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W.H. KENT
Transcribed by Tomas Hancil
(Greek daimon and daimonion,
Lat. daemonium).
In Scripture and in Catholic theology this word has come to mean much the
same as devil and denotes one of the evil spirits or fallen angels. And in
fact in some places in the New Testament where the Vulgate, in agreement
with the Greek, has daemonium, our vernacular versions read devil. The
precise distinction between the two terms in ecclesiastical usage may be
seen in the phrase used in the decree of the Fourth Lateran Council: "Diabolus
enim et alii daemones" (The devil and the other demons), i.e. all are
demons, and the chief of the demons is called the devil. This distinction is
observed in the Vulgate New Testament, where diabolus represents the Greek
diabolos and in almost every instance refers to Satan himself, while his
subordinate angels are described, in accordance with the Greek, as daemones
or daemonia This must not be taken, however, to indicate a difference of
nature; for Satan is clearly included among the daemones in James 2:19 and
in Luke 11:15-18. But though the word demon is now practically restricted to
this sinister sense, it was otherwise with the earlier usage of the Greek
writers. The word, which is apparently derived from daio "to divide" or
"apportion", originally meant a divine being; it was occasionally applied to
the higher gods and goddesses, but was more generally used to denote
spiritual beings of a lower order coming between gods and men. For the most
part these were beneficent beings, and their office was somewhat analogous
to that of the angels in Christian theology. Thus the adjective eydaimon
"happy", properly meant one who was guided and guarded by a good demon. Some
of these Greek demons, however, were evil and malignant. Hence we have the
counterpart to eudamonia "happiness", in kakodaimonia which denoted
misfortune, or in its more original meaning, being under the possession of
an evil demon. In the Greek of the New Testament and in the language of the
early Fathers, the word was already restricted to the sinister sense, which
was natural enough, now that even the higher gods of the Greeks had come to
be regarded as devils.
We have a curious instance of the confusion caused by the ambiguity and
variations in the meaning of the word, in the case of the celebrated
"Daemon" of Socrates. This has been understood in a bad sense by some
Christian writers who have made it a matter of reproach that the great Greek
philosopher was accompanied and prompted by a demon. But, as Cardinal
Manning clearly shows in his paper on the subject, the word here has a very
different meaning. He points to the fact that both Plato and Xenophon use
the form daimonion, which Cicero rightly renders as divinum aliguid,
"something divine". And after a close examination of the account of the
matter given by Socrates himself in the reports transmitted by his
disciples, he concludes that the promptings of the "Daemon" were the
dictates of conscience, which is the voice of God.
It may be observed that a similar change and deterioration of meaning has
taken place in the Iranian languages in the case of the word daeva.
Etymologically this is identical with the Sanskrit deva, by which it is
rendered in Neriosengh's version of the Avesta. But whereas the devas of
Indian theology are good and beneficent gods, the daevas of the Avesta are
hateful spirits of evil. (v)
Resource List - Entry taken verbatim
from the original source:
(v)
http://www.newadvent.org/ The Catholic
Encyclopedia, Volume II. Copyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton Company.
Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by Kevin Knight. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
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