Recognitions of Clement - Book VIII
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Text edited by Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson and
first published by T&T Clark in Edinburgh in 1867. Additional
introductionary material and notes provided for the American
edition by A. Cleveland Coxe, 1886.
Chapter I.--The Old Workman.
Now the next morning Peter took my brothers and me with him, and we
went down to the harbour to bathe in the sea, and thereafter we
retired to a certain secret place for prayer. But a certain poor old
man, a workman, as he appeared by his dress, began to observe us
eagerly, without our seeing him, that he might see what we were doing
in secret. [806]And when he saw us praying, he waited till we came
out, and then saluted us, and said: "If you do not take it amiss, and
regard me as an inquisitive and importunate person, I should wish to
converse with you; for I take pity on you, and would not have you err
under the appearance of truth, and be afraid of things that have no
existence; or if you think that there is any truth in them, then
declare it to me. If, therefore, you take it patiently, I can in a
few words instruct you in what is right; but if it be unpleasant to
you, I shall go on, and do my business." To him Peter answered:
"Speak what you think good, and we will gladly hear, whether it be
true or false; for you are to be welcomed, because, like a father
anxious on behalf of his children, you wish to put us in possession of
what you regard as good."
Footnotes
[806] [From this point there are considerable variations in the two
narratives. The old man becomes, in the Recognitions, a prominent
participant in the discussions, arguing with Peter, and with Niceta,
Aquila, and Clement. At the close of these discussions he is
recognised first by the sons (ix. 35), and then by his wife, as
Faustinianus (ix. 37). In the Homilies Peter tells of an interview
with the old man (xiv. 2-8), and the recognition takes place
immediately upon his appearance (xiv. 9). Some discussion with him
follows (Homily XV.); but soon the main controversy is with Simon
Magus (Homilies XVI.-XIX.), in the presence of the father, who is
convinced by Peter. Book x. contains much matter introduced in
Homilies IV.-VII. The correspondences will be indicated in the
footnotes.--R.]
Chapter II.--Genesis.
Then the old man proceeded to say: "I saw you bathe in the sea, and
afterwards retire into a secret place; wherefore observing, without
your noticing me, what you were doing, I saw you praying. Therefore,
pitying your error, I waited till you came out, that I might speak to
you, and instruct you not to err in an observance of this sort;
because there is neither any God, nor any worship, neither is there
any providence in the world, but all things are done by fortuitous
chance and genesis, as I have discovered most clearly for myself,
being accomplished beyond others in the discipline of learning. [807]
Do not err, therefore: for whether you pray, or whether you do not
pray, whatever your genesis contains, that shall befall you." Then I
Clement was affected, I know not how, in my heart, recollecting many
things in him that seemed familiar to me; for some one says well, that
that which is sprung from any one, although it may be long absent, yet
a spark of relationship is never extinguished. [808]Therefore I
began to ask of him who and whence he was, and how descended. But he,
not wishing to answer these questions, said: "What has that to do
with what I have told you? But first, if you please, let us converse
of those matters which we have propounded; and afterwards, if
circumstances require, we can disclose to one another, as friends to
friends, our names, and families, and country, and other things
connected with these." Yet we all admired the eloquence of the man,
and the gravity of his manners, and the calmness of his speech.
Footnotes
[807] [In Homily XIV. 2-5 there is a discussion somewhat similar to
the beginning of this one, but reported by the Apostle to the family
of Clement.--R.]
[808] [There are a number of indications, like this, in the narrative,
foreshadowing the recognition of the old man as the father. In the
Homilies nothing similar appears.--R.]
Chapter III.--A Friendly Conference.
But Peter, walking along leisurely while conversing, was looking out
for a suitable place for a conference. And when he saw a quiet recess
near the harbour, he made us sit down; and so he himself first began.
Nor did he hold the old man in any contempt, nor did he look down upon
him because his dress was poor and mean. He said, therefore: "Since
you seem to me to be a learned man, and a compassionate, inasmuch as
you have come to us, and wish that to be known to us which you
consider to be good, we also wish to expound to you what things we
believe to be good and right; and if you do not think them true, you
will take in good part our good intentions towards you, as we do yours
towards us." While Peter was thus speaking, a great multitude
assembled. Then said the old man: "Perhaps the presence of a
multitude disconcerts you." Peter replied: "Not at all, except only
on this account, that I am afraid lest haply, when the truth is made
manifest in the course of our discussion, you be ashamed in presence
of the multitude to yield and assent to the things which you may have
understood to be spoken truly." To this the old man answered: "I am
not such a fool in my old age, that, understanding what is true, I
should deny it for the favour of the rabble."
Chapter IV.--The Question Stated.
Then Peter began to say: "Those who speak the word of truth, and who
enlighten the souls of men, seem to me to be like the rays of the sun,
which, when once they have come forth and appeared to the world, can
no longer be concealed or hidden, while they are not so much seen by
men, as they afford sight to all. Therefore it was well said by One
to the heralds of the truth, `Ye are the light of the world, and a
city set upon a hill cannot be hid; neither do men light a candle and
put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may enlighten
all who are in the house.' [809] " Then said the old man: "He said
well, whoever he is. But let one of you state what, according to his
opinion, ought to be followed, that we may direct our speech to a
definite aim. For, in order to find the truth, it is not sufficient
to overthrow the things that are spoken on the other side, but also
that one should himself bring forward what he who is on the other side
may oppose. Therefore, in order that both parties may be on an equal
footing, it seems to me to be right that each of us should first
enunciate what opinion he holds. And, if you please, I shall begin
first. I say, then, that the world is not governed according to the
providence of God, because we see that many things in it are done
unjustly and disorderly; but I say that it is genesis that does and
regulates all things."
Footnotes
[809] Matt. v. 14, 15.
Chapter V.--Freedom of Discussion Allowed.
When Peter was about to reply to this, Niceta, anticipating him, said:
[810]"Would my lord Peter allow me to answer to this; and let it
not be thought forward that I, a young man, should have an encounter
with an old man, but rather let me converse as a son with a father."
Then said the old man: "Not only do I wish, my son, that you should
set forth your opinions; but also if any one of your associates, if
any one even of the bystanders, thinks that he knows anything, let him
unhesitatingly state it: we shall gladly hear it; for it is by the
contribution of many that the things that are unknown are more easily
found out." Then Niceta therefore answered: "Do not deem me to have
done rashly, my father, because I have interrupted the speech of my
lord Peter; but rather I meant to honour him by doing this. For he is
a man of God, full of all knowledge, who is not ignorant even of Greek
learning, because he is filled with the Spirit of God, to whom nothing
is unknown. But because it is suitable to him to speak of heavenly
things, I shall answer concerning those things which pertain to the
babbling of the Greeks. But after we have disputed in the Grecian
manner, and we have come to that point where no issue appears, then he
himself, as filled with the knowledge of God, shall openly and clearly
disclose to us the truth on all matters, so that not we only, but also
all who are around us as hearers, shall learn the way of truth. And
therefore now let him sit as umpire; and when either of us shall
yield, then let him, taking up the matter, give an unquestionable
judgment."
Footnotes
[810] [The whole arrangement, introducing the brothers as disputants,
is peculiar to the Recognitions. The several discourses are
constructed with much skill. The courtesy of the discussion is in
sharp contrast with the tone of those in the Homilies, especially
those with Simon Magus.--R.]
Chapter VI.--The Other Side of the Question Stated.
When Niceta had thus spoken, those who had assembled conversed among
themselves: "Is this that Peter of whom we heard, the most approved
disciple of Him who appeared in Judæa, and wrought many signs and
miracles?" And they stood gazing upon him with great fear and
veneration, as conferring upon the Lord the honour of His good
servant. Which when Peter observed, he said to them: "Let us hear
with all attention, holding an impartial judgment of what shall be
said by each; and after their encounter we also shall add what may
seem necessary." And when Peter had said this, the crowds rejoiced.
Then Niceta began to speak as follows: "You have laid down, my
father, that the world is not governed by the providence of God, but
that all things are subject to genesis, whether the things which
relate to the dispositions, or those which relate to the doings of
every one. This I could answer immediately; but because it is right
to observe order, we also lay down what we hold, as you yourself
requested should be done. I say that the world is governed by the
providence of God, at least in those things which need His
government. For He it is alone who holds all things in His hand, who
also made the world; the just God, who shall at some time render to
every one according to his deeds. Now, then, you have our position;
go on as you please, either overthrowing mine or establishing your
own, that I may meet your statements. Or if you wish me to speak
first, I shall not hesitate."
Chapter VII.--The Way Cleared.
Then the old man answered: "Whether it pleases you, my son, to speak
first, or whether you prefer that I should speak, makes no difference,
especially with those who discuss in a friendly spirit. However,
speak you first, and I will gladly hear; and I wish you may be able
even to follow out those things that are to be spoken by me, and to
put in opposition to them those things that are contrary to them, and
from the comparison of both to show the truth." Niceta answered: "If
you wish it, I can even state your side of the argument, and then
answer it." Then the old man: "Show me first how you can know what I
have not yet spoken, and so I shall believe that you can follow out my
side of the argument." Then Niceta: "Your sect is manifest, even by
the proposition which you have laid down, to those who are skilled in
doctrines of this sort; and its consequence is certain. And because I
am not ignorant what are the propositions of the philosophers, I know
what follows from those things which you have propounded; especially
because I have frequented the schools of Epicurus in preference to the
other philosophers. But my brother Aquila has attended more to the
Pyrrhonists, and our other brother to the Platonists and
Aristotelians; therefore you have to do with learned hearers." [811]
Then said the old man: "You have well and logically informed us how
you perceived the things that follow from the statements which have
been enunciated. But I professed something more than the tenet of
Epicurus; for I introduced the genesis, and asserted that it is the
cause of all the doings of men."
Footnotes
[811] [Comp. Homily XIII. 7.--R.]
Chapter VIII--Instincts.
When the old man had said this, I Clement said to him: "Hear, my
father: if my brother Niceta bring you to acknowledge that the world
is not governed without the providence of God, I shall be able to
answer you in that part which remains concerning the genesis; for I am
well acquainted with this doctrine." And when I had thus spoken, my
brother Aquila said: "What is the use of our calling him father, when
we are commanded to call no man father upon earth?" [812]Then,
looking to the old man, he said, "Do not take it amiss, my father,
that I have found fault with my brother for calling you father, for we
have a precept not to call any one by that name." When Aquila said
that, all the assembly of the bystanders, as well as the old man and
Peter, laughed. And when Aquila asked the reason of their all
laughing, I said to him: "Because you yourself do the very thing
which you find fault with in another; for you called the old man
father." But he denied it, saying: "I am not aware that I called him
father." Meantime Peter was moved with certain suspicions, [813] as
he told us afterwards; and looking to Niceta, he said, "Go on with
what you have proposed."
Footnotes
[812] Matt. xxiii. 9.
[813] [Another foreshadowing of the approaching recognition; peculiar
to this narrative.--R.]
Chapter IX.--Simple and Compound.
Then Niceta began as follows: [814]"Everything that is, is either
simple or compound. That which is simple is without number, division,
colour, difference, roughness, smoothness, weight, lightness, quality,
quantity, and therefore without end. But that which is compound is
either compounded of two, or of three, or even of four elements, or at
all events of several; and things which are compounded can also of
necessity be divided." The old man, hearing this, said: "You speak
most excellently and learnedly, my son." Then Niceta went on:
"Therefore that which is simple, and which is without any of those
things by which that which subsists can be dissolved, is without doubt
incomprehensible and infinite, knowing neither beginning nor end, and
therefore is one and alone, and subsisting without an author. But
that which is compound is subject to number, and diversity, and
division,--is necessarily compounded by some author, and is a
diversity collected into one species. That which is infinite is
therefore, in respect of goodness, a Father; in respect of power, a
Creator. Nor can the power of creating cease in the Infinite, nor the
goodness be quiescent; but He is impelled by goodness to change
existing things, and by power to arrange and strengthen them.
Therefore some things, as we have said, are changed, and composed of
two or three, some of four, others of more elements. But since our
inquiry at present is concerning the method of the world and its
substance, which, it is agreed, is compounded of four elements, to
which all those ten differences belong which we have mentioned above,
let us begin at these lower steps, and come to the higher. For a way
is afforded us to intellectual and invisible things from those which
we see and handle; as is contained in arithmetical instructions,
where, when inquiry is made concerning divine things, we rise from the
lower to the higher numbers; but when the method respecting present
and visible things is expounded, the order is directed from the higher
to the lower numbers. Is it not so?"
Footnotes
[814] [The argument of Niceta (chaps. 9-34), while it necessarily
includes statements occurring elsewhere in this literature, is, as a
whole, peculiar to the Recognitions. In order of arrangement and
logical force it is much superior to most of the discourses.--R.]
Chapter X.--Creation Implies Providence.
Then the old man said: "You are following it out exceedingly well."
Then Niceta: "Now, then, we must inquire concerning the method of the
world; of which the first inquiry is divided into two parts. For it
is asked whether it has been made or not? And if it has not been
made, itself must be that Unbegotten from which all things are. But
if it has been made, concerning this again the question is divided
into two parts, whether it was made by itself, or by another. And if
indeed it was made by itself, then without doubt providence is
excluded. If providence is not admitted, in vain is the mind incited
to virtue, in vain justice is maintained, if there be no one to render
to the just man according to his merits. But even the soul itself
will not appear to be immortal, if there be no dispensation of
providence to receive it after its escape from the body.
Chapter XI.--General or Special Providence.
"Now, if it be taught that there is a providence, and that the world
was made by it, other questions meet us which must be discussed. For
it will be asked, In what way providence acts, whether generally
towards the whole, or specially towards the parts, or generally also
towards the parts, or both generally towards the whole, and specially
towards the parts? But by general providence we mean this: as if
God, at first making the world, has given an order and appointed a
course to things, and has ceased to take any further care of what is
done. But special providence towards the parts is of this sort, that
He exercises providence over some men or places, but not over others.
But general over all, and at the same time special over the parts, is
in this wise: if God made all things at first, and exercises
providence over each individual even to the end, and renders to every
one according to his deeds.
Chapter XII.--Prayer Inconsistent with Genesis.
"Therefore that first proposition, which declares that God made all
things in the beginning, and having imposed a course and order upon
things, takes no further account of them, affirms that all things are
done according to genesis. To this, therefore, we shall first reply;
and especially to those who worship the gods and defend genesis.
Assuredly, these men, when they sacrifice to the gods and pray to
them, hope that they shall obtain something in opposition to genesis,
and so they annul genesis. But when they laugh at those who incite to
virtue and exhort to continence, and say that nobody can do or suffer
anything unless what is decreed to him by fate, they assuredly cut up
by the roots all worship of the Divinity. For why should you worship
those from whom you can obtain nothing which the method of what is
decreed does not allow? Let this suffice in the meantime, in
opposition to these men. But I say that the world is made by God, and
that it is at some time to be destroyed by Him, that that world may
appear which is eternal, and which is made for this end, that it may
be always, and that it may receive those who, in the judgment of God,
are worthy of it. But that there is another and invisible world,
which contains this visible world within itself,--after we have
finished our discussion concerning the visible world, we shall come to
it also.
Chapter XIII.--A Creator Necessary.
"Now, in the meantime, that this visible world has been made, very
many wise men among the philosophers do testify. But that we may not
seem to make use of assertions as witnesses, as though we needed them,
let us inquire, if you please, concerning its principles. That this
visible world is material, is sufficiently evident from the fact that
it is visible. But every body receives one of two Differentiæ; for it
is either compact and solid, or divided and separate. And if the body
of which the world was made was compact and solid, and that body was
parted and divided through diverse species and parts according to its
differences, there must necessarily be understood to have been some
one to separate the body which was compact and solid, and to draw it
into many parts and diverse forms; or if all this mass of the world
was compounded and compacted from diverse and dispersed parts of
bodies, still there must be understood to have been some one to
collect into one the dispersed parts, and to invest these things with
their different species.
Chapter XIV.--Mode of Creation.
"And, indeed, I know that several of the philosophers were rather of
this opinion, that God the Creator made divisions and distinctions
from one body, which they call Matter, which yet consisted of four
elements, mingled into one by a certain tempering of divine
providence. For I think that what some have said is vain, that the
body of the world is simple, that is, without any conjunction; since
it is evident that what is simple can neither be a body, nor can be
mixed, or propagated, or dissolved; all which, we see, happen to the
bodies of the world. For how could it be dissolved if it were simple,
and had not within it that from which it might be resolved and
divided? But if bodies seem to be composed of two, or three, or even
of four elements,--who that has even a small portion of sense does not
perceive that there must have been some one who collected several into
one, and preserving the measure of tempering, made a solid body out of
diverse parts? This some one, therefore, we call God, the Creator of
the world, and acknowledge Him as the author of the universe.
Chapter XV.--Theories of Creation.
"For the Greek philosophers, inquiring into the beginnings of the
world, have gone, some in one way and some in another. In short,
Pythagoras says that numbers are the elements of its beginnings;
Callistratus, that qualities; Alcmæon, that contrarieties;
Anaximander, that immensity; Anaxagoras, that equalities of parts;
Epicurus, that atoms; Diodorus, that amere, that is, things in which
there are no parts; Asclepius, that onkoi, which we may call tumours
or swellings; the geometricians, that ends; Democritus, that ideas;
Thales, that water; Heraclitus, that fire; Diogenes, that air;
Parmenides, that earth; Zeno, Empedocles, Plato, that fire, water,
air, and earth. Aristotle also introduces a fifth element, which he
called akatonomaston; that is, that which cannot be named; without
doubt indicating Him who made the world, by joining the four elements
into one. Whether, therefore, there be two, or three, or four, or
more, or innumerable elements, of which the world consists, in every
supposition there is shown to be a God, who collected many into one,
and again drew them, when collected, into diverse species; and by this
it is proved that the machine of the world could not have subsisted
without a maker and a disposer.
Chapter XVI.--The World Made of Nothing by a Creator.
"But from this fact also, that in the conjunction of the elements, if
one be deficient or in excess, the others are loosened and fall, is
shown that they took their beginning from nothing. For if for
example, moisture be wanting in any body, neither will the dry stand;
for dry is fed by moisture, as also cold by heat; in which, as we have
said, if one be defective, the whole are dissolved. And in this they
give indications of their origin, that they were made out of nothing.
Now if matter itself is proved to have been made, how shall its parts
and its species, of which the world consists, be thought to be
unmade? But about matter and its qualities this is not the time to
speak: only let it suffice to have taught this, that God is the
Creator of all things, because neither, if the body of which the world
consists was solid and united, could it be separated and distinguished
without a Creator; nor, if it was collected into one from diverse and
separate parts, could it be collected and mixed without a Maker.
Therefore, if God is so clearly shown to be the Creator of the world,
what room is there for Epicurus to introduce atoms, and to assert that
not only sensible bodies, but even intellectual and rational minds,
are made of insensible corpuscles?
Chapter XVII.--Doctrine of Atoms Untenable.
"But you will say, according to the opinion of Epicurus, that
successions of atoms coming in a ceaseless course, and mixing with one
another, and conglomerating through unlimited and endless periods of
time, are made solid bodies. I do not treat this opinion as a pure
fiction, and that, too, a badly contrived one; but let us examine it,
whatever be its character, and see if what is said can stand. For
they say that those corpuscles, which they call atoms, are of
different qualities: that some are moist, and therefore heavy, and
tending downwards; others dry and earthy, and therefore still heavy;
but others fiery, and therefore always pushing upwards; others cold
and inert, and always remaining in the middle. Since then some, as
being fiery, always tend upward, and others, as being moist and dry,
always downwards, and others keep a middle and unequal course, how
could they meet together and form one body? For if any one throw down
from a height small pieces of straw, for example, and pieces of lead
of the same size, will the light straws be able to keep up with the
pieces of lead, though they be equal in size? Nay; the heavier reach
the bottom far more quickly. So also atoms, though they be equal in
size, yet, being unequal in weight, the lighter will never be able to
keep pace with the heavier; but if they cannot keep pace, certainly
neither can they be mixed or form one body.
Chapter XVIII.--The Concourse of Atoms Could Not Make the World.
"Then, in the next place, if they are ceaselessly borne about, and
always coming, and being added to things whose measure is already
complete, how can the universe stand, when new weights are always
being heaped upon so vast weights? And this also I ask: If this
expanse of heaven which we see was constructed by the gradual
concurrence of atoms, how did it not collapse while it was in
construction, if indeed the yawning top of the structure was not
propped and bound by any stays? For as those who build circular
domes, unless they bind the fastening of the central top, the whole
falls at once; so also the circle of the world, which we see to be
brought together in so graceful a form, if it was not made at once,
and under the influence of a single forth-putting of divine energy by
the power of a Creator, but by atoms gradually concurring and
constructing it, not as reason demanded, but as a fortuitous issue
befell, how did it not fall down and crumble to pieces before it could
be brought together and fastened? And further, I ask this: What is
the pavement on which the foundations of such an immense mass are
laid? And again, what you call the pavement, on what does it rest?
And again that other, what supports it? And so I go on asking, until
the answer comes to nothing and vacuity!
Chapter XIX.--More Difficulties of the Atomic Theory.
"But if any one say that atoms of a fiery quality, being joined
together, formed a body, and because the quality of fire does not tend
downwards, but upwards, that the nature of fire, always pushing
upwards, supports the mass of the world placed upon it; to this we
answer: How could atoms of a fiery quality, which always make for the
highest place, descend to the lower, and be found in the lowest place
of all, so as to form a foundation for all; whereas rather the heavier
qualities, that is, the earthy or watery, always come before the
lighter, as we have said; hence, also, they assert that the heaven, as
the higher structure, is composed of fiery atoms, which are lighter,
and always fly upwards? Therefore the world cannot have foundations
of fire, or any other: nor can there be any association or compacting
of the heavier atoms with the lighter, that is, of those which are
always borne downwards, with those that always fly upwards. Thus it
is sufficiently shown that the bodies of the world are consolidated by
the union of atoms; and that insensible bodies, even if they could by
any means concur and be united, could not give forms and measures to
bodies, form limbs, or effect qualities, or express quantities; all
which, therefore, by their exactness, attest the hand of a Maker, and
show the operation of reason, which reason I call the Word, and God.
Chapter XX.--Plato's Testimony.
"But some one will say that these things are done by nature. Now, in
this, the controversy is about a name. For while it is evident that
it is a work of mind and reason, what you call nature, I call God the
Creator. It is evident that neither the species of bodies, arranged
with so necessary distinctions, nor the faculties of minds, could or
can be made by irrational and senseless work. But if you regard the
philosophers as fit witnesses, Plato testifies concerning these things
in the Timæus, where, in a discussion on the making of the world, he
asks, whether it has existed always, or had a beginning, and decides
that it was made. `For,' says he, `it is visible and palpable, and
corporeal; but it is evident that all things which are of this sort
have been made; but what has been made has doubtless an author, by
whom it was made. This Maker and Father of all, however, it is
difficult to discover; and when discovered, it is impossible to
declare Him to the vulgar.' Such is the declaration of Plato; but
though he and the other Greek philosophers had chosen to be silent
about the making of the world, would it not be manifest to all who
have any understanding? For what man is there, having even a particle
of sense, who, when he sees a house having all things necessary for
useful purposes, its roof fashioned into the form of a globe, painted
with various splendour and diverse figures, adorned with large and
splendid lights; who is there, I say, that, seeing such a structure,
would not immediately pronounce that it was constructed by a most wise
and powerful artificer? And so, who can be found so foolish, as, when
he gazes upon the fabric of the heaven, perceives the splendour of the
sun and moon, sees the courses and beauty of the stars, and their
paths assigned to them by fixed laws and periods, will not cry out
that these things are made, not so much by a wise and rational
artificer, as by wisdom and reason itself?
Chapter XXI.--Mechanical Theory.
"But if you would rather have the opinions of others of the Greek
philosophers,--and you are acquainted with mechanical science,--you
are of course familiar with what is their deliverance concerning the
heavens. For they suppose a sphere, equally rounded in every
direction, and looking indifferently to all points, and at equal
distances in all directions from the centre of the earth, and so
stable by its own symmetry, that its perfect equality does not permit
it to fall off to any side; and so the sphere is sustained, although
supported by no prop. Now if the fabric of the world really has this
form, the divine work is evident in it. But if, as others think, the
sphere is placed upon the waters, and is supported by them, or
floating in them, even so the work of a great contriver is shown in
it.
Chapter XXII.--Motions of the Stars.
"But lest the assertion may seem doubtful respecting things which are
not manifest to all, let us come to those things of which nobody is
ignorant. Who disposed the courses of the stars with so great reason,
ordained their risings and settings, and appointed to each one to
accomplish the circuit of the heavens in certain and regular times?
Who assigned to some to be always approaching to the setting, and
others to be returning to the rising? Who put a measure upon the
courses of the sun, that he might mark out, by his diverse motions,
hours, and days, and months, and changes of seasons?--that he might
distinguish, by the sure measurement of his course, now winter, then
spring, summer, and afterwards autumn, and always, by the same changes
of the year, complete the circle with variety, without confusion?
Who, I say, will not pronounce that the director of such order is the
very wisdom of God? And these things we have spoken according to the
relations given us by the Greeks respecting the science of the
heavenly bodies.
Chapter XXIII.--Providence in Earthly Things.
"But what of those things also which we see on the earth, or in the
sea? Are we not plainly taught, that not only the work, but also the
providence, of God is in them? For whereas there are on the earth
lofty mountains in certain places, the object of this is, that the
air, being compressed and confined by them through the appointment of
God, may be forced and pressed out into winds, by which fruits may
germinate, and the summer heat may be moderated when the Pleiades
glow, fired with the blaze of the sun. But you still say, Why that
blaze of the sun, that moderating should be required? How, then,
should fruits be ripened which are necessary for the uses of men? But
observe this also, that at the meridian axis, [815] where the heat is
greatest, there is no great collection of clouds, nor an abundant fall
of rain, lest disease should be produced among the inhabitants; for
watery clouds, if they are acted on by rapid heat, render the air
impure and pestilential. And the earth also, receiving the warm rain,
does not afford nourishment to the crops, but destruction. In this
who can doubt that there is the working of divine providence? In
short, Egypt, which is scorched with the heat of Æthiopia, in its
neighbourhood, lest its air should be incurably vitiated by the
effects of showers, its plains do not receive rain furnished to them
from the clouds, but, as it were, an earthly shower from the overflow
of the Nile.
Footnotes
[815] That is, the equator.
Chapter XXIV.--Rivers and Seas.
"What shall we say of fountains and rivers, which flow with perpetual
motion into the sea? And, by the divine providence, neither does
their abundant supply fail, nor does the sea, though it receives so
great quantities of water, experience any increase, but both those
elements which contribute to it and those which are thus contributed
remain in the same proportion. But you will say to me: The salt
water naturally consumes the fresh water which is poured into it.
Well, in this is manifest the work of providence, that it made that
element salt into which it turned the courses of all the waters which
it had provided for the use of men. So that through so great spaces
of time the channel of the sea has not been filled, and produced a
deluge destructive to the earth and to men. Nor will any one be so
foolish as to think that this so great reason and so great providence
has been arranged by irrational nature.
Chapter XXV.--Plants and Animals.
"But what shall I say of plants, and what of animals? Is it not
providence that has ordained that plants, when they decay by old age,
should be reproduced by the suckers or the seeds which they have
themselves produced, and animals by propagation? And by a certain
wonderful dispensation of providence, milk is prepared in the udders
of the dams for the animals before they are born; and as soon as they
are born, with no one to guide them, they seek out the store of
nourishment provided for them. And not only males are produced, but
females also, that by means of both the race may be perpetuated. But
lest this should seem, as some think, to be done by a certain order of
nature, and not by the appointment of the Creator, He has, as a proof
and indication of His providence, ordained a few animals to preserve
their stock on the earth in an exceptional way: for example, the crow
conceives through the mouth, and the weasel brings forth through the
ear; and some birds, such as hens, sometimes produce eggs conceived of
wind or dust; other animals convert the male into the female, and
change their sex every year, as hares and hyænas, which they call
monsters; others spring from the earth, and get their bodies from it,
as moles; others from ashes, as vipers; others from putrifying flesh,
as wasps from horseflesh, bees from ox-flesh; others from cow-dung, as
beetles; others from herbs, as the scorpion from the basil; and again,
herbs from animals, as parsley and asparagus from the horn of the stag
or the she goat.
Chapter XXVI.--Germination of Seeds.
"And what occasion is there to mention more instances in which divine
providence has ordained the production of animals to be effected in
various ways, that order being superseded which is thought to be
assigned by nature, from which not an irrational course of things, but
one arranged by his own reason, might be evinced? And in this also is
there not a full work of providence shown, when seeds sown are
prepared by means of earth and water for the sustenance of men? For
when these seeds are committed to the earth, the soil milks upon the
seeds, as from its teats, the moisture which it has received into
itself by the will of God. For there is in water a certain power of
the spirit given by God from the beginning, by whose operation the
structure of the body that is to be begins to be formed in the seed
itself, and to be developed by means of the blade and the ear; for the
grain of seed being swelled by the moisture, that power of the spirit
which has been made to reside in water, running as an incorporeal
substance through certain strait passages of veins, excites the seeds
to growth, and forms the species of the growing plants. By means,
therefore, of the moist element in which that vital spirit is
contained and inborn, it is caused that not only is it revived, but
also that an appearance and form in all respects like to the seeds
that had been sown is reproduced. Now, who that has even a particle
of sense will think that this method depends upon irrational nature,
and not upon divine wisdom? Lastly, also these things are done in a
resemblance of the birth of men; for the earth seems to take the place
of the womb, into which the seed being cast, is both formed and
nourished by the power of water and spirit, as we have said above.
Chapter XXVII.--Power of Water.
"But in this also the divine providence is to be admired, that it
permits us to see and know the things that are made, but has placed in
secrecy and concealment the way and manner in which they are done,
that they may not be competent to the knowledge of the unworthy, but
may be laid open to the worthy and faithful, when they shall have
deserved it. But to prove by facts and examples that nothing is
imparted to seeds of the substance of the earth, but that all depends
upon the element of water, and the power of the spirit which is in
it,--suppose, for example, that a hundred talents' weight of earth are
placed in a very large trough, and that there are sown in it several
kinds of seeds, either of herbs or of shrubs, and that water enough is
supplied for watering them, and that that care is taken for several
years, and that the seeds which are gathered are stored up, for
example of corn or barley and other sorts separately from year to
year, until the seeds of each sort amount to a hundred talents'
weight, then also let the stalks be pulled up by the roots and
weighed; and after all these have been taken from the trough, let the
earth be weighed, it will still give back its hundred talents' weight
undiminished. [816]Whence, then, shall we say that all that weight,
and all the quantity of different seeds and stalks, has come? Does it
not appear manifestly that it has come from the water? For the earth
retains entire what is its own, but the water which has been poured in
all through is nowhere, on account of the powerful virtue of the
divine condition, which by the one species of water both prepares the
substances of so many seeds and shrubs, and forms their species, and
preserves the kind while multiplying the increase.
Footnotes
[816] [De Maistre, Soirées, vi. 259.]
Chapter XXVIII.--The Human Body.
"From all these things I think it is sufficiently and abundantly
evident that all things are produced; and the universe consists by a
designing sense, and not by the irrational operation of nature. But
let us come now, if you please, to our own substance, that is, the
substance of man, who is a small world, a microcosm, in the great
world; and let us consider with what reason it is compounded: and
from this especially you will understand the wisdom of the Creator.
For although man consists of different substances, one mortal and the
other immortal, yet, by the skilful contrivance of the Creator, their
diversity does not prevent their union, and that although the
substances be diverse and alien the one from the other. For the one
is taken from the earth and formed by the Creator, but the other is
given from immortal substances; and yet the honour of its immortality
is not violated by this union. Nor does it, as some think, consist of
reason, and concupiscence, and passion, but rather such affections
seem to be in it, by which it may be moved in each of these
directions. For the body, which consists of bones and flesh, takes
its beginning from the seed of a man, which is extracted from the
marrow by warmth, and conveyed into the womb as into a soil, to which
it adheres, and is gradually moistened from the fountain of the blood,
and so is changed into flesh and bones, and is formed into the
likeness of him who injected the seed.
Chapter XXIX.--Symmetry of the Body.
"And mark in this the work of the Designer, how He has inserted the
bones like pillars, on which the flesh might be sustained and
carried. Then, again, how an equal measure is preserved on either
side, that is, the right and the left, so that foot answers to foot,
hand to hand, and even finger to finger, so that each agrees in
perfect equality with each; and also eye to eye, and ear to ear, which
not only are suitable to and matched with each other, but also are
formed fit for necessary uses. The hands, for instance, are so made
as to be fit for work; the feet for walking; the eyes, protected with
sentinel eyebrows, to serve the purpose of sight; the ears so formed
for hearing, that, like a cymbal, they vibrate the sound of the word
that falls upon them, and send it inward, and transmit it even in the
understanding of the heart; whereas the tongue, striking against the
teeth in speaking, performs the part of a fiddle-bow. The teeth also
are formed, some for cutting and dividing the food, and handing it
over to the inner ones; and these, in their turn, bruise and grind it
like a mill, that it may be more conveniently digested when it is
conveyed into the stomach; whence also they are called grinders.
Chapter XXX.--Breath and Blood.
"The nostrils also are made for the purpose of collecting, inspiring,
and expiring air, that by the renewal of the breath, the natural heat
which is in the heart may, by means of the lungs, be either warmed or
cooled, as the occasion may require; while the lungs are made to abide
in the breast, that by their softness they may soothe and cherish the
vigour of the heart, in which the life seems to abide;--the life, I
say, not the soul. And what shall I say of the substance of the
blood, which, proceeding as a river from a fountain, and first borne
along in one channel, and then spreading through innumerable veins, as
through canals, irrigates the whole territory of the human body with
vital streams, being supplied by the agency of the liver, which is
placed in the right side, for effecting the digestion of food and
turning it into blood? But in the left side is placed the spleen,
which draws to itself, and in some way cleanses, the impurities of the
blood.
Chapter XXXI.--The Intestines.
"What reason also is employed in the intestines, which are arranged in
long circular windings, that they may gradually carry off the refuse
of the food, so as neither to render places suddenly empty, and so as
not to be hindered by the food that is taken afterwards! But they are
made like a membrane, that the parts that are outside of them may
gradually receive moisture, which if it were poured out suddenly would
empty the internal parts; and not hindered by a thick skin, which
would render the outside dry, and disturb the whole fabric of man with
distressing thirst.
Chapter XXXII.--Generation.
"Moreover, the female form, and the cavity of the womb, most suitable
for receiving, and cherishing, and vivifying the germ, who does not
believe that it has been made as it is by reason and
foresight?--because in that part alone of her body the female differs
from the male, in which the foetus being placed, is kept and
cherished. And again the male differs from the female only in that
part of his body in which is the power of injecting seed and
propagating mankind. And in this there is a great proof of
providence, from the necessary difference of members; but more in
this, where, under a likeness of form there is found to be diversity
of use and variety of office. For males and females equally have
teats, but only those of the female are filled with milk; that, as
soon as they have brought forth, the infant may find nourishment
suited to him. But if we see the members in man arranged with such
method, that in all the rest there is seen to be similarity of form,
and a difference only in those in which their use requires a
difference, and we neither see anything superfluous nor anything
wanting in man, nor in woman anything deficient or in excess, who will
not, from all these things, acknowledge the operation of reason, and
the wisdom of the Creator?
Chapter XXXIII.--Correspondences in Creation.
"With this agrees also the reasonable difference of other animals, and
each one being suited to its own use and service. This also is
testified by the variety of trees and the diversity of herbs, varying
both in form and in juices. This also is asserted by the change of
seasons, distinguished into four periods, and the circle closing the
year with certain hours, days, months, and not deviating from the
appointed reckoning by a single hour. Hence, in short, the age of the
world itself is reckoned by a certain and fixed account, and a
definite number of years.
Chapter XXXIV.--Time of Making the World.
"But you will say, When was the world made? And why so late? This
you might have objected, though it had been made sooner. For you
might say, Why not also before this? And so, going back through
unmeasured ages, you might still ask, And why not sooner? But we are
not now discussing this, why it was not made sooner; but whether it
was made at all. For if it is manifest that it was made, it is
necessarily the work of a powerful and supreme Artificer; and if this
is evident, it must be left to the choice and judgment of the wise
Artificer when He should please to make it; unless indeed you think
that all this wisdom, which has constructed the immense fabric of the
world, and has given to the several objects their forms and kinds,
assigning to them a habit not only in accordance with beauty, but also
most convenient and necessary for their future uses,--unless, I say,
you think that this alone has escaped it, that it should choose a
convenient season for so magnificent a work of creation. He has
doubtless a certain reason and evident causes why, and when, and how
He made the world; but it were not proper that these should be
disclosed to those who are reluctant to inquire into and understand
the things which are placed before their eyes, and which testify of
His providence. For those things which are kept in secret, and are
hidden within the senses of Wisdom, as in a royal treasury, are laid
open to none but those who have learned of Him, with whom these things
are sealed and laid up. It is God, therefore, who made all things,
and Himself was made by none. But those who speak of nature instead
of God, and declare that all things were made by nature, do not
perceive the mistake of the name which they use. For if they think
that nature is irrational, it is most foolish to suppose that a
rational creature can proceed from an irrational creator. But if it
is Reason--that is, Logos [817] --by which it appears that all things
were made, they change the name without purpose, when they make
statements concerning the reason of the Creator. If you have anything
to say to these things, my father, say on."
Footnotes
[817] [Comp. John i. 1-3. The expression seems to be used here with a
polemic purpose.--R.]
Chapter XXXV.--A Contest of Hospitality.
When Niceta had thus spoken, the old man answered: "You indeed, my
son, have conducted your argument wisely and vigorously; so much so,
that I do not think the subject of providence could be better
treated. But as it is now late, I wish to say some things to-morrow
in answer to what you have argued; and if on these you can satisfy me,
I shall confess myself a debtor to your favour." And when the old man
said this, Peter rose up. Then one of those present, a chief man of
the Laodiceans, requested of Peter and us that he might give the old
man other clothes instead of the mean and torn ones that he wore.
[818]This man Peter and we embraced; and praising him for his
honourable and excellent intention, said: "We are not so foolish and
impious as not to bestow the things which are necessary for bodily
uses upon him to whom we have committed so precious words; and we hope
that he will willingly receive them, as a father from his sons, and
also we trust that he will share with us our house and our living."
While we said this, and that chief man of the city strove to take the
old man away from us with the greatest urgency and with many
blandishments, while we the more eagerly strove to keep him with us,
all the people cried out that it should rather be done as the old man
himself pleased; and when silence was obtained, the old man, with an
oath, said: "To-day I shall stay with no one, nor take anything from
any one, lest the choice of the one should prove the sorrow of the
other; afterwards these things may be, if so it seem right."
Footnotes
[818] [This incident is peculiar to the Recognitions. There seems to
be a reminiscence of this chief man in Homily IV. 10, where a rich man
provides a place for the discussion; comp. chap. 38 here.--R.]
Chapter XXXVI.--Arrangements for To-Morrow.
And when the old man had said this, Peter said to the chief man of the
city: "Since you have shown your good-will in our presence, it is not
right that you should go away sorrowful; but we will accept from you
favour for favour. Show us your house, and make it ready, so that the
discussion which is to be to-morrow may be held there, and that any
who wish to be present to hear it may be admitted." When the chief
man of the city heard this, he rejoiced greatly; and all the people
also heard it gladly. And when the crowds had dispersed, he pointed
out his house; and the old man also was preparing to depart. But I
commanded one of my attendants to follow the old man secretly, and
find out where he stayed. And when we returned to our lodging, we
told our brethren all our dealings with the old man; and so, as usual,
we supped and went to sleep.
Chapter XXXVII.--"The Form of Sound Words, Which Ye Have Heard of Me."
But on the following day Peter arose early and called us, and we went
together to the secret place in which we had been on the previous day,
for the purpose of prayer. And when, after prayer, we were coming
thence to the appointed place, he exhorted us by the way, saying:
[819]"Hear me, most beloved fellow-servants: It is good that every
one of you, according to his ability, contribute to the advantage of
those who are approaching to the faith of our religion; and therefore
do not shrink from instructing the ignorant, and teaching according to
the wisdom which has been bestowed upon you by the providence of God,
yet so that you only join the eloquence of your discourse with those
things which you have heard from me, and which have been committed to
you. But do not speak anything which is your own, and which has not
been committed to you, though it may seem to yourselves to be true;
but hold forth those things, as I have said, which I myself have
received from the true Prophet, and have delivered to you, although
they may seem to be less full of authority. For thus it often happens
that men turn away from the truth, while they believe that they have
found out, by their own thoughts, a form of truth more true and
powerful."
Footnotes
[819] [Peculiar to the Recognitions; there is probably here an
anti-Pauline purpose.--R.]
Chapter XXXVIII.--The Chief Man's House.
To these counsels of Peter we willingly assented, saying to him that
we should do nothing but what was pleasing to him. Then said he:
"That you may therefore be exercised without danger, each of you
conduct the discussion in my presence, one succeeding another, and
each one elucidating his own questions. Now, then, as Niceta
discoursed sufficiently yesterday, let Aquila conduct the discussion
to-day; and after Aquila, Clement; and then I, if the case shall
require it, will add something." Meantime, while we were talking in
this way, we came to the house; and the master of the house welcomed
us, and led us to a certain apartment, arranged after the manner of a
theatre, and beautifully built. There we found great crowds waiting
for us, who had come during the night, and amongst them the old man
who had argued with us yesterday. Therefore we entered, having Peter
in the midst of us, looking about if we could see the old man
anywhere; and when Peter saw him hiding in the midst of the crowd, he
called him to him, saying: "Since you possess a soul more enlightened
than most, why do you hide yourself, and conceal yourself in modesty?
Rather come hither, and propound your sentiments."
Chapter XXXIX.--Recapitulation of Yesterday's Argument.
When Peter had thus spoken, immediately the crowd began to make room
for the old man. [820]And when he had come forward, he thus began:
"Although I do not remember the words of the discourse which the young
man delivered yesterday, yet I recollect the purport and the order of
it; and therefore I think it necessary, for the sake of those who were
not present yesterday, to call up what was said, and to repeat
everything shortly, that, although something may have escaped me, I
may be reminded of it by him who delivered the discourse, who is now
present. This, then, was the purport of yesterday's discussion: that
all things that we see, inasmuch as they consist in a certain
proportion, and art, and form, and species, must be believed to have
been made by intelligent power; but if it be mind and reason that has
formed them, it follows that the world is governed by the providence
of the same reason, although the things which are done in the world
may seem to us to be not quite rightly done. But it follows, that if
God and mind is the creator of all things, He must also be just; but
if He is just, He necessarily judges. If He judges, it is of
necessity that men be judged with respect to their doings; and if
every one is judged in respect of his doings, there shall at some time
be a righteous separation between righteous men and sinners. This, I
think, was the substance of the whole discourse.
Footnotes
[820] [The second day's discussion, in which Aquila is the main
speaker, is also of a high order. It is, as already indicated,
peculiar to the Recognitions, though with the usual incidental
correspondences in the Homilies.--R.]
Chapter XL.--Genesis.
"If, therefore, it can be shown that mind and reason created all
things, it follows that those things which come after are also managed
by reason and providence. But if unintelligent and blind nature
produces all things, the reason of judgment is undoubtedly overthrown;
and there is no ground to expect either punishment of sin or reward of
well-doing where there is no judge. Since, then, the whole matter
depends upon this, and hangs by this head, do not take it amiss, if I
wish this to be discussed and handled somewhat more fully. For in
this the first gate, as it were, is shut towards all things which are
propounded, and therefore I wish first of all to have it opened to
me. Now therefore hear what my doctrine is; and if any one of you
pleases, let him reply to me: for I shall not be ashamed to learn, if
I hear that which is true, and to assent to him who speaks rightly.
The discourse, then, which you delivered yesterday, which asserted
that all things consist by art, and measure, and reason, does not
fully persuade me that it is mind and reason that has made the world;
for I have many things which I can show to consist by competent
measure, and form, and species, and which yet were not made by mind
and reason. Then, besides, I see that many things are done in the
world without arrangement, consequence, or justice, and that nothing
can be done without the course of Genesis. This I shall in the sequel
prove most clearly from my own case."
Chapter XLI.--The Rainbow.
When the old man had thus spoken, Aquila answered: "As you yourself
proposed that any one who pleased should have an opportunity of
answering to what you might say, my brother Niceta permits me to
conduct the argument today." Then the old man: "Go on, my son, as
you please." And Aquila answered: "You promised that you would show
that there are many things in the world which have a form and species
arranged by equal reason, which yet it is evident were not effected by
God as their Creator. Now, then, as you have promised, point out
these things." Then said the old man: "Behold, we see the bow in the
heaven assume a circular shape, completed in all proportion, and have
an appearance of reality, which perhaps neither mind could have
constructed nor reason described; and yet it is not made by any mind.
Behold, I have set forth the whole in a word: now answer me."
Chapter XLII.--Types and Forms.
Then said Aquila: "If anything is expressed from a type and form, it
is at once understood that it is from reason, and that it could not be
made without mind; since the type itself, which expresses figures and
forms, was not made without mind. For example, if wax be applied to
an engraved ring, it takes the stamp and figure from the ring, which
undoubtedly is without sense; but then the ring, which expresses the
figure, was engraven by the hand of a workman, and it was mind and
reason that gave the type to the ring. So then the bow also is
expressed in the air; for the sun, impressing its rays on the clouds
in the process of rarefaction, and affixing the type of its
circularity to the cloudy moisture, as it were to soft wax, produces
the appearance of a bow; and this, as I have said, is effected by the
reflection of the sun's brightness upon the clouds, and reproducing
the brightness of its circle from them. Now this does not always take
place, but only when the opportunity is presented by the rarefaction
of moistened clouds. And consequently, when the clouds again are
condensed and unite, the form of the bow is dissolved and vanishes.
Finally, the bow never is seen without sun and clouds, just as the
image is not produced, unless there be the type, and wax, or some
other material. Nor is it wonderful if God the Creator in the
beginning made types, from which forms and species may now be
expressed. But this is similar to that, that in the beginning God
created insensible elements, which He might use for forming and
developing all other things. But even those who form statues, first
make a mould of clay or wax, and from it the figure of the statue is
produced. And then afterwards a shadow is also produced from the
statue, which shadow always bears the form and likeness of the
statue. What shall we say then? That the insensible statue forms a
shadow finished with as diligent care as the statue itself? Or shall
the finishing of the shadow be unhesitatingly ascribed to him who has
also fashioned the statue?
Chapter XLIII.--Things Apparently Useless and Vile Made by God.
"If, then, it seems to you that this is so, and what has been said on
this subject is enough, let us come to inquire into other matters; or
if you think that something is still wanting, let us go over it
again." And the old man said: "I wish you would go over this again,
since there are many other things which I see to be made in like
manner: for both the fruits of trees are produced in like manner,
beautifully formed and wonderfully rounded; and the appearance of the
leaves is formed with immense gracefulness, and the green membrane is
woven with exquisite art: then, moreover, fleas, mice, lizards, and
such like, shall we say that these are made by God? Hence, from these
vile objects a conjecture is derived concerning the superior, that
they are by no means formed by the art of mind." "You infer well,"
said Aquila, "concerning the texture of leaves, and concerning small
animals, that from these belief is withdrawn from the superior
creatures; but let not these things deceive you, that you should think
that God, working as it were only with two hands, could not complete
all things that are made; but remember how my brother Niceta answered
you yesterday, and truly disclosed the mystery before the time, as a
son speaking with his father, and explained why and how things are
made which seem to be useless."
Chapter XLIV.--Ordinate and Inordinate.
Then the old man: "I should like to hear from you why those useless
things are made by the will of that supreme mind?" "If," said he, "it
is fully manifest to you that there is in them the work of mind and
reason, then you will not hesitate to say also why they were made, and
to declare that they have been rightly made." To this the old man
answered: "I am not able, my son, to say that those things which seem
formed by art are made by mind, by reason of other things which we see
to be done unjustly and disorderly in the world." "If," says Aquila,
"those things which are done disorderly do not allow you say that they
are done by the providence of God, why do not those things which are
done orderly compel you to say that they are done by God, and that
irrational nature cannot produce a rational work? For it is certain,
nor do we at all deny, that in this world some things are done
orderly, and some disorderly. Those things, therefore, that are done
rationally, believe that they are done by providence; but those that
are done irrationally and inordinately, that they befall naturally,
and happen accidentally. But I wonder that men do not perceive, that
where there is sense things may be done ordinately and inordinately,
but where there is no sense neither the one nor the other can be done;
for reason makes order, and the course of order necessarily produces
something inordinate, if anything contrary happen to disturb order."
Then the old man: "This very thing I wish you to show me."
Chapter XLV.--Motions of the Sun and Moon.
Says Aquila: "I shall do so without delay. Two visible signs are
shown in heaven--one of the sun, the other of the moon; and these are
followed by five other stars, each describing its own separate orbit.
These, therefore, God has placed in the heaven, by which the
temperature of the air may be regulated according to the seasons, and
the order of vicissitudes and alternations may be kept. But by means
of the very same signs, if at any time plague and corruption is sent
upon the earth for the sins of men, the air is disturbed, pestilence
is brought upon animals, blight upon crops, and a destructive year in
every way upon men; and thus it is that by one and the same means
order is both kept and destroyed. For it is manifest even to the
unbelieving and unskilful, that the course of the sun, which is useful
and necessary to the world, and which is assigned by providence, is
always kept orderly; but the courses of the moon, in comparison of the
course of the sun, seem to the unskilful to be inordinate and
unsettled in her waxings and wanings. For the sun moves in fixed and
orderly periods: for from him are hours, from him the day when he
rises, from him also the night when he sets; from him months and years
are reckoned, from him the variations of seasons are produced; while,
rising to the higher regions, he tempers the spring; but when he
reaches the top of the heaven, he kindles the summer's heats: again,
sinking, he produces the temper of autumn; and when he returns to his
lowest circle, he bequeaths to us the rigour of winter's cold from the
icy binding of heaven.
Chapter XLVI.--Sun and Moon Ministers Both of Good and Evil.
"But we shall discourse at greater length on these subjects at another
time. Now, meantime, we remark that though he is that good servant
for regulating the changes of the seasons, yet, when chastisement is
inflicted upon men according to the will of God, he glows more
fiercely, and burns up the world with more vehement fires. In like
manner also the course of the moon, and that changing which seems to
the unskilful to be disorderly, is adapted to the growth of crops, and
cattle, and all living creatures; for by her waxings and wanings, by a
certain wonderful contrivance of providence, everything that is born
is nourished and grows; concerning which we could speak more at length
and unfold the matter in detail, but that the method of the question
proposed recalls us. Yet, by the very same appliances by which they
are produced, all things are nourished and increased; but when, from
any just cause, the regulation of the appointed order is changed,
corruption and distemper arise, so that chastisement may come upon men
by the will of God, as we have said above.
Chapter XLVII.--Chastisements on the Righteous and the Wicked.
"But perhaps you will say, What of the fact that, in that common
chastisement, like things befall the pious and the impious? It is
true, and we confess it; but the chastisement turns to the advantage
of the pious, that, being afflicted in the present life, they may come
more purified to the future, in which perpetual rest is prepared for
them, and that at the same time even the impious may somewhat profit
from their chastisement, or else that the just sentence of the future
judgment may be passed upon them; since in the same chastisements the
righteous give thanks to God, while the unrighteous blaspheme.
Therefore, since the opinion of things is divided into two parts, that
some things are done by order and others against order, it ought, from
those things which are done according to order, to be believed that
there is a providence; but with respect to those things which are done
against order, we should inquire their causes from those who have
learned them by prophetic teaching: for those who have become
acquainted with prophetic discourse know when, and for what reason,
blight, hail, and pestilence, and such like, have occurred in every
generation, and for what sins these have been sent as a punishment;
whence causes of sadness, lamentations, and griefs have befallen the
human race; whence also trembling sickness has ensued, and that this
has been from the beginning the punishment of parricide. [821]
Footnotes
[821] Gen. iv. 12, in LXX.
Chapter XLVIII.--Chastisements for Sins.
"For in the beginning of the world there were none of these evils, but
they took their rise from the impiety of men; and thence, with the
constant increase of iniquities, the number of evils has also
increased. But for this reason divine providence has decreed a
judgment with respect to all men, because the present life was not
such that every one could be dealt with according to his deservings.
Those things, therefore, which were well and orderly appointed from
the beginning, when no causes of evil existed, are not to be judged of
from the evils which have befallen the world by reason of the sins of
men. In short, as an indication of the things which were from the
beginning, some nations are found which are strangers to these evils.
For the Seres, because they live chastely, are kept free from them
all; for with them it is unlawful to come at a woman after she has
conceived, or while she is being purified. No one there eats unclean
flesh, no one knows aught of sacrifices; all are judges to themselves
according to justice. For this reason they are not chastened with
those plagues which we have spoken of; they live to extreme old age,
and die without sickness. But we, miserable as we are, dwelling as it
were with deadly serpents [822] --I mean with wicked men--necessarily
suffer with them the plagues of afflictions in this world, but we
cherish hope from the comfort of good things to come."
Footnotes
[822] Ezek. ii. 6.
Chapter XLIX.--God's Precepts Despised.
"If," said the old man, "even the righteous are tormented on account
of the iniquities of others, God ought, as foreseeing this, to have
commanded men not to do those things from which it should be necessary
that the righteous be afflicted with the unrighteous; or if they did
them, He ought to have applied some correction or purification to the
world." [823]"God," said Aquila, "did so command, and gave precepts
by the prophets how men ought to live; but even these precepts they
despised: yea, if any desired to observe them, them they afflicted
with various injuries, until they drove them from their purposed
observance, and turned them to the rabble of infidelity, and made them
like unto themselves.
Footnotes
[823] This rendering is according to a marginal reading.
Chapter L.--The Flood.
"Wherefore, in short, at the first, when all the earth had been
stained with sins, God brought a flood upon the world, which you say
happened under Deucalion; and at that time He saved a certain
righteous man, with his sons, in an ark, and with him the race of all
plants and animals. [824]And yet even those who sprang from them,
after a time, again did deeds like to those of their predecessors; for
those things that had befallen them were forgotten, so that their
descendants did not even believe that the flood had taken place.
Wherefore God also decreed that there should not be another flood in
the present world, else there should have been one in every
generation, according to the account of their sins by reason of their
unbelief; but He rather granted that certain angels who delight in
evil should bear sway over the several nations--and to them was given
power over individual men, yet only on this condition, if any one
first had made himself subject to them by sinning--until He should
come who delights in good, and by Him the number of the righteous
should be completed, and by the increase of the number of pious men
all over the world impiety should be in some measure repressed, and it
should be known to all that all that is good is done by God.
Footnotes
[824] [Comp. book iv. 12; Homily VIII. 17.--R.]
Chapter LI.--Evils Brought in by Sin.
"But by the freedom of the will, every man, while he is unbelieving in
regard to things to come, by evil deeds runs into evils. And these
are the things in the world which seem to be done contrary to order,
which owe their existence to unbelief. Therefore the dispensation of
divine providence is withal to be admired, which granted to those men
in the beginning, walking in the good way of life, to enjoy
incorruptible good things; but when they sinned, they gave birth to
evil by sin. And to every good thing evil is joined as by a certain
covenant of alliance on the part of sin, since indeed the earth has
been polluted with human blood, and altars have been lighted to
demons, and they have polluted the very air by the filthy smoke of
sacrifices; and so at length the elements, being first corrupted, have
handed over to men the fault of their corruption, as roots communicate
their qualities to the branches and the fruit.
Chapter LII.--"No Rose Without Its Thorn."
"Observe therefore in this, as I have said, how justly divine
providence comes to the help of things vitiated; that, inasmuch as
evils which had derived their origin from sin were associated with the
good things of God, He should assign two chiefs to these two
departments. [825]And accordingly, to Him who rejoices in good He
has appointed the ordering of good things, that He might bring those
who believe in Him to the faith of His providence; but to him who
rejoices in evil, He has given over those things which are done
without order and uselessly, from which of course the faith of His
providence comes into doubt; and thus a just division has been made by
a just God. Hence therefore it is, that whereas the orderly course of
the stars produces faith that the world was made by the hand of a
designer, on the other hand, the disturbance of the air, the pestilent
breeze, the uncontrolled fire of the lightning, cast doubt upon the
work of providence. For, as we have said, every good thing has its
corresponding contrary evil thing joined with it; as hail is opposite
to the fertilizing showers, the corruption of mildew is associated
with the gentle dew, the whirlwinds of storms are joined with the soft
winds, unfruitful trees with fruitful, noxious herbs with useful, wild
and destructive animals with gentle ones. But all these things are
arranged by God, because that the choice of men's will has departed
from the purpose of good, and fallen away to evil.
Footnotes
[825] Compare with chaps. 52-54 the doctrine of pairs as stated in
book iii. 59-61; Homily II. 15, etc., iii. 23.--R.]
Chapter LIII.--Everything Has Its Corresponding Contrary.
"Therefore this division holds in all the things of the world; and as
there are pious men, so there are also impious; as there are prophets,
so also there are false prophets; and amongst the Gentiles there are
philosophers and false philosophers. Also the Arabian nations, and
many others, have imitated the circumcision of the Jews for the
service of their impiety. So also the worship of demons is contrary
to the divine worship, baptism to baptism, laws to the law, false
apostles to apostles, and false teachers to teachers. And hence it is
that among the philosophers some assert providence, others deny it;
some maintain that there is one God, others that there are more than
one: in short, the matter has come to this, that whereas demons are
expelled by the word of God, by which it is declared that there is a
providence, the magical art, for the confirmation of infidelity, has
found out ways of imitating this by contraries. Thus has been
discovered the method of counteracting the poison of serpents by
incantations, and the effecting of cures contrary to the word and
power of God. The magic art has also found out ministries contrary to
the angels of God, placing the calling up of souls and the figments of
demons in opposition to these. And, not to prolong the discourse by a
further enumeration, there is nothing whatever that makes for the
belief of providence, which has not something, on the other hand,
prepared for unbelief; and therefore they who do not know that
division of things, think that there is no providence, by reason of
those things in the world which are discordant from themselves. But
do you, my father, as a wise man, choose from that division the part
which preserves order and makes for the belief of providence, and do
not only follow that part which runs against order and neutralizes the
belief of providence."
Chapter LIV.--An Illustration.
To this the old man answered: "Show me a way, my son, by which I may
establish in my mind one or other of these two orders, the one of
which asserts, and the other denies, providence." "To one having a
right judgment," says Aquila, "the decision is easy. For this very
thing that you say, order and disorder, may be produced by a
contriver, but not by insensible nature. For let us suppose, by way
of illustration, that a great mass were torn from a high rock, and
cast down headlong, and when clashed upon the ground were broken into
many pieces, could it in any way happen that, amongst that multitude
of fragments, there should be found even one which should have any
perfect figure and shape?" The old man answered: "It is
impossible." "But," said Aquila, "if there be present a statuary, he
can by his skilful hand and reasonable mind form the stone cut from
the mountain into whatever figure he pleases." The old man said:
"That is true." "Therefore," says Aquila, "when there is not a
rational mind, no figure can be formed out of the mass; but when there
is a designing mind, there may be both form and deformity: for
example, if a workman cuts from the mountain a block to which he
wishes to give a form, he must first cut it out unformed and rough;
then, by degrees hammering and hewing it by the rule of his art, he
expresses the form which he has conceived in his mind. Thus,
therefore, from informity or deformity, by the hand of the workman
form is attained, and both proceed from the workman. In like manner,
therefore, the things which are done in the world are accomplished by
the providence of a contriver, although they may seem not quite
orderly. And therefore, because these two ways have been made known
to you, and you have heard the divisions of them, flee from the way of
unbelief, lest haply it lead you to that prince who delights in evils;
but follow the way of faith, that you may come to that King who
delighteth in good men."
Chapter LV.--The Two Kingdoms.
To this the old man answered: "But why was that prince made who
delights in evil? [826]And from what was he made? Or was he not
made?" Aquila said: "The treatment of that subject belongs to
another time; but that you may not go away altogether without an
answer to this, I shall give a few hints on this subject also. God,
foreseeing all things before the creation of the world, knowing that
the men who were to be would some of them indeed incline to good, but
others to the opposite, assigned those who should choose the good to
His own government and His own care, and called them His peculiar
inheritance; [827] but He gave over the government of those who should
turn to evil to those angels who, not by their substance, but by
opposition, were unwilling to remain with God, being corrupted by the
vice of envy and pride. Those, therefore, he made worthy princes of
worthy subjects; yet he so delivered them over to those angels, that
they have not the power of doing what they will against them, unless
they transgress the bounds assigned to them from the beginning. And
this is the bound assigned, that unless one first do the will of the
demons, the demons have no power over him."
Footnotes
[826] [On the creation of the evil one, see book x. 3, etc., and the
discussion with Simon in Homily XIX. 2-18.--R.]
[827] Deut. xxxii. 8, in LXX.
Chapter LVI.--Origin of Evil.
Then the old man said: "You have stated it excellently, my son. It
now remains only that you tell me whence is the substance of evil:
for if it was made by God, the evil fruit shows that the root is in
fault; for it appears that it also is of an evil nature. But if this
substance was co-eternal with God, how can that which was equally
unproduced and co-eternal be subject to the other?" "It was not
always," said Aquila; "but neither does it necessarily follow, if it
was made by God, that its Creator should be thought to be such as is
that which has been made by Him. For indeed God made the substance of
all things; but if a reasonable mind, which has been made by God, do
not acquiesce in the laws of its Creator, and go beyond the bounds of
the temperance prescribed to it, how does this reflect on the
Creator? Or if there is any reason higher than this, we do not know
it; for we cannot know anything perfectly, and especially concerning
those things for our ignorance of which we are not to be judged. But
those things for which we are to be judged are most easy to be
understood, and are despatched almost in a word. For almost the whole
rule of our actions is summed up in this, that what we are unwilling
to suffer we should not do to others. For as you would not be killed,
you must beware of killing another; and as you would not have your own
marriage violated, you must not defile another's bed; you would not be
stolen from, neither must you steal; and every matter of men's actions
is comprehended within this rule."
Chapter LVII.--The Old Man Unconvinced.
Then the old man: "Do not take amiss, my son, what I am going to
say. Though your words are powerful, yet they cannot lead me to
believe that anything can be done apart from Genesis. For I know that
all things have happened to me by the necessity of Genesis, [828] and
therefore I cannot be persuaded that either to do well or to do ill is
in our power; and if we have not our actions in our power, it cannot
be believed that there is a judgment to come, by which either
punishments may be inflicted on the evil, or rewards bestowed on the
good. In short, since I see that you are initiated in this sort of
learning, I shall lay before you a few things from the art itself."
"If," says Aquila, "you wish to add anything from that science, my
brother Clement will answer you with all care, since he has attended
more fully to the science of mathematics. For I can maintain in other
ways that our actions are in our own power; but I ought not to presume
upon those things which I have not learned."
Footnotes
[828] [Comp. Homily XIV. 3, etc.--R.]
Chapter LVIII.--Sitting in Judgment Upon God.
When Aquila had thus spoken, then I Clement said: "To-morrow, my
father, you shall speak as you please, and we will gladly hear you;
for I suppose it will also be gratifying to you that you have to do
with those who are not ignorant of the science which you profess."
When, therefore, it had been settled between the old man and me, that
on the following day we should hold a discussion on the subject of
Genesis--whether all things are done under its influence, or there be
anything in us which is not done by Genesis, but by the judgment of
the mind--Peter rose up, and began to speak to the following effect:
[829]"To me it is exceedingly wonderful, that things which can
easily be found out men make difficult by recondite thoughts and
words; and those especially who think themselves wise, and who,
wishing to comprehend the will of God, treat God as if He were a man,
yea, as if He were something less than a man: for no one can know the
purpose or mind of a man unless he himself reveal his thoughts; and
neither can any one learn a profession unless he be for a long time
instructed by a master. How much more must it be, that no one can
know the mind or the work of the invisible and incomprehensible God,
unless He Himself send a prophet to declare His purpose, and expound
the way of His creation, so far as it is lawful for men to learn it!
Hence I think it ridiculous when men judge of the power of God in
natural ways, and think that this is possible and that impossible to
Him, or this greater and that less, while they are ignorant of
everything; who, being unrighteous men, judge the righteous God;
unskilled, judge the contriver; corrupt, judge the incorruptible;
creatures, judge the Creator.
Footnotes
[829] [This discourse of Peter is peculiar to the Recognitions; it
resembles somewhat the earlier discourse to Clement in book i.--R.]
Chapter LIX.--The True Prophet.
But I would not have you think, that in saying this I take away the
power of judging concerning things; but I give counsel that no one
walk through devious places, and rush into errors without end. And
therefore I advise not only wise men, but indeed all men who have a
desire of knowing what is advantageous to them, that they seek after
the true Prophet; for it is He alone who knoweth all things, and who
knoweth what and how every man is seeking. [830]For He is within
the mind of every one of us, but in those who have no desire of the
knowledge of God and His righteousness, He is inoperative; but He
works in those who seek after that which is profitable to their souls,
and kindles in them the light of knowledge. Wherefore seek Him first
of all; and if you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn
anything from any other. But He is soon found by those who diligently
seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken
possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire
Him in the innocency of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw
sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but
He deserts malevolent minds, [831] because as a prophet He knows the
thoughts of every one. And therefore let no one think that he can
find Him by his own wisdom, unless, as we have said, he empty his mind
of all wickedness, and conceive a pure and faithful desire to know
Him. For when any one has so prepared himself, He Himself as a
prophet, seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord offers
Himself to his knowledge.
Footnotes
[830] [The introduction of these Chapters concerning the true Prophet
shows a far more orderly method of constructing the entire discussion
with the father than that of the Homilies; comp. book xi. 1, 2.--R.]
[831] Wisd. i. 4.
Chapter LX.--His Deliverances Not to Be Questioned.
"Therefore, if any one wishes to learn all things, he cannot do it by
discussing them one by one; for, being mortal, he shall not be able to
trace the counsel of God, and to scan immensity itself. But if, as we
have said, he desires to learn all things, let him seek after the true
Prophet; and when he has found Him, let him not treat with Him by
questions and disputations and arguments; but if He has given any
response, or pronounced any judgment, it cannot be doubted that this
is certain. And therefore, before all things, let the true Prophet be
sought, and His words be laid hold of. In respect to these this only
should be discussed by every one, that he may satisfy himself if they
are truly His prophetic words; that is, if they contain undoubted
faith of things to come, if they mark out definite times, if they
preserve the order of things, if they do not relate as last those
things which are first, nor as first those things which were done
last, if they contain nothing subtle, nothing composed by magic art to
deceive, or if they have not transferred to themselves things which
were revealed to others, and have mixed them with falsehoods. And
when, all these things having been discussed by right judgment, it is
established that they are prophetic words, so they ought to be at once
believed concerning all things on which they have spoken and answered.
Chapter LXI.--Ignorance of the Philosophers.
"For let us consider carefully the work of divine providence. [832]
For whereas the philosophers have introduced certain subtile and
difficult words, so that not even the terms that they use in their
discourses can be known and understood by all, God has shown that
those who thought themselves word-framers are altogether unskilful as
respects the knowledge of the truth. For the knowledge of things
which is imparted by the true Prophet is simple, and plain, and brief;
which those men walking through devious places, and through the stony
difficulties of words, are wholly ignorant of. Therefore, to modest
and simple minds, when they see things come to pass which have been
foretold, it is enough, and more than enough, that they may receive
most certain knowledge from most certain prescience; and for the rest
may be at peace, having received evident knowledge of the truth. For
all other things are treated by opinion, in which there can be nothing
firm. For what speech is there which may not be contradicted? And
what argument is there that may not be overthrown by another
argument? And hence it is, that by disputation of this sort men can
never come to any end of knowledge and learning, but find the end of
their life sooner than the end of their questions.
Footnotes
[832] [Comp. Homily XV. 5.--R.]
Chapter LXII.--End of the Conference.
"And, therefore, since amongst these philosophers are things
uncertain, we must come to the true Prophet. Him God the Father
wished to be loved by all, and accordingly He has been pleased wholly
to extinguish those opinions which have originated with men, and in
regard to which there is nothing like certainty--that He the true
Prophet might be the more sought after, and that He whom [833] they
had obscured should show to men the way of truth. For on this account
also God made the world, and by Him the world is filled; whence also
He is everywhere near to them who seek Him, though He be sought in the
remotest ends of the earth. But if any one seek Him not purely, nor
holily, nor faithfully, He is indeed within him, because He is
everywhere, and is found within the minds of all men; but, as we have
said before, He is dormant to the unbelieving, and is held to be
absent from those by whom His existence is not believed." And when
Peter had said this, and more to the same effect, concerning the true
Prophet, he dismissed the crowds; and when he very earnestly entreated
the old man to remain with us, he could prevail nothing; but he also
departed, to return next day, as had been agreed upon. And after
this, we also, with Peter, went to our lodging, and enjoyed our
accustomed food and rest.
Footnotes
[833] If we were to read quam instead of quem, the sense would be:
that He might lay open to men the way of truth which they had blocked
up. So Whiston.
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