Providence through the order of nature

Providence is testified without contradiction; likewise, the distinctness of animals, by demonstrating the unchanging order, proclaims Providence very clearly, just as a soul moves the whole composition of the cosmos. And it would be laughable if everyone who rejects it were considered sane, while all the elements acknowledge it: the earth not disobeying regarding cultivation, and the sun, and the moon, and the rest of the stars of the proper course not failing, the sea not exceeding the rule of command, and the night and the winds, and the land not falling short of the required need. How then is he who entirely rejects Providence not unjust and foolish?

For the word says that a technical work does not happen by chance, but through knowledge, wise works are composed; likewise, we take a man-making intellect; and seeing an image beautifully drawn, we marvel at its artist; and seeing a ship skillfully constructed with science, we praise the shipbuilder. If we, seeing technical works, know the skilled craftsman, why then should we not more fully grasp through the eye of the intellect the wisdom of Providence of all things, through the elements of the cosmos being arranged scientifically? For the kinds and shapes are enough to know the craftsman, even if the ordered things render words silent.e who has adorned things made for a purpose loves for them to acknowledge him.

Just as the composition of the elements clarifies Providence, so also the diverse nature of animals provides the knowledge of this. For the spirit is kin to the lion, and his life is solitary, sharing with no animal, not preferring ground-food, but fresh; and he has sharp sense, and perceives even from a distance the smell of hunters, and flees with a run to the cave, circling his tracks with care, so that, having been covered by dust, they may be untraceable to the hunters. And his cub is born in a den, and for three days is guarded by the lioness, and having come himself from the hunt, having breathed upon him into the face, one sees him standing there. And whenever a human or any of the animals approaches, he first lashes himself with care according to the poet: 'Truly both sides and the loins are lashed on both sides,' and he encourages him to fight.

Having grown old, the lion is too weak to walk to the hunt, seeking humans for food while scavenging. His stomach is always foul-smelling, and his eyelids are drawn up when sleeping. The lioness barely endures a single dog; for going out into the open, she tears her womb with the sharpness of her claws. The leopard is jagged and sharp-nosed in its lunges, and superior in sharpness to others, and it leaps upon the faces of hunters. The bear's nature is sluggish and peculiar, its character is cunning, and its body is heavy. Often, having been struck by deep wounds, it heals itself by rubbing its sores with the driest mud. While aging, it skillfully twists its legs and lifts them, and having positioned itself strongly, it brings prey down.

The bull is equipped with horns for the defense of opponents, and with its feet it stomps in an athletic manner; looking with fiery eyes, with horns lowered, and boiling with passion, it charges with its whole body. The horse, when it sees hunters lying in ambush in the woods, rushes away, and does not charge until it has set its teeth against the nearest trees. There is a beast, extremely sharp and difficult to hunt, having long horns like a saw, which pierces high and great trees; and having become thirsty, it comes to the Euphrates river, and while drinking, it plays with the reeds that are by the riverbanks, and is bound by them. For they are fine-cutting, they entangle themselves around his horns, and he cries out; and the hunters, perceiving, immediately seize him and bleed him.

Among the Scythians, called the Loe, there is a beast called the tarandus, having the size of an ox and the appearance near that of a deer. And it is difficult to hunt, because regarding trees and fields, and regarding everything it approaches, it changes its color, and it becomes like the appearance of those things, and because of this, it is unknown to many. Similarly, the chameleon takes the color of the meadows and dry surfaces upon which it crawls. The deer is cowardly and quick-eared, and a foe to creeping beasts; and if a snake escapes it, and if it enters a rock crevice, it reaches the springs having become thirsty; for it is very [...]