About the vanity of idols

A small treatise sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage's "On the Vanity of Idols" is an apologetic work written in 248. The author not only reveals the uselessness of idolatry, but also speaks of the veneration of the true God, the Creator of the Universe, preached by the Old Testament prophets and who clothed himself “in man to lead him to the Father.” St. Cyprian proves that idols are not gods, but kings deified after death, and that there is no connection between the pagan cult and the prosperity of the Roman Empire. Only monotheism is a true religion: “One is the Lord of all - God: His greatness cannot have a partner, because He Himself is Almighty.” The created world cannot be governed by more than one ruler, who brings everything into existence by His word, orders it with His mind and accomplishes it with His power. At first, the Jews had grace from the true God, but then they lost it due to violation of the rules of religion, and Christianity took the place of Judaism. *The title of the work in Latin is De idolorum vanitate; another name is Quod idola dii non sint (“That idols are not gods”). Idols are not gods. There is one God, and through Christ salvation is given to believers; Those whom the mob honors are not gods; all this can be seen from the following. Once upon a time there were kings, whom those close to them in royal memory later began to honor even after death: churches were established for them and, in order to retain the faces of the deceased in the image, they sculpted statues, sacrificed sacrifices and solemnly celebrated the days dedicated to them. Subsequently, what those closest to him did for their own consolation became sacred for posterity. Let's see, in particular, whether this was the case everywhere. Melicert and Leucotea are thrown into the sea and then become sea deities; Castors die alternately in order to live; Aesculapius is burned by lightning to become a god; Hercules is incinerated by the fires of Mount Oeta in order to cease to be a man; Apollo tended Admetus' flocks; Neptune built the walls of Laomedon, and the unfortunate builder did not receive payment for his work. On the island of Crete you can see the cave of Jupiter, and his coffin is shown there. It is known that he expelled Saturn from there and the country where he fled received the name Latium 1. Saturn taught letters and was the first in Italy to mint coins, which is why the treasury is called Saturn's. He was also engaged in agriculture and therefore is depicted as an old man carrying a scythe. He, expelled, was sheltered by Janus, from whom he received the name Janiculus and the month Januarius and who is depicted as two-faced, so that, standing as if in the middle, he looks, apparently, at the coming and passing year. But the Moors clearly honor kings and do not hide this with anything. And therefore, the veneration of the gods varies according to the differences between peoples and regions, so that not one god is revered by everyone, but each one observes his own veneration of his ancestors. Alexander the Great, in his famous book, writes to his mother that the priest, out of fear of his power, conveyed to him the secret about the human gods - that preserving the memory of ancestors and kings served as the reason for the rituals of celebrations and sacrifices. But if gods were ever born, then why are they not born now? Has Jupiter grown old or has Juno become barren? And why do you consider those gods powerful for the Romans who could not defend their own against their weapons? For we know the native gods of the Romans. They have Romulus, who through the perjury of Procudus became a god; there is Picus, Tiberinus, Pilumnus and Kone - the god of deception, whom Romulus, after the treacherous abduction of the Sabine women, ordered to be honored as the god of advice. Tatius found and honored the goddess Cloacina 2, Hostilius - Pavor and Pallor. Soon, I don’t know by whom, Febris, Alka and Flora are idolized - dissolute women. These are the Roman gods! Further, Thracian Mars, Cretan Jupiter, Juno of Argos, Samos and Phoenicians, Diana Tauride and the mother of the gods Idaea, as well as Egyptian monsters are not deities, because if they had any power, they would have reserved their kingdoms for their own. True, the Romans also have defeated Penates, which were brought by the fugitive - Aeneas; There is also a bald Venus, which is much more vile than Homer’s ulcerated Venus. As for kingdoms, they are not transferred according to merit, but change one by one. So before, as you know, the Assyrians, Medes and Persians ruled; the Greeks and Egyptians reigned; Then, with a successive change of authorities, the time came for the Romans to rule over others. But the beginning of their reign brings shame. A crowd of villains and robbers gathers and, having established a refuge for impunity for crimes, increases its number. Then, so that the king would be the first in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide and, in order to introduce marriage, the love affair will begin with discord. They kidnap, rampage, and deceive to increase the number of citizens. Their marriages mean violated rights of hospitality and cruel wars with relatives. The highest dignity among the Romans is the consulate; but the consulate began in the same way as the kingdom: Brutus kills his sons in order to raise the glory of this dignity with the rumor of such an atrocity. So, it was not through the observance of religious rituals, not through omens and prophecies, that the dominion of the Romans increased, but they simply guarded the increased time until a certain date. However, Regulus obeyed the omens and was captured and defeated; Mantzin also adhered to religion and fell under the yoke. Paul kept chickens for divination based on the grains they ate and, however, was killed at Cannae; and Caesar, neglecting the prophecies and omens that forbade him to sail to Africa before winter, sailed there all the more conveniently and won. In all things, the tricks, deception and seduction of a stupid and gullible people are signs that obscure the truth. There are unclean wandering spirits who, mired in worldly vices and separated from the heavenly power through addiction to earthly things, do not cease - the lost themselves - to destroy, the depraved themselves - to spread depravity. Poets know them under the name of demons, and Socrates said that he receives instructions from a demon and is controlled by his arbitrariness. The most famous of the Magi (and the Magi borrow from them the power for their actions, both harmful and pleasure), Gostan, rejecting the opportunity to see the image of the true God, says that true angels stand before His throne. Plato also agrees with this, who, recognizing one God, calls the others angels or demons. Hermes Trismegistus also speaks of one God and calls Him incomprehensible and invaluable. So, these deified spirits are hidden under the statues and images. They inspire the hearts of soothsayers, enliven the nerves of exiles, control the flight of birds, dominate destinies, make divinations, always mixing lies with the truth, so that they themselves deceive; they disturb life, disturb sleep and, invading bodies secretly, frighten minds, disfigure members, spoil health, cause illnesses in order to force them to honor themselves; when, satiated with the smell of altars and the fires of animals, they leave what they have held, then they seem to be healers, because the healing from them lies in stopping their slander. Their main concern is to distract people from God, to divert people from the understanding of true religion to superstitious veneration of themselves, and, since they themselves are condemned to execution, to look for participants in the execution in those whom they will manage to deceive into participating in their crime. However, when we conjure them by the true God, they immediately yield, confess and are forced to leave the bodies they contain. See how, from our voice and the action of the hidden majesty, they are scourged, roasted as if by fire, from the addition of the ongoing execution they stretch out, howl, moan, beg out loud to their admirers themselves, confess where they came from and where they will go: then they either immediately leave or disappear gradually, depending on how the faith of the sufferer helps or the grace of the one who bestows helps. For this reason, they try to instill hatred towards us in the crowd, so that people begin to hate us before they know, so that, having known, they would not imitate us or stop condemning us. So, there is one Lord of all - God: His greatness cannot have a partner, because He Himself is Almighty. For the sovereignty of God, let us take an example from earthly objects. Did a joint reign ever begin with fidelity or did it end without bloodshed? Among the Thebans, kinship was broken, and even death did not end discord in hostile fires. The Roman twins, carried together in one womb, could not be contained in one kingdom. Pompey and Caesar were relatives and, however, did not maintain a natural union due to jealousy of power. And it is not surprising to see this in people, when the same is noticed in all of nature. One queen for bees, one leader for herds, one leader for herds. Moreover, there is only one ruler of the world, who holds everything that exists by word, commands reason, and accomplishes it by force. He cannot be seen - He is too bright for sight, nor touched - He is too pure for touch, nor appreciated - He is beyond concept; and then we honor Him worthily when we call Him invaluable. What kind of church can God have, whose church is the whole world? How to enclose the power of so much majesty in one small building, when a person lives more luxuriously? We must worship Him in our minds, honor Him in our hearts. And do not seek a name for God: God is His name. Words are needed where it is necessary to amaze the mob with your own differences in names; and for God, Who is only one, everything is contained in the word “God.” He is one and everywhere present, so that the mob recognizes one God in many, when the mind and ears receive a reminder of their culprit and ruler. We often hear people say: “Oh God!”, “God knows,” “I entrust it to God,” “may God reward you,” “as God pleases,” “if God willing.” That is why the greatest crime is not to want to know God, Whom it is impossible not to know. But in order, about Christ and how salvation was given to us through Him. At first, the Jews had grace from God: since ancient times they were righteous, so their ancestors observed the rules of religion! That is why their kingdom reached the most flourishing state and the greatness of the family arose. But then, when they became careless, unpunished and proud, relying too much on their forefathers, they despised the divine commandments, they lost the grace given to them. And how unclean their lives became, how offensively they violated religion, they themselves now testify, if not in words, then in events: absent-minded and pale, they wander, deprived of their land and sky - they seek shelter among strangers. Meanwhile, God had already foretold that at the end of the century and as the end of the world approaches, He will gather for Himself from every language, people and place more faithful and more obedient worshipers, and they will draw from divine gifts the grace that was given to the Jews, but which they, through violation of the rules of religion, lost. And so the Word, the Son of God, the enlightener and teacher of the human race, foreshadowed by all the former prophets, is sent as the administrator of grace and the instructor of deanery. He - the power of God, His mind, wisdom and glory - inhabits the Virgin, the Holy Spirit dresses in flesh, God unites with man. He - our God, Christ, the mediator between the Father and us - puts on man in order to lead him to the Father. Christ wanted to be what man is, so that man could be what Christ is. The Jews knew that Christ would come, because the prophets always reminded them of this in their predictions. But since the prophets signified His twofold coming: one in which He was to appear as a man in His actions and image, and the other in which He would be recognized as God, the Jews, not understanding the first coming, which secretly preceded it in suffering, believe only in one, which will be revealed in power. Such misunderstanding on the part of the Jews was a deserved consequence of their sins; they were punished with blindness in wisdom and understanding so that, being unworthy of life, they did not see life, although they had it before their eyes. And therefore, when Jesus Christ, as the prophets predicted before, by His word and command cast out demons from people, healed the paralytic, gave sight to the blind, the ability to walk to the lame, raised the dead, forced the elements to obey Him, the winds to serve, the seas to obey, hell to yield, the Jews, considering Him, by the humility of the flesh and body, only a man, by the freedom of power, recognized him as a sorcerer. Their teachers and elders, whom He put to shame with their teaching and wisdom, inflamed with anger and indignation, pursued Him and, finally, capturing Him, handed Him over to the Roman governor of Syria, Pilate Pontius, violently and persistently demanding crucifixion and death. He Himself predicted that they would do this; and all the prophets testified before that He must suffer, not in order to suffer death, but in order to conquer, and that after suffering He must return again to the highest to show the power of the divine majesty. Thus the course of works fulfilled faith. Having been crucified by the executioner, He willingly gave up the ghost and on the third day rose again by will. He appeared to his disciples as he was, so that when they saw him, they recognized Him. Remaining together, visible through the corporeal being. He stayed with them forty days, instructing them in the commandments of life and teaching them what they were later to teach. Then He is lifted up to Heaven by the cloud that surrounded Him, so that He may lead to the Father as a conqueror the man whom He loved, in whom He clothed Himself, and whom He delivered from death. He will come again from Heaven, but with the power of a punisher and with the power of a Judge, to punish the devil and to judge the human race. Meanwhile, His disciples, according to the command of the Teacher and God, dispersed throughout the world to teach the commandments for salvation, to lead people from the darkness of error to the path of light, to enlighten the blind and ignorant to the knowledge of the truth. For greater firmness of proof, for a more faithful confession of Christ, they are tempted by torture, crosses and many types of executions; sickness is added - a witness to the truth, so that Christ, the Son of God, given to people for life, is proclaimed not only by the preaching of the word, but also by the testimony of suffering. We accompany Him, we follow Him, we have Him as our leader on the way, as the head of light, as the author of salvation, who promises Heaven and the Father to those who seek and taste. Christians! And we will be what Christ is if we imitate Christ. Latium from latebra is a place of refuge. Cloacina from cloaca - a channel for the flow of sewage, where her statue was found.