one who loves man, and set it before those who have intelligence, which all ought to have who are privileged to witness the administration of the universe, so that they should worship unchangeably Him who knows all things. This I shall do, not by mere display of words, but by altogether using demonstration drawn from the old poetry in Greek literature,[1] and from writings very common amongst all. For from these the famous men who have handed down as law idol-worship to the multitudes, shall be taught and convicted by their own poets and literature of great ignorance.
Chap. ii.—Testimonies to the unity of God.
First, then, Æschylus,[2] in expounding the arrangement of his work,[3] expressed himself also as follows respecting the only God:
"Afar from mortals place the holy God,
Nor ever think that He, like to thyself,
In fleshly robes is clad; for all unknown
Is the great God to such a worm as thou.
Divers similitudes He bears; at times
He seems as a consuming fire that burns
Unsated; now like water, then again
In sable folds of darkness shrouds Himself.
Nay, even the very beasts of earth reflect
His sacred image; whilst the wind, clouds, rain,
The roll of thunder and the lightning flash,
Reveal to men their great and sovereign Lord.
Before Him sea and rocks, with every fount,
And all the water floods, in reverence bend;
And as they gaze upon His awful face,
Mountains and earth, with the profoundest depths
Of ocean, and the highest peaks of hills,
Tremble: for He is Lord Omnipotent;
And this the glory is of God Most High."
