Chapter XLIX.—Symbol of the Creature; And of Spirit; And of the Different Orders of Animals.

But Aratus says, near this (constellation) is Cepheus, and Cassiepea, and Andromeda, and Perseus, great lineaments of the creation to those who are able to discern them. For he asserts that Cepheus is Adam, Cassiepea Eve, Andromeda the soul of both of these, Perseus the Logos, winged offspring of Jove, and Cetos287    i.e., literally a sea-monster (Cicero’s Pistrix); Arat., Phænom., v. 353 et seq. the plotting monster. Not to any of these, but to Andromeda only does he repair, who slays the Beast; from whom, likewise taking unto himself Andromeda, who had been delivered (and) chained to the Beast, the Logos—that is, Perseus—achieves, he says, her liberation. Perseus, however, is the winged axle that pierces both poles through the centre of the earth, and turns the world round. The spirit also, that which is in the world, is (symbolized by) Cycnus, a bird—a musical animal near “The Bears”—type of the Divine Spirit, because that when it approaches the end itself of life,288    πρὸς αὐτοῖς ἤδη τοῖς τέρμασι γενόμενον τοῦ βίου. Some read τοῖς σπέρμασι, which yields no intelligible meaning. it alone is fitted by nature to sing, on departing with good hope from the wicked creation, (and) offering up hymns unto God. But crabs, and bulls, and lions, and rams, and goats, and kids, and as many other beasts as have their names used for denominating the stars in the firmament, are, he says, images, and exemplars from which the creation, subject to change, obtaining (the different) species, becomes replete with animals of this description.

[49] Ὁ Κηφεύς, φησίν, αὐτοῦ ἐστι πλησίον καὶ ἡ Κασ[σ]ιέπεια καὶ [ἡ] Ἀνδρομέδα καὶ ὁ Περσεύς, μεγάλα τῆς κτίσεως γράμματα τοῖς ἰδεῖν δυναμένοις. Κηφέα γάρ φησιν εἶναι τὸν Ἀδάμ, τὴν Κασ[σ]ιέπειαν Εὔαν, τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν τὴν ἀμφοτέρων τούτων ψυχήν, τὸν Περσέα Λόγον, πτερωτὸν Διὸς ἔγγονον, τὸ Κῆτος τὸ ἐπίβουλον θηρίον. οὐδ' ἐπ' ἄλλον [δέ] τινα τούτων ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μόνην τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν ἔρχεται τὸ θηρίον, ὃ ἀποκτείνας [οὗ] καὶ τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν λαβών, ἔκδοτον δεδεμένην τῷ θηρίῳ, ὁ Λόγος, φησίν, ὁ Περσεὺς ῥύεται. Περσεὺς δέ ἐστιν ὁ (ὑ)π(ό)πτερος ἄξων, ὁ περαίνων ἑκατέρους τοὺς πόλους διὰ μέσης τῆς γῆς καὶ στρέφων τὸν κόσμον. ἔστι δὲ παρὰ τὰς Ἄρκτους καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, [ὅ ἐστιν] ὁ Ὄρνις, ὁ Κύκνος, (μουσ)ικὸν ζῷον, τοῦ θείου σύμβολον πνεύματος, ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοῖς ἤδη τοῖς τέρμασι γενόμενον τοῦ βίου μόνον ᾄδειν πέφυκε, «μετὰ ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος» τῆς κτίσεως τῆς πονηρᾶς ἀπαλ[λ]ασσόμενον, ὕμνους ἀναπέμπον τῷ θεῷ. καρκίνοι δὲ καὶ ταῦροι καὶ λέοντες καὶ κριοὶ καὶ αἶγες καὶ ἔριφοι καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα θηρία διὰ τῶν ἄστρων ὀνομάζεται κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰκόνες δή, φησίν, εἰσὶ καὶ παραδείγματα, ἀφ' ὧν ἡ μεταβλητὴ κτίσις λαμβάνουσα τὰς ἰδέας τοιούτων ζῴων γίνεται πλήρης.