More and Mirandola

'On the religions of the Utopians,' in Book 2 reminded me rather forcibly of 'On the Dignity of Man,' by Pico della Mirandola. More begins this last section of the Book with a description of the different religions of Utopia; some being the worship of fire, some the moon, planets, prominent men, and so on, as well as the worship of the supreme Being or Deity. 'Being' is a common way to refer to a god or God, but it made me think specifically of Mirandola's treatment of Plato's concept of the One. Raphael, in the story, says, "They differ in this, that one thinks the God whom he worships is this supreme Being, and another thinks that his idol is that God; but they all agree in one principle, that whoever is this supreme Being, He is also that great Essence to whose glory and majesty all honours are ascribed by the consent of all nations." And that explains the connection I made. Mirandola was eccentric in that he collected and studied a variety of religious texts, not only Christian but Muslim and Jewish, including the qabbalah. He equated these differing concepts of God with the One, as if all the differences between religions were merely trifles for all are worshipping the same Being. The same apparently is believed in Utopia, where the founder of the country, "seemed to doubt whether those different forms of religion might not all come from God, who might inspire men in a different manner, and be pleased with this variety."