But most people, perhaps, will think this too far removed from the scope of our present inquiry. This, however, no one will regard as out of keeping with our subject; the fact that many think that what is incomprehensible to themselves is equally incomprehensible to God, and that whatever escapes their own cognizance is also beyond the power of His. Now since we make number the measure of quantity, and number is nothing else than a combination of units growing into multitude in a complex way (for the decad is a unit brought to that value by the composition of units, and again the hundred is a unit composed of decads, and in like manner the thousand is another unit, and so in due proportion the myriad is another by a multiplication, the one being made up to its value by thousands, the other by hundreds, by assigning all which to their underlying class we make signs of the quantity of the things numbered), accordingly, in order that we may be taught by Holy Scripture that nothing is unknown to God, it tells us that the multitude of the stars is numbered by Him, not that their numbering takes place as I have described, (for who is so simple as to think that God takes knowledge of things by odd and even, and that by putting units together He makes up the total of the collective quantity?) but, since in our own case the exact knowledge of quantity is obtained by number, in order, I say, that we might be taught in respect to God that all things are comprehended by the knowledge of His wisdom, and that nothing escapes His minute cognizance, on this account it represents God as “numbering the stars,” counselling us by these words to understand this, viz. that we must not imagine God to take note of things by the measure of human knowledge, but that all things, however incomprehensible and above human understanding, are embraced by the knowledge of the wisdom of God. For as the stars on account of their multitude escape numbering, as far as our human conception is concerned, Holy Scripture, teaching the whole from the part, in saying that they are numbered by God attests that not one of the things unknown to us escapes the knowledge of God. And therefore it says, “Who telleth the multitude of the stars,” of course not meaning that He did not know their number beforehand; for how should He be ignorant of what He Himself created, seeing that the Ruler of the Universe could not be ignorant of that which is comprehended in His power; which includes the worlds in its embrace? Why, then, should He number what He knows? For to measure quantity by number is the part of those who want information. But He Who knew all things before they were created needs not number as His informant. But when David says that He “numbers the stars,” it is evident that the Scripture descends to such language in accordance with our understanding, to teach us emblematically that the things which we know not are accurately known to God. As, then, He is said to number, though needing no arithmetical process to arrive at the knowledge of things created, so also the Prophet tells us that He calleth them all by their names, not meaning, I imagine, that He does so by any vocal utterance. For verily such language would result in a conception strangely unworthy of God, if it meant that these names in common use among ourselves were applied to the stars by God. For, should any one allow that these were so applied by God, it must follow that the names of the idol gods of Greece were applied by Him also to the stars, and we must regard as true all the tales from mythological history that are told about those starry names, as though God Himself sanctioned their utterance. Thus the distribution among the Greek idols of the seven planets contained in the heavens will exempt from blame those who have erred in respect to them, if men be persuaded that such an arrangement was God’s. Thus the fables of Orion and the Scorpion will be believed, and the legends respecting the ship Argo, and the Swan, and the Eagle, and the Dog, and the mythical story of Ariadne’s crown. Moreover it will pave the way for supposing God to be the inventor of the names in the zodiacal circle, devised after some fancied resemblance in the constellations, if Eunomius is right in supposing that David said that these names were given them by God.

Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τοῖς πολλοῖς πόρρωθεν ἴσως ὡς πρὸς τὴν προτεθεῖσαν ἡμῖν θεωρίαν εἶναι δόξει, ἐκεῖνο δὲ οὐκ ἄν τις ἀπᾴδειν εἴποι τοῦ προκειμένου, ὅτι πολλοὶ τὸ ἑαυτοῖς ἄληπτον οὐδὲ θεῷ ληπτὸν εἶναι νομίζουσιν, καὶ ὅπερ ἂν ἐκφύγῃ τὴν ἑαυτῶν κατανόησιν, περισσότερον εἶναι τοῦτο καὶ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως οἴονται. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοῦ ποσοῦ μέτρον ἡμεῖς τὸν ἀριθμὸν πεποιήμεθα, ὁ δὲ ἀριθμὸς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ σύνθεσις μονάδων ἐστί, ποικίλως τῆς μονάδος εἰς πλῆθος ἐπαυξομένης (μονὰς γὰρ καὶ ἡ δεκὰς κατὰ σύνθεσιν μονάδων πρὸς τοῦτο περαινομένη, μονὰς πάλιν ἡ ἑκατοντὰς ἐκ δεκάδων συντιθεμένη, ὡσαύτως καὶ ἡ χιλιὰς ἄλλη μονὰς καὶ ἡ μυριὰς ὁμοίως ἀναλόγως ἐκ πολλαπλασιασμοῦ, ἡ μὲν ἐκ χιλιάδων, ἡ δὲ ἐξ ἑκατοντάδων πρὸς τοῦτο κεφαλαιουμένη, ἅπερ ἅπαντα τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἐπιμερίζοντες σημεῖα τῆς ποσότητος τῶν ἀριθμουμένων πραγμάτων ποιούμεθα): ὡς ἂν οὖν παιδευθείημεν παρὰ τῆς θείας γραφῆς τὸ μηδὲν ἄγνωστον εἶναι τῷ θεῷ, ἐξηριθμῆσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ λέγει τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἄστρων, οὐ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον γινομένης τῆς ἀριθμήσεως (τίς γὰρ οὕτως εὐήθης ὡς τῷ περιττῷ καὶ ἀρτίῳ τὸν θεὸν οἴεσθαι διαλαμβάνειν τὰ ὄντα καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν μονάδων συνθέσεως πρὸς τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς ἀθροιζομένης ποσότητος τὸν ἀριθμὸν συμπεραίνειν;): ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀκριβὴς τοῦ ποσοῦ γνῶσις ἐκ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ γίνεται, ὡς ἂν καὶ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ παιδευθείημεν ὅτι πάντα τῇ γνώσει τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ περιείληπται καὶ οὐδὲν ἐκφεύγει τὴν ἀκριβῆ κατανόησιν, τούτου χάριν ἀριθμεῖν τὰ ἄστρα τὸν θεὸν διωρίσατο, τοῦτο δι' ὧν λέγει νοεῖν συμβουλεύων, μὴ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἡμετέρας γνώσεως καὶ τὸ θεῖον οἴεσθαι τῶν ὄντων ἐφάπτεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἡμῖν ἄληπτά τε καὶ ἀνεπινόητα πάντα τῇ γνώσει τῆς θείας σοφίας ἐμπεριείργεσθαι. τῶν γὰρ ἄστρων διὰ τὸ πλῆθος ἐκφευγόντων τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὡς πρὸς ἀνθρωπίνην ἐπίνοιαν, ἀπὸ μέρους τὸ πᾶν ἐκδιδάσκων ὁ λόγος ἐκ τοῦ ταῦτα κατηριθμῆσθαι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγειν τὸ μηδὲν τῶν ἡμῖν ἀγνώστων ἐκφεύγειν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν γνῶσιν διαμαρτύρεται. διὰ τοῦτό φησιν Ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων, οὐκ ἀγνοῶν δηλαδὴ πρὶν ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὴν τῶν ἄστρων ποσότητα. πῶς γὰρ εἰκὸς αὐτὸν ἀγνοεῖν ὃ ἐποίησεν; ὁ γὰρ τοῦ παντὸς ἐπιστάτης οὐκ ἂν ἀγνοοίη τὸ ἐμπεριειλημμένον τῇ περιεκτικῇ τῶν ὅλων δυνάμει. τί δήποτε οὖν ἀριθμεῖ ὅπερ ἐπίσταται; τῶν γὰρ ἀγνοούντων ἐστὶ τὸ τῷ ἀριθμῷ διαμετρεῖν τὴν ποσότητα, ὁ δὲ τὰ πάντα εἰδὼς πρὸ γενέσεως ἀριθμοῦ διδασκάλου πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑποκειμένων γνῶσιν οὐκ ἐπιδέεται. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀριθμεῖν λέγεται παρὰ τοῦ Δαβίδ: δηλονότι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν κατὰ τὸ ἡμῖν χωρητὸν τοῦ λόγου πρὸς σαφήνειαν κατιόντος τὸ ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι τὰ ἡμῖν ἄγνωστα διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ σημασίας ὁ Δαβὶδ ἐνεδείξατο. ὥσπερ οὖν ἀριθμεῖν λέγεται οὐδὲν τῆς ἀριθμητικῆς περιόδου πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν ἐπιδεόμενος, οὕτως καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ὀνόματα καλεῖν ἡ προφητεία λέγει, οὐ ταύτην οἶμαι τὴν διὰ τῆς φωνῆς κλῆσιν ὑποσημαίνουσα. ἦ γὰρ ἂν εἰς ἄτοπόν τι καὶ ἀνάξιον τῆς περὶ θεοῦ ὑπολήψεως ὁ λόγος προϊὼν καταλήγοι, εἴπερ ταῦτα λέγοι τὰ ὀνόματα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τεθεῖσθαι τοῖς ἄστροις τὰ ἐν τῇ συνηθείᾳ ἡμῶν ἀναστρεφόμενα. εἰ γὰρ ταῦτά τις δοίη θεόθεν ἐπικεκλῆσθαι, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα καὶ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν εἰδώλων ἐκεῖθεν οἴεσθαι τὴν κλῆσιν ἐπιπεφημίσθαι τοῖς ἄστροις καὶ ὅσα τῆς μυθικῆς ἱστορίας ἐπιλέγεται τοῖς ἀστρῴοις ὀνόμασιν ἀληθῆ νομίσαι, ὡς τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς τοιαύτας αὐτοῖς ἐπικυροῦντος φωνάς. οὕτως ἡ ἑβδομὰς τῶν ἐμπεριεχομένων τῷ παντὶ πόλῳ τοῖς Ἑλληνικοῖς εἰδώλοις ἐπιμερισθεῖσα ἔξω μέμψεως τοὺς πρὸς ταῦτα πεπλανημένους ποιήσει, εἴπερ ἐκ θεοῦ πιστευθείη τοῦτο διατετάχθαι. οὕτως ὁ κατὰ τὸν Ὠρίωνα καὶ Σκορπίον μῦθος εἰς πίστιν ἄγεται καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς Ἀργοῦς διηγήματα καὶ ὁ Κύκνος καὶ ὁ Ἀετὸς καὶ ὁ Κύων ἥ τε κατὰ τὸν Στέφανον τῆς Ἀριάδνης μυθοποιΐα, καὶ τοῦ ζῳοφόρου κύκλου τῶν κατά τινα σχηματισμὸν ἐπινοηθέντων τοῖς φαινομένοις ὀνομάτων θεὸν εὑρετὴν ὑπονοεῖσθαι κατασκευάσει, εἴπερ καλῶς ὁ Εὐνόμιος οἴεται τὸν Δαβὶδ λέγειν ὅτι ταῦτα αὐτοῖς τὰ ὀνόματα ὁ θεὸς ἐπιτίθησι.