1.1 Erat there was Nicomēdīae at Nicomedia sculptor a sculptor quīdam a certain nōmine by name Dēmētrius Demetrius vir a man in in arte his craft suā his perītissimus most skilled quī who ex from marmore marble et and ex from aere bronze simulācra images deōrum of gods tam so ēleganter elegantly fingēbat fashioned ut that quī those who ea them vidērent saw nūmen the divine power ipsum itself adesse was present crēderent believed
1.2 Iuppiter Jupiter eius his fulmen a thunderbolt tenēbat was holding quod which vērum true vidēbātur seemed Apollō his Apollo eius his arcum a bow tendēbat was drawing quod which sagittam an arrow ēmissūrum about to release putārēs you would have thought Minerva his Minerva eius his ita so aspiciēbat was gazing ut that sapientiam wisdom ipsam itself in in oculīs her eyes marmorīs of marble habitāre to dwell iūrārēs you would have sworn
1.3 Quam how mīra marvellous ars is the craft quae which saxō to stone vītam life dare to give vidētur! seems
1.4 Sed but quaerō I ask ā of tē you ō O lēctor reader —quis who dat gives vītam? life saxumne the stone an or sculptor? the sculptor sculptor the sculptor sine without dubiō doubt nam for saxum the stone nihil nothing est is nisi except quod what sculptor the sculptor ex from eō it facit makes
1.5 Ergō therefore sculptor the sculptor deum a god facit makes nōn not deus a god sculptōrem the sculptor
1.6 Hoc this Cicerō Cicero iam already vīderat had seen cum when in in librō the book Dē On Nātūrā the Nature Deōrum of the Gods Cottam Cotta faceret he made dīcentem say sacerdōtem the priest quī who simulācra the images aspiciat looks at nōn not deōs gods sed but opera the works hominum of men vidēre sees
1.7 Et and Seneca Seneca ipse himself quī who dē about superstitiōne superstition scrīpsit wrote dīxit said “sacrōs sacred immortālēsque and immortal et and inviolābilēs inviolable diīs to the gods dēdicant they dedicate in in māteriā material quae which ad for quemlibet any ūsum use vīlissima is most worthless est” is
1.8 Ecce behold vestrī your own magistrī teachers hoc this docent teach quod what nōs we Chrīstiānī Christians docēmus teach —et and tamen yet nōbīs at us īrāsciminī you grow angry nōn not illīs at them
2.1 Dēmētrius Demetrius ergō therefore operam his services praestābat was providing et and dīves rich erat was et and honōrātus honoured nam for templa the temples nova new erant were aedificanda to be built et and simulācra images nova new in in eīs them collocanda to be placed
2.2 Sed but ūnō one diē day cum when discipulus a student eius his nōmine by name Marcellus Marcellus —iuvenis a young man acūtus sharp et and audāx— bold eum him interrogāvit asked “magister teacher quid what est is Iuppiter Jupiter nisi except quod what tū you ex from eō it facis?” make
2.3 Dēmētrius Demetrius rīsit laughed et and dīxit said “tace be silent stulte you fool deus the god est is quī who caelum the sky regit rules nōn not marmor the marble quod which ego I sculpo” carve
2.4 “Bene” fine inquit said Marcellus Marcellus “sed but sī if deus the god est is quī who caelum the sky regit rules cūr why hominēs do people nōn not caelum the sky suspiciunt look up at sed but ad at marmor the marble genū their knee flectunt they bend quod which herī yesterday in in officīnā the workshop tuā your nihil nothing erat was nisi except saxum?” stone
2.5 Dēmētrius Demetrius nihil nothing respondit answered
2.6 Sed but Marcellus Marcellus nōndum not yet dēsierat had ceased “audīvī” I have heard inquit he said “Euhēmerum that Euhemerus scrīpsisse wrote Iovem that Jupiter ipsum himself rēgem a king fuisse was in on Crētā Crete et and ibi there mortuum died esse was et and sepulchrum his tomb eius his in on monte the mountain Iūctā of Jucta adhūc still mōnstrārī to be shown cui on which sit there is īnscrīptum inscribed ΖΕΥΣ ZEUS ΚΡΟΝΟΥ SON OF KRONOS
2.7 Sī if ergō therefore sepulchrum a tomb habet he has mortuus dead est he is sī if mortuus dead est he is homō a man fuit he was sī if homō a man fuit he was deus a god nōn not est he is
2.8 Nec nor hoc this Euhēmerus Euhemerus sōlus alone trādidit has handed down —Ennius Ennius eum him in into Latīnam the Latin linguam language vertit translated Cicerō Cicero eī to him fidem trustworthiness tribuit attributed Sacrā the Sacred Historia History eum him cōnfirmāvit” confirmed
3.1 Haec these things verba words discipulī of the student ōtium no rest Dēmētriō to Demetrius nōn not dabant were giving
3.2 Nam for sī if Iuppiter Jupiter homō a man fuit was quid what dē about patre the father eius his Saturnō Saturn dīcēmus? shall we say
3.3 Historiae the histories docent teach Saturnum that Saturn rēgem a king fuisse was antīquissimum most ancient quī who cum when ā by fīliō his son Iove Jupiter rēgnō of his kingdom spoliātus despoiled esset had been in into Italiam Italy fūgerit fled ibīque and there ā by Iānō Janus rēge the king hospitiō with hospitality exceptus received agrōs the lands coluerit cultivated et and hominēs people rūdēs uncivilized agricultūram agriculture docuerit taught
3.4 Ergō therefore Saturnus Saturn quī who vōbīs to you deus a god est is fuit was rēx a king fugitīvus a fugitive exsul an exile profugus a refugee quī who nē not suōs his own quidem even fīliōs sons regere to rule potuit was able nedum much less mundum the world
3.5 Et and hunc this one rēgem a king exsulem an exile vōs you Tempus Time ipsum itself vocātis call et and rerum of things omnium all patrem the father et and saeculōrum of the ages dominātōrem the lord
3.6 Ō O quantum how great est is dīstantia the distance inter between rēgem a king mendīcum a beggar quī who aliēnīs on another’s agrīs fields labōrābat was labouring et and deum a god quī who universa the universe crēāvit! created
4.1 Paucīs a few diēbus days posteā later Dēmētrius Demetrius sōlus alone in in officīnā his workshop suā his sedēbat was sitting et and simulācrum an image Diānae of Diana novum new inchoāverat had begun
4.2 Sed but manūs his hands eius his quae which anteā before tam so certae sure fuerant had been nunc now haesitābant were hesitating
4.3 Aspiciēbat he was looking at marmor the marble et and cōgitābat was thinking “herī yesterday hoc this saxum stone in in viā the road iacēbat was lying et and nēmō nobody eī before it sē themselves prōsternēbat was prostrating crās tomorrow postquam after ego I oculōs eyes et and nāsum a nose et and ōs a mouth et and bracchia arms fēcerō shall have made hominēs people ante before id it genū their knee flectent will bend et and tūs incense incendent will burn et and lacrimīs with tears auxilium help rogābunt will ask ā from rē a thing quae which nihil nothing audīre to hear potest” is able
4.4 Quid what mūtāvit? changed nōn not marmor the marble sed but fōrma the form quam which ego I eī to it dedī gave
4.5 Ergō therefore nōn not marmor the marble adōrant do they adore sed but fōrmam the form nōn not deum a god sed but opus the work hominis of a human
4.6 Et and sī if opus the work hominis of a human being adōrant they adore ergō therefore hominem a human being adōrant they adore quī who fēcit made et and sī if hominem a human being adōrant they adore ubi where est is Deus? God
5.1 Tunc then Dēmētrius Demetrius rem a thing novam new cōgitāre to think about coepit began quam which anteā before nōn not cōgitāverat he had thought about
5.2 Cūr why deōs were gods novōs new fabricāre to manufacture necesse necessary erat? was it
5.3 Quia because imperātor the emperor templum a temple novum new aedificābat was building et and templum a temple novum new deōs gods novōs new requīrēbat required
5.4 Ergō therefore dī the gods nōn not tempora temples faciunt make sed but templa the temples deōs the gods
5.5 Et and imperātor the emperor nōn not deōs gods colit worships sed but potestātem his power suam his per through deōs the gods augēre to increase studet strives
5.6 Nam for quid what est is aliud else Iuppiter Jupiter Optimus Greatest Maximus Best quam than potestās the power summī of the highest imperātōris emperor in into fōrmam the form deī of a god trānslāta? transferred
5.7 Rēx a king antīquus ancient Crētēnsis of Crete cui to whom sepulchrum a tomb est there is nōmine a name Iovis of Jupiter induitur is clothed with et and sub under hōc this nōmine name imperiō the rule praesentī of the present auctōritātem authority dīvīnam divine praebet provides
5.8 Hoc this Dēmētrius Demetrius intellēxit understood —et and eum him intellēxisse to have understood perīculōsum was dangerous erat was
6.1 Sed but dīcet will say aliquis someone “nōnne was not semper always sīc thus fuit? it was nōnne did not hominēs people semper always deōs gods multōs many coluērunt?” worship
6.2 Minimē not at all
6.3 Fuit there was enim for tempus a time antīquissimum most ancient quod which Aureum the Golden Saeculum Age vocant they call cum when ūnus one Deus God ab by omnibus all hominibus people cognōscēbātur was known quia because nōndum not yet ā from vēritāte the truth prīmīgeniā original dēflēxerant had they turned aside
6.4 Tunc then Saturnus Saturn nōn not deus a god sed but rēx a king tantum merely erat was et and Iuppiter Jupiter nōn not tonitrua thunder mittēbat was sending sed but legiōnēs legions et and nēmō nobody eōs them prō in place of diīs gods colēbat worshipped
6.5 Postquam after autem however Iuppiter Jupiter patrem his father rēgnō from his kingdom exēgit drove out et and ipse he himself rēgnāvit reigned et and mortuus died est he did fīliī his sons eius his nē lest potestās the power patris of their father oblīvīscerentur should be forgotten templum a temple eī for him aedificāvērunt built et and hominēs and people rūdēs uncivilized quī who inter between rēgem a king et and deum a god nōndum not yet distinguere to distinguish didicerant had learned eōs them colere to worship coepērunt began
6.6 Ita thus Aureum the Golden Saeculum Age nōn not ab from ignōrantiā ignorance ad to scientiam knowledge prōcessit progressed —ut as philosophī the philosophers vestrī your contendunt— maintain sed but ā from scientiā knowledge ad to ignōrantiam ignorance dēcidit fell
6.7 Prīmō at first vēritās truth deinde then error error prīmō first ūnus one Deus God deinde then mīlle a thousand dī gods prīmō first lūx light deinde then tenebrae darkness
6.8 Nōs we Chrīstiānī Christians nōn not novum a new thing afferimus bring —antīquissimum the most ancient restituimus we restore
7.1 Dēmētrius Demetrius ergō therefore caelum the chisel dēposuit put down
7.2 Nōn not repente suddenly nam for nēmō nobody repente suddenly fit becomes sapiēns wise sed but paulātim gradually per through dubitātiōnem doubt ad to vēritātem truth pervēnit he arrived
7.3 Prīmō at first dē about arte his art suā his dubitāvit he doubted deinde then dē about diīs the gods quibus for whom artem his art praestābat he was practising postrēmō at last dē about mundō the world quī which tālēs such deōs gods colēbat was worshipping
7.4 Quaesīvit he sought igitur therefore et and Chrīstiānōs Christians invēnit found quōs whom anteā before contempserat he had despised quōrum whose supplicium punishment anteā before spectāverat he had watched
7.5 Et and ab from eīs them audīvit he heard id that quod which Marcellus Marcellus discipulus his student eius his iam already nōverat had known —ūnum one esse there is Deum a God vērum true quī who caelum heaven et and terram earth fēcerit made cuius whose simulācrum an image nūllum no fierī can be made possit is able quia because nūlla no māteria material eum him capiat can contain nūlla no fōrma form eum him exprimat can express nūllus no locus place eum him contineat can hold
7.6 Hoc this est is quod what sapientia wisdom docet teaches hoc this est is quod what religiō religion vēra true cōnfitētur confesses et and alterum the one sine without alterō the other stāre to stand nōn not potest is able
7.7 Nam for quī one who sapientiam wisdom sine without religiōne religion habet has multa many things scit knows sed but Deum God nōn does not colit worship et and quī one who religiōnem religion sine without sapientiā wisdom habet has Deum a god colit worships sed but nōn not vērum the true one
7.8 Sōlī only those quī who utrumque both coniungunt join together rēctā on the straight viā road ambulant walk
7.9 Dēmētrius Demetrius caelum the chisel dēposuit laid down et and oculōs his eyes ad toward caelum the sky levāvit lifted —ad toward caelum the sky vērum the true nōn not ad toward caelum the sky marmoreum of marble quod which ipse he himself fēcerat— had made et and prīmum for the first time ōrāvit prayed nōn not ad to opus the work manuum of his hands sed but ad to Eum Him cuius whose opus the work ipse he himself erat was
7.10 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 sculptor quīdam nōmine Dēmētrius, vir in arte suā perītissimus, quī ex marmore et ex aere simulācra deōrum tam ēleganter fingēbat ut quī ea vidērent nūmen ipsum adesse crēderent.
1.2 Iuppiter eius fulmen tenēbat quod vērum vidēbātur; Apollō eius arcum tendēbat quod sagittam ēmissūrum putārēs; Minerva eius ita aspiciēbat ut sapientiam ipsam in oculīs marmorīs habitāre iūrārēs.
1.3 Quam mīra ars quae saxō vītam dare vidētur!
1.4 Sed quaerō ā tē, ō lēctor — quis dat vītam? Saxumne an sculptor? Sculptor sine dubiō; nam saxum nihil est nisi quod sculptor ex eō facit.
1.5 Ergō sculptor deum facit, nōn deus sculptōrem.
1.6 Hoc Cicerō iam vīderat, cum in librō Dē Nātūrā Deōrum Cottam faceret dīcentem sacerdōtem quī simulācra aspiciat nōn deōs sed opera hominum vidēre.
1.7 Et Seneca ipse, quī dē superstitiōne scrīpsit, dīxit: “Sacrōs immortālēsque et inviolābilēs diīs dēdicant in māteriā quae ad quemlibet ūsum vīlissima est.”
1.8 Ecce vestrī magistrī hoc docent quod nōs Chrīstiānī docēmus — et tamen nōbīs īrāsciminī, nōn illīs.
2.1 Dēmētrius ergō operam praestābat, et dīves erat et honōrātus, nam templa nova erant aedificanda et simulācra nova in eīs collocanda.
2.2 Sed ūnō diē cum discipulus eius nōmine Marcellus — iuvenis acūtus et audāx — eum interrogāvit: “Magister, quid est Iuppiter nisi quod tū ex eō facis?”
2.3 Dēmētrius rīsit et dīxit: “Tace, stulte! Deus est quī caelum regit, nōn marmor quod ego sculpo.”
2.4 “Bene,” inquit Marcellus, “sed sī deus est quī caelum regit, cūr hominēs nōn caelum suspiciunt sed ad marmor genū flectunt quod herī in officīnā tuā nihil erat nisi saxum?”
2.5 Dēmētrius nihil respondit.
2.6 Sed Marcellus nōndum dēsierat: “Audīvī,” inquit, “Euhēmerum scrīpsisse Iovem ipsum rēgem fuisse in Crētā et ibi mortuum esse et sepulchrum eius in monte Iūctā adhūc mōnstrārī, cui sit īnscrīptum: ΖΕΥΣ ΚΡΟΝΟΥ.”
2.7 “Sī ergō sepulchrum habet, mortuus est. Sī mortuus est, homō fuit. Sī homō fuit, deus nōn est.”
2.8 “Nec hoc Euhēmerus sōlus trādidit — Ennius eum in Latīnam linguam vertit, Cicerō eī fidem tribuit, Sacrā Historia eum cōnfirmāvit.”
3.1 Haec verba discipulī ōtium Dēmētriō nōn dabant.
3.2 Nam sī Iuppiter homō fuit, quid dē patre eius Saturnō dīcēmus?
3.3 Historiae docent Saturnum rēgem fuisse antīquissimum quī, cum ā fīliō Iove rēgnō spoliātus esset, in Italiam fūgerit ibīque ā Iānō rēge hospitiō exceptus agrōs coluerit et hominēs rūdēs agricultūram docuerit.
3.4 Ergō Saturnus, quī vōbīs deus est, fuit rēx fugitīvus, exsul, profugus — quī nē suōs quidem fīliōs regere potuit, nedum mundum.
3.5 Et hunc rēgem exsulem vōs Tempus ipsum vocātis, et rerum omnium patrem, et saeculōrum dominātōrem.
3.6 Ō quantum est dīstantia inter rēgem mendīcum quī aliēnīs agrīs labōrābat, et Deum quī universa crēāvit!
4.1 Paucīs diēbus posteā Dēmētrius sōlus in officīnā suā sedēbat, et simulācrum Diānae novum inchoāverat.
4.2 Sed manūs eius, quae anteā tam certae fuerant, nunc haesitābant.
4.3 Aspiciēbat marmor et cōgitābat: “Herī hoc saxum in viā iacēbat et nēmō eī sē prōsternēbat. Crās, postquam ego oculōs et nāsum et ōs et bracchia fēcerō, hominēs ante id genū flectent et tūs incendent et lacrimīs auxilium rogābunt ā rē quae nihil audīre potest.”
4.4 Quid mūtāvit? Nōn marmor — sed fōrma quam ego eī dedī.
4.5 Ergō nōn marmor adōrant sed fōrmam; nōn deum sed opus hominis.
4.6 Et sī opus hominis adōrant, ergō hominem adōrant quī fēcit. Et sī hominem adōrant, ubi est Deus?
5.1 Tunc Dēmētrius rem novam cōgitāre coepit quam anteā nōn cōgitāverat.
5.2 Cūr deōs novōs fabricāre necesse erat?
5.3 Quia imperātor templum novum aedificābat, et templum novum deōs novōs requīrēbat.
5.4 Ergō dī nōn templa faciunt, sed templa deōs.
5.5 Et imperātor nōn deōs colit, sed potestātem suam per deōs augēre studet.
5.6 Nam quid est aliud Iuppiter Optimus Maximus quam potestās summī imperātōris in fōrmam deī trānslāta?
5.7 Rēx antīquus Crētēnsis cui sepulchrum est nōmine Iovis induitur, et sub hōc nōmine imperiō praesentī auctōritātem dīvīnam praebet.
5.8 Hoc Dēmētrius intellēxit — et eum intellēxisse perīculōsum erat.
6.1 Sed dīcet aliquis: “Nōnne semper sīc fuit? Nōnne hominēs semper deōs multōs coluērunt?”
6.2 Minimē.
6.3 Fuit enim tempus antīquissimum, quod Aureum Saeculum vocant, cum ūnus Deus ab omnibus hominibus cognōscēbātur, quia nōndum ā vēritāte prīmīgeniā dēflēxerant.
6.4 Tunc Saturnus nōn deus sed rēx tantum erat, et Iuppiter nōn tonitrua mittēbat sed legiōnēs, et nēmō eōs prō diīs colēbat.
6.5 Postquam autem Iuppiter patrem rēgnō exēgit et ipse rēgnāvit et mortuus est, fīliī eius, nē potestās patris oblīvīscerentur, templum eī aedificāvērunt, et hominēs rūdēs quī inter rēgem et deum nōndum distinguere didicerant eōs colere coepērunt.
6.6 Ita Aureum Saeculum nōn ab ignōrantiā ad scientiam prōcessit — ut philosophī vestrī contendunt — sed ā scientiā ad ignōrantiam dēcidit.
6.7 Prīmō vēritās, deinde error. Prīmō ūnus Deus, deinde mīlle dī. Prīmō lūx, deinde tenebrae.
6.8 Nōs Chrīstiānī nōn novum afferimus — antīquissimum restituimus.
7.1 Dēmētrius ergō caelum dēposuit.
7.2 Nōn repente — nam nēmō repente fit sapiēns — sed paulātim, per dubitātiōnem ad vēritātem pervēnit.
7.3 Prīmō dē arte suā dubitāvit, deinde dē diīs quibus artem praestābat, postrēmō dē mundō quī tālēs deōs colēbat.
7.4 Quaesīvit igitur, et Chrīstiānōs invēnit quōs anteā contempserat, quōrum supplicium anteā spectāverat.
7.5 Et ab eīs audīvit id quod Marcellus discipulus eius iam nōverat — ūnum esse Deum vērum quī caelum et terram fēcerit, cuius simulācrum nūllum fierī possit quia nūlla māteria eum capiat, nūlla fōrma eum exprimat, nūllus locus eum contineat.
7.6 Hoc est quod sapientia docet, hoc est quod religiō vēra cōnfitētur — et alterum sine alterō stāre nōn potest.
7.7 Nam quī sapientiam sine religiōne habet, multa scit sed Deum nōn colit; et quī religiōnem sine sapientiā habet, Deum colit sed nōn vērum.
7.8 Sōlī quī utrumque coniungunt rēctā viā ambulant.
7.9 Dēmētrius caelum dēposuit et oculōs ad caelum levāvit — ad caelum vērum, nōn ad caelum marmoreum quod ipse fēcerat — et prīmum ōrāvit nōn ad opus manuum sed ad Eum cuius opus ipse erat.
7.10 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.
◊ᴹᴱᴹᴼᴿʸ⁻ᶜᴼᴹᴾᴸᴱᵀᴱ
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