*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63054 ***

    [Illustration: _HYPATIA,
    the accomplish’d Lady._
                                                            _Parr Sculp_]




                               _HYPATIA:_


                                OR, THE
                                HISTORY
                                  OF A
              Most beautiful, most vertuous, most learned,
                       and every way accomplish’d
                                 LADY;
                                  WHO
Was torn to Pieces by the Clergy of _Alexandria_, to gratify the Pride,
 Emulation, and Cruelty of their Archbishop, commonly but undeservedly
                                 stiled
                              St. _CYRIL_.


           _Magnum aliquid instat, efferum, immane, impium._
                                   Sen. Medea, Act. 3. Scen. 1. lin. 16.


                               _LONDON_:
       Printed for M. Cooper, in _Pater-noster-Row_; W. Reeve, in
 _Fleet-street_; and C. Sympson, in _Chancery-lane_. 1753. [Price 6d.]




                               _HYPATIA._




                                CHAP. I.


A general Character of the Lady; the Contrivers and Executioners of the
      Barbarities which she suffered; and the Authorities from whence
      this Story is extracted.

I am going to give a short Account, but as full as antient Books afford
us Materials, of the Life and Death of _Hypatia_; who will ever continue
the Glory of her own Sex, and the Disgrace of ours: For the Women have
no less Reason to value themselves, that there existed a Lady of such
rare Accomplishments, without the least Blemish, even as a Foil to her
numberless Perfections; than the Men to be ashamed, that any could be
found among them of so brutal and savage a Disposition, as, far from
being struck with Admiration at so much Beauty, Innocence, and
Knowledge, to stain their barbarous Hands with her Blood, and their
impious Souls with the indelible Character of sacrilegious Murderers. A
Bishop, a Patriarch, nay, a Saint, was the Contriver of so horrid a
Deed, and his Clergy the Executioners of his implacable Fury. The
Authors out of whom I collect my Account (and I omit none that has come
to my Knowledge) were either her Contemporaries, or lived near that Age.
One of them was her School-fellow, another her Scholar. But they who
relate the most odious and flagitious Circumstances, are Ecclesiastical
Historians; counted orthodox in their own Time, as well as eminently so
by most in ours. Nor ought we to forget that several of them were
Priests. To every one of them we shall do the Justice that their
Sincerity or Prevarication deserves, though little remains to do in this
respect; all being agreed about the principal Facts, and some differing
only in Points of no great Importance. They are such Things, as, taken
either Way, neither serve much to alleviate a very bad Cause, nor to
aggravate what cannot be possibly made worse.




                               CHAP. II.


_Alexandria_, famous for Learning and Merchandize, but particularly for
      a School or Academy, of which _Theon_, the Father of _Hypatia_,
      was Master.

After _Alexander the Great_ had founded _Alexandria_ in _Egypt_, as the
Center of Commerce in the Empire he was projecting, this City soon
became a flourishing Mart for Learning as well as for Merchandize. The
Fame of the _Alexandrian School_, and of the _Alexandrian Library_,
reached much further than the Name of _Alexander_ himself; or at least
they carried it, whither it could never have reached without their
Means. This was the most proper Tribute, that could in Gratitude be paid
to the Memory of a Prince so ambitious of Glory: As indeed no private
Persons, no more than Potentates, will ever do any thing praise-worthy
without the Prospect of a long-lived Reputation, the most effectual Spur
to laudable and arduous Undertakings. The Succession of the great Men
that presided in this School, may be learnt out of the Works of those,
who have purposely written on such Subjects. My Design however obliges
me here to mention one of them, namely _Theon_, who governed that
Academy with much Applause in the latter part of the fourth Century. He
was particularly famous for his extensive Knowledge in Astronomy, as the
Catalogues, made of such who excelled in this Science, abundantly shew.
But what has contributed to render him more illustrious to all
Posterity, is, that he was Father to the incomparable _Hypatia_; whom,
according to the Custom of those Times, or rather prompted by the
Encouragement he received from her own promising Genius, he educated not
only in all the Qualifications belonging to her Sex; but caused her
likewise to be instructed in the most abstruse Sciences, which are
reputed the proper Occupation of Men, as requiring too much Labour and
Application for the delicate Constitution of Women.




                               CHAP. III.


Philosophy not an improper Study for the Female Sex; many of them very
      eminent for their great Progress in the Sciences; particularly
      _Hypatia_, who excelled all the Philosophers of her Time.

That this Notion is a vulgar Prejudice, the vast Number of Ladies, who
have in every Age distinguish’d themselves by their Professions or
Performances in Learning, furnishes an unanswerable Argument. Whole
Volumes have been written, containing nothing else but the Lives of such
Women, as became eminent in all Kinds of Literature, especially in
Philosophy; which, as it is the highest Perfection, so it demands the
utmost Effort of human Nature. But leaving those Heroines to the Search
of the Curious, I shall confine myself at present to one Object worthy
all Admiration; in doing Justice to whom, I may be deemed to write the
Panegyric of the whole Sex. We have the unanimous Consent of _Synesius_,
_Socrates_, and _Philostorgius_, her Contemporaries; as likewise of
_Damascius_, _Nicephorus Gregoras_, _Nicephorus Callistus_, _Photius_,
_Suidas_, _Hesychius Illustris_, and others, touching the prodigious
Learning and other excellent Accomplishments of _Hypatia_. What is still
a greater Proof of the Fact, no one Person, or through Ignorance or
through Envy, has ever as much as insinuated the contrary. _Socrates_,
the Ecclesiastical Historian, an unsuspected Witness, says, That _she
arrived to such a Pitch of Learning, as very far to exceed all the
Philosophers of her time_; to which _Nicephorus_, also an Ecclesiastical
Historian, adds, _Those of other Times_. _Philostorgius_ affirms, That
_she was much superior to her Father and Master _Theon_, in what regards
Astronomy_. And _Suidas_, who mentions two Books of her Writing, one _on
the Astronomical Canon of_ Diophantus, and another _on the Conics of_
Apollonius, avers, That _she not only exceeded her Father in Astronomy:
But further, that she understood all the other Parts of Philosophy_; a
Thing that will be easily credited by those, who shall peruse the Sequel
of this Story, wherein nothing is advanced without competent Vouchers.




                               CHAP. IV.


_Hypatia,_ succeeds in the Government of the _Platonic_ School at
      _Alexandria_, for which she was judged Qualified, in Preference to
      all the Men of Learning at that Time.

And truly were not this Matter so well attested by those Writers we have
just nam’d, and by others we shall presently have Occasion to alledge;
yet no Body could any longer doubt of it, after being informed by the
very same Persons, that _Hypatia_ succeeded in the Government of the
_Platonic_ School at _Alexandria_, the Place of her Birth and Education.
This was another-guess Thing, God knows, than taking the Degree of
Doctor in any of the Faculties; which one or two Women have not long
since done, for which they have been loaded with fulsome Elogies, tho’
producing no Effects suitable to the Titles they have so much
ambitioned. But what greater Glory for a Woman, what greater Honour
redounding to all Women, than to see a Lady teaching in that Chair,
where _Ammonius_ and _Hierocles_ (to Name no more, for ’tis a Mistake in
_Socrates_ or his Transcriber to make _Plotinus_ one of them) where so
many Professors, I say, uttered the Oracles of Learning, rather as
divine Intelligences than mortal Men? What infinite Merit must she have
possessed, who could be preferr’d to that conspicuous Station, at a Time
when Men of immense Learning abounded both at _Alexandria_, and in many
other Parts of the _Roman_ Empire? Wherefore, the Novelty of the Thing
considered, and _Hypatia_’s Worth being universally acknowledged, ’tis
no Wonder that she soon had a crouded Auditory. _She explained to her_
_Hearers_, says _Socrates, the several Sciences, that go under the
general Name of Philosophy; for which Reason_, continues he, _there was
a Confluence to her from all Parts, of those who made Philosophy their
Delight or Study_. To the same Purpose speak others; and _Suidas_ adds,
that _she explained all the Philosophers_, that is, all the several
Sects, with the particular Tenets of their Founders, which shews an
inexpressible Elevation and Capacity, each of these separately being
thought a sufficient Province, to exercise the Diligence of any one Man,
consummate in Letters.




                                CHAP. V.


_Hypatia’s_ School crouded with Scholars of the best Fashion. She is
      admired for her incomparable Beauty, and the vast Extent of her
      Learning.

Now, I cannot but here represent to myself with Pleasure, let who will
censure me for it, the Flower of all the Youth in _Europe_, _Asia_, and
_Africa_, sitting at the Feet of a most beautiful Lady (for such we are
assur’d _Hypatia_ was) all greedily swallowing Instruction from her
Mouth, and many of ’em Love from her Eyes. How she serv’d one of this
last Sort, shall be told in its due Place. It was doubtless a Thing
impossible, not to improve under such a Teacher; as one must be equally
stupid and insensible, that could not be powerfully affected by a
charming Mind in a charming Body. I am sure this Reflection is very
agreeable to that Philosophy she peculiarly professed; and accordingly
the _Alexandrian_ School never flourish’d more. Her Disciples entered
into a strict Tye of Intimacy with one another, stiling themselves
_Companions_, or, as in our Colleges _Fellows_; which was likewise the
Custom at _Athens_, and in other famous Seminaries of Learning. This
commonly begot Effects of Benevolence thro’ the whole Course of their
Lives, and sometimes Acts of Friendship very extraordinary. _Hypatia_
was by way of Excellence named _The Philosopher_, altogether as much on
Account of her profound Knowledge, as for her public Profession of
Teaching. Nor was any Professor ever more admired by the World, or more
dear to his own Scholars. Hers were as remarkable as numerous.




                               CHAP. VI.


An Encomium on _Synesius_, one of _Hypatia_’s Scholars; who, tho’ a
      Heathen, was consecrated a Christian Bishop.

One of these, who has preserved to us the Names of several others, is
the celebrated _Synesius_. He was a Native of _Cyrene_ in _Africa_, on
the Borders of _Egypt_, a very ancient _Greek_ Colony, the Birth-place
of _Aristippus_ and _Carneades_, which _Synesius_ forgets not to mention
in his Writings. He travelled for Improvement to his neighbouring
Country of _Egypt_, the undoubted Mother of the Sciences, where he
happily succeeded in his Studies at _Alexandria_ under _Hypatia_. This
Personage alone may suffice for a Specimen, of the extraordinary Spirits
that she formed. If we may rely on the Judgement of no less a Man than
_Nicephorus Gregoras_, Patriarch of _Constantinople_ (who wrote
elaborate _Annotations_ on his Treatise of _Dreams_, a Piece fraught
with uncommon Learning) he says, _There was nothing he did not know, no
Science wherein he did not excel, no Mistery in which he was not
initiated or skilled_, with a great deal more to this Purpose. And it
must be owned, that to all the Vivacity natural to his Country, there
was joined the most profound Knowledge and solid Judgement. His Works
are every one highly commended, but _his Epistles are admirable_, as
_Suidas_ very truly remarks, and in the Opinion of _Protius_, as well as
of _Evagrius, they are elegant, agreeable, sententious, and learned_. He
was a Man of noble Birth, which added no less Weight to his Learning
then this relieved Lustre on his Quality; as both together procured him
Credit with his Superiors, Authority over his Inferiors, and Admiration
from his Equals. He went upon an Embassy, which lasted three Years, to
the Emperor _Arcadius_ at _Constantinople_, on the Behalf of his
Country; which was miserably harrassed by the auxiliary _Goths_ and
other _Barbarians_, but which received considerable Relief from his
Solicitations. It was then that _with greater Boldness than any of the
Grecians_ (as he tells us himself) he pronounced before the Emperor,
that extremely fine Oration concerning _Government_; which, in a Country
so justly fond of Liberty as ours, I wonder has never been translated.
This defect I have supplied, and will impart it to the Public on a
proper Occasion. As for _Synesius_’s being consecrated Bishop of
_Ptolemais_, notwithstanding his Protestation, that he disbelieved some
of the most essential Articles of the _Christian Religion_, we spoke
enough to that Point at the latter end of _Clidophorus_; only we shall
observe in this Place, how _Petavius_, the Editor of his Works, affirms,
that, in some of the Books written after his Profession of
_Christianity_, he appears as very a _Heathen_ as ever. But this being
no Prejudice to his Parts, however it may affect his Salvation, is none
of our present Business to examine; much less to adopt the pitiful
Excuses, or rather Prevarications, invented by some learned Men to
defend him from this Imputation. The principal is _Baromius_.




                               CHAP. VII.


_Synesius_’s Testimony to the Learning and Virtue of _Hypatia_. Some
      Account of his Writings and other Works.

The Thing which our Design obliges us not to pass over slightly is, the
greatful Testimony he every where bears to the Learning and Virtue of
_Hypatia_, whom he never mentions without the profoundest Respect, and
sometimes in Terms of Affection coming little short of Adoration. In a
Letter to his Brother _Euoptius_, _Salute (_says he_) the most honoured
and the most beloved of God, the Philosopher; and that happy Sodality or
Fellowship, which injoys the Blessing of her divine Voice_. In another
to his said Brother he mentions one _Egyptus, who sucked in the Seeds of
Wisdom from Hypatia_. And thus he expresses himself writing to
_Olympius_: _I suppose these Letters will be delivered by Peter which he
will receive from that sacred Hand. I send them from _Pentapolis_ to our
common Instructress, and she will intrust them with whom she thinks fit,
which I am sure will be to one that is well known to her_. In a Letter
addressed to herself, he desires her to direct a _Hydroscope_ to be made
and bought for him, which he there describes. _Petavius_ thinks it was a
sort of Level, and others an Hour-Measure. That famous Silver
_Astrolabe_ which he presented to _Peonius_, a Man equally excelling in
Philosophy and Arms, he owns to have been perfected by the Directions of
_Hypatia_. In a long Epistle he acquaints her with the Reasons of his
writing two Books, which he thereby sends her. The one was his mystical
Treatise _of Dreams_, and the other his _Dion_. This last is a most
ingenious Apology for Learning against two Sorts of Men, who by very
opposite Lines tended to the same Center of Ignorance. The one, that
under Pretence of being reserved towards unworthy Hearers, concealed
their Want of real Knowledge, did accuse him of being two Communicative,
and of prostituting Philosophy. The others would have him to be
eternally prating like themselves, not that they studied more than
others, nor yet so much, to be furnished with Matter of Discourse; but
that talking by Rote out of certain _Systems_, the Truth of which they
took for granted, and which no Body must contradict, they could tire the
Patience of their Hearers, without making these or themselves a whit the
wiser. Both Sorts charged him with studying Elegance and Oratory in his
Compositions; for the Divines of that Time were substituting apace to
Philosophy and other Learning, Legends and Enthusiasm, Fables and
Fancies, which they sanctified by the Name of _Divine Contemplation_.
Metaphysical Distinctions about the _Trinity_, and extravagant Notions
about the Essence of GOD (whose Majesty they blasphemed by their profane
Definitions) was all the Study then in Vogue, to the irreparable Damage
of polite and useful Letters.




                              CHAP. VIII.


_Synesius_ submits his Book of _Dion_ to the Judgment of _Hypatia_; his
      Description of his Censurers.

Of his _Dion_ therefore he begs _Hypatia_’s Judgment, resolving not to
publish it without her Approbation. He informs her moreover, that she’s
the first among the _Greeks_, or rather the _Heathens_, to whom he
communicates his Treatise _of Dreams_; and that he might complete, he
says, the sacred Number _Three_, he adds to these two his _Account of
the Astrolabe_ presented to _Peonius_. It will not be a Digression
altogether foreign to the Subject (as we shall see hereafter) if we
insert here part of the fine Description, which he has given of the
second Sort of those that censured him; “who being full of Ignorance
(says he) yet armed with Confidence, are readier than all other Men to
discourse concerning GOD; and if you happen to light upon them, you will
strait hear some of their unreasonable Reasonings, which they will needs
obtrude, on such as are desirous of no such Matter; because, I suppose,
it is for their Interest so to do. For on the Score of such Things they
are made Preachers in Towns, which is the same Thing as to enjoy
_Amalthea_’s Horn _or Plenty of all Things_, which these think
themselves obliged to use. I fancy by this Time you perceive, what this
forward Generation of Men may be, that blame my generous Purpose. They
invite me to come into their Discipline, promising, that in a short Time
I shall appear most confident in Things relating to GOD, and ever after
be capable to dispute incessantly both Night and Day.” I believe this
Race of Men is not yet extinct; but another Time they may hear of a
certain _Speech_ addressed to them by the same Truth-telling _Synesius_.




                               CHAP. IX.


_Synesius_’s Misfortunes; his Letter of Complaint to _Hypatia_.

On his Promotion, or, as he accounted it himself, his Banishment to the
Bishoprick of _Ptolemais_, he was forced to quit the Fellowship of his
Condisciples, and the Presence of his dear _Hypatia_. As an Augmentation
of his Affliction he soon lost his Wife, with his Children in a little
Time after, whom he very tenderly loved, and whose Death he did not bear
with the same Fortitude, that is reported of some other Philosophers. On
this Occasion, and a fancied Neglect of his Friends, he wrote the
following Letter, “_To_ Hypatia _the Philosopher_ (that I may use the
very Words of the Inscription.) I salute you, happy Lady, and by your
Means the most happy Companions. I have of a long Time had an Intention
to chide, by reason I have received no Letters from any of you. But now
I perceive that I am neglected by all, not that I have in any Thing
failed of my Duty; but that I am in many Respects unfortunate, and
indeed as unfortunate as any one can be. Nevertheless, could I be
thought worthy of receiving your Letters, and of being informed how you
lead your Lives (being confident however it is after the best Manner
that may be, and that you fail not to exercise a sprightly Genius) I
should only think myself unhappy by Halves, while I enjoyed any
Happiness on your Account. But now I must reckon this also, as one of
the Misfortunes wherein I am involved. For I am not only deprived of my
Children, but likewise of my Friends, and of every body’s Kindness; nay,
what is more than all, of your most divine Soul, which only Thing I
flattered myself would continue stedfast to me, in Spite of the Injuries
of Fortune, and the Storms of Fate.” One would think that he could not
better express, in so few Lines, the good Opinion he had of his Teacher;
yet he’s still more pathetical in other Letters, which, because serving
to give us the fuller View of _Hypatia_’s Character, I shall produce as
essential to my Subject.




                                CHAP. X.


_Synesius’s_ _Grief for the Death of his Children, brings upon him a Fit
      of Sickness; his Letter of Complaint to _Hypatia_ in his Illness_.

Continuing therefore to grieve for the Death of his Children, he fell
into an ill State of Health, which he signifies to his Mistress (whom in
all his Letters he stiles _The Philosopher_) and to the beloved
Companions of his Studies, in these Words. “Being confined to my Bed I
have dictated this Letter, which may you receive in good Health, my
Mother, my Sister, and my Instructress! in all which Respects you have
been my Benefactress, or if there be any other, either Name or Thing,
that is more honourable. The Weakness of my Body proceeds from the
Anguish of my Soul. The Remembrance of my deceased Children consumes me
by little and little. _Synesius_ ought only to have lived so long, as
the Evils of Life were unknown to him. Afterwards it has happened to him
as to a Stream that is stopt; it rushes over its Dam on a sudden, and
forces all the Pleasure of Life before it. Let me cease to live, or to
remember the Burial of my Children. May you enjoy Health yourself, and
salute in my Name the happy Companions, beginning with Father
_Theotecnus_, and Brother _Athanasius_, and so proceeding to the rest.
Or if any other be since associated to them, who is agreeable to you
(and to whom, for this very Reason of pleasing you, I ought to stand
obliged) salute him also from me, as one of my dearest Friends. If what
relates to me be of any Concern to you, ’tis well done; though, even
then, I shall be insensible to this Favour.” What can be more
affectionate, what can be more tender, what can be more benevolent or
candid? The Soul speaks here in every Line. A while after, the
Calamities of War being added to all his other Sorrows, he writes her
this Letter, beginning with a couple of Lines out of _Homer_, changing
only a Word or two.

  _Tho’ ’mong the Dead profound Oblivion reigns,
  E’en there my dear_ Hypatia _I’ll remember_!

“I, who am surrounded with the Miseries of my Country, and who am
thoroughly weary of it, since I daily see hostile Arms, and Men
slaughter’d like Beasts; that I breathe Air infected with the Corruption
of dead Bodies, and that I hourly expect the like Fate myself; for who
can hope well, where the very Face of the Sky is most lamentable, being
darkened by the Shadow of carnivorous Birds? Yet, notwithstanding all
this, I retain an Affection for the Country; nay, how can I do
otherwise, being a _Lybian_ by Nation, and born in this Place, where I
behold no ignoble Sepulchres of my Ancestors. For your Sake alone I
fancy I can set light by my Country, and, as soon as Leisure offers,
will banish myself out of it.” In _Clidophorus_ I shew’d the like
Resolutions out of some of his Letters to others: but whether he ever
executed them, or how long he lived, or where or in what Manner he died,
is not recorded by any Author that I remember.




                               CHAP. XI.


_Hypatia_ is esteemed and caressed by the Publick; is consulted by the
      Magistrates in all important Cases, and sometimes sat among them.

All this, some will say, we readily grant, that _Hypatia_ was a Lady of
most eminent Learning, and that _Synesius_, with probably not a few of
her other Disciples, esteemed her to be a Miracle of Virtue and
Prudence; but what did the rest of the World think of her Conduct, what
Marks of Approbation or Favour did she receive from the Publick? To this
Inquiry, which is very natural in this Place, we answer; that never
Woman was more caressed by the Publick, and yet that never Woman had a
more unspotted Character. She was held an Oracle for her Wisdom, which
made her be consulted by the Magistrates in all important Cases; and
this frequently drew her among the greatest Concourse of Men, without
the least Censure of her Manners. The Proof of so rare a Felicity we
chuse to give in the Words of the Historian _Socrates_. “By reason of
the Confidence and Authority (says he) which she had acquired by her
Learning, she sometimes came to the Judges with singular Modesty; nor
was she any thing abashed, to appear thus among a Croud of Men; for all
Persons, on the Score of her extraordinary Discretion, did at the same
Time both reverence and admire her.” The same Things are confirmed by
_Niceforus Callistus_, _Suidas_, _Hesychius Illustris_, and indeed by
whom not? So far was she from that blameable Timidity, which is
contracted from a wrong Education; or from that conscious Backwardness,
which is inspired by Guilt. That the Governors and Magistrates of
_Alexandria_ regularly visited her, that all the City (as _Damascius_
and _Suidas_ relate) paid Court to her, is a Distinction with which no
Women was ever honoured before. And to say all in a Word, when
_Nicephorus Gregoras_, above quoted, intended to pass the highest
Compliment, on the Princess _Eudocia_, he thought he could not better
hit, than by calling her _another Hypatia_.




                               CHAP. XII.


_Synesius_’s recommendatory Letter to _Hypatia,_ in Behalf of two young
      Gentlemen, on a Suit depending at _Alexandria._

It was during this prosperous Gale of publick Favour, that _Hypatia_’s
devoted Friend _Synesius_ sent her this recommendatory Letter on the
Behalf of two young Gentlemen, that had a Claim depending at
_Alexandria_. “Although Fortune cannot take every thing from me, yet she
has a mind to strip me of all she can; she that

  “Of many Sons, and good, has me bereft.

“But to be ambitious of doing the best Things, and to assist the
unjustly Oppressed, is what she shall never take from me; for far be it
from me, that she should ever be able to conquer my Mind. Therefore I
hate Injustice, since this I may do still; and am also desirous to
repress it, but that is one of the Things taken out of my Power, and
which I lost before my Children.

  “Once the _Milesians_ valiant were.

“Time also was, when I could be useful to my Friends, and when you were
wont to call me _Others Good_; as turning to the Profit of other Men my
Interest with Persons in great Authority, whom I made to serve me as so
many Hands. Now I am left destitute of all, unless you have any Power;
for you, together with Virtue, I reckon a Good, of which none will be
able to rob me. But you have, and will always have Power, by reason of
the excellent Use you make of your Credit. Wherefore let _Niceus_ and
_Philolaus_, virtuous Youths and Relations, return Masters of their own,
thro’ the Care of all who honour you, whether private Men or
Magistrates.” Thus, as a necessary Part of her History, I have inserted
at Length, all the Letters written to _Hypatia_ by _Synesius_, except
the 15th, whereof I have given the Substance; and the 33d in the
Collection of his _Letters_, which is too short to contain any
Instruction; as likewise the 154th, which, being too long, I have
abridged above.




                              CHAP. XIII.


_Hypatia_ married, yet said to die a Maid. _Isidorus_, her Husband, the
      most eminent Philosopher of his Time.

It would be as great a Prodigy in Nature as _Hypatia_ was herself, if a
Lady of such Beauty, Modesty, Wisdom, and Virtue, were not by many
eagerly sought in Marriage: And, in Effect, we find that she was
actually married to the Philosopher _Isidorus_, tho’ _Suidas_ says she
died a Maid; which is not so irreconcilable a Thing, as People may be
apt to imagine on first Thoughts, but, as we shall shew, very likely to
be true. This _Isidorus_ succeeded _Marinus_ in the School, and his
_Life_ has been written by _Damascius_, one of _Theon_’s Scholars, who
therefore had all imaginable Opportunities to know whatever regarded
_Hypatia_ and _Isidorus_. His _Life_ was abridged by _Photius_, but we
have it not so perfect as he left it; for besides the extreme Confusion
and Incorrectness which appears thro’ the whole, the learned _Valesius_
gave the World Expectations, that he would, one Time or other, publish
it twice larger than that we read now in _Photius_. However, in such as
it still is, _Damascius_ bestows such Elogies on _Isidorus_, as put him
almost above Humanity; yet, no way concerning _Hypatia_, I pass them
over in Silence. I frankly confess, that I more than suspect many of the
Things he reports as knowing that _Damascius_ was a great Visionary,
and, like _Philostratus_ with respect to _Apollonius Tyaneus_, designed
to oppose _Isidorus_ to those Christian _Saints_, who were celebrated
for their miraculous and supernatural Attainments. But this ought not to
affect his Credit in Matters of an ordinary Nature, and therefore I do
not in the least hesitate to believe him, when he positively affirms
that _Hypatia_ was Wife to _Isidorus_.




                               CHAP. XIV.


In what Sense it might be said, that tho’ _Hypatia_ was married, yet she
      died a Maid.

Suidas likewise makes her the Wife of the same _Isidorus_, tho’ he be
the very Man who tells us she died a Virgin. That Matter, considering
the great Uncertainty in which we are left by the meditated Destruction
or casual Decay of authentick Writers, I conceive to stand thus.
_Damascius_ says, that _Isidorus_ had another Wife, whose Name was
_Domna_, by which he had a Son call’d _Proclus_. She died the fifth Day
after her Delivery, and, according to his Panegyrist, _she rid the
Philosopher of an evil Beast and a bitter Wedlock_. Now supposing this
to happen some Time before the tragical End of _Hypatia_, and that the
latter was betrothed to _Isidorus_, it might very well be said that she
was his Wife, and yet that she died a Maid. The Author of an _Epigram_,
that was made upon her, seems to have been of the same Opinion.

  _The _Virgin_’s starry Sign when e’er I see,
  Adoring, on thy Words I think and thee:
  For all thy vertuous Works celestial are,
  As are thy learned Words beyond compare,
  Divine _Hypatia_, who dost far and near
  Virtue’s and Learning’s spotless Star appear._

The Allusion, I say, to the Constellation _Virgo_, and the Epithet of
_Spotless_, would induce me to believe that the Writer reckoned her a
Virgin as well as _Suidas_; but I shall conclude nothing from so slender
a Conjecture, besides that her Character is no way concerned in this
Particular, tho’ as a Historian I would omit nothing that might
illustrate my Subject. For this Reason it is, that I cannot pass over
uncensured a Reflection of _Damascius_, who gravely says, that Isidorus
_was far superior to_ Hypatia, _not only as a Man to a Woman, but as a
Philosopher to a Geometrician_. Good and egregious Reasoning! as if her
Skill in Geometry or Astronomy, had been any Hindrance to her
Improvement in every Part of Philosophy, wherein she is by so many
confessed to surpass those of her own, if not of former Time; or as if
we in _England_, for Example, did reckon King _James_ superior to Queen
_Elizabeth_; because the first, forsooth, was a Man, and the last a
Woman. But I observed before that _Damascius_ was a sad Visionary.




                               CHAP. XV.


_Hypatia_’s Lovers, one of whom she cured of his Passion, in a very
      particular Manner.

A Lady of such uncommon Merit and Accomplishments as _Hypatia_, daily
surround with a Circle of young Gentelmen, many of them distinguished by
their Fortune or Quality; besides her frequently appearing in publick
Assemblies, and receiving Visits from Persons of the first Rank, could
not possibly fail being sometimes importuned with Addresses of
Gallantry. Such Attempts the severest Virtue cannot avoid, tho’ it can
deny Incouragement, and make Success to be despaired. How many Trials of
this kind _Hypatia_ may have overcome, we are left to imagine rather
than to know, thro’ the Silence of Historians, who either thought it
below their Gravity to record such Things, or that the Works of those
who descended to Particulars are lost. One Instance however has escaped
the common Wreck of good Books; nor can I doubt but several others might
be contained in the _Life of_ Isidorus, out of which there is Reason to
believe, that _Suidas_ picked what I am going to relate. He acquaints us
therefore, that one of her own Scholars made warm Love to her, whom she
endeavoured to cure of his Passion by the precepts of Philosophy; and
that some reported she actually reclaimed him by Musick, which he
judiciously explodes; Musick having ever been deemed rather an Incentive
to Love, than an Antidote against it. But he says, with much greater
Probability, that the Spark vehemently soliciting her (not to be sure
without pleading the irresistible Power of her Beauty) at a Time when
she happened to be under an Indisposition ordinary to her Sex; she took
a Handkerchief, of which she had been making some Use on that Occasion,
and throwing it in his Face, said; _This is what you love, young Fool,
and not any Thing that is beautiful_. For the _Platonic_ Philosophers
held Goodness, Wisdom, Virtue, and such other Things, as by Reason of
their intrinsick Worth are desirable for their own Sakes, to be the only
real _Beauties_, of whose divine Symmetry, Charms, and Perfection, the
most superlative that appear in _Bodies_ are but faint Resemblances.
This is the right Notion of _Platonic Love_. Wherefore _Hypatia_’s
Procedure might very well put a Student of Philosophy at _Alexandria_ to
the Blush, and quite cure him too (which _Suidas_ assures us was the
Effect) but would never rebute a Beau in St. _James_’s Park, nor perhaps
some Batchelors of Divinity at our modern Universities.




                               CHAP. XVI.


The close Intimacy between _Hypatia_ and _Orestes_ the Governor of
      _Alexandria_, very displeasing to _Cyril_ the Bishop.

At the Time that _Hypatia_ thus reigned the brightest Ornament of
_Alexandria_, _Orestes_ was Governor of the same Place for the Emperor
_Theodosius_, and _Cyril_ Bishop or Patriarch. As _Orestes_ was a Person
educated suitable to his Rank, he could not but take Notice of those
Perfections in _Hypatia_, which all the World admired; and, as he was a
wise Governor, he would not be so far wanting to his Charge, as not to
ask her Advice in Matters difficult or dangerous, when every Body else
consulted her as an Oracle. This created of Course an Intimacy between
them that was highly displeasing to _Cyril_, who mortally hated
_Orestes_. But because this Emulation proved fatal to _Hypatia_, I shall
take the Subject a little higher. ’Tis observed by _Socrates_,
_Nicephorus_, and others, that _Cyril_ (who was elevated to the See by
Sedition and Force against one _Timothy_ an Archdeacon of no
extraordinary Reputation), intermeddled more in temporal or civil
Matters, than his Predecessors took upon them to do, and that the
Example was greedily followed by his Successors; _who not keeping within
the Bounds of their Priestly Ordination, took upon them an arbitrary
kind of Principality, and the absolute Disposal of Affairs_. The first
Act of Authority that _Cyril_ exercised was, to shut up the Churches of
the _Novatians_, from which Step he proceeded to seize upon their sacred
Vessels and Church-Ornaments, till at length he robbed their Bishop
_Theopemptus_ of all he had. Yet these _Novatians_ profess’d the same
Doctrine to a Tittle that he did, and differed only in some Points of
Discipline. But they must be mere Novices in _Ecclesiastical History_,
who know not that _Discipline_ has been ever reckoned of greater
Consequence than _Doctrine_; if one may judge by the Commotions that
have happened in Churches, or the Durations of their Schisms. The Reason
is obvious. For if a Man believes otherwise than his Teacher, and yet
prudentially conforms to the publick Ritual and Discipline, or perhaps
eagerly stickles for it, as thinking it the most conducing to Order, be
his Speculations what you will, still he preserves the Unity of the
Church; or, in other Words, he obeys his Spiritual Governors, and
teaches others by his Example to do the like; whereas if his belief be
ever so right, or at least ever so agreeable to that prescribed in the
Society whereof he is a Member; yet if he boggles at any Part of the
publick Ritual and Discipline, he then promotes a Spiritual Rebellion,
and rends the Unity of the Church; that is, he weakens the Government of
the Clergy. These were the Maxims of those Times, and hence it sprung,
that Schism is counted so damnable a Sin in their Writings, a Sin more
dreadful than any other, that it may the better serve for a Scare-crow.




                              CHAP. XVII.


_Cyril_ expels the _Jews_ out of _Alexandria_; _Orestes_ complains to
      the Emperor; _Cyril_ and _Orestes_ become irreconcileable Enemies.

One main Reason why _Cyril_ could not bear the Governor, as we are told
by _Socrates_, was, that _Orestes hated the Principality of the Bishops;
as well because they transferred to themselves much of the Power
belonging to those appointed Governors, by the Emperor; as, in
particular, because _Cyril_ would needs be prying into his Actions_.
Their Enmity became sufficiently known to the Publick, by a Sedition
raised against _Orestes_, occasioned by one _Hierax_ a pitiful
School-Master, but a profest Admirer of the Bishop, and a most diligent
Attendant at his Sermons, where he was sure to clap and reclap,
according to the rare Custom of those Times. The Jews spying him in the
Theatre, while the Governor was there on some publick Business, cryed
out, that he came purposely thither to cause Mischief; and the Uproar,
whereof the Particulars may be read in the just quoted _Socrates_,
terminated in this, that _Cyril_ expelled all the Jews out of the City,
where they had liv’d in great Opulence from the Time of _Alexander_ the
Great, to the no small Benefit of the Place. Were I not accustomed to
read monstrous Lies of this unfortunate Nation, especially that
thread-bare Fiction of crucifying a Child (objected to them here as a
thousand Times afterwards) I should think them very rightly served. But
even in that Case, who can justify _Cyril_’s licensing the Multitude to
seize on their Goods? And yet why do I ask such a Question; when this
has ever been the true Motive of the Barbarities to which they have been
exposed, tho’ Zeal for Religion has been as shamelessly as wickedly
pretended. _Orestes_, as became a good Governor, _being grievously
concerned at what had happened_ (to speak in the Words of the Historian)
_and sadly afflicted, that so great a City should be so suddenly emptied
of such a Multitude of Inhabitants, gave the Emperor an Account of the
whole Matter_. We might be certain, were we not expressly told it, that
_Cyril_ was not behind Hand on his Part. Yet conscious of his Guilt, as
every Reader may collect, he would fain make up with _Orestes_, and
conjured him by the holy _Gospels_ to be Friends; being constrained to
this, as _Nicephorus_ observes, by the People of _Alexandria_, who loved
their Governor. But this last knew him too well to trust him, upon which
their Difference became irreconcileable. You may therefore expect to
hear of Vengeance from the Priest, whom the same _Nicephorus_ represents
proud, seditious, a Boutefeu, a Persecutor: while the Emperor might
thank himself for the Disorders that desolated one of his principal
Cities; for where was it ever otherwise, when the Clergy were permitted
to share in the Government of civil Affairs.




                              CHAP. XVIII.


_Orestes_ the Governor, assaulted by the Monks; their Captain racked to
      Death, but esteemed as a Martyr by _Cyril_.

Now the Revenge which _Cyril_ took of _Orestes_, being the Prelude to
poor _Hypatia_’s Tragedy, I chuse to relate it, as I have done other
Passages, in the Words of honest _Socrates_. _Certain of the Monks
(_says he_) living in the _Nitrian_ Mountains, leaving their Monasteries
to the Number of about Five Hundred, flocked to the City, and spied the
Governor going Abroad in his Chariot; whereupon approaching, they called
him by the Names of _Sacrificer_ and _Heathen_, using many other
scandalous Words. The Governor therefore suspecting, that this was a
Trick plaid him by _Cyril_, cryed out, that he was a _Christian_, and
that he was _baptized_ at Constantinople by Bishop _Atticus_. But the
Monks, giving no Heed to what he said, one of them, called _Ammonius_,
threw a Stone at _Orestes_, which struck him on the Head; and being all
covered with Blood from his Wound, his Guards, a few excepted, fled some
one Way some another, hiding themselves in the Croud, lest they should
be stoned to Death. In the mean while the People of _Alexandria_ ran to
defend their Governor against the Monks, and, putting all the rest to
Flight, they apprehend _Ammonius_, and brought him before _Orestes_;
who, as the Laws prescribed, publickly put him to the Torture, and
racked him till he expired. Not long after he gave an Account of all
that was done to the Princes. Nor did _Cyril_ fail to give them a
contrary Information. He received the Body of _Ammonius_, and, laying it
in one of the Churches, he changed his Name, calling him _Thaumasius_,
and ordered him to be considered as a _Martyr_; nay, he made his
Panegyrick in the Church, extolling his Courage, as one that had
contended for the Truth. But the wiser Sort of the Christians themselves
did not approve the Zeal, which _Cyril_ showed on this Man’s Behalf;
being convinced that _Ammonius_ had justly suffered for his desperate
Attempt, but was not forced to deny _Christ_, in his Torments._ This
Account requires no Commentary. I shall only observe with a Heathen
Philosopher, that _at that Time the Monks (_the fittest__ __Executioners
of_ Cyril_’s Cruelty_) were Men indeed as to their Form, but Swine in
their Lives; who openly committed Thousands of execrable Crimes, not fit
to be named. Whoever, _says he_, got on a black Habit, and would make a
Grotesque Figure in Publick, _obtained_ a tyrannical Authority; to such
a Reputation of Virtue did that Race of Men arrive._ This Picture, tho’
drawn by an Enemy’s Hand, is allowed by all good Judges to be done to
the Life; and we shall presently have Reason, more than sufficient, to
be of the same Opinion.




                               CHAP. XIX.


_Hypatia_’s tragical Death, perpetrated by _Cyril_’s Clergy, who hated
      her for Intimacy with _Orestes_.

But _Cyril_’s Rage was not yet satiated. Tho’ _Orestes_ had the good
Luck to escape being murdered, _Hypatia_ must fall a Sacrifice to the
Prelate’s Pride and to the Ghost of _Ammonius_. This Lady, as we
mentioned above, was profoundly respected by _Orestes_, who much
frequented and consulted her; _for which Reason, says _Socrates_, she
was not a little traduced among the Mob of the Christian Church; as if
she obstructed a Reconciliation between Bishop _Cyril_ and _Orestes_.
Wherefore certain hot-brained Men, headed by one _Peter_ a Lecturer,
entered into a Conspiracy against her, and watching their Opportunity
when she was returning Home from some Place, they dragged her out of her
Chair; hurried her to the Church called _Cesar_’s, and stripping her
stark naked, they killed her with Tiles. Then they tore her to Pieces,
and carrying her Limbs to a_ _Place called _Cinaron_, there they burnt
them to Ashes._ Nothing short of this Treatment, not to be parallelled
among the most savage Nations against Woman (and against a Woman of such
Distinction scarce credible, did not two or more of her Contempories
attest it) nothing, I say, but the Blood of _Hypatia_, shed in the most
inhuman Manner, could glut the Fury of _Cyril_’s Clergy, for these were
the Monsters, that putting off all Humanity, committed this barbarous
Murder. _Socrates_, ’tis true, distinctly Names but one Clergyman,
_Peter_ the Lecturer; but _Nicephorus_ expressly tells us, that the
Zealots, led on by this _Peter_, were _Cyril_’s Clergy, who hated her
for the Credit she had with _Orestes_; that they were these, who imputed
to her the Misunderstanding between the Governor and their Bishop; and
finally, that they butchered her the Time of solemn Fasting; which,
added to their sanctifying of their Villany by perpetrating it in a
Church, shews the glorious State of Religion in those pure and primitive
Times; as some, no less hypocritically than falsely, are pleased to
stile them. The Citizens of _Alexandria_, on whom certain Persons would
fain lay this Act of popular Heat, as they speak by way of Extenuation,
were too great Admirers of _Hypatia_’s Virtue, and too much in the
Interest of _Orestes_, to have any Hand in so foul a Business, however
prone to Tumults. All the Circumstances accompanying the Fact, clearly
prove this; not to repeat the Assault so lately made by the _Nitrian_
Monks on the Governor, whom the People rescued; tho’ I will not answer
for all the Mob, especially when the Clergy loo’d them on.




                               CHAP. XX.


_Cyril_ the main Instigator of _Hypatia_’s Murder, being envious of the
      Fame she had acquired by her Learning and Philosophy.

Be it so that the Clergy of _Alexandria_ were the Murderers (some may
say) and that their Affection for _Cyril_ transported them beyond what
can be justified; how does it appear that he himself had any Hand in
this black Deed, which perhaps he neither knew nor could prevent? For
the Sake of our common Humanity (since true Christiany is not at all
concerned) I wish it were so; but there is such Evidence as will not let
any Man, if not wilfully shutting his Eyes against Truth, to believe it.
_Damascius_, who is the other contemporary Witness of her Murder, I
meant besides _Socrates_, positively affirms, that “_Cyril_ vow’d
_Hypatia_’s Destruction, whom he bitterly envied;” and _Suidas_, who
writes the same Thing, says, that this Envy was caused by her
_extraordinary Wisdom and Skill in Astronomy_; as _Hesychius_, when he
mentions her Limbs being carried all over the City in Triumph, writes,
that _this befel her on the Score of her extraordinary Wisdom, and
especially her Skill in Astronomy_. For _Cyril_ was a mighty Pretender
to Letters, and one of those Clergymen who will neither acknowledge nor
bear the Superiority of any Laymen in this Respect, be it ever so
incontestable to others. But some Circumstances of _Hypatia_’s Death,
not mention’d in _Socrates_, are preserved in the Abridgment of
_Isidorus_’s _Life_ in _Photius_, such as _Valesius_ had it; and which I
here give you, Reader, though it should cost you the Tribute of one Tear
more to her Memory. “Upon a Time (says _Damascius_) _Cyril_, passing by
the House of _Hypatia_, saw a great Multitude before the Door both of
Men on Foot and on Horseback; whereof some were coming, some going, and
others staid. When he inquir’d what that Croud was, and what occasioned
so great a Concourse? he was answered by such as accompanied him, that
this was _Hypatia_ the Philosopher’s House, and that these came to pay
their Respects to her. Which when _Cyril_ understood, he was moved with
so great Envy, that he immediately vow’d her Destruction, which he
accomplish’d in the most detestable Manner. For when _Hypatia_, as was
her Custom, went abroad, several Men, neither fearing divine Vengeance
nor human Punishment, suddenly rush’d upon her and kill’d her: Thus
laying their Country both under the highest Infamy, and under the Guilt
of innocent Blood. And indeed the Emperor was grievously offended at
this Matter, and the Murderers had been certainly punished, but that
_Edefius_ did corrupt the Emperor’s Friends; so that his Majesty it’s
true remitted the Punishment, but drew Vengeance on himself and his
Posterity, his Nephew paying dear for this Action.” This Nephew
_Valetius_ believes to have been _Valentinian_, whose Mother _Placidia_
was Aunt to _Theodosius_.




                               CHAP. XXI.


The Death of _Hypatia_ brought an Infamy on _Cyril_ and the Christian
      Church: She was no Catholick, but a Heathen.

Thus ended the Life of _Hypatia_, whose Memory will ever last, and whose
Murder happen’d in the fourth Year of _Cyril_’s Episcopate, _Honorius_
being the tenth Time and _Theodosius_ the sixth Time Consuls, in the
Month of _March_, in the Time of _Lent_, and in the Year 415. “That
Action (says _Socrates_) brought no small Infamy not only upon _Cyril_,
but also upon the whole Church of _Alexandria_; for Slaughters, and
Fightings, and such like Things, are quite foreign to the Christian
Institution.” There’s nothing surer, there’s nothing truer; but of
genuine Christianity there remain’d very little at that Time, unless
Christianity be made to consist in the bare Name and Profession; for,
were I disposed to take this Trouble upon me, I should think it no
difficult Task to shew, that neither the Doctrines nor Distinctions then
in Vogue were ever taught by _Christ_ or his Apostles; and that the
Ceremonies injoined or practised were all utterly unknown to them. No,
no, they were no Christians that kill’d _Hypatia_; nor are any Christian
Clergymen now to be attack’d through the Sides of her Murderers, but
those that resemble them; by substituting precarious Traditions,
scholastick Fictions, and an usurped Dominion, to the salutiferous
Institution of the holy _Jesus_. _Photius_ is very angry with
_Philostorgius_, whom he stigmatizes as an _impious Man_, for saying
that the _Homoousians_, or the _Athanasian Trinitarians, tore her to
Pieces_; but is he not an _impudent Man_, or something worse, that dares
to deny this? when none were more remarkable Sticklers for the
_Homoousian_, than _Cyril_ and his Adherents. This only the Truth of
History requires to be specially noted; for with me the _Homoiousion_
and the _Homoousion_ are of no Account, in Comparison of the _Bible_,
where neither of them are to be found. In the mean Time ’twill not be
amiss to hear _Gothofred_ on this Occasion. “Observe here (says he) the
_Arian_ Poison of _Philostorgius_ against the _Homoousians_, or
Catholicks; as if the Murder of _Hypatia_ were the Crime of the
Catholicks, and not of the indiscrete Populace. Thus much however may be
gathered from this Passage, that this same _Hypatia_ was no Catholick.”
Admirable _Gothofred_! Not to say any thing to your _Arian_ Poison, for
which I am not a whit concern’d neither of the People’s Guilt, whom I
have sufficiently clear’d before; nor yet of the nice Distinction
between the Populace and the Catholicks, as if the Bulk of the
Catholicks were not the Populace: Your Conclusion that _Hypatia_ was not
a Catholick is unspeakably acute, when in Reality she was not as much as
a Christian; her Father having been a Heathen Philosopher, and herself
the Wife of one, without the least Appearance that she was ever any
other with regard to her own Persuasion. As for a ridiculous Letter,
pretended to be written by her to _Cyril_, about the Paschal Cycle, ’tis
a manifest Forgery; for she was murdered the sixth Year of _Theodosius_,
and therefore one and twenty Years before the Exile of _Nestorius_, who
yet is mention’d in that Letter under the Epithet of _impious_.




                              CHAP. XXII.


The making _Cyril_ a Saint a Dishonour to Religion. Three Sorts of
      Persons canonized for Saints.

And now that _Cyril_’s Name puts me once more in mind of him, how
insufferable a burlesquing of God and Man is it to revere so ambitious,
so turbulent, so perfidious, and so cruel a Man, as a _Saint_? since
History shows that this was his just Character. But in good Earnest this
same Title of _Saint_ has not seldom been most wretchedly conferred; for
the greatest Part of the Saints after _Constantine_’s Reign, and
especially since Canonization came in Fashion, are made up of three
Sorts of Persons, the least of all others meriting Veneration. First,
Men have been dubbed Saints, for promoting the Grandeur of the Church by
all their Endeavours, especially by their Writings; which, instead of
employing for the Happiness or Instruction of their Fellow Citizens,
they prostituted to magnify spiritual Authority, to the debasing and
enslaving of their Spirits. The second Sort that have been honoured with
Saintship, were Princes and other powerful or rich Men, however vicious
or tyrannical, who gave large Possessions and Legacies to the Church; or
that with Incapacity, Faggot, Gibbet, Sword, and Proscription, chastised
the Temerity of such as dared to question her Decrees. The third Sort,
were poor groveling Visionaries, boasting of their delirious Enthusiasms
and Extasies; or imposing on the ignorant by formal Mortifications,
falsely reputed Devotion, and were recompensed with this imaginary
Reward, by those that despised their Austerity, at the same Time that
they mainly thrived by the Credit of it. It is no Wonder then, that when
the Epithet _Saint_, which peculiarly belonged to Piety and Innocence,
was thus pompously bestowed on Vice and Impiety, there should prevail
that Deluge of Ignorance, Superstition, and Tyranny, which overwhelmed
almost the whole Christian World. All the Persecutions that ensued, were
so many forcible Means, employed to suppress any Efforts that might be
used for the restoring of Virtue and Learning. By that Antichristian
Spirit fell _Hypatia_, to whom the Clergy of her Time could never
forgive, that she was beautiful yet chaste, far more learned than
themselves, not to be endured in the Laity; and in greater Credit with
the civil Magistrate, whom the Clergy of that Time would needs drive or
lead as their Pack-ass.


                                _FINIS._




                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Silently corrected a few typos; did not modernize spelling.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.







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