89. These[320] and others are the fabulous imaginations of the heathen, and, being rightly understood, they are such that their worship, though in ignorance, brings damnation.
100. They say manes are the gods of the dead, whose power, they assert, is between the moon and the earth....
101. Larvae they say are demons made from men who have been wicked. It is said to be their nature to terrify little ones and to gibber in dark corners.
BOOK IX
ON LANGUAGES, RACES, EMPIRES, WARFARE, CITIZENS, RELATIONSHIPS
INTRODUCTION
In spite of the apparent lack of unity indicated by the title, the subject of Book IX may be fairly described as mankind. It is true that language is the first topic, but it is brought in merely because Isidore believed that differences of race were based on differences of language. It is followed by a survey of the races of mankind, ending with an account of the races that had won military prominence. Isidore then turns to man within the state and treats of him first as a soldier and then as a citizen. Finally man is taken up as a member of the family, and an account of family relationship and of marriage is given.[321]
ANALYSIS
| I. | Languages (ch. 1). | |
| II. | Mankind (ch. 2). | |
| 1. | Mankind the descendants of the sons of Noah (Secs. 2–37). | |
| 2. | General view of the peoples of the earth with their Hebrew origin where known (Secs. 37–135). | |
| III. | Empires, rulers, and warfare (ch. 3). | |
| IV. | Terms relating to civil life (ch. 4). | |
| V. | The family (chs. 5–7). | |
| 1. | The direct line (ch. 5). | |
| 2. | Relatives and degrees of relationship, with the “prohibited degrees” (ch. 6). | |
| 3. | Marriage (ch. 7). | |