The library · Edition and sources
Philo: Appendix 2: Fragments
C. D. Yonge (1854–1855) · Translated text with edition notes
Opening (part 4)
and fortitude, are the attendants on a manly spirit.
About equality.
The words of Philo.
As an equality of measurement is the cause of the most perfect blessings, so also a want of measure is the cause of the greatest evils, as it dissolves that most useful bond of equality.
About drunkenness.
From the same author.
Inequality is a grievous thing and the cause of differences, just as equality is free from all annoyances and contributes to unite men for advantageous ends.
From the same author.
Obedience to the law and equality are the seeds of peace, and the causes of safety and continued durability; but inequality and covetousness are excitements to war, and dissolvers of all existing things.
About evil-doers.
The words of Philo.
Those things which chastise the first, are, if men are wise, preventatives of the second.
About the eye and sight.
The words of Philo, from the treatise about the Creation of the World.
The outward senses resemble windows; for through them, as through windows, the comprehension of the objects of the outward senses enters into the mind, and again through them the mind goes out to investigate such objects. But the sight is a part of these windows, that is to say, of the outward senses, since above all others it is akin to the soul, because it is nearly connected with the most beautiful of all things, namely light, and is a servant of divine things; and, indeed, that is the sense which first opened the way to philosophy. For when the eye had beheld the motions of the sun and moon, and the periodical revolutions of the stars, and the unvarying motions of the whole host of heaven, and the indescribable order and harmony of the whole universe, and the one unerring Creator of the world, it then related what it had seen to reason, as having the supreme authority; and reason, having beheld with a still more acutely piercing eye both these things, and things of a still more sublime character in their appearance and species, and the great cause of all things, it then immediately arrived at a due conception of God, and of creation, and of providence; considering that the whole nature of all things was not brought into existence of its own accord, but that of necessity it had a creator, and a father, and a guide, and a governor, who also created it, and who also preserves everything which he has created.
About contentment.
The words of the same author.
If you have a great deal of wealth, take care and do not be carried away by its overflow; but endeavour to take hold of some dry ground, in order to establish your mind with proper firmness; and this will be the proper exertion of justice and fairness. And if you should have abundant supplies of all the things requisite for the indulgence of those passions which lie beneath the belly, be not carried away by such plenty, but oppose to them a saving degree of contentedness, taking in this way dry ground to stand upon instead of an absorbing quicksand.
By the same author.
One should practise being contented with a little, for this is being near God; but the contrary habit is being very far from him.
About faith in and piety towards God.
The words of Philo.
What can be a real sacrifice except the piety of a soul devoted to the love of God? whose grateful feelings are made immortal by God, having conferred on them an immortal duration like that of the sun and the moon, and the whole world.
About wicked and impious men.
From the same author.
The hopes of wicked men are unstable, as they expect a good fate, but suffer a contrary destiny of which they are worthy.
About a bad conscience.
The words of Philo, from his treatise on Men and Things which are Improperly Named.
Who is there who does wrong who is not convicted by his own conscience as if he were in a court of justice, even though no man correct him?
About advisers.
The words of Philo, from the Questions in Genesis.
Since the mind of those who have not studied philosophy is blind with respect to many of the circumstances of life, one must take those who do see the character of affairs for one's guides.
About hasty talkers.
The words of Philo.
He who has not shame or fear for his companions, has an unbridled mouth and a licentious tongue.
About perfection.
The words of Philo.
Perfection and an absence of deficiency are found in God alone. But deficiency and imperfection exist in every man. For man is taught, even if he be the wisest of his race, by some other man, and he knows nothing without being taught by his own nature. And if one man has more knowledge than another, still he has it not naturally, but because of instruction which he has received.
About those who think lowlily of themselves.
The words of Philo.
These things are proved to be most completely natural, that the descent of the soul is its elation by means of self-conceit, and that its ascent and elevation is its return from arrogance.
From the same author.
It is desirable to eradicate self-conceit, which is the friend of endurance, and prudence, and justice,
{8}
{it is evident that there is great corruption in this and the next sentence.}
and also to destroy overbearing pride; for it is no small proof and exercise of folly to study virtue in an illegitimate manner.
From the same author.
If you are puffed up by glory and authority so as to desire great things, then remember, like the skilful pilot of a ship, to take in your sails, that you may not be carried away into absurd conduct.
About sleep.
The words of Philo.
Sleep, according to the prophet, is a trance, not indeed in accordance with insanity, but proceeding from a relaxation of the outward senses and the retreat of reason; for at that time the outward senses cease from attaching themselves to their proper objects, and the mind is quiet, neither being any longer under the influence nor affording any motion to them, and they, being in consequence cut off from any energy because they are separated from the objects which are perceptible to them, are dissolved in a state of motionless inactivity.
From the same author.
Very naturally some who have been wise enough to arrive at correct notions of the truth, have described sleep as a thing to teach us to meditate upon death, and a shadow and outline of the resurrection which is hereafter to follow, for it bears in itself visible images of both conditions, for it removes the same man from his state of perfection and brings him back to it.
About promises, etc.
The words of Philo.
It is better absolutely never to make any promise at all than not to assist another willingly, for no blame attaches to the one, but great dislike on the part of those who are less powerful, and intense hatred and long enduring punishment from those who are more powerful, is the result of the other line of conduct.
About haughty men, etc.
From the first book of the Sacred Allegory of the Holy Laws.
Some persons say that the last thing which the wise man puts off is the tunic of vain glory, for even if a man gets the mastery over his other passions, still he is inclined by nature to be influenced by glory and the praises of the multitude.
From the same author.
Self-conceit is an impure thing by nature.
About promises, etc.
The words of Philo.
To give thanks to God is intrinsically right, but not to do so to him in the first place, and not to begin with the first reasons for gratitude, is blameable, for it is not right to give the chief honour to the creation, and the inferior honour to God, who is the giver of all things in the creation; and indeed that is a most culpable division, inasmuch as it is laying down a certain disorder of order.
About envy.
The words of Philo.
Envy naturally attaches itself to whatever is great.
About industrious people.
The words of the same author.
The most perfect and greatest of all good things are usually the result of laborious exercise and energetic vigorous labour.
From the same author.
It is absurd for a man who is in the pursuit of honours to flee from labours by which honours are acquired.
About the soul and the mind.
From the same author.
What is the meaning of the expression, "You shall not eat the flesh in the blood of the Soul?"
{9}
{#ge 9:4.}
God appears by this expression to intend to show that the blood is the essence of the soul, that is to say, of the soul endowed with the outward senses, not the soul spoken of in the most excellent sense of the word, that is to say, as far as it is endued with reason and intellect; for there are three divisions of the soul, one part being nutritious, a second being endued with the outward senses, and the third being endued with reason. Accordingly the divine Spirit is the essence of the rational portion, according to the sacred historian of the creation of the world, for he says that "God breathed into his face the breath of Life."
{10}
{#ge 2:9.}
But of that part which is endued with the outward senses, and which has the revivifying power, blood is the essence, for he says in another place that "the soul of all flesh is the Blood;"
{11}
{#de 12:23.}
but what is connected with the flesh is the outward sense and the passions, and not the mind and the intellect; not but what that expression, "in the blood of the soul," also indicates that the soul is one thing and the body another. So that in real truth the breath is the essence of the soul, but it has not any place of itself independently of the blood, but it resembles and is combined with blood.
About the assistance of God.
The words of Philo, from the fourth book of his treatise on the Allegories contained in the Sacred
Laws.
The extremity of happiness is the assistance of God, for there can be no such thing as want when God gives his aid.
About the creation of the world.
From the same author, from the first book of the Questions arising in Genesis.
It is impossible that the harmony, and arrangement, and reason, and analogy, and that all the great accord and real happiness which we see existing in the world can have been originated by themselves, for it follows inevitably that these things must have had a creator, and a father, and a regulator and governor, who generated them in the first place, and who now preserves what he has generated.
About the church of God.
From the same author.
God wishing to send down from heaven to the earth an image of his divine virtue, out of his compassion for our race, that it might not be destitute of a more excellent portion, and that he might thus wash off the pollutions which defile our miserable existence, so full of all dishonour, established his church among us.
About seeking God.
From the same author, from the last book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
The one most powerful relaxation of the soul leads to the sacred love of the one living God, teaching mankind to take God as its guide in all their plans, and words, and actions.
From the same author.
The extremity of happiness is to rest unchangeably and immovably on God alone.
About the last day.
The words of Philo, from the second book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
The stars are turned round and revolve in a regular circle, some proceeding on in the same manner through the whole heaven, and others have special eccentric motions of their own.
About the detestation of wickedness felt by God.
The words of Philo, from the second book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
Some men think that repentance appears at times to take possession of God on account of the oaths which he has sworn, but they do not form correct notions; for apart from the fact that the Deity does not change, neither the expression, "God repented," nor that, "And it grieved him at the Heart,"
{12}
{#ge 6:6.}
is indicative of repentance, for the Deity is unchangeable; but they only show the character of the pure intellect which is now deeply meditating on the cause for which he created man upon the earth.
By the same author, from the same book.
There is no hesitation and no envy in God; but he often uses expressions indicative of hesitation or of uncertainty from a reference to man, who is susceptible of such feelings; for as I have often said, there are altogether two supreme sources; in the one case God does not speak as man speaks, in the other he instructs man as a man instructs his son, the former being a sign of his power, the second of the way in which he teaches and guides man.
About promises.
The words of Philo, from the last book of the Questions arising in Exodus.
He who does not offer to God first fruits of his own free will does not really offer first fruits at all, even if he brings everything which is great, with a most royal abundance of treasure; for the real first fruits consist not in the things offered, but in the pious disposition of him who offers them.
About the mildness of God and his love for mankind.
The words of Philo, from the Questions arising in Exodus.
The mercies of God do always outstrip justice, for the work which he has chosen for himself is that of doing good, and the task of punishing follows that; and it is common, when great evils are about to arise, for an abundance of great and numerous blessings to happen first.
FRAGMENTS PRESERVED BY ANTONIUS
SER. I.
The virtues alone know how to regulate the affairs of men.
The contemplation of virtue is exceedingly beautiful, and actions according to it, and the exercise of it, are desirable above all things.
SER. II.
If you wish to have a good reputation in a twofold manner, then honour exceedingly those who are doing well, and reprove those who are doing ill.
SER. VIII.
When you are entreated to pardon offences, pardon willingly those who have offended against you, because indulgence given in requital for indulgence, and reconciliation with our fellow servants, is a means of averting the divine anger.
SER. IX.
The virtuous man is a lover of his race, and he is merciful and inclined to pardon, and never bears ill will towards any man whatever, but thinks it right to surpass in doing good rather than in injuring.