Chapter XI. How We Ought to Honour the Death of Those Who Have Nobly Resigned Their Life. From Plato

[1]’OF those then who have been killed in war, shall we not say in the first place that any one who died an honourable death was of the golden race?

‘Most certainly.

‘But when any of such a race as this have died, shall we not believe Hesiod, that:

“These still on earth as holy daemons dwell, Brave guardians of mankind from every ill”?

‘Yes, we shall believe him.

‘Shall we then inquire of the god how we ought to class daemons and deities, and with what difference, and place them thus in whatever way he may direct?

‘Of course we shall.

‘And for all time to come, believing them to have become daemons, we shall so serve and worship their tombs; and these same customs we shall observe, when from old age or any other cause any one dies of those who have been judged pre-eminently good in life? ‘

These customs also may fitly be adopted on the death of those beloved of God, whom you would not do wrong in calling soldiers of the true religion. Hence comes also our custom of visiting their tombs, and offering our prayers beside them, and honouring their blessed souls, believing that we do this with good reason.

But in truth though I have made these selections out of the writings of Plato, any other student might find still more points of agreement with our doctrines in the same author, and perhaps in others also. Since, however, others before us have touched upon the same subject, I think it would be right for me to look at the results of their work also. And I will quote first the words of the Hebrew philosopher Aristobulus, which are as follows: [2]