On the Sole Government of God
Chapter 5: The Empty Claims of False Gods
But regarding those who believe they will share the holy and perfect name, which some have received through a vain tradition as if they were gods, Menander in the Auriga says:—“If there exists a god who walks out with an old woman, or who enters by stealth into houses through the folding doors, he can never please me; no, only the one who stays at home, a just and righteous God, to give salvation to His worshippers.”
The same Menander, in the Sacerdos, says:—“There is no God, O woman, who can save one person by another; if indeed a person, with the sound of tinkling cymbals, can charm a god wherever he wishes, then surely the one who does so is the greater god. But these, O Rhode, are merely the cunning schemes which bold, shameless men of intrigue invent to earn themselves a living, and become a laughing-stock of the times.”
Once again, the same Menander, expressing his opinion about those who are considered gods, actually proving that they are not, says: "Yes, if I saw this, I would wish for my soul to return to me. For tell me where, O Getas, in the world is it possible to find righteous gods?"
In the Depositum:—“There’s an unrighteous judgment, it seems, even with the gods.”
And Euripides the tragedian, in Orestes, says:—“Apollo, having caused by his command The murder of the mother, does not know What honesty and justice mean. We serve the gods, whoever they may be; But from the central regions of the earth You see Apollo clearly gives responses To mortals, and whatever he says we do. I obeyed him, when she who bore me fell Slain by my hand: he is the wicked man. Then slay him, for it was he who sinned, not I. What could I do? Do you not think that the god Should free me from the blame which I bear?”
The same also in Hippolytus:—“But on these points the gods do not judge correctly.”
And in Ion:—“But what interest do I have in the daughter of Erechtheus? She's not related to people like me. But when I come with golden vessels for libations, I shall sprinkle the dew, and yet I must warn Apollo of his deeds; for when he marries maidens by force, he secretly betrays the children he fathers, and then neglects them when they're dying. Thus not you; but while you can, always pursue virtues, for the gods will surely punish the wicked. How is it right that you, who have set laws for men’s guidance, live unrighteously? But being absent, I shall speak freely, and you shall give satisfaction to men for forced marriages, you Neptune, Jupiter, who presides over heaven. You have emptied the temples, while you repay injustice. And though you praise the prudent to the skies, yet you have filled your hands with wickedness. It's no longer right to call men wicked if they imitate the sins of gods; no, let their teachers rather be evil.”
And in Archelaus:—“Very often, my son, do gods confuse mankind.”
And in Bellerophon:—“They are not gods, who do not do what is right.”
And again in the same:—“Gods reign in heaven most certainly, says one; But it is false,— -yes, false, -and let not him who speaks thus, be so foolish as to use ancient tradition, or to pay regard to my words: but with an unclouded eye see the matter in its clearest light. Absolute power, I say, robs people of life and property; breaks pledged faith; nor spares even cities, but with cruel hand despoils and devastates them ruthlessly. But those who do these things have more success than those who live a gentle pious life; and small cities, I know, which reverence gods, submissively bend before the many spears of larger impious ones; yes, and it seems to me if any person lounges idly, and abstains from working with their hands for sustenance, yet prays to the gods; they will very soon know if the gods will avert misfortunes from them.”
And Menander in Diphilus:—“Therefore, we ascribe praise and great honor to Him who is the Father and Lord of all; the sole maker and preserver of mankind, and who has filled our earth with all good things.”
In the Piscatores, it is also written: "For I believe that which sustains my life is God; but He who usually meets the needs of men does not need any supplies from us, as He is all in all."
The same in the Brothers:—“God is always intelligence to those who are righteous: so wisest men have thought.”
And in the Tibicinæ:—“Good reason finds a temple in all things where to worship; for what is the mind but simply the voice of God within us placed?”
Here's the passage translated into modern English:
And the tragedian in Phrixus:—"But if the pious and the impious share the same fate, how can we consider it just if Jove, the best, does not judge rightly?"
In Philoctetes:—"You see how honorable gain is considered, even to the gods; and how the one is admired whose shrine is filled most with yellow gold. What, then, stops you, since it is good to be like gods, from accepting gain this way?"
In Hecuba:—“O Jupiter! whoever you may be, about whom all knowledge fails except in word;”
and, "Jupiter, whether you are truly a great necessity or the mind of man, I worship you!"