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But the saying about God, He hangs the earth upon nothing, shows that it has its place in the very center of the universe. But in addition to You have founded the earth, it also says and the heavens are the works of your hands, your active powers being called hands. For since, with our craftsmen, their working with their hands shows that they have genuinely made these things, it is shown that created things are truly the works of God by their being called the works of his hands. But while created things are altered because the form of this world is passing away, you remain the same, not being of a nature to be altered or changed. For this is a property of created things, that their very substance began from a turning. So next it says, And they will all grow old like a garment, since all things that are subject to need grow old. For things that have a beginning in time, as much time passes, grow old. But see that you are not deceived about God when you hear in Daniel the Ancient of Days. For here it does not signify having grown old from a multitude of days, but being ancient and older than the days; just as the saying in the Psalms has the same meaning, You who are before the ages, so also Before the days, that is, before all time, he is old and ancient. But the oldness of the heavens does not signify their being before time, but in time. But these, growing old like a garment, will be rolled up, and like a mantle they will be rolled up by the one who made them, in order to be changed and re-formed. And for them to grow old and be rolled up signifies that the need for which they contributed to the present order has passed. For just as a mantle is rolled up after it has fulfilled its need, so since there will be a re-formation of the heavens together with the earth after they have passed away, according to the Savior who says, Heaven and earth will pass away, they are fittingly said to be rolled up like a mantle. So, upon their being rolled up, it adds And they will be changed. And in Isaiah it is said, The heaven will be rolled up like a book. But of these, he says, not remaining in sameness, the years will someday fail. But of you, O master, always being in the same state and just so, the years neither began nor will they fail; For your years are from generation to generation. But see that you do not wish to take the years in a temporal sense; for the one about whom these things are said is timeless. And he said his years do not fail because his existence remains for eternity, since he is incorruptible and alone has immortality. But the sons of the servants of God must not be taken entirely according to the flesh but according to instruction and imitation of life. For in this way some were also called sons of the prophets, because they had perhaps been formed by them according to the prophetic habit. And so Paul, being a servant of Christ, had as sons Silvanus and Timothy and those like them. And the seed of these were those who were helped by them. Therefore, his aforementioned children will dwell with Paul in the heavenly tents, with them and their seed being guided aright for eternity.

977 Ps 102,1bc But others say that the composite man often speaks as if about

others of himself, saying My soul, My body. And so Paul knows this usage, where he says on the one hand, But I call God as a witness against my soul, and on the other hand, buffeting My body. And they say, taking it this way, just as we speak of the populace and rulers and administrators of the city, who are not entirely other than it (for it is completed from them), but that each order is different from the whole city (for the rulers alone are not the city, nor privately its councilors, nor again the populace by itself), since all together are the city—so, even if the composite man is not other than the soul and the body (for he is composed from these), yet the soul is spoken of as something other than the whole of him. The uncompounded therefore

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εἰρημένον δὲ περὶ θεοῦ Κρεμάζων γῆν ἐπ' οὐδενὸς ἐμφαίνει τὴν ἐν τῷ μεσαιτάτῳ τοῦ παντὸς χώραν αὐτὴν ἐσχηκέναι. ̓Αλλὰ πρὸς τῷ θεμελιῶσαί σε τὴν γῆν καὶ οἱ οὐρανοὶ εργα τῶν χειρῶν σού εἰσι, τῶν ἐνεργητικῶν σου δυνάμεων χειρῶν ὀνομαζομένων. ἐπεὶ γὰρ τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν τεχνιτῶν χερσὶν ἐργαζομένων τὰ εργα παρίστησι γνησίως αὐτοὺς ταῦτα πεποιηκέναι, τὸ κυρίως εργα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ κτίσματα ειναι παρίσταται διὰ τὸ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ εργα λέγεσθαι. Τῶν δὲ κτισμάτων ἀλλοιουμένων διὰ τὸ παράγειν τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, σὺ διαμένεις ὡσαύτως οὐ πεφυκὼς ἀλλοιοῦσθαι η μεταβάλλεσθαι. κτισμάτων γὰρ ιδιον τοῦτο τὸ καὶ τὴν οὐσίωσιν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τροπῆς ηρχθαι. ̔Εξῆς γοῦν φησι τὸ Καὶ πάντες ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιωθήσονται, παλαιουμένων πάντων τῶν ὑπὸ χρείαν. τὰ γὰρ χρονικὴν ἀρχὴν ἐν τῷ γίνεσθαι λαβόντα, πολλοῦ χρόνου παρατρέχοντος, παλαιοῦται. ἀλλ' ορα μὴ ἀπατηθῇς περὶ θεοῦ ἀκούων ἐν ∆ανιὴλ τὸ Παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν. ἐνταῦθα γὰρ οὐ τὸ πεπαλαιῶσθαι δηλοῖ ἐκ πλήθους ἡμερῶν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀρχαῖος καὶ παλαιὸς τῶν ἡμερῶν ειναι· ὡς ισον τὸ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς δύναται τὸ φάσκον ̔Ο ὑπάρχων πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, ουτω καὶ Πρὸ τῶν ἡμερῶν τουτέστι πρὸ παντὸς χρόνου παλαιὸς καὶ ἀρχαῖός ἐστι. τῶν οὐρανῶν δὲ ἡ παλαιότης οὐ τὸ πρὸ χρόνου ἀλλ' ἐν χρόνῳ αὐτοὺς ειναι δηλοῖ. ουτοι δὲ ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιούμενοι ἑλιγήσονται καὶ ὡς περιβόλαιον ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοὺς πεποιηκότος ἑλιγήσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ἀλλαγῆναι καὶ μεταστοιχειωθῆναι. τὸ δὲ παλαιοῦσθαι καὶ ἑλίσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς σημαίνει παρεληλυθέναι τὴν χρείαν καθ' ην συνέβαλλον τὸ τῇ παρούσῃ διακοσμήσει. ὡς γὰρ τὸ περιβόλαιον ἑλίσσεται μετὰ τὸ πληρῶσαι τὴν χρείαν, ουτως ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν αμα τῇ γῇ πάλιν ἀναστοιχείωσις εσται μετὰ τὸ παρελθεῖν αὐτὰ κατὰ τὸν λέγοντα σωτῆρα ̔Ο οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσεται, εἰκότως ειρηνται ὡσεὶ περιβόλαιον ἑλίσσεσθαι. Τῇ ἑλιγῇ γοῦν αὐτῶν ἐπιφέρεται τὸ Καὶ ἀλλαγήσονται. καὶ ἐν ̔Ησαΐᾳ δὲ ειρηται ̔Ελιγήσεται ὁ οὐρανὸς ὡς βίβλιον. Τούτων δέ, φησὶν ἐν ταυτότητι, μὴ μενόντων ἐπιλείψει τὰ ετη ποτέ. σοῦ δέ, ω δέσποτα, ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως εχοντος ουτε ηρξατο ουτε ἐπιλείψει τὰ ετη· ̓Εν γενεᾷ γὰρ καὶ γενεᾷ τὰ ετη σου. ἀλλ' ορα μὴ χρονικῶς ἐκλαβεῖν τὰ ετη θελήσεις· αχρονος γὰρ περὶ ου ταῦτα λέγεται. μὴ ἐκλείπειν δὲ αὐτοῦ ειπε τὰ ετη τῷ ἐπ' απειρον τὴν υπαρξιν αὐτοῦ μένειν ἀφθάρτου οντος καὶ μόνου ἀθανασίαν εχοντος. Υἱοὺς δὲ δούλων τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ πάντως κατὰ σάρκα δεῖ λαβεῖν ἀλλὰ κατὰ παίδευσιν καὶ μίμησιν πολιτείας. ταύτῃ γὰρ καὶ υἱοὶ τῶν προφητῶν τινες ἐκαλοῦντο τῷ κατὰ προφητικὴν εξιν ισως γεγενῆσθαι παρ' αὐτῶν. καὶ Παῦλος γοῦν Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ων υἱοὺς ειχε Σιλουανὸν καὶ Τιμόθεον καὶ τοὺς τούτοις παραπλησίους. Σπέρμα δὲ αὐτῶν τούτων οἱ πρὸς αὐτῶν ὠφελούμενοι ἐτύγχανον. κατασκηνώσουσιν ουν σὺν Παύλῳ ἐν ταῖς σκηναῖς ταῖς ἐπουρανίαις οἱ προειρημένοι αὐτοῦ παῖδες, αμα αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατευθυνομένων.

977 Ps 102,1bc Αλλοι δέ φασιν τὸν σύνθετον ανθρωπον πολλάκις ὡς περὶ

αλλων ἑαυτοῦ λέγειν ̔Η ψυχή μου Τὸ σῶμά μου. καὶ Παῦλος γοῦν οιδε τὴν χρῆσιν ταύτην, οπου μὲν λέγων ̓Εγὼ δὲ μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, οπου δὲ ὑπωπιάζων Τὸ σῶμά μου. φασὶ δὲ ουτως ἐκλαμβάνοντες ωσπερ λέγομεν δῆμον καὶ αρχοντας καὶ ἐπιμελητὰς τῆς πόλεως οὐ πάντῃ ἑτέρους οντας αὐτῆς (ἐξ αὐτῶν γὰρ συμπληροῦται), ἀλλ' οτι εκαστον τάγμα αλλο τῆς ολης πόλεώς ἐστιν (οὐ γὰρ οἱ αρχοντες μόνοι ἡ πόλις οὐδὲ ἰδίᾳ οἱ βουληταὶ αὐτῆς οὐδ' αυ ὁ δῆμος καθ' ἑαυτόν), τῷ αμα πάντας τὴν πόλιν ειναι-ουτως, εἰ καὶ μὴ αλλος ὁ σύνθετος ανθρωπος παρὰ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα (ἐξ αὐτῶν γὰρ τούτων συντέθειται), ἀλλά γε τοῦ ολου ἡ ψυχὴ λέγεται ὡς αλλη αὐτοῦ. ̓Ασύνθετος ουν