BOOK II. V. 15-19 



world being classified into groups, and diseases 

 and also many forms of plague, in our nervous 

 anxiety to get them placated. Because of this 

 there is actually a Temple of Fever consecrated by 

 the nation on the Palatine Hill, and one of Bereave- 

 ment at the Temple of the Household Deities, and 

 an Altar of Misfortune on the EsquiHne. For this 

 reason we can infer a larger population of celestials 

 than of human beings, as individuals also make an 

 equal number of gods on their own, by adopting 

 their own private Junos and Genii ; while certain 

 nations have animals, even some loathsome ones, for 

 gods, and many things still more disgraceful to tell 

 of — swearing by rotten articles of food and other 

 things of that sort. To beHeve even in marriages 

 taking place between gods, without anybody all 

 through the long ages of time being born as a 

 result of them, and that some are always old and 

 grey, others youths and boys, and gods with dusky 

 complexions, winged, lame, born from eggs, Hving 

 and dying on alternate days — this almost ranks 

 with the mad fancies of children ; but it passes all 

 bounds of shamelessness to invent acts of adultery 

 taking place between the gods themselves, foUowed 

 by altercation and enmity, and the existence of 

 deities of theft and of crime. For mortal to aid 

 mortal — this is god ; and this is the road to eternal 

 glory : by this road went our Roman chieftains, by 

 this road now proceeds with heavenward step, escorted 

 by his children, the greatest ruler of all time, His 

 Majesty Vespasian, coming to the succour of an 

 exhausted world. To enrol such men among the 

 deities is the most ancient method of paying them 

 gratitude for their benefactions. In fact the names 



181 



