On Genesis against the Manichaeans 1.23–2.4

But why this rest is assigned to the seventh day I think should be considered more carefully. For I see throughout the whole text of the divine Scriptures six ages of labor, marked off as if by their own boundaries, so that in the seventh rest is hoped for; and I see that these same six ages bear a likeness to these six days, in which were made the things that Scripture records God made. For the beginnings of the human race, in which it began to enjoy this light, are well compared to the first day, on which God made light. This age is to be reckoned as the infancy, so to speak, of the whole world, which we should think of as one man in proportion to its size; because every man, when he is first born and comes out into the light, passes his first age, infancy. This extends from Adam to Noah in ten generations. The flood is as it were the evening of this day; because our infancy too is wiped out as if by a flood of forgetfulness.

And the morning begins from the times of Noah: the second age, as it were childhood; and this age extends to Abraham in another ten generations. And it is well compared to the second day, on which the firmament was made between water and water; because the ark too, in which Noah was with his family, was a firmament between the lower waters on which it floated and the upper waters by which it was rained on. This age is not wiped out by a flood, because our childhood too is not erased from memory by forgetfulness; for we remember that we were children, but we do not remember being infants. Its evening is the confusion of tongues among those who were building the tower, and morning comes from Abraham. But this second age did not beget the people of God either, because childhood is not fit for begetting.

So morning comes from Abraham, and the third age follows, like adolescence. And it is well compared to the third day, on which the land was separated from the waters. For from all the nations, whose error, unstable and moved by the empty teachings of idols as if by every wind, is well signified by the name of sea; from this changeableness of the nations, then, and the waves of this world, the people of God was separated through Abraham, like the land when the dry land appeared, that is, thirsting for the heavenly rain of the divine commandments. This people, by worshiping the one God, like watered land, so that it could bear useful fruits, received the holy Scriptures and the prophecies. For this age could now beget a people for God, because the third age, that is, adolescence, can now have children. And so it was said to Abraham: “I have made you a father of many nations, and I will increase you exceedingly, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. And I will set my covenant between me and you, and between your seed after you, in their generations, for an eternal covenant; that I may be God to you and to your seed after you; and I will give to you and to your seed after you the land in which you dwell, all the land of Canaan, for an eternal possession, and I will be their God.” This age stretches from Abraham to David in fourteen generations. Its evening is in the sins of the people, by which they transgressed the divine commandments, up to the wickedness of the very evil king Saul.

And from there morning comes: the kingdom of David. This age is like youth. And truly among all the ages youth reigns, and it is the firm ornament of all the ages; and so it is well compared to the fourth day, on which the stars were made in the firmament of heaven. For what signifies the splendor of a kingdom more clearly than the excellence of the sun? And the splendor of the moon shows the people obedient to the kingdom, as it were the synagogue itself, and the stars its princes, and all things founded as in a firmament in the stability of the kingdom. Its evening, as it were, is in the sins of the kings, by which that nation deserved to be taken captive and to serve.

And morning comes: the migration to Babylon, when the people in that captivity were gently settled in leisure in a foreign land. And this age stretches to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; that is, the fifth age, namely the decline from youth to old age, not yet old age, but no longer youth: which is the age of the elder, whom the Greeks call presbytēs. For among them an old man is called not presbytēs but gerōn. And truly this age was bent and broken from the strength of the kingdom among the people of the Jews, just as a man passes from youth to being an elder. And it is well compared to that fifth day, on which animals were made in the waters, and the birds of heaven, after those men began to live among the nations as in a sea, and to have an uncertain and unstable abode, like flying birds. But plainly there were also great sea monsters there, that is, those great men who were able to master the waves of the world rather than to serve in that captivity; for they were not corrupted into the worship of idols by any terror. Here indeed it should be noticed that God blessed those animals, saying, “Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea, and let the flying things multiply upon the earth”; because truly the nation of the Jews, since it was dispersed among the nations, has multiplied greatly. The evening, as it were, of this day, that is, of this age, is the multiplication of sins among the people of the Jews, because they were so blinded that they could not even recognize the Lord Jesus Christ.

But morning comes from the preaching of the Gospel through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fifth day ends; the sixth begins, in which the old age of the old man appears. For in this age that carnal kingdom was severely worn down, when the temple was thrown down and the sacrifices themselves ceased; and now that nation, as far as the strength of its kingdom is concerned, draws out as it were the last of its life. Yet in this age, as in the old age of the old man, the new man is born, who now lives spiritually. For on the sixth day it had been said: “Let the earth bring forth the living soul.” For on the fifth day it had been said: “Let the waters bring forth,” not the living soul, but “creeping things of living souls”; since creeping things are bodies, and that people still served the Law by bodily circumcision and sacrifices, as in the sea of the nations. But it calls this one a living soul, by which eternal life now begins to be desired. So the serpents and cattle that the earth brings forth signify the nations that were now to believe the Gospel steadfastly. Of them it is said in that vessel that was shown to Peter in the Acts of the Apostles: “Kill and eat.” And when he said they were unclean, he was answered: “What God has cleansed, do not call unclean.” Then man is made to the image and likeness of God, just as in this sixth age our Lord is born in the flesh, of whom it was said through the prophet, “And he is a man, and who shall know him?” And just as on that day male and female, so in this age Christ and the church. And on that day man is set over the cattle and serpents and birds of heaven, just as in this age Christ rules the souls obedient to him, which came to his church partly from the nations, partly from the people of the Jews; so that by him men might be tamed and made gentle, whether given over to carnal desire like cattle, or darkened by dark curiosity like serpents, or lifted up by pride like birds. And just as on that day man and the animals that are with him are fed with seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees and green plants, so in this age the spiritual man, whoever is a good minister of Christ and imitates him well as far as he can, is fed spiritually together with the people himself on the nourishment of the holy Scriptures and the divine law: partly for conceiving a fruitfulness of thoughts and words, as from seed-bearing plants; partly for the usefulness of morals in human conduct, as from fruit-bearing trees; partly for the vigor of faith, hope and charity unto eternal life, as from green plants, that is, flourishing ones, which no heat of tribulations can wither. But the spiritual man is fed on this nourishment so that he understands much; the carnal man, that is, the little one in Christ, like God's cattle, so that he believes much that he cannot yet understand; yet all have the same food.

The evening, as it were, of this age (may it not find us, if indeed it has not already begun) is the one of which the Lord says: “Do you think, when the Son of Man comes, he will find faith on earth?” After this evening morning will come, when the Lord himself is to come in glory. Then those will rest with Christ from all their works to whom it was said, “Be perfect, as your Father who is in heaven.” For such people do works that are very good. For after such works rest is to be hoped for on the seventh day, which has no evening. In no way, then, can it be said in words how God made and established heaven and earth and every creature that he established; but this exposition by the order of the days so presents it as a history of things done that it chiefly keeps in view a foretelling of things to come.

But if anyone is troubled that in these ages of the world we find the first two ages set out in ten generations each, while the three following are each woven of fourteen generations, and this sixth is defined by no number of generations, it is easy to see that in each individual man too the first two ages, infancy and childhood, cling to the senses of the body. These bodily senses are five: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. And the number five doubled, since the human sex from which such generations come is twofold, male and female, the number five, I say, doubled, makes the number ten. But from adolescence onward, when reason begins to prevail in man, knowledge and action, by which life is ruled and managed, are added to the five senses, so that now the number seven begins; and this, similarly doubled on account of the twofold sex, stands out and appears in the fourteen generations that the three following ages have, those of the adolescent, the young man, and the elder. But just as the age of old age in us is defined by no fixed span of years, but however long anyone lives after those five ages is counted as old age; so too in this age of the world the generations do not appear, so that the last day also may be hidden, which the Lord showed it was useful should be concealed.

Each of us too has in good works and an upright life these six days, as it were distinguished, after which he should hope for rest. On the first day, the light of faith, when he first believes visible things, for the sake of which faith the Lord deigned to appear visibly. On the second day, as it were the firmament of discipline, by which he distinguishes between carnal and spiritual things, as between the lower and upper waters. On the third day, when he separates his mind from the stain and the waves of carnal temptations, as the dry land from the disturbances of the sea, so that it may bear the fruits of good works, so that he can now say, “With the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” On the fourth day, when in that firmament of discipline he now works out and distinguishes spiritual understandings, and sees what the unchangeable truth is, which shines in the soul like the sun; and how the soul becomes a sharer in that truth and gives order and beauty to the body, like the moon lighting up the night; and how all the stars, that is, spiritual understandings, twinkle and shine in the obscurity of this life as in the night. Made stronger by the knowledge of these things, on the fifth day let him begin to work in the actions of this most turbulent world, as in the waters of the sea, for the benefit of brotherly fellowship; and from the bodily actions that belong to that sea, that is, to this life, let him bring forth creeping things of living souls, that is, works that benefit living souls; and great sea monsters, that is, the strongest actions, by which the waves of the world are broken and despised; and birds of heaven, that is, voices proclaiming heavenly things. On the sixth day let him bring forth from the earth the living soul, that is, from the very stability of his mind, where he has spiritual fruits, that is, good thoughts, let him rule all the movements of his mind, so that there may be in him a living soul, that is, one serving reason and justice, not rashness and sin. So let man too be made to the image and likeness of God, male and female, that is, understanding and action, by whose union a spiritual offspring may fill the earth, that is, subject the flesh, and the other things that were said above about the perfection of man. In these days, as it were, evening is in the completion of each work, and morning in the beginning of the next. After the very good works of these six days, as it were, let man hope for perpetual rest, and let him understand what “God rested on the seventh day from all his works” means: because he himself works these good things in us, who commands us to work; and he himself is rightly said to rest, because after all these works he himself will grant us rest. For just as a householder is rightly said to build a house, though he does it not by his own work but by the work of those whom he commands as they serve him, so he is also rightly said to rest from his works when, after the building is finished, he allows those whom he was commanding to be free and to enjoy pleasant leisure.

After the enumeration and exposition of the seven days a kind of conclusion is inserted, and everything said above is called the book of the creation of heaven and earth, although it is a small part of the book; but it deserved to be so called because in these seven days a kind of brief image of the whole world, from beginning to end, was figured. Then begins a more careful account of man. This whole account is set forth not openly but figuratively, so as to exercise the minds of those who seek the truth and call them away from carnal business by a spiritual task. For it runs as follows:

“This is the book of the creation of heaven and earth, when the day was made on which God made heaven and earth, and all the green things of the field, before they were upon the earth, and all the grass of the field, before it sprang up. For God had not yet rained upon the earth, and there was no man to work it. But a spring went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the earth. And then God formed man from the mud of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man was made a living soul. And then God planted paradise in Eden toward the east, and put there the man whom he had formed. And God further brought forth from the earth every tree beautiful to look at and good for food; and he planted the tree of life in the middle of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out from Eden and watered paradise; and from there it is divided into four parts. The name of one is Phison; this is the one that goes round the whole land of Evilath, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is the best; there is the carbuncle and the green stone. And the name of the second river is Geon; this goes round the whole land of Ethiopia. And the third river is the Tigris; this is the one that goes toward the Assyrians. And the fourth river is called the Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man whom he had made and put him in paradise, to work there and to guard it. And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying: From every tree that is in paradise you shall eat for food; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat; for on the day you eat of it you shall die by death. And the Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a helper like himself. And whatever God had formed of every kind of cattle, and every kind of beasts of the field, and every kind of flying things that fly under heaven, he brought to Adam, to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called each of them, a living soul, that is its name. And after this Adam called the names of all the cattle and all the birds of heaven and all the beasts of the field; and as Adam called them, that is their name to this day. But for Adam himself there was not yet a helper like him. And God sent a deep sleep upon Adam, and he fell asleep; and God took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh; and God formed the rib that he took from Adam into a woman. And he brought her to Adam, to see what he would call her. And Adam said: This now is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken from her man; and she shall be a helper to me. For this reason a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be in one flesh. And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed. Now the serpent was wiser than all the beasts that were upon the earth, which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman: Why did God say that you should not eat of every tree that is in paradise? And the woman said to the serpent: Of every tree that is in paradise we shall eat; but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of paradise God said that we should not eat, nor even touch it, lest we die. And the serpent said to the woman: You shall not die by death; for God knew that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was good to the eyes to see and to know; and she took fruit from that tree and ate, and gave to her husband; and Adam took it and ate; and their eyes were opened, and then they knew that they were naked; and they took fig leaves for themselves and made themselves girdles. And when they heard the voice of the Lord walking in paradise toward evening, Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the face of the Lord God at that tree which was in the middle of paradise. And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: Adam, where are you? And he said: I heard your voice, Lord, in paradise, and I was afraid and hid myself, because I am naked. And the Lord God said: Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from that tree from which alone I had told you not to eat? And Adam said: The woman whom you gave me gave it to me to eat, and I ate. And God said to the woman: Why have you done this? And the woman said: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle and every kind of beast. On your breast and belly you shall crawl, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. She shall watch for your head, and you for her heel. And to the woman he said: I will greatly multiply your pains and your sighs, and in pains you shall bear your children; and your turning shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. And then God said to Adam: Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree from which alone I had commanded you not to eat, cursed shall the earth be to you in all your works, and in sadness and groaning you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the grass of your field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the earth from which you were taken; for earth you are, and to earth you shall go. And then Adam gave his wife the name Life, because she is the mother of all the living. And then the Lord God made for Adam and his wife tunics of skin, and clothed them. And he said: See, Adam has become like one of us, for the knowledge of knowing good and evil. And then, lest Adam stretch out his hand to the tree of life and take from it for himself and eat and live for ever, the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of delight, to work the earth from which he had been taken. And cast out of paradise, he dwelt opposite the paradise of pleasure. And God set the Cherubim and that flaming sword which turns, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

If the Manichees preferred to examine these hidden meanings of the words not by finding fault and accusing but by seeking and revering, they would certainly not be Manichees; but it would be given to them when they asked, and they would find when they sought, and it would be opened to them when they knocked. For those who seek with pious diligence raise more questions about this passage than these wretched and impious men; but the difference is that the former seek in order to find, while the latter labor at nothing except not finding what they seek. So this whole passage must first be examined according to history, then according to prophecy. According to history, things done are narrated; according to prophecy, things to come are foretold. Certainly, whoever wishes to take everything that is said according to the letter, that is, to understand it in no other way than the letter sounds, and is able to avoid blasphemies and to preach everything in agreement with the catholic faith, not only should not be begrudged but should be held an excellent and highly praiseworthy interpreter. But if there is no way out for understanding what is written piously and worthily of God unless we believe that these things are set forth figuratively and in enigmas, then, having the authority of the apostles, by whom so many enigmas of the books of the Old Testament are solved, let us hold to the method we intend, with the help of him who urges us to ask, seek and knock; so that we may explain all these figures of things according to the catholic faith, whether they belong to history or to prophecy, without prejudice to a better and more careful treatment, whether by us or by others to whom the Lord deigns to reveal it.

“So the day was made on which God made heaven and earth, and every green thing of the field, before they were upon the earth, and all the grass of the field.” Above seven days are counted; now one day is mentioned, on which God made heaven and earth and every green thing of the field and all the grass; by the name of this day all time is well understood to be signified. For God made all time together with all temporal creatures, which visible creatures are signified by the name of heaven and earth. But it should move us to inquire that, when he had named the day that was made, and heaven and earth, he added also “the green thing of the field and all the grass.” For when it was said, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth,” it was not then said that every green thing of the field and grass was made; for it is plainly read that every green thing and grass of the field was made on the third day. But what was said, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth,” does not belong to any one of those seven days. For either he was still calling the very matter from which all things were made by the name of heaven and earth, or certainly he had first set out the whole creation under the name of heaven and earth by saying, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth,” and afterward set out the works of God one by one, in the order of days, as was fitting on account of the prophecy we mentioned in the first book. What does it mean, then, that now, having named heaven and earth, he added the green thing of the field and the grass, and was silent about so many other things that are in heaven and on earth or even in the sea, unless by “the green thing of the field” he wants the invisible creation to be understood, such as the soul? For in the Scriptures the world is usually called a field figuratively. For the Lord himself, when he was explaining the parable in which weeds were mixed with the good seed, said, “The field is this world.” So by “the green thing of the field” he means the spiritual and invisible creation, on account of the vigor of its life; and we rightly interpret the name “grass” in the same way, on account of life.

Then what he added, “before they were upon the earth,” is understood as “before the soul sinned.” For when it is soiled by earthly desires it is rightly said to be born, as it were, upon the earth, or to be upon the earth. And that is why he added, “For God had not yet rained upon the earth.”

“It had not yet rained upon the earth”: true. For even now God makes the green thing of the field, but by raining upon the earth, that is, he makes souls grow green again through his word; but he waters them from the clouds, that is, from the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles. They are rightly called clouds, because these words, which sound and pass away when the air has been struck, and which are also covered over as by a kind of mist by the obscurity of allegories, become like clouds; and when they are pressed out by interpretation, a rain of truth, as it were, is poured on those who understand well. But this did not yet exist before the soul sinned, that is, before the green thing of the field was upon the earth. “For God had not yet rained upon the earth, and there was no man to work it.” For a man laboring on the earth needs rain from the clouds, the clouds of which we have already spoken. But after sin man began to labor on the earth and to need those clouds. Before sin, however, when God had made the green thing and the grass of the field (by which name we said the invisible creation is signified), he watered it with an inner spring, speaking to its understanding; so that it did not receive words from outside, like rain from the clouds mentioned above, but was satisfied by its own spring, that is, by truth flowing from its innermost parts.