2. “  Let the earth bring forth a living soul .” Why did the earth produce a living soul? so that you may make a difference between the soul of cattle and that of man. You will soon learn how the human soul was formed; hear now about the soul of creatures devoid of reason. Since, according to Scripture, “the life of every creature is in the blood,”  7  cf. Lev. xvii. 11. as the blood when thickened changes into flesh, and flesh when corrupted decomposes into earth, so the soul of beasts is naturally an earthy substance. “Let the earth bring forth a living soul.” See the affinity of the soul with blood, of blood with flesh, of flesh with earth; and remounting in an inverse sense from the earth to the flesh, from the flesh to the blood, from the blood to the soul, you will find that the soul of beasts is earth. Do not suppose that it is older than the essence  8  ὑπόστασις. of their body, nor that it survives the dissolution of the flesh;  9  It may be supposed “that the souls of brutes, being but so many eradiations or effuxes from that source of life above, are, as soon as ever those organized bodies of theirs, by reason of their indisposition, become uncapable of being further acted upon by them, then to be resumed again and retracted back to their original head and fountain. Since it cannot be doubted but what creates anything out of nothing, or sends it forth from itself, by free and voluntary emanation, may be able either to retract the same back again to its original source, or else to annihilate it at pleasure. And I find that there have not wanted some among the Gentile philosophers themselves who have entertained this opinion, whereof Porphyry is one, λύεται ἑκάστη δύναμις ἀλογος εἰς τὴν ὅλην ζωὴν τοῦ πάντος.” Cudworth, i. 35. avoid the nonsense of those arrogant philosophers who do not blush to liken their soul to that of a dog; who say that they have been formerly themselves women, shrubs, fish.  10  Empedocles is named as author of the lines: ἤδη γὰρ ποτ᾽ ἐγὼ γενόμην κούρητε κόρος τε, Θάμνος τ᾽ οἰωνός τε καὶ εἰν ἁλὶ ἔλλοπος ἰχθύς cf. Diog. Laert. viii. 78, and Plutarch, D Solert. An. ii. 964. Whether the “faba Pythagoræ cognata” of Hor., Sat. ii. 6, 63, implies the transmigration of the soul into it is doubtful. cf. Juv., Sat. xv. 153. Anaximander thought that human beings were originally generated from fish. Plut., Symp. viii. 8. Have they ever been fish? I do not know; but I do not fear to affirm that in their writings they show less sense than fish. “Let the earth bring forth the living creature.” Perhaps many of you ask why there is such a long silence in the middle of the rapid rush of my discourse. The more studious among my auditors will not be ignorant of the reason why words fail me. What! Have I not seen them look at each other, and make signs to make me look at them, and to remind me of what I have passed over? I have forgotten a part of the creation, and that one of the most considerable, and my discourse was almost finished without touching upon it. “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament, of heaven.”  11  Gen. i. 20. I spoke of fish as long as eventide allowed: to-day we have passed to the examination of terrestrial animals; between the two, birds have escaped us. We are forgetful like travellers who unmindful of some important object, are obliged, although they be far on their road, to retrace their steps, punished for their negligence by the weariness of the journey. So we have to turn back. That which we have omitted is not to be despised. It is the third part of the animal creation, if indeed there are three kinds of animals, land, winged and water.

“  Let the waters ” it is said “  bring forth abundantly moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven .” Why do the waters give birth also to birds? Because there is, so to say, a family link between the creatures that fly and those that swim. In the same way that fish cut the waters, using their fins to carry them forward and their tails to direct their movements round and round and straightforward, so we see birds float in the air by the help of their wings. Both endowed with the property of swimming, their common derivation from the waters has made them of one family.  12  Fialon quotes Bossuet, 1st Elev. 5th week: “Qui a donné aux oiseaux et aux poissons ces rames naturelles, qui leur font fendre les eaux et les airs? Ce qui peut être a donné lieu à leur Créateur de les produire ensemble, comme animaux d’un dessin à peu près semblable: le vol des oiseaux semblant, etre une espèce de faculté de nager dans une liqueur plus subtile, comme la faculté de nager dans les poissons est une espèce de vol dans une liqueur plus épaisse.” The theory of evolutionists is, as is well known, that birds developed out of reptiles and reptiles from fish. Vide E. Haeckel’s monophyletic pedigree in his History of Creation. At the same time no bird is without feet, because finding all its food upon the earth it cannot do without their service. Rapacious birds have pointed claws to enable them to close on their prey; to the rest has been given the indispensable ministry of feet to seek their food and to provide for the other needs of life. There are a few who walk badly, whose feet are neither suitable for walking nor for preying. Among this number are swallows, incapable of walking and seeking their prey, and the birds called swifts  13  δρεπανίς, i.e. sickle-bird. who live on little insects carried about by the air. As to the swallow, its flight, which grazes the earth, fulfils the function of feet.

Ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Διὰ τί ἡ γῆ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν ἐξάγει; Ἵνα μάθῃς διαφορὰν ψυχῆς κτήνους καὶ ψυχῆς ἀνθρώπου. Μικρὸν ὕστερον γνώσῃ, πῶς ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου συνέστη: νῦν δὲ ἄκουε περὶ τῆς τῶν ἀλόγων ψυχῆς. Ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, παντὸς ζῴου ἡ ψυχὴ τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐστιν: αἷμα δὲ παγὲν εἰς σάρκα πέφυκε μεταβάλλειν: ἡ δὲ σὰρξ φθαρεῖσα εἰς γῆν ἀναλύεται: γεηρά τίς ἐστιν εἰκότως ἡ ψυχὴ τῶν κτηνῶν. Ἐξαγαγέτω οὖν ἡ γῆ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Ὅρα τὴν ἀκολουθίαν ψυχῆς πρὸς αἷμα, αἵματος πρὸς σάρκα, σαρκὸς πρὸς τὴν γῆν: καὶ πάλιν ἀναλύσας διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀναπόδισον ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς σάρκα, ἀπὸ σαρκὸς εἰς αἷμα, ἀπὸ αἵματος εἰς ψυχήν: καὶ εὑρήσεις ὅτι γῆ ἐστι τῶν κτηνῶν ἡ ψυχή. Μὴ νόμιζε πρεσβυτέραν εἶναι τῆς τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν ὑποστάσεως, μηδὲ ἐπιδιαμένουσαν μετὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς διάλυσιν. Φεῦγε φληνάφους τῶν σοβαρῶν φιλοσόφων, οἳ οὐκ αἰσχύνονται τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς καὶ τὰς κυνείας ὁμοειδεῖς ἀλλήλαις τιθέμενοι: οἱ λέγοντες ἑαυτοὺς γεγενῆσθαί ποτε καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ θάμνους καὶ ἰχθύας θαλασσίους. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἰ μὲν ἐγένοντό ποτε ἰχθῦς οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμι, ὅτι δὲ ἐν ᾧ ταῦτα ἔγραφον τῶν ἰχθύων ἦσαν ἀλογώτεροι, καὶ πάνυ εὐτόνως διατειναίμην. Ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Τίνος ἕνεκεν, τοῦ λόγου τρέχοντος ἀθρόως, ἀπεσιώπησα χρόνον οὐκ ὀλίγον, ἴσως θαυμάζουσιν οἱ πολλοί: ἀλλ' οὐχὶ οἵγε φιλοπονώτεροι τῶν ἀκροατῶν ἀγνοοῦσι τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀφασίας. Πῶς γάρ; οἱ διὰ τοῦ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὁρᾶν καὶ ἐννεύειν ἐπιστρέψαντές με πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ εἰς ἔννοιαν ἀγαγόντες τῶν παρεθέντων. Εἶδος γὰρ ὅλον τῆς κτίσεως, καὶ οὐκ ἐλάχιστον τοῦτο, παρέλαθεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ μικροῦ ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο ἀνεξέταστον παντελῶς ὁ λόγος καταλιπών. Ἐξαγαγέτω γὰρ τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Εἴπαμεν τὰ περὶ τῶν νηκτῶν, ὅσα ὁ καιρὸς ἐνεδίδου ἑσπέρας: σήμερον μετέβημεν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν χερσαίων ἐξέτασιν. Διέφυγεν ἡμᾶς τὸ πτηνὸν ἐν τῷ μέσῳ. Ἀνάγκη τοίνυν, κατὰ τοὺς ἐπιλήσμονας τῶν ὁδοιπόρων, οἳ ἐπειδάν τι τῶν καιρίων καταλίπωσι, κἂν ἐπιπολὺ τῆς ὁδοῦ προέλθωσι, πάλιν τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποστρέφουσιν, ἀξίαν τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας δίκην τὸν ἐκ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας κόπον ὑπέχοντες, οὕτω καὶ ἡμῖν, ὡς ἔοικε, τὴν αὐτὴν πάλιν βαδιστέον. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ εὐκαταφρόνητόν ἐστι τὸ παρεθὲν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τρίτον ἔοικεν εἶναι τῆς ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις κτίσεως, εἴπερ τρία ζῴων ἐστὶ γένη, τό τε χερσαῖον, καὶ τὸ πτηνὸν, καὶ τὸ ἔνυδρον. Ἐξαγαγέτω, φησὶ, τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατὰ γένος. Διὰ τί ἐξ ὑδάτων καὶ τοῖς πτηνοῖς τὴν γένεσιν ἔδωκεν; Ὅτι ὥσπερ συγγένειά τίς ἐστι τοῖς πετομένοις πρὸς τὰ νηκτά. Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ οἱ ἰχθῦς τὸ ὕδωρ τέμνουσι, τῇ μὲν κινήσει τῶν πτερύγων εἰς τὸ πρόσω χωροῦντες, τῇ δὲ τοῦ οὐραίου μεταβολῇ τάς τε περιστροφὰς καὶ τὰς εὐθείας ὁρμὰς ἑαυτοῖς οἰακίζοντες: οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πτηνῶν ἐστιν ἰδεῖν διανηχομένων τὸν ἀέρα τοῖς πτεροῖς κατὰ τὸν ὅμοιον τρόπον. Ὥστε ἐπειδὴ ἓν ἰδίωμα ἐν ἑκατέροις τὸ νήχεσθαι, μία τις αὐτοῖς ἡ συγγένεια ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὑδάτων γενέσεως παρεσχέθη. Πλήν γε ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν πτηνῶν ἄπουν, διὰ τὸ πᾶσι τὴν δίαιταν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ὑπάρχειν, καὶ πάντα ἀναγκαίως τῆς τῶν ποδῶν ὑπουργίας προσδεῖσθαι. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἁρπακτικοῖς πρὸς τὴν ἄγραν αἱ τῶν ὀνύχων ἀκμαί: τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς, διά τε τὸν πορισμὸν τῆς τροφῆς, καὶ διὰ τὴν λοιπὴν τοῦ βίου διεξαγωγὴν, ἀναγκαία τῶν ποδῶν ἡ ὑπηρεσία δεδώρηται. Ὀλίγοι δὲ τῶν ὀρνίθων κακόποδές εἰσιν, οὔτε βαδίζειν οὔτε ἀγρεύειν τοῖς ποσὶν ἐπιτήδειοι: ὡς αἵ τε χελιδόνες εἰσὶ, οὔτε βαδίζειν, οὔτε ἀγρεύειν δυνάμεναι, καὶ αἱ δρεπανίδες λεγόμεναι, οἷς ἡ τροφὴ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ ἀέρι ἐμφερομένων ἐπινενόηται. Χελιδόνι δὲ τὸ τῆς πτήσεως πρόσγειον ἀντὶ τῆς τῶν ποδῶν ὑπηρεσίας ἐστίν.