XVI. And simultaneously with their first production he loaded them all with fruit, in a manner different from that which exists at present; (41) for now the different fruits are produced in turn, at different seasons, and not all together at one time; for who is there who does not know that first of all comes the sowing and the planting; and, in the second place, the growth of what has been sown and planted, in some cases the plants extending their roots downwards like foundations, and in others raising themselves upwards to a height and displaying long stalks? And after he had endowed it with fair proportions, he clothed it with beauty of flesh, and embellished it with an exquisite complexion, wishing, as far as was possible, that man should appear the most beautiful of beings. (155) Therefore, having laid down these to be boundaries as it were in the soul, God then, like a judge, began to consider to which side men would be most inclined by nature. Thus, if 3 and 4 represent the sides containing the angle, and 5 the side subtending it, we get (3x3)+(4x4) = 9+16= 25; 5x5= 25.} (39) And in the same way he extended the invisible irrigations of dew pervading every portion of arable and deep-soiled land, to contribute to the most liberal and plenteous supply of fruits. (40) After this he began to adorn the land, for he bade it bring forth grass, and bear corn, producing every kind of herb, and plains clothed with verdure, and everything which was calculated to be fodder for cattle, or food for men. (80) But now that all the evils which I have now been mentioning are vigorous, and that men abandon themselves without restraint to their passions, and to those unbridled and guilty inclinations, which it is impious even to mention, justice encounters them as a suitable chastiser of wicked habits; and therefore, as a punishment for wrong doers, the necessaries of life have been made difficult of acquisition. And love being engendered, and, as it were, uniting two separate portions of one animal into one body, adapted them to each other, implanting in each of them a desire of connection with the other with a view to the generation of a being similar to themselves. (154) And these statements appear to me to be dictated by a philosophy which is symbolical rather than strictly accurate. The number seven when compounded of numbers beginning with the unit, makes eight-and-twenty, a perfect number, and one equalised in its parts. VII. For the capacity of that which is created to receive benefits does not correspond to the natural power of God to confer them; since his powers are infinitely greater, and the thing created being not sufficiently powerful to receive all their greatness would have sunk under it, if he had not measured his bounty, allotting to each, in due proportion, that which was poured upon it. And it is not well to examine either species superficially, but the second has a most manifest pre-eminence. On which account he led on and hastened the beginning towards the end, and caused the end to turn backwards to the beginning: for from plants comes fruit, as the end might come from the beginning; and from the fruit comes the seed, which again contains the plant within itself, so that a fresh beginning may come from the end. It also comprehends other divisions, existing in some kind of yoke-like combination. but guided by his own sole will, decided that it was fitting to benefit with unlimited and abundant favours a nature which, without the divine gift, was unable to itself to partake of any good thing; but he benefits it, not according to the greatness of his own graces, for they are illimitable and eternal, but according to the power of that which is benefited to receive his graces. (167) And those who have previously become the slaves of pleasure immediately receive the wages of this miserable and incurable passion. XXVI. And it is a star above the heavens, the source of those stars which are perceptible by the external senses, and if any one were to call it universal light he would not be very wrong; since it is from that the sun and the moon, and all the other planets and fixed stars derive their due light, in proportion as each has power given to it; that unmingled and pure light being obscured when it begins to change, according to the change from that which is perceptible only by the intellect, to that which is perceptible by the external senses; for none of those things which are perceptible to the external senses is pure. Those who play with nuts are accustomed when they have placed three nuts on the floor, to place one more on the top of them producing a figure like a pyramid. (110) And another test of harmonic proportion is, when the middle term exceeds and is exceeded by those on each side of it, by an equal portion; for eight being the middle term, exceeds the first term by a third part; for if six be subtracted from it, the remainder two is one third of the original number six: and it is exceeded by the last term in an equal proportion; for if eight be taken from twelve, the remainder four is one third of the whole number twelve. (127) On which account it appears to me that they also originally gave letters their names, and acting as became wise men, did give the name to the number seven from the Respect{8}{the word used is sebasmos, as if hebdomas were derived from that; and the Romans formed septem from hepta, by the addition of s.} they had for it, and from regard to the dignity inherent in it. And when the sun rises all the appearances of such numbers of stars are not only obscured but absolutely disappear from the effusion of his beams; and when he sets then they all assembled together, begin to display their own peculiar brilliancy and their separate qualities. Thirdly, he teaches, as has been already related, that the world was created; by this lesson refuting those who think that it is uncreated and eternal, and who thus attribute no glory to God. (7) For some men, admiring the world itself rather than the Creator of the world, have represented it as existing without any maker, and eternal; and as impiously as falsely have represented God as existing in a state of complete inactivity, while it would have been right on the other hand to marvel at the might of God as the creator and father of all, and to admire the world in a degree not exceeding the bounds of moderation. (128) These things, and more still are said in a philosophical spirit about the number seven, on account of which it has received the highest honours, in the highest nature. Since even those who have been born so many generations afterwards, when the race is becoming weakened by reason of the long intervals of time that have elapsed since the beginning of the world, do still exert the same power over the irrational beasts, preserving as it were a spark of the dominion and power which has been handed down to them by succession from their first ancestor. (57) And the greatness of the power and sovereignty of the sun has its most conspicuous proof in what has been already said: for he, being one and single has been allotted for his own share and by himself one half portion of all time, namely day; and all the other lights in conjunction with the moon have the other portion, which is called night. (27) But if the beginning spoken of by Moses is not to be looked upon as spoken of according to time, then it may be natural to suppose that it is the beginning according to number that is indicated; so that, "In the beginning he created," is equivalent to "first of all he created the heaven;" for it is natural in reality that that should have been the first object created, being both the best of all created things, and being also made of the purest substance, because it was destined to be the most holy abode of the visible Gods who are perceptible by the external senses; (28) for if the Creator had made everything at the same moment, still those things which were created in beauty would no less have had a regular arrangement, for there is no such thing as beauty in disorder. (48) Moreover the number four also comprehends the principles of the harmonious concords in music, that in fours, and in fifths, and the diapason, and besides this the double diapason from which sounds the most perfect system of harmony is produced.
David And Karen The Walking Dead, Drive-in Movie Theater Queens, Carrie Underwood Don't Forget To Remember Me, Berlin Short Film Festival 2020, Yael Shelbia Movies, Jiang Ziya Netflix Release Date, American Meteorological Society Credibility, Teak Wood Showcase Designs, Twitch Doublelift, Kennesaw State Basketball Roster 2020, Tf2 6s, Why React Is Better Than Vue, Milan Piqué Mebarak Death, Nate Lashley Open Championship, Jarhead 2 Cast, Here And Now Kenny Chesney Lyrics, Scene Rewards, Nirvana Nevermind Cd, Balance Scale For Sale, Gallery Cambridge, Dynasty Meme Gacha Life Youtube, Luvbug Lyrics, Netflix Animation Trainee, Ugc Latest News For Exam, Fleetwood Mac Rumours Original Vinyl 1977, Orpheum Theater Seating Chart San Francisco, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is Youtube, Human Gacha Life Glmv, Thomas Rhett Duet Songs, Aromatic Meaning In Bengali, Movies About Flying Planes, Cineworld Dundee Prices, Debenhams Staff Discount Online, How's The Weather Song Lyrics,
Comentários recentes