^38:13 Have you held and shaken the ends of the earth, and have you shaken the impious out of it?
^38:14 The seal will be restored like clay, and it will stand like a garment.
^38:15 Their light will be taken away from the impious, and the exalted arm will be broken.
^38:16 Have you entered the depths of the sea, and have you walked in the uttermost parts of the abyss?
^38:17 Have the gates of death been opened to you, and have you seen the dark doors?
^38:18 Have you considered the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all things,
^38:19 in what way light dwells, and what is the place of darkness,
^38:20 so that you may lead each one to its boundaries and understand the paths of its house.
^38:21 Did you know then that you were to be born, and did you know the number of your days?
^38:22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow, or have you looked upon the storehouses of hail,
^38:23 which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of battle and war?
^38:24 By what way is light scattered, and heat divided over the earth?
^38:25 Who gave a course to the most vehement rain, and a way to the sounding thunder,
^38:26 so that it might rain upon the earth without man, in the desert, where no mortal dwells,
^38:27 so that it might fill what is impassable and desolate and bring forth green herbs?
^38:28 Who is the father of rain, or who begot the drops of dew?
^38:29 From whose womb has ice come forth, and who begot the frost from heaven?
^38:30 The waters are hardened into the likeness of stone, and the surface of the abyss is bound together.
^38:31 Will you be able to join the shining stars, the Pleiades, or will you be able to scatter the circuit of Arcturus?
^38:32 Do you bring forth the Morning Star in its time, and do you make the Evening Star rise over the sons of the earth?
^38:33 Do you know the order of heaven, and will you set their reason upon the earth?
^38:34 Will you lift up your voice into the cloud, and will a rush of waters cover you?
^38:35 Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go, and, returning, say to you: Here we are?

500. Have you held and shaken, etc. After the Lord had enumerated the principal parts of bodily creation, namely, the earth, the sea, and heaven, here he begins to pursue the wonders of the divine works that appear in the disposition of the aforesaid three parts of the world. And he begins from the earth, in which there appears especially marvelous what happens concerning an earthquake; concerning this he speaks metaphorically, in the likeness of a man who holds some body and shakes it, whence he says: Have you held, that is, comprehended by your power, and shaken the ends of the earth? This should not be understood as though the whole earth is shaken at once in an earthquake, but because some extremities of the earth are shaken. But all things that happen in bodily creation redound to the usefulness of men; and earthquakes and other terrifying things of this kind are useful for this, that men, terrified, may desist from sins, whence he adds: and have you shaken the impious out of it? And he speaks in the likeness of a man who shakes a garment so as to shake dust or a moth out of it; so also God seems to shake the earth so as to shake sinners out of it, sometimes indeed by death, but sometimes by amendment of life.

501. Now in an earthquake it is usual for some things to be plainly opened up, such as walls or something of this kind, and with respect to this he adds: The seal will be restored like clay: for clay, when it is divided, is easily restored to the same disposition, and so also some seal, for example in a wall or in anything else of this kind, which seemed to have been changed by the opening of the wall, is sometimes restored by divine power to its former state. It also sometimes happens that towers and trees and other things of this kind are shaken by an earthquake and do not fall, and with respect to this he adds: and it will stand like a garment, which, namely, if it is shaken, does not lose its former integrity. But sometimes the contrary happens, that men die, either swallowed up by the earth or even crushed by walls falling through an earthquake, and with respect to this he adds: Their light will be taken away from the impious, namely, through death. It also sometimes happens that very strong fortifications and towers are cast down by an earthquake, and with respect to this he adds: and the exalted arm will be broken, that is, some very strong fortification, or some powerful friend in whom a man trusts as in his own arm.

502. Therefore, having set forth these things concerning the earthquake and its effects, he proceeds to the disposition of the middle element, namely, the sea, in which hidden and wonderful things appear to men: first indeed, those things that are in the depth of the sea, such as the dispositions of fish living in the sea, and with respect to this he says: Have you entered the depth of the sea, namely, so that you might know the animals that lie hidden in it? But another thing that appears hidden and wonderful in the sea is the disposition of the earth existing beneath the waters of the sea, and with respect to this he adds: and have you walked in the uttermost parts of the abyss, that is, in its lowest parts?

503. But after the disposition of the earth and the sea he proceeds to the disposition of heaven, under which the air also is contained, and he dwells on this more broadly because of the many wonderful things that appear in it. And first he begins from the disposition of light and darkness, which commonly concerns the whole upper body. Now it should be considered that the heavenly bodies act upon these lower things through their light, because light is, as it were, the active quality of the heavenly bodies, just as heat and cold are of the elements; and therefore he joins the effects of the heavenly bodies in these lower things with the consideration of light and darkness. But among the other effects of the heavenly bodies in these lower things, generation and corruption are the more common, and he begins from this, saying: Have the gates of death been opened to you? For death is the corruption of a living body, and so properly pertains to man, to whom the present speech is directed; but the gates of death are the causes of corruption with respect to the powers of the heavenly bodies, through which one first proceeds to such an effect. Now it is most difficult to know what is the period of life and permanence of each thing, and therefore the gates of death have not been opened to us, because in the heavenly bodies we cannot know the proper cause of the corruption of each thing.

But darkness belongs to death, both because through death man is deprived of bodily sight, whose knowledge is through light, and also because after death man goes into oblivion as into certain darknesses; and therefore he adds: and have you seen the dark doors? Thus it may be understood that he calls the same things dark doors because of the property of death that he had before called the gates of death; or what he says, dark doors, can be referred to another effect of the heavenly bodies, which is the darkening of the air, so that what he said about the gates of death is referred only to living bodies, but what he said about dark doors to transparent bodies.

504. But he adds concerning the diversity of heat and cold around the earth, saying: Have you considered the breadth of the earth? Here it should be considered that, according to the astrologers, the length of the earth is considered according to the progress from east to west, but its breadth is considered from south to north, because in any given thing the greater dimension is called length, while the lesser dimension is called breadth. Now it has been proved by experience that the dimension of the earth inhabited by us is greater from east to west than from south to north; hence the breadth of the earth is taken according to the progress from south to north, and in this progress there is a diversity of heat and cold, because the more one approaches the south in our habitable world, the warmer the place is, because of the nearness of the sun. Hence what is said about the breadth of the earth can be referred to the diversity of warm and cold places.

505. Therefore, having set forth these things that pertain to the effect of heavenly light in these lower realities, he makes mention of the light itself when he adds: Tell me, if you know all things, namely, so that you may be fit to dispute with God, who knows all things, in what path light dwells. Here it should be considered that light is found in the luminaries of the world, which for this reason are called luminaries, because they are vessels of light; but because a path is referred to motion, the question about the path in which light dwells is referred to the motion of the luminaries. Now it exceeds human knowledge how the luminaries are moved, which is shown from the diverse opinions of men concerning their motions, while some assert that they are moved by eccentrics and epicycles, but others by the motions of diverse spheres. And just as light is caused by the motion of the luminaries as they are moved in the upper hemisphere, so also darkness proceeds from their motion as they are moved in the lower hemisphere, which also has the same difficulty, whence he adds: and what is the place of darkness. But the motion of any body cannot be measured perfectly unless the path by which it travels is known,

because magnitude is measured by motion and motion by magnitude, as the Philosopher says in the fourth book of the Physics; and therefore, because the path of the motion of the luminaries cannot be known with certainty by man, it follows that neither can the measure of their motions be known perfectly, whence he adds: so that you may lead each one, namely, light and darkness, to its boundaries, namely, by showing the reason for the appearance and concealment of each of the luminaries with respect to its beginning and end; and also with respect to the middle, to which pertains what he adds: and understand the paths of its house, namely, of light. For when it is moved at midday around the summit of heaven, then it travels, as it were, the paths of its house; but its boundaries are at its rising and setting.

506. But according to the motions of the heavenly bodies the durations of lower bodies are measured, and the times of generation and corruption, as Dionysius says in the fourth chapter of The Divine Names; and therefore, if those causes are unknown, it follows that these effects are unknown. And therefore he adds: Did you know then that you were to be born? As though saying: could you have foreknown, through consideration of the motion of heaven, the time of your birth? And you indeed could not do this, because before you were born you did not exist; but neither could any other man foreknow this because of the weakness of human knowledge: for God speaks to Job in the person of all men. And just as you could not foreknow the time of your birth, so you cannot foreknow the end of your life, whence he adds: and did you know the number of your days? As though saying: you cannot know this from the computation of the heavenly motions, whose certain measure you do not know.

507. But after proposing these things that pertain to the change of light and darkness, he proceeds to the diverse changes of the air, insofar as the air is varied by storm and serenity, and he begins from snow and hail, saying: Have you entered the storehouses of snow, or have you looked upon the storehouses of hail? He calls the storehouses of snow and hail the vapors lifted upward, from which snows and hailstones are generated; but because hailstones are of a grosser substance and are generated in a place nearer to us, when cold has been driven into the interior of the cloud by the surrounding heat, therefore with respect to hailstones he makes mention of sight, because they can be more subject to sight, but with respect to snow he speaks of entering, because, on account of their subtlety, they can be penetrated more. Now God sometimes uses things of this kind for the correction of men, as was had above in 36:31: through these he judges peoples; whence he adds: which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, that is, for the time when vengeance is to be taken upon enemies; against them God uses these as weapons of war, whence he adds: for the day of battle, that is, of actual conflict, and war, that is, of war in which preparation is made for battle.

508. But when the storm of snow and hail has ended, serenity follows, in which the brightness and heat of the air are prepared; whence he adds: By what way is light scattered, which pertains to brightness, and heat divided over the earth?, which pertains to heat. Here it should be considered that above, where he spoke of light with respect to the luminaries themselves in which it dwells, he made mention only of its path, because, namely, light accomplishes its path through the motion of the luminaries, whether there be storm or serenity; but brightness and heat from it do not reach us unless the storm ceases. Now the intensity of brightness is not sensibly diversified in different lands when the air has become serene, but the intensity of heat is sensibly diversified; and therefore he said that light is scattered as though poured out indifferently, but that heat is divided as though distributed in different ways according to the diversity of places.+

509. Consequently he proceeds to certain effects of the winds in the air, from which, when rain is driven, a shower is caused; whence he says: Who gave a course to the most vehement rain? For the vehemence of the course of rain comes from the strong impulse of the winds that divine power produces. Similarly, when clouds are driven by winds, the sound of thunder is caused, on account of which a sound of this kind is not heard in one place, but as of some body passing by; whence he adds: and a way to the sounding thunder? But he adds the reason why rains and clouds are driven by winds when he says: so that it might rain upon the earth without man, in the desert, which, namely, cannot be inhabited because of the dryness of the earth. But rainy vapors are lifted up especially from moist places; hence, if clouds and rains were not driven by winds, it would follow that it would never rain in dry places. Now it sometimes happens that certain places are watered by human industry, that is, when rains cease, but this cannot happen there, whence he adds: where no mortal dwells, and so provision cannot be made for that land by human industry. And on account of this God ordained that clouds and rains should be driven by winds, so that it would rain even in desert places; whence he adds: so that it might fill, namely, with rains, what is impassable, that is, the land through which man cannot even pass, and desolate, that is, destitute of human provision; and thus by divine provision alone bring forth green herbs, namely, for the adornment of the earth and for the pasture of wild animals, for which provision is also made by divine providence.

510. Consequently he makes mention of rains without wind when he says: Who is the father of rain?, that is, the efficient cause, not from necessity but from the order of providence, which befits a father; for by God the sun and the other heavenly bodies are moved, which are the proximate efficient cause of the generation of rains. But dew is generated from the same cause as rain, and differs only according to the abundance and scarcity of matter, whence he adds: or who begot the drops of dew? He expressly names drops to designate the smallness of the droplets. Now it should be considered that just as frozen rains are snows, so frozen dew is frost; whence he adds: From whose womb has ice come forth? Here it should be noted that the cause of ice is cold, which is a feminine quality, but the cause of rains and dew is heat, which dissolves and does not permit vapor to be frozen; but heat is a masculine quality, and therefore, with respect to the generation of rain and dew, he expressly used the name father,

but with respect to the generation of ice he used the name womb, which pertains to the mother. But from cold a twofold ice is caused: one indeed in the air, which pertains to frost falling from heaven, whence he adds: and who begot the frost from heaven? He still attributes this to a father, because so great a power of cold does not appear in frost as in the further ice; but the other is the ice that is generated in lower waters, in which the greater force of cold appears, whence he adds: The waters are hardened into the likeness of stone, namely, condensed into ice by vehement cold. And this sometimes proceeds to such a point that in the coldest lands even the seas are frozen, and this is what is added: and the surface of the abyss is bound together, namely, the water that is on its surface, condensed by cold; but the cold of the air cannot penetrate all the way to the depth of the sea.

511. Therefore, having recounted these things concerning the various changes of the air, he proceeds further to the unchangeable changes of the heavenly bodies,

concerning which, first in the fixed stars, the immobility of their configuration is considered, because each of them preserves its position so that one does not approach another more or less; and this appears especially in neighboring stars, which are never joined together, whence he adds: Will you be able to join the shining stars, the Pleiades? The Pleiades are said to be certain stars that shine in the head of Taurus, six of which appear very close together, while the seventh is more obscure.

Second, in the heavenly bodies there is considered the uniformity of the first motion, by which the whole heaven and all the stars in it are revolved once in a day and a night around the poles of the world. But this motion is perceived more sensibly from the stars near the northern pole, which are of perpetual appearance for us because of the elevation of the pole above our horizon. Among these stars the constellation of Arcturus is especially noted, which is the Great Bear, whose stars plainly appear to be moved uniformly in a circle around the pole of the world; and with respect to this he adds: or will you be able to scatter the circuit of Arcturus?, namely, so that it would not go around the pole?

Third, the motion of the planets appears admirable in the heavenly bodies; although it is entirely uniform, nevertheless a certain irregularity appears to sense, and this can especially be perceived in the star of Venus, which sometimes rises before the sun and is then called the Morning Star, but sometimes sets after the sun and is then called the Evening Star. Now it is manifest that stars which are always of slower motion than the sun begin first to appear in the morning before the rising of the sun, because the sun, by its proper motion by which it is moved from west to east, leaves them behind, as is clear in Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. But the moon, which has a swifter motion than the sun, always begins to appear in the evening, as though leaving the sun and preceding it toward the east. Venus, however, and Mercury sometimes begin to appear in the morning, and sometimes in the evening; but concerning Mercury this is not so manifest, because it is rarely seen and is of small size; in Venus, however, it is apparent to all. Hence it is manifest that at times it has a swifter motion than the sun, and at times a slower one. From this an irregularity in the motion of the planets plainly appears, and to designate this he adds: Do you bring forth the Morning Star, that is, Venus appearing in the morning, in its time, that is, at a determined time, because this diversity always happens with certainty; and the Evening Star, that is, the same Venus appearing in the evening, do you make rise over the sons of the earth? And it should be noted that by saying bring forth and make rise, the new appearance of the star is designated.

Fourth, in the heavenly bodies there seems admirable the order, position, and motion of them, whence he says: Do you know the order of heaven, which, namely, cannot be comprehended by man?

But the fifth admirable thing is the disposition of lower bodies according to higher ones, and with respect to this he adds: and will you set their reason upon the earth, namely, so that you may know the proper effects of the individual heavenly causes?

512. Now the aforesaid effects of divine power are indeed very great, yet in them the multitude of ordinary people does not apprehend the greatness of divine power as it does in thunder and lightning, and therefore he sets down these effects last. Hence with respect to thunder he says: Will you lift up your voice into the cloud? For thunder is generated in a cloud, and its sound seems like the voice of God. But after thunder, for the most part, great rains follow, because of the condensation of the clouds from the commotion of the winds from which thunder is caused, whence he adds: and will a rush of waters cover you? For the multitude of rain seems, as it were, to cover God, insofar as the heaven, which is called the seat of God, is hidden from us. Consequently he adds concerning lightning, saying: Will you send forth lightnings, that is, will their motion come about by your power? And will they go, as though, namely, they obey your command? But the motions of lightnings are accustomed to rebound from one place to another, and he designates this by adding: and, returning, will they say to you: Here we are, as though in their return they were prepared to obey the divine command again, so as to be sent to another place? But all these things are introduced to show that man cannot attain either to divine wisdom or to divine power.