On the German Gods

Most Noble, Magnificent, Most Distinguished, Most Expert, and Most Prudent Men, Leaders of the Muses and most honorable Patrons.

The plurality of gods—if we set aside the influence of the Devil—was introduced by the opinion of the common people and the ignorant. For these people, giving too much rein to their own reasoning, could not be persuaded that such a massive machine The author uses "machinam" (machine) as a metaphor for the universe or the created world. and so many various things of different natures within it could subsist unless they assigned a specific Deity to each one. From this, their gods began to be distributed into as many crowds as possible. And although some among the Romans invented thirty thousand gods—which might have been enough for their madness and impiety—a story is found of a Philosopher left in Rome by the Gauls after the city was captured and the Capitol besieged. This man, just as he was about to pay his debt to nature A common Latin idiom for dying., spoke to the Senate who had come to visit him. He said he rejoiced because, at the time he had first come to Rome, he had seen a huge and unbearable disgrace: namely, that the city was quite poor in gods; but now, their number had increased to match the number of citizens. For just as there were two hundred and eighty thousand citizens, so too he was leaving behind just as many gods for the city—one for every person—adding that in the future, each person, content with his own household deity term: "Lare" | The Lares were ancient Roman guardian spirits of the home and family., would not weary the public divinities of the city.

And lest the vanity of these people remain entirely hidden from the unlearned, besides Janus, Saturn, Jupiter, the Genius A personal guardian spirit or guiding impulse., Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Vulcan, Neptune, the Sun, Orcus A god of the underworld or death., Father Liber An ancient Italian god of wine and fertility, later identified with Bacchus., Earth, Ceres, Juno, Minerva, the Moon, Diana, Venus, and Vesta: they also adopted infinite others into the number of the gods from among men, based on the specific duties over which they were placed. Such were Cautius A minor deity associated with caution or wariness., Lucina The goddess of childbirth, who "brings light" to the newborn., Opis A goddess of fertility and the earth., Vagitanus The god who was said to open the mouths of infants to their first cry., Curia A goddess of the curia or assembly., Rumina The goddess who presided over breastfeeding., Stellinus A god believed to give children the power of speech., Adeona A goddess who protected children as they returned home., Mens The personification of Mind or Intellect., Volumnus The god who presided over the will. and Volu- meta: catchword "Volu-" likely refers to Volupia, the goddess of pleasure.