Chap. V. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 285 



he lived, he was direded, by his Dreams, when and where he was to 

 find the Game f- In fhort, from his account of the matter, it ap- 

 pears that, through his whole life, in his bufmefs, his ftudies, and 

 even his fports, he was guided by the counfels and fuggeftions of 

 a genius, that accompanied him through life, but communicated with 

 him chiefly in Dreams ; whereas the Genius of Socrates gave him 

 warning, for the greater part, when he was awake if, never inciting 

 him. to do any thing, (for he had no need of that, being by nature 

 difpofed to every thing good and virtuous), but reftraining him from 

 fome things which would have proved fatal, to him. Of this Plato 

 has given one or two examples,. 



I afk again, upon the credit of what fyflem of philofophy I ought: 

 to rejedl the teftimony of fo eminent a bifliop of the primitive 

 church, who, befides, was the greateft philofopher of his age, arid 

 one of the worthieft and beft men of that or of any other age §,? 



Againft authorities, fo refpedable, I know nothing that can be faid, 

 except that fuch things do not happen in our age ; and that men, in all 

 ages and|nations,have been always the fame, equally religious, virtuous, 

 and learned ; and that, in every age and nation, there have been at 

 all times fuch men as Ariftides, Synefius, and Socrates. But this, I 

 think, no man, who is either fcholar or philofopher, will maintain ; 

 and though he be neither, yet, if he is a man of common obferva- 

 tion, and has lived as long as I have done, he will perceive a de- 

 cline of men, even in his own time, both in Mind and Body. 



But, 



t Page 123. 



J The Genius, or Daemon, as it was called, of Socrates, fpoke to him in an ao,- 

 diblc voice, as Plato relates in the Theages. E»1( ym( n Hut fcti^» 7ric^frtaii»i 'tfui 'm 



»«|J»S ifS*"*"" 5*'A*»"«». ffi " ftiiTt pawii, ^, iricf yttnrtti, '«(« fitt «-is/(iciMi, • '«» ^iAX« 



^mrrur,r»»fv *«*»t{«w»». «r{ir{iT(( Sf '(vSitrtTi, &c. It was the opinion o{ the An- 

 tients, that every man had a Genius that attended him through life, though he did 

 not manifeft himfeif, as the Genius of Socrates did, but was of a Divine Nature, 

 and therefore is called by Horace, Naturae Deus bumanae. 



§ See a very particular account of him by Tillereiont, in his EcdeSaftical Hiftory, 

 Vol. xii. p. 49a. 



