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Tharesore tho truth cannot bs held Where the samo man is subject to many fathera and lotas, Where the mind, dra n indifferent directions in many objecta, mandera in and iro, Utherand thither. Nor can religion havo any firmnem, When it ismithout a fixed and seived dwelling-place. Therelaro stere can be no true vorship of many gods; just as that cannot becalled matrimony, in Which one moman has many huinanti, but ino viil either ba called a hariot or an adulterem. For hen a Woman is destitute os modesty, chastity, and fideli ,
CHAP. IV.-Θ wiadom likewiae, and religion, and of the right of
rated hom religion; becauso it is the fame God, Who oughtto bo underato , Which is the part of wisdom, and is bohono ed, whicli is the part os religion. But Wisdom precedes, religion Allows; for tho knowledgs os God comes fidit, His
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ment of the true Master against thois Who are desertera of His majesty and name. But that God is Father and also Lord mas unknois to both, to tho morshippers of the gods as meli asto the professors of Wisdom themselves: inasmuch as thoy eithorthought that nothing at ali Was to be Worshipped; or they ain proved os falso religions; or, although they underat d the strength and pomer of tho supreme God, as Plato, Who saysthat there is ono Creator of the worid, God, and Marcus Tullius, Who achnowledges that man has been produced by the supremo God in an excellent condition, neveriheless they didnot render the worship due to Him M to the supreme Father, Which Was their bestiing and necessary duty. But that thegoda cannot bo sathere or lotas, is declared not only by their multitudo, as I havo fhown above, but also is reason: becauso it is not reported that man was made by gods, nor is it found that the gods siemselves preceded the origin os man, sinco itappears that there mere men on tho earth besore tho birth of Vulcan, and Liber, and Apollo, and Jupiter himself. But thocreation os man is not accustomed to be assigned to Saturnus, nor to his Ather Coelus. But it none of those Who are morshipped is sald to havs oriaginalty formed and created man, it folions that nono of thesecan bo called tho sather of man, and so nono of them can beGod. Theresors it is not lawsul to morship those by Whomman was not producet for he could not be produced by many.
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servant, Who fleea hom or does not know his Master; and an undutiles son, Who Elther hales or is ignorant of his truo Father. CHAP. V.- The oractis of the propheta must be looked into; and
of theis times, and the times of the ju es and kings. π, sinco I havs aho n that Wisdom and religion cannot bo separated, it remians that me speah of religion itself, and wisdom. I am aWars, indeed, hoW dissiculi it is to discussheavenly subjecta; but stili the attempt must be ventured, thatius truth may bo mado clear and brought to light, and that
But beforo I begin to speis of God and His Works, I must fratspeah a seW things concerning the propheth Whose testimony Ιmust noW use, Whicli I have refrained iram doing in tho ξο mer books. Above ali things, he vlio destres to comprehendthe truth ought not only to apply his miud to understand thouiterances of the propheta, but also most diligently to inquiro into tho times during Which each one of them existed, that homu knoW What future evenis they predicted, and after ho many years theis predictions Were fulfilled. Nor is there avdissiculty in mahing these computations; for they testifiedunder What hing each of them received the inspiration of tho Divino Spirit. And many havs . Wriuen and published books respecting the times, mining thela commencement hom thoprophet Moses, Who lived about seven hundred years betors
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servitude, untii, in the seventieth year aster arda, the captive JeWs mere restored to their own landa and setilemonis is Cyrus tho elder, Who attained the supreme poWer over the Perstans, at the time when Tarquinius Superbus migned at Rome. Whereiare, since the whole series of times may be collectinboth Dom tho Jewish histories and Dom thois of tho Greelis and Romans, the times of the propheta individually may alsobo collected; the last of whom mas Zechariali, and it is agreedon that he prophesied in the timo of Κing Darius, in thesecond year of his reign, and in the eighth monili. Os so much greater antiqui are tho propheta found to bo than tho Greehwriters. And I bring sorWard ali these things, that they may
perceive their error Who endemour to resuto holy Scripture, as though it mere neW and recently composed, Ming ignorant
rom What fountain the origin os our holy religion flowed. Butis any one, having put together and examined the times, ahalldub lay tho Dundation os learning, and fully ascertain thotruth, he mill also lay aside his error When he has gained the
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λ Litarasy, M sanda. The passage appears to be corrupi; υποπίπτει haabeen auggested inatead of ὐποπέμπει, laus under perception,' is an objset os perception. Prov. viii. 22 1. Lactantius quotea hom tho Septuagint. R Aeoording to tho Hobrem possemod me in tho beginning,' and mine authorized version. ε Fines inhabitabiles. Oster editions reta terras inhabitabiles, uuin- habitabis landa.
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has one name among the anget' and another among men,
sinco He is called Jesus' among ment sor Christ is not aproper name, but a uile of po er and dominion; for is this the Jews mero accustomed in cali their hings. But tho meaning of this name must be set forct, on account of the orror of the ignorant, Who by the change os a letter ars accustomed toeali Him Chrestus.' The de s had besors been directed to
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easset Chreatlans, M Tertullian inova in his Apolon. Tho Mord χρηστός has ins signification es hiud, genue, good. in has referenco in Christ, M Ηρ ia Mng and rilasti in the antan, ing of hings, Me 1 Sam., and of primia, Lov. viii. Tho priminood es Christia most fully set forin in tho Episus to tho Hebre a. 3 Thus Horatius, Carm. i. 35, Purpurei metuunt tyranni; ' and Gru,
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than me do as the Word, or speeta: ior Logos signifies both speech and reason, inasmuch as Ηo is both tho voles and thomisdom os God. And of this divine speech not even the phil sophera Were ignorant, since Zeno represenis the Logos as thearranger os tho established order of things, and the framer ostiis universe: Whom also He calis Fate, and the necessity osthings, and God, and the foui os Iupiter, in accordanco Withthe custom, indeed, by Whicli they are Wont to regard Jupiteras God. But the words ars no obstacte, sinco the sentiment is in agreement With tho truth. For it is tho spirit os God whielitis named tho soul of Jupiter. For Trismegistus, Who bysome means or other searched into almost ali truth, osten d scribed tho excellence and majesty of the Word, as the instancebesors montioned declares, in Whicli ho achnowledges that thereis an ineffabis and sacred speech, the relation of which excesdatho measum os man's abili . I have spolien briefly, as I have been able, concerning the fidit nativi . μου I must moro