Worship God alone; no omens; hear the prophet like Moses—Christ
Palladius: Altogether unpersuasive.
Cyril: One must therefore worship the Lord God alone and whole-turned, according to the Scriptures, and no one other beside him. For it has been written that ‘You will be perfect opposite the Lord your God.’ And spiritual perfectness is the being settled in faith, and blameless unto worship, and the unaccused beauty of the love unto God.
Palladius: So I say.
Cyril: Therefore, Palladius, those who have least chosen to worship other gods, or the creation beside the one who created—yet somehow being persuaded by the false-prophecies of the idol-servers—will we free from blame and accusation? or safely show free of the charges unto apostasy to those at least who are truly genuine?
Palladius: Not at all.
Cyril: And star-sorceries and omen-takings and false-prophecies, and demonic trickings, would fit, I think somewhere, only and perhaps those who have most outlandishly been eager to settle into mind the inglorious and cursed idolatry.
Palladius: You have spoken rightly. Since indeed a divine word also charges us that we must abominate the shamefulness unto these at least. And it holds thus: ‘And if you should enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you will not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations; there will not be found in you one purifying his son and his daughter in fire, one prophesying a prophecy, and taking omens, and observing birds, a sorcerer, singing a charm, a ventriloquist, and wonder-watcher, and asking the dead; for every one doing these is an abomination to the Lord your God.’ And after other things again he says: ‘You will be perfect before the Lord your God; these nations, whom you will inherit them, these will hear omen-takings and prophecies; yet not thus has the Lord your God given to you. A prophet from your brothers like me the Lord your God will raise; [him you will hear according to all as many as you asked from beside the Lord your God] at Horeb on the day of the assembly.’
Cyril: Well done, friend. For we will follow not wonder-watchers and dead-diviners, nor will we receive flights of birds as some true matter, even if they should be borne toward the right, or then unto the left; even if toward evening and toward dawn; for these things are of the last folly. Yet making Christ the prophet for us and among us the leader of the all, from him we will take the knowledge of the necessary things, and we will sit beside him, saying a long wail to the demons’ false-speakings and ‘farewell.’ For to God alone as it were will the needing to make-alive and to rule the all be laid down naturally and specially;
Greek
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ἀπίθανον παντελῶς.
{ΚΥΡ.} Προσκυνητέον οὖν ἄρα μόνῳ τε καὶ ὁλοτρόπως Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ, κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς, ἑτέρῳ δὲ παρ' αὐτὸν οὐδενί. Γέγραπται γὰρ, ὅτι «Τέλειος ἔσῃ ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου.» Τελειότης δὲ πνευματικὴ, τὸ ἱδρυμένον ἐν πίστει, καὶ ἀμώμητον εἰς λατρείαν, καὶ τῆς εἰς Θεὸν ἀγάπης τὸ ἀδιάβλητον κάλλος.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Οὕτω φημί.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἆρ' οὖν, ὦ Παλλάδιε, τοὺς ἥκιστα μὲν θεοῖς ἑτέροις, ἤγουν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν Κτίσαντα προσκυνεῖν ἑλομένους· πειθομένους δὲ οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως ταῖς τῶν εἰδωλολατρούντων ψευδομαντείαις, μώμου καὶ αἰτίας ἀπαλλάξομεν; ἢ τῶν εἰς ἀπόστασιν ἐγκλημάτων ἐλευθέρους ἀποφαίνειν τοῖς γε ὡς ἀληθῶς γνησίοις ἀσφαλές;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Οὐδαμῶς.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἀστρογοητεῖαι δὲ καὶ κληδονισμοὶ καὶ ψευδομαντεῖαι, καὶ δαιμονιώδεις φενακισμοὶ, πρέποιεν ἂν, οἶμαί που, μόνοις τε καὶ τάχα τοῖς ἐκτοπώτατα προτεθυμημένοις τὴν ἀκλεᾶ καὶ ἐπάρατον εἰδωλολατρείαν εἰσοικίζεσθαι κατὰ νοῦν.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ὀρθῶς ἔφης. Ἐπείτοι καὶ θεῖος ἡμῖν παρεγγυᾷ λόγος, τὴν εἴς γε τούτους αἰσχρότητα καταμυσάττεσθαι δεῖν. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως· «Ἐὰν δὲ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἣν Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι, οὐ μαθήσῃ ποιεῖν κατὰ τὰ βδελύγματα τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκείνων· οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται ἐν σοὶ περικαθαίρων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ ἐν πυρὶ, μαντευόμενος μαντείαν, καὶ κληδονιζόμενος, καὶ οἰωνιζόμενος, φαρμακὸς, ἐπᾴδων ἐπαοιδὴν, ἐγγαστρίμυθος, καὶ τερατοσκόπος, καὶ ἐρωτῶν τοὺς νεκρούς· ἔστι γὰρ βδέλυγμα Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ σου πᾶς ποιῶν ταῦτα.» Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα πάλιν φησί· «Τέλειος ἔσῃ ἔναντι Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου· τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα, οὓς σὺ κατακληρονομήσεις αὐτοὺς, οὗτοι κληδονισμῶν καὶ μαντειῶν ἀκούσονται· σοὶ δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἔδωκε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου. Προφήτην ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ὡς ἐμὲ ἀναστήσει Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου· [αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ᾐτήσω παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου] ἐν Χωρὴβ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.»
{ΚΥΡ.} Εὖγε, ὦ φιλότης. Ἑψόμεθα γὰρ οὐχὶ τερατοσκόποις τε καὶ νεκρομάντεσιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ πτήσεις τῶν οἰωνῶν, ὡς ἀληθές τι χρῆμα παραδεξόμεθα, κἂν εἰ φέροιντο πρὸς δεξιὸν, εἴτ' οὖν εἰς εὐώνυμον· κἂν εἰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν τε καὶ πρὸς ἠῶ· μωρίας γὰρ ταυτὶ τῆς ἐσχάτης. Ἡγεμόνα δὲ τοῦ παντὸς ποιούμενοι τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς καθ' ἡμᾶς προφήτην, παρ' αὐτοῦ ληψόμεθα τῶν ἀναγκαίων τὴν γνῶσιν, καὶ αὐτῷ προσεδρεύσομεν, οἰμώζειν μακρὰ ταῖς τῶν δαιμονίων ψευδοεπείαις καὶ τὸ ἐῤῥῶσθαι λέγοντες. Μόνῳ γὰρ ὥσπερ τὸ χρῆναι ζωοποιεῖν καὶ κατάρχειν τῶν ὅλων, φυσικῶς τε καὶ ἰδικῶς ἀνακείσεται Θεῷ·
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 6 of a seventeen-book dialogue — not the whole work.
English follows Migne PG 68 (Aubert reprint). The PDF and a cleaned text of the same print were checked against each other. This page is Book 6 of seventeen. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 68 De adoratione Book 5 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 6)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 6)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.