Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 64

συνελόντι δʼ εἰπεῖν οὔθʼ ὕδωρ οὔθʼ ἥλιον οὔτε γῆν οὔτʼ οὐρανὸν Ὄσιριν ἢ Ἶσιν ὀρθῶς ἔχει νομίζειν, οὐδὲ πῦρ Τυφῶνα πάλιν οὐδʼ αὐχμὸν οὐδὲ θάλατταν, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐν τούτοις ἄμετρον καὶ ἄτακτον ὑπερβολαῖς ἢ ἐνδείαις Τυφῶνι προσνέμοντες, τὸ δὲ κεκοσμημένον καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὠφέλιμον ὡς Ἴσιδος μὲν ἔργον εἰκόνα δὲ καὶ μίμημα καὶ λόγον Ὀσίριδος σεβόμενοι καὶ τιμῶντες, οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοιμεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Εὔδοξον ἀπιστοῦντα παύσομεν καὶ διαποροῦντα, πῶς οὔτε Δήμητρι τῆς τῶν ἐρωτικῶν ἐπιμελείας μέτεστιν ἀλλʼ Ἴσιδι· τόν τε Διόνυσον οὔτε τὸν Νεῖλον αὔξειν οὔτε τῶν τεθνηκότων ἄρχειν δυνάμενον. ἑνὶ γὰρ λόγῳ κοινῷ τοὺς θεοὺς τούτους περὶ πᾶσαν ἀγαθοῦ μοῖραν ἡγούμεθα τετάχθαι· καὶ πᾶν ὅσον ἔνεστι τῇ φύσει καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν διὰ τούτους ὑπάρχειν, τὸν μὲν διδόντα τὰς ἀρχάς, τὴν δʼ ὑποδεχομένην καὶ διανέμουσαν.

To put the matter briefly, it is not right to believe that water or the sun or the earth or the sky is Osiris or Isis; or again that fire or drought or the sea is Typhon, but simply if we attribute to Typhon whatever there is in these that is immoderate and disordered by reason of excesses or defects; and if we revere and honour what is orderly and good and beneficial as the work of Isis and as the image and reflection and reason of Osiris, we shall not be wrrong. Moreover, we shall put a stop to the incredulity of Eudoxus and his questionings how it is that Demeter has no share in the supervision of love affairs, but Isis has; and the fact that Dionysus cannot cause the Nile to rise, nor rule over the dead. For by one general process of reasoning do we come to the conclusion that these gods have been assigned to preside over every portion of what is good; and whatever there is in nature that is fair and good exists entirely because of them, inasmuch as Osiris contributes the origins, and Isis receives them and distributes them.