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Then, as to the other complaint, that we do not pray toand belleve in the fame gods as the cities, it is an exceedinglysilly one. Why, the Very men who charge us With atheismior not admitting the fame gods as they achnowledge, arenot agreed among themselves concerning the gods. The Athenians have set up as gods Celous and Μetanira: tho Lacedaemonians Menelaus; and thoy offer sacrificos and holdfestivias to him, While tho men os Ilium cannot endum thevery found of his name, and pay their adoration to Hector. The Ceans morship Aristaeus, considering him to be the fame asZous and Apollo; the Thasians Theagenes, a man Who committed murdor at the Olympic games; the Samians Lysander, notwithstanding est the flaughters and ali the crimes perpetrated by him; Alcman and Hesiod Medea, and tho Cilucians Niobe; tho Sicilians Philip tho son of Butacides; tho
Amathusians Onesilus; tho Carthaginians Hamilcar. Timowould fati me to enumerate the whole. When, thereiore,
Hom. II. ix. 499 sq., Lord Derby'a translation, Which version thotranslator has for the most pari med. . Comp. Rom. Til. 1.
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Because the multitude, Who cannot distinguish betWeen mattorand God, or Aee hoW great is the intervat which lies betWeenthem, pray to idols made of matter, are me thereiore, Who dodistinguish and separato the uncreated and the created, stat which is and that whicli is no that which is apprehended by tho understanding and that which is perceived by the senses, and who givo the fitting name to each of them,-are Wa tocome and Worship images Τ ΙΤ, indeed, matter and God arothe Same, tWO names for one thing, then certainin in notregarding stocis and Stones, gold and silver, as goci, - are
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Whatever they need, and address stemselves to the magnuficence of your pHace ; but, is they cbance to come upon theroyal residence, they besto a passing glance of admirationon iis beautilat structum: but it is to you D selves thatthey show honour, as being ali in all. u fovere ns, in ed, rear and adorn your palaces for yo selves; but themorid mas not creatod hecauso God neodod it; for God is Himself ovorything to Himself,-light unapproachille, a Pe feci Worid, spirit, pomer, reason. Is, thereiore, the worid is an instrument in tune, and moring in mell-measured time, Iadore tho Being Who gave iis harmony, and strihes iis notes, and sings tho accordant strain, and not the instrument. Forat the musical contosis the adjudicators do not pass by the luteilayers and crown the lutes. Rhester, then, as Plato says, the world bo a produci os divine art, I admire ita beautriand adoro tho Artificor; or Whethor it be His emenco and bOh, as the Peripateties affirm, We do not neglect to adore God, Who is tho cause of tho motion of the body, and descend
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PLEA OF ATHENAGORAS nor passing God by do I pay homage to the elements, Which
feW Worda on this subjeci. CHAP. XVII.- The names of the gori and theis images are butos recent date. An apologist must adduce more preciso arguments than Iliave yet given, both concerning the names of the gods, tostioW that they are of recent origin, and concerning their images, to fhoW that they are, sο to say, but of Festerday. v yourseives, hoWever, are thoroughly aequainted Miththese matters, since you are Versed in ali depariments of
gave the gods their names, and assigned them their severathono A and functions, and described their forms.' Representations of the gods, again, Were not in use at ali, so long asstatuary, and painting, and sculpture Were unknown; nor didthey become common untii Saurias the Samian, and Crato tho
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FOR THE CHRISTIANS 393 Sicyonian, and Cleanthes tho Corinthian, and tho Corinthiandamsely appeared, When draming in ovilino mas invented by Saurias, who fhelched a horse in tho sun, and painting is Crato, Who palated in oti on a whitened tablut tho ouilinos ofa man and Woman; and the art of mahing figures in relidi κοροπλαθι ) was invented by the damset,' Who, being in lovo with a person, traced his inadoW on a Wali as he lay asleep, and her sather, being deli ted with tho exactness of tho resemblance ine Was a potier), carved out the shetch and filled it up with elay: this figure is stili preserved at Corinth. Atior these, Daedalus and Theodorus tho Milesian furthorinvented sculpture and statuary. You perceive, then, that the time since representations os form and the maing of imagos b an is so fhori, that wo can name the artist of eachparticular god. The imago of Artemis at Ephesus, forexample, and that of Athona OP rather of Athela, for so issho named by those Who speah moro in tho stylo of tho mysteries; for thus was the ancient imago made of the olive-tree called), and the sitiing figure of the fame goddess, Woromade by Endoeus, a pupit os Daedalus; the Pythian god Wastho work of Theodorus and Tolectos; and the Delian god and Artomis are duo to tho ari os Tectaeus and Angelio; Hera in Samos and in Argos came hom tho hands of Smilis, and thoother statues were by Phidias; Aphroditsi the co tegan in Cnidus is the production os Praxiteles; Asclepius in Epidaurusis tho work of Phidias. In a word, oi nos one of thesu statues can it bo said that it Was not made by man. I then, these are gods, Why did they not exist from the beginning ΤWhy, in soOth, are they younger than those Who made themi Why, in scoth, in ordor to their coming into existence, didthoy neod the aid of men and art ' They are nothing but
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But, since it is assirmed by some that, although theso areonb images, yet there exist gods in hono of Whom they ammade; and that the supplications and sacrifices presented toste images aro to be referred to the god' and aro in factmade to the gods; and that there is not any other Way of coming to them, for
and whoreas, in proos that such is tho iaci, they adduco thoenergies possessed by certain images, let us examine into the poWer attached to their names. And I Would bessochmu, greatest os emperors, betore I enter on this discussion, to bo indulgent to mo whilo I bring forWard true considerations ; for it is not my design to fhoW the fallacy ofidois, but, by disproving the calumnies Vented against us, tooffer a reason for the courso os lite me folio . ΜV you, is considering yοurseives, be able to discover the heavenlyhingdom alsol For as ali inings are subservient to Fou, fallier and son, Who have received tho Engdom hom above
and orpheus inlio, moreover, Was the first to invent theirnames, and reco ted thela birilis, and narratod tho exploits of each, and is belloved by them to troat With greater truththan others of divino things, whom Ηomor himself follows in
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396PLEA OF ATHENAGORAStho intelligibio and tho sensibio, Plato teaches that that WhichalWays is, the intelligibie, is unoriginaled, but that that whichis not, the sensibis, is originaled, beginning to be and ceasingio exist. In like manner, the Stoics also say that est things Willbo burni up and will again exist, the Worid receiving anotherboginning. But is, although thero is, according to them, at ofold cause, one active and governing, namely proVidenee, the oster passive and changeabie, namely matter, it is neve tholess impossibio for the worid, even though under the careos Providence, to remain in tho fame state, becauso it is create hoW can the constitution os these gods remala, Whoare not solLexistent, but have been originatod d in Whatare the gods superior to matter, since they derive thela constitution hom materi But not even mater, according to them,
neous elements what could be constitutedi Moreover, matterrequires an artificer, and the artificer requires matter. Forhow could figures be mado without matter or an artificer 'Neither, again, is it reason to that matter aliould bo olderthan God; for the officient cause must oi necessity existbelare tho things that are made. CHAP. XX. bsurd representatrons of the gois. It tho absurdity of their theology were confined to sayingstat the gods were created, and owed their constitution to Water, since I have demonstrated that nothing is made Which
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case also assuming the form os a dragon, and became thofather of Dionysus. In face of narrations like these, I must say at least this much, What stat is becoming or useful isthoro in such a histo , that we must belleve Κronos, Zeus,
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398 PLEA OF ATHENAGORAS resembles that os catile, and they themselves have tho somos brutes, and are Μου to behold
CHAP. XXI. mpure laves ascribae to the gori. But inould it bo said that they oesy had fleshly i ms, and possess bloin and seed, and the assections os anger and sexuat destre, even then We must regard suta assertions as nonsen-steal and ridiculo ; sor there is neister angor, nor destroand appetite, nor procreatius seel in Mds. Let them, thon, havo fleshly forms, but let them bo superior in Hath and anger, that Athena may not be Men