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| Concerning earth and its products.
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Chapter X.—Concerning earth and its
products.
The earth is one of the four elements, dry, cold,
heavy, motionless, brought into being by God, out of nothing on the
first day. For in the beginning, he said, God created
the heaven and the earth1757
: but the
seat and foundation of the earth no man has been able to declare.
Some, indeed, hold that its seat is the waters: thus the divine
David says, To Him Who established the earth on the
waters1758
. Others
place it in the air. Again some other says, He Who hangeth the
earth on nothing1759
. And,
again, David, the singer of God, says, as though the representative of
God, I bear up the pillars of it1760
,
meaning by “pillars” the force that sustains it.
Further, the expression, He hath founded it upon the
seas1761
, shews clearly
that the earth is on all hands surrounded with water. But whether
we grant that it is established on itself, or on air or on water, or on
nothing, we must not turn aside from reverent thought, but must admit
that all things are sustained and preserved by the power of the
Creator.
In the beginning, then, as the Holy Scripture
says1762
, it was hidden beneath the waters, and
was unwrought, that is to say, not beautified. But at God’s
bidding, places to hold the waters appeared, and then the mountains
came into existence, and at the divine command the earth received its
own proper adornment, and was dressed in all manner of herbs and
plants, and on these, by the divine decree, was bestowed the power of
growth and nourishment, and of producing seed to generate their
like. Moreover, at the bidding of the Creator it produced also
all manner of kinds of living creatures, creeping things, and wild
beasts, and cattle. All, indeed, are for the seasonable use of
man: but of them some are for food, such as stags, sheep, deer,
and such like: others for service such as camels, oxen, horses,
asses, and such like: and others for enjoyment, such as apes, and
among birds, jays and parrots, and such like. Again, amongst
plants and herbs some are fruit bearing, others edible, others fragrant
and flowery, given to us for our enjoyment, for example, the rose and
such like, and others for the healing of disease. For there is
not a single animal or plant in which the Creator has not implanted
some form of energy capable of being used to satisfy man’s
needs. For He Who knew all things before they were, saw that in
the future man would go forward in the strength of his own will, and
would be subject to corruption, and, therefore, He created all things
for his seasonable use, alike those in the firmament, and those on the
earth, and those in the waters.
Indeed, before the transgression all things were
under his power. For God set him as ruler over all things on the
earth and in the waters. Even the serpent1763
| 1763 In this
John does not follow Basil in his De Paradiso. | was accustomed to man, and approached
him more readily than it did other living creatures, and held
intercourse with him with delightful motions1764
| 1764 Basil, Hom. de
Parad. | . And hence it was through it that
the devil, the prince of evil, made his most wicked suggestion to our
first parents1765
. Moreover,
the earth of its own accord used to yield fruits, for the benefit of
the animals that were obedient to man, and there was neither rain nor
tempest on the earth. But after the transgression, when he was
compared with the unintelligent cattle and became like to them1766
, after he had contrived that in him
irrational desire should have rule over reasoning mind and had become
disobedient to the Master’s command, the subject creation rose up
against him whom the Creator had appointed to be ruler: and it
was appointed for him that he should till with sweat the earth from
which he had been taken.
But even now wild beasts are not without their
uses, for, by the terror they cause, they bring man to the knowledge of
his Creator and lead him to call upon His name. And, further, at
the transgression the thorn sprung out of the earth in accordance with
the Lord’s express declaration and was conjoined with the
pleasures of the rose, that it might lead us to remember the
transgression on account of which the earth was condemned to bring
forth for us thorns and prickles1767
| 1767 Basil, Hom. de
Parad. | .
That this is the case is made worthy of belief
from the fact that their endurance is secured by the word of the Lord,
saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the
earth1768
.
Further, some hold that the earth is in the form of a
sphere, others that it is in that of a cone. At all events it is
much smaller than the heaven,
and suspended almost like a point in its midst. And it will pass
away and be changed. But blessed is the man who inherits the
earth promised to the meek1769
.
For the earth that is to be the possession of the
holy is immortal. Who, then, can fitly marvel at the boundless
and incomprehensible wisdom of the Creator? Or who can render
sufficient thanks to the Giver of so many blessings1770
| 1770
Method, Cont. Orig. apud Epiph. Hæres.
64. | ?
[There are also provinces, or prefectures, of the
earth which we recognise: Europe embraces thirty four, and the
huge continent of Asia has forty-eight of these provinces, and twelve
canons as they are called1771
| 1771 Only Cod.
Reg. 3451 has this paragraph. | .]E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
