26 HERMES TPJSMEGISTUS. 



ward (a) that ordained to him, and these became (5) beasts,, 

 quadrupeds, and reptiles, and aquatics, and winged,, and 

 every fruitful seed (c), and grass and green herb of every 

 flower, having the seed of the reproduction (d) in them- 

 selves. 1 



And the Heaven appeared in Seven Circles, 2 and( Gods 



(a) divqx.s. (6) sygj^TO. (c) vx-opdc. svoiropos. 



(d) oTTtpftct ryjg KaChiyytvwiot,*;. 



Plato (Politicus, 271) had written: " The God first with care ruled 

 over all this globe, as now, according to places ; the several parts of 

 the world are everywhere instinct by ruling gods, and divine demons 

 divided, like shepherds, the animals by races and herds, each for 

 each, sufficing for all things to which He assigned them." In the 

 " Timaeus" (58), he says: " The God made the self-sufficing and most 

 perfect Good, using the secondary causes as his ministers in the ac- 

 complishment of his work, but Himself fashioning the Good in all 

 his creations." Again (69), " Of the Divine, He Himself was Creator, 

 but the creation of the mortal He committed to his offspring." 



1 " And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass " (' tender grass/ 

 Heb., fiorariov wprov, Sept.), " the herb yielding seed, and the fruit 

 tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the 

 earth" (a'TTitpov ffTirspf^x Kctrx ysvos x>oil xoiff OJAOIOT'/ITOC., x,otl ^vhov xap-Trfftov- 

 Trofovv Koip-TToy ov TO aTTsp^ot O.VTOV sv CLVTU x.a,ru. ygj/of, Sept.). " And the 

 earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and 

 the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind" 

 (Gen. i. 11, 12). 



" And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving 

 creature" ('creeping/ Heb.) "that hath life" ('soul/ Heb.; ' EpirotToc, 

 4/vxZy &v, Sept.) " and fowl that may fly" (' Let fowl fly 5 Heb.; 

 irsretyec. -Trerofteya, Sept.) " above the earth in the n (' face of the/ Heb.) 

 " open firmament of Heaven. And God created great whales, and 

 every living creature that moveth" (^/v^w aau tpTrsrav') " which the 

 waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged 

 fowl after his kind." " And God said, Let the earth bring forth the 

 living creature after his kind, cattle " (rsrpxTrolot, Sept.), " and creep- 

 ing thing, and beast of the earth " (fopta 7% yvjs, Sept.) " after his 

 kind. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and 

 cattle " (jcrquy, Sept.), " and everything that creepeth upon the earth 

 after his kind" (ibid. 12, 13). 



According to the Timaeus of Plato (77), trees and plants were created,, 

 that man might continue, and animals also. 



2 See ch. i. 7, and note there. 



Dante has appropriated this notion in the " Divina Commedia,"' 

 though the number of circles does not correspond. 



