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mentaliu it comes to pass thero ars in ali inings thesethree particular elements-the saci itself, ita instrument, and ita cause), because he himself Who wilis the occurrenco os athing comes into notice' prior to the thing which he wilis, ortho instrument by whicli it occurs. on ali other occasions, thereiore, your conduci is right enough, because Fou consider tho author; but in physical phenomena your rule is opposed to that natural principie Whicli prompta you to a Wisejudgment in ali other cases, removing out of sight as you do the supreme position of the author, and considering rather the
it comes to pass that you suppose tho poWer and the dominionto belong to the elementa, whicli are but the flaves and sun tionaries. NoW do me not, in thus tracing out an artificerand master Within, expose tho arisui structuro os their flavery out of the appotnted functions os those elementa to
not flaves; theresore Whatever things aro servile in character
motod by irregular licence,' despotism by liberin and that by despotism divine poWer is meant. For is ali tho fheavenlybodiosJ ovorhoad forgot not' to fulsi thoir courses in certain orbiis, in regular Semons, at proper distances, fandJ at equalintervals-appotnted in the way of a laW ior tho revolutions of timo, and for directing the guidance theroos can it fati toresulty from tho very observance of their conditions and the fideliu of their operations, that you Will bs convinced both by the recurrence of their orbitat courses and the accura of their mutations, When you bear in mind hoW ceaselosa is
' Servitutis artem. tem' Oehler explaina by artificioso institutum. Jδ No subjoin Oeliter'a texi of thia obscuro sentenca: Non in ista investigatione alicujus artificia intus et domini servitutis artem ostendimus elementorum certis ex operis for operibus,' not unusual in
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supporis of human learning, Which, by thela arties method of eaving conjectures, bella both Wisdom and truth. Besidos it so happens, indeed, according in your natural Way of
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discum gin are under some ruis and direction, than stat theyhave a motion of their o , and that being under goverament they cannot be gods. Is hoWever, one is in error in this mattor, it is beller in ere simply than speculatively, lihe Durphysical philosophera. But, at the fame time,' is Du consider the character of the mythia school, fand compare it milhtho physisahJ the error Which We have Hready goon frailmen' mahing in the latior is reatly the more respectableone, since it ascribes a divine nature to those inings Whichil supposes to bo superhumam in their sensibili , Whether in respect of thela position, their po er, their magnitude, orthola divini . For that Which you supposo in be hi er
tho faci that you do not consistently cali them gods, butheroes. Why then discuss the potati Although divino
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gods, you defend them as mere tables, on the pretence of poetic licence ; Whenever We volunteer a silent contempt/' of
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advanees Was castrated, o ing to her vexation at his daring
Insuper. ' Denique. R Ingenuitatis. Initiatricem. β Sane. ' Fides. 7 Polluuntur. η Relationibus.
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480 TERTULLIANUS ars tiara. Yet it is not Meauso of their tolling tis tha yyour goia did such things When thv mere human Mings,
nor boca e they predicated divine scandala' os a divino state, since it seemed in you more credibio that goti inouid exist, though not of such a character, stan that them Aould besuch characters, although not goo. CHAP. VIII.-The gori of the disseremi nationa, Varro's GENTILE elasa; general remarha on them. Their inferiori . Agood deat of this perverse theolais talari frem Seriptura. Serapis is a perversion os Ioseph. There remains tho gentile class of goti amongst theseverat nations :' these Were adopted out os mere caprice, not frem the knowle e of tho truth; and our informationabout them comes hom the private notiona fos different race . God, I imagine, is ever'here knom, eVer'here present, poWersul evem here-an object whom ali ought tomorship, ali ought to seme. Since, then, it happens that eventhey, whom ali the world Worshipa in common, fiat in thoevidonee of their true divinitri hoκ much more must this besali thoin whom thela very Votaries' hava not succeededin discoveringi For vhat useful auctori could possibiyprecede a theology of so defectivo a character as to Mwholly unknown to fame HOW many have either Men orhoard of tho Syrian Margatis, the African Coelestis, themoristi Varsutina, the Arabian obodas and Dusaris, foritho Norican Belenus, or those Whom Varro mentions-Delmentinus os Casinum, Visidianus os Narnia, Numiternus of
Atina, fori Ancharia os Asculum Τ Αnd who have any clear notions ' os Nortia of Vulsinii ' Thero is no difforoneo in
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Joseph. Tho youngest of his brethren, but superior tostem in intellect, he was from enuy sold into Egypt, and hecame a flavo in the family os Pharaoli hing os tho
reported him to tho hing, by Whom he is put into prison. There ho displays tho poWer of his divine inspiration, by
favoured hino signified as many years os plenu; in liho
Deos decuriones sin allusion to the smali provinciat senates Whichin tho lator timea apread over the Roman coloniea and municipiaJ. a Privatas.' Compare Suidas, s. v. Σαραπις; Rufinus, Hist. EccI. ii. 23. Aa Serapis mas Joseph in disgulae, so Waa Joseph a type of Christ, accord-
ing to the ancient Christians, Who mere fond of subordinating heathen myths to Christian theology.Jε ertullian is not tho only Writer Who has made misi ea in citing
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482TERTULLIANUS previous plenty. The Ling belloved him. Tho irano os all
they regard fas a senirri in Hades, and put it under his righthand, becauso the caro os the Egyptians mas concentratin'
human beings, they combined both figures under one form ubis, in Which thero may rather M seen clear prooss of ita oWn character and condition enslirinody by a nation atmar With itself, refracto ' to iis hings, despised amongio igners, With even the appetito os a flavo and the filiis nature of a dog. CHAP. IX.-The power of Rome in the woria gave, in faet, a Romanized a eet to ali the heathen mythology. Varro's threefota distribution of the Roman soda eritioiaed. Theehies of the Roman heroea, AEneas included, u OOu abj reviswed. Such are tho more obvious or more remactabie potnis Which we had in mention in conuection missi Varro's thre sold distribution of tho gods, in order that a sussicient ans er
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ine gentilo classes. Since, however, it is no longis to thophilosophera, nor the poets, nor the nations that Wo owe tho substitution os ali fheathen Worship sor the true religionJ, although they transmitted tho superstition, but to the domunant Romans, who received the tradition and gave it iis Wide authori , another phase of the widespread error of man must noW be enmuniered by us; nay, another sorest must be selled by our axeJ, whicli has obscured the child-hood of tho dogenorate worshipy With germs of superstitionagathered from ali quartere. Well, but even the gods of ths Romans have received from the samri Varro a throesold classification into the eertain, the tineretata, and the 3elest. What absurdiu l What need had they of uncertain gοds, When they possessed certain ones Unloes, fors th, theywished to commit themselves to such folly as tho Athenians did; for at Athens thoro mas an altar With this inscriptione WTO THE --Ο- GODS. ' DOes, then, a manworship that which ho knows nothing of Then, again, asthey had certain goti, they ought to have been contented With them, Without requiring select ones. In this mant theyaro even found to irreligious i For ii mds aro selected
called the publie and the fore0n' gias Their altare tellus so; inexe is Da specimenJ of the foreim gods at the fano os Carna, of the public gods in the Palatium. sincetheir common gods are comprehended in both tho physicaland the mythic classes, Wo have atready said enough con- cerning them. I should like to speis of thoir particularhinti os dei . We ought then to admiro the Romans for
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nation over discovered for iraeli so large a mass os superstition. Their other deities we arrange in two classes: those
Touehing these gods of the vanquished nationa, compare TheApolon, xxv.; belοW, c. XVT ; Minucius Felix, Octav. xxv.Jδ Diligentem. See Homer, Il. V. 300.Jε Invenitur. β Referreo to also a ve, i. 18.J' The obscuro formam et patrem' is by Ochler rendered pulchritudinem et generia nobilitatem. J The mord is eorum' possessive of principum ' , not suae. J