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Liber de cognitione dei

130.28 If worldly things have come to be from the union of simple elements, I mean of earth, and of water, and of air, and of fire, or of the so-called atoms according to Epicurus, the begotten will be found to be incomparably better, and more honorable, than the unbegotten, and the made than the maker, and by as much as man is superior to the simple elements and the aforementioned atoms.

And how could things contrary by nature run together harmlessly for the completion of one cosmos? And how could things without will or reason agree? Or how could things completely inanimate, irrational, and without sensation bestow reason on man? And it was necessary that to whatever they allotted the greater part of their own substance, 130.29 I mean an elephant, or if there is anything larger than this, to that one they should rather have jointly allotted also the ruling and kingly power over all inferiors. But indeed, man, who is much inferior to these in bodily size and strength, rules over that one through reason, which he certainly received in abundance from the rational Creator. And how could ordered things be said to have come from things that move at random and by chance? 130.257 The Law, and the prophets, of which Christ was the fulfillment, recorded everything about this in detail, and indeed also about the Holy Trinity. But they were inserted sporadically, and many things were obscured with ambiguity by divine providence, so that the Jews, being still of childish mind and not yet able to understand higher things, might not turn aside to unworthy conceptions and reduce the impassible to passions.

For when God began to speak to them in Horeb, they refused such a voice because of their own weakness, saying: We will not listen again to the voice of the Lord our God, nor will we see this great fire any more, lest we die. And the Lord said 130.260 to me, says Moses who wrote these things: All that I have spoken is right. I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my word in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him. These things are so; but the meaning of the words is this: Since they are not able to hear now, I will raise up for them a prophet, and so on, who will announce to them all that for the present they are not strong enough to receive. From these, therefore, are the things concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the things concerning the divine incarnation, and simply all that has been legislated through the Gospel. For the phrase ‘like you’ rather signifies the likeness in legislating. But Jesus the son of Nun was neither deemed worthy of such a theophany as Moses was, nor did he become a lawgiver like him, nor did he find as much grace as he did. But Christ, having become like him in legislating, in all other respects surpasses him preeminently as Lord. But that the prophet who was to be raised up was not the son of Nun, listen.

Moses said in Deuteronomy to the people, that the Lord your God will raise up a prophet from our brothers, and so on. But the son of Nun had long before been ordained by God through the hands of Moses, as Leviticus relates. Therefore, the one who was to be raised up is different from the one who was raised up. But, as it seems, the Jews are ignorant of what is written at the conclusion of Deuteronomy after the death of Moses, that a prophet has not yet risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. It was necessary, therefore, when God said to Moses, that I will raise up a prophet for them, that Moses should then have said this to the people. But he, having learned this in Horeb, later said it to the people according to Deuteronomy, providentially awaiting Jesus the

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Liber de cognitione dei

130.28 Εἴπερ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἁπλῶν στοιχείων συνουσίας, γῆς λέγω, καὶ ὕδατος,

καὶ ἀέρος, καὶ πυρὸς, ἢ τῶν λε γομένων ἀτόμων κατ' Ἐπίκουρον τὰ ἐγκόσμια γεγέ νηται, εὑρεθήσεται τὸ γεννητὸν τοῦ ἀγεννήτου, καὶ τὸ ποιηθὲν τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἀσυγκρίτως κρεῖττον, καὶ τιμιώτερον, καὶ τοσοῦτον ὅσον ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῶν ἁπλῶν στοιχείων καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀτόμων δια φορώτερος.

Πῶς δ' ἂν καὶ κατὰ φύσιν ἐναντία συν έδραμον ἀβλαβῶς εἰς ἑνὸς κόσμου συμπλήρωσιν; Πῶς δ' ἂν καὶ συνεφώνησαν οὐκ ἔχοντα βούλησιν, ἢ λόγον; Ἢ πῶς τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ λόγον ἀνέθηκαν τὰ παντελῶς ἄψυχα, καὶ ἄλογα, καὶ ἀναίσθητα; Ἔδει δὲ καὶ ᾧ τὸ πλέον τῆς σφετέρας οὐσίας ἀπεκλήρω 130.29 σαν, ἐλέφαντά φημι, ἢ εἴ τι τούτου μεῖζον, ἐκείνῳ μᾶλλον συναποκληρῶσαι καὶ τὸ κατὰ πάντων τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων ἡγεμονικὸν καὶ βασιλικόν. Ἀλλὰ μὴν τὸ πολλῷ τούτων λειπόμενον κατὰ σωματικὸν μέ γεθος καὶ ῥώμην ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκείνου κατάρχει διὰ τὸν λόγον, ὃν ἐκ τοῦ λόγον ἔχοντος ∆ημιουργοῦ πάν τως κατεπλούτησε. Πῶς δ' ἂν καὶ ἐκ τῶν εἰκῇ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε φερομένων τὰ τεταγμένα γεγονέναι λέ γοιντο; 130.257 Ὁ νόμος μὲν, καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὧν ἦν Χριστὸς πλήρωμα, τὰ περὶ τούτου πάντα λεπτομερῶς ἀνε γράψαντο, καὶ μὴν καὶ περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος. Παρεντέθεινται δὲ σποράδην, καὶ ἀσαφείᾳ συνεσκιάσθη σαν τὰ πολλὰ κατὰ θείαν πρόνοιαν, ἵνα μὴ νηπιό φρονες ἔτι ὄντες Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ μήπω νοεῖν ὑψηλότερα δυνάμενοι, εἰς ἀναξίας ὑπολήψεις ἐκκλίνωσι, καὶ πάθεσι τὸ ἀπαθὲς ἀπαγάγωσι.

Καὶ γὰρ ἐν Χωρὴβ τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλεῖν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀρξαμένου, παρῃτή σαντο τὴν τοιαύτην φωνὴν δι' οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν, εἰπόντες· Οὐ προσθήσομεν ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸ πῦρ τὸ μέγα οὐκ ὀψόμεθα ἔτι, οὐδ' οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν. Καὶ εἶπε 130.260 Κύριος πρός με, φησὶν ὁ ταῦτα γράψας Μωσῆς· Ὀρθῶς πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησα Προφήτην ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ σὲ, καὶ δώσω τὸ ῥημά μου ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαλήσει αὐ τοῖς, καθότι ἂν ἐντείλωμαι αὐτῷ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως· ὁ δὲ νοῦς τῶν ῥημάτων, ὅτι Ἐπειδήπερ οὐ δύνανται νῦν ἀκούειν, προφήτην ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ὃς ἀναγγελεῖ αὐτοῖς ὅσα τό γε νῦν ἔχον οὐκ ἰσχύουσι παραδέξασθαι. Ἐκ τούτων οὖν εἰσι τὰ περὶ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς θείας ἐνανθρωπήσεως, καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅσα διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου νενομοθέτηται. Τὸ γὰρ ὥσπερ σὲ, τὴν ὁμοίωσιν κατὰ τὸ νομοθετεῖν ἐμφαίνει μᾶλλον. Ἀλλ' Ἰησοῦς μὲν ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ οὔτε τοιαύτης οἵας ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἠξιώθη θεοφανείας, οὔτε νομοθέτης, ὡς ἐκεῖνος, ἐγέ νετο, οὔτε χάριν εὗρεν ὅσην ἐκεῖνος. Ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς κατὰ τὸ νομοθετεῖν ὅμοιος ἐκείνῳ γενόμενος, τἄλλα πάντα διαφερόντως ὡς ∆εσπότης ὑπέρκειται. Ὅτι δὲ οὐχ ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ υἱὸς ἦν ὁ ἀνα στησόμενος προφήτης, ἄκουσον.

Εἴρηκε Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ ∆ευτερονομίῳ πρὸς τὸν λαὸν, ὅτι Προφήτην ἀνα στήσει Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ Ναυῆ πρὸ πολλοῦ ἦν κεχει ροτονημένος ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν Μωϋσέως, ὡς τὸ Λευϊτικὸν ἱστορεῖ. Λοιπὸν οὖν ἕτερος ὁ ἀνα στησόμενος παρὰ τὸν ἀναστάντα. Ἀλλ', ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀγνοοῦσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τὸ γεγραμμένον κατὰ τὸ συμπέρασμα τοῦ ∆ευτερονομίου μετὰ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Μωϋσέως, ὅτι καὶ Οὐκ ἀνέστη ἔτι προφήτης ἐν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς Μωϋσῆς, ὃν ἔγνω Κύριος πρόσωπον κατὰ πρόσωπον. Ἔδει μὲν οὖν ὅτε πρὸς τὸν Μωϋσῆν εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι Προφήτην ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς, τότε τοῦτο καὶ τὸν Μωϋσῆν εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν λαόν. Ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἐν Χωρὴβ τοῦτο μαθὼν, ὕστερον εἶπεν αὐτὸ πρὸς τὸν λαὸν κατὰ τὸ ∆ευτερονόμιον, οἰκονομικῶς ἀναμένων τὴν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ