Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/320

Rh 308 PHILON. translation, or rather paraphrase of this commentary, with ill-assorted interpolations, from the commen- tary of Gregorius I., by Salutatus, was published, Paris, 1537, and reprinted in the Biblioth. Pat. Lugdun. vol. v. Fragments of Philon's Com- mentary are inserted in that on the Canticles, which is falsely ascribed to Eusebius, edited by Meursius, Lugd. Batav. 1617. In these, he is simply named Philon, without the surname. Ban- durius, a Benedictine monk, promised in 1705 a genuine edition, which he never fulfilled. It was pub- lished from a Vatican MS. in 1 750, nnder the name of Epiphanius, and edited by Fogginiiis. The most important edition, however, is that of Giacomellus, Rome, 1772, from two MSS. This has the ori- ginal Greek, a Latin translation, with notes, and is accompanied by the entire Greek text of the Canticles, principally from the Alexandrian recen- sion. This is reprinted in Galland, iV. DM. FP. voh ix. p. 713 : Ernesti {Neuesten Theolog. Bihl. vol. iii. part 6), in a review of this edition, of which he thinks highly, is of opinion that the com- mentary, as we now have it, is but an abridgement of the original. Besides this commentary, Philon wrote on various parts both of the Old and New- Testament, fragments of which are contained in the various Catenae. (Suidas, s.v.; Cave, I.e.; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 398, 611, viii. p. 645, x. p. 479.) 4. Of Gadara, and a pupil of Sporus. He ex- tended to 10,000 decimal places the approximation of the proportion of the diameter to the circum- ference of the circle. (Eutoc. Comment, in Archimed, de Dim. Circ. in Montucla, vol. i. p. 340.) 5. The Geographer, is mentioned by Strabo (ii. p. 77) as having written an account of a voyage to Aethiopia. According to a conjecture of Vos- sius {De Hist. Graec. p. 486, ed.Westermann) this is the same with the Philon quoted by Antigonus Carystius {Hist.Mirab. c 160). 6. Heracleiotes. Porphyry refers to a work of his, Ilepi ^av/xacricSv. (Stob. Eclqg. Physic. p. 130, ed. 1609.) He is probably the same with the Philon, the first book of whose work is quoted as an authority by Suidas (s. v. UaAaKparos). This work is there entitled, Ilepi irapaSo^ov Ictto- pia. Some absurdities are quoted by Aelian, from a similar work written by a Philon {fl. A. xii. 37). We have no means of determining his age, but as he states that Palaephatus was a favourite of Aristotle, he must have lived subsequently to that philosopher. (Suidas. I. c.) To him has been conjecturally referred the work, De Septem Orbis Miraculis, described under Philon op Byzan- tium. [ No. 2.] ( Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iv. p. 233.) 7. Herennius Byblius. Suidas (s. «. ^iAwv) styles this Philon only Herennius. According to him he was a grammarian, and, if the text be correct, filled the office of consul. But, if Suidas actually made this statement, it must, as is remarked by Kuster (ad locum), have been through oversight. He was born about the time of Nero, and lived to a good old age, having written of the reign of Hadrian. This is all that we know of his life, except on his own authority, as given by Suidas, that he was in his 78th year in the consulship of Herennius Severus, from whose patronage he doubtless received his surname. This consulship, Suidas states, occurred in the 220th Olympiad, the last year of which was A. d. 104. Now, granting that this is the year meant, it has been deemed PHILON. highly improbable that he should have lived to chronicle the reign of Hadrian, who succeeded A. D. 117, when, according to this computation, Philon must have been 91 years old, especially as Hadrian reigned 21 years. The consulship of Herennius Severus unfortunately cannot aid us, for there is no consul of that name about this period ; there is a Catilius Severus, A. d. 120, and Haenius Severus, A. D. 141, and Herennius must have been a consul sujfectus. Scaliger, Tillemont, and Clin- ton, have proposed various ernendations on the text of Suidas, Clinton conjecturally assigning his birth to A. D. 47, and consequently his 78th year to A. D. 124. {Fasti Rom. pp. 31, 1 11). After all, the text of Suidas may be correct enough. He expressly says that the life of Philon was very long protracted, Trapereivev ets fj-UKpou ; and re- garding Hadrian all he says is, he wrote Tvepl rrjs ^aaiKelas, not that he wrote a history of his reign. Eusebius also mentions a Philon, whom he styles Byblius. This Philon Byblius had, accord- ijig to the account of Eusebius, translated the work of a certain ancient Phoenician named Sanchoniathon {'Sayxovuiddwv), which was the result of multifarious inquiries into the Phoenician mythology. Eusebius gives the preface of Philon Byblius, and copious extracts, but not seemingly at first hand. He states that he had found them in the writings of Porphyry. {Praep. Evang. ii. p. 31, &c.). Byblius is evidently a patronymic from Byblus, a Phoenician town. Now Suidas {s. v.^Epfxiinros), states that Hermippus of Berytus, also a Phoenician town, was his disciple. Hence, it has long been held — as there is nothing in date to contradict it — that the Philon Herennius of Suidas, and the Philon Byblius of Porphyry, are one and the same. (See Dod well's Discourse con- cerning Sanchoniathon, printed at the end of Two Letters q/ Advice, 1691.) This opinion will de- serve examination in the inquiry into the writings of Sanchoniathon. Philon was a voluminous writer. In addition, 1. to his work on Hadrian's reign, Suidas men- tions his having written, 2, a work in thirty books on cities and their illustrious men, which was abridged by Aelius Serenus in three books (s. v. 2,€prjvos), which is confirmed in the Etymologicnn Magnum {s. w. *Kpaivoifi, BovKepas) ; 3. a work, riept KT-^aectis Koi iKXoyrjs fiiSKlwv, in 12 books. Of this, the treatise Uep xpVO"roiJ.a6€[as is pro- bably a part (Elym. Mag. s. v. Tepavos). He states that he wrote other works, but does not enumerate them. Eudocia (p. 424) asbigns to him, 4. four books of Epigrams, from which we have perhaps a distich in the Anthologia Graeca. (Ja- cobs, vol. iii. p. ] 10.) There are besides attributed to him, 5. a Commentary on the Metaphysica of Aristotle. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iii. p. 258.) 6. A rhetorical work, 'PT}TopiKdv, perhaps a dic- tionary of rhetoric {Etymol. Mag. s. v. Ae/uLu.) In the Etymologicon Magnum, we have noticed his 'PrinaTtKoi (s. v. 'Aeyres, &c.), and Tlepl "Puixamv StoAelecos [s. v. dhTfip) ; but these seem all di- visions of the same rhetorical work. 7. Tlip ZuKpSpuiv (n^fxaivofxevciov, which is said to be extant in one of the public libraries of Paris. Eustathius quotes extensively from this or the rhetorical work. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. v. p. 718.) Manegius (ad Laertii Anaximenem, p. 71) attributes to him the similar treatise generally ascribed to Ammonius ; and Valckenaer appends to his edition of Ammonias,