CHAPTER XXIII

THE FUSION OF PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT IN THE FOURTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES
Need of qualifying the patristic attitude — Plan of this chapter — Julius Firmicus Maternus — Date of the Mathesis — Are the attitudes in Firmicus' two works incompatible? — De errore is not unfavorable to astrology — Attitude of both works to the emperors — Religious attitude of the Mathesis — An astrologer's prayer — Christian objections to as- trology met — Astrology proved experimentally — Information to be gained from the third and fourth books — Religion and magic; exorcists — Divination — Magic as a branch of learning — Interest in science — Diseases in antiquity — Place of Firmicus in the history of astrology — Libanius accused of magic — Declamation against a magician — Faith of Libanius in divination — Magic and astrology in Pseudo-Quintilian dec- lamations— Fusion of Christianity and paganism in Synesius of Cyrene — His career — His interest in science — Belief in occult sympathy be- tween natural objects — Synesius on divination and astrology — Synesius as an alchemist — Macrobius on number, dreams, and stars — Martianus Capella — Absence of astrology — Orders of spirits — The Celestial Hierarchy of Dionysius the Areopagite.
In reading the writings of the Christian fathers one is Need of impressed by the fact that their tone is almost invariably Jj^^^"y*"S that of the preacher. In estimating therefore the practical patristic effect of their utterances it is well to remember that these are counsels of perfection which were probably often not realized even by those who gave utterance to them. This is not to accuse the fathers of being pharisaical, but to sug- gest that as both clerics and apologists they were profession- ally bound to take up an irreproachable position morally and dogmatically. Basil has shown us that the audience who listened to his sermons were still under the spell of Roman amusements, dice, theater, and arena. And the average lay Christian mind was probably more easy-going in its attitude toward magic and superstition than Augustine. Not merely
523
524 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
laymen, moreover, but Christian clergy and apologists of the declining Roman Empire might still hold to divination and astrology. It was a time, as has often been remarked, of religious syncretism, of fusion of pagan and Christian thought, when it is not always easy to tell whether the author of an extant writing is Christian or Neo-Platonist or both. Mr. Gwatkin states that "the surface thought" of Con- stantine's time, "Christian as well as heathen, tended to a vague monotheism which looked on Christ and the sun as almost equally good symbols of the Supreme." ^ Others believed that astrology was the truth back of all religions.^
In this chapter we shall therefore consider some writers of the fourth and fifth century who attest the existence of magic and astrology then, the influence of paganism on Christianity and of Christianity on paganism, and the fu- sion of Neo-Platonism, Christianity, and astrological the- ory. This, indeed, we have already done to some extent, as our previous chapters on Neo-Platonism and on the Chris- tian fathers have carried us more or less into those cen- turies. But now as an offset to Augustine we take up other writers who have not yet been treated : Firmicus, the Latin Christian apologist and the astrologer of the mid- fourth century; Libanius, the Greek sophist of the same century; Macrobius and Synesius, Neo-Platonists writing respectively in Latin and Greek at the beginning of the fifth century, and of whom one was a Christian bishop; and probably in the same century the discussion of spirits by Martianus Ca- pella in Latin and the Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in Greek. Except for Libanius and Synesius, these authors were very influential in medieval Latin learning and might serve as well for an introduction to our following book on The Early Middle Ages as for a conclusion to this.
^Cambridge Medieval History, in astrology at this period, since
I^ g. F. Boll, Heidelherger Akad. Sitsb.,
''The Greek work, Hermippus 1912, No. 18, has shown it to be a
or Concerning Astrology, how- fourteenth century work of John
ever, can no longer be regarded Katrarios, who makes use of a
as an example of Christian belief Greek translation of Albumasar.
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 525
Julius Firmlcus Maternus ^ flourished during the reigns Julius of Constantine the Great and his sons. Sicily was his native Maternus land; he was of senatorial rank and very well educated for his time, showing interest in natural philosophy, literature, and rhetoric. Two works are extant under his name : one. On the Error of Profane Religions,^ is addressed to Con- stantius and Constans, 340-350 A. D., and urges them to eradicate pagan cults. The other, Mathesis,^ is a work of astrology written at the request of a similarly cultured friend, Lollianus or Mavortius, who is spoken of in the preface as ordinario considi designato,'^ an office which we know that he held in 355 A. D. The writing of two such works by one man has long given critics pause, and is a splendid warning against taking anything for granted in our study of the past. Not long ago the general opinion was that there must have been two different authors by the name of Firmicus. This very unlikely theory has now been universally abandoned, as unmistakable similarities in style and wording have been noted in the two works. But it is still maintained that "there is no question but that he was a pagan when he wrote his astrological book." ^ This in- volves two considerations, whether the attitude expressed in
* For bibliography see F. Boll's noted. Earlier editions, which I
"Firmicus" in PW. It does not used for the later books before
include my article written subse- 1913, are the editio princeps,
quently on "A Roman Astrologer Julius Firmicus de nativitatibus,
as a Historical Source : Julius . . , Impressum Venetiis per Sy-
Firmicus Maternus," in Classical monem papienscm dictum bivi-
Pkilology, VIII, No. 4, pp. 415- laqua, 1497 die 13 lunii, cxv
35, October, 1913. For bibliog- fols. ; the Aldine edition of 1499
raphy see also Kroll et Skutsch, containing apparent interpolations,
II, xxxiv. Julii Firmici Astronomicorum
'The edition of De errore pro- libri octo integri et emendati ex
fanarum religionum by K. Ziegler, Scythicis oris ad nos niiper al-
Leipzig, 1907, is more critical than lati . . ."; and the Basel editions
that in Migne, PL. of 1533 and 1551 by M. Pruckner
^ lulii Firmici Materni Mathe- which reproduce the Aldine text.
seos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll et See Kroll et Skutsch, II, xxxiii,
F. Skutsch, Fasciculus prior for another reproduction of the
libros IV prior es et quinti Aldine text, printed in 1503, and
prooemium continens, Leipzig, p. xxviii for a partial edition of
1897; Fasciculus alter libros IV books 3-5 of the Mathesis in 1488
posteriores cum praefatione et and 1494 in Opus Astrolabii
indicibus continens, 1913. My plani ... a lohanne Angeli.
references will be by page and * Kroll et Skutsch, I, 3, 27.
line to this text, unless otherwise * Boll in PW, VI, 2365.
526 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
the two works Is really incompatible and whether the Ma- thesis was written before or after the De err ore.
Mommsen contended that "it is beyond doubt" * that the Mathesis was written between 334 and 337 A. D., relying chiefly upon several apparent mentions of Constantine the Great as still living. The names, Constantine and Constan- tius are frequently confused in the sources, however,^ and even while the words, "Constantinuni maximum principem et huius invictissimos liheros, domines et Caesares nostras," seem to refer unmistakably to Constantine, it must be re- membered that they occur in a prayer to the planets and to the supreme God that Constantine and his children may "rule over our posterity and the posterity of our posterity through infinite succession of ages." As this is simply equivalent to expressing a hope that the dynasty may never become extinct, it is scarcely proof positive that Constantine the Great was still living when Firmicus published his book. On the other hand, to maintain the early date Mommsen was forced to treat the mention of Lollianus as ordinario con- suli designato as mere prophetic flattery or as an appoint- ment held up by Constantius for eighteen years. We know that Firmicus addressed the De errore to Constantius and Constans, probably between 345 and 350; we know that Lollianus was city prefect of Rome in 342, consid ordinarius in 355, and praetorian prefect in the following year; whereas we know nothing certainly of either of them before 337. Furthermore Firmicus explicitly states that the writing of the Mathesis has been long delayed,^ and when the promise to compose it was first made, it is evident that neither he nor Lollianus was a young man. Lollianus was already consularis of Campania and according to inscriptions had
^Hermes, XXIX, 468-72. The Constantini Ulius," might as well
treatise could not have been com- be rendered, "Constantius, son_ of
posed before 334 since Firmicus Constantine," as "Constantine,
(I, 13, 23) refers to an eclipse in son of Constantius."
the consulship of Optatus and M, i, 3, "Olim tibi hos libellos,
Paulinus which occurred in that Mavorti decus nostrum, me dica-
year. turum esse promiseram verum diu
' For instance, at I, 37, 25, "Con- me inconstantia verecundiae retar-
stantinus scilicet maximus divi davit."
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 527
previously held a number of other offices ; while still in this position Lollianus had frequently to spur his friend on to the task which Firmicus as frequently "gave up in despair." Then Lollianus became Count of all the Orient and con- tinued his importunities. Finally, after Lollianus has be- come proconsul and ordinary consul elect, Firmicus com- pletes the work and presents it to him. Meanwhile Firmicus himself — who had formerly "resisted with un- bending confidence and firmness" factious and wicked and avaricious men, "who from fear of law-suits seemed ter- rible to the unfortunate"; and who "with liberal mind, de- spising forensic gains, to men in trouble . . . displayed a pure and faithful defense in the courts of law," by which upright conduct he incurred much enmity and danger ; ^ — has retired from the sordid sphere of law courts and forum to spend his leisure with the divine men of old of Egypt and Babylon and to purify his spirit by contemplation of the everlasting stars and of the God who works through them. Yet we are asked to believe — if we accept a date be- fore 337 for the Mathesis — not merely that he writes a vehement invective against "profane religions" a decade later, but also that twenty years after Lollianus is still a vigorous administrator.^ It is possible, but seems unlikely.
Certainly the date of the Mathesis should be determined Are the without any assumption as to what Firmicus' religion was ^ttitudes when he wrote it. For, if we regard his attitudes in Mathe- micus'two sis and De errore as incompatible, it will be as difficult to jncom- explain how he could write the De errore after having com- patible? posed the Mathesis as vice versa. After the steadfast af- firmation of astrological principles in the Mathesis it is no easier to explain the fierce spirit of intolerance toward pa- ganism in the De errore than it is after the mention of Christ in the De errore to explain the omission of that name in the Mathesis. But are the two works really incompatible ? My answer is, No. The divergences are such as may be ex-
* I, 195-6. praefectus praetorio, vir sublimis
* Ammianus Marcellinus, XVI, constantiae, crimen acri inquis- 8, 5, "iubetur Mavortius, tunc itione spectari."
528
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
plained by the different character of the two works and the different circumstances under which they were written. De errore is an impassioned polemic very possibly delivered as an oration before the emperors; Mathesis is a learned compilation on a pseudo-scientific subject composed at lei- sure for a friend with the help of previous treatises on the subject. Why should Firmicus mention Christ in the Ma- thesis? Does Boethius, after nearly two centuries more of Christian growth and although he wrote a work on the Trinity, mention Christ in The Consolation of Philosophy? Some apparent petty inconsistencies there may be between Firmicus' two works, but if we accept a host of contradic- tions in Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, why balk at some inconsistency in a writer who urges Con- stantine's children against profane cults? On the other hand, there are some striking correspondences between the De errore and Mathesis.
It is noteworthy in the first place that in the De errore Firmicus does not attack astrology. But if he had been con- verted to Christianity since writing the Mathesis and had abandoned the astrological doctrine there expounded, would he have failed to attack the error of that art like Augustine who testified that he had once believed in nativities? It is therefore obvious that Firmicus does not regard astrology as an error even at the time when he is penning the De errore as a Christian apologist. Moreover, his view of nature in the De errore is quite in accord with that of the astrologer, and he manifests the respect for natural science or physica ratio which one would expect from the author of the Ma- thesis. Thus we find him criticizing certain pagan cults as sharply for their incorrect physical notions as he does others for travestying Christian mysteries. In its opening chapters certain oriental religions are criticized for exalting each some one of the four elements above the others, and for neglecting that superior control of the world of terrestrial nature in which both Christian and astrologer confided. An- other argument against pagan worships is that they include
XXIII
PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
529
human and immoral elements which cannot be explained as based upon natural law ^ and the rule of that supreme God or "God the fabricator," "who composed all things by the orderly method of divine workmanship," — phrases which, as Ziegler has shown,^ occur both in the De errore and Ma- thesis. Furthermore, in the De errore Firmicus' allusions to the planets, which include a representation of the Sun making a reproachful address to certain pagans,^ indicate that he regarded the stars as of immense importance in the administration of the universe.
It is also worth remarking that in both works Firmicus sets the emperors above the rest of mankind and closely as- sociates them with the celestial bodies and "the supreme God." If in Mathesis he prays for the perpetuation of the line of Constantine and forbids astrologers to make predic- tions concerning the emperor on the ground that his fate is not subject to the stars but directly to the supreme God, "and inasmuch as the whole surface of the earth is subject to the emperor, he too is reckoned in the number of those gods whom the principal divinity has established to perform and preserve all things":'* — if he says this in Mathesis, in De errore he repeatedly addresses the emperors as "most holy" ^ and in one passage says, "You now, O Constantius and Constans, most holy emperors, and the virtue of your ven- erated faith must be implored. It is erected above men and, separated from earthly frailty, joins in alliance with things celestial and in all its acts so far as it can follows the will of the supreme God. . . . Your felicity is joined with God's virtue, with Christ fighting at your side you have triumphed on behalf of human safety." ^
If the author of De errore is not unfavorable to astrology the author of the Mathesis is strongly inclined towards mon-
^ Ziegler, p. 7, "Physica ratio quam dicis, alio genere celetur" ; p. 9, "quod dicant physica ratione conpositum."
'Ziegler, p. 5.
" Ziegler, p. 23.
*Kroll et Skutsch, I, 86, 12-21.
'Ziegler, pp. 15,. 3.8, 39, 64, 67, 81, 82, "sacratissimi imperatores"; pp. 31, 40, "sacrosancti principes"; p. 65. "sanctarum aurium vestra- rum."
•Ziegler, pp. 53-4.
Attitude of both works to the em- perors.
Religious attitude of the Mathesis.
530 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
otheism and decidedly religious. He indignantly repels the accusation that astrology, which teaches that "all our acts are arranged by the divine courses of the stars," draws men away "from the cult of the gods and of religions." "We cause the gods to be feared and worshiped, we demon- strate their might and majesty." ^ The passage just quoted and some others are suggestive of polytheism, and Firmicus frequently speaks of the planets as "gods." Probably in this he is reproducing the phraseology and reflecting the at- titude of the astrological works which he uses as his au- thorities and which belong to the period of the pagan past. His apotelesmata, too, or predictions of nativities for various horoscopes, give little or no indication of being especially adapted to a Christian society, although in some other re- spects they fit his own age.^ But while the work contains a considerable residue of paganism, its prevailing conception of deity is one supreme God, the rector of the planets, "who composed all things by the arrangement of everlasting law," ^ and who made man the microcosm from the four elements.* He is prayed to thus :
"But lest my words be bereft of divine aid and the envy of some hateful man impugn them by hostile attacks, who- ever thou art, God, who continuest day after day the course of the heavens in rapid rotation, who perpetuatest the mobile agitation of ocean's tides, who strengthenest earth's solidity in the immovable strength of its foundations, who re freshest with night's sleep the toil of our earthly bodies, who when our strength is renewed returnest the grace of sweetest light, who stirrest all the substance of thy work by the salutary breath of the winds, who pourest forth the waves of streams and fountains in tireless force, who revolvest the varied seasons by sure periods of days : sole Governor and Prince of all, sole Emperor and Lord, whom all the celestial forces
* Kroll et Skutsch, I, 17-18. ^ I, 16, 20, "Summo illi ac rec-
^ See my "A Roman Astrologer tori dec, qui omnia perpetua
as a Historical Source," Classical legis dispositione composuit. . . ,"
Philology, VIII, 415-35, especially *I, 16, 14; I, 57, 2; I, 90, 1 1, to
p. 421. 91, ID.
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 531
serve, whose will is the substance of perfect work, by whose faultless laws all nature is forever adorned and regulated; thou Father alike and Mother of every thing, thou bound to thyself, Father and Son, by one bond of relationship; to Thee we extend suppliant hands, Thee with trembling sup- plication we venerate ; grant us grace to attempt the explana- tion of the courses of thy stars ; thine is the power that some- how impels us to that interpretation. With a mind pure and separated from all earthly thoughts and purged from every stain of sin we have written these books for thy Romans." ^ Doubtless these words might have been written by a Neo- Platonist or a pagan, but it also seems likely that they were penned by a Christian astrologer.
Firmicus provides not only for divine government of Christian the universe and creation of the world and man, but also to"'as-'°"^ for prayer to God and for human free will,^ since by the di- trology vinity of the soul we are able to resist in some measure the decrees of the stars. He also holds that human laws and moral standards are not rendered of no avail by the force of the stars but are very useful to the soul in its struggle by the power of the divine mind against the vices of the body.^ Indeed, not only is the astrologer himself urged at consider- able length to lead a pure, upright, and unselfish life, but "to show the right way of living to sinful men, so that, reformed by your teaching, they may be freed from the errors of their past life." * The human soul is also immortal, a spark of that same divine mind which through the stars exerts its influence upon terrestrial bodies.^ All this may be consis- tent or not both with itself and with the art of astrology, but it meets the chief objections that Christians might make and had made to the art.
These and other objections to the art of nativities are Astrology the theme to which the first of the eight books of the Ma- P^^o^^^
* expen-
iT r. o r . r 1 ■ r mentally.
I, 280, 2-28. for the successful continuance of
* Besides the prayer just quoted, the dynasty of Constantine. see I, 18, 10-13. See also the long * I, 18, 25-9. prayer at the end of the first book *I, 85-89 (Book II, chapter 30). to the planets and supreme God * I, 17, 2-23.
532
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Informa- tion to be gained from the third and fourth books.
thesis is devoted. Firmicus points out that some of the other objections to astrology do not correctly state the doctrines of that art; others he admits are ingenious arguments which sound well on paper but he insists that if the opponents of astrology, instead of protesting that the influence of the stars at a given instant is incalculable, would put the matter to the test experimentally,^ they would soon be convinced of the truth of astrologers' predictions, although he grants that unskilful astrologers sometimes give wrong responses. But he insists that persons who have not tested astrology experi- mentally are unfit to pass upon its merits.^ He affirms that the human spirit which has discovered so many other sci- ences and to which so much of divinity and religion has been revealed is capable also of casting horoscopes, and that as- trological prediction is a relatively easy task compared to the mapping out of the whole heavens and courses of the stars which the mathematici have already performed so suc- cessfully.^ And he does not see why anyone persists in denying the power of fate in human affairs when all about him he can see the innocent suffering and the guilty escap- ing; the best men such as Socrates, Plato, and Pythagoras meeting an ill fate ; and unprincipled persons like Alcibiades and Sulla prospering.*
The remaining seven books of the Mathesis are given over to the art of horoscope casting. The second book con- sists chiefly of preliminary directions, but the others state what men will be bom under various constellations. Of these the last four books are extant only in manuscripts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, while the first four are found in manuscripts going back to the eleventh century. Moreover, although books five to eight cover more pages than books three and four, they do not supply so many de- tails or so satisfactory a picture of human society in their predictions. These divergences, which are mainly ones of omission, do not invalidate the results which we gain from
* I, 10, 3-. •I, 11,7".
'Book I, Chapter 4 (I, ii-iS). *Book I, Chapter 7 (I, 19-30).
xxiii PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 533
an analysis of the third and fourth books, but do raise the question whether the later books, especially the fifth and sixth, are genuine. In them the wording becomes vaguer, little knowledge is shown of conditions at the time that Fir- micus wrote, the predictions are more sensational and rhetori- cal. Only the latter part of the eighth book carries the con- viction of reality that books three and four do. These two books are both independent units and through their predic- tions of the future supply a general picture of human so- ciety, presumably that of Firmicus' own time or not long before. One naturally assumes that those matters to which Firmicus devotes most space and emphasis are the promi- nent features of his age. Let us see what his picture is of religion, divination, the occult science and magic, natural science and medicine.^
To religion Firmicus gives less space than to politics. Religion There are no clear references to Christianity, but there are i^^gic; few allusions to any particular cults. Firmicus, however, exorcists indicates the existence of many cults, speaking five times of the heads of religions, and characterizing men as "those who regard all religions and gods with a certain trepidation," "those devoted to certain religions," "those who cherish the greatest religions," and so on. Temples,^ priests, and div- ination ^ are the three features of religion that he mentions most. Magic and religion are closely associated in his pre- dictions, for instance, "temple priests ever famed in magic lore." Sacred or religious literatures and persons devoted to them are mentioned thrice, while in a fourth passage we
** For a fuller exposition of this marking that H. O. Taylor, The
quantitative method of source- Classical Heritage, 1901, p. 80,
analysis and the results obtained notes that Synesius about 400
thereby see Thorndike (1913), pp. A. D. speaks of the Christian
415-35. churches at Constantinople as
' Temple-robbers, 5 ; servile or "temples." ignoble employ in temples, 5; ^ Chief priests, 5; priests, 9; of
spending one's time in temples, provinces, i ; priestess, i ; priests
4 ;_ builders of temples, 3; bene- of Cybele (archigalli), 3; Asi-
ficiaries of temples, 3 ; temple archae, 1 ; priest of some great
guards, 2; neocori, 3; and so on, goddess, i; illicit rites, i. There
making 35 references to temples are 27 passages concerning divina-
in all. It is perhaps worth re- tion.
534
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Divina- tion.
Magic as a branch of learning.
hear of men "investigating the secrets of all religions and of heaven itself." Other interesting descriptions ^ are of those who "stay in temples in an unkempt state and always walk abroad thus, and never cut their hair, and who would announce something to men as if said by the gods, such as are wont to be in temples, who are accustomed to predjct the future"; and of "men terrible to the gods and who de- spise all kinds of perjuries. Moreover, they will be terrible to all demons, and at their approach the wicked spirits of demons flee; and they free men who are thus troubled, not by force of words but by their mere appearing; and how- ever violent the demon may be who shakes the body and spirit of man, whether he be aerial or terrestrial or infernal, he flees at the bidding of this sort of man and fears his pre- cepts with a certain veneration. These are they who are called exorcists by the people." Religious games and con- tests are mentioned four times : the carving, consecrating, adoring, and clothing of images of the gods, twice each; porters at religious ceremonies, thrice; hymn singers, twice; pipe-players once. Five passages represent persons profes- sionally engaged in religion as growing rich thereby.
We are told that men "predict the future either by the divinity of their own minds or by the admonition of the gods or from oracles or by the venerable discipline of some art." ^ Augurs, aruspices, interpreters of dreams, mathema- tici (astrologers), diviners, and prophets are mentioned. Once Firmicus alludes to false divination but he usually im- plies that it is a valid art.
From religion and divination we easily pass to the occult arts and sciences, and thence to learning and literature in general, from which occult learning is scarcely distinguished in the Mathesis. Magicians or magic arts are mentioned no less than seven times in varied relations with religion, phi' losophy, medicine, and astronomy or astrology, showing that magic was not invariably regarded as evil in that age, and
* Kroll et Skutsch, I, 148, 8 and 123, 4-
Kroll et Skutsch, I, 201, 6.
science.
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 535
that it was confused and intermingled with the arts and phi- losophy as well as with the religion of the times, ^ There are a number of other allusions to secret and illicit arts or writ- ings; these, however, appear to be more unfavorably re- garded and probably largely consist of witchcraft and poi- soning.
The evidence of the Mathesis suggests that the civiliza- Interest in tion of declining Rome was at least not conscious of the in- tellectual decadence and lack of scientific interest so gener- ally imputed to it. We find three descriptions of intellectual pioneers who learn what no master has ever taught them, and one other instance of men who pretend to do so. We also hear of "those learning much and knowing all, also in- ventors," and of those "learning everything," and "desiring to learn the secrets of all arts." This curiosity, it is true, seems to be largely devoted to occult science, but it also seems plain that mathematics and medicine were important fac- tors in fourth-century culture as well as the rhetorical studies whose role has perhaps been overestimated. Let us compare the statistics. Oratory is mentioned eighteen times, and it is to be noted that literary attainments and learning as well as mere eloquence are regarded as essential in an orator. Men of letters other than orators are found in six passages, and poets in only three. A passage reading "philol- ogists or those skilled in laborious letters" suggests that four instances of the phrase difficiles litter ae should perhaps be classed under linguistic rather than occult studies. There are four allusions to grammarians and two to masters of grammar, as against one description of "contentious, con-
* Cumont says {Oriental Re- that Firmicus does not use the
ligions in Roman Paganism, p. word "theurgy." Cumont also
188) : "But the ancients expressly states (p. 179) that in the last
distinguished 'magic,' which was period of paganism the name phi-
always under suspicion and dis- losopher was finally applied to all
approved of, from the legitimate adepts in occult science. But in
and honorable art for which the Firmicus, while magic and phi-
narne 'theurgy' was invented." losophy are associated in two
This distinction was made by passages, there are five other allu-
Porphyry and others, and is sions to magic and three separate
alluded to by Augustine in the mentions of philosophers. City of God, but it is to be noted
536 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
tradictory dialecticians, professing that they know what no teaching has acquainted them with, mischievous fellows, but unable to do any effective thinking."'^ On the other hand, there are fourteen allusions to astronomy and astrology (not including the mathematici already listed under divina- tion), three to geometry, and six to other varieties of mathe- matics.^ Philosophers are mentioned five times; practition- ers of medicine, eleven times ; ^ surgeons, once ; and botan- ists, twice. These professions seem to be well paid and are spoken of in complimentary terms. Diseases Death, injury, and disease loom up large in Firmicus'
tiquity. prospectus for the human race, making us realize the bene- fits of nineteenth-century medicine as well as of modern peace.* No less than 174 passages deal with disease and many of them list two or more ills. Mental disorders are mentioned in 37 places ; ^ physical deformities in six. Other specific ailments mentioned are as follows : blindness and eye troubles, 10; deafness and ear troubles, 5; impediments of speech, 4 ; baldness, i ; foul odors, i ; dyspeptics, 4 ; other stomach complaints, 7 ; dysentery, 2 ; liver trouble, i ; jaun- dice, I ; dropsy, 5 ; spleen disorders, i ; gonorrhoea, 2 ; other diseases of the urinary bladder and private parts, 6; con- sumption and lung troubles, 6; hemorrhages, 6; apoplexy, 3 ; spasms, 5 ; ills attributed to bad or excessive humors, 12; leprosy and other skin diseases, 6 ; ague, i ; fever, i ; pains in various parts of the body, 6; internal pains and hidden diseases, 9; diseases of women, 5. There remain a large number of vague allusions to ill-health: 21 to debility, 12 to languor, 3 to invalids, and 49 other passages. Only eight passages allude to the cure of disease. Among the methods suggested are cauterizing, incantations, ordinary remedies,
* Kroll et Skutsch, I, 161, 26. ^ Acstus animi, 5; insanity, 13;
'Computus, 3; calculus, 2; and lunatics, 10; epileptics, 8; melan-
"those who excel at numbers," i. cholia, 3 ; inflammation of the
"Including two mentions of brain (frenetici), 4; delirium, de- court physicians (archiatri). See mentia, demoniacs, alienation, and Codex Thcod., Lib. XIII, Tit. 3, madness, one or two each; vague passim, for their position. allusions to mental ills and in-
*I leave this sentence as I wrote juries, 5. it in 1913.
XXIII
PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
537
and seeking divine aid, which last is mentioned most often. The eleven references to medical practitioners should, how- ever, be recalled here. The predictions as to length of life are inadequate to the drawing of conclusions on that point.
Firmicus regards his work as a new contribution so far Place of as the Latin-speaking world is concerned.^ Not that there j^ ^he his-
had not been previous writing- in Latin on the subject. ^°[y 9^
•^, _ , ° •' astrology.
Fronto "had written predictions very accurately," but "as if he were addressing persons already perfect and skilled in the art, and without first instructing in the elements and practice of the art." ^ Firmicus supplies this essential pre- liminary instruction, which hardly anyone of the Latins had given, and corrects Fronto's faulty presentation of antiscia, in which he followed Hipparchus, by the correcter method of Navigius (Nigidius?) and Ptolemy.^ Firmicus gives no systematic account of his authorities "* but occasionally cites them for some particular point and in general professes to follow not only the Greeks but the divine men of Egypt and Babylon, chief among whom seem to be Nechepso and Peto- siris and the Hermetic works to or by Aesculapius and Ha- nubius. An Abram or Abraham is also cited several times. But Firmicus also gives the Sphaera Barharica, "unknown to all the Romans and to many Greeks," and which escaped the notice even of Petosiris and Nechepso.^ Firmicus him- self is named by no ancient author ^ but was well known in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as we shall see. In the Mathesis he cites two previous astrological treatises of his
* In his last chapter he says, "Take then, my dear Mavortius, what I promised you with extreme trepidation of spirit, these seven books composed conformably to the order and number of the seven planets. For the first book deals only with the defense of the art ; but in tlie other books we have transmitted to the Ro- mans the discipline of a new work," (II, 360, 10-15). And in
he writes, "We have written these books for your Romans lest, when every other art and science had been translated, this task should seem to remain unattempted by Roman genius," (I, 280, 28-30).
'I, 41, 7 and 15; I, 40, 9-11,
^I, 41, 5 and II ; I, 40, 8.
* They are listed by Kroll et Skutsch, II, 362, Index auctorum.
"* II, 294, 12-21.
' Kroll et Skutsch, II, p. iii.
538
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Libanius accused of magic.
Declama- tion
against a magician.
own ^ and expresses his intention of composing another work in twelve books on the subject of Myrio genesis.^ The astrologer Hephaestion of Thebes, who wrote later in the fourth century, seems also to have been a Christian, so that Firmicus was not a solitary case or an anomaly.^
The writings of Libanius, 314-391 A. D., the sophist and rhetorician, throw some light on the relations between magic and learning in the fourth century, show that sorcery and divination were actually practiced, and largely duplicate im- pressions already received from Apuleius, Apollonius, and Galen, and a Christian like John Chrysostom as well as just now from Firmicus. Libanius tells us how Bemarchius, a rival of his at Athens, who would have poisoned him if he could, instead circulated reports that he (Bemarchius) was the victim of enchantments, and that Libanius had consulted against him an astrologer who was able to control the stars, so that he could confer benefits upon one man and work sor- cery against another. This incidentally is another good il- lustration of how easily astrology passed from mere pre- diction of the future to operative magic, and of the essential unity of all magic arts. The mob was aroused against Li- banius and a praetor who tried to protect him was ousted and another installed at daybreak who was ready to put Li- banius to death. Torture was prepared and Libanius was advised to leave Athens, if he did not wish to die there, and took the advice and left.*
Among the declamations of Libanius is one against a magician,^ supposed to have been delivered under the fol- lowing circumstances. The city was afflicted with a pesti-
* I, 258, 10, "in singulari libro, quern de domino geniturae et chronocratore ad Murinum nos- trum scripsimus" ; II, 229, 23, "ex- eo libro qui de fine vitae a nobis scriptus est."
MI, 18, 24; II, 283, 19.
* Engelbrecht, Hcphdstion von Theben und sein astrologischcs Comp-endium, Vienna, 1887.
* De vita sua, in Libanii sophis- tae praeliidia oratoria LXXII declamationcs XLV et disserta- tioncs morales, Fedcricus Morellus regius inter pres e MSS maxime reg. biblioihecae nunc primum edidit idemque Latine vertit . . . ad Hcnricuni IV regent Christian- issimuni, Paris, 1606, II, 15-18.
^ Magi accusatio. Ibid., I, 898- 911.
xxiii PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 539
lence and finally sent an embassy to the Delphic oracle to learn how to escape the scourge. Apollo replied that they must sacrifice the son of one of the inhabitants who should be determined by lot, and the lot fell to the son of a magician. The father then offered to stay the plague by means of his magic art, if they would agree to spare his son. Against this proposal Libanius argues, urging the people to carry out their original decision and not to anger the Delphic god by violating his oracle, whose reliability is attested by "long time and much experience and common testimony." He declares that magic is an evil art, and that magicians make no one happy but many wretched, ruining homes, bringing disaster to persons who have never harmed them, and dis- turbing even the spirits of the dead. He also censures the magician for not having offered to save the city from the plague before, and expresses some scepticism as to his magic power, asking why he did not prevent the fatal lot from falling to his son, or why he does not save him now by causing him to vanish from sight, or vouchsafe some other unmistakable sign of his magic power. It appears that the magician had asked a delay, saying that he must wait for the moon before he could operate against the plague. Li- banius points out that meanwhile the citizens are perishing and that fulfillment of Apollo's oracle will bring instant relief. It would seem, however, that some of the citizens had more faith in the magician than in the god, which sup- ports the oft-made general assertion that the magic arts waxed as pagan religion and its superstitious observances waned. Libanius concludes his oration or imaginary ora- tion with the cutting and heartless witticism that the ma- gician can lose his son more easily than can anyone else, since he will of course still be able to invoke his spirit from the dead.
Libanius' own faith in divination is not only suggested Faith of by the attitude toward the Delphic oracle in the foregoing {„ dlvina- declamation but is attested by two passages in his autobiog- tion. raphy. His great-great-grandfather had so excelled in
540
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Magic and astrology in the pseudo- Quintilian declama- tions.
Fusion of Christian- ity and paganism in Syne- sius of Cyrene.
mantike that he foresaw that his children would die by steel, although they would be handsome and great and good speak- ers. It also was rumored that a celebrated sophist had pre- dicted many things concerning Libanius himself, which Li- banius assures us had since come to pass.^
Of the same type as Libanius' declamation against the magician is the fourth pseudo-Quintilian declamation in Latin concerning an astrologer's prediction, which we shall later in the twelfth -century find Bernard Silvester enlarging upon in his poem entitled Mathematicus. In another of the pseudo-Quintilian declamations the word experimentum is used of a magician's feat. "O harsh and cruel magician, O manufacturer of our tears, I would that you had not given so great an experiment ! We are angry at you, yet we must cajole you. While you imprison the ghost, we know that you alone can evoke it." ^
That more than fifty years after Firmicus adherence to Christianity might be combined with trust in divination of the future, occult science, and magical invocation of spirits, and with various other pagan and Neo-Platonic beliefs, is well illustrated by the case of Synesius of Cyrene,^ a fel- low-African and contemporary of Augustine. Synesius, however, traced his descent from the Heracleidae, wrote in Greek, and displayed a Hellenism unusual for his time,* and,
^ De vita sua, Opera, II, 2-3.
"X, ig6, II, De sepulcro incan- tato.
^ My citations of Synesius' works, unless otherwise noted, are from the edition : Syncsii Cyrenaei Quae Extant Opera Omnia, ed. J. G. Krabinger, Landshut, 1850, vol. I, which has alone appeared. The older edition of Petavius with Latin translation is reprinted in Migne PG, vol. 66, 1021-1756. For a French translation, with several introductory essays, see H. Druon, Gluvrcs de Synesius, Paris, 1878. The Letters and Hymns have often been published separately. For this and other further bibli- ography see Christ, Gesch. d. griech. Litt., 1913, II, ii, 1 167-71,
where, however, no note is taken of Berthelot's discussion of Syne- sius as a reputed author of al- chemistic treatises.
Some works on Synesius are : H. Druon, Etudes sur la zne et les auvres de Synesius, Paris, 1859; R. Volkmann, Synesius von Cyrene, Berlin, 1869; W. S. Craw- ford, Synesius the Hellene, Lon- don, X901 ; G. Griitzmacher, Syne- sios von Kyrcne, Leipzig, 1913. In periodicals : F. X. Kraus in Theol. Quartalschrift, 1865 and 1866; O. Seeck, in Philologus, 1893.
* See Crawford, op. ctt., and monographs listed in Christ, op. cit., p. 1168, notes 4 and 8.
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 541
while he did not find the Athens of his day entirely to his taste, continued the philosophical and rhetorical traditions of the sophists of the Roman Empire, like Libanius of whom we have just spoken. His extant letters show that Hypatia was numbered among his friends and had been his teacher at the Neo-Platonic and mathematical school of Alexandria. Hypatia was murdered by the fanatical Christian mob of that city in 415. But very different was the attitude of the people of Ptolemais to the like-minded Synesius. A few years before they had elected him bishop ! ^ Moreover, he distinctly stipulated ^ that he should not renounce his wife and family nor his philosophical opinions, which seem to have involved a sceptical attitude towards miracles and the resurrection, and a belief in the eternity of the world and pre-existence of the soul rather than in creation,^ in addi- tion to the views which we are about to set forth. It has been observed also that his doctrine of the Trinity is more Neo-Platonic than Christian.*
The dates of Synesius' birth and death are uncertain. Career of He seems to have been born about 370. His last dateable y"^"*^^- letter appears to be written in 412, but some give the date of his death as late as 430. Others contend that he did not live to hear of Hypatia's murder. Before he was made bishop he had been to Constantinople on a mission to the emperor to secure alleviation of the oppressive taxation in Cyrene. He had lived in Athens and Alexandria as a student, and in Cyrene on his country estate. Here, if in his fondness for books and philosophy he constituted a sur- vival of the past, in his fondness for the chase and dogs and horses and his repulsion of an invasion of Libyan ma- rauders he was the forerunner of many a medieval feudal
^ The date is variously stated as IVahl und Weihe sum Bischof, in
411, 406, or 410. Hist. Jahrb., XXIII (1902), pp.
'A. J. Kleflfner, Synesius von 751-74.
Cyrene . . . und sein angeblicher * Christ, op. cit., p. 1168, note i.
Vorbehalt bet seiner IVahl und * Ibid., p. 1170, citing K. Prach-
Weihe sum Bischof von J'tole- ter, in Genethliakon fiir C.
mats, Paderborn, 1901. H. Koch, Robert, 1910, p. 244, ct scq. Synesius von Cyrene bei seiner
542
MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
His inter- est in science.
Belief in occult sympa- thies between natural obj ects.
bishop. And after he became bishop, he launched an excom- munication against the tyrannical prefect Andronicus.
But our particular interest is less in his political and more purely literary activities than in his taste for mathema- tics and science. He knew some medicine and was well ac- quainted with geometry and astronomy. He believed him- self to be the inventor of an astrolabe and of a hydroscope.
With this interest in natural and mathematical science went an interest in occult science and divination. His belief that the universe was a unit and all its parts closely corre- lated not only led him to maintain, like Seneca, that what- ever had a cause was a sign of some future event, or to hold with Plotinus that in any and every object the sage might discern the future of every other, and that the birds them- selves, if endowed with sufficient intelligence, would be able to predict the future by observing the movements of human bipeds.^ It led him also to the conclusion that the various parts of the universe were more than passive mirrors in which one might see the future of the other parts ; that they further exerted, by virtue of the magic sympathy which united all parts of the universe, a potent active influence over other objects and occurrences. The wise man might not only predict the future; he might, to a great extent, control it. "For it must be, I think, that of this whole, so joined in sympathy and in agreement, the parts are closely connected as if members of a single body. And does not this explain the spells of the magi? For things, besides being signs of each other, have magic power over each other. The wise man, then, is he who knows the relationships of the parts of the universe. For he draws one object under his control by means of another object, holding what is at hand as a pledge for what is far away, and working through sounds and mate- rial substances and forms." ^ Synesius explained that plants
^Ilepl kvvirvlcov (On dreams), ch. 2. fi&yccv Ivyyes avrai', Kai yap deXyt- 'llcpi ivviruiuv {On Dreams), ch.
3. "E6ft yap, olixai, tov iravros tovtov cvpLiradovi Tt ovros Kal avinrvov to, (JLtprf irpoarfKnv dXXijXois, are cvos oKov tA /utXij Tvyx^fovTa. Koi m^? Trore ai
rat Trap' dXXjjXcoi', axnrep crrnxaiveTai' Kal v tiepwv tov K6ap.ov crvyyeveiav. "EX/cei yap fiXXo 8V aWov, ix'^" tfkxvpa irapovra tChv ifKelaTov airovruv, Kai uvas, Kal ii\as
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 543
and stones are related by bonds of occult sympathy to the gods who are within the universe and who form a part of it, that plants and stones have magic power over these gods, and that one may by means of such material substances attract those deities.^ He evidently believed that it was quite legitimate to control the processes of nature by invok- ing demons.
The devotion of Synesius to divination has been already Synesius implied. He regarded it as among the noblest of human tion and pursuits.^ Dreams, on which he wrote a treatise, he viewed astrology, as significant and very useful events. They aided him, he wrote, in his every-day life, and had upon one occasion saved him from magic devices against his life.^ Warned by a dream that he would have a son, he wrote a treatise for the child before it was born.^ Of course, he had faith in astrology. The stars were well-nigh ever present in his thought. In his Praise of Baldness he characterized comets as fatal omens, as harbingers of the worst public disasters.^ In On Providence he explained the supposed fact that his- tory repeats itself by the periodical return to their former positions of the stars which govern our life.^ In On the Gift of an Astrolabe he declared that "astronomy" besides being itself a noble science, prepared men for the diviner mysteries of theology.'^
Finally, he held the view common among students of Synesius magic that knowledge should be esoteric ; that its mysteries alchemist. and marvels should be confined to the few fitted to receive them and that they should be expressed in language incom- prehensible to the vulgar crowd.^ It is perhaps on this
Kal ffx^M^Ta Evidently 4iroSe£|6is iardiv tov fiapreiav kv rols
Synesius did not regard the magi &pI
as mere imposters. Bpicirois.
*nepi kvvirvluv, ch. 3. Kai 5i) Kal ' Ibid., ch. 18.
Bec^ Tivl Tcov tiaco tov Koafiov'Kidos kvQkv- * Alwv rj irepl Trjs /car' avrov Siayu-
Se Kal fioT&VT} irpocrriKei, ols bixoioiraOoiv f^S.
elKti rfi (pixrei. Kal yoriTeverai. In his ° aXd/cpos kyK(l}fJii.op, ch. 10.
Praise of Baldness (€>aXdKpas kyKu- ' Alyvimoi fj wepl vpovolas, bk. ii,
fiiov), ch. 10, Synesius tells how ch. 7.
the Egyptians attract demons by ''UposHaiovLovwepiTov So:pov, ch. S'
magic influences. 'A/wv, ch. 7. Ilepi ivuiri'iwj'.ch. 4.
*Jl€pl b>viri>luv, ch. I. AuTtti fib' 'EiriffToXal, 4, 49, and 142.
544 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
account that one of the oldest extant treatises of Greek alchemy is ascribed to him. Berthelot, however, accepted it as his, stating that "there is nothing surprising in Synesius' having really written on alchemy." ^ Macrobius Synesius influenced the Byzantine period but probably
dreams^^'^' "°^ *^^ western medieval world. But the Commentary of and stars. Macrobius on The Dream of Scipio by Cicero is one of the treatises most frequently encountered in early medieval Latin manuscripts. In the twelfth century Abelard made frequent reference to Macrobius and called him "no mean philoso- pher"; in the thirteenth Aquinas cited him as an authority for the doctrines of Neo-Platonism.^ Macrobius himself affirmed that Vergil contained practically all necessary knowledge ^ and that Cicero's Dream of Scipio was a work second to none and contained the entire substance of philos- ophy.^ Macrobius believed that numbers possess occult power. He dilated at considerable length upon every num- ber from one to eight, emphasizing the perfection and far- reaching significance of each. He held the Pythagorean doctrine that the world-soul consists of number, that num- ber rules the harmony of the celestial bodies, and that from the music of the spheres we derive the numerical values proper to musical consonance.^ His opinion was that dreams and other striking occurrences will reveal an occult meaning to the careful investigator.^ As for astrology, he regarded the stars as signs but not causes of future events, just as birds by their flight or song reveal matters of which they themselves are ignorant.'^ So the sun and other planets, though in a way divine, are but material bodies, and it is not from them but from the world-soul (pure mind), whence they too come, that the human spirit takes its origin.® In
*0n Synesius as an alchemist Scipio, II, 17, "Universa phi- see Berthelot (1885), pp. 65, 188- losophiae integritas"; ed. Nisard, 90; (1889), p. ix. Paris, 1883.
'T. R. Glover, Life and Letters "Ibid., I, 5-6; II, 1-2.
in the Fourth Century A. D., Cam- 'Ibid., I, 7-
bridge, 1901, p. 187, note i. ''Ibid., I, 19.
* Saturnalia, I, xvi, I2. "Ibid., I, 14.
* Commentary on the Dream of
XXIII
PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
545
his sole other extant work, the Saturnalia, Macrobius dis- plays some belief in occult virtues in natural objects, as when Disaurius the physician answers such questions as why a copper knife stuck in game prevents decay. ^
The medieval vogue of the fifth century work of Marti- anus Capella, The Nuptials of Philology and Mercury, and the Seven Liberal Arts,^ has been too frequently demon- strated to require further emphasis here, although it is still a puzzle just why a monastic Christian world should have selected for a text book in the liberal arts a work which con- tained so much pagan mythology, to say nothing of a mar- riage ceremony. Nor need we repeat its fulsome allegorical plot and meager learned content. Cassiodorus tells us that the author was a native of Madaura, the birth-place of Apu- leius, in North Africa, and he appears to be a Neo-Platonist who has much to say of the sky, stars, and old pagan gods, often, however, by way of brief and vague poetical allusion.
Of astrology there is very little trace in Capella's work. In a discussion of perfect numbers in the second book the number seven evokes allusion to the fatal courses of the stars and their influence upon the formation of the child in the womb ; but the eighth book, which is devoted to the theme of astronomy as one of the liberal arts, is limited to a purely astronomical description of the heavens.
The chief thing for us to note in the work is the account of the various orders of spiritual beings and their respective location in reference to the heavenly bodies.^ Juno leads the virgin Philology to the aerial citadels and there instructs her in the multiplicity of diverse powers. From highest ether to the solar circle are beings of a fiery and flaming sub- stance. These are the celestial gods who prepare the secrets of occult causes. They are pure and impassive and immor- tal and have little or no direct relation with mankind. Be-
Martianus Capella.
Absence of as- trology.
Orders of spirits.
* Glover (1901), p. 178.
* De nuptiis philologiae et mer- curii et de sept em artibus Hberali- bus libri novem, Lugduni apud haeredes Simonis Vificentii, 1539;
ed. U. F. Kopp, Frankfurt, 1836; ed. F. Eyssenhardt, Leipzig, 1866. ' It occurs toward the close of the second book.
546 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
tween sun and moon come spirits who have especial charge of soothsaying, dreams, prodigies, omens, and divination from entrails and auguries. They often utter warning voices or admonish those who consult their oracles by the course of the stars or the hurling of thunderbolts. To this class belong the Genii associated with individual mortals and angels "who announce secret thoughts to the superior power." All these the Greeks call demons. Their splendor is less lucid than that of the celestials, but their bodies are not sufficiently corporeal to enable men to see them. Lares and purer human souls after death also come under this cate- gory. Between moon and earth the spirits subdivide into three classes. In the upper atmosphere are demi-gods. "These have celestial souls and holy minds and are begotten in human form to the profit of the whole world." Such were Hercules, Ammon, Dionysus, Osiris, Isis, Triptolemus, and Asclepius. Others of this class become sibyls and seers. From mid-air to the mountain-tops are found heroes and Manes. Finally the earth itself is inhabited by a long-lived race of dwellers in woods and groves, in fountains and lakes and streams, called Pans, Fauns, satyrs, Silvani, nymphs, and by other names. They finally die as men do, but pos- sess great power of foresight and of inflicting injury. ■■• It is evident that Capella's spiritual world is one well fitted for astrology, divination, and magic. TheCeles- Very different are the orders of spirits described in ar^h^Zi' ^^^ Celestial Hierarchy, supposed to be the work of Dio- Dionysius nysius the Areopagite, where are set forth nine orders of pagite. spirits in three groups of three each : Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; Princes, Archangels, and Angels. The threefold division reminds us of Capella, but there the resemblance ceases. The pseudo- Dionysius takes all his suggestions from the Old and New Testaments, rather than from classical mythology and such previous classifications of spirits as that of Apuleius. And
* In Kopp's edition pp. 202-23 are almost entirely taken up with notes setting forth other passages in the classics concerning such spirits.
XXIII PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT 547
while his starting from such verses of the Bible as "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights," and "Jesus Christ the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world," and his using such phrases as "archifotic Father" and "thearchic ray," lead us to expect some Gnostic-like scheme of associa- tion of the spirits with the various heavens and celestial bodies, in fact he throughout speaks of the spirits solely as celestial and deiform and hypercosmic minds, and unspeak- able and sacred enigmas of whose invisibility, transcend- ence, infinity, and incomprehensibility any description can be merely symbolic and figurative. Their functions seem to consist chiefly in contemplation of the deity or their su- perior orders and illumination of man and their inferior orders. They are not specifically associated by Dionysius with the celestial bodies, much less with any terrestrial ob- jects, and so his account lays no foundation for magic and astrology, unless as its transcendent mysticism might pique some curious person to attempt some very immaterial vari- ety of theurgy and sublimated theosophy. Although the Pseudo-Dionysius wrote in Greek,^ his work was made avail- able for the Latin middle ages by the translation of John the Scot in the ninth century.^
* Greek text in Migne, PG 3, 119-370. 'Migne, PL 122, 1037-70.