But just as we say that in wheat, or in any other grain, the whole form of the plant is potentially included-the leaves, the stalk, the joints, the grain, the beard-and do not say in our account of its nature that any of these things has pre-existence, or comes into being before the others, but that the power abiding in the seed is manifested in a certain natural order, not by any means that another nature is infused into it-in the same way we suppose the human germ to possess the potentiality of its nature, sown with it at the first start of its existence, and that it is unfolded and manifested by a natural sequence as it proceeds to its perfect state, not employing anything external to itself as a stepping-stone to perfection, but itself advancing its own self in due course to the perfect state; so that it is not true to say either that the soul exists before the body, or that the body exists without the soul, but that there is one beginning of both, which according to the heavenly view was laid as their foundation in the original will of God; according to the other, came into existence on the occasion of generation.

Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ σίτῳ φαμὲν ἢ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τινὶ τῶν σπερμάτων͵ ἅπαν ἐμπεριειλῆφθαι τῇ δυνάμει τὸ κατὰ τὸν στάχυν εἶδος͵ τὸν χόρτον͵ τὴν καλάμην͵ τὰς διὰ μέσου ζώνας͵ τὸν καρπόν͵ τοὺς ἀνθέρικας καὶ οὐδὲν τούτων ἐν τῷ τῆς φύσεως λόγῳ προϋπάρχειν ἢ προγίνεσθαί φαμεν τῇ φύσει τοῦ σπέρματος͵ ἀλλὰ τάξει μέν τινι φυσικῇ τὴν ἐγκειμένην τῷ σπέρματι δύναμιν φανεροῦσθαι͵ οὐ μὴν ἑτέραν ἐπεισκρίνεσθαι φύσιν, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην σπορὰν ὑπειλήφαμεν ἔχειν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς συστάσεως ἀφορμῇ συνεσπαρμένην τὴν τῆς φύσεως δύναμιν. Ἐξαπλοῦσθαι δὲ καὶ φανεροῦσθαι διά τινος φυσικῆς ἀκολουθίας πρὸς τὸ τέλειον προϊοῦσαν͵ οὐ προσλαμβάνουσάν τι τῶν ἔξωθεν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τελειώσεως, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὴν εἰς τὸ τέλειον δι' ἀκολουθίας προάγουσαν. Ὡς μήτε ψυχὴν πρὸ τοῦ σώματος͵ μήτε χωρὶς ψυχῆς τὸ σῶμα ἀληθὲς εἶναι λέγειν͵ ἀλλὰ μίαν ἀμφοτέρων ἀρχὴν κατὰ μὲν τὸν ὑψηλότερον λόγον ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλήματι καταβληθεῖσαν͵ κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἕτερον ἐν ταῖς τῆς γενέσεως ἀφορμαῖς συνισταμένην.