The library · Edition and sources
Philo: Appendix 2: Fragments
C. D. Yonge (1854–1855) · Translated text with edition notes
Opening (part 3)
Page 782. D. The man who lives in wickedness, bears about destruction within him, since he has living with him that which is both treacherous, designing, and hostile to him. For the conscience of the wicked man is alone a sufficient punishment to him, inflicting cowardice on his soul from its own inmost feelings, as it feared blows.
From the same author.
Page 782. D. The life of the wicked man is subject to pain and sorrow, and full of fear; and in everything which it does according to the outward senses, it is mingled with fear and grief.
About monks who break their vows.
The words of Philo, from the Questions arising in Exodus.
Page 784. C. The reasoning of some persons is very rapidly satiated, who, though they have been borne upwards on wings for a little while, yet do presently return back again; not so much flying upwards, says Philo, as being dragged down again to the lowest depths of hell. But happy are they who do not draw back.
From the same author.
Page 784. C. Before now, some persons who have tasted happiness, being very speedily satiated, after they have given hopes of their being in health, have fallen back into the same disease as before.
From the same author, out of the Questions arising in Genesis.
Page 784. D. To commit perjury is impious and mischievous.
About good friends.
The words of Philo, out of the first book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
Page 788. I. We ought to look upon those men as our friends who are inclined to assist us, and to requite our kindnesses with kindness, even if they are destitute of power; for friendship is a thing which is seen more in moments of necessity, than in a steady conjunction or union of dispositions. So that in the case of each person who unites with another in an association of friendship, one may apply the expression of Pythagoras to him, and say, "A friend is a second I."
About the mercies of God.
The words of Philo, out of the first book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
Page 789. A. When the fruits of these crops which are raised from seed are in a state of perfection, they receive the beginnings of the generation of trees in order that the mercies of God may last for ever, and then that one continually succeeding the other, and connecting ends with beginnings and beginnings with ends, they may be in reality never ending.
From the second book of the same treatise.
Page 789. A. The mercies of God give us not only what is necessary, but also all such things as conduce to a more excessive and liberal enjoyment of life.
FRAGMENTS FROM A MONKISH MANUSCRIPT
About man: to show that God when he made him endowed him with free will.
It is said to you, O noble man, who live in obedience to the divine precepts, endeavour with all thy might not only to preserve the gifts which you have received unimpaired and unalloyed, but also think them worthy of all imaginable honour and regard, as being endowed with free will and independent power, so that he who has committed them to your charge may have no reason to find fault with you for having neglected to take proper care of them; and the Creator of the world has entrusted to your care to employ them according to your own deliberative purpose, a soul, and speech, and the outward senses. Therefore, those men who receive these gifts in a proper spirit, and who preserve them for him who has bestowed them on them, have kept their intellect carefully in such a way that it shall never think of anything else than of God and his virtues; and their speech in such a manner that with unwearied mouth it shall honour the Father of the universe with praises and hymns; and their outward senses in such a way that after they have represented to themselves the whole of the world which is perceptible to those senses, namely, the heaven and the earth, and the natures which are between those two, they may relate what they have been in a pure and guileless manner to the soul.
About people who are governed.
The words of Philo, from the fourth book of his Allegorical Interpretation of the Sacred Laws.
If you take away their resources of wealth from politicians, you will find nothing left but empty arrogance devoid of sense, for as long as there is an abundant supply of external good things, wisdom and presence of mind appear also to attend them, but when that plenty is taken away all appearance of wisdom is taken away at the same time.
About the best men.
From the same author, in his Treatise on Drunkenness.
Good men, to speak somewhat metaphorically, are of more value than whole nations, since they support cities and constitutions as buttresses support large houses.
From the same author.
If it depended on wicked men, no city would ever enjoy tranquillity; but states continue free from seditious troubles on account of the righteousness of one or two men who live in them, whose virtue is a remedy for the diseases of war, because God, who loves mankind, grants this effect as a reward to those who are virtuous and honourable, so that they should not only benefit themselves, but all who are near them.
From the same author.
There is no place upon earth more sacred than the mind of a wise man, while all the virtues hover around like so many stars.
About things which are uncertain and unknown to us.
The words of Philo.
The comprehension of the future does not belong to the nature of man.
From the same author.
All things are not known to the mortal race.
From the same author.
God alone is acquainted with the ultimate results of things.
About evil report.
Quiet, which is free from danger, is better than words, the object of which is only to give pleasure.
About self-satisfied people, etc.
The words of Philo.
The lawgiver says, "You shall not do all the things which we will do here this day,
{4}
{deuteronomy 12:28.}
every one doing that which is pleasant in his own sight," by which words he declares as loudly as possible that there is no evil which may not be produced by selfishness and self-sufficiency, which must be eradicated from the mind as unholy feelings. Let no one embrace that which is pleasing to himself rather than that which is agreeable to nature, for the one is found to be the cause of mischief and the other the cause of benefit.
From the same author.
Those who do everything for their own sake alone practise selfishness, which is the greatest of evils, which produces unsociability, want of fellowship, unfriendliness, injustice, impiety, for nature has made man not like those beasts which love solitude, but like the gregarious beasts which live together like the most sociable of all creatures, that he may live not to himself alone, but also to his father, and to his mother, and to his brethren, and to his wife, and to his children, and to all his other relations and friends, and to those of the same borough as himself, and to those of the same tribe, and to his native country, and to his fellow countrymen, and to all mankind, and moreover to the different parts of the universe, and to the whole world, and much more to the Father and Creator of the world, for he must be (if at least he is really endowed with reason) sociable, loving the world, and loving God, that he may also be beloved by God.
About God being incomprehensible.
From the first book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
There are thousands and thousands, I do not say only of important matters, but also of those which appear to be most trivial, which escape the human intellect.
From the same author.
No one may so far yield to unreasonable folly as to boast that he has seen the invisible God.
About the doctrine that God has made angels to be guardians of us.
The words of Philo, from the first book of the Questions arising in Genesis.
As pillars support whole houses, so also do the divine powers support the whole world, and that most excellent and God-loving race of mankind.
About avoiding sin.
From the treatise on the Giants.
I think it absolutely impossible that no part of the soul should become tainted, not even the outer most and lowest parts of it, even if the man appears to be perfect among men.
About slowness of counsel.
Slow counsel is profitless, and change of purpose in extremities is mischievous.
About heretical teachers, etc.
From the same book.
A teacher of a good and virtuous disposition, even if he sees his pupils at first stiff-necked by nature, does not despair of producing in them a change for the better; but, like a good physician, he does not apply a remedy at once at the first moment of the disease attacking the patient, but he gives nature time that it may recede a little, so that he may first make ready the path to safety, and then apply healthful and salutary remedies. And in the same manner does the virtuous man apply the arguments and doctrines of philosophy.
If, when a pupil is first introduced to you, and first comes to learn of you, you hasten to eradicate all his ignorance at once, and attempt to introduce every kind of knowledge in a lump, you will produce the contrary effect to that which you desire, for it will not be likely that such an eradication, having taken place all in a moment, will continue effectual, nor that the pupil will be able at once to contain such an abundant influx and overflow of instruction; but being exceedingly perplexed and troubled, he will resist both these operations, that of eradicating one thing and that of introducing another; but the system of taking away his ignorance with gentleness and moderation, and of, in the same manner, gently instilling wisdom into the mind, will be the causes of admitted advantage.
About people who meditate and design mischief.
The words of Philo, from his treatise on Things Improperly Named.
The ordinary production or wickedness enslaves the mind, even if it has not as yet produced any perfect fruit; for it is, as the proverb says, washing a brick, or taking up water in a net, to try and eradicate wickedness out of the soul of man. For "behold," says Moses, "with what designs the minds of all men are Impressed."
{5}
{#ge 8:21.}
And he speaks truly, for he does not say, what designs are attached to and adapted to it, but that which has been considered with care and deliberation is also explained with accuracy, and this too not slowly and with difficulty, but from man's earliest youth, or as one may almost say, from his very cradle, as if it were a part of him, kept in continual exercise.
About cowardly and wavering people.
Those who are unmanly from an innate effeminacy, falling down of their own accord before they meet with any opposition, are a disgrace and ridicule to themselves.
From the same author.
Wickedness in a foolish man has a twin offspring, for the foolish man is wavering and hesitating, mingling considerations together which ought not to be mingled, and humbling and confusing what ought to be kept distinct, having as many colours in his soul as a viper has in his body, and polluting even his sound thoughts with those which cause trouble and death.
From the same author.
The thoughts of a bad man are one thing, and his words another, and his actions indeed are many, but they are all inconsistent and at variance one with another, for he does not say what he thinks, and he has decided on the contrary of what he affirms, and he does things which are not consistent with his original designs, so that, to speak truly, one may say that the life of the wicked man is a life of enmity.
About distinctness.
The words of Philo.
That which is not distinct is unsuited to a free man, being the most shameful product of folly and haughtiness; for as distinctness in everything that is to be done is a mark of acuteness and wisdom, and deserves honour and praise, so also an absence of shame is a sign of folly and infamy, on which account the other definition which you disregard, classifies a man who is afflicted with this disease thus, saying, he is impious who does not know how to respect the face of an honourable man, nor to rise up in the presence of an elder,
{6}
{juvenal speaks of this as a custom of the ancient Romans.}
nor to guide his own steps in the right way.
About those who serve God.
The servants of virtuous men submit to voluntary obedience to God, for they are not servants to human caprices, but to wise men; and he who is the servant of wisdom may justly be said to be also the servant of God.
About just men.
The words of Philo.
An irreconcileable and endless war is carried on by the atheists against the godly, so that they threaten them even with slavery.
About justice.
The words of Philo.
Justice, above all things, conduces to the safety both of mankind and of the parts of the world, earth and heaven.
About the judgments of God.
From the same author.
It is good to begin every day with divine and holy employments, and after that to proceed to the necessary duties of life. On this account God has commanded Us
{7}
{#de 6:7.}
to take care to obey his commandments, and especially at the first moment of the dawn, as soon as we are risen, to pay our adoration to Him, that their offerings to God may precede every human occupation, having the recollection of God for their prompter and leader.
From the same author.
Every soul which piety fertilises with its own mysteries is necessarily awake for all holy services, and eager for the contemplation of those things which are worth being seen, for this is the feeling of the soul at the great festival, and this is the true season of joy.
About the difference between God and man.
The words of Philo.
The things of creation are far removed from the uncreated God, even though they are brought into close proximity following the attractive mercies of the Saviour.
About bold and brave men.
The words of Philo, from his treatise about the Giants.
It is a sign of courage not to be easily alarmed by the terrors of death, and to be full of cheerful confidence in dangers, and to be of valiant hardiness amid disasters, and to prefer dying with honour to being saved disgracefully, and to wish to be the cause of victory; and a happy boldness, and a cheerfulness of soul,