yet such as could see it. And Thou didst beat back the weakness of my sight, streaming forth Thy beams of light upon me most strongly, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far off from Thee, in the region of unlikeness, as if I heard this Thy voice from on high: "I am the food of them that be full grown; grow, and thou shalt feed upon Me; nor shalt thou transmute Me into thee, as thou dost the food of thy flesh, but thou shalt be transmuted into Me." And I learned, that "Thou for iniquity didst chasten man, and Thou didst make my soul to consume away like a spider" (Ps. xxxix. 11, Vulg.). And I said, "Is Truth therefore nothing because it is not diffused through space finite or infinite?" And Thou criedst to me from afar; "Yea verily, I AM that I AM (Ex. iii. 14). And I heard, as the heart heareth, nor had I room to doubt, and I should sooner doubt that I live, than that Truth is not, "which is clearly seen being understood by those things which are made” (Rom. i. 20).

CHAPTER XI.

That creatures are subject to change; and God alone unchangeable.

ΑΝ

ND I beheld the other things below Thee, and I perceived, that they are neither absolutely existent, nor absolutely non-existent. For they are, since they_are from Thee, but are not, because they are not, what Thou art. For that truly is, which remains unchangeably. "It is good then for me to hold me fast by God" (Ps. lxxiii. 28); for if I remain not in Him, I cannot in myself; but "He remaining in Himself, maketh all things new" (Wisd. vii. 27). "And Thou art the Lord my God, since my goods are nothing unto Thee" (Ps. xvi. 2).

CHAPTER XII.

Whatsoever things the most good God hath made, are truly good.

AN

ND it was manifested unto me, that those things be good, which yet are corrupted; which neither if they were supremely good, nor unless they were good, could be

corrupted for had they been supremely good, they would have been incorruptible, but if they were not good at all, there would be nothing in them which could be corrupted. For corruption injures, but unless it diminished goodness, it could not injure. Either then corruption injures not, which cannot be; or which is most certain, all which is corrupted is deprived of good. But if they be deprived of all good, they will altogether cease to be. For if they shall continue to be, but can no longer suffer corruption, they shall be better than before, because they shall abide incorruptibly. And what could be more monstrous, than to affirm that things become better by the loss of all their good? Therefore, if they shall be deprived of all good, they will entirely cease to be. So long therefore as they are, they are good: therefore whatsoever is, is good. That evil then which I sought, whence it is, is not any substance: for were it a substance, it should be good. For either it should be an incorruptible substance, and so a chief good: or a corruptible substance; which unless it were good, could not be corrupted. I perceived therefore, and it was manifested to me, that Thou madest all things good, nor is there any substance at all, which Thou madèst not; and for that Thou madest not all things equal, therefore are all things; because each is good, and altogether very good, because our God "made all things very good" (Gen. i.)

CHAPTER XIII.

Whatsoever is in heaven and earth, being made good, ought to praise God.

AND to Thee there is nothing at all evil; and not only

to Thee, but also to Thy creation as a whole, because there is nothing without, which may break in, and corrupt that order which Thou hast appointed to it. But in the parts thereof some things, because they harmonise not with some others, are accounted evil whereas those very things harmonise with others, and are good; and in themselves are: good. And all these things which harmonise not together, yet do harmonise with the inferior part, which we call Earth, having its own cloudy and windy sky harmonious. with itselt. Far be it then that I should say, "These things.

should not be :" for should I see nought but these, I should indeed long for the better; but still must even for these alone praise Thee; for these do show that "Thou art to be praised, from the earth, dragons, and all deeps, fire, hail, snow, ice, and stormy wind, which fulfil Thy word; mountains, and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars; beasts, and all cattle, creeping things, and feathered fowls; kings of the earth, and all people, princes, and all judges of the earth; young men and maidens, old men and children, praise Thy Name." But when, from heaven, these "praise Thee, praise Thee, our God, in the heights, all Thy angels, all Thy hosts, sun and moon, all the stars and light, the Heaven of heavens, and the waters that be above the heavens, praise Thy Name" (Ps. cxlviii. 1-12); I did not now long for things better, because I conceived of all; and with a sounder judgment I apprehended that the things above were better than these below, but all together better than those above alone.

CHAPTER XIV.

They only invent the figment of two primary substances, whom some creature displeaseth.

THER

'HERE is no health in them, whom aught of Thy creation displeaseth: as neither in me, when much which Thou hast made, displeased me. And because my soul durst not be displeased at my God, it would fain deny that aught was Thine which displeased it. Hence it had travelled into a notion of two substances, and found no rest, but talked idly. And returning thence, it had made to itself a God, through infinite measures of all space; and thought it to be Thee, and placed it in its heart; and had again become the temple of its own idol, hateful to Thee. But after Thou hadst soothed my head, unknown to me, and closed "mine eyes that they should not behold vanity (Ps. cxix. 37), I ceased somewhat of my former self, and my madness was lulled to sleep; and I awoke in Thee, and saw Thee infinite, but in another way, and this sight was not derived from the flesh.

CHAPTER XV.

Whatsoever things exist owe their being to God.

AND I looked back on other things; and I saw that

they owed their being to Thee, and were all bounded in Thee: but in a different way; not as being in space; but because Thou art in truth He that holdeth all things in the hand; and all things are true in so far as they have being; nor is there any falsehood, unless when that is thought to be, which is not. And I saw that all things did harmonize, not with their places only, but with their seasons. And that Thou, who only art Eternal, didst not begin to work after innumerable spaces of times; for that all spaces of times, both which have passed, and which shall pass, neither go nor come, but through Thee, working and abiding.

CHAPTER XVI.

Evil originates not from some substance, but from perverseness of will.

AND I perceived and found it nothing strange, that

bread which is pleasant to the healthy, to the unhealthy palate is nauseous; and to eyes diseased the light is hateful, which to pure eyes is lovely. And Thy righteousness displeaseth the wicked; much more the viper and the worm, which Thou hast created good, correspond with the lower orders of Thy Creation, to which also correspond the wicked themselves; the more so the more unlike they are to Thee but they correspond to the higher orders also, in so far as they become liker Thee. And I enquired what iniquity was, and found it to be no substance, but the perversion of the will, turned aside from Thee, O God, the Supreme Substance, towards the lowest things, and casting away its bowels" (Ecclus. x. 9), and outwardly swollen.

CHAPTER XVII.

Above the changing mind, he finds the unchanging Author of Truth.

AND I was amazed that I now loved Thee, and no phantasm instead of Thee. And yet did I not persist to enjoy my God; but was borne up to Thee by Thy beauty, and soon borne down from Thee by mine own weight, and fell back, with groaning, upon those lower things: and this weight was carnal habit. Yet dwelt there with me a remembrance of Thee; nor did I any way doubt, that there was one to Whom I might cleave, but that I was not yet such as to cleave to Thee: for "the body which is corrupted, presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things" (Wisd. ix. 15). And most certain I was that Thy invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even Thy eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. i. 20). For examining, what caused me to admire the beauty of bodies celestial or terrestial; and what was of service to me in judging soundly on things changeable, and pronouncing, "This ought to be thus, this not; examining, I say, what was the cause of my so judging, seeing I did so judge, I had found the unchangeable and true Eternity of Truth, above my changeable mind. And thus by degrees, I passed from bodies to the soul, which perceives through the senses of the body; and thence to its inward faculty, to which the bodily senses communicate external things; and so far even beasts possess it; and thence further to the reasoning faculty, to which is referred for the exercise of judgment upon it, whatsoever is received from the bodily senses. And when this found itself in me also to be a changeable thing, it raised itself up to its own understanding, and diverted my thought from habit, withdrawing itself from those troops of contradictory phantasms; that so it might discover what that light was, by which it was bedewed, when, without any doubtfulness, it cried out, "That the unchangeable must be preferred to the changeable;" whence also it knew the unchangeable itself, without some knowledge of which, it could not with certainty have preferred it to the changeable. And thus with the flash of one trembling glance it arrived