Contra Gentes. (Against the Heathen.)

 Part I

 §2. Evil no part of the essential nature of things. The original creation and constitution of man in grace and in the knowledge of God.

 §3. The decline of man from the above condition, owing to his absorption in material things.

 §4. The gradual abasement of the Soul from Truth to Falsehood by the abuse of her freedom of Choice.

 §5. Evil, then consists essentially in the choice of what is lower in preference to what is higher.

 §6. False views of the nature of evil: viz., that evil is something in the nature of things, and has substantive existence. (a) Heathen thinkers: (evi

 §7. Refutation of dualism from reason. Impossibility of two Gods. The truth as to evil is that which the Church teaches: that it originates, and resid

 §8. The origin of idolatry is similar. The soul, materialised by forgetting God, and engrossed in earthly things, makes them into gods. The race of me

 §9. The various developments of idolatry: worship of the heavenly bodies, the elements, natural objects, fabulous creatures, personified lusts, men li

 §10. Similar human origin of the Greek gods, by decree of Theseus. The process by which mortals became deified.

 §11. The deeds of heathen deities, and particularly of Zeus.

 §12. Other shameful actions ascribed to heathen deities. All prove that they are but men of former times, and not even good men.

 §13. The folly of image worship and its dishonour to art.

 §14. Image worship condemned by Scripture.

 §15. The details about the gods conveyed in the representations of them by poets and artists shew that they are without life, and that they are not go

 §16. Heathen arguments in palliation of the above: and (1) ‘the poets are responsible for these unedifying tales.’ But are the names and existence of

 §17. The truth probably is, that the scandalous tales are true, while the divine attributes ascribed to them are due to the flattery of the poets.

 §18. Heathen defence continued. (2) ‘The gods are worshipped for having invented the Arts of Life.’ But this is a human and natural, not a divine, ach

 §19. The inconsistency of image worship. Arguments in palliation. (1) The divine nature must be expressed in a visible sign. (2) The image a means of

 §20. But where does this supposed virtue of the image reside? in the material, or in the form, or in the maker’s skill? Untenability of all these view

 §21. The idea of communications through angels involves yet wilder inconsistency, nor does it, even if true, justify the worship of the image.

 §22. The image cannot represent the true form of God, else God would be corruptible.

 §23. The variety of idolatrous cults proves that they are false.

 §24. The so-called gods of one place are used as victims in another.

 §25. Human sacrifice. Its absurdity. Its prevalence. Its calamitous results.

 §26. The moral corruptions of Paganism all admittedly originated with the gods.

 §27. The refutation of popular Paganism being taken as conclusive, we come to the higher form of nature-worship. How Nature witnesses to God by the mu

 §28. But neither can the cosmic organism be God. For that would make God consist of dissimilar parts, and subject Him to possible dissolution.

 §29. The balance of powers in Nature shews that it is not God, either collectively, or in parts .

 Part II.

 §31. Proof of the existence of the rational soul. (1) Difference of man from the brutes. (2) Man’s power of objective thought. Thought is to sense as

 §32. (3) The body cannot originate such phenomena and in fact the action of the rational soul is seen in its over-ruling the instincts of the bodily

 §33. The soul immortal. Proved by (1) its being distinct from the body, (2) its being the source of motion, (3) its power to go beyond the body in ima

 §34. The soul, then, if only it get rid of the stains of sin is able to know God directly, its own rational nature imaging back the Word of God, after

 Part III.

 §36. This the more striking, if we consider the opposing forces out of which this order is produced .

 §37. The same subject continued .

 §38. The Unity of God shewn by the Harmony of the order of Nature .

 §39. Impossibility of a plurality of Gods .

 §40. The rationality and order of the Universe proves that it is the work of the Reason or Word of God .

 §41. The Presence of the Word in nature necessary, not only for its original Creation, but also for its permanence .

 §42. This function of the Word described at length .

 §43. Three similes to illustrate the Word’s relation to the Universe .

 §44. The similes applied to the whole Universe, seen and unseen .

 §45. Conclusion. Doctrine of Scripture on the subject of Part I .

 §46. Doctrine of Scripture on the subject of Part 3 .

 §47. Necessity of a return to the Word if our corrupt nature is to be restored .

§24. The so-called gods of one place are used as victims in another.

This, then, is no slight proof of their real godlessness. For, the gods for every city and country being many and various, and the one destroying the god of the other, the whole of them are destroyed by all. For those who are considered gods by some are offered as sacrifices and drink-offerings to the so-called gods of others, and the victims of some are conversely the gods of others. So the Egyptians serve the ox, and Apis, a calf, and others sacrifice these animals to Zeus. For even if they do not sacrifice the very animals the others have consecrated, yet by sacrificing their fellows they seem to offer the same. The Libyans have for god a sheep which they call Ammon, and in other nations this animal is slain as a victim to many gods. 2. The Indians worship Dionysus, using the name as a symbol for wine, and others pour out wine as an offering to the other gods. Others honour rivers and springs, and above all the Egyptians pay especial honour to water, calling them gods. And yet others, and even the Egyptians who worship the waters, use them to wash off the dirt from others and from themselves, and ignominiously throw away what is used. While nearly the whole of the Egyptian system of idols consists of what are victims to the gods of other nations, so that they are scorned even by those others for deifying what are not gods, but, both with others and even among themselves, propitiatory offerings and victims.

24 Ταῦτα δὲ οὐ μικρὸς ἔλεγχός ἐστι τῆς ἀληθῶς ἀθεότητος αὐτῶν. διαφόρων γὰρ ὄντων καὶ πολλῶν κατὰ πόλιν καὶ χώραν θεῶν, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου τὸν τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀναιροῦντος θεόν, οἱ πάντες παρὰ πάντων ἀναιροῦνται. καὶ γὰρ οἱ παρ' ἄλλοις νομιζόμενοι θεοὶ τῶν παρ' ἄλ λοις λεγομένων θεῶν γίγνονται θυσίαι καὶ σπονδαί· καὶ ἄλλων αἱ θυσίαι, ἄλλων ἔμπαλίν εἰσι θεοί. Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ τὸν βοῦν καὶ τὸν Ἄπιν μόσχον ὄντα σέβουσι· καὶ τούτους ἄλλοι τῷ ∆ιὶ θύουσι. κἂν γὰρ μὴ αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους οὓς ἀνατεθείκασι θύσωσιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὅμοια θύοντες, τὰ αὐτὰ προσάγειν δοκοῦσι. Λίβυες πρόβατον, ὃ καλοῦσιν Ἄμμωνα, θεὸν ἔχουσι· καὶ τοῦτο πολλοῖς παρ' ἑτέρων εἰς θυσίαν σφάζεται. Ἰνδοὶ τὸν ∆ιόνυσον θρησκεύουσι, συμβολικῶς οἶνον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζοντες· καὶ τοῦτον τοῖς ἄλλοις σπένδουσιν ἕτεροι. ἄλλοι ποταμοὺς καὶ κρήνας, καὶ πάντων μάλιστα Αἰγύπτιοι τὸ ὕδωρ προτετιμήκασι, καὶ θεοὺς ἀναγορεύουσι· καὶ ὅμως ἄλλοι, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ ταῦτα θρησκεύοντες Αἰγύπτιοι, τοὺς τῶν ἄλλων ῥύπους, καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἀπονίπτονται τοῖς ὕδασι, καὶ τὸ λείψανον μετὰ ἀτιμίας ἐκρίπτουσι. σχεδὸν δὲ πᾶσα ἡ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων εἰδωλοποιία τῶν παρ' ἄλλοις θεῶν ἐστι θυσία· ὥστ' ἂν αὐτοὺς καὶ παρ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων χλευάζεσθαι, ὅτι μὴ θεούς, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔτι τε καὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀποτροπιάσματα καὶ θυσίας ὄντα θεοποιοῦσιν.