But though the spirit of Plutarch was not destined in this way to pass directly on to the believer in Christianity, the time was to come when, among the best and purest adherents of that faith, his teachings would be regarded as efficacious for the sincerest goodness. "The works of Jeremy Taylor," says Archbishop Trench, "contain no less than two hundred and fifty-six allusions or direct references made by him to the writings of Plutarch." But direct indebtedness of this kind does not necessarily imply similarity of spirit, and fortunately the mental attitude of Plutarch is one which appears essential to human progress, and does not depend upon the continuity of a tradition. "Plutarch," wrote Emerson, "will be perpetually rediscovered from time to time as long as books last."[1] He will be perpetually rediscovered because there will be a perpetually recurring necessity to look at life from his point of view. But he will be perpetually rediscovered because he is perpetually allowed to disappear. There will always be those among the disciples of Religion and the followers of Science who maintain that there can be no truce, no toleration between the two, and the history of the human race will be formulated into an indictment against the Superstition of the one, and the most terrible anathemas of the Church will be fulminated against the Atheism of the other. Meanwhile those who take a middle course
- [Footnote: with Apollonius of Tyana, instead of Jesus Christ.—"Apollonius of
Tyana, who was no longer a mere philosopher, but a being half-human, half-divine" (Eunapius, op. cit.).]
- ↑ See Emerson's "Introduction" to Goodwin's translation of the "Morals."
