Now all things were already arrived at their own end: "the heaven and the earth ," as Moses says, "were finished," and all things that lie between them, and the particular things were adorned with their appropriate beauty; the heaven with the rays of the stars, the sea and air with the living creatures that swim and fly, and the earth with all varieties of plants and animals, to all which, empowered by the Divine will, it gave birth together; the earth was full, too, of her produce, bringing forth fruits at the same time with flowers; the meadows were full of all that grows therein, and all the mountain ridges, and summits, and every hillside, and slope, and hollow, were crowned with young grass, and with the varied produce of the trees, just risen from the ground, yet shot up at once into their perfect beauty; and all the beasts that had come into life at God's command were rejoicing, we may suppose, and skipping about, running to and for in the thickets in herds according to their kind, while every sheltered and shady spot was ringing with the chants of the songbirds. And at sea, we may suppose, the sight to be seen was of the like kind, as it had just settled to quiet and calm in the gathering together of its depths, where havens and harbours spontaneously hollowed out on the coasts made the sea reconciled with the land; and the gentle motion of the waves vied in beauty with the meadows, rippling delicately with light and harmless breezes that skimmed the surface; and all the wealth of creation by land and sea was ready, and none was there to share it.

῎Ηδη τοίνυν τὰ πάντα πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον ἔφθασε τέλος. Συνετελέσθη γάρ͵ καθώς φησι Μωϋσῆς͵ ὅ τε οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ καὶ τὰ διὰ μέσου πάντα͵ καὶ τῷ καταλλήλῳ κάλλει τὰ καθέκαστον διεκοσμήθη· ὁ οὐρανὸς μὲν ταῖς τῶν φωστήρων αὐγαῖς͵ θάλαττα δὲ καὶ ἀὴρ τοῖς νηκτοῖς τε καὶ ἐναερίοις τῶν ζώων͵ γῆ δὲ ταῖς παντοίαις τῶν φυτῶν τε καὶ βοσκημάτων διαφοραῖς͵ ἅπερ ἀθρόως ἅπαντα θείῳ βουλήματι δυναμωθεῖσα κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἀπεκύησε. Καὶ πλήρης μὲν ἦν τῶν ὡραίων ἡ γῆ͵ ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἄνθεσι τοὺς καρποὺς ἐκβλαστήσασα· πλήρεις δὲ οἱ λειμῶνες τῶν ὅσα τοὺς λειμῶνας ἐπέρχεται. Πᾶσαί τε ῥαχίαι καὶ ἀκρώρειαι καὶ πᾶν ὅσον πλάγιόν τε καὶ ὕπτιον καὶ ὅσον ἐν κοίλοις τῇ νεοθαλεῖ πόᾳ καὶ τῇ ποικίλῃ τῶν δένδρων ὥρᾳ κατεστεφάνωτο͵ ἄρτι μὲν τῆς γῆς ἀνισχόντων͵ εὐθὺς δὲ πρὸς τὸ τέλειον κάλλος ἀναδραμόντων. Ἐγεγήθει δὲ πάντα κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς καὶ διεσκίρτα τὰ τῷ προστάγματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωογονηθέντα βοτὰ κατ' ἀγέλας τε καὶ κατὰ γένη ταῖς λόχμαις ἐνδιαθέοντα. Ταῖς δὲ τῶν μουσικῶν ὀρνίθων ᾠδαῖς ἁπανταχῆ περιηχεῖτο πᾶν ὅσον κατηρεφές τε καὶ σύσκιον. ῞Η τε κατὰ θάλατταν ὄψις͵ ὡς εἰκὸς ἄλλη τοιαύτη τις ἦν͵ ἄρτι πρὸς ἡσυχίαν τε καὶ γαλήνην ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς τῶν κοίλων καθισταμένη͵ καθ' ἣν ὅρμοι καὶ λιμένες θείᾳ βουλήσει ταῖς ἀκταῖς αὐτομάτως ἐγκοιλανθέντες͵ προσημέρουν τῇ ἠπείρῳ τὴν θάλατταν. Αἵ τε ἠρεμαῖαι τῶν κυμάτων κινήσεις τῷ κάλλει τῶν λειμώνων ἀνθωραΐζοντο͵ ὑπὸ λεπταῖς καὶ ἀπήμοσιν αὔραις κατ' ἄκραν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν γλαφυρῶς ἐπιφρίσσουσαι. Καὶ ἅπας ὁ κατὰ τὴν κτίσιν πλοῦτος͵ κατὰ γῆν τε καὶ θάλατταν ἕτοιμος ἦν͵ ἀλλ' ὁ μετέχων οὐκ ἦν.