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the evil one. And it is forbidden to swear by them and to utter through their mouth the abominable names or to worship them or to fear them as gods; for they are not gods, but either wicked demons or works that are mocked. For God says somewhere concerning the Israelites: “They have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are not gods.” And next: “I will take away the names of the idols from their mouth.” And elsewhere: “They have provoked me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have angered me with their idols.” And in all the scriptures these things are forbidden by the Lord God. And not only concerning idols do they forbid, but also concerning the heavenly bodies they legislate, advising neither to swear by them nor to worship them; for they say: “Lest seeing the sun and the moon and the stars, you be led astray and worship them.” And elsewhere: “Learn not the ways of the nations, and be not afraid of the signs of heaven.” For the stars and the heavenly bodies were given for light to men, but not for worship, even if the Israelites by wickedness of manner worshipped the creation instead of the creator, and having insulted the maker, they marveled at the creation more than is right, and at one time making a calf as in the desert, at another time worshipping Baal-peor, at other times Baal and Tammuz and the Sidonian Astarte, and again Molech and Chemosh, and at other times the sun, as is written in Ezekiel, and now also irrational animals, as among the Egyptians the Apis and the Mendesian goat, and gods of silver and gold, as in Judea. For all which things, threatening them, he said through the prophet: “Is this a small thing for the house of Judah, to do these abominations which they have done, that they have filled the land with iniquity to provoke me to anger? Behold, they are as mockers, and I will act with wrath, my eye shall not spare nor will I have pity, and they shall cry in my ears with a loud voice and I will not hear them.” See, beloved, how many things the Lord declares against idolaters and those who worship the sun and moon. Wherefore it is necessary for the man of God as a Christian to swear neither by the sun nor the moon nor the stars, nor indeed by heaven or earth or any of the elements small or great. For if the teacher commanded us not to swear concerning the true God, so that our word may be more trustworthy than an oath, nor indeed by heaven itself, for this is a Hellenic impiety, nor

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τὸ πονηρόν. Ἀπείρηται δὲ καὶ τὸ ὀμνύειν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ διὰ στόματος αὐτῶν προφέρειν τὰ βδελυκτὰ ὀνόματα ἢ προσκυ νεῖν αὐτοῖς ἢ φοβεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς ὡς θεούς· οὐ γὰρ εἰσὶν θεοί, ἀλλ' ἢ πονηροὶ δαίμονες ἢ μεμωκημένα ἔργα. Λέγει γάρ που ὁ Θεὸς περὶ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν· «Ἐγκατέλιπόν με καὶ êμνυον ἐν τοῖς οὐκ οὖσι θεοῖς.» Καὶ ἑξῆς· «Ἐξαρῶ τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν εἰδώλων ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῶν.» Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· «Aὐτοὶ παρεζήλωσάν με ἐπ' οὐ θεοῖς, παρώργισάν με ἐν τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν.» Καὶ ἐν πάσαις δὲ ταῖς γραφαῖς ἀπηγόρευται ταῦτα ὑπὸ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ. Oὐ μόνον δὲ περὶ εἰδώλων ἀπαγορεύουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ φωστήρων νομοθετοῦντες παραινοῦσιν μήτε ὀμνύειν ταῦτα μήτε μὴν λατρεύειν αὐτοῖς· φασὶ γάρ· «Μὴ ἰδὼν τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὴν σελήνην καὶ τοὺς ἀστέρας πλανηθεὶς προσκυνήσῃς αὐτοῖς.» Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· «Κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν μὴ μανθάνετε, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθε.» Τὰ γὰρ ἄστρα καὶ οἱ φωστῆρες εἰς φαῦσιν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς προσκύνησιν ἐδόθησαν, εἰ καὶ οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται μοχθηρίᾳ τρόπου προσεκύνουν ἀντὶ τοῦ κτίστου τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ τὸν μὲν δημιουργὸν καθυβρίσαντες, τὴν δὲ κτίσιν πλεῖον ἢ δεῖ θαυμάσαντες, καί ποτε μὲν μοσχοποιοῦντες ὡς ἐν ἐρήμῳ, ποτὲ δὲ τὸν Βεελφεγὼρ προσκυνοῦντες, ἄλλοτε δὲ τὸν Βαὰλ καὶ τὸν Θαμμοὺς καὶ τὴν σιδωνίαν Ἀστάρτην, καὶ πάλιν τὸν Μολὸχ καὶ τὸν Χαμώς, καὶ ἄλλοτε τὸν ἥλιον, ὡς παρὰ τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ γέγραπται, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἄλογα ζῶα, ὡς παρ' Aἰγυπτίοις τὸν Ἄπιν καὶ τὸν μενδήσιον τράγον, καὶ θεοὺς ἀργυροῦς καὶ χρυσοῦς, ὡς ἐν Ἰουδαίᾳ. ∆ι' ἅπερ ἅπαντα ἀπειλῶν αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· «Μὴ μικρὸν τοῦτο τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰούδα, τοῦ ποιεῖν τὰ βδελύγματα ταῦτα, ἃ ἐποίησαν, ὅτι ἔπλησαν τὴν γῆν ἀνομίας τοῦ παροργίσαι με; Ἰδού, αὐτοί εἰσιν ὡς μυκτηρίζοντες, καὶ ἐγὼ ποιήσω μετὰ θυμοῦ, οὐ φείσεται ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου οὐδ' οὐ μὴ ἐλεήσω, καὶ κεκράξονται ἐν τοῖς ὠσίν μου φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι αὐτῶν.» Ὁρᾶτε, ἀγαπητοί, ὅσα κατὰ τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν καὶ τῶν σεβομένων ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην ἀποφαίνεται ὁ Κύριος. ∆ιὸ χρὴ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον ὡς Χριστιανὸν μήτε ἥλιον ὀμνῦναι μήτε σελήνην μήτε ἄστρα, μήτε μὴν οὐρανὸν ἢ γῆν ἤ τι τῶν στοιχείων μικρὸν ἢ μέγα. Eἰ γὰρ ὁ διδάσκαλος περὶ τοῦ ὄντος Θεοῦ παρήγγειλεν ἡμῖν μὴ ὀμνύειν, ὅπως ὁ λόγος ἡμῶν πιστότερος ᾖ τοῦ ὅρκου, μήτε μὴν τὸν οὐρανὸν αὐτόν, ἑλληνικὸν γὰρ τὸ δυσσέβημα, μήτε