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Sallustius · Thomas Taylor
A concise summary of Neoplatonic theology from the late fourth century — in effect the catechism of the pagan revival under the emperor Julian, whose friend and praetorian prefect Sallustius is traditionally held to be its author. In twenty-one short chapters it sets out the nature of the gods, the eternity and incorruptibility of the world, the five kinds of myth, providence, fate and fortune, virtue and vice, the origin of evil, the soul and its transmigration, and the meaning of sacrifice. This is Thomas Taylor's translation of 1793; his notes are omitted. Public domain. It is requisite that those who are willing to hear concerning the gods should have been well informed from their childhood, and not nourished with foolish opinions. It is likewise necessary that they should be naturally prudent and good, that they may receive, and properly understand, the discourses which they hear. …
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