become dark blue (Greek), and when dark blue mingles with white,
a light blue (Greek) colour is formed, as flame-colour with black
makes leek green (Greek). There will be no difficulty in seeing
how and by what mixtures the colours derived from these are made
according to the rules of probability. He, however, who should
attempt to verify all this by experiment, would forget the
difference of the human and divine nature. For God only has the
knowledge and also the power which are able to combine many
things into one and again resolve the one into many. But no man
either is or ever will be able to accomplish either the one or
the other operation.
These are the elements, thus of necessity then subsisting, which
the creator of the fairest and best of created things associated
with himself, when he made the self-sufficing and most perfect
God, using the necessary causes as his ministers in the
accomplishment of his work, but himself contriving the good in
all his creations. Wherefore we may distinguish two sorts of
causes, the one divine and the other necessary, and may seek for
the divine in all things, as far as our nature admits, with a
view to the blessed life; but the necessary kind only for the
sake of the divine, considering that without them and when
isolated from them, these higher things for which we look cannot
be apprehended or received or in any way shared by us.
Seeing, then, that we have now prepared for our use the various
classes of causes which are the material out of which the
remainder of our discourse must be woven, just as wood is the
material of the carpenter, let us revert in a few words to the
point at which we began, and then endeavour to add on a suitable
ending to the beginning of our tale.