SOURCE: Oakesmith, John. “Chapter X.” In The Religion of Plutarch: A Pagan Creed of Apostolic Times, pp. 201-29. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1902.

In the following essay, Oakesmith discusses inconsistencies in Plutarch's religious and theological views and identifies some aspects of his beliefs that could be described as Christian.

We have endeavoured in the preceding pages [in John Oakesmith, The Religion of Plutarch] to ascertain, from Plutarch's own account of his views, the principles, the method and the character of his Religion; to learn in what manner he conceives the supernatural world and its relation to the human mind and to human interests; to discover and illustrate the processes by which these results are attained; to note their philosophic bearing and tendency; and to exemplify their application in the sphere of practical ethics. We have seen how clearly he recognizes the existence, and demonstrates the attributes, of a...