Nilus of Ancyra→Gainas|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
The God-inspired Scripture knows how to personify even many inanimate things, as in this: "The sea said such and such, and the deep said: It is not in me." [Job 28:14]. And again: "The heavens declare the glory of God." [Psalm 19:1]. And the Lord commands the [...] to gorge themselves on flesh and blood; and the mountains and the hills [are bidden to answer] the words of him who inquires concerning the dancing; and "What ailed you, O sea, that you fled, and you, Jordan, that you were turned back?" [Psalm 114:5]. If, then, these things are so, why do you put before me what is said in the Proverbs, that "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works"? [Proverbs 8:22]. Solomon filled the composition of his own book with parables and dark sayings. One thing, therefore, is what is spoken parabolically and is veiled over and admits of many hidden meanings, and another thing is what is dogmatically declared plainly and uncovered, clearly and expressly. But you, having turned away from the luminous teaching of the Apostle, because the sight of your soul has been injured, give your attention to dark riddles. And what defense, then, could you have? I had indeed wished to resolve for you the proposition of the proverb, but since you have been stupefied by an irrational prejudice from the venom-spitting of the Arianists, I held back the movement of my pen, advising only this, if indeed you might even recover: that now at any rate you should be persuaded rather by the evangelists and apostles who proclaim, than by the Arians, who are more savage than venom-spitting serpents. Yet I am fully convinced that one who discourses into deadened ears will avail nothing.
The God-inspired Scripture knows how to personify even many inanimate things, as in this: "The sea said such and such, and the deep said: It is not in me." [Job 28:14]. And again: "The heavens declare the glory of God." [Psalm 19:1]. And the Lord commands the [...] to gorge themselves on flesh and blood; and the mountains and the hills [are bidden to answer] the words of him who inquires concerning the dancing; and "What ailed you, O sea, that you fled, and you, Jordan, that you were turned back?" [Psalm 114:5]. If, then, these things are so, why do you put before me what is said in the Proverbs, that "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works"? [Proverbs 8:22]. Solomon filled the composition of his own book with parables and dark sayings. One thing, therefore, is what is spoken parabolically and is veiled over and admits of many hidden meanings, and another thing is what is dogmatically declared plainly and uncovered, clearly and expressly. But you, having turned away from the luminous teaching of the Apostle, because the sight of your soul has been injured, give your attention to dark riddles. And what defense, then, could you have? I had indeed wished to resolve for you the proposition of the proverb, but since you have been stupefied by an irrational prejudice from the venom-spitting of the Arianists, I held back the movement of my pen, advising only this, if indeed you might even recover: that now at any rate you should be persuaded rather by the evangelists and apostles who proclaim, than by the Arians, who are more savage than venom-spitting serpents. Yet I am fully convinced that one who discourses into deadened ears will avail nothing.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.