Commentary on Romans, Biblical exegesis 1 · Chapter 1 · Section 3 · Subsection 63
Quest. 63. Of the grosse idolatrie of the heathen in worshipping the images of men, and of beasts, v. 23.
1. Of the image of a corruptible man, &c. 1. In the booke of wisdome two reasons are yeelded of the adoration of images, nimius amor amicorum, & nimius timor tyrannorum, too great louelove of friends, and too great feare of tyrants: of the one they made images to remember them, of the other to flatter them, Gorrham. 2. The Assyrians were the first that worshipped the image of a man, namely of Belus the father of, Ninus, whom the Babylonians called Bell, the Sidonians Baal, the Iewes Beelzebub, the Philistims Zebet, Haymo., 3. The Romanes after the comming of Aeneas into Italy, worshipped also the images of men, as Iuppiter, Romulus, ex gloss. ordinar. 4. And they worshipped not onelyonly men of desert, but lewde persons: as the Romanes made Larentia, a common strumpet one of their goddesses: Simon Magus they inaugured with the title of a god, Tertullian. in Apologet.
2. And of birds, and fourefoosed beasts, and of creeping things. 1. Herein appeared the great follie of the heathen, who beside the adoration of images of men, gaue diuine honeur vntounto creatures: the Romanes worshipped a goose, the Egyptians the hawke, and the Crocodile, and other beasts beside, Haymo. and the Philistims Dagon in the forme of a fish: and Ambrose saith the Pagans had Coracina sacra, their sacred ravens solemnities. 2. But the Egyptians exceeded all other nations in these abhominable fooleries as Diodorus Sicalus expresseth at large, lib. 2. c. 4. which narration of his may be sorted out to these particulars. 1. First, their grosse superstition appeared in the adoration of diuerse kinds of beasts and foules, as at Memphis they worshipped the god Apis in the likenesse of a pide coy…e, in Midatu a goat: at the lake Mirides the crocodile, and a lion in the citie Leonce. Besides they adored dogs, and cats, wolues, vultures, water ratts, which were enemies to the crocodiles and gnawed a sunder their bowels: 2. Those their beasts and birds which they held sacred, they kept verie carefully in places neere vntounto their Temples, and appointed keepeth for them, prouiding them diuine meate, soft beds, and beside they used to wash and bath them with sweet water and spices. 3. if any chance to kill any of them, he was put to death for it: they spare none, for at such time as Ptolome was receiued into amitie and societie with the Romanes, there chanced one of the Romanes to kill one of them, who notwithstanding the mediation of the king himselfe and the nobles, could not escape the hands of the people. 4. if any of them die in an house, there is great mourning and lamentation made, and they bestowe great cost vponupon the burials: in Ptolomeus Lagus time, who succeeded Alexander, there died at Memphis an old oxe, in the burying whereof the keeper bestowed 50. talents, which he borrowed of Ptolome, and Diodorus in the same place reporteth of some… that had employed an 100. talents that way.
3. This kinde of Egyptian Idolatrie the Romanes also learned, after the ouercomming of Alexandria, gloss. ordinar. Tertullian obiecteth to the Romanes, iumenta omnia coeli à vobis, vos que omnium pane pecudum & bestiarum esse cultores, that they worshipped all kind of cattell and beasts: Valerius Maximus hath a memorable historie, lib. 1. c. 8. how they brought a serpent in honor of Aesculapius from Epidaurus, which came of it owne accord into one of their shippes, and there lay folded together one part within an other, and so was brought to Rome: which narration if it be true, it was either the deuill in the likenesse of a serpent: or the deuill vsed the serpent, as his instrument: The reason hereof, why that Sathan vseth Serpents to worke by and to deceiue men, Augustine rendreth to be this: haec permittuntur, ad primi facti memoriam commendandam, &c. those things are permitted vntounto Sathan to deceiue and delude men, by serpents; as in causing them to mooue at the inchantment of men: to call to minde the first fact of Sathan in seducing our first Parents by a Serpent, lib. 11. de Genes. ad liter. c. 28. Pherecydes Syrus writeth that the spirits were cast downe from heauen by Iupiter, the Prince whereof was called Ophioneus, that is, serpentinus, serpentine, ex Lodov. Viv. in lib. August. de ciuit. dei.
4. Thus were the heathen blinded, that as Ambrose in this place saith, eorum quae praua sunt, & inimica homini, similitudini, &c. that they gaue the honour of God, euen vntounto euill things such as were enemies vntounto man. They might pretend, that in worshipping Serpents, and such other deadly things enemies to man, they adored the diuine wrath and reuenge of God, who vseth those creatures as his instruments, to punish men by, Mart. But this is a foolish pretence: the like may the men of Calecut alleadge for worshipping of the deuill, ne noceat, that he should not hurt them: they should rather hauehave turned themselues vntounto God, as the onelyonly foreign, turner aside of all such euills.
5. This grosse idolatrie of the heathen in worshipping the images of creeping things, and beasts with such like, did not containe it selfe among the heathen onelyonly: But the Israelites also learned to follow the Gentiles: as Ezechiel was commanded to digge an hole thorough the wall, whereby he came into a secret place, where he found the similitude of creeping things, and abhominable beasts painted vponupon the wall, and the Elders of Israel standing before them with their censers, Ezech. 8.10.11.
6. But whereas the heathen commonly pretended this excuse, that they did not hold such things, as they worshipped to be gods: but they in them worshipped God: as Symmachus obiected in his oration, wherein he craued of the Emperours Valentinian and Theodosius, the restitution of the Romane gods: that the heathen had respect but vntounto one onelyonly God, sed ad illum per diversa itinera pergunt, but they hauehave diuers waies to bring them vntounto that God: this friuolous excuse is here taken away by the Apostle, who saith, that the heathen changed the glorie of the corruptible God, into the similitude of those things. And Augustin further hereunto maketh this answer, quod illic facit ara, si non illud habent pio numine, what doe their altars there before their images, if they take them not to be their gods. And whereas Symmachus pretendeth many waies to lead vntounto one and the same God, the Scripture teacheth vsus, that as there is but one God, so there is but one way, which he hath prescribed vsus whereby to come vntounto him: as our blessed Sauiour saith, Ioh. 14. I am the way, the truth, and the life: we can not come vntounto God who is the fountaine of life, but by Christ, who is the way. This and other obiections made by Symmachus, are answered as large by Ambrose, epist. 30.
7. Of this kind of idolatrie, was that heathenish deuise of the Astronomers, in imagining the image of beasts and soules among the starres: which was Sathans subtiltie, to bring man, vt se submitteret ijs rebus, &c. to submit himselfe to those things, which he was made Lord and gouernour of P. Martyr.