Book V - Snyder Bible

322
being united with the air as with her, its, own brother, so as to
produce beauty, which might be the object of desire, is said to
have given birth to Cupid. In this way, therefore, as we have
said, they teach that Chronos, who is Saturn, is allegorically
time; Rhea is matter; Hadesthat is, Orcusis the depth of
the infernal regions; Neptune is water; Jupiter is airthat is,
the element of heat; Venus is the loveliness of things; Cupid is
desire, which is in all things, and by which posterity is propagated,
or even the reason of things, which gives delight when
wisely looked into. Herathat is, Junois said to be that
middle air which descends from heaven to earth. To Diana,
whom they call Proserpine, they hand over the air below. They
say that Apollo is the Sun himself, which goes round the heaven;
that Mercury is speech, by which a reason is rendered for
everything; that Mars is unrestrained fire, which consumes all
things. But not to delay you by enumerating everything, those
who have the more abstruse intelligence concerning such
things think that they give fair and just reasons, by applying
this sort of allegory to every one of their objects of worship.
Chapter XXXV: Uselessness of These Allegories
When Niceta had thus spoken, Aquila answered: Whoever
he was that was the author and inventor of these things, he
seems to me to have been very rebellious, since he covered
over those things which seem to be pleasant and seemly, and
made the ritual of his superstition to consist in base and
shameful observances, since those things which are written
according to the letter are manifestly unseemly and base; and
the whole observance of their religion consists in these, that
by such crimes and impieties they may teach men to imitate
their Elohim whom they worship. For in these allegories what
profit can there be to them? For although they are framed so
as to be decent, yet no use is derived from them for worship,
nor for amendment of morals.