of which
there are so many everywhere, but of those which are distinguished from
the rest by some particular claims. Thus at Rome there are four, which
they pretend were painted by St Luke the evangelist. The principal one is
in the church of St Augustine, which they say St Luke had painted for his
own use; he always carried it about his person, and it was buried with
him. Now, is it not a downright blasphemy to turn thus a holy evangelist
into a perfect idolater? And what reason had they for believing that St
Luke was a painter? St Paul calls him a physician. I do not know from
whence they obtained this notion; but supposing it was so, is it possible
to admit that he would have painted the Virgin for the same purpose as the
Pagans did a Jupiter, a Venus, or any other idol?

It was not the custom of the primitive Christians to have images, and it
only became so a long while afterwards, when the Church was corrupted by
superstition. Moreover, the whole world is filled with representations of
the Blessed Virgin, which are said to have been painted by the same
evangelist.(142)

I shall not say any thing about St Joseph, whose shoes at Aix-la-Chapelle
I have already mentioned, and whose other similar relics are preserved in
many places.(143)

ST MICHAEL.

It may be supposed that I am joking when I speak of the _relics of an
angel_, considering how absurd and ridiculous it is to do so, yet,
although the hypocrites certainly know this well, they have made use of
the name of St Michael to delude the ignorant and foolish; for they show
at Carcassone his falchion, which looks like a child's dagger, and his
shield, which is no larger than the knob of a bridle. Is it possible for
man or woman to exist who can believe such mockery?(144) It is indeed a
blasphemy, under a garb of devotion, against God and his angels. The
exhibitors of the above-mentioned relics endeavour to support their
imposture by the testimony of Scripture that the archangel Michael
combated with Satan; but if he was conquered by the sword, it would at
least have been one of a different size and calibre than the toy to which
I have alluded. People must, however, be very silly to believe that the
war waged by angels and the faithful against the devil is a carnal
encounter, fought with material weapons. But as I said before, at the
commencement of this treatise, the world has rightly deserved to be led
astray into such absurdities, for having lusted after idols