THE KING'S MIRROR 189 



stand that we believe in one true God and not in nu- 

 merous idols like the heathen who formerly called upon ^ 

 seven gods. For they held that one god ruled the heavO 

 ens; another, the heavenly bodies; a third, the earth f 

 and its fruits; a fourth, the sea and its waters; a fifth, the ^ 

 air and the winds; a sixth, learning and eloquence; a 

 seventh, death and hell.] Now we should honor the one ^ 

 true God Whom all creation serves and call upon Him 

 in singular terms, lest false gods obtain our worship, if 

 when calling upon the divine name we use plural terms, 

 as if there were more than one God. There is this added 

 reason, that simple^njjnded folk may conclude tl 

 there are more gods than one if His name be invoked in 

 plural terms. Thus it is rightfully and wisely ordered, 

 so that a simple and holy faith shall have no cause to 

 stray away from the true highway. Now if you do not 

 fully grasp this speech, we shall find more to say; but 

 if it has led you to clearer insight, we may as well direct 

 our thoughts to the other matters that you have asked 

 about. 



XXXIV 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED 



Son. These things seem very clear to me and it ap- 

 pears both reasonable and necessary that one should 

 use the singular rather than the plural in addressing 

 God, lest the true faith be debased by the use of plural 

 expressions and the cunning adversaries obtain the wor- 

 ship that a simple and true faith refuses them. But 

 now I wish to have you turn to what I asked about the 

 mighty men of this world, and explain why it seems 

 better to address them in plural than in singular terms. 



