The forms of the usual symbols oyp. op. etc, the leaf ornament and certain capital
letters, as the A and M, could hardly be more alike. At the same time the argument
from handwriting is periculosae plenum opus aleae: and Maass proceeds to tie his
scribes down to absolute uniformity in order to secure the necessary distinction in
favour of this separate hand; while a new quill might make an appreciable difference
in the writing of the same man. It may also be pointed out that the occurrence of the
name ’ApéGa before a few scholia is rather an argument against the same authorship in
the case of those which, while resembling these, bear no signature. Finally, the leaf
ornament is not confined to books owned by Arethas but appears elsewhere, e.g. in the
codex Alexandrinus. Thus far we have assumed the existence of but one Arethas:
were there several? Some references on the point are given in the margin. Cave cites
Coccius to the effect that Arethas, archbishop of Caesarea, flourished about 540 A.D.;
but adds that he and his followers ‘incertis prorsus nituntur conjecturis.’ Cave, Oudin,
Fabricius, and Baronius all agree as to the existence and date of our Arethas; and
apparently the first three refer to his treatise on the Apocalypse and the debt which
it owed to his predecessor Andreas. Cave and Fabricius with Baronius seem to hold
that our Arethas may be the same with a presbyter Arethas of Caesarea who wrote
homilies or orations ‘de translatione Euthymii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani’ (who
died in gtr A.D.). In that case he must have been translated to Caesarea from Patras
as deacon or presbyter. Oudin, while admitting that the dates allow of this authorship,
denies that these homilies were written then—‘habitae illae sunt centum annis postea,
Eustathio primo Papa novae Romae praesente;. sedit autem post Sergium nominis
secundum ab anno 101g ad annum 1025. Spectant ergo hae homiliae ad Aretham
Caesariensis Ecclesiae Presbyterum integro seculo juniorem altero Arethae ejusdem sedis
Archiepiscopo.’ Accordingly he has an article on this presbyter Arethas, under date
1020, where he returns to the charge. On sentimental grounds it would be pleasant
to retain all three Arethae. We should then have the picture of an Arethas family
for centuries connected with the greatest see in Asia Minor, one branch or one member
of which family had migrated to Patras. 