NOTICES IN THE FATHERS. 149 



VIII. 



AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (born 354). 



HE relates without doubt (" City of God," viii. 23, 26) 

 how the fifth Mercury and his friend Asclepius (or ^Escu- 

 lapius), grandson of the first, were men, and became Gods 

 as Mercury and JEsculapius after the Greek fashion. To 

 Hermes, who like Horus was represented by a bird with a 

 hawk's head, was sacred the Ibis and the Moon. [In the 

 same chapters Augustine quotes a Latin translation of the 

 " Asclepius " at length the Greek version as it seems not 

 even then being extant as advocating the worship of 

 Images as Gods. It has been shown that this is not a 

 work of the true Hermes, and consequently the observa- 

 tions of St Augustine thereon are not here extracted.] 



IX. 



CYRILLUS ALEXANDRINUS (Patriarch of Alexandria, 412), 

 Lib. i., Contra Julianum, 30&. 



"Tins Hermes then, him of Egypt, although being 

 Initiator (a) and having presided at the fanes of the Idols, 

 is always found mindful of the things of Moses, and if not 

 altogether rightly and completely yet still in part. For 

 he hath profited, and he hath made mention of him also 

 in his own writings, which he having composed for Athen- 

 ians (6), are called Hermaiea fifteen Books." 



Lib. i, Contra Julianum, 31&. 

 The same Cyril writes thus: 



" The Trismegistus Hermes in this wise says : To un- 

 derstand (c) God is difficult, to declare (d) Him impossible 



(a) rfreffTvs; "etsi Sacerdos esset," Latin translation. 



(6) 'A0JJJ/JJ07. (c) i/ojjffa;. (d) Qpourou 



