Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais

Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais

Of all the temples Built by thee, O King! To serve thy sacred Mysteries, I visited them all; Prostrate, a suppliant, Wet with the dew of My eyelids: That my journey Might not prove in vain, I addressed my prayers To the gods, the ministers Whose lot it is to hold The fertile soil of Thrace: And those who rule over The lands of Chalcedon On the opposite shore: Whose sacred ministers Thou hast crowned, O King, With angelic Radiance. They, The blessed ones, Assisted my prayers, They joined me in my many Labors.

All these offices of piety and religion seem to have proceeded from nothing but a Christian. That this time corresponds to about the year 397 of Christ, I shall demonstrate in the notes to the *Oration on Kingdom*. Furthermore, in epistle 105, which he wrote to his brother Evoptius when he was being urged by the people of Ptolemais to take up the priesthood, he provides another conjecture. For there he says that God, the law, and the sacred hand of Theophilus had given him his wife, whom he did not wish to dismiss. *“To me, therefore, both God, and the law, and the sacred hand of Theophilus have given a wife.”* Unless he were a Christian when he took a wife, I do not believe he would have received her from the hand of a bishop. For a priest would not ratify the marriages of Gentiles; since marriage is a thing proper to Christians, which the Church ratifies, and which the oblation confirms, and which being sealed, the angels announce, as Tertullian says in book II *Ad uxorem*, ch. 9. Moreover, it is clear that he had taken his wife many years before he became a bishop, since he already had children by her who were applying themselves to their studies, just as he himself testifies in epistle 3 regarding the boy Dioscurius of happy disposition. He also lost these children at the beginning of his episcopate, as we have shown above. From these things one might perhaps not absurdly conclude that Synesius had long since been initiated into the Christian mysteries before he reached the episcopate. Although the use of Platonic dogmas and his study of empty philosophy exhaled much of that Gentile superstition which overflowed into his writings. Indeed, the book *On Dreams* reeks of a pure worshipper of the gods, and has not even a hair’s breadth of a Christian man about it; which, however, it is clear from that same work was written by him after his embassy was concluded, as we make plain in the notes to the *Oration on Kingdom*. Nor is there any other judgment to be made regarding *Dion*, which he worked on at about the same time, as epistle 153 declares. But to the contrary, in addition to the consensus of the authors who have touched upon Synesian history, that which he writes at the end of epistle 67 to Theophilus seems to militate against this conjecture of ours, namely that he was contending with many difficulties in the execution of his office, because, being a man "outside the Church," raised outside the Church and led by "another kind of discipline," he did not hesitate to approach the altar of God rashly. By these words he demonstrates that he was still a Gentile shortly before he took up the episcopate. We leave this question to be debated by learned men.

But it usually seems very strange that a man who openly professed that he did not wish to believe in the resurrection of the dead was sought out by the people—and even more so by the bishops, and by Theophilus in particular—to be ordained. Nor is it less admirable that, without that faith and confession, Synesius could have been made a Christian and initiated by baptism. For among other things, concerning which a distinct profession was accustomed to be made by the competent under baptism, was the resurrection of the dead. The author of the *Ecclesiastical Annals* believes that all that which Synesius alleged regarding his wife not being dismissed, and the resurrection of the dead not being credited by him, was not asserted seriously and in good faith, but fictitiously, and for the sake of avoiding the episcopate: a simulation of this kind is noted in the case of Ambrose in a similar situation. But it is much more likely that he asserted this initially just as he had it in his mind; and that a little later he was persuaded by Theophilus or other learned men and yielded to the truth before he became a bishop.

After he had assumed the episcopate, which he had resisted with such great intensity, he administered ecclesiastical affairs with no less prudence than fortitude and constancy of soul, as a few of his epistles declare. He gave a specimen of his prudence in resolving the controversies of bishops and presbyters, and in attending to other matters in his province by the mandate of Theophilus, concerning which epistle 67 treats. Andronicus, the prefect of the province of Pentapolis, experienced his constancy and the strength of soul worthy of a bishop, when, because Andronicus was acting most cruelly against the citizens and wickedly uttering contumelious words against God, Synesius condemned him in a synod; and when the execution of the sentence was delayed a little, because he was asking for leniency and promising better things for himself, he gradually returned to his former ways.

deprived of communion the fallen. He strove to relieve him when he was affected by various calamities and oppressed, with the highest kindness. All of which ^A can be verified from letters 57, 58, 72, and 89. Nor is it an obscure indication of his fairness that, though he was otherwise extremely devoted to Theophilus, he nevertheless did not hesitate to think and speak very honorably about John Chrysostom, with whom Theophilus had waged mortal enmities, writing to that same Theophilus in letter 66. Synesius enjoyed the favor and friendship of leading men both before and after he obtained the episcopate. For he obtained immunity from public functions from the Emperor Arcadius, as letter 99 testifies; and he held as benevolent friends and acquaintances Aurelian, Anthemius, and Paeonius, men of primary importance in that age; as well as Troilus, who had all power with Anthemius; also Anysius and Gennadius, prefects of the Pentapolis, and many others, who are mentioned in his letters. How long he lived in the episcopate, or in what year ^B he died, has been handed down by no one, so far as I know. Mention is made in the *Spiritual Meadow*, ch. 195, of a certain memorable deed of his, when he led Evagrius, a pagan philosopher, to the Christian mysteries; whoever wishes may repeat that history from that book. (*It exists below.*)

As for his writings, I do not know if anything exists today beyond those which we have included in this edition. I have certainly found no mention of any others in anyone, except for the *Cynegetica*, which he himself mentions in letter 153. He used a grand and lofty style, rising to the poetic. Yet he strove to emulate Plato and Dio Chrysostom repeatedly, as is evident from his oration. Among his monuments, the Epistles are especially celebrated, which Photius praises highly for their charm and elegance, as well as for the strength and density of their sentiments, as do Evagrius before him, and Suidas and Nicephorus after him.

LITERARY NOTICE

The extant writings of Synesius are these: 1. ^C *On Kingship* (Εἰς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα Ἀρκάδιον περὶ βασιλείας), pp. 1-32. This oration on ruling well was delivered to the Emperor Arcadius, who was nineteen years old, two years after the death of his father, Theodosius the Great, in Constantinople around A.D. 397 (a), when, not yet a bishop, he had been sent by the Cyrenians to offer him a crown of gold. "Cyrene sends me to you," he says on p. 2, "having crowned with gold my head, but with philosophy my soul." He warns that the Scythians—that is, the Goths—should be removed and kept away from the senate, dignities, camps, and houses (p. 22 ff.), and he does not obscurely attack Rufinus for indulging them (p. 24); he laments that those pests of the Roman empire, ^D *the murderous ones*, were received by Theodosius into an alliance in war and civil matters (p. 25). Photius mentions this Synesian work in codex XXVI, and Nicephorus in XIV, 55, who wrongly reports that it was dedicated to Theodosius the Younger. The same error is in Evagrius, book I, ch. 15, unless the *Exhortatory Address to Theodosius* mentioned there is an altogether different, now lost, work, and by "Theodosius" he understands Theodosius the Great.

Before Cornarius and Petavius, it was translated into Latin by Joach. Camerarius, with notes added and a preceding narrative about Synesius. Leipzig, in the office of Val. Papa, 1555, 8; Frankfurt, 1585, 8 [in *Opuscula moralia* edited by the son of Jo. Camer. at Nuremberg. See Freytag, *Appar. litter.*, III, p. 502 ff.]. Joannes Zamoscius, Stanislaus Hovius, Polish. Venice, 1563, 4. In French by Daniel d'Ange, professor of Greek, Paris, 1555, 8.

— [This oration exists in Paris in the public library in nine codices; in the Coislin codex CCXLIX, fol. 150, according to Montfauçon in *Bibl. Coist.*, p. 303. In Florence in codex Laurent. Medic. XXVII, n. 22, pluteus 69. See Bandin. *Cat. codd. Gr. Laur.*, II, p. 547. More works of Synesius are sometimes gathered in one and the same codex; which it is helpful to note here for the sake of brevity. In the same Laurentian library, col. VI, n. 2-10, pluteus 55, *On Kingship* and other works of Synesius, as well as in codex LV, n. 3-18 of the same pluteus. In codex VI, n. 12-17 (see Bandin. II, p. 244, 269, and 591 ff., pluteus 60). In codex XIX, n. 3-8, pluteus 80 (Band. III, p. 208). Certain *Sayings* of Synesius, among the *Sentiments of the Seven Sages*, in codex VIII, n. 22 (Bandin. III, p. 325). At Venice in the Marciana library, codex CCLXIV contains the works of Synesius which are enumerated by Fabricius in this place, n. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11.]

(a) See Jac. Gothofredus on the law *Quisquis*, p. 77 ff., and Tillemont, vol. XII *Memor.*, p. 509. FABR. Saxius in *Onomast.* I, p. 458, assumes that Synesius delivered the most elegant oration *On Kingship* in A.D. 399, according to the very plausible argumentation of Pagi in *Crit. Baron.*, ad A. Ch. 399, n. XIX, p. 519, vol. VI. Harl. Add P. tav. above.

In cod. CDXXII there are nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10. In cod. CDXXXVI there are nos. 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10. *On Kingship* in cod. DXIV. See the Catalog of Greek manuscripts of St. Mark, pp. 130, 206, etc. In the former Uffenbach Library at Frankfurt am Main, in cod. VI there are nos. 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. See J. H. Mai, *Bibl. Uffenbach. ms.*, pp. 426 ff. In Vienna, among the codices formerly belonging to Seb. Ericius, then brought into the Imperial Library, is Synesius's oration *On Kingship*; the same author's *Dion* and *On Providence*, books 2, are later numbered among the philosophical codices, cod. XIV. See Lambecius, and Kollar, *Comment.*, IV, p. 504, and those books are listed more clearly in vol. VII, pp. 82 ff. The same works are in Rome in four codices of the Vatican Library. See Montfaucon, *Bibl. biblioth. mss.*, I, p. 69. In the Royal Cod. Matrit. LXIX, Synesius’s several writings are in this order, with some marginal scholia and notes: 1. *Encomium of Baldness*; 2. *Dion*; 3. *The Egyptian, or On Providence*, two discourses with a *protheoria*, or preface; 4. *To Paeonius on the gift—The thing itself was an astrolabe*. ^A An ancient hand has inscribed this: *Oration to the Emperor on Kingship*; and above that other, older inscription is read the note: *To the Emperor Arcadius*. Hence, in the judgment of Iriarte, who reviews that codex at pp. 247 ff. of his *Cat. codd. Gr. Matrit.*, p. 248, Petavius’s opinion is confirmed, that this oration was inscribed to the Emperor Arcadius on account of its subject matter, not to Theodosius as Evagrius maintains, nor on the authority of any MS codex’s title; 7. *Epistles*. Among the Mendoza codices are Synesius’s Orations and Epistles; according to Iriarte, *l. c.*, p. 277. Among the Escorial codices, the *Oration against Andronicus* and the *Encomium of Baldness*. See Plüer, *Itiner. per Hispan.*, p. 190. At Oxford, in the Bodleian library, among the Barocci codices, cod. XIII contains certain things on Synesius and Evagrius. Cod. LVI: Synesius *On Kingship*, then the same author’s *Epistles*, both *Catastases*, *Encomium of Baldness*, *Dion*, the discourse *On Providence*, *To Paeonius on the gift*, and Hymns III, IV, X. Cod. CXXV: *On Kingship*, *Catastasis*, and *Epistles*. Cod. CXXXIX and cod. CCXIX, which are enumerated by Fabricius, contain everything except the Hymns, and in the latter codex also except the epistles. In the same Bodleian library, no. 6942, Catal. A, *Treatise of the Philosophers Stone, by Synesius the Greek abbot*. Dublin, among the codices of Trinity College, no. 428, excerpts from Synesius’s *Epistles* and *Hymns*. Certain works of Synesius are in the Rehdiger Library at Wrocław, according to Krantz in *Memor. bibl. publ. Wratisl.*, p. 83. At Munich, in the Elector’s library, cod. CLXII: *On Kingship* and other writings of Synesius. In cod. CCXLVI, Synesius’s *Orations* and *Hymns*. See *Cat. codd. Gr. Bavar.*, pp. 63 and 84. At Augsburg, in some codices, are very many of Synesius’s works. See Reiser’s *Index mss. bibl. August.*, pp. 78, 79 and 87, and his *Oration to Arcadius* and *Book on Dreams*, *ibid.*, p. 86. According to Montfaucon, *Bibl. bibl. mss.*, the Ambrosian Library at Milan has a codex *On Kingship*, *On the Solitary Life*, poems and other minor works of Synesius; and in another codex, Synesius’s works (tom. I, p. 501 A and 508 D). In the library of Guil. Pellisier, Synesius’s works (tom. II, 199 B), and likewise in many other library codices mentioned in that work. Harl.

2. *Dion, or On his own way of life*. pp. 55-62. Relying on the example of Dio Chrysostom, he chose to be a philosopher rather than a sophist, and a follower of every solid branch of learning. This book was written around A.D. 404, not long after his marriage was entered into (a), an outstanding recommendation of a certain liberal education and philosophy, and written with eloquence, of which Synesius makes mention in ep. 153, where he testifies that he set this writing against those who were envious and calumniated him as being occupied with useless studies. Synesius teaches, however, that it is in vain for those unversed in the liberal disciplines to aspire to philosophy: "For one must first divest oneself of boorishness, and contemplate small things before greater ones, and dance before carrying the torches, and carry the torches before being initiated." p. 52. He calls the sophist *one who gathers a semblance of truth instead of truth*. p. 55. The father addressed this writing to his son, whom he says was to be born the following year, and for whom he says the hope was given to him by God, pp. 41, 58, and whom he addresses on pp. 59 and 61. With the version of Dionysius Petavius (b), who translated after Cornarius, it is prefixed to the dissertations of Dio Chrysostom, edited in Greek and Latin by Fed. Morello, Paris, 1604, fol. Petavius writes in the preface to Synesius that this, as a kind of sampler of his Synesian interpretation, had been offered to the palate of literary men, published finally in its entirety in Greek and Latin in 1612. [It is in eight codices of the Paris library, and concerning others see at no. 1.]

3. *Encomium of Baldness*. pp. 63-87. The *Encomium*, or as he himself sets forth the argument on p. 67, that a bald man (c) should by no means be ashamed. An oration decorated with the lights of genius and learning, written by a bald man (d), and set over against the *Encomium of Hair* that Dio Chrysostom had written, but today

^A much older than Synesius himself, had composed in a rhetorical manner a denunciation against baldness.

John Phrea, a Briton, translated it into Latin before Cornarius and Petavius; this version, with the scholia of Beatus Rhenanus, was appended to Erasmus's *Moria*, printed at Basel in 1515, 1519 (4to), 1521 (a) (8vo), 1524 (4to), and 1551 (8vo). It exists also in Greek, with Phrea's translation appended, in Caspar Dornavius's *Amphitheatrum sapientiae Socraticae iocoseriae*, Vol. I, page 281 et seqq.

4. ^B *De Providentia* (or *On Providence*). Pages 88–129. A book divided into two sections, or as Nicephorus (xiv, 53) says, into two books; and as is noted in the *Protheoria* (b), it was written concerning the sons of Taurus in the years of Christ 400 and 401. It is an enigmatic description of the public calamity of those times, which is expounded under the veil of the Egyptian fable concerning Osiris and Typhon, brothers of contrary disposition, and it is demonstrated how, in cases of this kind, Providence is not to be accused. On this matter, see pages 102, 116, 120, and 125. Suidas calls it a “wondrous discourse”; Photius also mentions it in Codex xxvi. Before Cornarius and Petavius, it was translated by Esrom Rudinger of Papeberg, Basel, 1556 (8vo) [ap. Hamberg, 1557].

5. *Homilia*. Pages 130, 131. A homily which begins: “I shall not hold the festival in silence,” spoken in a festive assembly, warning that feast days are to be passed soberly and piously, and clarifying by an allegorical explanation the passage of Psalm LXXIV, 8: “A cup in the hand of the Lord, full of unmixed wine,” etc. Comparing the New and Old Testaments with each other, he teaches that one and the same Spirit has spoken both through the prophets and the apostles; but that, like a skilled painter, He first ^C sketched out what He willed, and then accurately described and elaborated it: “For the Spirit breathed both upon the prophet and upon the apostle. And according to the good painters, He once drew the outlines, but later He perfected the members of knowledge.” He also denies that the Holy Spirit catches at or worries over the minutiae of style: “God cares nothing for the inspired word; divine Spirit overlooks meticulous writing.” Cave is mistaken, who writes that the Homily on Psalm LXXIV was added in the latest edition. For this is the very one which is read in all three Greek-Latin editions of 1612, 1631, and 1640; also in the Greek edition of Turnebus in 1553, and in the Latin of Janus Cornarius in 1560. FABR. V. to no. 8. ^D Two homilies of Synesius, and the *Constitutio* (or eulogy of Anysius), in Greek, from the library of Huralt de Maisse, councilor of the royal and sacred assembly, and in Latin translated by Fed. Morel, at the same place, Paris, 1600 (8vo). See Maittaire A. T., III, page 835; and ibid., page 846, where Synesius' *Philadelphoi*, or *Oration on Kindness*, is brought forth, now appearing in Greek for the first time from the Royal Library with a Latin translation by Fed. Morel, Paris, from the press of Fed. Morel, 1604 (4to). Concerning the oration *On Kindness*, or *Philadelphos*, which is in cod. MCM… (see below, no. 14, concerning that oration). Homilies in five Greek manuscripts in the Paris public library (Harl.).

6. *De insomniis* (or *On Dreams*). Pages 132–158. He describes in returning the letter to Hypatia with these words: “The one, God has both commanded and inquired into, which has been assigned as a thanksgiving to the imaginative nature. He has pondered in it concerning the whole of the phantom soul, and other dogmas have been brought forward that are not yet philosophized by the Greeks.” Nicephorus mentions it in xiv, 55. I would neither deny with Cave that it was written by a worshiper of the gods, nor would I stubbornly affirm it with other learned men, although my mind inclines more toward this opinion, and it seems to be proven by Nicephorus Gregoras, who illustrated this book with a Greek commentary and inscribed it to Theodore Metochites, the Great Logothete, as is clear from the Caesarean and royal manuscripts.

(a) In my copy it is inscribed: “Jo. Frobenius to the reader, greetings. You have again the *Encomium of Moria*, more corrected than the most corrected, along with the commentaries of Listrius and other little books, no less learned than they are witty, the catalog of which the following page will indicate. Fare well. At the famous city of Basel, 1519.” The oration of Synesius is not included, but is prefixed to Erasmus's *Encomium moriae*. For in this order follow the works that are contained: 1. *Ludus* by L. Annaeus Seneca; 2. Synesius *On the Praises of Baldness*; 3. Apologetic to the theologian Mart. Dorp. The same order is in the Basel edition of 1517 (4to), which Maittaire cites in A. T. in the index, page 375. It exists separately (if I omit those mentioned at no. 1) in the library and manuscripts of the Bodleian, XXII, or no. 2268, *Cat. codd. Angliae*, etc., and cod. LXXI, s., no. 3561. In seven manuscripts of the Paris public library — Rome in the Vatican library twice. (Montf. Bibl. bibl. mss., page 69 D.) Harl.

(b) [Fragment of Greek omitted as per instruction; the Latin follows:] ...the first part up to the riddle of the fish (p. 115) was read, at a time when the inferior party was prevailing, having gained the upper hand in the uprising. But what followed the return was woven in afterward... therefore, the tyrannous government being already under abolition, the discourse proceeded together with the events. By Osiris is understood Aurelian, son of Taurus the prefect, appointed in the consulship 400 A.C. to Gainas. By Typhon, Gainas, who favored his Goths alone, and with the rebellion (of which Zosimus lib. v, c. 19) having been excited, subjected Aurelian to exile, though not long after he was recalled with great glory, as Socrates narrates in vi, 6. The mention of Taurus the prefect is in Ammianus Marcellinus xxiii, 3, and Sulpicius Severus lib. ii, cap. 56, etc. He held the consulship in 361 A.C. His son was that Aurelian, who also himself had a son named Taurus, whom Synesius in epistle 31 calls "the good hope of the Romans." He mentions divine *providence* in epistle 34, to Aurelian.

^A Lambecius and Boivinus have observed. That commentary exists in the Petavius edition of Synesius, pages 239-247, with the Latin version of Antonius Pichonius, Paris, 1586, 8vo, published long ago, and ibid. 1601, 8vo, revised by Fed. Morellus. But at the beginning, that Nicephorus is wrongly called Patriarch of Constantinople, since he lived a private life and grew old in a monastery, dying in the year of our Lord 1339, as I remember noting in book V, ch. 5, p. 300. The manuscript book of Synesius is in the Coislin Library of Montfaucon, p. 228; it saw the light in Greek at Venice in 1518, at the press of Aldus, along with Artemidorus (b). Then, with the commentary of Gregoras, Turnebus published it in Greek among the works of Synesius, Paris, 1553, folio. Marsilius Ficinus translated Synesius *On Dreams* into Latin before Cornarius and Petavius in the year 1489 and dedicated it to Petrus de Medici, reprinted at Venice, 1497, 1516, folio, and along with the treatise of the same subject by Augerius Ferrerius of Toulouse, Lyons, 1544, in smaller format [ed. Lyons, 1549, 16mo, Haller in *Bibliotheca anatomica*, vol. I, p. 123, cites and judges of the book] and among the works of Ficinus, vol. II, p. 919, Paris, 1641, folio. Besides others who were encouraged, Synesius wrote nothing on the art (of dream interpretation) for the study of it: for which reason we have also called it the interpretation of Synesius's dreams. These things Hieronymus Cardanus mentions at the beginning of the *Dreams of Synesius*, which he published in four books at Basel, 1562, 4to, reprinted in volume V of the works of Cardanus, Lyons, 1663, folio. Fabr. [Cf. Morhof. *Polyhistor*, vol. II, lib. III, 1, § 8, p. m. 456. Harl.]

7. Epistles. Pages 159-294. For although in the enumeration 101 was omitted, 129 was put in its place twice (c). Nicephorus seems to have read more: for among the writings of Synesius, he mentions in the first place a *Book of Epistles*, which are 160 in number, epistles to 160. Photius also, codex XXVI, mentions an epistle to Theophilus of Alexandria, which does not exist today. "Finely and learnedly composed after his priesthood," that is, written already as bishop, notes Evagrius lib. I, c. 15, and from him Nicephorus. Suidas celebrates them as "admirable," and Photius in codex XXVI says that they "distill grace and delight, together with strength and density in their thoughts." Greek first together with others of the Greeks ^{B C D}

^A in the edition published at Venice by Aldus, 1499, 4to. Next, Turnebus published them along with other writings of Synesius, Paris, 1553, folio. Janus Cornarius also published them in Latin among the works of Synesius, Basel, 1560. Thomas Naogeorgus of Straubing published them separately with his own translation; Meursius noted in his *Glossarium Graeco-barbarum* under the entry *Rousalousos* (b) that he often blunders gravely. Hence, after comparing the manuscript codices with the version and annotations of Hadrian Turnebus, who interpreted them in public lectures at Paris, and with the notes of Franciscus Portus, they were produced at Paris in 1605, 8vo, edited by Fed. Morellus [see Maittaire, *A.T.*, III, p. 847]. They also exist in a collection of Greek epistles with a Latin version published at Geneva, 1606, folio, p. 169. It begins: *Liberos ego genui orationes* (I have begotten speeches as children). But the beginning of the Naogeorgian version is: *Pueros ego genui libros* (I have begotten books as children); and the Petavian version: *Filios ego libros sustuli* (I have raised books as sons). Allatius mentions a manuscript exposition by Matthaeus Camariota on the epistles of Synesius in his *Diatriba de Georgiis*, p. 398. A notable manuscript codex of the epistles themselves is kept in my fatherland, in the Pauline Library at Leipzig, from which Jo. Fridericus Fellerus, who collated it many years ago, advised me that the Petavian edition can be corrected in not a few places. From that same codex, I understood with pleasure that the honorable D. Christianus Fridericus Boernerus, then professor of Greek literature and today professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Leipzig, is preparing a new edition. He will also restore the chronological order ^B (c) in which they were written by Synesius, which is as much in disorder in the common printed books as it is in almost all ancient collections of epistles. Twenty-eight shorter epistles of Synesius, published in Greek at Paris in 1577 and 1581, 8vo, together with others, were selected for the use of students by H. Stephanus (d). Eleven epistles of Synesius in the Latin version of Petrus Nannius exist in the *Farrago epistolarum Laconicarum* of Gilbertus Cognatus, Basel, 1654, 12mo. Finally, the *Epistle to Oros* (e), which with the *Aegyptus*, or the book *On Providence*, was published in Greek and Latin at the same place in 1656, 8vo, by Esromus Rudingerus, is read in editions of the works of Synesius, especially the Petavian, under the title: *To Paeomius on the Gift of the Astrolabe*. You may gather from Montfaucon’s *Itinerarium Italicum*, p. 32, that in the codex of the Mantuan Library, the epistles of Synesius are numbered up to 157, and thus there are more of them than in the printed editions, although the first 30 are missing there.

Jo. Patusa’s *Encyclopaedia philologica*, vol. I, p. 278. ^C Synesius’s epistles to Simplicius, to Heliodorus, three to his brother, and one to Theodorus the physician are in: *An anthology of Greek epistles*, Paris, from the press of Steph. Prevosteau, 1583, 4to. In a certain epistle to Hypatia (i.e., ep. 157) there is a passage about a certain instrument which Petavius confessed he did not understand; but de Fermat explained that passage toward the end of the book translated into French, *De la mesure des eaux courantes*, by Benedetto Castelli, by Monsieur Saporta, Castres 1664, 4to, and at the beginning of the book: *Diophanti Alexandrini arithmeticorum libri VI*, Tolosa, Bern. Bosc. 1670, folio, according to Nicer, *l. c.*, p. 236. HARL.

(c) Confer the epistle of Christfridus Wächtler, inserted in *Acta eruditorum*, a. 1710, p. 482, and Tillemont, in *Vita Synesii*, tom. XII *Memor*.

(d) In the book inscribed: *Epistolia, dialogi breves, poemalia*, from various authors of both languages, 1577, 8vo. Three epistles of Synesius are in the book by Thomas Galettus, presbyter of the Society of Jesus, to which are added various unpublished minor works of certain saints, collected by the study and labor of the same author. Lyons, at the expense of Horatius Cardon, 1615, 8vo, in the second part. In the royal edition of the councils, tom. IV; Labbeus, tom. II; and Harduinus, tom. I, at A.C. 411, is the synod of Ptolemais, in which Synesius, having assembled the presbytery, excommunicated Andronicus of Berenice, the prefect of the Pentapolitan province, who had fixed his edicts to the doors of the church, and sent the delivered declaration to all the bishops. That is epistle 58 of Synesius. What followed afterward, the same epistle 72 and 89 teach. The newest edition, prepared for the use of Greek youth, is: *The Epistles of Synesius of Cyrene, with the commentaries of the teacher Neophytus, Hierodeacon of the Peloponnese; published with the care and oversight of Gregory, Hierodeacon of Demetries, son of Constantius, and with the contribution in part of the most honorable gentlemen Eleutherius Michael Rapsaniotes and Abraham Chatzes, Demetrius Ampelakiotes. In Vienna of Austria, at the press of Georgius Ventotes. 1812.* May 8. HARL.

(e) Monnoye corrects the error of Fabricius in this place in his notes to Baillet’s *Jugemens*, tom. I, p. 781. HEUM.

^A *8. Homily.* Pp. 295, 296. A short homily given on the eve of the Nativity. It begins: *Nux hiera phōs* [Holy is the night, bringing light]. Federic Morel translated it, having edited it in Greek and Latin, Paris, 1600, 8vo; Petavius preserved his version. Before Morel, Guil. Canterus had published it in Greek and Latin, Basel, 1567, 8vo, at the press of Oporinus. FABR. [In the edition of Synesius’s orations IV and hymns, by Guil. Canterus, Gr.-Lat., added at n. 5, and notes on the manuscripts at n. 1. — In Turin, in codex CCCXXIX, this homily is found, and another mentioned at n. 5. See *Cat. codd. Gr. Taur.*, p. 412. HARL.]

*9. Catastasis [Condition] uttered at the greatest incursion of the barbarians*, while Gennadius was prefect and Innocentius the duke. Pp. 298–303. An oration delivered in A.C. 412 (a) during the greatest incursion of the Hunnigardi, Marcomanni, and Ausurians, who were laying waste to the territory of the Pentapolis, while Gennadius was prefect and Innocentius was duke. Federic Morel published it in Greek from the codex of Papyrius Masson, Paris, 1595 (b), 1601, 8vo; Petavius translated it into Latin. D. Christian Friedrich Boerner, praised by me a little earlier, had it reprinted in Greek, who also illustrated it in his public lectures, as yet unpublished, in the year 1711, 8vo. Giul. Canterus was the first to publish it in Greek and Latin, Basel, 1567, 8vo [cited in n. 8 of the edition].

*10. Catastasis [Condition].* An oration in praise of Anysius, the prefect of Libya (c). Pp. 304, 305. Edited in Greek and Latin by Federic Morel, Paris, 1601 (d), 8vo. Petrus Morel of Tours had translated it. But because in some places, Petavius says, he had been thoroughly deluded, I preferred to translate it myself rather than appear as an interpolator of another’s work. Before Morel, Guil. Canterus published it in Greek and Latin, Basel, 1567, 8vo [See ad n. 8 and 9. It is in five Parisian codices.]

*11. Discourse on the Gift [of the Astrolabe] to Paeonius*, a man dear to the Emperor Arcadius, written about A.C. 399, when Synesius was staying at Constantinople on behalf of his country as an ambassador, as he himself teaches in epistle 155 to Hypatia. *Prosethēka ton peri tou dōrou palai genomenon en tō kairō tēs presbeias pros andra para basilei dunasteuonta* [I have added the work concerning the gift, made long ago at the time of the embassy to a man holding power at the imperial court]. *Kai ti tou logou te kai tou dōrou pentapoli eudokimon* [And some of the discourse and the gift... for the Pentapolis]. From the oration and the gift, the fruit was not entirely null for the Pentapolis. Federic Morel had published it in Greek with his own version (which Petavius also kept), Paris, 1601 (e), 1604, 8vo, and before Morel, Guil. Canterus likewise in Greek and Latin, 1567, 8vo. Nicephorus mentions it in XIV, 55. FABR. [It is in seven codices of the Paris public library, and, according to Montfaucon, in *Bibl. bibl. mss.*, I, p. 69, D, and at Rome in the Vatican Library. HARL.]

*12. Hymns.* Pp. 313–348. Ten hymns, in a lyrical style of poetry. Of these, I would not believe the first four were written by Synesius while he was not yet a Christian (f), even though Henry Dodwell holds this opinion in *De jure laicorum sacerdotali*, § 10, p. 287. In the rest, he adapts the entire Valentinian *mataeology* [folly] to orthodox Christian theology. ^{B C D}

^A John Ernest Grabe, in his Notes on St. Irenaeus, p. 7, argues that he adapted it to the Christian faith. Consult other matters therein—though they are elsewhere very beautiful—which Tillemont notes in vol. XII, p. 507 [and Brucker, loc. cit.]. William Canter was the first to edit them in Greek and render them into Latin verse, and he dedicated them, along with the four preceding minor works, to J. Vincentio Pinello, Basel, 1567, 8°. Next, Henri Estienne published them with the prose version of Franciscus Portus (a), Paris, 1568, in smaller format. They also appeared in Greek with a version subjoined at the end (b), Paris, 1570, 8°. I shall omit the Greco-Latin editions of Lyons, and the Tours edition of 1603, enlarged with notes by the Jesuit college, in smaller format. They were reprinted in Greek from the Canter edition at Rome, 1590, 8°, by Franciscus Zannettus, edited by Hieronymus Brunellus, S.J., and ibid. 1599, at the end of some selected poems of Nazianzen and the *Hexaemeron* of George of Pisidia, edited under the false name of Cyril of Alexandria. Johann Caselius arranged for them to be printed again in Greek from the edition of H. Estienne, Rostock, 1586, 8°, with certain odes of Nazianzen and a hymn of Clement of Alexandria. With the Latin version (the same one found in the Petavian editions), they appear in the *Corpus poetarum Graecorum, tragicorum, comicorum, lyricorum et epigrammatariorum*, which Johann Lectius published in Greek and Latin, Geneva, 1614, fol., vol. II, p. 162. Jac. Vindetus, in his book *De vita functorum statu* [On the State of the Dead], p. 42, who also thought of illustrating them (c), says: "There are infinite errors that Petavius commits in translating Synesius, especially in the hymns." Jacques de Courtin translated them long ago into French verse, Paris, 1581, 12°. Nicephorus, XIV, 55, praises Synesius's "hymns to God, vigorously composed by him."

Index of those to whom Synesius writes (d). To Anastasius, ep. 22, 45, 46, 79. To the *Hydrokometes*, 121 (alias ^B to Athanasius the *Hydromystes*). Regarding Andronicus, 57, 58. Consult Tillemont, vol. XII, *Memor. eccles.*, p. 551 sqq. FABR. [Synesius the bishop's book *Against Andronicus* is in the Escorial codex, as attested by Pluer in *Itiner. per Hisp.*, p. 190. — With notes in the Petavian codex in the Vatican library, Rome; and published with marginal notes in the Vatican codex among the codices of Christina, Queen of Sweden, no. 1934. Paris, in the Royal Library among the codices of Cardinal Radulfus, no. 64, as attested by Montfaucon in *Bibl. biblioth. mss.*, I, p. 69 D, and p. 56 B, and 775 C. HARL.] To Anysius, 6, 14, 37, 59, 77, 78, 93. To Asclepiodotus, 126. To Athanasius, 121. Read: Anastasius. To Aurelianus, 31, 34, 38. To Auxentius, 60, 116. Chrysus, 82. To Cledonius, 42. To Constantius, 27. To Cyrillus, 12. To Diogenes, 20, 23. To Domitianus the scholastic, 154, 155. To the Duke, the hegemon, 21, 62. To the bishops, 58, 72. To a bishop, because he did not approve of the dogma of Arius, driven from the episcopacy, 128. To Eutropius, 41. To Evoptius, brother, 3, 4, 8, 18, 22, 35, 36, 38, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 65, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 91, 96, 104, 105 (e), 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 120, 122, 125, 127, 131, 134, 135. (This Evoptius, brother of Synesius the younger, succeeded him in the episcopacy of Ptolemais, and attended the Council of Ephesus, A.C. 431.) To Heliodorus, 17, 23, 117. To Heraclianus, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145. To Herodus, 19 (he calls him his kinsman, ep. 38).

(a) And with some odes of Gregory Nazianzen. HARL. (b) With the acrostic hymn of Damascenus on the Theogony, and four odes of Gregory Nazianzen, at the house of Benenatus. See Maittaire A. T., III, p. 751. HARL. (c) Truly, however, Niceron judges the accusation of Vindetus to be unjust—inasmuch as Petavius did not translate the hymns of Synesius, but had attached the version of Franciscus Portus to the text—in *Vita Petavii*, in *Memoriis VV. cell.*, vol. I, p. 235, second version. Baumgart. Germ. Ten hymns of Synesius and four odes of Gregory Nazianzen, Gr., Paris, at the house of Fed. Morell, 1586. See Maittaire A. T., III, p. 796, who notes on p. 743 that the Stephanian edition also saw the light with others in 1568. But in the Pinelli Catalog, vol. I, p. 81, no. 496, it is attributed to the year 1569. [This includes] also an epigram and two fragments among the Greek epigrams edited by Brunck, vol. II, p. 449, and by Jacobs, vol. II, p. 155, of the *Anthologia Graeca*. The renowned Ern. Frid. Car. Rosenmüller, in his present professorship of the Arabic language at the Leipzig academy, translated into German and illustrated the fifth hymn of Synesius, and in the preface he discussed his life, genius, and writings, briefly indeed, but well. Leipzig, 1786, May 8. HARL. The hymns of Synesius, with the attached Latin interpretation of Franciscus Portus the Cretan. Schaffhausen, at the press of J. C. Suter, 1657, 12°. (Edited by Steph. Spleissius, Rector of the Gymnasium of Schaffhausen.) B. (d) Add. Iriart. *Cat. codd. Gr. Matrit.*, p. 222. (e) Nicephorus inserted Epistle 105 in his *History* (XIV, 55).

Hesychius, 92 Hypatia, the philosopher, 10, 15, 16, 33, 80, 124, 153. This last is referred to by Nicephorus Gregoras ^A in the preface to his book *De Insomniis*, where he mentions Synesius writing to Hypatia. John, 2, 44, 63, 64, 146. Martyrius, 19. Nicander, 1, 75. Olympus, 45, 95, 96, 97, 98, 132, 147, 148. To Orus: the epistle edited by Esrom Rudinger, Basel 1556, 8. Pentadius, Augustalis, 29, 30. Peter the presbyter, 13. To the presbyters, 5, 11. Proclus, 70. Pylaemenes, 48, 61, 71, 74, 87, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 129, bis, 130, 133, 149, 150, 151, 152. Simplicius, 24, 28, 129, bis. Sister, 7, Stratonica. Theodorus, 7. Physician, 115. Theophilus, archbishop, 9, 66, 67, 68, 69, 76, 79, 89. Understand the Alexandrian. Theotimus, 47, 49. Troilus, 26, 73, 90, 111, 112, 118, 123. Trypho, 119, though in the edition of Petavius it is inscribed to Troilus. Uranius, 40. There are, moreover, passages from the works of Synesius excerpted in the *Catenae* of the Fathers on Leviticus, Numbers, etc., in codex Coisl. V; in the collection of Nicetas, interpreters on the Gospel of Luke; in codex CCLXXVI, in the *Parallels* of John the monk (Montfauc. *Bibl. Coisl.*, p. 41, 251, 390); in the *Loci communes* of St. Maximus. See Bandini, *Cat. codd. Gr. Laurent.*, p. 440. [Harl.]

Editions of the works of Synesius

Greek: Hadr. Turnebus, Paris 1553, fol., by the royal press. FABR. [With a short dedication by Turnebus written in Greek. But these Synesian works which were reviewed above at n. 8-12 are missing.—In the Pinelli library, Venice, there was a copy with manuscript corrections by a learned man of the 16th century. In my own copy, too, there are various things of different kinds and value occasionally written in the hand of V. D. HARL.] Latin: Janus Cornarius, Basel 1560, fol. And from the Petavian edition in the *Bibliothecae Patrum*. Greco-Latin: Paris 1612, fol., which was reprinted ibid. 1631 (some title pages bear 1633) and 1640, with the works of Cyril of Jerusalem attached. But as Cave writes that the editions of the year 1640 were ^B more complete with fuller notes, he was deceived by his memory, regarding that most famous man. FABR. In Niceron's *Memoirs*, according to the German version of Baumgarten, in the *Life of Dionysius Petavius*, tom. 1, 234, the editions of the works of Synesius are named: Paris, by Claude Morel 1612, Paris, by Charles Morel 1631, and ibid., by Sébastien Cramoisy 1633, fol., from the last of which the works of Synesius were reprinted in Latin, without notes, in the *Bibl. Patrum Lugdun.*, vol. VI, a. 1677, fol., p. 67-163. And Niceron corrects Du Pin, who in his *Bibl. des auteurs eccl.*, tom. III, while mentioning the edition of 1612, adds that the 1640 edition came out enlarged, along with the Catecheses of Cyril. (And in the *Cat. bibl. Leidens.*, p. 37, there appear the works of Cyril of Jerusalem and Synesius, Gr. and Lat., from the version of Jo. Grodeccius, enlarged and corrected by Jo. Prevotius, Lutet. Paris 1631, fol. Maittaire, however, A. T. III, p. 896, presents the works of Cyril Hier. as having been published separately, Gr. Lat., interpreted by Grodeccius, edited by Prevotius, Paris, by Hier. Drouart and Car. Morel, 1631, fol., and somewhat later: the works of Synesius, Gr. Lat., interpreted by Dion. Petavius, Paris, by Car. Morel, 1631, fol. Then on p. 902 he lists an edition of the works of Cyril Hierosol., Gr. and Lat., interpreted by Jo. Grodeccius, corrected by Jo. Prevotius, by Seb. Cramoisy, Par. 1640, fol., yet with no mention of Synesius.) Niceron therefore thinks that Du Pin was led astray by the judgment of Cave and Cas. Oudin when they report that the edition of the Catecheses of Cyril was overseen by Petavius; it is true, he continues, that the works of Synesius edited by Petavius are found bound together in one volume with the works of Cyril and inscribed: *S. Patris nostri Cyrilli Hieros. et Synesii Cyrenensis episcoporum opp. Gr. et Lat.*, Lutet. Paris, at the expense of Dionysius Bechet, 1640, fol.; but that the edition of this year is nothing other than that of 1633, with only the first folio of the inscription changed, and therefore Du Pin did not write accurately that the 1612 edition was reprinted as an enlarged edition in 1640. But that the same Niceron, *l. c.*, p. 245, reveals that to the edition of 1633 an *Appendix to the Synesian notes* was added, or a skirmish against the specimen of conjectures and observations of Jo. Croius. HARL. The oration *On Beneficence* (φιλανθρωπία), which Fed. Morellus published under the name of Synesius in Greek and Latin,

Paris, 1604, 8, is not by Synesius, but is among the orations of Themistius, the sixth *On Philanthropy*, as I said above, chap. 44. Fabr. (s. vol. VI, p. 796, n. 6). — Cf. above at § V, and concerning the edition, also Maittaire A.T., III, p. 846. Harl.

*Lost Writings of Synesius.* *Address to Theodosius.* Evagrius, book 1, chap. 15, unless he, like Nicephorus, understood it as the oration *On Kingship*, which was not addressed to Theodosius but to Arcadius, as I noted above. *Various Poems*, such as the *Cynegetica*, which he mentions in ep. 153. *Tragedies and Comedies*, which he hints that he composed in imitation of the ancients, in *Dio*, at the end. *Certain Letters*, such as that to Theophilus of Alexandria, which Photius mentions, cod. XXVI.

CERTAIN TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS CONCERNING SYNESIUS.

*From the Bibliotheca of Photius, cod. XXVI.*

There were read the treatises of the Bishop of Cyrene, whose name is Synesius: *On Providence*, *On Kingship*, and concerning some other matters. His style is sublime and grand, yet it occasionally declines into a more poetic [civile] style of discourse. ^A There were read also various letters of his, flowing with charm and sweetness, and not without weight and density of thought. He was of the number of the Greeks, professing philosophy. They say that when he inclined toward the profession of Christianity, he accepted other points quite readily; but the doctrine concerning the resurrection (whether this is known from elsewhere, I do not know; but for the time being, it is clearly gathered from his own letter to Theophilus) he was unwilling to admit. Yet, even though he was so disposed, they initiated him into our mysteries and advanced him to the episcopal rank, ^B looking to the rest of the man's integrity and the purity of his life; and because it could not be that a person who had ordered his life in such a way would not also be illuminated by the light of the resurrection. Nor did their hope deceive them. For without any difficulty, as soon as he became bishop, he gave his assent to the dogma of the resurrection. Furthermore, he was an ornament to Cyrene at the time when Theophilus presided over Alexandria.

*From book 1, chap. 15, of Evagrius Scholasticus.*

Let Synesius the Cyrenian now come into our midst, as I labor with all possible elegance, so that the mention of him might bring ornamentation to this discourse. ^C This Synesius was highly learned in all other disciplines; then, in philosophy, he so excelled that he was a source of admiration even among those Christians who judge the things they see without love or hatred. Therefore, they persuade him both to receive the saving mystery of regeneration and to submit his neck to the yoke of the episcopate; although he did not yet admit the dogma of the resurrection, nor did he wish to profess it, as they most prudently conjectured that this also would shortly be added to the man's other virtues, since divine grace does not suffer anything to be left imperfect. And in this their hope did not deceive them at all. For what kind of man and how great he became, is attested by the letters ^D elegantly and learnedly written by him after his episcopate; and the one to him, Theodo-

^Asius, addressed oration, and the remainder of his most excellent studies.

From Suidas

Synesius, bishop from Ptolemais in Pentapolis, which is in Libya, was a philosopher from the order of bishops. He wrote books of various kinds: grammatical and philosophical [works], and orations delivered to the emperor, whether panegyrical or for display, [including] the ^B *Encomium of Baldness* and the *De Providentia*, a magnificent book written in the Greek style. He also composed many other volumes of different kinds, and, moreover, those admirable *Epistles*.

Synesius' story from the Spiritual Meadow, cap. 195

When we were at Alexandria, Leontius of Apamea, a religious and most faithful man, came from Pentapolis; for he had already lived for many years at Cyrene. He went to the ^B see of the holy Patriarch of Alexandria, Eulogius, being the future bishop of that same city of Cyrene. And when we were in familiar conversation, he told us, saying: In the times of Theophilus, the most blessed Patriarch of Alexandria, Synesius the philosopher was bishop in Cyrene. When he had come to Cyrene, he found there a certain philosopher named Evagrius, who had been his companion in the liberal arts ^C and was his dearest friend, but a gentile in religion and most devoted to the worship of idols. Bishop Synesius strove to transfer him from idolatry to the worship of Christ, and had taken upon himself great care for this matter, due to the charity he had felt for him from the beginning. Evagrius, however, would not suffer it at all, nor did he wish to admit his teaching. Yet the bishop, out of his excessive love for him, did not despair, nor ^C did he desist from exhorting and instructing him every day, and persuading him to believe in Christ and receive his sacraments. And as he persisted in giving him these admonitions every day, the philosopher once said to him: "Truly, my lord bishop, among other things that displease me in the Christians, this is one: [the claim] that the consummation of this world will come, and after the consummation, all men who have been from the beginning of the world will rise again in this body, and ^D receiving this flesh incorruptible and immortal, will live forever, and thus receive the rewards for what they did in the body; and that he who has mercy on the poor lends to God, and he who distributes money to the poor and needy stores up for himself treasures in heaven, and receives an hundredfold, with eternal life, to be rendered by Christ at the regeneration. All these things, when they are said, seem to me a deception, and mockery, and a fable." But bishop Synesius ^D asserted that all the things of the Christians were true, and had nothing false at all, or contrary to the truth, and he attempted to show that these things are so by many proofs. And indeed, after a long time had passed, having made him become a Christian, he baptized both him, and his children, and all who were in his house. After some time had passed since his baptism, he gave to the bishop three hundred gold coins...

for the poor, saying, "Take these three hundred centenaria, and give them to the poor, and make for me a document, that Christ will repay these to me in the world to come." ^A And he, having received the gold, readily made the document for him as he wished. Having lived for some years after his holy baptism, he fell ill with a fatal sickness. And when he was about to die, he said to his children, "When you prepare my funeral, place this paper in my hands, and thus bury me with it." And they, when he had died, did as he had commanded them, and burying him, they interred him with the document. ^B On the third day after the burial, he appeared to Bishop Synesius while he was sleeping at night, saying, "Come to the tomb where I am laid, and take back your document. For I have received the debt, and I have been satisfied, and I have no claim against you; and, for your assurance, I have endorsed the document." But the bishop was unaware that his own document had been buried with the philosopher. And in the morning, having sent for his sons, he said to them, "What did you place with the philosopher in the tomb?" They, thinking he was asking about money, said to him, "Nothing, master, except his customary burial garments." "What then?" he says. "Did you not bury any paper with him?" And they, remembering (for they did not know that he was speaking of the paper), said to him, "Yes, master, a certain paper he gave us when he was dying, saying, 'When you bury me, give me this paper to hold in my hands,' with no one else at all knowing." ^C Then the bishop told them the dream which he had seen during that night, and taking them with the clergy, and the leading men, and some from the city, he went to the philosopher's tomb. Having opened it, they found the philosopher lying there, and holding the bishop's document in his own hands. Taking the document from his hands, they opened it and found it newly written by the hand of the philosopher, as follows: "I, Evagrius the philosopher, to you, the most holy lord Synesius the bishop, greeting. I have received the debt written in this document of yours, and I have been satisfied, and I have no claim against you, on account of the gold which I gave to you, or rather, through you, to Christ our God and Savior." ^D Those who were present were struck with wonder, and for many hours, crying "Kyrie eleison," they glorified God who does wonders, and gives such and so great an assurance of His promises to His servants. The same Lord Leontius also asserted that the document, having the philosopher's signature, is preserved even to this day, and lies in the treasury of the church of Cyrene. Whoever is appointed treasurer there receives it along with the sacred vessels, and guards it diligently, and it is handed over, safe and sound, to his successor.

ON HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA, TEACHER OF SYNESIUS.

There was a certain woman in Alexandria named Hypatia, the daughter of Theon the philosopher, so erudite that she surpassed the philosophers of her time, and received the succession to the Platonic school derived from Plotinus, and expounded all philosophical lectures to those who wished to learn. Wherefore all ran to her, on account of the honorable confidence of her learning. She used to come even to the magistrates; nor did she have any shame in being publicly mixed with men, since all revered her for her very chastity. Then, therefore, envy was kindled against this woman. For since she frequently visited Orestes, the ecclesiastical populace was moved against her, as if she were preventing him from being reconciled in friendship with the bishop. And so, men of fiery spirit conspiring, whose leader was one Peter the Reader, watched the woman returning to her own home, and dragging her from her chariot, they took her to the church which is called the Caesareum; and, stripping off her garments, they killed her with stones (or rather, shreds of pottery). And subsequently tearing her limb from limb, in the place which is called Cinarus, they consumed her with fire. This affair stirred up no small envy against Cyril and the Alexandrian Church. For murders and battles and things similar to these are utterly foreign to those who hold the opinions of Christ. Therefore, these things were done in the fourth year of the episcopate of Cyril, in the tenth consulship of Honorius and the sixth of Theodosius, in the month of March, during the fasts (a).

HADRIANUS TURNERUS'S DEDICATORY LETTER WHICH HE PREFIXED TO THE GREEK EDITION.

To Bishop Charles of Reggio, Hadrian Turnebus sends greetings.

Behold for you, the wise Synesius, a scholarly work of Attic crafting, and polished to exactness. For he alone of all men established Athens, so to speak, having uprooted her from the soil, in Libya, so distant and across the sea. For he has so attuned his tongue to the Attic style that he disavows not only the Libyan barbarity, but even the Doric lineage of the Cyrenaeans, descendants of the Lacedaemonians. Such is the nature of becoming joined with those who write in the Attic style, and, as the oracle says, of "rubbing shoulders" with them. For those who mingle with them take on the complexion of the discourse, having grown accustomed to their modulation and elegance of speech. For all things are capturable by zeal and obtainable by toil. And indeed his eloquence is not only adorned by having been trained in the beauty of his phrases, but is also replete with brilliant learning, and is fertile in keenness of intellect, and grows fair with persuasive wit, and bewitches and charms anyone who is a reader with a love of learning.

advances ever forward, conducting him until he reaches the sweetest summit of his life’s journey. He does not practice our religion in every respect, having already introduced to men certain writings before he was instructed in true piety. For he expresses himself for the most part in the Greek manner, or in a hybrid Egyptian style, emulating and pursuing at times the symbolic and hieroglyphic extravagance and strangeness. ^B But since, having been delivered from the Greek daemon-mania, he was initiated into the mysteries of the Christians, he seized the fine opportunity and preferred nothing to the apostolic tradition, the divine oracles, and true piety. Therefore, the sparks and embers of this (piety) still smolder in some of his letters, kindling in the souls of his readers a warm and active fire. Because of many reasons, O you holy and venerable head to me, I have dedicated this edition to you. For it was fitting, according to the Homeric saying—"as God ever brings the like to the like"—that philosopher should approach philosopher, bishop bishop, Greek fellow-Greek, and God-lover the pious; and also because, having chanced upon you as the proponent of this, I shall perhaps secure the addition of your favor, which will be worth everything to me. Fare you well.

NOTICE OF THE MANUSCRIPT CODICES

Two Medicean [codices], in one of which were all the works of Synesius: MED. In the other, the Epistles and the book *On Dreams*: MED. The Henrician, from the library of Henry II, in which everything except the epistles was contained: HENR. Also the Henrician, from which the book *On Providence* was absent: HENR.

FOR THE EPISTLES. Two Medicean: MED. The Henrician: HENR. The Morellian, which the most learned Morellus lent to me: MOR. The Petavian: PETAV.

FOREWARNING CONCERNING THE ORATION ON KINGSHIP

Three things concerning this oration of Synesius must be inquired into for the sake of the learned reader: first, who that emperor was before whom it was delivered and to whom the name inscribed refers; second, at what time it was delivered, and if it is possible to investigate, in what year it seems to have been spoken; third, what occasion Synesius had for that embassy, and what fruit he reaped from it. Regarding the emperor before whom it was pronounced, Evagrius Scholasticus (Book 1, cap. 13) raises a doubt; he signifies that it was spoken before Theodosius, "the address," he says, "spoken to him, Theodosius," having perceived it through its works. Nicephorus concurs with him (Book 14, cap. 55), and adds that this was Theodosius the Younger. But both err from the truth. For it is a most explored fact that it was delivered before Arcadius, the son of Theodosius. This is so clearly known from the whole oration, as when on page 4 he says that the father of the emperor he is addressing had attained the empire as a reward for virtue. He relates on page 5 that the same man had waged wars against two tyrants; and shortly after, that upon the report of the victory over the latter, he departed this life. Which things indeed can pertain to no one other than Theodosius the First, the father of Arcadius and Honorius.

Concerning the time, a conjecture is made from other places of the same author, in which he remembers that embassy of his. In the book *On Dreams*, p. 148, he signifies that it had lasted three years, and that while staying in Constantinople he was warned in his dreams of the snares of certain sorcerers. Finally, he spoke before the emperor with greater audacity than any of the Greeks hitherto, and obtained what he wanted: "My own life," he says, "consists of books and hunting; for I have never served as an ambassador, as I wish I had not, to see three ill-omened years out of my life. Yet, indeed, I derived very many and very great benefits from it at that time. For it rendered void and exposed the plots of the sorcerers who were trying to lead my soul astray, and saved me from them all; and it steered common affairs, so that the cities might fare best; and it placed me before the king’s speech with more boldness than any Greeks who have ever done so." And to me, indeed, my whole life is placed in books and hunting; unless I happen to undertake an embassy: which I wish I had never