וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִצְחָק֙ אֶל־בְּנ֔וֹ מַה־זֶּ֛ה מִהַ֥רְתָּ לִמְצֹ֖א בְּנִ֑י וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י הִקְרָ֛ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לְפָנָֽי׃
At sinabi ni Isaac sa kanyang anak: “Paano mo ito nahuli nang ganito kabilis, anak ko?” At sinabi niya: “Sapagkat pinagtagpo ako ng Walang-Hanggan na iyong Diyos sa aking hinuhuli.”
On the Birth of Abel and the Sacrifices Offered by him and by his Brother Cain
[64] Be this then thy quest, my soul, and that quickly, even as it was with the Practiser Jacob. He, when his father asked him “What is this that thou hast found so quickly, my son?” replied (and the words convey an important truth), “It is what the Lord God set before me” (Gen. 27:20). Long experience had taught him that what the world of creation gives to the soul it makes secure only after long time, as it is with those who impart the arts and their rules to their pupils. They cannot at once fill to the brim the mind of the beginners, as one fills a vessel. But when the fountain of wisdom, God, imparts each form of knowledge to the mortal race, He needs not time for the work. Such persons become apt disciples of the only wise Being and discover quickly what they seek.
On the Unchangeableness of God
[92] Thus the Practiser, when his father asked him in this manner of the source of his knowledge, “What is this that thou hast found so quickly, my son?” answered and said, “It is what the Lord God delivered before me” (Gen. 27:20). For when God delivers to us the lore of His eternal wisdom without our toil or labour we find in it suddenly and unexpectedly a treasure of perfect happiness.
On Flight and Finding
[169] While that which is taught needs a long time, that which comes by nature is rapid, and, we may say, timeless; and, while the one has man as teacher, the other has God. The former mark he sets down in a question: “What is this which thou didst find quickly, Child?” the other in a reply, in the words “that which God the Lord delivered” (Gen. 27:20).