Whatever exists, therefore, exists for some end, and has been provided with the organs and appliances necessary to attain to it. It has also been gifted with a certain inclination, that nothing may be borne towards its end unwillingly and reluctantly, but rather promptly and pleasantly, by the natural instinct that pain and death will ensue if any obstacle be placed in the way. And so it is certain that man also is naturally fitted for the understanding of facts, for existence in harmony with the moral law, and above all things for the love of God (since for these we have already seen that he is destined), and that the roots of these three principles are as firmly planted in him as are the roots of any tree in the earth beneath it.
3. In order, therefore, that we may thoroughly understand the saying of the son of Sirach, that Wisdom has placed everlasting foundations in man (Ecclesiasticus i. 14), let us examine the foundations of Wisdom, of Virtue, and of Piety, which have been laid in us, that we may see what a marvellous instrument of wisdom man is.
4. It is evident that man is naturally capable of acquiring a knowledge of all things, since, in the first place, he is the image of God. For an image, if it be accurate, necessarily reproduces the outlines of its archetype, as otherwise it will not be an image. Now omniscience is chief among the properties of God, and it follows that the image of this must be reflected in man. And why not? Man, in truth, stands in the centre of the works of God and possesses a lucid mind, which, like a spherical mirror suspended in a room, reflects images of all things that are around it. All things that are around it, we say; for our mind not only seizes on things that are close at hand, but also on things that are far off, whether in space or in time; it masters difficulties, hunts out what is concealed, uncovers what is veiled, and wears itself out in examining what is inscrutable; so infinite and so unbounded is its power. If a thousand years were granted to man, in which, by grasping one thing after another, he might continually learn something fresh, he would still find some spot from which
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