Wisdom of Solomon 13

Second, concerning punishment through graver penalties ordained for condemnation, it is determined in two ways.

But vain etc. Above he determined concerning the punishment of adversaries through lighter penalties ordained for correction, but here concerning their punishment through graver penalties ordained for condemnation. And first he determines concerning the desert of their fault, namely up to the sixteenth chapter; second, concerning the torment of their punishment, namely from the sixteenth chapter onward.

First, the demerit of fault is determined in three ways.

The desert of fault with respect to their condemnatory punishment was idolatry, by which they transferred divine honor to a creature or exhibited it to a creature. And therefore first the manifold error of idolaters is touched upon, namely in this chapter; second, the detestation of idols, namely in the fourteenth chapter; third, the commendation of the true God, namely in the fifteenth chapter.

First, the error of idolaters is treated.

The error of idolaters is touched upon as twofold: the first, of those worshipping God's creatures; the second, of those worshipping their own fabrications: But unhappy.

Their first error.

In the first part, there is first touched upon in them the cause of so great an error, namely ignorance of God: second, the effect of the aforesaid cause, namely the worship of creatures: But either fire: third, of both the greater inexcusability: If by their beauty: fourth, in comparison to other idolaters: Yet nevertheless. — In the first part a twofold ignorance is touched upon, namely that they neither acknowledged by faith God nor knew by reason Him: And from those things which are seen.

He says therefore: Vain, etc. Thus it has been said that some knew God amid afflictions, but did not worship Him: however, for but: vain are all men, etc.; Ecclesiastes 1: "Vanity of vanities," etc. "For they walked after the vanity of the creature and became vain," as is found in Jeremiah 2: vain, I say, with the vanity of thought: whence Romans 1: "They became vain in their thoughts," etc.: likewise in the Psalm: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain." Likewise, with the vanity of speech: whence in the Psalm: "They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbor," etc. Likewise, with the vanity of action: whence Jeremiah 51: "Their works are vain and worthy of derision." In whom there is not the knowledge of God, that is, knowledge of God through faith. Augustine: "Nor do I attribute to this knowledge, namely divine knowledge, whatever can be known by man in human affairs, where there is a great deal of superfluous vanity and harmful curiosity: but only that by which the most salutary faith is begotten, nourished, defended, and strengthened, in which knowledge they do not excel," etc. And from those things which are seen to be good, namely openly: they could not, namely an inability following upon the will, not preceding it: whence the Gloss: "They could not understand, etc., the blindness of sin standing in the way," according to that above in chapter 2: "Their malice blinded them"; in the Psalm: "He would not understand, that he might do well"; understand, that is, know by the intellect: for God cannot be known by the senses: 1 John 4: "No man has seen God at any time"; Him who is, that is, God, for whom being is substantial, not accidental: whence Hilary: "Being is not an accident in God, but subsistent truth." Likewise, for whom being is always present, never past or future. For God, according to Augustine, always is, neither was nor will be, because He does not know, namely through experience, past or future. Likewise, whose being is pure, because whatever is in Him, He Himself is: Augustine: "Whatever is in God is God." Likewise, whose being is not from another, is immutable: whence Jerome to Marcella: "God, who alone has no beginning, held the name of true essence, because in comparison with Him, who truly is, because He is unchangeable, those things which are changeable, as it were, are not," as are all creatures, according to that of the Psalm: "As a covering You shall change them, and they shall be changed: but You are the selfsame," etc.: likewise Malachi 3: "I am," God, or "the Lord, and I change not." For the aforesaid reasons, to Moses asking His name He said in Exodus 3: "I am who I am. He said: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: He who is has sent me to you." Nor attending to the works, which He Himself made, did they recognize who was the maker, namely of these things, and yet they could easily have known: Romans 1: "For the invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made."

For all men by nature were vain, in whom there was ignorance of God. And if every living man is altogether vain, how much more vain are those who do not acknowledge their Creator. But all men are vain in whom there is no knowledge of God, that is, the fear and reverence of God. Therefore it is said through Job: Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding (Job 28:28). For he departs from evil who withdraws from the worship of idols; he fears God who keeps His commandments. For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments (Ps. 111:10). and who were unable from the visible good things to know him who is. For from good works they could have known the good craftsman, who truly is, because He is always unchallengeable, who alone has immortality, and dwells in inaccessible light; who is always the same, and whose years never fail: who is eternal and omnipotent, without beginning and without end, always remaining in Himself, according to His will governs and directs all things; therefore, the vanity of men is most vain, who worship creatures instead of the Creator.

But either fire, namely Vulcan, as the Chaldeans worshipping fire: or spirit, that is, the ether, namely the upper part of the air, which some understood by Jupiter the thunderer; or the swift air, that is, the lower part of the air, which they called Juno: or the circle of the stars, that is, the starry heaven, as those who worshipped the host of heaven, of whom it is said in Deuteronomy 17: "That they go and serve strange gods, and adore them: the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven"; or the great water, which they called Neptune; or the sun, which they called Phoebus or Apollo, which the Babylonians worshipped: or the moon, which they called Diana, or "the queen of heaven," of which in Jeremiah 44. They supposed them to be gods that rule the world, on account of certain of their effects necessary to the world.

Note that they ought not to have supposed creatures to be gods, first on account of the corporeality of their nature, because God is a spirit; John 4: "God is a spirit." Likewise on account of position and determination of figure: for God is everywhere wholly present: likewise He is unfigurable according to the Godhead. Likewise on account of the determination and limitation of power to certain effects: for God is omnipotent: above in chapter 11: "You have mercy on all, because You can do all things." Likewise on account of the necessity and inevitability of natural effects; for God is of free will. Likewise on account of local motion: because God is immovable, since He is the principle of all motion; Boethius: Remaining stable, You give all things to be moved. Likewise on account of deficiency of eternity: for God is eternal, but eternity is lacking or wanting to creatures.

According to the spiritual sense, the lustful worship fire; the proud, spirit: the wrathful and impetuous, the swift air; the curious in knowledge, the circle of the stars: the voluptuous, the great water; the covetous, the sun which begets these lower things: the slothful and acedious, the moon.

For some worshipped fire as a divine power, which they called Vulcan; others worshipped the ether or air, which they named Jupiter or Juno; others worshipped excessive water, which they called Neptune; others the circle of stars, who distributed the positions and courses of the stars according to the various shapes of animals; others venerated the sun as God, which they called Phoebus or Apollo; others the moon, which they used to call Diana. For, deceived by such error, they attributed the power of the almighty God to their false inventions, as a certain pagan poet concluded in three verses, saying: "So many and such images did God place in the heavens, and through the dark shadows scattered, He commanded the bright lights to give clarity to the devastating night." But if it is not possible for the stars to be gods, then neither can the sun nor the moon be gods, since they differ from the lights of the stars not in kind, but in size. But if these are not gods, then neither is the sky, in which all these are contained. In the same way, if the earth which we tread, which we cultivate and till for sustenance, is not a god, then neither will the fields nor the mountains be gods; if these are not gods, then the whole earth cannot be considered a god. Likewise, if the water which serves living beings for drinking or washing is not a god, then neither are the springs from which water flows. If the springs are not gods, then neither are the rivers which are gathered from the springs. If the rivers also are not gods, then the sea, which is made up of rivers, cannot be considered a god. But if neither the sky, nor the earth, nor the sea, which are parts of the world, can be gods, then neither is the whole world a god, which the same Stoics claim to be both living and wise, and therefore God, in which they have been so inconsistent that nothing has been said by them which has not also been overturned by themselves.

If by their beauty. Here is shown their inexcusability, because they were able to know the Creator either through the beauty of creatures, or through their power: which is shown there: Or if their power etc.; or through both together, which is shown there: From the greatness etc.

He says therefore: If delighted by their appearance, that is, by their beauty — Daniel thirteen: "Beauty has deceived you," etc. — they thought them to be gods, supply: that they themselves were gods; they thought, I say, by a false and erroneous opinion, since there is but one God — Deuteronomy six: "Your God is one." Let them know how much the ruler over them, namely their Creator, governor, preserver, and possessor, according to that passage in Judith nine: "God of the heavens, creator of the waters, king of all your creation"; is more beautiful than these, namely he who made such beautiful things; more beautiful, I say, by an infinite distance, because God is beautiful through his essence, but creatures through participation — above in chapter seven: "He is more beautiful than the sun." For the begetter of beauty, of the beauty, namely, of creatures through their production, according to that passage of Boethius: He himself most beautiful, bearing the beautiful world in his mind and forming it in a like image. Or: of beauty, uncreated, that is, of the Son through eternal generation. He established all these things, namely the higher, the middle, and the lower.

"He could not answer God one time in a thousand," because in fact he is incapable of it. Not only does God speak innumerable words for the good of every person, but, indeed, with his powerful wisdom and his immeasurable greatness, he is above all creatures. "He is wise of heart, powerful and great." Beyond any doubt, the splendor of his creatures, their harmony and order, manifest his wisdom. But God did not acquire this by learning, because he is wisdom in his essence. Job called him "wise in heart," however, to make us understand the true wisdom and intelligence of God. He mentioned his "greatness," thinking of the elements of visible creatures (and above all of invisible) that, though so great and numerous, hang "like a drop of water in a bucket" from the power of his right hand. And his "power" is manifest by the fact that they remain within the limits that he set out for them. - "Homilies on Job 12"

"He could not answer God one time in a thousand," because in fact he is incapable of it. Not only does God speak innumerable words for the good of every person, but, indeed, with his powerful wisdom and his immeasurable greatness, he is above all creatures. "He is wise of heart, powerful and great." Beyond any doubt, the splendor of his creatures, their harmony and order, manifest his wisdom. But God did not acquire this by learning, because he is wisdom in his essence. Job called him "wise in heart," however, to make us understand the true wisdom and intelligence of God. He mentioned his "greatness," thinking of the elements of visible creatures (and above all of invisible) that, though so great and numerous, hang "like a drop of water in a bucket" from the power of his right hand. And his "power" is manifest by the fact that they remain within the limits that he set out for them.

The prophet says, "I will be filled with the revelation of his glory." We can sing of the glory that awaits us, of the goods that will accompany it, of the splendor with which it will shine, but we are incapable of expressing all of this in words. Paul explains the reason for this when he writes, "Those things that eye has not seen, that ear has not heard and that have never entered the heart of human beings, God has prepared for those who love him." These many eternal, heavenly gifts have been prepared by the almighty Lord for his faithful, holy people throughout the world. But who is God, who has arranged all these things for us? Of him we say only that we do not know how to measure or express or understand him, that he is beyond all, outside of all, above all. He surpasses all his creatures; he is beyond his works, above all of them. I could try to express his greatness, but he is greater, or his beauty, but he is more beautiful. He is sweeter than every sweetness, brighter than every splendor, more just than all justice, stronger than all strength, gentler than all gentleness. Reason does not admit of the creature claiming equality with its Creator, nor that something produced is put on the level of the one who produced it. Precisely thus we read in the prophet, "The one who made powerful things is more powerful than they are. And the one who made beautiful things is more beautiful than they."

That God is a certain eternal life, unchangeable, intelligible, understanding, wise, making others wise, even some philosophers of this age have seen. They have indeed seen a fixed, stable, unchanging truth, where all the reasons for all created things are found, but they saw it from afar; they saw it, but while in error; and therefore, to that great, indescribable, and beatifying possession, they did not find the way by which one might arrive. For since they too saw (as much as can be seen by a human) the Creator through the creation, the Maker through the thing made, the Fashioner of the world through the world, the Apostle Paul is a witness, whom Christians ought surely to believe. For he says, when speaking of such people: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. These, as you recognize, are the words of the Apostle Paul. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Did he say they do not hold the truth? Rather: they hold the truth in unrighteousness. What they hold is good; but where they hold it is evil. They hold the truth in unrighteousness. But it might be asked: How do those ungodly ones hold the truth? Did God speak to any of them? Did they receive the law, as the people of Israel did through Moses? Whence then do they hold the truth, even in unrighteousness? Listen to what follows, and it is shown. Because what is known of God, he says, is manifest in them; for God has shown it to them. Did he show it to those to whom he did not give the law? Hear how he showed it. For his invisible things, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen. Question the world, the beauty of the sky, the brightness and arrangement of the stars, the sun sufficient for the day, the moon the comfort of the night; question the earth, fruitful with herbs and trees, full of animals, adorned with humans; question the sea, full of so many and such kinds of creatures that swim; question the air, enlivened by so many birds; question all things, and see if by their own sense they do not answer you: God made us. These things even noble philosophers sought, and from the art they recognized the artist. What then? Why is the wrath of God revealed against that ungodliness? Because they hold the truth in unrighteousness? Let him come, let him show how. For he has already said how they knew. His invisible things, that is, of God, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; even his eternal power and divinity; so that they are without excuse. Because, when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor gave thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. These are the words of the Apostle, not mine: And their foolish heart was darkened; for, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. What they found by curiosity, they lost by pride. Professing themselves to be wise, that is, attributing to themselves the gift of God, they became fools. The words, I say, are the Apostle's: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Show, prove their foolishness. Show, Apostle, and just as you showed us how they could come to the knowledge of God, because his invisible things, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen; so now show how, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Listen: Because, he says, they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things. For the pagans made for themselves gods in the forms of these animals. You found God, and you worship an idol. You found the truth, and you hold that very truth in unrighteousness. And what you knew through the works of God, you lose through the works of man. You considered everything; you gathered the order of heaven, earth, sea, and all the elements; but you do not wish to consider this, that the world is the work of God, the idol is the work of the craftsman. If the craftsman, as he gave the idol its shape, also gave it a heart, the craftsman would be worshipped by the idol itself.

Or if the power, that is, the greatness of their might, and their works, that is, the effects proceeding from their power, they marveled at, namely so much so that they believed them to be gods, let them understand from these things, that is, from the consideration of them, according to that passage in Job twelve: "Ask the beasts, and they will teach you"; that he who made these things, namely God, is stronger than they, that is, more powerful — whence Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "He himself is almighty above all his works and exceedingly great"; likewise Job nine: "If strength is sought, he is the most mighty."

It would have been fitting that the most beautiful and splendid Creator be recognized through beautiful creatures, but they became vain in their thoughts and chose to serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Therefore, they are refuted not only by the truth but also by their own words; for just as a house, made for the purpose of dwelling, feels nothing of itself and is subject to the master who made or inhabits it, so the world, feeling nothing of itself, is subject to God the Maker, who made it for His own use. Therefore, the sinner is at fault before the foolish for two reasons: first, because they prefer the elements, that is, the works of God, to God Himself; then, because they worship images of the elements themselves, fashioned in human form, for they make images of the sun and moon in the manner of humans, likewise of fire and earth and sea, which they call Vulcan, Vesta, and Neptune. Such is the desire of men for images that they are even more attracted to those which are rare; they delight, of course, in gold and gems and ivory, the beauty and brilliance of these dazzle their eyes, nor do they consider any place sacred unless these things have shone there. Therefore, under the hoax of gods, greed and desire are worshipped; for they believe that the gods love whatever they themselves desire, whatever it is for which thefts, murders, and robberies are daily committed, and for which wars overturn peoples and cities throughout the world. Therefore, they consecrate to the gods their spoils and plunder, whom, indeed, they must admit to be weak and devoid of the highest virtue, if they are subject to desires: for why should we think them heavenly, if they desire something from the earth? Or blessed, if they need anything? Or incorruptible, if they take pleasure in those things in the desire for which human greed is rightly condemned?

For from the greatness of the beauty that is, of the loveliness, and of the creature, that is, of the power of creatures, knowably, not sensibly, that is, by the intellectual eye, not the sensible one, the Creator of these things can be seen. Augustine: "All things cry out: God made me"; for the whole world is like a certain book in which the Creator can be known through his power, wisdom, and goodness, shining forth in creatures — whence Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "All these things are the book of life"; Isidore: "The Creator is praised through his creature, and how excellent he is, is shown from the condition of his work."

Since therefore one must first ascend before descending on the ladder of Jacob, let us place the first step of ascent at the bottom, setting this entire sensible world before us as a mirror, through which we may pass over to God, the supreme Artificer, so that we may be true Hebrews passing over from Egypt to the land promised to the Fathers, and also Christians passing over with Christ from this world to the Father, and also lovers of wisdom, who calls and says: Pass over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my generations. For from the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these things can be knowably seen.

Now the supreme power, wisdom, and benevolence of the Creator shines forth in created things, inasmuch as the bodily sense announces this in a threefold manner to the interior sense. For the bodily sense serves the intellect either rationally investigating, or faithfully believing, or intellectually contemplating. The one contemplating considers the actual existence of things; the one believing, the habitual course of things; the one reasoning, the potential excellence of things.

In the first mode, the gaze of the one contemplating, considering things in themselves, sees in them weight, number, and measure: weight with respect to the position toward which they incline, number, by which they are distinguished, and measure, by which they are limited. And thereby it sees in them mode, species, and order, as well as substance, power, and operation. From which one can rise as from a vestige to understanding the immense power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator.

In the second mode, the gaze of the faithful, considering this world, attends to its origin, course, and end. For by faith we believe that the ages were fashioned by the Word of life; by faith we believe that the times of the three laws, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace, succeed one another and have run their course in most perfect order; by faith we believe that the world is to be brought to an end through the final judgment: perceiving in the first the power, in the second the providence, and in the third the justice of the supreme Principle.

In the third mode, the gaze of one rationally investigating sees that certain things merely exist, certain things however exist and live, and certain things indeed exist, live, and discern: and the first are indeed lesser, the second intermediate, the third better. — It sees again that certain things are only corporeal, certain things partly corporeal, partly spiritual: from which it perceives that some things are purely spiritual as being better and more worthy than both. It sees nonetheless that certain things are mutable and corruptible, as terrestrial things; certain things mutable and incorruptible, as celestial things; from which it perceives that certain things are immutable and incorruptible, as supercelestial things. From these visible things, therefore, one rises to considering the power, wisdom, and goodness of God as being, living, and intelligent, purely spiritual and incorruptible and unchangeable.

Now this consideration is expanded according to the sevenfold condition of creatures, which is a sevenfold testimony to the divine power, wisdom, and goodness, if one considers the origin, magnitude, multitude, beauty, fullness, operation, and order of all things. — For the origin of things according to creation, distinction, and adornment, with respect to the works of the six days, proclaims the divine power producing all things from nothing, the wisdom lucidly distinguishing all things, and the goodness lavishly adorning all things. — The magnitude of things, however, according to the mass of their length, breadth, and depth; according to the excellence of a power extending itself far, wide, and deep, as is evident in the diffusion of light; according to the efficacy of an operation that is intimate, continuous, and diffused, as is evident in the operation of fire, manifestly indicates the immensity of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the triune God, who exists in all things through power, presence, and essence, uncircumscribed. The multitude of things, according to their general, specific, and individual diversity in substance, in form or figure, and in efficacy, beyond all human estimation, manifestly intimates and shows the immensity of the three aforesaid conditions in God. The beauty of things, according to the variety of lights, figures, and colors in simple, mixed, and even complexioned bodies, as in celestial bodies and minerals, as in stones and metals, plants and animals, evidently proclaims the three aforesaid. The fullness of things, inasmuch as matter is full of forms according to seminal reasons; form is full of power according to active potency; power is full of effects according to efficiency, manifestly declares the same. Operation, which is manifold, inasmuch as it is natural, inasmuch as it is artificial, inasmuch as it is moral, by its most manifold variety shows the immensity of that power, art, and goodness which is indeed for all things "the cause of being, the ground of understanding, and the rule of living." — Order, moreover, according to the measure of duration, position, and influence, namely through prior and posterior, higher and lower, nobler and less noble, in the book of creation manifestly intimates the primacy, sublimity, and dignity of the first principle with respect to the infinity of power; the order of divine laws, precepts, and judgments in the book of Scripture intimates the immensity of wisdom; and the order of divine Sacraments, benefits, and retributions in the body of the Church intimates the immensity of goodness; so that order itself most evidently leads us by the hand to the first and highest, the most powerful, the most wise, and the best.

If it is not possible to see the divine nature with eyes of flesh, it is possible to gain an image of the divine power of the Creator from his works. Solomon says this: "In fact, one knows the author by analogy from the greatness and beauty of creatures." He does not say simply that one knows the author from creatures but adds "by analogy." The more we consider his creatures in a contemplative way, in fact, the more God will show himself to be great. And the more our heart is raised in contemplation, the higher will be the image that we have of God.

God has a face that shows itself through his creatures. It is said, in fact, "one knows the author by analogy from the greatness and beauty of creatures." One knows him by the analogy of faith. Just as, looking at a boat, we imagine its maker even if he is not present, or spotting an approaching ship, we immediately think that there is someone who steers it, or seeing a coach driven well, even if we cannot make out the coachman, we imagine him—in the same way, faced with the fact that the world moves in an orderly way and with the beauty of nature, we derive an image of the beauty and greatness of God. If present things are great, how much greater will the one who made them be! Thus, if one gains an image of God from the world, from the order and arrangements of providence, then the hidden side of his face is no longer hidden. The Greek philosophers also reasoned in this way, deducing an image of God from creatures and their beauty.

No one has ever known God, except the one to whom God has revealed himself. This is true not only for human beings but also among the supracosmic powers and, I would say, even among the cherubim and seraphim. Nevertheless, God did not abandon us in total ignorance. In fact, knowledge of God exists and has been implanted naturally by him in everyone. The creation itself, its preservation and its regulation, proclaim the greatness of the divine nature. And he also revealed knowledge of himself, to the extent it can be attained, first through the Law and the prophets and then through his only-begotten Son, our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. For this reason we receive, acknowledge and reverence what has been passed down to us through the Law, the prophets, the apostles and the Evangelists, not seeking anything beyond these things. Indeed, God, being good, is the author of every good and is subject to neither envy or passion. "Envy is far from the divine nature, which is impassive and only good." Therefore, knowing all things and concerned for what is useful for each, he revealed what is good for us to know, passing over in silence what we could not bear.

But yet etc. Here he shows the fault of those who worship creatures in comparison to other idolaters; and first they are shown to be in some way excusable in comparison to those others; second, it is shown that nevertheless they are simply inexcusable: But again.

But yet etc., as if to say: thus do they err; but yet still in these, namely those who err in this way, the complaint is less, that is, the ground for complaint, than in those who worship graven images, because, as it is said in the last chapter of Baruch, "they will not shine like the sun, nor give light like the moon," namely the graven images themselves. For these also, namely those who worship creatures, perhaps err: "perhaps" is here a mark of free will, not a mark of doubt. Seeking God, namely with a certain curiosity, according to that passage in Acts 17: "He made from one every nation of men to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, etc., to seek God, if perhaps they might grope after him, or find him." And wishing to find him, namely by the intention of the affections: Song of Songs 3: "I will rise and go about the city," that is, the entirety of creatures. For according to Boethius in the Consolation, "there is implanted in the minds of men a desire for the true and the good."

But it is objected: because in Luke 11 it is said: "Everyone who seeks, finds": therefore these people find the true God.

It must be said that that passage is understood of those who seek piously, not curiously.

Paul the Apostle, writing to the Romans in his Epistle, as we have already shown above, expressed the likeness of this place, saying: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God has revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:18-20). The knowledge of God is revealed from the structure of the world. For God, who is by nature invisible, can also be known as visible, for a work was made by him which, by its visibility, reveals the maker, so that through the certain, the uncertain can be known; so that by what is impossible for others, he who made this work might be believed to be the God of all; so that they are without excuse: because they could not be ignorant of his existence and his working for their benefit, for it is clear to all that he has ordained those things which are produced for human use in the course of the year; but when they had known him, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their imaginations, claiming to be wise, they became fools (Rom. 1:21-22). For they consider themselves wise because they think they are investigating physical principles, examining the course of the stars and the qualities of the elements, but despising the Lord of these things, they are therefore fools. Since these things are praiseworthy, how much more so is their creator? Yet, having suffered the shame of neglecting God, they often use a miserable excuse, saying that through these things one can go to God, just as one reaches the king through companions. Come now, is anyone so senseless or so forgetful of his own salvation as to give the honor of the king to a companion, when, if anyone is found even to discuss such a thing, he is rightly condemned for treason? And these people do not consider themselves guilty who prefer the honor of God's name to the creature, and, leaving the Lord, worship fellow servants, as if there were something more that could be preserved for God! For indeed, it is through the king that one goes to tribunes or companions, because the king is, after all, a man, and does not know to whom he should entrust the state; but to God, whom nothing escapes, for he knows the merits of all, there is no need for an intercessor to obtain favor, but only a devoted mind.

For when they are occupied with his works, namely by disputing about them as regards the intellect, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes 3: "He delivered the world to their disputation"; and by using them, namely as regards the affections and their effect, because Matthew 5: "He makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil." They search, namely by reasoning, and they are persuaded, namely by judging: that the things which are seen are good: Genesis 1: "God saw all that he had made, and they were very good." In this these people are better, or less evil, than the Manicheans themselves, who say that these visible things are evil.

But again, neither should these be pardoned. For simple ignorance merits pardon; whence 1 Timothy 1: "I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly"; but crass and supine ignorance does not: whence 1 Corinthians 14: "If anyone is ignorant, he shall be ignored."

"If they were capable of sufficient knowledge to account for the universe, how is it that they did not more easily find its Lord?" They are blamed for having spent their time, their activity and their discussions scrutinizing, and in a certain way measuring, what is created. They investigated the movement of the planets, the distance between the stars, the course of the heavenly bodies. Through these studies, they arrived at such a scientific knowledge as to be able to predict eclipses of the sun and the moon, which then occurred on the day and hour predicted, for the length of time and at the exact point in space they had said. What ability! What capacity! But when they were at the point of seeking to know the Creator—who was not far from them—they were unable to find him. If they had found him, they would have had him in themselves.

"For if they were able to know so much as to make a judgment of the world, how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?" Philosophical knowledge is a way to the other sciences: but he who wishes to remain there falls into darkness.

For if they were able to know so much as to be able to appraise the world, that is, to know the natures of worldly things: how did they not more easily find the Lord of this, namely of the world? As if to say: they could have known God more easily.

But to the contrary: Above, chapter 9: "With difficulty do we judge the things that are on earth; and who shall search out the things that are in the heavens?"

It must be said that it does not mean to say that they could more easily know God to be the author of these things absolutely, but rather that he is God, rather than those things which they worshipped.

Their second error concerns two things.

But unhappy etc. Here is set forth the error of those who worship their own handiwork, first, their own handiwork in metallic material; second, in wooden material: Or if someone.

He says therefore: But unhappy are they, namely through the privation of the happiness of the way, concerning which above in chapter three: "He who rejects wisdom and discipline is unhappy." And among the dead, namely by eternal death, is their hope, that is, their expectation: hope however is here taken improperly, because hope properly so called pertains only to what is good. Among the dead, I say, is their hope, through the privation of eternal happiness, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Like the wounded sleeping in the sepulchres, whom you remember no more, and they are cast off from your hand," from the hand, namely, of saving mercy, not from the hand of punishing justice. Or the first refers to the punishment of loss in the future, the second to the punishment of sense. Of those, I say, who have called gods, etc. And he rightly says called: for they are gods by name only, not by nature. The works of the hands of men, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men"; Isaiah chapter two: "They have adored the work of their own hands, which their fingers have made"; gold and silver, that is, made of gold and silver as regards the matter, according to that verse of Hosea chapter two: "I multiplied their silver and gold, which they made unto Baal"; according to that verse of Isaiah chapter two: "The land is filled with gold and silver, and there is no end to its treasures, and its land is filled with idols." An invention of art, that is, some figure devised by art, and this as regards the form. And likenesses of animals, not the animals themselves, but their image or likeness: against which it is said in Deuteronomy chapter four: "You shall not make a likeness of any animals that are on the earth." Or a useless stone, namely as to the usefulness which idolaters believe to be in it, although it is useful as regards natural use, because there is nothing superfluous in the works of God, of which kind are creatures; Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "The works of God are perfect," neither superfluous nor diminished. The work of an ancient hand, that is, of the hand of an ancient craftsman, because "in the ancients is wisdom," Job chapter twelve. Against all these things it is said in Acts chapter seventeen: "Being therefore the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art and the device of man."

They therefore come to the gods, not so much for the sake of religion, which can have no place in things ill-prepared and perishable, as to feast their eyes on gold, to gaze at the polish of refined marble or ivory, to handle with greedy contemplation the garments distinguished by little stones and colors, or cups adorned with shining gems; and the more decorative and beautiful the temples and statues are, the more majesty they are believed to possess. Therefore, their religion is nothing other than what their desire admires. We have often said that silver and gold can be understood as speech and thought, which, since they are given by God to humans so that they may either speak or think of God and praise their Creator, they misuse this gift in the imitation of idols, according to what is written: I gave them silver and gold, but they made Baal from my silver and gold (Hosea 2:8). Therefore, when someone, terrified by the fear of the Lord, first hides idols in the cave of his heart and, not daring to bring forth what he has wrongly fashioned, conceals them in the depths of the earth, the next step is to cast away what was previously engraved and not allow it to remain in himself, according to that saying of Isaiah: On that day, a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats. And they will enter into the clefts of the rocks and into the caves of the stones from the face of the terror of the Lord and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth (Isa. 2:20-21).

Or if anyone. Here is set forth the error of those who worship their own handiwork in wooden material: and first their error in fashioning or carpentry is touched upon; second, in worshipping: And of the substance. In the first, he first touches upon the matter; second, the form: And through knowledge; third, the placement: And let him make for it, etc.; fourth, the impotence: An image, etc.

Or if some craftsman, a worker: worker here is taken broadly for a craftsman in whatever material, whether wooden or other, not only iron: has cut a straight piece of wood from the forest: Isaiah forty-four: "He cuts down cedars, he took the holm oak," etc. And of this, namely the wood, skillfully scrapes off all the bark, namely the outer bark; and employing his skill, diligently fashions a useful vessel: The Gloss: "Very useful," for the conduct of life, namely human life: Second Timothy two: "For in a great house there are vessels of wood and of earthenware," etc.

This wisdom was brought forth to insult idols and idolaters, so that such makers and worshippers might understand how wicked and how close to eternal death it is to abandon the one omnipotent God and Creator of all things, and to worship various creations as divinity in contempt of God. Therefore, through the prophet, the Lord spoke long ago to His people about His own veneration and the falsity of idols: I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no other God. Who is like me? Let him call and declare, and set in order for me since I established the ancient people, and let him announce to them the things to come. Do not fear, nor be troubled; from then on I have made you hear, and I have announced the future: you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me, or a maker whom I do not know? All makers of idols are nothing, and their most beloved things will not profit them: they themselves are their witnesses, because they do not see nor understand, so that they may be confused. Who has formed a god, or cast a graven image that is of no use? Behold, all his associates shall be confused; for they are craftsmen, and they gather from all, all shall stand and tremble and be confounded together. The ironworker works with a file in the coals, and with hammers he shapes it, and works with the strength of his arm; he will hunger and grow weak, he will not drink water and will faint. The woodworker stretches a line and shapes it with a plane; he makes it with a square, and turns it with a compass: and he makes the image of a man, as a beautiful person dwelling in a house. He cuts down cedars, takes holm oak and oak which stood among the trees of the forest; he plants a pine which the rain nourished, and it becomes fuel for men; he takes some of it and is warmed, and kindles it and bakes bread; but from the rest he makes a god, and worships it; he makes a graven image, and bows down before it. He burns half of it in the fire, and with the half he eats meat; he cooks stew and is satisfied, and is warmed, and says: Aha, I am warmed, I have seen the fire. But the rest of it he makes into a god, and a graven image for himself; he bows down before it, and worships it, and prays saying: Deliver me, for you are my god. They did not know nor understand; for their eyes are blinded so that they may not see, nor understand with their heart. Nor do they consider in their mind, nor know, nor feel, so as to say: I burned half of it in the fire, and baked bread on its coals, cooked meat and ate, and from the rest shall I make an idol? Shall I bow down before a block of wood? Part of it is ashes: a foolish heart has worshipped it, and has not delivered his soul, nor said: Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand (Isa. 44:6-20)? The sense of this prophecy's narrative is as follows: For when it says: I am the first and the last, it is the same as what is elsewhere read as spoken from divine majesty: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 21:6). For He does not say He is alone, but that besides His power and wisdom there is no external God, condemning the opinion of many gods and their images: Who, He says, is like me? Let him call things that are not as if they are, and explain the order of my creation by which I have freed all things with reason, since I made man upon the earth, and not only do I will, but I also seek knowledge of the future. Therefore you, Israel, whose king and redeemer I am, do not fear images, which you learned to be nothing on Mount Sinai. Is perhaps another creator whom I do not know, or besides this is there another world which shows the power of an unknown God? Nor are only the things made, but also those who make them considered as nothing: and when the time of vengeance comes, the works of their hands will by no means be able to deliver them, which blind and insensible things confound their makers. For who can believe that a god is formed by a file, drill, and hammer, or that images are cast in coals, or that by a line, plane, and compass they suddenly arise as gods, especially when the poverty of the craftsman's art is shown by hunger and thirst: for a wooden statue is made expressing the human form, and the more beautiful it is, the more it is thought to be an imposing god, and it is placed in a temple and enclosed in an eternal prison, which grew for a long time in the forests, and according to the variety of trees was a cedar, holm oak, oak tree, or pine, and in a wondrous manner its segments and shavings are thrown into the fire to warm the maker of the god and cook various stews; but the other part is shaped into a god so that, when the work is completed, its maker worships it and implores help from his own work, nor does he understand or consider, indeed neither flesh nor mind sees with eyes, that it cannot be a god whose part has been consumed by fire, nor can divine majesty be made by the hand of man, and the prophetic word is more fully woven about the mockery of idols, which are easy to understand and do not desire a patchwork or even extra exposition. On which Flaccus also writes in satire, mocking the images of the pagans. "Once I was a fig tree trunk, a useless piece of wood, When a carpenter, unsure whether to make a bench or a Priapus, Preferred to make a god. Therefore I am a god, the greatest fear of thieves and birds." But whatever has been said about idols can also be applied to the leaders of heresies, who construct and venerate images of their doctrines with cunning hearts, knowing that what they have made is a simulation; nor is their own error sufficient for them unless they have deceived the simple from prayer, and those who think that godliness is a means of gain, and who devour widows' houses, abusing the ignorance of the common people. In this way, with dialectical skill, as with a well-turned axe, file, and plane, they shape their god, and hammer him out, and make golden him with the charm of rhetorical speech, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.

But the remnants of this work, that is, of the aforesaid wood, he uses up for the preparation of food, that is, he uses them, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-four: "He took from them and was warmed, he kindled a fire and baked bread."

And the remainder of these, namely of those things which have been put to human uses: which for no use, namely human use, avails, that is, is of any worth; I say that very crooked wood, namely in itself, and with knots, that is, nodes, full, namely on the outside; he carves diligently, namely by removing the knottiness, through his idleness, because however much he labors there, all his labor is reckoned as idleness, since he labors there uselessly. And by the knowledge of his art he shapes it, namely by external delineation, and this with respect to form: and makes it like the image of a man, namely by the representation of the limbs. And note that he does not say makes it like a man, but the image of a man, because this configuration can exist in external features and not in internal ones.

Or compares it to some animal, that is, likens it: Romans 1: "Into the likeness of the image of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed beasts," etc.; likewise in the Psalm: "They exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf eating hay." Smearing over, that is, on the outside, with red ochre, that is, with a rule or a line drawn in red color, by which a marking is made. For rubrica is said to mean red earth and the color that is made from it, and the rule or line by which it is made, and the dye itself, and the middle syllable must always be lengthened. And making the color of it red with paint: fucus is called an unnatural and, as it were, counterfeit color. Likewise it should be noted that fucus is called an animal similar to a bee, which does not make honey but devours honey; likewise, a certain herb that dyes; likewise, any counterfeit color; likewise, falsehood or fraud and deceit, according to Papias. And smearing over every blemish that is in it, namely in the wood, with earth. — And he makes a worthy dwelling for it: whence Baruch, last chapter: "When they are set up in a house, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering." And setting it in a wall, namely so that it may be more visible, and fastening it with iron, that is, with iron nails, lest perhaps it fall; Isaiah 41: "He fastened it with nails, lest it be moved"; looking out for it, that is, foreseeing and taking precaution; knowing that it cannot help itself, namely by itself: whence in the Psalm: "They have hands, and they shall not handle; they have feet, and they shall not walk," etc. Nor is this a wonder, for it is an image, that is, a likeness of a thing, not the thing itself, and it needs help, namely human help: Baruch, last chapter: "If they fall to the ground, they do not rise up by themselves," as was evident concerning Dagon, 1 Kings 5; likewise Jeremiah 10: "They must be carried and borne, because they cannot walk."

The gods of gold, of wood, are as regards their costliness unequal; but as to "having eyes, and seeing not," they are equal. See to what sort of guardians learned men have entrusted Rome, to those "who have eyes, and see not." Or if they were able to preserve Rome, why did they first perish themselves? They say: "Rome perished at the same time." Nevertheless they perished. "No," they say, "they did not perish themselves, but their statues." Well, how then could they keep your houses, who were not able to keep their own statues? Alexandria once lost such gods as these. Constantinople some time since, ever since it was made a grand city, for it was made so by a Christian Emperor, lost its false gods; and yet it has increased, and still increases, and remains. And remain it will, as long as God pleases. For we do not to this city either promise an eternal duration because we say this. Carthage remains now in its possession of the Name of Christ, yet once on a time its goddess Caelestis was overthrown; because celestial she was not, but terrestrial. And that which they say is not true, that immediately on losing her gods Rome has been taken and ruined. It is not true at all; their images were overthrown before; and even so were the Goths with Rhadagaisus conquered.

And concerning his substance, that is, concerning his outward possession, and concerning his children, that is, concerning the welfare of his children, and concerning marriages, namely those to be contracted, making a vow, namely to it, he inquires, namely from it, so as to seek what is necessary for himself and his children, although one ought not to make vows except to God, according to that word of the Psalm, "Vow and render unto the Lord your God," etc.; likewise Isaiah 19: "They shall vow vows unto the Lord and fulfill them." He is not ashamed to speak, namely he himself having a soul, with that which, namely the false god, is without a soul: Baruch, last chapter: "When they hear that a mute cannot speak, they bring it to Bel"; in the Psalm: "They have a mouth, and they shall not speak."

And for health, that is, his own or of his own, he entreats one who is infirm, that is, altogether powerless, indeed, that is, certainly, and for life he asks one who is dead, that is, altogether lacking life, so that dead is understood negatively, not privatively, because, if privatively, then it would be understood that he once had life, but was afterwards deprived of it: which would be false. And he calls upon one useless for help, that is, one unable to help himself or another: whence Baruch, last chapter: "He has a sword in his hand, and does not deliver himself from robbers."

And for a journey, that is, direction on a journey, he asks of him who cannot walk, according to that of the Psalm: "They have feet, and they shall not walk," etc.; Baruch, last chapter: "Without feet they are carried on shoulders." And concerning acquiring, namely through commerce, and concerning working, namely through the mechanical arts, and concerning the outcome of all things, in general, he asks of him who is useless in all things; Isaiah forty-four: "He fashioned a god and cast a graven image, useful for nothing."

But it seems that the same objection could be raised against Christians who adore images.

But it must be said that it is not the same: because idolaters adored images as things, thinking that something living was in them; but Christians adore them only as pieces of wood, and insofar as they lead to those realities of which they are signs.