Symeon

or Si'meon or Symeo'nes (Συμεών sometimes Συμεάνης), literary and ecclesiastical.

1. Abbas [No. 16].

2. Acoemitensis Monachus. Symeones, a monk of one of the monasteries of the Acoemitenses at Constantinople, was sent by Cyril, his hegumenus or abbot, to Pope Felix II. or III. at Rome, to stir him up to the more active support of orthodoxy, then seriously threatened in the East by the strength of the Monophysite party and the temporising policy of the Emperor Anastasius, and the patriarch of Constantinople, Acacius. The mission of Symeon determined the Pope to act more decisively and to refuse to recognize Peter the Fuller. who had regained the see of Antioch for the last time, about A. D. 485 [Petrus, No. 17]; it led also to the deposition, for unfaithfulness and undue favour to the Monophysite party, of the presbyters Misenus and Vitalis, who had been sent by the Pope to Constantinople. (Evagrius, H. E. 3.21.)

3. Of Antioch. [No. 27.]

4. Of Constantinople. [No. 16.]

5. Of Ctesiphon. [No. 26.]

6. Metropolitan of Euchaita in Pontus, a writer whose date is not exactly ascertained, but who probably lived towards the end of the ninth century. There are extant in MS. two of his letters, Epistolae duae ad Joannem Monachum, from which Allatius has given two or three very brief citations. (Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 179; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. pp. 296, 712; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. Dissert. prima, p. 18. folio, Oxford, 1740-43 ; Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, vol. i. col. 545.)

7. Grammaticus. Works Simeonis Grammatici Etymologicon

Daniel de Nessel in his Catalogus Bioliothecae Caesaraeae, pars iv. p. 77, fol. Vienna, 1690, describes a Greek MS. in that library as containing Simeonis Grammatici Etymologicon : the work is arranged in alphabetical order and has never been published. The MS. which was torn and imperfect, is not noticed, so far as we have been able to trace, by Kollar, in his edition of the Commentarius of Lambecius. Further Information

Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. pp. 379, 604.

8. Haeresiarcha S. Massalianus. Works Anathemas

In an appendix to the Panoplia of Euthymius Zigabenus [Euthymius Zigabenus] described by Lambecius, who printed some portions of it (Commentarius de Biblioth. Caesaraea, lib. s. vol. iii. col. 424, &c.), and published, with a Latin version, by Tollius (Insignia Itinerarii Italici. p. 106, &c.), are a string of anathemas against various Massalians or Bogomilans, among whom are given in one group Dadoes, Sabas, Adelpheios, Hernias, and Symeon. These do not belong to the age of Alexius Comnenus, to which Euthymius belonged, and in which the anathemas appear to have been uttered, but to a much earlier period, for in an account of the Council of Side in Pamphylia, held in or about A. D. 381, and which account is preserved by Photius, (Biblioth. Cod. 52), Dadoes, Sabas, Adelpheios, and Symeon are mentioned as contemporaries of the council and founders of the Massalian or Euchite sect. Theodoret also (Haeret. Fabul. Compend. 4.11) mentions them. Variations on the name Symeon

In the older editions of Photius the name of Symeon was written Σημεσώνης, " Semesones," but Bekker in his edition gives it (on the authority of a manuscript in the library of Cardinal Bessarion, now of St. Mark, at Venice) Συμεωνης, Symeones, which is the form used by Theodoret (l.c.). Lambecius and Tollius give it as Συμεών, Symeon. His sect, the Massaliani

The sect of which he was one of the leaders had its rise in the reign of the Emperor Constantius II., apparently in the parts of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor adjacent to the Euphrates. They were a very enthusiastic sect, who placed the whole business of life in prayer and religious exercises, in which they gave themselves up to unwonted and uncontrolled excesses. Their names, Massaliani or Messaliani or Mesaliani (Μασσαλιανοὶ or Μεσσαλιανοὶ, or Μεσαλιανοί), and Euchitae (Εὐχῖται), derived the first from the Syriac, the second from the Greek language, were significant of their characteristic practice; they meant " praying people." Symeon the Haeresiarch

There was another Symeon, an haeresiarch, who was burnt to death with many of his followers for heresy in the time of Justinian II. Photius gives to him the vague and often misapplied epithet of a Manichaean. Further Information

Phot. Narratio in epitome de Manichaeis repullulantibus, apud Montfauc. Biblioth. Coislin. pp. 360, 361.

9. Hieromonachus. [Nos. 23, 25.]

10. Hierosolymitanus, or of Jerusalem (1). Symeon or Simon, son of Cleophas, and, according to general belief, kinsman of Jesus Christ, was, according to the ecclesiastical historians, the second bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, the Apostle James, son of Alpheius, having been the first. Some of the later Greeks represent Symeon as the son of Joseph (husband of the Virgin Mary) by a former wife. The tradition of his appointment is given by Eusebius (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 2.11). After holding his bishopric for many years Symeon was put to death for his faith as a Christian, and because he was descended from David. He was a hundred and twenty years old at the time of his martyrdom, which took place during the persecution in the reign of Trajan, and while Atticus, the consular, was governor of Syria. Eusebius, in his Chronicon, places the martyrdom of Symeon in the tenth year of Trajan, the third year of Olympiad 221, in the fourth consulship of Sosius and third of Sura, A. D. 107. Some critics, including Bishop Lloyd of St. Asaph, Dodwell, and Pagi, bring down his death to A. D. 116. Symeon is worshipped as a Saint both by the Latin and Greek Churches, by the former on the 18th of February, by the latter on the 27th of April. He was succeeded in his bishopric by Justus. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 3.11, 32 ; Hegesippus, apud Euseb. ll. cc. ; Euseb. Chronicon ; Chronicon Paschale; Acta Sanctorum Februar. ad diem xviii. vol. iii. p. 53; Le Quien, Oriens Christian. vol. iii. col. 140.)

11. Hierosolymitanus (2). Toward the close of the eleventh century, the patriarchate of Jerusalem was held by Symeon or Simon II. In the Latin catalogues of the bishops of Jerusalem he is called Simon; but the Latin historians of the crusades generally write his name Symeon or Simeon. He succeeded Euthymius, but in what year is not known : he was already patriarch in A. D. 1094, when he had many conversations with Peter the Hermit, then on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, on the deplorable state of the Christians in the East; and these conversations were among the means of exciting the compassion and zeal of Peter, and eventually of producing the crusades. On the arrival of the crusaders in Syria, and the formation of the siege of Antioch by them, in A. D. 1098, Symeon, terrified by the threats of the Turks of Jerusalem, fled to the island of Cyprus. From this island he maintained a friendly intercourse with the leaders of the crusaders, sending them presents of fruits, wine, poultry, and such things as he could. He died just about the time of the capture of Jerusalem, and the vacancy caused by his death being filled up by the crusaders with a patriarch of the Latin Church, and by the native Christians with one of the Greek Church, gave occasion to a long continued schism and a succession of rival claimants of the two Churches. An extant treatise De Azymis adversus Latinos, from which Allatius (De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 180) gives a passage, is ascribed, and apparently with good reason, to our Symeon. Le Quien, indeed, doubts whether it is correctly ascribed to him, because the author appears " not to have been hostile to the Latins ;" but the very courtesy of tone which occasioned Le Quien's doubts, while sufficiently at variance with the usual style of mediaeval polemics, is just such as a man in Symeon's circumstances would be likely to use. (Willermus s. Guillelmus Tyrensis, lib. 1. c.11; Albertus Aquensis, Historia Hieros. lib. 6. c.39; Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, vol. iii. col. 498; Allatius, l.c. ; Montfaucon, Biblioth. Coislin. p. 105; Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 190, vol. ii. p. 159.)

12. Humilis. [No. 16.]

13. Logotheta. [No. 22.]

14. Logotheta Junior. In the Bibliotheca Juris Canonici of Justellus and Voellus (vol. ii. p. 710) is given the Ἐπιτομἠ κανόνων, Epitome Canonum s. Synopsis Canonica of Symeon Magister and Logotheta. Cave and Oudin distinguish this Symeon from Symeon Metaphrastes [No. 22], who also bore the titles of Magister and Logotheta, by the epithet Junior. The work itself is more ancient than the period (A. D. 1170) in which Cave places this Symeon junior, who could only have selected and arranged it, and possibly (as Beveridge conjectured) made annotations upon it. Christopher Justellus in the Praefatio to the second volume of the Bibliotheca Juris Canonici supposes the Symeon Logotheta who compiled the Epitome, to have been somewhat later than Alexius Aristinus or Aristenus [Alxexius Aristenus], who belonged to the middle of the twelfth century, and this appears to have led Cave and Oudin to distinguish him from Metaphrastes, who belongs to a much earlier period. But as, according to Cave's own acknowledgment, the Canones are really of earlier date, and as in the title the compiler is no otherwise distinguished than by the titles Magister and Logotheta, which were borne by Metaphrastes, we agree with Fabricius in assigning the Epitome to Metaphrastes, and regard " Symeon Logotheta Junior" as an imaginary person. In that case the other works which Oudin and Cave ascribe to him must belong to some other Symeon. (Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 1170, vol. ii. p. 241; Oudin, De Scriptoribus Eccles. vol. ii. col. 1366, &c.; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 297.)

15. Magister. [No. 22.]

16. S. Mamantis, styled in the MSS. of his works, νέος θεολόγος, ἡγούμενος μόνης τον͂ ἁγίου Μάμαντος τοῦ ξηροκέρκου, Novus Theologus (or Theologus Junior) Et Hegumenus (s. Abbas) Monasterii S. MAMANTIS IN Xerocerco, or, as some correct it, τοῦ ξυλοκέρκου, In Xylocerco. His title " Theologus" indicates his eminence as a writer on divinity; and the epithet " Novus" or " Junior" was evidently added to distinguish him from some other ecclesiastic, perhaps from Gregory Nazianzen, to whom at a much earlier period the title " Theologus" was given ; or more probably to distinguish him from some other Symeon, either Symeon Metaphrastes [No. 22] or Symeon the Pious [No. 24]. The time at which this writer flourished has been much disputed ; but the facts of his history enable us to assign him to the latter half of the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh century. He was born about the middle of the tenth century, of wealthy and noble parents, named Basil and Theophano, at a place called Galate in Paphlagonia; and was sent at an early age, for his education, to Constantinople, where his relatives held high stations at the Byzantine court. His precocious attainments inspired the highest hopes of his family, and he was introduced by an uncle to the notice of the imperial brothers Basil II. and Constantine IX., apparently at the time when they were yet in their boyhood, and were emperors in name only, the reins of empire being really held successively by Nicephorus Phocas (A. D. 963-969) and John Tzimisces (A. D. 969-975). After the sudden death of the uncle by whom he had been introduced at court, Symeon determined, though only fourteen years of age, to embrace a monastic life; but the monk Symeon the Pious (Σνμεὼν ὁ εὐλαβής), or as Combéfis styles him, " Venerabilis," the Venerable [No. 24], whom he had chosen for his spiritual guide and father, having advised him to defer his purpose, he returned for a time to the house of his deceased uncle. At a somewhat later period he commenced his noviciate in the Monastery of Studium at Constantinople; but was induced by the envy of the abbot and some of the monks, excited by his pre-eminence in monastic practices, to remove to the Monastery of St. Mamas, where he completed his noviciate, and, in course of time, became abbot and was ordained presbyter. This was some time in the patriarchate of Nicolaus Chrysoberges, who was patriarch of Constantinople from A. D. 982 to 996. After some years Symeon, who had experienced trouble and danger from the turbulence of some recusant monks, resigned the abbacy, and devoted himself to the composition of works of piety. His literary labours attracted the approving notice of Sergius II., who held the patriarchate from A. D. 999 to 1019 or 1020 : but this must have been quite in the early part of the patriarchate of Sergius, who was soon alienated from Symeon by the instrumentality of his syncellus, Stephanus, archbishop of Nicomedeia, a man of learning and eloquence, who was jealous of Symeon. The charge against Symeon was, that he paid unauthorized honour to the memory of his spiritual father, Symeon the Pious, who was now dead; and to whom our Symeon paid the honours due to a canonized saint. In consequence of this difference Symeon, after six years of persecution, was banished from his monastery, and from Constantinople, by the patriarch and synod. This punishment was remitted, and high honours in the Church offered him, if he would comply with the wishes of the patriarch, but he would not purchase them by sacrificing the memory of his friend. He was enabled by the liberality of his friends to found a monastery in the place where he had taken up his abode during his exile, a deserted chapel of St. Marina, on the Asiatic side of the Propontis; and there he remained till his death. His life has been written at length by one of his disciples, Nicetas Stethatus, who has embellished the narrative with the usual appendages of celestial gifts, divine visions, and miraculous incidents : and from a summary of this given by Combéfis, in his Auctarium Novissimum, pars ii. p. 119, &c., and from an abridged translation of it in Romaic or modern Greek, we are indebted for the above particulars. Allatius considers Symeon to have been the precursor of the fanatic quietists, who some centuries after gave occasion to the controversy that so agitatea the Greek Church, respecting the uncreated light of Mount Tabor. [Palamas.] Works

The works of Symeon of St. Mamas are numerous, and are divisible into the following classes : -- 1. Λόγοι, Oratioes. Allatius (De Symeon. Scriptis)

This gives a catalogue of the subjects and opening sentences of seventy-eight of these, extant in various MSS. in the original Greek; and the list is transcribed by Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 304, &c.). Editions

Several of these, and some others of which the original Greek was not known by Allatius to be extant, thirty-three in all, were published in a Latin version by Jac. Pontanus, with a preface and notes by Jac. Gretserus, 4to. Ingolstadt, 1603. The original of these thirty-three, in the order in which Pontanus gave them, together with twenty others, were in a MS. in the Coislin Library. (Moutfaucon, Biblioth. Coislin. p. 407.) To this version Pontanus subjoined a Lation version of several pieces by different authors. A modern (Romaic) Greek version of the works of Symeon contains ninety-two of these Λόγοι. 2. Κεφάλαια πρακτικὰ καὶ θεολογικά, Capita Moralia Editions

The number of these varies in different copies, either from some copies being imperfect, or from a difference of arrangement : in some MSS. they are arranged in three divisions, and amount in all to two hundred and twenty-eight (comp. Allat. de Symeon. p. 166); and this is the number in the version of Pontanus published with the Orationes. The modern Greek version contains only one hundred and eighty-one; but it contains also other Κεφάλαιαα, to the number of forty, by Symeon designated " the Pious" (Συμεῶνος τοῦ εν̓λαβοῦς). [No. 24.] 3. Θεῖοι ὕμνοι, Divini Hymni

Or, as Pontanus entitled them in his Latin version, Sacrae Commentationes. These are in verse of various kinds, iambic, anacreontic, and of the kind called " versus politici." (This last kind of verses is described in a note to the article Philippus, literary and ecclesiastical, No. 27, p. 291.) Editions

Allatius (p. 161, &c.) and, after him, Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 314, &c.), give the titles of fifty-eight of these Hymni, thirty-eight of which, according to Allatius, were translated into Latin, and published by Pontanus : but either by the subdivision or alteration of these, or by the addition of others, of which the original is not known, Pontanus, who has destroyed the poetical form of the original, and arranged them in one Sacrarum Commentationum Liber, gives forty " capita."

The modern Greek version is in verse, and comprehends fifty-one Λόγοι, Orationes s. Libri. De Alterationibus Animae et Corporis

The dissertation Περὶ ἀλλοιώσεων ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος τῶν ἐξ ἀέρων, τῶν ἐκ στοιχεῖων, τῶν ἐκ βρωμάτων καὶ τῶν ἐκ δαιμόνων ἔτι γενομένων ἡμῖν λόγος, De Alterationibus Animae et Corporis quae ex Varietate Coeli aut Aeris quaeque ex Elementis, ex Cibis, interdum etiam ex Daemonibus existere in nobis solent Dissertatio, published, with a Latin version by the Jesuit Possinus, in the notes to his edition of the S. Nili Epistolae, 4to. Paris, 1657, is one of the Orationes translated by Pontanus. Editions

These are all the works of Symeon which have been published, and chiefly in Latin or modern Greek versions. Latin Editions

The Latin versions of Pontanus and Possinus are contained in the Maxima Bibliotheca Patrum, vol. xxii. ad init. fol. Lyon. 1677. Modern Greek Editions

The modern or Romaic Greek version was made by Dionysius Zagoraeus (Διονυσιος Ζαγοραιος), a hermit of the desert islet of Piperi. off the promontory of Athos, and was published 4to., Venice, 1790. with the abridged Romaic version of Nicetas Stethatus's life of Symeon prefixed. Works Extant in MSS

Allatius, Oudin, and Harless, in his edition of Fabricius, give the titles of various works of Symeon, extant in MS. in various libraries; but many of them appear to be only duplicates or extracts of those already mentioned, with titles more or less varied. A Discourse in honour of Symeon the Just

Combéfis ascribes to him a discourse in honour of Symeon the Just, who is mentioned in the New Testament as taking the infant Christ in his arms. The author of this discourse styles himself Συμεὼν ὁ ταπεινὸς, Symeon Humilis. Assessment

Symeon was held in the highest esteem in his own and following generations, and Allatius has quoted several laudatory poetical effusions in his honour. Further Information

Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 151, &c.; Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. x. p. 323, note h., vol. xi. p. 302, &c. ; Oudin. De Scriptoribus Ecclcs. vol. ii. col. 587, &c. ; Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 1051, vol. ii. p. 138, ed. Oxford, 1740-1743.

17. Mandrita. [No. 31.]

18. Manichaeus. [No. 8.]

19. MAR'YR. [No. 26.]

20. Massalianus. [No. 8.]

21. Of Mesopotamia. A discourse of which a Latin version under the title of Sermo de morte semper meditando, or Sermo de mente semper complectendo suum cuique discessum, is given in the Bibliotheca Patrum (Appendix ad edit. primam, Paris, 1579; vol. ii. ed. secunda, Paris, 1589; vol. v. pt. ii. ed. Cologne, 1618; vol. ii. col. 73-76, ed. Paris, 1654; vol. vii. p. 1227, ed. Lyon. 1677), where it is ascribed to the elder Symeon the Stylite [No. 31], is in a MS. of the original, in the Imperial Library at Vienna, ascribed to a Symeon of Mesopotamia. Τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ ὁσίου Ευμεῶνος Μεσοποταμίας περὶ τοῦ ἀεὶ ἐν νψ͂ ἔχειν τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἐξόδου τοῦ βίου. Sancti Symeonis Mesopotamitae sermo de so quod semper in animo habere debeamus diem exitus vitae. Lambecius shows, by quotations from the Vitae Patrum of Rosweydus, and the Menaea of the Greeks, that there was a particular monastery, in some locality not defined, apparently in the Syrian or Roman part of Mesopotamia, which was usually described by the name of the country, not of any particular adjacent spot : --" monasterium quod est in Mesopotamia Syriae," μονὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀσκληπιοῦ τοῦ ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίἁ τῆς Συρίας; and thinks it likely that Symeon, the author of the discourse, was abbot of this monastery. The Greek text, from which Lambecius cites some passages, differs materially in parts from the Latin version in the Bibliotheca Patrum. (Allat. De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 24; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 298; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. Dissertat. prima, p. 18; Lambec. Comment. de Biblioth. Caesaraea, vol. s. lib. v. col. 198, &c. ed. Kollar.)

22. Metaphrastes (ὁ Μάταφραστής), known also by the titles of Magister (ὁ Μάγιστρος) and Logotheta (it is doubtful if he was Logotheta Cursus, ὁ Λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου, or Magnus Logotheta, ὁ μέγας Λογοθέτησ̓, a celebrated Byzantine writer of the end of the ninth and beginning and middle of the tenth centuries, as Allatius has shown, but about whose date writers have differed very widely, some placing him in the beginning of the third century, and others as late as the fourteenth (see Allatius and Cave, ubi infrà). Our chief authority for the life of Symeon is the Ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν Μεταφραστὴν κύριον Συμεῶνα. Encomium in Metaphrastem Dominum Symeonem of the younger Psellus [Psellus, No. 3], and an Ἀκολουθία, Officium, composed by the same author for the day (28th Nov.) on which Symeon is commemorated as a saint in the Greek Church; to which we may add some incidental notices from the writings of Symeon himself.

Symeon was a native of Constantinople, belonged to an illustrious family, possessed great wealth, and was remarkable even from childhood for " the flowers of the understanding," to quote the words of Psellus, which " blossomed in him." He studied rhetoric, and especially philosophy, and became eminent in both. The reputation he acquired recommended him to the notice of the government, and he was employed under the emperors Leo VI the Philosopher, and Constantine VII. Porphyrogenitus, in public affairs. We should gather from the bombastic expressions of Psellus, that his first office was that of Proto-a-secretis, or chief secretary; but it is unlikely that so important an office should be the first entrusted to him : and the statement of Cedrenus, noticed below, seems more probable. His versatile talents were adapted both to counsel and to action; and he appears to have been engaged in repressing, both by arms and negotiations, the assaults of some enemies on the frontier of the empire, and in reducing others to subjection. He was characterised by magnificence in dress and stateliness of gait, yet tempered by a captivating address and easiness of access. He possessed also a liberal disposition, which his wealth afforded him ample opportunity of indulging. The declamation of Psellus contains neither particulars nor dates. A passage, however, in Symeon's account of St. Theoctista (apud Allat. De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 49), informs us that he was engaged in the expedition, under Himerius, against the Saracens of Crete, with whom he was commissioned to negotiate. This expedition, on Symeon's own authority in another place (Chronog. s. Annales. De Leone Basilii Fil. 100.21. Comp. Theophan. Continuat. lib. vi. De Leone Basilii Fil. 100.26), we may fix in the twenty-third year of the reign of Leo VI., A. D. 908. Allatius fixes the date, we believe erroneously, in A.D. 902. This, however, was not the first occasion in which Symeon appears as a prominent person : he was apparently the Symeon, Proto-a-secretis, who negotiated an exchange of prisoners with Leo the renegade, who commanded the Saracen fleet, which in A. D. 904 took Thessalonica (Theoph. Continuat. 100.21; Symeon. 100.14; Cameniata de Exscidio Thessalonicensi, 100.62, 63; Zonaras, Annal. lib. 16. c.14; Cedren. Compend. p. 600, ed. Paris, vol. ii. p. 263, ed. Bonn.) According to Cedrenus, Symeon received the dignity of Proto-a-secretis as a reward for his service in this business, having previously held a subordinate office. It was when serving under Himerius, in A. D. 908, that Symeon first engaged in composing the lives of the Saints ; and he pleaded as an excuse, when urged to undertake this task, the multitude of his engagements, and the cares of his wife and family. (Symeon, Vitae S. Theoctistae apud Allatium, p. 55.) The life of St. Theoctista, the first of his religious biographies, was not, however, written till after the death of the emperor Leo.

Symeon is mentioned by Liutprand, ambassador from the western emperor Otho to the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus Phocas, as still Proto-a-secretis in A. D. 968. (Baronii Annal. ad ann. 968. c. xxix. ; comp. Pagi, Criticc in Baron. ad ann. eundem, c. xii.; Liutpradi Legatio, apud Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, vol. ii. p. 482.) Symeon is mentioned by Leo Diaconus (Historia, 10.7, p. 169, ed. Bonn) as still living when the comet appeared which shortly preceded the death of the emperor Joannes Tzimisces (comp. Cedrenus, p. 683, ed. Paris, vol. ii. p. 414, ed. Bonn), and which may be fixed in the year 975, so that he must have lived very nearly a century, and perhaps more. His death is described by Psellus as joyful and triumphant. (Comp. Allatius, Vossius, Cave, Oudin, Cellier, Saxius, ubi infra, and Pagi, Critice in Baronii Annales, ad ann. 902, i--xi.; ad ann. 975, c. ix. x.; Bollandus, Praefat. ad Acta Sanctor. cap. 1.3, Januar. vol. i.) Works

The works of Metaphrastes are numerous and of varied character. They may be thus classified : -- 1. Ἁγίων Βίοι

Ἁγίων Βίοι s. Μεταφράσεις, Sanctorum Vitae s. Metaphrases. These constitute the largest and most important class of his writings. A few of them were probably original, but by far the greater part were paraphrases (μεταφράσεις) or recastings of more ancient legends, of which the language was too rude, or the narrative too meagre, to suit the vicious taste and boundless credulity of the age in which Symeon lived, and which he seems to have altered ad libitum. As many, if not most, of the saints whom he commemorated lived before the rupture between the Eastern and Western Churches, some of the more zealous Roman Catholics, as Aloysius Lipomannus, Gretser, and especially Allatius, contend earnestly for the credit of Metaphrastes. Protestant writers have generally set him down as an author unworthy of credit, with the exception, perhaps, of Cave, who seems to think that he only corrected the arrangement and style of those of the ancient legends which needed such revision, and left those which were better written altogether intact. The more critical Roman Catholics unite with the Protestants in depreciating the authority of Symeon. The number of the lives ascribed to Symeon in the MSS. amounts to between six and seven hundred. Lists of these and other Sanctorum Vitae are given by Allatius, ubi infra, and Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 186, seq.). Cave gives a list of a hundred and twenty-two which, after Allatius, he supposes to be correctly ascribed to Metaphrastes. Of those inaccurately assigned to him, Allatius ascribes four hundred and forty-four to other authors; of ninety-five others the authors are unknown. A great number of the Vitae, genuine or spurious, are published in a Latin version by Lipomannus, Surius, and others, in their collections, De Sanctorum Vitis : of these Allatius has given a list (p. 76) : a few which Allatius also enumerates (p. 78) have been published in various works in the original Greek, with or without a Latin version. Another list of the published lives is given by Hamberger, Zuverlässige Nachrichten, vol. iv. p. 143, foll. (On these Sanctorum Vitae, the great work of Metaphrastes, see Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 180, &c., besides various incidental notices; and the authors cited at the close of this account.) 2. Σημεὼν μαγίστρου καὶ λογοθέτου χρονογραφία

Σνμεὼν μαγίστρου καὶ λογοθέτου χρονογραφία, Symeonis Magistri et Logothetae Annales. These extend from the beginning of the reign of Leo V. the Armenian, A. D. 813, where Theophanes concludes, to the reign of Romanus II. the younger, in the midst of which (A. D. 960 or 961) they somewhat abruptly break off. The work was prepared for the press by Combéfis, and is given among Οἱ μετά Θεοφάνην, Scriptores post Theophanem, in the Paris (fol. 1685), Venice (fol. 1729), and Bonn (8vo. 1838) editions of the Corpus Historiae Byzantinae. The Paris edition, from which the others are taken, was published after the death of Combéfis, and from that circumstance is without notes. In these Annales, which closely, often verbatim, agree with the anonymous continuator of Theophanes [Leontius, literary, No. 6], and with George the Monk [Georgius, literary and ecclesiastical, No. 33.], Symeon, in the incidental notices of himself already cited, speaks in the third person. 3. Chronicon

Chronicon s. Annales ab orbi condito. This Chronicon has never been published, and seems to be different from the more important work just cited : it was a mere compilation, and was apparently less laboriously prepared than the preceding work; and in many parts agrees with Theophanes. Kollar, however (Supplement ad Lambec. p. 737), speaks of the Annales mentioned above, as a portion of the Chronicon. Different copies of the Chronicon, and there are many MSS. which contain it, terminate at different periods : some end with the accession of Leo the Armenian at the point at which the Annales commence : others terminate with Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and have prefixed the following iambic couplet. A comparison of these last copies would show whether the Annales are an extract from the Chronicon, as Kollar supposes, or not. ἀρχὴν μὲν Ἀδὰμ ἔσχεν βίβλος, καὶ τέλος, τὸ Πορφυρογέννητον εὐσεβὲς κράτος.

One MS. at Venice comes down to the reign of Constantine XI. Ducas, who reigned from A. D. 1059 to 1067, a circumstance which shows either that the Chronicon received some additions from a later hand, or that it is incorrectly ascribed to our Symeon, and must have been composed by a later writer. Oudin observes that the Chronicon agrees in several places to the letter with the work of Leo Grammaticus; he says it is borrowed from it, and, as he assigns Leo's work to A. D. 1013. he urges this as one argument for the later date assigned by him to Metaphrastes. But we have elsewhere stated that the date assigned by him to Leo's work is inaccurate; the argument built upon it therefore falls. [Leo, Greek writers, No. 15.] Combéfis suspects that Psellus [Psellus, No. 3] was the continuator of the Chronicon. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 471, &c., p. 684, &c.) 4. Συμεὼν μαγίστρου καὶ λογοθέτου τοῦ δρόμου ἐπιστολαί

Συμεὼν μαγίστρου καὶ λογοθέτου τοῦ δρόμου ἐπιστολαί, Symeonis Magistri et Logothetac Cursus Epistolae. Editions

Allatius has given nine of these, with a Latin version, at the end of his De Symeonum Scriptis, 4to. Paris, 1664. 5. Λόγοι

Λόγοι, Sermones. Editions

One of these is given by Allatius with a Latin version at the end of his De Symeon. Scriptis. Another is given in a Latin version in the Bibliotheca Concionatoria of Combéfis, vol. iii. fol. Paris, 1662. Some others had been seen by Allatius in manuscript. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 183.) 6. Carmina.

Carmina. Some short poems of Symeon have been printed. Τοῦ Μεταφραστοῦ στίχοι εἰς τὴν ἔνσαρκον οἰκονομίαν. κατ̓ ἐρώτησιν δήθεν καὶ ἀπόκρισιν, Metaphrastae de Salutis nostrae Mysterio et suscepti Nominis Sacramento : per interrogalioneim et responsionem, Edition

This was published by Fed. Morel. with a Latin version, 4to. Paris, 1600. Στίχοι Συμεῶνος τοῦ Μεταφραστοῦ, Simeonis Metaphraslae trimetri iambici, four very short pieces, were given in the Poetae Graeci Christiani, una cum Homericis Cantonibus, 8vo. Paris, 1609, published for the use of the Jesuits schools; and were reprinted in the Ἕλληνες Ποιηταὶ παλαιοὶ, τραγικοὶ κ. τ. λ., Poetae Graeci veteres, tragici etc., vol. ii. p. 753, fol. Geneva, 1614. Four other short poems, two of them having their lines or alternate lines beginning with the successive letters of the alphabet, and bearing each the title Ἀλφάβετον, Alphabetum ; and the other two addressed, one, Εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν, Ad sui ipsius Animam, the other, Εἰς κύριον Στυλιανὸν πρωτασηκρῆτιν, Ad Dominum Stylianum e Secretariis Primum, are given in the De Symeonum Scriptis of Allatius (p. 132, &c.). Some other poems of Symeon are extant in manuscript. 7. Ἐπιτομὴ κανόνων

Ἐπιτομὴ κανόνων, Synopsis Canonica, already noticed in speaking of the imaginary Symeon Logotheta Junior. [No. 14.] 8. Κεφάλαια τοῦ ἁγίου Μακαριον ηεταφρασθέντα παρὰ Συμεὼν τοῦ Λογοθέτου

Κεφάλαια τοῦ ἁγίου Μακαριον ηεταφρασθέντα παρὰ Συμεὼν τοῦ Λογοθέτου, S. Macarii Aegyptii s. Scetensis [Macarius, No. 1] Capita Ascetica centum septuaginta, metaphrasi illustrate a Symeone Logotheta. Either this work or an Epitome of it is inserted in the Thesaurus Asceticus of Possin. (Comp. the obscure notices in Lambecius, De Biblioth. Caesaraea, vol. v. pp. 151, &c., 214, &c., ed. Kollar.) Besides these Κεφάλαια, selected from the works of Macarius and paraphrased, Symeon wrote some original Κεφάλαια γνωμικὰ ρλά, Gnomicae Sententiae CXXXI., extant in manuscript. (Allatius, p. 132.) 9. Hymni s. Canones et Troparia,

Hymni s. Canones et Troparia, also Preces, by Symeon Metaphrastes, were in the time of Allatius, and perhaps are still, in use in the Greek Church (Allatius, p. 131), and are extant in various MSS. 10. Clementinorum Epitome, Editions

published by Adrian Turnebus, 4to. Paris, 1555, and in a Latin version by Perionius, 4to. Paris, 1555; the version was reprinted in the edition of the works of Clemens Romanus, fol. Cologne, 1569. We know not on what ground this is ascribed to Symeon. (Comp. Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 31.) 11. Ἐκ τῶν τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Βασιλείου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Καισαρείας τῆς Καππαδοκίας ἠθικοὶ λόγοι κδ́ διὰ Συμεὼν τοῦ Μαγίστρου καὶ Λογοθέτου

Ἐκ τῶν τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Βασιλείου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Καισαρείας τῆς Καππαδοκίας ἠθικοὶ λόγοι κδ́ διὰ Συμεὼν τοῦ Μαγίστρου καὶ Λογοθέτου, Ex Libris D. Basilis Archiepicopi Caesareae Cappodociae Orationes de Moribus XXIV. Simeone Magistro ac Logotheta auctore. Editions

These Sermones were made up by Symeon of selections from the works of Basil, and were printed 8vo. Paris, 1556. A Latin version of them by Stanislaus Ilovius had appeared, 8vo. Venice, 1554, and has been reprinted several times. Another Latin version, by Simon Mailleus, archbishop of Tours, was published, 8vo. Paris, 1558, and has been reprinted in the editions of the works of Basil, in which the Orationes are usually given. (Fabric. vol. ix. p. 58, &c., vol. x. p. 183, &c.) 12. An account of the church of St. Sophia

Extant in two MSS. at Vienna (Kollar. Supplement. ad Lambecium, comp. pp. 748, 760), is ascribed in one of the MSS. to Symeon Metaphrastes, but with what accuracy is uncertain. The citations from Metaphrastes in the Catena in Lucam of Nicetas, and the mention by Theophanes Cerameus of his Εἰς τὸν ἱερὸν Λουκᾶν ὑπόμνημα, In Lucam Commentarius, do not show that he wrote commentaries on Luke. The work intended is probably his account of Luke in his Sanctorum Vitae. The citations in the Catena in Matthaeum of Macarius Chrysocephalus are possibly from his account of Matthew. A single manuscript ascribes to Symeon Metaphrastes, but with very doubtful correctness, a work called Dioptra whether the work of Philip the Solitary [Philippus, literary and ecclesiastical, No. 27], or a different work, is not ascertained. (Allatius, p. 136; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 62, note oo.)

The works of Symeon Metaphrastes are still valued by the Greeks. Three small quarto volumes containing selections from the Vitae Sanctorum,translated into the modern Greek tongue by Agapius, a Cretan monk, printed at Venice in the years 1797, 1805, and 1806, and entitled respectively, Παράδεισος, Paradisus, Ἐκλόγιον, Eclogium, and Νέος Παράδεισος, Paradisus Novus, are now before us. Further Information

Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, pp. 24-151; Cave, who makes three persons of our Symeon, viz. Symeon Metaphrastes, Symeon Logotheta, and Symeon Logotheta Junior, Hist. Litt. ad annos 901, 967, 1170, vol. ii. pp. 88, 104, 241; Oudin, De Scriptoribus Eccl. vol. ii. col. 1300-1383; Vossius, De Historicis Graecis, lib. ii. c. xxv. and lib. iv. pars iii; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 471, 683, vol. viii. p. 29, vol. x. p. 180, &c. alibi : Ceillier. Auteurs Sacrés, vol. xix. p. 565, &c., 592, &c.; Hankius, De Byzantinarum Rerum Scriptoribus, pars 1.100.24; Hamberger, Zuverlässige Nachrichten, vol. iv. p. 139, &c.; Saxius, Onomasticon, vol. ii. p. 135.

23. Monachus S. Hieromonachus. Various MSS. bear the name of Symeon Hieromonachus or Monachus as their author. (Comp. Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 299; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. ; Dissertat. Prima, p. 18). A Symeonius Monachus et Presbyter is mentioned by Photius (Biblioth. Cod. 231) as flourishing in the reign of Justinian I. (See also Nos. 24, 25.)

24. Pius, Venerabilis or Studita. Symeon, denominated by his admirers ὁ εὐλαβής, " the Pious," or, as Combéfis renders it, " the Venerable," was a monk of the monastery of Studium at Constantinople, in the latter half of the tenth century. His younger namesake, Symeon of St. Mamas [No. 16], was his disciple, and held him in such reverence as to pay to his memory honours which were deemed unauthorized and excessive, and involved the younger Symeon in difficulties with his ecclesiastical superiors. Works Λόγος ἀσκητικὸς τολυμερὴς ἠθικὸς κεφαλαιώδης, Oratio de vitae asceticae officiis summatim scripta

Symeon the Pious is regarded as the author of a short treatise on the duties of an ascetic life, Λόγος ἀσκητικὸς τολυμερὴς ἠθικὸς κεφαλαιώδης, Oratio de vitae asceticae officiis summatim scripta,. Editions

A version in modern or Romaic Greek, by Dionysius Zagoraeus, is published with his version of the works of Symeon of St. Mamas. 4to. Venice, 1790. Further Information

See the biographical notices of Symeon of St. Mamas, in the Auctarium Novissimum of Combéfis and in the version of Zagoraeus, already referred to [No. 16].

25. Scholarius, styled also Hieromonachus, Συμεὼν ἱερομόναχος ὁ σχολάριος; a monk of the Byzantine empire, whose date is not known, except that he lived about or after the close of the eighth century. He composed a work entitled Κανόνες, Syntagma Canonum, extant in MS. at Vienna, containing the Canons ascribed to the Apostles and to the seven general councils. (Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 299; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii., Appendix prima, p. 18; Lambecius, Commentar. de Bibliotheca Caesaraea, vol. iv. col. 435, ed. Kollar.)

26. Of Seleuceia and Ctesiphon. The increase of the number of Christians in Persia, and their formation into churches with ecclesiastical officers, had excited the apprehensions of the Magi, and also the jealousy of the Jews : these bodies excited the Persian king to commence a severe persecution against the Christians, and Symeon, archbishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, was put to death on a charge of favouring the interests of, and treacherously conveying to, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, or more probably his son Constantius II., intelligence affecting the interests of Persia. Syriac writers call this Symeon Bar-Sabai or Bar-saböe, i. e. " Filius Tinctorum" (Assemani. Biblioth. Orient. vol. i. p. 1, 2), and state that he was the disciple of Papas or Phaphas, whom he succeeded in the see of Seleuceia. Papas had been deposed for his arrogance and impiety, and Symeon was appointed in his room (Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, vol. iii. col. 1107, &c.; Assemani, Biblioth. Orient. vol. i. p. 186), which led Papas to utter an imprecation against Symeon that his sins might never be forgiven to him. Symeon was born of respectable and pious parents, who carried on the business of silk dyers, and appear to have supplied the Persian kings with their royal robes. The date of Symeon's accession to his see is undetermined. According to some authorities (Le Quien, col. 1106) Symeon was present at the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, as representative of his predecessor Papas, who was then archbishop of Seleuceia; according to others (Assemani, p. 8, 9) Symeon had already acquired the see, and sent one of his clergy to represent him. The date of his death is also uncertain ; but it was probably during the war between the Persians and the Roman emperor Constantius II. Many other Christians perished with Symeon, and in the bloody persecution which followed his death : among these martyrs was his sister Tarbula. He was buried at Susa. (Assemani, p. 4.) Symeon wrote some letters in Syriac, which are mentioned by Ebed-jesu (Assemani, p. 11); but the occasion and subject of them are not stated. Two hymns which are, it would appear, still used by the Christians of the country about Bagdad (in divinis Chaldaeorum officiis) are ascribed to him. (Assemani, Biblioth. Oriental. vol. i. p. 1-12; Le Quien, l.c. ; Sozomen. H. E. 2.8-15; Hieronym. Chronicon ; Theophan. Chronog. p. 19, ed. Paris, p. 15, ed. Venice, p. 36, ed. Bonn; Cedrenus, Compend. p. 298, ed. Paris, vol. i. p. 522, ed. Bonn; Nicephorus Callisti, H. E. 8.35, 37, 38; Menolog. Basilian. a. d. April. xiv. pars iii. p. 55, fol. Urbino, 1727; Henschen. apud Acta Sanctorum Aprilis, vol. ii. p. 846; Baronius, Annales Eccles. ad ann. 343, xii.--xvii.; Pagi, Critice in Baron. in loc.; Tillemont, Mémoires, vol. vii. pp. 76, &c., 662, &c.)

27. Seth or Sethus, Σηθ, or Sethi, Σήθι; or perhaps The Son of Sethus or Seth, a Byzantine writer of some importance of the eleventh century. He is known also by the titles which he bore of Magister et Philosophus, Μάγιστρος καὶ Φιλόσοφος, and of Protovestiarius Antiochi, Πρωτοβεστάρχης τῶν Ἀντιόχου, i. e. Master of the Robes in the palace of Antiochus (Flavius Antiochus the Eunuch, who was consul, A. D. 431) at Constantinople, in which the imperial jewels or costly articles were kept. (Comp. Ducange, Glossar. Med. et Infim. Graecitat. s. v. πρωτοβεστάρχης τῶν Ἀντιόχου, inter derivat. voc. Βέστης; and Constantinop. Christiana, lib. ii. sect. 13.5.) By a corruption of his title he has been improperly styled Antiochenus, Ἀντιοχεὺς, and Magister Antiochiae, Μάγιστρος Ἀντιοχείας, and Bestus, Βέστος. It is probable that he is the Symeon Protovestiarius (Συμεὼν πρωτοβεστιάριος) mentioned by Cedrenus (Compend. p. 737, ed. Paris, vol. ii. p. 511, ed. Bonn) as having been banished in A. D. 1034, by the Emperor Michael the Paphlagonian [Michael IV. Paphlago] on account of his sympathy with the Patrician Dalassenus. Symeon had been one of the personal attendants of the Emperor Constantine IX. (or Viii. as some reckon, brother and colleague of Basil II.), whose death occurred A. D. 1028. Symeon, on his banishment, retired to a monastery founded by himself near mount Olympus ; and appears to have spent the rest of his life in literary pursuits and monastic duties (Cedren. l.c.). As one of his works is dedicated to the Emperor Michael Ducas, he must have survived the accession of that prince in A. D. 1071. Nothing beyond this appears to be known of his personal history. Works

The principal works of Symeon Seth are as follows : -- 1. Σύνταγμα κατὰ στοιχεῖον περὶ τροφῶν δυνάμεων (Syntagma per litterarum ordinem de cibariorum facultate)

This is the work dedicated to Michael Ducas. It is a descriptive catalogue, alphabetically arranged, of the chief articles of human food : the materials are for the most part taken from Symeon's contemporary, Michael Psellus [Psellus, No. 3.]. Editions

It was published, with a Latin version, by Lilius Gregorius Gyraldus of Ferrara, 12mo. Basel, 1538. The arrangement of the text differs from that of the version : the alphahetical order in the one being of the Greek titles to each article, in the other of their Latin equivalents; but in an edition of the version revised by Dominicus Monthesaurus of Verona, 12mo. Basel, 1561, the Greek titles are prefixed to each article, and the original order is restored. An improved edition of the Greek text, with a new version by Martinus Bogdanus, was published 12mo. Paris, 1658. 2. Σύνοψις καὶ ἀπάνθισμα φυσικῶν τε καὶ φιλοσόφων δογμάτων (Compendium et flores naturalium et philosophorum placitorum)

Of this work, which is also in great part pillaged from Psellus, Allatius (ubi infrà) has given a short extract, with a Latin version. The first two of the five books of which the work consists are extant in some MSS. under the name of Psellus. They bear the title of Ἐπιλύσεις συντόμοι φυσικῶν ζητημάτων, Solutiones compendiosae naturalium quaestionum. 3. De Medicina (s. De Medicamentis) ex Animalibus.

A Latin version of two fragments of this appears at the end of Monthesaurus's revised edition of Gyraldus's version of the Syntagma de cibariorum facultate. 4. Περὶ ὀσφρήσεως (De Odoratu,) and 5. Περὶ γεύσεως καὶ ἁφῆς (De Gustatione et Tactu,)

published by Ideler, in his Physici et Medici Graeci Minores, vol. ii. p. 283, 8vo. Berlin, 1842. The Fables of Bidpai and Pilpay

But the work which has given Symeon Seth the greatest claim to remembrance, is his Greek version of the Indian apologues, now known as the Fables of Bidpai or Pilpay. This version is briefly entitled Στεφανίτης καὶ Ἰχνηλάτης (Stephanites et Ichnelates, s. Coronarius et Vestigator).

From a more prolix title or introduction prefixed to the work we learn that it was brought from India by Περζωὲ, Perzoe, or Barzouyeh, physician to Chosroes or Khosru I. Nushirwan [Sassanidae, No. 21], King of Persia, who reigned from A. D. 531 to 579, and that it was presented to that King. It is probable that what Barzouyeh presented to Khosru was a Pehlvi or old Persian version, not the Sanscrit original. It was, according to the title just cited, translated into Arabic, and this Arabic version Symeon Seth translated into Greek. Editions Latin Edition

A Latin version of a considerable part of it was subjoined by Possin to his edition of Georgius Pachymeres, fol. Rome, 1666; but it is omitted in the Bonn reprint of that version. Greek Edition

The Greek text, not however in a complete form, was published under the title of Specimen Sapientiae Indorum veterum. by Seb. Godof. Starkius, 12mo. Berlin, 1697. The introductory chapters, which had been prefixed to Bidpai's work, and had been also translated by Seth but omitted by Starkius, were published under the title of Prolegomena ad Librum, Στεφανίτης καὶ Ἰχνηλάτης, by Floderus, Upsala, 1780. Futher Information

A succinct account of this ancient and curious work is given in the Penny Cyclopaedia, s. v. Bidpai, where are given numerous references to the authorities used. See also Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 777-781. History of Alexander the Great

A history of Alexander the Great, replete with fabulous incidents, and falsely bearing the name of Callisthenes [Callisthenes, No. 1], which is found in some libraries (comp. Catal. MStorum Biblioth. Regiae, vol. ii. p. 388, Cod. mdclxxxv. fol. Paris, 1740), is said by Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. vol. iii. p. 36) and Wharton (Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. i. p. 129) to have been translated from the Persian by Symeon Seth, but on what authority this assertion rests they do not state : nor does the work seem to bear any internal marks of belonging to Seth. The opening portion of a history of Alexander which some identify with this work, is given by Berckel (in a note to Stephanus Byzant. De Urbibus, ad voc. Βουκεφάλεια) and by Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. vol. xiv. p. 148, ed. vet.) : it bears the title of Βίος Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ Μακέδονος καὶ πράξεις, Vita et Gesta Alexandri Macedoniae Regis. Editions

A Latin history of Alexander closely resembling this Greek work, and considered by some as a version though it varies much from the original, was printed in black letter, fol. Argentin. 1489 and 1494. These works bear, both of them, considerable resemblance to the work said to have been written in Greek by Aesopus [Aesopus, p. 48], and translated into Latin by Julius Valerius, whose translation was first published from an imperfect MS. by Angelo Mai, at Milan, 1817, and again more complete in vol. vii. of his Classici Auctores e Vaticanis Codd. editi, 8vo. Rom. 1835. It is also given from Mai's first edition as an appendix to the edition of Quintus Curtius in the Bibliotheca Classica Latina of Lemaire, 8vo. Paris, 1824. Further Information on the works of Pseudo-Callisthenes, Aesopus, Julius Valerius etc.

Considerable information respecting these works of the Pseudo Callisthenes, Aesopus or Julius Valerius and others, which have much in common with each other and appear to have had a common origin, may be found in the preface of Mai (reprinted by Lemaire); in the Journal des Savans for 1818, pp. 401, &c., 609, &c.; and in the Bibliothèque Universelle for the same year, pp. 218, &c., 322, &c. But of these works neither by Mai nor in the periodicals is any one ascribed to Symeon Seth. Some other works of Symeon are extant in MS. Further Information

Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. ll. cc. vol. vii. p. 472, vol. xi. p. 320; Allat. De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 181, &c.; Vossius, De Historicis Graec. lib. 4. c.21.

28. Studita. [Nos. 16 and 24.]

29. Studita.

Of the time and history of this Symeon nothing is known. A Symeon appears among the correspondents of Theodore Studita, who addresses him as his son; but whether this was the writer of the Cantica or not is unknown. Works Τροπάρια, Cantica

Some Τροπάρια, Cantica, or hymns, by Symeon, a monk of the Convent of Studium at Constantinople, were among the MSS. or the monastery of Cryptae Ferratae at Rome. Allatius, who had read them, says that they were worthy to be preserved and published, and to be used in the services of the church. He has given the initial parts of each, from which it appears that they related to the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Confusion with Symeon Studita

Allatius judges the writer to be a different person from the Symeon Studita mentioned with such high praise by Symeon of St. Mamas, in his oration De Poenitentia et Compunctione, and who is doubtless the Symeon the Pious already mentioned [No. 24]. Further Information

Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 23 ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 444, vol. xi. p. 299 ; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. Dissert. Prima, p. 18.

30. Stultus or Salus (ὁ Σαλὸς), a fanatic of the Eastern Church, apparently born about A. D. 522, in the reign of the emperor Justin I. He was a Syrian, but his birth-place appears to be unknown. In the reign of Justinian he visited Jerusalem with a companion, Joannes, with whom he embraced a monastic life, first in a convent, afterwards in a hermitage on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. He afterwards visited Jerusalem. He then went to Emesa, where he continued till his death. He lived to, if not after, the reign of the emperor Maurice. The life of this Symeon, written by Leontius of Neapolis [Leontius, No. 20], his contemporary, abounds with absurd stories of his miracles. (Leontius, Vita S. Simeonis Sali, apud Acta Sanctor. Julii. vol. i. p. 136, &c.; Nicephorus Callisti. H. E. lib. 17. c.22.)

31. Stylites (Συμεώνης ὁ Στυλίτης), the PILLAR-SAINT, a celebrated ascetic of the fifth century, who derived his distinguishing epithet from the pillar on which he passed a considerable part of his life. He was the first of a tolerably numerous class of " Pillar-saints" or " Stylites." He was born at the village of Sisan, on the confines of Syria and Cilicia, about A. D. 388, according to Tillemont, whose dates we follow. After leading an ascetic life for many years in various monasteries and solitary places, he resolved to take his stand on a pillar or pedestal, in order to escape from the honour paid him by men, according to the testimony of Theodoret, though it is not so easy to see how so conspicuous a position consisted with the modesty ascribed to him by that writer. This was in A. D. 423. At first his pillar was only six cubits, or nine feet high; it then rose to twelve cubits, then to twenty-two; and when Theodoret wrote, which was in Symeon's lifetime, it was thirty-six cubits, or fifty-four feet high; " for," adds Theodoret, " he desires to touch heaven, and to be released from all communication with earthly things." The circumference of his column is stated by Evagrius to have been two cubits, or three feet, the height forty, which is, perhaps, only a round number for the thirty-six of Theodoret.

This proceeding of the saint, however admired by some, incurred the reprehension of others, to whom Theodoret thought it necessary to reply by referring to certain symbolical actions of the Old Testament prophets. The saint's proceeding was, however, so far in conformity to Oriental sentiments, and appealed so strongly to Oriental feelings, that it led to the conversion of many hundred heathens, Persians, Armenians, and Iberians, who would probably have resisted a more rational mode of argument. Tribes, apparently of Bedouin Arabs, contended for the blessing of the holy man. and were near coming to blows in their jealous rivalry. The gifts of working miracles and of prophesying are claimed for him by Theodoret, who professes to have been an eye and ear witness of their exercise. In this extraordinary manner he passed the last thirty-seven years of his life, attracting the reverence alike of believers and unbelievers.

Symeon died about A. D. 460 according to Tillemont, Theophanes, and Cedrenus. His body was brought to Antioch. The emperor Leo proposed to remove it to Constantinople, but yielded to the entreaties of the people of Antioch that it should remain among them. His relics were held in high esteem.

The abode of Symeon before and after his ascent of the column, was locally called Mandra (whence he sometimes bore the name of Mandrita), and was distant, according to Evagrius, three hundred stadia, nearly thirty-five miles from Antioch. The piety of his admirers subsequently erected a church or monastery on the spot, in the midst of which was a richly ornamented court, open to the sky, and enclosing the column on which he had passed his days. The Western Church commemorates this saint on January 5th, the Greek Church on September 1st.

The history of this extraordinary man is worthy of attention, whether as showing what the human frame may be brought to endure, or as the most remarkable page in the remarkable history of ascetic observance, or as illustrating the religious views and spirit of his age and country. Most writers who touch on the history of the period speak of Symeon. The fullest account is given by Theodoret (Philotheus s. Religiosa Historia, 100.26), and Evagrius (H. E. 1.13, 14. 2.9, 10). Something may be gleaned from the fragments of Theodore Lector (H. E. 1.12. 2.42). The three lives, given in a Latin version by Bollandus (Acta Sanctor. January. vol. i. p. 264, &c.), of which the first and second are ascribed, but we think on very uncertain ground, to Symeon's disciple Antonius, and the third to Symeon Metaphrastes, are of little value. (See also Chron. Paschal. p. 321, ed. Paris, p. 256, ed. Venice; vol. i. p. 593, ed. Bonn; Theophan. Chronog. ad A. M. 5952, 53, p. 96, ed. Paris, p. 77, ed. Venice, and vol. i. pp. 173, 174, ed. Bonn; Cedren. Compend. pp. 340, 341, 347, 348, ed. Paris, and vol. i. pp. 596-598, and 609, ed. Bonn; Nicephorus Callisti, H. E. 14.51, 15.13 ; and, among modern writers, Baronius, Annal. Eccles. ad ann. 420, xxviii., 432, xlii. li. lii., 436, xii., 451, cliii., 455, xix., 458, xviii., 460, xvii. xviii., 465, xxxiv., cum Critice Pagii ; Tillemont, Mém. vol. xv. p. 347, &c., and notes, p. 879, &c.; Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 448, vol. i. p. 438; Fabricius, Biblioth. Graec. vol. x. p. 522, &c., and Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 6, &c.) Works

It is known that Symeon wrote several pieces : 1. Epistola ad Theodosium Imperatorem

relating to the restitution of the Jewish synagogues; a proof, unhappily, that a clear perception of right and wrong is not to be enumerated among our saint's excellences. (Evag. H. E. 1.13; Nicephor. l.c.) This letter is not extant. 2. Ad Eudocicam Imperatricem Epistola,

concerning her return to the church. A short extract from this is preserved by Nicephorus Callisti (H. E. 15.13). 3. Πρὸς Λέοντα τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ἐπιστολή, Ad Leonem Imperatorem Epistola

on the election of Timotheus Aelurus, and the authority of the Council of Chalcedon; mentioned by Evagrius (H. E. 2.10. Comp. Phot. Biblioth. cod. 229). 4. Πρὸς Βασίλειον ἐπισκοποῦντα τοῦ Ἀντιόχου (sic in Evag.) ἐπιστολή, Ad Basilium Antiochiae Episcopum Epistola

on the same subjects, preserved by Evagrius (ibid.), and Nicephorus Callisti (H. E. 15.19). Confessio fidei

5. Allatius mentions also a Confessio fidei, and refers to Eulogius (apud Phot. l.c.) : but Eulogius evidently speaks of the saint's letter to the emperor Leo. (Allatius, Cave, Fabricius, ll. cc.) De morte semper meditando Editions

The discourse De morte semper meditando, printed in a Latin version in the Bibliotheca Patrum, under the name of our Symeon, is noticed elsewhere as being more correctly ascribed to Symeon of Mesopotamia [No. 21].

32. Stylites Junior, or Thaumastorites, or A Monte Thaumasto (Τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ ὄρους, or De Monte Mirabili. The Greek and other Eastern churches reverence the memory of a younger Symeon Stylites, who has, however, no place in the Latin calendar, and is indeed of far less celebrity than the subject of the preceding article. He was born at Antioch of parents in humble life, about A. D. 521, as Conrad. Janninghus calculates. His mother Martha was a woman of great piety. He embraced a monastic life, when yet a child, in a monastery near Seleuceia, the port of Antioch, in which monastery he found an eminent stylite or pillar saint, Joannes; and Symeon, desiring to imitate his example, had a pillar erected opposite John's, on the top of which, within a wooden enclosure, which may perhaps be compared to a circular pulpit, he took up his abode for eight years, being only seven years old when he ascended it. He then removed to a mountain called ' the Wonderful Mountain' (τὸ θαυμαστὸν ὄρος), from which he derived his epithet Thaumastorites : here he afterwards established a monastery, in which he resided for the rest of his life, having another column erected for his domicile. He was ordained priest by Dionysius, bishop of Seleuceia, but in what year is not known. He died in his seventy-fifth year, and in the forty-fifth of his abode on his second column, probably in or about A. D. 596. The prolix life of him from which we have taken the above particulars, was written by " Nicephorus Magister Antiochiae," a writer of a later but unascertained period, and is full of miracles, visions, and other legendary matters. It is given. with a valuable Commentarius Praevius by Conrad Janninghus, in the Acta Sanctorum Maii, a. d. xxiv. vol. v. p. 298, &c.

Several writings are ascribed to the younger Symeon the Stylite. They are, 1. Περὶ εἰκόνων, De Imaginibus, mentioned by Joannes Damascenus, who cites a passage from it among the passages subjoined to his own third oration on the same subject. It may be doubted, however, whether the title applies to the work from which the citation is made, or merely describes the subject of the cited passage. (Damascenus, Opera, vol. i. p. 386, ed. Le Quien.) 2. Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς τὸν Ἰουστινιανὸν βασιλέα, Epistola ad Justinianum Imperatorem, cited by Sophronius of Jerusalem in his Συνοδική, Epistola Synodica (apud Phot. Biblioth. cod. 231). This letter of Symeon was directed against the Nestorians and Eutychians, and was much prized by Justinian, who called it " a treasure." (Phot. ibid.) 3. Πρὸς βασιλέα Ἰουστῖνον τὸν νέον ἐπιστολή, Ad Imperatorem Justinum Juniorem Epistola, of two lines only, given in the life of Symeon by Nicephorus (c. 24.189). 4. Ἐπιστολὴ πέμπτη πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰουστῖνον τὸν νέον, Ad Imperatorem Justinum Juniorem Epistola Quinta, exciting him to punish the Samaritans, given at length in the Acta Concilii Nicaeni secundi Oecumenici septimi, Actio V. (see Concil. vol. iv. coll. 289, 663, ed. Hardouin). It is uncertain whether the title indicates that this was the fifth in some general collection of the Epistolae of Symeon, or the fifth which he had written to the emperor. Its genuineness also has been disputed and is vindicated at some length by Allatius (De Symeon. Scrptis, p 18, &c.). 5. Πρὸς τὸν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολυμοῖς ὁσιώτατον σταυροφύλακα Θωμᾶν ἐπιστολή, Ad Sanctissimum in Hierosolymis Sanctae Crucis Custodem Thomam Epistola, given at length in the Vita S. Marthae matris Symeonis Junioris, c. 7.63, &c. (apud Acta Sanctorum Maii, vol. v. p. 426). 6. A letter to Evagrius the ecclesiastical historian, mentioned by him (H. E. 6.23). 6. Devotional compositions, as Τροπάρια, Troparia s. Hymni, and Εὐχαί, Preces, mentioned by Allatius (ibid. p. 21) as extant in MS. A short Ὠδή, Ode s. Hymnus is given in the life of Symeon by Nicephorus, c. 13.109. 7. Sermones Ascetici XXXVI., Responsiones ad Quaesita XXV., and Sententiae XXXVI.,are extant in an Arabic version at Rome (Assemani, Biblioth. Oriental. vol. ii. p. 510); and the Sermones at Oxford also. (Catalog. MStorum Angliae et Hiberniae, vol. i. p. 280.)

Beside the life of Symeon, from which our account is chiefly taken, various particulars are recorded by Evagrius (H. E. 5.21, 6.23), the contemporary and countryman of the Saint; by the biographer of St. Martha, the mother of Symeon, apparently a contemporary; by Joannes Damascenus (l.c. p. 378), who cites a passage from a lost life of Symeon by Arcadius of Cyprus; in the Acta Concilii Nicaeni Secundi, Actio IV. (Concil. vol. iv. col. 217 and 632), where two extracts are given front an anonymous life of Symeon, perhaps that by Arcadius; and by Nicephorus Callisti (H. E. 18.24); Allatius (De Symeon. Scriptis, pp. 17-22); Janninghus (apud Acta Sanctorum, l.c.); Cave (Hist. Litt. ad ann. 527, vol. i. p. 508); Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. vol. x. pp. 325, 524, vol. xi. p. 299); and Baronius (Annales ad ann. 574. §§ vi. viii. ix).

33. Stylites Tertius, Presbyter Et Archimandrita. A third pillar Saint of the name of Symeon is reverenced by the Greek and Coptic, or Egyptian Jacobite, Churches, on the 26th or 27th July. He is mentioned here only to prevent his being confounded with either of the preceding. He is perhaps the same with the Symeon Stylites of Aegae in Cilicia, mentioned by Joannes Moschus (Pratum Spirituale, 100.57) as having been killed by lightning; and with " Symeon Monachus Confessor in Sicilia" (perhaps an error for Cilicia), who appears in some ancient Latin Martyrologia on the 27th July. (Acta Sanctorum, Julii, a. d. xxvi. vol. vi. p. 310; Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 22; Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. x. p. 525.)

34. Thaumaturgus. There is a letter noticed by Allatius as extant in MS., which, after having been translated from the original Greek into Syriac, and from Syriac into Arabic, was, under the mistaken impression that the original was lost, retranslated from Arabic into Greek. This letter was written by Symeon Thaumaturgus to another Symeon designated Enclistus, who derived his lineage from one of the emperors or Caesars : Ἐπιστολὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Συμεὼν τοῦ Θαυματουργοῦ ἣν ἀπεστείλε πρός τινα τὸν ἀπὸ γένους Καίσαρος ἔγκλειστον μὲν γεγενημένον, Epistola S. Symeonis Thaumaturgi quam misit ad quendam Enclistum genus trahentem a Caesare. There is some reason to conjecture that Symeon Thaumaturgus is identical with the younger Symeon the Stylite [No. 32]. (Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, p. 179; Fabricius, Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 299.)

35. Theologus Junior S. Novus Theologus (ὁ υέος θεόλογος). [No. 16.]

36. Of Thessalonica. Little is known of the personal history of Symeon, archbishop of Thessalonica, except that he lived in the first half of the fifteenth century, and held his see for between five and six years, dying Sept. A. D. 1429, about six months before Thessalonica was taken by the Turks under Amurath. Joannes Anagnostes, in his De Thessalonicensi Excidio Narratio (100.3), has noticed the death of Symeon, who was generally lamented ; and relates a curious dream, by which his decease and the subsequent ruin of the city were supposed to be portended. Works Theological Works

Symeon was the author of several theological works much esteemed in the Greek Church. Editions

They were published under the care of Dositheus, patriarch of Jerusalem, folio, Jassy, 1683. A Romaic version of the whole was published, 4to. Leipsic, 1791. Some of the works have been also published separately. Further Information

Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, pp. 185-194; Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 328, &c.; Cave, Hist. Litt. Appendix by Wharton and Gery, ad annos 1410, 1418, vol. ii. pp. 113, 114; Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, vol. ii. col. 58 ; Oudin, Commentarius de Scriptorib. Eccles. vol. iii. col. 2242, &c.

37. Venerabilis. [No. 24.]

38. Xylocercinus. [No. 16.] [J.C.M]