Bad Advertisement?
Are you a Christian?
Online Store:Visit Our Store
| What Apuleius the Platonist Thought Concerning the Manners and Actions of Demons.
PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP 
Chapter 16.—What Apuleius the
Platonist Thought Concerning the Manners and Actions of
Demons.
The same Apuleius, when speaking
concerning the manners of demons, said that they are agitated with
the same perturbations of mind as men; that they are provoked by
injuries, propitiated by services and by gifts, rejoice in honors,
are delighted with a variety of sacred rites, and are annoyed if
any of them be neglected. Among other things, he also says that
on them depend the divinations of augurs, soothsayers, and
prophets, and the revelations of dreams, and that from them also
are the miracles of the magicians. But, when giving a brief
definition of them, he says, “Demons are of an animal nature,
passive in soul, rational in mind, aerial in body, eternal in
time.” “Of which five things, the three first are common to
them and us, the fourth peculiar to themselves, and the fifth
common to therewith the gods.”313
But I see that they have in
common with the gods two of the first things, which they have in
common with us. For he says that the gods also are animals; and
when he is assigning to every order of beings its own element, he
places us among the other terrestrial animals which live and feel
upon the earth. Wherefore, if the demons are animals as to genus,
this is common to them, not only with men, but also with the gods
and with beasts; if they are rational as to their mind, this is
common to them with the gods and with men; if they are eternal in
time, this is common to them with the gods only; if they are
passive as to their soul, this is common to them with men only; if
they are aerial in body, in this they are alone. Therefore it is
no great thing for them to be of an animal nature, for so also are
the beasts; in being rational as to mind, they are not above
ourselves, for so are we also; and as to their being eternal as to
time, what is the advantage of that if they are not blessed? for
better is temporal happiness than eternal misery. Again, as to
their being passive in soul, how are they in this respect above us,
since we also are so, but would not have been so had we not been
miserable? Also, as to their being aerial in body, how much value
is to be set on that, since a soul of any kind whatsoever is to be
set above every body? and therefore religious worship, which ought
to be rendered from the soul, is by no means due to that thing
which is inferior to the soul. Moreover, if he had, among those
things which he says belong to demons, enumerated virtue, wisdom,
happiness, and affirmed that they have those things in common with
the gods, and, like them, eternally, he would assuredly have
attributed to them something greatly to be desired, and much to be
prized. And even in that case it would not have been our duty to
worship them like God on account of these things, but rather to
worship Him from whom we know they had received them. But how
much less are they really worthy of divine honor,—those aerial
animals who are only rational that they may be capable of misery,
passive that they may be actually miserable, and eternal that it
may be impossible for them to end their misery!E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
