47. But, you say, if God is not the parent and father of souls, by what sire have they been begotten, and how have they been produced? If you wish to hear unvarnished statements not spun out with vain ostentation of words, we, too,495    So the ms. and all edd.; but Orelli would change item into iterum, not seeing that the reference is to the indicated preference of his opponents for the simple truth. admit that we are ignorant of this, do not know it;496    Nescire Hildebrand, with good reason, considers a gloss. and we hold that, to know so great a matter, is not only beyond the reach of our weakness and frailty, but beyond that also of all the powers which are in the world, and which have usurped the place of deities in men’s belief. But are we bound to show whose they are, because we deny that they are God’s? That by no means497    Nihilfor the ms.mihi which makes nonsense of the sentence. follows necessarily; for if we were to deny that flies, beetles, and bugs, dormice, weevils, and moths,498    This somewhat wide-spread opinion found an amusing counterpart in the doctrines of Rorarius (mentioned by Bayle, Dict. Phil.), who affirmed that the lower animals are gifted with reason and speech, as we are. are made by the Almighty King, we should not be required in consequence to say who made and formed them; for without incurring any censure, we may not know who, indeed, gave them being, and yet assert that not by the Supreme499    Lit., “superior.” Deity were creatures produced so useless, so needless, so purposeless,500    Lit., “tending to no reasons.” nay more, at times even hurtful, and causing unavoidable injuries.

XLVII. Sed si parens, etiam genitor animarum, 0887B inquitis, Deus non est, quo auctore progenitae, et qua sunt ratione prolatae? Si infucata vultis audire, nec ab aliqua vocis ostentatione deducta: item confitemur nos istud ignorare, nescire, scientiamque tantae rei non tantum nostram ducimus infirmitatem fragilitatemque transire, verum etiam potestatum, quae in mundo sunt, omnium: et quae numina se esse opinionibus usurpavere mortalium. Sed quas Dei negamus, cujus sint, debemus ostendere? Nihil istud 0888A necessario sequitur, non enim si negemus muscas, scarabeos, et cimices, nitedulas, curculiones, et tineas omnipotentis esse opus regis: sequaciter postulandum a nobis est ut quis ea fecerit, instituerit que dicamus, possimus enim nulla cum reprehensione nescire, quis et illis originem dederit, et obtinere non esse a Deo superiore prolata tam supervacua, tam vana, tam ad nullas pertinentia rationes, quinimmo aliquando et noxia, et necessarias importantia laesiones.