wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

498 Apuleius his ReduSiion of ths: Boo k. Lgation From this eminent philologer, (whofe polymathy and multifarioaslearning is readily acknowledged by us) that he was not fo well verfed irvall the niceties and punctilio's of the Platonick fi^hool. For though Jptkleiusdo in that hook, befides thofe vifible gods the ftar?,.cake notice ofanother kind of in vifible ones,, fuch as the twelve Confentes, and others,^which (he faith) we may animis conjeSiarCy pr varias titilitates in vilffagenda, animadverfas in iis rebus, quibus eorum fingiiU ctirant -, make a con'je£iure of by our minds from the various utilities in human life, perceivedfrom thofe things,, which each of thefe take care of : yet that he was no bi"-got in this civil theology, is manifefl from hence, becaufe in that veryplace, he declares as well againft fupcrftition, as irreligious prophanenefs.And his defign there was plainly no other, than to reduce the civil and poeticaltheologies of the Pagans into feme handfome con-formity and agreementwith that philofophical, natural, and real theology of theirs, whichbut this hederived all the gods from one fupreme and univerfal Numen :endeavours to do in the Platonick way, himfelf being much addifted tothat philofophy.. Uos deos in fublimi atberis vertice locatos, Plato exifiimatveros, incorporales, animates,.fine ulio neque fne neque exordio, fed prorfusac retro aviternos, corporis contagione fid quidem naturd remotos, in'genio ad fummam beatitudinem porreBo, &c. Riorum parentem, qui omniumrerum dominator atque aucfor efi, folum ab omnibus nexibus patiendi aliquidgerendive, nulla vice ad alicujus rei mutua obflri^lum^ cur ego nunc dicereexordiar ? Cum Plato ccelefli facundia praditus, frequentiffime pradicet, huntfolum mcjeflatis iruredibili quadam nimietate ^ ineffabili, non pojfe penuriafermonis humani quavis orations, vel modice comprehendi. All thefe godsplaced in the h:ghefi either Plato thijiks to be true, incorporeal, animal,iviihout beginning or end, eternal, happy in themfelves without any externalgood. The parent of which gods, who is the Lord and author of alt things,and who is alone free from all bonds of doing and fuffering, why fiwuld I goaboutin words to defer ibe him ? Since Plato, who was endued with 7i3cft heavenlyeloquence, equal to the immortal gods, does often declare, that thisbighefl Gcd, by reafon of his excefs of majefty, is both ineffable and incemprehenftb'e.From which words of Jpuleius it is plain, that according tohim, the twelve Confentes, and all the other invifible gods were derivedfrom one original Deity, as their parent and author. But then if youdemand,what gods of Plato thefe Ihould be, to which Apuleius wouldhere accommodate the civil and poetick gods contained in thofe twoverfcsof Ennius,funo, Vefla, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars,.Mercurius, Jovi\ Neptunus, Vukanus, Jpollo.and the reft of this kind, that is, all their other gods (properly focalled) invifible? wc reply, that thefe are no other than Plato''?, ideas,-or firft paradigms and patterns of things in the archetypal world,which is the divine Intelleft (and his fecond hypoftafis) derived frombisfirft original Deity, and mod fimple monad. For as Plato wri-^tth in his Timcius, di/dy)in tskTi rev xcriJ-ov, dni.x tivo? fTv-ai, This fenfiblevjorld.