Book III.
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1. All these
charges, then, which might
truly be
better termed abuse, have been
long answered with
sufficient fulness and
accuracy by
men of
distinction in this
respect, and
worthy to have
learned the
truth; and not one
point of any
inquiry has been
passed over, without
being determined in a
thousand ways, and on the
strongest grounds. We
need not, therefore,
linger further on this
part of the
case. For neither is the
Christian religion unable to
stand though it found no
advocates, nor will it be therefore
proved true if it found many to
agree with it, and
gained weight through its
adherents. Its own
strength is
sufficient for it, and it
rests on the
foundations of its own
truth, without
losing its
power, though there were none to
defend it,
nay, though all
voices assailed and
opposed it, and
united with
common rancour to
destroy all
faith in it.
2. Let us now
return to the
order from which we were a
little ago compelled to
diverge, that our
defence may not, through its
being too
long broken off, be
said to have
given our
detractors cause to
triumph in the
establishing of their
charge. For they
propose these
questions: If you are in
earnest about
religion, why do you not
serve and
worship the other
gods with us, or
share your
sacred rites with your
fellows, and
put the
ceremonies of the
different religions on an
equality? We
may say for the
present: In
essaying to
approach the
divine, the
Supreme Deity suffices us,-the
Deity, I
say, who is
supreme, the
Creator and
Lord of the
universe, who
orders and
rules all
things: in Him we
serve all that
requires our
service; in Him we
worship all that should be
adored,-
venerate that which
demands the
homage of our
reverence. For as we
lay hold of the
source of the
divine itself from which the very
divinity of all
gods whatever is
derived, we
think it an
idle task to
approach each
personally, since we neither
know who they are, nor the
names by which they are
called; and are further
unable to
learn, and
discover, and
establish their
number.
3. And as in the
kingdoms of
earth we are in no
wise constrained expressly to do
reverence to those who
form the
royal family as well as to the
sovereigns, but whatever
honour belongs to them is found to be
tacitly implied in the
homage offered to the
kings themselves; in
just the same
way, these
gods, whoever they be, for whose
existence you
vouch, if they are a
royal race, and
spring from the
Supreme Ruler, even though we do not
expressly do them
reverence, yet
feel that they are
honoured in
common with their
Lord, and
share in the
reverence shown to Him. Now it must be
remembered that we have made this
statement, on the
hypothesis only that it is
clear and
undeniable, that besides the
Ruler and
Lord Himself, there are still other
beings, who, when
arranged and
disposed in
order,
form, as it were, a
kind of
plebeian mass. But do not
seek to
point out to us
pictures instead of
gods in your
temples, and the
images which you
set up, for you too
know, but are
unwilling and
refuse to
admit, that these are
formed of most
worthless clay, and are
childish figures made by
mechanics. And when we
converse with you on
religion, we
ask you to
prove this, that there are other
gods than the one
Supreme Deity in
nature,
power,
name, not as we
see them
manifested in
images, but in such a
substance as it might
fittingly be
supposed that
perfection of so
great dignity should
reside.
4. But we do not
purpose delaying further on this
part of the
subject,
lest we seem
desirous to
stir up most
violent strife, and
engage in
agitating contests.
Let there be, as you
affirm, that
crowd of
deities, let there be
numberless families of
gods; we
assent,
agree, and do not
examine too
closely, nor in any
part of the
subject do we
assail the
doubtful and
uncertain positions you
hold. This, however, we
demand, and
ask you to
tell us, whence you have
discovered, or how you have
learned, whether there are these
gods, whom you
believe to be in
heaven and
serve, or some others
unknown by
reputation and
name? For it
may be that
beings exist whom you do not
believe to do so; and that those of whose
existence you
feel assured, are found nowhere in the
universe. For you have at no
time been
borne aloft to the
stars of
heaven, at no
time have
seen the
face and
countenance of each; and then
established here the
worship of the same
gods, whom you
remembered to be there, as
having been
known and
seen by you. But this, too, we again would
learn from you, whether they have
received these
names by which you
call them, or
assumed them themselves on the
days of
purification. If these are
divine and
celestial names, who
reported them to you? But if, on the other
hand, these
names have been
applied to them by you, how could you
give names to those whom you never
saw, and whose
character or
circumstances you in no
wise knew?
5. But let it be
assumed that there are these
gods, as you
wish and
believe, and are
persuaded; let them be
called also by those
names by which the
common people suppose that those
meaner gods are
known. Whence, however, have you
learned who make up the
list of
gods under these
names? have any ever become
familiar and
known to others with whose
names you were not
acquainted? For it cannot be
easily known whether their
numerous body is
settled and
fixed in
number; or whether their
multitude cannot be
summed up and
limited by the
numbers of any
computation. For let us
suppose that you do
reverence to a
thousand, or rather
five thousand gods; but in the
universe it
may perhaps be that there are a
hundred thousand; there
may be even more than this,-
nay, as we
said a
little before, it
may not be
possible to
compute the
number of the
gods, or
limit them by a
definite number. Either, then, you are yourselves
impious who
serve a few
gods, but
disregard the
duties which you
owe to the
rest; or if you
claim that your
ignorance of the
rest should be
pardoned, you will
procure for us also a
similar pardon, if in
just the same
way we
refuse to
worship those of whose
existence we are
wholly ignorant.
6. And yet let no one
think that we are
perversely determined not to
submit to the other
deities, whoever they are! For we
lift up
pious minds, and
stretch forth our
hands in
prayer, and do not
refuse to
draw near whithersoever you
may have
summoned us; if only we
learn who those
divine beings are whom you
press upon us, and with whom it
may be
right to
share the
reverence which we
show to the
king and
prince who is over all. It is
Saturn, my
opponent says, and
Janus,
Minerva,
Juno,
Apollo,
Venus,
Triptolemus,
Hercules,
Aesculapius, and all the others, to whom the
reverence of
antiquity dedicated magnificent temples in almost every
city. You might, perhaps, have been
able to
attract us to the
worship of these
deities you
mention, had you not been yourselves the first, with
foul and
unseemly fancies, to
devise such
tales about them as not
merely to
stain their
honour, but, by the
natures assigned to them, to
prove that they did not
exist at all. For, in the first
place, we cannot be
led to
believe this,-that that
immortal and
supreme nature has been
divided by
sexes, and that there are some
male, others
female. But this
point, indeed, has been
long ago fully treated of by
men of
ardent genius, both in
Latin and
Greek; and
Tullius, the most
eloquent among the
Romans, without
dreading the
vexatiousness of a
charge of
impiety, has above all, with
greater piety,
declared-boldly,
firmly, and
frankly-what he
thought of such a
fancy; and if you would
proceed to
receive from him
opinions written with
true discernment, instead of
merely brilliant sentences, this
case would have been
concluded; nor would it
require at our
weak hands a
second pleading, as it is
termed.
7. But why should I
say that
men seek from him
subtleties of
expression and
splendour of
diction, when I
know that there are many who
avoid and
flee from his
books on this
subject, and will not
hear his
opinions read,
overthrowing their
prejudices; and when I
hear others
muttering angrily, and
saying that the
senate should
decree the
destruction of these
writings by which the
Christian religion is
maintained, and the
weight of
antiquity overborne? But, indeed, if you are
convinced that anything you
say regarding your
gods is beyond
doubt,
point out
Cicero's
error,
refute,
rebut his
rash and
impious words, and
show that they are so. For when you would
carry off
writings, and
suppress a
book given forth to the
public, you are not
defending the
gods, but
dreading the
evidence of the
truth.
8. And yet, that no
thoughtless person may raise a
false accusation against us, as though we
believed God whom we
worship to be
male,-for this
reason, that is, that when we
speak of Him we
use a
masculine word,-let him
understand that it is not
sex which is
expressed, but His
name, and its
meaning according to
custom, and the
way in which we are in the
habit of using
words. For the
Deity is not
male, but His
name is of the
masculine gender: but in your
ceremonies you cannot
say the same; for in your
prayers you have been
wont to
say whether thou
art god or
goddess, and this
uncertain description shows, even by their
opposition, that you
attribute sex to the
gods. We cannot, then, be
prevailed on to
believe that the
divine is
embodied; for
bodies must
needs be
distinguished by
difference of
sex, if they are
male and
female. For who, however
mean his
capacity, does not
know that the
sexes of
different gender have been
ordained and
formed by the
Creator of the
creatures of
earth, only that, by
intercourse and
union of
bodies, that which is
fleeting and
transient may endure being ever
renewed and
maintained?
9. What, then, shall we
say? That
gods beget and are
begotten? and that therefore they have
received organs of
generation, that they might be
able to
raise up
offspring, and that, as each
new race springs up, a
substitution,
regularly occurring, should make up for all which had been
swept away by the
preceding age? If, then, it is so,-that is, if the
gods above
beget other
gods, and are
subject to these
conditions of
sex, and are
immortal, and are not
worn out, by the
chills of
age,-it
follows, as a
consequence, that the
world should be
full of
gods, and that
countless heavens could not
contain their
multitude,
inasmuch as they are both themselves ever
begetting, and the
countless multitude of their
descendants, always
being increased, is
augmented by
means of their
offspring; or if, as is
fitting, the
gods are not
degraded by
being subjected to
sexual impulses, what
cause or
reason will be
pointed out for their
being distinguished by those
members by which the
sexes are
wont to
recognise each other at the
suggestion of their own
desires? For it is not likely that they have these without a
purpose, or that
nature had
wished in them to make
sport of its own
improvidence, in
providing them with
members for which there would be no
use. For as the
hands,
feet,
eyes, and other
members which
form our
body, have been
arranged for
certain uses, each for its own end, so we
may well
believe that these
members have been
provided to
discharge their
office; or it must be
confessed that there is something without a
purpose in the
bodies of the
gods, which has been made
uselessly and in
vain.
10. What
say you, ye
holy and
pure guardians of
religion? Have the
gods, then,
sexes; and are they
disfigured by those
parts, the very
mention of whose
names by
modest lips is
disgraceful? What, then, now
remains, but to
believe that they, as
unclean beasts, are
transported with
violent passions,
rush with
maddened desires into
mutual embraces, and at last, with
shattered and
ruined bodies, are
enfeebled by their
sensuality? And since some
things are
peculiar to the
female sex, we must
believe that the
goddesses, too,
submit to these
conditions at the
proper time,
conceive and become
pregnant with
loathing,
miscarry,
carry the
full time, and sometimes are
prematurely delivered.
O divinity,
pure,
holy,
free from and
unstained by any
dishonourable blot! The
mind longs and
burns to
see, in the
great halls and
palaces of
heaven,
gods and
goddesses, with
bodies uncovered and
bare, the
full-breasted Ceres nursing Iacchus, as the
muse of
Lucretius sings, the
Hellespontian Priapus bearing about among the
goddesses,
virgin and
matron, those
parts ever
prepared for
encounter. It
longs, I
say, to
see goddesses pregnant,
goddesses with
child, and, as they
daily increase in
size,
faltering in their
steps, through the
irksomeness of the
burden they
bear about with them; others, after
long delay,
bringing to
birth, and
seeking the
midwife's
aid; others,
shrieking as they are
attacked by
keen pangs and
grievous pains,
tormented, and, under all these
influences,
imploring the
aid of
Juno Lucina. Is it not much
better to
abuse,
revile, and otherwise
insult the
gods, than, with
pious pretence,
unworthily to
entertain such
monstrous beliefs about them?
11. And you
dare to
charge us with
offending the
gods, although, on
examination, it is found that the
ground of
offence is most
clearly in ourselves, and that it is not
occasioned by the
insult which you
think . For if the
gods are, as you
say,
moved by
anger, and
burn with
rage in their
minds, why should we not
suppose that they
take it
amiss, even in the
highest degree, that you
attribute to them
sexes, as
dogs and
swine have been
created, and that, since this is your
belief, they are so
represented, and
openly exposed in a
disgraceful manner? This, then,
being the
case, you are the
cause of all
troubles-you lead the
gods, you
rouse them to
harass the
earth with every
ill, and every
day to
devise all
kinds of
fresh misfortunes, that so they
may avenge themselves,
being irritated at
suffering so many
wrongs and
insults from you. By your
insults and
affronts, I
say,
partly in the
vile stories,
partly in the
shameful beliefs which your
theologians, your
poets, you yourselves too,
celebrate in
disgraceful ceremonies, you will
find that the
affairs of
men have been
ruined, and that the
gods have
thrown away the
helm, if indeed it is by their
care that the
fortunes of
men are
guided and
arranged. For with us, indeed, they have no
reason to be
angry, whom they
see and
perceive neither to
mock, as it is
said, nor
worship them, and to
think, to
believe much more
worthily than you with
regard to the
dignity of their
name.
12. Thus
far of
sex. Now let us
come to the
appearance and
shapes by which
yon believe that the
gods above have been
represented, with which, indeed, you
fashion, and
set them up in their most
splendid abodes, your
temples. And let no one here
bring up against us
Jewish fables and those of the
sect of the
Sadducees, as though we, too,
attribute to the
Deity forms; for this is
supposed to be
taught in their
writings, and
asserted as if with
assurance and
authority. For these
stories either do not
concern us, and have nothing at all in
common with us, or if they are
shared in by us, as you
believe, you must
seek out
teachers of
greater wisdom, through whom you
may be
able to
learn how
best to
overcome the
dark and
recondite sayings of those
writings. Our
opinion on the
subject is as
follows:-that the whole
divine nature, since it neither
came into
existence at any
time, nor will ever
come to an end of
life, is
devoid of
bodily features, and does not have anything like the
forms with which the
termination of the several
members usually.
completes the
union of
parts. For whatever is of this
character, we
think mortal and
perishable; nor do we
believe that that can
endure for ever which an
inevitable end
shuts in, though the
boundaries enclosing it be the
remotest.
13. But it is not enough that you
limit the
gods by
forms:-you even
confine them to the
human figure, and with even less
decency enclose them in
earthly bodies. What shall we
say then? that the
gods have a
head modelled with
perfect symmetry,
bound fast by
sinews to the
back and
breast, and that, to
allow the
necessary bending of the
neck, it is
supported by
combinations of
vertebrae, and by an
osseous foundation? But if we
believe this to be
true, it
follows that they have
ears also,
pierced by
crooked windings;
rolling eyeballs,
overshadowed by the
edges of the
eyebrows; a
nose,
placed as a
channel, through which
waste fluids and a
current of
air might
easily pass;
teeth to
masticate food, of
three kinds, and
adapted to
three services;
hands to do their
work,
moving easily by
means of
joints,
fingers, and
flexible elbows;
feet to
support their
bodies,
regulate their
steps, and
prompt the first
motions in
walking. But if the
gods bear these
things which are
seen, it is
fitting that they should
bear those also which the
skin conceals under the
framework of the
ribs, and the
membranes enclosing the
viscera;
windpipes,
stomachs,
spleens,
lungs,
bladders,
livers, the
long-entwined intestines, and the
veins of
purple blood,
joined with the
air-passages,
coursing through the whole
viscera.
14. Are, then, the
divine bodies free from these
deformities? and since they do not
eat the
food of
men, are we to
believe that, like
children, they are
toothless, and,
having no
internal parts, as if they were
inflated bladders, are without
strength,
owing to the
hollowness of their
swollen bodies? Further, if this is the
case, you must
see whether the
gods are all
alike, or are
marked by a
difference in the
contour of their
forms. For if each and all have one and the same
likeness of
shape, there is nothing
ridiculous in
believing that they
err, and are
deceived in
recognising each other. But if, on the other
hand, they are
distinguished by their
countenances, we should,
consequently,
understand that these
differences have been
implanted for no other
reason than that they might
individually be
able to
recognise themselves by the
peculiarites of the
different marks. We should therefore
say that some have
big heads,
prominent brows,
broad brows,
thick lips; that others of them have
long chins,
moles, and
high noses; that these have
dilated nostrils, those are
snub-nosed; some
chubby from a
swelling of their
jaws or
growth of their
cheeks,
dwarfed,
tall, of
middle size,
lean,
sleek,
fat; some with
crisped and
curled hair, others
shaven, with
bald and
smooth heads. Now your
workshops show and
point out that our
opinions are not
false,
inasmuch as, when you
form and
fashion gods, you
represent some with
long hair, others
smooth and
bare, as
old, as
youths, as
boys,
swarthy,
grey-eyed,
yellow,
half-naked,
bare; or, that
cold may not
annoy them,
covered with
flowing garments thrown over them.
15. Does any
man at all
possessed of
judgment,
believe that
hairs and down
grow on the
bodies of the
gods? that among them
age is
distinguished? and that they
go about
clad in
dresses and
garments of
various shapes, and
shield themselves from
heat and
cold? But if any one
believes that, he must
receive this also as
true, that some
gods are
fullers, some
barbers; the former to
cleanse the
sacred garments, the latter to
thin their
locks when
matted with a
thick growth of
hair. Is not this
really degrading, most
impious, and
insulting, to
attribute to the
gods the
features of a
frail and
perishing animal? to
furnish them with those
members which no
modest person would
dare to
recount, and
describe, or
represent in his own
imagination, without
shuddering at the
excessive indecency? Is this the
contempt you
entertain,-this the
proud wisdom with which you
spurn us as
ignorant, and
think that all
knowledge of
religion is yours? You
mock the
mysteries of the
Egyptians, because they
ingrafted the
forms of
dumb animals upon their
divine causes, and because they
worship these very
images with much
incense, and whatever else is used in such
rites: you yourselves
adore images of
men, as though they were
powerful gods, and are not
ashamed to
give to these the
countenance of an
earthly creature, to
blame others for their
mistaken folly, and to be
detected in a
similarly vicious error.
16. But you will, perhaps,
say that the
gods have indeed other
forms, and that you have
given the
appearance of
men to them
merely by
way of
honour, and for
form's
sake which is much more
insulting than to have
fallen into any
error through
ignorance. For if you
confessed that you had
ascribed to the
divine forms that which you had
supposed and
believed, your
error,
originating in
prejudice, would not be so
blameable. But now, when you
believe one
thing and
fashion another, you both
dishonour those to whom
yon ascribe that which you
confess does not
belong to them, and
show your
impiety in
adoring that which you
fashion, not that which you
think really is, and which is in very
truth. If
asses,
dogs,
pigs, had any
human wisdom and
skill in
contrivance, and
wished to do us
honour also by some
kind of
worship, and to
show respect by
dedicating statues to us, with what
rage would they
inflame us, what a
tempest of
passion would they
excite, if they
determined that our
images should
bear and
assume the
fashion of their own
bodies? How would they, I
repeat,
fill us with
rage, and
rouse our
passions, if the
founder of
Rome,
Romulus, were to be
set up with an
ass's
face, the
revered Pompilius with that of a
dog, if under the
image of a
pig were
written Cato's or
Marcus Cicero's
name? So, then, do you
think that your
stupidity is not
laughed at by your
deities, if they
laugh at all? or, since you
believe that they
may be
enraged, do you
think that they are not
roused,
maddened to
fury, and that they do not
wish to be
revenged for so
great wrongs and
insults, and to
hurl on you the
punishments usually dictated by
chagrin, and
devised by
bitter hatred? How much
better it had been to
give to them the
forms of
elephants,
panthers, or
tigers,
bulls, and
horses! For what is there
beautiful in
man,-what, I
pray you,
worthy of
admiration, or
comely,-unless that which, some
poet has
maintained, he
possesses in
common with the
ape?
17. But, they
say, if you are not
satisfied with our
opinion, do you
point out,
tell us yourselves, what is the
Deity's
form. If you
wish to
hear the
truth, either the
Deity has no
form; or if He is
embodied in one, we indeed
know not what it is. Moreover, we
think it no
disgrace to be
ignorant of that which we never
saw; nor are we therefore
prevented from
disproving the
opinions of others, because on this we have no
opinion of our own to
bring forward. For as, if the
earth be
said to be of
glass,
silver,
iron, or
gathered together and made from
brittle clay, we cannot
hesitate to
maintain that this is
untrue, although we do not
know of what it is made; so, when the
form of
God is
discussed, we
show that it is not what you
maintain, even if we are still less
able to
explain what it is.
18. What, then, some one will
say, does the
Deity not
hear? does He not
speak? does He not
see what is
put before Him? has He not
sight? He
may in His own, but not in our
way. But in so
great a
matter we cannot
know the
truth at all, or
reach it by
speculations; for these are, it is
clear, in our
case,
baseless,
deceitful, and like
vain dreams. For if we
said that He
sees in the same
way as ourselves, it
follows that it should be
understood that He has
eyelids placed as
coverings on the
pupils of the
eyes, that He
closes them,
winks,
sees by
rays or
images, or, as is the
case in all
eyes, can
see nothing at all without the
presence of other
light. So we must in like
manner say of
hearing, and
form of
speech, and
utterance of
words. If He
hears by
means of
ears, these, too, we must
say, He has,
penetrated by
winding paths, through which the
sound may steal,
bearing the
meaning of the
discourse; or if His
words are
poured forth from a
mouth, that He has
lips and
teeth, by the
contact and
various movement of which His
tongue utters sounds distinctly.
19. If you are
willing to
hear our
conclusions, then
learn that we are so
far from
attributing bodily shape to the
Deity, that we
fear to
ascribe to so
great a
being even
mental graces, and the very
excellences by which a few have been
allowed with
difficulty to
distinguish themselves. For who will
say that
God is
brave,
firm,
good,
wise? who will
say that He has
integrity, is
temperate, even that He has
knowledge,
understanding,
forethought? that He
directs towards
fixed moral ends the
actions on which He
determines? These
things are
good in
man; and
being opposed to
vices, have
deserved the
great reputation which they have
gained. But who is so
foolish, so
senseless, as to
say that
God is
great by
merely human excellences? or that He is above all in the
greatness of His
name, because He is not
disgraced by
vice? Whatever you
say, whatever in
unspoken thought you
imagine concerning God,
passes and is
corrupted into a
human sense, and does not
carry its own
meaning, because it is
spoken in the
words which we
use, and which are
suited only to
human affairs. There is but one
thing man can be
assured of
regarding God's
nature, to
know and
perceive that nothing can be
revealed in
human language concerning God.
20. This, then, this
matter of
forms and
sexes, is the first
affront which you,
noble advocates in
sooth, and
pious writers,
offer to your
deities. But what is the next, that you
represent to us the
gods, some as
artificers, some
physicians, others
working in
wool, as
sailors,
players on the
harp and
flute,
hunters,
shepherds, and, as there was nothing more,
rustics? And that
god, he
says, is a
musician, and this other can
divine; for the other
gods cannot, and do not
know how to
foretell what will
come to
pass,
owing to their
want of
skill and
ignorance of the
future. One is
instructed in
obstetric arts, another
trained up in the
science of
medicine. Is each, then,
powerful in his own
department; and can they
give no
assistance, if their
aid is
asked, in what
belongs to another? This one is
eloquent in
speech, and
ready in
linking words together; for the others are
stupid, and can
say nothing
skilfully, if they must
speak.
21. And, I
ask, what
reason is there, what
unavoidable necessity, what
occasion for the
gods knowing and
being acquainted with these
handicrafts as though they were
worthless mechanics? For, are
songs sung and
music played in
heaven, that the nine
sisters may gracefully combine and
harmonize pauses and
rhythms of
tones? Are there on the
mountains of the
stars,
forests,
woods,
groves, that
Diana may be
esteemed very
mighty in
hunting expeditions? Are the
gods ignorant of the
immediate future; and do they
live and
pass the
time according to the
lots assigned them by
fate, that the
inspired son of
Latona may explain and
declare what the
morrow or the next
hour bears to each? Is he himself
inspired by another
god, and is he
urged and
roused by the
power of a
greater divinity, so that he
may be
rightly said and
esteemed to be
divinely inspired? Are the
gods liable to be
seized by
diseases; and is there anything by which they
may be
wounded and
hurt, so that, when there is
occasion, he of
Epidaurus may come to their
assistance? Do they
labour, do they
bring forth, that
Juno may soothe, and
Lucina abridge the
terrible pangs of
childbirth? Do they
engage in
agriculture, or are they
concerned with the
duties of
war, that
Vulcan, the
lord of
fire,
may form for them
swords, or
forge their
rustic implements? Do they
need to be
covered with
garments, that the
Tritonian maid may, with
nice skill,
spin,
weave cloth for them, and make them
tunics to
suit the
season, either
triple-twilled, or of
silken fabric? Do they make
accusations and
refute them, that the
descendant of
Atlas may carry off the
prize for
eloquence,
attained by
assiduous practice?
22. You
err, my
opponent says, and are
deceived; for the
gods are not themselves
artificers, but
suggest these
arts to
ingenious men, and
teach mortals what they should
know, that their
mode of
life may be more
civilized. But he who
gives any
instruction to the
ignorant and
unwilling, and
strives to make him
intelligently expert in some
kind of
work, must himself first
know that which he
sets the other to
practise. For no one can be
capable of
teaching a
science without
knowing the
rules of that which he
teaches, and
having grasped its
method most
thoroughly. The
gods are, then, the first
artificers; whether because they
inform the
minds of
men with
knowledge, as you
say yourselves, or because,
being immortal and
unbegotten, they
surpass the whole
race of
earth by their
length of
life. This, then, is the
question; there
being no
occasion for these
arts among the
gods, neither their
necessities nor
nature requiring in them any
ingenuity or
mechanical skill, why you should
say that they are
skilled, one in one
craft, another in another, and that
individuals are
pre-eminently expert in
particular departments in which they are
distinguished by
acquaintance with the several
branches of
science?
23. But you will, perhaps,
say that the
gods are not
artificers, but that they
preside over these
arts, and have their
oversight;
nay, that under their
care all
things have been
placed, which we
manage and
conduct, and that their
providence sees to the
happy and
fortunate issue of these. Now this would
certainly appear to be
said justly, and with some
probability, if all we
engage in, all we do, or all we
attempt in
human affairs,
sped as we
wished and
purposed. But since every
day the
reverse is the
case, and the
results of
actions do not
correspond to the
purpose of the will, it is
trifling to
say that we have,
set as
guardians over as,
gods invented by our
superstitious fancy, not
grasped with
assured certainty.
Portunus gives to the
sailor perfect safety in
traversing the
seas; but why has the
raging sea cast up so many
cruelly-shattered wrecks?
Consus suggests to our
minds courses safe and
serviceable; and why does an
unexpected change perpetually issue in
results other than were
looked for?
Pales and
Inuus are
set as
guardians over the
flocks and
herds; why do they, with
hurtful laziness, not
take care to
avert from the
herds in their
summer pastures,
cruel,
infectious, and
destructive diseases? The
harlot Flora,
venerated in
lewd sports,
sees well to it that the
fields blossom; and why are
buds and
tender plants daily nipt and
destroyed by most
hurtful frost?
Juno presides over
childbirth, and
aids travailing mothers; and why are a
thousand mothers every
day cut off in
murderous throes?
Fire is under
Vulcan's
care, and its
source is
placed under his
control; and why does he, very often,
suffer temples and
parts of
cities to
fall into
ashes devoured by
flames? The
soothsayers receive the
knowledge of their
art from the
Pythian god; and why does he so often
give and
afford answers equivocal,
doubtful,
steeped in
darkness and
obscurity?
Aesculapius presides over the
duties and
arts of
medicine; and why cannot
men in more
kinds of
disease and
sickness be
restored to
health and
soundness of
body? while, on the
contrary, they become
worse under the
hands of the
physician.
Mercury is
occupied with
combats, and
presides over
boxing and
wrestling matches; and why does he not make all
invincible who are in his
charge? why, when
appointed to one
office, does he
enable some to
win the
victory, while he
suffers others to be
ridiculed for their
disgraceful weakness?
24. No one,
says my
opponent, makes
supplication to the
tutelar deities, and they therefore
withhold their
usual favours and
help. Cannot the
gods, then, do
good, except they
receive incense and
consecrated offerings? and do they
quit and
renounce their
posts, unless they
see their
altars anointed with the
blood of
cattle? And
vet I
thought but now that the
kindness of the
gods was of their own
free will, and that the
unlooked-for gifts of
benevolence flowed unsought from them. Is, then, the
King of the
universe solicited by any
libation or
sacrifice to
grant to the
races of
men all the
comforts of
life? Does the
Deity not
impart the
sun's
fertilizing warmth, and the
season of
night, the
winds, the
rains, the
fruits, to all
alike,-the
good and the
bad, the
unjust and the
just, the
free-born and the
slave, the
poor and the
rich? For this
belongs to the
true and
mighty God, to
show kindness,
unasked, to that which is
weary and
feeble, and always
encompassed by
misery, of many
kinds. For to
grant your
prayers on the
offering of
sacrifices, is not to
bring help to those who
ask it, but to
sell the
riches of their
beneficence. We
men trifle, and are
foolish in so
great a
matter; and,
forgetting what
God is, and the
majesty of His
name,
associate with the
tutelar deities whatever
meanness or
baseness our
morbid credulity can
invent.
25.
Unxia, my
opponent says,
presides over the
anointing of
door-posts;
Cinxia over the
loosening of the
zone; the most
venerable Victa and
Potua attend to
eating and
drinking.
O rare and
admirable interpretation of the
divine powers! would
gods not have
names if
brides did not
besmear their
husbands'
door-posts with
greasy ointment; were it not that
husbands, when now
eagerly drawing near,
unbind the
maiden-girdle; if
men did not
eat and
drink? Moreover, not
satisfied to have
subjected and
involved the
gods in
cares so
unseemly, you also
ascribe to them
dispositions fierce,
cruel,
savage, ever
rejoicing in the
ills and
destruction of
mankind.
26. We shall not here
mention Laverna,
goddess of
thieves, the
Bellonae,
Discordiae,
Furiae thieves, and we
pass by in
utter silence the
unpropitious deities whom you have
set up. We shall
bring forward Mars himself, and the
fair mother of the
Desires; to one of whom you
commit wars, to the other
love and
passionate desire. My
opponent says that
Mars has
power over
wars; whether to
quell those which are
raging, or to
revive them when
interrupted, and
kindle them in
time of
peace? For if he
claims the
madness of
war, why do
wars rage every
day? but if he is their
author, we shall then
say that the
god, to
satisfy his own
inclination,
involves the whole
world in
strife;
sows the
seeds of
discord and
variance between
far-distant peoples;
gathers so many
thousand men from
different quarters, and
speedily heaps up the
field with
dead bodies; makes the
streams flow with
blood,
sweeps away the most
firmly-founded empires,
lays cities in the
dust,
robs the
free of their
liberty, and makes them
slaves;
rejoices in
civil strife, in the
bloody death of
brothers who
die in
conflict, and, in
fine, in the
dire,
murderous contest of
children with their
fathers.
27. Now we
may apply this very
argument to
Venus in
exactly the same
way. For if, as you
maintain and
believe, she
fills men's
minds with
lustful thoughts, it must be
held in
consequence that any
disgrace and
misdeed arising from such
madness should be
ascribed to the
instigation of
Venus. Is it, then, under
compulsion of the
goddess that even the
noble too often
betray their own
reputation into the
hands of
worthless harlots; that the
firm bonds of
marriage are
broken; that
near relations burn with
incestuous lust; that
mothers have their
passions madly kindled towards their
children; that
fathers turn to themselves their
daughters'
desires; that
old men,
bringing shame upon their
grey hairs,
sigh with the
ardour of
youth for the
gratification of
filthy desires; that
wise and
brave men,
losing in
effeminacy the
strength of their
manhood,
disregard the
biddings of
constancy; that the
noose is
twisted about their
necks; that
blazing pyres are
ascended; and that in
different places men,
leaping voluntarily,
cast themselves
headlong over very
high and
huge precipices?
28. Can any
man, who has
accepted the first
principles even of
reason, be found to
mar or
dishonour the
unchanging nature of
Deity with
morals so
vile? to
credit the
gods with
natures such as
human kindness has often
charmed away and
moderated in the
beasts of the
field? How, I
ask, can it be
said that the
gods are
far removed from any
feeling of
passion? that they are
gentle,
lovers of
peace,
mild? that in the
completeness of their
excellence they
reach the i
height of
perfection, and the
highest wisdom also? or, why should we
pray them to
avert from us
misfortunes and
calamities, if we
find that they are themselves the
authors of all the
ills by which we are
daily harassed?
Call us
impious as much as you
please,
contemners of
religion, or
atheists, you will never make us
believe in
gods of
love and
war, that there are
gods to
sow strife, and to
disturb the
mind by the
stings of the
furies. For either they are
gods in very
truth, and do not do what you have
related; or if they do the
things which you
say, they are
doubtless no
gods at all.
29. We might, however, even yet be
able to
receive from you these
thoughts, most
full of
wicked falsehoods, if it were not that you yourselves, in
bringing forward many
things about the
gods so
inconsistent and
mutually destructive,
compel us to
withhold our
minds from
assenting. For when you
strive individually to
excel each other in
reputation for more
recondite knowledge, you both
overthrow the very
gods in whom you
believe, and
replace them by others who have
clearly no
existence; and
different men give different opinions on the same
subjects, and you
write that those whom
general consent has ever
received as
single persons are
infinite in
number. Let us, too, begin
duty, then, with
father Janus, whom
certain of you have
declared to be the
world, others the
year, some the
sun. But if we are to
believe that this is
true, it
follows as a
consequence, that it should be
understood that there never was any
Janus, who, they
say,
being sprung from
Coelus and
Hecate,
reigned first in
Italy,
founded the
town Janiculum, was the
father of
Forts, the
son-in-law of
Vulturnus, the
husband of
Juturna; and thus you
erase the
name of the
god to whom in all
prayers you
give the first
place, and whom you
believe to
procure for you a
hearing from the
gods. But, again, if
Janus be the
year, neither thus can he be a
god. For who does not
know that the
year is a
fixed space of
time, and that there is nothing
divine in that which is
formed by the
duration of
months and
lapse of
days? Now this very
argument may, in like
manner, be
applied to
Saturn. For if
time is
meant under this
title, as the
expounders of
Grecian ideas think, so that that is
regarded as
Kronos, which is
chronos, there is no such
deity as
Saturn. For who is so
senseless as to
say that
time is a
god, when it is but a
certain space measured off in the
unending succession of
eternity? And thus will be
removed from the
rank of the
immortals that
deity too, whom the
men of
old declared, and
handed down to their
posterity, to be
born of
father Coelus, the
progenitor of the
dii magni, the
planter of the
vine, the
bearer of the
pruning-knife.
30. But what shall we
say of
Jove himself, whom the
wise have
repeatedly asserted to be the
sun,
driving a
winged chariot,
followed by a
crowd of
deities; some, the
ether,
blazing with
mighty flames, and
wasting fire which cannot be
extinguished? Now if this is
clear and
certain, there is, then, according to you, no
Jupiter at all; who,
born of
Saturn his
father and
Ops his
mother, is
reported to have been
concealed in the
Cretan territory, that he might
escape his
father's
rage. But now, does not a
similar mode of
thought remove Juno from the
list of
gods? For if she is the
air, as you have been
wont to
jest and
say,
repeating in
reversed order the
syllables of the
Greek name, there will be found no
sister and
spouse of
almighty Jupiter, no
Fluonia, no
Pomona, no
Ossipagina, no
Februtis,
Populonia,
Cinxia,
Caprotina; and thus the
invention of that
name,
spread abroad with a
frequent but
vain belief, will be found to be
wholly useless.
31.
Aristotle, a
man of most
powerful intellect, and
distinguished for
learning, as
Granius tells,
shows by
plausible arguments that
Minerva is the
moon, and
proves it by the
authority of
learned men. Others have
said that this very
goddess is the
depth of
ether, and
utmost height; some have
maintained that she is
memory, whence her
name even,
Minerva, has
arisen, as if she were some
goddess of
memory. But if this is
credited, it
follows that there is no
daughter of
Mens, no
daughter of
Victory, no
discoverer of the
Olive,
born from the
head of
Jupiter, no
goddess skilled in the
knowledge of the
arts, and in
different branches of
learning.
Neptune, they
say, has
received his
name and
title because he
covers the
earth with
water. If, then, by the
use of this
name is
meant the
outspread water, there is no
god Neptune at all; and thus is
put away, and
removed from us, the
full brother of
Pluto and
Jupiter,
armed with the
iron trident,
lord of the
fish,
great and
small,
king of the
depths of the
sea, and
shaker of the
trembling earth.
32.
Mercury, also, has been
named as though he were a
kind of
go-between; and because
conversation passes between
two speakers, and is
exchanged by them, that which is
expressed by this
name has been
produced. If this, then, is the
case,
Mercury is not the
name of a
god, but of
speech and
words exchanged by
two persons; and in this
way is
blotted out and
annihilated the
noted Cyllenian bearer of the
caduceus,
born on the
cold mountain top,
contriver of
words and
names, the
god who
presides over
markets, and over the
exchange of
goods and
commercial intercourse. Some of you have
said that the
earth is the
Great Mother, because it
provides all
things living with
food; others
declare that the same
earth is
Ceres, because it
brings forth crops of
useful fruits; while some
maintain that it is
Vesta, because it alone in the
universe is at
rest, its other
members being, by their
constitution, ever in
motion. Now if this is
propounded and
maintained on
sure grounds, in like
manner, on your
interpretation,
three deities have no
existence: neither
Ceres nor
Vesta are to be
reckoned in the
number of the
gods; nor, in
fine, can the
mother of the
gods herself, whom
Nigidius thinks to have been
married to
Saturn, be
rightly declared a
goddess, if indeed these are all
names of the one
earth, and it alone is
signified by these
titles.
33. We here
leave Vulcan unnoticed, to
avoid prolixity; whom you all
declare to be
fire, with one
consenting voice. We
pass by
Venus,
named because
lust assails all, and
Proserpina,
named because
plants steal gradually forth into the
light,-where, again, you do away with
three deities; if indeed the first is the
name of an
element, and does not
signify a
living power; the
second, of a
desire common to all
living creatures; while the
third refers to
seeds rising above
ground, and the
upward movements of
growing crops. What! when you
maintain that
Bacchus,
Apollo, the
Sun, are one
deity,
increased in
number by the
use of
three names, is not the
number of the
gods lessened, and their
vaunted reputation overthrown, by your
opinions? For if it is
true that the
sun is also
Bacchus and
Apollo, there can
consequently be in the
universe no
Apollo or
Bacchus; and thus, by yourselves, the
son of
Semele and the
Pythian god are
blotted out and
set aside,-one the
giver of
drunken merriment, the other the
destroyer of
Sminthian mice.
34. Some of your
learned men -
men, too, who do not
chatter merely because their
humour leads them-maintain that
Diana,
Ceres,
Luna, are but one
deity in
triple union; and that there are not
three distinct persons, as there are
three different names; that in all these
Luna is
invoked, and that the others are a
series of
surnames added to her
name. But if this is
sure, if this is
certain, and the
facts of the
case show it to be so, again is
Ceres but an
empty name, and
Diana: and thus the
discussion is
brought to this
issue, that you
lead and
advise us to
believe that she whom you
maintain to be the
discoverer of the
earth's
fruits has no
existence, and
Apollo is
robbed of his
sister, whom once the
horned hunter gazed upon as she
washed her
limbs from
impurity in a
pool, and
paid the
penalty of his
curiosity.
35.
Men worthy to be
remembered in the
study of
philosophy, who have been
raised by your
praises to its
highest place,
declare, with
commendable earnestness, as their
conclusion, that the whole
mass of the
world, by whose
folds we all are
encompassed,
covered, and
upheld, is one
animal possessed of
wisdom and
reason; yet if this is a
true,
sure, and
certain opinion, they also will
forthwith cease to be
gods whom you
set up a
little ago in its
parts without
change of
name. For as one
man cannot, while his
body remains entire, be
divided into many
men; nor can many
men, while they
continue to be
distinct and
separate from each other, be
fused into one
sentient individual: so, if the
world is a
single animal, and
moves from the
impulse of one
mind, neither can it be
dispersed in several
deities; nor, if the
gods are
parts of it, can they be
brought together and
changed into one
living creature, with
unity of
feeling throughout all its
parts. The
moon, the
sun, the
earth, the
ether, the
stars, are
members and
parts of the
world; but if they are
parts and
members, they are
certainly not themselves
living creatures; for in no
thing can
parts be the very
thing which the whole is, or
think and
feel for themselves, for this cannot be
effected by their own
actions, without the whole
creature's
joining in; and this
being established and
settled, the whole
matter comes back to this, that neither
Sol, nor
Luna, nor
Aether,
Tellus, and the
rest, are
gods. For they are
parts of the
world, not the
proper names of
deities; and thus it is
brought about that, by your
disturbing and
confusing all
divine things, the
world is
set up as the
sole god in the
universe, while all the
rest are
cast aside, and that as
having been
set up
vainly,
uselessly, and without any
reality.
36. If we
sought to
subvert the
belief in your
gods in so many
ways, by so many
arguments, no one would
doubt that,
mad with
rage and
fury, you would
demand for us the
stake, the
beasts, and
swords, with the other
kinds of
torture by which you
usually appease your
thirst in its
intense craving for our
blood. But while you yourselves
put away almost the whole
race of
deities with a
pretence of
cleverness and
wisdom, you do not
hesitate to
assert that, because of us,
men suffer ill at the
hands of the
gods; although, indeed, if it is
true that they anywhere
exist, and
burn with
anger and
rage, there can be no
better reason for their
showing anger against you, than that you
deny their
existence, and
say that they are not found in any
part of the
universe.
37. We are
told by
Mnaseas that the
Muses are the
daughters of
Tellus and
Coelus; others
declare that they are
Jove's by his
wife Memory, or
Mens; some
relate that they were
virgins, others that they were
matrons. For now we
wish to
touch briefly on the
points where you are
shown, from the
difference of your
opinions, to make
different statements about the same
thing.
Ephorus, then,
says that they are
three in
number;
Mnaseas, whom we
mentioned, that they are
four;
Myrtilus brings forward seven;
Crates asserts that there are
eight;
finally Hesiod,
enriching heaven and the
stars with
gods,
comes forward with nine
names.
If we are not
mistaken, such
want of
agreement marks those who are
wholly ignorant of the
truth, and does not
spring from the
real state of the
case. For if their
number were
clearly known, the
voice of all would be the same, and the
agreement of all would
tend to and
find issue in the same
conclusion.
38. How, then, can you
give to
religion its whole
power, when you
fill into
error about the
gods themselves? or
summon us to their
solemn worship, while you
give us no
definite information how to
conceive of the
deities themselves? For, to
take no
notice of the other
authors, either the first makes away with and
destroys six divine Muses, if they are
certainly nine; or the last
adds six who have no
existence to the
three who alone
really are; so that it cannot be
known or
understood what should be
added, what
taken away; and in the
performance of
religious rites we are in
danger of either
worshipping that which does not
exist, or
passing that by which, it
may be, does
exist.
Piso believes that the
Novensiles are nine
gods,
set up among the
Sabines at
Trebia.
Granius thinks that they are the
Muses,
agreeing with
Aelius;
Varro teaches that they are nine, because, in
doing anything, that
number is always
reputed most
powerful and
greatest;
Cornificius, that they
watch over the
renewing of
things, because, by their
care, all
things are
afresh renewed in
strength, and
endure;
Manilius, that they are the nine
gods to whom alone
Jupiter gave power to
wield his
thunder.
Cincius declares them to be
deities brought from
abroad,
named from their very
newness, because the
Romans were in the
habit of sometimes
individually introducing into their
families the
rites of
conquered cities, while some they
publicly consecrated; and
lest, from their
great number, or in
ignorance, any
god should be
passed by, all
alike were
briefly and
compendiously invoked under one
name-Novensiles.
39. There are some, besides, who
assert that those who from
being men became
gods, are
denoted by this
name,-as
Hercules,
Romulus,
Aeculapius,
Liber,
Aeneas. These are all, as is
clear,
different opinions; and it cannot be, in the
nature of
things, that those who
differ in
opinion can be
regarded as
teachers of one
truth. For if
Piso's
opinion is
true,
Aelius and
Granius say what is
false; if what they
say is
certain,
Varro, with all his
skill, is
mistaken, who
substitutes things most
frivolous and
vain for those which
really exist. If they are
named Novensiles because their
number is nine,
Cornificius is
shown to
stumble, who,
giving them might and
power not their own, makes them the
divine overseers of
renovation. But if
Cornificius is
right in his
belief,
Cincius is found to be not
wise, who
connects with the
power of the
dii Novensiles the
gods of
conquered cities. But if they are those whom
Cincius asserts them to be,
Manilius will be found to
speak falsely, who
comprehends those who
wield another's
thunder under this
name. But if that which
Manilius holds is
true and
certain, they are
utterly mistaken who
suppose that those
raised to
divine honours, and
deified mortals, are thus
named because of the
novelty of their
rank. But if the
Novensiles are those who have
deserved to be
raised to the
stars after
passing through the
life of
men, there are no
dii Novensiles at all. For as
slaves,
soldiers,
masters, are not
names of
persons comprehended under them, but of
officers,
ranks, and
duties, so, when we
say that
Novensiles is the
name of
gods who by their
virtues have become
gods from
being men, it is
clear and
evident that no
individual persons are
marked out
particularly, but that
newness itself is
named by the
title Novensiles.
40.
Nigidius taught that the
dii Penates were
Neptune and
Apollo, who once, on
fixed terms,
girt Ilium with
walls. He himself again, in his
sixteenth book,
following Etruscan teaching,
shows that there are
four kinds of
Penates; and that one of these
pertains to
Jupiter, another to
Neptune, the
third to the
shades below, the
fourth to
mortal men,
making some
unintelligible assertion.
Caesius himself, also,
following this
teaching,
thinks that they are
Fortune, and
Ceres, the
genius Jovialis, and
Pales, but not the
female deity commonly received, but some
male attendant and
steward of
Jupiter.
Varro thinks that they are the
gods of whom we
speak who are within, and in the
inmost recesses of
heaven, and that neither their
number nor
names are
known. The
Etruscans say that these are the
Consentes and
Complices, and
name them because they
rise and
fall together,
six of them
being male, and as many
female, with
unknown names and
pitiless dispositions, but they are
considered the
counsellors and
princes of
Jove supreme. There were some, too, who
said that
Jupiter,
Juno, and
Minerva were the
dii Penates, without whom we cannot
live and be
wise, and by whom we are
ruled within in
reason,
passion, and
thought. As you
see, even here, too, nothing is
said harmoniously, nothing is
settled with the
consent of all, nor is there anything
reliable on which the
mind can
take its
stand,
drawing by
conjecture very
near to the
truth. For their
opinions are so
doubtful, and one
supposition so
discredited by another, that there is either no
truth in them all, or if it is
uttered by any, it is not
recognised amid so many
different statements.
41. We can, if it is
thought proper,
speak briefly of the
Lares also, whom the
mass think to be the
gods of
streets and
ways, because the
Greeks name streets laurae. In
different parts of his
writings,
Nigidius speaks of them now as the
guardians of
houses and
dwellings; now as the
Curetes, who are
said to have once
concealed, by the
clashing of
cymbals, the
infantile cries of
Jupiter; now the
five Digiti Samothracii, who, the
Greeks tell us, were
named Idoei Dactyli.
Varro, with like
hesitation,
says at one
time that they are the
Manes, and therefore the
mother of the
Lares was
named Mania; at another
time, again, he
maintains that they are
gods of the
air, and are
termed heroes; at another,
following the
opinion of the
ancients, he
says that the
Lares are
ghosts, as it were a
kind of
tutelary demon,
spirits of
dead men.
42. It is a
vast and
endless task to
examine each
kind separately, and make it
evident even from your
religious books that you neither
hold nor
believe that there is any
god concerning whom you have not
brought forward doubtful and
inconsistent statements,
expressing a
thousand different beliefs. But, to be
brief, and
avoid prolixity, it is enough to have
said what has been
said; it is, further, too
troublesome to
gather together many
things into one
mass, since it is made
manifest and
evident in
different ways that you
waver, and
say nothing with
certainty of these
things which you
assert. But you will perhaps
say, Even if we have no
personal knowledge of the
Lares,
Novensiles,
Penates, still the very
agreement of our
authors proves their
existence, and that such a
race takes rank among the
celestial gods. And how can it be
known whether there is any
god, if what he is shall be
wholly unknown? or how can it
avail even to
ask for
benefits, if it is not
settled and
determined who should be
invoked at each
inquiry? For every one who
seeks to
obtain an
answer from any
deity, should of
necessity know to whom he makes
supplication, on whom he
calls, from whom he
asks help for the
affairs and
occasions of
human life;
especially as you yourselves
declare that all the
gods do not have all
power, and that the
wrath and
anger of each are
appeased by
different rites.
43. For if this
deity requires a
black, that a
white skin; if
sacrifice must be made to this one with
veiled, to that with
uncovered head; this one is
consulted about
marriages, the other
relieves distresses,-
may it not be of some
importance whether the one or the other is
Novensills, since
ignorance of the
facts and
confusion of
persons displeases the
gods, and
leads necessarily to the
contraction of
guilt? For
suppose that I myself, to
avoid some
inconvenience and
peril, make
supplication to any one of these
deities,
saying, Be
present, be
near,
divine Penates, thou
Apollo, and thou,
O Neptune, and in your
divine clemency turn away all these
evils, by which I am
annoyed,
troubled, and
tormented: will there be any
hope that I shall
receive help from them, if
Ceres,
Pales,
Fortune, or the
genius Jovialis, not
Neptune and
Apollo, shall be the
dii Penates? Or if I
invoked the
Curetes instead of the
Lares, whom some of your
writers maintain to he the
Digiti Samothracii, how shall I
enjoy their
help and
favour, when I have not
given them their own
names, and have
given to the others
names not their own? Thus does our
interest demand that we should
rightly know the
gods, and not
hesitate or
doubt about the
power, the
name of each;
lest, if they be
invoked with
rites and
titles not their own, they have at once their
ears stopped against our
prayers, and
hold us
involved in
guilt which
may not be
forgiven.
44.
Wherefore, if you are
assured that in the
lofty palaces of
heaven there
dwells, there is, that
multitude of
deities whom you
specify, you should make your
stand on one
proposition, and not,
divided by
different and
inconsistent opinions,
destroy belief in the very
things which you
seek to
establish. If there is a
Janus, let
Janus be; if a
Bacchus, let
Bacchus be; if a
Summanus, let
Summanus be: for this is to
confide, this to
hold, to be
settled in the
knowledge of something
ascertained, not to
say after the
manner of the
blind and
erring, The
Novensiles are the
Muses, in
truth they are the
Trebian gods,
nay, their
number is nine, or rather, they are the
protectors of
cities which have been
overthrown; and
bring so
important matters into this
danger, that while you
remove some, and
put others in their
place, it
may well be
doubted of them all if they anywhere
exist.