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it is not said to ascend among them, but to go out; for Scripture says: "The sun went out upon the earth," not ascended, and again it says: "His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit to the end of heaven," not an ascent; for if it is a sphere, it has no end; for where does that which is round on all sides have an end? Does David alone say this, or also the Savior? Hear the Lord Himself saying: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, He will send His angels with a great trumpet and a great voice, and they will gather His elect from one end of heaven to the other." 10.32 We seek again where the sun sets and where it runs at night, if it is as we have said. But according to those outside, under the earth; but according to us who say it is a tabernacle, pay attention, I ask, if the word is not deceptive, but has a seal witnessed by the truth. The place also concurs with my expression; for such things are delivered more by sight than by hearing. 10.33 Imagine there is a vault placed over the church towards the east, in the manner of the dawn, with the north there and the south here and the west there, then the sun rising and about to set, not setting under the earth, but traversing the northern parts and as if hidden by some wall, the waters not permitting its course to be seen, and running along the northern parts and reaching the east again. But from where will this be clear? For the blessed Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, and this is a scripture that is witnessed, not forged: "For the sun," he says, "rises, and the sun sets, and draws toward its place; rising there, it goes toward the south, and circles toward the north; it circles round and round, and on its circuits the wind returns." See it therefore running toward the south and circling the north, and learn. And after other things 10.34 All things therefore obey God's law. Heaven stands, not supported by its own power, but made firm by the divine word; for when I am at a loss as to how heaven is fixed from waters, the blessed David resolves my difficulty, saying: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm"; why were they made firm? Because from waters. For what is firm is never said to have been made firm; for it is one thing to be made firm, and another to be firm; it is said to be made firm, therefore, when what is rarefied and porous is solidified. From the sixth discourse 10.35 Thus that tree did not have a nature that produced death-dealing knowledge, but it received its name from the tragedy that happened to Adam concerning it. I resolve the matter briefly, for the divine Scripture is not at a loss. Today we have a saving food, of which the faithful partake. Does the gift itself have natural salvation? If through the invoked glory you have a pledge from the present things, why do you doubt concerning the things that came before? There, a death-dealing food; here, a life-giving food. If this saves by nature, and not by grace, then that one also destroyed by nature, and not by purpose. And after other things from the fourth discourse 10.36 For the angels, having come into being, were not co-workers of God, but ministers praising, giving thanks that they had come to be, knowing that before this they were not, having come into being by the spirit of goodness, they stood as spectators, only watching the things that happened with them and after them; for they saw heaven come into being out of nothing, and were astonished; they saw the sea being marked off, and they marveled; they beheld the earth being adorned, and they shuddered. That the angels were not co-workers, but rather admirers, God says to Job: "When I made the stars, all my angels praised me and sang hymns." And after other things 10.37 He saw Adam sinning, but He foresaw those from him acting righteously; He saw him being cast out of paradise, but He foresaw that a kingdom was prepared for him. The wondrous thing is that even before paradise the kingdom came to be. Why then do you wonder if he was cast out of paradise? When the wondrous thing is that before paradise the kingdom of heaven was prepared for him, as the Savior says: "Come, you blessed of the
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οὐκ ἀναβαίνειν λέγεται παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' ἐξέρχεσθαι· λέγει γὰρ ἡ Γραφή· "Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν", οὐκ ἀνῆλθε, καὶ πάλιν φησίν· "Ἀπ' ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἡ ἔξοδος αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ κατάντημα αὐτοῦ ἕως ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ", οὐκ ἄνοδος· εἰ δὲ σφαῖρά ἐστιν, ἄκρον οὐκ ἔχει· τὸ γὰρ πανταχόθεν περιφερὲς ποῦ ἔχει τὸ ἄκρον; Ἆρα οὖν ὁ ∆αυῒδ μόνος τοῦτο λέγει, ἢ καὶ ὁ Σωτήρ; Ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος· "Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ, ἀποστελεῖ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ μετὰ μεγάλης σάλπιγγος καὶ φωνῆς μεγάλης, καὶ συνάξουσι τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς αὐτοῦ ἀπ' ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἕως ἄκρου αὐτοῦ." 10.32 Ζητοῦμεν δὲ πάλιν ποῦ δύνει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ποῦ τρέχει τὴν νύκτα, εἰ οὕτως ἔχει καθὼς εἰρήκαμεν. Ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοὺς ἔξω ὑπὸ τὴν γῆν· καθ' ἡμᾶς δὲ τοὺς τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτὸν λέγοντας, πρόσεχε, παρακαλῶ, εἰ μὴ διαψεύδεται τὸ ῥῆμα, ἀλλ' ἔχει σφραγῖδα μεμαρτυρημένην ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας. Συντρέχει δέ μου τῇ φράσει καὶ ὁ τόπος· τὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ὄψει μᾶλλον ἢ ἀκοῇ παραδίδοται. 10.33 Νόμισον εἶναι καμάραν ἐπικειμένην τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐπὶ ἀνατολὴν μὲν κατὰ τὸν τύπον τῆς ἑῴας, ἄρκτον δὲ ἐκεῖσε καὶ μεσημβρίαν ἐνθάδε καὶ δύσιν ἐκεῖ, εἶτα τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα καὶ μέλλοντα δύνειν, οὐχ ὑπὸ γῆν δύνοντα, ἀλλὰ τὰ βόρεια μέρη διατρέχοντα καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπό τινα τοῖχον κρυπτόμενον, μὴ συγχωρούντων τῶν ὑδάτων φανῆναι αὐτοῦ τὸν δρόμον, καὶ τρέχοντα κατὰ τὰ βόρεια μέρη καὶ καταλαμβάνοντα τὴν ἀνατολὴν πάλιν. Ἀλλὰ πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον ἔσται; Λέγει γοῦν ὁ μακάριος Σολομῶν ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαστῇ, γραφὴ δέ ἐστιν αὕτη μαρτυρουμένη, οὐ παραγραφομένη· "Ἀνατέλλει γάρ, φησίν, ὁ ἥλιος καὶ δύνει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ ἕλκει· ἀνατέλλων αὐτὸς ἐκεῖ πορεύεται πρὸς νότον καὶ κυκλοῖ πρὸς βορρᾶν· κυκλοῖ κυκλῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ κύκλους αὐτοῦ ἐπιστρέφει τὸ πνεῦμα." Βλέπε οὖν αὐτὸν κατὰ μεσημβρίαν τρέχοντα καὶ τὸν βορρᾶν κυκλοῦντα, καὶ μάθε. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα 10.34 Πάντα οὖν πείθεται Θεοῦ νόμῳ. Οὐρανὸς ἕστηκεν οὐκ ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει βασταζόμενος, ἀλλὰ θείῳ λόγῳ ἐστερεωμένος· ὅταν γὰρ ἀπορήσω πῶς ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐξ ὑδάτων πέπηκται, λύει μου τὴν ἀπορίαν ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ λέγων· "Τῷ λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν"· διὰ τί ἐστερεώθησαν; Ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ ὑδάτων. Οὐδέποτε γὰρ τὸ στερεὸν λέγεται ἐστερεώθη· ἄλλο γὰρ ἐστερεώθη, καὶ ἄλλο τὸ εἶναι στερεόν· στερεωθὲν οὖν λέγεται, ὅταν τὸ ἠραιωμένον καὶ κεχαυνωμένον παγῇ. Ἐκ τοῦ ἕκτου λόγου 10.35 Οὕτω τὸ δένδρον ἐκεῖνο οὐ φύσιν εἶχε θανατοποιοῦ γνώσεως ἐργαστικήν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ αὐτὸ γενομένης τῷ Ἀδὰμ τραγῳδίας ἔλαβε τὸ ὄνομα. Λύω δὲ τὸ πρᾶγμα συντόμως, οὐ γὰρ ἀπορεῖ ἡ θεία Γραφή. Σήμερον ἔχομεν βρῶμα σωτήριον, οὗ μετέχουσιν οἱ πιστοί. Ἆρα αὐτὸ τὸ δῶρον φυσικὴν ἔχει σωτηρίαν; Εἰ διὰ τὴν ἐπικαλουμένην δόξαν ἔχεις ἐνέχυρον ἀπὸ τῶν παρόντων, τί ἀμφιβάλλεις περὶ τῶν προλαβόντων; Ἐκεῖ βρῶμα θανατοποιόν, ὧδε βρῶμα ζωοποιόν. Εἰ ταῦτα φύσει σῴζει, καὶ οὐ τῇ χάριτι, κἀκεῖνο τῇ φύσει ἀνεῖλε, καὶ οὐ τῇ προθέσει. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα ἐκ τοῦ τετάρτου λόγου 10.36 Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἄγγελοι γενόμενοι συνεργοὶ μὲν οὐκ ἦσαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ λειτουργοὶ ὑμνοῦντες, εὐχαριστοῦντες ὅτι ἐγένοντο, εἰδότες ὅτι πρὸ τούτου οὐκ ὄντες, πνεύματι ἀγαθότητος γενόμενοι, ἑστήκεσαν θεωροὶ βλέποντες μόνον τὰ γενόμενα μετ' αὐτῶν καὶ μετ' αὐτούς· ἔβλεπον γὰρ οὐρανὸν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος γενόμενον, καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο· ἔβλεπον θάλασσαν ἀφοριζομένην, καὶ ἐθαύμαζον· ἐθεώρουν γῆν κοσμουμένην, καὶ ἔφριττον. Ὅτι δὲ οὐκ ἦσαν ἄγγελοι συνεργοί, ἀλλ' ἢ θαυμασταί, λέγει ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἰώβ· "Ὅτε ἐποίουν ἄστρα, ᾔνεσάν με πάντες ἄγγελοί μου καὶ ὕμνησαν." Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα 10.37 Ἔβλεπε τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἁμαρτάνοντα, ἀλλὰ προεώρα τοὺς ἐξ αὐτοῦ δικαιοπραγοῦντας· ἔβλεπεν ἐκβαλλόμενον ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου, ἀλλὰ προεώρα ὅτι ἡτοίμασται αὐτῷ βασιλεία. Τὸ δὲ θαυμαστὸν ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ παραδείσου ἡ βασιλεία ἐγένετο. Τί οὖν θαυμάζεις εἰ ἐξεβλήθη τοῦ παραδείσου; Ὅπου γε θαυμαστὸν ὅτι πρὸ τοῦ παραδείσου ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν αὐτῷ ἡτοίμασται, καθὼς λέγει ὁ Σωτήρ· "∆εῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ