But they have not found how to refer Mercury and Mars to any parts
of the world, and to the works of God which are in the elements;
and therefore they have set them at least over human works, making
them assistants in speaking and in carrying on wars. Now Mercury,
if he has also the power of the speech of the gods, rules also over
the king of the gods himself, if Jupiter, as he receives from him
the faculty of speech, also speaks according as it is his pleasure
to permit him--which surely is absurd; but if it is only the power
over human speech which is held to be attributed to him, then we say
it is incredible that Jupiter should have condescended to give the
pap not only to children, but also to beasts--from which he has been
surnamed Ruminus--and yet should have been unwilling that the care of
our speech, by which we excel the beasts, should pertain to him. And
thus speech itself both belongs to Jupiter, and is Mercury. But if
speech itself is said to be Mercury, as those things which are said
concerning him by way of interpretation show it to be;--for he is
said to have been called Mercury, that is, he who runs between,[271]
because speech runs between men: they say also that the Greeks call
him Ἑρμῆς, because speech, or interpretation, which certainly belongs
to speech, is called by them ἑρμηνεία: also he is said to preside
over payments, because speech passes between sellers and buyers:
the wings, too, which he has on his head and on his feet, they say,
mean that speech passes winged through the air: he is also said to
have been called the messenger,[272] because by means of speech all
our thoughts are expressed;[273]--if, therefore, speech itself is
Mercury, then, even by their own confession, he is not a god. But
when they make to themselves gods of such as are not even demons, by
praying to unclean spirits, they are possessed by such as are not
gods, but demons. In like manner, because they have not been able
to find for Mars any element or part of the world in which he might
perform some works of nature of whatever kind, they have said that he
is the god of war, which is a work of men, and that not one which is
considered desirable by them. If, therefore, Felicitas should give
perpetual peace, Mars would have nothing to do. But if war itself is
Mars, as speech is Mercury, I wish it were as true that there were no
war to be falsely called a god, as it is true that it is not a god.