Neither party however has sufficient ground for concluding their arguments to be exclusively right; for the sacred text supports both opinions, because it declares, that the earth "brought or budded forth," which certainly is not the time of autumn, but of spring. It also declares that fruits then existed; which it is equally certain is not the time of spring. Wherefore, my opinion is that such was the miracle wrought of God at the first creation of the world that all these things existed at the one time; the earth budded forth, the trees blossomed, and the fruits, in their perfection, immediately and suddenly followed; and then the miracle ceased; and nature gradually fell into her regular order. Thus, all these herbs and trees are propagated by means of their seeds in the same kinds and forms as those in which they were first created. Hence men reason wrongly, when they argue from the natural to the supernatural effect. For the whole is to be attributed to the Creator and to his first creation-work, in which he at the same time perfected the infant buddings of spring and the mature fruits of autumn, as far as the herbs and the fruits of the trees were concerned. Moreover this state of things at the creation induced Hilary and others to conclude that the world stood forth suddenly at the Word of God in all its full perfection; and that God did not employ six whole natural days in the work of creation. For the text compels us to confess that the trees together with their fruits existed on the same day Adam was created. But although all this was indeed wrought of God very much more quickly than it is now for this same work of God in our age generally occupies six months of time, yet the text does not use the verb "to fructify" only but also the verb "to germinate." With reference therefore to this question, concerning the time of the creation, it is most probable that the spring was the season in which the world was first created. Hence the Jews begin their year at this season, making the first month of spring the first of their year, that being the time of the year when the earth begins to open its bosom and all things in nature bud forth. Concerning this part of the creation another question is also raised as to the time when the unfruitful or barren trees and herbs were created. For myself I would not attempt to settle anything as to this point, but I will offer my opinion. I believe that all trees were in the beginning good and fruitful; and that the beasts of the field and Adam had as it were one and the same table; and that they all fed on wheat, pulse and the other nobler fruits; for there was then the greatest possible abundance of all these creatures.