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they say it does not flood at the same time as other rivers, but in the middle of summer it inundates Egypt, as the sun traverses the more northern zone, and while troubling the other rivers, is furthest away from this one. And if some say that there are other causes of this flood, yet I have not supposed it fitting for this present discourse. For I advise others not to meddle with the causes of the divine economy, but to marvel at what happens and to praise the maker. 4.63 Wherefore I too marvel that the nature of the air is not consumed, with so many humans and so many irrational animals continually breathing it, and with such a ray, and so exceedingly hot, passing through it, and besides the sun, the moon and 4.64 the stars doing this same thing. But indeed the wonder is beyond wonder; and I am almost tempted to say that the wonder is no wonder at all. For when God is the creator, it is fitting to marvel as little as possible, but to praise as much as possible; for it is easy for him to do all things that are suitable for him. And he has deposited in what he has created, for as long as he wishes them to exist, sufficient power. For this reason the earth has remained as it was from the beginning, and the sea neither diminishes nor increases, and the air has preserved inviolate the nature it received from the beginning, and the sun cannot melt and dissolve the firmament it traverses, nor indeed does the firmament, being moist, extinguish the sun, being hot; for each has kept the lot it received from the beginning. For the opposing natures of moist and dry, and again of cold and hot, the 4.65 maker brought together into friendship. When, therefore, we see each of these things, and the sun traversing now the northern, now the southern, and at other times the middle parts of the sky, and the moon waxing and waning, and the stars rising and setting in their season and signifying the time of harvest and of sowing and indicating winter and calm to sailors, let us not, O my friends, deify these things, but let us praise their maker and creator and governor, and through the things that are seen, let us journey to the one who is unseen. 4.66 But we have need not of a journey but of faith; for through this alone can we see him. When we see the seasons changing in their time, and the rain being supplied to the earth, and it sprouting and being covered with grass, and the cornfields waving and the meadows blooming, and the groves luxuriant and laden with fruit, let us move our tongue to hymn him who has bestowed these things, and let us deify neither mountain Nymphs nor those of springs or rivers, nor the daughters of Nereus, let us not sing the ioulos or the lityerses to Deo, nor the dithyramb to Dionysus, nor the paean to the Pythian seer, nor the oupingos to Artemis; but to the maker of all things let us offer the Davidic melody and with him cry out: "How great are your works, O Lord; in wisdom you have made them all." 4.67 When we hear songbirds singing varied and different songs, and cicadas chirping, bidding farewell to the Sirens and Muses, let us worship the all-wise and all-powerful God, who bestowed such harmony of melody even on small birds, and through all things both nourishes and delights and charms the human race. 4.68 Compare these things, O my friends, with the opinions of the philosophers, and consider, using a right and just judgment, which of these things is suitable and fitting to say about God: that the universe is uncreated, or that it was formed by chance, or that it was pieced together from atoms and the void, or that it was made by God, but out of matter, or that to say each of these things about God is impious, but that this is both likely and true, that God is the maker of all things, not having created all things from matter in a way similar to other craftsmen, but himself brought forth all things that were not, and 4.69 wished to grant being to things that were not. For it is easy for him to create both from things that are not and from things that are; for this indeed also

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φασιν οὐ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἄλλοις ποτα μοῖς πλημμυρεῖν καιρόν, ἀλλὰ μεσοῦντος τοῦ θέρους ἐπικλύζειν τὴν Αἴγυπτον, ὡς τοῦ γε ἡλίου τὴν βορειοτέραν διαθέοντος ζώνην, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις μὲν ποταμοῖς ἐνοχλοῦντος, τούτου δέ γε πλεῖ στον ἀπέχοντος. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλας αἰτίας τῆς τούτου γε πλημ μύρας εἶναί φασί τινες, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔμοιγε ἁρμόττειν τόνδε νῦν τὸν λόγον ὑπείληφα. Καὶ γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρεγγυῶ τῆς μὲν θείας οἰκονομίας μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν τὰς αἰτίας, θαυμάζειν δὲ τὰ γινό μενα καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν ἀνυμνεῖν. 4.63 ∆ιὸ δὴ καὶ ἔγωγε θαυμάζω καὶ τοῦ ἀέρος μὴ δαπανωμένην τὴν φύσιν, τοσούτων μὲν ἀνθρώπων, τοσούτων δὲ ἀλόγων ζῴων διαπνεόντων τοῦτον διηνεκῶς, τοσαύτης δὲ ἀκτῖνος καὶ οὕτως ἄγαν θερμῆς τοῦτον διαπερώσης, πρὸς δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ τῆς σελήνης καὶ 4.64 τῶν ἀστέρων ταὐτό γε τοῦτο ποιούντων. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ θαῦμα τὸ θαῦμα· καὶ κινδυνεύω γε λέγειν, ὡς οὐδὲ θαῦμα τὸ θαῦμα. Θεοῦ γὰρ δημιουργοῦντος, προσήκει θαυμάζειν μὲν ὡς ἥκιστα, ὑμνεῖν δὲ ὡς μάλιστα· πάντα γὰρ αὐτῷ ῥᾴδιον ποιεῖν, ὅσα γε αὐτῷ πρόσφορα. Ἐναπέθετο δὲ καὶ οἷς δεδημιούργηκεν, εἰς ὅσον ταῦτα ξυνεστάναι βούλεται χρόνον, δύναμιν ἀποχρῶσαν. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ ἡ γῆ μεμένηκεν, οἵαπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγεγόνει, καὶ ἡ θάλαττα οὔτε σμικρύνεται οὔτε αὔξεται, καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ ἣν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔλαχε φύσιν, ἄσυλον διετήρησε, καὶ ὁ ἥλιος δὲ τήκειν οὐ δύναται καὶ διαλύειν, ὃ διαθέει στερέωμα, οὔτε μὴν τὸ στερέωμα, ὑγρὸν ὄν, θερμὸν ὄντα τὸν ἥλιον σβέννυσιν· ἕκαστον γάρ, ὃν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔλαχε, διεφύλαξε κλῆρον. Τὰς γὰρ ἐναντίας φύσεις ὑγροῦ καὶ ξηροῦ, καὶ αὖ πάλιν ψυχροῦ καὶ θερμοῦ, ξυνήγαγεν εἰς φιλίαν ὁ 4.65 ποιητής. Ὅταν τοίνυν τούτων ἕκαστον ἴδωμεν, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἥλιον νῦν μὲν τὰ βόρεια, νῦν δὲ τὰ νότια, ἄλλοτε δὲ τὰ μέσα τοῦ οὐρα νοῦ διαθέοντα, καὶ τὴν σελήνην αὐξομένην καὶ φθίνουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ἀστέρας κατὰ καιρὸν ἀνίσχοντάς τε καὶ δυομένους καὶ ἀμήτου καιρὸν καὶ σπόρου σημαίνοντας καὶ τοῖς ναυτιλλομένοις χειμῶνα καὶ γαλήνην μηνύοντας, μὴ ταῦτά γε, ὦ φίλοι ἄνδρες, θεοποιή σωμεν, ἀλλὰ τὸν τούτων ποιητὴν καὶ δημιουργὸν καὶ κυβερνήτην ἀνυμνήσωμεν καὶ διὰ τῶν ὁρωμένων πρὸς τὸν ἀόρατον ἐκδημή 4.66 σωμεν. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ ἐκδημίας ἡμῖν ἀλλὰ πίστεως χρεία· διὰ ταύτης γὰρ μόνης ἰδεῖν ἐκεῖνον δυνάμεθα. Ὅταν ἴδωμεν εἰς καιρὸν τὰς ὥρας μεταβαινούσας, καὶ τὸν ὑετὸν τῇ γῇ χορηγού μενον, καὶ ταύτην φύουσαν καὶ τῇ πόᾳ καλυπτομένην, καὶ τὰ λήϊα κυμαίνοντα καὶ τοὺς λειμῶνας ἀνθοῦντας, καὶ κομῶντα τὰ ἄλση καὶ βρίθοντα τῷ καρπῷ, κινήσωμεν εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν τοῦ ταῦτα δεδωρημένου τὴν γλῶτταν, καὶ μήτε Νύμφας ὀρεστιάδας ἢ πηγαίας ἢ ποταμίας, μήτε τὰς Νηρέως θεοποιήσωμεν θυγατέρας, μήτε τῇ ∆ηοῖ τὸν ἴουλον ᾄσωμεν ἢ τὸν λιτυέρσαν, μὴ ∆ιονύσῳ τὸν διθύραμβον, μὴ τῷ Πυθίῳ μάντει τὸν παιᾶνα, μὴ τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι τὸν οὔπιγγον· ἀλλὰ τῷ ποιητῇ τῶν ὅλων τὴν ∆αυι τικὴν προσενέγκωμεν μελῳδίαν καὶ μετ' ἐκείνου βοήσωμεν· "Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε· πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίη 4.67 σας." Ὅταν ᾠδικῶν ὀρνίθων ἀκούσωμεν ποικίλα γε ᾀδόντων ᾄσματα καὶ διάφορα, καὶ τεττίγων τερετιζόντων, ἐρρῶσθαι φράσαντες Σειρῆσι καὶ Μούσαις, τὸν πάνσοφον καὶ παναλκῆ Θεὸν προσκυνήσωμεν, τὸν καὶ τοῖς μικροῖς πτηνοῖς τοσαύτην μέλους δωρησάμενον ἁρμονίαν καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ τρέφοντα καὶ τέρποντα καὶ καταθέλγοντα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος. 4.68 Ταῦτα ταῖς τῶν φιλοσόφων, ὦ φίλοι ἄνδρες, παρεξετάσατε δόξαις, καὶ σκοπήσατε, ὀρθῇ γε καὶ δικαίᾳ χρώμενοι ψήφῳ, τίνα τούτων περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν πρόσφορα καὶ ἁρμόδια, τὸ ἀγέ νητον εἶναι τὸ πᾶν, ἢ ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου ξυστήναι, ἢ τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀτόμων καὶ τοῦ κενοῦ ξυναρμοσθῆναι, ἢ τὸ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ μέν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ὕλης γενέσθαι, ἢ τούτων μὲν ἕκαστον περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν ἀνόσιον, ἐκεῖνο δέ γε εἰκός τε καὶ ἀληθές, ὡς τῶν ὅλων ποιητὴς ὁ Θεός, οὐ τοῖς ἄλλοις τεχνίταις παραπλησίως ἐξ ὕλης τὰ πάντα δημιουργήσας, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς τὰ πάντα μὴ ὄντα παραγαγὼν καὶ 4.69 παρασχεῖν ἐθελήσας τοῖς μὴ οὖσι τὸ εἶναι. Ῥᾴδιον γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκ μὴ ὄντων καὶ ἐξ ὄντων δημιουργεῖν· τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ καὶ