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but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.
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If through delight in the beauty of these things people assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them.
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And if people were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is the one who formed them.
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For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.
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Yet these people are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him.
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For while they live among his works, they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful.
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Yet again, not even they are to be excused;
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for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?
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But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are those who give the name "gods" to the works of human hands, gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses of animals, or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
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A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skillfully strip off all its bark, and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves life's needs,
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and burn the cast-off pieces of his work to prepare his food, and eat his fill.