The earth-formed animals as nations in the Church, and ruling as the image
Eustathius is still distinguishing the Genesis 2 animals formed from the earth from the earlier water-born creatures, and now turns to what it means for humanity to rule.
In the same way, by saying that all the birds and all the wild animals were now formed by God, Scripture gives us no room at all to say that they came into being earlier and only a part of them now. For this reason God gives no command among these about eating seeds. The creatures that enter paradise do not eat grass, but every tree beautiful to the sight and good for food—and above all, from the tree of life, Christ who gives life. And it is possible to say that these living creatures are the nations—these wild animals gathered by God in the Church—or that paradise today is a place of horses, herds of swine, camels, and flocks of sheep. No, philosopher, it is not so. No, philosopher, it is not so. Rather, God’s saying “Let them rule all the earth” and “let them have dominion over it and over everything in it” (Genesis 1:28)—this is the chief point of making the human being in God’s image and of his ruling all the earth.
Greek
Ὡσαύτως καὶ διὰ τοῦ λέγειν πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ πάντα τὰ θηρία νῦν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ πλασθῆναι οὐ δίδωσι ἡμῖν χώραν τοῦ ὅλως εἰπεῖν ὅτι μὲν ἐγένοντο πρότερον, μέρος δὲ νῦν ὅθεν οὔτε περὶ
σπερμοφάγου βρώσεως ἐν τούτοις τι διακελεύεται ὁ Θεός· τὰ γὰρ εἰς παράδεισον εἰσερχόμενα οὐ χόρτον ἐσθίει, ἀλλὰ πᾶν ξύλον ὡραῖον εἰς ὅρασιν καὶ καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ πρό γε πάντων ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς Χριστοῦ τοῦ ζωοποιοῦντος καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ζῷα ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἔθνη εἰσὶ ταῦτα τὰ θηρία τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ συναχθέντα ἢ ὅτι ἱππὼν καὶ συβόσιον καὶ καμηλοστάσιον καὶ οἰοτρόφυον (...) σήμερον ὁ παράδεισος ὑπάρχει. 86 Οὐχ οὕτως, ὦ φιλόσοφε, ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ εἰπεῖν τὸν Θεόν· ἀρχέτωσαν πάσης τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ· κατακυριευσάτωσαν αὐτῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ, τοῦτο τὸ κύριόν ἐστι τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπο κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ καὶ ἄρχειν αὐτὸν πάσης τῆς γῆς.