Page:The religion of Plutarch, a pagan creed of apostolic times; an essay (IA religionofplutar00oakeiala).pdf/161

 a belief in the nativity and mortality of the Dæmons is not unknown in Greek philosophy, "for the Stoics," says he, "maintain this view, not only with regard to the Dæmons but also with regard to the gods—holding one for the Eternal and Immutable, while regarding the remainder to have been born, and to be subject to death." The whole course of the argument, even though the speakers are represented as unconscious of the fact, leads to the identification of the popular deities with the Dæmons. This strain of thought elsewhere loses the unconscious quality, and becomes as definitely dogmatic as Plutarch's Academic bent of mind would allow. In the "Isis and Osiris," for example, he argues for the probability of the view which assigns the legends of these two deities not to gods or men, but to Dæmons; and proceeds still further to breach the partition wall between the two natures by introducing into his Dæmonology such legends as have raised Osiris and Isis, on account of their virtue, from the rank of good Dæmons to that of the gods, and describes them as receiving everywhere the combined honours of gods and Dæmons; and he appropriates the argument to Greek religion by comparing this promotion to those of Herakles and Dionysus; by identifying Isis with Proserpine, and subsequently Osiris with Dionysus.