wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

Chap. IV. and om God in different Senfes. 233fenfe of the Pagan Theifts,may be thus defined, An underjtanding Being fuferiorto men, not originally derived from fenjlefs matter, and looked upon asan objeil for men's religious worfhip. But this general notion of the wordGod is again reftrained and limited by differences, in the divifion of it.For fuch a God as this may be either ^.yiwr^©', ingenerate or unproduced,and confcquently felf-exiftent ; or elfe yijuy^oi, generated or produced, anddependent on fome higher Being as its caufe. In the former fenfe, the intelligentPagans, as we have declared, acknowledged only one God, whowas therefore called by them o Bio; kxt £c (^(v o .JeoV, aAX' el; fj-ivo fj-iyiro;, >cj y.x^- Ed, phsj, /.tjTrEolff^, xj xcocliuv TW TTOivlo;' ol S' oUxXm ttoAAoi Sixptpo'flt; kxtoc (Jti/a^iv, • • /* 4«Pxc, koxtsi >^ ftsJ/fSfi >^ dciTot, [jlii^uv' ir^ oe >^ t"nTTion^uv Tov cvi/.Trxvix xo(ry.ov toi a osAAoi oi ijcovls; fieri xxt ttpxvo'j cruu t£Tso TTXVTO; TriPixyririi, xxrx Xoyov uVoCeovIe? tu jtoutui y.a\ virjlui' It feemeth tOme, that there is not only one God, but that there is one the greateji and highefiGod, that governeth the zvhole world, and that there are many other gods befideshim differing as to power, that one God reigning over them all, who furmountsthem all in power, greatnefs, and virtue. That is that God, who containsand comprehends the whole world ; but the other gods are thofe, who togetherwith the revolution of the univerfe orderly follow that firfl and intelligibleGod. Where it is evident, that Onatus his toAAsI ho\ or many gods, wereonly the heavenly bodies, or animated ftars. And partly from thofe wordscited, but chiefly others, which follow after in the fame place, ("that will beproduced elfewhere) it plainly appears, that in Onatus his time, there werefome, who acknowledged one only God, denying all thofe other gods, thencommonly worfhipped. And indeed Anaxagoras fcems to have been fucha one ; forafmuch as afferting one perfect mind ruling over all, (which isthe true Deity) he effedtually degraded all thofe other Pagan gods, the fun,moon, and ftars from their godfhips, by making the fun nothing but aglobe of fire, and the rhoon earth and ftones, and the like of the other ftarsand planets. And fome fuch there were alfo amongft the ancient Egyptians,as ftiall be declared in due place. Moreover, Proclus upon Plato's limaustells us, that there hath been always lefs doubt and controverfy in the worldconcerning the one God, than concerning the many gods. WhereforeOnatus here declares his own fenfe, as to this particular, viz. that befidesthe one fupreme God, there were alfo many other inferior deities, that is,underftanding beings, that ought to be religioufly worlhipped.L. " "'^'• Lib. I, fegm. 35. p. 21. f.H h 2But