However,
they in no sense deserve the name of Christians, their peculiar,
eclectic doctrine being a mixture of ancient and Christian Gnosticism,
with certain elements of the old Persian religion. They have quite a
literature, dating back to the early centuries of our era, and written
in an Aramaic dialect similar to that of the Talmud.
THE PURPOSES OF RING WEARING
The
wearing of rings as ornaments for the hand requires no explanation in
view of the innate love of adornment shown from the very earliest
periods of human history. However, apart from this merely ornamental
use, rings were applied to many special uses and were worn for many
definite purposes, some of which are so important as to merit extended
notice in separate chapters ; others again are less far-reaching and
less significant, and certain of these will be explained and
illustrated here.
We
are not apt to think the wearing of many rings especially in accord
with the profession of philosophy, and yet AElian tells us that a chief
cause of the dissension between Plato (427-347 B.c.) and his pupil,
Aristotle (384-322 b.c.), arose
from the blame bestowed by Plato upon the greatest of ancient
philosophers—" the master of those who know," as Dante calls
him—because Aristotle adorned his hand with many rings.48
Could this have been done with a view to impressing his students and
philosophers with greater respect than they might always have been
disposed to accord to his intellectual greatness alone? The externals
of luxurious adornment made, perhaps, a more direct appeal than the
mere power
48 C. W. King, "Antique Gems," London, 1860, p. 281 ; citing iElian, iii, 19.
