we are accustomed to grant the proper place, far from it; but we also reckon ourselves among the children of Abraham. For we are the sons according to the promise, and Paul will persuade you, writing: For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are Abraham's seed are they all children, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. It is not at all difficult, then, to add very many things to what has been said concerning our holy religion and the blameless glory which we have in God who rules over all. But since reason persuades us, for the sake of good order, to assign to each of the theorems its proper limits, for the time being I will leave those things aside and turn rather to what is necessary to say about the Greeks, to investigate the things among them and to make a precise examination of each opinion. 1.35 They say, then, that Orpheus, the son of Oeagrus, was the most superstitious of all others and that he preceded the poetry of Homer, since he was also older in time, and that he wove odes and hymns to the falsely-named gods and won no small fame for this. Then, having condemned his own doctrines, and understanding that he had almost abandoned the highway and come to a deviation from the straight path, he changed to better things and chose the truth over falsehood, and spoke thus about God: I will speak to those for whom it is lawful; but put you on the doors, you profane, all of you. But you, hear, Musaeus, offspring of the light-bearing Moon; for I will proclaim true things. Let not the things that before appeared in your breast deprive you of dear life. But looking to the divine word, attend to this, directing the intelligent receptacle of your heart; and walk well on the path, and look only to the ruler of the world. One is self-begotten, from one all things are created, and He himself is in them; and no mortal sees Him, but He himself sees all. And again after other things: For He himself is established in the bronze heaven on a golden throne, and He has stepped upon the earth with His feet. He has stretched out His right hand from all sides to the end of the Ocean; for around Him tremble the long mountains, and the rivers, and the depth of the gray, bright-eyed sea. He therefore names God as one, and this one self-begotten, through all and over all, and says that heaven is His throne, and the earth lies under His feet, wishing, I think, to signify by this the unlimited nature of the incorruptible Being, and that it passes through all things and fills all things; that He embraces everything would be indicated by His hand being stretched around even to the ends of the Ocean, with the mountains and the sea and simply the whole cosmos trembling. For as the divinely-inspired Scripture says: The whole earth calls on the truth, and heaven blesses it, and all works are shaken and tremble. So much, then, for the things of Orpheus. 1.36 But as for Homer, the best of the poets, one might say, I think, that he differs little from those who dance on stages; for the theatre-lovers say that those men, being accustomed to represent the natures of things with gestures and nods, seem to the spectators to show the things themselves as almost present; but he has made it his study to deify virtues and vices, and the parts of the world, and the very nature of the elements. And indeed he says that the gods were once opposed to one another at Troy, and he clearly declares who were opposing whom: For indeed against king Poseidon stood Phoebus Apollo, with his winged arrows; and against Enyalius the bright-eyed goddess Athena; against Hera stood the huntress Artemis of the golden spindle, the archeress, sister of the Far-darter; against Leto stood the strong Hermes, the luck-bringer; and against Hephaestus the great deep-eddying river. Consider then in these things, and very clearly, that he is eager to show in a certain way the virtues being roused against the vices. For it is the custom of the Greek poets to call Ares senseless and maddened, and in addition to this, also fickle, but Athena most cunning and

προσήκουσαν καταχωρεῖν εἰθίσμεθα, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ· καταλογιζόμεθα δὲ καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἐν τέκνοις τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν οἱ κατ' ἐπαγγελίαν υἱοί, καὶ ἀναπείσει γράφων ὁ Παῦλος· Οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ οὗτοι Ἰσραήλ, οὐδὲ ὅτι εἰσὶ σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμπάντως τέκνα, ἀλλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λογίζεται εἰς σπέρμα. Πλεῖστα μὲν οὖν ὅσα τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπενεγκεῖν περί τε τῆς εὐαγοῦς ἡμῶν θρησκείας καὶ ἀμωμήτου δόξης ἣν ἐπὶ τῷ πάντων κρατοῦντι Θεῷ πεποιήμεθα, χαλεπὸν οὐδέν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ὅροις τοῖς καθήκουσι τῶν θεωρημάτων ἕκαστα ἀπονέμειν ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος ἀναπείθει τῆς εὐτεχνίας, ἐκεῖνα τέως παρεὶς τετράψομαι μᾶλλον ἐπί γε τὸ δεῖν εἰπεῖν τὰ Ἑλλήνων, πολυπραγμονῆσαί τε τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς καὶ τῆς ἑκάστου δόξης ἀκριβῆ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν βάσανον. 1.35 Ὀρφέα μὲν οὖν τὸν Οἰάγρου δεισιδαιμονέστατόν φασι γενέσθαι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ φθάσαι μὲν τὴν Ὁμήρου ποίησιν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ ἐν χρόνοις ὄντα πρεσβύτερον, ᾠδὰς δὲ καὶ ὕμνους τοῖς ψευδωνύμοις ἐξυφῆναι θεοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀθαύμαστον ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὴν δόξαν ἑλεῖν, εἶτα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ δογμάτων κατεγνωκότα, συνέντα τε ὅτι μονονουχὶ τὴν ἁμαξιτὸν ἀφεὶς ἐν ἐκβολῇ γέγονε τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ μεταφοιτῆσαι πρὸς τὰ βελτίω καὶ τοῦ ψεύδους ἀνθελέσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, φάναι τε οὕτω περὶ Θεοῦ· Φθέγξομαι οἷς θέμις ἐστί, θύρας δ' ἐπίθεσθε βέβηλοι Πάντες ὅμως· σὺ δ' ἄκουε, φαεσφόρου ἔκγονε Μήνης Μουσαῖ'· ἐξερέω γὰρ ἀληθέα· μηδέ σε τὰ πρὶν Ἐν στήθεσσι φανέντα φίλης αἰῶνος ἀμέρσῃ. Εἰς δὲ λόγον θεῖον βλέψας, τούτῳ προσέδρευε, Ἰθύνων κραδίης νοερὸν κύτος, εὖ δ' ἐπίβαινε Ἀτραπιτοῦ, μοῦνον δ' ἐσόρα κόσμοιο ἄνακτα· Εἷς ἐστ' αὐτογενής, ἑνὸς ἔκγονα πάντα τέτυκται, Ἐν δ' αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς περιγίνεται· οὐδέ τις αὐτὸν Εἰσοράᾳ θνητῶν, αὐτὸς δέ γε πάντας ὁρᾶται. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα πάλιν· Αὐτὸς γὰρ χάλκειον ἐς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται Χρυσέῳ εἰνὶ θρόνῳ, γαίῃ δ' ἐπὶ ποσσὶ βέβηκε· Χεῖρά τε δεξιτερὴν ἐπὶ τέρματος Ὠκεανοῖο Πάντοθεν ἐκτέτακεν· περὶ γὰρ τρέμει οὔρεα μακρά, Καὶ ποταμοί, πολιῆς τε βάθος χαροποῖο θαλάσσης. Ἕνα τοίνυν, καὶ τοῦτον αὐτογέννητον, διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας ὀνομάζει Θεόν, καὶ θρόνον μὲν αὐτῷ φησιν εἶναι τὸν οὐρανόν, κεῖσθαί γε μὴν ὑπὸ πόδας τὴν γῆν, τὸ ἀπεριόριστον, οἶμαι, τούτῳ τῆς ἀκηράτου φύσεως κατασημῆναι θέλων, καὶ τὸ διὰ πάντων ἥκειν αὐτὴν καὶ πάντα πληροῦν· ὅτι δὲ τοῦ παντὸς περιδράττεται ὑπεμφήνειεν ἂν τὸ καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ τέρμασι περιτετάσθαι τὴν χεῖρα, τρεμόντων καὶ ὀρῶν καὶ θαλάσσης καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τοῦ κόσμου παντός. Ὡς γάρ φησιν ἡ θεόπνευστος Γραφή· Πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καλεῖ, καὶ οὐρανὸς αὐτὴν εὐλογεῖ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα σείεται καὶ τρέμει. Τὰ μὲν οὖν Ὀρφέως ἐν τούτοις. 1.36 Ὅμηρον δὲ τῶν ποιητῶν ἄριστον φαίη ἄν, οἶμαι, τὶς ὀλίγα διενεγκεῖν τῶν ἐν σκηναῖς ὀρχουμένων· τοὺς μὲν γάρ φασιν οἱ φιλοθεάμονες, σχήμασί τε καὶ νεύμασι τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεις εἰδοποιεῖν εἰωθότας, αὐτὰ δοκεῖν τοῖς ὁρῶσι μονονουχὶ παρόντα δεικνύειν τὰ πράγματα· ὁ δὲ μεμελέτηκε θεοποιεῖν ἀρετὰς καὶ κακίας, καὶ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη, καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ τῶν στοιχείων τὴν φύσιν. Καὶ γοῦν ἀντενηνέχθαι τοὺς θεοὺς ἀλλήλοις φησὶν ἐν Ἰλίῳ ποτέ, καὶ τίνες τίσιν οἱ ἀντεξάγοντες διαγορεύει σαφῶς· Ἦ τοι μὲν γὰρ ἔναντα Ποσειδάωνος ἄνακτος Ἵστατ' Ἀπόλλων Φοῖβος, ἔχων ἰὰ πτερόεντα· Ἄντα δ' Ἐνυαλίοιο θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη· Ἥρῃ δ' ἀντέστη χρυσηλάκατος κελαδεινὴ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα, κασιγνήτη Ἑκάτοιο· Λητοῖ δ' ἀντέστη σῶκος ἐριούνιος Ἑρμῆς· Ἄντα δ' ἄρ' Ἡφαίστοιο μέγας ποταμὸς βαθυδίνης. Ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ἐν τούτοις, καὶ μάλα σαφῶς, τὰς ἀρετὰς αὐτὸν ταῖς κακίαις ἀντεγειρομένας τρόπον τινὰ καταδεῖξαι σπουδάζοντα. Ἄρεα μὲν γὰρ ὡς ἄφρονά τε καὶ μεμηνότα, καὶ πρός γε τούτῳ καὶ ἀλλοπρόσαλλον ἀποκαλεῖν ἔθος τοῖς Ἑλλήνων ποιηταῖς, Ἀθηνᾶν δὲ κερδίστην τε καὶ