Library › Greek: Science & Medicine › Oath
This short alchemical text is transmitted under the heading of Pappus the philosopher and is preserved in the Greek alchemical corpus edited by Berthelot and Ruelle. It opens with a solemn oath sworn by the one God who made heaven and earth, the fourfold elements and rational souls, and who rides upon the cherubic chariots, praised by the ranks of angels. It is followed by a brief technical note on a laboratory procedure.
The oath shows how Greek alchemy in Late Antiquity combined the language of initiation and secrecy with Christian and biblical imagery. Oaths of this kind bound those who received knowledge thought to be sacred. Only the manuscript heading connects the piece with a Pappus, and it is uncertain whether he is the Alexandrian mathematician or a separate, otherwise unknown writer.
About this edition. The Greek text comes from the Eulogikon open corpus of public-domain editions (standard reference: CAAG II 27–28). Every word has been analyzed with odyCy, a neural language model for Ancient Greek — click or tap any word for its dictionary form, part of speech, and complete morphology, together with the full entry from the Liddell–Scott–Jones Greek–English Lexicon (LSJ). Only the manuscript heading ('Πάππου φιλοσόφου') ascribes this Christian-era alchemical piece; it is uncertain whether this 'Pappus the philosopher' is the Alexandrian mathematician.