P. [138]. Demon in Brazil: Voss, Theol. Gent. i. ch. 8.—Pagan worship in the Florentine and Roman Academies: Voigt, Wiederbelebung d. klass. Altertums, ii. p. 239 (2nd ed.); Hettner, Ital. Studien, p. 174.—On the conception of the antique gods in the earlier Middle Ages, see Gruppe, § 4.—Thomas Aquinas: Summa theol. P. ii. 2, Q. 94, art. 4.—Curious and typical of the mediaeval way of reasoning is the idea of seeking prototypes of the Christian history of salvation in pagan mythology. See v. Eicken, Gesch. u. System d. mittelalt. Weltanschauung (Stuttg. 1887), p. 648, and (with more detail) F. Piper, Mythologie u. Symbolik d. christl. Kunst (Weimar, 1847-51), i. p. 143; comp. also Gruppe, § 8 foll. Good instances are the myths in the Speculum humanae salvationis, chs. 3 and 24.
P. [139]. On Hebraism in general, see Gruppe, § 19 and § 24 foll.; on Huet, § 28. Nevertheless, Huet operates with demonology in connexion with the oracles (Dem. evang. ii. 9, 34, 4).
P. [140]. On Natalis Comes, see Gruppe, § 19. In bk. i. ch. 7, Natalis Comes gives an account of the origin of antiquity's conceptions of the gods; it has quite a naturalistic turn. Nevertheless, we find in ch. 16 a remark which shows that he embraced demonology in its crudest form; compare also the theory set forth in ch. 10. His interpretations of myths are collected in bk. x.—On Bacon, see Gruppe, § 22. Typhoeus-myth: introduct. to De sapientia veterum.—Alchemistic interpretations: Gedike, Verm. Schriften, p. 78; Gruppe, § 30. Of the works quoted by Gedike, I have consulted Faber's Panchymicum (Frankf. 1651) and Toll's Fortuita (Amsterd. 1687). Faber has only some remarks on the matter in bk. i. ch. 5; by Toll the alchemistic interpretation is carried through. Gedike quotes, moreover, a work by Suarez de Salazar, which must date from the sixteenth century; according to Jöcher (iv. 1913) it only exists in MS., and I do not know where Gedike got his reference.—Thomas: Summa, P. ii. 2, Q. 172, arts. 5 and 6.
P. [141]. Demonology as explanation of the oracles: see van Dale, De oraculis, p. 430 (Amsterd. 1700); he quotes numerous treatises from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I have glanced at Moebius, De oraculorum ethnicorum origine, etc. (Leipzig, 1656).—Caelius Rhodiginus: Lectionum antiq. (Leyden, 1516), lib. ii. cap. 12; comp. Gruppe, § 15.—Caelius Calcagninus: Oraculorum liber (in his Opera, Basle, 1544, p. 640). The little dialogue is not very easy to understand; it is evidently a satire on contemporary credulity; but that Caelius completely rejected divination seems to be assumed also by G. I. Voss, Theol. Gent. i. 6.—Machiavelli: Discorsi, i. 56.—Van Dale: De oraculis gentilium (1st ed. Amsterd. 1683); De idololatria (Amsterd. 1696). Difficulties with the biblical accounts of demons: De idol., dedication.—Fontenelle: Histoire des oracles (Paris, 1687). The little book [pg 164] has an amusing preface, in which Fontenelle with naïve complacency (and with a sharp eye for van Dale's deficiencies of style) gives an account of his popularisation of the learned work. On Fontenelle and the answer by the Jesuit, Balthus, see for further details Banier, La mythologie et les fables expliquées par l'histoire (Paris, 1738), bk. iii. ch. 1. Van Dale's book itself had called forth an answer by Moebius (included in the edition of 1690 of his work, de orac. ethn. orig.).—On the influence exercised by van Dale and Fontenelle on the succeeding mythologists, see Gruppe, § 34.—Banier: see Gruppe, § 35.
P. [143]. Vico: Scienza nuova (Milan, 1853), p. 168 (bk. ii. in the section, Della metafisica poetica); political allegories, e.g. p. 309 (in the Canone mitologico). Comp. Gruppe, § 44.—Banier: in the work indicated above, bk. i. ch. 5.
P. [144]. On the mythological theories of the eighteenth century, comp. Gruppe, § 36 foll.; on Bryant, § 40; on Dupuis, § 41.—Polemic against Euhemerism from the standpoint of nature-symbolism: de la Barre, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de la religion en Grèce, in Mém. de l'Acad. des Inscr. xxiv. (1749; the treatise had already been communicated in 1737 and 1738); a posthumous continuation in Mém. xxix. (1770) gives an idea of de la Barre's own point of view, which was not a little in advance of his time. Comp. Gruppe, § 37.
P. [145]. A good survey of modern investigations in the field of the history of ancient religion is given by Sam Wide in the Einleit. in die Altertumswissensch. ii.; here also remarks on the mythology of older times. The later part of Gruppe's work contains a very full treatment of the subject.