To Autolycus 2.35

The divine law forbids worshiping not only idols but also the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, or the other stars; nor may one worship the heaven or the earth or the sea or springs or rivers. One must serve only the true God and Maker of all things, in holiness of heart and sincerity of mind. That is why the holy law says: “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife.” The prophets say the same. Solomon teaches us not to sin even by a nod, saying: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids nod what is right.” And Moses, himself a prophet, says about the sole sovereignty of God: “This is your God, who makes firm the heaven and creates the earth, whose hands displayed all the host of heaven; and he did not show them to you so that you should go after them.” Isaiah himself says: “Thus says the Lord God, who made firm the heaven and founded the earth and all that is in it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it: this is the Lord your God.” And again through him: “I,” he says, “made the earth and man upon it; with my hand I made firm the heaven.” And in another chapter: “This is your God, who formed the ends of the earth; he will not hunger or grow weary, and his understanding is unsearchable.” Likewise Jeremiah says: “He made the earth by his strength, he set the world upright by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heaven, and a mass of water in the heaven; he brought up clouds from the end of the earth, made lightnings for the rain, and brought out winds from his storehouses.” One can see how all the prophets spoke in friendship and agreement, uttering by one and the same Spirit their teaching on the sole sovereignty of God, the origin of the world, and the making of the human being. More than that: they were in anguish, grieving over the godless race of human beings, and they put to shame those who seemed to be wise, because of the error and hardness of heart in them. Jeremiah said: “Every man has become foolish, without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved images; in vain does the silversmith work the silver; there is no breath in them; in the day of their visitation they will perish.” David says the same: “They are corrupt and have become abominable in their deeds; there is no one who does good, not even one; all have turned aside, together they have become worthless.” Likewise Habakkuk: “What does a carved image profit the man who carved it, a false phantom? Woe to him who says to the stone, Wake up, and to the wood, Rise up.” So spoke the other prophets of truth as well. Why should I list the multitude of the prophets, who are many and have said ten thousand things in friendship and agreement? Those who wish can, by reading what was spoken through them, know the truth precisely, and not be led astray by opinion and futile labor. These prophets we have mentioned arose among the Hebrews: unlettered men, shepherds, and ordinary people.