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hereas, it ho had possessed any divino knowledge, he ought not to havo mutilated his sather, but himself, to provent insbirili of Jupiter, Who deprived him of tho possession of his hingdom. And ho also, When ho had married his sister Rhea, whom in Latin Wo cali Ops, is sald to have been Warned by an oracle not to bring up his malo children, becaum it Would come to pras that lis should bo driven into banishment is a son. And being in sear of this, it is plain that ho did not devour his sons, as the tables repori, but put them is death; although itis written in sacred history that Saturn and ops, and othermen, Were at that time accustomed to eat human flesti, butthat Jupiter, Who gave to men laws and civilisation, Was thesi si Who by an edici prohibited the uso of that s d. Nowii this is true, What justice can thero possibiy have been iubim But let us supposo it to bo a fictilious stota that Saturndevoured his sons, only true aster a certain Ashion; must κε then suppose illi ths vulgar that he has eaten his sons, Who has carried them out to burial But whon Ops had brought fortii Jupiter, stis stois aWay the insant, and secretiy sent him into Crete to bo nourished. Again, I cannot but blame his mant of foresight. For Why did ho receivo an oracle hom
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t only theresore Hl the poets, but tho writers also otancient histories and eventa, agreo that ho mas a man, ina much as they banded down to memory his actions in Italy: of Greeh writers, Diodorus and Thallus; of Latin Writer' Nepos, Cassius, and Varro. For since men lived in Italy aster
Does any one imagine him to M a god, Who mas driven intobanishment, Who fled, who lay hid No one is so sensetess. For ho who fleos, or lies hid, must sear both violenco and death. Orpheus, who lived in more recent times than his, openlyrelates that Saturn reigned on earth and among men:
The poet did not say in tho formor passago that iis led this life in heaven, nor in the lalter passage that he reigned overtho goda above. From Whicli it appears that he was a Ling onearth; and this lis declares more plainly in another place:
Ennius, indeed, in his translation of) Euhemerus, says that Saturn Was not tho firat who re ned, but his fallier Imanus. In the beginning, ho says, Ccelus first had the supremo po eron the earth. Ηo instituted and prepared that hingdom in conjunction with his brothera. Thero is no great dispute, ii thoro is doubi, on the part of the greatest authorities respectingthe son and the fallier. But it is possibis that each may have
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Nom since the sacred history differs in somo degres homthose things Whicli mo havs related, tot us open thom thingswhich aro contained in the trus Writings, that κε may not, in accusing superstitions, appear in fossoW and approve of the follies of the poets. Thoso are tho motas ot Ennius: Aste matas Saturn married ops. Titan, Who mas older than Saturn), demanda tho hingdom for himself. Upon this theirmother Vesta, and their sistere Ceres and ops, advise Saturnnot to ovo up the Engdom to his brotheri Thon Titan, whomas inferior in person to Saturn, on that account, and becausolis sin that his mother and sistere Were using their endeavo a
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Tho truth of this histo is tauot by ths Erythraean Sibyl,
mother had been surrounded With a guard and imprisoned, camo mitti a great multitude os Cretans, and conquored Titan and his sons in an engagement, and rescued his parenta immimprisonment, restored the hingdom to his sathor, and thus
' sines it is evident hom theso things that thv weromen, it is not dissiculi to me in What mannor they began to bocalled gods. For is thero were no hings fore Saturn or Uranus, on account of the amali number of men .ho lived a
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solos. Thersiam mon formed imagos of them, that theymight derive mme consolation hom the contemplation of their. lihenesses; and procoeding further through lovo of their mortii they began to ravorencs the momory of the de Med, that thumight appear in be gratesul for their services, and might attracttheir successors to a destre of ruling wall. Αnd this Ciceroteaches in his treatlae on the Natum of tho Gods, sutag: Buttho liso of men and common intercourse led to the exalting to heaven by samo and mod-Will men Who Were distinguished by thoir benefita. on this account Hercules, on this Castor and Pollux, Esculapius and Liber V Wero ranked with tho gods). And in another passage: μ And in most states iis may bounderato , that for the sahe of exciting Valour, or that thomen most distinguished for bravery might moro readij e
munier danger on account of this state, their memory Was consecrared With the honour pald to tho immortal gods.' It was doubilem on this account that the Romana consecrated their Caesara, and the mors thoir tangs. Thus is degrees religious honours Myn to be paid in them; While thoso who had knownthem, fidit instructed their own children and grandchildren, and altorWards ali their posteri , in the practics of this rite. And yet these great hings, ou account of the celebriu of theirname, mere hono ed in ali provinces. But separato peopte privately honoured ius foundere of their nation or city with the highest veneration, Whether they mersmen distinguished for bravery, or Women admirabio for cha tity; as tho Egyptians honoured Isis, tho mora Juba, thoΜacedonians Cabirus, the Carthaginians Uranus, ius Latins Faunus, the Sabines Sancus, the Romans Quirinus. In the fame manner truly Athens Worshipped Minerva, Samos Juno, Paphos Venus, Lemnos Vulcan, Naxos Liber, and Delos
Apollo. And thus various sacred rites have been underishenamong different peoples and countries, in much as imon desimis stlo gratitude to their princes, and cannot find out ollior hono s whicli they may conser upon ius deud. Wreover, tho piety of thela successore contributed in a great degreo in the error; for, in ordor that they might appear to bo bomsrom a divino origin, thv paid divine honoum to their parenta,
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la truth, Liber and Pan, and Mercury and Apollo, acted intho fame Way respecting Jupiter, and asininarda their succe sors did tho fame respecting them. The poets also added their influencs, and is means of poems composed in give pleasure, mised them to the heaven; as is the easo mitti thoso who flatisrhings, even though Wiched, mith salso panegyri . And this ovit originaled mith tho Greelis, whoso levi ing furnishod 'mith the abili and coriousneas of speech, excitod in an incredibis degres misis of salselio s. And thus from admirationos them they firet underisin their sacred rites, and handed stomdown to ali natio . on account of this vanity tho Sibyl thus rebukes them:
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in tho fame mannis in Whicli they mero consecrated by the ancient' ho both taught that thoy mero dead, and showed thoorion os a vain superstition. Since, in truth,' ho sus, no See many men and Women among the number of ths gods, and Venerate their shrines, held in tho greatest honour in cities and in the country, let us assent to the wisdom of those to whoso talenta and inventions Wo o e it that lifo is altogether adorned
in their assembly, and wili consecrato 1ou to tho estimation ofali men.' Somo one may perhaps say that Cicero raved throuo excessive grief. But, . in truth, the wholo of that speech, Whichwas perfect both in learning and in iis examples, and in tho Very style of expression, gave no indications os a distemperedmind, but os constancy and judgment; and this very sentenco exhibita no sign of grios. For I do not thinh that he could havs written With such variety, and copiοusness, and ornament, had not his gries been mitigated by reason iraeli, and the comsolation of his triends and longili of timo. Why should I mention what he sus in his books concerning the Republic, and also concerning glοο For in his treatiss on tho Laws, in Which ork, follo ing the exampis of Plato, he wished to set sorththose laws which hs thought that a just and wiso state mouidemptor, he thus decreed concerning religion : Let them r Verence the god' both those Who have alWaya been regataed asgods of heaven, and those Whose services in men) have placedihem in heaven : Hercules, Liber, msculapius, Castor, Pollux, and Quirinus. Also in his Tusculan Disputations, When hosaid that heaven was almost ontirely filled with tho human
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out in Greecor remember, sinco Du aro initiatia, What thingsare handed down in tho mysteries; and then at length youmili nnderatand ho. widely this persuasion) is spready Heappealed, as it is plain, to the conscience of Atticus, that it might be underet d iram the very mysteries that ali those Whoare Worshipped Were men; and when ho achnowledged thismithout hesitation in the case of Hercules, Liber, Esculapius, Castor and Ρollux, he was asinid openly to mahe the fame admi sion respecting Apollo and Jupiter their sathera, and likeWiserespecting Neptune, Vulcan, Mara, and Mercurn Whom hetermed the greater goda; and theresore he says that this opinionis Widely spread, that mo may underatand tho samo concerning Jupiter and the other mors ancient gods: for it tho ancients consecrated their memory in the fame manner in .hich he saysthat he wili consecrato.tho image and tho namo of his daughter, those Who mourn may be pardoned, bnt thoso who belleus it cannot be pardoned. For Rho is so insaluated as to bellevo that heaven is vened to the dead at tho consent and pleasum os a sensetess multitude or that any one is able in give to
man, Antony; Quirinus Was mado a god, cause it a med good to the shephetas, though one of them Was the murderer of his tWin brother, the other the destroyer of his count . But it tony had uot been consul, in return for his services toWardsthe state Caius Caesar mould have been without tho honour even os a dead man, and that, too, by the advice os his sathe in-law Piso, and of hia relative Lucius Caesar, Who opposed thecelebration os tho funerat, and by tho advice of Dolabella thoconsul, Who overthre the column in tho sorum, that is, his monuments, and purified the forum. For Ennius declares that Romulus mas regretted is his pmple, sinco he representa the
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honour, that he was a god, and was called by tho nams of Quirinus. ' Whicli deed he at once persuaded the peoplo that Romulus had gone to the gods, and heed the sonate Domthe suspicion of having flain tho hing.
CHAP. XVI. y what argument it is proved that those who a
distinguished by a disserenoe of εω cannot be gori; and
ias natura os God. I might bo content With thoso things whicli I have related, but thoro stili remain many things Whicli are necessaW forthe woa whicli I havo underlahen. For although, is destro ing the principat part os superstitions, I have tahen a V thewhole, yet it pleases me to lalloW up ius remaining paris, and
more fully to refute so inveterate a persuasion, that men may at length bo ashamed and repent of their errore. This is agreat underlahing, and Worthy of a man. I proceed to rete ethe minds of men from tho ties of superstitions,' as Lucretius says; and ho indeed Was unablo to effect this, causo lis
brought forWard nothing true. This is our duin Who both asseri the existenco of the true God and refuto falso deities. They, therelare, Who entertain the opinion that tho poeta havo invented fabies about tho goda, and yet belleve in tho Qxistence of semale deities, and worship them, ars unconsciousty brought bach to that whicli they had dented-that they havo sexuat intercourse, and bring rarth. For it is impossibis that thot o sexes can have been instituted except for ths salis of generation. But a differencs os sex being admitted, they do notperceius that conception solioWs as a consequencs. And this cannot bo the case Mith a God. But let tho matter bo as theyimagine; for they say that there are sons of Jupiter and of the other gods. Thereiore neW gods ars born, and that indoeddaily, sor gods ars not surpassed in fruitiuiness by men. Itiollows that ali things ars fuit os gods Without number, sincelaraooth nons of them dies. For since the multitude os menis incredibie, and their number not to be estimate though, as they ars born, they must os necessi die-What must Wo suin pose to be the case With the gods Who have been tarn througli .