and the lesser lamp the beginning ofthe night™and the stars (Gn 1:16). What he
138 Unfinished Literal Commentary on Genesis periods signify that an unchanging eternity abides above them, so that time may be shown to be a sign, that is, a kind of trace, of eternity. Again, when he continues andfordays andforyears, he is showing what times he meant, so that days are made by the revolution of the fixed stars, while the obvious years are made when the sun goes through the whole sign-bearing circle," but the less evident ones are made when each one of the wandering stars does the same in its own orbit. He did not say "for months," you see, because a month perhaps is the moon ' s year, so that in this way52 twelve moon years make up one year of the star which the Greeks call Phaethon, and thirty sun years are one year of the star that is called Phaenon." And perhaps in this way, when all the stars have returned to the same point, a "great year" is completed, about which many people have said many things.
Or does he sayfor signs, meaning those which assist navigators to direct their course aright, while by times he means like springtime and summer and fall and winter, because these too change in accordance with the circling round of the stars, and take their turns in due order, while/or days andfor years is to be taken in the way already explained?
39. And let them befor brilliance in the solid structure ofheaven, in order to shine upon the earth. It had already been said above, Let lamps be made in the solid structure ofheaven, in order to shine upon the earth; so why has it been repeated, do you suppose? Or could it be that just as it said about the plants that they should bear seed and that seed should be in them according to its kind and likeness, so here it is said about the luminaries with a contrary intention, let them be made and let them be; that is, let them be made and not produce, but just be themselves. And thus it was made; this order of phrases is being observed.
Question ofwhat phase the moon was made in
40. And God made the two lamps; the greater lamp the beginning of the day, and the lesser lamp the beginning of the night™and the stars (Gn 1:16). What he means by the beginning of the day and the beginning of the night will soon become clear. As for his adding and the stars it is uncertain whether they belong to the beginning of the night or not. Some people, though, want it to mean here that the moon was first made at the full, because the full moon rises at the begin ning of the night, that is, straight after sunset. But this is surely absurd, that we
5 1 . Through all the signs of the zodiac. 52. 1 am here emending the text's sicut, "just as," tour sic. 53. Phaethon, a poetic name for the sun; Phaenon, a name for the planet Saturn, which he is reluctant to call by its Latin name. See note 39 above. 54. "The beginning of the day. the beginning of the night": the African Latin text Augustine is following has mistranslated the Greek eis archas, which here means "for ruling." But the word arche does also have the meaning "beginning," as in Gn 1:1 or in Jn 1:1.