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| On the Words, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All Things Visible and Invisible.
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Lecture
IX.
On the Words, Maker of Heaven and
Earth, and of All Things Visible and Invisible.
Job xxxviii. 2–3
Who is this that hideth counsel from Me, and keepeth
words in his heart, and thinketh to hide them from Me1058
| 1058 The Septuagint,
from which Cyril quotes the text, differs much from the Hebrew, and
from the English Versions: Who is this that darkeneth counsel
by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a
man: for I will demand of thee, and answer thou
Me. | ?
1. To look upon God
with eyes of flesh is impossible: for the incorporeal cannot be
subject to bodily sight: and the Only begotten Son of God Himself
hath testified, saying, No man hath seen God at any
time1059
. For if
according to that which is written in Ezekiel any one should understand
that Ezekiel saw Him, yet what saith the Scripture? He saw the
likeness of the glory of the Lord1060
;
not the Lord Himself, but the likeness of His glory, not the
glory itself, as it really is. And when he saw merely the
likeness of the glory, and not the glory itself, he fell to the
earth from fear. Now if the sight of the likeness of the glory
brought fear and distress upon the prophets, any one who should attempt
to behold God Himself would to a certainty lose his life, according to
the saying, No man shall see My face and live1061
. For this cause God of His great
loving-kindness spread out the heaven as a veil of His proper Godhead,
that we should not perish. The word is not mine, but the
Prophet’s. If Thou shalt rend the heavens, trembling
will take hold of the mountains at sight of Thee, and they will flow
down1062
| 1062 Is. lxiv. 1, Septuagint. R.V. Oh that
Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the
mountains might flow down. | . And why dost
thou wonder that Ezekiel fell down on seeing the likeness of the
glory? when Daniel at the sight of Gabriel, though but a servant of
God, straightway shuddered and fell on his face, and, prophet as he
was, dared not answer him, until the Angel transformed himself into the
likeness of a son of man1063
| 1063 Dan. x. 9, 16, 18" id="ii.xiii-p11.1" parsed="|Dan|10|9|0|0;|Dan|10|16|0|0;|Dan|10|18|0|0" osisRef="Bible:Dan.10.9 Bible:Dan.10.16 Bible:Dan.10.18">Dan. x. 9, 16, 18. | . Now if the
appearing of Gabriel wrought trembling in the Prophets, had God Himself
been seen as He is, would not all have perished?
2. The Divine Nature then it is impossible
to see with eyes of flesh: but from the works, which are Divine,
it is possible to attain to some conception of His power, according to
Solomon, who says, For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures
proportionably the Maker of them is seen1064
| 1064 Wisdom xiii. 5. Compare Theophilus of
Antioch To Autolycus, I. 5, 6: “God cannot indeed be
seen by human eyes, but is beheld and perceived through His providence
and works.…He is not visible to eyes of flesh, since He is
incomprehensible.” | . He said not that from the creatures
the Maker is seen, but added proportionably. For God
appears the greater to every man in proportion as he has grasped a
larger survey of the creatures: and when his heart is uplifted by
that larger survey, he gains withal a greater conception of
God.
3. Wouldest thou learn that to comprehend
the nature of God is impossible? The Three Children in the
furnace of fire, as they hymn the praises of God, say Blessed art
thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the
Cherubim1065
. Tell me what
is the nature of the Cherubim, and then look upon Him who sitteth upon
them. And yet Ezekiel the Prophet even made a description of
them, as far as was possible, saying that every one has four
faces, one of a man, another of a lion, another of an eagle, and
another of a calf; and that each one had six wings1066
| 1066 In Ezekiel i. 6–11, the four living creatures have
each four wings, as also in x.
21 according to the
Hebrew. But in the latter passage, according to the Vatican text
of the Septuagint, each has eight wings, as Codd. R. and Casaub.
read here. Cyril seems to have confused the number in Ezekiel
with that in Is. vi.
2: each one
had six wings. By “a wheel of four sides” Cyril
explains Ez. i.
16: a wheel in
the midst of a wheel, as meaning two circles set at right angles to
each other, like the equator and meridian on a globe. | , and they had eyes on all sides; and that
under each one was a wheel of four sides. Nevertheless though the
Prophet makes the explanation, we cannot yet understand it even as we
read. But if we cannot understand the throne, which he has
described, how shall we be able to comprehend Him who sitteth thereon,
the Invisible and Ineffable God? To scrutinise then the nature of
God is impossible: but it is in our power to send up praises of
His glory for His works that are seen.
4. These things I say to you because of the
following context of the
Creed, and because we say, We Believe in One God, the
Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All Things Visible
and Invisible; in order that we may remember that the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ is the same as He that made the heaven and the
earth1067
| 1067 Compare Cat. iv.
4. Irenæus (I. x. 1): “The Church, though
dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth,
yet received from the Apostles and their disciples the Faith in One God
the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea and all
that therein is.” Tertullian (de Præscriptione
Hæret. cap. xiii.) “The rule of faith is that
whereby we believe that there is One God only, and none other than the
Creator of the world, who brought forth all things out of nothing
through His own Word first of all sent forth.” | , and that we may make ourselves safe against
the wrong paths of the godless heretics, who have dared to speak evil
of the All wise Artificer of all this world1068
| 1068 Compare Cat. vi. 13,
27. | ,
men who see with eyes of flesh, but have the eyes of their
understanding blinded.
5. For what fault have they to find with the
vast creation of God?—they, who ought to have been struck with
amazement on beholding the vaultings of the heavens: they, who
ought to have worshipped Him who reared the sky as a dome, who out of
the fluid nature of the waters formed the stable substance of the
heaven. For God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of
the water1069
. God spake
once for all, and it stands fast, and falls not. The heaven is
water, and the orbs therein, sun, moon, and stars are of fire:
and how do the orbs of fire run their course in the water? But if
any one disputes this because of the opposite natures of fire and
water, let him remember the fire which in the time of Moses in Egypt
flamed amid the hail, and observe the all-wise workmanship of
God. For since there was need of water, because the earth was to
be tilled, He made the heaven above of water that when the region of
the earth should need watering by showers, the heaven might from its
nature be ready for this purpose.
6. But what? Is there not cause to
wonder when one looks at the constitution of the sun? For being
to the sight as it were a small body he contains a mighty power;
appearing from the East, and sending forth his light unto the
West: whose rising at dawn the Psalmist described, saying:
And he cometh forth out of his chamber as a bridegroom1070
. He was describing the brightness and
moderation of his state on first becoming visible unto men: for
when he rides at high noon, we often flee from his blaze: but at
his rising he is welcome to all as a bridegroom to look on.
Observe also his arrangement (or rather not his,
but the arrangement of Him who by an ordinance determined his course),
how in summer he rises higher and makes the days longer, giving men
good time for their works: but in winter contracts his course,
that the period of cold may be increased, and that the nights becoming
longer may contribute to men’s rest, and contribute also to the
fruitfulness of the products of the earth1071
| 1071 The common reading
ἵνα μὴ τοῦ
ψύχους
πλείων
γένηται ὁ
χρόνος, ἀλλ᾽
ἵνα αἱ
νύκτες,
κ.τ.λ. gives a meaning contrary to the
facts. The translation follows the mss.
Roe, Casaubon, which omit μή and for ἀλλά read καί. Compare Whewell’s
Astromony, p. 22: “The length of the year is so
determined as to be adapted to the constitution of most
vegetables: or the construction of vegetables is so adjusted as
to be suited to the length which the year really has, and unsuited to a
duration longer or shorter by any considerable portion. The
vegetable clock-work is so set as to go for a year.”
Ibid. p. 34: “The terrestrial day, and consequently
the length of the cycle of light and darkness, being what it is, we
find various parts of the constitution both of animals and vegetables,
which have a periodical character in their functions, corresponding to
the diurnal succession of external conditions, and we find that the
length of the period, as it exists in their constitution, coincides
with the length of the natural day.” | . See also how the days alternately
respond each to other in due order, in summer increasing, and in winter
diminishing; but in spring and autumn granting equal intervals one to
another. And the nights again complete the like courses; so that
the Psalmist also says of them, Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night proclaimeth knowledge1072
. For to the heretics who have no ears,
they all but cry aloud, and by their good order say, that there is none
other God save the Creator who hath set them their bounds, and laid out
the order of the Universe1073
.
7. But let no one tolerate any who say that
one is the Creator of the light, and another of darkness1074
| 1074 See note 3 on Cat.
iii. 33. | : for let him remember how Isaiah says,
I am the God who made the light, and created darkness1075
| 1075 Is. xlv. 7. Compare the Homily of Chrysostom
on this text. | . Why, O man, art thou vexed
thereat? Why art thou offended at the time that is given thee for
rest1076
| 1076 Whewell,
Astromomy. p. 38: “Animals also have a period in
their functions and habits; as in the habits of waking, sleeping,
eating, &c., and their well-being appears to depend on the
coincidence of this period with the length of the natural
day.” | ? A servant would have had no rest from
his masters, had not the darkness necessarily brought a respite.
And often after wearying ourselves in the day, how are we refreshed in
the night, and he who was yesterday worn with toils, rises vigorous in
the morning because of the night’s rest1077
| 1077 Chrysostom, VI. p.
171: “As the day brings man out to his work, so the night
succeeding releases him from his countless toils and thoughts, and
lulling his weary eyes to sleep, and closing their lids, prepares him
to welcome the sunbeam again with his force in full vigour.” | ? And what more helpful to wisdom than
the night1078
| 1078 Clement of
Alexandria (Stromat. IV. 22, E. Tr.): “And in this
way they seem to have called the night Euphrone, since then the soul
released from the perceptions of sense turns in on itself, and has a
truer hold of intelligence (φρόνησις).” | ? For herein
oftentimes we set before our minds the things of God; and herein we
read and contemplate the Divine Oracles. And when is our mind
most attuned to Psalmody and Prayer? Is it not at night?
And when have we often called our own sins to remembrance? Is not
at night1079
| 1079 Chrysostom (Tom. II.
p. 793): “We usually take the reckoning of our money early
in the morning, but of our actions, of all that we have said and done
by day, let us demand of ourselves the account after supper, and even
after nightfall, as we lie upon our bed, with none to trouble, none to
disturb us. And if we see anything done amiss, let us chastise
our conscience, let us rebuke our mind, let us so vehemently impugn our
account, that we may no more dare to rise up and bring ourselves to the
same pit of sin, being mindful of the scourging at night.” | ? Let us not
then admit the evil thought, that another is the maker of
darkness: for experience shews that this also is good and
useful.
8. They ought to have felt astonishment and
admiration not only at the arrangement of sun and moon, but also at the
well-ordered choirs of the stars, their unimpeded courses, and their
risings in the seasons due to each: and how some are signs of
summer, and others of winter; and how some mark the season for sowing,
and others shew the commencement of navigation1080
| 1080 Clem. Alex.
(Stromat. VI. 11): “The same is true also of
Astronomy, for being engaged in the investigation of the heavenly
bodies, as to the form of the universe, and the revolution of the
heaven, and the motion of the stars, it brings the soul nearer to the
Creative Power, and teaches it to be quick in perceiving the seasons of
the year, the changes of the atmosphere, and the risings of the stars;
since navigation also and husbandry are full of benefit from this
science.” Compare Lactantius (De Irâ
Dei, cap. xiii.). | . And a man sitting in his ship, and
sailing amid the boundless waves, steers his ship by looking at the
stars. For of these matters the Scripture says well, And let
them be for signs, and for seasons, and for years1081
, not for fables of astrology and
nativities. But observe how He has also graciously given us the
light of day by gradual increase: for we do not see the sun at
once arise; but just a little light runs on before, in order that the
pupil of the eye may be enabled by previous trial to look upon his
stronger beam: see also how He has relieved the darkness of the
night by rays of moonlight.
9. Who is the father of the rain?
And who hath begotten the drops of dew1082
? Who
condensed the air into clouds, and bade them carry the waters of the
rain1083
| 1083 Whewell,
Astronomy, p. 88: “Clouds are produced by
aqueous vapour when it returns to the state of water.” p.
89: “Clouds produce rain. In the formation of
a cloud the precipitation of moisture probably forms a fine watery
powder, which remains suspended in the air in consequence of the
minuteness of its particles: but if from any cause the
precipitation is collected in larger portions, and becomes
drops, these descend by their weight and produce a
shower.” Compare Aristotle,
Meterologica, I. ix. 3; Ansted, Physical Geography,
p. 210. | , now bringing golden-tinted clouds from
the north1084
| 1084 Job xxxvii. 22: “Out of the north
cometh golden splendour” (R.V.). | , now changing these
into one uniform appearance, and again transforming them into manifold
circles and other shapes? Who can number the clouds in
wisdom1085
? Whereof in
Job it saith, And He knoweth the separations of the clouds1086
| 1086 Job xxxvii. 16: “Dost thou know the
balancings of the clouds?” In the Septuagint διάκρισιν
νεφῶν may mean “the
separate path of the clouds” (Vulg. “semitas
nubium,”) or “the dissolving,” as in Aristotle
(Meteorol. I. vii. 10: διακρίνεσθαι
καὶ
διαλύεσθαι
τὸ διάτμίζον
ὑγρὸν ὑπὸ
τοῦ πλήθους
τῆς θερμῆς
ἀναθυμιάσεως,
ὥστε μὴ
συνίστασθαι
ῥαδίως εἰς
ὕδωρ. “The moist vapour is
separated and dissolved by the great heat of the evaporation, so that
it does not easily condense into water.” Cf. Plato,
Sophistes 243 B: διακρίσεις
καὶ
συγκρίσεις. | , and hath bent down the heaven to the
earth1087
: and, He
who numbereth the clouds in wisdom: and, the cloud is not
rent under Him1088
. For so many
measures of waters lie upon the clouds, yet they are not rent:
but come down with all good order upon the earth. Who bringeth
the winds out of their treasuries1089
? And who, as we said before,
is he that hath begotten the drops of dew? And out of whose
womb cometh the ice1090
? For its
substance is like water, and its strength like stone. And at one
time the water becomes snow like wool, at another it ministers
to Him who scattereth the mist like ashes1091
, and at another it is changed into a stony
substance; since He governs the waters as He will1092
| 1092 Job xxxvii. 10: “the breadth of the
waters is straitened” (Marg. R.V.
“congealed”). The word οἰακίζει in the
Septuagint means to “steer,” Lat. “gubernare”
to “turn as by a helm.” | . Its nature is uniform, and its action
manifold in force. Water becomes in vines wine that maketh
glad the heart of man: and in olives oil that maketh
man’s face to shine: and is transformed also into
bread that strengtheneth man’s heart1093
, and into fruits of all kinds which He hath
created1094
| 1094 There is a similar
passage on the various effects of water in Cat. xvi. 12.
Chrysostom (de Statuis, Hom. xii. 2), Epiphanius
(Ancoratus, p. 69), and other Fathers, appear to reproduce both
the thoughts and words of Cyril. | .
10. What should have been the effect of
these wonders? Should the Creator have been blasphemed? Or
worshipped rather? And so far I have said noticing of the unseen
works of His wisdom. Observe, I pray you, the spring, and the
flowers of every kind in all their likeness still diverse one from
another; the deepest crimson of the rose, and the purest whiteness of
the lily: for these spring from the same rain and the same earth,
and who makes them to differ? Who fashions them? Observe,
pray, the exact care: from the one substance of the tree there is
part for shelter, and part for divers fruits: and the Artificer
is One. Of the same vine part is for burning1095
| 1095 For καῦσιν,
“burning,” Morel and Milles, with Cod. Coisl., read
καῦστιν, a rare word
explained by Hesychius as the “growth” or
“foliage” of the vine: but this is fully expressed in
what follows, and the reading καῦσιν is confirmed
by Virgil (Georg. ii. 408): “Primus devecta
cremato sarmenta” (Reischl). | , and part for shoots, and part for leaves,
and part for tendrils, and part for clusters.
Admire also the great thickness of the knots which run
round the reed, as the Artificer hath made them. From one and the same
earth come forth creeping things, and wild beasts, and cattle, and
trees, and food; and gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and
stone. The nature of the waters is but one, yet from it comes the
substance of fishes and of birds; whereby1096
| 1096 For the construction
of ἵνα with the Indicative ἵπτανται, see
Bernhardy, Syntax, p. 401. Winer (Gram. N. T. III.
sect. xli. c). | as
the former swim in the waters, so the birds fly in the air.
11. This great and wide sea, therein are
things creeping innumerable1097
. Who can
describe the beauty of the fishes that are therein? Who can
describe the greatness of the whales, and the nature1098
| 1098 Gr. ὑπόστασιν,
literally “substance.” | of its amphibious animals, how they live
both on dry land and in the waters? Who can tell the depth and
the breadth of the sea, or the force of its enormous waves? Yet
it stays at its bounds, because of Him who said, Hitherto shalt thou
come, and no further, but within thyself shall thy waves be
broken1099
. Which sea
also clearly shews the word of the command imposed upon it, since after
it has run up, it leaves upon the beach a visible line made by the
waves, shewing, as it were, to those who see it, that it has not passed
its appointed bounds.
12. Who can discern the nature of the birds
of the air? How some carry with them a voice of melody, and
others are variegated with all manner of painting on their wings, and
others fly up into mid air and float motionless, as the hawk: for
by the Divine command the hawk spreadeth out his wings and floateth
motionless, looking towards the south1100
. What man can behold the eagle’s
lofty flight? If then thou canst not discern the soaring of the
most senseless of the birds, how wouldest thou understand the Maker of
all?
13. Who among men knows even the names of
all wild beasts? Or who can accurately discern the physiology of
each? But if of the wild beasts we know not even the mere names,
how shall we comprehend the Maker of them? God’s command
was but one, which said, Let the earth bring forth wild beasts, and
cattle, and creeping things, after their kinds1101
and from one earth1102
| 1102 Instead of φωνῆς (Milles), or
πηγῆς
(Bened. Roe, Casaub.) the recent Editors have restored τῆς γῆς with
the Jerusalem and Munich mss., and
Basil. | ,
by one command, have sprung diverse natures, the gentle sheep and the
carnivorous lion, and various instincts1103
| 1103 Gr. κινήσεις
“movements,” “impulses.” Aristotle
(Historia Animalium. IX. vii. 1) remarks that many imitations of
man’s mode of life may be observed in the habits of other
animals. | of
irrational animals, bearing resemblance to the various characters of
men; the fox to manifest the craft that is in men, and the snake the
venomous treachery of friends, and the neighing horse the wantonness of
young men1104
, and the laborious
ant, to arouse the sluggish and the dull: for when a man passes
his youth in idleness, then he is instructed by the irrational animals,
being reproved by the divine Scripture saying, Go to the ant, thou
sluggard, see and emulate her ways, and become wiser than
she1105
| 1105 Prov. vi. 6. Instead of the epithet
“laborious” (γεωργότατος
) some mss. have “agile” or
“restless” (γοργότατος). | . For when
thou seest her treasuring up her food in good season, imitate her, and
treasure up for thyself fruits of good works for the world to
come. And again, Go to the bee, and learn how industrious she
is1106
| 1106 After the description
of the ant, Prov. vi.
6–8, there follows in
the Septuagint a similar reference to the bee: “Or go to
the bee, and learn how industrious she is, and how comely she makes her
work, and the produce of her labours kings and commons adopt for
health, and she is desired and esteemed by all, and though feeble in
strength has been exalted by her regard for wisdom.” The
interpolation is supposed to be of Greek origin, as containing
“idiomatic Greek expressions which would not occur to a
translator from the Hebrew” (Delitzsch). | : how,
hovering round all kinds of flowers, she collects her honey for thy
benefit: that thou also, by ranging over the Holy Scriptures,
mayest lay hold of salvation for thyself, and being filled with them
mayest say, How sweet are thy words unto my throat, yea sweeter than
honey and the honeycomb unto my mouth1107
.
14. Is not then the Artificer worthy the
rather to be glorified? For what? If thou knowest not the
nature of all things, do the things that have been made forthwith
become useless? Canst thou know the efficacy of all herbs?
Or canst thou learn all the benefit which proceeds from every
animal? Ere now even from venomous adders have come antidotes for
the preservation of men1108
| 1108 Compare Bacon
(Natural Hist. 965): “I would have trial made of two
other kinds of bracelets, for comforting the heart and spirits:
one of the trochisch of vipers, made into little pieces of beads; for
since they do great good inwards (especially for pestilent agues), it
is like they will be effectual outwards, where they may be applied in
greater quantity. There would be trochisch likewise made of
snakes; whose flesh dried is thought to have a very good opening and
cordial virtue.” Ib. 969: “The writers
of natural magic commend the wearing of the spoil of a snake, for
preserving of health.” Thomas Jackson (On the Creed,
VIII. 8, § 4): “The poisonous bitings of the scorpion
are usually cured by the oil of scorpions.” | . But thou
wilt say to me, “The snake is terrible.” Fear thou
the Lord, and it shall not be able to hurt thee. “A
scorpion stings.” Fear the Lord, and it shall not sting
thee. “A lion is bloodthirsty.” Fear thou the
Lord, and he shall lie down beside thee, as by Daniel. But truly
wonderful also is the action of the animals: how some, as the
scorpion, have the sharpness in a sting; and others have their power in
their teeth; and others do battle with their claws; while the
basilisk’s power is his gaze1109
. So then
from this varied workmanship understand the Creator’s
power.
15. But
these things perhaps thou knowest not: thou wouldest have nothing
in common with the creatures which are without thee. Enter now
into thyself, and from thine own nature consider its Artificer.
What is there to find fault with in the framing of thy body? Be
master of thyself, and nothing evil shall proceed from any of thy
members. Adam was at first without clothing in Paradise with Eve,
but it was not because of his members that he deserved to be cast
out. The members then are not the cause of sin, but they who use
their members amiss; and the Maker thereof is wise. Who prepared
the recesses of the womb for child-bearing? Who gave life to the
lifeless thing within it? Who knitted us with sinews and
bones, and clothed us with skin and flesh1110
,
and, as soon as the child was born, brought streams of milk out of the
breasts? How grows the babe into a boy, and the boy into a youth,
and then into a man; and, still the same, passes again into an old man,
while no one notices the exact change from day to day? Of the
food, how is one part changed into blood, and another separated for
excretion, and another part changed into flesh? Who gives to the
heart its unceasing motion? Who wisely guarded the tenderness of
the eyes with the fence of the eyelids1111
| 1111 Xenophon (Memor.
Socratis. I. cap. iv): “And moreover does not this also
seem to thee like a work of providence, that, whereas the sight is
weak, the Creator furnished it with eyelids for doors, which are opened
whenever there is need to use the sight, but are closed in
sleep.” | ? For as to the complicated and
wonderful contrivance of the eyes, the voluminous books of the
physicians hardly give us explanation. Who distributes the one
breath to the whole body? Thou seest, O man, the Artificer, thou
seest the wise Creator.
16. These points my discourse has now
treated at large, having left out many, yea, ten thousand other things,
and especially things incorporeal and invisible, that thou mayest abhor
those who blaspheme the wise and good Artificer, and from what is
spoken and read, and whatever thou canst thyself discover or conceive,
from the greatness and beauty of the creatures mayest proportionably
see the maker of them1112
, and bending the
knee with godly reverence to the Maker of the worlds, the worlds, I
mean, of sense and thought, both visible and invisible, thou mayest
with a grateful and holy tongue, with unwearied lips and heart, praise
God and say, How wonderful are Thy works, O Lord; in wisdom hast
Thou made them all1113
. For to Thee
belongeth honour, and glory, and majesty, both now and throughout all
ages. Amen.
————————————
Appendix to Lecture IX.
Note.—In the
manuscripts which contain this discourse under the name of “A
Homily of S. Basil on God as Incomprehensible,” some
portions are changed to suit that subject: but the conclusion
especially is marked by great addition and variation, which it is well
to reproduce here. Accordingly in place of the words in
§15: τί
μεμπτόν, “What is
there to find fault with?” and the following, the manuscripts
before mentioned have it thus:
“What is there to find fault with in the framing
of the body? Come forth into the midst and speak. Control
thine own will, and nothing evil shall proceed from any of thy
members. For every one of these has of necessity been made for
our use. Chasten thy reasoning unto piety, submit to God’s
commandments, and none of these members sin in working and serving in
the uses for which they were made. If thou be not willing, the
eye sees not amiss, the ear hears nothing which it ought not, the hand
is not stretched out for wicked greed, the foot walketh not towards
injustice, thou hast no strange loves, committest no fornication,
covetest not thy neighbour’s wife. Drive out wicked
thoughts from thine heart, be as God made thee, and thou wilt rather
give thanks to thy Creator.
Adam at first was without clothing, faring
daintily in Paradise: and after he had received the commandment,
but failed to keep it, and wickedly stretched forth his hand (not
because the hand wished this, but because his will stretched forth his
hand to that which was forbidden), because of his disobedience he lost
also the good things he had received. Thus the members are not
the cause of sin to those who use them, but the wicked mind, as the
Lord says, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, fornications,
adulteries, envyings, and such like. In what things thou
choosest, therein thy limbs serve thee; they are excellently made for
the service of the soul: they are provided as servants to thy
reason. Guide them well by the motion of piety; bridle them by
the fear of God; bring them into subjection to the desire
of temperance and abstinence, and
they will never rise up against thee to tyrannise over thee; but rather
they will guard thee, and help thee more mightily in thy victory over
the devil, while expecting also the incorruptible and everlasting crown
of the victory. Who openeth the chambers of the womb? Who,
&c.”
At the end of the same section, after the words
“Wise Creator,” this is found: “Glorify Him in
His unsearchable works, and concerning Him whom thou art not capable of
knowing, inquire not curiously what His essence is. It is better
for thee to keep silence, and in faith adore, according to the divine
Word, than daringly to search after things which neither thou canst
reach, nor Holy Scripture hath delivered to thee. These points my
discourse has now treated at large, that thou mayest abhor those who
blaspheme the wise and good Artificer, and rather mayest thyself also
say, How wonderful are Thy works O Lord; in wisdom hast Thou made
them all. To Thee be the glory, and power, and worship, with
the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and throughout all ages.
Amen.” E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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