Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 38

After the discussion about divine providence between Job and his friends, Eliud had taken it upon himself to resolve the matter, contradicting Job in some things and his friends in others. But because human wisdom is insufficient to understand the truth of divine providence, it was necessary for this dispute to be settled by divine authority.

Job had thought correctly about divine providence, but his manner of speaking had gone to excess, causing scandal in the hearts of the others who thought he was not showing due reverence to God. Therefore, the Lord, as the arbiter of the question, contradicts Job’s friends because they did not think correctly (Job 42:7), Job himself for his disordered way of speaking (Job 38:3 and following), and Eliud for his inadequate resolution of the question (Job 38:2).

So the text continues, The Lord answered Job, because this answer was primarily for his sake, even though he had not been the one speaking immediately before. The text then shows the manner of the response, saying, out of the whirlwind. This can be understood literally to mean that God’s voice was formed miraculously in the air by a disturbance, as happened on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18), or like the voice that spoke to Christ, which some said was like a clap of thunder, as we read in John 12:29.

Alternatively, this can be understood metaphorically, so that the Lord’s answer is an interior inspiration divinely given to Job. In this case, the Lord is said to have answered him out of the whirlwind, both because of the turmoil Job still suffered and because of the darkness that accompanies a whirlwind. For in this life, we cannot perceive divine inspiration clearly, but only through the obscurity of sensible likenesses, as Dionysius says in chapter one of The Heavenly Hierarchy. The Lord would have indicated this even if He had made His voice audibly heard from a physical whirlwind.

Once a dispute has been settled by the judge’s opinion, nothing more remains to be said unless that settlement is rejected. So, the Lord first rejects the resolution that Eliud had made. He rejects it because Eliud had wrapped the true opinions he proposed in many false and frivolous words. Thus the text continues, He said: Who is that man who envelops his opinions with inept arguments? In his arguments, Eliud had accused Job of saying he wanted to dispute with God and had asserted his own justice so vigorously that he seemed to detract from the justice of the divine judgment. But Eliud enveloped these opinions with many presumptuous and even false statements, as should be clear by now. These are called “inept arguments” here because every lack of order proceeds from a defect of reason.

After rejecting Eliud’s resolution, the Lord Himself begins to settle the question. First, He gets Job’s attention, saying, Gird up your loins like a man, which is used here as a metaphor. Men usually gird up their loins to prepare for a journey or some work. The Lord, therefore, wanted Job to be ready to consider what He said to him by removing every impediment.

He tells him to gird up his loins because, metaphorically, the loins signify carnal desires, which especially block spiritual attention. As Isaiah says, To whom will he teach knowledge, and whom will he make understand what has been heard? Those who have been weaned from milk, those taken from the breast (Isaiah 28:9).

The Lord begins His resolution by accusing Job of having spoken presumptuously when he provoked God to a discussion. Since Job seems to have given God two options when he said, Call me and I will answer you, or let me speak and you answer me (Job 13:22), and since Job had already said enough, the Lord, as if choosing the second alternative, says, let me speak and you answer me.

God certainly does not question in order to learn, but to convince man of his own ignorance. He questions Job about His works, which are accessible to human senses. When a man is shown to be ignorant of these things, he is even more convinced that he lacks knowledge of higher realities. Among other tangible works, He begins by asking about the principal parts of the world, starting with the earth, which is most known to us because it is most immediate to our experience. He asks, Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

He rightly compares the earth to a foundation because, just as a foundation is the lowest part of a building, so the earth is the lowest of bodies and lies under everything. Since the earth is the principal matter of the human body, and matter precedes in time that which is made from it, the plan of the artisan who assembles the matter precedes it even more. Thus, He clearly says, Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? as if to say: You cannot know the plan for the earth’s foundation, because when the earth was founded, you did not yet exist.

Some of the ancients did not attribute the position of the earth and the other elements to an ordering plan, but to material necessity, according to which heavy elements sank below light ones. To disprove this opinion, the Lord compares the foundation of the earth to that of a building, which is constructed according to the architect’s plans. In the same way, the earth’s foundation was made according to divine providence, which human intelligence cannot fully comprehend. He makes this clear when He says, Tell me, if you have understanding, as if to say: You cannot explain the reason for these things because your intelligence is not capable of grasping them. An artisan considers four things when laying a building’s foundation.

1. He determines how large the foundation should be. In the same way, divine reason has determined how great a quantity the earth should have, and not larger or smaller. He expresses this by saying, Who determined its measurements? He says “determined” because the earth’s shape does not require a certain quantity by necessity; rather, this quantity was imposed on the earth by divine reason, which man cannot know. So He says, if you know it, since man cannot know or tell this.
2. He determines the site of the foundation, which he marks out by extending a measuring line. Thus, He says, or who stretched the measuring line upon the earth? This refers to the plan of divine government that determined the place for the earth within the universe.
3. After determining the size and location, he determines on what the foundation can be solidly laid. Regarding this, He asks, On what were its bases sunk, for it was founded on the center of the world.
4. After considering these three things, the artisan begins to lay the stones in the foundation, starting with the cornerstone to which the different walls are aligned. Regarding this, He asks, or who has laid the cornerstone, by which the very center of the earth is determined, according to which the different parts of the earth are aligned.

A man usually lays a building’s foundation because he needs a place to live. But to show that God did not lay the foundation of the earth out of need, He adds, when each of the morning stars praised me, as if to say: Although heaven, whose stars praise Me, is My dwelling, I still founded the earth—not because I need the servants who live there, but from My will alone.

He does not say this as though heaven were made before the earth, especially since we read in Genesis, In the beginning God created heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1), and the text says the stars mentioned here were created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14). Instead, this is said to show that in the order of nature, heaven and the stars are prior to the earth, as the incorruptible is to the corruptible and the mover is to the moved.

He says the “morning stars,” meaning newly created ones, just as we call the stars that appear at the beginning of the day morning stars. The fact that the morning stars are said to praise God can be understood in one way materially, since by their brightness and nobility they were the substance of divine praise—if not for men, who did not yet exist, then at least for the angels who did. Alternatively, according to those who say the heavenly bodies have souls, the stars praised God at the beginning of their creation, not with vocal but with mental praise. This can also refer to the angels whose ministry is to move the heavenly bodies, as the text continues, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. This refers to the angels of the highest hierarchy, whom Dionysius says are located in the entrance court of God. Therefore, He attributes praise to the former stars as to the lower angels, but He attributes shouting for joy to the latter as to the higher angels, because this connotes a kind of excellence in praise.

After discussing the earth’s foundation, He continues by speaking about the waters, which are placed immediately over the land. The natural order of the elements requires that water surround the earth at every point, just as air surrounds both earth and water. But by divine disposition, for the sake of generating humans, animals, and plants, some part of the land remains uncovered by the waters. God holds back the sea within certain limits by His power, and so He asks, Who shut up the sea with doors?

Some have thought that the sun’s action dried up part of the earth, but the Lord shows that it was arranged from the beginning that the sea would not cover the land everywhere. He describes the sea’s creation using the analogy of the birth of a living child, because water is especially suited to be changed into living things, which is why the seed of all things is moist. First, a child comes forth from its mother’s womb, which He refers to when He says, when it burst forth as though proceeding from the womb. He uses the word “burst forth” because it is a property of water to be in near-constant motion. He says the sea proceeds from the womb, not because it originated from other physical matter, but because it proceeded from the hidden origin of divine providence as from a womb. Second, a newborn child is dressed, and He expresses this by saying, when he laid out the clouds as its clothing. Since clouds are born from vapors released from water, they are much more numerous in maritime places. Third, a newborn child is wrapped in swaddling clothes, which He expresses by saying, and I wrapped it in fog like the swaddling clothes of an infant. The fog here does not mean water vapors raised or condensed into clouds, but the darkening of the air on the sea’s surface. Perhaps He alludes to what Genesis says: and darkness covered the face of the abyss (Genesis 1:2).

After presenting these things that express the primordial creation of the sea, He explains His conclusion, as if to say: When the sea was newly made, then, I surrounded it with my limits. He presents three things that pertain to the sea’s boundary. The first is shown when He says, within my limits, that is, those placed by Me. The second is when He says, I placed the bar, and the third when He says, and doors. These three things relate to the rule of divine power, and so He explains them this way: and I said: Thus far shall you come, which pertains to the nature of a boundary as the farthest extent of motion; and you will proceed no further, which pertains to the bar by which progress is blocked; and here shall your proud waves break. This pertains to the gates, which are placed not to allow random entrance or exit, but only according to a determined measure. Thus, the sea does not change its shore randomly, but according to the determined measure of the ebb and flow of its waves.

After the land and the water, He proceeds to the air, which, in appearance, is joined to heaven. The first condition common to the whole body that stretches over the waters and the land is the variation of night and day, which happens from the daily motion that is the first of all movements. Therefore, He asks, After your rising did you command the dawn? as if to say: Do day and night succeed each other on this earth by your command? For the dawn is a kind of boundary between day and night. He says, After your rising, just as when He spoke about the earth He had asked, Where were you? (Job 38:4).

For just as the earth is the first material principle of man, so the highest heaven, which varies night and day by its motion, is the first principle of the human body among physical causes. The clarity of daybreak is diversified according to the varying intensity of the signs that accompany the sun; when there are signs of a quick rising, the dawn lasts only a short time, but when the sun shows signs of a delayed rising, it endures longer. A measure of place is determined from which the brightness of daybreak begins to appear as the sun rises there. Expressing this, He then asks, and have you shown the dawn its place? as if to say: Have you ordered the places in the heavens from which the dawn will give its light? The implied answer is no. From all these things, you can understand that your reason falls short of comprehending divine things, and so it is clear that you are not suited to dispute with God.

After the Lord has listed the principal parts of physical creation—that is, earth, sea, and sky—He begins here with the wonders of divine works that appear in the ordering of these three parts of the world. He starts with the earth, where the events of an earthquake seem especially marvelous. He speaks of this metaphorically, using the image of a man who takes an object and shakes it. So He says, “Have you taken hold... and shaken out the ends of the earth?” This should not be interpreted to mean that the whole earth is shaken at once, but that some of its extremities are shaken.

Everything that happens in physical creation contributes to humanity’s benefit. Earthquakes and other such terrifying events are useful in that people, being terrified, may turn from their sins. And so He says, “and have you shaken wicked men out of it?” He uses the comparison of a person shaking a garment to remove dust or a moth. In the same way, God seems to shake the earth to shake sinners out of it—sometimes by death, and sometimes by a changed life.

In an earthquake, some things are usually uncovered, such as walls and similar structures, and He expresses this by saying, “The seal will be opened like clay.” For when clay is divided, it easily returns to its former condition. Likewise, a seal—for example, on a wall or something similar—that has been disturbed by the wall’s opening is sometimes restored to its original place by divine power. Sometimes towers, trees, and other such things are shaken by an earthquake but do not fall, and regarding this He says, “and will stand like a garment,” which does not lose its original shape after being shaken out.

On the other hand, people sometimes die, either buried by the earth or crushed by walls falling in an earthquake, and so He says, “their light will be withheld from the wicked,” meaning by death. Sometimes fortifications and very strong towers are thrown down by an earthquake, and regarding this He says, “and their upraised arm,” is broken. This “arm” signifies a very strong fortification or some powerful friend in whom a person confides as in his own arm.

After these points about the earthquake and its effects, He proceeds to the arrangement of the middle element, the sea, where humanity believes marvelous things are hidden. First are the things in the depths of the sea, such as the habitats of the fish. Regarding this, He says, “Have you entered into the depths of the sea,” so that you know the animals hidden there? Another thing that seems hidden and marvelous in the sea is the layout of the ocean floor, and concerning this He says, “and have you walked in the valley of the deep,” that is, in the deepest part of the sea?

After discussing the arrangement of the land and sea, He proceeds to the arrangement of the heavens, which contain the air. He lingers on this topic because of the many wonders that appear there. First, He considers the ordering of light and darkness, which encompasses the whole of the higher realm. The heavenly bodies act upon lower bodies through their own light, because light is the active quality of the heavenly bodies, just as cold and heat are for the elements. Therefore, He connects the effects of the heavenly bodies on earthly things with the consideration of light and darkness.

Among the effects of the heavenly bodies on lower bodies, the most common are generation and corruption. He begins with this, saying, “Have the gates of death opened to you?” Death is the corruption of a living body, and so this question properly belongs to man, to whom this discourse is addressed. The “gates of death” are the causes of corruption, related to the powers of the heavenly bodies, which are the primary forces through which such an effect is produced. It is very difficult to know the lifespan and permanence of each thing. Thus, the gates of death are not open to us, because we cannot know, in the heavenly bodies, the specific cause of each thing’s corruption.

Darkness fittingly describes death, both because in death a person is deprived of physical sight (which experiences knowledge through light), and also because after death a person passes into oblivion as if into a kind of darkness. Therefore, He says, “and have you seen the dark gates?” This phrase, “the dark gates,” can be understood as referring to death, which He had just called “the gates of death.” Alternatively, “dark gates” could refer to another action of the heavenly bodies—the darkening of the atmosphere. In that case, what He said about the gates of death would refer only to living bodies, while what He said about the dark gates would refer to transparent bodies like the air.

He continues, discussing the diversity of heat and cold across the earth, saying, “Have you considered the expanse of the earth?” According to astronomers, the earth’s longitude runs from east to west, and its latitude from south to north. This is because in any object, the greater dimension is called its length and the lesser is called its breadth. We know by experience that the inhabited dimension of the earth is greater from east to west than from south to north. Thus, the latitude of the earth is measured from south to north, and in this progression one measures the difference in heat and cold. The nearer one approaches the south in our populated world, the hotter the place is, because of its nearness to the sun. Therefore, what is said about the latitude of the earth can be referred to the diversity of hot and cold places.

Having spoken about the action of heavenly light on lower bodies, He mentions the light itself, saying, “Tell me, if you know everything,”—so that you are fit to argue with God, who knows everything—“in which path does light dwell?” Light is found in the heavenly bodies, which are called luminaries because they are vessels of light. Since a “path” refers to motion, the question of the path where light dwells refers to the motion of the luminaries. Exactly how the luminaries move exceeds human knowledge, which is demonstrated by the different opinions people have about their motions. Some assert that they move by eccentric movement and epicycles, while others propose the motion of different spheres. Just as the movement of the luminaries causes light when they are in the upper hemisphere, so also darkness proceeds from their motion when they are in the lower hemisphere. This presents the same difficulty, and so He asks, “and where is the place of darkness.”

One cannot perfectly measure the motion of a body unless its path is known, since magnitude is measured by motion and motion by magnitude, as Aristotle says in Book IV of his Physics. Therefore, since the path of the luminaries’ motion cannot be known by humanity for certain, it follows that the measure of their motions cannot be perfectly known either. And so He says, “to lead each,”—that is, the light and the darkness—“to its limits,” by showing the reason for the appearance and disappearance of each luminary, from beginning to end and also at its midpoint. He speaks of this, saying, “and do you understand the path to its home,” referring to the light. For when the sun reaches its zenith at noon, it is, so to speak, walking the path to its home. Its two end points are its rising and its setting.

The duration of earthly bodies and the timing of their generation and corruption are measured by the motion of the heavenly bodies, as Dionysius says in Chapter 4 of The Divine Names. Therefore, when one is ignorant of these causes, one consequently does not know the effects. And so He asks, “Did you know when you were born then?” as if to say: Could you know the time of your birth in advance by observing the motion of the heavens? You could not know this, because before you were born, you did not exist. But no other person could know this in advance either, because of the weakness of human knowledge, for God speaks to Job as a representative of all humanity. Just as you could not know in advance the time of your birth, so also you cannot know in advance the end of your life. And so He says, “and do you know the number of your days?” as if to say: You cannot know this from calculating the heavenly motions, whose precise measure you do not know.

After considering the changing nature of light and darkness, He comes to the diverse changes in the air, which can vary between storm and calm. He begins with the snow and hail, saying, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you inspected the storehouses of the hail?” By “storehouses” of snow and hail, He means the water vapors that have risen up, from which snow and hail are generated. Because hail is a heavier substance and is formed in a place closer to us—when cold is driven to the interior of a cloud by surrounding heat—He speaks of “inspecting” it, since it is more visible. When He speaks of snow, He talks about “entering,” because one can penetrate snow more easily since it is light. God sometimes uses such things for the correction of humanity, as we have already seen: “He judges the peoples with these things” (Job 36:31). So He says, “These things which I have prepared for a time of the enemy,” that is, for a time when vengeance must be taken on enemies. God uses these things against them like weapons of war, and so He says, “in the day of battle,” meaning actual conflict, “and war,” meaning the time when one prepares for combat.

After a storm of snow and hail ends, a calm follows, bringing warm and clear air. And so He asks, “By what path does light scatter?” which expresses the clear air, “and heat is divided upon the earth,” which expresses warm weather. We should consider that when He previously spoke about light and the luminaries in which light dwells, He mentioned only their path, because light travels by the motion of the luminaries, whether in storm or calm. But clarity and warmth from the light only appear to us after the storm ceases. When the air is calm, there is no perceptible difference in the intensity of the clear air in various lands, but there is a perceptible difference in the intensity of heat. Therefore, He said that light is “scattered” as if diffused without distinction, but heat is “divided” as if distributed differently, as is fitting for different places.

Next, He proceeds to certain aspects of the winds, by which a rainstorm is caused when rain is driven forward. So He asks, “Who gave the course of the very violent rainstorm?” The violent course of a rainstorm is caused by the strong impulse of the winds, which divine power produces. Likewise, when clouds are set in motion by the winds, it causes thunderclaps. This is why thunder is not heard in only one place, like the sound of some passing object, and so He asks, “and the way of sound to thunder?”

He adds the reason why the winds move the rain and the clouds when He says it is “to rain on the land of an uninhabited desert,” which cannot be lived in because of the dryness of the earth. Rain-bearing vapors arise especially from humid places, so if the clouds and rains were not moved by the winds, it would never rain in dry places. While some places can be irrigated by human industry when the rains cease, this cannot happen in a land “where no mortal man lingers.” Human technology cannot provide water for that land. For this reason, God ordered that the clouds and rains be set in motion by the winds so that it might rain even in desert places. He says this is “to rain on... the steppes,” that is, land no one can cross, “and the desolate earth,” which is destitute of human care. Thus, by divine care alone, it is done “to produce green plants,” to beautify the earth and provide pasture for wild animals, which are also managed by divine providence.

Next, He discusses rain without wind, asking, “Who is the father... of the rain?” The “father” is the efficient cause, acting not from necessity but from the order of providence, which is fitting for a father. For God moves the sun and the other heavenly bodies, which are the proximate efficient causes for the generation of rain. Dew is generated from the same cause as rain, differing only in the amount of matter, and so He then asks, “or who generated the drops of the dew?” He specifically calls them “drops” to show their small quantity.

Just as rain, when frozen, is snow, so dew, when frozen, is frost. And so He asks, “From whose womb did the ice come forth?” Here one should note that cold is the cause of ice and is considered a feminine quality, whereas the cause of rain and dew is the heat that melts and prevents the vapor from freezing. Heat is a masculine quality, which is why He clearly used the name “father” for the generation of rain and dew, but the term “womb,” which pertains to a mother, for the generation of ice. Cold causes two kinds of ice. One is in the air, which is the frost falling from the sky, and so He asks, “and who has given birth to the hoarfrost falling from heaven?” He still attributes this act to a father, because the power of cold does not seem as great in frost as in more substantial ice. The other kind of ice is generated from the waters below, where the cold is more intense. And so He says, “The waters harden like a stone,” because the violent intensity of the cold hardens them into ice. This cold can be so great that in very cold climates even the seas freeze over. Expressing this, He says, “and the surface of the deep is frozen,” meaning the water on the surface is frozen by the cold, though cold air cannot penetrate to the depths of the sea.

Having explained the variable changes of the air, He proceeds to the immutable patterns of the heavenly bodies. First, He considers the fixed arrangement of the stars, as each maintains its place so that they do not draw too near or too far from one another. This phenomenon is especially apparent in the stars of the Pleiades, which never converge. And so He asks, “Will you be able to bind together the flickering stars of the Pleiades?” The Pleiades are the stars that shine in the head of Taurus, of which six appear very close, while the seventh is more faint.

Second, He considers the uniform primary motion of the heavenly bodies, by which the whole heaven and all the stars in it revolve once every day and night over the poles of the world. This motion is more easily perceived in the stars near the North Pole, which are perpetually visible to us because of the pole’s elevation above our horizon. Among these, the constellation of Arcturus, or the Great Bear, is especially noteworthy. The stars of this constellation clearly move in a uniform circle around the pole, and regarding this He asks, “or are you able to break up the circle of Arcturus,” so that it no longer encircles the pole?

Third, the motion of the planets among the heavenly bodies seems wonderful. Although their motion is completely uniform, our senses perceive some irregularity in it. This can be especially observed in the star Venus, which sometimes rises before the sun and is called Lucifer, the Morning Star, and at other times sets after the sun and is called the Evening Star. Stars that always move more slowly than the sun (such as Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars) first begin to appear in the morning before sunrise, because the sun, in its own proper motion from west to east, leaves them behind. The moon, which has a faster motion than the sun, always begins to appear in the evening, as if leaving the sun behind and preceding it toward the east. Venus and Mercury sometimes appear in the morning and sometimes in the evening. But since Mercury is small and rarely seen, its irregularity is less evident. Venus, however, is visible to everyone, and it clearly has a motion that is sometimes faster than the sun and sometimes slower. From this, the irregularity in the motion of the planets is evident. To show this, He asks, “Will you bring forth Lucifer,” that is, Venus appearing in the morning, “at its time,” meaning at a determined time, because this variation is always regular. “And the Evening Star,” that is, Venus appearing in the evening, “can you make it rise over the sons of the earth?” Note that in saying, “Will you bring forth,” and, “can you make it rise,” He means a new appearance of the star.

Fourth, the order, placement, and movement of the heavenly bodies seem wonderful, and so He asks, “Do you know the order of heaven?” which humanity cannot comprehend. Fifth, the arrangement of lower bodies in relation to the higher ones is wonderful, and expressing this He says, “and will you be able to establish their plan upon the earth” so that you know the specific effects of each one of the heavenly causes?

It is true that the effects of divine power just discussed are very great. Yet, for most ordinary people, this greatness is not as apparent in those things as it is in thunder and lightning, and so He places these effects last. Regarding thunder, He says, “Will you lift up your voice in the clouds?” For thunder is generated in the clouds, and its sound seems like the voice of God. Thunder is often followed by heavy rains due to the condensation of clouds from the violent movement of winds that cause the thunder. And so He says, “and will the rapid movement of the waters cover you?” Heavy rain seems to almost cover God because it hides heaven from us, which is called the throne of God .

Next, He speaks about the lightning, saying, “Will you send the lightning?”—that is, is its motion by your power? “And will it go forth,” as if obedient to your command? The movement of lightning often rebounds from one place to another, and He shows this by saying, “and upon its return will it say to you: Here we are?” as if on their return they indicate they are prepared to obey the divine command again and so go forth to another place. He relates all these things to show that humanity can attain neither divine wisdom nor divine power.

After the Lord has brought to mind the wonders of His works concerning the main parts of the world—the earth, the sea, and the heavens, and their ordering—He now continues by describing the wonders of His works seen especially in the different qualities of animals.

Among these qualities, knowledge is very remarkable. It is found more perfectly in man than in other animals, and so, beginning with man, He asks, “Who put wisdom in the inmost being of man?” The “inmost being of man” is understood as the deepest power of the soul itself—namely, the intellect and reason—upon which God has bestowed wisdom by giving the light of reason to humanity. For God has naturally infused the seeds of wisdom and knowledge into human reason through the knowledge of first principles.

In other animals, many signs of a kind of natural prudence appear. This is especially true in the rooster, a familiar and domestic animal, and so He asks, “and who gave understanding to the cock?” Here, “understanding” is taken to mean a kind of natural estimative power, according to which it acts like an intelligent being. In this way, the rooster seems to have a certain likeness to intelligence, because it breaks out in song at specific times as though it knew the patterns of the heavenly motions. Thus, the author asks who told the rooster about the reasoned order of the heavens—that is, the pattern of the heavenly motions—so that it could discern from this the proper times for crowing.

Watchmen typically announce the approach of day or other fixed hours of the night by singing or using instruments. But one cannot say that a sound is heard from heaven at one time and silence at another, allowing the rooster to discern when to crow. Expressing this, He asks, “and who will make the harmony of heaven sleep?” This is as if to say: The harmony of heaven is not silent like a sleeping watchman, so the rooster cannot be instructed to crow by hearing it or by its silence.

Consider that the Pythagoreans thought a harmony of sounds arose from the motion of the heavens because of the perfect proportion of the celestial movements. Since they proposed that celestial bodies had souls, such a harmony could be called the “harmony of heaven.” However, Aristotle proves in Book II of On the Heavens that no sound comes from the motion of the heavenly bodies. Therefore, we can understand this “harmony” metaphorically, as referring solely to the symmetry of the heavenly motions, which never cease. This inspired wisdom, intelligence, or even this “harmony of heaven” existed from the very foundation of the world. And so He says, “When the dust was settled on the earth,” which refers to the position of the earth, placed in the lowest part as on a foundation, “and its clods were held fast together,” which refers to the moisture that binds the parts of the earth, preventing the land from returning to dust because of dryness.

Next, He moves on to another quality of animals, which relates to acquiring food. There is something wonderful in this regard about the lioness. Since a lion requires a great deal of food, it seems marvelous how she can capture enough prey in one region to satisfy herself and her cubs. And so He asks, will you hunt the prey for the lioness and her cubs? That is, will you prepare such an abundance of prey for her that she has enough for herself and her young? And so He continues, “and will you satisfy the hunger of her cubs?” This might not seem very difficult when they roam through many different places. But it is difficult when they must stay in one place, either from the necessity of feeding their cubs—which He addresses by saying, “when they lie in their dens”—or because they are waiting in ambush to capture other animals, “and lie in wait in their lairs.”

There is also another wonderful thing observed in birds, as we see in the raven. As one expert says, the raven does not feed its chicks when they hatch until it sees their feathers turn dark, knowing by their feathers that they are its own. For seven days, it gives them no food, but they are sustained by a natural strength given to them by God. And so He asks, “Who prepares food for the raven when its young ones cry out to God, looking here and there because they have no food,” as though abandoned by their parents? This does not mean that the raven's chicks know God. Rather, it is said because all natural things, in their desire for the good, in some way intend to acquire something from God, who is the author of all good things.

Chapter 39