1. “  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life ” after their kind, “  and fowl that may fly above the earth ”  after their kind .  2  Gen. i. 20. After the creation of the luminaries the waters are now filled with living beings and its own adornment is given to this part of the world. Earth had received hers from her own plants, the heavens had received the flowers of the stars, and, like two eyes, the great luminaries beautified them in concert. It still remained for the waters to receive their adornment. The command was given, and immediately the rivers and lakes becoming fruitful brought forth their natural broods; the sea travailed with all kinds of swimming creatures; not even in mud and marshes did the water remain idle; it took its part in creation. Everywhere from its ebullition frogs, gnats and flies came forth. For that which we see to-day is the sign of the past. Thus everywhere the water hastened to obey the Creator’s command. Who could count the species which the great and ineffable power of God caused to be suddenly seen living and moving, when this command had empowered the waters to bring forth life? Let the waters bring forth moving creatures that have life. Then for the first time is made a being with life and feeling. For though plants and trees be said to live, seeing that they share the power of being nourished and growing; nevertheless they are neither living beings, nor have they life.  3  Plants are neither ζῶα nor ἔμψυχα. To create these last God said, “Let the water produce moving creatures.”

Every creature that swims, whether it skims on the surface of the waters, or cleaves the depths, is of the nature of a moving creature,  4  LXX. creeping. since it drags itself on the body of the water. Certain aquatic animals have feet and walk; especially amphibia, such as seals, crabs, crocodiles, river horses  5  Basil uses the classical greek form οἱ ποτάμιοι ἵπποι, as in Herod. and Arist. The dog-Greek hippopotamus, properly a horse-river, is first found in Galen. and frogs; but they are above all gifted with the power of swimming. Thus it is said, Let the waters produce moving creatures. In these few words what species is omitted? Which is not included in the command of the Creator? Do we not see viviparous animals, seals, dolphins, rays and all cartilaginous animals? Do we not see oviparous animals comprising every sort of fish, those which have a skin and those which have scales, those which have fins and those which have not? This command has only required one word, even less than a word, a sign, a motion of the divine will, and it has such a wide sense that it includes all the varieties and all the families of fish. To review them all would be to undertake to count the waves of the ocean or to measure its waters in the hollow of the hand. “Let the waters produce moving creatures.” That is to say, those which people the high seas and those which love the shores; those which inhabit the depths and those which attach themselves to rocks; those which are gregarious and those which live dispersed, the cetaceous, the huge, and the tiny. It is from the same power, the same command, that all, small and great receive their existence. “Let the waters bring forth.” These words show you the natural affinity of animals which swim in the water; thus, fish, when drawn out of the water, quickly die, because they have no respiration such as could attract our air and water is their element, as air is that of terrestrial animals. The reason for it is clear. With us the lung, that porous and spongy portion of the inward parts which receives air by the dilatation of the chest, disperses and cools interior warmth; in fish the motion of the gills, which open and shut by turns to take in and to eject the water, takes the place of respiration.  6  cf. Arist., De Part. Anim. iii. 6. διόπερ τῶν μὲν ἰχθύων οὐδεὶς ἔχει πνεύμονα ἀλλ᾽ ἀντὶ τούτου βράγχια καθάπερ εἴρηται ἐν τοῖς περὶ ἀναπνοῆς· ὕδατι γᾶρ ποιεῖται τὴν κατάψυξιν, τὰ δ᾽ ἀναπνέοντα ἔχει πνεύμονα ἀναπνεῖ δὲ τὰ πεζὰ πάντα. Fish have a peculiar lot, a special nature, a nourishment of their own, a life apart. Thus they cannot be tamed and cannot bear the touch of a man’s hand.  7  Here Basil is curiously in contradiction to ancient as well as modern experience. Martial’s epigram on Domitian’s tame fish, “qui norunt dominum, manumque lambunt illam qua nihil est in orbe majus” (iv. 30) is illustrated by the same author’s “natat ad magistrum delicata muræna” (x. 30), as well as by Ælian (De animal. viii. 4). “Apud Baulos in parte Baiana piscinam habuit Hortensius orator, in qua murænam adeo dilexit ut exanimatam flesse credatur: in eadem villa Antonia Drusi murænæ quam diligebat inaures addidit.” Plin. ix. 71. So Lucian οὗτοι δε (ίχθύες) καὶ ὀνόματα ἔχουσι καὶ ἔρχονται καλούμενοι. (De Syr. Dea. 45.) John Evelyn (Dairy 1644) writes of Fontainebleau: “The carps come familiarly to hand.” There was recently a tame carp at Azay le Rideau.

Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατὰ γένος. Μετὰ τὴν τῶν φωστήρων δημιουργίαν, καὶ τὰ ὕδατα λοιπὸν πληροῦται ζῴων, ὥστε καὶ ταύτην διακοσμηθῆναι τὴν λῆξιν. Ἀπέλαβε μὲν γὰρ ἡ γῆ τὸν ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων βλαστημάτων κόσμον: ἀπέλαβε δὲ ὁ οὐρανὸς τῶν ἄστρων τὰ ἄνθη, καὶ οἱονεὶ διδύμων ὀφθαλμῶν βολαῖς τῇ συζυγίᾳ τῶν μεγάλων φωστήρων κατεκοσμήθη. Λειπόμενον ἦν καὶ τοῖς ὕδασι τὸν οἰκεῖον κόσμον ἀποδοθῆναι. Ἦλθε πρόσταγμα, καὶ εὐθὺς καὶ ποταμοὶ ἐνεργοὶ, καὶ λίμναι γόνιμοι τῶν οἰκείων ἕκαστον αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ φύσιν γενῶν. Καὶ ἡ θάλασσα τὰ παντοδαπὰ γένη τῶν πλωτῶν ὤδινε, καὶ οὐδὲ ὅσον ἐν ἰλύσι καὶ τέλμασι τοῦ ὕδατος ἦν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀργὸν, οὐδὲ ἄμοιρον τῆς κατὰ τὴν κτίσιν συντελείας ἀπέμεινε. Βάτραχοι γὰρ καὶ ἐμπίδες καὶ κώνωπες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπεζέννυντο δηλονότι. Τὰ γὰρ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ὁρώμενα ἀπόδειξίς ἐστι τῶν παρελθόντων. Οὕτω πᾶν ὕδωρ ἠπείγετο τῷ δημιουργικῷ προστάγματι ὑπουργεῖν: καὶ ὧν οὐδ' ἂν τὰ γένη τις ἐξαριθμήσασθαι δυνηθείη, τούτων τὴν ζωὴν εὐθὺς ἐνεργὸν καὶ κινουμένην ἀπέδειξεν ἡ μεγάλη καὶ ἄφατος τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις, ὁμοῦ τῷ προστάγματι τῆς πρὸς τὸ ζῳογονεῖν ἐπιτηδειότητος ἐγγενομένης τοῖς ὕδασιν. Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν. Νῦν πρῶτον ἔμψυχον καὶ αἰσθήσεως μετέχον ζῷον δημιουργεῖται. Φυτὰ γὰρ καὶ δένδρα κἂν ζῆν λέγηται διὰ τὸ μετέχειν τῆς θρεπτικῆς καὶ αὐξητικῆς δυνάμεως, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ καὶ ζῷα, οὐδὲ ἔμψυχα. Τούτου γε ἕνεκα, Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετά. Πᾶν τὸ νηκτικὸν κἂν τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐπινήχηται, κἂν διὰ βάθους τέμνῃ τὸ ὕδωρ, τῆς τῶν ἑρπηστικῶν ἐστι φύσεως, ἐπισυρόμενον τῷ τοῦ ὕδατος σώματι. Κἂν ὑπόποδα δὲ καὶ πορευτικὰ ὑπάρχῃ τινὰ τῶν ἐνύδρων (μάλιστα μὲν ἀμφίβια τὰ πολλὰ τούτων ἐστίν: οἷον φῶκαι, καὶ κροκόδειλοι, καὶ οἱ ποτάμιοι ἵπποι, καὶ βάτραχοι, καὶ καρκῖνοι), ἀλλ' οὖν προηγούμενον ἔχει τὸ νηκτικόν. Διὰ τοῦτο, Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετά. Ἐν τούτοις τοῖς μικροῖς ῥήμασι τί παρεῖται γένος; τί οὐκ ἐμπεριείληπται τῷ προστάγματι τῆς δημιουργίας; Οὐ τὰ ζωοτοκοῦντα, οἷον φῶκαι καὶ δελφῖνες καὶ νάρκαι, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις τὰ σελάχη λεγόμενα; οὐ τὰ ὠοτόκα, ἅπερ ἐστὶ πάντα σχεδὸν τῶν ἰχθύων τὰ γένη; οὐχ ὅσα λεπιδωτὰ, οὐχ ὅσα φολιδωτὰ, οὐχ οἷς ἐστι πτερύγια καὶ οἷς μή ἐστιν; Ἡ μὲν φωνὴ τοῦ προστάγματος μικρὰ, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ φωνὴ, ἀλλὰ ῥοπὴ μόνον καὶ ὁρμὴ τοῦ θελήματος: τὸ δὲ τῆς ἐν τῷ προστάγματι διανοίας πολύχουν τοσοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅσαι καὶ αἱ τῶν ἰχθύων διαφοραὶ καὶ κοινότητες, οἷς πᾶσι δι' ἀκριβείας ἐπεξελθεῖν, ἴσον ἐστὶ καὶ κύματα πελάγους ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι, ἢ ταῖς κοτύλαις πειρᾶσθαι τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς θαλάσσης ἀπομετρεῖν. Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετά. Ἐν τούτοις ἔνι τὰ πελάγια, τὰ αἰγιαλώδη, τὰ βύθια, τὰ πετρώδη, τὰ ἀγελαῖα, τὰ σποραδικὰ, τὰ κήτη, τὰ ὑπέρογκα, τὰ λεπτότατα τῶν ἰχθύων. Τῇ γὰρ αὐτῇ δυνάμει, καὶ τῷ ἴσῳ προστάγματι, τό τε μέγα καὶ τὸ μικρὸν μεταλαγχάνει τοῦ εἶναι. Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα. Ἔδειξέ σοι τὴν φυσικὴν τῶν νηκτῶν πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ συγγένειαν, διὸ μικρὸν οἱ ἰχθύες χωρισθέντες τοῦ ὕδατος διαφθείρονται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔχουσιν ἀναπνοὴν ὥστε ἕλκειν τὸν ἀέρα τοῦτον: ἀλλ' ὅπερ τοῖς χερσαίοις ἐστὶν ἀὴρ, τοῦτο τῷ πλωτῷ γένει τὸ ὕδωρ. Καὶ ἡ αἰτία δήλη. Ὅτι ἡμῖν μὲν ὁ πνεύμων ἔγκειται, ἀραιὸν καὶ πολύπορον σπλάγχνον, ὃ διὰ τῆς τοῦ θώρακος διαστολῆς τὸν ἀέρα δεχόμενον, τὸ ἔνδον ἡμῶν θερμὸν διαρριπίζει καὶ ἀναψύχει: ἐκείνοις δὲ ἡ τῶν βραγχίων διαστολὴ καὶ ἐπίπτυξις, δεχομένων τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ διιέντων, τὸν τῆς ἀναπνοῆς λόγον ἀποπληροῖ. Ἴδιος κλῆρος τῶν ἰχθύων, ἰδία φύσις, δίαιτα κεχωρισμένη, ἰδιότροπος ἡ ζωή. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ τιθασσεύεσθαί τι τῶν νηκτῶν καταδέχεται, οὐδὲ ὅλως ὑπομένει χειρὸς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπιβολήν.