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rosiooua eremontes of the god are false, causethos in hos honour in genera consent of menthronoout the worida a Doliah persuasion unde too various and dissimilis rite mero mortati, and when in
this second book shalida ope in very fountiani errore, and shali explain ali in causesar hic men ere deceived so thata fim thes Eeved that the wer gods, and after ard Withan inveterat persuasio persevered in the religious observances Whic inesta mos perverses underis n. Ford destre, Empero Constantine, noW stata have proved the emptineas of thes things, andarought in light the implous vanitro men, to asser in majestro th ono God, underi in the moreumful an greate des of recalling me homirooked patri, and of bringin them ac into favour missi stemselves that thermarnot a some philosophera doxa greatly despis them-aelves, nor thin that the aro eis an Meleas, and of no account, an altogether bor in vain. For this notion drives mannis vicio iurauits For While thesimagino that, aron eam to no God, o that, aro a ut in hoo no existen after deast the altogether gius themsolves to the indulgeneo of thei passions and whilo ins thiis inatricis alioued them, thereageri apse themaelves to the enjoymen o se urea, is hie ther conscio ου runcinis thora re of Massi for
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et2 LACTANTIUS BOOK II. the are ignorant acto bat is reason te conductis the parto manu for is the wishedri underetand this in therarsi placo the would acknowledge thei Lord, and would follo a ter virtus and justice; the would no subject heir ouis to thoinfluence of earlh-bor fictions, nor ould the sea the doadlyfascinations of thei lusis in hori, the would value them-selves highly, and would underatand that here is more in manthan appears and that the cannot retain thei pomer and standin unies me lay aside depravitn and undectaho the worshi of thei trus Parent Lindeed, a Dought osten reflecting on the sum os assairs, am accustome to monde that the majest of the one God, hichaeeps togother and rules allthings, has come to e so largoiten, stat tho ni befittingobjecti Worahi is, above allisthers, the one Whicli is especiallyneglected and that men have sun to suchalindness, that theypreser tho dead to the trus and living God, and thos Who areo the arth, an burie in the arth, tomim ho was the Creator of the eari iraeli. Andbet his impiet os me mi i meet wli somo indulgencerit the error entiret Moso rom ignorance of the divino name. ut since me osten eo that the worshippers of thergoda themselves confess and achnowledg the supreme God, what pardon an hey hope so thei impietri Who do notis knowledg the worahi o Him hom man cannot altogetherbo ignorant of For both in Kearing an in expressin amisi, an in iving thanks the do no nam Jupiter, or number o gods, but God so entirely does in truthis ira onnaccord rea forti by the fores of nature even romon ill-ingareasis Anythis, indeed, is nodith caso mitti me in their prosperi . For then most os ali does God escape the memoryonmen, When in the rejoyment of His benefit therought tollonourmis divino beneficence. ut is an weight necessi inali pres them, then the remember God. I in terroris War hal havo refounded, it tho pestilentia fores o dise esstiali have vectung them, it longinontinue Mought shalliavo dented nourishmen to the crops, it a violent tempestis halislial have assaile them, the betahe themselves in God aidis imploro hom God God is endieated o succour them. Itan ono is ossedis ut o tho ea, the win Ming furious, itis this God .homas involies. I any one is harassed by any
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vices, ther arises impiet in ard God. From What cause an e suppos this to aris,l-untes me imagine that there is somo perverse poWer hicli is alWays hostile to tho truth, hicli rejoices in the error of men, Whose
cause they have no received reason and wisdom, hereas anupright position and an elevated countenance have been ivento us by the Creator God, it is evident that these eremontes pes to tho god are not in accordance illi the reason fman, bemus the ben doWn the eaven, sprunibein tothe worahi of earthi objecta. For that ne and oni Parentos urs, Whenme created man,-thacis, an animal intelligent an capable os exercisingaeason, aised him hom the ground, and elevate him to the contemplationis his Creator As an ingenisus poet has et represente it: And when other animal ben sorward and loo to the earth He gave o mana elevated countenance, and commandedaim to look up to thoheaven, and to ratio his countenanc erect to the stare.'
Nomen. other readiniis numen, dei . It ma a malom among the hoathen nation to cromithe image of thogoda mih garianda es floWers. Tho allation is to tho right altitudo es man, a compare With ther created Miny Tho argument is osten used by Lactantius. Thia Mntencoria omitted in ame editiona Ovid, Metamorphosis.
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ereation eo the heaven, ut it iamive to us in a renitar manne to behold in heaven a Wo stand erect that, musea religio there that inco me anno se God missi urves, e may With ou mind contemplate Him, hos throno is there and this cannot assuredlyae dono by him .ho Worshipsbras an stone, hic ars arthi things. ut it is ostincorrect that the natur of the ody, hic is temporarnshould e pright, ut stat in Mulcitself, hic is ternat,inould bo abject whereas the figure an positio have noother signification, excepi that the mind of man ought todook in the sam directionis his countenance, and that his scul
to the place here in bellovo them in bor stat is ho
Tho allusion in to tho suppom derivationi tho, d ἀνθρωπος, leom
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meaning of temples and altare What, in inori, of the imagos themselves, hic are memorial either of the dead or absenti For the planis mining lihenesse Was invented by me forthis reason, that it might bo possibi to relata in memor of thom ho had isto been remove is deathis separate is absen . hic os these classes, then, hall, recto thegoti amon tho dead Whocis o oolis acto orshipthem among the absent, then the are not in eoo fhipped, is the nesther feetur actions nor ear ou prvers. But it tho goda cannot be absent,-sor, sines the are dirine, the se an hear at things, in Whateve par of tho universo the M'-it fossoWa that images are superfluous, since thegod are presentisve Where, and it is sufficient to involio missi prayer the ames of thos Who hea M. ut ii the arepresent, the cannot is to sis handis their images. It is entiret so a the eos imagine, that tho spirit of the dea Wander about the tombs and relicti their odios Buta ter that tho deityi amun to bo near, there is no longerneed of his statue. For Lash, i any onera uid osten contemplate tho lihenem of man who has setsed in a fore cland that he manthus sola himself foraim horis absent, Would he also appea in s offound tand is, hen the oster had returne and was present, he inould persevere in contemplatin the lihenem, and should preser in enjoymentis it rather than in sight of the maniumself Assuredi not. For therathenes of a man appearato e necessis a that timo When o is far Way an it ill momo superfluo 'hon heris at hand But in the caseo God, hos spirit an influenco are diffuse everyWhere, and an neve bo absent, it is plata that an image is alWayssuperfluo . ut theydear test thei religion hould bo ali gether ain and empt is the inould se nothin present hich therma adore, and therelare thersetis images and
ae apari for tho moris. o God but to tho placea used by the heathenator theis rite an inerinem That busidium mere aet apax is Christianal in tho earlieat amario inei religio inmembliea, is minere hom inoe rem istimon o Tertullian, Cyprian, an other early ritera They
mere calleo Melesiae, Maechea, not temples.
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et LACTANTIUS. Boo II. since these are representations os ths dead the resemble thodead for the are entiret destitute os perception But thoimage of the eve living God ought to e livin and onduod mitti perception But is it received this nam in rom resem-blance, o can it e supposed that these mages resemble God, hic have either perception nor motioni horosorotho imago o God is no that hicli is fasitioned by the fingerso men ut o stone, o bronge, or ther materiai, ut man
himself, sines he has both perception and motion, and perform smany and great actions. No do the oolisti me underetand, that is mages could exercise perceptio an motion, heywould of their own accor adore men, is hom the have been adorne an embellislied since the would bo eitherrough and unpolished stone, oraude and unshapen ood, had the notaeen fashioned by man. Man, herefore, is to e regarde a tho parent os theso images for the mere produce by his instrumentali , and through him they firat had shape, figure, and beau . here- fore ho ho made them is superior to the objecti hic mere made. nd et no ne ook up to thoiahermimself, orreverences Him he eam the things hichae has made, asthough there could bo more power in the wor than in themorhman Seneca, heresore rightly says in his moratareatises: The worshi tho image of the ods, the supplicate themmith bended knee, tho adore them, the sit o stand est lostem throuo tho holo dari the offer in them contributions,' the sta victims and while the value these images sohighly the despis in artificem ho made them. What isso inconsistent, as in despis the statuar an to adore thostatue an no even to admit o our society him ho mahesyourigodsi ha force What power can the have, henae Who made them has nono ut he was unablerio ove to theseeven thos power Whichaeaad the power of sight of hearinnot speech, and of motion. 4 any one so Desisti rario supposu
rio morda simulacrum, an image,' an similitudo, lihenem V r icae lance,' are connecte together throuo the commoti mo similis, lihe. Materia cis evectial uaed in the sense of ood or limber. Stipem aciunt,' therthrow a cola The mora properly means a coin, money bearing a Mamped impression henoe atipendium,' aesdiera pay.
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Boocii J NE DIUINE INSTITUTES. 77 that there is anythinii tho imago of a god in hicli there is
nothing Veni a man except the mere resemblance ut noone considera thes things for men aro imbued with this e
objecta hicli are sensetess, rationes einga adore irrationalobjecti, hos Who re alive adore inanimate objecta, those sprunifrom heaven adoro arthi objecis It delictis me, theretare, a though standing on a tost Watch-tower, Domwhicli ali may hear, t proclaim Moud that svingis Persius: fouis en down to the arth, an destitute of heavenly
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objecti Whichahe condemn Cicero mas etl aware that thodeities hic men orisipped mero false For hen he had spinen many things,hic tended in tho overthrow of religiousceremontes, he said novertheles that thes matters ought notatobo discussed by the vulgandes suta discussion inould extinguishine system os religion hic mas publici received. What can o do respectinchim, ho, hen e perceives himselfio e in error, o his oW accord dashes himself against thesiones that ali inesse lema stumbie or eam ut his omves, stat es may bo blind whooeither deserves mel ofothera, homae iners in e in error, nor of himself, sinoe ho inclines to tho error of thera, and mahe no se of the benefit of his oWn udom, o acto cara out in actio thoconceptis of his own iud, ut Howingi and conscio bstrusis his foes into the nare, that M also may beriae missiste est, hom he ought acilis more prudent, is have extrucatedi a raster iijou have any Viriue, Cicero endeamurto mata tho eoplo lae stat is a bestiing subjeci, on hichyomma expen ali the o em ibour eloquence For therois no fear test spmo inould lailbo in o good a cause, henyo havo osten defende even ad ones missi copiousnes and
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Boox ILI NE DIVINE INSTITUTES. 7s spirit. ut truly Dudear in prisonis Socrates, and ominat
accountrou domo Ventur in underiae in advoca it truth.
Laetantina chamea Cicero it Want of co age, in belagran illinxto Melam in truth to tho Romana, test he hoci incur the peril ol deain. Thadortitudo vith vhic Socrate underWent deain, When condemned by the Atheniana, i related by Xenophon and Plato. Lactantius hero fosso a Plato, ho place the omenco of man in hointellacinia a I. Theiody, homoer, a meli a the ovi, is of the emenco es man; ut Lactantius Memmio limit the nam ol man to tho Hoe and --, iis Parti