But as it is, you see Him for your sake stretching out the heavens, kindling the sun, laying the foundations of the earth, pouring out the sea, spreading forth the air, appointing courses for the moon, and setting immovable laws for the seasons of the year, and all other things by His nod accomplishing their own course with exactness.
For indeed our own nature, and that of the irrational creatures—those that creep, that walk, that fly, that swim, those in lakes, in springs, in rivers, on mountains, in glens, in houses, in the air, on plains—and plants and seeds and trees, both wild and cultivated, both fruit-bearing and barren, and simply all things moved by that unwearied hand, administer our life, providing us their service out of themselves not only for our need but also for our honor and delight.
that He who has wrought such and so great things for your sake will overlook you in the things that matter, and will let you lie dead among the asses and the swine; and that after honoring you with so great a gift, that of godliness, whereby He made you equal even to the angels, He will disregard you after your countless labors and sweat? And how could this be reasonable? For these things, even if we should keep silent, the very stones will cry out;
13:242
οὕτωσαφῆκαὶδῆλα, καὶτῆςἀκτῖνοςαὐτῆςἐστιφανότερα
它們是如此明白顯著，比日光本身還要明亮。
so plain and manifest are they, and brighter than the very sunbeam.
Reckoning up, then, all these things, and persuading our own soul that after our departure hence we shall both stand before a fearful judgment-seat, and give account of all our deeds, and undergo scrutiny, and submit to punishment if we persist in transgressing, but shall enjoy crowns and unspeakable good things if we are willing to give ourselves but a little heed—let us both stop the mouths of those who gainsay in these matters, and ourselves choose the path of virtue, that, departing with the fitting confidence to that tribunal, we may attain the good things promised to us, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.