Miracles were not, however, the only basis of his renown. He taught a doctrine, it seems, of which it is difficult for us to acquire a definite knowledge, in a treatise entitled "The Great Exposition," which is ascribed to him, and a few extracts from which have come down to us, being probably only a modified expression of his ideas.[15.17] During his sojourn at Alexandria, where he studied the Grecian philosophy, he appears to have framed a system of syncretic theology and allegorical exegesis, in many respects analogous to that of Philo.[15.18] His system is not without sublimity. Sometimes it reminds us of the Jewish Kabala, sometimes of the pantheistic theories of Indian philosophy; and in other respects it resembles that of the Buddhists and the Parsees.[15.19] The primal being is, "He who is, has been, and shall be,"[15.20] _i.e._ the _Jah-veh_ of the Samaritans, understood according to the etymological force of the name, as the eternal and only Being, self-begotten, self-augmenting, self-seeking, and self-finding--the father, mother, sister, spouse, and son of himself.[15.21] In this infinite being, all things exist potentially to all eternity; and pass into action and reality through human conscience, reason, language, and science.[15.22] The universe is explained either upon the basis of a hierarchy of abstract principles like the Æons of Gnosticism and the Sephirotic tree of the Kabala, or upon that of an order of angels apparently borrowed from the Persian doctrine. Sometimes these abstractions are presented as representations of physical and physiological facts. Elsewhere, the "divine powers," considered as distinct substances, are realized in successive incarnations, either in the male or female form, whose end is the emancipation of those beings which are enslaved in the bonds of material existence. The highest of these "Powers" is called "the Great," which is the universal Providence, the intelligent soul of this world.[15.23] It is masculine. Simon passed for an incarnation of this spirit. In connexion with it is its feminine counterpart, "the Great Thought." Accustomed to clothe his theories in a strange symbolism, and to devise allegorical interpretations for the ancient writings both sacred and profane, Simon, or whoever was the author of "The Great Exposition," ascribed to this Divine existence the name of "Helena," thereby signifying that she was the object of universal pursuit, the eternal cause of dispute among men, and that she avenged herself on her enemies by depriving them of sight until the moment they consented to recant;[15.24]--a strange theory, and one which, imperfectly understood or designedly travestied, gave rise among the early Fathers of the Church to the most puerile legends.[15.25] The acquaintance with Greek literature possessed by the author of "The Great Exposition" is at all events very remarkable. He contended that, rightly understood, the