1 (Referring to Prometheus,) “The word got around that ‘he made men out of mud’ – because he was considered a most excellent teacher of wisdom.†(St Augustine City of God Book XVIII Ch. 8 )
2 It seems, that by instilling mud with wisdom, Prometheus created men. It appears that before there are men there is only mud. (Or perhaps there are simply worthless and contemptible creatures who pander to their instincts and base passions. In which case Prometheus was undoubtedly ‘a most excellent teacher!’ Anyone who is able to persuade the blind rabble of fools of anything transcending mere earthly matters is indeed one gifted with extraordinary power.)
3 ‘Men,’ has become synonymous with, ‘wisdom,’ for, ‘mud,’ is the antithesis of both, ‘men,’ and ‘wisdom.’ ‘Mud,’ is the condition that prevails before both, ‘wisdom,’ and, ‘men.’
4 What then do ‘wisdom,’ and, ‘men,’ have in common? Is, ‘wisdom,’ a kind of awakened state of being and one to be found only in men? Does, ‘wisdom,’ exist in, ‘mud?’ Can mud be, ‘wise,’ can it be, ‘men?’ But how, for as soon as, ‘mud,’ is imbued with, ‘wisdom,’ it becomes, ‘men.’ ‘Mud,’ loses its, ‘mud’-ness, and becomes, ‘men.’
5 ‘Mud,’ seems to be the passive female principle, which, impregnated with, ‘wisdom,’ is transformed to become, ‘men.’
6 Perhaps, it is true that there are only wise men. The rest is mud.
7 But Prometheus acts like a god in awakening men out of formless mud.
8 The story is an allegory. It cannot be taken literally. But that doesn’t make it any the less true.
9 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground†(Genesis 2.7)
10 For, ‘LORD God,’ read, ‘Prometheus;’ and, ‘a most excellent teacher.’ For, ‘man,’ read, ‘men;’ and, ‘wisdom;’ and, ‘wise men;’ (the only kind of men.) For, ‘dust of the ground,’ read, ‘mud.’
11 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom†(Proverbs 9.10)
12 But what is, ‘the LORD?’ Is it not, the awakening and growth of the moral understanding, right reason and good judgement? And how is one to know, ‘the LORD?’ One surely only makes progress through contemplation of divine things always over and above things in the earthly realm. One who freely chooses to fear these Godly things rather than things pertaining to the body cannot but make progress.
13 But the mass of men are illusions of men, mere mud playing tricks. And these illusory men prefer to indulge themselves. “The result is that the city of man remains in a chronic condition of civil war.†(St Augustine City of God Book XVIII Ch. 2)