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| Chapter IV.—God desires not sacrifices, but righteousness.
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Chapter IV.—God desires not
sacrifices, but righteousness.
And that God is not appeased by the
libations and incense of evil-doers, but awards vengeance in
righteousness to each one, Philemon2604
| 2604 Some attribute these lines to Menander, others regard
them as spurious. | again shall bear testimony to
me:—
“If
any one should dream, O Pamphilus,
By
sacrifice of bulls or goats—nay, then,
By
Jupiter—of any such like things;
Or
by presenting gold or purple robes,
Or
images of ivory and gems;
If
thus he thinks he may propitiate God,
He
errs, and shows himself a silly one.
But
let him rather useful be, and good,
Committing
neither theft nor lustful deeds,
Nor
murder foul, for earthly riches’ sake.
Let
him of no man covet wife or child,
His
splendid house, his wide-spread property,
His
maiden, or his slave born ill his house,
His
horses, or his cattle, or his beeves,
Nay,
covet not a pin, O Pamphilus,
For
God, close by you, sees whate’er you do.
He
ever with the wicked man is wroth,
But
in the righteous takes a pleasure still,
Permitting
him to reap fruit of his toil,
And
to enjoy the bread his sweat has won.
But
being righteous, see thou pay thy vows,
And
unto God the giver offer gifts.
Place
thy adorning not in outward shows,
But
in an inward purity of heart;
Hearing
the thunder then, thou shall not fear,
Nor
shall thou flee, O master, at its voice,
For
thou art conscious of no evil deed,
And
God, close by you, sees whate’er you do.”
Again, Plato, in Timæus,2605
| 2605 P. 68, D, [cap. 30.] | says:
“But if any one on consideration should actually institute
a rigid inquiry, he would be ignorant of the distinction between
the human and the divine nature; because God mingles many2606
| 2606 The mss. are corrupt here. They seem
to read, and one actually does read, “all” for
“many.” “Many” is in Plato, and the clause in
brackets is taken from Plato to fill up the sense. | things up
into one, [and again is able to dissolve one into many things,] seeing
that He is endued with knowledge and power; but no man either is, or ever
shall be, able to perform any of these.”E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
