Against the Heathen 32–41

This too would be an exact proof for those who are still turned toward the shamelessness of unreason. How is it that, though the body is mortal by nature, man reasons about immortality, and often calls death upon himself for the sake of virtue? Or how, though the body is temporary, does man imagine eternal things, so as to despise what lies before him and to set his longing on those? The body could not reason such things about itself, nor would it reason about things outside itself; for it is mortal and temporary. There must be something else that reasons about things contrary to and beyond the nature of the body. What else, then, would this be but a rational and immortal soul? For it is not from outside but from within that the soul sounds the better notes for the body, as the musician does on the lyre. And again, how is it that the eye, which is by nature for seeing, and the hearing, which is for hearing, turn away from some things and choose others? Who turns the eye away from seeing? Or who shuts off from hearing the hearing that is by nature fit for hearing? Who often hinders the taste, which is by nature able to taste, from its natural impulse? Who keeps the hand, which is by nature made for acting, from touching something? Who turns the sense of smell, which was made for smelling, away from perceiving? Who is it that does these things against the natural activities of the body? Or how does the body, turned away from its nature, turn to the counsels of another and let itself be steered at its nod? These things show nothing else but a rational soul directing the body. For the body is not made to drive itself, but is led and carried by another, just as a horse does not yoke itself but is driven by its master. That is why there are laws for human beings to do good and to turn away from wickedness, while for the irrational animals evil things remain unreasoned and undiscerned, since they are outside rationality and rational thought. That there is a rational soul in human beings, then, I think has been shown from what has been said.

That the soul was also made immortal is likewise necessary to know in the church’s teaching, for the refutation and overthrow of idols. The knowledge of this would come more closely from knowledge of the body, and from the soul’s difference from the body. For if the argument has shown that the soul is other than the body, and the body is mortal by nature, the soul must be immortal, because it is not like the body. And again, if the soul moves the body, as has been shown, and is not itself moved by others, it follows that the soul, being moved by itself, moves again of itself even after the body has been laid in the earth. For it is not the soul that dies; rather, the body dies because of the soul’s departure. If the soul were moved by the body, it would follow that when its mover departed it would die; but if the soul moves even the body, it must all the more move itself; and moving itself, it necessarily lives even after the death of the body. For the movement of the soul is nothing other than its life, just as we say that the body lives when it moves, and that its death comes when it ceases from movement. One might see this more clearly from its activity in the body. For even though it has entered the body and is bound to it, it is not contracted and measured to the smallness of the body. Often, when the body lies on a bed and does not move but sleeps as if in death, the soul keeps awake by its own power and goes beyond the nature of the body; and, as if traveling away from it while remaining in the body, it imagines and contemplates things above the earth, and often meets the saints and angels beyond earthly bodies and goes to them, trusting in the purity of the mind. How then will it not much more, when it has been released from the body at the time willed by God who bound it to it, have a clearer knowledge of immortality? For if even when bound to a body it lived the life that is outside the body, much more will it live after the death of the body, and it will not cease to live, because of God who made it so through his own Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason it reasons about and thinks of immortal and eternal things, since it too is immortal. And as, the body being mortal, its senses also behold mortal things, so the soul, since it contemplates and reasons about immortal things, must itself be immortal and live forever. For the conceptions and contemplations of immortality never leave it, but remain in it and are like a kindling in it, for the assurance of immortality. For this reason, too, of the contemplation of God …

We say, then, as was said before, that just as they have denied God and worship lifeless things, so, by thinking that they do not have a rational soul, they have at once the penalty of their madness, being numbered among the irrational animals; and therefore, since like soulless men they have their superstition in soulless things, they deserve pity and guidance. But if they claim to have a soul and pride themselves on their rationality, as they rightly do, why do they, as though they had no soul, dare things against reason, and not think what they ought, but make themselves superior even to the Divine? For though they have an immortal soul which is not seen by them, they liken God to things that are seen and mortal. Or why, as they departed from God, do they not flee back to him again? For they can, just as they turned away from God in their thought and fashioned things that are not into gods, likewise ascend by the mind of the soul and turn again to God. And they can turn, if they put off the filth of every desire which they have put on, and wash themselves until they have put away everything foreign that has come upon the soul, and show it alone as it was made, so that in this way they may be able to contemplate in it the Word of the Father, after whom they were made in the beginning. For the soul was made after the image of God and came to be after his likeness, as the divine Scripture also indicates, saying in the person of God: “Let us make man after our image and likeness.” Hence, when the soul puts away from itself all the filth of sin that has been poured over it and keeps pure only what is after the image, then rightly, once this has been made bright, it beholds as in a mirror the image of the Father, the Word, and in him it reasons about the Father, whose image the Savior is. Or if the soul’s own teaching is not sufficient, because of the things outside that cloud its mind and keep it from seeing what is better, it is possible again to grasp the knowledge of God from the things that appear, since creation, as if by letters, signifies and proclaims its Master and Maker by its order and harmony.

For God is good and loves humanity, and cares for the souls he has made. Since he is invisible and incomprehensible by nature, being beyond all created being, the human race was likely to fail to attain the knowledge of him, since they are from nothing while he is unoriginate. For this reason God so ordered creation by his own Word that, although he is invisible by nature, he might still be known to human beings from his works. For a craftsman is often known from his works even when he is not seen. As they say of the sculptor Phidias, that his works, by their symmetry and the proportion of their parts to one another, reveal Phidias to those who see them even when he is not present, so one must perceive from the order of the world its maker and fashioner, God, even though he is not beheld with the eyes of the body. For God did not take advantage of his invisible nature (let no one plead this as an excuse) and leave himself wholly unknown to human beings; but, as I said before, he so ordered creation that, though he is not seen in his nature, he is still known from his works. And I say this not of myself but from what I learned from men who spoke of God, one of whom is Paul. He writes thus to the Romans: “For his invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made”; and he speaks boldly to the Lycaonians, saying: “We too are men of like nature with you, preaching good news to you, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them; who in past generations allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; and yet he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, giving us rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” For who, seeing the circle of heaven and the course of the sun and the moon, and the positions and revolutions of the other stars, opposite and different, yet in their difference all keeping alike the same order, does not reflect that they do not order themselves, but that there is another, the maker who orders them? Who, seeing the sun rise each day and the moon shine by night, waning and waxing without variation according to exactly the same number of days …

Who, seeing things opposite in nature joined together and keeping a concordant harmony (who, for example, seeing fire mixed with cold and dry with wet, and these not opposing one another but making one body, as if from one thing), would not reflect that the one who joined them is outside them? Who, seeing winter give way to spring, spring to summer, and summer to autumn, and that these, though opposite in nature (for one chills, another burns, another nourishes, another wastes), nevertheless all provide a balanced and harmless use for human beings, would not perceive that there is someone superior to them, who gives the balance to all and steers all things, even if he does not see him? Who, seeing the clouds held up in the air and the weight of the waters bound in the clouds, does not form a notion of the one who bound them and commanded them to be? Or who, seeing that the earth itself, though by nature the heaviest of things, is set upon the water and remains unmoved upon what is by nature in motion, will not perceive that there is someone, God, who ordered and made it? Who, seeing the seasonal fruitfulness of the earth, the rains from heaven, the flowing of rivers, the gushing of springs, the births of animals from unlike parents, and these happening not always but at fixed times; in short, who, perceiving among unlike and opposite things the equal and similar order that they accomplish, would not reflect that there is one power that ordered them and, abiding, governs them well as it pleases? For by themselves they could never subsist or appear, because of the opposition of their natures. Water is by nature heavy and flows downward, while clouds are light and among the things that rise; yet we see the heavier water carried in the clouds. And again, the earth is the heaviest of things, and water in turn is lighter than it; yet the heavier is borne up by the lighter and does not sink, but the earth stands unmoved. Male is not the same as female, yet they are brought together into one, and from both together comes one generation of a like animal. In a word, cold is opposite to hot and wet fights with dry; yet when they come together they do not quarrel with one another, but in concord produce one body and the generation of all things.

Things that are at war and opposite in nature, then, would not have brought themselves together unless the one who bound them were superior to them and their lord. To him the elements themselves, like slaves obeying a master, yield and submit; and none of them, looking only to its own nature, fights against the other; but recognizing the Lord who bound them, they are in concord with one another, opposite by nature but made friends by the will of the one who steers them. For if their single mixture had not come about by a superior command, how could the heavy have mingled and come together with the light, the dry with the wet, the circular with the straight, fire with cold, or in general the sea with the earth, the sun with the moon, the stars with the heaven, and the air with the clouds, when the nature of each is unlike that of the other? For great strife would have arisen among them, one burning and another chilling, the heavy drawing downward and the light drawing upward in the opposite direction, the sun giving light and the air darkness. Even the stars would have fought among themselves, because some have their position higher and others lower; and night would not have given way to day, but would have remained at war and strife with it. Had this happened, one would see no longer a cosmos but chaos, no longer order but disorder, no longer a system but a whole without system, no longer measures but measurelessness. For by the strife and fighting of each, all things would be destroyed, or the victor alone would appear; and this again would show the disorder of the universe. For being alone and lacking the service of the others, it would make the whole unharmonious, just as, if only a foot or only a hand were left, it would not keep the body whole. What sort of world would it be if the sun alone shone, or the moon alone went its round, or there were night alone, or always day? What harmony again would there be if the heaven were alone without the stars, or the stars without the heaven? What use would there be if there were sea alone, or if the earth lay alone without waters and the other parts of creation? How could a human being, or any animal at all, have appeared on earth, if the elements were in strife with one another and one of them were the victor, unable to suffice for the composition of bodies? For nothing in the universe would have been composed of hot alone, or cold alone, or wet or dry alone; but all things would have been without order and wholly uncompounded. Nor could the very element that seemed to prevail have subsisted without the help of the others; for that is how it subsists even now.

Since, then, there is not disorder but order in the universe, not measurelessness but symmetry, not chaos but cosmos and an all-harmonious arrangement of the cosmos, one must reason and form a notion of the Master who brought these things together, bound them fast, and made them concordant with one another. For even if he is not seen with the eyes, from the order and concord of opposites one may perceive their ruler, arranger, and king. Suppose we saw a city made up of many different people, small and great, rich and poor, old and young, male and female, governed in good order, and its people, though different, of one mind with one another, the rich not set against the poor, nor the great against the small, nor the young against the old, but all at peace in equal measure. If we saw this, we would certainly perceive that the presence of a ruler presides over the concord, even if we do not see him. For disorder is a mark of anarchy, while order shows the one who governs. So too, seeing the concord of the members in the body with one another, that the eye does not fight with the hearing nor does the hand quarrel with the foot, but each performs its own service without strife, we certainly perceive from this that there is a soul in the body governing them, even if we do not see it. In the same way, in the order and harmony of the universe one must perceive God, the governor of the universe, and him one and not many. And this order of the arrangement, and the harmony of all things in concord, shows not many but one ruler and governor of it, the Word. For if there were many rulers of creation, such an order of all things would not be preserved; but all things would again be in disorder because of the many, each drawing all things toward his own will and fighting with the other. For as we said that the belief in many gods is godlessness, so the rule of many must be no rule. For since each would destroy the other’s rule, no ruler would appear any longer, but there would be anarchy among all; and where there is no ruler, disorder certainly follows. Conversely, the single order and concord of many and different things shows that the ruler too is one. Suppose someone hears from far off a lyre composed of many different strings, and wonders at the harmony of its concord, that neither the low string alone makes the sound, nor the high alone, nor the middle alone, but all sound together in balanced counterpoise; he certainly perceives from this that the lyre does not move itself, nor is it struck by many, but that there is one musician who by his skill blends the sound of each string into harmonious concord, even if he does not see him. So, since the order in the whole cosmos is all-harmonious, and the things above are not at strife with those below, nor those below with those above, but one order of all things is accomplished, it follows that we must perceive one ruler and king of all creation, and not many, who lights up and moves all things with his own light.

Nor must one think that the rulers and makers of creation are many; for the sake of exact piety and truth it is fitting to believe that its fashioner is one, and creation itself plainly shows this. For a sure mark that the maker of the universe is one is this: that the world is not many but one. For if there were many gods, there would have to be many different worlds. It was neither fitting for the many to construct one world, nor for the one world to be made by many, because of the absurdities that follow. First, if the one world had been made by many, this would show the weakness of its makers, since one work was completed by many; and this would be no small mark of the imperfect skill of each of them for making. For if one had sufficed, the many would not have been filling up one another’s deficiency. To say that there is any deficiency in God is not only impious but beyond everything unlawful. Even among human beings no one would call a craftsman perfect, but weak, if he completed one work not alone but with many others. But if each could have completed the whole, and all worked on it in order to share in the product, such a thing would be ridiculous, if each worked for glory, so as not to be suspected of being unable. And to attribute vainglory to gods is most absurd. Further, if each was capable of fashioning the whole, what need was there of many, when one was sufficient for the universe? Besides, it would appear impious and absurd if the product is one while its makers are different and many, since it is a natural principle that what is one and perfect is better than what is various. And one must also recognize this: if the world had been made by many, it would also have had different movements, unlike one another. For looking to each of its makers, it would have had different movements; and in the difference, as was said before, there would again be chaos and disorder of the universe. For a ship steered by many will not sail straight unless one helmsman holds its rudder; nor will a lyre struck by many produce a harmonious sound unless one artist strikes it. Since, then, creation is one, and the world is one, and its order is one, one must also perceive that its King and fashioner, the Lord, is one. For this reason the fashioner himself made the whole world one, so that the makers might not be thought many because there were many worlds, but that, since the product is one, its maker too might be believed to be one. And it is not because the fashioner is one that the world is therefore one; for God could have made other worlds too. But because the world that has come into being is one, one must believe that its fashioner too is one.

Who, then, would this be? This above all must be made clear and stated, so that no one, misled by ignorance about him, may suppose another and fall again into the same godlessness as those before. But I think no one has a doubtful mind about this. For if our argument has shown that those called gods by the poets are not gods, and has convicted those who deify creation of error, and has proved in general that the idolatry of the nations is godlessness and impiety, then, these being done away with, it necessarily follows that the pious worship is ours, and that the one worshiped and proclaimed by us alone is the true God, the Lord of creation and the fashioner of all that subsists. Who, then, is this but the all-holy Father of Christ, who is beyond all created being; who, like an excellent helmsman, by his own Wisdom and his own Word, our Lord and Savior Christ, steers all things everywhere for their salvation, orders them, and does as seems good to him? And it is good as it has been made and as we see it happening, since this is what he wills; and no one would disbelieve this. For if the movement of creation were irrational and the universe moved at random, one might well disbelieve what is said; but if it subsists by reason, wisdom, and skill, and has been ordered with all order, then the one who presides over it and has ordered it must be none other than the Word of God. By “Word” I do not mean the word that is involved and inborn in each created thing, which some are accustomed to call the seminal word, which is lifeless and neither reasons nor understands, but acts only by an art from outside, according to the skill of the one who applies it; nor such a word as the rational race has, composed of syllables and expressed in the air. I mean the living and active God, the very Word of the good God of the universe, who is other than created things and all creation, and is the own and only Word of the good Father, who has ordered this universe and enlightens it by his providence. For being the good Word of a good Father, he himself ordered the arrangement of all things, joining opposites with opposites … and being the Wisdom of God, he turns the heaven round, and having suspended the earth, he set it fast by his own nod, resting on nothing. Lit by him, the sun illumines the world, and the moon has its measured light. Through him the water hangs in the clouds, the rains flood the earth, the sea is bounded, and the earth grows luxuriant and green with all kinds of plants. And if some unbeliever should inquire about what is said, whether there is a Word of God at all, such a man would be mad to doubt about the Word of God; yet he has the proof from what is seen, that all things subsist by the Word and Wisdom of God, and that nothing that has come into being would have been made firm if it had not come into being by Word, and by the divine Word, as has been said.

… likeness, as I said, composed of syllables; but he is the unchanging image of his own Father. For human beings, composed of parts and made from what did not exist, have a word that is composite and dissoluble; but God is the One who is, and is not composite; therefore his Word too is, and is not composite, but is the one and only-begotten God, who, proceeding good from the Father as from a good fountain, orders and holds together all things. The reason why the Word, the Word of God, has come upon created things is truly wonderful, and shows that it was not fitting for things to be otherwise than as they are. For the nature of created things, having come into existence from nothing, is, considered by itself, fluid, weak, and mortal; but the God of the universe is good and surpassingly beautiful by nature. Therefore he also loves humanity. For a good being could have envy toward nothing; hence he grudges existence to none, but wishes all things to exist, so that he may also show them his love. Seeing, then, that all created nature, as far as its own principles are concerned, is fluid and dissolving, so that it might not suffer this and the universe be dissolved again into non-existence, for this reason, having made all things by his own eternal Word and given creation its being, he did not leave it to be carried along and tossed about by its own nature, lest it be in danger of returning to non-existence. But, being good, he governs and establishes the whole by his Word, who is himself God, so that creation, illumined by the leadership, providence, and ordering of the Word, may be able to remain firm, since it partakes of the Word who truly is from the Father and is helped by him to exist; lest it suffer what it would have suffered if the Word had not preserved it, I mean non-existence. For he is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for through him and in him all things consist, things visible and invisible” …