http://www.ashokkarra.com/2007/01/democracys-mysticism-thoughts-on-all-religions-are-one-by-blake/ On Poetry, Politics and Philosophy - A Sketch, An Intersection Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:44:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.ashokkarra.com/2007/01/democracys-mysticism-thoughts-on-all-religions-are-one-by-blake/comment-page-1/#comment-5324 Notker Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:22:08 +0000 http://www.ashokkarra.com/?p=78#comment-5324 The Greeks believed in the Good Genius or Agathodaimon, who was assigned to each mortal. Invincible, they would guide their charges throughout their lives, and die with them. This is a concept very close to, though differing in certain respects from the Christian concept of the guardian angel. Socrates had a daimon that was famous for always saying “No”. It did not enter into rational discourse with Socrates; it merely warned him when he was about to do something wrong (especially something displeasing to the gods), like the prompting of conscience. Guardian angels entered Christian belief from Neo-Platonism and, along with the other classes of angels, became part of Christian dogma at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), though there are Old Testament references that could be interpreted in that light, for instance the “hedge of angels” in Psalm 34. For Blake, I think, Greek ‘Daimon’ = Latin ‘Genius’ = Hebrew ‘Angel’. The Greeks believed in the Good Genius or Agathodaimon, who was assigned to each mortal. Invincible, they would guide their charges throughout their lives, and die with them. This is a concept very close to, though differing in certain respects from the Christian concept of the guardian angel. Socrates had a daimon that was famous for always saying “No”. It did not enter into rational discourse with Socrates; it merely warned him when he was about to do something wrong (especially something displeasing to the gods), like the prompting of conscience. Guardian angels entered Christian belief from Neo-Platonism and, along with the other classes of angels, became part of Christian dogma at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), though there are Old Testament references that could be interpreted in that light, for instance the “hedge of angels” in Psalm 34. For Blake, I think, Greek ‘Daimon’ = Latin ‘Genius’ = Hebrew ‘Angel’.

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