὲ τοῖς κινουμένοις τὸ πέρας τῆς διαστηματικῆς ἐστι φύσεως, μεθ' ὃ καθαρὰ τῶν τοπικῶν τε καὶ διαστηματικῶν ἰδιω μάτων εὑρίσκεται ἡ νοητή τε καὶ ἀδιάστατος φύσις. Τὸ οὖν ἀκρότατον πέρας τῆς αἰσθητῆς οὐσίας, οὗ τὸ ἐπέκεινα οὐδὲν τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, οἷον ἐν τοῖς φαινομέ νοις γινώσκεται, τοῦτό φαμεν τῷ ὀνόματι παραδη λοῦσθαι τοῦ στερεώματος, βεβαιούσης ἡμῖν τῆς Γρα φῆς τὴν ὑπόνοιαν, ἥ φησιν· «Καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ ὕδατος ὃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ στερεώ ματος, καὶ τοῦ ὕδατος ὃ ἦν ἐπάνω τοῦ στερεώματος». ∆είκνυται γὰρ διὰ τούτων, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν κατεκέκρατο τοῦτο πρὸς ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ 85 τῶν ὀνομάτων κοινωνίᾳ, ἄμικτος ἦν ἡ φύσις, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν, οὐχ ὅτι Ἐγένετο ὑποκάτω, ἢ Ἦν ὑπεράνω τοῦ στερεώματος· καὶ ὃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ στερεώμα τος, ἄλλο τι ἐπάνω ἦν. Εἰ δὲ τὸ μὲν εὐθὺς ἐν ζόφῳ πρὸς τὴν κάτω θέσιν ἀπεωρισμένον ἐστί· τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐν ζόφῳ· ἐν φωτὶ γὰρ πάντως ἐστὶ τὸ ἐν πνεύματι Θεοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ζόφου κεχώρισται, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὑπεράνω ἦν τοῦ ἀναδειχθέντος μεταξὺ στερεώματος, κρινάτω ὁ συνετὸς ἀκροατὴς, εἴ τι τῆς πρεπούσης ὑπολήψεως ὁ λόγος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις παρεστοχάσατο. Τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τῆς πρώτης τῶν ὄντων συστάσεως ἡμῖν ὑπονοηθέντα, καὶ πῶς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς οὐ σίας οὐ δευτερεύει τὸ φῶς τῶν ὄντων, κἂν ἡ Γραφὴ πρὸ τοῦ φωτὸς ἱστορεῖσθαι τὸ σκότος λέγει, καὶ ὅσα περὶ τοῦ στερεώματος στοχαστικῶς ἐνενοήσαμεν, καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν ὑδάτων διαφορᾶς, ὧν ἡ φύσις πρὸς τὸ κατωφερές τε καὶ κοῦφον μεμερισμένη, τὰς καταλ λήλους ἡμῖν περὶ ἑκατέρου τῶν ὁμωνύμως λεγομένων ὑπονοίας ἐντίθησι, ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐστίν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ διεκρίθη μὲν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων τὰ ὕδατα, τά τε ὁρώμενα καὶ τὰ νοούμενα, καὶ μέσος ὅρος ἀπεδείχθη