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endured tortures, and stripes, and thoras. At last Hs did notrefuse even to undergo death, that under Us Midanee man
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me ured out tho morid, that even then He might show that agreat multitude, collected together out os ali languages and tribes, hom the rising of the sun even in his setting, Was about to como under His Wings, and to receive on their foreheata
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ali tho demons by His mord, and restored to thoir former senseatho minds of man which had baon excited and maddened by their Meadtul attacha; so now Ηis tollowers, in the name of thola Master, and by the sign of Ηis passion, banish the fame polluted spirita hom men. And it is not dissiculi to prove this. For Whenthv sacrifice to their gods, is any one bearing a marhed for head standa by, the sacrifices are by no means savourable
mastera to flee, that they might not be ablo to observe ' futuro eventa in the entralis of the victima. And when the gooth- sayers understood this, at tho instigation of the samo demonsto vhom they had sacrificed,' complaining that profane menWere present at the sacrifices, they dxove their princes tomadness, so that they attached the templo os the god, and contaminateo themselves by true sacrilege, Which was expiatinis the severest punishments on the part of their persecutors. Nor, hoWever, are bliud men abis to understand even from this, either that this is the true religion, Which contains such great
utant.' a mord peculiar to the woinavera, uaed When the sacrificinare auspicio . Virg. Georg. iii. 491. Noatri, ' Le. Christiana. 3 Depingeroto maho obaervationa on the enisalla of tho victima, m to foreteli lutum evenis.
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280 LACTANTIUS. X K IV. Wer sor overcoming, or that that is salse, Whicli is not abis to
tho handa os othera: and it they acknowledgo the existence of these demons, We have overcome; sor this must necessarily bellis truo religion, Which both underetanti the nature os demons, and underatanda their subitety, and compeia them, Vanquished
refuted by the testimontes of poets and philosophera. But is they do not deny the existencs and maligni os demons,
what remains excepi that they affirm that there is a differendebetween goti and demons ' Let them thereiore explain to ustiis differenee bet.sen the two hinds, that We may know Whatis to bo morshippod and what to bo held in execration; Whether they have any mutuat agreement, or are reatly opposed to onoanother. Is they are united by some necessity, hoW shali me distinguisti themi or hoW shail We unite the honour and worship of each hind Is, on the other hand, they are enenates, hom is it that the demons do not sear ths gods, or that the godscannot put to flight tho demons Behold, some one excited by the impulso os the demon is out os his senses, raves, is mad: letus Ioad him into the templo os the excellent and mighu Jupiter; or since Iupiter knows not hoW to curo men, into the sane of Esculapius or Apollo. Let the primi os ei ther, in the name os his god, command ths Wiched spirit to come out of the man: that can in no Way come to pass. What, then, is the poWer ottho Dds, is the demons are not subject to their controit But, in truth, the samo demons, When adjured by the namo of the
3 i.e. the iam of the croas, With vhich the early Christiana frequently
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demons, Whom they achnoWledge in be objecta os execration, are ths samo as the gods to whom they oster supplications.
belleve Homer, Who associaled the supreme Iupiter' With tho demons; and also other poeta and philosophers, Who speah oi the fame beings at one time as demons, and at another time asgods, ξ Whicli names one is true, and tho other salse. Forthose most miched spirita, When they are adjured, then consess
selves divine hono A; Whicli error may be dispelled, and brought to the light of truth. For ii any one destres in inquiro surther into the matter, let him assemble those who ars skilled in calling sortii spirita troin tho dead. Let them cali sortii dupiter, Neptune, Vulcan, Mercury, Apollo, and Saturnus theiather of all. Alt will ansWer irom tho loner regions; and
δώματ ἐς αἰγώκοιο Διός μετα δαίμονας ἀλλους. Ut erroris hominibua immittant. Per diversa regionum. There is another re ing, perversa religione '-by perversed religion.' The reserenoe is in necromanu, or calling up the spiriis of tho dead by
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are contained in the divino secreta.
CHAP. XXVIII.-γ hope and true religion, and of superstition. And since theso things are so, as me have shom, it is plain that no other hopo ot lito is set besore man, excepi that, layingaside Vanities and wretched error, he aliould know God,' and serve God; excepi ho renounco this temporam lise, and tra in himself by the principies os righteousness for the cultivation ofisue religion. For We are created on this condition, illat wo pay just and duo obedience to God Who created us, that moahould know and solioW Him alono. Wo are bound and lied
received iis name, not, as Cicero explained it, frem caresullygatherinny for in his second book respecting the nature of tho gods ho thus spealis: For not only philosophera, but ourancestors also, separated superstition from religion. For theyWho spent Wholo days in prayers and sacrifices, that theirchildren might furvive M them, Were called superstitious. Butthey Who handled again, and as it Were caresully gathered allthings whicli related to the worship of tho gods, Were calledreligious from caresully gathering, as some mero called elegant hom choosing out, and diligent from caresully selecting, and intelligent from understanding. For in ali these Words there is the fame meaning of gathering Which there is in the wota religious: thus it has come to pass, that in the names supe stilious and religious, the one relates in a fauit, the other
Thero is mother readlag: qui de Deo patro omnia, et de filio locutus est multa; Ρ but thia is maniteatly errone s. our Lord, John xvii. 3: Thia is lito eternat, that they might iso Thee ins Only truo God, and Jema Christ, Whom Thou haat aeni. A religando. Thero in Iullo doubi that tho truo derivation ot relligio V ia from religere, nos Iram religare. According to this, tho primarymeaning is, the duelling upon a subjeci, and continuassy recurring to it.'
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health of sons is the part os a religious man, but to do the samo ten times is tho part os a superstitious man For it it is an excellent thing to pray once, hoW much more so to do it more frequentlyl Is it is weli to do it at tho first hour, then it is Weli to do it throughout the day. ΙΤ one victim renders tho dei propitious, it is plain that inany victims must rendor him more propitio , beca s multiplied services oblige' rathor than
offend. For inose servanis do not appear to us halesul Whoare assiduous and constant in their attendance, but more
our children, thereiore he also is superstitious Who conceives
sully gathering ; hoW is it, then, that they who do this osten ina day lose the name of religious men, When it is plain Domihela very assiduity that they mors diligently gather thosethings by Whicli tho gods are Worshipped What, then, is it 3 Truly religion is tho cultivation of the truth, but superstition of that whicli is false. And it mahes
Demerentur,' thev lay under an obligation. 3 Criminia isti ' Vitiosum.
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Superstition vain, and ignorant of ancient goda.'
serent, nor do me separate each: becauso the Father cannot
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ΗΘ is not separated trom Him ; just as the stream is not sep rated hom the fountain, nor the rv from the sun: for themater of the fountain is in tho stream, and the light of the sunis in tho rvr just as the Volce cannot be separated hom themouth, nor the strengili or hand from the body. When, there- fore, He is also spolien os by the propheta af the hand, and strength, and word os God, there is plainly no separation; for thotongue, Whicli is the minister os speech, and the hand, in Whichthe strengili is silualed, are inseparabie portions os the body. Wo may use an examplo more closely connected With us. When any ons has a son Whom he especialty loves, Who is
stili in the house, and in tho poWer of his fallier, although he
tho Son is in the Father, sor the Father loves the Son, and the Fathar is in tho Son; for IIo salthfully obus the will os tho
giory : ἀπαυγασμα τῆς δόξης αντον.
In manu patris.' Among the Romana the lather had the posis olliso and death over hia children.