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Iamblichus, De Mysteriis 3.15.135-136: The gods produce the signs either by means of nature, which is subservient to them for the creation of each thing, both universal and particular, or through the agency of demons concerned with creation, who, presiding over the elements of the universe and individual bodies, indeed over all living beings in the cosmos, guide the phenomena with ease in a manner pleasing to the gods. They reveal through symbols the purpose of the gods, even giving advance notice of the future, neither talking nor concealing, as Heraclitus says, but giving indication by signs, since they impress, as with a likeness, the manner of creation actually by giving advance notice. Thus even as they create all things by images, so also they signify them in the same way by agreed-upon signs; and perhaps they even awaken our understanding, by the same impulse to a greater acuteness.
Source (list of abbreviations)
Iamblichus, De Mysteriis 3.15.135-136
Bibliography
Clarke, Dillon and Hershell 2003, 157-159 | Clarke, Emma C., John M. Dillon and Jackson P. Hershbell. Iamblichus, De Mysteriis. Translated with an Introduction and Notes. Writings from the Graeco-Roman World 4. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature 2003. |
Amar Annus
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