But the
unlearned
and impious natures, to
whom Fate has not granted truly to obtain gifts from the gods, and to
have a knowledge of immortal Jupiter,--these not attending to the gods
and divine men, reject indeed all the gods, and are so far from hating
prohibited demons, that they even choose to reverence them*.
whom Fate has not granted truly to obtain gifts from the gods, and to
have a knowledge of immortal Jupiter,--these not attending to the gods
and divine men, reject indeed all the gods, and are so far from hating
prohibited demons, that they even choose to reverence them*.
Tacitus
23.
"Sunt spiritus terreni minimi loco terreno quodam malorum dæmonum
potestati subjecti. Ab his sapientes Hebræorum, quorum unus iste etiam
Jesus fuit, sicut audivisti divina Apollonis oracula quæ superius dicta
sunt. Ab his ergo _Hebæi_ dsemonibus pessimis et minoribus spiritibus
vetabant religiosos, et ipsis vacare prohibebant: venerari autem magis
coelestes Deos, amplius autem venerari Deum patrem. Hoc autem et Dii
præcipiunt, et in
{40}
superioibus ostendimus, quemadmodum animadvertere ad Deum monent, et
ilium colère ubique imperant. Verum indocti et impiæ naturae, quibus
vere Fatum non concessit a Dius dona obtinere, neque habere Jovis
immortalis notitiam, non audientes Deos et divinos viros; Deos quidem
omnes recusaverunt, prohibitos autem dæmones non solum nullis odiis
insequi, sed etiam revereri delegerunt. Deum autem simulantes se colère,
ea sola per quae Deus adoratur, non agunt. Nam Deus quidem utpote omnium
pater nullius indiget: sed nobis est bene, cum eum per justitiam et
castitatem, aliasque virtutes adoramus, ipsam vitam precem ad ipsum
fa-cientes, per imitationem et inquisitionem de ipso. Inquisitio enim
purgat, imitatio deificat affectionem ad ipsum operando. "
i. e. "There are terrene spirits of the lowest order, who in a certain
terrene place are subject to the power of evil demons. From these were
derived the wise men of the Hebrews, of whom Jesus also was one; as you
have heard the divine oracles of Apollo above mentioned assert. From
these worst of demons therefore, and lesser spirits of the _Hebrew_,
the oracles forbid the religious, and prohibit from paying attention to
them, but exhort them rather to venerate the celestial gods, and still
more the father of the gods. And we have above
{47}
shown how the gods admonish us to look to Divinity, and everywhere
command us to worship him.
But the unlearned and impious natures, to
whom Fate has not granted truly to obtain gifts from the gods, and to
have a knowledge of immortal Jupiter,--these not attending to the gods
and divine men, reject indeed all the gods, and are so far from hating
prohibited demons, that they even choose to reverence them*. But
pretending that they worship God, they do not perform those things
through which alone God is adored. For God, indeed, as being the father
of all things, is not in want of any thing; but it is well with us when
we adore him through justice and continence, and the other
*The Platonic philosopher Sallust, in his golden book On the
Gods and the World, says, alluding to the Christians, cap.
18, "Impiety, which invades some places of the earth, and
which will often subsist in future, ought not to give any
disturbance to the worthy mind; for things of this kind do
not affect, nor can religious honours be of any advantage to
the gods; and the soul from its middle nature is not always
able to pursue that which is right Besides, it is not
improbable that impiety is a species of punishment; for
those who have known and at the same time despised the gods,
we may reasonably suppose will in another life be deprived
of the knowledge of their nature. And those who have
honoured their proper sovereigns as gods, shall be cut off
from the divinities, as the punishment of their impiety. "
{48}
virtues, making our life a prayer to him through the imitation and
investigation of him. For investigation purifies, but imitation deifies
the affection of the mind by energizing about divinity. "
The following extract from Porphyry concerning a pestilence which raged
for many years at Rome, and could not be mitigated by any sacrifices, is
preserved by Theodoret: "[--------]. " i. e. "The Christians now wonder
that the city has been for so many years attacked by disease, the advent
[or manifest appearance] of Esculapius and the other gods no longer
existing. For Jesus being now reverenced and worshiped, no one any
longer derives any public benefit from the gods. "
A FRAGMENT OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH BOOK OF DIODORUS SICULUS.
"King Antiochus besieged Jerusalem; but the Jews resisted him for some
time. When, however, all their provision was spent, they were forced to
send ambassadors to him to treat on terms. Many of his friends persuaded
him to storm the city, and
{49}
to root out the whole nation of the Jews; because they only, of all
people, hated to converse with any of another nation, and treated all of
them as enemies.
"Sunt spiritus terreni minimi loco terreno quodam malorum dæmonum
potestati subjecti. Ab his sapientes Hebræorum, quorum unus iste etiam
Jesus fuit, sicut audivisti divina Apollonis oracula quæ superius dicta
sunt. Ab his ergo _Hebæi_ dsemonibus pessimis et minoribus spiritibus
vetabant religiosos, et ipsis vacare prohibebant: venerari autem magis
coelestes Deos, amplius autem venerari Deum patrem. Hoc autem et Dii
præcipiunt, et in
{40}
superioibus ostendimus, quemadmodum animadvertere ad Deum monent, et
ilium colère ubique imperant. Verum indocti et impiæ naturae, quibus
vere Fatum non concessit a Dius dona obtinere, neque habere Jovis
immortalis notitiam, non audientes Deos et divinos viros; Deos quidem
omnes recusaverunt, prohibitos autem dæmones non solum nullis odiis
insequi, sed etiam revereri delegerunt. Deum autem simulantes se colère,
ea sola per quae Deus adoratur, non agunt. Nam Deus quidem utpote omnium
pater nullius indiget: sed nobis est bene, cum eum per justitiam et
castitatem, aliasque virtutes adoramus, ipsam vitam precem ad ipsum
fa-cientes, per imitationem et inquisitionem de ipso. Inquisitio enim
purgat, imitatio deificat affectionem ad ipsum operando. "
i. e. "There are terrene spirits of the lowest order, who in a certain
terrene place are subject to the power of evil demons. From these were
derived the wise men of the Hebrews, of whom Jesus also was one; as you
have heard the divine oracles of Apollo above mentioned assert. From
these worst of demons therefore, and lesser spirits of the _Hebrew_,
the oracles forbid the religious, and prohibit from paying attention to
them, but exhort them rather to venerate the celestial gods, and still
more the father of the gods. And we have above
{47}
shown how the gods admonish us to look to Divinity, and everywhere
command us to worship him.
But the unlearned and impious natures, to
whom Fate has not granted truly to obtain gifts from the gods, and to
have a knowledge of immortal Jupiter,--these not attending to the gods
and divine men, reject indeed all the gods, and are so far from hating
prohibited demons, that they even choose to reverence them*. But
pretending that they worship God, they do not perform those things
through which alone God is adored. For God, indeed, as being the father
of all things, is not in want of any thing; but it is well with us when
we adore him through justice and continence, and the other
*The Platonic philosopher Sallust, in his golden book On the
Gods and the World, says, alluding to the Christians, cap.
18, "Impiety, which invades some places of the earth, and
which will often subsist in future, ought not to give any
disturbance to the worthy mind; for things of this kind do
not affect, nor can religious honours be of any advantage to
the gods; and the soul from its middle nature is not always
able to pursue that which is right Besides, it is not
improbable that impiety is a species of punishment; for
those who have known and at the same time despised the gods,
we may reasonably suppose will in another life be deprived
of the knowledge of their nature. And those who have
honoured their proper sovereigns as gods, shall be cut off
from the divinities, as the punishment of their impiety. "
{48}
virtues, making our life a prayer to him through the imitation and
investigation of him. For investigation purifies, but imitation deifies
the affection of the mind by energizing about divinity. "
The following extract from Porphyry concerning a pestilence which raged
for many years at Rome, and could not be mitigated by any sacrifices, is
preserved by Theodoret: "[--------]. " i. e. "The Christians now wonder
that the city has been for so many years attacked by disease, the advent
[or manifest appearance] of Esculapius and the other gods no longer
existing. For Jesus being now reverenced and worshiped, no one any
longer derives any public benefit from the gods. "
A FRAGMENT OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH BOOK OF DIODORUS SICULUS.
"King Antiochus besieged Jerusalem; but the Jews resisted him for some
time. When, however, all their provision was spent, they were forced to
send ambassadors to him to treat on terms. Many of his friends persuaded
him to storm the city, and
{49}
to root out the whole nation of the Jews; because they only, of all
people, hated to converse with any of another nation, and treated all of
them as enemies.
