364 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 52. 



Spnboh of the Evangelists (Vol. i., pp. 375. 471. ; 

 vol. ii., pp. 13. 45. 205.). — Sbould the inquirer 

 not have access to the authorities which, as is 

 stated in p. 471., are referred to by Dr. Words- 

 worth, or not have leisure to avail himself of his 

 copious references, he may be glad to find that in 

 the T/iesaiints TheologicoPhilologicus (vol. ii. pp. 57. 

 — 62.), there is a dissertation containing an analysis 

 of more than fifty authors, who have illustrated 

 the visions of Ezekiel and St. John, and an expla- 

 nation of the Sententiarum Divortia of Irena3us, 

 Jerome, and Augustine, respecting the application 

 of the symbols, or of the quajstio vexata— (luodnam 

 animal cui EvangelistiB comparandum sit. Tho- 

 masius, the author of this dissertation, suggests 

 that to recall to mind the symbol applied to Luke, 

 we should remember the expression denoting ele- 

 phantes, bnves Iticas. Abundant information is also 

 supplied on this subject by that hierophantic natu- 

 ralist, Aldrovandus, de Qtiad?-up. Bisidcis, p. ISO. 

 et seq. Nor should Daubuz be neglected, the 

 learned coamientator on the Revelations. T. J. 



BeckeCs Mother (Vol. ii., pp. 106. 270.). — Tn 

 support of the view of Mr. Foss with regard to 

 Beckei's mother, against tiiat propounded by 

 J. C. R. (Vol. ii., p. 270.), I would mention that 

 Aeon is the ordinary niedia3v;d name for the city 

 ot Acre,, and appears in the earlier deeils relating 

 to the hospital in Ciieapside, while the modern 

 form occurs in those of later date ; e. g. Pat. 

 18 Edw. II., " S. Thoma3 Martyris de Aconia ;" 

 Pat. 14 Edw. III., " S. Thoinfe Martyris Can- 

 tuarensis de Aco7i ; " but Rot. Pari. 23 Hen. VI., 

 " Saint Thomas the IMartir of .Icve*," "the Martyr 

 of Canterbury of Acres." (Deeds in Dugdale, 

 Monast. vi. 646, 647.) 



This would seem to identify the distinctive name 

 of the hospital with the city in the Holy Land; 

 but tiie following passage from the Chronicle of 

 Matthew of \\^estuiinster (p. 257.) seems quite 

 conclusive on this point, as it connects that city 

 with Becket in a manner beyond all dispute: — 



" Anno frratiac 1 1 90. Obspssa est Aeon circumquaqiie 

 Chiistianorum legionibus, ct aictntnr nimis. Capella 

 Sancti. Thoma martyris ibidem aniijicalur." 



If, as J. C. R. supposes, there was no connexion 

 between the saint and Acre in Syria, the founda- 

 tion of a chapel to his honour in or near that city 

 would seem quite unaccountable. However this 

 may be, the truth of the beautiful legend of his 

 mother can, I fear, be never proved or disproved. 



While on this subject, let me, at the risk of being 

 tedious to your readers, quote the amusing tale 

 told by Latimer, with regard to this hospital, in 

 his " Si.xth Sermon jn-eached befi)re Edward VI." 

 (Parker See. ed., p. 201.): — 



" I had rather that ye should come [to hear the 



Word of God] as the tale is by the gentlewoman of 

 London: one of her neighbours met her in the street 

 and said, 'Mistress, whither go ye?' 'Marry,' said 

 she ; ' I am going to St. Thomas of Acres, to the 

 sermon ; I could not sleep all this last night, and I 

 am going now thither ; I never failed of a good nap 

 there.' And so I had rather ye should go a-napplng 

 to the sermons than not to go at all." 



On the name " S. Nicholas Aeon" I can throw 

 no light. Stow is quite silent as to its signification. 



E. Venables. 



Herstmonceux. 



Bechets Mother. — I am, in truth, but a new 

 subscriber, and when I wrote the remarks on Mb. 

 Foss's note (Vol. ii., p. 270.), had not seen your 

 first volume containing the communications of 

 Mr. Matthews (p. 415.) and Dr. Rimbault (p. 

 490.). The rejection of the story that Becket's 

 mother was a Saracen rests on the fact that no 

 trace of it is found until a much later time, when 

 the history of " St. Thomas of Canterbury" had 

 been embellished with all manner of wonders. 

 Mr. Matthews may find some information in the 

 English Review, vol. vi. pp. 40 — 42. Dr. Rim- 

 bault is mistaken in saying that the life of St. 

 Thomas by Herbert of Bosham " is published in 

 the Quadrilogus, Paris, 1495." It was one of the 

 works from which the Quadrilogus was compiled; 

 but the only entire edition of it is that by Dr. 

 Giles, in his S. Thomas Cautuariensis. J. C. R. 



Passage in Lucan (Vol. ii., p. 89.). — The fol- 

 lowing are parallel passages to that in Lucan's 

 Pharsalia, b. vii. 814., referred to by Mr. Sansom. 



Ovid. Metam. 1. 256. : — 



" Esse qiioque in fatis reminiscitur affbre tempus. 

 Quo mare, quo tetlus, correptaque regia coeli 

 Ardeat ; et mundi moles operos laboret." 



Cic. De Nat. Deor. 11. 46. : — 



" Ex quo eventurum nostri putant id, de quo Panae- 

 tium addiibitare dicebant, ut ad extremum omnis mnn- 

 dus ignesceret; cum, humore consumto, ne:|ue terra 

 ali posset neque remearet aer ; cujus ortus, aqua omni 

 exhausta, esse non posset," etc. 



Cic. De Divinatione, 1. 49. : — 



" Nam et nntura futuia prjEsentiunt, ut aquarum 

 fluxiones et dctlagrationem futuram aliquando coeli 

 atque terrarum," etc. 



Cic. Acad. Quwst. iv. 37. : — 



" Erit ei persuasum etiam, solem, lunam, stellas 

 omnes, terrain, mare, deos esse .... fore tamen ali- 

 quando ut omnis hie mundus ardore deflagret," etc. 



Cic. Somn. Scipionis, vii. : — 



" Propter eluvioncs exustiones<iue terrarum quas 

 accidere tempore certo necesse est, non modo aeternam, 

 sed lie diuturnam quidem gloriam asscqui possumus." 



Seneca, Consol. ad Marciam, sub fine : — 



" Cum tempus advenerit quo se mundus renovaturus 



