Chapter V.
Some consider that certain things have been added to this place in Scripture. The commendation of the sea is due to its beauty and manifold usefulness, but especially because it embraces the island hermits with its waves, and represents the figure of the ecclesiastical community: which is enclosed by the pious prayer of the author.
20. And God saw that it was good (Gen., I, 10). We do not overlook the fact that some people believe that this verse does not exist in Hebrew or in other interpretations: 'For the waters were gathered together into their respective places, and the dry land appeared; and God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas.' When God says that it was so, it is sufficient for them as a sign of the celebrated operation. But because in other creatures it has both the definition of command and the repetition of operation as a sign or effect, we do not think it absurd that which is reported to have been added, even if the truth is shown to be available or the authority from other interpreters. For indeed we have found many things not without purpose added and joined to the Hebrew reading by the Seventy men.
Therefore God saw that the sea is good. Although the appearance of this element is beautiful, either when it whitens with rising heaps and peaks of waves, and the white rocks drip with spray, or when it is made crisp by a gentle breeze, and it presents the color of a calm serenity blushing with purple, which is frequently poured forth from afar for those who look on, when it does not strike neighboring shores with violent waves, but as it were embraces them peacefully and greets them with a kiss, what sweet sound, what pleasant roar, what pleasing and harmonious echo! Yet I do not think that the beauty of this creature can be esteemed with the eyes, but rather it corresponds and agrees according to the reason of its operation and the judgment of its maker.
Therefore, the sea is good, first because it necessarily supports the lands with moisture, secretly supplying a certain useful juice through certain veins. The sea is good, like a host of rivers, a source of rain, a channel of alluvium, a means of transportation for distant peoples, a way to remove the dangers of battles, a means to contain barbaric fury, a support in times of need, a refuge in dangers, a source of pleasure, a promoter of health, a connection between separated people, a shortcut in travel, an escape for the toiling, a support for taxes, and a source of sustenance in times of barrenness. From this, rain is transferred to the earth; for water is drawn from the sea by the rays of the sun, and that which is subtle is carried away: then, the higher it is lifted, the more it cools by the shadow of the clouds, and it becomes rain which not only moderates the dryness of the earth but also fertilizes barren fields.
23. Why should I enumerate the islands, which are mostly covered like a necklace, on which those who renounce the enticements of secular intemperance choose to hide from the world with a steadfast commitment to self-restraint, and to divert from the uncertain twists and turns of this life? Therefore, the sea is the secret of temperance, the exercise of self-restraint, the retreat of solemnity, the haven of security, the tranquility of the age, the sobriety of this world, and the incentive of devotion for faithful and devout men, so that they may compete with the gentle sound of the flowing waves in the singing of the psalms, so that the islands may applaud in harmony with the calm waves and the chorus of saints, and so that the hymns of the saints may resound. Where do I find a way to grasp all the beauty of the sea that the operator saw? And what more? What else is that harmony of the waves, if not a certain harmony of the people? Hence the Church is often compared to the beautiful sea, which, at the entrance of the people, sends forth waves through all its gates; then, in the prayer of the whole people, it resounds like the waves receding, with responsories of psalms, the singing of men, women, virgins, and children, echoing like the crashing of waves. For what shall I say, that the water washes away sin, and the holy breath of the Spirit breathes salvation?
May the Lord make those streams of success run for us on a prosperous wood, to safely come to harbor, to not experience spiritual wickedness greater than we can bear, to not know temptations, to be ignorant of the shipwrecks of faith, to have profound peace: and if ever there is something that stirs up heavy waves of this world for us, to have the vigilant Lord Jesus as our pilot, who commands with a word, who calms the storm, who restores the tranquility of the sea, to whom is honor and glory, praise, everlastingness from ages and now and always, forever and ever. Amen.