על צאצאי קין ט״וOn the Posterity of Cain and his Exile 15
א׳
1[52] Now, every city needs for its existence buildings, and inhabitants, and laws. Cain’s buildings are demonstrative arguments. With these, as though fighting from a city-wall, he repels the assaults of his adversaries, by forging plausible inventions contrary to the truth. His inhabitants are the wise in their own conceit, devotees of impiety, godlessness, self-love, arrogance, false opinion, men ignorant of real wisdom, who have reduced to an organized system ignorance, lack of learning and of culture, and other pestilential things akin to these. His laws are various forms of lawlessness and injustice, unfairness, licentiousness, audacity, senselessness, self-will, immoderate indulgence in pleasures, unnatural lusts that may not be named.
ב׳
2[53] Of such a city every impious man is found to be an architect in his own miserable soul, until such time as God takes counsel (Gen. 11:6), and brings upon their sophistic devices a great and complete confusion. This time will come when they are building, not a city only, but a tower as well, whose top shall reach to heaven (Gen. 11:4). By a “tower” is meant a discourse working up each (immoral) doctrine which they introduce. The discourse has for a head its own proper point, which is figuratively spoken of as “heaven.” For every discourse must needs have as its head and aim the thought brought out by it; and it is to bring this out that men of eloquence are in the habit of delivering their lengthy expositions and perorations.