Candles

Is that man to be thought in his senses who presents the light of candles and torches as an offering to Him who is the Author and Giver of light? The light that He requires from us is of another kind. . . . I mean, the light of the mind, . . . which light no one can exhibit unless he has known God. But their gods, because they are of the earth, stand in need of lights, that they may not be in darkness. And their worshippers, because they have no taste for anything heavenly, are recalled to the earth by the very religious rites to which they are devoted. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.163.