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

4^.6Plotinus ; the Divinity- Book I.How God ly fenfe or by the mind. But Jupiter firjl of all made himfelf ; for he waswas faid to ^^^ eoiicatcd tn the flowery and odoriferous caves of Crete, nei:her ivas S;uurnbeielf maJe: ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^c^•lJ«r him, nor inflead of him did he f'xalloia do-sjn n Jhiie. Forand 406°^' Jupiter ivas never in danger, nor will he he ever in danger of any thin^.ISeither is there any thing older than Jupiter, no more than there are fans elderthan their parents, or works than their opificers. But he is the firfi andtheoldeft, and the prince of all things, he being made frcr,i himfelf; nor can ithe declared when he was made, for he was from the beginning^ and ever willbe his own father, and greater than to have been begotten from one another. Jshe produced Mmcrva. from his brain, and needed no wedlock in order thereunto,fo before this did he produce himfelf from himfelf, needuig not the help of anyother thing for his being. But on the contrary, all things began to be fromhim, axd no man can tell the time ; fincc there was not then any time whenthere was nothing elfe befides, and no work can be older than the maker of it.Thus was Jupiter the beginning of all things, and all things were from Jupiter,who is better than time, which had its beginning together with the world.And asain, t'? ^s J^ ^e^i' 'c-^- aTroppo-zjut^-^^^riif Aio; t? ttx-jtu-j TTxlfo; Sivxi/.iui'i/.xrci £/£', fj ^TE^vioj y.a.rx rr.v 'Qy.v^ts (Tli^xv, xTrxvlx f»V ajTSU StricTriTxt, x, nci'r.xii U'JTV i^TiTrlxi' Mulc' T£ X^ AMyKYfi S\)0 T8TU UWXyuyOTXrta >ij iyXl^lUXXIjl Ij TOIJTTiwToi; \ymi(jVi, oVaf aJru tj. ttocvIx cruvi^ctev, &C. fVoin Srisf jusa, dv^^'xTruv ettiuEAJires?,avScwTTSf il S'Em'v Bi^xsyvjrxg t£ >^ vwr.^irx;, &ZC. -srxAy. Si Z7xvlx-/js AiC,-/wfS"*, >^ a-CTavlwv Sewp vjeoyicrixi, Aiv? fVin i^yo)i, &c. All the fcvcral kinds op•, aud, according to Ho-gods are hut a defiuxion and derivation from Jupitermer'j chain, all things are conneHed with him and defend upcn htm. He,amongji the firfl, produced love and necejfity, two the mojl powerful holders ofthings together, that they might make all things firmly to cohere. He madegods to be the curators of men, and he made men to be the worfJjippers and ferversof thofe gods. All things are every where full of Jupiter, and the benefitsof all the other gods are bis work, and to be attributed to him, they bdngdone in compliance with that order, which he had prefcribed them.It is certain, that all the latter philofopliers afier Chriflianity, whetherPlatonifts or Peripareticks, though for the moil: part thry alTcrted the ettrnityof the world, yet univerally agreed in the acknowledgment of onefupreme Deity, the caufe of the whole world, and of all the other gods.And as Numenius, Plotinus, Ameliiis, Porphyrius, Proclus, Dimafius andothers, held alfo a trinity of divine hypolfafes, lb had fome of thofe phi-En 2 Libqlofophers excellent fpeculations Concerning the Deity, as particularly P/i?/;»w,'eg. who notwithflanding that he derived matter and all things from one divine[P. 207.] principle, yet was a contender for many gods. Thus in his book infcribedagainfl: the Gnoflicks :/^f? w'f «£iroi> f*£v x'jtov tth^x^xi yrjsBxi, fxii ^uc'iov ^t aurovKoiAi'^fiP xpi^oii S^vx&xi yiviBxi, ktu yxp »?ru) X(iro;, xX\x >c, avB^wTrKj xXX^sgdoi^-n;, ETi xj SxifJiO'Jx; dyx^i? fii/ai" -nroAu it y.x\}.o-j OfB-r, Tu'f te iv tu h oAxq y.al(i7(iXiZic'jlxi' ZTX'fJuv Si y,xXii-x rov ^yc^ovx Tudi tk Trx-fioc, ^'^J^n fAX-x-X^wjiTXTr.-y tv-T£u9lV