Greek and Jew: Philo and the Alexandrian Riots of 38-41 CE

Judaism, Spring, 2000 by Matthew B. Schwartz

Virtue and religion are for all people. The mystery cults which admit the few and exclude the many are wholly misled, indeed, are merely an excuse for buffoonery and licentiousness. Yet, there is a gap between the philosopher and the masses. To the wise alone is the door to truth open, he writes. Only the wise can really enjoy life. A single day of the wise man is worth a whole lifetime. The true altar of God is the soul of the sage; the sage's mind is His palace. Philo feels that he studies things far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Behold me, he writes, daring to unfold and reveal messages in the Scripture which are unknown to the multitude. Philo commends himself too, perhaps justifiably, on his effort to write truthfully. His essay on the Contemplative Life begins with the assurance that his words will be prudent and accurate with nothing added, as the Greek poets and historians do.

It would be unjust to see merely intellectual elitism in a man like Philo. His is more the attitude of the academic whose genuine devotion to his work can hardly avoid being touched by a bit of human vanity. Without some sense of the uniqueness of what he was doing, Philo might have found little incentive to carry on his writing. If Phio took himself with a grain of salt, it can not be easily perceived from his works. But these are weighty books on matters of profound importance to their author, and a humor and wit that might have graced his personal contacts would have seemed out of place among these graver thoughts. Philo was above all a man of the pen and not the sword who felt that his enemies - sophists, liberalists, and antisemites-could be overwhelmed in argument. Philo's was a world of ideas and he frequently mentions his devotion to the life of philosophical contemplation. His essay on the Therapeutae (Contemplative Life) can perhaps be seen as an expression of his ideal of life. The Therapeutae wer e groups of philosophers, men and women, who left their families and possessions to live outside the cities and to devote themselves entirely to the study of wisdom. They met in assembly once a week to read together from the sacred writings and to participate in a ritual meal. They practiced abstinence from material pleasures and emphasized attachment to virtue. It is not clear whether the Therapeutae were Jewish; in any case, the life of wisdom is open to everyone. Lead a blameless life, avoid busybodies, do not linger with the mobs in the markets, assemblies, law courts, and theaters.

For some years, Philo was able to devote himself entirely to philosophy, probably supported by the family's fortune. In this state, he writes, I rejoiced without sate. I gazed down from the upper air on the crowded spectacles of earthly things and was thankful to have escaped them. But then I was plunged into the ocean of public responsibilities. I groan and hold my own.

It was the task of the reasonable man that Philo was to master not only the two cultures with which his life was entwined but even more so to master himself. In line with the Stoic tradition going back to Zeno of Citium three centuries before, Phio argues that passion and desire are evil and must be controlled. He praises Moses for remaining calm during the crisis at the Red Sea. The man of worth loves solitude and prefers the peace of the country to the noise of the city. The greatest contest of all is not that of warriors in the arena, but it is the struggle of the soul against folly, profligacy, rashness, and other evil tendencies.