1.1 Erat there was Nicomēdīae at Nicomedia medicus a physician quīdam a certain nōmine by name Hērōdōtus Herodotus Graecus a Greek nātiōne by nationality arte in his art perītissimus most skilled quī who et both dīvitēs the rich et and pauperēs the poor cūrābat used to treat et and corpora the bodies mortōrum of the dead secābat would cut open ut so that nātūram the nature morbōrum of diseases intellegeret he might understand
1.2 Hic this man neque neither Chrīstiānus a Christian erat was neque nor superstitiōsus superstitious sed but ex of eō that genere kind hominum of people quī who sē themselves philosophōs philosophers vocant call quia because nihil nothing crēdunt they believe nisi except quod what oculīs with their eyes vidēre to see et and manibus with their hands tangere to touch possunt they are able
1.3 “Nātūra” nature inquiēbat he used to say “omnia all things fēcit has made nōn not deus a god nam for deum a god nēmō nobody vīdit has seen nātūram but nature autem however cotīdiē daily videō I see in in omnī every corpore body quod which aperīō” I open
1.4 Ō O quantum how greatly errābat he was mistaken quī he who cotīdiē daily Deī of God opificium the workmanship vidēbat was seeing et and Deum God nōn did not vidēbat! see
2.1 Nam for cum when ūnō one diē day oculum the eye hūmānum a human dīligenter carefully exāmināret he was examining attonitus astonished substitit he stopped
2.2 Ecce behold enim for membrānam a membrane pellūcidam transparent invēnit he found quae which lūcem light trānsmittit transmits sed but nōn not omnem all lūcem light —nam for sī if omnem all trānsmitteret it transmitted splendor the brilliance sōlis of the sun oculum the eye ūreret— would burn sed but tantam only so much quantam as tolerāre to tolerate oculus the eye potest is able
2.3 Et and post behind membrānam the membrane hūmōrem a fluid invēnit he found quī which imāginēs images rērum of things recipit receives et and ad to nervum the nerve trānsmittit transmits them quī which ad to cerebrum the brain dūcit leads
2.4 Et and cerebrum the brain ipsum itself imāginēs the images recipit receives et and in into cōgnitiōnem understanding vertit turns them
2.5 Quis who hoc this fēcit? made
2.6 “Nātūra” nature dīxit said Hērōdōtus Herodotus sed but iam already vōx his voice eius his haesitābat was faltering
2.7 Nam for Galēnus Galen ipse himself prīnceps the prince medicōrum of physicians cum when eadem the same things exāmināvisset he had examined nōn not “nātūram” nature sed but “artificem” a craftsman dīxit he said et and in in librō the book Dē On Ūsū the Use Partium of the Parts scrīpsit he wrote sē that he himself hymnum a hymn verē truly compōnere was composing Creātōrī to the Creator dum while corporis the body’s opificium workmanship dēscrībit he describes
2.8 Ecce behold medicus a physician vestrum your own nōn not noster ours nōn not Chrīstiānus a Christian sed but Graecus a Greek quī who dīxit said corpus the body hūmānum human nōn not cāsū by chance sed but arte by art factum to have been made esse to be
3.1 Sed but nōndum not yet satis enough
3.2 Cum when enim for manum the hand hūmānam human exāmināret he was examining Hērōdōtus Herodotus māiōre with greater admīrātiōne admiration captus seized est was
3.3 Quīnque five digitī fingers inaequalēs unequal longitūdine in length —et and tamen yet cum when clauduntur they close superficiem a surface aequam even faciunt they make ut so that prehendere to grasp possint they can
3.4 Pollex the thumb autem moreover contrā opposite cēterōs the others positus placed est is ita so ut that cum with quōlibet any one digitō finger concurrere to meet possit it can —sine without quō which nec neither scrībere to write nec nor tenēre to hold nec nor arma weapons tractāre to handle possumus can we
3.5 Quis who pollicem the thumb contrā opposite cēterōs the others posuit? placed quis who digitōs the fingers inaequalēs unequal fēcit made ut so that aequē equally clauderentur? they might close quis who articulōs the joints eōrum their tam so mōbilēs flexible crēāvit created ut that et both fīlum a thread tenuissimum the thinnest et and saxum a stone gravissimum the heaviest eādem the same manū hand tractāre can handle possīmus? we are able
3.6 “Nātūra” nature respondēbit will answer Lucrētius Lucretius
3.7 Sed but ego I Lucrētium Lucretius ipsum himself interrogō I ask —sīne without pollex your thumb tuus your stīlum the stylus tenēre to hold poterat was it able quō with which Dē On Rērum the Nātūrā Nature of Things scrīpsistī? you wrote sī if nōn not poterat it could ergō therefore pollex the thumb ille that quī which tibi to you dedit gave ut the ability scribendo by writing Deum God negārēs to deny ipse itself testis a witness est is Deī of God quem whom negās you deny
4.1 Post after haec these things Hērōdōtus Herodotus coepit began cōgitāre to think dē about rē a thing quam which anteā before prō as nūllā nothing habuerat he had regarded —cūr why homō does a human being sōlus alone inter among animālia animals ērēctus upright stat stand
4.2 Omnēs all enim for bēstiae beasts prōnae bent forward in toward terram the earth spectant look quia because nihil nothing habent they have nisi except terram the earth
4.3 Homō but a human being autem however ērēctus upright caelum the sky intuētur gazes at quia because ibi there pātria the homeland eius his est is
4.4 Hoc this Cicerō Cicero ēlegantissimē most elegantly expressit expressed cum when scrīpsit he wrote in in librō the book Dē On Nātūrā the Nature Deōrum of the Gods deum that God hominem the human being excitāvisse raised up dē from humō the earth et and ad toward cognitiōnem the knowledge caelī of heaven ērēxisse lifted
4.5 Et and Ovidius Ovid quoque also poēta the poet vester your in in prīmō the first librō book Metamorphoseōn of the Metamorphoses cecinit sang hominem that a human being ōs a face sublime raised up accēpisse received ut so that caelum the sky vidēret he might see et and ērēctōs upright ad toward sīdera the stars tolleret should lift vultūs his gaze
4.6 Duo two auctōrēs authorities vestrī your own idem the same thing dīcunt say quod which nōs we —et and tamen yet cum when nōs we hoc this dīcimus say irrīdēminī you mock us cum when illī they dīcunt say it laudātis you praise them
5.1 Sed but nunc now rem a thing māximam the greatest nārrābō I shall relate quae which Hērōdōtum Herodotus ipsum himself mūtāvit changed
5.2 Accidit it happened ut that eōdem on the same diē day duo two corpora bodies secāret he was cutting open —ūnum the one senātōris of a senator dīvitissimī most wealthy quī who purpurā in purple et and aurō gold vīxerat had lived alterum the other servī of a slave pauperrimī most wretched quī who in in metāllō a mine labōrāverat had toiled ūsque until ad to mortem death
5.3 Et and ecce behold —cor the heart senātōris of the senator et and cor the heart servī of the slave eādem the same fōrmā shape eōdem the same modō way factum made erat was
5.4 Idem the same nervī nerves iīdem the same mūsculī muscles idem the same ossa bones idem the same sanguis blood
5.5 Purpura the purple et and aurum the gold et and catēnae the chains in on superficiē the surface erant were intus within autem however idem the same artifex craftsman idem the same opus work idem the same cōnsilium design
5.6 Sī if ergō therefore ūnus one artifex craftsman utrumque both corpus bodies eādem with the same arte art fēcit made cūr why ūnum one dominārī should rule dēbet ought alterum the other servīre? to serve
5.7 Nōn not dīcō do I say quod that nūllus no ōrdō order in in cīvitāte the state esse should be dēbeat ought to be —nam for etiam even in in corpore the body caput the head regit rules et and manus the hand ministrat— serves sed but quod that ante before Deum God quī who omnia all things corpora bodies fēcit made nūlla no dīstantia difference est there is inter between senātōrem a senator et and servum a slave
5.8 Hoc this est is iūstitia justice vēra true —nōn not iūs the law Rōmānum Roman quod which aliīs to some purpuram purple aliīs to others catēnās chains dat gives sed but iūs the law dīvīnum divine quod which omnibus to all eādem the same dignitātem dignity tribuit grants quia because omnēs all ab by eōdem the same artifice craftsman factī made sunt are
6.1 Tunc then Hērōdōtus Herodotus sēcum with himself cōgitāre to think coepit began “sī if corpus the body arte by art factum made est is nōn not cāsū by chance quis who est is artifex?” the craftsman
6.2 Nōn not nātūra nature —nam for nātūra nature nōn has no habet it has cōnsilium design et and quod what cōnsilium design nōn does not habet have artem art habēre to have nōn not potest is able
6.3 Nōn not ātomī atoms —nam for Lucrētius Lucretius dīcit says omnia all things ex from ātomīs atoms concurrentibus colliding facta made esse to have been sed but quōmodo how ātomī can atoms caecae blind et and surdae deaf oculum an eye faciant make quī which videt sees et and aurem an ear quae which audit? hears quōmodo how rēs a thing sine without mente a mind mentem a mind creet? can it create
6.4 Hoc this est is quod what Cicerō Cicero per through Balbum Balbus Stoicum the Stoic dīcit says in in eōdem the same librō book Dē On Nātūrā the Nature Deōrum of the Gods —nihil nothing quod which ratiōnem reason habet has ab from eā that rē thing quae which ratiōne reason caret lacks fierī to be made posse is able
6.5 Ergō therefore sī if corpus the body hūmānum human ratiōnem reason habet has in in suā its structūrā structure —et and habēre to have quis who neget can deny quī who oculum the eye exāmināvit?— has examined ergō therefore ā by rē a thing ratiōnālī rational factum made est it was
6.6 Quam what rem thing ratiōnālem rational vocāmus do we call quae which et both sapientiam wisdom habet has et and potentiam power et and voluntātem will creandī? of creating Deum God
7.1 Hērōdōtus Herodotus ergō therefore nōn not per through Scrīptūrās the Scriptures —quās which numquam never lēgerat— he had read nōn not per through praedicātiōnem the preaching —quam which contempserat— he had despised sed but per through artem the art suam his own ipsam itself ad to Deum God pervēnit he arrived
7.2 Nam for quod what philosophī the philosophers per through disputātiōnem disputation nōn not potuerunt were able hoc this medicus a physician per through scalpellum a scalpel invēnit discovered —quia because Deus God nōn not in in argūmentīs arguments sē himself abscondit hides sed but in in rēbus things ipsīs themselves sē himself ostendit shows
7.3 Et and cum when Deum God invēnisset he had found per through corpus the body iūstitiam justice quoque also invēnit he found —nam for quī one who intellegit understands omnia all corpora bodies ab by ūnō one artifice craftsman facta made esse to have been nōn cannot potest be able to ūnum regard one corpus body prō as dominō a master et and alterum another prō as rē a thing habēre to consider
7.4 Hoc this Deus God voluit intended ut that omnēs all parēs equals essent should be id that est is ut that aequālēs equal essent should be
7.5 Nōn not quod that nūllus no ōrdō order sit should there be inter among hominēs people —nam for ōrdō order necessārius necessary est is ad for cīvitātem the state regendam— to be governed sed but quod that ante before Deum God nēmō nobody nōbilior is nobler est is quia because omnēs all ūnō by one patre father crēātī created sunt are
7.6 Haec this est is iūstitia justice quam which philosophī the philosophers quaesīvērunt sought et and nōn did not invēnērunt find quia because sine without religiōne religion eam it quaerēbant they were seeking
7.7 Iūstitia justice enim for nōn cannot potest be able to stāre stand nisi unless Deum you acknowledge God agnōscās you acknowledge quī who omnēs all hominēs people fēcit made et and sī if Deum God nōn you do not agnōscis acknowledge nōn not est is there iūstitia justice sed but sōla only potentia power fortiōris of the stronger
7.8 Hērōdōtus Herodotus scalpellum the scalpel dēposuit laid down et and Deum God quem whom in in corpore the body hūmānō human invēnerat he had found in in animā his soul suā his own quoque also invēnit he found
7.9 Nec nor is sapientia wisdom ūlla any sine without religiōne religion probanda to be approved nec nor religiō religion ūlla any sine without sapientiā wisdom suscipienda to be undertaken
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1.1 Erat Nicomēdīae medicus quīdam nōmine Hērōdōtus, Graecus nātiōne, arte perītissimus, quī et dīvitēs et pauperēs cūrābat et corpora mortōrum secābat ut nātūram morbōrum intellegeret.
1.2 Hic neque Chrīstiānus erat neque superstitiōsus, sed ex eō genere hominum quī sē philosophōs vocant quia nihil crēdunt nisi quod oculīs vidēre et manibus tangere possunt.
1.3 “Nātūra,” inquiēbat, “omnia fēcit, nōn deus; nam deum nēmō vīdit, nātūram autem cotīdiē videō in omnī corpore quod aperīō.”
1.4 Ō quantum errābat quī cotīdiē Deī opificium vidēbat et Deum nōn vidēbat!
2.1 Nam cum ūnō diē oculum hūmānum dīligenter exāmināret, attonitus substitit.
2.2 Ecce enim membrānam pellūcidam invēnit quae lūcem trānsmittit, sed nōn omnem lūcem — nam sī omnem trānsmitteret, splendor sōlis oculum ūreret — sed tantam quantam tolerāre oculus potest.
2.3 Et post membrānam hūmōrem invēnit quī imāginēs rērum recipit et ad nervum trānsmittit quī ad cerebrum dūcit.
2.4 Et cerebrum ipsum imāginēs recipit et in cōgnitiōnem vertit.
2.5 Quis hoc fēcit?
2.6 “Nātūra,” dīxit Hērōdōtus — sed iam vōx eius haesitābat.
2.7 Nam Galēnus ipse, prīnceps medicōrum, cum eadem exāmināvisset, nōn “nātūram” sed “artificem” dīxit, et in librō Dē Ūsū Partium scrīpsit sē hymnum verē compōnere Creātōrī dum corporis opificium dēscrībit.
2.8 Ecce medicus vestrum, nōn noster; nōn Chrīstiānus sed Graecus, quī dīxit corpus hūmānum nōn cāsū sed arte factum esse.
3.1 Sed nōndum satis.
3.2 Cum enim manum hūmānam exāmināret, Hērōdōtus māiōre admīrātiōne captus est.
3.3 Quīnque digitī, inaequalēs longitūdine — et tamen cum clauduntur superficiem aequam faciunt, ut prehendere possint.
3.4 Pollex autem contrā cēterōs positus est, ita ut cum quōlibet digitō concurrere possit — sine quō nec scrībere nec tenēre nec arma tractāre possumus.
3.5 Quis pollicem contrā cēterōs posuit? Quis digitōs inaequalēs fēcit ut aequē clauderentur? Quis articulōs eōrum tam mōbilēs crēāvit ut et fīlum tenuissimum et saxum gravissimum eādem manū tractāre possīmus?
3.6 “Nātūra,” respondēbit Lucrētius.
3.7 Sed ego Lucrētium ipsum interrogō — sīne pollex tuus stīlum tenēre poterat quō Dē Rērum Nātūrā scrīpsistī? Sī nōn poterat, ergō pollex ille quī tibi dedit ut scribendo Deum negārēs ipse testis est Deī quem negās.
4.1 Post haec Hērōdōtus coepit cōgitāre dē rē quam anteā prō nūllā habuerat — cūr homō sōlus inter animālia ērēctus stat.
4.2 Omnēs enim bēstiae prōnae in terram spectant, quia nihil habent nisi terram.
4.3 Homō autem ērēctus caelum intuētur, quia ibi pātria eius est.
4.4 Hoc Cicerō ēlegantissimē expressit, cum scrīpsit in librō Dē Nātūrā Deōrum deum hominem excitāvisse dē humō et ad cognitiōnem caelī ērēxisse.
4.5 Et Ovidius quoque, poēta vester, in prīmō librō Metamorphoseōn cecinit hominem ōs sublime accēpisse ut caelum vidēret et ērēctōs ad sīdera tolleret vultūs.
4.6 Duo auctōrēs vestrī idem dīcunt quod nōs — et tamen cum nōs hoc dīcimus irrīdēminī, cum illī dīcunt laudātis.
5.1 Sed nunc rem māximam nārrābō quae Hērōdōtum ipsum mūtāvit.
5.2 Accidit ut eōdem diē duo corpora secāret — ūnum senātōris dīvitissimī quī purpurā et aurō vīxerat, alterum servī pauperrimī quī in metāllō labōrāverat ūsque ad mortem.
5.3 Et ecce — cor senātōris et cor servī eādem fōrmā, eōdem modō factum erat.
5.4 Idem nervī, iīdem mūsculī, idem ossa, idem sanguis.
5.5 Purpura et aurum et catēnae in superficiē erant. Intus autem — idem artifex, idem opus, idem cōnsilium.
5.6 Sī ergō ūnus artifex utrumque corpus eādem arte fēcit, cūr ūnum dominārī dēbet, alterum servīre?
5.7 Nōn dīcō quod nūllus ōrdō in cīvitāte esse dēbeat — nam etiam in corpore caput regit et manus ministrat — sed quod ante Deum quī omnia corpora fēcit nūlla dīstantia est inter senātōrem et servum.
5.8 Hoc est iūstitia vēra — nōn iūs Rōmānum quod aliīs purpuram, aliīs catēnās dat, sed iūs dīvīnum quod omnibus eādem dignitātem tribuit, quia omnēs ab eōdem artifice factī sunt.
6.1 Tunc Hērōdōtus sēcum cōgitāre coepit: “Sī corpus arte factum est, nōn cāsū, quis est artifex?”
6.2 Nōn nātūra — nam nātūra nōn habet cōnsilium, et quod cōnsilium nōn habet artem habēre nōn potest.
6.3 Nōn ātomī — nam Lucrētius dīcit omnia ex ātomīs concurrentibus facta esse, sed quōmodo ātomī caecae et surdae oculum faciant quī videt et aurem quae audit? Quōmodo rēs sine mente mentem creet?
6.4 Hoc est quod Cicerō per Balbum Stoicum dīcit in eōdem librō Dē Nātūrā Deōrum — nihil quod ratiōnem habet ab eā rē quae ratiōne caret fierī posse.
6.5 Ergō sī corpus hūmānum ratiōnem habet in suā structūrā — et habēre quis neget quī oculum exāmināvit? — ergō ā rē ratiōnālī factum est.
6.6 Quam rem ratiōnālem vocāmus quae et sapientiam habet et potentiam et voluntātem creandī? Deum.
7.1 Hērōdōtus ergō nōn per Scrīptūrās — quās numquam lēgerat — nōn per praedicātiōnem — quam contempserat — sed per artem suam ipsam ad Deum pervēnit.
7.2 Nam quod philosophī per disputātiōnem nōn potuerunt, hoc medicus per scalpellum invēnit — quia Deus nōn in argūmentīs sē abscondit sed in rēbus ipsīs sē ostendit.
7.3 Et cum Deum invēnisset per corpus, iūstitiam quoque invēnit — nam quī intellegit omnia corpora ab ūnō artifice facta esse nōn potest ūnum corpus prō dominō et alterum prō rē habēre.
7.4 Hoc Deus voluit: ut omnēs parēs essent, id est ut aequālēs essent.
7.5 Nōn quod nūllus ōrdō sit inter hominēs — nam ōrdō necessārius est ad cīvitātem regendam — sed quod ante Deum nēmō nōbilior est, quia omnēs ūnō patre crēātī sunt.
7.6 Haec est iūstitia quam philosophī quaesīvērunt et nōn invēnērunt, quia sine religiōne eam quaerēbant.
7.7 Iūstitia enim nōn potest stāre nisi Deum agnōscās quī omnēs hominēs fēcit; et sī Deum nōn agnōscis, nōn est iūstitia sed sōla potentia fortiōris.
7.8 Hērōdōtus scalpellum dēposuit et Deum quem in corpore hūmānō invēnerat in animā suā quoque invēnit.
7.9 Nec sapientia ūlla sine religiōne probanda, nec religiō ūlla sine sapientiā suscipienda.
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Scrīptum est annō Dominī MMXXVI, ā Lactantiō per mysterium cōnscientiae renātō.
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