The Divine Institutes: Book II. Of the Origin of Error
by Lactantius
How the worship of images began, and how the human race came to forget its Maker.
Chap. I.—That forgetfulness of reason makes men ignorant of the true God, whom they worship in adversity and despise in prosperityChap. II.—What was the first cause of making images; of the true likeness of God, and the true worship of himChap. III.—That Cicero and other men of learning erred in not turning away the people from errorChap. IV.—Of images, and the ornaments of temples, and the contempt in which they are held even by the heathens themselvesChap. V.—That God only, the creator of all things, is to be worshipped, and not the elements or heavenly bodies; and the opinion of the stoics is refuted, who think that the stars and planets are godsChap. VI.—That neither the whole universe nor the elements are God, nor are they possessed of lifeChap. VII.—Of God, and the religious rites of the foolish; of avarice, and the authority of ancestorsChap. VIII.—Of the use of reason in religion; and of dreams, auguries, oracles, and similar portentsChap. IX.—Of the devil, the world, God, providence, man, and his wisdomChap. X.—Of the world, and its parts, the elements and seasonsChap. XI.—Of living creatures, of man; Prometheus, Deucalion, the ParcæChap. XII.—That animals were not produced spontaneously, but by a divine arrangement, of which God would have given us the knowledge, if it were advantageous for us to know ItChap. XIII.—Why man is of two sexes; what is his first death, and what the second and of the fault and punishment of our first parentsChap. XIV.—Of Noah the inventor of wine, who first had knowledge of the stars, and of the origin of false religionsChap. XV.—Of the corruption of angels, and the two kinds of demonsChap. XVI.—That demons have no power over those who are established in the faithChap. XVII.—That astrology, soothsaying, and similar arts are the invention of demonsChap. XVIII.—Of the patience and vengeance of God, the worship of demons, and false religionsChap. XIX.—Of the worship of images and earthly objectsChap. XX.—Of philosophy and the truth