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teaching us the high doctrines, we have examined in the preceding discourses, in which we understood this, that the divine voice is not a command given through words, but the skillful and wise power of each of the things that come into being, by which the wonders in existing things are effected, that this both is and is called the Word of God, and that since the whole fullness of creation was constituted all at once in the first will of God, the order which necessarily follows according to the wisdom inherent in existing things, for the manifestation of each of the elements, has the sequence of the divine commands. For, summarizing in the first subsistence of the perceptible creation, with a comprehensive voice, Moses indicated the whole, saying: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” Having said, therefore, that He made the fullness of beings, he marks out in succession in the account, in a certain natural order, the manifestation of each of the beings as it comes into being. Therefore, the light came into being with all things, but did not immediately appear before all things, as long as the lightless parts of creation remained, obstructing the illuminating power; but as soon as the impulse for its ordering was given to creation by God, the fiery and illuminating power of creation appeared in the light and mobile part of nature, leaping forth before the others. And for a time it was all gathered about itself and revolved around the whole; but after this it is again separated into its own parts towards those that are akin and suitable. For it is clear from the things that are seen that the power of the illuminating nature is not one; but one would not err in calling the light gathered from all things one in a general sense, since the divine word also at the beginning signifies the whole with a single voice, having commanded light, not lights, to come into being. But if one looks at the phenomena, one will perceive in existing things a great difference in illuminating power. Whence also the Psalmist says: “To him who alone made great lights.” And, “There is one glory of the sun,” 116 says the Apostle, “and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory,” as there is certainly much difference with respect to light. For although all the things that Paul enumerated are by nature illuminating, yet each is apprehended in some particular power and glory; it would be well for all things to be called one light in a general sense, but to perceive the difference among them as unconfused and divided. If these things are so, I do not think our supposition would miss the sequence, if we were to suppose that Moses understood this: that at first all the illuminating power, being gathered to itself, became one light; but since there was a great difference, of more and less, observed in the nature of the whole in what is fine and mobile, the space of three days' time sufficed to make the separation of each of these from one another clearly and without confusion, so that the extremely fine and light part of the fiery substance, and purely immaterial, came to be in the highest part of the perceptible creation (which the intelligible and bodiless nature succeeds); and all the slower and more sluggish part was constituted about itself within the circumference of the fine and light part; and this again was divided sevenfold according to the difference of the property inherent in it; all the suitable and connatural parts of the light having grown together with one another according to their kinship, and having been separated from those of a different kind. Thus, therefore, all these parts sown in the illuminating substance of the solar nature, running together towards one another, became one great thing; likewise also in the case of the moon and of each of the other wandering and fixed stars, the coming together of the parts of each towards what is homogeneous made one of the phenomena; and thus all things came to be. But the great Moses was content to name in these only the more familiar, the great luminary and the lesser, calling all the others generally by the name of stars. But if the dullness of our mind grows weary, let it not

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ἡμᾶς τὰ ὑψηλὰ τῶν δογμάτων διδάσκοντος, ἐν τοῖς φθά σασιν ἐξητάσαμεν λόγοις, ἐν οἷς τοῦτο κατενοήσα μεν, τὸ μὴ πρόσταγμα εἶναι διὰ ῥημάτων γινόμενον τὴν θείαν φωνὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τεχνικήν τε καὶ σοφὴν δύναμιν ἑκάστου τῶν γινομένων, καθ' ἣν ἐνεργεῖται τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι θαύματα, τοῦτο λόγον Θεοῦ καὶ εἶναι καὶ λέγεσθαι, καὶ ὅτι παντὸς ἀθρόως τοῦ κατὰ τὴν κτίσιν πληρώματος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ θελή ματι συστάντος, ἡ ἀναγκαίως κατὰ τὴν ἐγκειμένην τοῖς οὖσι σοφίαν ἑπομένη τάξις, πρὸς τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν στοιχείων ἀνάδειξιν, τῶν θείων προσταγμάτων τὴν ἀκολουθίαν ἔχει. Συνελὼν γὰρ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς αἰσθητικῆς κτίσεως ὑποστάσει, περιληπτικῇ φωνῇ, τὸ πᾶν ὁ Μωσῆς ἐνεδείξατο εἰπών· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.» Τὸ οὖν πλήρωμα τῶν ὄντων εἰπὼν ὅτι ἐποίησεν, καθεξῆς ἐν τάξει τινὶ φυσικῇ τὴν γινομένην ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων ἀνάδειξιν ἐπισημειοῦται τῷ λόγῳ. Γέγονε τοίνυν μετὰ πάντων τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' οὐκ εὐθὺς προεφάνη τῶν πάντων, ἕως τὰ ἀφεγγῆ τῆς κτίσεως μέρη τῆς φω τιστικῆς ἐπιπροσθοῦντα δυνάμεως ἔμενεν· ὁμοῦ δὲ τῷ δοθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῇ κτίσει πρὸς τὴν δια κόσμησιν αὐτῆς τὸ ἐνδόσιμον, ἡ πυρώδης τε καὶ φωτιστικὴ δύναμις τῆς κτίσεως προεφάνη ἐν τῷ κούφῳ καὶ εὐκινήτῳ τῆς φύσεως, προεξαλλομένη τῶν ἄλλων. Καὶ τέως μὲν ἦν πᾶσα περὶ ἑαυτὴν ἠθροισμένη καὶ περιπολοῦσα τὸ πᾶν· μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ πάλιν τοῖς ἰδίοις μορίοις πρὸς τὰ συγγενῆ τε καὶ κατάλληλα διακρίνεται. ∆ῆλον γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμέ νων, ὅτι οὐ μία τῆς φωτιστικῆς φύσεώς ἐστιν ἡ δύ ναμις· ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν γενικῷ λόγῳ ἕν τις ὀνομάζων φῶς τὸ ἐκ πάντων ἀθροιζόμενον, οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ θεῖος λόγος τῇ ἑνικῇ φωνῇ καταρχὰς τὸ πᾶν διασημαίνει, φῶς, οὐχὶ φῶτα γενηθῆναι προστάξας, Εἰ δὲ πρὸς τὰ φαινόμενα βλέποι τις, πολλὴν τὴν τῆς φωτιστικῆς δυνάμεως διαφορὰν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι κατόψεται. Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Ψαλμῳδός φησιν· «Τῷ ποιήσαντι φῶτα μεγάλα μόνῳ.» Καὶ, «Ἄλλη δόξα ἡλίου,» 116 φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων· ἀστὴρ γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ,» ὡς πολλῆς πάντως τῆς κατὰ τὸ φῶς οὔσης διαφορᾶς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πάντα φωτίζειν πέφυκεν ὅσα ὁ Παῦλος ἀπηριθμήσατο, καὶ ἕκαστον ἐν ἰδιαζούσῃ τινὶ δυνάμει καὶ δόξῃ καταλαμβάνεται· καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι, ἒν φῶς τὰ πάντα κατὰ τὸν γενικὸν ὀνομάζεσθαι λό γον, ἀσύγχυτον δὲ καὶ διῃρημένην τὴν ἐν τούτοις δια φορὰν θεωρεῖν. Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, οὐκ ἂν οἶμαι διαμαρτεῖν τῆς ἀκολουθίας τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑπόληψιν, εἰ τοῦτο ὑπολάβοιμεν νενοηκέναι τὸν Μωσέα· ὅτι καταρχὰς μὲν πᾶσα ἡ φωτιστικὴ δύναμις πρὸς ἑαυ τὴν ἀθροισθεῖσα ἒν ἐγένετο φῶς· ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλή τις ἦν ἐν τῷ λεπτῷ τε καὶ εὐκινήτῳ παρὰ τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον ἡ διαφορὰ ἐν τῇ τῶν ὅλων φύσει θεωρουμένη, ἤρκεσε τὸ τριήμερον χρόνου διάστημα, τὴν ἑκάστου τούτων διάκρισιν τρανῶς τε καὶ ἀσυγχύτως ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ποιήσασθαι, ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἄκρως λεπτόν τε καὶ κοῦ φον τῆς πυρώδους οὐσίας, καὶ καθαρῶς ἄϋλον, ἐν τῷ ἀκροτάτῳ γενέσθαι τῆς αἰσθητῆς κτίσεως (ὅπερ ἡ νοητή τε καὶ ἀσώματος διαδέχεται φύσις)· τὸ δὲ ἀργότερόν τε καὶ ναρκωδέστερον ἅπαν, ἐντὸς τῆς περιοχῆς τοῦ λεπτοῦ τε καὶ κούφου περὶ ἑαυτοῦ συστῆναι· τοῦτο δὲ πάλιν κατὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τῆς ἐγκειμένης αὐτῷ ἰδιότητος ἑπταχῆ μερισθῆναι· πάν των τῶν καταλλήλων τε καὶ ὁμοφύλων τοῦ φωτὸς μορίων ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τὸ συγγενὲς συμφυέντων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἑτερογενῶς ἐχόντων διακριθέντων. Οὕτως οὖν ὅσον ἐν τῇ φωτιστικῇ οὐσίᾳ τῆς ἡλιακῆς φύσεως ἐνεσπαρμένων πάντων τῶν μορίων τούτων πρὸς ἄλ ληλα συνδραμόντων, ἒν μέγα ἐγένετο· ὡσαύτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς σελήνης καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστου τῶν ἄλλων τῶν πε πλανημένων καὶ τῶν κατεστηριγμένων ἀστέρων, ἡ πρὸς τὰ ὁμογενῆ τῶν ἑκάστου μορίων συνδρομὴ, ἔν τι τῶν φαινομένων ἐποίησεν· καὶ οὕτω τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο. Ἠρκέσθη δὲ ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς τὰ γνωριμώτερα μόνον ἐν τούτοις κατονομάσας, τὸν μέγαν φωστῆρα καὶ τὸν ἐλάσσω, τὰ ἄλλα πάντα γενικῶς προσειπεῖν τῷ τῶν ἀστέρων ὀνόματι. Εἰ δὲ κάμνῃ ἡμῶν ἡ τοῦ νοῦ παχύ της, μὴ