Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 09: 29.02.05 Orthodox Faith Bk II Pt 1

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Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 09: 29.02.05 Orthodox Faith Bk II Pt 1



TOPIC: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 09 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 29.02.05 Orthodox Faith Bk II Pt 1

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Book II.

Chapter I.

Concerning aeon or age.

He created the ages Who Himself was. before the ages, Whom the divine David thus addresses, From age to age Thou arthyperlink . The divine apostle also says, Through Whom He created the ageshyperlink .

It must then be understood that the word age has various meanings, for it denotes many things. The life of each man is called an age. Again, a period of a thousand years is called an agehyperlink . Again, the whole course of the present life is called an age: also the future life, the immortal life after the resurrectionhyperlink , is spoken of as an age. Again, the word age is used to denote, not time nor yet a part of time as measured by the movement and course of the sun, that is to say, composed of days and nights, but the sort of temporal motion and interval that is co-extensive with eternityhyperlink . For age is to things eternal just what time is to things temporal.

Seven ageshyperlink of this world are spoken of, that is, from the creation of the heaven and earth till the general consummation and resurrection of men. For there is a partial consummation, viz., the death of each man: but there is also a general and complete consummation, when the general resurrection of men will come to pass. And the eighth age is the age to come.

Before the world was formed, when there was as yet no sun dividing day from night, there was not an age such as could be measuredhyperlink , but there was the sort of temporal motion and interval that is co-extensive with eternity. And in this sense there is but one age, and God is spoken of as ai0w/niojhyperlink and proaiw/nioj, for the age or aeon itself is His creation. For God, Who alone is without beginning, is Himself the Creator of all things, whether age or any other existing thing. And when I say God, it is evident that I mean the Father and His Only. begotten Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and His all-holy Spirit, our one God.

But we speak also of ages of ages, inasmuch as the seven ages of the present world include many ages in the sense of lives of men, and the one age embraces all the ages, and the present and the future are spoken of as age of age. Further, everlasting (i.e. ai0w/nioj) life and everlasting punishment prove that the age or neon to come is unendinghyperlink . For time will not be counted by days and nights even after the resurrection, but there will rather be one day with no evening, wherein the Sun of Justice will shine brightly on the just, but for the sinful there will be night profound and limitless. In what way then will the period of one thousand years be counted which, according to Origenhyperlink , is required for the complete restoration? Of all the ages, therefore, the sole creator is God Who hath also created the universe and Who was before the ages.

Chapter II.

Concerning the creation.

Since, then, God, Who is good and more than good, did not find satisfaction in self-contemplation, but in fits exceeding goodness wished certain things to come into existence which would enjoy His benefits and share in His goodness, He brought all things out of nothing into being and created them, both what is invisible and what is visible. Yea, even man, who is a compound of the visible and the invisible. And it is by thought that He creates, and thought is the basis of the work, the Word filling it and the Spirit perfecting ithyperlink .

Chapter III

Concerning angels.

He is Himself the Maker and Creator of the angels: for He brought them out of nothing into being and created them after His own image, an incorporeal race, a sort of spirit or immaterial fire: in the words of the divine David, He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of firehyperlink : and He has described their lightness and the ardour, and heat, and keenness and sharpness with which they hunger for God and serve Him, and how they are borne to the regions above and are quite delivered from all material thoughthyperlink .

An angel, then, is an intelligent essence, in perpetual motion, with free-will, incorporeal, ministering to God, having obtained by grace an immortal nature: and the Creator alone knows the form and limitation of its essence. But all that we can understand is, that it is incorporeal and immaterial. For all that is compared with God Who alone is incomparable, we find to be dense and material. For in reality only the Deity is immaterial and incorporeal.

The angel's nature then is rational, and intelligent, and endowed with free-will, change. able in will, or fickle. For all that is created is changeable, and only that which is un-created is unchangeable. Also all that is rational is endowed with free-will. As it is, then, rational and intelligent, it is endowed with free-will: and as it is created, it is changeable, having power either to abide or progress in goodness, or to turn towards evil.

It is not susceptible of repentance because it is incorporeal. For it is owing to the weakness of his body that man comes to have repentance.

It is immortal, not by naturehyperlink but by gracehyperlink . For all that has had beginning comes also to its natural end. But God alone is eternal, or rather, He is above the Eternal: for He, the Creator of times, is not under the dominion of time, but above time.

They are secondary intelligent lights derived from that first light which is without beginning, for they have the power of illumination; they have no need of tongue or hearing, but without uttering wordshyperlink they communicate to each other their own thoughts and counselshyperlink .

Through the Word, therefore, all the angels were created, and through the sanctification by the Holy Spirit were they brought to perfection, sharing each in proportion to his worth and rank in brightness and gracehyperlink .

They are circumscribed: for when they are in the Heaven they are not on the earth: and when they are sent by God down to the earth they do not remain in the Heaven. They are not hemmed in by walls and doors, and bars and seals, for they are quite unlimited. Unlimited, I repeat, for it is not as they really are that they reveal themselves to the worthy menhyperlink to whom God wishes them to appear, but in a changed form which the beholders are capable of seeing. For that alone is naturally and strictly unlimited which is un-created. For every created tiring is limited by God Who created it.

Further, apart from their essence they receive the sanctification from the Spirit: through the divine grace they prophesyhyperlink : they have no need of marriage for they are immortal.

Seeing that they are minds they are in mental placeshyperlink , and are not circumscribed after the fashion of a body. For they have not a bodily form by nature, nor are they tended in three dimensions. But to whatever post they may be assigned, there they are present after the manner of a mind and energise, and cannot be present and energise in various places at the same time.

Whether they are equals in essence or differ from one another we know not. God, their Creator, Who knoweth all things, alone knoweth. But they differhyperlink from each other in brightness and position, whether it is that their position is dependent on their brightness, or their brightness on their position: and they impart brightness to one another, because they excel one another in rank and naturehyperlink . And clearly the higher share their brightness and knowledge with the lower.

They are mighty and prompt to fulfil the will of the Deity, and their nature is endowed with such celerity that wherever the Divine glance bids them there they are straightway found. They are the guardians of the divisions of the earth: they are set over nations and regions, allotted to them by their Creator: they govern all our affairs and bring us succour. And the reason surely is because they are set over us by the divine will and command and are ever in the vicinity of Godhyperlink .

With difficulty they are moved to evil, yet they are not absolutely immoveable: but now they are altogether immoveable, not by nature but by grace and by their nearness to the Only Goodhyperlink .

They behold God according to their capacity, and this is their foodhyperlink .

They are above us for they are incorporeal, and are free of all bodily passion, yet are not passionless: for the Deity alone is passionless.

They take different forms at the bidding of their Master, God, and thus reveal themselves to men and unveil the divine mysteries to them.

They have Heaven for their dwelling-place, and have one duty, to sing God's praise and carry out His divine will.

Moreover, as that most holy, and sacred, and gifted theologian, Dionysius the Areopagitehyperlink , says, All theology, that is to say, the holy Scripture, has nine different names for the heavenly essenceshyperlink . These essences that divine master in sacred things divides into three groups, each containing three. And the first group, he says, consists of those who are in God's presence and are said to be directly and immediately one with Him, viz., the Seraphim with their six wings, the many-eyed Cherubim and those that sit in the holiest thrones. The second group is that of the Dominions, and the Powers, and the Authorities; and the third, and last, is that of the Rulers and Archangels and Angels

Some, indeedhyperlink , like Gregory the Theologian, say that these were before the creation of other things. He thinks that the angelic and heavenly powers were first and that thought was their functionhyperlink . Others, again, hold that they were created after the first heaven was made. But all are agreed that it was before the foundation of man. For myself, I am in harmony with the theologian. For it was fitting that the mental essence should be the first created, and then that which can be perceived, and finally man himself, in whose being both parts are united.

But those who say that the angels are creators of any kind of essence whatever are the mouth of their father, the devil. For since they are created things they are not creators. But He Who creates and provides for and maintains all things is God, Who alone is uncreate and is praised and glorified in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Chapter IV.

Concerning the devil and demons.

He who from among these angelic powers was set overhyperlink the earthly realm, and into whose hands God committed the guardianship of the earth, was not made wicked in nature but was good, and made for good ends, and received from his Creator no trace whatever of evil in himself. But he did not sustain the brightness and the honour which the Creator had bestowedhyperlink on him, and of his free choice was changed from what was in harmony to what was at variance with his nature, and became roused against God Who created him, and determined to rise in rebellion against Himhyperlink : and he was the first to depart from good and become evilhyperlink . For evil is nothing else than absence of goodness, just as darkness also is absence of light. For goodness is the light of the mind, and, similarly, evil is the darkness of the mind. Light, therefore, being the work of the Creator and being made good (for God saw all that He made, and behold they were exceeding goodhyperlink ) produced darkness at His free-will. But along with him an innumerable host of angels subject to him were torn away and followed him and shared in his fall. Wherefore, being of the same naturehyperlink as the angels, they became wicked, turning away at their own free choice from good to evilhyperlink

Hence they have no power or strength against any one except what God in His dispensation hath conceded to them, as for instance, against Jobhyperlink and those swine that are mentioned in the Gospelshyperlink . But when God has made the concession they do prevail, and are changed and transformed into any form whatever in which they wish to appear.

Of the future both the angels of God and the demons are alike ignorant: yet they make predictions. God reveals the future to the angels and commands them to prophesy, and so what they say comes to pass. But the demons also make predictions, sometimes because they see what is happening at a distance, and sometimes merely making guesses: hence much that they say is false and they should not be believed, even although they do often, in the way we have said, tell what is true. Besides they know the Scriptures.

All wickedness, then, and all impure passions are the work of their mind. But while the liberty to attack man has been granted to them, they have not the strength to over master any one: for we have it in our power to receive or not to receive the attackhyperlink . Wherefore there has been prepared for the devil and his demons, and those who follow him, fire unquenchable and everlasting punishmenthyperlink .

Note, further, that what in the case of man is death is a fall in the case of angels. For after the fall there is no possibility of repentance for them, just as after death there is for men no repentancehyperlink .

Chapter V.

Concerning the visible creation.

Our God Himself, Whom we glorify as Three in One, created the heaven and the earth and all that they containhyperlink , and brought all things out of nothing into being: some He made out of no pre-existing basis of matter, such as heaven, earth, air, fire, water: and the rest out of these elements that He had created, such as living creatures, plants, seeds. For these are made up of earth, and water, and air, and fire, at the bidding of the Creator.

Chapter VI.

Concerning the Heaven.

The heaven is the circumference of things created, both visible and invisible. For within its boundary are included and marked off both the mental faculties of the angels and all the world of sense. But the Deity alone is uncircumscribed, filling all things, and surrounding all things, and hounding all things, for He is above all things, and has created all things.

Sincehyperlink , therefore, the Scripture speaks of heaven, and heaven of heavenhyperlink , and heavens of heavenshyperlink , and the blessed Paul says that he was snatched away to the third heavenhyperlink , we say that in the cosmogony of the universe we accept the creation of a heaven which the foreign philosophers, appropriating the views of Moses, call a starless sphere. But further, God called the firmament also heavenhyperlink , which He commanded to be in the midst of the waters, setting it to divide the waters that are above the firmament from the waters that are below the firmament. And its nature, according to the divine Basiliushyperlink , who is versed in the mysteries of divine Scripture, is delicate as smoke. Others, however, hold that it is watery in nature, since it is set in the midst of the waters: others say it is composed of the four elements: and lastly, others speak of it as a filth body, distinct from the four elementshyperlink .

Further, some have thought that the heaven encircles the universe and has the form of a sphere, and that everywhere it is the highest point, and that the centre of the space enclosed by it is the lowest part: and, further, that those bodies that are light and airy are allotted by the Creator the upper region: while those that are heavy and tend to descend occupy the lower region, which is the middle. The element, then, that is lightest and most inclined to soar upwards is fire, and hence they hold that its position is immediately after the heaven, and they call it ether, and after it comes the lower air. But earth and water, which are heavier and have more of a downward tendency, are suspended in the centre. Therefore, taking them in the reverse order, we have in the lowest situation earth and water: but water is lighter than earth, and hence is more easily set in motion: above these on all hands, like a covering; is the circle of air, and all round the air is the circle of ether, and outside air is the circle of the heaven.

Further, they say that the heaven moves in a circle and so compresses all that is within it, that they remain firm and not liable to fall asunder.

They say also that there are seven zones of the heavenhyperlink , one higher than the other. And its nature, they say, is of extreme fineness, like that of smoke, and each zone contains one of the planets. For there are said to be seven planets: Sol, Luna, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus and Saturn. But sometimes Venus is called Lucifer and sometimes Vesper. These are called planets because their movements are the reverse of those of the heaven. For while the heaven and all other stars move from east to west, these alone move from west to east. And this can easily be seen in the case of the moon, which moves each evening a little backwards.

All, therefore, who hold that the heaven is in the form of a sphere, say that it is equally removed and distant from the earth at all points, whether above, or sideways, or below. And by `below' and `sideways' I mean all that comes within the range of our senses. For it follows from what has been said, that the heaven occupies the whole of the upper region and the earth the whole of the lower. They say, besides, that the heaven encircles the earth in the manner of a sphere, and bears along with it in its most rapid revolutions sun, moon and stars, and that when the sun is over the earth it becomes day there, and when it is under the earth it is night. And, again, when the sun goes under the earth it is night here, but day yonder.

Others have pictured the heaven as a hemisphere. This idea is suggested by these words of David, the singer of God, Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtainhyperlink , by which word he clearly means a tent: and by these from the blessed Isaiah, Who hath established the heavens like a vaulthyperlink : and also because when the sun, moon, and stars set they make a circuit round the earth from west to north, and so reach once more the easthyperlink . Still, whether it is this way or that, all things have been made and established by the divine command, and have the divine will and counsel for a foundation that cannot be moved. For He Himself spoke and they were made: He Himself commanded and they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which will not passhyperlink .

The heaven of heaven, then, is the first heaven which is above the firmamenthyperlink . So here we have two heavens, for God called the firmament also Heavenhyperlink . And it is customary in the divine Scripture to speak of the air also as heavens, because we see it above us. Bless Him, it says, all ye birds of the heaven, meaning of the air. For it is the air and not the heaven that is the region in which birds fly. So here we have three heavens, as the divine Apostle saidhyperlink . But if you should wish to look upon the seven zones as seven heavens there is no injury done to the word of truth. For it is usual in the Hebrew tongue to speak of heaven in the plural, that is, as heavens, and when a Hebrew wishes to say heaven of heaven, he usually says heavens of heavens, and this clearly means heaven of heavenhyperlink , which is above the firmament, and the waters which are above the heavens, whether it is the air and the firmament, or the seven zones of the firmament, or the firmament itself which are spoken of in the plural as heavens according to the Hebrew custom.

All things, then, which are brought into existence are subject to corruption according to the law of their naturehyperlink , and so even the heavens themselves are corruptible. But by the grace of God they are maintained and preservedhyperlink . Only the Deity, however, is by nature without beginning and without endhyperlink . Wherefore it has been said, They will perish, but Thou dost endurehyperlink : nevertheless, the heavens will not be utterly destroyed. For they will wax old and be wound round as a covering, and will be changed, and there will be a new heaven and a new earthhyperlink .

For the great part the heaven is greater than the earth, but we need not investigate the essence of the heaven, for it is quite beyond our knowledge.

It must not be supposed that the heavens or the luminaries are endowed with lifehyperlink . For they are inanimate and insensiblehyperlink . So that when the divine Scripture saith, Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be gladhyperlink , it is the angels in heaven and the men on earth that are invited to rejoice. For the Scripture is familiar with the figure of personification, and is wont to speak of inanimate things as though they were animate: for examplehyperlink , The sea saw it and fled: Jordan was driven backhyperlink . And again, What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou, O Jordan, that thou was driven backhyperlink ? Mountains, too, and hills are asked the reason of their leaping in the same way as we are wont to say, the city was gathered together, when we do not mean the buildings, but the inhabitants of the city: again, the heavens declare the glory of Godhyperlink , does not mean that they send forth a voice that can be heard by bodily ears, but that from their own greatness they bring before our minds the power of the Creator: and when we contemplate their beauty we praise the Maker as the Master-Craftsmanhyperlink .

Chapter VII.

Concerning light, fire, the luminaries, sun, moon and stars.

Fire is one of the four elements, light and with a greater tendency to ascend than the others. It has the power of burning and also of giving light, and it was made by the Creator on the first day. For the divine Scripture says, And God said, Let there be light, and there was lighthyperlink . Fire is not a different thing from what light is, as some maintain. Others again hold that this fire of the universe is above the airhyperlink and call it ether. In the beginning, then, that is to say on the first day, God created light, the ornament and glory of the whole visible creation. For take away light and all things remain in undistinguishable darkness, incapable of displaying their native beauty. And God called the light day, but the darkness He called nighthyperlink . Further, darkness is not any essence, but an accident: for it is simply absence of light. The air, indeed, has not light in its essencehyperlink . It was, then, this very absence of light from the air that God called darkness: and it is not the essence of air that is darkness, but the absence of light which clearly is rather an accident than an essence. And, indeed, it was not night, but day, that was first named, so that day is first and after that comes night. Night, therefore, follows day. And from the beginning of day till the next day is one complete period of day and night. For the Scripture says, And the evening and the morning were one dayhyperlink .

When, therefore, in the first three days the light was poured forth and reduced at the divine command, both day and night came to passhyperlink . But on the fourth day God created the great luminary, that is, the sun, to have rule and authorityhyperlink over the day: for it is by it that day is made: for it is day when the sun is above the earth, and the duration of a day is the course of the sun over the earth from its rising till its setting. And He also created the lesser luminaries, that is, the moon and the stars, to have rule and authorityhyperlink over the night, and to give light by night. For it is night when the sun is under the earth, and the duration of night is the course of the sun under the earth from its rising till its setting. The moon, then, and the stars were set to lighten the night: not that they are in the daytime under the earth, for even by day stars are in the heaven over the earth but the sun conceals both the stars and the moon by the greater brilliance of its light and prevents them from being seen.

On these luminaries the Creator bestowed the first-created light: not because He was in need of other light, but that that light might not remain idle. For a luminary is not merely light, but a vessel for containing lighthyperlink .

There are, we are told, seven planets amongst these luminaries, and these move in a direction opposite to that of the heaven: hence the name planets. For, while they say that the heaven moves from east to west, the planets move from west to east; but the heaven bears the seven planets along with it by its swifter motion. Now these are the names of the seven planets: Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and in each zone of heaven is, we are told, one of these seven planets: In the first and highest Saturn, In the second Jupiter, In the third Mars, In the fourth Sol, In the fifth Venu, In the sixth Mercury, In the seventh and lowest Luna.

The course which the Creatorhyperlink appointed for them to run is unceasing and remaineth fixed as He established them. For the divine David says, The moon and the stars which Thou establishedsthyperlink , and by the word `establishedst,' he referred to the fixity and unchangeableness of the order and series granted to them by God. For He appointed them for seasons, and signs, and days and years. It is through the Sun that the four seasons are brought about. And the first of these is spring: for in it God created all thingshyperlink , and even down to the present time its presence is evidenced by the bursting of the flowers into bud, and this is the equinoctial period, since day and night each consist of twelve hours. It is caused by the sun rising in the middle, and is mild and increases the blood, and is warm and moist, and holds a position midway between winter and summer, being warmer and drier than winter, but colder and moister than summer. This season lasts from March 21st till June 24th. Next, when the rising of the sun moves towards more northerly parts, the season of summer succeeds, which has a place midway between spring and autumn, combining the warmth of spring with the dryness of autumn: for it is dry and warm, and increases the yellow bile. In it falls the longest day, which has fifteen hours, and the shortest night of all, having only nine hours. This season lasts from June 24th till September 25th. Then when the sun again returns to the middle, autumn takes the place of summer. It has a medium amount of cold and heat, dryness and moisture, and holds a place midway between summer and winter, combining the dryness of summer with the cold of winter. For it is cold and dry, and increases the black bile. This season, again, is equinoctial, both day and night consisting of twelve hours, and it lasts from September 25th till December 25th. And when the rising of the sun sinks to its smallest and lowest point, i.e. the south, winter is reached, with its cold and moisture. It occupies a place midway between autumn and spring, combining the cold of autumn and the moisture of spring. In it falls the shortest day, which has only nine hours, and the longest night, which has fifteen: and it lasts from December 25th till March 21st. For the Creator made this wise provision that we should not pass from the extreme of cold, or heat, or dryness, or moisture, to the opposite extreme, and thus incur grievous maladies. For reason itself teaches us the danger of sudden changes.

So, then, it is the sun that makes the seasons, and through them the year: it likewise makes the days and nights, the days when it rises and is above the earth, and the nights when it sets below the earth: and it bestows on the other luminaries, both moon and stars, their power of giving forth light.



Footnotes



1 Ps. xc. 2.



2 Hebr. i. 2.



3 Arist., De Coelo, bk. i. text 100.



4 St. Matt. xii. 32; St. Luke vii. 34.



5 Greg Naz., Orat. 44.



6 Basil, De Struct., hom. 2; Greg. Naz., Orat. 44.



7 Greg. Naz., Orat. 44.



8 ai0w/nioj, `eternal

0'. but also `secular,

0' `aeonian,

0' `age-long.

0'



9 Variant, kai\ a0pe/ranton dhloi=. In Regg. ai0w=noj is absent.



10 See his Contr. Cels., iv. Cf. Justin Martyr. Apol. i; Basil, Hex., hom. 3; Greg. Nyss., Orat. Catech. 26, &c



11 Greg., Naz., Orat. 38, 42; Dionys., De Eccl. Hier., ch. 4.



12 Ps. civ. 4.



13 Greg. Naz., Orat. 38.



14 Nemes., ch. I.



15 Text, xa/riti. R. 2930, kata\ xarin.



16 a!neu lo0gou proforikou: without word of utterance.



17 Greg. Naz., Orat. 38.



18 Ibid. 34.



19 Text, a0ci/oij. R. 2930, a0gi/oij.



20 Theodoret, Epist. de div. decr., ch. 8.



21 e0n nohtoi=j kai\ to/poij. Cf. i. 17.



22 See Greg. Naz., Orat. 34. And cf. Cyril, Thesaur. 31, p. 266; Epiph., Haeres. 64.



23 Dionys., De Coel. Hier., ch. 3; Greg. Naz., Orat. 34.



24 Dionys., De Coel. Hier., ch. 9; Greg., Orat. 34.



25 Greg. Naz., Orat. 38.



26 Text, trofhn. Variant, trnfh/n, cf. Dionys., De Coel. Hier., ch. 7.



27 Dionys., De Coel. Hier., ch. 6.



28 But cf. August., Enchir., ch. 8; Greg. Naz., Orat. 34; Greg. Nyss, Contra Eunom., Orat. I; Chrysost., De incomprehens., hom. 3, &c.



29 See Epiph., Haeres. 6, n. 4 and 5; Basil, Hex. i; Chrysost., 2 Hom. in Gen.; Theodor., Qaest. 3 in Gen.



30 Greg. Naz., Orat. 2.



31 prwtosta/thj. Cf. Chrysost., Epist. ad Ephes., hom. 4, &c.



32 Text, e0dwrh/sato. R. 1986, e0xari/sato



33 See Iren., bk. iv. c. 48, &c.



34 Greg. Nyss., Orat. Catech., cp. 6.



35 Gen. i. 31.



36 See Greg. Naz., Orat. 19, 38; Chrysost., In S. Babyl. Or. 2; Basil, in Jesaiam, ch. I, &c.



37 Quaest. ad Antioch. 10.



38 Job i. 12.



39 St. Mark v. 13.



40 Vide lambl., De Myst., ch. II, sect. 4.



41 St. Matt. xxv. 41.



42 Nemes., De Nat. Hom., ch. I.



43 Ps. cxlvi. 6.



44 Cf. Chrysost., In Genes., hom. 4; Basil, Hex. hom. 3, &c.



45 Ps. cxv. 16.



46 Ib. cxlviii. 4.



47 2 Cor. xii. 2



48 Gen. i. 8.



49 Basil, Hom. I in Hexaemeron.



50 The Peripatetics. See Nemes., ch. 5.



51 Basil, Hom. 3, in Hexaemeron.



52 Ps. civ. 2.



53 Is. xl. 22.



54 Chrysost., Hom.14 and 17, ad Hebr.



55 Ps. cxlviii. 5, 6.



56 Greg. Nyss. de opif. Hom.



57 Gen. i. 8.



58 2 Cor. xii. 2.



59 Ps. cxlviii. 4.



60 Plato, Tim.



61 Basil Hom. I and 3, in Hexaemeron.



62 Just., quaest. 93.



63 Ps. cii. 26.



64 Apoc, xxi I.



65 Cf. August., Retract. ii. 2.



66 Basil, Hom. 13, in Hexaemeron.



67 Ps. xcvi. II.



68 Text, w0j to/. N. kai\ to\ a0napalin.



69 Ps. cxiv. 3.



70 Ibid. 5.



71 Ibid. xix. I.



72 Basil, Hom. I and 3, in Hexaemeron.



73 Gen. i. 3.



74 Text, u0per. Variant, u0po, but this does not agree with the view of the author or the ancients.



75 Gen. i. 5.



76 Basil, Hom. 2, in Hexaemeron.



77 Gen. i. 5.



78 Basil, Hom. 2, in Hexaemeron.



79 Text, e0cousi/an: variant. e0cousi/aj.



80 Variant here also, e0cousi/aj.



81 Basil, Hom. 6, in Hexaemeron.



82 Text, o0 Dhmiourgo/j. Variant, o0 dhmiorgh/saj.



83 Ps. viii. 3.



84 Basil, Hom. 6, in Hexaemeron.