St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

Of the fabulous and pollitike diuinity against Varro. CHAP. 6.

VArro, seeing thou art most acute, and doubtlesse most learned, yet but a man, neither God, nor assisted by Gods spirit in the discouery of truth in diuinity, thou seest this that the diuine affaires are to bee excluded from hu∣maine vanities; and yet thou fearest to offend the peoples vitious opinions and customes in these publike superstitions, being notwithstanding such, as both thy selfe held, and thy written workes affirme to bee directly opposite to the nature of the Deiti•…•…s, or such as mens infirmitie surmized was included in the Elements. What doth this humaine (though excelling) wit of thine in this place? what helpe doth thy great reading afford thee in these straits? Thou art desirous to honor the naturall gods, & forced to worship the ciuill: thou hast found some fabulous ones whom thou darest speak thy minde against: giuing (a) the ciuill some part of their disgrace whether thou wilt or no: for thou saist the fabulous are for the Theater, the naturall for the world, the ciuill for the citty: the world beeing the worke of God, the Theater & Citty of men nor are they other gods that you laugh at, then those you worship: Nor be your plaies exhibited to any but those you sacrifice vnto: how much more subtile were they diuided into some natural, and some insti∣tuted by men? And of these later, the Poets bookes taught one part, and the priests another: yet notwithstanding with such a cohaerence in vntruth y^• the diue•…•… that like no truth approue thē both: but setting aside your natural diuinity (wherof

hereafter) pleaseth it you to aske or hope for life eternall of your Poetique ridi∣culous Stage-goddes? No at no hand. GOD forbid such sacriligious madnesse! Will you expect them of those goddes whome these presentations do please and appease, though their crimes bee the thinges presented: I thinke no man so brain∣lessly sottish. Therefore neither your fabulous diuinity nor your politique can giue you euerlasting life. For the first soweth the goddes turpitude, and the la∣ter by fauouring it, moweth it. The first spread lies, the later collect them. The first hanteth the deities with outragious fixions, & the later imputeth these fixi∣ons to the honour of the deities. The first makes songs of the goddes lasciuious pranks, and the later sings them on the gods feast daies. The first recordeth the wickednesses of the goddes, and the later loueth the rehearsall of those recordes. The first either shameth the goddes, or fayneth of them: The later either wit∣nesseth the truth or delighteth in the fixion. Both are filthy and both are damnable. But the fabulous professeth turpitude openly, and the politique maketh that turpitude her ornament. Is there any hope of life eternall where the temporall suffers such pollution? Or doth wicked company and actes of dis∣honest men pollute our liues, and not the society of those false-adorned, and filthyly adored fiendes? If their faultes be true, how vile are they worshipped? If false, how wicked the worshippers? But some ignorant person may gather from this discourse that it is the poeticall fixions only and Stage-presentments that are derogatory from the Deities glory, but not the Doctrine of the Priests, at any hand; that is pure and holy. Is it so? No, if it were, they would neuer haue giuen order to erect playes for the goddes honour, nor the goddes would neuer haue demaunded it. But the Priestes feared not to present such thinges as the goddes honours in the Theaters, when as they hadde practised the like in the Temples. Lastly our said Author indeauoring to make Politike Diui∣nity of a third nature from the naturall and fabulous, maketh it rather to bee produced from them both, then seuerall from eyther. For hee saith that the Poets write not so much as the people obserue, and the Phylosophers write too much for them to obserue: both w^t notwithstanding they do so eschew that they extract no small part of their ciuill religion from either of them: Where∣fore wee will write of such thinges as the Poetique and the politique diuinities do communicate: Indeed we should acknowledge a greater share from the Phy∣losophers, yet som we must thank the Poets for. Yet in anotherplace of the gods generations, hee saith the people rather followed the Poets then the Phyloso∣phers, for he teacheth what should be don, there what was done: that the Philo∣sophers wrote for vse, the Poets for delight: and therfore the poesies that the peo∣ple must not follow, describe the gods crimes, yet delight both gods and men: for the Poets (as he said) write for delight, and not for vse, yet write such thinges as the gods effect, and the people present them with.

L. VIVES.

GIuing (a) the ciuill] The Coleine readeth Perfundas [which wee translate.] Varro's re∣proches of the fabulous gods must needes light in part vpon the politique goddes, who deriue from the other, and indeed are the very same.