you are. For if you want to have many garments, you need the shepherd, the weaver, the fuller, or even the reaper. Do not tell me: "I do not wear soft garments"; for it is an equal slavery to be concerned with something small and something large. He who desires a little gold will also desire more, he who wants to be king of a small city will evidently also seize the rule of a larger one. But you also put on airs in a little glistening purple in a garment, when the all-purple Indians are our slaves wearing all-purple; and you consider purple glorious even if you use a little of it; but if the beautiful among you is a little thing, you are truly poor and admire small things. 2.45 But why do you kill animals, which are children of the earth and are also most useful to you? For some you shear and clothe yourselves with their wool, some you milk and eat the milk, with some you also farm, selling the produce, and on some you ride to war, seizing what belongs to others; and you kill these unjustly, and such is the reward for the animals from you. You put on their hair on the outside, but you carry their flesh within and become walking tombs of dead animals. How then can a soul, weighed down by such a disgrace of wicked deeds, receive the mind of God? Leave the meat outside for two days and you will see what will happen; you will not be able to endure their smell, but will even flee outside. How many impurities enter the soul through these things and make their way to the kidneys of those who desire them? How then can the divine spirit visit the perception of such a person? You eat meats, which fatten the body but waste away the soul, they give birth to anger, but drive away peace, they subdue self-control, but stir up licentiousness, they cause vomiting and make diseases to dwell within. The spirit retreats from the flesh-eating mortal, and a vengeful demon makes its home there. But fruits of trees and herbs of the shore, when left outside, give off a most beautiful aroma, and when eaten by the wise, they conceive a godlike mind and make the body comely. These God planted as food for mortals with understanding; but your mind has been destroyed by gluttony, you breathe out the anger of wild beasts, being filled with the flesh of animals, you are corrupted vessels of rotten limbs. You are worse than wolves and lions and all untamed beasts; for if wolves were able to eat fruits, they would not seek meat. Bulls, horses, deer, and a very great many other kinds of animals have a more just nourishment than you, being fed on the herbs of the shore, drinking water, and living in the mountains. For this reason, strength is dear to them and their sinews are firmly set. Why then do you not imitate these, which are fed by the providence of God? 2.46 But on the pretext of offering sacrifices and the expense of fire, you prepare them as food for yourselves. But whatever is vigorous and strong, these are not plotted against by you; for you seek the most nourishment and you spend much because of your greed, and you labor much for small animals for a little and vain pleasure. Your labor is foolish and in perdition. For all these reasons your life is wretched and unfortunate. 2.47 We, therefore, do not even drink water willingly when thirst is not present. But when thirst is present out of necessity, we ward it off—this that comes from nature—with springs of water, which pour forth their streams even when we are not drinking. But you devise arts for the pleasure of the belly, so that even when not hungry, through the varied art of cooks you may burst your wretched belly, supplying it with things for gluttony. You hunt the air for the love of pleasure, you sift the sea with nets on account of your many desires. You campaign against the mountains on account of your greed, boasting of the strength of your dogs, and you slander the wild beasts created by providence, and you say they are inhabitants of an evil wilderness, being displeased with providence. And some you pursue, others you wish to hunt, and most you kill, and seizing the more untamed of these and shutting them in cages you bring them into the cities, not so that you may sow by them or perform some other useful service with them, but so that having insulted your kinsman and God's work, man,

ἐστε· εἰ γὰρ πολλὰ ἱμά τια θέλετε ἔχειν, δέεσθε τοῦ ποιμένος, τοῦ ὑφάντου, τοῦ γνα φέως ἢ καὶ τοῦ ἀμήττοντος. μή μοι λέγε· "οὐ φορῶ μαλακὰ ἱμά τια"· ἴση γάρ ἐστι δουλεία τὸ ἐπὶ μικρῷ καὶ μεγάλῳ φροντίζειν· ὁ μικροῦ ὀρεγόμενος χρυσίου καὶ τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμήσει, ὁ μικρᾶς πόλεως βασιλεῦσαι θέλων δηλονότι καὶ τῆς μείζονος ἄρξαι ἁρπάσει. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῃ πορφύρᾳ στιλβούσῃ ἐν ἱμα τίῳ ἐναβρύνεσθε τῶν Ἰνδῶν ὁλοπορφύρων ὄντων δούλων ἡμῶν ὁλοπόρφυρα φορούντων· καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐρικυδῆ ἡγεῖσθε τὴν πόρφυ ραν κἂν ὀλίγῃ χρῆσθε· εἰ δὲ τὸ καλὸν παρ' ὑμῖν ὀλίγη ἐστίν, τῷ ὄντι πτωχοί ἐστε καὶ τὰ μικρὰ θαυμάζοντες. 2.45 διὰ τί δὲ ζῷα φονεύετε γῆς τέκνα ὄντα καὶ αὐτὰ χρησι μώτατα ὑμῖν ὑπάρχοντα; ἃ μὲν γὰρ κείρετε καὶ τούτων τὰ ἔρια περιβάλλεσθε, ἃ δὲ ἀμέλγετε καὶ τὸ γάλα ἐσθίετε, ἐν οἷς δὲ καὶ γεωργεῖτε τοὺς καρποὺς πιπράσκοντες, ἐφ' οἷς δὲ καὶ ἐπι βεβηκότες πολεμεῖτε ἀλλότρια ἁρπάζοντες· καὶ ταῦτα φονεύετε ἀδίκως καὶ τοῖς μὲν ζῴοις μισθὸς ὁ τοιοῦτος παρ' ὑμῖν. τοὺς μαλλοὺς τούτων ἔξωθεν περιβάλλεσθε, τὰς δὲ σάρκας τού των ἔνδοθεν βαστάζετε καὶ γίνεσθε νεκρῶν ζῴων περιπατοῦντες τάφοι. τοσαύτῃ οὖν ἀτιμίᾳ ἔργων ἀτόπων βαρυνομένη ψυχὴ πῶς δύναται νοῦν θεοῦ δέξασθαι; ἔασον ἔξωθεν τὰ κρέα δύο ἡμέρας καὶ ὄψει τί γενήσεται· οὐ δυνήσῃ στέξαι τούτων τὴν ὀσμήν, ἀλ λὰ καὶ ἔξω φεύξῃ. πόσαι εἰσδύνουσι διὰ τούτων εἰς ψυχὴν ἀκα θαρσίαι καὶ χωροῦσιν εἰς νεφροὺς τῶν ἐπιθυμούντων ταῦτα; πῶς οὖν τοῦ τοιούτου πνεῦμα θεῖον δύναται ἐμφοιτῆσαι τῇ αἰσθήσει; κρέα ἐθίετε, ἃ σῶμα μὲν πιαίνει, ψυχὴν δὲ κατατήκει, θυμὸν τίκτει, εἰρήνην δὲ διώκει, σωφροσύνην μὲν δαμάζει, ἀκολασίαν δὲ ἐξεγείρει, ἐμετοὺς ἐκβλύζει καὶ νόσους ἐνοικίζει· τοῦ σαρκοβόρου τῶν βροτῶν πνεῦμα ἐπαναχωρεῖ καὶ παλαμναῖος δαί μων ἐμφιλοχωρεῖ. καρποὶ δὲ ἀκροδρύων καὶ θινῶν βοτάναι ἔξω ἀφεθέντα κάλλιστον ἀτμὸν ἀπόζει καὶ παρὰ σοφῶν ἑστιαθέντα θεοπρεπῆ νοῦν κύει καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἐπιπρέπει. ταῦτα ὁ θεὸς ἐφύ τευσεν τροφὴν βροτῶν φρονήσει· ὑμῶν δ' ἀπόλωλεν ὁ νοῦς τῇ ἀδηφαγίᾳ, ἀναπνέετε θυμὸν θηρίων σαρκῶν ζῴων ἐμφορούμενοι, ἀγγεῖα διεφθαρμένα ἐστὲ μελῶν σεσηπότων. λύκων καὶ λεόντων καὶ πάντων θηρίων ἀνημέρων χείρονές ἐστε ὑμεῖς· λύκοι γὰρ εἰ ἐδύναντο καρποὺς ἐσθίειν οὐκ ἂν ἐζήτουν κρέα. ταῦροι ἵπποι ἔλαφοι καὶ ἑτέρα φύσις ζῴων παμπόλλη δικαιοτέραν ὑμῶν ἔχου σι τὴν τροφὴν θινῶν βοτάναις τρεφόμενα καὶ ὕδωρ πίνοντα καὶ τοῖς ὄρεσιν ἐνδιαιτώμενα. διὰ τοῦτο τούτοις φίλη ἡ ἰσχὺς καὶ τὰ νεῦρα καρτερὰ πεπήγασι. τί οὖν οὐ μιμεῖσθε ταῦτα τρε φόμενα θεοῦ προνοίᾳ; 2.46 ἀλλὰ προφάσει προσφορᾶς θυσιῶν καὶ πυρὸς δαπάνης ἑαυ τοῖς αὐτὰ ἑτοιμάζετε τροφήν· ὅσα δέ ἐστιν εὔτονα καὶ διαρκῆ, ταῦτα παρ' ὑμῶν οὐκ ἐπιβουλεύονται· ὑμεῖς γὰρ ζητεῖτε δια τροφὴν πλείστην καὶ πολλὰ δαπανᾶτε διὰ τὴν ἀπληστίαν ὑμῶν καὶ εἰς μικρὰ ζῷα πλεῖστα κοπιᾶτε δι' ὀλίγην ἡδονὴν καὶ ματαίαν. ἀνόητος ὁ κόπος ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν ἀπωλείᾳ. διὰ ταῦτα πάν τα ταλαίπωρος καὶ ἀτυχὴς ὁ βίος ὑμῶν. 2.47 ἡμεῖς δὲ οὖν οὐδὲ ὕδωρ πίνομεν ἑκόντες δίψης μὴ παρού σης. ἐξ ἀνάγκης δὲ παρούσης δίψης ταύτην ἀμυνόμεθα τὴν ἐκ φύ σεως παραγενομένην πηγαῖς ὑδάτων, αἳ καὶ μὴ πινόντων ἡμῶν χέ ουσι τὰ ῥεῖθρα. ὑμεῖς δὲ δι' ἡδονὴν γαστρὸς τέχνας ἐπινοεῖτε, ἵνα καὶ μὴ πεινῶντες διὰ τῆς ποικίλης τῶν μαγείρων τέχνης διαῤῥηγνύητε τὴν ἀθλίαν γαστέρα τὰ πρὸς γαστριμαργίαν ταύτῃ χορηγοῦντες. ἀέρα θηρεύετε διὰ φιληδονίαν, θάλασσαν δικτύοις σήθετε διὰ τὰς πολλὰς ὑμῶν ἐπιθυμίας. ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη στρατεύεσθε διὰ τὴν ἀπληστίαν ὑμῶν τὴν ἐπὶ κυνῶν ἀλκὴν ἀλαζονευόμενοι, καὶ κακολογεῖτε θηρία τὰ παρὰ τῆς προνοίας δημιουργηθέντα καὶ αὐ τὰ κακῆς ἐρημίας ἔνοικα λέγετε δυσαρεστούμενοι κατὰ τῆς προ νοίας. καὶ τὰ μὲν διώκετε, τὰ δὲ ἀγρεύειν βούλεσθε, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα φονεύετε, τὰ δὲ τούτων ἀνημερώτερα συλλαβόντες καὶ γαλεάγραις συγκλείσαντες φέρετε εἰς τὰς πόλεις, οὐχ ἵνα σπεί ρητε δι' αὐτῶν ἢ ἑτέραν τινὰ ἐν τούτοις χρήσιμον ἐκτελέσητε ὑπηρεσίαν, ἀλλ' ἵνα τὸ συγγενὲς ὑμῶν καὶ θεοῦ ἔργον ἄνθρωπον καθυβρίσαντες