Proklos b. Filoslos asks R. Gamliel why does not God destroy the idols. The Rabbi replies "If a man calls a dog by the name of his father, will the father be angry with the son or with the dog?" Proklos says "Well if a town burns and the temple of the idol remains, is not that a proof that it has power?" The reply is "Does a king fight
with the living or the dead?" Then he is asked again "If there be no necessity for them why are they not destroyed?" The answer is, "Because the sun, moon, stars etc. are worshipped and the world cannot be destroyed because there are fools in it." "Why then," he is asked, "does He place that temptation in their way?" and the answer is "It is man who is punished for his foolishness and not the objects."