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The Divine Institutes

Lactantius

Book 1 · Chapter 19

About this work

A large Latin presentation of Christian teaching that criticizes pagan religion and philosophy while treating justice, God, creation, Christ, worship, ethics, and the final destiny of humanity.

Author: Lactantius
Date: c. AD 303–311
Origin: North Africa and Nicomedia
Genre: Apology

Chap. xix.—that it is impossible for any one to worship the true god together with false deities.

But some one will say that this supreme Being

‹ Book 1 · Chapter 18 Book 1 · Chapter 20 ›

,

who

made

all

things

,

and

those

also

who

conferred

on

men

particular

benefits

,

are

entitled

to

their

respective

worship

.

First

of

all

,

it

has

never

happened

that

the

worshipper

of

these

has

also

been

a

worshipper

of

God

.

Nor

can

this

possibly

happen

.

For

if

the

honour

paid

to

Him

is

shared

by

others

,

He

altogether

ceases

to

be

worshipped

,

since

His

religion

requires

us

to

believe

that

He

is

the

one

and

only

God

.

The

excellent

poet

exclaims

,

that

all

those

who

refined

life

by

the

invention

of

arts

are

in

the

lower

regions

,

and

that

even

the

discoverer

himself

of

such

a

medicine

and

art

was

thrust

down

by

lightning

to

the

Stygian

waves

,

that

we

may

understand

how

great

is

the

power

of

the

Almighty

Father

,

who

can

extinguish

even

gods

by

His

lightnings

.

But

ingenious

men

perchance

thus

reasoned

with

themselves

:

Because

God

cannot

be

struck

with

lightning

,

it

is

manifest

that

the

occurrence

never

took

place

;

nay

,

rather

,

because

it

did

take

place

,

it

is

manifest

that

the

person

in

question

was

a

man

,

and

not

a

god

.

For

the

falsehood

of

the

poets

does

not

consist

in

the

deed

,

but

in

the

name

.

For

they

feared

evil

,

if

,

in

opposition

to

the

general

persuasion

,

they

should

acknowledge

that

which

was

true

.

But

if

this

is

agreed

upon

among

themselves

,

that

gods

were

made

from

men

,

why

then

do

they

not

believe

the

poets

,

if

at

any

time

they

describe

their

banishments

and

wounds

,

their

deaths

,

and

wars

,

and

adulteries

?

From

which

things

it

may

be

understood

that

they

could

not

possibly

become

gods

,

since

they

were

not

even

good

men

,

and

during

their

life

they

performed

those

actions

which

bring

forth

everlasting

death

.