em up, and they shall be changed, but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail!' And those divine
preachers of the coming of Christ, those wise fishers of the world,
whose nets drew all men from the depths of deceit, whom thou, in thy
vileness and bondage to sin, dost vilify, did by signs and wonders and
manifold powers shine as the sun in the world, giving sight to the
blind, hearing to the deaf, motion to the lame, and life to the dead.
Their shadows alone healed all the ailments of men. The devils, whom
ye dread as gods, they not only cast forth from men's bodies, but even
drave out of the world itself by the sign of the cross, whereby they
destroyed all sorcery, and rendered witchcraft powerless. And these
men, by curing every disease of man by the power of Christ, and
renewing all creation, are rightly admired as preachers of truth by all
men of sound mind. But what hast thou thyself to say of thy wise men
and orators, whose wisdom God hath made foolish, the advocates of the
devil? What worthy memorial have they bequeathed to the world? Tell
me. And what canst thou tell of them but unreason and shamefulness,
and vain craft that with glosing words concealeth the mire of their
unsavoury worship?

"Moreover such of your poets as have been able to soar a little above
this great madness have said, with more truth, that they, which are
called gods, were men; and because certain of them had been rulers of
regions and cities, and others had done something of no great account
in their lifetime, men were so deceived as to call them gods. It
standeth on record that the man Seruch was the first to bring in the
use of images. For it is said that in the old times he honoured those
who had achieved some memorable deed of courage, friendship, or any
other such virtue with statues and pillars. But after generations
forgat the intention of their ancestors: and, whereas it was only for
remembrance sake that they had set up statues and pillars to the doers
of noble deeds, now they were, little by little, led astray through the
working of the prince of evil, the devil, and treated as immortal gods
men of like passions and corruptible as themselves and further devised
sacrifices and drink-offerings for them,--the devils, thou mayest know,
taking up their abode in these images and diverting to themselves these
honours and sacrifices. Accordingly these devils persuade men, who
refuse to have God in their knowledge, to con