In his work “From Genesis to the letter”, book II, I take for you some fragments that reaffirm us in our faith. St. Augustine traces the days when God said “let it be done” and in everything “he saw that it was good”. An interesting note is about the creation of the sky and light.
“…The night was also not left in darkness, but with the light of the moon and stars, in order to relieve not only men, for whom there is often the necessity of work at night, but also to sufficiently temper certain animals that cannot bear the light of the sun (From Genesis, 2,13,27).”
On the stars, the sun and the moon, St. Augustine inquires why the Scriptures refer to the heavenly bodies as signs:
“Certainly he does not speak of the signs whose observance is vanity, but of the signs which are most useful and necessary for the uses of life, which are observed, either by navigators to direct ships, or by all men to foresee the atmospheric conditions during the seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter (Ib 2,14,29).”
As can be seen, every word in the Scriptures about creation is taken into account by Augustine of Hippo. In this case, what he wants is to warn us, so that we do not fall into the trap of genetliacs -who presume to interpret Genesis properly-, or astrologers who induce us to believe in false or obscure things, with half-truths:
“We repudiate absolutely, as opposed to the purity of our faith, all the chicanery of those who foretell the destiny of man by the movements of the stars, founded on the experiments of the teachings of astrology, whose predictions they call apotelésmata (result or force), for by such doctrines they attempt to turn us away from intercourse with God, and with impious perversity induce us to accuse God, Lord of the stars, as the author rather than man of the abominable deeds which are most rightly condemned (Ib 2,17,35).”
The Augustinian argument starts from the premise that our souls are not subject to any body; neither to the earthly nor to the heavenly bodies. Will and reason depend only on the human being himself. And as if that were not enough, he points out that the stars are not superior to the earthly bodies:
“…Observe sometime that many bodies of diverse species, either of animals, or of herbs and shrubs, are sown in the same place and time, and many things being born at the same time, not only in different places, but in the same places of the earth, so great is the variety in their births, in their actions, and in their disturbances, that truly, if such consider these things, they would, as it is said, lose, as it is said, their star (Ibidem).”
Plants, trees, animals and humans multiply on the earth. But above all, the human being is more beautiful than the moon, that is why we call the one we love “my sky”, and not only “my love” and “my homeland”. For St. Augustine, there is nothing more foolish than to think that men are under the dominion of the stars and that the fate of their destiny depends on the stars. Proof of the error are the twin brothers, who, having the same constellations at birth, lead different lives and die in different places and times.
“At birth, Jacob’s hand, coming behind, was grasping his brother’s foot. In such a way they were born as if it were the birth of a single child of double size. Certainly the constellations to which they resort to explain the life of man, in these brothers could in no way have been different – and their lives were very different (Ib 2:17, 36). … For all these reasons, the good Christian must keep away, especially when they speak the truth, either from astrologers or from any impious soothsayer, lest by communicating with demons, the soul, deceived, become entangled in some friendly pact (Ib 2:17,37)” (Ib 2:17,37).
At the end of book two of this work, he asks us to follow the rule of holy prudence and not to believe recklessly about any obscure matter: “Lest the truth be discovered later and yet we hate it for love of our error, even though it be shown to us that in no way can there be anything contrary to the truth in the holy books, whether of the Old or New Testament (Ib 2,18,38).”
I love the Augustinian realism that forces us to use reason and will in every situation, circumstance, time and place.