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Now, as, in the next place (as the promised order demands), those
are to be refuted and taught who contend that the gods of the nations,
which the Christian truth destroys, are to be worshipped not on
account of this life, but on account of that which is to be after
death, I shall do well to commence my disputation with the truthful
oracle of the holy psalm, "Blessed is the man whose hope is the Lord
God, and who respecteth not vanities and lying follies."
Nevertheless, in all vanities and lying follies the philosophers are
to be listened to with far more toleration, who have repudiated those
opinions and errors of the people; for the people set up images to the
deities, and either reigned concerning those whom they call immortal
gods many false and unworthy things, or believed them, already
feigned, and, when believed, mixed them up with their worship and
sacred rites.
With those men who, though not by free avowal of their convictions,
do still testify that they disapprove of those things by their muttering
disapprobation during disputations on the subject, it may not be very
far amiss to discuss the following question: Whether for the sake of
the life which is to be after death, we ought to worship, not the one
God who made all creatures spiritual and corporeal, but those many
gods who, as some of these philosophers hold, were made by that one
God, and placed by Him in their respective sublime spheres, and are
therefore considered more excellent and more noble than all the others?
But who will assert that it must be affirmed and contended that those
gods, certain of whom I have mentioned in the fourth book, to whom
are distributed, each to each the charges of minute things, do bestow
eternal life? But will those most skilled and most acute men, who
glory in having written for the great benefit of men, to teach on what
account each god is to be worshipped, and what is to be sought from
each, lest with most disgraceful absurdity, such as a mimic is wont
for the sake of merriment to exhibit, water should be sought from
Liber, wine from the Lymphs, will those men indeed affirm to any man
supplicating the immortal gods, that when he shall have asked wine from
the Lymphs, and they shall have answered him, "We have water, seek
wine from Liber," he may rightly say, "If ye have not wine, at
least give me eternal life?" What more monstrous than this
absurdity? Will not these Lymphs, for they are wont to be very
easily made laugh,, laughing loudly (if they do not attempt to
deceive like demons), answer the suppliant, "O man, dost thou
think that we have life (vitam) in our power, who thou hearest have
not even the vine (vitem)?" It is therefore most impudent folly to
seek and hope for eternal life from such gods as are asserted so to
preside over the separate minute concernments of this most sorrowful and
short life, and whatever is useful for supporting and propping it, as
that if anything which is under the care and power of one be sought from
another, it is so incongruous and absurd that it appears very like to
mimic drollery, which, when it is done by mimics knowing what they are
doing, is deservedly laughed at in the theatre, but when it is done by
foolish persons, who do not know better, is more deservedly ridiculed
in the world. Wherefore, as concerns those gods which the states have
established, it has been cleverly invented and handed down to memory by
learned men, what god or goddess is to be supplicated in relation to
every particular thing, what, for instance, is to be sought from
Liber, what from the Lymphs, what from Vulcan, and so of all the
rest, some of whom I have mentioned in the fourth book, and some I
have thought right to omit. Further, if it is an error to seek wine
from Ceres, bread from Liber, water from Vulcan, fire from the
Lymphs, how much greater absurdity ought it to be thought, if
supplication be made to any one of these for eternal life?
Wherefore, if, when we were inquiring what gods or goddesses are to
be believed to be able to confer earthly kingdoms upon men, all things
having been discussed, it was shown to be very far from the truth to
think that even terrestrial kingdoms are established by any of those
many false deities, is it not most insane impiety to believe that
eternal life, which is, without any doubt or comparison, to be
preferred to all terrestrial kingdoms, can be given to any one by any
of these gods? For the reason why such gods seemed to us not to be
able to give even an earthly kingdom, was not because they are very
great and exalted, whilst that is something small and abject, which
they, in their so great sublimity, would not condescend to care for,
but because, however deservedly any one may, in consideration of human
frailty, despise the falling pinnacles of an earthly kingdom, these
gods have presented such an appearance as to seem most unworthy to have
the granting and preserving of even those entrusted to them; and
consequently, if (as we have taught in the two last books of our
work, where this matter is treated of) no god out of all that crowd,
either belonging to, as it were, the plebeian or to the noble gods,
is fit to give mortal kingdoms to mortals, how much less is he able to
make immortals of mortals?
And more than this, if, according to the opinion of those with whom
we are now arguing, the gods are to be worshipped, not on account of
the present life, but of that which is to be after death, then,
certainly, they are not to be worshipped on account of those particular
things which are distributed and portioned out (not by any law of
rational truth, but by mere vain conjecture) to the power of such
gods, as they believe they ought to be worshipped, who contend that
their worship is necessary for all the desirable things of this mortal
life, against whom I have disputed sufficiently, as far as I was
able, in the five preceding books. These things being so, if the age
itself of those who worshipped the goddess Juventas should be
characterized by remarkable vigor, whilst her despisers should either
die within the years of youth, or should, during that period, grow
cold as with the torpor of old age; if bearded Fortuna should cover
the cheeks of her worshippers more handsomely and more gracefully than
all others, whilst we should see those by whom she was despised either
altogether beardless or ill-bearded; even then we should most rightly
say, that thus far these several gods had power, limited in some way
by their functions, and that, consequently, neither ought eternal
life to be sought from Juventas, who could not give a beard, nor
ought any good thing after this life to be expected from Fortuna
Barbara, who has no power even in this life to give the age itself at
which the beard grows. But now, when their worship is necessary not
even on account of those very things which they think are subjected to
their power,, for many worshippers of the goddess Juventas have not
been at all vigorous at that age, and many who do not worship her
rejoice in youthful strength; and also many suppliants of Fortuna
Barbara have either not been able to attain to any beard at all, not
even an Ugly one, although they who adore her in order to obtain a
beard are ridiculed by her bearded despisers, is the human heart really
so foolish as to believe that that worship of the gods, which it
acknowledges to be vain and ridiculous with respect to those very
temporal and swiftly passing gifts, over each of which one of these
gods is said to preside, is fruitful in results with respect to eternal
life? And that they are able to give eternal life has not been
affirmed even by those who, that they might be worshipped by the silly
populace, distributed in minute division among them these temporal
occupations, that none of them might sit idle; for they had supposed
the existence of n exceedingly great number.
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