BOOK II
CONTENTS
I. Epitome of Egyptian theology, and how it was transmitted to the Greeks; and that we have had good reason for abandoning it all p. 45 a
That the theology current among the Greeks is of later introduction p. 52 b
II. Epitome of the mythological tales among the Greeks concerning their gods and heroes p. 52 d
III. Of the secret initiations and cryptic mysteries of their polytheistic delusion p. 61 c
IV. By what considerations we were led to withdraw from the opinions of the Greeks concerning the gods p. 67 d
V. Summary of the preceding arguments p. 69 b
VI. That what they call the temples of their gods are the tombs of dead men p. 71 a
The opinion of the ancients concerning the gods p. 73 b
Of the physical and forsooth more venerable theology of the Greeks p. 74 a
VII. What Plato thought of the theology of the ancients p. 75 d
VIII. Of the theology of the Romans p. 78 a
PREFACE
The theology of the Phoenicians is of the character described above, and the word of salvation teaches us in the gospel to escape from it without looking back, and earnestly to seek the remedy for this madness of the ancients.
Now it must be manifest that these are not fables and poetic fictions containing some theory concealed in covert meanings, but true testimonies, as they would say themselves, of ancient and wise theologians, comprising records of earlier date than all poets and historians, and deriving the credibility of their statements from the names and history of the gods prevailing to the present day in the cities and villages of Phoenicia, and from the mysteries celebrated among the inhabitants of each. This must be manifest, I say, from the confession both of the other historians and especially of their reputed theologians; for they hereby testified that the ancients who first composed the account of the gods did not refer at all to figurative descriptions of physical phenomena, nor make allegories of the myths concerning the gods, but preserved the histories in their literal form. For this was shown by the words already quoted of the authors whom I have mentioned; so that there is no longer need to search up forced physical explanations, since the proof which the facts bring with them of themselves is quite clear.
Such, then, is the theology of the Phoenicians. But it is time to pass on and review that of the Egyptians also. in order to observe carefully and understand exactly whether our revolt from them is not well judged and reasonable, and whether it has not been successful upon the sole evidence of the gospel first of all among the Egyptians themselves, and then among those also who are of like mind with them.
Now the whole Egyptian history has been translated at large into the language of the Greeks, and especially the part concerning their theology, by Manetho the Egyptian, both in the Sacred Book written by him, and in other of his works. Moreover, Diodorus, whom we mentioned before, collected his narratives from many sources, and described the customs of the several nations with the utmost possible accuracy: and being an eminent man, who had won no small reputation for learning among all lovers of literature, and had made a collection of all ancient history, and connected the earliest with the subsequent events, he adopted the theology of the Egyptians as the commencement of his whole treatise.
I think it better, therefore, to draw the representation of the subject before us from that treatise, as his writings are likely to be better known to the Greeks. This, then, is what he narrates word for word: