Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. II (the Corpus Hermeticum) — G. R. S. Mead (1906)
The text is shown on its own: no facing layer is held for this issue.
Eeitzenstein, however, is of opinion (pp. 207, 208) that the indications in § 16 best suit the reign of
1 See § 15 — T) irpbs robs &a(rt\eas fv(f)-r)/j.la — and compare note to
Clem. Alex., iii., in " Fragments from the Fathers."
THRICE-GREATEST HERMES
Diocletian (imp. 285-305 A.D.); but he is aware that, as far as these are concerned, an earlier date is not excluded (p. 208). It is only when he has treated, in his Addenda (pp. 371-374), the Encomium as an example of later Greek " art-prose," or rhythmic prose, the scheme of the accentuation of which has been of late years carefully studied, especially by Meyer and Wilamowitz, that he comes definitely to the conclusion that the external form of our Khetor's effort fits precisely the time of Diocletian's Triumph, 302 A.D. I cannot, however, say that I am convinced by his arguments.
The strained and elaborate introduction (§§ 1-5) needs no further comment ; no doubt it is very " fine writing," but it is difficult to pin some of it down to any precise meaning in translation.
B
THE STORY OF THE PYTHIC GRASSHOPPER
6. With § 6, however, our interest is awakened, for it reminds us of the famous Introduction to the Protrepticus, or Exhortation to the Greeks, of Clement of Alexandria, when he says :
" I could tell thee also of another — brother to these 1 — story and singer, of Eunomus the Locrian and the Pythic grasshopper.
"At Pytho there was gathered together a solemn assembly of Greeks to celebrate the Death of the Serpent, with Eunomus to sing the funeral song of the beast.
" Whether his song was a hymn or a dirge I cannot say; anyhow, there was a contest, and Eunomus had to harp it in the heat of the day, when the grasshoppers, warmed by the sun, were singing underneath the leaves along the hills.
1 Amphion, Arion and Orpheus.
"They were singing not to the Serpent, the dead thing, but to God the All-wise, a song of unrestrained mode far better than the modes of Eunomus.
"A cord breaks for the Locrian; the grasshopper flies on to the yoke; it chirped on the harp as on a branch; and the minstrel, modulating to the song of the grasshopper, filled up the missing string.
" It was not that the grasshopper was attracted by the song of Eunomus, as the story would have it, setting up a brazen statue at Pytho of Eunomus, harp and all, and his helper in the contest ; it flew on naturally and sung naturally. The Greeks, however, thought it played the music." l
This passage shows that the story referred to by our author was well known, so well known indeed that Clement takes it as a text for a naturalistic explanation of Hellenic miracle. No literary dependence, however, of one or the other can be entertained, for the similarity of the " Trjv vevpav aveirXripuMTev CLVTW " of our text and the " 6 CD$O? Tqv \eLTrov(Ta.v aveTrXrjpwue ^opStjv " of Clement is far too slight a link to bear the weight of any argument of this nature.2
11. There is evidently a lacuna after § 10, and, judging by the opening words of § 11, it must be of some length, for the Praise of Kings so far is of a very brief description.
It is also of interest to notice how much easier the style of our author is when he treats of the Praises of God ; his words seem to come far more easily, as though he had a subject to deal with with which he was more familiar, as, indeed, he ought to have been if he had studied the treatises he has collected together.
1 Clem. Al., Pro*., i. 1 ; P. 2 (ed. Dindorf, i. 2).
2 Of. R. 205, 206.
THE TRUE KING
13. The idea that all his subjects are the children of the King is Egyptian ; or, rather, it is the tradition of all nations who believed in Divine Kings. The true King was he who, so to speak, contained all his subjects within himself; they were all "members," or, as we should say, cells, of his true Body. The nation was the King ; the victory of the nation was ascribed to the virtue of the King.1
THE FELLOW-KULERS OF THE HEIGHT
14. The last three sentences of § 14 Eeitzenstein (p. 208) would take as referring to the Kings under the suzerainty of the Emperor, who were bound to him by a common bond of love, in order that he may the more insist on the Diocletian date.2 I would, however, refer the idea to the ideal of harmony and unity of the Beings of the Intelligible World, as described, for instance, by Plotinus, when he writes :