Dist. 14, Part 1
Book II: On the Creation of Things · Distinction 14
DISTINCTIO XIV.
Pars I.
Cap. I. De opere secundae diei, qua factum est firmamentum.
Dixit quoque Deus: Fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum, et dividat aquas ab aquis... Divisitque aquas, quae erant sub firmamento, ab his quae erant super firmamentum1.
Cap. II. Quod caelum tunc factum debet intelligi.
« Sciendum est, quod illius caeli describitur hic creatio, sicut ait Beda super Genesim2, in quo fixa sunt sidera, cui suppositae sunt aquae in aere et in terra, et superpositae aliae, de quibus dicitur: Qui tegis aquis superiora eius. In medio ergo firmamentum est, id est sidereum caelum ».
Cap. III. De qua materia factum sit.
« Quod de aquis factum esse, credi potest3 ». Crystallinus enim lapis, cui magna est firmitas et perspicuitas, de aquis factus est.
Cap. IV. Quomodo aquae possint esse super caelum, et quales sint.
« Si quem vero movet, quomodo aquae natura fluidae et in ima labiles super caelum possint consistere; de Deo scriptum4 esse meminerit: Qui ligat aquas in nubibus suis. Qui enim infra caelum ligat aquas ad tempus vaporibus nubium retentas, potest etiam super caeli sphaeram non vaporali tenuitate, Dubium 1. sed glaciali soliditate aquas suspendere, ne labantur. Quales autem et ad quid conditae sint, ipse novit qui condidit ». — Ecce ostensum est his verbis, quod caelum factum sit, scilicet illud in quo fixa sunt sidera, id est, quod excedit aerem, et de qua materia, scilicet de aquis, et quales sint aquae, quae super illud caelum sunt, scilicet ut glacies solidatae.
Quidam vero caelum, quod excedit aëris spatia, Alia opinio. igneae naturae dicunt asserentes, super aerem purum ignem esse, qui dicitur esse caelum, de quo igne sidera et luminaria facta esse coniectant; quibus Augustinus5 consentire videtur. Utrum vero nomine firmamenti caelum, quod excedit aerem, an ipse aer hic intelligatur, idem Augustinus quaerit nec solvit. Magis tamen approbare videtur, caelum illud hic accipi, quod spatia aëris excedit. Aquas autem, quae super illud caelum sunt, dicit vaporaliter trahi et levissimis suspendi guttis, sicut aër iste nubilosus exhalatione terrae aquas vaporaliter trahit et per subtiles minutias suspendit, et post corpulentius conglobatas pluvialiter refundit. Si ergo « potest aqua, sicut videmus, ad tantas minutias pervenire, ut feratur vaporaliter super aerem aquis naturaliter leviorem; cur non credamus, etiam super illud levius caelum minutioribus guttis et Dubium 2. levioribus immanare vaporibus6 »? Sed quoquo modo ibi sint, ibi esse non dubitamus.
Cap. V. De figura firmamenti.
« Quaeri etiam solet, cuius figurae sit caelum. Sed Spiritus sanctus, quamvis auctores nostri sciverint, per eos dicere noluit, nisi quod prosit saluti7 ». — « Quaeritur de motu caeli. Quaeritur etiam, si stet, an moveatur caelum. Si movetur, inquiunt, quomodo est firmamentum? Si stat, quomodo in eo fixa sidera circumeunt? Sed firmamentum dici potest non propter stationem, sed propter firmitatem vel terminum aquarum intransgressibilem. Si autem stat, nihil impedit moveri et circuire sidera ».
Cap. VI. Quare tacuit Scriptura de benedictione operis huius diei.
Post haec quaeri solet, quare hic non est dictum, sicut in aliorum dierum operibus: Vidit Deus, quod esset bonum. Sacramentum aliquod hic commendatur. Ideo enim fortassis non est hic8 dictum, quod tamen Dubium 3. sicut in aliis factum est, quia binarius principium est alteritatis et signum divisionis.
Pars II.
Cap. VII. De opere tertii diei, quando aquae congregatae sunt in unum.
Sequitur: Dixit Deus: Congregentur aquae in locum unum, Dubium 1. et appareat arida9. Tertii diei opus est congregatio aquarum in unum locum. « Congregatae sunt enim omnes aquae caelo inferiores in unam matricem, ut lux, quae praeterito biduo aquas clara luce lustraverat, in puro aere clarior fulgeat, et appareat terra, quae cooperta latebat, et quae aquis limosa Dubium 2. erat fieret arida et germinibus apta. Eodem enim die protulit terra herbam virentem, lignumque faciens fructum10 ».
Cap. VIII. Quomodo omnes aquae congregatae sunt in unum locum, cum multa sint maria et flumina.
« Si autem quaeratur, ubi congregatae sunt aquae, quae totum texerant spatium usque ad caelum; potuit fieri, ut terra subsidens concavas partes praeberet, ubi fluctuantes aquas reciperet. Potest etiam credi, primarias aquas rariores fuisse, quae sicut nebula tegerent terras, sed congregatione esse spissatas, et ideo facile in unum posse redigi locum. Cumque multa constet esse maria et flumina, in unum tamen locum dicit aquas congregatas propter continuationem omnium aquarum, quae in terris sunt, quia cuncta flumina et maria magno mari iunguntur. Ideoque cum dixerit aquas congregatas in unum locum, deinde dicit pluraliter, congregationesque aquarum, propter multifidos sinus earum, quibus omnibus ex magno mari principium est ».
Cap. IX. De opere quartae diei, qua facta sunt luminaria.
Sequitur: Dixit Deus: Fiant luminaria in firmamento caeli, et dividant diem ac noctem11. Dubium 3. In praecedenti triduo disposita est universitatis huius mundi machina, et partibus suis distributa. Formata enim luce prima die, quae universa illustraret, duo sequentes dies attributi sunt supremae et infimae parti mundi, firmamento scilicet, aëri, terrae et aquae. Nam secunda die firmamentum desuper expansum est. Tertia vero aquarum molibus intra receptacula sua collectis, terra est revelata atque aer serenatus. Quatuor igitur mundi elementa illis diebus suis locis distincta sunt et ordinata. — Tribus autem sequentibus diebus ornata sunt illa quatuor elementa. Quarta enim die ornatum est firmamentum sole et luna et stellis; quinta aër in volatilibus, et aquae in piscibus ornamenta acceperunt; sexta accepit terra iumenta et reptilia et bestias, post quae omnia factus est homo de terra et in terra, non tamen ad terram nec propter terram, sed ad caelum et propter caelum. Quia igitur caelum ceteris elementis speciem praestat, priusquam aliis factum est, « ideo ante alia ornatur in quarto die, quo fiunt sidera, quae ideo facta sunt, ut per ea illustretur inferior pars, ne esset habitantibus tenebrosa. Infirmitatique hominum provisum est, ut, circumeunte sole, potirentur homines diei noctisque vicissitudine propter dormiendi vigilandique necessitatem; et etiam ideo, ne nox indecora remaneret, sed luna ac sideribus consolarentur homines, quibus in nocte operandi necessitas incumberet; et quia quaedam animalia sunt, quae lucem ferre non possunt12 ».
Cap. X. Quomodo accipiendum sit illud: Sint in signa et tempora.
Quod autem subditur: Et sint in signa et tempora, Dubium 4. et dies et annos, quomodo accipiendum sit, quaeri solet. Ita enim « dictum videtur, quasi quarto die coepissent tempora, cum prius triduum sine tempore non fuerit. Ideoque tempora, quae fiunt per sidera, non spatia morarum, sed vicissitudinem aëreae qualitatis debemus accipere, quia talia motibus siderum fiunt, sicut dies et anni, quos usitate novimus. Sunt enim in signa serenitatis et tempestatis, et in tempora, quia per ea distinguimus quatuor tempora anni, scilicet ver, aestatem, autumnum, hiemem13 ». Vel sunt in signa et tempora, id est, « in distinctionem horarum, quia, priusquam fierent, ordo temporum nullis notabatur indiciis, vel meridiana hora, vel qualibet hora ». Haec quarta die facta sunt.
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DISTINCTION XIV.
Part I.
Cap. I. On the work of the second day, on which the firmament was made.
God also said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters... And he divided the waters that were under the firmament from those that were above the firmament1.
Cap. II. That it must be understood that the heaven was then made.
« It must be known that the creation of that heaven is here described, as Bede on Genesis says2, in which the stars are fixed, beneath which are placed the waters in the air and on the earth, and above which others are placed, of which it is said: Thou who coverest the higher [parts] of it with waters. In the middle, therefore, is the firmament, that is, the starry heaven. »
Cap. III. Of what matter it was made.
« That it was made of waters can be believed3 ». For the crystalline stone, which has great firmness and transparency, was made of waters.
Cap. IV. How the waters can be above the heaven, and of what sort they are.
« If it troubles anyone how waters, fluid by nature and prone to slip downward, can stand above the heaven, let him remember that it is written of God4: He who binds the waters in his clouds. For he who below the heaven binds the waters, retained for a time by the vapors of the clouds, can also above the sphere of the heaven suspend the waters, not by a vaporous thinness, Dubium 1. but by a glacial solidity, lest they slip away. Of what sort, however, they are and for what they were established, he himself knows who established them. » — Behold, it is shown by these words that the heaven was made, namely that in which the stars are fixed, that is, [the heaven] which exceeds the air; and of what matter, namely of waters; and of what sort the waters are which are above that heaven, namely solidified as ice.
But some, Another opinion. asserting that the heaven which exceeds the spaces of the air is of fiery nature, say that above the pure air there is fire, which is called the heaven, and they conjecture that from this fire the stars and luminaries were made; and Augustine5 seems to consent to them. But whether by the name firmament the heaven that exceeds the air, or the air itself, is here to be understood, the same Augustine asks but does not solve. Yet he seems rather to approve that that heaven is here taken which exceeds the spaces of the air. The waters, however, which are above that heaven, he says are drawn up as vapor and suspended in the lightest droplets, just as this cloudy air draws up by the earth's exhalation waters as vapor and suspends them in subtle minute particles, and afterward, when they are more densely massed together, pours them down as rain. If therefore « water can, as we see, attain to such minute particles that it is carried as vapor above air which is by nature lighter than waters, why should we not believe that even above that lighter heaven [waters] flow in by smaller droplets and Dubium 2. lighter vapors6 »? But in whatever way they are there, we do not doubt that they are there.
Cap. V. On the figure of the firmament.
« It is also accustomed to be asked, of what figure the heaven is. But the Holy Spirit, although our authors knew, did not wish to say through them anything except what is profitable to salvation7 ». — « It is asked about the motion of the heaven. It is also asked whether the heaven stands or is moved. If it is moved, they say, how is it a firmament? If it stands, how do the stars fixed in it go round? But it can be called a firmament not on account of standing still, but on account of firmness, or as an impassable boundary for the waters. But if it stands still, nothing prevents the stars from being moved and going round. »
Cap. VI. Why Scripture is silent about the blessing of the work of this day.
After this it is wont to be asked, why it is not here said, as in the works of the other days: God saw that it was good. Some sacrament is here commended. For perhaps therefore it is not here8 said, what nevertheless Dubium 3. was done as in the others, because the binary is a principle of otherness and a sign of division.
Part II.
Cap. VII. On the work of the third day, when the waters were gathered into one.
There follows: God said: Let the waters be gathered into one place, Dubium 1. and let the dry land appear9. The work of the third day is the gathering of the waters into one place. « For all the waters below the heaven were gathered into one matrix, so that the light, which in the past two days had bathed the waters with its clear brightness, might shine more brightly in the pure air; and that the earth, which lay covered and hidden, and which was muddy with waters, Dubium 2. might become dry and fit for shoots. For on the same day the earth brought forth the green herb and the tree bearing fruit10 ».
Cap. VIII. How all the waters were gathered into one place, since there are many seas and rivers.
« But if it is asked where the waters were gathered which had covered the whole space up to the heaven, it could happen that the earth, sinking down, offered hollow parts where it would receive the flowing waters. It can also be believed that the primary waters were thinner, which like a mist were covering the lands, but by gathering were thickened, and so could easily be brought into one place. And although it is established that there are many seas and rivers, nevertheless [Scripture] says that the waters were gathered into one place, on account of the continuity of all the waters which are on the earth — because all rivers and seas are joined to the great sea. And therefore, when it had said that the waters were gathered into one place, it then says in the plural, and the gatherings of the waters, on account of their many-cleft bays, for which all the beginning is from the great sea. »
Cap. IX. On the work of the fourth day, on which the luminaries were made.
There follows: God said: Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven, and let them divide the day and the night11. Dubium 3. In the preceding three days the machine of this whole world was disposed and distributed into its parts. For when light had been formed on the first day, to illumine all things, the two following days were assigned to the highest and lowest parts of the world, namely the firmament, the air, the earth and the water. For on the second day the firmament was stretched out above. On the third, when the masses of waters had been gathered within their receptacles, the earth was revealed and the air made clear. Therefore the four elements of the world were on those days distinguished in their places and ordered. — But on the three following days those four elements were adorned. For on the fourth day the firmament was adorned with the sun and the moon and the stars; on the fifth the air received its ornaments in birds, and the waters in fishes; on the sixth the earth received the cattle and reptiles and beasts, and after all these man was made from the earth and on the earth, yet not for the earth nor on account of the earth, but for heaven and on account of heaven. Since therefore the heaven excels the other elements in splendor, having been made before the others, « therefore it is adorned before the others on the fourth day, on which the stars are made, which were made for this purpose, that through them the lower part might be illumined, lest it be dark for its inhabitants. And provision was made for the weakness of men, that, with the sun going round, men might enjoy the alternation of day and night on account of the necessity of sleeping and waking; and also for this, that the night might not remain unseemly, but that men, on whom the necessity of working at night fell, might be consoled by the moon and the stars; and because there are certain animals which cannot bear the light12 ».
Cap. X. How that is to be understood: Let them be for signs and seasons.
That which is added: And let them be for signs and seasons, Dubium 4. and days and years, how it is to be understood, is accustomed to be asked. For thus it « seems to be said, as if the seasons had begun on the fourth day, although the previous three days were not without time. Therefore by seasons, which are made through the stars, we must understand not spaces of duration, but the alternation of the airy quality, because such things are made by the motions of the stars, just as the days and years which we customarily know. For they are for signs of fair weather and of storm, and for seasons, because by them we distinguish the four seasons of the year, namely spring, summer, autumn, winter13 ». Or they are for signs and seasons, that is, « for the distinguishing of hours, because, before they were made, the order of the times was marked by no signs, neither the noon hour nor any other hour ». These things were made on the fourth day.
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- Gen. 1, 6. 7. — Teste cod. Erf., haec et sequentia usque ad cap. VII. sumpta sunt ex Gandolpho, Sent. II. c. 37.Gen. 1:6–7. — According to the witness of codex Erf., these [words] and what follows up to cap. VII are taken from Gandulph, Sentences II c. 37.
- Hexaëm. ad v. 6. Hic textus, qui excurrit usque in cap. IV, habetur in Glossa ordinaria fere ad verbum. — Locus sequens s. Scripturae est Ps. 103, 3.Hexaëmeron on v. 6. This text, which runs through cap. IV, is found in the Ordinary Gloss almost word-for-word. — The following passage of sacred Scripture is Ps. 103:3.
- Omissa inscriptione capituli, codd. et edd. vocem quod (i. e. caelum) coniungunt cum praecedente propositione, quae coniunctio ex eo explicari potest, quod in antiquis manuscriptis tituli capitulorum non raro ad marginem scribebantur. — Verba, quae sequuntur: Crystallinus... de aquis factus est alludere videntur ad Eccli. 43, 22: et gelavit crystallus ab aqua. — In initio cap. IV. pro natura, quod edd. 1, 5, 8 exhibent, codd. cum Vat. et ceteris edd. incongrue naturae.With the chapter inscription omitted, the codices and editions join the word quod (i.e., caelum) to the preceding proposition; this conjunction can be explained from the fact that in ancient manuscripts chapter titles were not infrequently written in the margin. — The words which follow, Crystallinus... de aquis factus est, seem to allude to Ecclesiasticus 43:22: et gelavit crystallus ab aqua ("and the crystal froze out of water"). — At the beginning of cap. IV, for natura, which edd. 1, 5, 8 give, the codices together with the Vatican and the other editions incongruously read naturae.
- Iob, 26, 8.Job 26:8.
- Libr. II. de Gen. ad lit. c. 3. n. 6, et quod sequitur ibid. c. 4. n. 7. — Paulo post pro solvit ed. 1 et cod. Erf. absolvit.Bk. II On Genesis to the Letter c. 3 n. 6, and what follows ibid. c. 4 n. 7. — A little later, for solvit, ed. 1 and cod. Erf. read absolvit.
- August., loc. cit. c. 4. n. 8, fere ad verbum, in quo textu pro immanare Vat. cum nonnullis aliis edd. emanare, de qua lectione Lexicon Forcellini annotat: Est qui legit immanare, sed minus recte (pro immanere, ut habet ed. August.).Augustine, loc. cit. c. 4 n. 8, almost word-for-word, in which text for immanare the Vatican [edition] together with several other editions reads emanare; concerning this reading the Lexicon Forcellini notes: There is one who reads immanare, but less correctly (for immanere, as the edition of Augustine has).
- August., ibid. c. 9. n. 20; sequens locus ibid. c. 10. n. 23; in utroque loco multa sunt omissa.Augustine, ibid. c. 9 n. 20; the following passage ibid. c. 10 n. 23; in each passage many things have been omitted.
- Cod. Erf. bene adnotat: Non est hic secundum nostram translationem, tamen Septuag. habent, ut patet per August., super Gen. l. c. 1. — Idem ad sequens notat: Secundum Hieron., super Zachariam 4, 7 est binarius numerus infamis, et Contra Iovin. I. n. 16, binarius est numerus infaustus, et tangit rationem, quae hic ponitur.Cod. Erf. notes well: It is not [said] here according to our translation, yet the Septuagint has [it], as is clear from Augustine, On Genesis bk. 1 c. 1. — The same [codex] notes on the following: According to Jerome, On Zechariah 4:7, the binary is an infamous number, and Against Jovinian I n. 16, the binary is an inauspicious number, and [Lombard] touches on the reasoning which is here set down.
- Gen. 1, 9.Gen. 1:9.
- Beda, Hexaëm. ad v. 9. 10. Etiam quod sequitur est Bedae et habetur in Glossa ord. (ibid.). Cfr. August., I. de Gen. ad lit. c. 12. n. 26.Bede, Hexaëmeron on vv. 9–10. What follows also is Bede's, and is found in the Ordinary Gloss (ibid.). Cf. Augustine, On Genesis to the Letter I c. 12 n. 26.
- Gen. 1, 14.Gen. 1:14.
- August., II. de Gen. ad lit. c. 13. n. 27, et est in Glossa ord. ad Gen. 1, 14.Augustine, On Genesis to the Letter II c. 13 n. 27, and is found in the Ordinary Gloss on Gen. 1:14.
- August., ibid. c. 14. n. 29, ubi et sequens locus, sed multis omissis. Habetur etiam in Glossa ord. Cfr. I. de Gen. contra Manich. c. 14.Augustine, ibid. c. 14 n. 29, where also the following passage [is found], but with many things omitted. It is also found in the Ordinary Gloss. Cf. Augustine, On Genesis against the Manichees I c. 14.