St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

Of Plato's affirmation, that the gods were all good, and louers of vertue. CHAP. 13.

WHerefore though in other points they and wee doe differ, yet to ouer-passe them in this great controuersie now in hand, I aske them what gods we must worship? the good, the bad, or both? nay herein we must take Plato's (a) assertion, that holds all the good to be good, no bad ones of them: Why then this worship is the gods, •…•…or then it is the gods, and if they be bad their god-head is gone. This being true, (and what else should we beleeue:) then downe goeth the (b) opinion that affirmes a necessity of appeasing the bad gods by sacrifices, and inuoking the good. For there are no bad gods: & the good onely (if there were) must haue the worship, without any other pertakers. What are they then that loue stage-plaies, and to see their owne crimes, thrust into their honors and religion? their power prooues them some-thing, but their affects conuince them wicked, Plato's opini∣on of playes was shewen in his iudgement of the expulsion of Poets, as pernici∣ous and balefull to an honest state. What gods are they now that oppose Plato in defence of those playes? hee cannot endure that the gods should bee slandered, they cannot endure vnlesse they be openly defaced. Nay they added malicious cruelty to their bestiall desires, depriuing T. Latinus of his sonne, & striking him * 1.1 with a disease, mary when they had done as they pleased, then they freed him frō his maladie. But Plato very wisely for bad all feare of the euill powers, & confirm∣ing himselfe in his opinion, feared not to avow the expulsion of al these politique absurdities, from a firme state, all those filthinesses y^• those gods delighted in. And this Plato doth Labeo make a Semy-god: euen that (c) Labeo that holds that sad, black * 1.2 and bloudy sacrifices do fit the euill gods, & mirthfull orgies the good: why then

dares Plato, but a semigod, boldly debarre the gods themselues, the very good ones, from those delights which hee held obscaence and vnlawfull? These gods neuerthelesse confute Labeo, for they showed them-selues cruell and barbarous a∣gainst Latinus, not mirthfull nor game-some. Let the Platonists, that hold all the gods to be good and in vertue the fellowes of the wise, and affirme it a sacriledge to beleeue other of them, let them expound vs this mistery, wee will, say they: marke vs well we do so.

L. VIVES.

PLato's. (a) Assertion.) Deleg. 10. he saith the gods are good, full of vertue, prouidence and ius∣tice: but yet that they haue all this from him that hath the true being, the Prince of nature, as from the fountaine of all goodnesse. This argument Socrates (in their banquet) vseth to proue Loue no god: all the gods are good, and blessed: so is not Loue: ergo. Porphyry de sacrific. 3. GOD is neither hurtfull, nor needefull of any thing. So held the Stokes, as Tully saith, Offic. 2 but wee are all for Plato now; whereof Agustine speakes: if wee should recite all, what end should wee make. (b) The opinion.] Apuleius saith some of the Daemones loue day offerings, some the nights, some mirthfull rites, some sad and melancholy. De deo socrat Porpherio vpon Horace his Carmen seculare saith it, was a common opinion that some gods were worshipped * 1.3 least they should hurt, and others from protection. Plutarch saith that kings and princes did offer sacrifices to these great Daemones, to auert their wrath which was alwaies most perillous. Porphery saith that states neede some-times offer to the diuells to appease them from hurting their corne, cat∣tell or horses, for sure it is (quoth he) that if they bee neglected they will become angry, and doe men much mischiefe: but lawfull worship they haue none, and this the diuines (not the vulgar onely) do hold, allowing sacrifices to bee offered them, but that they must not bee tasted of. De abstinent a∣nimat. * 1.4 lib. 2. (c) Labeo.] Porphery in the said booke, allowes no liuing creature, but fruites flowers hony and meale to be offered to the gods aboue: So vsed the ancients, and so should it be saith Theophrastus, and Pithagoras would neuer suffer creature to bee killed for sacrifice. But blood and slaughter are expiations for the deuills. And Porphery elsewhere saith that the lower the gods are, the sadder sacrifies they require: the earth-gods, and hell-gods loue blacke cattell: the first vpon alltars, the latter in graues and pits.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Desires.
• * 1.2

  Labeo.
• * 1.3

  Why the euill gods are wor∣shipped.
• * 1.4

  The super∣nall gods haue no creatures liuing offe∣red to them