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8. And since all who think about God think of Him as living, they
only can form any conception of Him that is not absurd and unworthy who
think of Him as life itself; and, whatever may be the bodily form
that has suggested itself to them, recognize that it is by life it
lives or does not live, and prefer what is living to what is dead; who
understand that the living bodily form itself, however it may outshine
all others in splendor, overtop them in size, and excel them in
beauty, is quite a distinct thing from the life by which it is
quickened; and who look upon the life as incomparably superior in
dignity and worth to the mass which is quickened and animated by it.
Then, when they go on to look into the nature of the life itself, if
they find it mere nutritive life, without sensibility, such as that of
plants, they consider it inferior to sentient life, such as that of
cattle; and above this, again, they place intelligent life, such as
that of men. And, perceiving that even this is subject to change,
they are compelled to place above it, again, that unchangeable life
which is not at one time foolish, at another time wise, but on the
contrary is wisdom itself. For a wise intelligence, that is, one
that has attained to wisdom, was, previous to its attaining wisdom,
unwise. But wisdom itself never was unwise, and never can become so.
And if men never caught sight of this wisdom, they could never with
entire confidence prefer a life which is unchangeably wise to one that
is subject to change. This will be evident, if we consider that the
very rule of truth by which they affirm the unchangeable life to be the
more excellent, is itself unchangeable: and they cannot find such a
rule, except by going beyond their own nature; for they find nothing
in themselves that is not subject to change.
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