To Autolycus 2.36

The Sibyl, who was a prophetess among the Greeks and the other nations, at the beginning of her prophecy reproaches the human race, saying: “Mortal men of flesh, who are nothing, how quickly you exalt yourselves, not looking to the end of life! Do you not tremble, and do you not fear God, your overseer, the Most High, who knows and sees all things, witness of all, Creator who nourishes all, who has put his sweet spirit in all things and made it the guide of all mortals? There is one God, who alone rules, exceedingly great, unbegotten, almighty, invisible, who alone sees all things, but is not seen by any mortal flesh. For what flesh can see with its eyes the heavenly and true God, the immortal, who dwells in the heavens? Men cannot even stand facing the rays of the sun, being born mortal, men of bones, of veins and flesh. Worship him who alone exists, the ruler of the world, who alone has been from age to age, self-begotten, unbegotten, ruling all things forever, allotting judgment to all mortals in the light common to all. You will have the reward you deserve for your evil counsel, because you have given up glorifying the true and everlasting God and offering him holy hecatombs, and have made your sacrifices to the demons in Hades. You walk in conceit and madness; you have left the straight and right path and gone astray among thorns and stakes. Stop, foolish mortals, roaming in darkness and lightless black night; leave the darkness of night and take hold of the light. See, he is plain to all and does not deceive. Come, do not forever pursue darkness and gloom; see, the sweet light of the sun shines surpassingly bright. Store up wisdom in your breasts and know: there is one God, who sends rains, winds, earthquakes, lightnings, famines, plagues, and grievous sorrows, and snows and ice. Why should I tell them one by one? He rules heaven, he governs earth, he himself exists.” And to those who are said to be born gods she said: “If what is born must surely also perish, then a god cannot be formed from a man's loins and a womb. But God is one alone, most high, who made the heaven and the sun and the stars and the moon, the fruitful earth and the swelling waves of the sea, the lofty mountains and the ever-flowing streams of springs. He also brings forth the countless multitude of creatures in the waters; the creeping things that move on the earth are given life; and the many-colored birds, clear-voiced, twittering, tawny, shrill-winged, beating the air with their wings; in the mountain glens he placed the wild race of beasts. He subjected all the cattle to us mortals, and appointed a ruler of all, fashioned by God, and subjected to man things manifold and beyond comprehension. For what mortal flesh can know all these things? He alone knows who made them from the beginning, the incorruptible and eternal Creator, dwelling in the ether, who offers the good a far greater reward of good, but rouses wrath and fury against the wicked and unjust, and war and plague and tearful pains. O men, why do you exalt yourselves in vain and tear yourselves up by the roots? Be ashamed of making gods of weasels and vermin. Is it not madness and frenzy that takes away the sense from your minds, if gods steal dishes and plunder pots? Instead of dwelling in the rich golden heaven, they look out on moth-eaten things and are hung about with thick spiders' webs! You worship snakes, dogs, and cats, you fools, and you revere birds and creeping beasts of the earth, and stone figures and images made by hands, and heaps of stones by the roadsides; these you revere, and many other vain things, which it is shameful even to mention. These are gods that deceive thoughtless mortals, and from their mouth pours deadly poison. But he in whom is life and imperishable, everlasting light, who pours out for men a joy sweeter than [sweet] honey: to him alone must you bend your neck, and turn your path toward the ages of the godly. Leaving all these things, you have all, in your folly and with raving spirit, drained the cup full of justice, strong, heavy, weighty, quite unmixed; and you will not become sober and return to a sound mind, and know God the King, who oversees all things. Therefore the gleam of blazing fire is coming upon you; you will be burned with torches forever, all the day long, put to shame for your lies about useless idols. But those who honor the true and everlasting God inherit life, dwelling for the length of eternity in the flourishing garden of paradise, feasting on sweet bread from the starry heaven.” That these things are true, useful, just, and welcome to all people is clear; and that those who have done evil must necessarily be punished according to the worth of their deeds.