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§ LXVII. On the vanity of philosophers And a large crowd of this kind of philosophers approaches me, like some kind of monster, and shows an unprecedented picture of alien demons, composing myths full of senile nonsense. We are so far from allowing adults to listen to such speeches that we do not even teach our own children, as they say, when they cry, to calm down by listening to fairy tales, for fear of feeding with the child the atheism proclaimed by those people who consider themselves wise, but in fact know no more than babies. Why, O philosophy, I conjure you to answer in the name of truth, do you show to our eyes those who believed in you given over to the power of flow, rotation and disorderly whirling? Why do you fill life with ghosts, making gods out of wind, air, fire, earth, stones, wood, iron, or this universe, talking about celestial phenomena and chatting with people who are really deceived by the notorious astrology (not astronomy) about the fact that wandering stars are also gods? I strive for the Lord of the winds, the Lord of fire, the Creator of the universe, the One who gives light to the sun. I seek God, not God's creation. § LXVIII. Plato - a helper in the search for truth Who will you give me as an assistant in my search? After all, we have not completely rejected you. Perhaps Plato. Where, O Plato, should we look for God? It is difficult to find the Father and Creator of everything, and once found, it is impossible to tell everyone about Him. Why, tell us for God’s sake! For it is inexpressible in words. Wonderful, O Plato, you are touching the truth! But drive away fatigue: let’s begin the search for the Good together, for in all people in general, especially in those who spend a lot of time in science, a certain divine stream flows drop by drop. For this reason, even against their will, they recognize that God is one, undying and unborn, always abiding above, in the heavens, as if at his own observation post. Tell me, how should I imagine God? Looking at everything, invisible people - says Euripides. Menander, it seems to me, is mistaken when he asserts: You, O sun, we must honor first of all After all, you allow us to look at other gods. For it is not the sun that will show the true God, but a sound mind, which is the sun of the soul. Only with its help, when it rises and illuminates the depths of the mind, do the eyes of the soul begin to see. As a result, Democritus, not without reason, says: Few of the intelligent people, stretching out their hands to what we Hellenes now call air, came up with Zeus: after all, he knows everything, gives everything and takes away, and is the king of everything. And Plato, thinking in this way, means God: Everything is in the power of the king of the universe, He is the cause of everything beautiful. § LXIX. Truth is realized through God Who is the king of the universe? God is the measure of the truth of existence. Just as what is measured is perceived by means of a standard, so truth is measured and understood by the knowledge of God. Moses, truly involved in holiness, says: “There will not be two weights, large and small, in your bag, and there will not be in your house a measure, large and small, but you will have a true and right weight” (Deut. 25:13-15), considering God to be the weight, the measure and number of everything. After all, worthless and unfaithful idols are hidden in a sack at home and, so to speak, in a stained soul; the only true standard, the truly unique God, always being the same, measures and weighs everything, as if on a scale, with His justice, embracing and maintaining in balance the nature of all things. God, as the ancient saying says, possessing the beginning, end and middle of everything that exists, makes a straight path, circumventing the universe according to nature. Justice follows Him, punishing those who deviate from the divine law. § LXX. Plato's teachers are barbarian peoples Where did you get these glimpses of knowledge of truth, O Plato? Where did this generous source of pious words come from? “From wiser,” he says, “than the Greeks, barbarian tribes.” I know your teachers, even if you want to hide them: you learn geometry from the Egyptians, astronomy from the Babylonians, you borrow healing spells from the Thracians. The Assyrians also taught you a lot. You received the true laws and ideas about God from the Jews themselves, Those who, without falling into empty delusions, the deeds of men - Made of silver, gold and copper and bone, Stone and wood - idols of the mortal dead - are not valued Just as superstitious people honor them, But they raise their immaculate hands to heaven, When getting up from bed in the morning, the whole body is always washed With pure water they honor only the Ruler, alien to death, § LXXI. Antisthenes, Xenophon and Sibyl Imagine to me, O philosophy, not only this Plato, but also many others, who proclaim that only one and only God is God, according to His inspiration, when they happen to grasp the truth. God is not like anything and therefore no one can know Him on the basis of an image. This thought that came to Antisthenes’s head is not Cynic; he expressed it as a student of Socrates. And the Athenian Xenophon would have expressed in precise words something concerning the truth, testifying to it in the same way as Socrates, if he had not been afraid of Socrates’ poison. He hints at the truth no less than his teacher. He who shakes everything, he says, and who calms down reveals himself to be great and mighty. What its shape is is unknown. And the sun, which seems clearly visible because of its radiance, does not allow anyone to look at it, and if someone looks at it impudently, it takes away their sight. Where else did the son of Grylla acquire this vision, if not from the Jewish prophetess, who proclaimed the following: Flesh that can see God with its eyes (True, He dwells in the heavenly chamber, immortal)? The onslaught of even the rays sent by the hot sun, Is a mortal unable to stand it and invariably looks away? The pedagogue Cleanthes, a Stoic philosopher, expounds not poetic theogony, but true theology. He did not hide what he understood about God: You asked me about the good. Here's my answer: Order, justice, holiness, piety, Power over oneself, benefit, beauty it is, Severity, severity, benefit is always in everything, Fearlessness, carelessness, painlessness, Support, favor, loyalty, friendship, Care and modesty, meekness, glory, power, Immortality, purity, eternal eternity, A slave is anyone who looks at the opinion of the crowd, Hoping to make a profit from it. I think Cleanthes here clearly shows what God is like, and also how public opinion and custom enslave those who follow them rather than seek Him. One cannot remain silent about the Pythagoreans who say: God is one, and He is not outside the world order, as some believe, but in Him, all in a full circle, the Guardian of every birth, the mixture of all ages, the Creator of His own powers and all works, the Light in the sky and the Father of everything, the Mind and spirituality of the full circle, the movement of everything. For the knowledge of God by those who are able to discern at least a little of the truth, this, written down by the inspiration of God by philosophers and selected by us, is sufficient.