Section 33

“This is how the oracles of the Greeks arose in former times, and this is how people were led astray by the demons. But their deception was brought to an end by the coming of the Lord, who rendered both the demons and their schemes powerless.

“They know nothing from themselves. Like thieves, they pass along what they learn from others, and they make guesses rather than true predictions. If they sometimes speak accurately, no one should therefore marvel at them.

“Experienced physicians do something similar. When they have often seen the same illness in different people, they can frequently say beforehand how it will develop because they recognize it from experience. Pilots and farmers, too, because they are familiar with the weather, can look at the condition of the atmosphere and predict whether there will be a storm or fair weather. No one says that they do this through divine inspiration; they do it through experience and practice.

“So if the demons sometimes make a correct guess in the same way, do not marvel at them and do not listen to them. What benefit is there for those who hear them in knowing beforehand what is going to happen? Why should we be concerned to know such things, even if the information is true? Such knowledge does not produce virtue, nor is it evidence of a good character.

“None of us will be judged for not knowing the future, and no one is called blessed simply because he possesses knowledge. Each person will be judged on this: whether he has kept the faith and truly observed the commandments.