Plato now intending to speak about the sublunary Gods, says that the discourse about them is admirable, and exceeds our ability, as transcending all that ha* been transmitted to us by tradition, if we intend to discover the generation of them, and promulgate it to others. For what he before said of the Pemiurgus, that it is difficult to <lisco\er him, and impossible to speak of him to all men, this he now says of the sublunary Gods, that to know and to sj>oak of the generation of them, surpasses our ability. What therefore, does Plato mean by this mode of indication } For as he has delivered so many' and such admirable things concern¬ ing all heaven, and the intelligible paradigm, how is it that he says, that to speak of the Gods who are the fabricators of generation, is a task beyond our ability to perform? Perhaps it is because many physiologists considered these sublunary elements to be inanimate natures, casually borne along, and destitute of providen¬ tial rare. For they acknowledged that the celestial bodies, on account of their orderly motions, participate of intellect and the Gods; but they left generation, as being very mutable and indefinite, deprived of providential inspection. For
* Id die original, cat ra review 171. These word* however, ire not to be found in the tell of 1 ’lato, but form i remarkable addition to it. For the nature* tveetttirt to the stars, are evidently their satellites, which have more than once been mentioned by Procius.
* From what it here said by Proelus, it appears that the hied stars, as well at the planets, have satellites, and that the stars which sometimes arc visible, and at other times disappear, are of this de¬ scription.
Pkoclus on Ti1k
[book IV.
thus Aristotle afterwards, alone placed immoveable causes over the celestial cir¬ culations,, whether eight in numljer, or more; but left these elements inanimate.
In order therefore, that we might riot be affected in the same manner as they were, he antecedently celebrates and proclaims the generation of the sublunary Gods to Im* divine and intellectual, requiring no such mode of indication in bjreakmg of the celestial finds. Perhaps al-o it mav be said, that souls more swiftly forget tilings nearer to themselves, but have a greater remembrance of sujierior princ iples, l or they in a greater degree operate* upon them through transit*nde lie v of power, and appear through energy to be pre-i*nl with tliem. The same tiling also liap|M iis vv ilh re spect to our "lulit. For though vv e do not mt many things that are* situate el on tlie- earth, ve t at the same lime* v\e* appear to sere* the ine-rratie; sphere*, and the stars theiiise Ive s, because* 1 he*v illuminate our sight w itle the ir li”ht. Thi*cVe? ot tile* soul the refore, beeollles ill a gl'eati r degree* oblivious of and blind to more* pro\imale than to higher and more- div im* principles. Thus, all religions and sects ackuow leil^e that tin o* is a first pi me i pie* ol things, an el ail men invoke find as their helper; but all do not believe that tle-ie are (Joels pos¬ terior to this principle*, and that a providential energy proe*e eels from tln-m into the* unive rse?, For the on i is set u by them in a clearer manner than multitude*. Others again, be la ve* inde ed that the re aj'e (Joels, but alte r tin (Joels, admitting the ehemoniacal ge-uiis, the y are* ignorant of tin* heroic order. And in short, this is the greatest vvmk of science*, sitbtillv tee distinguish tin* media anil tin* progre s¬ sions of b* ings. It th*. relore, we rightly as>ei l tin >»■ things, Plato, vv hen spe aking of the te le stial (Joels, v erv properly indie lies nothing of the* difficulty of the* sub¬ ject; but intending to speak ol tlie* sublunary (Joels, says that it surpasses our ability, For tlie* discussion of these* is mem* elillicult, because? we* cannot collect anv thing about llu.*m from apparent objects, but it alone reepiires a deviitely-iii spire-el energy, and intellectual projection. And thus much e-onivrnirig this doubt.
Again hovve?ver, some one may doubt, on what account Plato calls flu? sublu¬ nary (Joels da molls. For some have been illlpe lied by this, to place* (Joels ill the* he avens, but to assign tin* superinti*n<h*ncy ol the sublunary re gion to ehemons. 'I liit be conceived however, that the-sc also are Gods, may Im* easily a»umcd from what he aelels, “ /.it t/u generation thirefur c, (j tla.se Gods, be admitted to be as /ol- luiid.” 1 or in short lie* does not appear to have spoken particularly about those* powers that arc properly denominated <lu*mons, as not hav ing the* physical prin¬ ciples of them from sense, from which it i» necessary that physical elise-ussions should originate. He nce also, he mentions the name of ela-moiis ; hi one place, where lie calls our rational soul the elamonof the animal; but in another, as
mm k I v.J
i IMPELS OF PLATO.
here, w here lie calls the Gods who produce generation, demons. Why there¬ fore, you may s.iy ; for this douht must ho first dissolved ; does he not make mention of chri. ons, who are such essentially? Is it heeause this was exhibited on the preceding day hy Socrates to his auditors [in the Republic] in which he spoke concerning the souls that preside over the lives of men, and those that punish offenders in Hades? lienee, he omits to mention these things, as being evident. From wh.it he had there said however, he was led to the recollection of the daemons celebrated by him. Thus also, having given a peculiar soul to each of the eight spheres, he omits the animation of the whole of the inerratic circle, as one, and of the stars comprehended by it, and likew ise, of the whole planetary sphere, as one, and of the planets contained in it, in consequence of these having been previously delivered by Socrates. This however, is attended with a probable reason.
lb turning then fore, to the before-mentioned enquiry, let us assign the reason why, in what is here said, Plato denominates these generation-producing Gods, (hemons. Theodoras then, considerin'’ these things after another manner, savs that they are called chemons as subsisting in habitude, but Gods, as Ixing with¬ out habitude ; arranging them in the sublunary parts ot the whole world, and asserting that some of them animate the universe differently from others. But our preceptor Sy nanus, in the first place thinks it proper, that they should be considered as (hemons, with reference to the celestial (iods. For they are sus¬ pended from these, and together with these, providentially attend to their proper allotments. And this irrangc m« iit is peculiarly Platonic. For in the Banquet, 1*1 ito denominates Love a da-mon, as the attendant of Venus, and as proceeding from the ti ul v -existing (iod Poms; though in the Pha-drus, lie admits Love to he a (iod, as with reference to the life which is elevated by him.
In the next place, according to another conception, we may say, that in the celestial regions there are chemons, lint in the sublunary region Gods, in the former however the genus is indeed divine,' though dainons also arc generated according to it ;* but in the latter the* whole' multitude are chemons. For there indeed, the divine pe culiarity, but here the ihemoniacal predominates ; to which some alone looking, have div ided the divine and the? da-moniaeal, ac¬ cording to the heavens and generation. They ought however, to have arranged nothin both; but in the former indeed the divine nature, and in the latter the
* II i» necessary here lo supply llie word door.
* III* recjuwilc to read *ar cwimi 1 , Mislead of *nr'
BOOK IT.
demoniacal predominates; though 1 in the latter there is also the divine peculi¬ arity. For if the whole world is a blessed God, no one of the parts which give completion to it is destitute of divinity and providential inspection. But if all things participate of deity and providence, the world is allotted a divine nature. And if this be the case, appropriate orders of Gods preside over its different parts. For ifthe heavens thr High souls and intellects as media, participate of onesoul, undone intellect, what ought we to think of these sublunary elements? llow is it possible, that these should not in a much greater degree participate through certain middle divine orders, of the one deity of the world ?
Fartln r still, it would also be* absurd that the telestic art (or the art pertaining to mystic c< remonies) should establish on the earth places fitted for oracles, and statues of the Gods, and through certain symbols should cause things generated from a partial and corruptible matter, to become adapted to the participation of deity, to lx* moved by him, and to predict future events; but that the IViniurgus of wholes should not place over the w hole elements which are the incorruptible plenitudes of the world, divine souls, intellects, and Gods. For whether w as he unwilling? But how could he lie unwilling, since lie wished to make all things similar to himself ? Was lie then unable ? But what could hinder him? For we see that this is possible from telestic w orks. But if lie w as both w illing and able, it is evident that he gave subsistence to Gods, who have allotments in, and are the inspective guardians of, generation. Since however the genus of diem oils is eiery where an attendant on the Coils, there are also (Lemons who are the fabri¬ cators of generation; some ot whom indeed rule over the whole elements, but others are the guardians of climates, others are the rulers of nations, others of cities, others of certain families, and others are the guardians of individuals. For the guardianship of (Lemons extends as far as to the most extreme division.
Having therefore solved the problem pertaining to the essence, let u> in tin* next place consider the order of the sublunary Gods. For let them l>e Gods, and let them be called daemons through the above-mentioned cause, hut where must we arrange them } Must it he as we have liefore said, under the moon, or prior to the celestial Gods? For this may appear to be proper for these two reasons; one indeed, liecause Plato indicates that lie ascends to a greater order, by saying that it exceeds our ability to speak concerning them, having already spoken concern-
* «a<ro* is erroneously omitted in (lie original.
* If the heavens require media in order lo the participation of one soul and one intellect, the sub¬ lunary elements require the»e in a much greater degree, on account of their inferiority to the heavens.
* The word Ltpayiuty is omiUed m the original
TIM/F.US OI- PLATO.
in" the celestial Gods ; hut the other, because lie follows in what he says, those who have delivered to us Theogonies. For they prior to the world and the De- miurgus, delivered these venerations of Gods proceeding from Heaven and Earth. In answer to this tjuery however, we must say, that he produces them after the celestial Gods, and through this from Heaven and Earth. For on this account he said that Earth was the most ancient of the Gods within the Heaven, because from this and Heaven, he was about to produce the other Gods which the heavens contain. This we demonstrate from the Demiurgus addressing his speech to these Gods, and to all tlie rest, as being produced by him within the universe. Why however, Plato says that he follows the theogony, and why he shall omit to speak concerning the sublunary deities, we must refer to his having no clear in¬ dications of the subsistence of these from the pha-noinenn, as he had of the celes¬ tial divinities, from the order of their periods, which is adapted to the government of Gods. It exceeds the province therefore of physiology to speak of lvoing«, concerning whom natural efleets afford us no stable belief. Hence Plato says, as a physiologist, that it surpasses his ability to speak of these.