Philo of Alexandria: The Contemplative Life, Giants and Selections (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Rating:
Summary: A Good Modern Introduction
Review: This is an anthology of the works of Philo of Alexandria, thankfully translated in a clear, modern style, and well-annotated. The introduction helps familiarize the reader with Philo, a Hellenized, possibly Pharasaic, Jew, who is also a Platonist. Major themes are explored: Theory of Creation, Mysticism and Significance. The body of the book contains two complete treatises: "The Contemplative Life", which concerns a monastic Jewish sect at Lake Mareotis, and "The Giants", which concerns what was apparently something of an obsession among intertestamental Jews, the single verse of Genesis (6:2) in which the sons of God mate with human women. These treatises are both short, and produce, in a sense, a justification for the approach of the rest of the book. Philo's style is both rhapsodic and digressive, so that any alleged topic can veer off in a number of marginally related directions. The bulk of the book, over 200 pages, is devoted to selections from all of Philo's treatises, titled by the translator, generally a paragraph in length, but sometimes running to a couple of pages. These are grouped according to 13 topics: I. Autobiographical, II. Scriptural Exegesis, III. Divine Mind, IV. Cosmogony, V. Souls, Angels and Daemons, VI. Divine Transcendence, VII. Knowledge and Prophecy, VIII.Worship, IX. Mysticism, X. Providence, Theodicy and Miracles, XI. Ethical Theory, XII. Moses and the Law, XIII.Universalism and Particularism. The only complaint I have is that due to editorial laziness, informative headers are not present in the selections section to inform the reader exactly which topic any given page falls under. Other than that, this is very good.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Modern Introduction
Review: This is an anthology of the works of Philo of Alexandria, thankfully translated in a clear, modern style, and well-annotated. The introduction helps familiarize the reader with Philo, a Hellenized, possibly Pharasaic, Jew, who is also a Platonist. Major themes are explored: Theory of Creation, Mysticism and Significance. The body of the book contains two complete treatises: "The Contemplative Life", which concerns a monastic Jewish sect at Lake Mareotis, and "The Giants", which concerns what was apparently something of an obsession among intertestamental Jews, the single verse of Genesis (6:2) in which the sons of God mate with human women. These treatises are both short, and produce, in a sense, a justification for the approach of the rest of the book. Philo's style is both rhapsodic and digressive, so that any alleged topic can veer off in a number of marginally related directions. The bulk of the book, over 200 pages, is devoted to selections from all of Philo's treatises, titled by the translator, generally a paragraph in length, but sometimes running to a couple of pages. These are grouped according to 13 topics: I. Autobiographical, II. Scriptural Exegesis, III. Divine Mind, IV. Cosmogony, V. Souls, Angels and Daemons, VI. Divine Transcendence, VII. Knowledge and Prophecy, VIII.Worship, IX. Mysticism, X. Providence, Theodicy and Miracles, XI. Ethical Theory, XII. Moses and the Law, XIII.Universalism and Particularism. The only complaint I have is that due to editorial laziness, informative headers are not present in the selections section to inform the reader exactly which topic any given page falls under. Other than that, this is very good.