על בריאת העולם י״בOn the Account of the World's Creation 12
א׳
1[40] He next begins to put the earth in order: for he bids it bear grass and corn, and send forth herbs of all kinds, and rich pastures, and whatsoever would be provender for cattle and food for men. Beside these he caused all kinds of trees to grow, leaving out no tree at all, whether of wild growth or what we call garden trees. And, after a fashion quite contrary to the present order of Nature, all were laden with fruit as soon as ever they came into existence.
ב׳
2[41] For now the processes take place in turn, one at one time, one at another, not all of them simultaneously at one season. For everyone knows that sowing and planting come first, the growth of the things sown and planted second, the former causing roots to reach downwards like foundations, the latter taking place as they rise upwards, grow tall, and develop trunks and stems. After this come sproutings and puttings forth of leaves, and then to crown all, bearing of fruit; and here again fruit not full grown, but subject to all manner of changes both in quantity and quality, that is to say, in the matter of size and of ever varying character. For the first shape it takes is that of indivisible flakes so small that they can scarcely be seen, which a man would not be wrong in describing as “first perceptibles.” After this as the result of gradual growth and as the result of nourishment conveyed by irrigation, which waters the tree, and as the result of the well-tempered breezes which are quickened by cold and softened by milder temperature, it develops towards its complete size: and as it becomes larger, it becomes different in appearance as well, as though it were being ever made to take varied hues by a painter’s cunning hand.