Fish and sea urchin teach providence and marital fidelity

They have no reason of their own, but they have the law of nature strongly implanted in them, pointing out what must be done. "Let us go," they say, "to the northern sea." For its water is sweeter than the rest of the sea, because the sun spends only a little time upon it and does not draw out all its drinkable quality through its rays. Sea creatures also delight in sweet water; that is why they often swim up into rivers and travel far from the sea. For this reason the Black Sea is more prized by them than the other gulfs, as a place suited for hatching and rearing their young. But when the object of their eagerness has been sufficiently accomplished, all together in a body they all return home again. And what is the reason? Let us hear it from those who are silent. "The northern sea," they say, "is shallow, and lying flat and exposed to the forces of the winds, it has few shores and places of refuge. Therefore the winds easily turn it over from its very depths, so that even the sand from the bottom is mixed with the waves. It is also cold in the winter season, filled by many great rivers." For this reason, after enjoying it moderately in the summer, in winter they hasten again to the warmth in the deep and the sun-facing regions, and fleeing the storminess of the northern waters, they anchor in the gulfs that are less shaken.

I have seen these things myself, and I marveled at the wisdom of God in all things. If irrational creatures are inventive and protective of their own safety, and the fish knows what is to be chosen and what is to be avoided, what shall we say—we who have been honored with reason, instructed by law, urged on by promises, made wise by the Spirit—if we then manage our own affairs more irrationally than the fish? For they know how to exercise some forethought for the future, while we, through hopelessness about what is to come, consume our lives in a beast-like way. A fish crosses such vast seas to find some benefit. What will you say, you who live with idleness? Idleness is the beginning of wickedness. Let no one plead ignorance. A natural reason has been sown within us, showing us our kinship with the good and our alienation from harmful things.

I do not depart from the examples of the sea, since these are set before us for examination. I have heard from one of the coastal people that the sea urchin, that tiny and utterly contemptible creature, often becomes a teacher of calm and of storm to sailors. Whenever it foresees a disturbance from the winds, it gets under a sizable pebble and rides securely upon it as upon an anchor, held by the weight so that it is not easily dragged away by the waves. When sailors see this sign, they know that a violent movement of the winds is to be expected. No astrologer, no Chaldean, who infers disturbances of the air from the risings of the stars, taught these things to the urchin; rather, the Lord of the sea and the winds placed in this small creature a clear trace of his great wisdom. Nothing is without providence, nothing is neglected by God. The unsleeping eye watches over all things. He is present to all, providing safety for each one. If God did not leave the urchin outside his own care, does he not watch over your affairs?

Husbands, love your wives, even if you have come together from distant lands for the communion of marriage. Let the bond of nature, the yoke given through blessing, be the union of those who were separated.