1For all people who were ignorant of God are foolish by nature; and from the good things that are seen they were unable to know him who is, nor did they recognize the Artisan by paying attention to his works.
2But they considered either fire, or wind, or swift air, or the circle of stars, or violent water, or the luminaries of heaven to be gods, the rulers of the world.
3If they were delighted by the beauty of these things and supposed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Master; for the Author of beauty himself created them.
4Or if they were astounded by their power and activity, let them perceive from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.
5For from the greatness and beauty of created things, their Creator is perceived by analogy.
6Yet even these are subject to little blame, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him.
7For they busy themselves with his works and investigate them, and are convinced by the sight, because the things that are seen are beautiful.
8But again, not even they are to be excused.
9For if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they not sooner find the Master of these things?
10But miserable are they, and their hopes are among the dead—those who called the works of human hands gods: gold and silver, a product of art, and likenesses of animals, or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
11Suppose a woodcutter, a craftsman, saws down a manageable tree, skillfully strips off all its bark, and then, fashioning it gracefully, makes a useful vessel for life’s needs;
12and using the scraps from his work to prepare food, he eats his fill.
13Then, taking a scrap from these that was useful for nothing—a crooked piece of wood full of knots—he carved it with the diligence of his leisure and shaped it with the skill of his relaxation, making it in the likeness of a human image,
14or likening it to some worthless animal, smearing it with red ochre and reddening its surface with paint, and covering over every blemish in it.
15And having made a niche for it worthy of it, he set it in a wall, securing it with iron.
16He took precautions for it so that it would not fall, knowing that it is unable to help itself—for it is only an image and needs help.
17Then, when praying about his possessions, his marriages, and his children, he is not ashamed to speak to a lifeless thing. For health he calls upon what is weak;
18for life he asks what is dead; for aid he supplicates what is most helpless; and for a journey, what cannot even take a step.
19and for profit, work, and success for his hands, he asks for strength from what is completely inert in its hands.
Open in the interactive reader →