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not being as being; hinting to us the ease by the name of the call. And that he also holds fast the things that have come into being, the prophet himself again shows, adding, He established them for ever, and for ever and ever. He made a decree, and it shall not pass away. See here again how he indicated the authority, the power, not only by establishing, but also by saying, Decree, signifying His energy by human words. For just as it is easy for you to speak, and simple to command; so it is for God to make things that are not, and to hold fast things that have come into being; or rather, not so, but much more. For it is not possible to represent the excess of ease with which he made these things. And the wonderful thing is, not that he only holds them fast, nor that the laws of nature stand immovable, but that they do so for such an infinite time. Consider, then, how long an age, and nothing of what exists has been confounded; the sea has not flooded the earth, the sun has not burned up this visible world, the heaven has not been shaken, the boundaries of night or of day have not been confused, nor the changes of seasons, nor anything else of such things; but each of the things below and of the things above stands with all precision, preserving for itself the boundaries once laid down from the beginning. Having spoken, then, about the creation above and the things in heaven, he comes down to the earth. And what he did for the things above, beginning from the super-celestial, and descending to the celestial, this he also does here, leaping from the celestial to the earth. For since there are some who say that the things in heaven are worthy of God's creation, but find fault with the things on earth, saying because there are in it scorpions, vipers, dragons, and the rest of the race of beasts, and the fruitless trees, as if making a defense to them, he again handles the argument differently. And see what he does: Leaving aside the things confessedly good, sheep and oxen, whose usefulness experience also shows, asses, camels, and whatever is suitable for our transport of goods, he conducts his argument among the things that seem to be useless, bringing forward dragons, and the unnavigable part of the sea, and the things that seem to cause pain, such as fire, hail, snow, ice; then the fruitless trees, the mountains; and again leaving the plains, the level and suitable for agriculture and the bearing of cultivated fruits, he moves on to the mountains and the hills and the more desolate places, and he mentions all the reptiles. But in order to learn these things more clearly, it is worthwhile to listen to the words themselves. For after saying, He made a decree, and it shall not pass away, he added: Praise the Lord from the earth, you dra 55.488 gons and all deeps; fire, hail? snow, ice, stormy wind, fulfilling his word. Another, Wind of a hurricane. The mountains and all the hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars; the beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds. For what reason does he handle the argument thus? To show from abundance the providence of God. For if the things that seem to be useless, and hostile to the human race, are so good, so useful, as to offer up a hymn to God and a doxology through their own creation; consider what the others are like. And if you please, let us go through each of the things mentioned. Dragons, he says, and all deeps. Here he calls the sea monsters dragons, as also elsewhere, when he says, This dragon, whom you have formed to play in it. And in many places one might see this animal so called. 3. And how does this praise the one who made it? he says. And how does it not praise? For when you see the size, the constitution of the body, which the Scripture relates in Job with greater clarity; how will you not marvel at the creator, what a great animal he has produced? Not through

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μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα· τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς κλήσεως τὴν εὐκολίαν ἡμῖν αἰνιττόμενος. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ γενόμενα διακρατεῖ, αὐτὸς ὁ προφήτης πάλιν δείκνυσιν ἐπαγαγὼν, Ἔστησεν αὐτὰ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Πρόσταγμα ἔθετο, καὶ οὐ παρελεύσεται. Ὅρα καὶ ἐνταῦθα πάλιν τὴν ἐξουσίαν, τὴν αὐθεντίαν πῶς παρεδήλωσεν, οὐ τῷ στῆναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν, Πρόσταγμα, ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις λέξεσι τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ παραδηλῶν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ σοὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν εὔκολον, καὶ τὸ προστάξαι ῥᾴδιον· οὕτω τῷ Θεῷ τὸ ποιῆσαι οὐκ ὄντα, καὶ γενόμενα διακρατῆσαι· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ πλέον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ δυνατὸν παραστῆσαι τῆς εὐκολίας τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, μεθ' ἧς ταῦτα ἐποίησε. Καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν, οὐχ ὅτι διακρατεῖ μόνον, οὐδὲ ὅτι ἑστήκασιν ἀκίνητοι οἱ νόμοι τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ χρόνον οὕτως ἄπειρον. Ἐννόησον γοῦν πόσος αἰὼν, καὶ οὐδὲν συνεχύθη τῶν ὄντων· οὐ θάλαττα τὴν γῆν ἐπέκλυσεν, οὐχ ἥλιος τόδε τὸ ὁρώμενον κατέκαυσεν, οὐκ οὐρανὸς παρεσαλεύθη, οὐ νυκτὸς, οὐδὲ ἡμέρας ὅροι συνεχύθησαν, οὐχ ὡρῶν τροπαὶ, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν· ἀλλ' ἕκαστον καὶ τῶν κάτω καὶ τῶν ἄνω μετὰ πάσης ἕστηκε τῆς ἀκριβείας τοὺς ἅπαξ τεθέντας ὅρους ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτῷ διατηροῦν. Εἰπὼν τοίνυν περὶ τῆς ἄνω κτίσεως καὶ τῶν κατ' οὐρανὸν, κάτεισιν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. Ὅπερ δὲ ἐποίησεν ἐπὶ τῶν ἄνω, ἀρξάμενος μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπερουρανίων, καταβὰς δὲ εἰς τὰ οὐράνια, τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα ποιεῖ ἀπὸ τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν μεταπηδῶν. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ τινές εἰσι λέγοντες τὰ μὲν κατ' οὐρανὸν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δημιουργίας ἄξια εἶναι, τῶν δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς ἐπιλαμβάνονται, διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ εἶναι σκορπίους λέγοντες, ἔχεις, δράκοντας, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν θηρίων γένος, καὶ τὰ ἄκαρπα τῶν δένδρων, πρὸς τούτους ὥσπερ ἀπολογούμενος, ἑτέρως πάλιν μεταχειρίζει τὸν λόγον. Καὶ ὅρα τί ποιεῖ· Τὰ ὡμολογημένα καλὰ ἀφεὶς, πρόβατα καὶ βόας, ὧν καὶ ἡ πεῖρα τὴν χρείαν δείκνυσιν, ὄνους, καμήλους, καὶ ὅσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγωγίμων ἡμῖν μετακομιδὴν ἐπιτήδεια, ἐν τοῖς δοκοῦσιν ἀχρήστοις εἶναι περιάγει τὸν λόγον, δράκοντας εἰς μέσον ἄγων, καὶ τὸ ἄπλωτον τοῦ πελάγους μέρος, καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα λυπεῖν, οἷον τὸ πῦρ, τὴν χάλαζαν, τὴν χιόνα, τὸν κρύσταλλον· εἶτα τὰ ἄκαρπα τῶν δένδρων, τὰ ὄρη· καὶ πάλιν τὰ πεδία καταλιπὼν, τὰ ὕπτια καὶ πρὸς γεωργίαν ἐπιτήδεια καὶ καρπῶν ἡμέρων φορὰν, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη μεταβαίνει καὶ τοὺς βουνοὺς καὶ τὰ ἐρημότερα τῶν χωρίων, καὶ τῶν ἑρπετῶν μέμνηται πάντων. Ὥστε δὲ σαφέστερον ταῦτα μαθεῖν, ἄξιον ἐπακοῦσαι αὐτῶν τῶν ῥημάτων. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εἰπεῖν, Πρόσταγμα ἔθετο, καὶ οὐ παρελεύσεται, ἐπήγαγεν· Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον ἐκ τῆς γῆς, δρά 55.488 κοντες καὶ πᾶσαι ἄβυσσοι· πῦρ, χάλαζα; χιὼν, κρύσταλλος, πνεῦμα καταιγίδος, τὰ ποιοῦντα τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ. Ἕτερος, Ἄνεμος τυφῶνος. Τὰ ὄρη καὶ πάντες οἱ βουνοὶ, ξύλα καρποφόρα, καὶ πᾶσαι κέδροι· τὰ θηρία καὶ πάντα τὰ κτήνη, ἑρπετὰ καὶ πετεινὰ πτερωτά. Τίνος ἕνεκεν οὕτω μεταχειρίζει τὸν λόγον; Ἐκ περιουσίας δεικνὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν πρόνοιαν. Εἰ γὰρ τὰ δοκοῦντα ἄχρηστα εἶναι, καὶ πολέμια τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὕτως ἐστὶ καλὰ, οὕτω χρήσιμα, ὡς καὶ αὐτὰ ὕμνον ἀναφέρειν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ δοξολογίαν διὰ τῆς οἰκείας δημιουργίας· ἐννόησον οἷα τὰ ἄλλα. Καὶ εἰ δοκεῖ, ἐπέλθωμεν ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων. ∆ράκοντες, φησὶ, καὶ πᾶσαι ἄβυσσοι. ∆ράκοντας ἐνταῦθα τὰ κήτη λέγει, ὡς καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ, ὅταν λέγῃ, ∆ράκων οὗτος, ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ. Καὶ πολλαχοῦ ἴδοι τις ἂν τὸ ζῶον τοῦτο οὕτω καλούμενον. γʹ. Καὶ πῶς τοῦτο αἰνεῖ τὸν ποιήσαντα; φησί. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ αἰνεῖ; Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃς τὸ μέγεθος, τὴν σύμπηξιν τοῦ σώματος, ἣν ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ ἡ Γραφὴ διηγεῖται μετὰ πλείονος τῆς σαφηνείας· πῶς οὐ θαυμάσεις τὸν δημιουργήσαντα, ἡλίκον ζῶον παρήγαγεν; Οὐ διὰ