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On Genesis, on creation [Sp.] (fragments)

85 For it is possible to discern in many ways, says the Father, the difference and dissimilarity of these animals and birds; first, through the saying 'And the Lord God *still* formed from the earth;' for we do not find anything to be a 'formation' of God except for man; again, also through the use of the word *still*, scripture shows that certain other animals and birds are being prophesied here, different from the former ones; for it is not written that the first birds came from the earth, but from the waters; but these came from the earth, or rather were formed by God's own hand and not by a command. Likewise also, through the saying that *all* the birds and *all* the beasts were *now* formed by God does not give us room to say at all that some came into being before, and a part now; whence God does not command anything about seed-eating food among these; for those entering paradise do not eat grass, but every tree that is beautiful to see and good for food, and above all from the tree of life, of Christ the life-giver; and it is possible to say that these animals are these beasts, the nations gathered by God into the Church, or that paradise today is a stable for horses and a pigsty and a camel-station and a sheep-pen (...) .

86 Not so, O philosopher, but rather God’s saying: ‘Let them rule over all the earth,’ and: ‘have dominion over it and over all things in it,’ this is the key point of making man in the image of God and for him to rule all the earth. Since, just as God rules over all the earth and all things in it, so also he established man as a second ruler of all the earth and the things in it, this, I say, is for man to have been made in the image of God and after his likeness. 87 And God said: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. But to whom did he speak? Let us inquire, philosopher. For in saying: ‘And God said: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness,’ he has raised the question for us to understand, to whom he was saying ‘Let us make’; for having said: ‘And God said: Let us make man,’ he added, saying: ‘And God made man, in the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.’ The meaning of ‘Let us make,’ therefore, signifies the existence of a co-creating person and introduces one of equal title. For as God the Father is the one who said: ‘Let us make man,’ so also God is the one to whom ‘Let us make’ was spoken, there being one divinity of both persons, both of the one who said: ‘Let us make man in our image and after our likeness,’ and of the one who made man. For the expression ‘Let us make’ represents the all-holy and unchangeable divinity of the Father and the Son; for the image of God is simple and uncompounded, being fire by nature.

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In Genesim de creatione [Sp.] (fragmenta)

85 Καὶ γὰρ ἐκ πολλῶν τρόπων ἔστι διαγνῶναι, φησὶν ὁ Πατὴρ, τούτων τῶν ζῴων καὶ πετεινῶν τὸ διάφορόν τε καὶ ἀνόμοιον· πρῶτον διὰ τοῦ εἰπεῖν καὶ ἔπλασε κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἔτι· οὐ γὰρ εὑρίσκομεν πλάσμα Θεοῦ εἶναι εἰ μὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· πάλιν καὶ διὰ τοῦ λέγειν τὸ ἔτι, δείκνυσιν ἡ γραφὴ ἔτερά τινα ἐνταῦθα ζῷα προφητεύεσθαι καὶ πετεινὰ παρὰ τὰ πρότερα οὔτε γὰρ γέγραπται τὰ πρῶτα πετεινὰ ἐκ γῆς γενόμενα, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὑδάτων· ταῦτα δὲ ἐκ γῆς ἐγένοντο, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπλάσθησαν ἰδιοχείρως παρὰ Θεοῦ καὶ οὐ κατὰ πρόσταξιν. Ὡσαύτως καὶ διὰ τοῦ λέγειν πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ πάντα τὰ θηρία νῦν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ πλασθῆναι οὐ δίδωσι ἡμῖν χώραν τοῦ ὅλως εἰπεῖν ὅτι μὲν ἐγένοντο πρότερον, μέρος δὲ νῦν ὅθεν οὔτε περὶ σπερμοφάγου βρώσεως ἐν τούτοις τι διακελεύεται ὁ Θεός· τὰ γὰρ εἰς παράδεισον εἰσερχόμενα οὐ χόρτον ἐσθίει, ἀλλὰ πᾶν ξύλον ὡραῖον εἰς ὅρασιν καὶ καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ πρό γε πάντων ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς Χριστοῦ τοῦ ζωοποιοῦντος καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ζῷα ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἔθνη εἰσὶ ταῦτα τὰ θηρία τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ συναχθέντα ἢ ὅτι ἱππὼν καὶ συβόσιον καὶ καμηλοστάσιον καὶ οἰοτρόφυον (...) σήμερον ὁ παράδεισος ὑπάρχει.

86 Οὐχ οὕτως, ὦ φιλόσοφε, ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ εἰπεῖν τὸν Θεόν· ἀρχέτωσαν πάσης τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ· κατακυριευσάτωσαν αὐτῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ, τοῦτο τὸ κύριόν ἐστι τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπο κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ καὶ ἄρχειν αὐτὸν πάσης τῆς γῆς. Ἐπείπερ, ὡς ἄρχει ὁ Θεὸς ἁπάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ πάντων, οὕτω καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον δεύτερον ἄρχοντα πάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ κατέστησε, τοῦτο εἶναι τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπόν φημι. 87 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν. Ἀλλὰ πρὸς τίνα ἔφη· ζητήσωμεν, φιλόσοφε; ἐν τῷ γὰρ εἰπεῖν· καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν, ζήτημα ἐνέβαλε νοῆσαι ἡμᾶς, πρὸς τίνα ἔλεγε τὸ ποιήσωμεν· εἰπὼν γὰρ· καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπήγαγε λέγων· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν, ἄρρεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησε αὐτούς. Ἡ οὖν τοῦ ποιήσωμεν σημασία τὸ εἶναι πρόσωπον συνδημιουργὸν σημαίνει καὶ συνισοπροσήγορον εἰσάγει. Ὡς γὰρ Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ ἐστιν ὁ εἰπών· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον, οὕτω Θεός ἐστι καὶ πρὸς ὃν τὸ ποιήσωμεν εἴρηκε, μιᾶς οὔσης τῆς τῶν ἀμφοτέρων προσώπων θεότητος, τοῦ τε εἰπόντος· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν, καὶ τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Τὸ γὰρ ποιήσωμεν τὸ πανάγιον καὶ ἀπαράλλακτον τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ θεότητος παρίστησιν ἡ φωνή· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰκὼν ἁπλῆ καὶ ἀσύνθετός ἐστι, πῦρ οὖσα τῇ φύσει.