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self-sufficient for the enjoyment of a happy life, they, making it their chief aim, considered it the greatest of the gods and deified it, not even desiring life itself, unless it partook of the pleasure of the body, and embracing life not for the sake of living, but for the sake of living pleasantly, 7.2.2 praying for this very thing to be present for their own children as the only good. Hence some, suspecting that the sun and moon and stars were the providers of life in the flesh, and being somehow astounded at the sight of the light, proclaimed them the first gods, declaring them to be the sole causes of all things; others again honored with the title of gods the fruits of the earth and the moist and dry and hot substance and the other parts of the world, by which their bodies being nourished and fattened hunted for life in the flesh together with pleasure; others, long before these, with bare and uncovered head deified their own passions and their mistress pleasure—love and desire and Aphrodite—saying that they ruled even over the gods themselves; others deified men who had been providers and discoverers of pleasures for them, certain tyrants and rulers, because of the comforts they happened to receive from them, both while they were still living and after their death; others, becoming the playthings of wicked spirits and demons, further increased the passionate part of their soul, procuring pleasant things from these also through their customary worship; others, enduring none of these things, introduced atheism as much better than such theology; others, still more shameless than all these, declared that the philosophic and thrice-blessed life was none other than the pleasant one, 7.2.3 defining pleasure as the end of all good things. In this way, therefore, the whole race of men, having been utterly enslaved to a bitter and most harsh mistress, pleasure as a god, or rather to a foul and licentious demon, was mired in all kinds of miseries. "For even their women," according to the holy apostle, "exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature; and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." 7.2.4 In this way both Greeks and barbarians, wise and unlearned, falling on the ground and on their belly, worshipped pleasure as a god, and casting themselves down prone like reptiles, they both considered and loved her as an invincible and inexorable god, and in songs and hymns, in festivals of the gods, and in public spectacles, they were initiated into and celebrated the orgies and unholy rites of shameful and licentious pleasure alone, so that, if anything else, this too has been well abolished among us; "For the devising of idols was the beginning of fornication." 7.2.5 And so the theology of the other nations had, to speak briefly, assumed such great diversity, being attached to one beginning, that of unclean and defiled pleasure, but in the manner of a many-necked and many-headed hydra, it was brought forth into many and 7.2.6 various divisions and sections. Since, therefore, they happened to have put forward so great an error, it was fitting that for them, who treated pleasure as a god and an evil demon, evils were heaped upon evils, as they defiled their whole life with madness for women and corruption of males, with marriages with mothers and intercourse with daughters, and had conquered their savage and bestial nature by an excess of wickedness. Such then has been shown to be the manner of the ancient nations and of their deluded theology through the Greek historians and philosophers collected by us in the preceding parts.

7.3.1 3. A COMPARISON OF THE HEBREW WAY AND HOW THEY THOUGHT CONCERNING THE MAKER AND CREATOR OF ALL THINGS

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πρὸς ἀπόλαυσίν τε εὐδαίμονος βίου αὐτάρκη, περισπούδαστον ὑποθέμενοι θεῶν μεγίστην ἡγήσαντό τε καὶ τεθειάκασιν, οὐδὲ τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς, εἰ μὴ μετέχοι τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἡδονῆς, ἐφιέμενοι καὶ ζῆν οὐ διὰ τὸ ζῆν, διὰ δὲ τὸ ἡδέως ζῆν ἀσπαζόμενοι, τοῦτο 7.2.2 καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις εὐξάμενοι παισὶν ὡς μόνον ἀγαθὸν παρεῖναι. ἔνθεν οἱ μὲν τὰ χορηγὰ τῆς ἐνσάρκου ζωῆς ἥλιον εἶναι καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ὑποτοπήσαντες καί πως καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν τοῦ φωτὸς καταπλαγέντες πρώτους θεοὺς ἀνηγόρευσαν, μόνους αἰτίους τῶν ὅλων εἶναι ἀποφηνάμενοι· οἱ δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς καρποὺς τήν τε ὑγρὰν καὶ ξηρὰν καὶ θερμὴν οὐσίαν τά τε λοιπὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη, δι' ὧν αὐτοῖς τὰ σώματα τρεφόμενά τε καὶ πιαινόμενα τὴν ἔνσαρκον ὁμοῦ ζωήν τε καὶ ἡδονὴν ἐθηρᾶτο, θεῶν πάλιν προσηγορίᾳ τετιμήκασιν· οἱ δὲ πολὺ πρότερον τούτων γυμνῇ καὶ ἀκαλύπτῳ κεφαλῇ τὰ σφέτερα πάθη καὶ τὴν δέσποιναν αὐτῶν ἡδονήν, ἔρωτα καὶ πόθον καὶ ἀφροδίτην, καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν θεῶν κρατεῖν εἰπόντες ἀπεθέωσαν· οἱ δὲ τοὺς τῶν ἡδέων χορηγούς τε καὶ εὑρετὰς αὐτοῖς γενομένους ἄνδρας, τυράννους τινὰς καὶ δυνάστας, δι' ἃς ἔτυχον ἐξ αὐτῶν εὐπαθείας, ζῶντάς τε ἔτι καὶ μετὰ τελευτὴν ἐθεοποίησαν· οἱ δὲ μοχθηρῶν πνευμάτων καὶ δαιμόνων γενόμενοι παραπαίγνια ἔτι μειζόνως τὸ παθητικὸν αὐτῶν μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς συνηύξησαν, τὰ ἡδέα καὶ παρὰ τούτων διὰ τῆς νενομισμένης αὐτῶν θεραπείας ἐκπορίζοντες· οἱ δὲ μηδενὸς τούτων ἀνασχόμενοι τὸ ἄθεον ὡς πολὺ κρεῖττον τῆς τοιᾶσδε θεολογίας εἰσηγήσαντο· οἱ δὲ ἔτι τούτων ἁπάντων ἀναιδέστεροι τὸν φιλόσοφον καὶ τρισευδαίμονα βίον οὐδ' ἄλλον εἶναι ἢ τὸν ἡδὺν ἀπεφή7.2.3 ναντο, τέλος τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἡδονὴν ὁρισάμενοι. ταύτη δ' οὖν τὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων γένος ὡς ἂν δεσποίνῃ πικρᾷ καὶ χαλεπωτάτῃ ἡδονῇ θεῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ αἰσχρῷ καὶ ἀκολάστῳ δαίμονι, καταδεδουλωμένον παντοίαις ἐνεφύρετο ταλαιπωρίαις. «αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν», κατὰ τὸν ἱερὸν ἀπόστολον, «μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες, ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας, ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσι τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν, ἣν ἔδει, τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.» 7.2.4 ταύτη καὶ Ἕλληνες καὶ βάρβαροι, σοφοί τε καὶ ἰδιῶται, χαμαὶ καὶ ἐπὶ γαστέρα πεσόντες ὡς θεῷ τῇ ἡδονῇ προσεκύνησαν πρηνεῖς τε σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἑρπετῶν δίκην καταβαλόντες ἄμαχον καὶ ἀπαραίτητον θεὸν ταύτην ἡγήσαντό τε καὶ ἔστερξαν, ἔν τε ᾠδαῖς καὶ ὕμνοις ἔν τε θεῶν ἑορταῖς ἔν τε ταῖς πανδήμοις θέαις μόνης τῆς αἰσχρᾶς καὶ ἀκολάστου ἡδονῆς τὰ ὄργια καὶ τὰς ἀσέμνους τελετὰς μυούμενοί τε καὶ τελοῦντες, ὡς, εἰ καί τι ἄλλο, καὶ τόδε καλῶς παρ' ἡμῖν ἀνῃρῆσθαι· «Ἀρχὴ γὰρ πορνείας ἐπίνοια εἰδώλων.» 7.2.5 καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν θεολογίας τοσαύτην εἰλήφει, ὡς ἐν βραχεῖ φάναι, τὴν πολυτροπίαν, μιᾶς μὲν ἀρχῆς τῆς ἀκαθάρτου καὶ μιαρᾶς ἡδονῆς ἀνημμένα, ὕδρας δὲ πολυαυχένου καὶ πολυκεφάλου τρόπον εἰς πολλὰς καὶ 7.2.6 ποικίλας διαιρέσεις τε καὶ τομὰς ἐξενηνεγμένα. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοσαύτην ἔτυχον προβεβλημένοι τὴν πλάνην, εἰκότα δὴ αὐτοῖς ἡδονῇ θεῷ καὶ κακῷ δαίμονι χρωμένοις ἐπὶ κακοῖς κακὰ συνηγείρετο, γυναιμανίαις καὶ ἀρρένων φθοραῖς μητρογαμίαις τε καὶ θυγατρομιξίαις τὸν πάντα καταφυρομένοις βίον καὶ τὴν ἄγριον καὶ θηριώδη φύσιν ὑπερβολῇ φαυλότητος νενικηκόσι. τοιοῦτος μὲν οὖν ὁ τρόπος τῶν παλαιῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῆς διεψευσμένης αὐτῶν θεολογίας διὰ τῶν συνηγμένων ἡμῖν Ἑλληνικῶν λογογράφων τε καὶ φιλοσόφων ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἀποδέδεικται.

7.3.1 γʹ. ΠΑΡΑΘΕΣΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΤΩΝ ΕΒΡΑΙΩΝ ΤΡΟΠΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΟΠΩΣ Ε∆ΟΞΑΖΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΙΗΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ∆ΗΜΙΟΥΡΓΟΥ ΤΩΝ ΟΛΩΝ