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The City of God

Chapter 11.--Of the Opinion of the Platonists, that the Souls of Men Become Demons When Disembodied.

He ¹ says, indeed, that the souls of men are demons, and that men become Lares if they are good, Lemures or Larvae if they are bad, and Manes if it is uncertain whether they de serve well or ill. Who does not see at a glance that this is a mere whirlpool sucking men to moral destruction? For, however wicked men have been, if they suppose they shall become Larvae or divine Manes, they will become the worse the more love they have for inflicting injury; for, as the Larvae are hurtful demons made out of wicked men, these men must suppose that after death they will be invoked with sacrifices and divine honors that they may inflict injuries. But this question we must not pursue. He also states that the blessed are called in Greek eudaimones, because they are good souls, that is to say, good demons, confirming his opinion that the souls of men are demons.

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De civitate Dei (CCSL)

Caput XI: De opinione Platonicorum, qua putant animas hominum daemones esse post corpora.

Dicit quidem et animas hominum daemones esse et ex hominibus fieri Lares, si boni meriti sunt; lemures, si mali, seu laruas; manes autem deos dici, si incertum est bonorum eos seu malorum esse meritorum. in qua opinione quantam uoraginem aperiant sectandis perditis moribus, quis non uideat, si uel paululum adtendat? quandoquidem quamlibet nequam homines fuerint, uel laruas se fieri dum opinantur, uel dum manes deos, tanto peiores fiunt, quanto sunt nocendi cupidiores, ut etiam quibusdam sacrificiis tamquam diuinis honoribus post mortem se inuitari opinentur, ut noceant. laruas quippe dicit esse noxios daemones ex hominibus factos. sed hinc alia quaestio est. inde autem perhibet appellari Graece beatos εὐδαίμονες, quod boni sint animi, hoc est boni daemones, animos quoque hominum daemones esse confirmans.