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Adversus Hermogenem

XXX.

[1] Sic et sequentia coniecturam Hermogenis instruere uidebuntur, Et tenebrae super abyssum et spiritus dei super aquas ferebatur, quasi et hae confusae substantiae massalis illius molis argumenta portendant. Atquin singillatim definiens tenebras abyssum spiritum dei aquas nihil confusum nec in confusione incertum aestimari facit tam diuisa relatio certorum et distinctorum elementorum. Hoc quidem amplius, cum situs proprios eis adscribit, tenebras super abyssum, spiritum super aquas, negauit confusionem substantiarum quarum demonstrando dispositionem demonstrauit etiam distinctionem. [2] Vanissimum denique ut materia, quae informis inducitur, de tot formarum uocabulis informis adseueretur non edito quid sit illud corpus confusionis, quod unicum utique credendum est, si informe est. [3] Uniforme etenim quod informe est, informe autem quod ex uarietate confusum est: unam habeat necesse est speciem quod non habet speciem, dum ex multis unam habet speciem. Ceterum aut habebat in se species istas materia de quarum uocabulis intellegenda[s] esse, tenebras dico et abyssum et spiritum et aquas, aut non habebat; si autem habebat, quomodo inducitur non habens formas? si non habebat, agnoscitur?

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Against Hermogenes

Chapter XXX.--Another Passage in the Sacred History of the Creation, Released from the Mishandling of Hermogenes.

The following words will in like manner apparently corroborate the conjecture of Hermogenes, "And darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water;" ¹ as if these blended ² substances, presented us with arguments for his massive pile of Matter. ³ Now, so discriminating an enumeration of certain and distinct elements (as we have in this passage), which severally designates "darkness," "the deep," "the Spirit of God," "the waters," forbids the inference that anything confused or (from such confusion) uncertain is meant. Still more, when He ascribed to them their own places, ⁴ "darkness on the face of the deep," "the Spirit upon the face of the waters," He repudiated all confusion in the substances; and by demonstrating their separate position, ⁵ He demonstrated also their distinction. Most absurd, indeed, would it be that Matter, which is introduced to our view as "without form," should have its "formless" condition maintained by so many words indicative of form, ⁶ without any intimation of what that confused body ⁷ is, which must of course be supposed to be unique, ⁸ since it is without form. ⁹ For that which is without form is uniform; but even ¹⁰ that which is without form, when it is blended together ¹¹ from various component parts, ¹² must necessarily have one outward appearance; ¹³ and it has not any appearance, until it has the one appearance (which comes) from many parts combined. ¹⁴ Now Matter either had those specific parts ¹⁵ within itself, from the words indicative of which it had to be understood--I mean "darkness," and "the deep," and "the Spirit," and "the waters"--or it had them not. If it had them, how is it introduced as being "without form?" ¹⁶ If it had them not, how does it become known? ¹⁷