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calling such-and-such a boundary of darkness. Therefore our argument is strengthened through all things, even if it is not technically formulated according to the figures of dialectic, showing that God is the creator of things, not of mere words. For names are applied to things not for His sake, but for ours. 2.1.282 For since it is not always possible for us to have all existing things before our eyes, we know some of the things that are always present, and we inscribe the rest in memory. Otherwise it is not possible for our memory to be kept unconfused, unless the meaning of names distinguishes the things stored in the mind from one another. But for God all things are present 2.1.283 and He has no need of memory, since all things are comprehended and contemplated by His discerning power. What need, then, does He have of a word or a name, when the very wisdom and power in Him contains the nature of existing things, unconfused and distinct? Therefore, all existing and subsisting things are from God, but the names that signify things are applied to existing things for the sake of our guidance. And if someone were to say that these come to be according to what is pleasing to the customs of men, he will in no way sin against the doctrine of providence. For we say that not the nature of things, but the names, 2.1.284 come from us. The Hebrew names heaven one way and the Canaanite another, but each understands it in the same way, not differing at all in the comprehension of the subject due to the difference of sounds. But the overly scrupulous will-worship of these wise men, by which—if it were granted that words for things are from men—it is constructed that men are 20more original20 than God, is refuted as being something vain and without substance, even by that very example concerning Moses that we have mentioned. 2.1.285 For who gave Moses himself his name? Was it not Pharaoh's daughter, who named him from what had happened? For 'Moses' means water in the language of the Egyptians. Since, then, according to the command of the tyrant, his parents, having placed the infant in an ark, gave him to the streams (for so some of the historians have related the events concerning him), and it, by the divine will, being washed out by the swirl of the waters, was brought to the bank and became the foundling of the princess as she was at that moment bathing her body in the bath, it is said that since the child was obtained by her from the water, she gave the boy the name as a memorial of the event, a name which God Himself did not refuse to use for His servant, nor did He judge it unworthy to allow the appellation of the barbarian woman to stand for 2.1.286 the prophet. Thus, before this, Jacob, having taken hold of his sibling's heel, was named 'supplanter' from the position in which he was co-born; for those who have understood such things teach that the interpretation of 'Jacob' points to this when translated into the Greek language. 2.1.287 And again the midwife named Perez from what happened concerning the birth, and no one, in Eunomius's manner, was jealous of her as being 20more original20 than the authority of God. But also the mothers give the patriarchs their names, Reuben and Simeon and Levi and all the successive ones likewise, and no one in those times, in the manner of the present-day writer, appeared as a 20guardian20 of divine providence, so as to prevent the women from becoming 20more original20 than God through the giving of names. 2.1.288 And why should one speak of each case from the history, the water of contradiction and the place of mourning and the hill of foreskins and the valley of the cluster and the field of blood and all such names, given indeed by men, but mentioned often even from the person of God, by which it is possible to learn that the signification of things which happens through words is neither beyond human dignity, nor does the power of the divine nature have its witness through these. 2.1.289 But the other nonsense, which he has prattled against the truth, I will pass over, as having no force against the doctrines, judging it to be superfluous to dwell on vanities. For who of the more serious-minded is so careless

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τοσήνδε τοῦ σκότους περιγραφὴν ὀνομάζων. οὐκοῦν ἔρρωται διὰ πάντων ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τεχνι κῶς κατὰ τὰ σχήματα τῆς διαλεκτικῆς συνηρώτηται, δεικνὺς ὅτι θεὸς πραγμάτων ἐστὶ δημιουργός, οὐ ῥημάτων ψιλῶν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνου χάριν, ἀλλ' ἡμῶν ἕνεκεν ἐπίκειται τοῖς πράγμασι τὰ ὀνόματα. 2.1.282 ∆ιὰ γὰρ τὸ μὴ πάντοτε δυνατὸν ἡμῖν εἶναι πάντα ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔχειν τὰ ὄντα τὸ μέν τι τῶν ἀεὶ παρόντων γινώ σκομεν, τὸ δὲ τῇ μνήμῃ ἐναπογράφομεν. ἄλλως δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀσύγχυτον φυλαχθῆναι ἡμῖν τὴν μνήμην, μὴ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων σημασίας διαστελλούσης ἀπ' ἀλλήλων τὰ ἐναποκείμενα τῇ διανοίᾳ πράγματα. θεῷ δὲ πάντα πάρ εστι καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖ μνήμης αὐτῷ, πάντων τῇ διορατικῇ 2.1.283 δυνάμει περικρατουμένων τε καὶ θεωρουμένων. τίς οὖν ἐπ' αὐτοῦ χρεία ῥήματος ἢ ὀνόματος, αὐτῆς τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ σοφίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως ἀσύγχυτόν τε καὶ διακεκριμένην τὴν τῶν ὄντων φύσιν περιεχούσης; οὐκοῦν παρὰ θεοῦ μὲν τὰ ὄντα καὶ ὑφεστῶτα πάντα, τῆς δὲ ἡμετέρας ἕνεκεν ὁδηγίας ἔπεστι τοῖς οὖσι τὰ σημειωτικὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ὀνόματα. ταῦτα δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἀρέσκον ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων συνηθείαις γίνεσθαί τις εἰπὼν οὐδὲν εἰς τὸν τῆς προνοίας πλημμελήσει λόγον. οὐ γὰρ τὴν φύσιν τῶν ὄντων γίνεσθαι 2.1.284 παρ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὀνόματα λέγομεν. ἄλλως ὀνομάζει τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁ Ἑβραῖος καὶ ἑτέρως ὁ Χαναναῖος, νοεῖ δὲ ὡσαύτως ἑκάτερος, οὐδὲν τῇ διαφορᾷ τῶν φθόγγων περὶ τὴν κατανόησιν τοῦ ὑποκειμένου διαμφιβάλλοντες. ἡ δὲ λίαν εὐλαβὴς τῶν σοφῶν τούτων ἐθελοθρησκεία, δι' ὧν, εἰ δοθείη παρὰ ἀνθρώπων εἶναι τοῖς πράγμασι τὰς φωνάς, τὸ 20ἀρχηγικωτέρους20 εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους κατασκευάζει, ἐλέγχεται ματαία τις οὖσα καὶ ἀνυπόστατος καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Μωϋσέα μνημονευθέντος ἡμῖν 2.1.285 ὑποδείγματος. αὐτῷ γὰρ τῷ Μωϋσῇ τίς ἔθετο τὴν προσ ηγορίαν; οὐχ ἡ θυγάτηρ τοῦ Φαραὼ ἐκ τοῦ συμβάντος ἐπονομάσασα; Μωϋσῆς γὰρ τὸ ὕδωρ λέγεται τῇ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φωνῇ. ἐπεὶ οὖν κατὰ τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦ τυράννου κιβωτῷ τὸ βρέφος ἐνθέντες οἱ γεννησάμενοι τοῖς ῥείθροις ἔδωκαν (οὕτω γάρ τινες τῶν ἱστορικῶν τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν διη γήσαντο), ἡ δὲ κατὰ θεῖον βούλημα ὑπὸ τῆς δίνης τῶν ὑδάτων ἐκκυμανθεῖσα προσηνέχθη τῇ ὄχθῃ καὶ εὕρημα τῆς βασιλίδος κατ' ἐκεῖνο τῷ λουτρῷ τὸ σῶμα φαιδρυνομένης ἐγένετο, ὡς ἐξ ὕδατος αὐτῇ τοῦ παιδὸς κτηθέντος μνημό συνον τῆς συντυχίας λέγεται τῷ παιδὶ θέσθαι τὸ ὄνομα, ᾧ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ θεράποντος κεχρῆσθαι οὐ παρῃ τήσατο, οὐδὲ ἀνάξιον ἔκρινε τὴν τῆς βαρβάρου κλῆσιν ἐπὶ 2.1.286 τοῦ προφήτου κυρίαν ἐᾶσαι. οὕτω πρὸ τούτου ὁ Ἰακὼβ τῆς τοῦ συγγόνου πτέρνης ἐπειλημμένος πτερνιστὴς ἐκ τοῦ σχήματος ᾧ συναπεκυήθη προσηγορεύθη· εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ φέρειν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν εἰς Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν μετα-2.1.287 ληφθεῖσαν οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα νενοηκότες διδάσκουσι. καὶ τὸν Φαρὲς ἡ μαῖα πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ περὶ τὸν τόκον συμβάντος ὠνόμασε, καὶ οὐδεὶς κατὰ Εὐνόμιον ὡς 20ἀρχηγικωτέραν20 αὐτὴν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξουσίας ἐζηλοτύπησεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πατριάρχαις αἱ μητέρες τὰ ὀνόματα τίθενται, Ῥουβὶμ καὶ Συμεὼν καὶ Λευῒ καὶ τοῖς καθεξῆς πᾶσιν ὁμοίως, καὶ οὐδεὶς κατὰ τὸν νῦν λογογράφον ἐν τοῖς τότε χρόνοις τῆς θείας προνοίας 20κηδεμὼν20 ἀνεφάνη, ὥστε κωλῦσαι διὰ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων θέσεως 20ἀρχηγικώτερα20 τοῦ θεοῦ 2.1.288 γενέσθαι τὰ γύναια. τί δ' ἄν τις τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας λέγοι, ὕδωρ ἀντιλογίας καὶ τόπον πένθους καὶ βουνὸν ἀκροβυστιῶν καὶ φάραγγα βότρυος καὶ ἀγρὸν αἵματος καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα τῶν ὀνομάτων τεθέντα μὲν παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, μνημονευόμενα δὲ πολλάκις καὶ ἐκ προσώπου θεοῦ, δι' ὧν ἔστι μαθεῖν ὡς οὔτε ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀξίαν ἐστὶν ἡ διὰ ῥημάτων γινομένη κατὰ τῶν πραγμάτων σημείωσις οὔτε ἡ τῆς θείας φύσεως δύναμις διὰ τούτων τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἔχει. 2.1.289 Ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους φληνάφους, οὓς κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλήρησεν, ὡς οὐδεμίαν ἔχοντας κατὰ τῶν δογμά των ἰσχὺν ὑπερβήσομαι, περιττὸν εἶναι κρίνων ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν τοῖς ματαίοις. τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄφροντις τῶν σπουδαιοτέρων