NEWBOLD— THE SYRIAC DIALOGUE " SOCRATES." 103 



done in the " Socrates," and adduces two arguments against the 

 theory. First, the souls of angels and devils are unchangeable, 

 whereas this theory makes them changeable. Second, the sun is 

 unchangeable. This second objection seems on the surface quite 

 irrelevant, and there is nothing in Ephraim's text to indicate why he 

 regarded it as an argument against Bardaisan's theory. Turning to 

 the " Socrates " one finds that the author devotes nearly one fourth 

 of the dialogue to drawing a parallel between the changes which 

 the soul midergoes during life and those through which the sun 

 passes in completing his daily and annual course. 



The " Socrates " uses for " God " the term " Original Root " or 

 " That Power." The first manifestation of the Root is " Great- 

 ness " (rebhuthd), which is probably here equivalent to the Greek 

 /Acye^os, a term used in geometry for " extension " and by some 

 Gnostics as a designation of God. It is complementary, so to speak, 

 to ** ^on," the more common Gnostic term for God, which means 

 " duration," duration and extension being conceived as the primary 

 expressions of the divine essence. The relation between this 

 "Original Root" and space (athrd) is conceived in the " Socrates" 

 as very intimate indeed. " That Space " is said in one passage to 

 " be " the Root, but more commonly space is conceived as anterior 

 to the Root. Thus we are told that " Greatness, Power, and Good- 

 ness " "cannot exist in Place but (only) where they have Space 

 that they may be kept in righteousness, refined and pure." And 

 again, "Because the Greatness of this Power is vast [Power], there- 

 fore is it in the compass of the All and outside the All, and there 

 exists no empty Space wherein is nought of it." Thus God is placed 

 in space. Ephraim repeatedly charges Bardaisan with making 

 space superior to God and placing God in space, and in one passage 

 ("Against Hypatius," IV., p. 133, i Mitchell) he says: "Greater 

 are the praises which Bardaisan uttered concerning space than 

 those which he uttered concerning the God who is in the midst of 

 space." In another (ibid., p. 132, 42) : "Therefore the Greatness 

 which the Teachings give to space, the Teachings of Truth give to 

 God." It is noteworthy that the name " God " is sedulously avoided 

 by the author of the " Socrates " ; it does not occur even once. 



