§10Ita cum idcirco proponis deorum saecularium ornamenta etiam apud deum deprehendi, ut inter haec coronam quoque capitis communi usui vindices, ipse tibi iam praescribis non habendum in communionem usus apud nos quod non inveniatur in dei rebus.
, when you bring forward the ornaments of the secular gods as being found also with God, in order to claim the crown of the head as well for common use, you already prescribe for yourself that what is not found in the things of God must not be admitted into the communion of use among us.
Quid enim tam indignum deo quam quod dignum idolo? Quid autem tam dignum idolo quam quod et mortuo? Nam et mortuorum est ita coronari. vel quoniam et ipsi idola statim fiunt et habitu et cultu consecrationis, quae apud nos secunda idololatria est.
For what is so unworthy of God as that which is worthy of an idol? And what is so worthy of an idol as that which is also worthy of a dead person? For it is also the custom of the dead to be thus crowned; or because they themselves also immediately become idols by the very garb and worship of consecration, which among us is a second idolatry.
Igitur qui careant sensu, illorum erit perinde uti ea re, cuius careant sensu, atque si abuti ea vellent, si sensu non carerent.
Therefore, as for those who lack sense, it will be the same for them to use that thing of which they lack sense, as if they wished to abuse it, if they did not lack sense.
Nulla vero distantia est abutendi, cum veritas cessat utendi.
But there is indeed no difference of abusing, when the truth of using ceases.
Cessante natura sentiendi, qua vult, quis abutatur, cum non habeat qua utatur? Nobis autem abuti apud apostolum non licet, facilius non uti docentem, nisi quod nec abutuntur qui nihil sentiunt.
When the faculty of feeling ceases, how could anyone abuse it as they wish, since they do not have the means by which to use it? But to us, according to the apostle, it is not permitted to abuse, who rather teaches us not to use; except that those who feel nothing do not even abuse.
Sed vacat totum et est ipsum quoque opus mortuum, quantum in idolis, vivum plane, quantum in daemoniis, ad quae pertinet superstitio.
But the whole thing is vain and is itself also a dead work, as far as idols are concerned; but clearly alive, as far as demons are concerned, to which the superstition belongs.
Idola nationum, inquit David, argentum gentum et aurum.
The idols of the nations, says David, are silver and gold.
Oculos habent, nec vident, nares, nec odorantur, manus, nec contrectabunt.
They have eyes, and see not; noses, and smell not; hands, and they shall not handle.
Per haec enim floribus frui est.
For it is through these that one enjoys flowers.
Quod si tales edicit futuros qui idola fabricantur, tales iam sunt qui secundum idolorum ornatum quid utuntur.
And if he declares that those who make idols will become like them, those are already such who use anything according to the ornament of idols.
Omnia munda mundis, ita et immunda omnia immundis, nihil autem immundius idolis.
To the pure all things are pure, and likewise to the defiled all things are defiled; but nothing is more defiled than idols.
Ceterum substantiae mundae, ut dei res, et hac sua conditione communes usui.
Otherwise, substances are pure, as they are God's creations, and by this condition of theirs they are open to common use.
Sed et ipsius usus administratio interest.
But there is a difference in the administration of the use itself.
Nam et ego mihi gallinaceum macto, non minus quam Aesculapio Socrates, et si me odor alicuius loci offenderit, Arabiae aliquid incendo, sed non eodem ritu nec eodem habitu nec eodem apparatu quo agitur apud idola.
For I too slaughter a cock for myself, no less than Socrates did for Aesculapius; and if the smell of any place offends me, I burn something of Arabia, but not with the same rite, nor in the same garb, nor with the same apparatus with which it is done among idols.
Si enim verbo nudo conditio polluitur, ut apostolus docet, Si quis autem dixerit, Hoc idolothytum est, non contigeris, multo magis, cum habitu et ritu et apparatu idolothytorum contaminatur.
For if by a mere word the condition is polluted, as the apostle teaches, 'But if anyone should say, This is offered to an idol, do not touch it,' much more is it contaminated by the garb and rite and apparatus of things offered to idols.
Ita et corona idolothytum efficitur.
Thus also the crown becomes a thing offered to idols.
Hoc enim ritu et habitu et apparatu idolis immolatur auctoribus suis, quorum eo vel maxime proprius est usus, ne in communionem possit admitti quod in dei rebus non invenitur.
For by this rite, garb, and apparatus, it is immolated to the idols who are its authors, whose use of it is so especially proper to them, so that what is not found in the things of God cannot be admitted into common use.
Propterea apostolus inclamat, Fugite idololatriam! Omnem utique et totam.
Therefore the apostle cries out, 'Flee from idolatry!'—indeed, all of it and entirely.
Recogita silvam et quantae latitant spinae.
Think of the forest and how many thorns lie hidden there.
Nihil dandum idolo, sic nec sumendum ab idolo.
Nothing must be given to an idol, and likewise nothing taken from an idol.
Si in idolio recumbere alienum est a fide, quid in idoli habitu videri? Quae communio Christo et Beliae? Et ideo fugite.
If to recline in an idol's temple is alien to faith, what is it to be seen in the garb of an idol? What communion has Christ with Belial? And therefore flee.
Longum enim divortium mandat ab idololatria, in nullo proxime agendum.
For he commands a long divorce from idolatry, not to be acted in any close proximity.
Draco etiam terrenus de longinquo homines spiritu absorbet.
Even the earthly dragon sucks in men with its breath from a distance.
Altius Iohannes, Filioli, inquit, custodite vos ab idolis! non iam ab idololatria quasi officio, sed ab idolis, id est ab ipsa effigie eorum.
John says more deeply, 'Little children, keep yourselves from idols!'—no longer now from idolatry as a duty, but from idols, that is, from the very image of them.
Indignum enim, ut imago dei vivi imago idoli et mortui fias.
For it is unworthy that you, the image of the living God, should become the image of an idol and of a dead thing.
Usque adhuc proprietatem istius habitus et ex originis censu et ex superstitionis usu idolis vindicamus, ex eo praeterea, quod dum in rebus dei non refertur, magis magisque illorum deputatur, in quorum et antiquitatibus et sollemnitatibus et officiis convenitur.
Up to this point we claim the propriety of this garb for idols, both from the assessment of its origin and from its superstitious use, and furthermore from this, that while it is not recorded in the things of God, it is more and more assigned to those in whose antiquities, solemnities, and offices it is met with.
Ipsae denique fores, et ipsae hostiae et arae, ipsi ministri ac sacerdotes eorum coronantur.
In short, their very doors, and their very victims and altars, and their ministers and priests themselves are crowned.
Habes omnium collegiorum sacerdotalium coronas apud Claudium.
You have the crowns of all the priestly colleges in Claudius.
Sed et illam interstruximus distinctionem differentium rationalium et irrationalium eis occurrentem, qui communionem in omnibus de quorundam exemplorum occasione defendunt.
But we have also inserted that distinction between rational and irrational things, meeting those who defend the common use of all things on the occasion of certain examples.
Ad hanc itaque partem causas iam ipsas coronarias inspici superest, ut, dum ostendimus extraneas, immo et contrarias disciplinae, nullam earum rationis patrocinio fultam probemus, quod posset habitus huiusmodi quoque communioni vindicari, sicut et quidam, quorum exempla nobis obiectantur.
Therefore, as for this part, it remains to inspect the very causes of crowning, so that, while we show them to be foreign, indeed even contrary to our discipline, we may prove that none of them is supported by the patronage of reason, which might otherwise claim this kind of garb also for common use, as is done with certain things whose examples are objected to us.