Bonaventure

In his own words on Genesis

• Genesis 1:1

  Corporeal nature was brought into being in six days, such that in the beginning, before every day, "God created heaven and earth." Since things flow from the first and most perfect principle, and such a principle is most omnipotent, most wise, and most benevolent: therefore it was necessary that they be brought into being in such a way that in their production the aforesaid threefold nobility and excellence would shine forth. And therefore the divine operation for producing the world-machine was threefold, namely creation, which is appropriately attributed to omnipotence; distinction, which corresponds to wisdom, and adornment, which corresponds to the most generous goodness. And since creation is from nothing, therefore it was in the beginning, before every day, as the foundation of all things and all times.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:1

  To intimate the order of nature, Scripture determines, according to what was fitting for God to work: that in the beginning, before the course of time, that threefold nature was brought from non-being into being, when it says: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" and "the Spirit of God moved over the waters." Where by the name of heaven the luminous nature is intimated; by the name of earth, the opaque; by the name of water, the pervious or transparent, whether subject to contrariety or elevated above contrariety. Where also the eternal Trinity is intimated, namely the Father in the name of God creating, the Son in the name of the beginning, the Holy Spirit in the name of the Spirit of God. And thus is to be understood that which is said: "He who lives forever created all things simultaneously": not because He created them in a chaos of every kind of confusion, as the poets imagined, since He brought forth this threefold nature, the highest in the highest place, the middle in the middle, and the lowest in the lowest: nor indeed into a being of every kind of distinction, since heaven was perfect, and the earth unformed, and the middle nature, as it were holding a middle position, had not yet been brought to perfect distinction.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

• Genesis 1:1

  These, then, are the mysteries concerned with the Tree of Life, that is, Holy Scripture, because it begins with eternity and ends in the direction of eternity. Hence, "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"; and at the end, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth." These are the forty-eight boards of the dwelling — twenty on one side, and twenty on the other, and eight in the back — within which is placed the Ark, that is, Christ, containing in Himself "all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge," upon whom the Cherubim gaze.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Genesis 1:1

  It is manifest that a beginning should be made from the One from whom the two greatest Wise Men began: Moses, the originator of wisdom, and John, its consummator. The former said: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and, in Augustine's opinion, this means the Son. And John said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him." If, therefore, it is impossible to understand a creature except through that by which it was made, it is necessary that the true Word go before thee.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

• Genesis 1:1

  Three errors are to be guarded against in the sciences, which destroy sacred Scripture and the Christian faith and all wisdom. The error against the cause of being concerns the eternity of the world, namely to posit that the world is eternal. This first error is refuted by what is written: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." For you hold that God is the cause of all things either in part or in whole. If in part: then you take away from God his primacy of causing. If in whole: then God is the cause of every other thing; therefore he produces it not from himself, not from something else, because nothing else exists; therefore from nothing. Likewise, it follows according to this error that a thing had being and non-being simultaneously, and that being was before non-being; and many other absurdities. Whence it is certain that God created all things.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

• Genesis 1:2

  To intimate the order of nature, Scripture determines, according to what was fitting for God to work: that in the beginning, before the course of time, that threefold nature was brought from non-being into being, when it says: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" and "the Spirit of God moved over the waters." Where by the name of heaven the luminous nature is intimated; by the name of earth, the opaque; by the name of water, the pervious or transparent, whether subject to contrariety or elevated above contrariety. Where also the eternal Trinity is intimated, namely the Father in the name of God creating, the Son in the name of the beginning, the Holy Spirit in the name of the Spirit of God.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

• Genesis 1:3

  And yet Scriptures say: "God said, 'Let there be light.'" And again, "God said," that is, He begot the Word in whom He disposed all things, and, disposing them, made them. Hence Augustine writes in his Confessions: "Whatever You make, you make through your Word coeternal with You, nor do you make anything by any other mode than by expressing it; and yet You do not eternally make what You eternally express."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:3

  Since the distinction of the bodies of the world is considered according to a threefold mode, therefore it was accomplished over three days. For there is the distinction of luminous nature from transparent and opaque, and this was made on the first day in the division of light from darkness.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:3

  Now rightly the whole of time, which runs its course according to a threefold law, namely the law implanted within, the law given from without, and the law infused from above, runs through seven ages and is consummated at the end of the sixth; so that the course of the world may correspond to its origin, and the course of the greater world may correspond to the course of life of the lesser world, namely man, for whose sake it was made. For the first age of the world, in which the formation of the world itself took place, the fall of the demons and the confirmation of the Angels, rightly corresponds to the first day, on which light was made and was distinguished from darkness. Now the first age is called infancy, because, just as infancy is entirely erased by forgetfulness, so that first age was consumed by the flood.

  Breviloquium, Prologue

• Genesis 1:3

  Of the central Person, it is said in Genesis: "The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden." In reference to which Augustine writes that of all the things that were made, it was said: "Let there be, He made it," and so it was--excepting light, of which God said "Let there be light," and there was light--for they were produced first in all eternity from Eternal Art, second in the intelligent creature, and third in the material world.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

• Genesis 1:3

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. The first is understood in the work of the first day, when God said: Let there be light: and light was made: this is provident circumspection.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:3

  There is a vision through that understanding which is given by nature, and a vision through that understanding which is lifted up by faith, taught by Scripture, exalted by contemplation, enlightened by prophecy, absorbed by rapture in God. Through the first vision, we understand that to which our intelligence reaches by its own power. This corresponds to the first day on which light was made. Without this light which is given within, a man has nothing, neither faith nor grace nor the illumination of wisdom. For this reason also light was separated from darkness.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:3

  Things have being in a threefold way, namely in matter or their proper nature, in created intelligence, and in the eternal art; in accordance with which three things Scripture says: "God said: let it be made: He made, and it was made."

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 12

• Genesis 1:4

  It has been said that truth is intellectual light radiating over intelligence either human or angelical; and that it shines forth in a manner that cannot be stopped, for it cannot be thought of as non-existing. Now a thing may shine forth in three different ways: as the truth of an object, as the truth of an expression, or as proper behavior. As the truth of an object, it consists in conformity of existence with essence; as the truth of an expression, it is conformity of essence with thought; as proper behavior, it is righteous living. And this is clear on the part of the principle which sends forth light, of the subject which receives this light, and of the objective towards which it enlightens. As a cause of being, this light is powerful; as a reason of understanding, this light is clear; as an ordering of life, this light is good. And that is the reason why it is written: God saw that the light was good. As a powerful light, it irradiates for the sake of understanding substances or essences, the quantities and natures of the world; as a clear light, it irradiates for the sake of understanding rational expressions, reasonings and proofs; as a good light, it suffuses the intelligence, or demonstrates matters of propriety, activity, or justice. As a means of understanding propriety, it points to the practice of good habits; as a means of understanding activity, it points to intellectual speculation; as a means of understanding justice, it points to political laws. First, it is necessary that propriety be acquired, then activity investigated, and finally justice exercised. And here is shown how a prelate should behave: being perfect in both action and contemplation, he must accept the laws. Where? On the Mountain of Contemplation, with Moses, so that he may act with propriety and industry, and not as a beast, for a beast cannot go up into the Mountain: a beast that touches the Mountain must be stoned.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

• Genesis 1:4

  "God saw the light that it was good; and He divided the light from the darkness." The passage, "God saw the light," is quoted on account of the first vision of the intelligence, which is infused by nature. It means that God made it possible to see. This has been covered in the two preceding collations by considering the sciences, in that the light shines as the truth of things, the truth of words, and the truth of moral acts. And nine parts were distinguished in the doctrine, of which the three principal are radiations proceeding, according to Augustine, from the decree of the eternal light. It was also established that "God saw," that is, made it possible to see, through wisdom-procuring contemplation, through the enlightenment of the soul seen in itself as in a mirror, seen in the intelligence and in a conveying medium, and in the uncreated light as in its fountainhead, in accordance with the six conditions which this light impresses upon the mind. And in accordance with these, the soul rises up in the said light by means of reasoning, testing, and understanding, as it has been said. And the philosophers — at least the most worthy among them — and the ancients have come to this point: that there exists a beginning and an end and an exemplary reason. "God divided the light from the darkness" in order that what had been said of the angels could also be said of the philosophers. But why have some of them followed darkness? Because of this: although all could see the first cause as the universal principle and universal end, they had different opinions concerning the means. For some denied that exemplars of things existed in this cause: the leader of these seems to have been Aristotle who, in the beginning and the end of his Metaphysics, and in many other places, strongly condemns the ideas of Plato. Wherefore he says that God knows only Himself, and does not need the knowledge of any other thing, and produces as the desired and loved. But this supposes that He knows nothing, or no particular thing. Therefore Aristotle is the principal assailant of Platonic ideas in his "Ethics" where he says that the supreme good cannot be an Idea. And the reasons he adduces are worthless, and the commentator answers them. Upon this error, there follows another, that is, that God has neither foreknowledge nor providence, since He does not have within Himself a rational justification of things by which He could know them. They also say that there are no truths concerning the future except that of necessary things. And from this it follows that all things come about either by chance or by necessity. And since it is impossible that things come about by chance, the Arabs conclude to absolute necessity, that is, that these substances that move the globe are the necessary causes of all things. From this it follows that truth is hidden, that is, the truth of government of worldly things in terms of pain and glory. If, indeed, these substances are inerrant movers, nothing is supposed concerning hell or the existence of the devil: neither did Aristotle ever suppose the existence of the devil, nor happiness after this life, as it appears. Here, then, there is a threefold error: a concealment of exemplarity, of divine providence and of world government. From this follows a threefold blindness or darkness, that is, concerning the eternity of the world, which seems to be Aristotle's thesis according to all the Greek doctors, for instance Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, the Damascene, Basil, and the commentators of all the Arabs, who say that Aristotle holds this opinion, and his words are seen to mean it. Never will you find that he said that the world had a principle or a beginning: he even argues against Plato who seems to have been the only one to suppose that time began. And this is contrary to the light of truth. From this follows blindness concerning the existence of a single intellect, for if the world is supposed to be eternal, one of these hypotheses must be true: that souls are infinite in number since there would be an infinite number of men; or that the soul is corruptible; or that it is transmitted from body to body; or that there is only one single intellect in all, an error attributed to Aristotle by his commentator. From these two propositions it may be concluded that after this life there is neither happiness nor pain. These men, then, fell into error and were not separated from darkness: and these are the worst errors. And they are not yet closed by the key of the bottomless pit. These are the obscurities of Egypt: although a great light had been seen in these things through earlier forms of knowledge, yet all light was put out by these errors. And some men, seeing that Aristotle had been so great in other matters and had expressed the truth so well, could not believe that in this he had not said the truth. But I say that the eternal light is the exemplar of all things, and that the mind, once lifted up as was the mind of others among the noble philosophers of antiquity, is able to reach it. And in the same light, the first thing to come to the mind is the exemplar of the virtues. As Plotinus writes, "it is absurd that the exemplars of other things be in God, and not the exemplars of the virtues."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

• Genesis 1:4

  These philosophers had the wings of ostriches, for their affective powers were not cleansed or ordained or straightened: for this can be obtained only through faith. Hence they proposed a false circle of beatitude, second a false sufficiency of merits in the present world, third an eternal soundness of internal powers. In these three instances, they fell into darkness. But faith, brushing away these obscurities, indicates the disease, its cause, Physician, and medicine; it heals the soul by placing the roots of merits in God who must be satisfied. And so the soul goes forth through faith into assured hope by means of the merits of Christ, and not in a presumptuous fashion. And so faith heals, straightens and ordains: in this manner the soul may be changed, straightened and ordained. The philosophers did not know these roots. Faith alone, then, divides the light from the darkness. Hence, the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. For faith, that has hope and charity together with good works, heals the soul, and once it has been healed, cleanses and lifts it up and makes it into the likeness of God. Now we are in the true light: not like those who sleep and take the false for the true, an idol for God.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

• Genesis 1:4

  God saw that the light was good. God separated the light from the darkness, etc. After every one of the works of the six days, with the exception of the second, it is said: God saw that it was good. And at the end: God saw that all He had made was very good. God is said to see, because He makes us see. The first vision of the soul is by means of understanding naturally given. Hence in the Psalm: The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us. And here all the difficulties of philosophy could be explained. The philosophers have offered nine sciences and promised a tenth: contemplation. But many philosophers, while attempting to avoid the darkness of error, have themselves become involved in major errors. While professing to be wise, they have become fools. Because they boasted of their knowledge, these philosophers have become the likes of Lucifer. With the Egyptians was the densest darkness, but with Your saints was the greatest light. All those who properly followed the Law of Nature, the patriarchs, the prophets, and the philosophers, were the sons of light. Truth is the light of the soul. This light never fails. Indeed, it shines so powerfully upon the soul that this soul cannot possibly believe it to be non-existing, or abstain from expressing it, without an inner contradiction. For if truth does not exist, it is true that truth does not exist: and so something is true. And if something is true, it is true that truth exists. Hence if truth does not exist, truth exists!

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:4

  God saw the light that it was good; and He divided the light from the darkness. This passage is quoted to explain the vision of intelligence which is infused by nature. Concerning the fact that it was good, it makes us see, both through scientific consideration and through the contemplation of wisdom. Through scientific consideration, it makes us see in so far as it illumines as light, that is, as the truth of things, the truth of expression, and the truth of behavior. Through the contemplation of wisdom, it makes us see in so far as it illumines by means of the influx of a radiation from the eternal light into the soul. It procures the vision of this same light in itself, as in a mirror; in a separate intelligence, as in a medium somewhat removed; in the eternal light, as in the original subject. It is also written that He divided the light from the darkness; and that some philosophers attacked ideas, as a result of which the threefold understanding of truth was hidden: that is, the truth of eternal art, the truth of divine providence, and the truth of the fall of the angels—which follows if angels only have their perfection from motion. The consequence of this is a threefold blindness: concerning the eternity of the world, the unity of the intellect, and the question of punishment and glory.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

• Genesis 1:6

  The second age, in which through the ark and the flood the good were saved and the wicked destroyed, corresponds to the second day, on which through the firmament the separation of waters from waters was made. The second age is called childhood; for just as in childhood we begin to speak, so in the second age the distinction of tongues was made.

  Breviloquium, Prologue

• Genesis 1:6

  The second time corresponds to the second day and to the age of childhood: for then there was made "a firmament in the midst of the waters." At this time, a covenant was made by means of the rainbow, lest man be wiped out by the waters from below; and by means of the ark, lest he perish later in the flood. And as in childhood infants speak and learn to speak, so in the second time tongues were divided. And this extends from Noah to Abraham.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

• Genesis 1:6

  It is rightly said that the firmament was made in the midst of the waters, not because the waters above the heavens are fluid, cold, heavy, and corruptible waters, but because they are subtle and incorruptible, pervious and raised above all contrariety, and on this account are of celestial nature and to be placed among the celestial things by reason of the nobility of their form. They are also placed there by reason of power and influence. For since every bodily action in lower things takes its rule, origin, and vigor from celestial nature, and since there are two active qualities, namely the hot and the cold, and some heaven is principally influencing the hot, namely the sidereal heaven by reason of its luminosity: it was fitting that some heaven should influence the cold, and thus the crystalline. And just as the sidereal heaven, although it influences toward heat, is nevertheless not formally hot: so also the heaven that is called watery or crystalline is not essentially cold. Hence what the Saints say, that the waters are placed there to restrain the heat of the higher bodies and other similar things, are to be understood not according to formal predication, but according to efficacy and influence.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

• Genesis 1:6

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. It is necessary that a man set for himself a right end in God; and this is indicated when he says: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. And God called the firmament heaven; because it is necessary that a man be drawn upward, so that he may have a right intention toward God.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:6

  There is the distinction of transparent nature from transparent, and this was made on the second day in the division of waters from waters.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:6

  Wisdom refers to the understanding of the eternal God, knowledge to the knowing of God made man. Wherefore the firmament was made in the midst of the waters, that is, faith, in order that the soul may know those things that are above the firmament and those that are below it. And such wisdom concerns divine things, and such knowledge, human things.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

• Genesis 1:6

  The second vision is understood of the second day, when a firmament was made in the midst, and this firmament is faith which divides the waters. Faith is the origin of wisdom and the origin of knowledge, whether of eternal or of temporal things, in so far as neither knowledge nor wisdom disagrees with faith.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:8

  GOD called the firmament heaven. It has been said that the scope of faith consists in two things, the extreme of loftiness and the extreme of depth. The scope of faith has been discussed: its firmness now remains to be covered. But if faith is lofty, how can it be certain? For the higher a thing is, the less it is known; and the less it is known, the more doubtful it must necessarily be. Wherefore we should understand that the firmness of this faith is threefold. It consists first in the witness of truth expressed through the uncreated Word; second, in the witness of truth expressed through the incarnate Word; third, in the witness of truth expressed through the inspired Word.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

• Genesis 1:8

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. It is necessary that a man set for himself a right end in God; and this is indicated when he says: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. And God called the firmament heaven; because it is necessary that a man be drawn upward, so that he may have a right intention toward God.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:8

  GOD called the firmament heaven. The loftiness and firmness of faith have been explained. Now we must speak of its splendor. Heaven is called caelum, because engraved (caelatum), that is, sculptured with stars. Genesis explains how splendid is this faith: "Look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars. So shall your posterity be." The promise of a bodily posterity was made to Abraham, for it is written: "So shall your posterity be." The promise of a spiritual posterity was also made to him, for through faith he was to be the father of a multitude. The flesh of Abraham gave forth offspring and was thus multiplied. All the more so would his spiritual begetting be fruitful: for he begot spiritually through his fruitful mind. Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

• Genesis 1:8

  There now follows the work of the second day, which is the second vision of understanding, lifted up by faith: and of this it is not said that God "saw" but that He "called" it. Literally speaking, this heaven is lofty, stable, and visible: it is lofty as regards its position, stable as regards its form, and visible as regards its clarity. It is lofty: hence in Proverbs, "The heaven above and the earth beneath." By the very fact that the heaven is noble, it holds the highest place in the order of the universe, and the earth the lowest. It is also stable as regards its form, for it moves without changing place, but within its place, around a center. Hence in Job: "Do you spread out with Him the firmament of the skies, hard as a brazen mirror?" It is finally visible as regards the multitude of its adornments. Hence, in Job, "His spirit hath adorned the heavens." And, in Ecclesiasticus, "The beauty, the glory of the heavens are the stars, that rise to adorn the heights of God." Because of the latter quality, heaven is called caelum, from caelando, "by engraving," and not "by concealing": by carving, since it is written with the diphthong ae, for it is adorned and so to speak engraved with lights. Firmament means a vision of faith. For faith makes the soul or intelligence lofty, since it goes beyond every reason and investigation of the mind. It makes it stable, because it excludes doubt and vacillation; it makes it visible, because it displays its multiformed light. And so, the solidity of faith is also called heaven, because it makes understanding lofty through investigation, stable when it establishes the truth, and visible when it fills it with a manifold light. Hence in Daniel: "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament." But no one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. And in John: "They all shall be taught of God." No one is taught in matters of faith except through God; and because it comes about through God's voice, it is said: "God called the firmament heaven." It is not said, God saw the firmament, but called it, because the solidity of faith consists rather in belief than in contemplation. For belief is through the ear, because, as the Apostle wrote to the Romans, "faith depends on hearing," and, before that, "with the heart a man believes unto justice." Now faith consists more precisely in the confession of truth than in the communication of light. Hence, "with the mouth profession of faith is made unto salvation." Therefore in a certain sense faith sees, and in another it does not see. The merit of faith is founded on non-seeing, the light of faith on believing. There exists therefore a firmament-heaven, "the substance of things to be hoped for." And it consists in light, because it is "the evidence of things that are not seen." Wherefore it has both light and clouds. "God called the firmament heaven." In Ecclesiasticus it is written: "The firmament on high is His beauty, the beauty of heaven with its glorious shew." And here, three things are touched upon: loftiness, stability, and beauty. For this vision of faith is lofty, stable and beautiful. This faith is most noble, most solid and most splendid. Many possess it, however, without knowing it, for the face of faith is covered: it wears a kind of dark veil. It turns sinful souls into the most exalted. Hence, in the Acts, "He cleansed their hearts by faith."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

• Genesis 1:9

  Such is the third vision, of understanding instructed by Scriptures, which is figured in the work of the third day. And as in the work of the days, there is added a second to the first and a third to both of them, so also out of the first and second visions there comes forth a third, and this vision is more noble and greater than the preceding two. And although such adaptation and comparison to the work of the third day may not seem properly fitting since the earth is the lowest of the elements, while the Scriptures are most high, yet the relationship is excellently pointed out: for whatever the heavens contain in any measure of excellence, the earth holds or receives or possesses in some measure of liveliness. Wherefore it receives the influences of heaven and brings forth the most beautiful swarms of beings. Now this vision is concerned with three things, the spiritual meanings of the senses, the sacramental symbols, and the manifold interpretations that are drawn from them. All of Scriptures may be reduced to these three. The first are offered to our understanding by means of the gathering of the waters, that is, the spiritual meanings.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

• Genesis 1:9

  There is the distinction of transparent nature from opaque, and this was made on the third day in the division of waters from the earth. In these, moreover, the distinction of celestial and elemental things is implicitly given to be understood.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:9

  The third age, in which Abraham was called, and the synagogue was begun, which was to bear fruit and generate offspring for the worship of God, corresponds to the third day, on which the earth appeared and brought forth green plants. The third age is called adolescence, because, just as the generative power then begins to pass into its act, so then Abraham was called, and circumcision was given to him, and the promise concerning the seed was made.

  Breviloquium, Prologue

• Genesis 1:9

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Pure affection is required; and this is understood in the third work, when God divided the land from the waters, that is, secular affections from divine ones.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:9

  The third vision is understood of the third day, when the waters were gathered together and dry land appeared. The land is Scriptures which have spiritual meanings and refer to angelical and divine hierarchies which have often been marvelously described by the saints: and from these Scriptures spring forth vegetation and the tree of life. But let everyone beware of the tree of inquisitive knowledge.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:11

  "The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant and all kinds of trees that bear fruit containing their seed," etc. Concerning this vision of the intelligence taught by Scripture, we have said of the spiritual interpretation that it was understood by means of the gathering of waters. Likewise, of the sacramental figure, that it was understood through the germination of the earth. We have spoken also of the theories that were understood both through the seed and through the fruit. For these theories reproduce in a manner related to seed, and they sustain in a manner related to food: wherefore they are understood partly under the aspect of seed and partly under the aspect of the germination of fruits. In terms of seed, they consist in correlations of times, by which times follow one another; in terms of the fruit of a tree they consist also in correlations of times, by which times correspond to one another. In the order of comparison of a tree or a seed to the seed, the times follow one another; in the order of comparison of the germ to the germinating, they correspond to each other.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

• Genesis 1:11

  "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants," etc. It has been explained how, by the gathering of waters, spiritual meanings should be understood. Now it remains to explain how the sacramental figures are symbolized by the vegetation of the earth. For it is not without reason that the vegetation of the earth is seen to point to Sacred Scriptures, in the sense that it has a great number of figures that grow and produce a multiplication of thoughts in the soul. Vegetation on earth is alive, generous, and lovely. Alive, that is, having strength: wherefore it produces the green herb. And by this it is shown that the sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. Some people believe that these sacraments and these Scriptures were so composed that the man who wrote them merely placed one sentence after another. It is not so, for Scripture is supremely orderly, and its order is similar to that of nature in the development of vegetation on earth. First there was a fixing of roots; then the production of green foliage; third, a multiplication of fresh flowers; fourth, an abundance of restoring fruit. Likewise, in Scripture there is first a fixing of the roots of virtue, as in the Patriarchs who are in a sense the roots of all that is said in Scripture. Hence in their calling there is a first planting. But later, in the establishment of commands and sacrifices, there is a production of green foliage. Later still, in the manifestation of the prophetical visions, there is a multiplication of flowers. Finally, in the diffusion of spiritual charisms, there is an abundance of restoring fruit. And so, here there was first one Patriarch as a single root, that is, Abraham, then another, Isaac, and a third, Jacob. And he begot twelve patriarchs from whom came the Twelve Tribes. After this plantation there followed the Law as a production of green foliage, that gave shade. And because foliage is not to last forever, but is to be followed by flowers, there followed prophecy with both fragrance and beauty. And because it was fitting that the heavens distil dew, there followed in the fourth place a Fruit in Christ, because Christ is the fruit of the Law and its fulfillment.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Genesis 1:11

  The sacramental symbols are represented by the swarming of beings on earth, in this passage: "Let the earth bring forth vegetation." The manifold interpretations are signified by the seed, in this passage: "...containing their seed," etc. Who can know the infinity of seeds, when in a single one are contained forests of forests and thence seeds in infinite number? Likewise, out of Scriptures may be drawn an infinite number of interpretations which none but God can comprehend. For as new seeds come forth from plants, so also from Scriptures come forth new interpretations and new meanings, and thereby are Sacred Scriptures distinct from everything else. Hence, in relation to the interpretations yet to be drawn, we may compare to a single drop from the sea all those that have been drawn so far.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

• Genesis 1:12

  "The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant and all kinds of trees that bear fruit containing their seed," etc. Concerning this vision of the intelligence taught by Scripture, we have said of the spiritual interpretation that it was understood by means of the gathering of waters. Likewise, of the sacramental figure, that it was understood through the germination of the earth. We have spoken also of the theories that were understood both through the seed and through the fruit. For these theories reproduce in a manner related to seed, and they sustain in a manner related to food: wherefore they are understood partly under the aspect of seed and partly under the aspect of the germination of fruits. In terms of seed, they consist in correlations of times, by which times follow one another; in terms of the fruit of a tree they consist also in correlations of times, by which times correspond to one another. In the order of comparison of a tree or a seed to the seed, the times follow one another; in the order of comparison of the germ to the germinating, they correspond to each other.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

• Genesis 1:12

  Likewise, this vegetation is lovely. Wherefore Genesis continues: "Each one according to its kind." Even exterior roughness that gives nature a reputation of malformation is yet what makes it most beautiful. Hence the bride says: "I am as dark — but lovely." That is, lovely because dark.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Genesis 1:12

  There follows a reference to seeds and fruits. "The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant." As in the gathering of the waters, there was a symbol of the many forms of intelligent beings, and in the germination of the earth, a symbol of the multiplicity of sacramental images, so also in the seeds is shown a kind of infinity in the heavenly theories that are pointed to by these same seeds. For the principal intelligences and figures exist in certain determined numbers, while the theories are almost infinite. For as the reflection of light-rays and images from a mirror comes about in almost infinite ways, so it is from the mirror of Scriptures. Who can know how many are the intermediate angles between the right and the obtuse, between the obtuse and the acute? Hence, as in the seeds there is multiplication to infinity, so also are the theories multiplied. Wherefore in Daniel: "Many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold," for one man and another look differently into the mirror.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

• Genesis 1:14

  Since adornment corresponds to distinction, therefore it likewise had to be completed in three days. There is the adornment of luminous nature, and this was accomplished on the fourth day in the formation of the stars, the sun, and the moon.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:14

  The heavenly bodies influence terrestrial and elemental things as regards the distinctive signification of times, namely of days, months, and years. For thus Scripture says that they are for signs and times and days and years. They also influence as regards the effective production of things generable and corruptible, namely minerals, plants, sensible creatures, and human bodies. Yet they are signs of times and the governance of operations in such a way that they are not certain signs of future contingent events, nor do they influence free will through the force of constellations, which certain philosophers called fate. The heavenly bodies through light and motion serve for the distinctions of times, namely of the day, according to the light of the sun and the motion of the firmament; of the month, according to the motion of the moon in its oblique circle; of the year, according to the motion of the sun in the same circle; and of the seasons, according to the varied motion, distance and conjunction, ascent and descent, retrogradation and station of the planets, from which arises diversity in the seasons.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 4

• Genesis 1:14

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Just or right election is required, so that all our works may be done in an orderly manner, according as they ought: and this is indicated in the fourth work, when he says: Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven, that is, let our works be ordered.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:14

  The fourth age, in which the kingdom and the priesthood flourished, because King David expanded the divine worship, corresponds to the fourth day, on which the formation of the luminaries and stars was made. The fourth age is called youth, because, just as in youth the age of man flourishes, so in the fourth age the synagogue flourished under kings.

  Breviloquium, Prologue

• Genesis 1:14

  The fourth vision is understood of the fourth day, when it was said, "Let there be lights," that is, the sun, moon and stars. A man who does not have contemplation cannot yet enjoy the adornment of sun, moon and stars. Contemplation of the super-heavenly hierarchy is represented by the sun, contemplation of the sub-heavenly hierarchy, by the moon, and contemplation of the heavenly hierarchy, by the stars.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:16

  GOD made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the smaller one to rule the night, and He made the stars. It has been explained how the soul is hierarchized in relation to the light of the Sun, in that this Sun is alive, shining, and warm. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the origin of all illuminations or irradiations by reason of excellence, influence, and pre-eminence; and in that the soul is assimilated to the Sun through conformity and by reason of the fullness of the hierarchical disposition, and because of a threefold aspect. And there are three considerations. It is hierarchized also in relation to the Church Militant, in which there is a distinction by reason of processes, of ascents, and of practices, for this is how the Church is seen, and in no other way: in it, there is one head, one body, and one food. Paul speaks much of this, for he was well versed in this consideration. Likewise, the Psalter speaks much of it. And sometimes it speaks in the name of such a person [the Church], and at other times, in the name of another. Hence in the Psalm: "The Lord is King, in splendor robed," it refers to the Church's head and to its four orders. After that, it was explained how the soul is hierarchized in the contemplation of itself according to ascent, descent and renewed ascent. And when the soul has achieved this, some marvelous theories are in existence in it and produce in it. For it has twelve series of nine: three exemplars in the sun, three exemplated in the heavenly hierarchy, three in the sub-heavenly, and three in itself. These are twelve illustrations to which are added twelve considerations, like twelve stars, that is, the bodily natures, etc., so that the soul is in the light at all times, for it cannot remain [statically] in any one, and in the final one, there is repose, that is, in the exemplary reason in the fatherland. These things do not occur simultaneously on the way, but in the fatherland, all things will be seen together at a single glance. But all twelve of these considerations are free, and they have an infinite number of branches, out of which an immense book could be made.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

• Genesis 1:16

  The fourth allegory, concerning Sacred Scripture, is shown in Genesis: "God made the two great lights, the smaller light to rule the night," that is, the Old Testament, "and the greater one to rule the day," that is, the New Testament. As the moon receives its light from the sun, so does the Old Testament from the New. And so when the sun stands in the east, and the moon on the opposite side in the west — "Stand still, O sun, at Gabaon, O moon, in the valley of Aialon!" said Josue — then is the Old Testament lighted up: it cannot shine, except by means of the New.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

• Genesis 1:16

  So let us say of Christ that He is the Tree of Life in the midst of Paradise, who is symbolized in four instances found in the first mystery, beginning with the words: "In the beginning God created," to the words: "The earth was corrupt." He is symbolized by the greater light, the Tree of Life, Adam's marriage, and most of all, the murder of Abel; for Christ was killed by His brothers.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Genesis 1:16

  GOD made the two great lights, etc. It has been said that contemplation consists in the delicious consideration of the heavenly Monarchy, the delicious consideration of the Church Militant, and the delicious consideration of the hierarchized human mind, or of [that mind] ordained in a hierarchical manner. The first is understood through the sun, the second through the moon, and the third through the stars. We should speak first of the sun. The Eternal Sun, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is alive, resplendent and warming. The Father is supremely alive, the Son supremely resplendent, and the Holy Spirit supremely warming. The Father is the most lively light, the Son the most beautiful and bright splendor, the Holy Spirit the most ardent heat. As the real sun imparts life, light, and heat to all things, so do these three. Liveliness, splendor, and heat are one sun, and yet they have distinction although they are not three suns. Likewise, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God. And as liveliness is resplendent and warming, and splendor is quickening and warming, and heat is quickening and resplendent in this visible sun: so also the Father is in Himself and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit; and the Son is in the Father and in Himself and in the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is in the Father and in the Son and in Himself, by reason of circumincession which is characterized by identity with distinction. In this consideration, there is a certain reason of divine exemplarity in relation to all enlightenments. But a certain enlightenment pertains to the Father, as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Son, and yet another as He exists in the Holy Spirit. And there is another [enlightenment] that pertains to the Son as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Father, and yet another as He exists in the Holy Spirit. And [there is another enlightenment that pertains] to the Holy Spirit as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Father, and yet another as He exists in the Son. And it is proper to enlightenments to correspond to this ninefold series. These enlightenments consist in considering the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as they are in Themselves, and [as such] they are three in number. Other enlightenments [consist in considering] them as related to each other, and they are six in number. And so there are nine. And because of this number six, six times the Lord said "Let there be," and so it was, in the work of the six days.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

• Genesis 1:20

  The fifth vision, which comes about through understanding enlightened by prophecy, is still higher than the preceding ones, in that contingent things are seen infallibly, which comes about through a certain kind of sight looking into the Eternal Mirror. The contingent is changing and varied: if then a prophet sees with infallibility and certainty, everything he sees must be considered within infallible Truth. This vision is understood to refer to the fifth day when the fishes of the waters were made together with the birds, for the soul is carried up to God on the breeze by means of pinions and a great number of feathers.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:20

  There is the adornment of transparent nature, and this was accomplished on the fifth day, on which fish and birds were made from the waters for the adornment of water and air.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:20

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Vigorous prosecution is required, which is signified in the fifth work, when God brought forth living soul in the waters, as swimming creatures, and in the air flying creatures.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

• Genesis 1:20

  The fifth age, in which those in exile lived among many peoples and were afflicted, corresponds to the fifth day, on which the formation of fish from the waters was made. The fifth age is called old age, because just as in old age strength diminishes and beauty fades, so also in the exile it happened concerning the priesthood of the Jews.

  Breviloquium, Prologue

• Genesis 1:24

  There is the adornment of opaque nature, namely the earth, and this was accomplished on the sixth day, on which beasts were made, and creeping things were made, and also for the consummation of all things human nature was made.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

• Genesis 1:26

  Genesis 1: Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, etc.; on which words Augustine says in the nineteenth book of the City of God: "God did not will that rational man, made in the image of God, should have dominion except over irrational creatures"; but it belongs to the dictate of nature that man should preserve the divine institution: therefore it accords with natural right that man should not command man, nor that one should be subject to another by obeying. To which it must be said that in those words Augustine does not intend to exclude subjection and obedience, but coerced servitude, which indeed neither existed nor ought to have existed except through the intervention of the guilt of sin as a disease contrary to nature itself.

  Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

• Genesis 1:26

  In the New Testament, after the universal scripture and the course of time, Christ was formed, as was man on the sixth day, that He may "have dominion over the fish of the sea," and "the birds of the air." As the Psalm says, "what is man that You should be mindful of him, or the son of man that You should care for him? You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea," etc. And in order that it be understood of Christ, the Apostle says: "You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor." And there follows: "But we do see Him who was made 'a little lower than the angels,' namely, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death." Man was created out of a virgin soil that had never received blood, which signifies Christ born of the Virgin; and as Eve was formed out of Adam's side, so also the Church, out of the side of Christ. But since Christ never sinned, how can Adam's transgression correspond to Him? There must be transference from the head to the body.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

• Genesis 1:26

  To this vision of rapture corresponds the work of the sixth day: "God said, 'Let us make mankind in Our image and likeness,'" for it is of such great worth that it must "have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every creature that crawls on earth." The higher a man is lifted up, the humbler he is, as is the case with Paul, who lowered himself through humility when it came to determining the nature of the union.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Genesis 1:27

  Conjugal chastity is consonant with the law of nature by reason of created nature itself. It accords with the law of nature by reason of created nature, which was formed in the distinction of the sexes, according to that passage of Genesis 1: God created man in His image and likeness; male and female He created them. From this the union of man and woman is natural; and all of this belongs to it according to the state of the law of nature, from which the act and exercise of conjugal chastity itself first draws its origin.

  Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

• Genesis 1:27

  In this consideration, moreover, lies the perfection of the mind's illumination, when, as on the sixth day, it sees man made in the image of God. For if an image is an expressive likeness, when our mind contemplates in Christ the Son of God, who is the image of the invisible God by nature, our humanity so wonderfully exalted, so ineffably united, seeing at once in one the first and the last, the highest and the lowest, the circumference and the center, the Alpha and the Omega, the caused and the cause, the Creator and the creature, the book, that is, written within and without: it has now arrived at a certain perfect reality, so that with God it may reach the perfection of its illuminations in the sixth stage, as on the sixth day; nor does anything further remain except the day of rest, in which through the ecstasy of the mind the keenness of the human mind may rest from every work which it had accomplished.

  Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

• Genesis 1:27

  In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Charitable formation is required, so that the works may be complete, clothed over with all circumstances, according to what the law of divine charity demands. For charity is the perfective form of all things; and he who has charity has all these six. The sixth work of virtue, therefore, is the formation of charity: which is signified when it says: God made man in his image and likeness.

  Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4