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The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 1

Philo of Alexandria · translated by C. D. Yonge · 1st century; translation 1854–1855

The Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, contemporary of the apostles, reading the Law of Moses allegorically; his Logos and method shaped Clement, Origen and Ambrose.

Edition: Internet Archive · archive.org

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From the opening: As Given by Moses

I. Of other lawgivers, some have set forth what they considered to be just and reasonable, in a naked and unadorned roanner, while others, investing their ideas with an abundance of amplification, have sought to bewilder the people, by burying the truth under a heap of fabulous inventions. But Moses, rejecting both of these methods, the one as inconsiderate, careless, and unphilosophical, and the other as mendacious and full of trickery, made the beginning of his laws entirely beautiful, and in all respects admirable, neither at once declaring what ought to be done or the contrary, nor (since it was necessary to mould beforehand the dispositions of those who were to use his laws) inventing fables himself or adopting those which had been invented by others.

And his exordium, as I have already said, is most admirable; embracing the creation of the world, under the idea that the law corresponds to the world and the woi'ld to the law, and that a man who is obedient to the law, being, by so doing, a citizen of the world, arranges his actions with reference to the intention of nature, in harmony with which the whole universal world is regulated. Accordingly no one, whether poet or historian, could ever give expression in an adequate manner to the beauty of his ideas respecting the creation of the world; for they surpass all the power of language, and amaze . our hearing, being too great and venerable to be adapted to the senses of any created being. That, however, is not a reason for our yielding to indolence on the subject, but rather from our affection for the Deity we ought to endeavour to exert ourselves even beyond our powers in describing them: not as having much, or indeed anything to say of

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PHILO JUDiEUS.

our own, but instead of much, just a little, such as it may be probable that human intellect may attain to, when wholly occupied with a love of and desire for wisdom.

For as the smallest seal receives imitations of things oi colossal magnitude when engraved upon it, so perchance in some instances the exceeding beauty of the description of the creation of the world as recorded in the Law, overshadowing with its brilliancy the souls of those who happen to meet with it, will be delivered to a more concise record after these facts have been first premised which it would be improper to pass over in silence.

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Contents (52 sections)

  1. CD
  2. Publisher's catalogue
  3. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  4. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  5. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  6. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  7. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  8. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  9. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  10. Preface
  11. Preface (continued)
  12. As Given by Moses
  13. As Given by Moses (continued)
  14. As Given by Moses (continued)
  15. D (continued)
  16. After the Work of the Six Days of Creation
  17. After the Work of the Six Days of Creation (continued)
  18. After the Work of the Six Days of Creation (continued)
  19. After the Work of the Six Days of Creation (continued)
  20. After the Work of the Six Days of the Creation
  21. After the Work of the Six Days of the Creation (continued)
  22. After the Work of the Six Days of the Creation (continued)
  23. After the Work of the Six Days of the Creation (continued)
  24. After the Work of the Six Days of the Creation (continued)
  25. On the First-Born Child of Man, Cain
  26. On the Cherubim, Etc
  27. On the Cherubim, Etc (continued)
  28. Part II
  29. Part II (continued)
  30. Part II (continued)
  31. Part II (continued)
  32. That the Worse Is Accustomed to Be Always Plotting against the Better
  33. That the Worse Is Accustomed to Be Always Plotting against the Better (continued)
  34. That the Worse Is Accustomed to Be Always Plotting against the Better (continued)
  35. And on the Way in Which Cain Became an Exile
  36. And on the Way in Which Cain Became an Exile (continued)
  37. And on the Way in Which Cain Became an Exile (continued)
  38. A Treatise on the Giants
  39. A Treatise on the Giants (continued)
  40. A Treatise on the Giants (continued)
  41. A Treatise on the Giants (continued)
  42. A Treatise on the Giants (continued)
  43. The Second Part
  44. The Second Part (continued)
  45. The Second Part (continued)
  46. A Treatise on Drunkenness
  47. A Treatise on Drunkenness (continued)
  48. A Treatise on Drunkenness (continued)
  49. A Treatise on Drunkenness (continued)
  50. Publisher's catalogue
  51. Publisher's catalogue (continued)
  52. Publisher's catalogue (continued)

How to cite it

Chicago
Philo of Alexandria. The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 1. Translated by C. D. Yonge. Internet Archive, 1st century; translation 1854–1855. https://archive.org/details/worksphilojudaeu01philuoft
MLA
Philo of Alexandria. The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 1. Translated by C. D. Yonge, Internet Archive, 1st century; translation 1854–1855. https://archive.org/details/worksphilojudaeu01philuoft
APA
Philo of Alexandria (1st century; translation 1854–1855). The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 1 (C. D. Yonge, Trans.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/worksphilojudaeu01philuoft

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