121 Chassang (op. cit., pp. 395 sqq.) gives a French translation of them.
122 Art. “Apollonius,” Smith’s Dict. of Class. Biog.
123 That is to say, a philosopher of 600 years ago.
124 That is to expiate blood-guiltiness with blood-sacrifice.
125 Chaignet (A. É.), in his Pythagore et la Philosophie pythagoricienne (Paris; 1873, 2nd ed. 1874), cites this as a genuine example of Apollonius’ philosophy.
126 That is his idea of death.
127 The text of the last sentence is very obscure.
128 The full title is given by Eudocia, Ionia; ed. Villoison (Venet.; 1781), p. 57.
129 See Zeller, Phil. d. Griech, v. 127.
130 Præparat. Evangel., iv. 12-13; ed. Dindorf (Leipzig; 1867), i. 176, 177.
131 A play on the meanings of λόγος, which signifies both reason and word.
132 Psyche, I. ii. 5.
133 Noack, ibid.
134 See Noack, Porphr. Vit. Pythag., p. 15.
135 Ed. Amstelod., 1707, cc. 254-264.
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
THE PISTIS SOPHIA: A Gnostic Gospel.
(With Extracts from the Books of the Saviour appended). Originally translated from Greek into Coptic, and now for the first time Englished from Schwartze’s Latin Version of the only known Coptic MS., and checked by Amélineau’s French Version. With an Introduction and Bibliography. 394 pp., large octavo. Cloth, 7s. 6d. net.
SOME PRESS OPINIONS.
“The Pistis Sophia has long been recognised as one of the most important Gnostic documents we possess, and Mr Mead deserves the gratitude of students of Church History and of the History of Christian Thought, for his admirable translation and edition of this curious Gospel.”—Glasgow Herald.
“Mr Mead has done a service to other than Theosophists by his translation of the Pistis Sophia. This curious work has not till lately received the attention which it deserves.... He has prefixed a short Introduction, which includes an excellent bibliography. Thus, the English reader is now in a position to judge for himself of the scientific value of the only Gnostic treatise of any considerable length which has come down to us.”—Guardian.
“From a scholar’s point of view the work is of value as illustrating the philosophico-mystical tendencies of the second century.”—Record.
“Mr Mead deserves thanks for putting in an English dress this curious document from the early ages of Christian philosophy.”—Manchester Guardian.
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY,
London and Benares.
Fragments of a Faith Forgotten.
Some short Sketches among the Gnostics, mainly of the First Two
Centuries—a Contribution to the Study of Christian Origins
based on the most Recently Discovered Materials.
I. Introduction.—Outlines of the Background of the Gnosis; Literature and Sources of Gnosticism.
II. The Gnosis according to its Foes.—Gnostic Fragments recovered from the Polemical Writings of the Church Fathers; the Gnosis in the Uncanonical Acts.
III. The Gnosis according to its Friends.—Greek Original Works in Coptic Translation; the Askew, Bruce, and Akhmim Codices.
Classified Bibliographies are appended. 630, xxviii. pp., Large Octavo, Cloth. 10s. 6d. net.
SOME PRESS NOTICES.
“Mr Mead has done his work in a scholarly and painstaking fashion.”—The Guardian.
“The ordinary student of Christian evidences, if he confines his reading to the ‘Fathers,’ learns nothing of these opinions [the so-called Gnostic ‘heresies’] except by way of refutation and angry condemnation. In Mr Mead’s pages, however, they are treated with impartiality and candour.... These remarks will suffice to show the unique character of this volume, and to indicate that students may find here matter of great service to the rational interpretation of Christian thought.”—Bradford Observer.
“The book, Mr Mead explains, is not intended primarily for the student, but for the general reader, and it certainly should not be neglected by anyone who is interested in the history of early Christian thought.”—The Scotsman.
“The work is one of great labour and learning, and deserves study as a sympathetic estimate of a rather severely-judged class of heretics.”—Glasgow Herald.
“Written in a clear and elegant style.... The bibliographies in the volume are of world-wide range, and will be most valuable to students of theosophy.”—Asiatic Quarterly.
“Mr Mead writes with a precision and clearness on subjects usually associated with bewildering technicalities and mystifications. Even the long-suffering ‘general reader’ could go through this large volume with pleasure. That is a great deal to say of a book on such a subject.”—Light.
“This striking work will certainly be read not only with the greatest interest in the select circle of the cultured, but by that much larger circle of those longing to learn all about Truth.... May be summed up as an extraordinary clear exposition of the Gnosis of Saints and the Sages of philosophic Christianity.”—The Roman Herald.
“Comprehensive, interesting, and scholarly.... The chapters entitled ‘Some Rough Outlines of the Background of the Gnosis’ are well written, and they tend to focus the philosophic and religious movement of the ancient world. There is a very excellent bibliography.”—The Spectator.
“Mr Mead does us another piece of service by including a complete copy of the Gnostic Hymn of the Robe of Glory ... and a handy epitome of the Pistis Sophia is another item for which the student will be grateful.”—The Literary Guide.
“The author has naturally the interest of a theosophist in Gnosticism, and approaches the subject accordingly from a point of view different from our own. But while his point of view emerges in the course of the volume, this does not affect the value of his work for those who do not share his special standpoint.... Mr Mead has at any rate rendered us an excellent service, and we shall look forward with pleasure to his future studies.”—The Primitive Methodist Quarterly.
This is the First Attempt that has been made to bring together All the Existing Sources of Information on the Earliest Christian Philosophers.
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY,
London and Benares.
SIMON MAGUS: An Essay.
The most complete work on the subject. Quarto. Price: 5s. net. Wrappers.
THE WORLD MYSTERY: Four Essays.
Contents: The World-Soul; The Vestures of the Soul; The Web of Destiny; True Self-reliance. Octavo. Price: cloth, 3s. 6d. net.
THE THEOSOPHY OF THE GREEKS. PLOTINUS.
With an exhaustive Bibliography. Octavo. Price: cloth, 1s. net.
ORPHEUS.
With three Charts and Bibliography. Will serve as an Introduction to Hellenic Theology. Octavo. Price: cloth, 4s. 6d. net.
THE THEOSOPHY OF THE VEDAS.
THE UPANIṢHADS: 2 Volumes.
Half Octavo. Paper, 6d.; cloth, 1s. 6d. each net.
Volume I.
Contains a Translation of the Ĭsha, Kena, Kaṭha, Prashna, Muṇḍaka, and Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣhads, with a General Preamble, Arguments, and Notes by G. R. S. Mead and J. C. Chaṭṭopādhyāya (Roy Choudhuri).
Volume II.
Contains a Translation of the Taittirîya, Aitareya, and Shvetāshvatara Upaniṣhads, with Arguments and Notes.