Chapter XLV.—Polytheism Inexcusable.

“For be sure of this, that you shall not have us participators in this attempt; nor will we suffer ourselves to be deceived by you.  For it will not serve us for an excuse in the judgment, if we say that you deceived us; because neither could it excuse the first woman, that she had unhappily believed the serpent; but she was condemned to death, because she believed badly.  For this cause therefore, Moses, also commending the faith of one God to the people, says, ‘Take heed to thyself, that thou be not seduced from the Lord thy God.’⁶⁵⁴⁶⁵⁴    Deut. viii. 11.  Observe that he 110makes use of the same word which the first woman also made use of in excusing herself, saying that she was seduced; but it profited her nothing.  But over and above all this, even if some true prophet should arise, who should perform signs and miracles, but should wish to persuade us to worship other gods besides the God of the Jews, we should never be able to believe him.  For so the divine law has taught us, handing down a secret injunction more purely by means of tradition, for thus it saith:  ‘If there arise among you a prophet, or one dreaming a dream, and give you signs or wonders, and these signs or wonders come to pass, and he say to you, Let us go and worship strange gods, whom ye know not; ye shall not hear the words of that prophet, nor the dream of that dreamer, because proving he hath proved you, that he may see if ye love the Lord your God.’⁶⁵⁵⁶⁵⁵    Deut. xiii. 1–3.