good  demons,  or,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  call  t^      ... ,                          ^    ,

them,  the  angels  of  God,  or  any  other  natures  ^^"i^'f  '}  ^^  on  account  of  those  opmions  of

whatever  superior  to   that  of  man,  since   the  ^^^  Christians  and  Jews  which  displease  Celsus

rational  faculty  within  them  has  been  made  per-  (and  which  he  does  not  at  all  appear  to  under-

feet,  and  endowed  with  all  virtuous  quaUties.«  ^^^)  ^^^^  ^^^l  ^^  ^°  ^^  regarded  ^  worms

'^  and  ants,  and  the  rest  of  mankind  as  different,

let  us  examine  the  acknowledged  opinions  of
CHAP. XXV. Christians  and  Jews,5  and  compare  them  with
But  if  you  depreciate  the  littleness  of  man,  those  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  see  whether
not  on  account  of  his  body,  but  of  his  soul,  it  will  not  appear  to  those  who  have  once  ad-
regarding  it  as  inferior  to  that  of  other  rational  mitted  that  certain  men  are  worms  and  ants,  that
beings,  and  especially  of  those  who  are  virtuous ;  f/iey  are  the  worms  and  ants  and  frogs  who  have
and  inferior,  because  evil  dwells  in  it,  —  why  fallen  away  from  sound  views  of  God,  and,  under
should  those  among  Christians  who  are  wicked,  a  vain  appearance  of  piety,^  worship  either  irra-
and  those  among  the  Jews  who  lead  sinful  lives,  tional  animals,  or  images,  or  other  objects,  the
be  termed  a  collection  of  bats,  or  ants,  or  works  of  men's  hands  ;7  whereas,  from  the
worms,  or  frogs,  rather  than  those  individuals  beauty  of  such,  they  ought  to  admire  the  Maker
among  other  nations  who  are  guilty  of  wicked-  of  them,  and  worship  Him :  while  those  are
ness  ?  —  seeing,  in  this  respect,  any  individual  indeed  men,  and  more  honourable  than  men  (if
whatever,  especially  if  carried  away  by  the  tide  there  be  anything  that  is  so) ,  who,  in  obedience
of  evil,  is,  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  man-  to  their  reason,  are  able  to  ascend  from  stocks
kind,  a  bat,  and  worm,  and  frog,  and  ant. 