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30. And as concerns the understanding of the following words, out
of all those truths he selected one to himself, who saith, "But the
earth was invisible and without form, and darkness was upon the deep,
" that is, "That corporeal thing, which God made, was as yet
the formless matter of corporeal things, without order without
light." He taketh another, who saith, "But the earth was
invisible and without form, and darkness was upon the deep, " that
is, "This whole, which is called heaven and earth, was as yet
formless and darksome matter, out of which the corporeal heaven and the
corporeal earth were to be made, with all things therein which are
known to our corporeal senses." He, another, who saith, "But the
earth was invisible and without form, and darkness was upon the
deep," that is, "This whole, which is called heaven and earth,
was as yet a formless and darksome matter, out of which were to be made
that intelligible heaven, which is otherwise called the heaven of
heavens, and the earth, namely, the whole corporeal nature, under
which name may also be comprised this corporeal heaven, that is,
from which every invisible and visible creature would be created."
He, another, who saith, "But the carth was invisible and without
form, and darkness was upon the deep," "The Scripture called
not that formlessness by the name of heaven and earth, but that
formlessness itself," saith he, "already was, which he named the
earth invisible and formless and the darksome deep, of which he had
said before, that God had made the heaven and the earth, namely, the
spiritual and corporeal creature." He, another, who saith, "But
the earth was invisible and formless, and darkness was upon the
deep,' 'that is, "There was already a formless matter, whereof
the Scripture before said, that God had made heaven and earth,
namely, the entire corporeal mass of the world, divided into two very
great parts, the superior and the inferior, with all those familiar
and known creatures which are in them."
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