A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

830 SIMON. SIMON.
been passed at Rome. Here, according to Justin this point; for, in reply to Celsus, who had conMartyr (1. c. and c. 56), he arrived in the time of founded the Simonians with the Christians, he says
Claudius, and obtained such high credit, both with (Contra Cels. v. 62), " Celsus is not aware that
senate and people, as to have been accounted a the Simonians by no means acknowledge Jesus to
god, and to have had a statue erected to him'v', be the son of God; but they say that Simon is the
TiVepL iroTatuO, "in the river Tiber" (usually in- power of God." The representation has become
terpreted to mean, in the island formed by the erroneous, from the change in the meaning of the
division of the channel of the river), " between the word ad'pEosi, haeresis, which anciently meant
two bridges," with the inscription in Latin, SIMONI "sect;" and was applied (e. g. by Epiphanius) to
DEO SANCTO. The minuteness of Justin's de- the religious sects of the Jews, and the philosophical
scription, and his distinct appeal (c. 56) that the sects of the heathens, as well as to the bodies
statue might be removed, render it difficult to dis- which split off from the so-called Catholic Church.
pute his statement; yet the fact that an inscription (Comp. Burton, Ban2pton Lectures, lect. iv.)
existed in the island of the Tiber (where it was Simon appears to have written some works, the
seen and read, A. D. 1662 by Marquardus Gudius), titles of which are unknown. The author of the
SEMONI SANCO DEO FIDIO SACRUM, has given Constitsutiones Apostolicae, lib. vi. c. 16, says that
reason to suspect that Justin inadvertently mistook Simon and Cleobius, with their followers, forged
a statue of the Sabine deity, Semo Sancus or San- and circulated books in the name of Christ and his
gus [SANcUS SEMO], to whom several inscriptions disciples. Jerome (Comment. in latt. xxiv. ad
have been found, for one of Simon the Samaritan vs. 5) gives a brief citation, and Moses Bar Cepha, a
(Gruter, Inscriptiones, vol. i. p. xcvi. No. 5, comp. Syriac writer of the tenth century, quotes several
6, 7, 8, ed. Graev.). irenaeus, who says it was re- passages from Simon. The Praefatio Arabica ad
ported that Claudius Caesar had erected a statue to Conciliumn Nicaenum (Concilia, vol. ii. col. 386, ed.
Simon (Adz). Iiaeres. lib. i. c. 20), Tertullian (Apo- Labbe) speaks of a spurious Gospel of the Simologet. c. 13), and the other fathers, who repeat the nians, or perhaps a corrupted copy of the Canonical
statement, can be regarded only as re-echoing the Gospels, divided into four parts, and named after
account of Justin (see, however, Burton, Baszmpton the four cardinal points of the compass. (Grabe,
Lectures, note 42). Whether Simon ever encoun- Spicilegium Patrum, vol. i. p. 305, &c.; Fabric.
tered Peter after their interview in the Samaritan Coder Apocryphl. N. T. vol. i. pp. 140, 377, ed.
city, cannot be determined: it is not impossible Hamb. 1719.)
that they may have met, and that some conference 15. OF NICAEA. [No. 1.]
or discussion may have taken place between them. 16. PETRUS or PETER. [PETRUS, No. 6.]
The Recognitiones (lib. ii. &c.) and the Clementina 17. Ex PRAEDICATORUM ORDINE. [No. 22.]
(Hom. iii.) give a long report of disputations be- 18. DE RHETORICA ARTE SCRIPTOR. Diotween the two; but the scene is laid at Caesaraea genes La'rtius (ii. 123) mentions Simon as a
Palaestinae (Recog. i. 12; Clena. Hom. i. 15). The writer on Rhetoric (P)7TopKcias rTeXas yeTypaC.ps),
Constitutiones Apostolicae (lib. vi. c. 9) also place but gives no clue to his age or country.
the conference at Caesaraea. According to the 19. Of SAMARIA. [No. 14.]
Clementina (Homil. iv. &c.), Simon, being overcome 20. SOPHISTA. Aristophanes (,Vlbes, 350) hats
by Peter, fled from the Apostle, who, eager to renew adverted to Simon as guilty of robbing the public
the contest, followed his flying opponent from town treasury, but without mentioning of what city.
to town along the Phoenician coast. According to an According to Eupolis (Apud Scholiast. in Arisaccount which may be traced from Arnobius (Adv. tophan. 1. c.) he robbed the treasury of the city of
Gentes, ii. 7), through the Constitutiones Apostolicae Heraclaea. The rapacity thus held up by twvo of
(ibid. and lib. ii. c. 14), Cyril of Jerusalem (I. c.), the great comic dramatists of Atheris passed into
and later writers, Simon came to his death through a proverb, ~/c.z'vos dp'aocrcKrT-SpoS. Suidas, who
another encounter with Peter; for, having at Rome gives the proverb (s. v.:iUowv) adds the inform.
raised himself into the air, by the aid of evil spirits, ation that Simon was a sophist, and the Scholiast
he was, at the prayer of Peter and Paul, who were on Aristophanes (Nubes, l. c.) adds that he was
then at Rome, precipitated from a great height, one of the persons then conspicuous in political
and died from the consequences of his fall. Whether affairs (-rCV E', 7ohATre'a &arpearoVTWov rdrTe), we
this legend has any foundation in fact it is hard to may presume at Athens. Aristophanes also brands
say. Dr. Burton (Bamston Lectures, lect. iv. p. Simon, apparently the same person, as guilty of
94, and note) attempts to get some truth out of the perjury (Nubes, 398). (Allatius, De Simneonilrn:,
indubitably fabulous circumstances with which the pp. 196, 197; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 301.)
death of Simon has been interwoven. The ancient 21. TACUMAEUS. [No. 22.]
authorities for the history of Simon have been 22. Of THEBES. Allatius (De Sinmeon. p. 202)
cited in the course of this article. Among modern speaks of Simon Constantinopolitanus, or Simon
writers Tillemont (Mfnioires, vol. ii. p. 35. &c), of Constantinople, an ecclesiastic of the order of
Ittigius (De Haeresiarchis, sect. i. c. ii), Mo- preachers, as having, in three treatises, strenuously
sheim (De Rebus Christian. ante Constantinum, maintained the doctrine of the Western Church of
saec. i. ~~ lxvi. lxvii), Burton (Bampton Lectures, the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son as
lect. iv.), Milman (Hist. of Christ. vol. ii. p. 96, &c.). well as from the Father, in opposition to the
Simon is usually reckoned the first heresiarch: divines of the Greek church. The treatises were
but the representation is not correct, if heresy be inscribed respectively, 1. To Manuel Holobells,
understood, in its modern acceptation, to mean a or Holobolus, a different person from Manuel
corrupted form of Christianity; for Simon was not Holobolus mentioned elsewhere. [MANUEL, litea Christian at all, except for a very short period, rary and ecclesiastical, No. 8.] 2. To Sophonias.
and his doctrines did not include any recognition of 3. To Joannes Nomophylax. From the last of these
the claims of Jesus Christ, of whom Simon was treatises Allatius has given long extracts (Adv.
not the disciple, but the rival. Origen is clear on Hottinger. p. 334 and 502; Dc QOcasva Synodo P'ho