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| Gentile Cosmogony.
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Chapter
XVII.—Gentile Cosmogony.
And I immediately rejoined: “Seeing
that when you were disputing at Tripolis, as I said, you discoursed
much concerning the gods of the Gentiles profitably and convincingly, I
desire to set forth in your presence the ridiculous legends concerning
their origin, both that you may not be unacquainted with the falsehood
of this vain superstition, and that the hearers who are present may
know the disgraceful character of their error. The wise men,
then, who are among the Gentiles, say that first of all things was
chaos;862
| 862 [With this
cosmogony (chaps. 17–19, 30–34) compare the discourse of
Appion, Homily 3–10.—R.] | that this, through a long time
solidifying its outer parts, made bounds to itself and a sort of
foundation, being gathered, as it were, into the manner and form of a
huge egg, within which, in the course of a long time, as within the
shell of the egg, there was cherished and vivified a certain animal;
and that afterwards, that huge globe being broken, there came forth a
certain kind of man of double sex, which they call
masculo-feminine. This they called Phanetas, from appearing,
because when it appeared, they say, then also light shone forth.
And from this, they say that there were produced substance, prudence,
motion, and coition, and from these the heavens and the earth were
made. From the heaven they say that six males were produced, whom
they call Titans; and in like manner, from the earth six females, whom
they called Titanides. And these are the names of the males who
sprang from the heaven: Oceanus, Cœus, Crios, Hyperion,
Iapetus, Chronos, who amongst us is called Saturn. In like
manner, the names of the females who sprang from the earth are
these: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Hebe.863
| 863 [Comp. chap. 31
and Homily VI. 2.—R.] |
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