1 5 2 Revieivs.
a charm. In this collection by Prof. Gollancz we find a welcome parallel to what I was already able at the time to refer to in my article. It would be an interesting study, and well worth under- taking, to investigate each of these, or at any rate a large number of them, as to their origin, source, development, filiation, parallels in ancient and modern literature, and also the connection between the formulas found in charms and those used as exorcisms by various churches for banishing evil spirits.
No less interesting would it be to trace the relation between the miracles or legends of saints, the incidents recorded of their won- derful exploits, and the way in which, as in the work of sympathetic magic, the recital of these deeds had been transformed into power- ful charms for warding off the evil action of some demon.
Prof. GoUancz's book will prove of extreme value not only for the study of Syriac charms but also for the comparative study of divination and magic. The Mss. themselves are of comparatively recent date (sixteenth or seventeenth century), but there can be no doubt that the monks who v/rote them copied them from older Mss. How far they changed words here and there, and how far they modified the language to suit their own time, could only be determined by the discovery of older texts. But that the substance is extremely old cannot be doubted. Some of them remind us of the Greek formulas of conjurations published by Vassiliev in his Anecdota Grceca, and by Pradel in his collection of South Italian conjurations. Le Grand's collection, and those published by me in my Rotima>iian Popular Literature, offer other curious parallels, not to speak of the vast number of conjurations and charms found in Hebrew Mss., some of them going back to the Testament of Solomon, and some finding parallels in the Greek magical papyri.
Sufficient has been said to show how valuable the publication of Prof. Gollancz is, and how much folklore is indebted to him for his scholarly book.
M. G ASTER.
Books for Review sJiould be addressed to
The Editor of Folk-Lo7'e,
CO David Nutt,
17 Grape St., New Oxford St., London, W.C,.
