Who after reading the above can fail to feel surprise that, notwithstanding such understanding of the Jewish mistake, the Christians are still worshipping the Jewish Jehovah, the Spirit who spoke through his teraphim! That this is so, and that Jehovah was simply the “tutelary genius,” or spirit, of the people of Israel—only one of the pneumata tōn stoicheiōn (or “great spirits of the elements”), not even a high “Planetary”—is demonstrated on the authority of St. Paul and of Clemens Alexandrinus, if the words they use have any meaning. With the latter, the word στοιχεῖα signifies not only elements, but also Generative cosmological principles, and notably the signs [or constellations] of the Zodiac, of the months, days, the sun and the moon.(449) The expression is used by Aristotle in the same sense. He says, τῶν ἀστρῶν στοιχεῖα,(450) while Diogenes Laertius calls δώδεκα στοιχεία, the twelve signs of the Zodiac.(451) Now having the positive evidence of Ammianus Marcellinus to the effect that Ancient divination was always accomplished with the help of the spirits of the elements, or the same πνεάματα τῶν στοιχείων, and seeing in the _Bible_ numerous passages that (_a_) the Israelites, including Saul and David, resorted to the same divination, and used the same means; and (_b_) that it was their “Lord”—namely, Jehovah—who answered them, what else can we believe Jehovah to be than a “spiritus elementorum”? Hence one sees no great difference between the “idol of the moon”—the Chaldæan teraphim through which spoke Saturn—and the idol of urim and thummim, the organ of Jehovah. Occult rites, scientific at the beginning—and forming the most solemn and sacred of sciences—have fallen through the degeneration of mankind into Sorcery, now called “superstition.” As Diogenes explains in his _History_: The Kaldhi, having made long observations on the planets and knowing better than anyone else the meaning of their motions and their influences, predict to people their futurity. They regard their doctrine of the _five_ great orbs—which they call interpreters, and we, planets—as the most important. And though they allege that it is the _sun_ that furnishes them with most of the predictions for great forthcoming events, yet they worship more particularly Saturn. Such predictions made to a number of kings, especially to Alexander, Antigonus, Seleucus, Nicanor, etc., ... have been so marvellously realised that people were struck with admiration.(452)