Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers

The Delay of the Deity
a sort of reserve the final difficulty, since
a measure worked our way through those
we have in
that pre
ceded. What Euripides alleges against the gods
when he boldly charges them with turning the trans
gressions of the parents over to their children, this,
believe me, we also tacitly
impute to them as an in
if those who have committed offenses
justice. For,
have themselves expiated them, there is no further
need of punishing those
who have committed none,
since it is riot just to punish a second time for the
same crime those who are innocent; or if through
negligence they have failed to punish the real crimi
nals, and long after visit the penalty upon the inno
cent, they do not justly make up
for their tardiness
by injustice. Something of this kind is told of
Aesop who, it is said, came here (to Delphi) with
gold from Crcesus in order to make a magnificent ob
lation to the god and to distribute to each of the
Delphians four minae
;
but some difficulty arising, as
it seems, and he having got into a quarrel
with the
parties here, performed the sacrifice but sent the
money back to Sardis, alleging that the men were not
worthy to receive it; thereupon they trumped up a
charge of temple=robbery against him and put him to
death by hurling him from the rock called Hyampeia.
For this the god is said to have become incensed at
them and to have sent a famine upon the land,
together with all manner of strange diseases;
so that
they went around to the Hellenic festivals proclaim
ing and making known everywhere that whoever
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