Oration on the Dignity of Man

But enough about magic, of which I have already said plenty; for I know that many, like dogs who bark at strangers, often condemn and hate what they do not know.

I move now to the propositions drawn from the ancient Hebrew mysteries, which I have brought forward to strengthen the holy Catholic faith, and which may perhaps be considered false fables and idle chatter by those who do not understand their meaning. I want it to be clear to everyone what these theses are, where they spring from, to what extent and by which well-known authors they are supported, how pious they are, and how useful for defending our religion against the impudent slanders of the Jews.

Just as the famous Jewish scholars and our own theologians—Ezra ⁶⁵ The biblical scribe and priest credited with re-establishing the Jewish community in Jerusalem and the Law after the Babylonian exile., Hilary ⁶⁶ Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a 4th-century Bishop and Doctor of the Church who wrote extensively on the Trinity., and Origen ⁶⁷ An early Christian scholar and theologian from Alexandria, famous for his allegorical and mystical interpretations of Scripture.—have written, it was divinely revealed to Moses on the mountain not only the Law, which he left to posterity by recording it in five books, but also the true interpretation of its secret meaning. It was commanded by God to Moses that he should make the Law the property of the people, but the interpretation of the Law he was not to record in books or disclose; rather, he was to reveal it only to Joshua original: "Иисусу Навину" (Jesus Nave). In the Latin Vulgate tradition, Joshua is often called "Jesus Nave." himself, and he then to other successors, the most eminent of the priests, while maintaining a sacred silence.

This simple oral transmission was enough to recognize the power of God, his wrath against the ungodly, his leniency toward the good, and his justice in all things, and to learn, through these saving divine designs, a virtuous life and the worship of the true religion. Indeed, to disclose to the people the secret mysteries hidden under the veil of the Law, beneath a rough verbal garment—these inner sanctuaries of the highest divinity—would it not have been to cast holy things to dogs and pearls before swine ⁶⁸?

Therefore, to hide from the crowd what ought to be communicated to the most excellent—such as Paul, who claimed to speak only what was wise among the perfect—was a matter of divine providence, not human decision ⁶⁹. The ancient philosophers sacredly observed this rule. Pythagoras wrote nothing, except for the few things he handed to his daughter Damo as he lay dying. The statues of sphinxes at Egyptian temples indicate that secret doctrines should be kept safe from the ignorant crowd through the use of insoluble riddles.

Plato, when he wrote to Dionysius about certain higher substances, asserted that it was necessary to speak in riddles, so that if the letter should fall into other hands, its contents would not be revealed ⁷⁰.

Aristotle declared that his work Metaphysics, in which he treats divine matters, was published and yet not published. What more is there to add?

Jesus Christ, the teacher of life, as Origen noted ⁷¹, revealed many things to his disciples, which they did not wish to record in writing, lest they make the secret the property of the crowd.

Dionysius the Areopagite A Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century whose works were long attributed to Dionysius the convert of St. Paul. confirms this idea even further, saying that the most secret mysteries were passed down by the founder of our religion orally, without writing, from mind to mind. When, in this manner, there was revealed...