10 S. XL APRIL 24, 1909.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
321
LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 2U, 1909.
CONTENTS. No. 278.
NOTES: The Crucified Thieves, 321 Tennyson Biblio- graphy, 322 Dodsley's Collection of Poetry, 323 St. George's Day St. Mark's Day Shakespeares in 1796 Candlemas and Passover Mu^k Melons, 324 Tennyson and Aldworth Barkly West Photography at Lucknow Inscriptions at Bellagio Little Russell Street, 325 " Kats and kittlings " Maskelyne Islands 'D.N.B.' Epitome "Disgruntled" "Camber" Jean de Sehelandre, 326 " Taffy-on-a-Stick," 327.
QUERIES : Marie Antoinette's Death Mask Arab Sheikh Nefzaoni, 327 Women and Pipes "To Peipon" W. Hamilton Reid Ships' Periodicals Napoleon's Death ' The Oak Tree ' " Woman with the West in her eyes " "Putlog, "328 J. Kensell H. Gary Sir John Stuart- Sir Robert Taylor Manuscript Horse Wilkie's Pictures Maimonides " Kempishawe," 329 Ducking-Chair "I care not twopence," 330.
RKPLIES: Tuesday Night's Club, 330 St. Anthony of Vienne Patogonia, 332" Blazers "The Tyburn" Pot- gallery," 333 Name-Puzzle in Spenser Cheese for Ladies Author Wanted Shakespeare and Ensor, 334 Aplin Family Potter's Bar Cockburnspath Liquid N in English Earl Ferrers, 335 Snakes drinking Milk Silesian Tooth Semaphore Signalling Seventh Earl of Northumberland, 336 " Glose " or " Gloss " Topo- graphical Pottery " Hors d'ceuvre " " Point of war," 337 Parish Beadle" Realm " Bergerode ' Monstrous Regimen of Women ' " Grzymala," 338.
NOTES ON BOOKS: A. J. Philip's 'Dickens Dictionary' Wells's ' Joseph and his Brethren.'
Booksellers' Catalogues.
THE CRUCIFIED THIEVES: THEIR
NAMES.
IN Padre de Isla's ' His tor ia del Famoso Predicador Fray Gerundio de Campazas,' Lib. VI. cap. iii. (Madrid, 1804, pp. 350-52), we are told that the preacher " took it for granted, without the least doubt, that the good thief was called Dimas and the bad one Gestas, in spite of the fact that their names are given so variously among authors, as the learned know. And, even supposing they were so called, some one will not hesitate to assert that the bad thief was Dimas and the good one Gestas, and will prove it by the following lines, which are pretty well known : Imparibus meritis, tria pendent corpora ramis, Dimas, Gestas ; in medio est divina Potestas ; Dimas damnatur, Gestas super astra locatur."
The " Padre " is, I am afraid, somewhat Rabelaisian in a mild way on this subject, .as on others, and I am inclined to agree with Emilia Pardo Bazan in her book ' De mi Tierra,' from which I have borrowed the epithet, that it is not wholly undeserved. He makes his young preacher appeal to St. Augustine, whom he quotes from some book of reference as saying :
" Dum patitur credit Dimas ; non ante crucem Domini sectatur, sed in cruce Domini Confessor Dimas inter martyres computatur, suoque san- guine baptizatur."
He next apostrophizes St. Jerome :
" Greatest among the four general masters
of the universal Church, Geronimo divino,
what dost thou say about our Dimas ? "
These are given as his words :
" Latro credidit in cruce, et statim meretur audire : ' Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso ' ; Dimas Latro crucem mutat Paradiso."
Then playing on the word " Di-mas " with an interrogation ("Do I say more?"), he perorates as follows :
" But what more is there to be said ? Let that same be said with poetical elegance by the mitred muse of Vienne ; the learned hearer will at once know that I speak of Abylus, Bishop of Vienne* :
Sicque reus scelerum dum digna piacula pandit,
Martyrium de morte rap it."
The lines on the thieves on the Cross, which were composed in mediaeval times, are given in ' Les Petits Bollandistes,' and run thus :
Imparibus meritis, pendent tria corpora ramis, Desmas et Gesmas, media est divina potestas ; Alta petit Desmas, infelix, infima, Gesmas : Nos et res nostras conservet summa potestas : Hos versus dicas, ne tu furto tua perdas.
This was a versified prayer employed by persons whose goods were exposed to the rapacity of robbers. Padre de Isla has quoted the first two lines pretty correctly, but the third he seems to have changed, so to speak, for " the fun of the thing."
Again, I should be much astonished to learn that St. Augustine ever wrote the words here attributed to him ; and I can safely say the same of St. Jerome, who thus speaks of the good thief in his com- mentary on St. Matthew's Gospel, cap. xxvii. 44:
" Idipsum autem et latrpnes, qui crucifixi erant cum eo, improperabant ei. Hie per tropum, qui appellatur cruA.ATjt/'is, pro uno latrone uterque inducitur blasphemasse. Lucas [cap. xxiii.] vero asserit quod, altero blasphemante, alter confessus sit, et e contrario increpaverit blasphemantem. Non quod discrepent Evangelia ; sed quod primum uterque blasphemayerit, dehinc sole fugiente, terra commota, saxisque disruptis, et ingruentibus tenebris, unus crediderit in Jesum, et priorem negationem sequenti confessione emen- daverit. In duobus latronibus uterque populus, et Gentilium, et Judseoruru. primum Dominum blasphemavit. Postea signorum magnitudine alter exterritus egit poenitentiam, et usque hodie Judajos increpat blaspnemantes."
If the commentator had known the real names of the thieves, we may be sure that he would have mentioned them in this interesting note.
- Who this " Abilo Obispo Vienense " was I
have not been able to discover. I should be glad to be informed on the matter.
