Hugh of St Victor

PL 175, col. 36A

Datec. 1130PlaceParisTraditionlatinVerseGenesis 1:2

English

'And the Spirit of God was borne over the waters.' He calls 'the Spirit of God' his intention, who like a craftsman presided over the work to be formed; 'the waters' he calls that mist, on account of its mobility; and so he names the same thing now 'abyss' for its depth, now 'darkness' for the absence of light, now 'waters' for its mobility.

Fresh draft (Claude), approved by Wilson Pruitt · cc-by

Latin

Et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas. Spiritum Dei vocat ejus intentionem, qui quasi artifex operi formando praecerat, aquas vocat nebulam illam propter mobilitatem: et ita eamdem rem modo abyssum propter profunditatem, modo tenebras propter absentiam lucis, modo aquas propter mobilitatem appellat.

PL 175, col. 36A · pd

Notes

The most physical Latin reading: the waters are a mist of mixed elements, the Spirit is God's intention. Hugh's Adnotationes are the literal school; his De sacramentis treats the same verse theologically. The TEI reads 'praecerat' for 'praeerat'.

The craftsman's will

Threads

→ echoes · Augustine
'quasi artifex operi formando praeerat'; Hugh keeps the craftsman but replaces will with 'intentio'.