The Dry and the Fruitful Land

Et congregata est acqua quae est sub caelo in congregationes suas, et apparuit arida. Et vocavit Deus aridam terram, et congregationes aquarum vocavit maria. Sicut ergo arida haec, segregata a se aqua, quemadmodum superius diximus, ultra non mansit arida, sed jam terra nominatur: hoc modo etiam nostra corpora, si haec ab eis segregatio fiat, jam non permanebunt arida, sed terra appellabunter, ex eo quod fructum Deo ferre jam poterunt. Quoniam quidem in initio Deus coelum fecit et terram: postea vero fecit firmamentum et aridam. Et firmamentum quidem vocavit coelum, donans ei ejus coeli quod ante creaverat nomen. Aridam vero appellavit terram, pro eo quod ei facultatem ferendorum fructuum largiretur. Si quis ergo sua culpa aridus adhuc manet, et fructrum nullum affert, sed spinas et tribulos, velut ignis escas gerens, secundum ea quae ex se protulit, etiam ipse esca ignis efficitur. Si vero studio et diligentia sua separatis ex se aquis abyssi, qui sunt daemonum sensus, exhibuit se terram fructiferam, debet sperare similia, quod et ipse introducatur a Deo in terram fluentem lac et mel.  Origenes, Homilia I In Genesim, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

'And the water under heaven was gathered into its gatherings and dry land appeared. And God called the dry land earth and the gatherings of water he called seas.'1 Therefore as this dry land, separated from the water, as we said above, did not remain dry any further but is now named earth, in this way our own bodies, if the separation of them occurs from the waters, will no longer remain dry but be named earth from which the fruit for God will be able to be brought forth. Because in the beginning God made heaven and earth and later he made the firmament and the dry land, and the firmament he called heaven giving to it the name of the heaven he created earlier. Dry land he called earth, because he granted it the ability to bring forth fruits. If someone therefore by his own fault remains dry and does not bring forth fruit, but spines and thistles, as if bearing fuel for fire, in accordance with the things which he has brought forth, he himself is made fuel for fire. If by intent and diligence being separated from the waters of the abyss, which are the thoughts of demons, a man shows a fruitful land, he should hope for similar, that is, to be introduced by God into the land flowing with milk and honey. Origen, First Homily on Genesis, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Gen 1 9-10