_Empedocles_ also believed in one Supreme God, who "is wholly and perfectly mind, ineffable, holy, with rapid and swift-glancing thought pervading the whole world," and from whom all things else are derived,--"all things that are upon the earth, and in the air and water, may be truly called the works of God, who ruleth over the world, out of whom, according to Empedocles, proceed all things, plants, men, beasts, and _gods_."[189] The minor deities are therefore _made_ by God. It will not be denied that _Socrates_ was a devout and earnest Theist. He taught that "there is a Being whose eye pierces throughout all nature, and whose ear is open to every sound; extending through all time, extended to all places; and whose bounty and care can know no other bounds than those fixed by his own creation."[190] And yet he also recognized the existence of a plurality of gods, and in his last moments expressed his belief that "it is lawful and right to pray to the gods that his departure hence may be happy."[191] We see, however, in his words addressed to Euthydemus, a marked distinction between these subordinate deities and "Him who raised this whole universe, and still upholds the mighty frame, who perfected every part of it in beauty and in goodness, suffering none of these parts to decay through age, but renewing them daily with unfading vigor;... even he, _the Supreme God_, still holds himself invisible, and it is only in his works that we are capable of admiring him."[192] [Footnote 188: Clem. Alex., "Stromat." bk. v.] [Footnote 189: Aristotle, "De Mundo," ch. vi.] [Footnote 190: Xenophon's "Memorabilia," i. 4.] [Footnote 191: "Phædo," § 152.] [Footnote 192: "Memorabilia," iv. 3.] It were needless to attempt the proof that _Plato_ believed in one Supreme God, and _only_ one. This one Being is, with him, "the first God;" "the greatest of the gods;" "the God over all;" "the sole Principle of the universe." He is "the Immutable;" "the All-perfect;" "the eternal Being." He is "the Architect of the world; "the Maker of the universe; the Father of gods and men; the sovereign Mind which orders all things, and passes through all things; the sole Monarch and Ruler of the world.[193] And yet remarkable as these expressions are, sounding, as they do, so like the language of inspiration,[194] there can be no doubt that Plato was also a sincere believer in a plurality of gods, of which, indeed, any one may assure himself by reading the _tenth_ book of "the Laws." [Footnote 193: See chap. xi.] [Footnote 194: Some writers have supposed that Plato must have had access through some medium to "the Oracles of God." See Butler, vol. ii. p. 41.]