indulgent concessions to an opposite view, is never lost sight of, and towards the conclusion of his search for parallelisms and similarities, he expresses his aim in unmistakable and peculiarly Plutarchean language. After passing severe criticism on the impiety of those who give the names of gods to the productions of Nature, asserting that Dionysus is Wine, and Hephaistos Flame (which, says he, is like identifying sail and cable and anchor with the pilot, the thread with the weaver, or the draught with the physician), he adds, "God is not lifeless, unintelligent, subject to man, as these things are. But it is from these blessings that we conclude that those who bestow them upon us for our use, and give us a constant and never-failing supply thereof, are gods, not different gods among different peoples, not Barbarian gods, nor Greek gods, not gods of the south nor gods of the north; but just as the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, and the sea are common to all, but receive different names among different peoples, so likewise are different honours assigned and different invocations addressed to the gods in different places according to the customs there established. Yet is it one Reason which admonishes, and one Providence which directs, while subordinate powers have been appointed over all things. Certain peoples make use of sacred symbols which, with greater or less clearness, direct the understanding to divine knowledge, and yet
- [Footnote: *—Isis and the deities that go in her train are universally known and
worshipped. The names, indeed, of certain of them have been borrowed from the Egyptians, not so long ago; but their divinity has been known and recognized for ages."]
