Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1: Luther on the Creation. Martin Luther
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can exert no such power. It follows therefore that it is the work of him, who "in the beginning" said unto the heavens and unto this volatile substance, "Let there be a firmament," or "Be thou a firmament," and who establishes and preserves all these things by his omnipotent power, put forth through his Word. This Word makes the air with all its thinness and lightness to be harder and firmer than adamant, and to preserve its own boundary; and this Word could on the contrary make adamant to be softer than water, in order that from such works as these we might know what kind of a God our God is; namely, the God omnipotent, who made out of the rude mass of unformed heavens the present all-beauteous, all-glorious heaven; and who did all these things according to his will as well as according to his power.
But I have said that with the Hebrews the "firmament" derives its name from a verb in their language signifying "to extend." It is to this signification of the Hebrew verb that David beautifully alludes, in his similitude of military hide-coverings and tents which he uses in Ps. 104:2, when he says of God "Who stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain." For as the rolled-up hide-covering of the military tent is unrolled and then stretched out as a canopy to the stakes which are fixed in the earth, so Thou, O God, says David, unrolledst as it were and stretchedst out the first formed, but as yet unformed, rude heaven, into the present glorious "firmament," where Thou sittest invisibly as on a sphere over the whole creation, in the midst of all things and yet out of and above all things.
It is a circumstance naturally exciting our particular wonder that Moses evidently makes three distinct parts or divisions of this portion of the creation. He describes "a firmament in the midst of the waters," which "divides the waters from the waters." For myself I am inclined to think that the firmament here mentioned is the highest body of all; and that the waters, not those "above" the firmament, but those which hang and fly about "under" the firmament, are the clouds, which we behold with our natural eyes; so that by the waters which are "divided from the waters," we may understand the clouds which are divided from our waters which are in the earth. Moses however speaks in the plainest possible terms, both of waters "above" and of waters "under" the firmament. Wherefore I here hold my own mind and judgment in captivity and bow to the Word, although I cannot comprehend it.
But a question here arises, what those waters are and how those bodies of water which are "above" the firmament are distinguished from those which are "under" the firmament. The division and distinction here made by philosophers is well known. They make the elements to be four; and they distinguish and place them according to their qualities. They assign the lowest place to the earth; a second place to the water; a third to the air; and the last and highest place to the fire. Other philosophers add to these four elements ether as a fifth essence. After this division and number of the elements, there are numerated seven spheres or orbs of the planets, and an eighth sphere of the fixed stars. And on these subjects it is agreed among all philosophers that there are four spheres of generating and corruptible principles; and also eight others of non-generating and incorruptible principles.
And Aristotle disputes concerning the nature of the heaven; that it is not composed of the elements, but has its own peculiar nature, because if it were composed of the elements it would be corruptible, in that these substances would mingle together and mutually produce and suffer corruption. Therefore he will not attribute to heaven and the heavenly bodies the primary qualities, primas qualitates, that is, the attributes of the elements, and says that they are simply creatures possessing a co-eternal light, and qualities and attributes peculiarly their own, and created with them.
Now these things, although they are not certain, yet since they contain principles of a most beautiful theory, gathered from a course of reasoning approaching the truth, are useful for instruction, and it would be barbarous if one should determine to neglect or despise them, since in some respects they harmonize with experience. For we experience it to be the truth that fire by its very nature travels beyond itself, as is seen in the phenomena of the lightning and the fiery meteors in the air. By these principles, learned from experience, they are led to give fire the highest place, next to it the air, after it water comes third, and last the earth in the lowest place, since in weight it surpasses all the others.
These things have their place and use as rudiments or primary principles, which if any one contend that they are not universally true, yet they are true in general and serve to the end that we may learn and hand down to others the true theories. For though fire can be struck from flint, yet it cannot therefore be denied that in the highest regions there is fire. Therefore theology gives these theorists this rule, which philosophy does not know sufficiently, that although God ordained and created all these things by his Word, yet he is not therefore bound to these rules so that he can not change them according to his good pleasure. For we see that neither grammar nor the other sciences are so perfectly set forth in rules that there are no exceptions; thus the laws of public and secular affairs step in and temper all things with reason. How much more can this be done in divine things, so that, although we indeed experience that the four elements are ordained and disposed by God, yet they can, contrary to this order, also have and maintain fire in the middle of the ocean, just as we saw that it was hidden in flint.
Likewise the mathematicians have concluded that there were a definite number of spheres, not that it is necessary to be so, but because one can not teach anything definitely about such things unless one distinguishes the spheres thus, on account of the variety of their motions, about which one can teach nothing without such imagination, if I may so name it. For teachers and professors of these sciences or theories say: We give examples, not because they are in every detail correct, but in order that no one may teach differently concerning those subjects. Therefore it would be the height of folly to despise and ridicule such things as some do, because it is not so sure that it could not be different, for they serve to the end that good arts and sciences may be taught, and that is sufficient.
The philosophers in general teach such things, to which the more modern theologians agree and add to these eight spheres two more,—the crystalline, glacial or aqueous heaven, and then the empyreal or fiery heaven. The Greeks however have discussed these themes much more elegantly and prudently than our scholars. For Ambrose and Augustine have had very childish thoughts. Therefore I praise Jerome because he simply passed over them in silence.
There are some who hold that the crystalline heaven is watery, because they think it is the waters of which Moses here speaks, and there the firmament or eighth sphere is added so that they be not consumed by their rapid and constant motion. But these are puerile thoughts, and I will rather confess that I do not understand Moses in this passage than that I should approve such illiterate thoughts.
The seventh heaven they call empyreal; not because it is fiery or burning, but from the light which is lucid and splendid. This heaven in the home of God and of the blessed, because it was filled immediately after creation with angels, and Lucifer, as they affirm, fell from this heaven. These are about all the ideas that theologians have added to the opinions of philosophers.
However, our scientists, who have studied astronomy, teach that there are still more spheres; namely, twelve, and three motions in the eight spheres; as, the motum raptum, motum proprium, motum trepidationis, a rending motion, a characteristic motion, and a trembling motion. For of such things indeed one cannot speak, unless he give each motion its own sphere.
Averrois had other thoughts, more absurd and far more in agreeable to reason. For he advocated that each sphere was an intellect, or an intelligent nature. The occasion or cause of these foolish thoughts was that he saw the infallibly perfect and most regular motion of the heavenly bodies. Therefore he thought these spheres were intelligent substances, each setting itself in motion in a sure and continuous manner. But from this follows the greatest and worst ignorance of God; wherefore we repudiate the thoughts of Averrois. But the others, which we have mentioned, we approve in so far as they are useful to be taught. For indeed this knowledge of the motion of the heavenly bodies is most worthy of all praise, however little that knowledge may be.
Moses however proceeds with his narrative of the creation in all simplicity and plainness, as they say; making here three divisions: waters "above" the firmament, waters "under" the firmament, and "the firmament" in the middle. In the term heaven, Moses comprehends all that body which philosophers represent by their eight spheres, by fire and by air. For the sacred historian makes no mention of the flowing of the waters