6. Lateranus,4108
| 4108 No
mention is made of this deity by any other author. |
as you say, is
the
god and genius of hearths, and received this name because men build
that
kind of fireplace of unbaked bricks. What then? if hearths
were made of baked
clay, or any other material whatever, will they have
no genii? and will Lateranus, whoever he is, abandon his
duty as
guardian, because the
kingdom which he possesses has not been formed of
bricks of
clay? And for what purpose,
4109
| 4109 Lit.,
“that he may do what.” |
I ask, has that
god received the charge
of hearths? He runs about the kitchens of men,
examining and
discovering with what kinds of
wood the
heat in their
fires is
produced; he gives
strength4110
| 4110
Lit., “good condition,”
habitudinem. |
to earthen
vessels that they may not
fly in pieces, overcome by the
violence of the
flames; he sees that the flavour of unspoilt dainties
reaches the taste of the palate with their own pleasantness, and acts
the part of a taster, and tries whether the sauces have been rightly
prepared. Is not this unseemly, nay—to speak with more
truth—disgraceful, impious, to introduce some pretended deities
for this only, not to do them reverence with fitting honours, but to
appoint them over base things, and disreputable actions?
4111
| 4111 Lit.,
“a disreputable act.” |
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