FOR answere to the xije. argument y graunte the ie. premisse of the argument, and y denye the ije. pre|mysse of it; which ije. premisse is this: That bothe Iewis and hethen men worschipiden ymagis for Goddis, whiche thei wisten be [ben, MS. (first hand).] mad bi mannys hondis,—if thilk premysse be vndirstonde thus, that thei wor|schipiden eny suche ymagis withoute more therto sett, as for eny ful hool God. For that this is vntrewe y schal schewe bi witnessing of Holi Scripture, and bi witnessing of him which was an ydolatrer and a greet clerk among hethen men, (whos name is Hermes Tris|megistus, [Trimegistus, MS., and so also below.] ) and also bi doom of resoun. First, bi tes|timonye of Holi Scripture thus. It is writun in the lxxxxve. Psalme thus: Alle goddis of hethen men ben feendis, forsothe God made heuenes. But so it is, that noon ymagis maad bi mennys hondis ben feendis or weren euere feendis. Wherfore no Goddis of hethen men ben or weren oonli ymagis mad bi mennys hondis. Certis this argument is so formal a sillogisme that no man may denye his forme in proceding: and the firste premysse is witnessid pleinli bi Holi Scripture in lxxxxve. Psalme, and the ije. premysse is open and sure ynouȝ in ech mannis resoun. Wherfore the con|clusioun of the same argument is also needis to be trewe.
Also Hermes Trismegistus in his book, (as Austyn rehercid, [Lib.] viij. De Civ. Dei, c. xxiij. and c. xxiiij. ["Ille (Hermes Trismegistus) visibilia et contrectabilia simulacra velut corpora Deorum esse asserit; inesse autem his quosdam spiritus invitatos, qui valeant aliquid, sive ad nocendum, sive ad desideria eorum nonnulla complenda, à quibus eis divini honores et cultus obsequia deferuntur." S. Aug., De Civ. Dei, lib. viii. c. 23., where much more may be seen to the same purpose. The work referred to by S. Augus|tine is the Asclepius, or …, a Neo-Platonic production, which may be assigned to the third century after Christ, being probably the earliest of the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.] ,) seith pleinli, "that tho ymagis whiche he
