Cesti: The Extant Fragments

356 Pages·2012·4.343 MB·English, Greek

by  Martin Wallraff (editor), Carlo Scardino (editor), Laura Mecella (editor), Christophe Jean-Daniel Guignard (editor), Iulius Africanus

Iulius Africanus
Cesti
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie
der Wissenschaften
Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller
der ersten Jahrhunderte
(GCS)
Neue Folge · Band 18
Iulius Africanus
Cesti
The Extant Fragments
Edited by
Martin Wallraff, Carlo Scardino,
Laura Mecella and Christophe Guignard
Translated by William Adler
De Gruyter
Herausgegeben durch die
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften
von Christoph Markschies
ISBN 978-3-11-028676-2
e-ISBN 978-3-11-028680-9
ISSN 0232-2900
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
ACIPcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenappliedforattheLibraryofCongress.
BibliografischeInformationderDeutschenNationalbibliothek
DieDeutscheNationalbibliothekverzeichnetdiesePublikationinderDeutschen
Nationalbibliografie;detailliertebibliografischeDatensindimInternet
überhttp://dnb.dnb.deabrufbar.
(cid:2)2012WalterdeGruyterGmbH&Co.KG,Berlin/Boston
DruckundBindung:Hubert&Co.GmbH&Co.KG,Göttingen
(cid:2) GedrucktaufsäurefreiemPapier
PrintedinGermany
www.degruyter.com
PREFACE
The inclusion of a work like the Cesti in a series devoted to Greek Christian
authors is hardly self-explanatory. The surviving fragments of the work reveal
no traces of Christian faith or Weltanschauung. Yet the plan to publish the work
in the GCS series is a long-standing one; it reaches back more than a century, to
the time of the series’ founder, Adolf von Harnack.1 In its own way, the Cesti,
composed by an author whose other works are unquestionably Christian, adds
an essential dimension to the intellectual profile of one of the most fascinating
figures of the early Church. More than that, it represents a vital witness to the
contribution of a prominent Christian scholar to the cultural landscape of the
Severan age.
The arrangement of names on the frontispiece is purely mechanical (in
inverse alphabetical order). Although there were specific assignments and areas
of competence (see the detailed information at the bottom of p. X), the four
editors have worked on the text with equal rights and responsibilities. All major
problems have been discussed collectively. For the main issues of authenticity,
classification of the material, and organization of the apparatuses, we have tried
to use consistent criteria throughout. The description of the fifth member of the
group as the “translator” is somewhat simplistic. Edition and translation cannot
be—and were not—independent processes. Although the editorial équipe and
the translator hail from different sides of the Atlantic, there was an intensive
exchange in all phases of the project, including three periods of direct collabo-
ration in Basel (in the summers of  and , and in winter /). In
many cases, editorial decisions and the interpretation of difficult passages have
been discussed together. The notes to the text are generally the fruit of the com-
mon endeavor of editors and translator.
Despite the variety of academic backgrounds and perspectives within our
group, we are acutely aware of the fact that the Cesti, a complex work with an
equally complicated textual history, requires an even broader approach. We are
therefore grateful for two opportunities to discuss the material with an extended
group of specialists. One was the workshop “Magic – Paratechnology – Warfare,”
held in Basel from  to  June . The papers delivered there, along with
other products of our work, are published in a volume that can serve in part as a
supplement to the introduction to the present edition.2 The other was a
memorable day of reading and debating in Berlin in June , together with the

1 See below, p. LXXXVIII.
2 Wallraff/Mecella .
VI Preface
members of the commission of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy, responsible
for the GCS project. The day proved highly productive, both philologically and
with regard to contents. Our gratitude to the commission and in particular to its
president, Prof. Christoph Markschies, thus extends beyond formal recognition
of the opportunity to publish in this distinguished series; it also reflects a lively
and profitable scholarly exchange.
There are many others to whom we owe thanks. The Swiss National Science
Foundation generously funded the project for five years. As always, it has been a
privilege to publish with Walter de Gruyter; Dr. Albrecht Döhnert accompanied
the process from its beginning with competence and patience. The camera ready
copy of the edition, prepared in Basel, would have been impossible without the
computer program “Classical Text Editor.” Its author, Dr. Stefan Hagel (Austrian
Academy of Sciences, Vienna), is both a gifted software engineer and a specialist
in ancient music. He helped with advice in both fields. Although three different
mother tongues are spoken in the European group, none of them is English. It
would not have been possible for us to publish the introduction and notes in
English without the competent help of a native speaker. Jasper Donelan (Stras-
bourg) assumed the tedious task of translating and correcting our English texts.
Finally, we thank the British Library for permission to reproduce the Papyrus
Oxy.  (pp. –) and Lea Meier for her precious help with the indexes.
The previous (and so far only) edition of the Cesti3 is of mixed quality, not
always user-friendly, and difficult of access, either in the marketplace or in libra-
ries. We were also able to make significant additions to the amount of material.
Even in areas where the quantitative gain is limited, readers will now find a solid
base for judgment on authenticity and transmission (this applies, for instance, to
the agricultural material).
In a sense, the present edition is the last element of an opera omnia of Iulius
Africanus. His two main works are now available in recent editions and trans-
lations in the GCS series,4 prepared according to similar criteria and methods
(the main difference being that the use of the category of D[ubia] in the case of
the Cesti turned out to be useful). Africanus’ two minor works have also been
edited and translated according to modern critical standards, one of them re-
cently and in close contact with the project presented here.5 It is hoped that the
availability of the texts will promote further enquiries into the work of a multi-
faceted author and his cultural world.

Basel, April  Martin Wallraff

3 Vieillefond .
4 Chronographiae (ed. Wallraff/Roberto/Pinggéra ).
5 Epistula ad Origenem (ed. de Lange , –); Epistula ad Aristidem (ed. Guignard ,
–).
CONTENTS

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
Introduction
1. Iulius Africanus and the Background of the Cesti . . . . . . . . XI
2. The Cesti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XVII
2.1. Dating and Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIX
2.2. Sources and Literary Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXIII
2.3. Technical and/or Magical Character . . . . . . . . . . . . XXVII
3. The Text and its Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXXII
3.1. Papyrus Oxy. 412 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXXIII
3.2. Byzantine Military Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXXIX
3.2.1. The Seventh Cestus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXXIX
3.2.2. The Apparatus Bellicus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XLVIII
3.3. Hippiatric Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LII
3.4. Metrological Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LXIII
3.5. Agricultural Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LXX
3.6. Alchemical and Medical Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . LXXVI
3.7. Michael Psellus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LXXVIII
4. Earlier Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LXXXIV
5. Principles of the Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC
6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XCIII
7. Ancient Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CXI
8. List of Manuscripts and Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CXXV
9. Critical Signs and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CXXXII

Iulius Africanus, Cesti
Testimonia on General Aspects of the Cesti
T1 Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History and a Later Reader . . . . . . . . . 2
T2 Eusebius on Africanus’ Erudition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
T3 Georgius Syncellus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
T4 Photius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
T5 Suda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
T6 Michael Italicus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Michael Psellus as a Critical Reader of the Cesti
T7 Africanus’ Unorthodox Devices and Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . 10
T8 On the Hidden Powers of Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
T9 Africanus’ Exaggerations about the Hidden Powers of the Alphabet 22
VIII Contents
Material in Direct Transmission
F10 From the 18th Cestus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Material from Military Literature
D11 Contents of the Seventh Cestus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
F12 The Seventh Cestus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
F13 A Remedy to Plague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
D14 Method for Deep-Dyeing Ebony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
D15 How to Use Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
D16 Destruction of Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
D17 Destruction of Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
D18 Immobilization of the Horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
D19 Coating Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . 108
D20 The Health of the Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
D21 For Immunization against Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
D22 Closing a Wound without Suture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
D23 A Hemorrhage Difficult to Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
D24 To Keep Horses from Taking Ill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
D25 Spontaneous Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Material from Hippiatric Literature
D26 A Potion for Elephantiasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
D27 Remedies for Ailments of the Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
F28 A Technique to Ensure the Desired Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
D29 Celestial Positioning of Horses to Ensure the Desired Gender . . 124
D30 Sweet Cicely and the Restorative Properties of Its Root . . . . . . 126
D31 Improving Sexual Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
D32 Amulets to Promote Conception and Determine Gender . . . . . 126
D33 Using Galactite to Stimulate Milk Production . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
F34 Anti-Miscarriage Drugs Derived from the Remora Fish . . . . . . 128
D35 Relieving Ear Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
D36 A Treatment for Nasal Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
D37 Two Treatments for Edema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
D38 Artificially Altering the Color of Horse Coats . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
D39 A Formula for a Permanent Hair Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
D40 An Ointment for Mange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
D41 The Use of Dog’s Brain in Mending Bone Fractures . . . . . . . . 134
D42 Ways to Remove Skin Growths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
D43 Eradicating Acrochordons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
D44 A Technique for Drug-Free Worm Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
D45 The Ass’s Resistance to Parasites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
D46 Antidotes for Victims of Snake Bites and Scorpion Stings . . . . . 140
Contents IX
D47 Remedies for Asp Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
D48 Protecting Horses Against Venoms and Other Toxins . . . . . . . 142
D49 Poultices for Animal Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
D50 A Potion and a Poultice for Wounds from Venomous Sea
Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
D51 Protective Remedies against Venomous Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
D52 Remedies for Scolopendra Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
D53 Treatments for Harmful Spider Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
D54 An Ointment and Plaster for Insect Bites, and an All-Purpose
Insecticide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
F55 Symptoms of the Dipsas Bite and Potions to Counteract It . . . . 148
D56 The Dryinas Snake and a Potion to Counteract Its Venom . . . . 150
D57 All-Purpose Remedies for Animal Bites and Wounds . . . . . . . 150
D58 Foiling Poisonous Tree-Frogs Lurking in Stables . . . . . . . . . . 156
D59 A Plaster for Inflamed Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
D60 An Amulet against Colic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
F61 A Cunning Way to Steal Horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Material from Metrological Literature
F62 About Measures and Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
D63 Metrological Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
T64 Authorities on Ancient Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Material from Agricultural Literature
T65 Vindonius Anatolius of Berytus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
T66 Anatolius B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
D67 Purifying Bad Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
D68 Determining the Right Time to Harvest Grapes . . . . . . . . . . 180
Material from Alchemical Literature
F69 Preparation of Bright-Red Purple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
F70 Astringent for All-Purpose Dyeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
F71 Materials for Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
F72 An Arsenic-Resistant Glass Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
T73 Alchemical Authorities I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
T74 Alchemical Authorities II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Material from Medical Literature
F75 Concerning Cinnamon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
F76 Simple Purgatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
X Contents
Material from Other Sources
F77 An Erection-Inducing Plaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
F78 Drowning and Divinization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
T79 Septimius Severus’ Siege of Byzantium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Indexes
1. Ancient and Medieval Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
2. Proper Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
3. Table of Concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
The main responsibles for the following texts (along with the corresponding
parts of the introduction, chapter ) were: Ch. G. for D–F and D–D;
L. M. for F–D, F–T, and F–T; C. S. for F–F and T; M. W. for
T–T. For T–T the responsibility was shared between M. W., L. M. and
Ch. G., for T between Ch. G. and C. S. In the introduction, chapter  was
written by W. A., . by M. W., . by C. S., . by Ch. G.,  by L. M., and  by M. W.
and W. A. The introductory remarks to chapters  and  were written by M.W.