Clementine Homilies

“For on your account, O man, God commanded the water to retire upon the face of the earth, that the earth might be able to bring forth fruits for you. And He made water-courses, that He might provide for you fountains, and that river-beds might be disclosed, that animals might teem forth; in a word, that He might furnish you with all things. For is it not for you that the winds blow, and the rains fall, and the seasons change for the production of fruits? Moreover, it is for you that the sun and moon, with the other heavenly bodies, accomplish their risings and settings; and rivers and pools, with all fountains, serve you. Whence to you, O senseless one, as the greater honour has been given, so for you, ungrateful, the greater punishment by fire has been prepared, because you would not know Him whom it behooved you before all things to know.”