No More Learning

In this you evidently
transgress your own laws.

"But they say: 'It is for the good of the world, and the men in it, that
there should be no temples. '

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Here, O Emperor, I need freedom of speech; for I fear lest I should
offend. Let then any of them tell me, who have left the tongs and the
hammer and the anvil, and pretend to talk of the heavens, and of them
that dwell there, what rites the Romans followed, who arose from small
and mean beginnings, and went on prevailing, and grew great; theirs, or
these, whose are the temples and the altars, from whom they knew by
the soothsayers, what they ought to do, or not to do? [Here Libanius
instanceth in the successes of Agamemnon against Troy; and of Hercules
before, against the same place; and some other things. ] And many other
wars might be mentioned, which have been successfully conducted, and
after that peace obtained, by the favour and under the direction of
the gods. But, what is the most considerable of all, they who seemed to
despise this way of worship, have honoured it against their will. Who
are they? They who have not ventured to forbid sacrifices at Rome. But
if all this affair of sacrifices be a vain thing, why has not this vain
thing been prohibited? And if it be hurtful likewise, why not much more?
But if in the sacrifices there performed consists the stability of the
empire, it ought to be reckoned beneficial to sacrifice every where; and
to be allowed that the dæmonss at Rome confer greater benefits, these in
the country and other cities less. This is

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what may be reasonably granted: for in an army all are not equal; yet in
a battle the help of each one is of use: the like may be said of rowers
in a vessel. So one [dæmons] defends the sceptre of Rome, another
protects a city subject to it, another preserves the country and gives
it felicity. Let there then be temples every where.
Or let those men
confess, that you are not well affected to Rome in permitting her to do
things by which she suffers damage. But neither is it at Rome only that
the liberty of sacrificing remains, but also in the city of Serapis*,
that great and populous city, which has a multitude of temples, by which
it renders the plenty of Egypt common to all men. This [plenty] is the
work of the Nile. It therefore celebrates the Nile, and persuades him
to rise and overflow the fields. If those rites were not performed, when
and by whom they ought, he would not do so. Which they themselves seem
to be sensible of, who willingly enough abolish such things, but do not
abolish these; but permit the river to enjoy his ancient rites, for the
sake of the benefit he affords.

"'What then,' some will say: 'Since there is not in every country a
river to do what the Nile does

* i. e. Alexandria. The temple of Serapis was destroyed in 391.

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for the earth, there is no reason for temples in those places. Let
them therefore suffer what these good people think fit. ' Whom I would
willingly ask this question: Whether, changing their mind, they will
dare to say, Let there be an end of these things done by [or for] the
Nile: let not the earth partake of his waters: let nothing be sown nor
reaped: let him afford no corn, nor any other product, nor let the mud
overflow the whole land, as at present. If they dare not own this, by
what they forbear to say they confute what they do say: for they who do
not affirm that the Nile ought to be deprived of his honours, confess
that the honours paid to the temples are useful.

"And since they mention him* who spoiled the temples [of their revenues
and gifts], we shall omit observing that he did not proceed to the
taking away the sacrifices. But who ever suffered a greater punishment
for taking away the sacred money [out of the temples], partly in what
he brought upon himself; partly in what he suffered after his death,
insomuch that his family destroyed one another, till there were none
left?