64

to think they honour powers, nor indeed to suppose they are doing things pleasing to God with the earthy vapors of blood and gore and the blood of dead animals. And from all these things, as if released from the bonds of error, it was necessary, I suppose, for the wise men and speculators on celestial things to share generously with all men the contemplation of nature, all but proclaiming openly to all not to marvel at the things that appear, but only at the unseen creator of the things that appear, and to worship his invisible and incorporeal powers in an invisible and incorporeal way, not by lighting a fire nor by sacrificing a ram and a bull, nor indeed by supposing they honour the divine with garlands and wooden images and the building of temples, but by doing this with purified reasonings and with right and true doctrines, in passionlessness of soul and in likeness to him through virtue as far as is possible. But no one ever, not barbarian, not Greek, has initiated all men into this truth except our Savior alone; who, having proclaimed to all the nations an escape from the ancient error, generously discovered for all the turning and piety toward the true and only God of all; but those who were otherwise wise in their life, boasting of the highest philosophy, as the divine apostle says: ‘though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened; claiming to be wise, they became fools,’ ‘and they worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.’ 3.14.1 11. THAT THEIR GODS THEMSELVES, BY CONFIRMING THE MYTHICAL NARRATIVES ABOUT THE GODS THROUGH THEIR OWN ORACLES, ARE PROVED TO BE ACTING CONTRARY

TO THE PHILOSOPHERS After, at any rate, their long and extensive philosophy and after their solemn speculations on celestial and natural things, falling down from somewhere on high as from a lofty summit, they were dragged down with the multitudes and were mingled with the polytheistic error of the ancients, pretending to hold the same opinions as the many by sacrificing and prostrating themselves before wooden images, and augmenting and strengthening even more the popular conception of the mythical narratives about the gods. How then could they not be utterly obvious to all, speaking solemnly in their natural philosophies and, as far as words go, embellishing shameful things by a perversion of the truth, but by their deeds themselves establishing the mythical error and the popular superstition? And this is not yet surprising, when they even record that their own gods agree with the theologies about them. Hear, at any rate, how Apollo himself teaches about himself a hymn, which he published for himself, confessing that he was born on the island of Delos from Leto, and again Asclepius in Tricca, just as Hermes also confesses to have been born from Maia. And Porphyry writes these things also in his work entitled *On the Philosophy from Oracles*, where he also mentioned the oracles, which run something like this: ‘O great joy to all mortals, leaping forth from the sacred birth pangs of your holy mother.’ To which he adds: ‘But when Leto was seized all over by the sacred birth-pangs, the twin offspring stirring within her sacred womb, the earth stood still, the air stood still, the island was fixed, the wave was fixed; and you leaped forth, Lycorean seer, archer Phoebus, king over the oracle-speaking tripods.’ And Asclepius again about himself: ‘From sacred Tricca I have come, a god, whom once my mother, having lain with Phoebus, conceived, the king of wisdom, Asclepius skilled in healing; but why do you ask?’ And Hermes says: ‘But I am he whom you call: Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia; I have come forth, having left the starry king.’ And they also describe the appearance of their form, as Pan himself also in oracles says these things about himself

64

τιμᾶν οἴεσθαι δυνάμεις μηδὲ μὴν γεώδεσιν ἀτμοῖς αἱμάτων καὶ λύθρου καὶ νεκρῶν ζῴων αἵ3.13.24 μασι κεχαρισμένα τῷ θεῷ πράττειν νομίζειν. τούτων δὲ ἁπάντων, ὡς ἂν πλάνης δεσμῶν ἀπολυθέντας, χρῆν δήπου τοὺς σοφοὺς καὶ μετεωρολέσχας πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις τῆς φυσικῆς θεωρίας ἀφθόνως κοινωνεῖν, μονονουχὶ γυμνῶς προκηρύττοντας ἅπασι μὴ τὰ φαινόμενα, τὸν δ' ἀφανῆ δημιουργὸν τῶν φαινο μένων μόνον ἀποθαυμάζειν καὶ τὰς ἀοράτους αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀσωμάτους δυνάμεις ἀοράτως καὶ ἀσωμάτως θρησκεύειν, οὐ πῦρ ἅψαντας οὐδέ γε κριὸν καὶ ταῦρον θυσαμένους, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ στεφάνοις καὶ ξοάνοις καὶ ναῶν ἀνοικοδομαῖς τὸ θεῖον τιμᾶν οἰομένους, λογισμοῖς δὲ κεκαθαρμένοις καὶ δόγμασιν ὀρθοῖς καὶ ἀληθέσι τοῦτο πράττοντας, ἐν ἀπαθείᾳ ψυχῆς καὶ τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸ 3.13.25 δυνατὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁμοιώσει. ἀλλ' οὐδείς γε πώποτε, οὐ βάρβαρος, οὐχ Ἕλλην, πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ταύτης κατῆρξεν τῆς ἀληθείας ἢ μόνος ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτήρ· ὃς δὴ τῆς παλαιᾶς πλάνης πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀποφυγὴν προκηρύξας τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀφθόνως εὕρετο τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀληθῆ καὶ μόνον τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἐπιστροφήν τε καὶ εὐσέβειαν· οἱ δὲ τηνάλλως σοφοὶ τοῦ βίου τὴν ἀνωτάτω φιλοσοφίαν αὐχήσαντες, ᾗ φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· «γνόντες θεὸν οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν ἢ ηὐχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ' ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία· φήσαντες γοῦν εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησαν» «καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, ὅς ἐστιν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.» 3.14.1 ιαʹ. ΟΤΙ ΤΑΣ ΜΥΘΙΚΑΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΘΕΩΝ ∆ΙΗΓΗΣΕΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΙ ∆ΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΟΙΚΕΙΩΝ ΧΡΗΣΜΩΝ ΟΙ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΘΕΟΙ ΚΥΡΟΥΝΤΕΣ ΑΠΕΛΕΓΧΟΝΤΑΙ ΕΝΑΝΤΙΑ

ΠΡΑΤΤΟΝΤΕΣ ΤΟΙΣ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΙΣ Μετὰ γοῦν τὴν μακρὰν καὶ πολλὴν φιλοσοφίαν καὶ μετὰ τὰς σεμνὰς μετεωρολογίας καὶ φυσιολογίας, ἄνωθέν ποθεν ὡς ἀφ' ὑψηλοτάτης ἀκρωρείας καταπίπτοντες σὺν τοῖς πλήθεσι κατεσύροντο καὶ τῇ τῶν παλαιῶν πολυθέῳ πλάνῃ συνεφύροντο, τὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ὅμοια διὰ τοῦ θύειν καὶ τοῖς ξοάνοις προσπίπτειν δοξάζειν ὑποκρινόμενοι αὔξοντές τε καὶ ἐπὶ μᾶλλον κρατύνον3.14.2 τες τὴν δημώδη τῶν μυθικῶν διηγημάτων περὶ θεῶν ὑπόληψιν. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἂν εἶεν τοῖς πᾶσι πρόδηλοι σεμνολογούμενοι μὲν ταῖς φυσιολογίαις καὶ μέχρι λόγων τὰ αἰσχρὰ καλλωπίζοντες τῇ παρατροπῇ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἔργοις δ' αὐτοῖς τὴν μυθικὴν συνιστῶντες πλάνην καὶ τὴν πάνδημον δεισιδαιμονίαν; καὶ οὐδέπω τοῦτο θαυμαστόν, ὅτε καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀναγράφουσι τοὺς 3.14.3 ἑαυτῶν θεοὺς ταῖς περὶ αὐτῶν συμφερομένους θεολογίαις. ἄκουε γοῦν ὅπως ὁ Ἀπόλλων αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ διδάσκει ὕμνον, ὃν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐξέδωκεν, ὁμολογῶν ἐν ∆ήλῳ τῇ νήσῳ ὑπὸ Λητοῦς γεγενῆσθαι, καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἀσκληπιὸς 3.14.4 ἐν Τρίκκῃ, ὡς καὶ Ἑρμῆς τετέχθαι ὁμολογῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Μαίας. γράφει δὲ ὁ Πορφύριος καὶ ταῦτα ἐν οἷς ἐπέγραψε Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας, ἔνθα καὶ τῶν χρησμῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν ὧδέ πως ἐχόντων· «ὦ μέγα πᾶσιν χάρμα βροτοῖσιν ἀπὸ σᾶς ἱερῶν ματέρος ἁγνᾶς προθορὼν τοκετῶν.» 3.14.5 οἷς ἐπιλέγει· «ἀλλ' ὅτε Λατὼ ὠδὶς ἱερὰ λάζυτο πᾶσαν, ὀροθυνομένων διδύμων τοκετῶν ἔνδοθι σηκῶν, ἵστατο μὲν γαῖ', ἵστατο δ' ἀήρ, πάγνυτο νᾶσος, πάγνυτο κῦμα· ἀνὰ δ' ἐξέθορες, μάντι Λυκωρεῦ, τοξότα Φοῖβε, κατὰ χρησμολάλων βασιλεῦ τριπόδων.» 3.14.6 καὶ ὁ Ἀσκληπιὸς πάλιν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ· «Τρίκκης ἐξ ἱερῆς ἥκω θεός, ὅν ποτε μήτηρ Φοίβῳ ὑπευνηθεῖσα κυεῖ σοφίης βασιλῆα, ἴδριν ἰητορίης Ἀσκληπιόν· ἀλλὰ τί πεύθῃ;» 3.14.7 ὁ δ' Ἑρμῆς φησιν· «ὃς δ' ἐγώ, ὃν καλέεις· Ζηνὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱὸς Ἑρμείης· προβέβηκα λιπὼν ἀστραῖον ἄνακτα.» 3.14.8 καὶ τὸ εἶδος δὲ ἑαυτῶν ὑπογράφουσιν τοῦ σχήματος, ὥσπερ ὁ Πὰν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν χρησμοῖς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ τάδε