Ἐντεῦθεν οἱ μὲν ἥλιον, οἱ δὲ σελήνην, οἱ δὲ 3 φύσει] + καὶ e || 10 ποιησαι] σασθαι e ǁ 11 om ἐστιν e 1. τίς οὖν ἡ μ. κτλ.] By what contrivance, he asks, can we construct an imagnation of God out of these materials and yet not identified with them? How can we use words like ‘light’ and ‘love’ to help us in representing Him to our minds, and yet eliminate from the representation notions which are of the very essence of ‘light’ and ‘love’ as known to us?—The sentence is elliptical: ἡ μηχ. is not the φαντασία which we attempt to form ἐκ τούτων·. in full it would be something like τίς ἡ μηχ. ἐκ τούτων τε συλλέγεσθαι φ. κ. μ. τ. 2. ἢ πῶς τ. π.] Supposing the difficulty last stated to be sur- mounted, how can we reconcile the thought of God's absolute unity with that of a combination of separate images, even when these images are carried to their perfection? 3. κάμνει] ‘wearies itself...so long ἃς it investigates.’ 8. σφαδάζουσα] ‘to plunge,’ a restive horse. 9. δεύτερον π. πλοῦν] a well- known proverb, like ‘trying the second string.’ The mind itself unable to comprehend God, but it cannot give up trying. Two alternatives lie before it; either to fall into idolatry, or to use nature as a suggestion of what is above nature. 10. κακῶς κακῶς εἰδυῖα] ‘and it makes a great mistake.’ 15. ζημιωθῆναι θ.] It was the fear of this ζημία, as Gr. has said, which led to idolatry (in the wide sense of the word); and by idolatry they incurred it. 14. Some, impatient of the struggle, sink into worship of natural objects, or of images. 17. ἐντεῦθεν] sc. διὰ τῆς μεγαλοπρ. τ. ὁρ. Cp. Wisd. xiii 3. ἀστέρων πλῆθος, οἱ δὲ οὐρανὸν αὐτὸν ἅμα τούτοις, οἷς καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἄγειν δεδώκασι κατὰ τὸ ποιὸν ἢ ποσὸν τῆς κινήσεως· οἱ δὲ τὰ στοιχεῖα, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, διὰ τὸ χρειῶδες, ὧν ἄνευ οὐδὲ συστῆναι δυνατὸν τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον· οἱ δὲ ὅ τι τύχοιεν ἕκαστος τῶν ὁρατῶν ἐσεβάσθησαν, ὧν ἑώρων τὰ κάλλιστα θεοὺς προστησάμενοι. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ εἰκόνας καὶ πλάσματα, πρῶτα μὲν τῶν οἰκείων, οἵ γε περιπαθέστεροι καὶ σωματικώτεροι, καὶ τιμῶντες τοὺς ἀπελθόντας τοῖς ὑπομνήμασιν· ἔπειτα καὶ τῶν ξένων, οἱ μετ’ ἐκείνους καὶ μακρὰν ἀπ’ ἐκείνων, ἀγνοίᾳ τῆς πρώτης φύσεως, καὶ ἀκολουθίᾳ τῆς παραδοθείσης τιμῆς, ὡς ἐννόμου καὶ ἀναγκαίας, ἐπειδὴ χρόνῳ τὸ ἔθος βεβαιωθὲν ἐνομίσθη νόμος. οἶμαι δὲ καὶ δυναστείαν τινὲς θεραπεύοντες, καὶ ῥώμην ἐπαινέσαντες, καὶ κάλλος θαυμάσαντες, θεὸν ἐποίησαν τῷ χρόνῳ τὸν τιμώμενον, προσλαβόμενοί τινα καὶ μῦθον τῆς ἐξαπάτης ἐπίκουρον.