By eternity, as God is before all things; by
time, as the flower before the fruit; by choice, as the fruit before
the flower; by original, as the sound before the tune. Of these
four, the first and last mentioned, are with extreme difficulty
understood, the two middle, easily. For a rare and too lofty a
vision is it, to behold Thy Eternity, O Lord, unchangeably making
things changeable; and thereby before them. And who, again, is of so
sharpsighted understanding, as to be able without great pains to
discern, how the sound is therefore before the tune; because a tune is
a formed sound; and a thing not formed, may exist; whereas that
which existeth not, cannot be formed. Thus is the matter before the
thing made; not because it maketh it, seeing itself is rather made;
nor is it before by interval of time; for we do not first in time
utter formless sounds without singing, and subsequently adapt or
fashion them into the form of a chant, as wood or silver, whereof a
chest or vessel is fashioned. For such materials do by time also
precede the forms of the things made of them, but in singing it is not
so; for when it is sung, its sound is heard; for there is not first
a formless sound, which is afterwards formed into a chant.
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