Julius Africanus and the early Christian view of magic

JlllillS AfricallUS aIld tIle EarI)'T C:hristia11 View ot- Magic hv, Francis C. It rfhcc J. C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck...

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JlllillS AfricallUS aIld tIle EarI)'T C:hristia11

View ot- Magic hv,

Francis C. It rfhcc

J. C.B.

Mohr (Paul Siebeck) Tiibingen 19H4

-fhff, F"~J~d~ C. R.: lulius Africmus and the earlv, Chrlsd:fln 'i1~"'" . ofmJ:gjc;' by Fra.nds C. H. Thee. - TiibEngen: Mohr. JW}4l (Hl:'rmt=no:utisch(" Umcr!:iuch ungcn zmfht'oJogie; '9) ISl-lN .3-16-144552-X IS SN 0440-71 80 NE:GT

©J. C. B. Mohr (paul Sieb~ 1St es ;luch n.ich[ gC'!'if.:l [tel da~ BllI:h odcr T eik: ail filllS ;lU f photOl"ncchiifdscheHl Wegl' (Ilhotokol-'k'. .'.i'ho kQpic) ?u ....c;r ..·id f.l]t&gen. Printed ill German~" Satz una Druck: Gulae-Druck GmbH, Tubingcn. Emb2nd: H~inrich I

Koeh. GroB buchbind-erei, Tlihingen.

To PauJ. and Yetta.

and To Mary end Paul

TA13LE OF CONT!-1r!'S Page: Ll~"'1'

OF

It·L'!JS'.ttl't~'I'IOIm

.

ACKNOl'l'lZIXrv.ENTS •

xi

INTRODUCTiON . . .

1

Statement of the Problem. . . . . . • . ABJle ct g o:f" the problem Statement of the thesi~ Working Definition of Magie Introduetion.

1

8

Definition, and related tenDs

Chapt.er I.

THE STUDY OF JULIUS AFRICA1{US AND HIS KESTOT ~

11

and B,yzantin~ R~ference5 . . . Greek and related ecclesiastica.1 sources Syriac ecclesiastical sources

13

An~ient

Semlle.r sources Surnma.ry Early Studies . • . . . . . .

~

A

n~

32

. . . . • •

Sixteenth to eighteenth centuries Nineteenth a.nd early twentieth centuries Recent Contributions . . • • _ . A ne-" era

. . .. . .

.'

.

..

..

aPlJroach?

Variant vievs other ~pe-cula:tions Sta:t.U6 of the q'UeBtion

The new era renovated F.esults of the nevera Summary and Cone 1 usi ons .. • • .. .. .. .. .. • • II.

TRAlfSL!\Tlm~

OF THE ICEST:Ql FRAG}.fENTS .. .. • , • ..

Si.gla . • • • . .. • •

•

1;

•

•

Ke~tos

,IJI.

•

..

..

. 100

•

1

102

• .. ,.

"..

+

"104

105

The Kestoi Fragm~ntSt The Kestoi Fragments t II; Ext~A~ts concerning Military Matt.era • • • • • . + • • " + + .. The Kestoi Fragments, I II ; Ertr8.ct Ii concerning lii.:ep1at.1"1 Cil. • • • • + 156 The Kestoi Fragroent B. I1l~ Concerning Weigllt5 and Measures... . . . .. ...... + , ... . . 173 +

•

•

~,

.... i1

'WI

1'

• • •

•

?

~

"",.",'1'.

..

.,

...

It

viii

Contents

Chapter II.

Page

The Kestoi Fragments tV: Pa.pyrus Oxyrhynchu,S 412. . • • The Kest01 Fragments .. VI; KestQs 13 ~ Cha.pt'IH· 22.. • The Kestoi Fragments:> VIIi Concerning Cinnamon . . • . . The Kegtoi Fro.gmentl3 t VIII; Concerning Dyeing

• 180 · 183

The Kestoi Fragnlents

· 186 · 191

w

Appendix; TIl.

w

•

•

•

Citat i on:e . .. • • + • • Selected Frasmenta or the Chrobograpqy . • t

IX:

· lB4

· 185

M'UCANUStg VIEW' OF MAGIC.

..

Pasaages to be Considered. • .

• . 193

From the

w

193

K~stoi

F:r-olIl the fhronogra.pl,rr . . . . • . . . ..

KnO'oi'l edge 0 f Mg,gi c ..

199

Pentagon paSS&g@"s Zoological passages Humat') t:iubst e.nces

Plant pas !;oages

Miot!ral and siJ!u.lar substances Charms and rites Gods and daemons

Other featlU'es Pu!-pOSE!6 of theuaes Summo..ry of Afrl c anus "s Knowledge of Nagic", Areas of magi c Types of" pro and he cites or names all the other llOrks attributed to Africanus by modern scholars, 1. e., the letters to Origen and to Aristides,. and tbe Kestoi.

In tl'le In the

Chronicle~

Prefaee~

he lists

FusebiuB refers to Af'ricanus three tilD:l!.'s. Atri~anU8 betwe~~

Clement and Tatian as

emong those who place M03es in the t.11Jle of Inachus, fiTst year oC Macrlnus be e;ites, as an opinion at thi5l point, ttAbgar, e. venera.ble

:nten

1.

BJld under the

or Afric.anus t.hat. 11

(tirsan~tug) ruled

lEusebiu5 Werke lIi.ebenter Band, Dil!' Chronik des Hieronymus,. ed. Rudolf Helm. Die Griechischen Christlichen Schrif'tstelle!" der ersten Ja.1lrlnmdel"te'lo 2d ed. (Berlin; Aka.d~mie-Ve:rlagt 1956) 'Ii P 7:> lines. 10-18+ (Hereafter cited as Chronik, folloved by pag~ tlnd line I

p

nut:nbet' 5.

)

Study of Africanus Ede.Gsa."l

The third reference is more s'libstantiaJ..

lieliogabalus III (=an. Abr.

em.

2231, p.

At OlYlDpiad 250,. 1 t

22l) " Eusebius testifies,

In Palestine.~ NicQpolis, vhich was tortDerly called EmJn.aus J was constituted iL (':ity t :a legation having been dilig~r.Jtl:y undertaken for it by Julius A:fricanus, the chronological 'W"riter (scriptQl"e t empp rum ). 2 Further infoI'lIlB.tion is providell in the !celesil!Lstical History. Thl! moat 1l:lportan.t reference

OCC\ll"S

in

describes Africanus and his writings.

6.

31 .. where Eus~bius brien;;r

It occurs in the generEtl con-

text of the diacussion or the life) llOrks,. and aasociate5 of {whiCh ext~nds through mc~t or book

6).

Orig~n

This chaptert headed "Con-

cl!'rning Af1"iciLnus,.'1 says ..

About this time also, AfrlcanuB t the writer of th~ work entitled Kestol bece.tDe knowlL A letter of' his . . vr1 tten to Origen t is prese-:rved,. questioning whether the story concE!'rntng Susann.a in Daniel is s.purious and fictitious. Orlg~n 'W"I'ote a most full reply to this. .And of the same Ai':r i ea:nU5 a1 so fLnoth~.:r ;,rork ,the fl'\1'@ in m.m'ber of the ChronoAr:fj,phia,. c elZle to u.s; an. a~-eurately produce-c. l~bor. In it he ~aY!;l he himst!'lt undertook iii. journey to Alexandria 051 account or the great t.ame of: Hera.clas (who inde~d in philosophi.cal matters: and in th~ other Gr@ek learning really vas 1!'.IOst dist.ingui;slhed J the oversigbt of tho@' church there being put in hi s hands as we he.ve shown). And also eo further ~oIork of thE! s.ame AfrleanuB is preserved, lI. ll!!t.ter to Aristides, concerning the a;pparent. di ssananc,e of th~ gemHl.1ogies of Christ in Matthe~

and Luke.

In .an earlier

bOok~

IAn. Abr. 223~, Englisb translation present vriter.)

h~re ~

1. 6. 2 t Eusebiua mentions an o:piniotl. of

p. Chr. 218; Chronikl' 21b. 5-6. (The el se\l'here in thi So c hapt er, is by t htl

and

2Chron1k, 214. 20-24. Bes.ides these,. Eusebius gives lo~g extraets from Africanus' I:l ChrOn{)gre.phia in his Preparation for the GQSpe-,l (10. lQ....-perioda or historybe:fore tbe Olympiads).. and in the hoc r or t.he Go spel (8. 2--an extract from the- Fi fth Book, cone err-ing Daniel~s p~phecy of the Seventy W~eks [Daniel 9~2~-27J). Eusebius cites theSIS!' opinions vith :resp~cts though he goes on to differ 'With

them.

Ancient and ByzantiDe References

I)

A:f'ricMUS,. describing him in passing as I'not t.he ordinary historian • ..,l

JerOUle produced a Latin edition of" Eusebius I s £hronlcle (which today fOr:ll:ls our major 80urce for it) ~ s..nd in addition refers

to Africa-nus in three paseages in his own vritings. in one of his epistleEi.. (no. 7(;) Ad Ml1gnum., in section I~, Jerome lists the "'Titers of the church from Quadratus to the Capps.docia!1Ei.

Aft.er naming Hi'Ppolytus e.nd Apollon1us .. he says, nThere:

are extant also Julius Africar..us' B books, whi-ch he ".l1"ote a history of the times. II 2 lShortly thet'ea.fter, in 1. 7 .,Eusebiu5 gives a long extract Africtl.J1us':s letter 'Ib Arist1des. This citation is- our major sou:rhie arnenienne de Saint-Laz.are. 18~1}" l:168-7l; Des Mosea von Chore:~e Geschichte Gross-Armerdens. aus den Artrl!!mischen nberset2:t von Dr. l-L Lau~r (Regens'b1ll"g= G. J. Manz ~ 1869 ), p. 70 ~ the Engli sh trs.n sIs t i on given here has be en rtliLde from the Fr~nch translation eompared vith the [email protected].

~e Chronograpnia or Malalas (later sixth centurj) continued

the tradition of dependence on Africanus (&lbei t in a. s.om.e\i'htLt corrupt to rm ) . Ext ant copi I!! S t hovever, gi ve no speei fi c data c onCE! rn i n g Africarrus·s life., since they lack the period. ho:n tara-calla to Valerian (Jofinnis Ha.lalae Chronograllhia., ed. Ludovicus D1ndol"fius, CO~~g Scriptorum Histori~e Byz~ntioae~ ed. B. G. Niebuhriu5 CBonn: £d .. Weber t 1831).

An~ient

and Byzantine References

19

Cbron icon Pascbsle

The anonymous. seventh century work knovn as the East.er Chronicle (Chronicon ~Qschalft) has several re~erences ~o Afrlcanus.

lll.St, 'Which cooTa.ngel. ,- (2: 158) . For t hi 5 reason bar Sal Hli is f"req;uently cited (usue..lly vi tb a l'e fel"ence to A.a semani, a$ e. g •.~ 'by Vieille!"ond~L~s. Cestes, p. :22,. :11. 23 rth~ point 1~ emphas3,'2.ed by an attempt to explain the origin o:f bar Salibi's errorJl as one of the Syri ac ....7 1 ters vho :lIlake A:fri o:;:anus a b1 shop. It is ~ hov-evcl'", As semani ., not bl!l.r $a.libi ~ spea..lting at thi s point.

IlU!:.US

~ilmot EB.!'"dley

W. Carr, trans. and ed.]o Gl"egol'"'i..Abu'lFa.raj) Ccr::iJl:.onl..."y Called B!lr-llebracus., Co.tt:tlliental:{ on the Gospels from the Ho:rreurn. :t-~yst.e:riorum {London; SPCK, 1925)]0 pp. 1111 t and 6. The references to li..1'ricanus occur in discussions of r~a.tthe~,.,' s geneE'.lo~· of Christ (¥p. 6, l02, 103, l05}, and, &t on~ point, Afl"icanu$ is r~ fe-rred to as "a c:ompiler of genealogies'l (p. 102). The last three: references s~eiJl clearly to be from the letter to J\J"is,tidea.; the .first, which concerns th~omiss1on. of the names o:f .Ahe.z.iah ~ Joash, aod Amaz1ah b~t Mo.t.the·.r, ~ou1.d veIl be from 6 lost portion of the letter (or from the Chronogr-aph.v).

3M;semani, Bfbl. Or .• 2:283. Though he liats both~ Ass(!'mani does not take suf"ficient cogn..i zance of the f'act t and e1Iie~·here 'Wonders whet-her Gregory do~s not cite the one WTite:r as both Af'ricanus and. Julius in various passages of" the Ho.t'1"eum (2;1.29~ \i'"hi1.e di:acussing uJ'ulius Co:mnentar. in EvangeliUJD Joannis" ....hich he f'inds as a sourCe!" of' Bal'-Cepha - s dep~ad;i so).

21

By~antine Ret~rences

Ancient and

1atte:r, Af'ricanus (accordi"pg to theeva1ua.t1on of Assemani) is Uotten

(saepe ) ,. favorably ~i ted. 1

Ebed ..T eau

This line of' trfl.dition reaches its climax in the Ca.talogus librorum omnium ecclesiasticorum of Ebed Jesu. chapters on Clel:leflt of' Rome and Episcopus RauJI.s.U9, I' saying ~ has: a

commentar.{

0.0

the

On

Chapter

6 t between the

Hippolyt'US ~ presents "Arricft..nu.z

uThe blessed Af'ricanu!3, Bishop of Emmaus ~

Mev Test8Jllent J

ana

a Chronicle. rr2

The two pec::ulie.r features of this line of tradition are the

identification of' Afrie-anus Testament cOm!Dentary t.o him. derive !'rom E\lsebi us t

~ib].

EO

a bishop and the attribut.ion of

fLS

B.

New

Gelzer specuJ.atea that the f'ortDer may

r~te!"ence

to him

a.~

proistalDenos,

3

though it is

Or., 2;310, 3139

2 Ibid ., 3, part 1 (1125)=14; c~. Jo. A1b~:rtus Fabricius, Bib110theca Gra.eca siv~ notitia. seri tQTl.l.I!I Y-ete!"'UlJI Graecorum. 3d ed. , l~ vole.. Hamburg: Ch:ristian Liebezeit, and Theodor. Christoph. Felginer,. l7l8-28)~ '5 (1723): 270 {.Fabri~iu:e-Ha.rl~s, 4tb ed., ~ (1195]: 21& 5;

1!l!.Bl 3

lO: 1, 2D L

m

Gelz(!r, Sextus, l=lO~ re Eus~bius Chron1k~ an Abr. 2237, Chronicon Li&schale, ed. Dindorf (L 499.6). It ~r be notred, bovcver .. that the Latin compiler or translator of pseudo-Abdia.s (an EaS1:.ern~r'?) n»akes Africanus, the alleged transl.ator of the work. a bishop in one re:ference (Celzer, Sextus .. 1:18~ and note 5). Anotber source of the idea. tne.ybe confusioo 'With the I1Jtliius Episcopus u vho appears at least onCe in the cate-na on John .. at 17=5 (see Balthasar Corderiu5 1o Catena MtI"UttJGraecOrutn in sanctum Joannem [Antvel"p = Ex Officina Plantiniana Ba.l.tha.saris Moreti, 16363 .. ' p~ £i09). Ass,eltlani ~ in dle.cu5s!ng B8.rCe:ph6.~ identifies this catena item as from the supposed "Julius Commentu. in Eyangelium Joannis" 'IIhich he postulates a.s ~ne .of Africanus's llorks {2: 1;29 h Gelz-er suggests it. as a scribal error for Julianus (i.e ... of HalicarnB.6sus) (1; 18). Since ,. however, the passage e.nd quotation invol'led (John 11:5) d.e&l '\11th the relationship of the J)ersons

28

Study of Africanus

Boroet 1mes supported by Origen' s a.ddress ing him 8.S tTBrot hC!"t' ~ 'I in hi s

reply to the letter

~otlcerrJing

Susanng,.

The supposition of & New

Testl!'l1i!lent cotnmentary is probablj' baged on

from the prominl!!nt citation

or

OJ].

incorrect deduction

Africanus in other commentaries, i.e.

a.t Matthew 1 (and on a fev other passages besides).

~

Similar to this

suppo9i tionof a cOm:lD.entar:t' 'by Africanus t is the attribution of a Scholiaon Matthew's

Gospe~

to him,

1

of' the Godhead, could this not p~rhaps be t"r0l!!i one of 'the- vritings of Julius I, of Rome? .Ue va.EJ" after all t deeply concerned 'iliththi!;l veT'1 question 'note also the a.ppearance of "Julius Paps,t 8JIloOtlg the sour~es of :Ba.r-Hebraeus [Assema.,.T)i, Bib1. Or.,. 2 ~ 283; see abovft t p. 26, with fi. 3J}. 1

E. g... a chapt~r ~ .tCono er-ning the app euance of Moses and. Elias to our Lord in the mo'Wl.tain; f'l"OliJ AfriCaDUS' s scbo1ig, . . . .h ich he cO.lElpo:=.ed Qn Matthe-1,,"·s GQspel," first published by Joar.ne:=. Bapt;i,oste. PitrQ~ Analect6. sacl"EL spicilegio Sol~snJ.en.aiJ 8 vols+ (vtu'ious places) 1876-91; 1st ed., 4 \!'ols.t 1876-8' .. repu.blished, Farnborough t Ha.nt9.! England: Gre gg Press Ltd., 1966 L. 2 (TJ'P is ruse ula.nis.. 188t-): 292.,. in a. Latin translatiQti communicated to him by P. Ma..""tin Cas. froc Nee-d. Syr1aco 15155 Musei Brltannici~ foL 56 a tl!rgo "'::01. 2"); it was republished in vol . .I, (Par-is: BxPubliea Galliarum Typograllheo 1883)" with both the &.f!"iac text ('lex codice addi ti.onali Musaei :Bri tannic 1 121557 fol. 56 v9 col. 2") (p. 71) UJd a nw La.tin translation (p. u

I

331 ).

In the West 10 Atricanus \tas utilized in various Greek catene.e and. scnolia-. Pitre.. published t imm~d.iate.ly :following the Syriat:: item

Just noted .. iLt.I e.xsmple of the latter (2~292; !roo codex Coislinianus 276! .fol. 162, from a coIl ectanell. by J ohn ~ B..TJ unknor.m s ev~n th C eut ury :tIlOnk (concerning Manassen t g r~pentance and escape]; cf'. Martin .Joseph Ro'Uth~ Reliquiae s&'Crae~ editio altera.. 5 vols. (Oxford: L Tj'"POgrapheo Act1:demico, 18G6-4BJ, 2~ 288, Afr. Clu'-on.. , trag. XL). As B...'l exa."IIp1.e of th~ use in the catenae,. see: Spyr. P.Lambros~ Cfl.tfl.lo£:il~ or Greek }.{anuscriI!ts on Mount Athos, :2 vola. (Cambridge:: 'lini ....ersi ty Press, 1895, 1900), 2:99 re the

ton Kes'ton. is likely in aernulatione of Clement's t.on St:romateon.

1

Peter Lambeck (Lambecius) noted the ideB of a metatbesis as part of' a

p~ces:s

of piling error on error following the original ncare-

1ess and e.bsurd n change of 2

S~kt(}s.·

t.h~

EraenoUlen Sextos to the false c0Fgl0tllen

'rhus Lambeck favored Scaliger' 5 origi;oa.l suggestion concerning

this name, but Bot the same 'time rejected the distinction and

sp~cifically

rejected V&lo1s' s

a.rg:l.Dnent~

or

authors

on this point) calling

attention to the fa.ct that Eusebius only sa.ys he- \las an ambassador

for Emma.us, not that it was his patTia, a..l1d tho.t the eaKia ne.turalis

~il. Labbe. Dissertationes p2rllologicae de scriptoribus ecclesiastic1s uos atti :it Eminentiss. S. R. E. Card. Robertus Bella-minus" 2 vols. (Faris: Seba.!;Itian Cramoi.sy, 1 ·0 ., 1=659~ 830. ~beck-K011ar~ Commentl!l:,rium. 1: col. .621., also col. 428, witb note 2 (re cod. Gr. Phil. MS eXT, pa.rt 4, containing the de r~ m1Utari fr~ the Cestus). (Lambeck's first ol!!dition appeared 1665-

19; Bee Vieilletond ..

Les

Cestes, p. 312, n. 4.)

40

Study of Mricanus

in the Ce5toi shovs that hevQs a Gen~ile.l

Lambeck also argued that

the Kestoi contained only nine book5:> Photius' 5 14 ho"') being an easy corrupt.ion from 9 {e"') ~ 'from vbich Suidaa f s 2~ vas e.. further de-

of th e error.

v~lopm.en t

2

Late r in the

BalIle'

vol ume Lambeck inc 1ude d

the text of Michael Psellus' s reSWlle of po.rt of the Kestoi. 3

J oba..rm Rudolf Wettst I!in, in hi s eM t ion

0~

Origen':s yorks ..

dealt with the quest.ion in connection nth A"fricanusTs letter to

After considering thE!' ancient re:f'erenCI!'S and the vie.....s of'

Origen.

Scaliger and Valois:> he vas

ninclin~d

'to beli.eve .. vi th Lambeck, that.

Se;:rl.us J'uJ.iu:!;l .Africanus vas that one and

t.han two. ,.1

H~

celebrated vriter rather

judged Ruf1nus' s omission of" re:f'erence t.o the Kestol

ns explainable ~flufinus may have either question~d the fact .. or he ma;y have judged the york unworthy of Afrieanus.

conjecture in an

&ttemp~

5 Wettatein himse-lf

ad.ds a

to reconcile the statements of S,yncellu6

lr.smbeck-Kollar t Commentarium.? 7 ~ coL

~29.

2

Ibid. t cOls. 1026-:27; cf. also theinde>:: ~rttry for Sert.i Julii Africani" col. 637t vhere t.h(!:'IIork 18 ca.lcled Enneabiblo. In the 8~e ent:r:v the title is described rLS Itmetapllo:ra a. v&Ii~gQ.to Venel"is cingula desumpta, tl similarly to V!l1ois I s statement.

3r..mnbeck-Kollar, COml"llentariumj. 7= cole. 476-78 (= 1st ed.~ vol. 7 t cols. 222f'f"). In ~9.rlier VQlu;mes 10 he also notes mtl.nuscripts containing ot.her of' Afric&1LUS' S \1O:rks (1 = 25~-55; 3~ 103 t 167,202; a.nd .. on 5: 623-2~, th~ falsely &scribed "NarratiO'. • . in Perside-" L

4

Origen;is dia,loms contra M!!:.Tciohitas] slve De rec:t.& in Deum :f'i de ; E~hbTta ti 0 o..d mo.:rtxrw ~ Respotls'I1m ad Afr i can i epi stolum de historis. S ~nae . . . e.dd.itis notis . . . (B8sel: J. Bert-schius, 161h "Ifotae,·· cols. 1 9-54. It might be noted that he uses S~a.li ger's recon:Eitrttl::t.ion tor Eusebius's Ch:ronicon and thus fale-ely credits sOme i te:ms 'to Euse-bi us; e. g ..~ Syncellus r s statement regarding Emms:u.s an.d the Kestoi is credited to Eusl!:bius ·'in Chronic15 pa.g. loll {=Scalig~r, Thes. temp. 1" Greek Bect1on, :p. 70} (col. 151).

5Wett5tein. Origenis, l'Notae ll " col. 152.

Early Studies (credi ted also to Eus:ebht5 ~ see preceding note);t that A:fricl91l'l1s l' S

emba.s sy was to AIexander ~ and of Eusebius in "Chron" Can. p. 204 n (Le,

etc.

~

of' 6-caliger-lo TIles. temp •• I,. Greek sectioJ)~ followed by J@rome,

l'

the.t the embe.!35)'

VELS

under Elagabalus.

He proposes"

W'h~t i:f that Africanus tlIld~rtook two B ucc es give le-ga. ti ons.. first to ElagabalUS to obtnin the building of the city, then to Alexander to give as thanks forbeneflt received the pre5entation of the book [the KestoiJ. and to ask other 'benefits? This certainly

easily reconciles Euse-bius with himself and with the others. 1

I Baac VOS!3 continued and shlttpe ned the After

I!L

discussion of the alleged

~pistl4!

"If ie'W"s

of hi s fa. ther •

or Hadrh.n to Servianlls

(occasioned by a r~f'ere-nee to Ser6.pis in a poel:! of Catullus); he coo-

The

eludes that there iG no refL.son to make three Africani of one.

v.ri te:r of the Chronogra pbx 7 the Ke stoL and the strat egfka are t h@ same (indeed., extant :f.:ra.gments or the IfLSt ~onst.it.ute the sixth and 5ev~!.lt.h

books of" the Kestoi} t but h~ lia.S a Syrian of :E:llmlB.us.. not a

Libyan {Q mistake" d-u.e to his name Af'ricanus}. Q. c:e-sto

Veneris.

~d.

this tit.s its contents, but nothing

rieanus from being a Chri.stian.

fL.rts~

hiTJder~

A:f-

"rhe- reported contents of the Kestoi

a.nd the Ad Servlo.num illuminate efL.ch other ~ dieted to magic

The Kestoi .!§.. named

nativities; etc.

JI\S.fl.y

Christians vere ad-

In sum, pt!rsons bentioned, age.,

patri.a .. and the ancient testimonies .. all con:firm his identity.

2

lIbid~ ..

col. 153; see also the end of cOl. 1;1 a."1d top of 152. Sce.1iger had attempted to 9·o1ve the problem (eom-pounded by his fs.ilure to clearly distinguish S:''ncel1us·s testimony f'rom Eusebius's)t by charging Eusebi us vith errQr (Thes"_ telWp. ,. 2 ~ IPAninlB.d..... ersiones, n p. 212), the year of the end or the ChronograpA.V and of t.ht! elDb&ssy 1la.s the third year of Elagabalu~2!B&aC Voss1us, CaJus

Val~ri'L1S Cat.ullus: Obse1"vatlones

(London ~

Isaac L1ttlebUl",Y" 1684)IP, 30. Some ~rea.rs ear11e1"~ in Justinibis.toriarum ex Trogo Pompeio lib. XLIV (AmeterdR.."lJ: Ex Officin& Elzeviriana ~

St~dy

of Africanus

About the e,ame time, Ducange presented a variation on this view:

if' the KE!'stoi

1oI'fI.S

indeed dedics.ted to .a pagnn pri'Pce t it.s

pagan cbaracter, with no Christian Collecti~ns

and

18 little surprise.

1

More theories

de~criptions:

William. Cave

marks~

pre~ented

a

n~w

theory .. but then 'Wavered.

He

s'I.1I'"V'e'yed tl1e infoI'Ill£l.t.ion availa.bloe a.bout AfricBnusts vritings,. including the ve.l'ious theories regarding the Kestoi, and asked if there was not a middle

lItJ;y ~

"the work of our Africanus, but fro:m before he em~

bra.c~d the Christian faith?Ht...

After a.ctUAlly becoming a quam in omnibus Origenis Commente.riis et :Homiliis1t (:3 ~161) • This viev becB.nJ.e :somewhat standard for the next century . . and even to tbe present.

~il"sted. ~ 3 vols.

(Edinburgh, 1768-71); Zd ed']I 10 vols.

{EdinoUl"gh, 1778-83) •

2Ei g."te en vol s . (Dubli D: J. ~fo.o:re, 1 791- 97), 1 (1791): 228.. This seems to be the SB.!De as the 3d ed. ~ 18 vol:9. (Edinburgh, 1797). (The article also introdu~es Juliu5 Caesar (rather tha.n Je-sus Chr15t; an incorrect expansion 01' an abbreviated ,tJ. C. ,,']] as the c'::linJax of

Africanus's 5500 year

~r&

from creation.)

3Second ed.. lo 2=502. Routh 1 s 'Work, prograJIIl!!atice,11y sub-titled Sive auctorlJJD. "fere Jam 'p~rdH.orl..ur. secundi tertii-i'.1~ so.ec'tui post Chri:9turfl na:t\:otl quae SI.1per StU'! t" remB. ins in use in thi s so(! cond edition. It was originalljr pUblished in four vol~eg at Oxford. 1814-18. Routh IS cc11ec:tion still remains the frag!llen t e •

onl~r

real one .for the Chronogra.phy

Early Studies presented a t:l"ibute similar to RoaenmUller t g to Africanus· s critical

ability, and added what Cave and Tillemont.

w~s

in @ssence a modific8tion of the view of

He suggested tho:.t t·ne di vere;,ent cbaracte:r of

the Kestoi was because

it vas probably written 'Qy Af:ricanus "'bef"or-e

his habits of' ttdnking had becO!Ile decidedly Chriati.an t11 (or nbef'ore

he had devoted himself to religious 6ubjects u 2').

Fragments of the Kestoi In 1839]1 tbere appeared W'esterma.nn.I:s Parndox0Kt,8.phoi .. vhich included Micbael P~ellt1s's peri paradoxon a.nagnosma,ton.

Psel1us t in

turn, had. included summa.ries o:f many of th@ mOre '-magical" items in

the Kestel. 3

\olest.e!'Jllilnn

!lccept~d the ancient t.estimonies as to

8.utho%"Ghip]l and further aceeptE!:d the s.tt::d'but.iot.J of various excerpts

in the GeoDonica to Africanuo •• notirlg that thej' llere tvin to those

in Psellus.

4

In 1841 and for several years thereafter t A. :J. )i. Vinc(!'nt devoted part of his attention to the publication and explication of'

lGenera.l History of" the Christian Rel1£ion andChurch~ 9 vols. trans. Joseph Torrey~ rev. ed. (London = George ~ell and So~s) 1890}~ 2 ~ .Ii "9 and note. (Th e fi rst German e di tiorJ appeared i.e 6 'V'ol'Ul'rtes ~ Hwnburg~ 18:25-'52). Despite the perpett1B::tion of 6. variant of this quotati on by the EnCYC lopaed.i a Br1 tan."1 i ea (see ne-rl note), thi s vel"si on seems to be subject to the ,fIa!Ile disabili tjr as the origina..l suggestion of Ce.ve and Tillemont: the Kestoi cannot be dated earlier the.."1 the Chrono£r~h;..r, and certainly notth8tl:!lucb ea.rlier. 2EncyClopaed,i e. Brit-annica, 9th ed. (1875; a.nd continuing through subaequent editions to 1969)., s..V. trAfricElmlS, Julius." lwestcrmann t pp. xliii-xlvii, and

b

Thid., pp. x1:'Ti-:X1-vii.

1~J-46.

~

50

Study of Africsnus

ce-rtain of t.he Ke5toi texts,.

~specia11y

those rela.ting to g:jusic and

t.o e;eometry.l In 1864~ Hultsch pUblished most o~ th~ peri metron kai stathmon as two separate fragments going back to first century ( ?) Alexandrian authcrs. one a J eli. to Africanus,

2

A doz;en ye-ars

~ate1" t

fUll tens, with asc:r i pt i on

'Were- publisbed in :rapid succession by Duchesne and La.-

ga:rd~. 3

~LetteT to tile President of' the Academie des Inscriptions ~t Belles-Lettres dePari:':>t L'Institut, IP~ section,. 6 (1841)= 173-15. The! main part of t.he letter was a. trfl.Jlslation of 'Parts of chapters :2 (pentagon and musical n.otes in a poison recipe) and 76 (fire signal~) of Thevenot's ~dit10n of the ~stoi. The latter chapter is no longer credited t.cAfric£l.nus and Vincent notes i 1;.5 questiona.ble status a.t the end of tll~ letter. This lett.e:r +;las reprinted hrithout a P.S. included in l' lnsti t!.lt } under the bee.diIlg "HistoiTe du Matheroa.tics,. U Comte5 rendus he:bdOOlada.~ es des seances de l' Acad.emie des Sciences Paris ~ ~.4 lSL2 = 43~ljJ~ {and as -the last. i t~m in the fo!.lO\:ing work· Th.e full range of musical :signs in the Kestoivas di:9c:u~sed in "Extraits rl de~ Ceste3 de Jules It Afric:a5n (part of a longer article,. rtNotice sur 1.1"ois m..an.... scrits grec3 l"elatifs 180 musiqlJe,. avec une traduction U fran~aise et des commentaires ),. in Notices et ertraits odes man':lscrits de in Bibl iothe ue du. roi et autre:!; 'bibliothe Ues, voL 1.6, part. "2 Pari s 2 1847 Cpa.rt 1 pub1 i shed in 1858 J : 3~~ 110-6 3, e.c companied by nAddition: c-omDI'.miqu~e par f-L l~ Docteur Roulin relativ aux animaux mentione par Jules llAfricain,.F1 pp. 561-64. 'l'his was :follcrwed by 'tExtl"fl.i t des Cest.ee de Jules l' Africa.in" (pEL..~ of t1Ertra.its des manuscrits relati fs ! ~£I.. geooetrie pra:tiqu.e des Grecs" I. Notices etextraits 19~ part 2 Cl.858 [part 1 pUblished in lB62}); 407-15. Thi s latter contained a text and translation of "'1'0 find tbe \otidth of :li river or the height of a vall II (ch. 21.~ Thev~llot; • Vieillefond. I. 15).

e.

2Fridericus Hul tsch~ l05etrologicorum script-orill!J religuiae, ;: vols. (Lei~zig; B. G. Teubner, 186L~ 1866), 1=257-59 (no. 81), and 300-2 (no. 95). T,Jith introductory ttla.te:ria.l,. J)p. 20-21,. 80-81. 138-40, 156-61. Vol. 2 gave the Latin translation of Cal:vus de Ra.... enna (pp. lL.2-~6, with introduction, :pp. 14-16, 39- 4 3). 3 L • Duchesne~ 11111. Fra.gments metrologiques," Archivesde::s missions scientl~iques ~t l1tteraires (Paris) 3d series. 3 1~876); 318-85; raul de Lagarde, SYmmicta 1 (G5ttingen: Die'terichtsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1877): 166-13.

51

Early Studies R~ferJ!'nce

YOrks

Mean\,fhile, Afriean'lls received notice in various encyclopedia.s, dictionaries,. and other Tef'eTence

works~

seculQr a.s 'Well as religious.

Generall;,', the nttmbe:r 01' books in the Kes'toi vas held to be nine (even by those 'Who "ere'

13)"

1

a.'lrtar~

or thl!' katbartika ballla. fragment from Kestos

•

though sometimes the fI.1ternatives ,. 9,

Or

~4, or 2h ,.lo·~re simpl:t

g1 ven.

The-preference for this figure

V6.S

mainly based on t\,fO 8.1"131.1-

ments:

the projection of Sy-n::,\:.'tu.s'· (sic). This 'Wa.s followed by a date of death of 'tnach l~O" (but gt'llen correctly in the body of' the .arti-:=:le).

Early Studies th~

A£ricanus's lifespan ~as given as from about 160

later article.

-~.... er 2ho. 1 to soon I:L1 of: t.he K~stoi.

59

There was al.so e. somewhat

e Paradoxa

full~r

ehare.cteri20ation

=

e10e Art von En~yklQpadi~ der rea11stischen Wisaenscharten, der angewandten Mathematik und d~:r Technik Sj::wesen :;!.u sein, z. T. e.ngefiUlt mi t kuri5s (!'n.. llppi schen. mirak'Ul-os en t tL"ld lI.ns t3s s igen Dingen (wesshalbA. o.ls Verfasser in Zvei:i'el gezogen ist). Ve:r-

5£fent.licht sind bisber Abschnitte

zurTaktik, zur Kunde

'IJ..

s. v. 2.

Med.i~in

Harnack· s last

tban a decade and vi e....~.

~

~um

Landbau,

und Veterinar-Medizin t

pronounc~@nts

Messkunde t

2tir

~urGeheimmittel-

concerning Af'ricanus came more

half later, and. presented

6o~e

modif:ication of

They 'Will, there fore, be presented belov ~ a:f'ter

eOnS iderat i

on

of" other developE:ll;mts whic:h had occurred in the int.ervening period. Gec"oonir:a and HipI2.itltrica Tbe la.st t .., lO de cade 5 of' the n i net(!-enth cent u.ry saw d;i sc lUi-

sions concerning various suggested sources of additional

from. the Kestoi.

fr~en~s

The !!'lost :notable of sUch so\.U"Ces vas the Geoponica ..

lIbid., p. 627.

2Ibid . t p~ 628. An abbreviated :form of this article appeared in Engli6h in The Nev Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia. of Religious Knovl~dget ed. Samuel J'I..acau.ley Ja.ckson, 12 vols.. {Ne1II' York and London: Fl..mk & 1r ~agnallst 190B-12)t 6 (1910): 26~-65~ s.v. IrJuli'lls AfrieMus. Serlu5. There is nO referenc~ t.o the OxyrbynChU8 papyrus, even in the BibliOgi'aphy. By!ln interesting mistranslation, this version als-o I!I8...X~S Africanus E1 ",-riter on .rlitur-giolog:,·'· (for th~ original ''MesskWldeu - 1·~nu-veyinglP). It also tones down t.he description of th.e Kestoi some-

\7ha:t, and eli.ttlinates 9. reference to Africanus as a. possible translator of Ter-tullian· &&-olo&:. Harnack's Militia Christi: die Christliche Reli ion und d~~ Soldat~nsta.nd in den ersten drei JahrhlL"lderten TUbing,en:- J ~ C. B. Moht't 1905) includes Africanus and the ta~tic!l.l sections of the K~stoi aa (exceptional) ~X!Lmples of' involve:D,znt of early Christians 'With the military (p. 13 lLnd n. 3), but does not contain any adVMCeInent of the

study of' the

K~Eitoi.

60

study of A1"ricanuB

on oce chapte:r of \fbich .. book

7~ chapter

1.la" interpreters since Boivin

had relied t.o ShOll the Christian st.e.tus of the author of the Kestoi.

In 1884 t Wilhelm Gemoll t vhile holding to 'the identity of' authorship" argued that the compiler of the Geoponlca had not u5ed Af'rieanu5 di~~ct1y,

BO

that the chapter attributions were suspect. 1

But compari-

sons of Psellus and the-Thevenot-Boi rln text. lli th the Geopon1ca aleo

suggested thg,t

'Were probably in the Ge-opon1ca. nUlnerous it.ems

th~re

from the Kestoi not

50

identified and thus impossible to distinguish

noy. 2 Eugen Odei't though presenting a diff'e:rent view of' the

.all development of the- Geoponica, last tva pointe;

reB.cb~d

the same

cOfi~lU8ion

OVeT-

on the

only one 'Passage is identl.f'ied in the text itself

as from Af'ricanus (Geop. 5. 45. 2), and compa:rison '\.li tb Psellus tLnd The'V~not-Bo1vin

show:. contra Gelzer, that the passage9 ascribed to

Af'ricanus in the lelJllI:!ata co.nnot be accept.ed vithout questio.n; but neither should

Afr1c&nu!;I.3 1dE!ntity of:

th~

Geoponica be

c~let~ly

eliminated as a source tor

On other points of A.frieania.na t Oder argued for the a.uthorshi:p~

books n must. have been

aT.!

for 24 books in the Ke-sto1 (Syncellus'E fTnine epitome:t and onewuld hardly mak~ a 9-book

~:ntersuehungef.lUb~rdi~ Quellen!l den Vl!'rfasser 'W'ld die Ab-

fassungs'ZE!'it. dt!l" Geopon:tca, Berliner Studien .fUr classische Philologie und Archaeologie, ed. Ferdinand Aseherson (Berlin; S. Calvar:l,r & Co.)?

1

(188~):

85, 86, 91-92 .. 228 (a.lso pUbliShf:!d eepo.rll.tely by Calvary?

1883) + GeIBo11 also felt that the Thevenot-Bo-i vin tt!X1. va.s not. Just from books 6 &.nd 7 of the Kestoi, but vas ~ e-xtrac"t frOlD the whole york (p~ 86). . 2

Ibid.:. pp.

81-92.

3lf.Beitrlge zur Gesc-hichte der Land\l'irthschaf't bei dt!n Griechen t" Rheinig~bes Mus~um

tOr EbiloloBie n.s. 45 (1690): 82-83.

61

Es.rly Studies

epitome of a l.l;-book l1Or-k);lI divided into four divisions of six books

each, corresponding to the contents as given by Syncellus (i.e-.

iatrikon~

ph;rsikon. SeOrgikon, &nd Ch..:i,meutikon).1

Wbile thl!!

t

B(mrCe~

'Correctly connect the title paradoxa with the Kest.oi, this is probably

the tItle of one of the divisions (-the ("..eorgika) not a. second t1 tIe of the vhole work a.s Gelozer Buggested..

.2

Ode:r mE!ntioned Gelzer' 5 pro-

posed edit.ion of the tragxnents of Africa.nus, 3 but in a. later addi tiQn

to the discu.ssion t he Ilott!d a. diviston of the

pUblice.tion~

the Kestoi

fragment.s would not be- edited by Gelzer .. but by K. K. MU1.1e-r in his edit.ion of the Greek mili tfLry 'Writers (Kriegssc:lrriftBteller).

4

Oder t s vievs ""ere seconded by Max !hm, 'Who suggested that the

chapter ascriptions in the

co~ion co~ilationt

were as trustworthy as those

or

the H1py iatrica,

the Geoponica. were untru6tvorthy or

even fraudulent. 5 Antonius Baumstark . . in addition to presenting

iI.

st1.ll d1f-

ferent vie'lol' of t.he developltlent (and reconstruction of the text) of" the Greek Geoponica, especially empha.aizing the role of the Oriental 'Versions, vas more sanguine a.bout the AfriclJ.nian ele:ments in tbe ~

2 Ibid ... p. 82. - I b i d . , pp. 81 ~ 82.

3Ibid.:> p. 82. ~

"Beltrage ~ur Gesehichte del" Lands'lK:1:rthschaft bei den Gl"iechen. III,tt Rbeinisches Mu!!eUl!l fUr_Philologie n.5. ~8 (1893): 2~ in the continuat1onof note 1 fl-om p. 1.

5nDie H1ppiatr1ca t " Rheinisches Museum fUr Pbilologie n.B.

47

(1892)~

314.

study of Africanus Ge9P9nica.

Hovever t he simply emphasized their

suggesting any real

~ethod

pr~5eoce~

rather tbab

of identifying them speeifically.

I

The study or the Geopon1ca. reached something of a plateau in the following yen with the publica.tion of a nell text by

Though continuous1y

critici~ed

for a

too-narro~

Beckh~

:2

manuscript base

and

f"ailure- to adequately consider the evidence or the Oriental versions, it has not been

r~placed.

Tvo years later Oder himself turned to the Hippiatrica. cell-

ing attention to add! tiona!. chapters credited to Af':!'"icanus in the

C~bridge codex of the Hippiatrica. 3 Alchemy A year after GenLoll l s study ~ A:fricanua t S name turned up in the history of' alchemy.

4

His

me~iber'!3hi:p

in this fraternity

vouched for by hig purch&se of the book of Souphis by Suidas's a.l~hemical

de~crlpt1on~

and

by

the

~ppearance

wnil~

""'~a5

c;

in Egypt,"

or his name in various

works 1 especially in the list 01' nthe phi1osoplJers of the

di nr,e knov ledge and art PI at the begi nni ng of an alehem t: a1 manuscript

lrtLucubrationes S~e-G:raecae,u Jahrbucher :fUr classisc'he Philolop:ie [Annalium Philolop:.ip01"UIDJ 21€J" Sup:ple~entband (~894): 404-5.

2Geop-onica

i!iViE!

Cassiani Bassi seholastici de re rusticae ec-

logae t ed. Henricus Beckh (Leip~ig~ B. G. Teubner~

lB95).

hippiatricorum codice Cantabrigiensi:>" Philolosie n.8~ 51 (1895): 57-58.

3Eugen1us Oder! I1De

Rheinisehe Museum ~

~

M[arcel Pierre Eugene} Bertbelot, (Paris: Georg~3 Steinh~il, 1885).

~s

?Reported by Syne~llus (D1ndorf 1:105).

origines

~e It&lcheoi~

63

Early St.ud.ies.

vhich Berthelot studied at the libra.ry of St. Mark (Codex Marc. 299).1 Asi.de from this, Berthelot I s viev of" A.frieanus he

"'·8.S

\fBI:;

somevhat atypical ~

a Syrian,. vho composed geogra.phical works, &s'Ilell M a his-

tor:.. . o.f ArmE!"oia. dralm from the tabularia of Edessa, fl.nd eo m.ilitary The latter ntune is analogous in meaning to the

"ork., the Kest.oL

.... word Hantliology. n":

Elsewhere Berthelot na:med Africa.r.Ius among the

pagan writers, oef'ol"'e going on to discuss the Christian nJaJority among alchemical autbors.

~ J

AfTicanus also appearea briefly in Ber-

thelot and Rue-llets collection of alchendcQ.1

~itit':lgs.

There~

he

was dated as roug.lUy contemporaneous with the morepromi nent {Chri Ei-

tian) e.lcheeJical writer

ZOSiPl1l8.

as were the pseudonymous writings

~~

attributed to Souphi5 (CbeQpa).·

lBerthelot~ Q.,rigines, p. 187. See also Catalogue des manu8e1'its alchim.iQuesf..r~£!.., 8vols~ in 3 (Brus.sels: M. Lamertin ~ 192~ 32) ~ 3 ( 19211 ~ it fo1' the fHl.~e list in an Oxford c.odex (Boil. Libr. DrOr"ille 401 [Auct • X. 2. q. 31) 1:17279], p. 126 o:f l-fS). 2

.

Origines. p. 3,8-7. The re"fere!:lce to /l.rmenia and Edessa suggests Moses. of' ChoTene a.s a partial source; the Ugeogra.phiea.l 'Works" are perhape a reference to parts 01" the ChronographJ~. {Tile r~lat1on of" Afrieanu3 to H1ppolytus r s "Liber generationian and t e:!;.p~cia11YJ his "Diameri SlJl.OJJ tes: ges rt had been much discu,ssed in the p1"'e-ceding two or three decades - )

3rbid., pp. 98-99. LM(a.rcel Pierre EugeneJ Bertbelot and Ch.-~(il~) Ruell~, Collection des B.J1ciens aJ,chimistes g:t~cs, 3vols. (Pal"is; Georges St ei nhei 1 ~ 188·6 ~ alSO., repr.. 3 vola. in 1, london; Holland Pre ss ~ 1963),. 1:202. The Greek text t with fa.csimile of the St. Mark's MS list of Nphilosophers u app-ear on pp. 110-ll (Figure 5--Pla.nche lIr)~ and a French translation of a second list,. a. ~ho.p1:.et' list not exactly ~o:r:rel;-ponding to the actual contents of tbe manuscript, is g1vE.n on pp. 17~-15. Africanu5 a.ppears a.fte.:t Hermes., Zosirtltis, o.nd Nilus in item. nO. 32 of' that list. Af'ric&nusts tl6Jlle also appeared in conneetion with brie-f statem.ents 1n the Greek text in vol. 2 (pp. 75 a..TJd 169, with t:ranslation in . . . .0 1. 3). (Also see below., Cbapter II,. in the transla.tiot) or Vieil1efond 1:8 IX ~ 2 8.Jld 3.)

64

Study of .A:fTictlnus

Religious

vri~ings

In 1889.. de .Boor publisbed Si de •s

chur~h

6~veral

f'ragmenta from Philip

The f"i rat of t.hfml 'las the B.e count of' Ai'rie anus

hist.ory.

which vas pre-sent.ed earlier in this c:::hapte:r-. ~eount

the

1

As de Boor pointed out1'

stands mid-vay 'between tha"t of E:u.aeb1us (Ch!"onic<m,. Greek

text as refiected in the Chronicon p,,"schale) and SynC'~llus~ Ni~opolis

sents the changt! in sta.tus of'

Eusebi U:$ of

a

01"

(fiB.

village

somewhat

mor~

it pre-

clearly than

which later received the right (dikaia)

city," c:ompared to the "vas founded CektistheJ e. city" of

Eusebius ~ omitted b3r Syncellus)., but shares 'iilith Syncellus the double

error of identifying Emm.o.us. with tha.t of the

Gospel!;i.~

the change of the name to Nicopolis to th1:$ time. 2

Philip' a statem(!nt, ~us-Nicopolis

11V a.1iJ

'Was

B.nd of dating

At the same time I

from E!::nmaus u (apo EIomaous en), indicQted t.ha.t

A:f'ri~anus

direct support for Valesius·

Ii

t

s hOOJe.

This seems to provid.e- the first

hypothesis. 3

The Suidas 151 statement

COTl-

c erning Atr i eMUS t s L1 cyan origin .1 s open to t.he Buspi cion tl"la. t 1t i s

a. lId sunderst o.nding., or af'alse deduction) from the n:aiD.e Af:ric anus.. Gel~er's

attempts to support it are not conclusive.

~d

ben assuming

A:frit:a.nus's knowledge of Latin,. this does not prove an origin in Latin Knovledge of Latin by an

Afrit:a.

Ea.st~rner

is much less striking thnn

a 'W.e-sterner who wrote in Greek and knew Hebre'W' and Syriac.

tbis, his

1nter~st

Egj~tians4 is

ic

in

He~etic

k~eping with

books and the

visdom of the

the mystical-speculative interests of the

l11Neue FragmeI'lt e ~., p. 169.

3Ibid . 4

s~cret

Besides

:2 Ib 1d., p. 1711 +

This point, ho'Weve.r., lias only part of Ve.lois'g viev.

Cf'. Gel~er. Sextus, p. L+

Early

8tudi~s

Lacking some vitness besides the Suidas, or a:t least e;ome

East.

in Africanus';EI works showing an

exa~t

tr8.C~S

knovledge of' the West t the tr&g-

lIIent t S e"idensit.ion (ttein

l"Literarische Texte 1!dt Ausschlufii,s d.el' c:hristlichen,t1 Archlv fur PapYrusforschung und verwandte G~biete7 ed. Ulrich Wilcken, :3 (1906): 255-99; item no. 250, "Pap_ O:xyrh. 412: t pp. 291-98", esp.

297.

.~

- HDe i 5 i daimoniaka.,M Archiv fUr R~1 i gi onslIis senseha.ft 12 (1909)~ 1-45; pp. 2-19 aTe d4;!voted to "n@r" Z.o.ubersang in do!'r Nekyis. Homers .... t

3!bid.• Ii. 3.

~Ibid.:>

5 Ibid., pp. 4 -l~.

6Ibid.) pp.

pp.

Ja~

6, 14.

15-16~

Early Studies fertiger Zaube:rs&t'Jg unverindert tt ).l ture and prosody suggest the first or

Its enremely syncretistic naBe~ond

centuries A. P.

2'

The

thirteen lines to be :found in the copy at Rome must be counted from the beginning of' the 1nt~:rpoltLtion (line 15),. not from the! beginning

of tht! Odystll!'!'y citation., thus it runs through line-

28~

but lines 29-

42 are the saII)e in viewpoint and expression as the preceding, so there is no rr;~a.gon to sepl!U'~te lin~s 22-36 into tva separate interpolations;

the Roman

copyist.~

for some reason t simply did not lt1-

elude the second half of the ~.3 The reference to Nysa in CariB in line 62, a:nd a reading of Ka:rei

line 2910 :udght suggest Nt !;I a

EiS

e (ElS

an epi 1:.h et

0

f Hee at e) in

its plMe of origin, though Weil had

suggested Alexandria and 'this would fit the reference to euolokamos

Zeus katachthonios (line

24).~

In relation to other

fra~en.ts conneet~d

contra.sting opinions prevailed. nection vith

&n.

vith tbe Kestoi,

AfricEmUB·.Ei nflme appeared. in con-

ancestor of "Greek f'ire ~ ,. though the

i· automatic

tire"

tert( Thevenot ' s chap. ~·lt) waser edi t~d by the vri ter to a 18.t e

seventh centUI"'.1 interpolation into the Kestoi. 5

Conv'@rsel)',. the

lIbid ... p. 16. This seetion (lines 22-36) lat.er a:ppeared in t,...o JIlajor collections of m.agical papyri: Theodol" Ho:pfner .. Griechis~h

AsYPt1scher Offenb~~ungs~auber~ Studien ZUT Palaeographie und Papyrus-

kunde sed.. Carl Wesse1y, vo1s. 21 and 23 t 2 'Vols. (Leipz.ig = H. H8.~ssel~ 1921 'J 192~) t 2: 15~;2 (sees. 334-38 band Ks.rl Prl!isenda.nz ,. Ps:p:'to'Ti Graecae Ma.icae; Die S2riechischen Zaube avri t 2 vols. (Leip~ig and Be:rlin~ B. G. Teubner, 192 -31 , 2= 150-51 {Pxxiii).

2wiinsch, nnei sidaimoni aka.,." p. 17. ~

above~

Ibid'

1i

3Th 1 d.,. p. 18.

p. 19; also ~ p. lOt re Carian Hecate.

p. 67s and n.

On Well see

~.

5Edmund O. VQn Lippmann, Abbandlungen und Vortrige zur Gesehichte der N&turwisgensch&ft~n.. 2 vols. (Leipzig= VeTI&g von Veit

Study of

le·

A~ric&nus

excerpt.s :from Aeneas which followed Af"l"ica.nu!;i in the manuscript

tradition

o~

wr1~ers

the military

(published by Thevenot-Boivin)

were trea.:ted by 5cho-ene as gtmuine parts of the Kestot {derived

G.anschiniet~ suggested

from Aeneas by J\1'ricanus).l Kest,oi~

viewed as

iL

'Whole. certainly (s i c h

ca.tegory of' magie.. natura11s.

~

r)

'that the

belong~d

to the

2

Meanvhile ~ the di vision of A:fricQ!1ian studies. into secw.ar o.nd religious

~ontinued;

side continued much as Ferhaps, some

l"~fel"ence

studies rel6.ted "to his mOre "religious"

~fore,

to

based essentie.l.ly- on

Preuachen-Harn~ck.

r,}eller~

loiith,

Reicbardt published

an edition of' the letters- vith extensive introduction. Iication did not involve a.reas th&t 'Iolould require a

Such a pUb-

I'"~ference

to "the

Oxyrhynehus papyrus (or to the J(~st.oi at all)~ but included several

testimonials to Africanus's sharp critical ability.3

&:

Co:ap.~

Ducne$n~ts

19061' 1913), 1;130 (in chap- 9t "Z'UI" Geschichte des Schiess-

pulvera und der

n

t eren FeueT\>"'a:ffe:n t

n

pp. 125-89).

lRichQrdus Schoene .. Aeneae 'l'actici = de Qosi_dion-e- tolera.nda commentarius,. Bibliotheca. Scriptorum Gr£L.o£!'corWl! et Romanorum Teubneria.na (Leipt.ig ~ B. G. Teubner" 1911), pp. x-xi t xiv, 115-23. This procedure 'WaS eontinued in Aenea~ Tsc:ticus .. AscleRiodotus J Ona-sander, trans. Illinois Greek Club; Lol?b Classical Library (Cmbridge: Har-

....ard University Press. 1923; London:Wrn. Reinemann t 1923). pp. 20625s which also reprinted Schoene' a text rlth certain noted chang~s from Boivin {po 206" n. 2); ~d by L. W. Hunter, AINFJJY nOAIOPKHTIKA; A(!ne.(ls on Siep:ecraft. rev. S. A. Hanford (O:xford~ Clarendon Pre:t;s.

L,

1927 pp. 2L 0- 51.. ..Append i.x Is Jull us Af'!"ic &nUS . n (Concerning th eo authe-oticity or these chapters I see the discUBsion of Ma.rtin ~ a.bove .. Qnd~ especifl.1ly" of Viei~leto(]d, .Jules Africa1n~ 1932 t below.)

~ichard Gallschinietz, t1Hippolytost Capitel 1!! 39, no. :2 {3d series" 9.

Refut. }{aer. IV 28-42 s lP

gegen die Magiel": f!.O. 2) (1913)~ 29.

3wELlt.er Reichardt, HDie Briere des Sextus Julius Af'ricanus Arist1des und Origines,. If ru 3li1' no. 3 (3d series .. 4. IlO. )) {1909). Note e.sp. pp. l~ 3~ 63; not~ 1, on the last page cit.ed, also includes a quotation of Ros~amUllerT5 contrast of Africanus and Origen. &n

Early Studies history of the early church (first published in English in 1909~ but

rlt"h origina.l tb~

pret'a~e dat~d 1905),. 'though incorporating deta.i1s from

Kestoi (fo1.1owing Gelz,l'rts 1ead but some'Whel.t

rr~b!'oidel"lngn

the

picture).l did not include re:ferenc-e to the O>:yrhynchus papyrus until

the second French edition (1906).2 Even then. only .a cc-upltl!' of biogra:pl1ical details

v~re

included.3;

The pict'UJ"e presented by Forte-seue

vas [!Jore coxnp1e-te; and general1;;" more res-trained t but essentially the

Sfl.:lne, follO\fing Ge1zcr and HiU"nack (and Jerane, with ",hom the article concludes), but with no reference to Oxyrhynchu.s.

~

The state of k.':Io""ledge at this ti1!le (at least aIOO'ng the 11theclogical 11 writers) can again be approximated by the Encl-elon,ae4ia l 1oui5 Duchesne, Early History of the Christia.n Chureh :from Its. F'oundation to the End or the Third Ce:lt~llry t trans. fro::ll. th~ lith ed., :3 v01s. (New YOTk~ Longman, Green &: Co. t 1909-2.1;),. 1: 333-34. Africa.nus, "a great huntl?t't • • • had s~oure-d 'the- forests" of Edes-l;il t SiL'l.t "tbe rl!!:main5 of Noah's a.rk" (it.alics mine) at Apa:lIlea t and "obtained 6. copJr of the Hermetic books" in Ale-xandrie.. (p. 333L His Kestoi contained "many thOUSM.d observa.tions a.nd precepts'· (shades Q f Pliny! L b1.J.t vas tainted by lJiIagi c an d Afri canus r So fami 1 i ari ty with the: Hermetic: and si1!lilar "books (p .. 33Q).

2Ib1d .,. p .. xi~ note to the second edition regarding the added tIlat el'ial ..

Aelie.~ and arrangem~nt bf

library neil%" the Pantheon" (ibid .• F. 333; italics mine). A simila.r, but I!!ven more ex'tre:m.e eXSJII];lle occurs in ottQBard~nhe'Wer's Geschit:hte de!" e.ltkirchlichen Literatur, in which t.he only immedil!l.te erf~ct of the O~rhyn chUB papyrus vas tbe settling of 'thee question of the number of books in tbe Kestoi {2d ed~t 5 vals. CFre:iburg im Breisgfl..u; Herdersche Verlagshandll.mi:. 191:2-32], 2 [1914]: 267 a.nd 269). Otherwise Ba.rden~ hewer follovs ~~l~er. 3Birth at

4Aur~an ..lI~. Fortescue,. s. v.

Ils.

. ••. Jul. i tiS A"'J.J.~eanus , The- CB.th 0 11 C .., .t:;p-

..

c¥c-lopedia,lo 15 'VClls. (Ne'W York~ App1tl!ton t 1907~12)t 8:5-65-66. He do{!s) however, speak of the K:estoi o.·s rrconstant1:'t· quotil:!dand mucb e-steeQed by the Greek Fathers 11

(

~)

(

8: 565) .

Study of Af'riC&lua

72

Britannica in 'Which another,. slightl:r revised (a.nd again slightly expanded) article a.Pl'e!U"~d inth~ 11th edition (1910).

This arti~le

re"Verse-d the previous conclusion concerning Africanus':s priesthood .. and otherwise essenti.eJ.ly f'ol101led the views of'G-elzer (and Harnack}.

The a:rt1(:le

~on~luded

with a. scant line and a. half referenci'! to a ne\t

tra.gtDentof tht! Kestol among 'the Oxyrhynebu6 papyrL

1

More 6.lcheEl,

In 1913 .. Lagercrantz published an alchemical papyrus 'W.h1ch

included tvo passages related to Aphrit1a.nos.

2

r~servations,

~reing vhicb~~re at~ributed

In the introduction" Lage-rcrantz.

su,ggested~

to an

but with

the possible identifica.tion of At'ricianua. vith the Af-

rictl.nus of the list of alchemsts in Berthelot's ms.nusc:ripts (Cod+ Marc. 299):; already identif'ied by Berthelot vi th Sextus. Juli'U51 AfrjcII;mus5

3 The namE! Atr i

publication of

CallUS

&lso appears t 'hree other t im.e-s in a la.'t er

B1che:tni~QJ.mBJ'luEicripts.

In the first, Babylonio5 ho

. 1'1'h~ Encyclopa.edie._Br1te.nnioa~ 11th erl. {19l0) ~ 1: 361, s.v. "Atrieanus;> Sextus Julius. 11 A fiVe line list of HAuthoritiea " (Routh, .AlfF:> Gel7.er;> KrUger,. 8.t:ld Jl.arnack)1IB,s added. (The article also continued the Lm1sJquotation o£ Nefind~r. ) This &rticle continuedvith only tninor changes througi) 1969; it 'Was slightly condensed in the l~th edition (1929), and slightly re~ 'V'is ed {hi rt. hplac e che.nged from Libya to Aeli.a Cap!t.olino.; Ha:rn~c:k droIJped from. the UBibliograph::r 11" end Ox;y. PM? shi fted to it) i [] the 1960 edition. :2 otto Lag~rcrantz) Papyrus Graecu~ Holmiensis (P. Holm.):: R~ e:epte fUr Silber, St~i[]e und Furpur (U!'psala: Aka.demiaka Bokbandeln t 19l3; Leip2.ig~ Otto HarraSS01iitz~19l3),. pp. 32-33 and 37 11 with translations on pp. 216 and 226. The first. is givl![] as from AphrikianQu boubl~u, the second from Aphrikia:nou ~k. boulo'l1 " •.

3Ibid.) P];I. 106-7.

Early Stuo1ies Allhrikanosappea.rs

producing

0.

80S

t.he nut-horitl for a non-alchemico.l fragment "loS'

child. of the desired sex..

appears only in 1ists.

73

1

In the othe:t' 'two,. the name

2

Some nev views

Kroll's article in Pa'U1y-Wis5OVa. not only gave an easerJtially complete sl.H!ImafJ' of scholarly views (and materials available) ~ but

suggested some important corrections to them. 3

S. Julius Africanus

origina.ted from Jerusalem, asshO'iJo"n 'by 0&. P.a;e. ~12, e.nd evidence from thE! same source shovs the Kestoi to have been vritten after 227

{the date of the completion of'the Ubaths of Alexaf.lde:r1~ in Rome)", thu~ placing it ha,,~

b~t'Ween

227 and 235.

4

Contra

connections 'With t.he royal house of

Gel~er:lo Ede~sa

while Af'ril:anus did

during t.he time of

Septi1l:lius Severus, there is really nothing to connect bim with the 1

Catalogu.e des manuscrits alch1m1gues Brees 1 (1924 h 185-86.

2 Ibid .. ~

t.

and 3;1~. The former is the Greek text of' the chapter list frOCl Berthelot's St. Markts manuscript,. the second is the Oxford manuscript list or I'Iphilosophl!rs of 'the divine science and art" (seeaoove ~ p. 63~ and nnw 1 and 4).

3w.

2~21

Kroll:- "5. Julius Africanus;> tI Pa.uly':3

Real~Encyclopadie

del'" classischen Altertums'L."issensch(ttt,. rev . . Georg Wissowa,. et al.,. 34 vols.in 66 HalbbKnder, tvo series (plua supplements) {Stuttgart: J. E. Met~lersche Buchhandlung,. 1893-1972; plus Supplements .. 1903-) 10 (1917): ~ols. 116-23 .. B .. v + .. "Juliu.s" (no. 1.17). Only s. referenc~

in

to LagercrQntz r e p05sible fra.gJrlents ~E!ems to be lB..~king. Kroll t S acceptance oC the by-name Sextus (indicated by the S. in thE! article: hea.ding) is ebIphasi 2.ed by the fact that ht:! even wonderl!!'Q i r t.he: Sextus to vhan Neptunianus ded1c~te:d his Physiks. vas not. OUT Af'rie&nus (col. 121). (This york is hereafter identified by its common designation,. Pll.u.ly-\rIiSBOVa.~ and cit.ed by i.ts abbreviElted ronal PW.) 4.Ibid.

t

cole.

11~17.

Study 1

Osrhoene campaign of 195.

0f

Africanus

Further" even if Africanus's use of

Suetonius 'We-re- est a.blisbed s 'this. vould not prove he knew Latin. BurYe:,'

or extant Kestol fragments gi ve:s

the vork and the author.

Us further

2

A

1nformati-on about

The title indica.tes that. t.he- \fork is a

miscella.ny; Valesius;s explanation of it i5 correct. only in that A~~i~anUB

probably did think of Venus's magic girdle when eeeking R

titl.e for his llork. 3

The work is

8.

mixture of sober pTinci:p~es and

magical rubbish. often Fresenting good old home-remedies

b~side

crass

supe:rstitions; man:,. belong to !:!If!.£ia natural.is ~ but others can only 11 be understood as Jokes {Scher~). The O~·rhynehus tra~ent gEner~lly preSl!nts Africanu5 in e. bad light:

he is either resFonsible for the

forged Homeric interpolation, or, even worse fOT his tion ~ was ta.ken in by it.

~ritic.al

repu,ta-

His hu."l.ting tales sound much like ta.ll

stories (Jagerla.tein); and "though he ha.s a good rhetorical education. he has put it to miguee. 5 ~oncerned~

As far as Africanus's religious status is

the Kestoi GUst be regarded as a document of a completely

s.'Ilpe:rficia.l Christianity s' such as would be able to exist in proximity to the il'!ll'erial court.

6 As far as texts Yere: concerned,. the situation

vas still in suspension,

G~l~er's

planned edition of the

Chr9nO&ra~hy

had not yet been reassigned, but K. MiUlerts collection of materials

IIbid., col. 116. 2Ibid . vie\o~

s

col. 111.

This add9 further uncer~ainty to HaTnaek's

that Africanus translated Tertullian t 5 A:pologr into G:reek.

3 . Ibld.,

001. ~20.

5Ibid ., col. 122.

4

Ibid., col. 121.

6Ibid .• col. 123.

75

F..arly Studies

of the Kestol had been colJ1lllitted to F~ Mel~er~l

(J.

Sick~nberger

contributed a.

Bupplem~ntto

Kroll's article"

dealing . . . ith Africanua.'s letters" which e-mphasi7.ed the positive aspects of Africanus'a critical ability.2)

In the first half of the next decade- ~ Adolf Hal'nac'k made some In v1ev of Afl'icanus t IS lit-

final suggest.ions concerning JI.f'rica.nus.

erary in~erest5~ Harna~k sUggested t.hat his work as arehitechton in relation to the llZlperial library in Oxy. Pap. 1,12 wastbat of 1ibrar-

ian~ not architect. 3 This viev attracted a

certain amount of

atteD~

ti.on ove:rthe :rears ~ 'but. what is perhaps 1ia:rn.EL(:k· s final judgment on Africa.."lus hag been consid.erably leas influent.ial ~

siderably more substance.

Reversing the

~hough

it has con-

more-th~~-&-century-olddic-

tU!!l of RosenmUller, lfu.rnack asserted that Arric-anus· B letter vas over-

rated and Origen ~ s answer undeITated.

Af:dtanus. was Tight ~ IIt.rOt.Z

seiner schnellfertigen .Beveisflihrung, "but the dogmatically bound Ori gen '~hat ein .Mei 8 t erst Uck philologisch-hi :atol"ischer Gelehr a.8..!JIk~it , ja e.uch guter Methode geliefert. 1

tt

4

Ibid. ~ ~ol .. li8.

3 t'.JuJ, i us It.f'rikanus]o del" 131bl i ot.h 12ktil'" des Kai sers All2xander Au£satzeFritz Milkaugeliidlnet [ed~ George LeyhJ (Leipz.ig= " K:.ar~ ,L Hierse:tnann, 1921)~ pp. 14:2-46; note esp- p •. 14~. Along the li!:le Harnack also specula.ted a.bout Africanus I s Christianity: vas there a period in Rome in which he left the church, OT" ~as his Christiani t J' of 8. ver-:r secuJ ar, liuperst1tious tY1'e7 (p. 1~4). The idea of AfricanillL a..s librarian i1to.s taken up, by Gra:nger espec1allyll in a series of IU'"ti~les in 1932-3~ (on llhich., Bee bel0\7).

Se:verus l

4 Adolf

von Harna~k" ''libel'' die S8.lIUIllung der B1"'1~fe des Origenes und s~inen Br1ef'wechse1 mit Julius Africa.nus t" Sit~ungs berichte d.el" Pre:ussischen Akademie del" 'WissenschaftefJ~ Philosoph1schHi stori sch~ Klass ~ ( Berlin) t 1925" p. 266.

Atricanu~

Study of

76 The religious view again Meanvh11e~

articles on A:fricanus as a church writer vere 10-

corporating the more recent data.

Stab~in"

in his history of early

Chri.stian literature . . still relied heavily on Gelzer end Harna.ck,..

but included significant info1"'m.a..tion from the Oxyrhynchus papyrus and. HarnB.ck 113 uBibl1othekar. ptl

While .Amann was not qui.te so up to date

bibliographieBlIy ~ he did include Qxyrm"T,lcnus in his data., and;. in addit.ion ... presented something of" the

elusions cOr.Jcernlng A:1"ri tb.e broad range

o~

but

contents of

his \lT1t1ng5 could just as easily make him a doctor, or a countryman . .Besides, in his reports of mil1.tarj stra.tagems ~ he recounts no per-

sonal experienoes. 7

PineJ.ly~ tbe report of "the ll!i.ter Syrians,

IJules Africain. pp. :xxv-liv. 3Ibid .

~

2Ibid . ~ pp. vii-xvii.

:pp. xviii-xxv J and liv-lviii.

~Ibid.

t

p.vi1i.

5Ibid.) pp. viii-ix. 6

8.

Ibid.,. pp. 1x~ x-xi ~ th

the older interpretation of

Cestes as JIITissus brod@s:=II Varietes" iLgainst Vieillefond' Be Buggestion of Talismans or Amulets.

1

Apart from the reviews t Viei11ef'ond I S "","ol"k

produ~ed

little

direct result in stimulo.·t.ion of' :ru:rt.her Af'ricanie.n studies.

The

major exception ~ bowever t appeared i nthe tolloving year, in

Q

by G-ust.ave Bardy entitled, "un encyclopediste chretien du

rIr e

study

si~cle.1f

Bardy sha.red with Vieil1efond a :shdlt1.r attitude ofrestra.int on scure points 10 but

s·OiQetitD.lI!~s

with contrasting preference.s.

ob-

He main-

tained t.he older interpr@'tatlon of Kestoi as meaning "Brod@:ries ,,3 1l

but al10W'edthe S~Ct.C6

r~tLSonablen~ss

as a sobriquet.

of Vieillefond I s suggestion regarding

4 Born a.round

religious syncreti5lIl of' tis tilD.es, Syria.n princesses. 5

His

18o~

Atriccll..nus reflected the

~specia1.1y

conta~ts 'With

that promoted by

the Edesse-ne court ma,y have

included acquaintance with .Bard-esane* with whom

~evie·.s

th~

h~

Sharl!:d an interest

in Revue: des ftudesgrecques 45 (1932); 1141, n. 1.

2Rewe aWloget).que 56 (1933): 251-71. (There is nO r~f~rence 'to Vieilll!'fon·a t s York in either of tb~ two other articles de'l/oted to Af'ricfLnus in the 19305 ~ E. H. :Blak~ney., uJuliu5 Africanus ~ A Letter to Ori,gen on the Story of' SU$B.nfla.,n TheQIO, 29 [193UJ= 164-69; lI.nd, Iel'.. Ier .. Kotsones, lHlf)(il1.oS ~ 'A,*,P1.~Q.v6s~ -np61'fOS XP\O:'[l(l..... ~S X~C\.lO... p~tOS/1 0£QAOY{a. CAthenl;iJ 15 [:1937J ~ 221-38.) lrUn e:ncy c lopedi st.e ~ PI p. 2 51 and , esp.. p. 266 .~ ta.l i sroarl or amulet is too restricted to ad@'qua.te1y represent the V"al"'iety 'Of this work.

4Ibid - ~ p. 2;8.

5Ibid. ~ pp. 258-59.

2

Recent Contributions th~ protQn~

in

sciences, though this is questionable.

1

He may have

been an officer", but there 1s no proo1' of this; vh&t is known is 11113 vide-ranging curlosi,ty--t.his curiosity brought him into conta.ctv:l.t.h

J:Dany places ~ K~stc:Ji]o

peopl.e~,

though a.lso

and sUbJects.

2

i~l'llstratedby

It is e-spec1ally shovn in the

the generaJ. topic:s and specific

dl!!velopnJentof' his other works. 3 More specifically" Afri(:anue seems to hil..ve been a

rIls.n

of good f"amily and of much

leisur~ t

who travelled

:for bis awn enjoyment ~ and who had. an untirine; curiosity about every-

.

th.ing.

4

This inte-rest included not only na'tur&l science but also

~nts

thl:! r.easontor

t

Tlla. philoGophie des -choses.

,.5

But t de:sp1te

his scientific and historical interests .. and his prove::l c:ritical. abilities~

Africanus did 'believe in magic.

ltiagical fortllula.e and invocations to

In

d~i t.ies 01"

th~

Kestoi",he reports

demons., and 'Uses

pentagons and bexagol;ls; but a. f11lly fI..ccurate evaluation of'

th~ K~st.oi

is prevent.ed by the fac't that lie only ha.ve frasments of it., fragments chosen (and recorded) according to the special interests of other Coll€!ctors. not by

th~

6 'The Kestoi was written

by a Christian (this is shown ..

Psalms citation in the Geoponlca t 'Which is proba.bly not

B.uthenti e, but 'by the order of Afri canUB 's vri t iogs ), 'but 11;. ha.s. no apolog~'tic int~nt:

all the known fragments eou1d have- bel!'r.J n1 tten

1

Ibid ... P+ 260 t Md nn. 2 &nd 3~ Parthie..n called B&rde s ane .

2

Ibid ... pp. 2~63.

~Jbid.

10

pp. 262-63.

the fr.agJDent speaks of B.

3Ibid • ., pp. 265,

26l-64~

5Ibid • t pp. 263t 269.

6Ib1d . t pp. 266-68. Furth~:rt vhile the Kestoi haa be~n compar~d t.o an eneycl oped! at! t was one wi tbout orde-r p. 265).

r

86 by

Stud)' of Africanus 6.

pa.gan.

1

The writer loved life .. and 'I(as c'\.lJ"ioua; about all things;

he treated of sc i enc e f'Qr 1ts awn sake. ~ng

Thi 6 1e.!:It made him unique

the Christian writers of' his day ~ and :for long

2

a.rte:nt8.~d.

In 19~4 .. GudJuund Bjorek presented a. largely new suggestion tovard the solution of'

th~

pastiche, "un veritable

Africanian problem:

traveBtiss~-ent.·,3

also demonstrateo t on the score

veloped

o~

At the same

Africanus's

fro~ Vi~il1etond's S~~4 that

tbe Kestoi vas a

styl~

t~e, Bjorck

as further de-

several extracts credited

to Africanus in Codex Cantaor1giensls of' the Hinpiatrica vere as authentic as any in the tacticians. 5 As to the origin strange mixture encie~

or

o~

the Kestoi~ Vieil1~fondls ~ppeal to the

ideas of Iii verse religions an.d contradictory

1:1 the third. ee-ntury

(Jul~:s

t~nd-

_Africa.in. p. xvi) is a.stordshi;ng:

ideas have: little pla.ce in the Kest.oi, e.nd religion none at all; it vas not

B.

1

question of A!'ricanusts Christianity,. 'but of his good setls.e. ThieL, pp. 269-70,

2

Ibid ... p. 270.

3PfApSy-rt.US~" pp. 22 t 24-25. Kroll bord.ered on this in some statements in his article in P&uly-Wissova. (US. Julius Africanus, ,. cols. 121, 122) but he never suggested it aQ, an bv~r-a.ll solution to the problem. 4JtAPSyrtus," p. 15+ Its characterist.ics are: Itdl!s cla.usules calculees (cretiques), des vocs.bles :rech~rch~s ~t des tournures 01"1'1.toires~ des compa.raisoos. des circon1.otut.ions et des 1"eflexions souvent I!t.Ssez foreees, enfin des re:ferences 1JJYtbologique:s il!'t l1ttera.ires. ·t

5 Thid .

On the other hand, flone of' the Geoponica 1tl!'CDS,. at

least in their present Btate, can canus {p. 18}.

6Ibid ... p.

20.

b~ ~ert&inly attribut~d

to Afri-

6

Recent Contributions Similar-ly~

Vie:illef'ond's citation (Jw.es Africa.in .. pp. xvi-xvii) of

Africanugls description of the Dead Sea in the Chronography 1a point-

less:

that is a geographical euriosity in the ancient Hellenic bia-

torical tradition t it is nothing like the prescriptions of the Kesto!. 1

Following

tl

s1J:llIm.S.t'y refe::rence: to Africanus ' s procedures

fOT

poisoning the air and tor driving \l'o:rms from a. horse by sprinkling 111th 'W'ater (c i ted f1.1 so at more length before the preceding it.~.ms},.

BJ8rck concludes. "81 Af1"iCMU5 a compose 'le plus mond!;!:' (VI.p • XV) 1es Kc 01' 0 f que

de.....ant un

pastiche.

dil~e Insolub1e." 2

flOUS

eerieus~mt!nt

du

po ssedons, slot's nous so:mme s

the- Kest.oi is a

The solution:

Bei:Lide51 the two examples s.h'eady cit.ed .. 'Which represent

t.he zoological phs.:rmacopia of the magicians and the old popular medic: i ne-,

&

third pas s age) from. the phi lologi cal realm., ON' Pa:o. 1;22 ..

seentS to -confirm this result. 3 In it., "Nous reconnaia.!;lons l?e:s:prit b i zar-re de notre auteur.. 1& contre f~on d" un j argon pseudos~i@'n'ti,fique:

poussEe jusqu' a 1a caricature I 18. precision detailH5e

d I un im.poste:UT . .,4

This passage sta."1ds in marked con,trast to his

serious discussion of the stolJ? or Susanna.

An author such as the

one who 'Wrote the letters and the ChTQnogra..:e,hy t

~speciall..v

look-out for falsifications, co'Uld bardlybe t.aken in by

8.

on the uHomeric,1

lIbid., :p. 21. 'The linguistic ugument against tlle authentici ty of Susanne. in the iPistle to OriBoen is more tYJ)1cal of AfrieMUS as historian and theologian (p.23J. :2

4

Ibid.

I

p. 22.

Ibid ... p. 23.

3roid.

study of Af'ricanus incanta.tion

1

or- s,uc'h content and form.·

propo!;lal hrlth vhich this discussion

or

Before coming to his final BJ5rek' s v1ev~ vas begun),

Bj5rck posed a rhetoric&l question vhich he to an E1wer :

admdtt~d

himself unable

di d Af'ric:e.nus intend hi s vork to be) !'rom en d to end ~ a

parody of the I!mpty polymathy of his day; vas part of 1 t more legitilll4te inst ruction;

VfLS

there

&n

e 1emeot

0

f "1' art po\U" l' art ," ac-

cor-ding "to the sophistic desire 'to present picturesq}.Je matter- in

at.!

astonishing fortll?2 Though earlier vriters (especially Kroll in Pauly-Wissoya,.

as noted) had cfl.lll?d Fl-ttention to the .facetious e.lem.ent in the Kestoi) BjQI'ck 'WaS t.he fiTst to suggeEit this as the explanation of e..ll. or

l!U"g~

ptLrte of:' the work.

In a sense .. "this made hilIl a successor

of the views of Val@sius Bond of T111eIl'.ont, in that this viev also would bave absolved the Chris,tian Af)-icanu8 of

and other cotcpletely secular belief's. 3

t'~a.l

a.dvocaey of magic

If his view had been

vind1~

cat ed! it wol.l.1d hQve dramati cally (: hanged t.he c o~l exion of' Af'ri can i an st'Udi~s.

Farrington, 'Who considered

.Bj{5r~k' s

suggested solution

vorthy of more studY, noted that it vould tra.nsform Africanus "from a bel.iev£r in magi.c tl.nd. sUperstition to a Bubtle critic

o~

these

lIbido Again Bj8l"ck' s analysis has aimilarities to Kroll t s (IPS. Juliua Africanus 1.1 col. 122), but developed ham a diri~@'r@'rl't vievpoint and thus leading to different conclusions c:onC4!'l"ning Afrlcattua·s good J;iense~

2' lrApsyrtue, n p. 24. Pe.l"'t of the 'Problem,. as Bjorck. El6'1l it:> vas the tendency t.ovard parody vithin :magic 1. tselt'; f'or this be- refer a the reader to his l&ter discussion on p. 56 •

.3n,ou,gn)

of' cours@', the mot1 va-tiona vere di:fferent. Bjorck vas atteKIPting to fit Africa.nus into 8. more na.t'Ul"al view of tbe development of human tnought (p. 22; cf+ also p. 2O)~ not to defend

his Christian status.

Rect!!tlt

errors. 130m@:

1r1

Contributions

On the other hand) LUdwig .Edelstein:o while conceding that

passages of t.he Kesto1 were not meant to be ta.K@t1 quite seriously,

rejected tbe idea that the Kestoi as a whole vas intcotlded as a parody of superstitioD =

Afrlcanu5 adhered to neloUperstitious" beliefs:t l"el-

ished 11sacred" bOoks. .eoncerning the Irsecr~t

histories.'·

~stl!:ries:o and enjoyed relating

At the B&.!Ile time ~ Edel.stein Bee-DIS to concede

that BJ5rck ' g two prime exampl.es (poisoning air and sprinkling

against llorms) fall into the category of paign~a {practical Joke9}. He concluded with the hope tha.tBjorck, vho

iiTot~

mas:ic in the last chapter of: hiS1i1;Jrk t would

so lucidly on

re~onsid~r

and allow

Af:r1canus to be "sensible" and .rsupe.ratitious" at the same time''ManY" of Julius'

eont~ori!U'ie-s were of like hue~.,2

Opposing vievs of the chara.!:te:r and. va.lue of Afric9Jlus as by"-products of' two other worke of t.he thirties.

cent and Abel t s

~us ~

apIH~EU'E:!d

The first ~ Vi!1-

appeared the same: year as Vieillefond· s. Jules

lB. Farrington, review of I'IAPSyrtUE, Julius Africanus et l'hippiatrique grecqu~, rr by GudJ:lund Bjo:rck .. in JQurnal of' Helleni.c Studies 61• (1944) = 121. ~evi~v of nAps.yrtus. Julius Af'ricanus ~t l'hlpp1a.triQue gre:cque," by Gud!nund Bj8rck., in Nnerican Journal ·of Philology 6B (1941):

~4~-t~5.

Snurin g the period aft er Vi ei11efond t Africanus !!U.s 0 fl.ppe a.red

briefly in a number of' other yorks. The chapterautgm.aton 'Pyx hapsai earned him a place in several technical YOrkS1 R. J. Forbes! Bitumen and Petrolewn in Antiqui.t.y (l,@:iden: E. J. Brill, 1936) ~ chap. 7 11 "Petrole'Um a.nd Greek Fi:re1n 'Wttf'tlre." esp. pp. 95-96,. and More Studi.es in Early Pet-TolEnVi" HistorY (Leiden: E+ J. Brill t 19:·9)!, chap. 4.. "Naphtha Goes to WQ!', It esp. p. 84 t and chart fathe s.econd of Granger' s artiC~e6 should be J .Th.S. 34 [193JJ; and: on p. 140~ J. Stro~, "Zu Quintil~i.ap,," should be omitted> it concerns a different Julius Africanus. ) 2

Berthold Alte.ner, P8.trolop~t> trans. Hilda C. Graef !roc the 5th German ed. (Nev York: Herder & Herder> 196o)l p. 236.

3See

above~

. 1. p. i2, n.

Recent squeezed out betveen

B.

more lively uAfrican }.!usic Pr and an Wlyielding

With the advent or the

"Afri c;:an Violet. n

95

C~ntributionB

Ne~

Encyclopaedia Britan-

nics. in 1974:. IitAfrieanus:> Sextus Julius" reappeared t but in an oddly distorted form= Palestine~

be vas born

and 'Wa.s

lt

'I C •

AD

IBo t u he "seLVed as prefect 11 in

reg ione.1 8.mbasssdor to Rome lt about

222~

Further"

the Kes.toi was not even m.entioned {nor. for that. !llB.tter:t the let.t~r to 01"igen. cone erning Susanna)..l T:.~e

In

1910~

He,. Bra Renovated

Vieillefond eapped off' the vork begun in 1932 'With

his full edition (;,."1 th French trannlation) of the fragments of the

Kesto1.

2

In accord with hia 'Previous ....iews, this included, in eight

sections,. the texte. frQIlJ all verifiable sources 3 (but excluding e.ny

texta from the Geoponica), and also included citations in a ninth ae"Ction.

T11e ":Et1,lde generale"

(70 pages) 'iothich preceded the text

also continued Vieillefond's balanced J somewhat conservative approach to the lire and 'WOrks or Aft"ic8.nus t but added s. ma..t or new element to

bis interpretation:

Africanus in the Kestoi was a. Jew

~iting

30 vols., 15th eo. {197~)" Micropaedia 1:126, col. 1. (The date~ abOut 180 t is p~rho.ps a distorted ref1ectior.J of use of Vieille'fond, who gave. Africl9Jlus t s birthlTbe lie'll Encyclopaedia

Brit~.J1nica.,

date as 160-180 (Jule~ Afric61n. p. ix], or before 180 (t~s Cestes~ p. 18J .. thoush it might be from Bardy C'Un enC'yC'lopedi~t~,Pr p. 258J; most other sour~es that hazard a date give i~ simply &S ~a. 170T) 2Les Ces~es de Julius Afri~~nus ~~1ted e1sevhere as Leg Cestes).

3Texts from Kestos 1 (from the military co11ec~ion5)~ other

texts from the military collections. ~ Hippiatricfl.. .. 'IIeights and measures 10 the Oxyrhyncbus ::f"J"agm.ent 10 purga.tives ~ concerning cinnamon ~ and ~Yeing.

Study of Afric:anuEi

96

1

especially tor- Jevs of the Diaspora.-

Vieillefond had indicated his belief in Africanusls Jewish ortgin. in

&

po.sslng r-e:ferenee, in his study of the :Ne:kx.1a. and 2

DaDte,.. but had not elaborated or sup-porte-d 1 t . ..

His previously Sot at ed

view, preElented in his 1933 study of the "fra.gment Inedit~r concerning cinnamon, had been thl! more genera.l {and more correct'?) vie"W of" Afrl-

as "en AsiatiqUl! du Sud-Est'- 'With Aelis. Capitolina. as his

Ca.rJ'US

birthpla.ce.

3

Vi.e-illef"ond supports the :mo:re specific conclusion by

a.ttributing it 'to Af:ricfLnus himself; to the

4J2}

in a.

"ilork

addrC!:ssed

Jews. the expression tes archaias patrido5 . .

~ould

~ssentiallj'

. eQxy.

Pap.

only Clean "notre anc1enne patrie. . . . ..4

aS8umes the Jewish address of the Kestoi, a

attempts to prove later in his study. 5

~es

Ceates l pp.

point which Vlel1lef"ond

In terms of5rpecific:

l~, 17, 41~2.

.Bll!Lsa, 8.t lea.st., had pr~'1liously suggeste d thi s ( 1ILi t ere.rische Texte ~ ~t p. 297). but the idea. seems not to have be en taken up by loater wri te1"S . 2,rne lEl Ne-kyia)" p. 4148.

3 t'Fragment 1nedi t ~ -t p + 203. ~

Les

Ceste5~

p. 17.

This interpretation also means that the

phrase does not necessariljr indicate that Afrlcanu5 himself' was born in Jeruss.lem (ibid.). t;:

, But a failw:e to clearly ea.tabliah this leaves. the argument

essentially circUlar. It iso, at best" possible" and 8~ems to be in eontlic:t with the indications from certain references by Af'ricB.nu!;I in his other ~ork6, and by Origen to .Atricanus. One of Origen" B c:~ents on Af'rica.:nuf3· 5 1inguistic argUment. agains.t SUsanfl8. might have e.igni.ficanc~ hl!'re: hI! says uYour :reason to!' at.firming that th~re is not [a possibility of a.uc:h a paronoma.:sia in the Hebrev language)" you yourself probably kno"'" (To A.fricQnI.1s 6 jo

This c.ouJ.d be Been 8.S a cQvert reference to Afr1c:anus's Jewish origin; but~ if' 80. the Question imJ!jediately arises, "Why ~overt"1n In addition" the statement 15 quite ~B.6ily under6tood .as a politl;!'~ though el%lphatic .. questioning of the ~onc:luaiveneBs of the evidence. Else"....her~ in the letter .. there i6 a consistent pattern of reference to [l!!ndJ).

Recent

ContributiQn~

97

reference by Africenus 2 besides the OxyrhynchU5 and the tt,:)ncerning cinn8JllOn if passages ~ in the cbapter on metrology (Les Cestea ~ Part IV . . line 55)

tcnn.

1

20

he ref"ers to the ~on@, "'Which we- call cabos I" a :H~br~

In :ID.Ore gener-ill evidence, the l'!entagon and

h~xagon't

mentioned

l.n several of Af'ricanus l s procedures . . tt'e also especiallyconnec::ted VJ,.·t~ ~I

J

. h e'W:!.S

mlI.g i

~.

2

Vieil1efond l s basic l'r1nc1ple of' accepting only c1e8.l"ly attested items in the reconstruction of' the

~it.'e

of Afric:anus is now

the Jevs as l'them . . 1t not only i,n corJ'trast to Origen. but also to Af'ri-

car-us

(4; 5; 9;

12-l~).

This e~ pattern is f'ou..!ld t.hroughout Africa-nuB' fI. own vriti ngs = e . g., To Or i ger.J 4 2 n in the Daniel :ree e i ved emong the J eV9" lef. Origen To Af:d.c.s:nus 9't 111n their Daniel"]; To Aristides't .,. in IsraelI th-e- nam.es of their genel"atior.rs, .. .. .. them, . . . they 20 11 a.nd later, ". . . the genealogi e s of t he Hebrews . . . I Herod . . ~ burned the rl!gist.~l"s or t.heir fflJl:ii1ies·· (. Eus. H.!. 1. 1. 2 and 13~ re 8 p eetively ]; Chror:iQg,l"fl.phy.. Routh' s fragments X.. :O::II,. XLIX.. and L (e8p. the- last.; within. it note ReI .. sacl". 2:297 20 301-2, 30~-5, and .. I!:Sp. t p. 306 t line 3L In &11 thC!:se pas serges , A:fricaI11:.l13 vrites of the J~~,.,s as a th.iTd party,. distinct. hom himself and his intended read~rs (ba.sically Chris titms)j Origen I 5 referenc es are C on5 i sten t. 'With thi 5 pattern. This might be correlated with Vieillefond' s vieW' b:1 arguing that in these cases Ml"icsnus, a Jewish. Christian, is here speaking as a Cltti st1 fIJ'1I.. dl stinct from the J evs • But 20 it so, why the neeo. for Or1gen to allude to this covertly'? one vho would se.erlling1y ,=onc@oiLl hi s J evi.s h backg:rQUDd when ,,"it i ng and be i ng '1«1 t ten to as a Chri.st.ian .. 'Would hardly vrite .ELS a Je'"rj to a Jewish audience (01" be acee-:pt.ed by them a.a one). Such a situation would suggest a.s. great Bon "id~ntlty ~risislr fot' Af"ricatLus as I!l. ChristiOJl author a.;;; is usually seen fOT him as a. seculat' one. lLes Cestes,. :p. 111. (But ka.bos is not. exclusi"'el~' Hebrew it a1 eo app ears in Arl!UIl4ic :[.9 aba' J l' and has ~ ognat!:s in other Semi ti!: le.ngua,gil! S . The forc~ of this argument dep~mds to some e:rten t on the loosti!ning of Ai'ric:tmus'a :residential ties with Palestine . . which Vi·eil1~fond does. despite the other ~vid~nc~ fOl" his ties with F.nnnQus especially.,)

r: 9ab J'.

:2

L~t; Cestes .. pp. 4z-J,la; but Vil!!ill@fond himself fo~lows this by evidence of its wider uee (;ranging h'o."Il .ancient Ba.bylon and Egypt to modern ItaliBJlee~n) (pp .. 4~-45, with n. 61 (continued on p.

46]).

Study of Af'ric:anus ~xtended

to tvo other

areas~

his residence and his profession.

Vieillefond questions the ties of Afr1canus to

Emm&us~

seeing it

basically as & client relation (Qr simply the introduction of its !"epresentatives at court) ~ rather tb~ as his residence. 1

ing AfricfLnus·s

hypothes1s

2

:prQregsioll~

Cont:ern-

Vieillefond rejects Harnackts "librarian"

{which he had lett open in

1932)~3 concluding that it is

best to assume that AfricfLtJUS was an architect .. but also interested in other area.s such as s.cience, letters t philosophy.,. and theology-.k Vieillefond rejects Bjarckis

5

-i b b ~a5tce,ut

theo~

of

th~

. t h e discUSS10n . d escrloes .~. i t as B. 1n

Kestoi as a t. vor~

on

la ~hologie p~~~nne, 1a science plus QU moins scrieuse t le bel esprit plus oU moinB humoristi~ue80 et la ~agie plus ou IIloins Jui ve se mcnent et se superposent. . • •

He concludes tha.t for Africe.nus th(! Ke:st.Oi

IThid." p. 19.

\iEUi

Vieill@fond does not .rind. a resid.ence at

&:mla.us indicated in Eusebius t. s Chronik referenr::e (e-d. R~.l.mt PR 21lJ.}. This is perhaps a. valid rejection of Vincent and Abel·E reconstruc-

tion) but Beems t.o be e:n over-reaction. Besides its fail1.U""e to do justic~ to the othtlr testimony besides Eusebiu5 (\fhich may 'be sotlle'What independent of" hilZl t e.g. ~ Philip of Side [see abo"e~ 'Pp. l7 and 64-65]) it leaves una~ked a basic question concerning Eusebius's report = 'Lfhy such B. refe'renee at all'! Is it bel:a.use of the significance to Euse'bius of Africanus" or of E:m:r:tlaus? Or is it of the 'two together, and together in a ao:mevhat substantial e.nd lasting relationship? (The ~ll!l;bora.tion of the question implies ~ OWIl answer.) 2Les C~stes, p. 21.

3Juleg Africain) p. x~ n. 2.

4Les

C~Btes~ pp. 21-22. On p. 29 t continuation of n. 31 from 'P' 28. V1eillefond also :reJ ec:te-d Kudlien' g guggesti.on that Africanus Wl"ote the pseudo-Galeni~ uHomeric Medic:ine u as r1bien arbitraire.'·

5Les Ceste s., pp. 53- 55.

6lbi d.

s

p. 5JI.

99

Recent Contributions

une r.ect'ea t 1 On]o llne d.i s trac ti on ~ ou l' element 1udi que:> propre a "toute creation intelleetuellE"]I nepeut guere B~ disa.oo1er de- tous les autre's (fiene t sentiment d!util1t~ etc.) qui dete:nninent I'oeuvre ecrite. 1 Th~ K~stoi

is not s properly

written from a purely pagl!W.

l1

gpeaking~

cl ass ic, n

gyncretistie, it is

..... ie\i"Point ~

On sent m.e~ qut Afri.canus se refus~ a superposer les registres ps.ien et jUdee-chretien alors que pourtant des associations d'idees 1 ':" conduisa.1ent naturel1ement~2

Though good taste is not the dominant quality of the canus does not violate the 1~e

of

bound~

Ke~toi!lo

A1'ri-

betveen the sacred and the profane. 3

sources of the Kestoi were many and varied--the school

pseudo-Democritus~

brotherstet al.--but

Homer, fuclid:r Herodotus) theQ,uintl1iflj}.

u en

e;fneral Af'r1ca.nus aime

a soul1gner son

origi nal i te ~ .. 4 Res tilt s of the New Era.

The nev era t vhich began and" at present ~ ends 'With Vie-i11e-

tond, has provide-d. a good base f'or further a.d'lance in Atricanian

studies:> but it has !1.ot questions.

:Eiolv~d

all the problems nor 8J'".IjJwered all the

Inde4!'d> it has raised fIJlOthe-r question .. the aLleged Jev-

ish ba.ckground 'of Af'ricanus 9.nd the Kestoi.

There 15 no longer an::,.

se:rious quest ion as to the fa.e t that the author

V8.S

a Chris ti an ,

though 'the problem of 'Wh&t kind of' Christian remains.

see:ms t.o be agreem.ent th8.t t.he Kestoi

1s~

There also

on the \fhole:o a serious

work ~ but. one vi th ent ertainment (and even humor,. in some parts) as

one 01' its

goa.l~.

lIbido

~

:p.

56.

3 Ib id .• p. 58.

2

Ibid. ) pp.

4

Ibid.]I pp.

56-51. 58~60.

study of Af'.ric£l..nuS

100

Su:nmo.r;r and Conclusions Some of' the baste objec:t1ve questionB htLve been ansvered:

hOll

many books ~re there in the Kestoi, are there explicit Chriatian

(or

Jewish) refl!'renees in the Kestoi" vas the author from Africa. was he So

bishop (or even

f1

priest)?

But others re:main:

what is the author's

n.a.tion&1 (and geograpbicsJ.) background; what else did the Kestoi

ta1n" &nd Nln further elements of it be!

r'l!"covered frOJ:!l

COl1-

known works;

Wh6t are th~ areas Q,f overlap betlleen "syncretistiC: Christianity"

and ttsyncrctistic paganism" in tbe Severo.n period, e.nd. bet1.reen an-

cient magic and ancient "Bcience"? Thus,

d~s'pite

the p:r"ogress

~

the ba.sic probll?l%I still rl!'m!lins;

hmr is the Christianity of At1"icanus to be correlated 'With the Qon-

tent s and sJ)ir i t of' the Ke stoi '7 what do the

oC ont~n,t

C"nristiani ty of

The

Or.. perha:ps bet t~rl!!L.Sked eJlother vs.:t

jo

s and spirit of the Kestoi toeII us about the

th~t:i.ml!'

qu~st1on

of Mricanus 1

c:a.nnot be- solved

by

ignoring it (an approach

vhich goes back 60S ttl.!" as Ru1"inus, and continues into the present in

I

f'or example ~ the Nev En~2

~

conjectural addition where there is no manuscript lacuna

h~

sets it

aside and even yet a.ppeB.1"s to stand in arms.

But also to spoil the vaters othervise:

tilling in

:> on • . ." (I. 15]1 lines 51e.nd 52, Les Cestes, .p. 151).

p. 159

Transla.tion

be A. and the base B., and the line rro::n the wall to us. out of arrQ·... range'lo BG.

A dioptra is bung from a. pole ('Which actually is (:Itile-d

60 'f18m.p-titandPl) ilhich is of the pole be 00.

I

fixed perpendicular

at G.

Now .. let the lice

Then, inc1ining the dioptra t I IiIpy out the top of

the vall., 'Which is A.

Going around to

th~

other sight]o on the same

A

B

s:tra.ight line I "take a point <E.

There vill be a tr i angl e> AEB,. and Therefore" whatever ratiQ

to one of the sides t AB,. GD is parallel.

65 EG has to given~

GD~

I

this EB haa to BA..

But the ratio of EGto CD has been

for each of t.hem. ha.8 been given.

been g1 V4!1l the of' EB tbe 5ts.des villturn out to him to be tvo

m.p"iad .

Bot h Syrmos the Scyth i an and Barde s ane:3 th e Parthian made

p. 183

1.20

thi$ trial, and perhaps many others also.

I myself also

observ~d,

in

(the ~ourt) of' Abgar the king 10 Mannos his son tr:ri ng 1 t many time s ,

I instruC'ting.

30 myself

He was :so s~illfUl an archer that,. 'being on a.

hunt vith us once about ~idday (actually~ r ~sel~happened also to be riding along~ not being any hunte-r, but a spe-cte.:tor

or

the hunt) ~ a

:forest bear starting up out of a certain lair, formidable to attack,.

so:ttlething terrible tQbehold .. impossible

fL.lS0

ana.

to shoot quickl:.r ~

35 everj'one being terrified and eeeking ways for fligbt,

Man/nos~

en-

couraging us to be bold, dissolved all thi! fea:r lo shooting tva arrows;

for shooting into the eyes of the befir.. he

render~d

it easily oVl?r-

come, not even seeing the hunters. II But then .Bardesanes vas

So.

ski 1 f'Ul archer:t ever.. 1 f

different) and., I knoW', shooting a. man just like a painter.

40 way was thi s :

he once atoM a man

I

The

oppos i tE!: to him., a hands Ol!le an d

strong youth vbom an artist also might grov'Weary imit.ating; and youth placed the buckler before himself .. for this~

Ilardesan~s

d1spla;y1ng his skill to us spect.ators.

paintel'~

p_ 185

S omevhat

prescribed

But he .. like a. good

tra.nsferred the one holdine: 1 t onto the shield; first

~5 he drew the head, vi. th straight arrows

tb~

the"[~

I mimicking the circle of the

head, then the flashes of the e::~.. es. hannony of lips ~ symmetry of che-~ks,

body.

and the-

r~st

of' the

maf.!.

:followed in the arre.ngement of the

He prided himself on composing a drawing by shooting. both

drQ.'1.ting '!With ahots

~

and shooting dl'a:wi.ngs; and

'V8.tchins, how the shooting va.s not 50

8.

8.

Bhield~

saw himself dra;m

Or!

while

varlike pursuit, but it was both

some",hat delightful and dan/gerous pleasure.

the

'We t!larvelled~

But he, putting dovn

his own shield. and he .,,"as pleased

1

Translation

1. 20"App.

ha.ving a. warlike port!"Q.it: this incident then 1l I

But SyrmosJ how mBY I archer J not pe.inting vith

55

arrOw

I

des~l"ibe

!!Ii.l""ro'WS

to In.&k.e var with arro\l'.

lievable.

I

no bird for their hunting will perch;

4. CQncerning Making Horses. Unable to Move Oi.Jt of the Se.me Place Whil@ industriously working on the production of the present composition,. I read in the .rPhysical1 or-

Neptunianu~

astraga.los of the right 1/ .foref'oot being tearJ) brings the chariot "to

I!l.

st.and.

~ast

that

8.

18

wolf'l$.

before a four-horse

If indeed therefore't four are

p.205

Military Extract6

151

IL'-,5,6

caused to stand, how l!luch betteX' would it be:, if J 1;7hl!:n in ba.ttle linf!) we sbould give them individua1.ly to a. ffN slingers?

5 tbese into the-

I

en~

Theyi' throving

horse" vill not injure Just one horse: vith the

one astrQ,g,uos, but as many as happen to ride neal' it-

5" Anointing for Arrovs The Scythians l;U1oint arro"oIS, the so-called "toxic" H for quick

destruction or

th~ op~s

wounded.

But by my inquiring into this, a

certain trustworthy man has given the following drug to &ccomplisb

and it is

the SaI!le operat:ion=

thi8~

wood spurge of the type which

gro\iatric:s.

and Aphrodite herael:f 1nvoke:d,

~~

put int.o a. gold necklace and

k~ep

otr all ophthalmia.

b

An"J'WV .. cutting open the spring nestlings, one lights upon

15 stones in the

g1~:tQrds,

I

of vhich the one is. multi-colored and tbe

f'avn or calf' skin f'or the "gra.ndmn..l, tI and perhaps you will

at any rate, lessen the o/!'pilept1c seizure.

cur~,

p.227

or,

But for tl1is use" it is

wait to cut it open during the moon's beginning

nec~ssaryto ~reaEdng

II

There-tore, before they touclJ earth~ bind theru up in

other clear.

~d

in-

phl!'l.se.

They say the bile of a. pa.rtridget mixed vith Attic honey t is 20 a.1 so a cure

ThE! eyes of t.he vult:ure.,

to many. t.o the

f dim 8i ght and 0 f cataract,

0

ey~s

i!ach day"doe:s riot pe.mit

will not even tl.

'bo~.d

allOl(

I

9.

fact vhi ch i

a1 so kncnm

up in pure linen and applied

dim-~ightedness"

catarac.t to develop.

B

(Llld., truly"

But its eye 'being worn in

dog skin does not pend t ophthalmia. Its bile with horehound juiee

25 and A.ttic ho~ey~ / used

CiS

an ointml!nt, r~ves every darkening and

mist of the eyes and does not permit eatarac:t. to 'begin to :form... The eyes of a li'Ving hog" l"eJJlOved and appended in a. linen rCig~

yom on the left shoulder or the neck ~ guard the

30 and if i t should even be attached to one Misfortune. taken.

i.ttIaffe-cted;

it destrdys the I

But it is necE!ssaTyto release the frog vhere it was

1 Its bile a160 is used as an ointl:llent for eye 1rrita:tion and

cataract. t1on~

5uffering~.

e~·es.

d

But nothing is great4!t' than the :follo'Wing Cor eye irrite.-

having _de a sort of .e&1ve of iVy root" put it into a box

e

158

Traoalatior.J of red copper with urine from a young 1nfa.nt, and tying it up se-

curel.v ~ bury in horse lI1allure for 40 days.

35 it off / on

8.

Then'li dra;wing it out. rub

whetstone and JIlS.ke like a sa.lve '\lith t.he 1iquid eon-

tained in it; you will be amazed at tbe action, and you will stop cataracts even beginning.

3. Of AfricaIlus: Concerning Product.ion of Hor5ea CC.H. 2~142J Hipp. Cant. 10. 8J If .. therefore, you ahouJd 'Wish horses toward the east, th!lt thoeY may

the vest bears

th~

B.

:m.ale to be borne 'Ii 'tUl"n the

El~e th~

sun vhile mating ~ for

females I e.s Mf.LtU'ousios the horse-raiser describes.

For aleo, as f I everyone reports" the sta.llions e.re harnessed by the Sun, fL.nd the fltlml!! is

5 draw

l'aght~

24

~lieved

I

the:.· say +

p.229

t{) be dl"avn by them .. but the ma:res

And properly, 1ndeE!'d, :for the Sun fo.'lors

birth of" males, but the Moon happens to be mother of t.hose of like nB:ture.

4. Of the [C.H.

Same:

Restoratives of Paver Hipp. Cant + 10. 91

2~1~2-43t

The (sweet) c i ce1y is

6.

:pla.nt eDt i re 1y

$

!.L+

iJti lar to the hem-

lock except for the flowers .. 'Which indeed are aimiltu" to it, b'lltm1.l,ch

and most pleasant in the eating.

It is found in the ara.ble regicrts.

These, he.ving c aretully ground vbo1e, 1 t i

5

ne c-e 9 sar~r to put int 0

lThehippiatricd passages accepted by Bjorck aBbeing &uthentically African-ian ("Apsy-rtus ,n "pp . 15-16) are marked vitb the notation "M." fL.fter t.he title as fL.bove.

2S

III.~,5,6

HiDpiat.rica

159

5 pure, very well bOiled:) barley gruel I and to boil together]o stirr-ing carefuJTy.

Then put in such a quantity or the

BlOst

f1"&grant wine as

nat to sa.turs.te the: gruel too nruch, and fasting. to 1nf'use+ ~y

find

1L

lrlt"hout "the th e

9

batter remedy than this for this purpose. root~

having bOiled together pig1's

Ina.l"l'"OV:o

No

OTJ.e

But if be is especially

pi nal, with gruel]o and adding wine s ittJila.r ly,. he will ha.ve a.

10 second l'e:medy for tha I

tor~gQing.

5. Of Africa-nus:

For HaNing Intercourse

Much a-nd 'Without Difficulty CC.H. 2t145; Hipp. Ca.nt. 10. 15]

It is nec:eseary to in:f'use the- animal 'Wit.h skinkts flesh in

26

mixed vine. II

6. 1m Altogether Excell ent Ai d for :Birth [C.H. 2:1115, Hipp. Cant.. 10. 16J Pol;rgonum is a. called

pl~t

!.1,+

abunda.n.'t. I!'veryvhe-re, which is a.1so

27

drosa:; 'Which, ha....ing bl!e-n bO\Uld in dog's afterbirth:) rubbed

with ointment and cleansed ae

eause of conception.

neces6ary~

and

app~nd~, b~comes ~

But in order tha.t the animal ttJay conce:ive wohat

you wish. either male or female, mercury and verve.in plants

ar~

con-

side-red to be male and female, the upright male, the spreading t.he

5 opposite. I Make the anima.l to we6..l:" theBe with the f'orJDer preparation; if one rlshes to produee

8.

male ..

male~

if" e. temale~ f'erna.1.4!.

p,131

III. 7,8,9

160

Translation j. Of' the Same:

(C.H.

2.1~5,

For Abundance of Milk Hipp. Cant. 10. l7J

The XIIi lk stone- fastened around the udder of the an1.lnaJ. draws down however T:!JUch milk is neededy

supply more milk t

infUs~

But in order that !ihe may also

the levigated milt

~tQne

itselC w1th vine

and watery

8.

Of the Same ~

For the Embryo ~lot toMis~&rry CC.ll. 2~145-~6, Hipp. Cant. 10. 18J

Sa.ilors t taking the remora. fish, preserve it, using it as. a. poW'erful dru.g both to prevent miscarr',fing and for conception. being levigated. the womb.

tb~

1/ But

ani:maJ. infused with 1 t keeps the embl")ro safe in

if one should also betLr it. living tD the belly Df

5 the mare when the stallion couples llit.h her, both t.hen s.nd sh~

This

ther~a.f'ter

\rill c:oneeiv-e I and will no't su.ffer the foremen'tloned mishap.

y.

9. Of Afl"iCQDus: F'orEarache [C.H. 2:149 t Hipp. Cant. 11. 123

that t hey may both

1 'Wi sh to ai d eaT 5 ina. double mann er r

c eaa~ be!ng pained.. and ceas i ng ~ may not be pained again. ~el'

the condition aroW1d the ear 1llaY'

bearing~

becoming like ulcers

~ots~

the pain around it

~~d

bec~

For when-

insufferable and pa.st

producing evil smellinB pus

beco~ing

~d

intQlerable, the pellitorj

5 plant ~ e-a.s 1.ly o'bta1 ned BJ'I.d gr"e»r1 ng everywhere,

I

~s

t.hough n& t

Ul' ~

gloried in its a.bundanc e. is chopped up thoroughly so t ha tit. pro-

duces much juice+

Then a little bit of Att.ic: honey Is taken t and

p.213

lfippiatrica.

:L61

not much atrong vinegar, and a small Cl.elOunt

Q fses.

Th~se ,

weed.

bl!'ing mixe"d and 'Ws,i"m@d t 'bee-ome e.e.l.....a ti on to the one atfl fet.ed ~

For Oz.aenas a.nd 'Polyps {Concerning .a Cough) rC.H. 2:151, Hip~. Cant. 13. 5J

10. Of AfricMU5:

Use

~he

root of the

~inter-~h~rr:~ mix~d ~qually ~ith

11. Of AfritHtnus: [~. 2~161,

Conce-rning

DyS'Ill"f!a.

butter.

1

Hipp. Cant. 24. 6J

It the urine of a horse is held

back~

a virgin. having loosed

30

the girdle which she weare., let her strike it abou.t ttJe fa.ce wit.h 'the- girdle, and imI!lediately it will 'W'inate much and the pa.in will (lease. II

12. Of Africanul;!.:

CC.H.

2116~-65J

FQr a Dropsi-cal Animal

p.235

Hipp+ Cant. 29. 2)

In:fuse crow fat with 20 O1JJlces of' heated "'Vine; or

jo

a hedge-hog

haViDg been burned? infuse the ashes with wine.

Conee-rning Color ot Horses 2:111-78, Hipp. C&nt. 4h. 5-6]

13. Of Af1"ic&nuG-; [~.

Colors of horseS t alao t like but color is

&l.!iO

th~1r

virtues, are different;

a. stroke of luek, and tbe })1"opel" hide gives

lBjorck, nApsyrtuS t~' p. 17, rejects this passage- specifically.

attributing it to Aelian Bri~ish manu~criptg.

d.ir~ct1y,

despite the attribution in the

III. ~3.,14

162

Translation

stateliness to the anim&1.

Some of thet!l'll

others, cert.o.itl p@rsons change for the

indee:d~

bet.t~r:>

are natural'll but

working artfully.

Some of them are fashioned by drugs 11 but others embellished with cauteries.

qy.

5

h~ving

pumi~~

Theref'ore, a horse from a tawny color may becOIIIe black

been plastered over by squill

stone

I;

and levi gated

~1th vin~gar

but wh1~e would result f~o~ the drug being ~Diled.

But ta...r.ny may come from vhi te, if .lime a.nd 11tha.rge emu1si:f1 ed i water a.nd boiled un.til it becomes .a thick.

over it for two hours. hour~,

g"LlIri

shoUld be

t'li

pla.stered

But if the ointment remains on for more

b.la.ck will result from the white.

Also t apart from colors:p

lO the fir@ forges the hair to a different appeara.'1C1!! on the animal'll

a..nd t.he horsets spott.edness 1& &itDu.l.ated. the name: of a color] hor Be is fired. round cautery t open let~er 010

ard

th~

over this way:

having t.ak etlil.

horse~

which has been bound

fast~

alter-

Therefore the outer ring is black t

original color rema.1ning apart fr OlD tho.t I s imul.a.t es a 1 eop-

body~

neck.

A ~hi'tish-gray {This is

the middle, like: the roundness of the

applying and removing.

nate:ly

150 but

apply it to the

in

cark~d

I

bs'ving been suitably disposed on both t.hi! legs and the

You may see even its face like a vild

b~.aSt.1S~

But it is

good to mark a high-spirited horse this vay, that the sviftnes5 m.a:;'

match the

gk1n~

1/

14. Of Afric8.1lus:

A Dye for Hair Which

Flemains Pel"'l:ll8Jlent.l;Y [C.H. 2;178, Hipp. Cant. 46. BJ o~ win~

.lees t o:f black aeaciat or round alum, of true

p. 237

Hippiatrica

JDai denhai r:t each

6 ounces; or oak-gall:> 2 stat ( era. ») 6

k~l"D.t (ie.) ;

1 green nut; of black myrtle'llithout the Juice ~ 1 1/2 pound; of lad.antlm) 6 ounces; of old dark wine., 5 pounds.

wine until it is boiled dovn to

6.

Boil all vith the

third) and, having cleansed the

baiT beforehand, dip. it three days and nights" a.nd you will be

5 s.mazed.

15.

or

Africanus [c. H. 2 =189, Hipp. Cant. 51. 103

The body of

8.

eea-'W:'chin smeared on a body haYing

th~ ~ge

31

produc es SQundnes.s.

16. or

[C.H.

2;193~

AfricWlUS

Hipp. Cant. 62. 2J

Dog- s brain \Ul.ites a. f:r-s.ctu:re in 1.4 days" being smeared into a

1ir.J~n

32

bandage and applied .. wool being .....ound over it.

11.

or

Concerning TUnlor s a.nd Warts and Acroeordons r: C • H. :2: 198 ~ Hipp. Cant. 67. 1 J Afr! canUEi- =

Irritating ..... arts aTe outgrowths of the body resebbling :r-ougb studs; the-y occur to me.."ly ill many places. ~:r1D.~kiai,.t1

1/

They call the condition

"...hic:h nJ!Ul.y superstitious p4!:rsons also r-egard as signs

of' some:thing which ia going to happen t.o is ma.ni :fold and proven by all.

t.h~ltJ.

p. 239

The relief fr-QlIl. thelD

Some, indeed, ws.tc hing for both by i t·self

~d

Phobio5 gives to those bitten

But the

Pho'8i~ian

called

He-mol'"rhoig,.

eooking and leV'igating it

5 and soaking it in wine I, 8lld convl!:rsely, he said t.o make use likewise of the

80S]? tOl'"

t.hose b1ttl!'n by the h@morrho!s.

For he asserts

Inaron the Libyan to ha"re transmitted that they are a rel!Jedy of one

another. II

23. An EB.silyProe.ured Counter Measure: of the Same [C~H. 2:206. Hipp. Cant. 7l. 5) Rue leaves, 20;

'1161nuts~

2; salt graTl'ule ,l 1; dried rigs., 2;

having been given beforehand in an ill:fUsion to a :faat1ng horse;, you

p_ 243

166

Trans1.a.t.ion

"'ill procure that it will be barmed by no drug or any other poi oson .

But for it not to be struck by a

SCOrpiOll

inscribe

t

abba.s

on

fL

tin

37

sheet and tie this around the throat of" the (1nimal.

24. Of Afric8nus: For the :81 t.e or Every .Beast r.C~.fL 2;207 t Hipp. Cant. 11. 9J H~ving

seed of this

levi gated

plan~,

nOS~-5martt

steeped and

plaster

l~vig~ted~

Oll

with linen; or the

put on in like manner

witt. linen.

2;. O~ the Same: For Checking Infl~tion of" a Wound by Poisonous Aquati Colooi a.. Ae1 ia Capi toli oa of Palest ine, an d i 0 ~iy"s.a 0 r Cs.r iii., llad up

to the thirtee-nt.h in Rome near the baths of' Alexander in the beaut i-

fUl library in the Pantheon which I myself designed for the Emperor,

55

Of Julius Africanus

Kestos

18 lGrenf'ell and Hunt rea.d epl:iJ po110[iJs egno-, Bond t.ransla.te,. "1 should much like to know" (Ox::rrr..ynchus. Pl!l2j'Ti ~ III s pp. 39 and 40, respectively). Vieillefond, fol~Qwing a suggestion of D~s~ousseaux, in his notes on line 49 {Les Cestes, p. 289 mg), sl~gests reading

. . . ego on • . . (ltsince I £IJll occupied in many thir)g~ s I . . . "). He omi t:3 the pa,3sag,e from his t..:ransla.tiorL on p. 2138.

p.291

Kestos

183

13~

Chapter 22

The Kestoi Fragments 1 VI; Kf!'st.05 13, Cha.pter 22

From the Kestoi of A:fricanus ....h ~.at · 15)

0

r Kestos -

13 ~

",.- ~r~: c:~

2 - I'Conce rn i ng t.he

"

I

\riatc herG • It

, frag. XI, Dyn. IV, 8 - Souphis' s sa Just sit 'tber-e,

~

Key ing!"edients or phrases are listed. in

th~!

but

only as a. place to put them; the pentagons themselves e.re not otherwise used or even referred to (prophylactically or 1e any other manner}.5

The use of' the f'igure"s does not seem to b-e for pm-poses o.f

lIbid.

50

pp. 1.1·6-47.

2 Ibid . 50 p. 49. Tne only spe-cific exuple (for the forn.er~ propr-.ylactic WZ'lu1ets) is ·'1' usage habi tuel du scea\J. dE'! Se.lolPon. H

3Ibid • ,pp. -42-45 .

.!,Contrast with this the figures ref'erred to In the London Magical. Papyri which had

50Jll.e

close cocnectitm with th.e procedures be-

ing given (:eI,QfL,d. 121. 204 9" 918;. 122+ 109 note; the first 'Was to have been found "at the beginning of the 'book"; the last occu.ra at the end of the boQk l but immediately foll~~ng a reference to it;. F. G. Kenyon [and H. 1. Bell)" Greek Pftpyri in the BT1tish Museum. 5 vols. [London = BritiBb MUlH!um 5o 1893-191j), vol. 1 (ed. Kenyon, 1893J~ 92" 113~ 120; S~~ alao p. 116).

SUnless th~ir prop~rlacti~ function is seen as that of safe~ guarding tbese items, either in i"~spect to their secrecy (1) or their potency; but Vie111efond t g discu6sion does not seer;n to be that specific as to i t.s !DeMing. Further! in the single instance where a

202

Af'ricanus I s View

r~al secrecy. In one inatance~ noted

by

beror~

info:nnatioTl 1 a given in t.be text t

inclusion in t.he pentagon (no. 3).

Vieil1efond,1 the

signiri~ant

t.lle refe-r-ence is nJa.de to .its

In another

case~

the

b8t~

2

the

identification is so self-e.. . .ident that small credit adheres to guessiog i t (lines 50-51 L

Since Africanus still proceeds to record the

information in the pentagons in these cases. there must be sOme other purpose for doing so, but what? a~oid

It doeSl'lot

rea~ly

seem t.o he to

dissipation of power b,y speaking them in advance, as

s'LI.uest.:s~3 since most not involve

~

Thi51

t.he situat.iQns involving the pentagons do

type of charm and only one involves a. spoken apell

(pentagon five). ~

vention?

01'

V1eil1e~ond

'What

could be

els~

is

J!o~gible?5

a.ssumed~

SOnJe :sort of magical con-

but there are no

port it; that is part of vhf!. t makes the s e fi gures

pa.rB..11~ls B0

to sup-

puz zl ing.

. . . .o uld 6.ppea.r that there is no blanke-t., mgico..l explanation that

It S(!'C"ICS

to fit; but to arg1:Je for a d.i:ff'erent reason in ea.ch ca.se would he 'to cr05~-reference to on~

of th~:se passages is extant (1. 13. 3~ p . lLg ~ referring to L 6. 27-28 t p. 133 {=pentagon sixl)t there is no melltiot:J of the pentag0I1; rere:renC~ is made only to "the Latin exp:ression . + • gi YEm :above (prokei ta.i ) . n 1

Les Cestes~ p. 47, u. 6~. re the serpent thrissos (T. 2. 117-

21, .p. 121}_ 21. 17. 33-34 lLIld 50-53. pp. 165 and 161.

3

Les Cestes, p. 46+

h

Spoken spe~lt 1. 5. 3-h~ p. 129, also on~ written charm (in pe~tagon 6)t I. 6. 26-28, p. 133. 5Vincent seemed to assume tha.t they funct.ioned as some sort of ta1 isman lo If vi th the 2IlUsie:!U signs :serving to Iii st·inguish them~ t1 en meme temps qu 1 i completer leurs vertus occultes n (nt~otlee sur trois manusc1"its .. 1. p. 345), but he gives no proof or e1fl.boro.1..ion. IP

Pentagon

resort to

~pecial

pleading.

in another realm. t.he vrite-:r?

Pa~sages

203

Thus s perbaFs the reason should be sought

Is it perha.ps a Ii terar.rdevice t a "conceit" of

We 11'111

hav~ oCi::as!aD

to repeat this sUggestion

l&te:r~

Musical signs In each pentagon ....as a pai r of' nms:1 cal s i g;rts .

Thes e signs,

the "voca.l" and lrinst.rumenta.1.1r signs for the sB.l!ie not.e; a.re descrihed in the

t~xt

both b:t their function in the theoretical sca.le .. a.IJ.c! by

their form (variously positioned and/or modified l(!"tters of the alpn6.bet }.

Their positions in the :pentagons are variously described..

seem not. to be signi fic·aJ1t+

1

but

The musicaJ.. vs.:lues of the notes se-em not

to be significant either, they are simpl;>r the first nine notes in

the-oreticiao·s list of erally those of the

th~

notes of the "Lydian mode."

di~tonic sca.le~

fI.

They are gen-

but they include a.lso two notes

~

of the enharmonic scale and one from the chromatic .. a. mixture that.

'WoUld not take place 111 a.ctue.l perfoI't!'lance. Over a century ago ~ thi s schola.rly

att~nt.ion

cerning the realm of

~us i

'2

cal ser i e s. had attraet ed. the

of Vincent, but. as pa.rt of

6.

broader notice con-

an~ient music. 3 Unfortunately~ this~ no core

tha.n tbe mor-e passing !"ftferences

b~. .

la.ter 'Writers ~ ~ does, not shed

any

lcrs.mmoeides enkeitai (pentagon 1); ~ra.moeides enke1tai (pentagon 1.1) j, e:r.lgegr,B.ptai (pentagon 6); ~erkeit &1 (i.e nta.gons 7 and 8).

they

2FUl"'tht'!l', s.s Vieillil!!fond points out (Les Cestes ~ pp.

~1-·b8 L.

eaeh of the 't'Wo ~nhfll'mOnic notes is musie./llly the same as the dia.toniC' note that pr~cedes it in the list . involv~

duplications;

.3vince-nt, UNotice aU!" troili mauu5crits,·' pp. 34~-59~ ~o-1l1. and table facing p. 128~ a150~ briefly, Letter to the President of the: Academi~, p. 1711. 73-74~ 100-9~

1J E.g • ., Kroll, in his generally excellent discussion in Pauly-

Africaous's View

20~

significant light on these pae.sages .. serving

on~y

to set the notes

into their c:Ot':lt.4:!rt in ancient music theory.

"But perhaps tbis lack. of progress (or even attention to finding My specific :m.a.gical s1gni:f1cance of the notes) is i t.self iOignificant..

H:~re again~

tive use made

as "With the pentagons themsel VE!lJ ~ th@re is no Mor suggested :for 5 the notes.

o~:!!

only to further identif'y the

figu]"'ea~

This conclusion

ri v~d at by Ii. -I. M!l!"rou,. V ieille fond.' s :In~nto~ i

them (in Vieillefond· swords) as

il

They seem to serve

0

'waS

also ar-

thi S &rea iI who saw

une :manIe:re de numerotation re-

cherchee E;!t savante. ,,1 Other features

Biological depic'tionG The animals and plants depicted \fill bedis,cussed individua.lly, belov~

Here it ma.y simply be noted tha.t those which can b1!!"

id~nti-

tied El2"e aJ.I such as have s.ssociation in hum8J1 thought with malevolent things

~ OT

at least are objects of &vl!rsion.

ADIong

ani~s

'Wissm.~a ~ devot.es tour lines to it ~ and his coments seeJll to S\l.gses't that he had interpr~ted th~ge passages in Atric:anus 80S thoroU8hly fl..S he d1st:UlJsed them (US. Julius Afric:anus," col. 120, line 61-col. 121 .. line 2). D~spi te Kroll's .assertions J 10 chap. 6 (of Thevenot .,Vet. math.; =Vieilli:!fond 5 1. 4),. the umus iJca.lisch :mystis..:re-e l"i"oce-

d'Ul"es seem fai:rl.v stra,lglLtfol'"Yard, rather overblown.

H

2

though the results promised sound

These results--a. spreading plague that will Yipe

out a whole camp .. or city, or nation of enemies; :a slow poisoning

causing extreme svelling" pain, and desire for death; or that will kill a running horse or knock

6

asm~ll

bi:rd from the

lIn the contra-procedure (Vieillefond, ks Cestes, p. 123 mg •• re line 13L} provided by MSS V and D (presuma.blyfrom the earlier pa.ssage mentioned in line-s 134-35}, the threat is referred to both a.s to loimikon pn~utna (or simply toupn~umatos), and as tou aer05 rJotheuo~nou. The~Qu!1t~rin& 'barrier rhos a.nti.Itache:sthai) is te. hyph' hemon gcnomenB.,. .1.e." from. the th.:tEia.t~ras. '1'111s wa.s to be aide-d by lo~at. ins t.anning pits 'U.p~nd of the ~9.I11.p to intercept "the Hcorru-ptedB.ir.u

2In t.he first,the liquid remains are used in making bread and .for coating the b&king ves.sels; in the s.econd,.. a. t'broth" J!llI.de frOlL the chopped up (Uiiqui f1 ed") whole ani:m.als is p01ll"e-d into the ene~r t S lIater S 'Ilpply; in the thir d. the ves se1 is opened U:uwind 0 f the enemy camp. If there is a.ny empirica.l basis for the f:Lrst t'lotO IlrocedU1"es y it must "fi;'"volve some sort of a.nitnal toxins and not. a. germ-caused plague (nor aba.cteria.l poison such as botuJ.i!un). Ba.cterial organisms vould be destroyed by the heat in the Cooking process~8~ but some ani:ma.l toxins {sueb as tha.t. of' certain pui"fera [use-d it!. the Ja.panese ~ stewJ t geographically distant relatives of one ctl.ndida.te for the ph:rs a 1 f.I mp 2) do Burvi ve it The sand viper, .a pos s i ole candidate for the Thr15sos-Bathanerfl.than of mp 3. kills by a hematonn\lhich causes S:YIDPt.03IlS sOlr~vhat lilt~ those descri.b~d in mp 2 (of. section dis~ussing ULand Allim.ale," bel.ow). On the other handy 'the spread of' thE:! plague described in mp 1 (lines TL.-77, and 81-84, Vi-, pp~ 117 and 11.8} r-equiree.a commu.nicable or contagious disefl..seorganism~ (But we ehou1cl not expect too much in the va:y of' "scientific lr accuracy and consistency from tb1s sort of source. even i1' theint~nt shoulQ be non-r:!Iagica.1.} (And does even e.eeking a rational exp-1.anation for such items put. the seeker in the eEl..ltlE:! .;lB.sS as tbei:rautho.r?) '0

AfricanUS'5 Viev

20B

slty"

1

-ar~

not

proc~du.re

det.a.ilg

2

espec1al~3 magieal~

though when

they~

and the involving the

pending of' a wolf" s tail t.o prevent a horse being

r1

Elp-

spooked.," b&s 'been

diacussed pre"iou:Hy, both in connection vitb those pa.ssa.ges and itl the conside-ration of th@ different 8.r.Jimal parts.

ing

thre~

references overlap to

El considelr'6bl~

2

'!\To of the re-main-

extent.

They both

presc~1be tbe use of certa.in wolf parts (especially the ast.ragalus.)

to affect the movement.s of horses. a

COTTUpt pBSSB.g(!',

'VOl VI!S ib

Af'tiCiIllUS Dotes

In mp 10 (I. 10. 1-3, p. 139) .. in sQ~thing

st~ing horses" but eJ.so in

about the effect of

t!1S.king the-m quicker. 3

For the

an invocation asvell as the giving o~ a pTeparation including frog f tongu,e. (lines 172-201, 293-303, KenyoD s Groeek. P9:rri, 1:70-11~ 1b).

6

lSa.r::iu.e-l J. Holmes, ,TIle Biology of the Frog, 4th rev. ed. (New York; Mac:=millan ComplL.:l'ly, 1938) '!I p. 123, refers to the tongue increa.s!ng greatly in !;Iize, as one or the changes in th@ m.etaJDOrphosis of the tadpole. Othe~ thtm this t references tb the tongue are absent in desc:riptions of tadpoles, even in thQ:s:e making sp~C'ia.1ril!ference to their mouth formations <e.g ... Albert H.a2:E'n Wright and Anne. Allen Wright, Handbook of Frogs and Toa.d sot the Unit ed States and Ca.nada ~ 3d ed. [Ithaca .. .N.Y.: Comstock Pub~ishine: Associates,. a Division of' Cornell University Press. 19~9J" :pp • .b6-19 .. with Pla.tes XI!-xrol).

2" Above. pp. 211 and. 217.

3The text g1·...en by V1eillefond from the MSS reads,: lykos antipathes hekaste 1sta.ta.l l'=.ai na.rKQ. to pode thatton de e.ut·OlJ ~hthoni hypo 1:;"'1'\0"-1 g,igretai. FQllet, toev1ew or-Les Cestes:t pp. 318-~9) suggests transposing and corre-ctillS to; :!yko(u) antiRa(tesas) oCle of the fatbers [e. g., Clem.. Al. Strom. l~ 21/1 43),. as \fell ~!J seculor vriters). (See Chapter IV fer a pr~s~nt2.tio[] of' Clement and the s)'st.em of citation of his vorks,) 2Hopfner characteri~es the ass as being regularly r~g&rded aa an l!lJlillla.1 of Hu."1heilvoller ~ja.cht.eu in a.ncient sU})e:rsti tion and magic ('tz-1ageia/' PW .. l~~pa..-t l (1s;t28}: col. 318~ lines ~3-44}.

3ef. Geoponica 16. 1.. 17 and 16. 3. 6 ~ both as from '·Aps~rrtus.·1

4neer and cattle' suOst.B.nces were used in va:riou's &pot.ropail:: or preve:ntiv.e procedures (cf~ Riess~ nAb.e-r'glaube .. " colg. 72 and 16}. The speeifiea.tion of the young animal might 'be in SJo"1llpat.hy vit.b the prob-

able youth~U1neSB of the victim at the first appearance or the dis~ase (or or the sour!: e 0 f the stone s ; nestl in gs ); though it might not be especially significant. Diosco1'1dee (!1:.1:1. 2. 56) ~ a possible source o:f this pe.&SS.g~, -does not specify this element (see the discussion under "Fowls t" belO\ol',. noting that this pa.ssage is not regard.E!das

certainly

au~hentic

by BJorck).

Afr1~anUS'5

View

30A; III. 1 and 12, pp .. :225 and 235; :for elepba.."1tiasis &nd dropsy);

pig

m&!"rov~

l

especially the spinal (mp 25. III . .4. 9-1.1" p. 229; an

o.lternative Bubstance to res-tore the virility of

B.

horse): hare's

blood {mpp 4~a and ~5; IX. l. :4 and 4.3" pp. 317 I!lnd 321~ to produ.ce - ,,2

B. mal~~;

·1e excret10ns . (mp Jc~k; IX. 1.. 32-34; to cause human

~a~t

elimination

3

!!i.S

a practical. Joke); a.nd bear pUdenda, and ot.her ani-

mals{' (On) (mp 44n; IX. 1. 37-38; "marvelou$ helps").

Four procedures

uti1iz~

or more specif'i.eally in at least The second of the

(.mp 2;, 1. :2, p. 119 mg) mi ght be

8.

thr~e-

\fe-50

whEtt are- pr-obably fl.quat1c 8.."1icals, thr(!~

of' them mfl.rine anime.1s.

animals said to be in pent.e.gon t",·o

tbe pbysa or "river" PhYse.los.

toad of some sort ae, di s cuss ed above ( "_hib1a.ns ,. ) 'i

it might be an aquatic

or

somE! sort.

OJ"

If it is the la.tter .. it might

be either a. "puffer" 01' som.~ tY'P-!- of medusa.

ers"

This

Va.rious types of Ifpu.t'.f_

(TetraodQntidae)" most. poisonous to some extent:lo are f'ou.'ld

around 'the globe.

4

Ont' eo pee ie-s, the Tetraoc('m tahaks." inha'bi ts the

lAelian N.A. 14. ~ (liver for elephantiasis); Pliny N.H. 30. 105 (dried flesh for dropsy}. 2The na.tural prolificness of the hare would sUggest its use to 14~4i6; per contra. t DiosoCorides (~. 2. 19J preecr1be51 its renniE!t. as So cOlltraceptive L Why it vould be e,p~ci:fic:ally connected to the 1>roductiQT\ of fa. :male is unclear" but. Pliny prescribes tb~ eating of significant parts of it by the \.I'oWl.n for this purpose (~.H. 28. 248).

prOl:1lot@ C'oncl!:ption (as . . I!:.g., Galen

3 pres uma.bly by some

typ~

of' "sympatbet:s.c n connection.

(1LA.. 3. 18) dt!Ei~r1bes a. 'Poisonous fish. p1"'Jaa1os, :fQund in thE;! Red Sea, which puffs itself' up. A 1''Pu:rfer'~ might be intended. but many of' the d~tailB seem unrelia.ble.

4Aelian

Zoological PaBsages

24l

Nile and thua would tit Afri canus I B adj ectiyes potami os 10 li t~.ra.llj' •

Severnl, &pparently llX>re poisonoUB t globe' 8.1"e utili1.ed in Ja.pa.n

1~or

speci~5

on the other

the: preparation of

sid~

~ st~,

1

of the a highly

regarded ~ but de..')gerous ~ dish. if t.he tisb &re icproperly prepared: the poi son i nvol v~d ,. t et rad.oxin s survi ring the cookj n g pro(: es s. 2 t~rnately, !:l'I~1me

type of:

~dusa

may be: the animal intended.

AJ-

Roulin

suggests this t specifically the PhysaH.a t or Portuguese man-of-var.

3

The re~nJJ.t5 portrayed by Africanus (L 2. 91-98) have some s1Inilarities to there~rult5 of an attack by-tbis organism {and 'thus might have 'b~l;!n a5sum~d

ally).

11

f"or its properly prepareli re:m.ains.

~inistered

intern-

WhElte'l.·er the ~o:t'rect identifica.tion of the creature, the roe-

s.ults promised f'rom the procedure seem t·o be based view of its natu::oally poisonous

n.at'W:'~,

Of]

I!md an e-Xpl!ctlltion that they

could be "captured" and trBJl.snri.t.te-d,. in a.n tJ.ugD1~!1t.ed

proper utiliz.&tion.

As

an exaggeratE!:d

fOnD. t

'by their

no'ted in the previous discussions of thiel, pro-

cedure, this is not necessarily magical or even Buperstitious, but

~1lysa

(citing Strabo

1.s used of a Nile fish .according to LSJ ~ 4~ and AthenaeU5 7. 312'b).

So

.v. ",OO"a"

17. 2.

'"' &::Fran~ Y.,rapp'll "Puffers ~ rl Grzimek l 5,. 5; 252. Th.is poison, how'ever'll i5 very potent and relatively quick acting t killing by :r~:spira tory pa:ralysis through depression of" the respira-tory center of the brain (ibid.).

3 In Vine ent s ttNot1 ces sur t·ro! B manusc ri t·s ~ n p. 562. lie also regards them as the creature described b:;r Aelian (3+ 18) ~ but thi 8 identification seems harder to hB.r1ll.onize with the deacription than & puffer + (Or Is Aelia.n perhaps conflating a description of the physa.lia vi th the effe'c:ts of' eating 'the puff~:r' Who vou1.dattempt to eat a physalia? Also. Aelian deacribes them as a Red Sea fish t but t.he phxsal ia occurs e.lso in th~ Medi t.l!rranean, )

4 Conversely. the description of the s'Welling or tbe body could be connected to 'the puffing up of the body of tne puffer when disturbed.

Afr i canus I' S Viev more ltd sdi l"ec ted ingenuity in the phy9 ic a1. ("s c::i ecti fic H 1) realm..

The other tbree- creatures al'e all

marin~

types and ca.n be

identified fairly confidently t at least by zoologica.l ord-l!l" (or sub-

order).

The first is the: sting-ray, 'Which .....a s 6rIciently credit.ed

'lrlth the

]:iO'We-l"

Africa-nus. a'tt:r-ibutes to it" the use of its sting in

killing treeS ([except apple] mp 17; II. 3. 2-4 .. p~ 203; cf. Aelian

N.A. 2. 36; 8. 26; and Pliny N.H.

9~

155, 32. 25).

The fish,

echeneIs t or remor~.. so called because it supposedly held ships ~ . 1 .la.st. hinderl.. ng them, thereby acquired a repute for holding other

This includes its uses for prevent.ing mis-carriage and pro-

things. It!Oting

concept-ion

~ents (mp

of

8.n

a9

reported by Africanus in the- veterinary frag-

29; III. 8, pp. 231" 233).

2

The final item is the rubbing

animal with I:t18J1ge vith the body of a Bea urchic,J (probably 50m.e

species of E~hinidae) to produce soundness (mp 31; III.

15. p. 237}. 3

All these itetIlS,. if magical at all .. 'Would seem to fall into the category of nature magic (magis, ns.turalis) 10 not the indire-et .. daemon i c:> type.

s~ procedure~

or noted above:

l

involving

fow~1~

have alresdy been discussed 4

1IIP 23c" part ri dge ga1..l", and 'Y'U.1t ure geJl and eye 5

Arist. H.A. 50S

b

19 (2. 1h); Aelian

~+ 1.

36 and 2. 11;

Pliny N.H. 32. 2. 2Cf . Pliny N.H. 9. 19; 32.

6

(or, easing childbirth, ibid.

3Cf. Ae1ian ~. lh. ~ (a..lso Pliny N.H. 32~ 61: .1 cum ea.rni bus Bui s crf:!:t'!19. t i . • .n ) • ~

L

its ash i

See above 10 p. 218" no 2" re partridge a.nd vu1 ture gB.ll. UBe of appropriat.e vulture parts in such procedures would see-III.

The

Zoological Passages

24)

as opht.hfJ.1lnics; DIP 38n., het.! l:s bro.im. for poisonous bit.es;

swan

testic1e~

a5

8.

1

mp

~O:t

colonic.

Africanus proposes two methods for capitalizing on the

vir~

tue, a.nd vi ctory ~ of c-haJnpion ga:tIle-c oc:ks {DIp J.; 1. 3" pp. 1250, 12~n.

The one suppos.es the power to, lie in

c~rta.L.":I

stones found in the

13i~-

z,a.rds of the eocks vhen sacrificed .. rathe-}- than in the cock itself. These stones were customarily 'Worn .. by soldiers and

amul.ets

2

or under the tongue; Africa-nus' 5 ovn

suggestion of" a more secure method

bJr svulo\,"ing it (line 11).

or

prepared~

~ontri'but.ion

is the

carrying the stone--apporl!'ntly

lli

is eaten by the

skeleton vhole. and then burning it+ 3

lie in th.e cock itself. con~estant..

The

keeping the

This ritual, which 'Would seel!l

to be intended to keep the virtue inta.ct,. resUlts in the: the bird's invincibility to the man. into whom he hag

wise (lines 12-17).

in

The ather method se~ to operate on an

opposi,te ass.umption:> that the virtue

cock; suitably

conteste.nts~

These two procedures; vhile

tranB:f~r

moved~

of'

virtue-

i~con:si.stent with

natural in viev of' its repute for disto.nce Bnd sharpness of sightPliny st=ems to ilJIply such a. rationale for the use of eagle ga.ll a.t the beginning of N.H. 29. 123. lBot n Hopfuer

(nM~1! ia t n col. 317) and Ort h {PI thUl11; I'

pw..

8.. ;plrt. 2 t

coL 2533} call attentIon to the signif'icance or the chicken ~ or at least the cock" in prot.ective magic (esp. in hea.~ipg; col. 2533).

For chicken brtJ.in, note Nic6nder Ther. 551~58~ 562-63 b1Jter membranes in wine») and Pli ny .li.Ji. 29 • 78 (in wi ne; Qr hen brain on 'Wound). 2

Pliny cites this as the practice of one notable champion)

Milo of' Crotona (N.H. 37. l44}.

3et . the partial parallels in other ritua.l contexts = e. g ..~ the burning of the remains-of Jewi sb BB.crif"icial fea6ts t ~sp@~iall)r the P6..s.sover lamb (Exo. 12: 10). and the maintenance of vhol~ness of the bones (though 1ndividually~ not 8.S a vhole skeleton) (Exo. 12:46 . .

as well as in the lforse tal es of ThQr I IS goats).

Af'ri canus 1 S Vie'iot each othl!l" in their

vi~.s

of

vhe-~e-in

the virtue la.y., operate on &

a ilni lar- ~"eontagio-w; magi~" princlple.

They aSS\m:Ie some 80rt of

ptphysical" transfer of -the virtue to t.he one vho uses 'the power Bouree in an appropria.te ms.nner ~

1.

Stone-s from bi~d t s g1 :uis:rds a1 so appear- in Mother po.i r 0 f

procedures ~ mp 23 a and'b (III.. 2. 11-1.9).

They follow a paragraph

d@'seribing the supposed origin and pOller of the "SwaJ.low-plant. 11 (chelidonion L

and thus presumably !'e.re~ to svallow9 also .. though

the sources e.re referredtQ only ~ "spring nestlings·' (lin-e 15).

r1

n@st11ngs·' (line 11) and

In thef1rst procedure," t'Wo stone!:!,

identified a.s being white and black ~ 2 found llhen the birds are opened wi. th a. sharp reed,

3

&l"e used as an ophthalmic pendant.

This use re-

quires the sacrifice of a vhite dove., and the invocation of Aphrodite, then tbe enclosure of tbil!" stone in a gold. oe'cklace ~

Th~se

~

a.ll suggest

1This passage tLl10ws Afric:anus se-veral rhetorical flights. that concerniog the cock as ~essenger~ not only of d~y. but of coming victory (linl! 15). It is also augmented by a. sui table Irhistorical u prec:eodent. for both procedure-s: The1!listocles'victory over the Persia.ns {lines la~21). 'l'his last is also presented in So sui tably rhetQric"al manner. e~cially

:;'ollOVing Vieillefo:nd' 51 interJ)retation; the references ~1ju1d conceivably be to their being found in both color sval10vs (see Goss ~n.. "Schwalbenund Segl er; M pw s IIA, part 1 (1.921): col. 169 ~ coneernins vhite as vell 8.5 the usual ble.ck [and 'Whi t~J swallows, Aelian reports 10 Eie~ond-htLtId ~ the e;J:isti!nce of the foraJe:r [.!L.A. 10. 34 And 11. 20 J ).

3An example or the 8.voida..'lce of the use of iron? Cf. Bjorck, ttApsyrtus .. t1 pp. 58-59 .. and Dela.tte (Her'barius 1:2

e.nd 600,

rI.

1~ 1~31.12-4~;

E. p~ Dutton &

CO'

t

bsvid Conwa.y,. The Magic of He-rbs [New York;

~973],

p. 1(9).

See also PliJ1.:tr 8 d(!sC'l"'iptions of' t.he value of various bulbs. (onions" leeks i "red bUlbs, n and bul1:)ine) in !:Jir 20. 39!; 47, 103, and 107 ~ as vell as anilIJ8..l-proo.ucts valuable for similar~. . closing vounds (eartllvonn.s. and horned 0\1'1 brains vi ttl goose grease) in If. H. T

30. 115 and 118. 4

Cf. LSJ, s.v.

n(J1''''.f! ...)ll1~

2/f

tl

lJtlA l,P8pO\l..

Ii" .and "a-1JjI't~OS,

2.. 3."

5See Grieve, Mode-rn HerbaJ., 1:133 (col . 2)t :for use of the root of

ac1osel~f

rel.at.ed species"" .Bryonia diQica..!; as

B.

sk.in irri-

tant. The berries also at'1!' 1!metic and possibly poisonous (ibid. Ceol. 1J), and thus ~ou1d h&ve been vie~ed as & counter-poi~on to anima1 toxi na ~

255

Plant Fassl:1.&es

"Wit.h the na.me- appa.rently interpreted 8.5 meaning '·prolific 1.,1 and

strengthened by a nickname:, drosa ('rdoer") 't is prescribed as a pendant. to prQ[!]ot I::! eonc ept Ion {line s 1- 3 }. gn

2

To ensUTe the product i on of

o.nimal of the desired sex, the e.P'Pl'opriate gender of merc:w:-y (~-

euri.o.lis annua and/or pereflnis"!j, or of' vervain {Verb€na officina11$ and supi. na1) shoUld be add(!d to the pendant (lines 3_7).3 /L:fl'i~e.nus

s.ttribute-s to

t.!l~

Quint ill i ..

h

the vi ev that

shells, put on theioots of trees,. dry them up (mp l7; 11. 3 . 5-6,. 1

It is described as being "abundant e'V~t'J"1oi'heren (line 1; cf". the similar opening of Grieve's description of it, u'I'h(;! Knotgrass is abunda.nt everyVhe:re~ p ' ~ n [Modern Herbal., 2; ~51]. This similarity is probably not entirely coinciden~al; note the description in ~nus Cas.tus .. Ir[thJis her"be groTN,;!,ri:tbJ ny oue::-ELl" (p. 1.l.:4; s.v. "Centenodiurr.,"

MS X.. p. 171.. line 5J). 2

It is to be appended

i~

dog's

att~rbirth,

discussed above.

n,A\~U~OvT16, ,~r·'" ",. UEPI0,~p~w~ . re. ~ _ I~" antt. On mt!:re:u.ry ~ see also: Riess .. "Aberglaube, n col.

3 Cf • LSJ ~ B.T. 111lEp

lC1iEP10V.,

II.

II

60, lines 8-12, tIJld, esp., cols. 63. 68-64. 5; Grieve, Modern Herbal, 2; 529- 30 ('·Me~~'Ury.. Dog t s," and "Mercury "A..·mual PI ) • Mercury may be dioecious Ok" monoeciotls (Grav f s r~an\lal of 13otS:J1Y" i11us., la:rg,ely rewr.

b:;,r Merritt

lyndon Fennald,. 8th LCl!'nt.e(lt.Iifl.lJ eel. CNe....• York; American Book Compa~r ~ 1950J" p. 960), usually the former ~ 'but the 8..l'I.d eX]).

d:ifferen.lblieations" 1910 (rep1". ed. of .An rJ,.l~st:ru'ted Flor6. of tbe Northern United States, C£l.nada. MQ t,he~ritjsh Possessions l Cha~'les Scribner's Sons, 1913) J t 2; 460), and they ~ertainly se(!1D no't to be t}1..ose intended by J1.frica.n'Us P s de-scription. The distin~tio[) here, asvith the vervain ,would Gee~ to be betve:en t~.rO different speciea of each of the n~d genera (cr. Diose. M.M~ ~. 59~ 60, l89 rWellmannJ conc:e-rning thevS1"i~tie-s of these plants, esp. 189. 2 concerning the female and mele varieties of linozQsti:3 and their c:orrespondillg uses).

4V1 eillefon d trac eg t hi 8 vi,e\;' to TheophrElstU5 C. Pl. 5. 15. 1 (Ires Cestes y p. 352 .. n. 16la; see also n. 163~ reo the Quirttilii). The Quintilii appear after Af'ric8Il'Us a.rn.ong the 5ta.ted sources of the Geoponica (book 1, pref.).

p. 203).

1

This ccould be connected \lith the general assoccifl.-tion of the

bean 111 th death a.nd funerary rites (cf.

pl:l~r

N. H. 18. 118).2

{Af"-

r1 canus f s ovn :pTe:ferre d met.hod is much nlOre utili t a:rian t though in

its own way a.s unrealistic

60S

the J::IJethods it replaces:

eut e',erythlng

dOlm (lines 6-9" concluding:> Ntbis indeed is a. perfect. destl"uctlon u J.)3 In the procedures against va...-rts

sents

(m;yrmekiai).,

t\!'o 'Which involve p1ants (mp 33"0; 111.

11. it B).

Africanu!;1. preThese may be

based on a IIs~at.het1cPI conn>t::ction, &1.though 'their basis cOuld beempirica.l.

In the :first (li!)~ 7), crushed squirting CllcU!Dber {Ela-

terium) is put on,. ove:rt:oming the '\ota!'t.

The habit of this p~ant

or

its ripe seeds might eause it to be regarded as having an

E'!je~ting

expulsi'V"e pOlier 'ilhich could be turned to good use (or the- .!l:pparently

irritating 5ubstances in the plant

a. -counter-irritant).

4

might hQve caused it to be used as

In the second botanic itel!l here, the pl~nt may

be of eome B.~ttia.l value, wheth~r it is c."hi~Qrj (Cichori'l.lnlintxbus) or. poesib.l..'V t pimp-ernel (An,Mallis s,J;:"Vensis) .'5

Bot.h plants have been used

lThis follows t.hc- suggested \1.5e of the sting of (II. 3. 4-5):t discussed above.

sting-l'a~..s

2Riess t ItAberglaube, H co.1. ,3~ note tLlso i ts use~ cited there" against nut trees (Geop- 10. 61. :3 Lactually 'the "\thole o~ chap. 67 is d~voted to the subject .. but se-c. 3 involves the oW"ia.1 of" the bean:)), or to prevent untimely loss among olives (Geop- 9. 121 (both th~se items are ci"te d by Geoponic:a as from uDemocl" tt us n ) • 3if'his po.rticular bit of advice t lthich relates specifically t.o 1"ruit trees, Yould seem to B.l'gue against & Jev1sh "backgroWld for Af'ri-

eanus (~f. Deut. 20;19) 20).

(The ~berration could .. of course~ be

B.ttributed t.o his "Christianization. I')

4

ct.

Gri~ve, Mode~n

5Aecording toLSJ, M. !-~. 2. 1 78 •

Heroal t 1:241.

8. v.

lI~tX~PlOV,"

it is so used in Diosc.

257

Plant Passages

against

inf1amma.tion~

freckles ..

eno

other Elkin conditions.

1

On the

other hand. if the plant intended is really t.h(!- heliot.rope (genus

Hel1otropi urn;, cf:. line 8 L. it has explieit. encient use agaiDst warts . .2 The precise identification of the plant. may be

since the proeedure

appe~Ts

pointleg:s~

hove..... e:r,

to be more magical then therap@'utie. 3

T:'le flO'-'er is to be- picked before

sunrise

11

(so its eontracted, or

sun-avoiding t pO'IoI'el"s will be at maximum .. to be transferred to 'the wat't"1),. and

t.h.e a.ffected sJ)Ot (topos) is to be

( t ri So per1gn~.''Ohe-)

j,

thri~e

eircumscribed

this viII ,.qui et U( pau.!;l eta.i) t.h~ \ttI..:rt.

Both the

circumscription and a three:fold repetition art!' recognized !IlSgical procedures. 5 ey~l8men

prescribed as a purgative+

juice is

cYclamen has a long history of use

~or

IGrieve~ Modern Herbal,. 1:198-99" 8.t.Id 2~633~ .eJ.ao,. re pi:rnpernel t Conway ~ l~agic t P' 131. Both also have a ttheliotropic:" ehQ.1"8.Cter (Grieve, 1:l97~ and 2;632; Conway, p. 131). ~ieillef'ond, .tes

Ces.tes .. p. 358,. n. 208 (citin,B Pliny 22. 61; Marcellus 19. 611; and Dioscorides Eup+ 1. 116 r.167,. WG'1...1m&nn; note esp. 161. 2]). (But iu Pliny i.t is the root,. and ir.! D1oscor1d,e5 the :fruit, :ra.ther than thetlwer~ which 1e Bp~c:!fied,)

3Un1.~BS the eircumscription actually involvt!'d more than a to:ken, light ~ont ail:: t 'With t.he skin. If.1t1 nvol.ved. sOll1e pressure so t hat the Juice :from the f'lQ\l'er (augb1e[']ted b;)f dew from the pr~-da'\n'li picking?) vaS expressed on th~ skin around. the 'Wart in the pl'o~@as, it could coJ)' 1

In thilJ caae t aince the birds are nestlings, t.he "stones"

type of sto:uy concret.ion, a bez.oar, rather than true mineral. If' 1;1;011 this might provide 8. morl!!" prosaic rea.son for the use of' a reed to open the bird--a. metal knife-, du.€ to its hard-

Yould seeIll to be some I!l

D,e-SS t eould d.amage the I' stones .11 (Thus proving the deleterious ef'teets of iron ~or such use?) But Pliny ;regards them as true stones; he says that S'val101rr6 V{! follo'lled by count.

.fL.

rether

'brief mythological ac-

This might be a. e.pell:. but AfricMus gives no direct-iona to

use it. as suc-h, so it is mol""e likely l;;.imply another of Af'l"ico..nus·

literary embellishments ~ beginning Thl!! most e-xt!!nsivC'

285-89; 0& . PaE. 412).

h~re

~X8JD.p~e of a

with an apostl"opne t.o Sleep. s:J.I<e"1l2 is in mp 42 (V,. pp.

Thi s is the iI.llr'J?lified vers ion of Odys se'J.5 '

nekyomanteia. vh1ch Afr1cfUlus reports having found in HOOIeric socripts in three widely separated libraries +

cont.:tibut~d to

B

J:IIaJlU-

Nu:merQus studie:;;l n.a.ve

the clarification of" indi.....idual points in t.he text, 3

and have indicQted the spiritual ancestry and the

B

interpol~tion process,~

mechanic~

aspects of

but have largely left the question of

Africanu5I·'s relation to it unsolved.

The opinions which vere e;-:-

pressed on this point vere regula.rly derogatory to Af"ricE;'....' lus.

He vas

lNote the Vai"ious Ir_a." fot'IUS in th.e- JDagical papyri e. g ... PLonq ~7. ~5 (Kenyon~ Greek Pa.pyri t 1;83). Variollspos5libilities f"or its origin could be sU88csted. It could be B. variation (or corruption) of "tatai n &5 an expression of pain (tSJ t St.."plement t S.v. rrTcn:aill) sthl! performer 1iaosor'b1ngU the pB.i 0 or the s u.tt'erer and then .5!J itt i n g it out (c f.. line 3) or COlJ."lte ract.ing it with the Latin formula.. It might be a corruption or developDl.ent of t.he tripl.y repea.ted na.ttJe, "Tat, Tat t To.t n 'Which appears. for "I

example~ in DMP xvii-Iff; v. 15ft; vii. llf"f (cit~d by Morton Smitb t [San Franc is co I Harp e~ &: Rov ~ Publi shers ~ 1978], p. 132.. 'lifith. note on p. 206 L It might be .. func'tionally, a sort of soothIng or distracting sound while the weapOD. is "driven i.bto {eDik:::-ousa,i}

J eSU!3 the l~a.gi c ian

the wound. rt 2Expli-oitly identified as such in lines 20 and 21 (e-paoide ..

and ep~sai. respectively).

3See the diBcussion~ IIOx:y-rhynChus and ~yond)" in Cha.pter I. above; and the:diacus6ion by Vieill(!-fond .. Lea Cestes .. pp. 280-83.

4Not-ably WGnscb~

nn.eisida.i:moniaka)" PI>.

2-19.

Charm.s and Rites charged with either forg@'ry!, or.

a forgel"Y.

1

eV~!n

269

vorse, being taken in

bjr

such

There Is no question about the magical D.fI.ture: of' the

compoaition reported by Afri eMus, an amalgam of Egyptian.. Greek 11 and

Hebrev

.

e~etr)el1t.s;

2

but hov and why" he report s 1 t are les s clear.

Its

location, hawe...er t suggests that it is a sort of grand finale for the f!!ighteenth .Kestos! ch~ry

tales

B

rhetorit:al literary flourish similar to the ar-

whichconelud~

Keatos 7.

His st.ated reason for

in~luding

it is that it is a very valuable conce-ptionof e'pic (krema [poJly-

tetlJeaterof.l epik[eJs~ l.ine 49~ p. 289).

This appears not to be be-

cause he is under arcr illusions

literary

~s

to

1t~

quality~

he has

just deseribed it a.s "overwrought lf (perier-goD t line ~5) ~ not in accord llith the dign.ity (axiOma, line L6) of the work, n:roreign" (a.11otria. ..

line ~7) to its progression.

But despite- this ~ he seems to entertai.D

no question about its &uthenticitYj the only two theorIes suggested ttl

aCCOUf,lt

f'Ol'

its a"b·sence are o-missions by the Poet b1:nself" or by

the PeiaiBtrat1des in their supposed revision (lines 45-48)+ no hint of' tbe: possibility of a l&ter interpolation.

There is

Such a lapse on

the part of" the critic vho attacked the 8.\l.thentic i ty of' Susanna is

hardly credible.

I~

is almost enough to drive one to the

alternatives~

Ie f.

Lud,wi ch.. co-is. 1502- 3 (not e. :forger. but a Jloor cri tie) ; Kroll ~ "5. ·Julius. Africanu,s 11 PI coL 122 (if' not a forger:. a very poor critic). . It m&y be Clott:!d" in defense of Africanus against Ludw-icb' s cha.racteri:z.atioll of him as udem Durchstoberer &1ter Pe.pierkorbfetzen U (col. 1503) ~ tha.t it was not Afrit:&nus but 1IIOde-rn s~hola.rs who found this s(:ra.p while going through'li8.ste pape:r. At:ricanus tells us that he found it on the shelves: in respectable I1brerif!!'s. :2See Vieil1efond,Le-s Ci!"stes ll p. 281 {and the studies ~ited there, &,;; yell eos the othere ~it~d above), andp. 288, note ]a (cont. 00

p. 290).

:27Q

/l;fricEl.tlUS I s View

either a torgery or a joke.

1

There are" however t at. least tvo other

possibilities, though neither of them neceasarily the preceding two.

"very

either of

It is possible tll8.t in designa.ting the passage

valu.ab~err Africanus is thinking of

historically or for current and could coincide with possibility is that

~xclude5

~

practice~

~ithel'

pe:r-haps

90S

!is

its magic contents, either

or bot.h.

This is not impoasible t

of the preceding two views.

Thl2' other

being a:ware of numerQUS aberra.tions in

the Homeric text. t Afrit:u.nus has coml2' to regard them as variant lines from a common er8.l.

vide~"

source~

aDd thus, finding th1a passage attested in sev-

di5tribute-d manuscripts:> had no reaaon to suspect their

au.thenticity.2

This vie-v wou1.d

J!.Qt

be inconsistent with an ironic

intent is his evaluation 0'£ the lines.

I

8m

rather inclined tOlo-a.rd

including the ironic t.\tist", but a historical regard t

this last

viev~

at least

:for the :magical contents of t.he lines is not ha.rd to inw.gine

~

of the- vriter of same of' the other passages preserved under Africanus·s lef. Kroll" '·S. Julius Ai'ric!l.nus, it col. 122. lines 37-.41; and Bjorck, I1ApsyrtUStll pp. 2L-25. ;2

Crant (UHistorical Cri ti-cism .... p. 191) ~:r-itici z·es Africa-nus· s failure to take sufficient cognizance of the diffil!rences "b-etileen the Rotnan manuscript and tbe others. On the other hand, Louis Robert C'J.,a.

bib110theque de N:o;a de Carie." Hellenica 1 (19LOJ: 1~Q-q8):I :followed tentatively by Viell1efond (Les Cestes, pp. 281-82), suggests that the three ma.nuscripts were related (thus, de-spite their geographical dist.ribution t they :r'@'Pi"esented only one vi tne-ss, 0. factor not S\l.:l;rpected

by Afric-anus).

{VieillefondTs major reservat.ion is concerned with the .ques.tion of hO'iot Q copy of the 'Work vould have gotten to Jerusa1-em (p. 262). Might it be that a transcript vas made from tbeRoman ex.amplar for tbe libra.ry of [or some individual int or~ lIho went toJ the new colony of Ai!!lia? 01" eve-n that an e:xistine; copy of the Jtde-viant II manuscript wa.s deelared sm-plu8 and disposed of in this manner? [How we-re lib:rari~s 4!'sta.blished and stocked in Roman colonies'!).)

Charms name.

1

~~d

Rites

2l!.

But a more posit 1ve:t act i ve eva.l ue.t.ion

possible.

0

f the magic is. not 1m-

Since ve dQ not h&V'e .A.f"l'iCanUS'B introduction to the passage-

to indica.te his purpose in using it and his att.i tud.e to\mi"d. it.!t our final decision can only be a subjective judgnJent based on consistency vtth the reading of' the

oth~r

Passa.ges 44 d and

j

ps.s.ss.ges.

(IX. 1. 11-13

give Ps ellus' 5 ansveron t'W'O such Items.

~nd

30-32, pp. 317

3L9}

In the former.. the mulberry

bough styptic was given its power by a secret spell aporrhetQt line 13).

&ld

(epQdjt~ni

The latter attributes certainhealings of poison

bites and eye problem!;! to

~e.rtain

pendants and u enc h8.D.tments"

{ewmasin, 1 it'l.e 32). The third pB-ssage- cited t:r--om thl!' Ch!"ono"grap& (mp 48/ch:r 31-

Routh" fra.g. XI...), con:sidl!:r~d simply in itself, migbt be :regarded as

referring to

iL

magi cal spell (Ode:).

Sine e, hovever:o the i t.em re ferred

to is lrnovn .. the 5Q-called Prayer of Manass·eh .. incident seem!'J to be ruled out.

2

this conception 01' the

Ita dee-1gna.tion as a "song" is a re-

.flex or its poetie rorm~ not really a synon:...m for epOde t "spell" or

ltt:harm. rr

Th~ only argument. for tb~ latt.er vould be

clBSsifieation of" its "miraeulous" reault

tLS

fL.....

autol:J8.ti.c

evidence of Hmagice.l n in-

tent.. 1

This vould be especially true' of" such items a.s ropp 14 ,,23a ~ and 35 (I. 17; III. 2. ll-lQ; and III. 19) ~

2This id~ntlfieQ.tion ie strengthened by the reference to the fetterB being iron (ta. desma. . • . Bid-era. onta L They are soidentified in Fr. Man. 10 (des;mti s1d~rou) .. while the Hebrew text of the Old TestM".ent refe-rence., 2 Chr. 33 ~11]o SU8Sif."ste- that they vere bronze (nahustayim}. (Pitra suggests 'that this passa.ge pTQvides o\U" earlil!!'sttestimoniU%ll to the Prflye:t'"' CAna.leeta saC";ra~ 2:292J.)

272 Inscriptions

The first, and most significant ,. use of an inscription in the preserved fragments is closely associated 'With the f'irst spell example

as noted a.bove in connection '\lith the discussion of' it. clea.rly magical

Both involve

indeed .. the present passage .. mp 1,

procedure9~

penta~

gon six (I. 6. 23-30. p. 133),. is introduced a.s an Uart 01' nature" (tee-nne

is to be

horse~

a.t

.&.

pby~eOs,.

1ine 2.4}.1

insc~ibed

particulw- time-, in

horse.

2

The inScription) to tame

vith

th~

~

bronze

p~n,

bOttom of' the

in a

l~tt

Bll

unmana.gea.ble

~&rticU1ar manner~

hoot foot. of the

It has a '·necessity of obedience ll (ananke:nechl!'i t1eitbarchias.

line 28) ~

This inscrip'tion, "a threat of Roman pr@seriptiofi ll ,1 which

'Was to be found 1.n the sixth. pent&gon, may be preserved for us in a c:ryptOgz"Bm

equal lines

Kccro/~ct'·;

in the

C~bridge

~ithin

a. lozenge

hippl6,trica codex.

Arranged in faur

UIl-

OT diamond form, i~ reads M~~/6Q~~\1

under it is the line

"~~A~XOaW~AV.n3

Using & system de-

scribed by Gardthausen .. '1iei1lefond deciphers the last line as 1 E:1 ther element of this expression could be used as a Ircode-'· \lord for ll':Iagic.

2

Compare and contrast the ~'P9taktikon charm given in f'Jpnd 121. 926-39. It vas to be engra.ved with a bronze pen on a lead~n f'le,ke frOJD a mule yoke and placed under the er.ole of the left foot of the person desiring the power. The inscription, sur:roWlded by I!I. squ.o.re and various s:rrobols . . occupies lines 931-39 (Kenyon ... Greek PapYTi,. 1:11314). Note also another charm of the same type to be worn in the right sandal {Plpnd 124. 29-3L. followed b)r approxi1l1B.tely .10 lines c:ont.a.ining four columns of names; ibid .• pp. 122-23). 3Oder-Hoppe . . C.H. ~ 2 ~225; Vieillef"ond, Les Cestes, :po ~33 mg. (re line 28). and p. 132, note c (cont. on pp. 134 . . 136. 138). OderHoppe r~ad th~ ll!l.st l~ttil!!" as Q. or .!!. rather than !!..

213

Charms and Rites

'le~O'UAalC1'O\l.,.1 The lett~rs in the figure have not yet been l;J&tisf'a~torily

expla.ined.

2

A.."'1other inscription occurs in :mp 31 (III. 23. 3-5 J p. 243). the prescription of' a tin :shel!!!t pendant e.s from scorpion a.ttack.

Q

prot.ection of an an1:mal

The in5criptiQD is. the \ford nabbal;J."

fond points out tbe Aramaic background of thi.s wQrd,. 3 vhic:h

support his viewo! AfricBJ1us's Jewish Qrigin (thOugh he

Vieille-

~ou1d

do~s. not so

1

Les Cest e s ~ p.. 138 (cQnt. of' n. .£). The syst'(!ll!l in Gardt hausen is a r.11.Jmerical variation of' athbash. It uses 'the Greek alphabet includi.:lg the three older letters: retained as. numeri!:l!I.l symbols, divide-d into three ~hcrter seriea of' nine ll!:t:ters efL~h, ~-a,. l-~, and ()........ (unit.s t tens, hundrE!'ds),. vi th the center letter of each s eri eB ,. E,. .... " and '*' t remaining un~hanged in the cipher (V. Gardthau,e,en ~

Griechiscb(!' PalQeop;ra.Dhi~, 2d ed ... 2 vols. ~ Comp., 1911-13J, 2:311).

rLe1p~1g:

Verlag von

'l/~it

2,rli~illef'ond suggests that it is a. transla.tion of Afriea.nus's Le-tin fQnnula (ibid.). In addition, ve ean p~~h&ps regard the theophylaJtton as a. 6cribal ~ue to the pToc~durE! rather than as an original part of the formula ( such e. rer~renc:c 'W'ould seem. to run cO~"Jter to the non-tneolog1 ca..l strain .in the Kestoi noted above) . 'With certain other aS8U!11i'tio:la t thismi.e;ht furnish

0.

solution to the cipher.

'The

i~sC1"iption tan be transliterated into the FtOC'la-:tl alphabet as nF'EI DOLEl/lCESO!FEE. n An nd hoc cipher co.n therJ be set up usipg th~ 24 l~tt~rs of the ROmfltL lLlphabet., having tvo grOU-P.!;l of" 9 E!'8.ch,. as in tb.e original t and then using the remaining 6as e. final group: A-I, K-S" ar.l.d T-Z. with E and 0 central and unchangea.ble in thl!' first t'YO gz-oups. Using this cipher:> the letters decode as "DEfOREASEKODEE. It Could this have been intended to represeC"Jt aomethibgsuch as "defore fl.se£.o de e (quo) • It interpreted as "to be about to b~ ¥i'antingJ fail ~ cut off from (being?) a horse"'] The solution does not necessa:ril::r~ ha.ve to be good Latin. only such as a tyro ndght ha.ve produced. This 'Would be true 'Ilhether Afri c anus got the "presc r iptior/' fr O~ someone else or concocted 1 t himself'. The latter is not outsid~ th~ realm 01" possibility; if Afric:o.nus can be suspected (even if innocent} of CO!JIposing the nekyoma.nteia it"Jterpolation!il,. such an item as this is e'J'en mo~e likely (es]J~cia11~l if' the possibility of regarding such ttems .as prf:L.Ctin or transmission.

A more elaborate procedure

could be proteeted :from apparent failure' by charging failure in some

detail of its

pe~formancet

vhat would not be disproof.

but such &

B Nlre ~onditiQn..

s~pl~

procedure .. involvicg

seems too vulner-ab1.e to empiric

2

Gods o.nd Daeltlons

or

A number daemons.

Mos.t

or

various I'JIagical

p~Bsag~5

in Africanus refer- to pagan gods

these ref'e:r-ences occur in connection with tbe

proc~dures,

yet few if any of them are directly in-

vol. ve din the proc ~dU1""eEi the;ms elve 5.

cal

pro~edures,

L~d/or

including

In this

th~ in~antations

iI.Qj'..

A:tri canue! S lI1.&gi-

and charms .. are 50mevhat

~leillefond, Les Cestes~ pp. 358-59 .. n. 21L; ]j5r~k~ 16.

.rApsyrtus .. I' p.

2This argument could apply~ o~ course l to its transmission in the ~us(lript t~adition~ but once an item entered the t~adition. unde~ the ~:uspi-ces of some nautho;ri ty liP it seems to ha.v~ been passed on by the successive scrlb~g with little real thQught of its rationale. But the original authority, presumab1Yl would shov a little more c~on scose:.

Gods and Daemons

Invocfl.tions This atyPicB.1. character is illustrated by the references to invocation o·f tne gods in Africa.nus.

'T'h@-:re- are possibly tour s.uch

references .• of' "Which one (prelude to mp ll~ prayer to Poseidon Horsetroubler; 1. 11. 16-17) p. 141) is only that ~ pagan practice in that.

r~g8.rd.

1

B.

The relation of

(passing) reference to th~

other three to

Africa-nus' s beliefs is 4!fLCh uncertain in a. different '\,fa.Jr.

first.~

The

the ad,dre39 to Sle-ep in mp 15[> {r. 1 T. 4~-4S!< p. 165} "even if it should be

tt10Tr:!

than a rheto1"ical. apostrophe. is re:.tber a challenge

than an .invocation (cf.

alsO!lIJl

l!lb; ibid." lines 30-32),. and \l'ill

t.hus be considered in the nl!tX't sect.1on belO'il+

The s4!cond.

6n

1nvoca-

tiOD of Aphrodite in eonnection w:Hb the use of stones from s:walloll neatlings (mp 23&; III. 2. 11-1~}:I!

authenticity, and .is itself practice

3S

80

OCC'Ill"S

in a passage of suspect Afri~anus's

out of keeping with

to provide support :for the.t suspicion,

2

The

usual

th1:rd~

:PIP

42 J the Oxyrhynebus fragEent of 't.he end of Kestos 18,. is definitely part. of the Africanian corpus. but tbel'e is question as to

of its inclusion:

th~

in'tent

is Af:ric:anus recommending it ase. magical

IThere is a ref'erepc(! to the sa.crifice of tl- victorious cock in mp 1 (I. 3. 7-8. p. 125), but OtLq in desc~ibingthe finding of the stones. There is no :refer~:uce 'to the invocation of e.. god .. nor any indica.t.ion that the sacrifice plays any part in the virtue of the atone. In the second procedurE!! (lines 12-1T~ p. 127}) there appears to beso:me sort of ritual. including the burning or the bones" but het'!!!! there is not even a. specific reference to the procedure as sacrifice. In mp 1 (L 6.23--JO~ p. 133, with me.:rgina.1 note on line 28), if the t.heophylakto!J should be part o:f the o:tigino.l "Le.tin expr~gsion.. ,. it still would not exactly be an invocation (and .need not be in re~ erence to e. pagan god (though orlgipa11~t so .. if from Afric8.f.lus I s

time?J.) 2

See above,., p. 245:.

~d

n. 1.

290 procedure~

O~

simply including it only as a

litera~J cmbellishment~

Homeric novelty rediscovered by his own sharp

eye~

a

1

Rivaling the gods

The goal of

mn~Y

ancient magical rites seems to have been the

attainment of divine Dr Be.r:ni-c.ivine id~ntitying

way.2

or

~asoci~ting

oneself

po\i'~r

~ith

by union . . . ith a god, or

by

a god (or the gods) in some

This is an ambitious procedure .. rele.ted in B,oroe ways to the

e.cquiring of a 1'farniliar, It e.. :eyedro5.

be rea.d as refle-cting this latter

'I"..ro lines in Africanus might

goal-~'II

desire Sleep to become

subservient tD 11tY' practice ~ that vi til me alone this master and allsubduer may dwel1 u (Elp lLb; 1. 17. 27-29 t p. 165)3_-bu1. Africa.nus's

basic att.itude to\iards the godsiLnd spiri'ts seems to be- entirely otherwise.

Rather t.han se~king union ~itb such spirits (or even their

8ervil~

subse''Tvience}, he sets hittlSelf against

them~

he seeks nothing

less than equalit.y (self-achie'l,i'ed) 'With them~ or even hOGtile 1

. See .e.bov@'11 pp. 268-71.

2

Note, ~.g,; Morton Smith~ Cleme~t of Alexandria and a Secret Gosnel of Mark (Cambridge: Harvard University Press~ 1973), PF. 220-23 Tincitiding p',Jr·~ nr. 15 ~ - 221~ on p. 221) not.e es]). p. 222.. '~fany JDagi C 801 operations 'Were designed to produce s'Ucll incarna.t.E;! deities; . . . n, and p. 226, 11Cl ailtJing to be fl. go d or a son of' a god; OT un i ted wi th some god or superna.tural entity. . • . I'; also hia argUI!lentra and eX8lI:.ples in Jesus the Magician. pp. 96-106, esp~cia.lly the rites which cla.im or are designed to achieve identity or 'Wlion vith a god! pp. 98-99 (rot-1 1. 511ff) ~ and PT 103 (PGM Til. l1Q-221), Note 8.1 so , Bjorck) nApsyrtus~n p. 6h (this occurs in the di6cussion of his passage nco 1; and cites p&ssage no. 9 11 on pp. 67-68), and compar@ the various "ego eimi'; fonnE; in ~ 46,. e.g ... lines 108-9. 113~ 145-~6 ('With not e ),. 151, 154- 55, i '56-, ·236 (wi th note}, 240; 472 ~ J.76-17 (Ken~.. on s Greek Pa~rri, 1;68-80). 'I

3But sucb an interpretation ofthes~ lines is probably excesseem to b~ only rhetQri~al e~aggeration of a personification of sleep (ct. the rel~ted lines from 15b and 14b discussed just Blve~ th~se

above) •

Gods and Daemons doodnance of the:rr:a.

of th-e- first

01"

This attitu.de is shovn in

our magical

pa~sages:

291 tb~

introductory lines.

"The victorious a.t.tribute t.he

lIa.rs of such kind to theirpe(:uliB.l' gods.

These gods a.lsQ "We will

1mi tate; spontaneous fortune by our art s will "be produced~' (I. 2. 57-

59" p- 117).

This attitude of' d~:tian~e toyard the gods is. further

manifested in regard to the horse-troubler drug (mp 11; I. 11. 17-20,

m.e.r~ make 1:.0 Pos(!oidon

(lines 16-1'1").

It is also shown in the "sleep-

lessness rr pa.ssage- reterred to Just above.

There (mp l~b) the element

Of elmUfl.tion--"I do not d.eel:1J n1y'Self lln'W'Qrthy of" the equa.lity of priv~

ilege with theI!lU (1. 11. 25-26, p. 165)--is directed toward EDen, but ltIen who had gained advfi.ntage over daimcnia/ -es t -earthbound and humble

to be 5we (line 26), but daicone-.s none the less. challenge is not to the men who conquered them,

bu~

Further t his real

to the one

~ho

had

really bound them~ Sleep .. t'he a.ll--conquering one (Merx kai pandamat6.r,

lines 28-29).

Thi 5 is the set tins for th e a.po s"trophe s to Sleep in

t.he follOYi ng line 9 (30- 32) and in mp 15b (line s Q.4-~ 5 )• ar~

probably

& literary

really conceives of

device, but if it is held that

Sl~ep

Thes e lines.

Afric~~u3

as a daem::mic being t his attitude of de-

fiance and concl!!'it (outright

hybris~ in f's,ct) is even

more striKing.

1

1 This is not !'"eally parallel~d by the desired pover to command various gods in th~ passages cited by Smith (~.g., Clement of Alexan-

.9r1&,

p. :221) t or the: attitude of fear1es.sness toyard the gods gained during the 'tz.!ithras Liturg,'," lines 555-73 {Marvin W. Meyer, ed. and trans. 1o The ''Mi;t,hras Li twsv .. n The Society of Biblical Litera.ture Te;xts &nd Trt1t.lsla.tiorHl Cno. 10) ~ Graeco-Ro-man Religions Series (no. 23 .. ed.it.ed by Hans Dieter Betoz; and Edward N. OrN~il (Missoula., Montana: Scholar S?ress, f'o:r- the Society of Biblical Literat'l.U'e,. 1976):0 pp. 8-9). II~ t."hose pas,sages the statue 1s gained by the protection and nsponsorship" of' a bigher pO\ler (TyJlho,. God of gods, king, and King

Africanus'sView

292

This theJIle of imitation of or contempt for th(! gods appears

in t\io other :references.

In a

vhich, de-spit@ its

late~ eha:pt~rt

title., Georpj.n.s :earadoxa, is not magical., Africfl.nu.:s proposes to imitate Dionysus-vho had given vine aT.Id vines to the Greeks--by pro-

viding alternative friendship eups 1"Tom othe-r pl"oduce (T. 19. 21-25 .. p. 113).

From another source 1 mp .l:7/c-hr 2 5 'We

l~arn

that Souphisl'a

book.. :pri zed by A:fri c anus, resu.1 t. ed f:rom Souphis' 9 hauteur or s uper-

cil10usness (h'z:p~:ro"tltes; RO~.ltb 2 :250+ 2~ Syncellus 1: 105. 9, ed.

Dindorf) toward

~he

gods.

~holoBical na~rat~ves Anoth~r

characteristic of magical

proe~dures

of various ages

and are.as is the use of" e. narra.tive prt!"s~nting a IImythological'· back-

ground,

fL

sort of" preternatlU"al precede-lit, for the: result proposed.

1

ael"E: 6.l80, AfrieRnus has passages t'hata.ppe.a.:r close to t.his t but Yl!!'t

Mpp 14 a 5 and "b ..and l5b, 6.l rea.dy noted :in

.are not really the same.

the preceding tV'O

pair ~ Africanus gives

associates of

Sleep~

fi

Sleep

.e.l.ree..~r

I!~

~uch

items.

III the former

rhet.oricELl del;lcript!on o·f the

and then

'Who bound 511an08 .. and 7-11:11 and 21-25).

present

di.scussions~

eit~s

anoth~r

o~

the cases

the

infll.,]en~e

Ph~'gian

or

king

hero 'Who found a satyr a.sleep (I. 11.

the latte:r t l5b ~ besides the apostrophe to

discuss.ed, he adds

&

comparie<m to an enigJnatic event

relating to the nuptials of Pasi'thea and Sleep (1. 17. ~ 5-4 7 ~ p. 165).

of gods . . in Sndth; Helios Mithras:II :in the "Mi thro.s Lit.urgyn (e1". lines ~8o-8~, p'p. 2-3; or some even higher power? 1inf!s 639-~3t pp. 14-15)}

while

African~s

1s

a~@d

only with a dead bat.

lSee. e.g.: Bj3rck t IrApsyrtus .. " pp. r'Ma.gia.~·· p. 1507 (col. 1).

6~-65,~ 69~

Hubert,

Gods and it.~8is

None of these

tual magicaJ.

op~r&tiQn

Da~ons

293

presented as being used in any vay in the 6.C-

in 1580 (lines

33-43)~

and .fit. into the cha.pteT

simply as literary embellishments such as those found throughout these cha.pters.

1

This

S'I!!ClIlS esp~eio.lly

true in the one o:f these pa.ssQ.ges

'Which has the greates,t maeicaJ. appearance (lines, 1:.15-41, in 15'0). D~5pite

their obvious strengthening of the potentially

~ymp8.thetic

or association8J. elements. in the precE!ding apostrophe (Night's Bon-

Night's bird (line .1a4);'W'ingl:!u-a. vit.lg [liir.les 4J..-45J),they a:r-e given a literary turn by the reference to Hera, leading rather to

B..ll

a.ut.hor-

1a1 "'conceit, If the ref'@renc~ to "the Kestoi" (line 48~ p. 167 L th~

to a magical applieation.

A reference to the birth of DionySliS, vitb

Fire as midvife (I. 19. 15-16~ p. 173}~ is not uaed) for example~ to @"nha.n.c:e the- power of fire and/or vine in

be a. literary embellishment. Africanu.s

a~serls is explained

BO[!]e

ritual]! but appears to

It is presented 6.S an aDoeient idea which by the improvement of wines by boiling.:2

In mp 2~ (III. 3 ~ pp. 227, 229), also,. the myt.hological :references

provi de a. "na.t ural tt rationale for the procedure.

'lthe uni vers8.11~,.

reporte-d taet that the Sun/the Flame is dra.vn by st.allions, and

Night/the

MOOn

b:,' mtLres 3 explains

why facing

horses to the ea.5t or

l E . g ., in this very chapter~ ~ine-s 1-5,12-15;

8.150.,

1.2.6-

16; T. 3. 18-21; I. 7. 6-9; I. 11. 1-15~ 1. 20; II. 4. 1-2, Ja-5; III. 22; IV. (5). 2~-30; VIr. The other I>8.ssfl.ges discussed in this section (esp. I. 9. 15-16} also illustr~te the point 3 insofar as the evidence concl!'rning them is convincing, and is independent of the conclusions concerning this pas.sage. 2But despite the rationaJ.istieexplantltion given to the myth, t.here does seem to be some ttsuperstitious" ph~.. sics involved in tht' procedure, as if the fls.me impEl.r'ted some of its quality to the vit:le (lines lL-15).

3It is not clear that this reference indicates that AfricWius

294

Africanus's

vest wile 'bre-eding produces male or

It is a sympa.thetic type

1

oper8.tion~

Vi~N

f~:lII.ale

orrs.pring .. respective!)'.

not a. verbal one.

The drench

aga.inst :m.aggota (mp 35; III. 19. p. 239) seems to require something more, and t.he poet i cline. "by a. str~alII: of pure 'lKB.te r ," could be pa,rt of' E1uc:h a. narrative to provide i t

poten~y.

nothing in the text as i.t standI;! to BUpport such elusion

si~ly

.as

fI;.

But there is, again ~ 8.

use.. and its 1n-

lite:rary ornB.IJJentation wo'Uld be consistent with

Africanusls style as sho-r,m in the preceding pa.ssages.

The Oxyrhynchus

:f'ra.gn:.ent (mp 112; Vi. ~ V) might be- considered an extensive exe.mple of su~h

a narrative, intermixed vi to supportin.g incantations:> but we do

not :rCfLl.ly kno'W'

Why

Africa-nus was citing it.

What we do ha·"e of' his

s.tatements about i t suggest purely liter6.:rY (1) and antiqua.rian interests. Da~on5

Besides the occurrence of the designation daiman for th~ gods or simi.lo.l" pers.onages in some of the pas~.Qge8 discussed above (!!IF 1) 1. 2. 6;

t!I]J

l~'b ~ 1:. 17+ 26.; DIp

1.2, V. 30), the:,' appea:r in one

believes in this

personi~icatiQn of the Sun and Night, it may be 1311:1])1)' B.."') ad hominem argurJlent to sbow that the malenesl2. of the sun and the fema.leness of' the :m:oon is comr!Jon knowledge. Is this rationale a.lSQ given because Afric~rms is consciously giving & syst~m which differs from the commonly accept~d ones1 The usual -oa.ttern f'or male-fe:nale dete1'l!linat1on \I'B.S a distinction of' right ~r le£t (e.g+~ Pliny ~+ 30. 1 49; Lactnntlus, De OF. dei 12. 3}~ or of north and south (e.g. ~ Aeli&1. U. 7. 27; Pliny N.H. 10. l8o). Was JlSr i canus 'a 6YS t em (f1. t tributed to an unkn O'lln "Ma.urcu s i O~ ~ the borse-breeder tl ) just different (pl!!:r-haps another attempt at improvenumt 1'} 0'1" 'lImS f't a. parody of the common system?

ICC the "meJ.e tt and I'te:.male- n pl&n:ts in blp 21 (III. p. 231).

6 _ J.-5 ..

:2 95

Gods (uld Daemon 5

other pe..ssa.ge~ mp 8 (1. 8. 12 .. p. 137; cf. 8.1so line 3~ p. 135).

In

this passage it is used of crea.tures mort:' like the Christian concept

of

d~ns ..

invisible,. malignant beings ~ but bei[]gs whic:l;J Bl"e

~s-

pecially associa.teo .. in accord vit.h popular belief,witb road June-tuxes (tTiodos. l.ine 13). ~

Horses,. especially those with diff"erent-

coloTed eyes {heterornmatos~ line 15},2 can see them and give warning of the danger {ape11en.

line 14).. byv.a..rious acts and SQunds.

Of

this A:fTicanus. il;> certain (pisteusoTi legonti, • . • ka1 oida pollou5

. ..,. line 12),. thQugh

he is u.ncertein of' the Free is e

It ma:,' be a. product or the

abili ty.

~ines 16-17).

SOUl,.

or it

1Il8.j

rea 5 on for the

be due to the

';,"hic'hever it is .. he seel:lls to regard 1 t &6 a noatural

phenom~nontone which can be

f"urthel' developed (ssketeo-n. line

ei th~r by teac:nng and

or by attention, respecti velj' (t.a men

ski~l

17)~

didaskalin kai tecfu;e, ta de ~hrontidi! lines 17-l8) (~r. also lines L-5:

ttthose now connnanding clea:rly need to learn divining trOll!.

horses., but they a.re inexp.erienced n (as:Gl;th~_i_s]). 3 lE.g ... the: evoca.tion 'Of "the old se1'Ving voman of" Apollonius of Tya~af' was to be performed at a spot beside a river or a lake or a triodos (PLond 125. 1- 4 , Kenyon~ Greek Papxri .. 1~1~3-2~). Compare also 'the eU5tor-l of erecting I'herms" and other shr1ne$ at crossroad$.

2

Perhap.s regarded as significant because of their "unnatura)" character (ef. Rie-ss's sixth category of superstitious belief.s ["Aher'" ) • glaube~ n col. 3fJ 3Numerous things which horses IIdivine" are given in lines 611 10 probably derived from folk beliefs; but they are at most superat i t-i QUS, not actively magical. Some of' them are pure ly natural reactions to sounds or smells inaccessible: t.o human senses,. but they s.r e i nt eTirii xed vi th the Buperst i t ious beli I!!'f's 'iii tno1lJt dist i neti on.

Otber

Featur~s

Designations of'" the I-art"

on at least

Arricanus~

nature" (ef. also mp 8; L

~ne occasion~

Tefers to the procedure

8. 18 = dl vine.t1on developed by te-at=bing

andte~hn;J).. quite proba.bly in the sense of "magical a.rt. HI. The word tecbne may be uSed in this sense in

lIij).

41 (III. 36. 8; p - 255 [ef.

111. 13.3--technoo?J; though it may simply be used in the general sense there); and in

seve:t"~

1ine-s in hi 5 s,UI:Ilary'l Psellus

adJ eet.ival f'orm, teehnike ,. to de GcTi be aom~

ha.ps re.rl~c'ting Afric8.nus t s

CMl

0

f

usedth~

the proce dure s, pe-r-

tenni:no10gy2 (IX. l~ 2., 5, 34; e.lso,

technikos, line 3; and te~hnaSltla, line lOt though tbis le.st perhaps in

&

ge-ne:r-al sense .. "device, Ii "artifice").

r1canus uses 'the t.erm simplY in the general

(Elsewhere .. however" Afs~nse

of ··cra:rt" or

nskill. .. 3)

Africanus also

us~d

the

term~eiTia

to describe bis pro-

cedur~ for ov~rCQmirJg ~leep (JI!.p 14b; 1. 1 T. 28. p. 165).

lSee above J 'P. 287. with tt. 2; also p. 265! with n. 2 .. and p. 272. n. 1. 2Sinee kfTicMUS uses t.he tonn

t!!:chth~nB.i

of generation (ot

desired sex~s) in III. 3. l~ p. 227, it may be that this and/or related fo~s_shculd be assumed as lying behind Psellus's 5ennes1s and sennethesi:!'tai in IX. 1. 2. This ,"ould provide a. neat rhetol'i~eJ. counterpoint. of the t:,.-pe favored by Afr1eanus, to the t.echnike.

3E• g . ! Vi'

l

1.2.19.. 25; I. 6.23 (the line preceding the

first ulI:I8.gieal " usage cited above); I - 1. 5 (-te~hn;;tos); III. 13. 3

(technoo) .

Other Features

297

Antipathies Various forma of the te~ UantipathyJr .are used 'by Africanus · 1D

~,

sev~r~

pa~sfiges.

one mam1Script

2

1

The a.d.jective form~ antlpathes 10 .appears- in

in the textually uncert.ain line 1n

DIp

10 (I. 10. 1;

concerning the wolf and the borse) 10 in the title of III. 23 (m.p 37,

th~ apotropai. c

against.

8 corpi

on s) :. 3 an din mp

~ 1~ f

(IX. 1. 15).

In

this last passage) Psellus uses it to d@scribe Afrfcanus's use of the Jttwo-faced plaster li {te di'Oroso'OO ewlast!.2 rfbid. against 'W'ou.nds :from poisonous beasts.

vell be in tne gene'!:"al

(01'

~

line 1.6J1&

In this case the Bnti.po.tl'Qf may

medical) rather thB.J1 the IDElgical sense

(th.ough Fsell.u.s does not seem to regard it so).

In

6.

later lice

{35; mp 4~1) ~ Psel1us also use-s the noun f·orm, o..nt.ipiI:theion ricanus I

S

ltIeans of yrodueing barr-e-!1D.esS i.n fields.

ll

of Af'~

This hI. in con-

trast to t.he technik.ID!J or ra.ther, B,oetiken. productivity he vaS sa.id t.o produce ~

!JO

presume.bly Psellus regards this operation as

being in the .eame category. 5

(The ve:r-b font. is also used in two

1

On the ot.her hand. \i'hil{! [email protected] passages seem to invol'l,l'e "eympathet1c 1, procedures ~ t.he term is not used by Africanus to d@scribe any o:f them.

2

Lauren'tianus

Vieilletond's L (Leg

Cestes~ p.

139 mg). 3The title prC!:sU!IIEI.'bly 'Was supplied bY' the (:o1!l'piler~ but could veIl come from the introduc'tOr)r lines of" thl!! abstrs.c:te-d t~xt. The pa.ssage, however, is one of uncertain authenti~ity.

~A plaster of' such a. name i8 described by Galen (11~127~ KUhn ) t but t1Jtj.'! not be- thr:!! swne + Galen • s pll!lst~r (al so cal~ed ~ ch:r-omous) vas so-n&med because the material used in it (some type of iron c orxlpound?) appe.nrl!:d gr8.)l' on the surf'ac e,. but va s or'ange vi th1 n when it 'l,tQS C1"'.Hi he d. 5Vieill(!fond {lies Cestes:lo p.. 363 tn. 270}., hO".rever,. cOri:lpares "this ba.rrenness to II. 2' (p~ 2'03) ~ which t though partly enigmatic", is

pass-a.ges .. Ill. 30. 8" and III. 32. 34 , but apparently in the general sens/!

or

a counter-remedy [but the IfJ..'ttE!:r' is ]Jnrt o:f

DIp

38eJ}.

Ancient books

The EgyptIi1.n book a.ttributed to Soup'his,. 'the gods (.!riP L7/chr

2L,

of the

vblch Africanus purcha.se-d in Egypt, is Quite

likely to have been a

vo~k

it as one of the nercetie

evidence available.

COnt€liUler

of oceult

lore~

but the

ident5~ieation

of

~O:r'ksl is probably too speciric ~or the

AfricMus apparently had no suspicion abO'Jt the

authenticity of' this vo:rk, for he also attributed books, an anatomical 'Work ~ to an even earlier kine;, Atbothis .. the second king of tbe First Dyny.st~r

of Egypt, apparently regarding them a.s being still ertant. 2

This provides an fiddit.iona! datwn to be ta.k4!m into

con5idera~1on

in

evaluat.ions of AfricMus'.s critical abilities (and respect for tradi-

tion?) and the likelihood and/or 'Ireasonab11i ty" of his B.ccepta..""Ice of

the

nekyo~nteia

interpolations as really Homeric. Purposes of USES

The ends proposed for fiChievement by these means cover the not especially magical. A~ricanus tbere prescrIbes the cultivation of hellebOre (citing Alexander and the Alar.s as historical precedent [cf. also l r. 2. 16]) J or the 5C'W'ing of fields vith salt. The la.tter is a traditional destruct!ve technique long pra~ticed by both the Romans (cf. the treatment o~ Cartbage) and the Je'Ws (.rudg~5 9 =45)" though :mo~e .as symbolic (pel'p~tl,lal desolation on the sites of enemy cities) t.han on a large s~Qle as a strategic devic~ in &n ongoing caDPaign. 1

E. g. I by Seal i ger (Anim.e.dv., p. 251, cited and r~ j eet~d b:!.' Goar in his "&Jendationes et-Annotationes" as rep::-inted by Dindo~r,

Syncellus, 2:385)10 and Routh (Rel. s~cr. 2:386" note to 250. 2 r~it i08 also S~aliger, Not. in Or. Ells., p. 412]).

~outh, f'rag XI (Rel. sacra 2:247.3-5); SYf.lcellus 1:101"

e-d.. Dindorf.

Purpoa.ea. of Uses

299

B..l"eas of specia.l concern in magical operations t i.e-. ,

f"uJ.l rang.e of hUJll.ElJl concernl;i.. ha.rming Md helping,

and~

prett~r

much tht!

They deal with procedures for both

in the: latter area. with both passive

(protecti ve) and act! '1ft:' ID~8.rH; (healirlg. empowering ~ etc.).

The procedure:s f"or banning are onl.y

fL,

small minority of: th{!'

pas s a.s;es ; :mainly occurring in the tnili tary sect1Qn+

The:>r include

poisoning of ma.n and b~a5t hnpp 1) 2, 3), k.illing of' .....egetation (mpp

17 and ~J~])" 6topping or maddening horses (mpp 10 .. 18.. and 11), tausing sleeplessness or sleep,. either fOr S(!riOU5 h~ or as a joke {mpp 15a; 16 ~ and lIJ~p) I causing eli:tnin~tion (mp 4J~k},. changing the color

of horses as. a frau.d (mp 11), possibly

so~~ ca6es of' kindling 01"

ql.1enching love (mp 14s) .. and ca.us-ing a. thief' to convict himself (cp I

14h [harmful to the

thief~J)+

The F-rotec1j.iv~ pro~edures include cou.."ltering plague hnpp 3

mg. and h~~i); and protecting from fright (mp 9). :from scorpions (rop 37 (cf. 411g?J), from ~cnception (QP 4~c) or mi~carriage (mp 29)~ from ai~kne~s

lep~y (mp

or veaknesa (mp 21),

specifically~

from eye trouble or epi-

23 a-e [or, to heal one already suffering)) or varicose

~ei~s (4~r

[or is this healing?J).

S~e

of the procedures gave

tning or to control events.

These

poYer~ ~i~her

in~lude;

to achieve SQme-

giving aid/victory in

battle or contests (np ~}, eontrolling unmanageable animals (1 and 13

B.

and

bL

giving easy birt.h (L4c), controlling dreams (4hq).

kindling or q uenc: hi ng l-ov~ Ei

( 4~ s

L.

detel'llli.ni ng of sex cone ei ved ( 24 ~

21 ~ 448., and 45) ~ .and taking advantage of a. horse' s natural divinatory Jlowe:rs (8).

Arri~anus·I

300

s View

The. largest nU.aibil!r of procedures are concerned ".·i th tbe cure

of illnea se-s ~ vound.s, or other phy B1(: a.l problems;

cure

Oi

help t in genera.l (12

So,

1

wounds ~ frae-

b; 21; 44n); eye trouble (23 a. ~ c ~ d t

I!!:; Jabj) ~ g~ne-!'atiol'l" C'onc-!:ption. birth~

etc. (27. 29, 4~ band q; cf.

also ~4c~ above); dy5Ul"'ea (3D (if Afric.Q.."liaoJ); mange>; 'Iltl.:rts, and

maggots (31; 33, 3q; 35); soothing feet of horses (39); bavel problems) actual

po"t~n1;.ial (40. 43);. bleeding,. and .....a ricose veins

01"

(4.lo d and to); andre-storing virginity

(h~o).

2

SUlI!IIlA.r;;'( of Afri-cunul!I' s Knowledge _of Magic

While the preceding studies have lett some items undetermined. several aspec.ts of A!'ric:anus' S JDagica.1. i nt 0 rather clear focus.

proeedur~s

have been brought

The se inc: lude items :r-elated to the a.reas

of ma,gical operation.. the type:a of proced\.U"es prescribed, and a.1.so

the general type of

~1Q&l theo~/vhich

.lies behind the

procedure~

given by Africanus. Areas of Ma.gi c

The a.reas of' human endeavor and CODc:el"n for vhich Af'ricanU6

provides prescript.ions cover

.mtLny

of those

pr~sented

in the-

Vs.riOUB

sources concerned with magic]o vhether tbose makillg charges of magic:lo

lcompare th~5e vitb Bj5rck's list of conditions most susc:ep-

tibl4!!! of attempted magical. 'trea.t.nl.ent: bleeding, VenOIUOUS bitlJ!s, childbirth) and choking (,tApsyrtus 1''' p. 66). All if!xeept the last e.r~

fairly vell represented in Afric8.nus's procedures. ~!lgi9. >" p. 1495 (c 01. 2 ).

g1 ven by Hubert

Cf. also the- list

I

2p11ny refers to s. procedure {using f\Ulles or jet) to detect. attempts to s1mulatl!' viJ"gini ty (y. 36. 1~1).

SUIJmla...-ry of Knowledge

301

or those giving :magical prescriptions.

Magic was JIliainly of concern to the ancient 1t!'ga.l systems only as it involved charges ot· 'harmful acte"

malef'i~ii ~

a.nd/or as t.hey in-

volved 5ubvera.ion of affection,. especially in the erotic realm.

In

other are as of pri vat elite t medi c i tie, agri cult ure , etc., it

gen-

ignor~d fL.:S

erally

b-t!-ing

VB..S

pra.ctical question s not a legal One.

8.

Hs.ming!helping Several of A:fricsnus' v~ll

'be:

ba.sis.

~lass@d

B

proct\dures a.re of the type that could.

as male!'icii if they were practiced on an individWl.l

Most of them, however .. are prescribed 'for military use against

oppos ing armie s; and thus perhaps. can escape that label. clude procedures l .... ::3, lJ., 16-19,. a.nd possibl)r 44.!..

passed oft tLs pr.actictll

Jokes (e.g+~

158. and

~4k

These in-

So-meot-bers are

rand

p?J)~

or har=

only ind.irect-ly, 'by providing an extra (Wl.faiJ:') advantage to (~ ~d

the user

10).

Only another step removed hom this last is the apotropaic f"unction~

helping by &vert1ng

SOl:lle

threatening evil.

Most. of these

are nl.edieal; possible examples of non- or only send-medical apetropa.ic proc:edures are:

the eounter-proced"Url!!! to poison air (mp 3 mg),

and mpp 7" 9 ~ 13a., 29, 31

s

and 44 c and L

Love magic Psellus says "th&t A:f'rieanus kindles l!lIld quenche~ love (mp h4s.~ IX. 1. ~9).

His ~~reren~@ to Atr1c6nua.'e restoring o~ virginity (mp

J,4o) is somev'hat. :reltlit~d to this area) but the D~e.rest examples of th16 type of' procedure are a :few "aphrod.1sia.c" prescriptions in th~

302 ~ragments,

veterinary relatip~

to generation

e.g., mpp 25 and 26. a.~a

{The other prescriptions

birth are medical rather tban erotic

~ro

cedures.)

Medical

(a~dv~terinary)

The

l&rge~t

magic

single type

o~

Africanian procedures is the

~ed

leal one (and .....~thin that, the vet~rinn.ry). :Besides the ..... hole group

of fragC'Jents from the hippiatricfi (most of the procedures from 22 to 1,1) .. there are 6everal in the other tanc es .

receive their reputation by syc:Jpathy or antipathy,.

01"

The se last by

SOlJ:e

may

other

sort of association vith the subJect or the condition to be achieved or removed.

1

Africanu~'s

procedure5 present examples of all these types =

di T'e~t lTJ9.n:i pulat1on--mp:p 6,. :20 { '? }.. 35 ; inc antati on 5-6 ~ l5b ( 1), 42,

ql d and

j ; inscriptions--7

and 37.

The Use or

sp~cial subst~ces

is illustrated in l!Jost of the procedures, including several of those just listed.

Besides these factors, Af.ricfL.11us's procedures also involve

other considerat1ons l such as right/left, time a , and numbers {see the discu9sions of' these areas in the preceding

pages~U11der nChart!lS

Type s of Magi c

Magic is frequently divided into dir@'ct (or impersonal) and lCompa.re the discussion by Hubl!rt (l~~l!lgia., PI pp. 1501 (col. 2)1509 Ceol. 1)). though he presents the items in an order Bomeyhat the TeVerse of this 7 and derives the otbers, in ~sBence, from the sympathetic principle.

indirect (or personal, demonic) types.l

to which this distinction

~ght ~ot apply~

as to the t:ype represented it

9.pp~a!"s

The-re are som~ 81tuations

m.i~bt

2

or in Which a decision

not be possi 01 e ~ but. 1n general t

to be a va.lid d1 stinction

one that. is productive 'When

I!l.nd

applied to the Afrieanian examples.

In the-se

t.~rm9) A.f'ric~us'e

1I!Ia.gical proced'llres are essen-

tiall;Y. if not exclusively,. of" thi!! impersonaJ. type.

"While a fiUJ:)ber

of procedures are ambiguous, of such a nature tha.t they cannot be de-finitely assigned to either

ca.t.~go!'Y,

otherS are clegly of the

impersonal type (eJ1d the very 8m.'biguity tends to f'avo;r personal

int~rpretation

Only

proach seem to be

direct ~ im-

of mO!3t of the others;, if de:monS or other

per sonal beings 'Were i nvo.lved ~ some expl ic i t.. beexpected)~

e.

r~ferenc

e to the-m \rould

in a feY cases does an indirect. personal ap-

presented~ ~d~

as noted in the discus310ns above.

there are questions that arise about each

or

th~se

cases.

Direct magic At the very beginning of Africe.nus' s

I~.e.e:i{:a.lnpa..ssages,

in

lines which torn tht!" pre-lude not oc1y to mp 1, but also to 2 and 3.

~ •g .) Kirby Flower St:!Ii t n,"Magi c (Greek and ROlMn)." p. 279 ~ Hubert ~ ''Magh. ,n p. 1506 (c 01. 2). :2

Either 'because both factors :might be mixed toget.her in a system, or because t.he 61 tuat.ion proved to be even more complex. 'Norbeck. :for example ,.in disc lJ.!3sing tbe- distinetlon of

pa.rti~ul&r

Re-ligion and Magic. suggests that besides the Personal pO'We'r-I:trIpersona! power pair (vit.h the Impersonal approximating the concept of mana), there coUld alSQ be added a concept of Automatic. or Mech~n ICiI,. e-fri~ieney. This concept he regarded as approximating to the concept of cause and eff"ect seQ.uences in science (Religion, pp. 4851). If such a f'urther distinction is Justi:fied~ Africanus's position :lnight be closer to the thl'rd category.

Summary

0r

Knovledge

305

Af"ricanus p!'oPO~iI!:S to irnitB.tl!"! the god5! producing nautomati~ t()rlun~"

by his "arts tt {!,utoms.tos tyche hypo tea hemeteras technes Binetai ~ 2. 59 .. py1l7).

Vi." L

The poisoning pro~edures which follO'W' eonfi1"'l!i

this impression 01' an impersonal .. au'tom8.t1c operation,. not involving

per6ona2~ spiri~ual mediati~n.l In mp 4 t de6pite the reference to sacrifice in the first para.graph! and the ri tua.l burning of the cock skeleton in the second t

the

.ra.t1onf!.1~

presented to!' tho\! operation of the stones ia! in the

one case .. the nature of th~ stone

p.

~25), and in

in

:tDp

6. 28,

(tea

physeos tou lithou, I. 3. 8 ..

the other the cock's "virtue '1 of Hinv1.ncibili'ty'1

1 ho.s a necessity of obedien.;;:e (ananken ecbei Rei tharchitl.s! 1. p. 133).

This could :fi t in to the "pera onal'· type opel"Qti on ,

but 1 t is not spoken to a spiroi t, but vri t:te-rJ in the

8Jl:icl&l1 5 hoof.~

and there is no hint of any other pa.rties to the action than the inscriber and the animal vhose hoof" is1nscribed..

The preceding lines

also refer only to ·'him; n the recalcitrant hor5e, vith the sol~ c:ontrol instrumentality being the inscription.

139:

by th~ us~

Similarly, in mp 10, it

of h1s teeth) (cf" .. also mp 18 {Jl.

~, p.

205):

the wolf' B astragalus to stop a team). Again in

tDp

11" despite an opening

r~f'e:re:nce

to prayer and

saerifi.;;:e, Africanus's procedure is presented as in (:cntrast (and

lEven the counter-action to procedure 3 is presente~. not in terms or .spirits in conflict t but in terms of tUliles counteracting Hpestilential vind'· (pneUlD8), Or rather "corrupted aiTtt (Vi. ~ p. 123 mg).

sUp~rior)

to such

juice (or dust)

t

The procedure presC'nted~ uae of euphorbium

lIIeans,A

18 clearly udir-ect II in ope!"a.tion,. so much

only connection vi th

.ttJ&giC

8, .p. 209) ..

tbat its

is t.be placement of 1 ts identif'icQ.t-ion in

on~ of' the pentagons (pentagon eight ~ L

(II.

20

if" it 1s magical at a.1.1 t

11. 16-20, p. 141}.

1

is 01'

&

Mp 20

simils;r nature.

The active principle ir.. the sle~plesstlesS paragra.phs (mpp 14

and 15) is the

"s~'mpe.theticlr

operation of parts of the: ba.t

(~ 15a;

I. 11. 33-4 3, p. 165») the s\~rounding referen~es to Sle~p beingap-

parently rhetorical embellishments <see the discussio.n or these pas(Note also the mp 23 series ;:23

sages above" Md f'lu"thel',. below). b-eJ:t vhich" even if AfJ"icenian,.

ar~

basically sYlf.;pa.thetic procedures,.

onlY the opening item,. 23a, having any indirect connection.) The ttsympathetic H principle, based on et.ymology or similaritj'

of

6.ppefU"ance~

etc., on an earthly planes n.ot involving

any mediation

through a higber realms appears in mp 21 t pg1.ygonl..Ur. in dog's a.:fterbirth, with the possible .addition of ''male'' or ufemale 1' pla.nts (111.

6, p. 231}; mp 26, milk stone eehene~s

01"

remora (III.

as.

(III.

7,

p. 231); and mp 29, the fish

pp. 231 ~ 233).

Its counterpart, a."1tip-

Qt.by. may be involved in the latter part of mp 36~ the use of asp &)d hemorrho!s as counters to ea.ch other's poison (III. 22. ~-1 s

In passage

~ls

]J.

241).

Africanus attempts to provide a. physical ex-

ple.nation of the procedu:re io "ulceration 'bY the burning lt (III. 3c. p. 255)

6.

and in an earlier p6.ssage~ mp 8; specl.lliL:ted about. such a

s

bas iss. t"he "nature 1

01"

-the ~Jo·e s ,tr for a ho'I'se'

No~e Vieille~ond, Les

pt'obably does not

IDE! a.n

magi c .

5

e.bi Ii ty to se e demons

Cestes,. p. 35q,. n. 112;

p~~sikos here

Su::rone.ry of Knollledge

1

0.8. rrl' P' 137L

In Psel1us's

307

l$umma:~r (trip 4h; IX.

1" pp. 117-;21),.

about ha~f of the items aTe "t:uri08ities" or "paradOX~5,." se-v't!ral of

them similar to items in the Eveo in the

.magical

ite!IJs~

than strictly

Geoponica~ r~ther

m&gic~.

nothing sugge!3ts the use of "sp1:ritual"

int~~diaries.2 Indirect (daemonic) maBie? The various passages in vhich Africanus's n~eted

proced~es

are con-

io One was' or another with spiritual. beings hELve been dis-

cussed above in the section

head~d

"Gods and. DtLelDOns, rf and thus ne~d

only be recap! tu1.ated. and sU!J:I.Il!arized

h~r(!:.

Africanus believed in tbe existence of spiritual

of ..... bom, at

1east~

least~

were evil,. and with somet at.

spirits call.ed daemons (!lip 46/chr It a.rtd mp 8).

being5~

some

of thel$e evil

These same passages

indit::ate that. t.hese beings could (ar ~ in t.he pagt,. had) come into con-

taet ....nth :mankind", but that the resultQ; of those cOhtacts ·"ere evil {in

!lIp

46, 4!til resUlting in the

(1.8. 13~14 ~ p. l37J).

~&tB.cly"sJ!J; in mp

At the same time, the former passage pre-

sents these beings, th~re deseribed as tlangels

Despite these

8 ~ "the threat n

beliefs~ hovever~

7

1 •

as related to ma.gic

there are no examples of the

lEvert the alternative Buggested, B. "vork of the soUiJ 11

{~-

ches e~gon~ lines 16-17)t 15 not necesgarily di£ferent, and he re-

garded it as capable of development by teachiog and craft (lines 17-

IB).

2Unless 'the ref'erenceto incanta.tions (eJ29d{;, line 13~ epe.smasin .. line 32) is held to ne-c,essariljr involve tbat idea i but is an untenable position.

tha~

308 1n·... ol vetnen't

ced'Url!'s.

or

Such b@'ings in the

accomp~1shment

of Afrieanus' spro-

Although such beings are named ratber prominently in a. num.-

b4!r of the passages (mpp 14 a a.nd b, 15b.. 24 t and 1&2),. t.h~ are not called upon in any actual

proeedurepre~ented'by

any directions given to utilize them in asrh~torical Qr

litl!rary embroidery

or

way..

B.ny

Th~ 8.pp~ar

the accounts.

lis.o to IlIP 42 d.espit.e its clear ~haractel" as

B.

I!U"~

Af'rit:anus,. nor

:re.ther

This applies

1Dag1ce.l invocation.

Though Afric8.nus presents i t at. rather great length .. hepresenta n-o

'Programme for puttin.g i t to lIlB.8ical use.

His only surviving

r~fer~

@-nces to it aTe eon.cemed vith its literary and Inanuseript Bncestry.

This leaves only DIP 23a., the invocation and sacl'if'icl!! to

Aphrodite t as a possible &bove~

this

pass~

exe.mpl~

of daemonie magie.

'Butt

QS

noted

is not accepted as of" prove:n a:uthentic:ity by

Bjorck,l and the very reference to Aphrodite and the sacrifice seem out of' charat:te.r with the Afr-icanian outlook toi itself:

point is

it preaents.

5trength~ned

&

8.S

revealed in the

genera.lly "seculal"11 a.pproach.

Ke~-

This

by the tact that this pASsa.gestands essen-

tial.ly alone as an example afdirect .t;1.aeznon1c involveml!'nt in Afri-

canus I S magical :proc eduree;

th~am'bigu.ity',

or lack.

0 f'~vi denc e

tor

it s appearanc I!' ela e1lrh ere weaken s t be- c 80S ~ tor It s appeal"anc e bere. On the other hand, if this passage should be

thereby inerease the likelihood that such be

B@en

authentic~

it doe6 not.

daemoni~ involv~ent

should

in some of tbe other passages above oM invocation of

InApsyrtus /' pp. 15-16. The fa.ctor 'Wlder diseUSB10n may, bowev-er, hav!' influenced Bj5rek t s evaluation here. Exc:ept in oneinstance 1 he provides a rationale only for thOBoe pl!l.esages which he

accepts.

Attitudes toward ProcooUl"es

309

Aphrod.ite would be hard to correlate wit;h AtricB.nus I s Chrlstianrepu-

tat1on,. but it would be. on the surface at least" 1dolatrow;L s not me.gi-cs.l.

1

('What~ver else Psellus ma,y- think OJ:' 8ay

about Africanus]i

he does not charge him v1th that.2') Attitud~s

tovard

Thes~

Procedures

At:dcilllllil'S progrt:lJmi:1e, at least for Kl!:stos

1',

8.S

sketehed in

the 11proem '!'l to 'that book .. is an amalgfl.lll of the utili tarian ~ the eso-

teric" and t'he aesthet1c~

t1

gathering • • • fruitful. belps; (either} j

treatment of ills, or secret a.ceounts, or beautif'ul expl"e.6sions . . . n (1. proenl. 3-~, p. 103). som~t1.IDes

This mixture &pp~ars throUghout his york!,

in incongruous forma:

med1c8.1 prescriptions and military

accounts are decorated with rhetorical flourishes and augmented "With i.dea5 carefullyeearched out or fortunately &t:quired; snd fond ml!'m-

oriea of" marvelous sights are gent!'rol,l.81y Bh&r-~d., or a. "long lost"

(magica.l) passage is presented as an epic prize. But ov~rBN:hing &1.1 this is the pl"o.c:tical intent ~ fr-uittul b~lps." proc~saes,

of a

These

h~l:ps

are

:pres~nted 80S

t1

manifold

natu:ral]i Utechnical rt

~ecular natur~.

Natural Processes

Afrlc&nWi I S gene:ra.l. l!I.ttitude tOl1ud hiE!- procedures 16 Bhown

~a tever

1ts o1"1g1 n 11 it appears to be more (: losely psrBl1~1e-d by the 56.(!:rlfic~s to Poseidon (in the prelude to mp ll) 11 or to the custom&;ry sacrifice of the victorious cock (referred to in JaP ~) t than to the invocation in the ne:k;yom.arrteia. (mp 42). 2

Aphrodite doea appear in Psel1us, but only in the euphemism in the ae: ~ount of the sorgon! on (Vi., IX. 1. .la1-4b, p. 319). Thia reference itself provides a para.llel to A:!'ricanus's "literaryPl' use of pagan religious tercdnology~

3~O

by the tel'llL1nology US ed to describe them ~ .fOrmE

He uses va:r i o'U:s 'te
provides

for some of his magical pl'ocedu.i"ea is also provided for non-magical ones (e.g.!Io I .. 16. 18-20! p. l6l--the attempt to explain why his

"t.hert of Bound" procl!:dure should york). 253), h@ pro1fid~s.

atI.

Furth~:r;; in III.

ue-thie&ln explanation of' the toa.d's avoid!LnJ::e of

the light, and in part VII (Vi., p. 303), he presents eount of' the origin of cinnBJ:tlon.

last

~xplanation

33. 6 (p.

8.

botanical a~-

The only thing that sep·a.ra.testhiEi

from 'the others, yhether lfJElgi c a.1 or non-magi c::al. t is

~ote also the same variation in thl! tipat:ttyu {a.bove}.

U8~ of the teI'm lIo.n_

At.titudes to'llard Procedures

311

t.be fB.ct t.hat. in this inat.fl.r.l.ce he ha.ppens to be correct. Non-religious (Secular) Out.look

Pagan references

Afri.canus makes a number of references to pagan gods or heroes'\l but they are mainly, i:f not entirely. of a lite:t'EL.I":fs not a

religious. nature, sics.

~uch

like those of a modernetudent

o~

t.heclas-

A nUll!iberof thet!J ha.ve be-en discussed above from various "iev-

points, these a.re;

the reference to pra.yer Md sacrifice to Poseidcn

Horse-troubler before !'tI;,ces (to vhich At'ricanus presents mp 11

6,S

a

better alter-nat! ve); the references to Hypnos., as yell as. various

associates., and to legendB.ry flgUl"es (the P'hr'Jgian king and S11anos; another chieftain and a satyr) ill mp 14 a. e.nd b .. and to Night. s H:''Pnos t

Pasithea.

Eros~

Hera. aPd Aphrodite 1nmp 15b; an appeal to t.he mEJ.le

and female gender and use of' corresponding horses by Sun{:FlalD.e ond .Night/Moon inmp 2~; I!lnd, e-speci&1.ly, the l-engthy roll-call of dieties and. P0'l(~l"S from .as.t:lorted baekgrounda iIi the Nekyoma.nt.eia. (mp 42).

There are also references to Pan and a possible reference to Erinya in the context of mp 1 (I. 2. 6]o12~p.1l3.. andline78~'p. 119).

'rhe

references to these figures illustrate especially clearly the literary nature of this, type of reference in Af"ricanus; they are sillIply pe~sonificat.ions

is

alBO

of the corresponding concepts.

Besides

th@s~,

there

the reference to Dionysus a.s giving vine' a.nd 'Wine to no

peoples but the Greeks (I. 19. 17-25 .. p. 173).

VleillefQnd po1nt.s

this out as an eX8m:ple of the pagan inspiration of Afr1canus.

ILea Cestes. p. 51.

1

While

312

this 1s true,. it is jU5t as true that it. is a pagan literary, not pagan

fL.

religious~ re~erence.

Anti-pagan references Some of these 6amepassages, along, with others, contain references vhich in

on4!!

yay

pagan gods and be-liE'lfa.

l

Or

another are actu.ally derogatonr of the

In mp 1, Af'rica:nw:l will 1eimitate these

god.s1~

who are credited ~th gi~ingvictorie6 (I. 2~ 5e-59~ p. 111), and in mp 11 (I. 11. 17, p. 1~1), considers the drug he presents as sharper

"than praye-r ( t

they

0

~y have~

Pose i don" e:peci fi cally), or greater than whatever Th~ refer~nc~

to

th~po~te.

lulling Zeus to sleep (I.

17. l~ p. 163) is nothing that iIJly pagan literary man could not have SElid, but would probably find its closest parallels among the CbristiM 6.pologetirt

ltriter~.

To these E!xalIIples

~

.also be added the

functionalistic explanation of t.he mid'Wife at Di 0 n.Y' sus , s birth, in

1. 29. 15-16 (p. 173).2 Souphiglg book, which Africanus prl~ed~ yas vritten aa .a ··contemner of" the gods t1 {mp 47/chl" 2).

World-vieW' Vecto:r Summery 'While Afr! eanus 11 s

eomplet~

the surviving fragmetfts, I!Lt lel:l.s't

world. vi ev cannot be dt!duc ~d :from

th~

ana.in outline-a

or

those areElS

~ost of the sepas sage s ha.ve been noted aoove und.er the beading uRi "·al.ing the Gods. I't 2Africanus·s challenge to Sleep (mp l~b; 1. 17~ 30-32 1 p. 165)~ as di seuss ed pr~vioua.ly'Ii i sprobably rhetorical pers onif"ic ation . I.f it is held

to

be

r~S~ntat 11ft'!: 0 r

:P1Or~

than this'll it would still be more

8Ybr~6

than r'ep-

!Ion anti-p.agan atti tude. ( If it 1 s such.) th1 B at tit l1de [h:ib:dsJ might be b&E1ed on confidence in the magical procedure. but a procedure relyin8 eolelY on the D:J8.terial involved, not 0.:1 some othel"' spirit) fO'rcontrol of' and def'"entie aga.inst t.h~ on~ Challenged.)

Attitud~5

tovard Procedures

313

vhich border on magic can be sketched.

Spi:ritueJ. realm A~rlcanua

believed in the exiatence of a spiritual realm,

inhabited by at least ..!.. God (the Judaeo-Cbristian God), e.nd 'by lesser spir1 tuaJ, being!;! ~ B.f,Igels (good and bad L, and daemons.

cerned. with good and evi1 (mp46/ chi' l}.

God is co~

Thet'e are numerous refer-

ence-s to other gods, but it is uncertain vhl?ther 'they o.re vielled as

having more tha.n a literaryexistencf!' (fIJld if' so. wha.t their relation to other spiritual entities might be) ~

The evil angels were rela.ted

in some va;,r to 1JIagi c and sorcery s and taught vomen other oc(: u1tarts; from thei:r- liai'Son rlth 'Women, gh.nts nes~

bringing God t

S

v~re

'born, resulting in vicked-

judgment in the flood (ibid.).

It is not indi-

cated if their spirit.s survived and/or if the:r have connection "iiith

the daem:::;.ns. a.c~ord

DaeC'lOns do evil., bowever, and are a danger to

wlth ancient view-I;!, t.hl!!y hElve sOme

crossroads (mp

5pe~ial

IIl;S.p;

in

eonneot1on 'With

8).

P1:li> s i ca.l realm r

Besides the- no!":J:tLEil amount of infor.mation and misinformat.ion about nat.ure ~ animals

~

etc.

~

whioh Afric&nus shared with the &.."'lcieot

llo!'ld, the!'e are I!lspeet.s of his beli4!'f which are especially connected 'With occult or magical &nd antipe..thj.r, sense~

b~lie.fs.

H~

believed in the power of sympathy

though not necl!'ssarily in a.n exclusively magical

this principle vas

vi~\led

by the ancients asoperat1ng in !DB.Tl.Y

area50 (~dicine'l physics s etc.)" and is even utili zed by aafle of the churcb :fathers in explanations Q:f physical. or biologi-cal phenomena..

lLhic-anus's View

314

Insof'ar as rrcontagion'N oan be distinguished frol1J "sYIOpathy .. " Africanu.a

apparently believed in 1 t also:

power CQuld be acquired tr.r certain

atones from the birds in whicn they were found

(or~

had

alr~ady

trans-

mi tted power to them); and the power 01' th~se stones ~ and of other

suOs'ta.."lces. ~ cou1.d in turn be imlHlxted to other beings by binding them

to 'Persons or animals.

Such pover could be .inc:reased by observation

of' ce-rtain appropriate times in their acquisition o.ndlor U$e.

Also,

certain vords {or sounds}~ eitner spoken or vritten, had pOwer to cOmJIel results i'f u.aed in proper ways •

plicit indications

.ar~

At least as 'far aso.ny ex-

concerned. this result

II"e.S

expected to follow

Q..utomatical1y. without int.e-rvent.iotJ of a spirit intel"'I&ediELl"j". Civil and. social aspects

Since the main bOdy or Afriean1an "Cle..terial.s are :military strat-

a,ge:us, and many of the others a.re medical (veterinary or human J in nature, they vould be re-lati vely immune to legaJ. enqui}j'. even .at a.

period

wh~ll

magic might be regarded

not true in Atricanus ' £ day).

ag

Perhaps

actively criminal (vhich was QP~V

in the cases

o~ hQTSe-

thievery (DIp .41) and tampering vith affectionS (mp 44s) might such a charge lie.

.Afr1canus does not appear to be in any disad.... anta.ged

political group, at leastinso/ar as this 'Work (the Kestoi) is concerned.

1

Soeially, o.lso, Africanus does not appea:r to be of

Q

disad-

vantaged status" eo his interest in magio cannot be explained by such a sociological factor.

Not oruy a.re tbe-re the va:-ious persona.l

1Except; perhaps" under Vieille::fond i Ei view of hiIl'l as a. Jew W'ri t ing for Diaspora. J eWE> ii 'but that view is que at i on~bl e .

315

Attitudes toward Procedures re.ferrmees suggesting circulation in the higher eoc:it1l.. ci.rcles" even

hl!l.vine: personal contact vitb the emperor, but the nature of

\oral'

but to sportine; events &150:

the stone froJ:ll cocks (:mp 4), and

the aids for horses swi:ftness (top lO;c:f. also mp h1). 1

reference to para-8ites (putting to sleep:

modere..tely high sociaJ. level. AbO\lt tbe only

of

T'w'o of them are applicable not only

his procedures suggest this tLlso. to

SOlll.e

mp ~4p)

Further, the

would suggest

8.

2

vi~oint

t:r-om ;,;hieh AfriC&nUS ca.n be regarded

as a me:nJ.bei" of a disadvanta.ged or p~rl~ss class {and thus in ne~d of magi cal ai Ii to redl"e s s the balanc e} would be trom that of hi s human conditiQn 1o 3 p010rerless bef'ore the .forces of nature (or supernatlU'e)subject to poor crops1o

diseas~~

generation andhere-dity , etc.

wild beasts t the uncertaintlesof Inthe.Bc Boreas 10 his procedures could

be seen as an attempt to take up aOt!1e' of' the sla.ck in the nebulous

rein5 of

~'s

control of his own tate.

1

Does th.e lat.ter passB8e suggest that he JIloved in circles where making a.vay vith a good horse vas vie'INed more a.s a "dirty tric:k H than. 9. c:rinL4~1

2Thus indicating tha.t he was on a level compatible 'With the hmleiis it is viewed as a. procedure 1'01" embart'l!los:sin@: rivals,

;'hosta lP but there is nothing to suggest tbis).

30r~ possibly, as a. provincialt 8ubs~rvie-nt to Rome. But he seems to have had (or :JI18.de) ad.equate persoIlit:11 compensa.ti.ons fOT any pressures from that Area. {Or was be possibly tL nouveau bOlmle whose relation to the emperor was an ultimate- ~ompensation for ea.rly disadvanta.ge? His r.e-t@'recces to places seen, :r-e:1ation to the court of Abgar" etc:." seem to suggest not.)

CHAPTER IV THE EARLY CHRISTIAN VIEW OF MAGIC Introduction In order to

est~bl1sh

an early Christian background. with vhic:h

to c:.om;pare fLnd a.sse!3s t.he magical ideas in AfricamJ.s t it is nec:essa..ry to COllai del' the na.ture and extent of' the knowledge of t1Iagic. eJld the attitudes toward its among the

'Purpose of the

preQ.~nt

eaT~

Christia.n writers.

That is the

chapter.

In the considera.tion of magic: in the early fa.thers. s the folloving general order of discussion is observed.

The DLajor part is a

consideration of the kno.....ledge of magic: sho'loln by the various individUfl.lly or by groups.

fathers~

This area is introduced by a survey of

their references to :magic" to suggest t.he seneral attitude and i"tLnge

of knowledge of the part i cu.la.r ~ider~tion

"ill' i

ted s ) j, thi 9 i

So

followe d by a

C on-

of any passages in which magic Qr rel&ted areag are dis-

cussed; then follows a consideration of' additional

re~erences

lu.s1ons to items or areas vhic::h a.re probably related to magic:.

and all

Within the discussions, theorde-r of items and the emphaeds Y8.ries

~efe1"enC:l!!s

to pas.sages in the fath@":r's are given in in-t.ext c: 1tl9.t ions . Titles. or Greek works &r~ usually give-n~ and abbrevio.ted ~ in English translation; in the Phoenicians (Disc. l~ p. 1 .. lines b-6).1 All

-ex~ept

the last tl.tO of t.hese have definitl:!

m.agi~al

connotations t

though Tn. t hm, for the m.a:oen t, t rea t s t hem neutrally J s iClpl)r Ii st1ng them

6.5 ~ng the Hillstitutions N (epitede\UIle.) of" the Greeks. Anot.her use of' tee term ,Imagic .. " a.s a simple pejorative ~ is

il.lustra:ted in the Epist.le to Di9AAetua. ori ~ s of

",s.r iOllS

philosophers

9.9

The author s'WnS up 'the the-

to th~ n&t.ure

or

-God (fi re , \ ( 8 .tel'.

etc?) by saying, "But these things are only t·be quackeries and deceits o~ the magiciana M (terateiakai

plane

~angOeton)

(8. 4).

Di sellS s ions of' :magi c and. :related areas

Tw"o writers in this group! Justin and 'Fe.tia.n! discuss ma;;ic (and r~lB.ted.

areas) a:t

sOm~

length.

other related

arl!:8.S

eome in for

less e-xtensiYe c:onsideration by some of the other apologists.

Justin Mfi,l)iC. pra~tices

Justin seems to accept the r ea.1 it)' of" magic and

without question.

relat~d

He even appears to class himself with

those who fonnerly used JIl&gical arts (Apol. ! 14. 2).

accepts its real1 ty! he does not approve of it:

nut ~ t.hough he

its operat.ions, as

lCited according to page and line 01" Eduard Schw'&rlz. ed.! Tatiani.. ora:tio ad Craecos,"IU J~ t pa.rt 1 (1886). The translatiolls of the apologi at Bare ll:lY0Yn.

Early Christian View

330

lIell as its origins, are thorousbly control of

2Den~

de~:mic.

1

Demons attempt to gain

so:metimes 'by ap-pearancef;l in d!"ea.ms ~ sometimes by mae;-

1c::al impostures (dLa. magikon gtrophqn) (llJ. 1); it 1$ de:mons who have put forward various

he-~~tica~

especially Simon and Meno.nder ~ support-

1:og their teaching by great ;marvels 'WOrked by cagle art (:nagH:.e techne) (26. 2,. 4; 56. 1); the devil and his angels work in i1!'lita.tion of miracles.. especially' in Egypt at the time of the E:xodus ('!'ry;oho 69 - 1;

79. h);

and the Magi had been Mheld as spoil ~or the doing of all evil

deeds by the energi '2ing of that demon" (but they revolted froJI:: his do-

main by coming to \l'orship Christ) {jB. 9). did not origin&te with the

del!lOr.Js.~

Strietly

speuing~

magie

-nut ...... i th the fallen angels 'l,jho

fathered. them (Apol. II 5[4J. 2-~) t s.s one of their 1D.ee.ns of -enslaving mankind

{5.

4).2 but the fallowing lines indicate their close connee-

tion--the fallen angels end the demons become tbe goda and their offspring of the poets and l!IYthOlogists

(5. 5)-and

elsewhere Justin does

not ma.int.ain this termicoloe;ic:a.l distinction. 3

lBut in one pa.ssage he does p)"eaent s4!!"\t"~ra.l means of divina-

"tJ.on t al.ong vitb de-moni fI.C s or lIJadne ss t as '\;'i tne s s to the i:on:norta.li ty of the hUIDEUl soul (ApoL I 18. 2-5).

2 Another of their means vas tea~hing man to offer sa~rifi~es~ ine~t1sc t a!:)d libfLtions (5. 4). (Passages in Apology II are t:ited by traditional chfL.pters fQllorlng the manuscript order t but th~ alternate ehapt~:r- r.rumer-ation resulting f"rom Gra~ t S transfer o~ chap. 3 to a. position after chap. 8 :are included after them in 'P-B.rentheses/square brackets at the first reference to each. )

~ote especially Trypho 79t in vhich Old ferring to angels ~ the devil ~ and demons are all angels sinned and revolted; and 85, in 'W'hi~h the empbatically identified as the angels iLnd powers

Test&ment texts reused to sho\l that some demons of' sec. 3 are in sec. lao

Apologists Related areas.

331

Justin does not discuss the theory of

magic~

other than attributing it to the operations or ene,:rgi zings (strophon,. A~ol. I 1~. 1; ener6e1n~

e.g., 26.

2~

4}

I

of spiritual powers.

These

p01lers a.re usually preser.lted as demonic. but in Apologr I 18 10 they ELre apparently the

60uJ.S

of dead men.

He does,. however !to give some :In::for-

Pla-tioD regarding divination in "the passage Just ment10ned t 8.!)d regard-

ing exorcism in tvo

~8ter

passages,. Apology II 6 and TrYPho 85.

The passage r.el!i.ting to divination (-which is introduced as te-s'timony to 'the iJmiOrtali toY" of' the soUl} nBlIle:s its !!Il8.jar divisions ..

which serve as a sort of catalog of its preamels {modified magiketai).iI but this is standard terndnology and reveals nothing

about the actual pTocedures end resUlts. The one minor e:xc:e:ption is in regard to Christ's VJiracle6 'Which th~ opponents a.ssert~d to be phan'ts.si.!D-mf!£iken ~ aecord1ng tQ onE!' paasag~ (T.rypho 69. 1).

Early Christian Yiev

332 In

th~ ~ontinua~ion

a passing, rather

or

his discusaion t

non-commjttal~ r~r~rence

Ju~tin

also

includ~s

to the Sybil and Hystaspes

(JLpol. I 20. 1).

Justin is also awa.re of" va.rious procedures uaed in exorcism. In ApoloftY I I 6( 5 ) t he ref'er g to sue ces El fUl Chr1 st ian exorc is IZ] t

8 i!:Opl~r

in t.he ntJ.me of Jesus Christ t in contra.st to the uns'Uccess·:ful ef:forts

o.f "all the other exor-cist.s and ~nchanters and soreerers tl (eDorki stan

1';;ai epsston ka.t Eharme.keuton) (kool. II 6. 6).

This li.sting is ampli-

fied in Trypho 85 where Justin is a..rguing the 5uperiority of Christ

to Judaisrn. 'but the Jevs'

The Christians exorc15e successfully in his na."ll.e (B5. :2); SUC(:E!$S

is que-st.ionabl~. Exorcism b~t any of' their great

nemes, whether ldngs I righte-ous me.o, -prophets, or patriarchs, vill fa.11; but if anJr of them should exorcise in thi'! n8.ltle of the God of

Abraham t of" Isaac .. and of" Jacob. be might perhaps (isos) succeed. Butt in general~ the Jewish exorcists (epork1stai) use the aame craf't ( te t bne) as the Gentil es vhen they eXQTc1 se 10 employi rig both

f'1,m:U. ga-

tions and. incantations (kai thumi8.IlUJ,.si k~i };;atade5moi5 chr9n:tai) (85. 3). Magic is regarded 'by Justin as .an integral part of pa.gan. reli-

gicm and of' the heresies 1oespeciall;)r since all three are demon inspired tmd empovered.

The ref'erences to magic- in AE"olo5.Y.. I 11.1 are

part o.f the pr~ceding argument against idolatry (chaps. 9-1L}.

connection is f'Urth(!i

~mphasized

This

in ApologY II 5vhere the- f&llen

I!Ltlgels introduce not only 1IIB..gic, but also sac1"if'ice ,.

ln~ens~)

8.nd

11bations ~ in order to subdue the hu:me.n ra.ce to th~.l!lSe1 ve e (5. 1+); fLfid tbey and their- dell10n offspring

ar~

directly identified vith the

Apologists pagan gods (5. 5, 6). demo~s

ward. by

1

333

The variQusheresies result from men put for~

and gaining recognition by magic J even to the extent

of being 'iiOl"shipped, even by the pagans (Apol. I T!:Y;e.ho 120.

26+

1-4;

56.

1. 2;

6). IfPla81c does produce- mighty vorKs , albeit by d.e-

Mi.racles.

monic: power, what is the status of ChriBtian miracles?

and anavers thi.s

qu~st.i()nt di~ec-tly:t

Justin raises

in relation to Christ's workeo.

lLIIid indirectly (and perhaps lDOre

signi t'i c ant l.y ), in regard to con-

temPQrary Chr1 stian act i vi t iii! a •

The quest i.on vas 1"aised. sp@c i fi cll.lly

in Apology I 30, ''what prevents that the one who ia co.lled Christ by us. being a man fr(l!I! menjo did what we ca.l.l his mira.cles by magic art tm.agiki techni,> and appeared from this to be Son of God Of"

He ;reeog-

ni~es that mere assertion 18 inadequate. and propoees a proof

(ten

apodeixin) vhicb he thinks vill appear even to his readers as the

greatest and truest proof, the- so-called

"

proof frQln prophecy u : 2

things ha..ve happened and are happening as f'o:retold. ~ha.pters

elaborate this assertion.

T'he devil hB.s also

feit.in.g tht' things

B.p:paI"~ntly

prediete-d~

prof! t~d from prophecy. cov.nter-

though the very count.erfeiting 1s a

test iltiony to the unde-rly i n.g truth ( s) (Trxpho 69. 1). 1

If'he folloW'iag

The nat ions

Note a.l.so Apol. I 9. I--nalilea and forms of' id.ols; 66. ~--

bread and cup in Mithraic ini tiat10na demonic 1m! t.a.tion of the Eu-

charist; TrYpho 69~ To--var1ou5 ~ablee and the Mithra.ic ~steries d1 abol ic imi tatiorJ.s of prophee i e l; •

~tt!V~:t" the common JIl.od.ern assessment o:f this proof ~ it. vas apparently deci sf "I~ tor Just! rl p~rSOiJW.lly (Trypho 3-8) and be he.re expe-c t 51 it to be bi 8hly regarded even by hi 8 pagan read ers . I t was aleo used extensively by other apologists and later Christ.ian vritera. I

Early Christian View w'-:ill ultimately believe; but as to the Jews who had the propbecies when they vere fUlfilled,. "those seeing the.se tbings bein.g done asser-tedi t to b~ magical a.rt (:E,hantasian magiken)..

to call 'hi:m a :magician (mason) • . . H {69. 1}.

fOT' th~y

even dared

In this passa.ge Jus-

tin simply amplifies his previous ans......e r to the charg~:

the

11

proo f

from prop:he-cy~1 still stSIlds de-spite the counterfeiting, Md is even enbElnced by it.

.AIso!o by

th~

nature and the greatness ofh is 'W'Orks:o

Christ importuned (~QYsopei) tho~e who

Salt

them (69. 6; these- ·..rorks

are presented here &s a fulfillment of' Isaiah pre~eding s~etion).

35:1~7~

quoted in the

But this Uproof" tlpplies a!e;o to the future;

Christ;' S lIorks stand ae a. persuasion to those who will later believe (tous vill

@pt

I!I..lso

auton uisteuein mellontas):

even it ~imed in b~1y .. they

be raised "Up vl101e at the second coming (69. 7).

Justin does not

pr~sent

a discussion Or

def~nse

1

of

Christi~

2 mi rae les (i. e '!o exorc: isms ) ~ rather t he B.Gsumes them aavell knOlrn:> both to pagens and

J~s,

Bnd argue'S :from them for the power of the

name of Jesus and the v ali d1 ty of t'he Chri stl a.n faith {Awl.. II Tmho 85. 1, 2; sce- also II'Jpha 30. 3; 16. 6).

6. 6;

In the tvo cain

l.wbil e hope i 5 not proof, it e an be hi ghly l' e-r s ua.s i ve • Note aJ S,Q,. in cor.mt!!c:tion wi th the D(!rt topi c, that he env i sages the ir l'eatoration as taking place at the !"~surrect1on, not in the present. 2ThOUgh J'll6tin refers to '~ighty vorka (dyg.aIt1e-is) even now being d.one t.hroue;h Hi s name" (TryphO 35. 8) 11 exor~ i ams land the wor ldvide spread of thE: Gospel. e. g., Trypbo lIT. 5; ~21.. 2, 3) are the only 6peci:fic examples he give5~ The reference to healing in !D'Pho 39. 2 is not Jl~cesa;!U"ily an. exception to this since Justin uses this. term in relation t.o !:!~orC'1sms in Apol. II 6. 6. On. the apread of the Gospel. .1\'001. I 50. 9 eOnne ats the givi rJ.g of power to the apost lea. to their being sent and tes.cohing the nations (cf~ a.lso 31. "to pUb-

lish these things").

'1

Apologists refereDce8~

335

he implies that his readers will themselves have been ab1-e

to observe Bueb l and. further contra!;lts the Christiansl'

use of'the name of Jesus,

by the-

Jewish exorcists using

6.

5~

~he

l

t

0 th~

simply

success~

fe.i lure- of the pagan and

various traditional techniques (Apol. 11

6; Trypho 85. 1, 3!1' on which see the discussion a.bove \Utder

"Related Areas'''). .area is not

Justin'sempb.asis on Christian activity in this

a.cc:ideJ)ta2~

it lies at the beart of' his soteriology;

ChristTs c:rat1.&ns vere accused of the whole composite liBt (l. 3~

25.

6). Most COIIm:::.nly these- things

this-worldly &ct1vities

8.r~

mentioned in (:on.I1oect.ion 'Wit.h

(~spec1ally r~cruitment, r~1nforceEent

loya.lty, and seduct 1 on of fQllo'Wers., e .. ,g

T

J

of

1. 13 1-6).. but J in at T

least oce case J Irenaeus also applies the term magic to their othervorldJ.y acts. or te&chings:

Menandert for eXl3.!!lPle t was said to a.ff'inu

that the magic (!!!6ian.) he ta.ught enabled one to overcQIae tl1e angels ~ho

or

made the

wo~ld

(but even t.his

death) (1. 23+ 5).

h~s

Si~ilar ideas

a t.his-worldly goal--evasion

vere represented by the other

grOUp8 ~ though Irenaeu6 uaes, at EIlOst~ the term uinvocation '1

(~pilc.l;5i8) in oeser! bing thee! (e -S..

'!I

Ma.rcus .. l'e prophesying .. 1+ 13.

3i Marcosians. re deliverance from "the judge'1 or various principalities and povers~ 1. 13.

6

CB1mp~r

tade eipoie~J and 1. 21+

5).

I:t"enaeus Theory e.nd praxis Irens.~us

basic ally regards magi c a.s a demoni c a(:t i vi ty .

has a. demonic fwniliu ((laimona

+

+

•

pa.l'edron) (1. 13. 3, ef. also

sees. 4 and 6) .. s-tr'Jd the Simonians and Carpocratian.s operate with t.he "familiars'· and ·'dream-si!nding" spirits Doted above (1.. 23. Ji and

25. 3; SE!e .also 2. 31. 2 ~ 3 fo·r ot.her demonic a5sociations of these two groups).

At the end time, the second bea.st Qf' Revelation (13:11-

17) ",,111 uso do YOliders (si.gna) "by the working of' magic [magic&.

operationeJ

+

•

..

since the demons and apostate spirits are at his

service" (5. 28. 2, A1fF 1; 551). But

Irena~us

thesf! things.

seems to be SQJDelol"hat divided in mind rega.rding

tf'l"hi1e he recogni'lies the: ef'fecti veneSs of Marcus's activit.ies~

propagandiz.ing and seductive

and vhi1e allo\ling the like-

lihood of' delDOnic \tOr-kings, he seems to haye aome re:servat.ions about

the reality of t.hese things.

r-'arcus '·Join[s:! the buffooneries Cpaiggia)

of Anaxi1aus to the ers.ftiness [panourgiaJ of tbe Magi" (1. 13. 1 .. ANF 1: 334); Simon ,. Carpocra.tes, and others "are said to perf'cH."m

miracles" (virtutes operari dicuntur). but they" are "by :Ill8.gi cal

and they

deception a [ntagi ~.!ls ~annot

elUl~ i one s J ~ an d

free from any

d~moQS

m~ans

of

yi th uni ve:rsal deceit .. ,,1

exoept from thOSE! they themselyes

send ~ if' even this much (:2. 31. 2,. see also 3; cf'. also 2. 32. 3 in f'Act they have accomplished 8,r.J:rthing by" magic [per magicamJ

11i 1"

U ).

1AIr? 1: 407 . The charge of fraud and deceit could arise from the fact that tbese are del!Onic .. ra.ther than di....ine J acts t bUt. Irer.Jaeus's ~6J1ing seems to go beyond this to the questioning of the real! t:r of the acts themselves.

350


In a.dditiQn, tbe effects prod\1ced are illusory (phantasmata; phantasiodos) and trans it ory (stat 1m ce EJsant:5. a ). not real and perm8Ilt!!!nt (~t oe

qu idem at i I I i c~ d,io te.rne.Qr1 B ..ReTseverant la) (:2 • 32. 3 t t.I). The rete-rene!!:s to incantations and. cha~s \lould support tbe

demonic explana.tion of the magic

means,

fI. uch

a,s- drugs ~

~

a~t.s,

'but -the- use also or physical

be impl i ed by' Irenael.:l.s' s use Qf the terms

philtl?:t"s and love pot.ions (?, ~ha.rms?).

or

the two specific pro-

cedures which Ir-ena..eus de-serf bes, one, cha.nging the color of a liquid ..

seems to be checically based {i.e., drugs, Eharmaka)" and Hippolytus, at

lea6t~

explains tbe other t fillies a larger cup from a

5~11eT~

in the game vay (1. 13. 2; ct'. Hipp. Ref. 6.. 35).

-

f1elated ueas Irenaeus does not

di~eU~9

collateral occult areas, but, in

the lines quoted 'from "the elder~'1 ~fa:rcus 1a ac:c\1.sed of observing

portents (teratoskopos). i. e. ~ di v-:ina.ti on, and ast rology (astrQ1 ogi-

kes . • • technes).

This is perhaps a variant manifestation of Mar-

cusls prophetic interests which Irenaeus does elaborate on (1. 13. 3 t 4) •

The Basi1idians are represented

the mathematicians, Le., astrologers ology,?) (1. 211. 7). etc'

lI

a5 following th~ id~&s of

(01"

is it some kind of

m~er~

The speculation concerning the various Haeorls .. It

with the prevalence of the numbers seven and twelve 'Would also

other systemB, but

support astrological interests in the

var1o~B

Irenaeus does not develop this &rea.

Besides this, in the general

description of the heretical

op~r&t1ons

in hi5 second book,

Iren~eu9

351

Irena-ens refers to what is some boYs,.l

{pUI!!:TOS

typ~

or

divinato:cy practice involving "mere

investes} whose sight is deceived by an exhibition of

phantast!Js (ooulos deludentes " . " phantasmata ostendentes) (2. 32'. 3; cf. Hipp. Ret'. ~" 28; a1.ao Justin ApoL 1 18. 3; contrast Tertullian

Apology 23, and £Us. lLE. 7. 10. 4). Magic

6.ll.C

other

religion~

Due to hi Ii pri:ll'.arily polemic:lo rat.her- than iLpologet-ic. pw-

p.?ses ~ Irenaeus "had li.ttle to

a.~'

.about pa.go.n religion.

He thus has

nO occasiOn to conneet it vith matic as do his predecessors and conte~orar1es, exce~t

ror the assertion that Simon Magus vas honored

as a god be cau.s e of hi s act i vi ti e 8 (L 23. 1). assert a strong

tices.

~onnecticn o~

He does.. however ~

magic and heretical beliefs and prac-

In addition~ Marcus is idetJtifie-d 6,G Hthe magician" in cOn-

nection vith bis proph~tic activities (l~ 13. 4) and after the expoaitiQ~ o~ some of his esoterie doctrine {the body of A1ethei~} (1. 14.

3); the ~arcosiB.ns use various "Hebrew" words B.Ild ot.her in...'Ocations

(1. 21. :3 • 5 ~ 6.lso ~ 1 3. 6 h t.'h~ Bas i 1 idians, a.l.ong 'Wi t.h the-i.r magi cal

:pl"ftctices. coin names as if of' the angels (1. 24. 5 L follow the practiees of the uQ.theIDB.tici:ans 1" and na:tll.e their chief Abra.xa.s (1. 2~. 7). Menander~

also, is :said to

r~pr@sent

t.bat by the magic he taught the

ang~lB vho mlI.de the world ~ould be o,vereome (l. 2]-

5).

The hereticB are I'said (dicuntur)11 to perform mil'ac1.es 1

Compare on 'this pn.ssage (and Justin ADO!. I 16. 3) the para11~1 ancient and (relati.... ~ly) modern descriptions of' divination b J• boys in John M. Hull, H~ll~nistie Magic and the Synoptic Tradition St udi I!!: S :1 n Biblical Theology, 2d ser +,. no. 28 (lfapervi11e.. Ill. = Alec R. Allenson" Ir.Jc., 1911:)" pp. 2l-2h ~ eap.21-22.

&:Lrly Christian Vic'!,;'

352

(vi rtutes >.t, but Irl!'nae~s c hall~nges them 8t.I.~ th~i!"

reau.1ts +

Or:J

the basi 51

the 1 r r'~a1. i ty

01'

They are magie8J.. deception and dec~it (magicas

elusiones, @'t universe. fraude) (2. 31. 2)~ error. mislea.ding influence (seductio), magical illusions (magica. phantasia) ~ deceit

i

demonica.1

working (ope1"atiOtH~ demoniaC'a), phantasms of idola.try {phanta.smo.t.~ idolatriae) (2. 31. 3)~ phantasms t.hat instantly cease and do not endure (phantasmata •

{2. 32. 3).

.0

5ta.tim C'essRntia. et

Those who vo rk such things

n

n~ •

&

•

perseverant-in)

strive de'),

5~ 1. 11/81.

L;

These angels ha.d

originally been pa:rtof a gre-ater hiera.rchy .. which still existed,

ordered verticallY]I from. God down to us (Strom. 7. 2/9., 3), e.nd

horiz.onta.lly", 'With various re-gime-nts over ne.tians

~d citi~a,

perhaps, 1ndividutl.ls (6. 11'/151. 5), as well as some being

Si!!'t

&nd.

over

358

Early C1tristian Vielol'

th~ pls..ne-t s

of di ,,'iDe

Theunf'all ~ a.nge Is f'unc t1 on as agents

(5. 6/31. 2).

providence~

having co-operated in the :production of' things

below (ibid.) end, so continue .. bestoving good things on the IIGnostic"

(6. ~ 7/161. 2), being 3aved and saving (i. '1'h~

2/9. 3).

evil spirits liM receive sacrif"ices may be n (Exh • 1/5.

6-V

a.y by his music, curing Sa:ul

J~).

'These spirits also operate in prediction (St.rom. 1. 21/135. 2).

Discussion of related fields

Oracles and divination The abiding hum.an interest in 'the future finds

and unofficial outlets t and Clement ...... ~E of t.n~.

In Strom&teis 1

a~are

(16/7h. 2-5)t he

Ta.tian r Ii already lIIentioned:

~a.ny

of'f"icia..l

of a very large variety

gave the list similar to

astrology (credited to the Egyptians or

to the Chaldeans). folloved by prognostication by the stars {from the Carians), then attention to the flights of' bird5~ haruspicy, &ugury~ and d1 vination b)r dreams (each derived f'rotn some barbarian nation or

tlle otber).

In the second chapter of the Exhortation; he lists the

C~e~en~

359

of Alexandria

noted pagan (mainly Greek) oracles (man1;eia; ch:r;st~:ria.l of various types and places,

1

f'ollOloted by other more individual varieties ~

e!!X-

pounders of prodigies, augurs" dream interpre'ters (teratoskopoi,

oionoskQw1 .. oneil'on kritai) ~ as well by

a9,

those divining bj' flour or

barley {.aleuromWlteis, krithomanteis)" the ventriloquists (engastri-

nJYthOUS) yet honored by many; 2 be;l;1.des the secret shrines (ad.yt.a) of the:

Egyjl:tians, and the- Etruscan Elec:romancie~s (nekyoJIl.6.nteiai) (11. 1-2). Thes~

are all insane devices (manika; the second 'Use of this sam(!

paronom&sia In the passage) .. but they reach their ~l!max (or antl-

cllmax) in the us e

0

f goats and crows (11. 3; t.he .lat.t~r ~ along vi th

the ja.ckdaw, is a.lso ridicuJ.ed in Exh. This situa.tion results from

8;

~O/104.

2).

sup~1"stitious drel'J.d of" "ira.scible-"

(euorgetous) gods that causes l!:Ien to 1;JIlS.gine all events as signs and.

causes (se!lleia . . • kai • • • ait.ia) of e"il (Strol:l. 1. 4/214+ 1,. A.NF 2: 529) .

But it is not only the igno:rant who observe such things.

CleJJ'..ent can present a long list of Gr-eek. philosophers. and thei:r decessors t who were invol....e,d in divInation.

pr~-

Jlotevorthy SJ!long them

B.r~

Fjo1:.hagoras, ""he- t1fLlwa.y3 applied his mind to prognostication,·t Zoroaster the Mede ,. Empedocles 01" AgrigefltUl!l,. and Sotrll.ti?s with his inner

l:Besides 'these he also knows, apparerl'tly 1"rom. Plutarch Caesar 19 (c:ited by StRhlin, Clemens,. 2:146, notes on lines 1~1~}~ that among the Germans ~hirloools and eddies and the noises or streams ~ere observed to predict-the f'uture (Strom. 1. 15/72. 3); and, from Aristo'c1e Pol i ty of the Phocians (now lost),. that ExecestuB" the F'hocian tyrant, wor~ tvo enchanted rings and judged propitious times by the sounds the:,.' mad.e g,gainst ~.ach other ~ but .. despite their ws.l"[']ing~ vas Dlurd.ered by treachery (Strom. L 21/133. 4) + 2As not ed above., idle women sac-ririe eo Mtl practi c:e di vin6 t i or. &.>1d ~onsortW'lth fortune tellers (,Myrtai} l!lnd goetes~ f'ro:m the 1a.tter -of whom they learn charms and incantations (phil trs. • . . kai t!'oodas) (~.

3. 1,/28. 3L

Early Christisn

360 voice-; Aristotle 1l

bov~ve-r

t

appar~mt1y

Vi~~

ha..d, :reservations about such

. 1 things (Strom. 1. 21/133. l-~ J !ill[ 2: 330).

These pt'e-dict1ons are produced by various means.

TheY' come

··to%' the most part t'rOll:i observations and pro'babill ty) just as physiclans and sootbsa;rers Judge from natural edgns 11" but others ~ome f'ro~

demons .. or from disturbances by water t or

tum.oQ's

or e.ome sort

or

air

21/135. 2, ANF 2': 331; all thi 5 inc ont l"tLs t to "t he: Hebrew

(St.%"01II.. L

prophets vho were moved solely by' th~power and inspiration of God); other pr~~titioners judge people by their Coreheads (meto~oskopOg) (Paed~

3. 3/1;. 2). The Sibyl(s) again receive spe two express its theory" and a fev suggest its 1nfl uenc e

~

at le est rhetori cal t on Chri s t ian thought.

While astrology

and magic are sometimes opposed in modern theoretical

d1seussions~

Clement preaents astrology as closely related in places of origin end in 'theory t.o the tradit.ional vievs of magic. Wit.h such a not.eworthy art t various cla.ims as to the D.onor of its origina.tion a.re- to be-

e~ected,

and Clement obliges us.

In One

passage . . app.tl.rently of compound origin, he attributes: "astrology" to

the Eg:)'"ptians, and "similarly also tbe ChaldeaD3 t

PI

while some said

"prognost.ica.tion by the st.ars" va.a invented by tbe Carians {Strom. l.

16/7L. 3). events

\f&S

But o'bs.:!r,,-at.ion 01· t.he heavenly bodies to predi~t. fut.ure: a.lso p:raetic~d by the: Indian holy met]. (3. 7/60. 4).1

wha.tever its or1.gins, it he..s been thoroughly takrm

O"Ve!"

Eut,

by the Greeks y

they "prat.teJ loftily of thE!' heavenly bodies in the PJUch v,e:u.ntE':d scienCe of' a.strolQgY' ~ not astronomy"

(!!h. 6/67.

2 .A!fF 2: 191 L and boast.

of astrology; mathematics, lllagic . . and sorcery ~ as the grea.test sciences (megistais episteroais)( Strom. 2. 1/2+ 3}.

As to du~~s

~

it 'Works" the mechanism is sympe..tby.

tvo philosophers, one in the

~inomi5

who knev

Plato introth~

course of

1!ll.1 gen eration. vhf ch oec urs by the i nstTUmentali ty- of the planet e. ~ and 1

One Qr both of the flTst two claimants are supported by other refe-renees if] Clement; thE': Chaldeans and the Egyptiana t Strom. 1. 23/153. 3; th~ Egyptians t 6. 4/35. 4.

F~rly

362 another ~ Timaeu,5 ~ who

11

Christian Viev

as an astronomer ~ Jr.new the motion ot'

th~

stare

B.T1d their 6j'1!1pathy and association (sxp;!.Eatheias tekai koinoni.a$) vi th

one' another (St rom. 1.

and

aff~cts earth~y

25/166? 1).

Thi s "sympat.hyu a1 sO ext. ends to

thingg, as Clement asserts in suggesting

th~

sy.m-

bolisJII of "the n'l.lIllbe!'" seven (while discussing "the fourth commandment). According to the mathema.t1cians, the planets a.re seven ~ and

t h~ ChaJ. deett$ thi nk

I'

all which cone erns mortal. 1 i f'e is ef'f'ect ed

through sympathYt in consequence of which things :r-esj)ecting the future II {Strom.

Magi~

b:." them

th~y

also undertake to tell

6. 16/143. 1,. ANF 2~ 513).1

and religion

In the openins chapter or the

E~hortation;

Cleoent presents

the pagan religions as intl"oduced.. a.."1d propagated by the poets:; poets famed in stOrtI and song f'or the magical povers of their musiC' (1/1.

1-2. 1}:o men possessed by a spirit of artfUl sorcery (entechnQ tini

goete i 11 daiClonon te-S ):t anti c:ing manki n d to i dols ~ 5 ubj e-c t ing them to the yoke by their songs .and incantations (~da.ii3k.ai eROda.is) (3. 1).

In

chapte~ t~o:t

the official religious oracles are indistinguisbable

~rom the popular ones

(2/11. 1-3}t and the ~steries contain hidden

sorcery (goete:la; 12. 1) and are .full of deceptive 'Wonders

kai terateias; lL. 1). the

f'ig~rative

sense or

{apates

While goeteia is quite probably used here in tri~ke~' O~ ~raud:t th~

vhole

r~int

is that

these beings .and their arts are less than divine t and there is something strange about their b4!'ing 'Worshipped. t~r tYa (esp. sees. 24-39)

is devoted to the demonstration of this

lOn uSYI!lPathy. I' compare tbe

cine .. tt belovo

Most of' the rest of chap-

di5cu~sion of "j3iolQGY and Medi-

Clement of Al.exandr fa

point in st.and.ard apologe'tic patterns.

The concluding sections of thE!

chapter turn to those asserted to be in second rank to the gods, t.he

These are gluttonous and impure

dem·ons.

any con.;::ern for man, it is: b:e-cs,use

u like

our Ii ve-li hood, tLllured by the SlEIOke n

(

(~O.

l} t and if" they have

flatterl!"}-s, they approach

q.l. 3).

Chapter three develops

thisrurther;, ell3Phas!z1n.g t'hat sup~:rstition (deie:id.aj,monia), prl!!.ached by men led asotra;)r by demons; became the source of'

wi~kedness

and re-

sulted in the multiplitationof demons (3/4~. 1-3). The Magi, tbeeponym,s of: magic, whM the Greeks

as their

Ol.l'l)

---

teo.cherl> in many areas (Exh. 5/65. 4; etc . . ) .. were originallY a r.e-ligious group .. but now employ their

Cba-l"lQ5

to enslaye

servants (~. lJ/58. 3) .. or use 1ncante.tions

hail (StrQJI!.. 6. 3/31. 2).

demons

as t.heir

and sa~rifices

to avert

Astrology- is of a piece 'Ilitb &11 these.

cons idering the un!verse, or the st~s t as gods (Exh. 6/61. 1 ,. 2).

Having originated with the Egyptians (or the ChtLld(!'ans) (Strotll+ 1.

16/74.

2}t it continues to hold a place in their worship (Strom.

6.

4/35. 4). '!'he idle vomen in Paedagogus 3. 11 are pictured vithout. distin~tionas

sacrificing and pr&cticin,g divination from

templ~

to

temple', and spending time with fortune tellers and learning .;::harms

and int:antQtionfi (for immora.l purposes) from soothsfl.yers (3. 4/28. 3). It makes no d1:tfe'!"ence whether the spirit.s tovhom s.acrificea a.re offered to avert evils are called gods or angels (Strom. 6. 3/31. 4; and a fev lines earlier they 'Were identified as demons or evil

31. 1).

a.nge18~

Further, "Buperst1tiouLi drea.d of those irascible [gods.J It

leads to these other a,upel'stitiouEl attitudes and acts:

a constant


364

looking out :f'o:l' signs .and portent5) dread of inscriptions, and fear of &11. sorts of' things (vool,aa1t lumps, torche!;l:t squi1115, 1!lDd. Bulphur) "be'llitched by sorcerers ~ in certair.J impUT@ rite-s of ~xpiB.tion'l (Strom. 7. 4/2~. 1; 26. 1 ~ 2',. 4;

l!m:.

2 ~ 529).

Cl~!!'nt further illu.s-

trates thig vith linee fro!!! a comic poet ll Diphilus 'Who repeats the lo

last three items of' the list,. and also adds asphalt (26. 4, St. 10-18).

3~19.

Apparently such purifications were required by religious

scruples~ but

were perrormed by

sorce~~rs (goetes,.

Stl'om. 7. ~/26.

ThU6 J while he does not discuss it I!!xplieitly, it is quite: ~lett

frOll1 these items that Clement se,es r..O line of division bet'Ween

the ~gan religious. and magical p~actices.

(On the othe-r band ll coa-

trary to Irecaeus's views, he seems to regard the heretical sects as deviB.ting mainly in intel1.ectua1 and ethical in rna,gic ~

1

view~,

not as engaging

)

Indirectly related areas Clement includes allusions to or

dis~usaions

of other !l.reas,

Which, though not directly magical. manifest. a sow:Iewhat analogous &t~itud~1

Afric.anus ~

or

~e

related to items

o~ eigni~icance

for the

5tu~'of

The -types ofi tems V1U"Y from specimens of actual lIlisinfor-

ID&tio'Q or .Bupera.tition to what 15 simpl;:rpoor1y understood na:tura.l

.science, and. range from natill"al history to medica.l

to music.

(H. E. 2. 15 ~ 1) the ~rt ingui shing of along yith hi~, possiblY ~rom Clement's !!.ypotypos~s, book 6 (St. 3: 197. 32-198. :2); but. tbis episode probably belongs to the conclusion of H.E. 2. It" the story from Clement being only tbat i::once:r-ning the writing or the gospel of Mark. Simor. seems to 'be of no conce-m .at 8.ll to Cleme-nt. lEusebius does

Simon's power 6nd its

r~port

pl"!lctic~

d~struet1on!

365

Cletnent of Alexandria

Thl!' nlisunderstfLr.ldings,

bo'll~ve!',

could

l~ave

one

OP(!tl

to thee & K. 1 ~ ~2. 14-11).

This is a very deep and Bubtle l!ItLtt.er

(prap;mateia. bathytat.e ka1 anakechorekuis., Rxh .t-!ar. b6 ~ K. 1: 42

£

lO-ll;

in~. 1. 24 it is logo? b~thys ks.; s.Dorrheto5~ K~ 1:74. 11).

1 Though i.ncantations are t'r~qllently . ref'erre d to by Ori gerJ, namt!'s see:m to be the potent ~lements in them. 2compare also his distinction betveen belieV'ing in Jt!'S'Ils" nSJUe and believing in Jeaus ~ snd their results in Co:mnentaq on John (10.

44/[28J.

301~ 310~ 31~).

318

Early Chri stian Vit:!....~

Incantations. repor-ted.

In tlle use of inc.fI..ntations lo the

6~

result is

They are of' f'orce (energesai) only in their p1"op~r la.ngu.e.ge-s t

and are .. ine-ff'icac:iou6 and feeble (atonon k.ai ouden d:mam.~ninJ" if t!"ans-

1ated.

thus it is t:lot the thing said but

ties of vords Chai

to~ ~honon

Itth~

pgiotetes kai

qualities and pecul1a..:ri-

idiot;tes~whieh posses~

certain power" (c. C. 1. 25! ANF' 4: 2107 5 K. 1 =161' 16-22).1

a

Origen re-

ports 'this as from utbose who are 5killed in the use of inca.ntations [hoi . ill

epodon deiJi:oi J" but does not r;oeem to question its va1idi t~r

its. oWD realm, though he den i e!;l that Cnr i sti B.nS are inval.... ed in

these areas (ibid., lines 16-17), Christians are so far :from this, that, eontrary to Celsus ' s charges (e.g~,. c~c~ 6. 32~ Lo; T. 40), the::.' do cot even use the precise Scriptural names of God.. God hears them all 3-~3

-- those

2

(e.c. 8. 3r,

& ed. Johannes Qu,as'ten and Joseph C. Plum..pe", DO. 19 [Westminster Md.: The NeVll!laJl Press So 19511., London = Longmans .. Green and Co. t 195q J So p. 36), though these expressions probo.bly refer only to the grand benef:1c1~nt ordeTing oral! thine;s ~ not to individual influences by .~ympathy or whatever. Further, does .~ w

:t

•


390

{Theoph11us Alex. Ep •.Synod~ £..2; cited in 1(, 5=259, at De pr,

3. 3. 3Ll Origen does attribute significance (direct OT indirect) to tvo possibly astrological itf!blS, establishing

th~

on an ecpiTice..l

Comets (such as the "star" at Jesus' birth~ C.C. 1.

basis.

to appear .. a.s

obs~rva.t;ion

shows, at til!les of gr@'at ee.rt.hly changes ~

signifying either ba.d or good things

(c.c.

1. 59 .. K. 1=110. 3-16),

On a more mundane level ~ nlunacj.r:' as phy::;icians a.ttest by

cUBsions. is eonnected to the moon. ~ver,

the

Contra~

a..""i

b~t

sympathy

irnpUl"'e sp i:r i t 'W"hi eh obs erve s th~ phas ~s

and varies his influence

moo~

their dis-

to their theories .. hoy-

it 1.5 not caused by moist. humouxs in the head moved

'Wi th the moon. but by

58) tend

accordingly~

to mislead men.

0f

If

tbis 15 so, then vhy not other spirits operating in phase vith the

other sta.rs?

So"

It is 't."Qrtb llhile ~ then. to listen to the oks, 1967),. p:p. 52 and 338) • EYst~s from


Astrology itself l'eceiv~s I;lpecial e:ttention .from. Hippolytus, 1 inc:=ludingseveraJ.

magic.

2

ri!"fe~ences

connectiog its practice with

According to Hippol:rtus, the Peratics1!

their doetrineB from it, their as their eosmogony/coBmology thetic principle

"as a.bov~,

sO

especlally~

anthropo~ogy ~~d

being 'based

belo'W'"

On

b~lie:f

50teriologj'

in

derived a~

variations of the-

well Byt!!pa-

(ReX, 5. 13.. 17 [8 ~ 12)).3

Alt@rnate views as magic Probably a.t lea.st partially due to the nature of his survh"i.ng ~"Prk5~ lHppolytus

does. not. connect paga.n religion and magic as do his

fellow Christian w:rite::rs.

As noted above {uGeneral Referenc\!'s to

Magic," &nd "Spirits t1 ) , he does~ however., drs-OW" a direct cO:rJ.neetion be-

tlJrE!en many of the

h~resie5

a.nd ma.gic:=.

h

This in turn is related to e.

contam.ination or eVen Creek philoso!Jhy by it.

Many of

th~se

philosoph-

ers, in t.urn:to had (oceult,c) ~ligious roots (note, e. g .• , ~. 1. 2., on Pythagoras) •

lEe.peciallY in book four where i.t dominates the first tventyseve-n ~ hapt.ers and appears aga.i n in chaps. 46-50 . 29

~ef. 6. 39 C3bJ ~ with 55 [50J-·Marcus; 9. 14 [9J J and 10. [25]-':Eiohasai te-s (cf" . .al.50 1. ll--Democritu,l;l,).

3The pover of I;l,ympatr"y is suppo:rte-d. by the analogies or naphtha "d:ra......1ngU fire So and of magnetism and static electricity ~ in 5. 17 [12J (the- magnet &ttr~~tB iron aJ.one; tbe backbone of" 6. se& fa.lc:on ~ gold alone; and chaff is moved by amber). This latt~r triad was also us~d by the Naaaenes {5. 9 r~J and the Sethians (5. 21 (16J) in e'xplaining tbe nm~~hanicsl't of the-ir Boteriologies. (Naphtha (Indian naphtha:! appears aga.in in 1e 25 [13J in Basilides' illustration of th~ natu.r@ of the Son of the Great Arc:hon.l 4Besides the rfd'erences tbere:to note

a1soR~:r.

the Great Archon of Basilides is Abrasax; 7+27 Jesus 'Was instr-ucted 'by sages in Egj."]Jt..

1+ 26 [14),.

(15J~ Basilid~s

says

401

Hippo l.yt US

While Hippolytus took a critical a.ttitude tovard ma.ny of t.he

''magical'' displays: o:f the heretics!i he apparent.ly cou.ld not explain them all; and he

\laS,

aft!!!" BolL" still a participant in the culture

and beliefs of' his times.

H~

thus accepted the possibility of de-monic!!

as ve11 as di'Vine .. W"orkingf>.

This ambiguity is visible in other areas also. While fested. e. faiT smo1,U1t of at least l.iterary t empirical

h~

knO'lll~dge

mnniof

"scientific" ma.tters (Ref'. 4), he ~ou1d e..lso retail animal lore such

as thoBe con.cerning the dee-r and the bird!i "'cemphuli, Pf in his Cocmnentarv on Proverbs (1: 22; AlW 5:113).

Also, while ridiculing the

numeric&l f&ntasies of Pythagoreans and Marcosians 2 and the astronom-

ieal

or

labo~s

such as Archimedes .. he seems to correct the latte1"'s

figUl"es on e. Platonic b~is, because 'tThat . . . they should not be in harmony and sYlD]lhony • • • this 11:' inrpossible" (~. 4. lO .. ANF 5 ~29; vith his ovn calc\lJ.ations in. t.he next chtLpter)..

It may be that tbis

i san ad hom! ne1n argum.ent) pitt fog philosopher against philosopher (un-

less it. is

&

e:ounte-r-presente.tion of Ptolemy's view; ptolem;y

s.ppe~s

sudc1e:nly" previously unannounced, in chap. 12)!! but Hippolytus mani-

1 fests a similar sort of number myat1cisI!I elsewhere. lIn his discussion of Christ'a birth, he conclud~d that it must have been in the year 5500, for t.he dimensions of the ark of the C OVen6Jlt add up to 5 1/2 cubi t.s; f'u:rther, the end wlll e ome at 6000 .. the Bixtb day (On Daniel frag. 2. 5 and 6; cf. also 2. 1I C.AHF 5 :119) +


402

Latin

Polemic~6t6

SY8temati~ers

and

Tertullian Tertulli6.n'

6

viev of JZIagic i:8 t!lUc'h like Origen· s:

there is

6.

certain real i ty to magi c ~ yet it is a. fr a.ud; 'but this 1 s a de:moni c :fra.ud upon mankind (including the ltItlgicians t etc:.) .. not human fraud.

The demons operate by various dell,lsh e means to turn men frO'lll God. p

Introduction Tertu11ian

mak~s

reference ton brQad range of magical cate-

gories and relo.ted. areas ~ viewing them all as bad.

Agtra~oge:r and.

soothsayer (haruspice~) and .augur and magus are all eqUAlly consulted

regal"ding Ca.esa.:r's life]o l!L."'ld all equally involve a.rts originated angels who sinned

(a~ange1is

things l!'l.re perversions;

desertQTibus}

'by

(ApolQSJ~ 35. 12).1 These

tho-u.gh God ci"iI!!6:ted such t.hings asiroo,

herbs, and demons (ange1i) .. He is not rerrponsible :for their use in znurd.er by iron ~ poison., or magical enchantment (ferro d~uinctionibu!3) (D~s'pec.

1

\~e!1e!10,

magicis

2. 8; Bee also De pud~ 5. 11 for further

references to murder by pQisone-rs and magicians,.. uene.nQ.l"ii • • • Dl6.p;i)

Di5~uss!ons

of ma.gic

Origin and

op~rations

p

Magic originated from fa.llen s.nge1e . . . h o taught various occult

1The Latin text bas usually been given from 9Hinti S~£timi Florentis Tertull1ani Opera 7 Corpus Christi&norum~ Series Latina~ vcls. 1 and 2', 2 vols. (ifurnhout: 'I'ypographi E:repols Edit-ores PontificU 11954) 'lo but the traditional d1viaions of Terttlllian t s texts are- short enough that ~ore precise reference has not b~~n deemed ne~essarJ in most cases. {~~ere needed]o cited as CCSL 10 with ~olume, page~ ~ld line numbers. )

~03

'rert ullian

arts (meta..llorwn 0:e:.era. • . et herbarum

in,g,~nia .

. . tot inCfLnta.tionum

uires • • • e.t...Q.mnem curi9sitatt~ ~Q..ue ad st.e1.larlllIJ. interpretationem,

CCSL 1 =344. 6-9} to 'WOmen origin. ,eM

As spirits., they do not ha·...e bodies of' such a nature tha.t they directly affect. men phys1call.y (AWl. 22. 5 and 6; et. Adv. }.'.arc.

3. B. h;. not.e also Tenull ian •s simi lar view {) f the soul:> Re!3. mort. 17. 2 ; Adv,. Prax.. 7. 8) c f. De an ima 5. 5, th~ :soul

Ir

sympa:tb i

') 1 but they can,. and do .. viththe body [passion1.U'!l communioneJ., diEiIl!!a.s~s &D.d

46.

12;

47.

Zf-S Jt

~8.U8e

distresses (Ap,ol. 22. ~-6), ar.Jd I!!Ost drefIJD5 (De anima

l~ ARol. 23. 1).

All spirits~ angels or daemons t are

'W'ing,ed and thus can be everywbe re in a =nomen t

(over e..llearth or up

to the hee,vem;:)t and thus are tlbll!' 'toa.weal" to divin~ (Af'!?l. 22.

8

Further) theY ca-use diseases so they can then appea.r to re-

and 10).

Ii evt!' them miraculously, by "new or con-traTJ' remedies" ( 22 .11),. and

they :perform the vario'Ul;i otber decePtive, mtl.gic6-1 a.cts llioted above (22. 12 ~ 23. 1).

In the case of Pj"thagoras· s recognition of Euphor-

bus's shield, Tertullian suggests various natural "Ways Pythagoras could ne.ve ga1r.Jed the necessary knowledge, but then goes on to gbre a

magical explanation (Scimus etiam roagiae licer~exp1orandis oeculti~ CCSL 2; 825. 48) which he seems to pr e:f'e:r .

There ue vaX' i ous type-s

0

r

spirits ~ catabolir:os and paredros and m.honicos; perhaps the sue daemon lih1 c h ha.d be en :in Euphorbus inhs.bi t ed Pythagortls (De ani.m.a 28. S). It is" however, only e. question of the level of

Bucb

oper~tions"

1

th~

frl!l..ud ~ all

explicitly magical or otherYise, are simply deception

On the oth~r hand,. angels ho.vethe form temporarily (De carne Chr. 6. 9 ~ lO}.

pow~:r-

of assuming 'bodily

Early Christian

406

by t.he spi:r-it.s {D~ anil'flB.. 51 .. 2}.1

~ie~

The various categories of spirits

invoked s whetb.e:rahori or biaeotbanati (51. 2 and 3} t vbether appearing as decea.sed relatives, gladia.tors,. bestill.rii, or even proph@'ts {s.ec s. 1 and (falla.ci~/-ae; sees.

81, are a.ll

2 and 6).

god:9(~ec. 5)~

or

f allf1..CY. impt:lst.ure s of daemons

But their true nature is

re:v~aled in

conflict. vi th the ChriE;tla.ns ;W'hen exorcised they Confess t.hat

the~r

.are daemons (Apo1- 23. 4).. even though they had previously pr~sented

themsel V(!s; as deceased 1"elat.ivee, etc. (De anima. 57. 5). do vhen invo.ked is what they

thl!!nlS~lves

What they

do or desire t.o do na:tut'al.ly

Incantations .. etc. Tertullian does not

gen developed.

2'

h!lv~

a theory of' incantation such

1l;J bis> discussion he simply

relating to this area..;

~J:;le5

8,S

Ori-

various common terJt.9

incanta.tionum, incsntatore:s (De cultu fem. 1.

2. 1; De idoL 9. T), f!'voeaturam~ _1nvocM'tur (Dtt anilIL8.

51. 2 s 3).

edunt. ~ invi tatorum (A:E0l. 23. 1; c:f'. De anima 57. 2, in\ritatoria oper~--

a).

tione), and de"l"iTlction1'bus (De spec:. 2.

In those

CQ,S@S ....h~re

the

context. :J:rAkes the action ly to be connected vi th eure of

disease in general:> and not specifically with exorcism.)

Miracle~

and prbphecy

Tertu11ian l"ega..rds 'the power to heal

&5

tty of Christianity (be91des the reference9 to also Scorp. 1. 3" ~; Ad Scap~ 4.

a proof of" the va.1idexorci51!1~

above, see

5-, cf'. also De or. 29. 2

'Ii

3).

He

also :reports cl!'rtain :marvels. in support of his vie'Ws abou.t the nature

of' the sOUl (De anim~ 51. objeeti vl!'ly.

6,. 7}, but he views these tbings someWhat

I! nllraele-s aril! not

fl

suf.ticient proof for Marcion' 8

Christ (Adv. Marc. ]. 3. 1) .. and .. as a.lready

ShOV11,

various apparitions

and vonders do not prove the truth of the magi cians,then holdE;!. true :for Christianity.

th~

same

wr.dle signs may be useful in argw:nent,

they cannot control our vie'" of nature (~!..~i,QfID~·.::.1~s_~ • .....:=.... .• .....:=.....LJ~n~a.!!.:t~ur~am::::: . =--=f":.,:B..:=c;=e:.:,.r.=..e non .E-ossunt: l'e anima 51. 8), and even Christ's deeds needed the port.

0

r- pr0.phe ~y

passim).

2

ij,UP-

to c:ont.i 1'1:1 them (Ad V'. M&l"c. 3. 3. 1 ~ and bk. 4,

Even beyond 'this., mi.r&cl~s are overshadowea by the teaching

1,7i th vhic hthey are conne cted., the-

S 6.1vat 1 on

of mankind (Ad v . MarC'.

4.1.13; cf. a.lso 4.8. 5). I La tel' in the chapt er,. Tertullian report ed a prophecy 0 f ?rises. furt.her exalting the pcn"er of purity" though there the result va.s visions and other revelations (DiI:! eXh.• cast. 10. 5). 2 In general t Tertul11,an use6 the IFproot from prophecyn 1IIUch th!Ul hia Greek predecessors" using it EJl.a.inly against the JeW's a.nd Marcion in his apQlogies .against them (Adv + Jud. and Adv. Marc.). There is limited utie of it. in Apol. 18-21. l~ss

Ea~ly Chri5ti~n

418

View

Minor Latin Writers Minuciu9 Felix

The Octavius

or

M1nucius

Feli:x~

rathl!'r nElturally., do!!'s not

breadth of references to magic as do the writings

include the

S~e

Tertu11ian~

but such rererences aa do occur in Minucius agree

o~

ba~icEllly

wi th the vi~vs of Tenull:i an .

The actual

GUCce~ses

of auspices and auguries or oracles are

26. 1-7);

not due to chance

C~.

lJpirits,

de~aded

from hea.venly

{26. 8);

the~e

their vonders

rather~ in5inc~re

vigor~

the.m:p

1

The Magi work

t.hou.gh Hostanest th€! first of 'the-

Beribed the true God and angels and ~ande~ing,

sl!'i!:!k also to de-grade others

a.re th~ daemons or the poets (20. 9).

by

and vandering

~a1d

the daemons

M8.gi~

de-

~ere earthly~

and hostile to ~ankind (26. lQ-ll)t a~ Plato also spoke of

fingels and daemons (26. 12).

Thes~

daemons vork through

ro~ks~

en-

trails ~ etc. (27. l):p and produc~ disease and. other evils that they

may a,?pear to cure the:t:l when they release those a.1·flic:ted (27. 2).

They produce other marvels .. such as apPi!:!a.rances of the Cast.ors on hor5es~

(27.

and pullinB a ship by a woman's girdle,

4~ al~o

chap. 7).

Not only are these

~d

~vents

other vonders

connected in one vay

or anothe.r ilith the pagan religions (as are the del!lOn-inspired auguries

B.J1d oracleEi) t but toe lllJrths piotture the gods themselves as using :Ill.ilgic and subJeet to it (22/23. 4~ Jupiter enticed by the girdle of Venus). 1

Here also, the perfortn£J.nces are "refil n (objective) yet fraudul~nt--9ui~9Uid miracYli ludunt . . . ; 1111s adspirantibus et infundentibus :ro.esti ias edunt vel Q'U.S.€ non slmt .... ideri "Tel ua.e sunt non videri Oct. 26. 10; text from Alo1s1us Va.lma.ggi~ ed. t M. M1nucii F~licis Octavi~s. Corpus Scripto~ Latinorum Paravianum, (5] [Turin; 10. Rapt. Paraviae et Sociorum (19l6)J. p. 34).

l~inor

Latin ',;'ri ters

But many of the Romans knov these things lo sin(:e the daemons confess

theil'" fraud when exorcised from their victims

by

the

Chrlstis.!le.~

dri ven out I'by the torment of our lo'ords and the fire of' our prayers

I"

flying frOlr.i the Christians when near 8.t hand (27. 5 nnd 7); even pre~ tended sods confess their t:z-ue nature (27. 6).

Co~odi.e.nus

The Instructions of CO"CIlllodiar.Jus t.ouch briefl:;· on tlle sane

major points as noted in

Minucius~

their connection to o:raeles.

the origin of I!:vil spirits a..'1d

The of'fspring of the sinning angels s.nd

They taught the arts, d,.veing of yool t

lI0Clen were giants.

h10

~tc.;

and

after dNl.th t condeJr.J1ed never to be resurrected. they wandered a.bout, subverting manYt being worsbipped and prayed to as gods (In~tr. 1. 3). They are active in various types of augu:ry and portents (1. 22~ lines

1-8;

~f.

also 1. 18, 19), God

~ing

pleased to allow the daemons to

vand~r the world for our discipline (1. 22~ lines

9-10).1

Pseudo-Tertullianica

The anonymous Adversus magic against the 2 and 3).

hereti~s

The :poet i c

'1 r"i iJ'e

O!Dl')es

haereses continued the charge of

Simon Magua

and Menander after him (sees,

Books 1n Reply to Mare i on" (Carmen aduersus

Mnrcionem) added Cerdo 8.Ild Marc tiS (bk. 1:10 lines 157-58. 165-67~ rCSL

2:lh2L-2S;

~~ ~:l~~~

aga.inst the latter

lines 198, 208-10).

It amplified the charge

along the line:s devlt!lopl?d by Jr·enaeu5 =

Mo.:rcus

lCol!E!lod1anus also bE!l.i~v~d il1 the 6000 year dl.U'ation of the earth: 2. 39/00. 8) ~ and perhaps alludes to t.h~ argument from prophecy in 1. 6. 13~ JtTherevas none that predicted his [Jupiter~sJ previous birth" (Rob~rtEr:neatWa11is, tra.ns. ~ "Co:c:rnodie.nus/' ANF lj,; 204).

Early

420

Cl~istian

View

used :rtI&gic a.rt they are

driyen out or pos s e ssed bodi e s, tortured, et ~

speech 0", hi.dden ro.aje5t Jt

P "

P

l

by

t1 0ur

voi ce and

('1uod ido.lQ.. 7: nostl"'8. uoce et oratione

maJestatis occultae,. CS.EL 3) 1;25. 5-6). The treat.ise: De

reba.:ptisma.t~

monic acts or tricker!, and of for the

ne~elisity

also presents the themes of de-

exorcia~.

Some

of fire at baptism a.nd

~laim

is unsure abOut this;

heretic~l

groups contend

to have it.

it may possibly be effected by game

The e.uthor

such

trick~

as thnse of' Anaxilaus, pe-rhaps 'by some natural means; or perhaps they only think they 6ee it; or pl!'rh&ps "the 'Work and magic:al poison of some malignant being

595 ,

c:an

force fire frOm thl!!' ...:ater rl (ehfLp. 16.

/l,lW

lEnglish tr611.s1a.tion by Ernest Wallis .. nCyprie.n'l" ANF 5;261" .~ b·J.(1. ~ t pp. 651 . . - 7. +

~,. xppen· ~ d U. , Bnu.

e

Early

111i puta:nt

~

Cln"istia...~

Vie'll

, . sf ue Mli &11 cpus et Qlasicum ui M.JS ign em 'Dote'stin

!9Ue. expritDere:

CSEL 3 1 3: 90. 5-8).

The e,ignificance- 01' invocation

of" the nillDe of Jesus is shown by the fa.ct that in that name

a~l

kinds

of poyers (in~lUding cast.ing Qut demons t Mat.t. 7: 22),. are tu::custOllled to be- 10fQrked (uinutes omnes Bolent fieri):o somet1m~s even by those outside; even evil doers may possibly do good \iOrks by t·he super-

abounding ·energy of the n8lQ~

(lHl':r' nlmitlJD .

uirtute-:tn nominis) (chap. 7:1

On the other hand., the m.racles of Christ, done-with commo.nd-

ing word and voice euerbo et uocis imper-io), c::aused the! Jews to regard hiln as a so:reerer (erlstimabant mtigunil (Quod i dola 13. CSEL 3 t 1: 29. 10-

15).

The interests and vievs of the Greek apologists of a

in regard to his

vie~s

or f..rnob1 'Us are much the sa:me as thosl!:

c~nt.u:ry

earlier.

of magic and related

This is I!!'sped.al.ly true

area~.

Magic goes back to ancient times, in

th~

East.

In a

g~eat

conflict bet'lleen the AssyriWlS and the Bact-ria.ns,. under Ninus and

Zoroa.ster, not only s'WOl"'ds and physical poyer J but. also the "magicians and tbe mysterious learning of the Chaldeans" (Ma,gicis et Cbaldaeor'llln

@ox l'econdi tis discipli:nis) were engaged in the struggle (Adversus nll.tiones [or Adv. gentesJ 1. 5,. CSEL

~:7. 15-18),1 The

Magian

Zoroaste~

lAugustus Reiff~rsc::he1d, ed., Arnobii 8duersus nationes, libri VII, CSEL,. vol. h (Vienna; Apud C. Ge~oldi Filium B1bliopolam Academiae~ 1875).

J~25

Later Writers appears alsoB.e one of

sevlI:!!'~

bl8,gicia.DS naml!'d 'Who a.re challenged to

g1 ve Jlm7er to any (B:S Christ. did)' t or e:ven to actuaJ.ly 'Work themlH!l ve~

(1. 52 L

Among t,he effects of Christ' G name are tbe overcoming of

evil spirits ~ :titus

1

.p.

8Qothsayers~

a:ugurs ~ and

l!Iagician~ (}.

46;

nox1os spi-

uatibus» haruspic:es . . . > ad1'Qga!ltimn ma.&,orum . . . ac-

ti ones ~ CSEL 4 ~ 31. 6-8). Theory and praxi a oj" magi ~

One of'Ar-no'biu8 t s longest passages on magic occurs in the text of a. discussion. of the various hi s mi racl es .

~ea.m~

Christ did not

Chri st vas as eerte d to be a magus vno

USe

\l'ork~d

~on-

in working

'by secret

a.rts t having stolen the ;names of' angels of' po'Wer :homE,gyptla.nshrines, but were his deeds re-&1ly t.he t.ricks of

arts?

(Adv. na.t. 1. 43:

daemons 6.Ild sports of'

magi~al

daemonum.. . pre..estigia..e et magicarum

nr-ti'Ul::l ludi?.. CSEL 4 ~ 28. :25~26).

Are there-

8-'1y

magi 'W'ho did anything

the lea.st similal'~ working vithout inl::'anta.t.ion (~a.nn.inum.).. or jui~e

of herb or grass (herbaru.m et "graJ:r:iJl¥ sucis),

1

'Ilithout rega.rd to sac-

rifice .. libation~ or season (S.Flcrorum l.ibaminum tep!porum?}~ {ibid. CSEL 4~28. 29-29. 1).2

In 1. 52,. he also vill allow any challengers

to use their own rites vitb 'vbatever noxious ~h!lteve:r

s

h~rbs [~efici

pO'W'l!:l"S (uirium.J tbose muttered vorda and

gramin1sJ

a.c~ompanying

lIn the area of materia.1 means,. A:rnobil.1.S elsewhere refers to tl1e IMll'Ilina..esold by Psylli .. Marsi,. and others (apparently as protection againstanakebite):> e,ppa:ently ineluding Christians 8.mQng their users ( 2 . 32 }• 2The o~nir.lg lines of' ehl9.pter bh reemphasiz.e that Christ 'Worked vi tho\lt afJ)'thingto assist t and vi thout observing any t"ite or rul~ (CSEL lj; 29. 13-1~; sto/!' ullius ritu5 obs~ruatione uel lege CliDe llj J ) •

Early

Christi~ Vi~T

spells :,ntA; n I:freltJOr ille uerborurn a.tRue ani unct;.a.e canninunJ)r, {JlNF

6: ~26; CSEl. 4; 36 . 2-J..). 1 43~ A1~ob1u5

class:

Follovi ng the brief 11 st

also gives a list of the

p~oSes

0 f

ma:teri Us in 1.

of yorks of tbis

to know the future; to inflii:t disease; to seV'e:r affections,

or impW"e love; to open loc:ks or seal lOO'lJ.th.s; OJ' in chariot raoces '\i'~n.ken 10

incite,

0:1

retard

th~

thing usefU1 3 to do it not b,y (~otestat~} of those

~

to

horses; or. if' the;r snould a.ttempt an:,.rthe1~

they invoke (I.

own force {ui), but by the q3~

CSEL

4~29.

pov~r

4-13).

But such invocations (inuocfl.ti) vo'UJ.d have to have a certa.iJ:J

fOl"oce thel:!lselves:!, i:otDpelling the gods when sUI!nII.oned fa-cciti) by their o;,m nemes by di vim::r.s (t~. 11).

Even Jupiter himself ...." as

5uppos~dly

drag,g.l2:d dOT.m (tre.-etu:m.) by cr-.arms and spells (et Quae-nan:. • - '. auoc.(J.:d ~

I?

et

no~inuw terribili~ tre~~res1

the latte-r,. CS3L 4:11;. 27-176. 1). summoned 'pO'l.rer is the

livers

(4.

12)?

o!~e

. . . ; 5. 1 and 3 J esp.

.But hov is it

knO'W11

"that "the

'Who operates in the e-ntrails, or lungs and

The ~t ~ho aTe brothers to the sooths~rers, say

that at their incantations (acci tionibus) pretended eods .frequently slip in instead of: those s'l..lWtlOned (pro accS. tis) (ibid.).

it knoioln that

th~i"e

Or,. how is

is not one onl;,' who comes in place of' all who 8.re

If anyone doubts this, he can as-x the Egyptians .. Pel"sian:s . .

invoked:?

Indi&1s, Chaldeans t Artnenianr;, iLtld a.ll others 1

2

acquainted with the core

Hamilton Bryce and Hugh Ca.Jt:pbell, t~e.ns., "Arnoc.ius .. 11 AUF

6~h03-5~O.

ZEls~here Etruria is specially noted in the origination of divination and a.ugury (2. 62; 6. 18; 7. 26}. The Etrusenns, together ~ith the previously mentioned Psy11i and Marsi (2. 32) .. repr~sent vestern (Roman} expansions of the traditional eastern (Greek) liBts of ancient~ ~·sterious r~ces credited with o~cult knovledge and poller.

427 secret arts (:inter1oribus. . . . artibus) (4. 13). Spirits

The pas sages i ntroduc ed a.bove al.l show the pl ac e in magic and related practi.ees.

0

r sp i r1 ts

In addition .. the Magi .assert. that

they ha.'J"e prayers which can llin over certain povers and mP..ke access to heaven ea.sy for SQuls {ibid .• 2. 62; this is perhaps. aimilar t.o certain mystit: rites llith a similar

purpos~

referred to earlier" '2.

J3}.

O~acles,

divination, and astrology

Va-riou8 t:lasses of

fortune-teller~-au,gu.rs ..

dream. interp.rl!!'-

ters" soothsayers! 'PTophets" enthusiast5 (baruspices . _ . ~ coniec-

tore's harioli uates e:t • . • fanatic1, CSEL

4;16. 2-4)--are pit:tured

in

Adv. nat. 1. 21~ e.s extorting contributions :from. the devotees of these

arts ~ a liveli.n.ood threatened bY" the increase of Christianity.

'They

defend themselves as a part of fft.im.e-honoured rites of institutions

once sacred" (sacrorum. auondam uet.err1:m.i ritus, ibid., line 6) (ANF

6 ~L19) ,I

l,Tarious sources of' omens are

discussions =

pres~n.ted throughout P.rnobius ' So

the e,ky Or :points of spears (2. 67)" tlru..."lderbol ts or

veins of'sacrifices (2. 69), or their entr~ils,. lungs) or liver (~- l2}. In a passage vhieh eredi ts the

the meaning in the fall

or

tbunderbolts.

EtruSC6.Tl. ~d.

Tages ·,d th discovering

in tlle veins of stlcri-

fices,. Arnobius also makes Thell.tis, the- Eg{ptiEU1, the beginning of 1A

following chapter presents something of' a roll-call of

the clasaic oracles: (Trophon1us ?), Jupiter of Dodona t or Apollo, ""bethel' Deli an t Clarian" Did:t1lleM .. Philesinn. or Pythian (1. 26; ANF 6:~19, with n. 3; CSEL 4:11. 12-17! "iIith mg. re line 12L

Early Christian Viev knowledge of (the meaning of?) the motion of the st.ars and the ~al.c:ulation of nativities (ratio • . . g~nethliQ.c:tl" CSEL 4:104. 3) (2.

other than this" Arnobiu3 makes no

69).

slgnifi~ELnt re:ference to

s,$trol0eY" af'ter his having presented it as being,. i t true. one of s~veral

possible explan8.tiona

1

f:Jt the evils of' the world (l.

8).

Further,. Arnobius seems to lend some support to the idea tha.t divination/astrology have no logical ~onnect1on ~ith magicT

discussion concerning the Numa-Jupiter

~i~ode,.

In his

he questions the ap-

prop:rio,t.eness of Jupiter-appointed means whereby ,.hat be ha.s determined may be avert~d" and npass ava.y idl...'V through tht! force of these

rit.es" (5. 2 t AJ.W 6:490~ CSEL 4:119. 19-2!J). Magi~

and pagan re1ig1on 'l'he l-iagi are still at least partially religious personages for

.Arnobius. are

B

imil&r

Part

or

'C oncerns

2. 62,. cf. 2. 13).

~o~cerns

their art

the :fate of

:2

souls~

and

th~re

in na.t i V'e religions,. e. g • 10 of Etrut'i B:. (Adv Ce-rtai n

0

T

nat.

f thil! Roman rites of avers ion Yel'e obtai ned

by l(tml8. by ebaI'JDi ng JUPiter 11 dro,gging hi m down vi tb spell s ( 5. 1). ~d

the priests have introduced relies {rellqua.) eonnected with the Ma.sian arta (magonrm. cohaerentia disctplinig) into the :ee-cret la:l,ls or the

Bs.cr~d :t"ites CT. 2J, .. CSFL

.Ie. 257 . 9-11) ,3

Augury and omen-",.-o,tching (and

IBesides bl&m1ngthem on the Christiana. 2 .But they ean soften and soothe only the lesser powers 10 not th~ true God (ZT" 62).

3A large part o~ this section o~ book a~ven is de~oted to questioning t.he r&t.ionality of 'lfB.rioul3 aspectr; of the pagan rites. This would have some implication that they are in essence Buperst1tious (magieal) .. rather th8Jl religious J 'though this is never made explicit.

Later- Writers

fl29

averting) have-been regular parts of public service (e.g., 2. 67~ though Arnobius is here arguins that times hs.ve changed).

In 2. 12 11

Arnobiu5 refers not only to the practices of kingNuma and the super6titioua observances of Though Simon Magus had

blasted by

th~

~tiquity,

tru:st~d

but also to an arch-he:reti(:) Simon,

infuse- gods, his chariot bad been

mouth of Peter, naming

th~

name of Christ, and

h~

had

fa1.len from the &ir, abandoned by th.em in theiTterror . On the 'Whole, Arnobius' s attitude tova;rd the paga.n gods is

not clear-cut.

They

~

exist t 'but if' so, they 8.re beings

to the Supreme God, and so (e. g.

I

3. 2-1; 7. 2-3).

or I!vl1 spirits)

2

1

~ill

Su.bordinat~

not desire worship belonging to lbUn

Thus Amobius has Iittle to se.y about demns

the IJ'llssa..ge cltt!'d in the preceding paragraph (2:. 12)

'bei ng sOlllewba t unusual. Christian beliefs and

practic~s

Arnobius s~ems to include himself and other Christie.ns 3 among tho'S e vho us e 'the plate s (lMmlinae; -amuJ.ets?) ~old by the Psyll i .. Marsi, &nd othi!"rs (Adv. nat. 2. 32~ CSEL ~

1

Thl!;!re is)

however~

:14. 19-23).

a large ad hominem @"le:m.ent in these paIJ:;;ages.

2 ThuS , tor exnmple t the suppo s ed giant s' bon~:s found in di f fe-rent places are t.!tken il.S proof of the bette;retate of' lIl~rJ in ancient times (2. 75); there is no attempt to connect the.BI vi to the 0 ttsprin g of t.he :fallen a."l8c!ls whose souls becam.ethe de1nQr:Js in the 'theory of other ap-ologi,sts. (Su.ch B. connection was made by the \7l"iter of the Clementine :Recognitions [1. 29;, PC 1 :122313).) The approach of Arnobi US provides a. pa.rallel to the reconstruction, abo',e, of Africa.nus • s view of the offspring or the f6l.1en PJJ1.gels 8.S being only giantB (not demon.s) ~ 8. reC'ons tructlon based pe.r'tiallyoD :8 il~nc @ • 3 HWe "li.pparentlY in contrast to t1 you" in the preceding and following passage~, though here it. may be all "'We mortal, and injury-liable

h1..lmS.ns i l in generaL

Early

Chri~tia~

View

He is Q,'I.i!lre that Jesus was charged 'With being a magician

(spec:if'ically one who YOl"lted by means of names of angels ofmigbt

stolen i'rom Egyptian shrines> follo.ins a. religious system of' mote eountry s 1.

Ch..ri st worked vit'hout material means or 1n-

(:a.~tB.tion5 (1. 43, 4~)" by audible and intelligent words (1.

1 work 'Was benef'ici.al to

mtLP'J,

to shw 'them thE!' na.t1.U""e

0

display (1. 41 ).

t a true god, not to

Further,

his work

ooa. st

h imsel:f in

continued, his inherent

ma.gicians (1. ~6).

and augurS7 and

3

In

S'WD ~

empty

pO'loier vas

to others (1. 50,. 52); 2 he even n.O'iI ap-

pears t·o righteous men .and his name causes evil spirits to sCDth5~ers

45) .. his

:not hurtful (1. 4t). to eonyincemen and

sueh that he could g1 V"~ po'iorer

.

re-

~3), but be denies the- charge) atte-mptillg to refute

i t by several arguments.

lences

So

~strates

the

~ftorts

fl~e"si-

of arrogant

ATrtobius holds that the:r-e is Unothing

magical, nothing h'l.11Jl.8n, nothing deceptive (praestigioswr.) or c:ra.i'ty (subdolumJ, nothing of .fraud in Christ II (1. 53). of the acco'U.'1ts of his deeds. is t.hat tbe such a religion in gO short .a time (1.

",hol~

The ultil:nate proof

....· orld vas filled ",ith

55).

La-etanti u.s

Lactnntius, the sometiiD(! student of Arnobius, exhibi'ts 'the

lArnobiusts knowledge of the Gospel miracles is ~athe1" broad (note t.h~ various items in 1. ~5-47]1 50; an.d 2 ~ 11) )bu"t in 1. J.6 he 1neludes so~e items that seem to be garbled accounts of the Da~r of Peotecos't and the transfiguration .. unless t.hey come frOttl othervl.sE'! unknow. apocryphal I!l.ccounts. 2Magicians cannot really effect~ by the aid of their gods~ what unlearned (rustic:i s) Christians have ort~n 8;.(:complished by as 1mple cO!llIll&nd {i 'IlSS i onibU!3 • • • nudis) (1. 52 t CSEL 4; 36.5-7 ).

3A great example of' thill poyer 1las the conf'Tontation between Simon Magus and Pete~ ~itnessed by the Romfins (2. 12).

Later Writers sene~al attitude- of

toward magie;

b31

Christians (a.nd many others) 01' thefLtlcient 'World

sorcerers (uenefici) are to be classed with various

groupings of lowest types (Div. 1nst. 5. 1. 2--sac~ilegious and

traitors; 5. 19 C20J. 30--gladiators t robbers,

thieve5~

poisoners t

harlots; 6. 2. lO--assQssin, adulterer, parricide}.l Discussions of

magi~

Lacta.ntius .. in def"ending Christls works) distinguishes them

from the things worked by

magic al tri~ks [nraestigiis ~agicis),

II

vhich display nothing true and sUbstantial," the nut of ma.gic·· {~ reagica} haYing skill of (lva.il only for l'deceiving tbe eyes" (ad circum.'ScribendoE oculos) (Div. ins.t. ~. 1.5.

n. 1]; CS'EL 19 =330. 2.. 3314.. 1 .. 2 J .2

q ~ 19; AlY'? 7 :115, and 116 [with Or.

th~ contl"iC.ry ..

Chri st -."Orked by

(apparently it) contrast to the elaborate incantations and lists ef

The Jells .. beside!3 callieg these the ",,"orks of a magician (magum s

4.

15. 1), attr1 buted thetD to demoni&eal power (l~. 15. l2).

The e.sso-

cie;tion of these ideas is natural ~ the a.rt and po",er of the Magi

~efeTences ar~ given !roc the Latin text; where the cha.pter numbers dif'fer in the English version (Div. inst. 2 and la.ter chapters of 5. and in the Epitome), these appear in the first refnwn. ed .. Samuel Brandt~ pnrt 2 .. f"as~icle 1 : Libri de opHLicio d~i et de ira. r ~ like &J.l lan-

gu.a.ge (s) 'II were essentiuly 10 "naturfl.lly, n correct as the designation of

the things designated.

1 2

2

.

Origen bimse1f called i t the Stoic vie'W, in contrast to the

Epicurean and

Ari5tot~lian

(C.C. 1. 24. K. 1;

7~.

1

10-15. 1).

The other lathe!':!;: do notrea.:lly sp~a.k to such a question,. but in general!, Beem closer to the OrigeniBtic, n a.t ural , theory, tban to the Tatianic conGpira.~y theory. ~ d-evil9..tions fro~ this position \i'Ould probably bav4! be-en 1.0 the direetion of a more Aristoteli.an, arbit,rary-s)"l%lbolizing-1n-general view J than t-mtard the mor~ specifiC'!, Gpec:i&1-daemonie-sign-S,ystem vit!V of To,tian.

Attitudes tovard Magic

Rela.tion to Their Belief Systems Spiritual realm The fathers fairly uniformly view the spiritu.a.l realm as sani~ed

Ol"-

in a sort or hierarcny of three basic levels, but vith several

variations at the middle leveL

At the top is God, the Creator and

Lord of all else" in.comparablY greatC!!r int
po~er

and/or

spe~ial int~rests

or areas of concern or

responsibility; this typology applies in general to both the good and the evil ranks.

The nature and the extent of the variations fL.t. this

level are capable of' numerous variations.. to multiply them, and to

~xpand the~

dOlm to 'the 1I1s:teria,1 r-e-a.lm.

The Gnostic groupe tended

into a continuum runnipg from God

The northodox t' vri ters tended to set!' a

sharp g9.p On @-e.ch aideo! 'this level.

Within the ·'orthodox H grO'L."P!

Origen speculat.ed the- most. about the extent and cause of the varia.t.ions,

lTh@ dat!mons were frequently identified as the souls or t.h~ gi.8nts, the offspring of th~ fallen angels and hUltlBJJ :femal.es. The distinction of t~!"minology was not a.lways conaistent-ly mainte.in~d, however, eve-n by thoee 'Who explicitly presente-d this view; so[!]etim~s the fallen angels. 'Were also called daemons.

Early Christian Viev but still ma.n~

maintainedth~

gaps separating the angels trom God and from

1

The hu:rna.n l;ipirit, \(hile on a lower

than the angels s at

1eve~

least at. the present time. is not subordinated to them. but bas direct ~!3ponsibility to

God,

and

the possibility of M!"ect communication with

' 2 Hl.tD. Thus.. though the angels and de1:lcms "ii'cre higher than man in terms o:fthe HspirituaJ." nature

or

their existence .. they were not gve:r them in

terms of po...· el' ororgani z;a t i onal structure.

They c tlul d ha.ve lim tee

cont a.c ts vi th ma:n. but only as penni. t te d or direete d by God.

Magi c:

could 'thus be viewed (as it was e~licitly 'by O.rigen)3 as a breaking of the divine order 'by

e.tt~mpt8

lo"'~r

( us uall.y the demons) tor personal,. trequen t ly

U

level

So pi :z-i.t!3

t his-\lor1d"-ly., ends.

to control, or enlist the aid of, the

Such acts were also usually regarded as being

the result of' deception bj' the demons; they a:::"e Actually the ones in contrcl~ despit~

the beliefs

~r

the practitioners&

Ma.terial realm

Insofar as magical or oomparable

proeedur~~

were

vie~ed

as

~But he tended to narrow th(! intel"oal gap between the 1'gQod" and the I!!:vil engels., :regarding the angels fl..S only re1.at1 vel)' less guilty tban the demons &t the time or the prima€'1fal rebellion (De pl". 1. praef. 6; 1.. T. 2-3, 5; 1. 8. 1, 4 L t hi S

G~'stem.st

e.g . ., Laetantius (Div. inst. 2 .. 10-11", 15-17). s ta t us was Son 01'1 gi mu. ~ause of' the ang~l i c ~ 1. e., diabol i c: a.nd :2 In some

demonic s jealousy and rebellion.

3Note C,C. 5. 5 (compare

also the discusaion in the preceding chapter of' th~ helpfUl, but limited", intermediaIJo functions of' angels in relation to prAyer and other aspects of hl..lllW.n li:fe: and vorship). p

At t i tudes toward Magic

havi rig e.ny Teali ty (apart "from l'rauduhmt proc edure-s ), they were

usually attributed to sympathetic

principles~

This principle vaSt or

course, not viewed as restricted to the realm. of 1!:Iatter, but 'the vis-

ible {and less religiously suspect.}

~xamp~eg

of it come froln this

real~.

Physics Some- prime exwnpl4!s of this principle of s:nl:lpathy are t.he

I:tl&g-

netic stone; 8ZDber 8lId chaff,. and SQ~ relat-ed items (sta.tic electri le-aders of religious groups .. both pagan

&rid hel"eticB.1.; but. auch op#;!!rations \roe-roe p:rf!'sented as proof' or the real culpa.bility and error of

persons or doctrines associated "rith

th~

them.

A:fricanus ,inaofo.:r a.s

h~

speaks explici t1.y of magic, seems to

share such e. general viewpoint. ~ but he doe's notrege.1"dhis prescrip-

tions as falling into these knowledg~~

or handy

catego:ri~s.

t~i~k8, orev~n

There is nothing cl"i.l!d nal or lov

triotic advice.

SQllI,e of" the

They fl..re ue.eful

pra~tical

valuable tactical procedures.

~ las e

here". only good pract ic al. ~ pa-

procl!dur~:s

:Iliight "be rega.rded as a bit

ribald". or subj ec t to mi suse ~ but shoul d a.n author be blem.ed to"!' t.ha.t?

His Christian colle6.gue-s \ir"Quld have ob.'ected to this type of mtl.t.eria.l~

but :from a Christian v.iewpoint; from a

6e~u1.iLr

find/or Ii ter-

ELry 'Vievpoint ,M'ricanus' s presenta.tions were re:latively mild "by the

standards of that (or- almost any other} age. m~dica.l jokes~

nature of

mu~h

of the

m6teria1~

ConsiderIng the semi-

only the excretion

pra~tical

and the horse-theft disguis(ts, are :really at issuE!' it.! stich a

discussion. Ftir:lctionB.1 values

Whl!'l.tever funct.ions .ma.gic" including divination, 2IlAY ha.ve perfomed in the 50ciaJ. e)'at.ems (pags.nistn., Gnostic1sm~ etc.) which the

early Christie.n writers attacked--guidance in ambiguous situations, l"einforcer:IJent of resolve in t.hreaten1ng situations. 'help in si tUB.t.iom~

1460

Conc lusion :

Af'ric anus in Ear.ly Chri stian ity

of' "help lessn ess .. " reass uranc e that. every thing poe.s ible had been done in si tuati one of I!lctul!Ll Or poten tial loss? --vou ld have been met ill

the-ir own conte xt by Chris t and/o l' the churc h.

Thus magic

'Il&S

not

peede d (and/ or TWas; attac ked or reject~d as pe.nd ering to eV"'il dc-si res).

Those who we-re "I!'nanared n

by' the be-re sies which

af't.er wards r~tu:rned to the chur~h did

So

used mtl.gic and '1100

becau se the "mag ical dis-

plays " we:t"~ not .reall y funct ional f'rom the persp ectiv e 01" their 'WOrld viev.

In sOllie cases they were actua lly "dysf uncti onal .. U servi ng only

to lead thOSe

"ensnared'~

into .situa tions . of' deepe r conf lict, espec ially in relat ion to their syste m of ltIoral. vaJ.u es. 2 Af'Ti Ne",.. Testmnent Apocrypha.

Preieendanz,

KArl.

papyri.

Papyri Graecae~agicae: Die Griechischen Za~ber :2 vols . Le1pz i g and Berlin: B. G. Teubner, 1928- 31.

Routh,. It-fa:rtinus Josephus... Reliqui,~e sacrae ~ si.. . e , El.Uc:toTum fere ja.m perdit.wn secundi tertiique saeculi -post Christwn natwr,; quae supersunt. Editio <era. 5 vols. Oxf'ord: E Typographeo

Academico,

1646-~8.

A Select LibrB.l'Y of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fat.hers of" the ChrIstian Church. [1st ser.J Edited by Pbilip Schaff. 1~ vols. J(~v York; The Christian Litera.ture Company t 18.86-90, r'E!:print ed. Grand Rap i ds: Wm. B. Eerdmwl Ii Publ i shing Company, 1956.

A 6eleet Library of th!!' Nicene and Post-Nicene Fa.ther-s of' the Christian Church. 2d ser. Edited 'by Philip Scha.ff and Henry Wace. 14 vole::. Ne...,. York ~ The Christian Li terature Company, 18901900; reprint ed. t GraJ:ld. Rapids; WIn. B. Eerdrt1.Qns Pub1iQ.hil:Jg

Company ~ 19)5-57+

CEarly volumes add,. Collection d1rigee par H. de Lubac et J. Danielou.1 Paris: Editions du Cerf .. 19~a-.

Source-s chretlennes.

I

A.:1e i ent and

t·~ed i

eval Text 8

Indi vidua.l Authors and Texts

Ae1ian.

On the

Charact~ristic5

SC'holfield.

o-C Anim61s.

Translated bY' A. F.

The web Clil.,ssical Library.

Harvard Univ~!"sitY' Press, 1958-59; 1958-59. .

3 vol$.

LDndon~

C'lI.lI'Ibridge:

'W111i8lll Heinems.no t

[Aeli:a.n.) Cll!Ludii Aeliani de natura. ani:maliwn libri XVII. Edit~d by Rudolph Herr:her. Bl'bliothec-a SCTiptor'll:tl Graecorum ~t Romancrwn Teubner1ana. Leipz.ig: B. G. Teubner, 186J~. Aen~ae

Tactic! de obsidione tolersnda commenta~ius. Edited by Richardus Schoene. Bib1.iotheca Scriptorum Graeco!'um et Romanorum Tl!!ubne:r-iana. Leipz.ig = B. G. Teubner ~ 1911.

Aeneas Tacticus, Asclepiodotus~ Onasander. Translated by The Illincis Greek Club. The Loeb Classical Library. Cam"bridge ~ Harvard Uni vers1 ty Pre 6,5 t 2962; London:Wm. He:1nemano t 1962. A!1(EIOY rrOhIOPKHTlKA:

Aeneas

on Sei ge craf't .

Edi ted and t rMslat.ed

by I..W. Hunter; revised by S. A. Hanford. Pr~s5, 1927. Agnus ea.stus:

Ox'ford; Clarendon

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Edited with introduction, notes~ and glossary The English Language- lnstitute in the University 01" Upsala= Essays and Studiel;l on Erlglish laog'Jage and Li terat\U'i'!", edited bj' S. B. l.ilJ egren ~ nO. 6. Upsala: A" -B.

Manu~eript5.

by C'rOsta Brodin.

Lund@quistska Bokha.nd~ln'l 1950; Copenhagen: Ejn&r Munk!3gaard.!O 1950; CBJnb:ridge ~ Har.·ard Un1vers i t;)r Pres s t 1950. The Apostolic :F'B.thers. A Revised Text. with Introduction. Notes t Dissertations 8.;."ld Translations b:r J. B. Lightfoot. 2 parts in 5 vols. 'London and New Yor:k~ Mac-mIlan and Co ... 1889-90.

The Apostolic Fathers.

Tre.nslated by J. B. Light.foot.

Edit~d

and

compl et ed by J. R. Ha.:rtller. London = MacmillM and Company 1891; reprint ed+ Grand Rapids: :BeJter Book Hou8e t 1956.

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The Aposto11c Fathers. Translated 'by Francis X. Gli:n:ro, Joseph t-L"';F. Marique. and Gera.ld G+ Walsh. The Fathers of the Churcb .. a Ne,,' Tra.nsl e.ti on, editori.e.l di rector ~ Lud.vig Schopp t: val. 1 J . New York: CIMA Publishing Co., 1947.

[The Apostolic Fathers.J The D1dac:ne,the Epistle of Bfl.l"nabas t t.he Ey i s t.les and the Mtu"t.yrdom oj' St. Pol)rcarp, the Fragments 0 f Po.pias. the Epist.le- to Diognetus. Trans.lated by Ja:me-s A. Kl~ist. Ancient Christian Write:r-s: The tJorks of the Father5 in Translatioo t ~dited by Johannes Quasten and Joseph C.

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Westminster, Md.: Nevman

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The Apostolic Fa.thers r A New Translation and COt!lmentary. Edited 'by Robert M. Grant. 6 '101 s. Nev York Cb ef'o:re 1966J and CB.I!lden ~ N • J _ 1 Thomas }le-1s on &: Sons, 1961; -68 .

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Early Christian doctrines

Early Christian Fathers

Early Christian Creeds

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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

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A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature

Julius Africanus and the early Christian view of magic

Christian Dior: The Magic of Fashion

Christian Dior: The Magic of Fashion

Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature

Early Christian Doctrines

Early Christian doctrines

Early Christian Fathers

Early Christian Creeds

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The Apocryphal Acts of Peter: Magic, Miracles and Gnosticism (Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha)

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