NOTICES IN THE FATHERS. 153 



'And Osiris said/" &c. This passage being part of the 

 Asclepius, not the work of Hermes himself, is not here 

 extracted. 



Cyrillus, ibid. 



" In the first Book of his Digressive discourse (a) to Tat : 

 ' The Lord of all things immediately spoke to His Holy and 

 Intelligent and Creative Word, "Let there be Sun;" and 

 along with the speaking, the Fire having the uplifting (b) 

 Nature, I say then the unmixed the most brilliant and 

 more drastic and generative, by its own Spirit the Nature 

 was attracted (c) and raised aloft from the water.' Again 

 of this make mention, he among them Trismegistus Hermes J 

 he introduced The God saying to the formations (d), ' On 

 you, those from Me, I will impose Necessity; this, that 

 commandment by my Word given to you; for this law 

 ye have.' " l 



Cyrillus, ibid. 630. 



"For Hermes by name thrice great, writes thus to 

 Asclepius concerning the nature of the Universe: 'If 

 then the beings are acknowledged to be two, that gene- 

 rate,' &c." 2 



Ibid. 64c. 



"And again after other things in warmer words he 

 comes speaking, having put a most plain example, and 

 says : ' Besides indeed to the same limner it is allowed,' 

 &c." 3 



Cyrillics, Lib. viii. p. 274c. 



" Hermes thrice great hath said also somewhere of God 

 The most excellent Artificer :(e) ' Moreover as perfect and 

 wise, He hath imposed order and want of order; when the 

 Intelligible indeed He placed first as older and superior, and 



(a) B/g^oS/XW T^O-yU. (6) CtyuQspOVffOC. (c) 



(d) XTlGfAOKJlV. (e) OtptfITOT%VOV. 



1 This from Poemandres, i. and iii. 



2 This from Poemandres, xiv. 6, 7. 



3 This from Poemandres, xiv. 8. 



