Impiety

Amen.

Impiety, he says, was the foundation of their iniquities, and by both they became stripped of the divine grace.

The name God is what he here means by the truth of God, an idol made with hands by a lie, because that when they ought to have worshipped the true God, they offered the adoration belonging to him to the creature instead.

And to the same reproach do they lie open who call the only begotten Son of God a creature, and yet worship him as God.

For there are many choirs of daemons round him, like unto hosts of very various kinds, who though they dwell with mortals, yet are not far from the immortals, but having as their lot from here unto the spaces of the gods, they watch over the affairs of men and work out things appointed by the gods by means of storms, whirlwinds, and hurricanes, by transmutations wrought by fire and shakings of the earth, with famines also and with wars requitting man's impiety.

For this is in man's case the greatest ill against the gods.

Impiety, right? Impiety is the greatest ill against the gods.

For that the duty of the gods is to give benefits.

The duty of mankind is to give worship.