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Theophilus to Autolycus

Theophilus of Antioch

Book 2 · Chapter 2

About this work

Three books addressed to a pagan friend defending the invisible God, creation, resurrection, Christian morality, and the antiquity of the Hebrew Scriptures against Greco-Roman religion and literature.

Author: Theophilus of Antioch
Date: c. AD 180–185
Origin: Antioch
Genre: Apology

Chapter II.—The Gods are Despised When They are Made; But Become Valuable When Bought.

And in truth it does seem to me

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 1 Book 2 · Chapter 3 ›

absurd

that

statuaries

and

carvers

,

or

painters

,

or

moulders

,

should

both

design

and

paint

,

and

carve

,

and

mould

,

and

prepare

gods

,

who

,

when

they

are

produced

by

the

artificers

,

are

reckoned

of

no

value

;

but

as

soon

as

they

are

purchased

by

some

and

placed

in

some

so

-

called

temple

,

or

in

some

house

,

not

only

do

those

who

bought

them

sacrifice

to

them

,

but

also

those

who

made

and

sold

them

come

with

much

devotion

,

and

apparatus

of

sacrifice

,

and

libations

,

to

worship

them

;

and

they

reckon

them

gods

,

not

seeing

that

they

are

just

such

as

when

they

were

made

by

themselves

,

whether

stone

,

or

brass

,

or

wood

,

or

colour

,

or

some

other

material

.

And

this

is

your

case

,

too

,

when

you

read

the

histories

and

genealogies

of

the

so

-

called

gods

.

For

when

you

read

of

their

births

,

you

think

of

them

as

men

,

but

afterwards

you

call

them

gods

,

and

worship

them

,

not

reflecting

nor

understanding

that

,

when

born

,

they

are

exactly

such

beings

as

ye

read

of

before

.

Notes

1
The words “by some and placed in” are omitted in some editions, but occur in the best mss.