Marcus Terentius Varro, the ancient Roman writer, had stated that idols made of hands could not possibly be true gods. Arnobius uses this in his own argument that they should not be worshiped. This leads to the pagans asking who the true gods are. Arnobius points out that he does not know, but they must certainly be similar to the Most High—eternal, self-existent, immutable—to be eligible. Of course, his overall argument in this work is that if they should seek out these unseen gods, they are best served to follow the one true, supreme God.
"Who are the true gods?" you say.
To answer you in common and simple language, we do not know;1 for how can we know who those are whom we have never seen? We have been accustomed to hear from you that a great many are gods, and are reckoned among the deities; but if these exist anywhere, and are true gods … it follows as a consequence, that they correspond to their name; that is, that they are such as we all see that they should be, and that they are worthy to be called by this name; nay, more,—to make an end without many words,—that they are such as is the Lord of the universe, and the King omnipotent Himself, whom we have knowledge and understanding enough to speak of as the true God when we are led to mention His name. For one god differs from another in nothing as respects his divinity; nor can that which is one in kind be less or more in its parts while its own qualities remain unchanged. Now, as this is certain, it follows that they should never have been begotten, but should be immortal, seeking nothing from without, and not drawing any earthly pleasures from the resources of matter.
1 Arnobius is not declaring his own opinions here, but meeting his adversaries on their own ground. He knows who the true God is—the source and fountain of all being, and framer of the universe (ii. 2), and if there are any lesser powers called gods, what their relation to Him must be (iii. 2, 3); but he does not know any such gods himself, and is continually reminding the heathen that they know these gods just as little.
"Who are the true gods?" you say.
To answer you in common and simple language, we do not know;1 for how can we know who those are whom we have never seen? We have been accustomed to hear from you that a great many are gods, and are reckoned among the deities; but if these exist anywhere, and are true gods … it follows as a consequence, that they correspond to their name; that is, that they are such as we all see that they should be, and that they are worthy to be called by this name; nay, more,—to make an end without many words,—that they are such as is the Lord of the universe, and the King omnipotent Himself, whom we have knowledge and understanding enough to speak of as the true God when we are led to mention His name. For one god differs from another in nothing as respects his divinity; nor can that which is one in kind be less or more in its parts while its own qualities remain unchanged. Now, as this is certain, it follows that they should never have been begotten, but should be immortal, seeking nothing from without, and not drawing any earthly pleasures from the resources of matter.
Arnobius of Sicca, The Case against the Pagans, Book VII, cap. 2
1 Arnobius is not declaring his own opinions here, but meeting his adversaries on their own ground. He knows who the true God is—the source and fountain of all being, and framer of the universe (ii. 2), and if there are any lesser powers called gods, what their relation to Him must be (iii. 2, 3); but he does not know any such gods himself, and is continually reminding the heathen that they know these gods just as little.
No comments:
Post a Comment