All men begin their learning with Homer.
Truly the gods have not from the beginning revealed all things to mortals, but by long seeking, mortals discover what is better.
The Ethiopians say that their gods are snub-nosed and black the Thracians that theirs have light blue eyes and red hair.
For all things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth.
But without effort [God] sets in motion all things by mind and thought.
If oxen and horses and lions could draw and paint, they would delineate the gods in their own image.