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41 XIII

Who among the gods has ever repented of former things? For a changed plan cannot follow without a weakening of preceding ones. Therefore, God ought to undergo no temporal exercise of either hatred or love, and for that reason should be touched neither by indignation nor by mercy, nor be contracted by any anguish, nor leap with any joy; rather, he should be free from all passions of the mind The term "passions" here refers to the Stoic concept of pathe—disturbances or emotions that affect the soul's steady state., never grieving nor ever rejoicing, nor willing or nilling anything suddenly. But all these things and others of that kind rightly suit the middle-nature of daemons. For they are situated between us and the gods, as much in the location of their region as in the nature of their minds, having in common with those above immortality, and with those below, passion. For they can just as we do undergo all the soothing or inciting 148 movements of the soul: they may be incited by anger, moved by mercy, invited by gifts, softened by prayers, exasperated by insults, and soothed by honors, and in all other things vary in a manner similar to 10 42 us. Indeed, to summarize the definition, daemons are: living beings by genus, rational by intellect, subject to emotion by soul, aerial by body, and eternal by time. This is the most famous definition of daemons in Western philosophy, later cited extensively by St. Augustine. Of these five attributes which I have mentioned, they share the first three with us from the beginning, the fourth is their own, and the last they hold in common with the immortal gods; yet they differ from the gods by their "passion" Here "passion" (passio) means the capacity to feel emotion or be affected by external things.. Therefore, I have not absurdly, I think, called them subject to emotion, because they are liable to the same disturbances of the 15 mind that we are.

43 XIV

For this reason, belief must be granted to the diverse observations of religions and the various sacrifices of sacred rites. There are some from this number of divine beings who rejoice in nocturnal or diurnal, public or secret, more joyful or more somber victims, or ceremonies, or rites, 149 20 just as the Egyptian deities Such as Isis or Osiris, often associated with ritual weeping for the dead. are generally pleased by wailings, the Greek deities mostly by choral dances, and the Barbarian deities A term used by Romans for non-Greco-Roman cultures, often referring to Phrygian or Eastern rites. by the noise of cymbals, drummers, and flute-players. Likewise, according to their regions, and other things...

original Latin: "habent enim cum diis communem immortalitatem corporum..."
7 Augustine, The City of God Book VIII, 14: "For they have in common with the gods the immortality of their bodies, but with men the passion of their souls."
9 Augustine, The City of God Book VIII, 17: "For since daemons... which Apuleius himself... is forced to confess, are incited by anger... invited by gifts... soothed by honors..."
11 Augustine, The City of God Book VIII, 16: "Briefly defining them, he says daemons are living beings by genus, subject to emotion by soul, rational by mind, aerial by body, eternal by time; of these five, the first three are the same as ours, the fourth is their own, the fifth they have in common with the gods."
Augustine, The City of God Book IX, 13: "He said they have three things with us: that they are living beings by genus, rational by mind, and subject to emotion by soul; with the gods one thing: that they are eternal by time; and one thing of their own: that they are aerial by body."
Vincent of Beauvais, Historical Mirror IV, 7: "Daemons... eternal."
15 Augustine, The City of God Book VIII, 16: "When the same Platonist spoke concerning the character of daemons, he said they are agitated by the same disturbances as men... delighted by diverse rites of sacrifices, and if anything in them is neglected, they are moved." (cf. also X, 27).

Translator's note on the critical apparatus: The notes below the main text show variations in the manuscript tradition (labeled M, F, O) and corrections made by scholars like Lipsius or Salmasius. For example, in line 2, 'odii' (hatred) was suggested by Lipsius where the manuscript O had 'opis' (power). In line 21, Salmasius suggests 'ceraularum' (horn-players) instead of 'coraularum' (flute-players).