IV. A Refutation
of the Same on the Grounds of the Human Constitution.
Further, those men understand neither themselves
nor what is proper to themselves. For if any of the leaders in
this impious doctrine only considered what manner of person he is
himself, and whence he comes, he would surely be led to a wise
decision, like one who has obtained understanding of himself, and would
say, not to these atoms, but to his Father and Maker, “Thy hands
have made me and fashioned me.” And he would take up, too, this
wonderful account of his formation as it has been given by one of
old: “Hast Thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me
as cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast
fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and
favour, and Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.” For of what quantity and of what origin were the atoms which the father of Epicurus gave forth from himself when he begat Epicurus? And how, when they were received within his mother’s womb, did they coalesce, and take form and figure? and how were they put in motion and made to increase? And how did that little seed of generation draw together the many atoms that were to constitute Epicurus, and change some of them into skin and flesh for a covering, and make bone of others for erectness and strength, and form sinews of others for compact contexture? And how did it frame and adapt the many other members and parts—heart and bowels, and organs of sense, some within and some without—by which the body is made a thing of life? For of all these things there is not one either idle or useless: not even the meanest of them—the hair, or the nails, or such like—is so; but all have their service to do, and all their contribution to make, some of them to the soundness of bodily constitution, and others of them to beauty of appearance. For Providence cares not only for the useful, but also for the seasonable and beautiful. Thus the hair is a kind of protection and covering for the whole head, and the beard is a seemly ornament for the philosopher. It was Providence, then, that formed the constitution of the whole body of man, in all its necessary parts, and imposed on all its members their due connection with each other, and measured out for them their liberal supplies from the universal resources. And the most prominent of these show clearly, even to the uninstructed, by the proof of personal experience, the value and service attaching to them: the head, for example, in the position of supremacy, and the senses set like a guard about the brain, as the ruler in the citadel; and the advancing eyes, and the reporting ears; and the taste which, as it were, is the tribute-gatherer; and the smell, which tracks and searches out its objects: and the touch, which manipulates all put under it.