Adversaria, 395 VII. On the Fragment of a Hymn to ^Esculapius preserved in the Fourth Boole of St Hippolytus. Among the divers magical tricks exposed in the newly-found treatise against All Heresies we read the whole process and ceremonial of raising heroes and gods. The hymn by which Hecate was summoned is tolerably perfect, and has been, with other poetical fragments, given in an English dress in the Quar- terly Review. The Hymn to iEsculapius was passed over, yet though very corrupt it has apparently been far more beautiful. I have attempted to amend and interpret it. In M. Miller's edition, where it has received certain obvious literal corrections, it stands thus p. 68 : Skotos de iv oiwp noirjaas (6 pdyos), eireicrdyeip (pdo-Ket Qeovs r) daipopas Kai eiTrelv diralTr]s Ao-nXrjTnbp deiKPVPat, eVtKaAerrai ovrms Xeyw 5 Zrjva 7raXai (pdlpepop ndXiP apftporop A7r6XXa>pos kikXtjctkco Qrjfiaicrt. poXeip iiriKovpov epaio~iP' os 7TOTC feat V(Kva>v dfiepTjvoHv pvp'ia CpvXa, Taprdpov evpeoepros deiKavo-roiai peXddpois vo~po(TTOP dnXoepra poop, KfXadop re SlavXop 10 irao-ip laop reXeo-apr apbpeo~cn [^KaTo]6pr)Toio-i, hippy nap yoocopTct koi aXXvra kcokvopto: avros dpeidrjToio cpvaaao &epo-e(poPtT)5' fir ccpeireis QprjKtjs leprjs eSoy, eir epareiPTjp Hepyapop, elr eVt rolcrip 'iaoi/i'av 'EnLdavpop, 15 devpo, pdicup, naXeei ere pdywp a>8e .... 'Ettclp 5c xXevdfau Xrj^rj, (paiperai Kara tov ibdepovs irvpabrjs AaricXTjmos. In the three lines of Hippolytus' prose which precede the fragment, elnelp oVair^? is of course corrupt ; M. Miller proposes either elnelp diraiTTjo-ip which I cannot interpret, or tt ns an-airr}. Perhaps eVav diraiTfjs would be at once better grammar, and nearer to the MS. In v. 5 M. Miller rightly reads via for Zrjpa. In v. 7. ejfiaiari is due to M. Miller, the MS. having kikXtjo-koio fiaio-ipoXfip. It does not seem very appropriate. Rather we should expect the Healer to be invoked as iirUovpos in some trouble or hurt. It will be seen that to the uncial kikahckoio- baici, the words kikahckoaobaici, i. e. klkXtjo-kco Xcopaio-i, approach very nearly. Vol. I. November. 1854. 27
