Which his words even convey,and which He guides man to see.275 own meaning so clearly as to exclude the rest, which not being false, could not offend me. I will not therefore, O my God, be so rash, as not to believe, that Thou vouchsafedst as much to that great man. He without doubt, when he wrote those words, perceived and thought on what truth soever we have been able to find, yea and whatsoever we have not been able, nor yet are, but which may be found in them. 10. [XXXII.] 43. Lastly, O Lord, who art God and not flesh and blood, if man did see less, could any thing be concealed from Thy good Spirit, (who shall lead me into the land of Ps. 143, uprightness,) which Thou Thyself by those words wert about to reveal to readers in times to come, though he through whom they were spoken, perhaps among many true meanings, thought on some one? which if so it be, let that which he thought on be of all the highest. But to us, O Lord, do Thou, either reveal that same, or any other true one which Thou pleasest; that so, whether Thou discoverest the same to us, as to that Thy servant, or some other by occasion of those words, yet Thou mayest feed us, not error deceive us. Behold, O Lord my God, how much we have written upon a few words, how much I beseech Thee! What strength of ours, yea what ages would suffice for all Thy books in this manner? Permit me then in these more briefly to confess unto Thee, and to choose some one true, certain, and good sense that Thou shalt inspire me, although many should occur, where many may occur; this being the law of my confession, that if I should say that which Thy minister intended, that is right and best; for this should I endeavour, which if I should not attain, yet I should say that, which Thy Truth willed by his words to tell me, which revealed also unto him, what It willed. 8" When we read the divine books, amid such a multitude of true meanings, which are extracted from a few words, and are guarded by the soundness of the Catholic faith, let us by preference choose that, which it shall certainly appear that he meant, whom we read. If this is beyond us, at least that which the context (circumstantia) of Scripture prevents not, and which is in harmony with sound faith. But if the context of the Scripture also admit not of being handled and sifted, at least that only which sound THE THIRTEENTH BOOK. Continuation of the exposition of Gen. 1; it contains the mystery of the a CONF. [I.] 1. I CALL upon Thee, O my God, my mercy, Who B.XIII. createdst me, and forgattest not me, forgetting Thee. I call Thee into my soul, which, by the longing Thyself inspirest into her, Thou preparest for Thee. Forsake me not now calling unto Thee, whom Thou preventedst before I called, and urgedst me with much variety of repeated calls, that I would hear Thee from afar, and be converted, and call upon Thee, that calledst after me; for Thou, Lord, blottedst out all my evil deservings, so as not to repay into my hands, wherewith I fell from Thee; and Thou hast prevented all my well deservings, so as to repay the work of Thy hands wherewith Thou madest me; because before I was, Thou wert; nor was I any thing, to which Thou mightest grant to be; and yet behold, I am, out of Thy goodness, preventing all this which Thou hast made me, and whereof Thou hast made me. For neither hadst Thou need of me, nor am I any such good, as to be helpful unto Thee, my Lord and God; not in serving Thee, as though Thou wouldest tire in working; or lest Thy power might be less, if lacking my service: nor cultivating Thy service, as a land, that must remain uncultivated, unless I cultivated' Thee: but serving and worshipping Thee, that I might receive a well-being from Thee, from whom it comes, that I have a being capable of well-being. a See b. i. §. 2. b" Nor had He need to make us, who needs us not, made." Aug. c. adv.leg. et proph. 1. i. c. 4. "For Heneedeth not our service, but we need His rule, and He may work in and keep us; and therefore is He the true and only Lord, because we serve Him not to His but to our benefit." Aug. de fin. ad Lit. 1. viii. c. 16. d"Neque ut sic te colam, quasi terram, ut sis incultus, si non te colam." The French preserves better the strong irony of this play on the word, as if man's worship was any gain to God, "afin que vous ne soiez pas comme une terre inculte, si je manquais au culte, que je te dois." Mart. Every thing from God's free gift, since Creation is. 277 [II.] 2. For of the fulness of Thy goodness, doth Thy creature subsist, that so a good, which could no ways profit Thee, nor was of Thee, (lest so it should be equal to Thee,) might yet be since it could be made of Thee. For what did heaven and earth, which Thou madest in the Beginning, deserve of Thee? Let those spiritual and corporeal natures which Thou madest in Thy Wisdom, say wherein they deserved of Thee, to depend thereon, (even in that their several inchoate and formless state, whether spiritual or corporeal, ready to fall away into an immoderate liberty and far-distant unlikeliness unto Thee;-the spiritual, though without form, superior to the corporeal though formed, and the corporeal though without form, better than were it altogether nothing,) and so to depend upon Thy Word, as formless, unless by the same Word they were brought back to Thy Unity, indued with form, and from Thee the One Sovereign Good were made all very good. How did they deserve of Thee, to be even without form, since they had not been even this, but from Thee? 2. 3. How did corporeal matter deserve of Thee, to be even invisible and without form? seeing it were not even this, but Gen. 1, that Thou madest it, and therefore because it was not, could not deserve of Thee to be made. Or how could the inchoate spiritual creature deserve of Thee, even to ebb and flow darksomely like the deep,-unlike Thee, unless it had been by the same Word turned to that, by Whom it was created, and by Him so enlightened, become light; though not equally, yet conformably to that Form which is equal unto Thee? For as in a body, to be, is not one with being beautiful, else could it not be deformed; so likewise to a created spirit to live, is not one with living wisely; else should it be wise unchangeably. But good it is for it always to hold fast to Ps. 73, Thee'; lest what light it hath obtained by turning to Thee, it "The creature, although spiritual and intellectual and rational, may have a life without form.' For turned away from the unchangeable Wisdom, it lives foolishly and miserably, which is its deformed estate. For it is formed, by being turned to the unchangeable light of Wisdom, which is the Word of God. For from Whom it hath existence, that it may be and live, to Him it is turned, f"This being so, this nature having 28. 278 Celestial beings light, through beholding God. CONF. lose by turning from Thee, and relapse into life resemB.XIII. bling the darksome deep. For we ourselves also, who as to Eph. 5, the soul are a spiritual creature, turned away from Thee our 8. light, were in that life sometimes darkness; and still labour amidst the relics of our darkness, until in Thy Only One we Ps.36,6. become Thy righteousness, like the mountains of God. For we have been Thy judgments, which are like the great deep3. 3. [III.] 4. That which Thou saidst in the beginning of the Gen. 1, creation, Let there be light, and there was light; I do, not unsuitably, understand of the spiritual creature: because there was already a sort of life, which Thou mightest illuminate. But as it had no claim on Thee for a life, which could be enlightened, so neither now that it was, had it any, to be enlightened. For neither could its formless estate be pleasing unto Thee, unless it became light, and that not by existing simply, but by beholding the illuminating light, and cleaving to it; so that, that it lived, and lived happily", it owes to nothing but Thy grace, being turned by a better change unto That, which cannot be changed into worse or better; which Thou alone art, because Thou alone simply art; unto Thee it being not one thing to live, another to live blessedly, seeing Thyself art Thine own Blessedness'. satisfying of its cravings, and nought 6 g The "mountains" S. Aug. explains of the eminent saints of God, Apostles, &c. in Joann. Tract. i. &c. and in Ps. 35, 7. where (§. 10.) he thus proceeds. "The Abyss' the Psalmist calls the depth of sin, whereat men come by despising God. As the mountains of God' are His righteousness,' who by His grace become great, so through His judgments come they into the 'deep,' who are sunk to the uttermost. Hereby then take pleasure in the mountains, hereby turn away from the deep and be turned to that which is said, my help is from the Lord.' But whence? Because I have lift up my eyes to the mountains.' What is this? I will speak plainly; in the Church of Christ you will find a deep, you will find also mountains; you find there fewer good, for the mountains are few, the deep is large, i. e. many living ill through the wrath of God, because they so acted as to be given over to the desires of their heart, so as h" Thence is both the origin and formation and blessedness of the holy City, which is above, in the holy Angels. For if it be asked, whence it is, God founded it; if, whence it is wise, it is by God enlightened; if, whence it is happy, it enjoyeth God. Existing, it receives the mode of its existence; contemplating, it is enlightened; cleaving, it is made joyous; it is, sees, loves; in the eternity of God it liveth; in the truth of God, it shineth; in the goodness of God, it joyeth." Aug. de Civ. Dei, l. xi. c. 24. "He who is blessed, not in another, but in Himself as His own good, therefore cannot be otherwise, because He cannot lose Himself." Id. 1. xii. c. 1. Doctrine of the Trinity conveyed in the Creation. 279 [IV.] 5. What then could be wanting unto Thy good, which Thou Thyself art, although these things had either never been, or remained without form; which thou madest, not out of any want, but out of the fulness of Thy goodness, restraining them and converting them to form, not as though Thy joy were fulfilled by them? For to Thee being perfect, is their imperfection displeasing, and hence were they perfected by Thee, and please Thee; not as wert Thou imperfect, and by their perfecting wert also to be perfected. For Thy good Spirit indeed was borne over the waters, not borne up by them, Gen. 1, as if He rested upon them. For those, on whom Thy good Num. Spirit is said to rest, He causes to rest in Himself. But Thy 11, 25. incorruptible and unchangeable will, in itself all-sufficient for itself, was borne upon that life which Thou hadst created; to which, living is not one with happy living, seeing it liveth also, ebbing and flowing in its own darkness: for which it remaineth to be converted unto Him, by Whom it was made, and to live more and more by the fountain of life, and Ps.36,9. in His light to see light, and to be perfected, and enlightened, and beautified. [V.] 6. Lo, now the Trinity appears unto me in a glass darkly, which is Thou my God, because Thou, O Father, in Him Who is the Beginning of our wisdom, Which is Thy Wisdom, born of Thyself, equal unto Thee and coeternal, that is, in Thy Son, createdst heaven and earth. Much now have we said of the Heaven of heavens, and of the earth invisible and without form, and of the darksome deep, in reference to the wandering instability of its spiritual deformity, unless it had been converted unto Him, from Whom it had its then degree of life, and by His enlightening became a beauteous life, and the heaven of that heaven, which was afterwards set between water and water. And under the name of God, I now held the Father, who made these things, and under the name of Beginning, the Son, in whom He made these things; and believing, as I did, my God as the Trinity, I searched further in His holy words, and lo, Thy 2. &c. "Under the name The Beginning, creature-created by Himself." Aug. we understand the Son, who is a Be- de Gen. ad Lit. 1. i. §. 12. ginning not to the Father, but to the |