Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

On the Vanity of Idols

Cyprian of Carthage

Section 7

About this work

Author: Cyprian of Carthage

7. These spirits, therefore, are lurking under the statues

‹ Section 6 Section 8 ›

and

consecrated

images

:

these

inspire

the

breasts

of

their

prophets

with

their

afflatus

,

animate

the

fibres

of

the

entrails

,

direct

the

flights

of

birds

,

rule

the

lots

,

give

efficiency

to

oracles

,

are

always

mixing

up

falsehood

with

truth

,

for

they

are

both

deceived

and

they

deceive

;

they

disturb

their

life

,

they

disquiet

their

slumbers

;

their

spirits

creeping

also

into

their

bodies

,

secretly

terrify

their

minds

,

distort

their

limbs

,

break

their

health

,

excite

diseases

to

force

them

to

worship

of

themselves

,

so

that

when

glutted

with

the

steam

of

the

altars

and

the

piles

of

cattle

,

they

may

unloose

what

they

had

bound

,

and

so

appear

to

have

effected

a

cure

.

The

only

remedy

from

them

is

when

their

own

mischief

ceases

;

nor

have

they

any

other

desire

than

to

call

men

away

from

God

,

and

to

turn

them

from

the

understanding

of

the

true

religion

,

to

superstition

with

respect

to

themselves

;

and

since

they

themselves

are

under

punishment

,

(

they

wish

)

to

seek

for

themselves

companions

in

punishment

whom

they

may

by

their

misguidance

make

sharers

in

their

crime

.

These

,

however

,

when

adjured

by

us

through

the

true

God

,

at

once

yield

and

confess

,

and

are

constrained

to

go

out

from

the

bodies

possessed

.

You

may

see

them

at

our

voice

,

and

by

the

operation

of

the

hidden

majesty

,

smitten

with

stripes

,

burnt

with

fire

,

stretched

out

with

the

increase

of

a

growing

punishment

,

howling

,

groaning

,

entreating

,

confessing

whence

they

came

and

when

depart

,

even

in

the

hearing

of

those

very

persons

who

worship

them

,

and

either

springing

forth

at

once

or

vanishing

gradually

,

even

as

the

faith

of

the

sufferer

comes

in

aid

,

or

the

grace

of

the

healer

effects

.

Hence

they

urge

the

common

people

to

detest

our

name

,

so

that

men

begin

to

hate

us

before

they

know

us

,

lest

they

should

either

imitate

us

if

known

,

or

not

be

able

to

condemn

us

.

Notes

10
[2 Tim. iii. 13. See vol. iii. 68.]
11
[Vol. iii. p. 111; also other apologists.]