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| Chapter V.—The vain pretensions of false gods.
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Chapter V.—The vain pretensions of
false gods.
But concerning
those who think that they shall share the holy and perfect name, which
some have received by a vain tradition as if they were gods, Menander in
the Auriga says:—
“If
there exists a god who walketh out
With
an old woman, or who enters in
By
stealth to houses through the folding-doors,
He
ne’er can please me; nay, but only he
Who
stays at home, a just and righteous God,
To
give salvation to His worshippers.”
The same Menander, in the Sacerdos,
says:—
“There
is no God, O woman, that can save
One
man by another; if indeed a man,
With
sound of tinkling cymbals, charm a god
Where’er
he listeth, then assuredly
He
who doth so is much the greater god.
But
these, O Rhode, are but the cunning schemes
Which
daring men of intrigue, unabashed,
Invent
to earn themselves a livelihood,
And
yield a laughing-stock unto the age.”
Again, the same Menander, stating his opinion about
those who are received as gods, proving rather that they are not so,
says:—
“Yea,
if I this beheld, I then should wish
That
back to me again my soul returned.
For
tell me where, O Getas, in the world
’Tis
possible to find out righteous gods?”
And in the Depositum:—
“There’s
an unrighteous judgment, as it seems,
Even
with the gods.”
And Euripides the tragedian, in Orestes,
says:—
“Apollo
having caused by his command
The
murder of the mother, knoweth not
What
honesty and justice signify.
We
serve the gods, whoever they may be;
But
from the central regions of the earth
You
see Apollo plainly gives response
To
mortals, and whate’er he says we do.
I
him obeyed, when she that bore me fell
Slain
by my hand: he is the wicked man.
Then
slay him, for ’twas he that sinned, not I.
What
could I do? Think you not that the god
Should
free me from the blame which I do bear?”
The same also in Hippolytus:—
“But
on these points the gods do not judge right.”
And in Ion:—
“But
in the daughter of Erechtheus
What
interest have I? for that pertains
Not
unto such as me. But when I come
With
golden vessels for libations, I
The
dew shall sprinkle, and yet needs must warn
Apollo
of his deeds; for when he weds
Maidens
by force, the children secretly
Begotten
he betrays, and then neglects
When
dying. Thus not you; but while you may
Always
pursue the virtues, for the gods
Will
surely punish men of wickedness.
How
is it right that you, who have prescribed
Laws
for men’s guidance, live unrighteously?
But
ye being absent, I shall freely speak,
And
ye to men shall satisfaction give
For
marriage forced, thou Neptune, Jupiter,
Who
over heaven presides. The temples ye
Have
emptied, while injustice ye repay.
And
though ye laud the prudent to the skies,
Yet
have ye filled your hands with wickedness.
No
longer is it right to call men ill
If
they do imitate the sins2607
| 2607
κακά in
Euripedes, καλά in text.
|
of gods;2608
| 2608 [See
Warburton’s Divine Legation (book ii. § 4), vol. ii. p. 20.
Ed. London, 1811.]
|
Nay,
evil let their teachers rather be.”
And in Archelaus:—
“Full
oft, my son, do gods mankind perplex.”
And in Bellerophon:—
“They
are no gods, who do not what is right.”
And again in the same:—
“Gods
reign in heaven most certainly, says one;
But
it is false,—and let not him
Who
speaks thus, be so foolish as to use
Ancient
tradition, or to pay regard
Unto
my words: but with unclouded eye
Behold
the matter in its clearest light.
Power
absolute, I say, robs men of life
And
property; transgresses plighted faith;
Nor
spares even cities, but with cruel hand
Despoils
and devastates them ruthlessly.
But
they that do these things have more success
Than
those who live a gentle pious life;
And
cities small, I know, which reverence gods,
Submissive
bend before the many spears
Of
larger impious ones; yea, and methinks
If
any man lounge idly, and abstain
From
working with his hands for sustenance,
Yet
pray the gods; he very soon will know
If
they from him misfortunes will avert.”
And Menander in Diphilus:2609
| 2609 These lines are assigned to Diphilus.
| —
“Therefore
ascribe we praise and honour great
To
Him who Father is, and Lord of all;
Sole
maker and preserver of mankind,
And
who with all good things our earth has stored.”
The same also in the Piscatores:—
“For
I deem that which nourishes my life
Is
God; but he whose custom ’tis to meet
The
wants of men,—He needs not at our hands
Renewed
supplies, Himself being all in all.”2610
| 2610 The words from “but” to “all”
are assigned by Otto to Justin, not to Menander.
|
The same in the Fratres:—
“God
ever is intelligence to those
Who
righteous are: so wisest men have thought.”
And in the Tibicinæ:—
“Good
reason finds a temple in all things
Wherein
to worship; for what is the mind,
But
just the voice of God within us placed?”
And the tragedian in Phrixus:—
“But
if the pious and the impious
Share
the same lot, how could we think it just,
If
Jove, the best, judges not uprightly?”
In Philoctetes:—
“You
see how honourable gain is deemed
Even
to the gods; and how he is admired
Whose
shrine is laden most with yellow gold.
What,
then, doth hinder thee, since it is good
To
be like gods, from thus accepting gain?”
In Hecuba:—
“O
Jupiter I whoever thou mayest be,
Of
whom except in word all knowledge fails;”
and,—
“Jupiter,
whether thou art indeed
A
great necessity, or the mind of man,
I
worship thee!”E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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