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he was ignorant. For who of those who have even in any way become conversant with the book does not know that the Israelite people, having just fled from Egypt, were suddenly terrified in the desert by the attack of the Egyptians, and with dangers appearing to them from every side, with the sea blocking their passage on that side, and the enemies behind them preventing their flight, they gathered against the prophet and blamed him for this predicament. But as he was comforting those who were cowering in fear and encouraging them to be zealous, a voice comes from God calling the 2.1.268 prophet by name: "Why do you cry to me?" And yet, before these words were spoken, the account makes no mention of any voice of Moses, but the prophet’s thought toward God was called a kind of voice, being cried out silently in the secret thought of his heart. If then Moses cries out without speaking, with Him who hears unutterable groans as his witness, what is strange if the prophet, having known the divine will, as it was possible for him to speak and for us to hear, revealed it through words familiar and customary to us, describing a dialogue of God in a more corporeal way, which takes place not in words, but is proclaimed through the deeds themselves? 2.1.269 "In the beginning," it says, "God made not the name of the heaven and the earth, but the heaven and the earth;" and he said, "Let there be light," not the name of light. "And having separated the light from the darkness," it says, "God called the light day, and the darkness he called night." It is likely that those who oppose us rely on these words. For I will take up their argument and will bring up what they have omitted in the sequence of the investigation, so that the doctrine might be more strongly confirmed for us, with no unexamined objection being left aside. "God called," it says, "the firmament heaven, and the dry land he called earth, and the light day, and the darkness night." 2.1.270 How then, they will say, when scripture confesses that these names were given by God, do you say that names are a human invention? What then do we say to this? We again have recourse to common reasoning and say that He who brought all creation from non-being into being is the creator of things seen in substance, not of unsubstantial names that consist in the sound of a voice and the noise of a tongue; but the things are named by some signifying sound according to the nature and power inherent in each, according to the custom prevailing in each nation of the 2.1.271 name being fitted to the subjects. But since many of the things observed in creation do not have a simple nature, so as to be able to have the subject contained in a single word—for instance, in the case of fire, the subject thing is one thing by nature, and the name signifying the thing is another (for the one is shining and burning, both dry and heating and consuming of the matter which it seizes, while the name is a short sound uttered in a single syllable)—for this reason the dividing word names each of the powers and qualities observed in fire individually, as we said before. And no one would say that only a name has been applied to fire, when someone calls it "bright" or "consuming" or something else of what is observed about it; for such sounds are significant of the powers 2.1.272 naturally inherent in it. In the same way also in the case of "heaven" and "firmament," since one nature is signified in each of the names, the difference of the names represents something particular of what is known in this creation, so that, looking to this, we learn one thing through the name "heaven," and another through 2.1.273 "firmament." For when the account describes the limit of the sensible creation, after which the intelligible and super-cosmic domain follows, in comparison to that which is intangible and bodiless and formless, the beginning and the end of all material substance is called a "firmament"; but when we examine the boundary of the subjects, by which all the material

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ἠγνόησε. τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε τῶν καὶ ὁπωσοῦν καθωμιληκότων τῇ βίβλῳ, ὅτι κατεπλάγησαν μὲν ἀθρόως ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τὴν ἔφοδον ὁ Ἰσραηλίτης λαός, ἄρτι τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἀπο δράσαντες, πανταχόθεν δὲ προφαινομένων αὐτοῖς τῶν δεινῶν, ἐκεῖθεν τῆς θαλάσσης ἀποτειχιζούσης τὴν πάροδον, κατόπιν τῶν πολεμίων τὴν φυγὴν κωλυόντων, συστάντες πρὸς τὸν προφήτην τῆς ἀμηχανίας ταύτης ἐκεῖνον ἐπῃτιῶντο· τοῦ δὲ παραμυθουμένου τοὺς κατεπτηχότας τῷ φόβῳ καὶ εἰς προ θυμίαν παραθαρσύνοντος γίνεται θεόθεν φωνὴ ὀνομαστὶ τὸν 2.1.268 προφήτην προσκαλουμένη· Τί βοᾷς πρός με; καίτοι γε πρὸ τῶν εἰρημένων οὐδεμιᾶς ὁ λόγος ἐπιμέμνηται Μωϋσέως φωνῆς, ἀλλ' ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τοῦ προφήτου διάνοια φωνή τις ὠνομάσθη κατὰ τὸ σιωπώμενον ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τῆς καρ δίας νοήματι βοωμένη. εἰ δὴ Μωϋσῆς βοᾷ μὴ φθεγγόμενος ὑπὸ μάρτυρι τῷ τῶν ἀλαλήτων στεναγμῶν ἐπαΐοντι, τί καινὸν εἰ καὶ τὸ θεῖον βούλημα γνοὺς ὁ προφήτης, ὡς δυνατὸν ἦν αὐτῷ τε εἰπεῖν καὶ ἡμῖν ἀκοῦσαι, διὰ τῶν γνωρίμων ἡμῖν καὶ συνήθων ἐφανέρωσε λόγων, διάλογον θεοῦ σωματικώτερον διαγράφων οὐ ῥήμασι γινόμενον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν 2.1.269 ἐκφωνούμενον; Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησε, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς οὐ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ἀλλὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ εἶπε Γενηθήτω φῶς, οὐχὶ προσηγορία φωτός· Καὶ διακρίνας τὸ φῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους ἐκάλεσε, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς τὸ φῶς ἡμέραν καὶ τὸ σκότος ἐκάλεσε νύκτα. Τούτοις εἰκός ἐστι τοὺς ἐναντιουμένους ἡμῖν ἐπιστηρίζε σθαι. συστήσομαι γὰρ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὰ παρεθέντα παρ' ἐκείνων ἀνθυποίσω τῇ ἀκολουθίᾳ τῆς ἐξε τάσεως, ὡς ἂν ἰσχυρότερον ἡμῖν βεβαιωθείη τὸ δόγμα, μηδεμιᾶς ἀντιθέσεως ἀνεξετάστου παραλειφθείσης. Ἐκά λεσε, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς τὸ στερέωμα οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν ξηρὰν ἐκάλεσε γῆν καὶ τὸ φῶς ἡμέραν καὶ τὸ σκότος νύκτα. 2.1.270 πῶς οὖν, ἐροῦσι, τῆς γραφῆς ὁμολογούσης παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τεθεῖσθαι τούτοις τὰς κλήσεις ὑμεῖς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπινοίας εἶναί φατε τὰ ὀνόματα; τί οὖν πρὸς ταῦτα ἡμεῖς; πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἰδιώτην καταφεύγομεν λόγον καί φαμεν ὅτι ὁ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἀγαγὼν εἰς οὐσίαν πραγμάτων ἐστὶ δημιουργὸς ἐν ὑποστάσει θεωρουμένων, οὐκ ὀνομάτων ἀνυποστάτων ἐν φωνῆς ἤχῳ καὶ ψόφῳ γλώττης συνιστα μένων· τὰ δὲ πράγματα κατὰ τὴν ἐγκειμένην ἑκάστῳ φύσιν καὶ δύναμιν διά τινος σημαντικῆς φωνῆς ὀνομάζεται, κατὰ τὴν ἐπιχωριάζουσαν ἐν ἑκάστῳ [τῷ] ἔθνει συνήθειαν τῆς 2.1.271 προσηγορίας τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἁρμοζομένης. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ κτίσει θεωρουμένων οὐχ ἁπλῆν ἔχει τὴν φύσιν, ὡς ἑνὶ ῥήματι δυνατῶς ἔχειν ἐμπεριληφθῆναι τὸ ὑποκείμενον, οἷον ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ἄλλο μέν ἐστι τῇ φύσει τὸ ὑποκείμενον πρᾶγμα, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ σημαντικὸν τοῦ πράγ ματος ὄνομα (τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐκλαμπτικὸν καὶ καυστικὸν ξηρόν τε καὶ θερμαντικὸν καὶ ἀναλωτικὸν τῆς ὕλης ἧς ἂν περιδράξηται, τὸ δὲ ὄνομα φωνή τις βραχεῖα διὰ μιᾶς συλ λαβῆς ἐκφωνουμένη), τούτου ἕνεκεν ὁ διαιρῶν λόγος τὰς ἐν τῷ πυρὶ θεωρουμένας δυνάμεις τε καὶ ποιότητας ἑκάστην ἰδίως κατονομάζει, καθὼς φθάσαντες εἴπομεν· καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι ὄνομα μόνον ἐπιβεβλῆσθαι τῷ πυρί, ὅταν τις ἢ φανὸν ἢ ἀναλωτικὸν ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν περὶ αὐτὸ θεωρουμένων κατονομάσῃ· τῶν γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ φυσικῶς ἐγκειμένων δυνά 2.1.272 μεων σημαντικαί εἰσιν αἱ τοιαῦται φωναί. κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῦ στερεώματος μιᾶς φύσεως ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τῶν ὀνομάτων σημαινομένης ἴδιόν τι τῶν ἐν τῇ κτίσει ταύτῃ γινωσκομένων ἡ διαφορὰ τῶν ὀνο μάτων παρίστησιν, ὥστε πρὸς τοῦτο βλέποντας ἡμᾶς ἄλλο τι μαθεῖν διὰ τῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ προσηγορίας, ἕτερον δὲ διὰ 2.1.273 τοῦ στερεώματος. ὅταν μὲν γὰρ τὸ πέρας τῆς αἰσθητῆς κτίσεως ὑπογράφῃ ὁ λόγος, μεθ' ἣν ἡ νοητή τε καὶ ὑπερ κόσμιος διαδέχεται λῆξις, συγκρίσει τῇ πρὸς τὸ ἀναφὲς καὶ ἀσώματον καὶ ἀνείδεον στερέωμα λέγεται ἡ ἀρχή τε καὶ τὸ πέρας πάσης τῆς ὑλικῆς ὑποστάσεως· ὅταν δὲ τὴν τῶν ὑποκειμένων περιοχὴν ἐξετάζωμεν, ᾧ πᾶσα ἡ ὑλικὴ