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drion aWay inveterato errore. But noW a greater and more
dissiculi contest Mith philosophere is proposed to us, ths height
of whose learning and eloquence, as some massive structure, is opposed to me. For as in the former' case Wo Wero oppressedis a multitude, and almost by the universat agreement of alinations, so in this subject Ws are oppressed by the authori of men excelling in every hind of praise. But Who can bo ignorant that there is more weight in a smaller number of learnedmen than in a greater number of ignorant persons But Womust not despair stat, under the guidance of God and thotruth, these also may be turned aside from their opinion; nordo I thinh that they Mil be so obstinate as in deny that theybehold with sound and open Ves the sun as he shines in his brillian . Only let that bo truo whicli they themselves are accustomed is profess, that they ars possessed With tho destro os investigation, and I shali assuredly succeed in causing themto bellovo stat tho truth whicli they havs long souot ior hasbeen at length Dund, and to coni s that it could not have been found by the abilities of man.
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IN CE it is snpposed that tho truth stili lios hiddon in
obscurity ither throngh the error and ignoranos of the common people, Who aro sto alaVes of Vario and Dolisti superstitions, or through the philosophera, Who by the perverseness of their minda confuse rather thanthrow light upon it could misti that the poWer os eloquencohad fallen to my tot, though not anch as it mas in Marcus Tullius, for that Was extraordinary and admirabie, but in somo degres approaching it; ibat, being supported as much by thostrongth of talent as it has meight is iis own force, tho truthmiot at length come sorth, and having dispelled and refuted
public errors, and the errore of thoso who are considered Wise, might introduce among the human raco a brilliant light. AndI could wisti that this mero so, for two reasons: either thalmen might more readily belleus the truth when adornod withembellistiment' since they even belleve falsehood, being captivared by the adornment of speech and the enticement of Worda; or, at ali evenis, that tho philosophere themsolves might bo overpoWered by us, most os ali by their οὐ ams, in Whicli they aro accustomed to pride themselves and to placo
But sines God has milled this to bo the nature of the case, that simple and undisguised truth should be mors clear, M- causs it has sufficient ornament of itself, and on this account itis corrupted when embellishedy with adornings from Without,
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resuting philosophy by the very order of tho subject Which I
For since ali error arisas eister from falso religion or fromvisdom, in refuting error it is necessary to overthrow both. For in much as it has been handed down in us in tho sacred
ritings that tho thoughts of philosophera are Molisti, this verylliing is to bs proved by iaci and is argument' that no one, induced by the hono able name of Wisdom, or deceived by thosplendour of empty eloquence, may preser to giis credunco to
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philosophy, that When the head iraeis is destroyed, an easter approach may be open in us for demolisting the wholo body; is indeod that ean be called a bo , the paris and members of hicli are at variancs With ono mollier, and are not united together is any connecting linh,' but, as it mere, dispersed and scattered, appear to palpitate raster than to live. Philosophyis tho name indicates, and they themsolves defino it) tho
Alitor. This mord is ninalty reta in tho former clause, but it oves a betur meaning in this position.
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τ- DIVINE INSTITUTES 141 love of Wisdom. By Wliat argument, then, can I prove ibat philosophy is not Wisdom, rather than by that derived trom thomeaning of the namo iraeis ' For ho who devotes himself toWisdom is manifestly not yet mise, but devotes himself to tho
subjeci that he may bo wise. In the other aris it appears What this devotedness effecta, and lo What it tends: for When any ons is learning has attained to these, he is noW called, not adevoted tolloWer of tho prosession, but an artificer. But it issaid it Was on account of modesty that they called themselves devoted to misdom, and not wlae. Nan in truth, PythagorasHwho fimi invented this name, since he had a littio moro Wisdomthan those of early times, Who regarded themselves as Wise,
understood that it mas impossibio by any human study to attainto Misdom, and theresoro that a perfeci namo ought not to boapplied is an incomprehensibie and imperfeci subjeci. And, therofore, When he was asked What Was his profession,δ hoansWered that he Was a philosopher, that is, a searcher aster Wisdom. Is, therelare, philosophy searches aster Wisdom, it is not wisdom itself, becaum it must os necessi bo ono thingwhich searches, and another Whicli is fearched for; nor is theaearching itseli correct, because it can find nothing. But I am not prepared to concedo even that philosophera aro
But since so much time and talent have been masted in the search
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of What magnitudo the heaven itseli is, of What materiai it is composed; Whester it is at rest and immove te, or is turnedround with incredibis sWisiness; hoW great is the thichness of the e th, or on What foundations it is polaed and suspended,-to wlah to comprehend these things, I say, is disputation and conjectures, is as though - should Wisti is discum What wo may supposs to M the character os a city in somo very remotecounto, Which - hmo never feen, and of Which mo have heata nothing moro stan the name. Η πε should claim to
to bo judged mad and se elem, Who imagine that thv knon natural things, Whicli cannot be known is mani Rightlytheresoro did Socrates, and tho Academi y who followed him, talis aWV knowledge, Which is not the part of a disputant, butos a divineta It remacia that there is in plutosophy conjecture
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cupied is conjectum. For every one conjectures that ofwhich ho is ignorant. But they Who discum natural subjecta, conjectum stat they aro as they discum them. Thereiore theydo not know the truth, becauso knowle o is concerned Withthat Which is cortain, conjectum With as uncortata. ρLet us return to ths example be&m msntioned. Come, letus eoniectum about the sinis and charactor of that city Whichis unknown to us in ali respecta excepi in name. It is probabis that it is siluated on a plain, With Walis of stone, lotly bullGings, many streeta, magnificent and highly adorned temples. Let us describe, ii you please, the customs and deporiment of tho citigens. But When Wo shali have described thes' another Will mino opposito statementa; and when he also shali have concluded, a thies Will aris' and othera aster his; and they ill mata very different conjectures to those of oura. Which , thereiore os ali is more true 3 Perhaps nono of them. But Hl things have been mentioned Whicli tho nature of tho ci
cumstances admita, so that some one of them must necessarilybo truo. But it mill not be known who has spolien tho truth.
Is may possibU bo that ali have in somo degreo erred in their description , and that ali havs in somo degres attained to thotruth. Theroforo Wo are Dolisti is Wo seeh this is disputation;
tor somo one may present himself Who may derido our conjectures, and minem us as mad, since Wo Wish to conjecturotho character of that which wo do not know. But it is u necessary to go in quest oi remote cases, hom Which perhapsno Ono may come to refute M. Come, let us conjecture What
stis, bacauso ho Will immediately be refuted not by Words, butis the presenes of the faci ilaeli. But this is the very thingwhich philosophera do, Who discuss What is inhing placo in heaven, but thinh that they do that Willi impunit' bec so
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Is, thereiare, tho secis individually aro convicted os folly by the judgment of many secis, it sollows that ali ars found tobe vain and empW; and thus philosophy consumes and destro iiseis. And since Arcesilas the founder of the Academy unde stood this, iis collected together the mutuat censures of all, and the confession os ignorance made by distinguished philosophers, and armed himself gainst all. Thus he established a neruphilosophy of not philosophiging. From this founder, therelare, thero began to bo tWo kinds of philosophy: ono the old one, whieli claims to itself knowledge; tho other a neW one, Opposed to tho tormer, and whicli detracis from it. BetWeen these twohinds of philosophy I see that thero is disagreement, and as it mero civit War. On whicli sido Ahali me place Wisdom, whicli cannot be torn afunder Is the nature of things can be linoWn, this troop of recruits mill perish; it it cannot, the veterans mill
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Various courses of tho sun and moon, and tho motions os thostar' and the computation os times, have been dis vered, and the nature of bodies, and tho strengin os herbs is students of medicine, and by the cultivatore os the land the nature os solis, and signs os future rains and tempesta have been collected. Inshori, there is no ari Which is not dependent on knowledge. Theresere Arcesilas ought, it he had any misdom, to hine di tinguishod tho things which mere capabis of being known, and those Whicli mere incap te. But is he had done this, he would have reducod himself to tho common heta. For the commonpeople have somelimes more Wisdom, becauso they are only sofar Wise as is necessa . And is you inquiro of them Whether