{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>First of all, we would ask why their gods took no steps to\r\nimprove the morals of their worshippers. That the true God\r\nshould neglect those who did not seek His help, that was but\r\njustice; but why did those gods, from whose worship ungrateful\r\nmen are now complaining that they are prohibited, issue\r\nno laws which might have guided their devotees to a virtuous\r\nlife? Surely it was but just, that such care as men showed\r\nto the worship of the gods, the gods on their part should have\r\nto the conduct of men. But, it is replied, it is by his own\r\nwill a man goes astray. Who denies it? But none the less\r\nwas it incumbent on these gods, who were men's guardians,\r\nto publish in plain terms the laws of a good life, and not to<span class=\"pagenum\"><a id=\"Page_52\">[Pg 52]</a></span>\r\nconceal them from their worshippers. It was their part to\r\nsend prophets to reach and convict such as broke these laws,\r\nand publicly to proclaim the punishments which await evildoers,\r\nand the rewards which may be looked for by those that\r\ndo well. Did ever the walls of any of their temples echo to\r\nany such warning voice? I myself, when I was a young\r\nman, used sometimes to go to the sacrilegious entertainments\r\nand spectacles; I saw the priests raving in religious excitement,\r\nand heard the choristers; I took pleasure in the shameful\r\ngames which were celebrated in honour of gods and goddesses,\r\nof the virgin Cœlestis,<a id=\"FNanchor_85_85\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_85_85\">[85]</a> and Berecynthia,<a id=\"FNanchor_86_86\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_86_86\">[86]</a> the mother of all the\r\ngods. And on the holy day consecrated to her purification,\r\nthere were sung before her couch productions so obscene and\r\nfilthy for the ear—I do not say of the mother of the gods, but\r\nof the mother of any senator or honest man—nay, so impure,\r\nthat not even the mother of the foul-mouthed players themselves\r\ncould have formed one of the audience. For natural\r\nreverence for parents is a bond which the most abandoned\r\ncannot ignore. And, accordingly, the lewd actions and filthy\r\nwords with which these players honoured the mother of the\r\ngods, in presence of a vast assemblage and audience of both\r\nsexes, they could not for very shame have rehearsed at home\r\nin presence of their own mothers. And the crowds that were\r\ngathered from all quarters by curiosity, offended modesty\r\nmust, I should suppose, have scattered in the confusion of\r\nshame. If these are sacred rites, what is sacrilege? If this\r\nis purification, what is pollution? This festivity was called\r\nthe Tables,<a id=\"FNanchor_87_87\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_87_87\">[87]</a> as if a banquet were being given at which unclean\r\ndevils might find suitable refreshment. For it is not difficult<span class=\"pagenum\"><a id=\"Page_53\">[Pg 53]</a></span>\r\nto see what kind of spirits they must be who are delighted\r\nwith such obscenities, unless, indeed, a man be blinded by\r\nthese evil spirits passing themselves off under the name of\r\ngods, and either disbelieves in their existence, or leads such a\r\nlife as prompts him rather to propitiate and fear them than the\r\ntrue God.</p>","headings":["THE WORKS OF AURELIUS AUGUSTINE,","BOOK SECOND.","ARGUMENT."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg45304-paragraph-124"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"699f3210b2a5aeeacb3c8c5d4bba61ee519237db4b7c1ee6b4d080bd7f75fc90","edition_title":"The City of God, Volume I","edition_translators":["Marcus Dods","George Wilson (Book IV)","J. J. Smith (Books V-VIII)"],"edition_year":1871,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg45304-Footnote_87_87","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Provider catalog reports public domain in the USA. Original transcription title leaves state T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1871; printed translator allocation retained. Gutenberg credits Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries without an exact scan identifier. Full provider license preserved with acquired original; republication and per-work metadata remain unreviewed.","source_anchor":"Footnote_87_87","source_ebook":45304,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a id=\"Footnote_87_87\"></a><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_87_87\"><span class=\"label\">[87]</span></a> \"Fercula,\" dishes, or courses.</p></div>","source_sha256":"d89e9a2b80bb59f394f0fb1bf313b39fab162f06af6642166d62c5912c1195f1","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45304/pg45304-images.html#Footnote_87_87","text_sha256":"1112e8cd7ba11d0875810709e90a8d30e4825fe100b6ffdc6a82d5328c303128","verified":false,"work_id":null}