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des Aut.

he was turned Montanist. And most of the other fathers, who De Orat. have spoken of it well themfelves, yet plainly enough infi- c. xii. De Pudic. nuate, that there were those who did not put the fame value . x. upon it. The moderns in general have not esteemed it fo highly; and indeed, as Dupin obferves, "whether we con- Biblioth. "fider the manner it is written in, or the matter it contains, Ecclef. "it does not appear to merit much regard." The first part, Tom. I. p. for it is divided into three, is called "Vifions," and contains 28. many vifions, which are explained to Hermas by a woman, who represents the church. Thefe vifions regard the ftate of the church, and the manners of the Chriftians. The fecond, which is the most useful, is called "Commands," and comprehends many moral and pious inftructions, delivered to Hermas by an angel: and the third is called "Simili"tudes." Many useful leffons are taught in these books, but the vifions, allegories, and fimilitudes are apt to tire; and Hermas had probably been more agreeable as well as more profitable, if he had enforced his precepts with that fimplicity with which the Apostles themselves were content.

The original Greek of this piece is loft, and we have nothing but a Latin verfion of it, except fome fragments preferved in the quotations of other authors; which, it is ob fervable, are fufficient to evince the fidelity of this version. The best edition of it is that of 1698; where it is to be found among the other apoftolical fathers, illuftrated with the notes and corrections of Cotelerius and Le Clerc. With them also it is tranflated into English by archbishop Wake, and published with a large preliminary discourse relating to each father; the beft edition of which tranflation is that of 1710.

HERMES, an Egyptian legislator, priest, and philofopher, lived, as fome think, in the year of the world 2076, in the reign of Ninus, after Mofes and was fo fkilled in all profound arts and fciences, that he acquired the furname of Trifmegiftus, or "thrice great." Clemens Alexandrinus has given us an account of his writings, and a catalogue of fome of them; fuch as, the book containing the Hymns of Strom. the Gods; another " De rationibus vitæ regiæ;" four more "De aftrologia," that is, "De ordine fixarum ftellarum,

& de conjunctione & illuminatione Solis & Lunæ ;" ten more intituled, "Isparina," or which treat of laws, of the gods, and of the whole doctrine and discipline of the priests. Upon the whole, Clemens makes Hermes the author of 36 books of divinity and philofophy, and fix of phyfic; but

E 4

they

lib. vi.

they are all loft. There goes indeed one under his name, whofe title is "Poemander;" but this is agreed by all to be fuppofititious, and Cafaubon imagines it to be written about the beginning of the second century, by fome Platonizing Chriftian; who, to enforce Chriftianity with a better grace 1. in Baron, upon Pagans, introduces Hermes Trifmegiftus delivering, as it were long before, the greatest part of thofe doctrines which are comprized in the Chriftian's creed.

Exercitat.

Num. 10.
P. 75.

This philofopher has flood exceedingly high in the opinion of mankind, ancients as well as moderns; higher perhaps than he would have done if his works had been extant; for there is an advantage in being not known too much of. However, very great things have been faid of him in all ages. Thus Plato tells us, that he was the inventor of letters, of ordinary writing and hieroglyphics. Cicero fays, that he was governor of Egypt, and invented letters, as well as deDe Natur. livered the first laws to the people of that country. Suidas Deor. 1. iii. fays, that he flourished before Pharaoh, and acquired the fur

In Phædro

& Philebo.

de Poet.

Rer. l. ii.

c. 5.

name of Trifmegiftus, because he gave out fomething oracular concerning the Trinity. Though the ancients are by no means precife in their encomiums, yet they feem to have conceived a wonderful opinion of him; and the moderns have done the fame. Hermes, fays Gyraldus, was called Thrice Great, because he was the greatest philofopher, the In Dial. ii.' greatcft prieft, and the greateft king. Polydore Vergil obferves, that he divided the day into 12 hours, from his obfervation of a certain animal confecrated to Serapis by the Egyptians, which made water 12 times a day at a certain De Invent. interval; fuch was his marvellous fagacity and infight into things. And lastly, when the great lord chancellor Bacon, that" wifeft, brighteft, meaneft of mankind," endeavoured to do juftice to the merits of our James I. a prince of whom nothing without doubt could be faid too highly; he could think of no better means for this purpofe, than by comparing him to Hermes Trifmegiftus. Thefe are his words addreffed to that king, in the entrance of his immortal work "De Augmentis Scientiarum:""Tuæ vero majeftati etiam "illud accedit, quod in eodem pectoris tui fcrinio facræ li"teræ cum profanis recondantur; adeo ut cum Hermete "illo Trifmegifto triplici gloria infigniaris, poteftate regis, "illuminatione facerdotis, eruditione philofophi:" that is, "but this is peculiar to your majefty, that the treasures of facred as well as profane learning are all repofited in your "royal breaft; fo that you may juftly be compared to that "famous Hermes Trifmegiftus of old, who was at once

"diftin

* diftinguished by the glory of a king, the illuminations of a priest, and the learning of a philofopher."

HERODIAN, a Greek hiftorian, who flourished under the reigns of Severus, Caracalla, Heliogabalus, Alexander, and Maximin. His hiftory contains eight books; at the beginning of the firft of which he declares, that he will only write of the affairs of his own time, fuch as he had either known himself, or received information of from creditable perfons and for this he was indeed very well qualified, on account of the public employments he was engaged in, for he might boaft of having paffed through the greatest offices of the ftate. About the end of his fecond book he acquaints us, that his hiftory fhall comprehend a period of 72 years, and relate the government of all the emperors that fucceeded one another, from the reign of Marcus Aurelius Antonius the philofopher, to that of the younger Gordianus: and accordingly his eighth book ends with the unworthy slaughter of the two old men Balbinus and Maximin, which was committed on them by the Prætorian foldiers, for the fake of advancing Gordian to the throne.

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Innocent.

This hiftorian is greatly admired for his exact judgement, and for furnishing out a vaft variety of councils and events, which chiefly contribute to make hiftory ufeful. An attentive reader will obferve in him frequent examples of the frowns and smiles of fortune, as fhe is ever changing: "he "will discover," fays Politian, " plenty of materials for the Præfat: "improvement of life and manners; and perceive as it were Herodian.ad a looking-glafs of humanity, by infpecting which he will vi "be able to draw inftructions, upon all exigences and occa❝fions, for the better management of public as well as private affairs." Herodian was tranflated into Latin by Angelus Politianus, and may therefore be read, as the Camdenian profeffor observed, either in Greek or Latin; "for," Whear de legend. Hik. fays he, "I don't know which of the two deferves the greater &c. p. 74. "praife; Herodian, for writing fo well in his own language, Cant. 1684. "or Politian, for tranflating him fo happily, as to make him "appear like an original in a foreign one." This however is paying no fmall compliment to Politian; for Photius tells Bibliothec. us, that Herodian's ftyle is very elegant and perfpicuous; and adds, to complete his character, that, confidering all the virtues of an historian, there are few to whom Herodian ought to give place. Julius Capitolinus mentions Herodian, in his "Life of Clodius Albinus," as a good hiftorian; but accufes him, in his " two Maximins," of bearing too hard

upon

c. 99.

Cauf. in.

zod.

upon the memory of Alexander Severus, and his mother Mammea. This charge however does not seem to be well notis ad fupported, and Caufabon and Boecler incline to acquit him Capit. in Maxim. of it. It is remarkable, that he speaks very refpectfully of Becl. præ- the clemency of Severus, who reigned 14 years, without fat. in He- taking away the life of any one, otherwife than by the ordinary course of justice; which he notes as an inftance very rare, and without example fince the reign of Antoninus the philofopher. And as to Mammea, though he justly blames her ill conduct in the government of the ftate, yet he very much commends her care in the education of her fon; efpecially for excluding from him all those pests of courts, which flatter the corrupt inclinations of princes, and cherish in them the feeds of vice, and for admitting only persons that were virtuous in their lives and of approved behaviour. We are obliged to this hiftorian, as well as to Dion Caffius, for acquainting us with the ceremonies which the Pagans ufed at the confecration of their emperors. In the beginning of his fourth book he has given us fo particular a defcription of all the funeral honours done to the afhes of Severus, which his children tranfported in an alabafter cheft from England, that it would be difficult to find a relation more exact and inftructive.

fin.

Though we have confidered Herodian hitherto as an hiftorian only, yet Suidas informs us, that he wrote many other books, which are not preferved out of the ruins of time. He was originally a grammarian of Alexandria, the son of Hiftor. lib. Apollonius, furnamed Dyfcolus: and perhaps it is for this xxii. fub reafon, that Ammianus Marcellinus calls him " Artium mi"nutiffimarum fcifcitatorem." However he paffed the beft part of his life at Rome, in the courts of the emperors; where he had the opportunity and means to inform himself, with that curiofity vifible throughout his hiftory, of many excellent particulars, which are no where elfe to be found. Herodian has been published by Henry Stephens in 1581, 4to; by Boecler at Strafbourg in 1662, 8vo; and by Hudfon at Oxford in 1669, 8vo.

Suidas in Voce

Ηρόδοτος.

HERODOTUS, an ancient Greek hiftorian of Halicarnaffus in Caria, was born in the first year of the 74th Olympiad; that is, about 484 years before Chrift. The time of his birth is generally agreed on, which made Voffius cenfure Gaultier the Jefuit very feverely for placing him, in his Tables printed at Cologne in 1616, under Conftantine the Great and his children: "an error," fays he, "really not to

"be

L. Bat.

« be borne in a chronologer." The city of Halicarnaffus De Græcis
being at that time under the tyranny of Lygdamis, grandfon Hift. p. 13.
of Artemifia queen of Caria, Herodotus quitted his country, 1651, 4to.
and retired to Samos; from whence he travelled over Egypt,
Greece, Italy, &c. and in his travels acquired the knowledge
of the hiftory and origin of many nations. He then began
to digeft the materials he had collected into order, and com-
pofed that hiftory, which has preferved his name amongst
men ever fince. He wrote it in the ifle of Samos, accord-
ing to the general opinion; but the elder Pliny is of another Hift. Nat.
mind, and affirms it to have been written at Thurium, a l. xii. c. 4.
town in that part of Italy then called Magna Græcia, whi-
ther Herodotus had retired with an Athenian colony, and
where he is fupposed to have died, not however before he
had returned into his own country, and by his influence ex-
pelled the tyrant Lygdamis. Lucian informs us, that when Lucian.
Herodotus left Caria to go into Greece, he began to con- Opera, Tom.
fider with himself,

"What he should do to be for ever known,
"And make the age to come his own,"

in the most expeditious way, and with as little trouble as
poffible. His hiftory, he prefumed, would eafily procure
him fame, and raise his name among the Grecians, in whofe
favour it was written: but then he forefaw, that it would be
very tedious, if not endless, to go through the several cities
of Greece, and recite it to each refpective city; to the
Athenians, Corinthians, Argives, Lacedæmonians, &c. He
thought it most proper therefore to take the opportunity of
their affembling all together; and accordingly recited his
work at the Olympic games, which rendered him more fa-
mous than even those who had obtained the prizes. None
were ignorant of his name, nor was there a fingle perfon in
Greece, who had not either feen him at the Olympic games,
or heard those speak of him who had feen him there; fo that
wherever he came, the people pointed to him with their
fingers, faying, "This is that Herodotus, who has written
"the Perfian wars in the Ionic dialect; this is he who has
"celebrated our victories."

His work is divided into nine books, which, according to the computation of Dionyfius Halicarnaffenfis, contain the moft remarkable occurrences within a period of 240 years; from the reign of Cyrus the first king of Perfia, to that of Xerxes, when the hiftorian was living. Thefe nine books are called after the nine Mufes, each of which is diftinguished

by

I. p. 571.
Amft. 1687

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