the deep, and not mentioning what day thou createdst them; this
is what I conceive, that because of the heaven of heavens--that
intellectual heaven, whose intelligences know all at once, not in
part, not darkly, not through a glass, but as a whole, in
manifestation, face to face; not this thing now, and that thing
anon; but (as I said) know all at once, without any succession of
times; and because of the earth, invisible and without form,
without any succession of times, which succession presents 'this
thing now, that thing anon;' because, where there is no form,
there is no distinction of things; it is, then, on account of
these two, a primitive formed, and a primitive formless; the one,
heaven, but the heaven of heavens; the other, earth, but the
earth movable and without form; because of these two do I
conceive, did thy Scripture say without mention of days, In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth. For, forthwith it
subjoined what earth it spake of; and also in that the firmament
is recorded to be created the second day, and called heaven, it
conveys to us of which heaven he before spake, without mention of
days.

"Wondrous depth of thy words! whose surface behold! is before us,
inviting to little ones; yet are they a wondrous depth, O my God,
a wondrous depth! It is awful to look therein; an awfulness of
honor, and a trembling of love. The enemies thereof I hate
vehemently; O that thou wouldst slay them with thy two-edged
sword, that they might no longer be enemies to it: for so do I
love to have them slain unto themselves, that they may live unto
thee."

As an example of the hermeneutical manner in which St. Augustine