Wisdom and idolatry (Wis )
The Latin:
Omnia idóla natiónum deos æstimavérunt,
quibus neque oculórum usus est ad vidéndum,
neque nares ad percipiéndum spíritum,
neque aures ad audiéndum,
neque dígiti mánuum ad tractándum,
sed et pedes eórum pigri ad ambulándum.
Homo enim fecit illos ;
et qui spíritum mutuátus est, is finxit illos.
Nemo enim sibi símilem homo póterit deum fíngere.
The English:
They have esteemed all the idols of the heathens for gods,
which neither have the use of eyes to see,
nor noses to draw breath,
nor ears to hear,
nor fingers of hands to handle,
and as for their feet, they are slow to walk.
For man made them:
and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them.
For no man can make a god like to himself.
[Wisdom spends a lot of time with the abominable sin of idolatry. This is important in our age, when people like to think that all religions are equal. Yesterday, I saw a man pay homage to two pictures: one the picture of a man with the head of an elephant who the Hindus call Ganesh and the other the picture of some local saint who people revere but most of them cannot tell me why. In Wis 14, there are some outlines of how a pagan diety is formed.]
