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part in such a form. But behold this paradox has happened upon the heavens; and this very thing again the prophet says, hinting; Praise the Lord, you waters that are above the heavens. And neither did the water extinguish the sun, nor did the sun, moving below for so long a time, dry up the 49.109 water lying above. Do you wish that we bring you down again to the earth, and show you the wonder? Do you not see this very sea, full of waves and violent winds? but this sea, so wide and great and raging, is walled in by weak sand. And consider the wisdom of God; He did not let it be quiet or still, so that you would not think its orderliness was of its own nature, but while remaining within it shouts, and is troubled, and makes great sounds, and raises its waves to an unspeakable height; but when it comes to the shores, and sees the sand, being dissolved, it goes back upon itself again, teaching you through both of these things, that it is not the work of nature for it to remain within its own boundaries, but of the power of Him who restrains it. For this reason, then, He also made the little wall weak, and did not surround these shores with wood and stones nor mountains, so that you would not attribute the order of the element to these things. This very thing He himself once said, reproaching the Jews: Will you not fear me, who has set the sand as a boundary for the sea, and it will not pass over it? And this is not the only wonderful thing, that He made the world great and wonderful, nor that He fixed it together in a sequence beyond nature, but that He also constituted it from opposites, hot and cold, dry and wet, fire and water, earth and air; and these contrary elements, from which this universe is composed, warring with one another were not consumed by one another, fire did not run over and set all things ablaze, water did not come upon and inundate the inhabited world. But in our bodies these things happen, and when bile increases a fever is born, and it harms the whole living being; and when phlegm abounds many diseases arise, and corrupt the living being. But in this universe none of these things has happened, but each remains, as by a certain bridle and bond, by the will of the one who made them, preserving its own boundaries, and the battle of these things becomes the cause of peace for the universe. Are these things not clear even to the blind, and easy to see even for the very foolish, that it has come to be and is held together by some providence? For who is so foolish and senseless, who seeing so great a mass of bodies, so much beauty, so great a composition, such a continual battle and opposition of elements, and their permanence, would not reason with himself and say, that if there were not some providence holding together the mass of bodies, and not allowing the universe to fall apart, it would not have remained, it would not have endured? Such is the good order of the seasons, such is the harmony of day and night, such are the kinds of irrational animals, and of plants, and of seeds, and of herbs proceeding on their way, and nothing to the present day has either fallen apart, or been utterly consumed.

5. Not only these things, but it was possible to say many other things more numerous and deeper than these, and to philosophize about creation itself; but saving those things for the next day, let us be diligent to retain what has been said with accuracy, and to bring it forth to others. And I know that the depth of the thoughts has astounded your hearing, but if we are a little sober, and accustom ourselves in these things, we shall also easily be teachers to others. Meanwhile it is necessary to say this to your love: Just as God has glorified us through so great a creation, so let us also glorify him through a pure way of life. The heavens declare the glory of God, just by appearing; let us, therefore, declare the glory of God, not only by speaking 49.110, but also by being silent, and by astonishing all by the brightness of our life. For, he says, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. For when the unbeliever sees you, the one

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μέρος ἐπὶ τοῦ τοιούτου σχήματος. Ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ τὸ παράδοξον τοῦτο γέγονεν ἐπὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν· καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ πάλιν ὁ προφήτης αἰνιττόμενος λέγει· Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, τὰ ὕδατα τὰ ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ οὔτε τὸ ὕδωρ τὸν ἥλιον ἔσβεσεν, οὔτε ὁ ἥλιος ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον βαδίζων κάτωθεν τὸ ἐπικεί 49.109 μενον ἀνεξήρανεν ὕδωρ. Βούλει σε πάλιν εἰς τὴν γῆν καταγάγωμεν, καὶ τὸ θαῦμα ἐπιδείξωμεν; Οὐχ ὁρᾷς ταυτηνὶ τὴν θάλατταν, τὴν κυμάτων γέμουσαν καὶ πνευμάτων βιαίων; ἀλλ' αὕτη ἡ θάλαττα ἡ εὐρύχωρος καὶ μεγάλη καὶ μαινομένη ἀσθενεῖ ψάμμῳ τειχίζεται. Καὶ σκόπει Θεοῦ σοφίαν· οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὴν ἡσυχάζειν οὐδὲ ἠρεμεῖν, ἵνα μὴ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς εἶναι νομίσῃς τὴν εὐταξίαν, ἀλλ' ἔνδον μένουσα βοᾷ, καὶ ταράττεται, καὶ μεγάλα ἠχεῖ, καὶ τὰ κύματα πρὸς ὕψος διανίστησιν ἄφατον· ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ πρὸς τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς, καὶ τὴν ψάμμον ἴδῃ, διαλυθεῖσα πρὸς ἑαυτὴν πάλιν ἐπάνεισι, δι' ἀμφοτέρων σε τούτων διδάσκουσα, ὅτι οὐχὶ φύσεως ἔργον ἐστὶ τὸ μένειν αὐτὴν εἴσω τῶν οἰκείων ὅρων, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ κατέχοντος αὐτὴν δυνάμεως. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ἀσθενὲς τὸ τειχίον ἐποίησε, καὶ οὐ ξύλα καὶ λίθους οὐδὲ ὄρη τοῖς αἰγιαλοῖς περιέβαλε τούτοις, ἵνα μὴ τούτοις λογίσῃ τοῦ στοιχείου τὴν εὐταξίαν. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ αὐτός ποτε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὀνειδίζων ἔλεγεν· Ἐμὲ οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε τὸν τάξαντα ἄμμον ὅριον τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται; Οὐ τοῦτο δὲ μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν, ὅτι μέγαν καὶ θαυμαστὸν τὸν κόσμον ἐποίησεν, οὐδ' ὅτι ὑπὲρ φύσεως ἀκολουθίαν αὐτὸν συνέπηξεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἐξ ἐναντίων αὐτὸν συνέστησε, θερμοῦ καὶ ψυχροῦ, ξηροῦ καὶ ὑγροῦ, πυρὸς καὶ ὕδατος, γῆς καὶ ἀέρος· καὶ τὰ ἐναντία ταῦτα στοιχεῖα, ἀφ' ὧν τόδε τὸ πᾶν συνέστηκεν, ἀλλήλοις μαχόμενα ὑπ' ἀλλήλων οὐκ ἀνηλώθη, οὐ τὸ πῦρ ἐπέδραμε καὶ ἀνῆψεν ἅπαντα, οὐ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπελθὸν ἐπέκλυσε τὴν οἰκουμένην. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν σωμάτων τῶν ἡμετέρων ταῦτα γίνεται, καὶ χολῆς αὐξανομένης τίκτεται πυρετὸς, καὶ τῷ παντὶ ζώῳ λυμαίνεται· καὶ φλέγματος πλεονάζοντος πολλὰ νοσήματα φύεται, καὶ διαφθείρει τὸ ζῶον. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς οὐδὲν τούτων συνέβη, ἀλλ' ἕκαστον μένει καθάπερ τινὶ χαλινῷ καὶ δεσμῷ τῷ βουλήματι τοῦ ποιήσαντος τοὺς οἰκείους διαφυλάττον ὅρους, καὶ ἡ μάχη τούτων εἰρήνης αἰτία γίνεται τῷ παντί. Ταῦτα οὐχὶ καὶ τυφλῷ δῆλα, καὶ τοῖς σφόδρα ἀνοήτοις εὐσύνοπτα, ὅτι ἐκ προνοίας τινὸς γέγονε καὶ συγκρατεῖται; Τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄφρων καὶ ἀναίσθητος, ὃς ὁρῶν τοσοῦτον σωμάτων ὄγκον, τοσοῦτον κάλλος, τοσαύτην σύνθεσιν, τοιούτων στοιχείων μάχην διηνεκῆ καὶ ἐναντίωσιν, καὶ διαμονὴν, μὴ λογίσασθαι πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι εἰ μὴ πρόνοιά τις ἦν ἡ τὸν ὄγκον τῶν σωμάτων διακρατοῦσα, καὶ μὴ συγχωροῦσα τὸ πᾶν διαπεσεῖν, οὐκ ἂν ἔμεινεν, οὐκ ἂν διήρκεσε; Τοσαύτη μὲν ὡρῶν εὐταξία, τοσαύτη δὲ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς συμφωνία, τοσούτων δὲ ἀλόγων ζώων γένη, καὶ φυτῶν, καὶ σπερμάτων, καὶ βοτανῶν ὁδῷ βαδίζει, καὶ οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν παροῦσαν ἡμέραν οὔτε διέπεσεν, οὔτε ἀνηλώθη καθάπαξ.

εʹ. Οὐ ταῦτα δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα τούτων πλείονα καὶ βαθύτερα ἦν εἰπεῖν, καὶ περὶ αὐτῆς φιλοσοφῆσαι τῆς κτίσεως· ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἐκεῖνα ταμιευσάμενοι, σπουδάσωμεν τὰ εἰρημένα μετὰ ἀκριβείας κατασχεῖν, καὶ εἰς ἑτέρους ἐξενεγκεῖν. Καὶ οἶδα μὲν ὅτι τὴν ἀκοὴν ὑμῶν ἐξένισε τῶν νοημάτων τὸ βάθος, ἀλλ' ἐὰν ὀλίγον νήψωμεν, καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἐθίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ ἑτέροις ῥᾳδίως ἐσόμεθα διδάσκαλοι. Τέως δὲ ἐκεῖνο πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν· Ὥσπερ ἐδόξασεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τῆς τοσαύτης δημιουργίας, οὕτω δοξάσωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἡμεῖς διὰ τῆς πολιτείας τῆς καθαρᾶς. Οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ, φαινόμενοι μόνον· καὶ ἡμεῖς τοίνυν διηγησώμεθα δόξαν Θεοῦ, μὴ λέγοντες 49.110 μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σιγῶντες, καὶ τῇ τοῦ βίου λαμπρότητι πάντας ἐκπλήττοντες. Λαμψάτω γὰρ, φησὶν, ὑμῶν τὸ φῶς ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ὅταν γὰρ ὁ ἄπιστος ἴδῃ σὲ τὸν