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being veiled, as if knowing something, but I do not wish to say it; for you have neither given ear nor have you known any of these things from the beginning. But I both foretold and announced beforehand through my prophets, but I also showed in deeds the acts of divine power, of which you are witnesses, you with whom I discuss these things, who have learned the oracles of Moses, so that you confess, even if you do not wish to, that there is no other god besides me. For at the time when I allowed you to see "the virtues" of my own divinity, say in Egypt or at the Red Sea or in the desert, in which I showed countless wonders. No one was with me in these things, nor even before, "not from the beginning," he says, that is, before the times of the flood, during which not even carpenters of inanimate carved images existed. And of these things you are witnesses that they did not exist then, I mean at the beginning of the constitution of mortal life, those who fashion and carve gods, since the art of sculpting or modeling had not yet been discovered among men. But if even late at some time in the periods after these things very many such men arose, yet all will be ashamed and will cease from their error at last, blushing and being veiled; but if they should persist in their own error, they will be given over to destruction at the time of vengeance. Meanwhile, however, you for the present, to whom the present discourse is addressed. Why on earth do you not consider among yourselves what the nature is of the things deified by you in inanimate statues? For is it not ready for all to see that they are the works of "carpenters," wrought with axes and drills and some such tools, the conception of a poor and needy man, who for lack of food invented a mechanism of error, an employment of his craft for bread? And why do you not consider what the nature of a god is, and whether a god needs food, and whether if you do not sacrifice he will be hungry, will the god then also grow weak if not fed? Or according to Symmachus: he will be hungry and will be weak and will be feeble and will not drink water. For why, he says, does he not also drink water, if he has any need of drink at all, if he is not to partake of any of these things just like an irrational beast? Why on earth have you been deceived, O foolish ones, by these things and things akin to them, for the refutation of the inactivity of carved images? Having addressed the idolaters of the Jewish nation, he adds: Remember these things, Jacob and Israel; he says these things as to those who have forgotten and are in need of a reminder of them on account of the denseness of their reasoning. Then he reminds Israel, saying: for you are my child; I formed you to be my child. Wherefore you ought to remember your own worth and, being yourself a creation of God, do not insult yourself by preferring and deifying inanimate matter fashioned by the hands of base artisans. Then, urging them to hasten to repentance, he promises that if they should turn back, he will provide for them forgiveness of their former sins. Therefore he says: I have wiped away, instead of: I will wipe away, your iniquities like a cloud and your sins like a mist, and he adds: Turn back to me, and I will redeem you, as to one who has turned away and been given over to enemies. And having said this, then the prophet, foreseeing that many of them would obey the prophetic word, gazing at these things, calls upon the heavens to rejoice—I mean the heavenly powers—at their salvation, saying: Be glad, O heavens, for God has had mercy on Israel, as "joy will be in heaven over those who are about to repent" of their former evils, but also, sound the trumpet, he says, O foundations of the earth, or according to the other interpreters: shout for joy, you lowest parts of the earth; for if there are certain divine powers supporting the earth itself, let these too send up a shout of joy and a hymn to God. And it is likely that the prophets themselves and all the just and God-loving men are called foundations of the earth; at any rate, the Apostle taught this when he said: "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." But also let the mountains cry out, he says, sending forth voices of gladness, and the hills and all the trees in them likewise

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ἐγκαλυπτόμενοι ὡς εἰδότες μέν τι οὐ βούλομαι δὲ λέγειν· οὔτε γὰρ ἠνωτίσασθε οὔτε ἔγνωτε ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τούτων οὐδέν. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ προεῖπον καὶ προαπήγγειλα διὰ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ προφητῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργοις ἐνεδειξάμην θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως πράξεις, ὧν ὑμεῖς μάρτυρες, οἷς ταῦτα προσδιαλέγομαι, οἳ τὰ Μωσέως λόγια μεμαθηκότες, ὡς ὁμολογεῖν ὑμᾶς κἂν μὴ βούλοισθε μὴ εἶναι πλὴν ἐμοῦ θεὸν ἕτερον. καθ' ὃν γὰρ καιρὸν παρεῖχον ὑμῖν ὁρᾶν «τὰς» τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ θεότητος «ἀρετὰς» τὰς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ φέρε ἢ τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης ἢ τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου, ἐφ' ἧς μυρία θαύματα ἐνεδειξάμην. οὐδεὶς ἦν σὺν ἐμοὶ τούτων οὐδ' ἔτι πρότερον, οὐκ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς φησι, τοῦτ' ἔστι πρὸ τῶν τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ χρόνων, καθ' οὓς οὐδ' αὐτῶν τῶν ἀψύχων ξοάνων τέκτονες ὑπῆρχον. καὶ τούτων ὑμεῖς μάρτυρες ὡς οὐκ ἦσαν τότε, λέγω δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου συστάσεως, οἱ πλάσσοντες καὶ γλύφοντες θεοὺς οὔπω γλυπτικῆς οὐδὲ πλαστικῆς τέχνης ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὑρημένης. εἰ δὲ καὶ ὀψέ ποτε ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνοις πλεῖστοί τινες ἀνεφύησαν τοιοῦτοι, ἀλλ' αἰσχυνθήσονται πάντες καὶ παύσονται λοιπὸν τῆς πλάνης ἐρυθριῶντες καὶ ἐγκαλυπτόμενοι· εἰ δὲ ἐπιμένοιεν τῇ ἑαυτῶν πλάνῃ, ἀπωλείᾳ παραδοθήσονται κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἐκδικήσεως καιρόν. τέως δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος, πρὸς οὓς ὁ παρὼν λόγος. Τί δή ποτε μὴ λογίζεσθε παρ' ἑαυτοῖς, τίς ἡ φύσις τῶν ἐν ἀψύχοις ἀγάλμασι θεοποιουμένων ὑμῖν; ἄρα γὰρ οὐ πρόχειρον τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁρᾶν ὡς «τεκτόνων» εἶεν ἔργα, σκεπάρνοις καὶ τρυπάνοις καὶ τοιούτοις τισὶν ὀργάνοις ἐσκευωρημένα, πένητος καὶ ἐνδεοῦς ἀνδρὸς ἐπίνοια, ὃς δι' ἔνδειαν τροφῆς ἐνεργείας ἄρτου σχολῆς μηχανὴν πλάνης ἐξεύρετο; τί δὲ μὴ λογίζεσθε, τίς θεοῦ φύσις καὶ εἰ θεὸς τροφῆς δεῖται καὶ εἰ μὴ θυόντων ὑμῶν πεινήσει, ἄρα καὶ ἀσθενήσει μὴ τραφεὶς ὁ θεός, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· πεινάσει καὶ ἀσθενήσει καὶ ἀτονήσει καὶ οὐ πίεται ὕδωρ. διὰ τί γάρ φησι μὴ καὶ ὕδωρ πίεται, εἰ ὅλως ἐν χρείᾳ ποτοῦ καθέστηκεν, εἰ δὲ μηδενὸς τούτων ὁμοίως ἀλόγῳ θρέμματι μεθέξει; τί δή ποτε πεπλάνησθε, ὦ μάταιοι, ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀδελφὰ εἰς ἔλεγχον τῆς τῶν ξοάνων ἀδρανείας; ∆ιελθὼν πρὸς τοὺς εἰδωλολάτρας τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ἐπιλέγει· Μνήσθητι ταῦτα, Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραήλ, ὡς ἐπιλελησμένων δὲ καὶ δεομένων τῆς τούτων ὑπομνήσεως διὰ παχύτητα λογισμοῦ ταῦτά φησιν. εἶθ' ὑπομιμνῄσκει τὸν Ἰσραὴλ λέγων· ὅτι παῖς μου εἶ σύ· ἔπλασά σε εἰς τὸ εἶναί σε παῖδά μου. διόπερ ὀφείλεις τῆς σαυτοῦ μνημονεύειν ἀξίας καὶ πλάσμα θεοῦ ὢν αὐτὸς μὴ καθύβριζε σεαυτὸν ἄψυχον ὕλην χερσὶ βαναύσων ἀνδρῶν πεπλασμένην σεαυτοῦ προτιμῶν καὶ θεοποιῶν. εἶτα προτρέπων σπεύδειν ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν ἐπαγγέλλεται, εἰ ἐπιστρέψειαν ἄφεσιν αὐτοῖς τῶν προτέρων ἁμαρτημάτων παρέξειν. διό φησιν· ἀπήλειψα, ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἀπαλείψω, ὡς νεφέλην τὰς ἀνομίας σου καὶ ὡς γνόφον τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου, καὶ προστίθησιν· ἐπιστράφητι πρός με, καὶ λυτρώσομαί σε ὡς ἀπεστραμμένῳ καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐκδεδομένῳ. Καὶ τοῦτο φήσας εἶτα προορῶν ὁ προφήτης πολλοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν ὑπακουσομένους τῷ προφητικῷ λόγῳ ἐνατενίσας τούτοις χαίρειν τοὺς οὐρανούς, λέγω δὲ τὰς οὐρανίους δυνάμεις ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων σωτηρίᾳ, προσφωνεῖ λέγων· εὐφράνθητε, οὐρανοί, ὅτι ἠλέησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ὡς ἂν «χαρᾶς ἐν οὐρανῷ γενησομένης ἐπὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι μετάνοιαν» τῶν προτέρων κακῶν ποιεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ σαλπίσατέ φησι τὰ θεμέλια τῆς γῆς, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· ἀλαλάξατε τὰ κατώτατα τῆς γῆς· εἰ γάρ τινές εἰσιν αἱ τὴν γῆν αὐτὴν ὑποστηρίζουσαι θεῖαι δυνάμεις, καὶ αὗται ἀλαλαγμὸν καὶ ὕμνον ἀναπεμπέτωσαν τῷ θεῷ. εἰκὸς δὲ θεμέλια γῆς χρηματίζειν τοὺς προφήτας αὐτοὺς καὶ πάντας τοὺς δικαίους καὶ θεοφιλεῖς ἄνδρας· τοῦτο γοῦν ἐδίδασκεν ὁ Ἀπόστολος φήσας· «ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν». ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ὄρη βοάτωσάν φησιν εὐφροσύνης ἀφιέντα φωνὰς καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ δὲ καὶ πάντα τὰ ξύλα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως