NOTICES IN THE FATHERS. 155 



gistus because he spoke concerning a Trinity (a), saying 

 that in Trinity there is One Godhead (b) thus : There was 

 intelligent Light before intelligent Light, and there was 

 always Mind luminous of Mind (c), and the Unity of This 

 was nothing other, 1 and Spirit encompassing all things. 

 Without This God is not nor angel 2 nor any other Essence. 

 For of all tilings He is God and Father and Lord, and all 

 things are under Him and in Him. For His Word going 

 forth, being altogether perfect and generative (d) and 

 creative (e) having fallen on Water also generative, ren- 

 dered the Water pregnant (/). 3 And having said this he 

 prayed, saying : ' I adjure thee, O Heaven-wise work of 

 The great God. I adjure thee, Voice of Father Which He 

 spoke first when He stablished the whole World. I ad- 

 jure thee by that His Only begotten Word and The Father 

 of Him embracing around all things.' " 4 



(&) Trtpi rpioibos. (&) dtivrTtrret,. (c) voo; 



(d) 



second a Chaldsean, contemporary with Sardanapalus, who had 

 Pythagoras for his pupil; the third a physician, who was born in 

 Memphis of uncertain age. It is clear, however, that none of these 

 was the Hermes, the author of Poemandres. 



1 The Editor of Suidas remarks that Cyrillus Alexandrinus quotes 

 this passage thus (" from Hermes in that to Tat to his own Mind,'' 

 i. Contr. Julian., pp. 33 and 52) : "And the Unity of this was nothing 

 other always, being in Himself, and with His own Mind and Light 

 and Spirit He embraces around all things." 



2 See Poemandres, ii. 14. The word there however is " God," not 

 angel. 



3 See the same passage quoted by Cyrillus Alexandrinus, Contra. 

 Julian., 33c, ante, p. 150. 



4 Cyrill. Alex, and Justin Martyr in his HapatitsTlzos vpo; 'EA- 

 A/jj/ecj attributes this last invocation, with a trifling variation, to 

 Orpheus. 



It is noteworthy that the last poem of Longfellow was a lyrical 

 Ode in celebration of Hermes Trismegistus. 



FINIS. 





