Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/321

Rh PIIILON. 1739, a treatise by Eranius Philon, De Diferentia Signijicationis, which will be found along with the treatise of Amnionius at the end of Scapula's Lexicon. (See Valckenaer's Preface to Amnio- nius.) This he thinks to be the work of a later writer, who has appropriated, and that incorrectly, Philon's name. 8. Ilept larpiKav^ on the autho- rity of Stephanus Byzantinus (s. v. Kvpros). This Fabricius thinks to have contained a history of eminent physicians, and he deeply regrets its loss (vol. xiii. p. 367, ed. vet.). 9. 'laTupia irapd- 5o|ou, in three books. (Euseb. F. E. p. 32.) 10. A work on the Jewa. (Euseb. P.E. p. 4C.) 11. 'E^wStajj/ vwofxvtJiuLaTa. (Euseb. P. E. p. 41.) Vossius {De Hist. Graec. p. 292, ed. Westermann) inadvertently attributes the last three to Porphyry, and has been partially followed by Fourmont {Re- Jkxions siir l Histoire des Anciens PeupleSy vol. i. p. 21). These three must be assigned, on the au- thority of Eusebius, to Herennius Philon, if he is the same as Philon Byblius, who alone is men- tioned by Eusebius, just as the former name alone, or standing without Herennius, is found elsewhere. (See Salmasius, Plln. Exercit. p. 866.) Lastly it may be mentioned that Vossius (ibid. p. 254) attri- butes to him the AlSioiriKa, which with more proba- bility he elsewhere assigns (p. 486) to Philon the geographer. But the work which has made his name most celebrated in modem times, and of which alone we have any fragments of consequence, is the translation of the Phoenician work already referred to. For the controversy regarding the genuineness and authenticity of this work, see Sanchoniathon. 8. Metapontinus, a musician and poet. (Steph. Byz. s. v. MirairovTiop). 9. Monk. An ascetic treatise, bearing the name of Philon Monachus, whom Cave {H. L. p. 176, Diss.) deems to be much later than the other ecclesiastical writers of the same name, is preserved in the library of Vienna {Cod. Theol. 325, No. ] 5). It is entitled, Contra Pulchriiudinem Feminarum. 10. The Pythagorean. Clemens Alexandrinus {Strom, i. p. 305), and Sozomenes (i. 12), mention Philon 6 IivQay6piios. It is probable from their language that they both mean by the person so designated Philon Judaeus. Jonsius (ibid. iii. c. 4, p. 17) is strongly of opinion that Philon the elder, and this Philon mentioned by Clemens, are the same. Fabricius, who once held this opinion, was led to change his views (Fabric. Bibl. vol. i. p. 862), and tacitly assumes (vol. iv. p. 738) that Sozomenes indicated Philon Judaeus by this epi- thet. 11. Rhetorician and Philosopher. Cave, Giacomellus, and Ernesti, are of opinion that this is no other than Philon Carpasius. His era agrees with this, for the philosopher is quoted by Atha- nasius Sinaita, who flourished about a. d. 561. We need not be startled at the term philosopher as applied to an ecclesiastic. This was not uncommon. Michael Psellus was termed the prince of philo- sophers, and Nicetas was surnamed, in the same way as Philon, pr^rwp koI (piKoor6<pos. Besides, Polybius, in the life of Epiphanius alluded to above, expressly calls Philon of Carpasia KX-qpiKov diro pTjTo'pwj', which Tillemont and others erroneously understand to mean a man who has changed from the profession of the law to that of the church. Cave shows that the p-^jwp held an office in the church itself* somewhat analogous to our professor- PHILON. 309 ship of ecclesiastical history. Our only knowledge of Philon, under this name, whether it be Philon Carpasius or not, is from an inedited work of Anastasius Sinaita, preserved in the library of Vienna and the Bodleian. Glycas [Ayinal. p. 282, &c.), it is true, quotes as if from Philon, but he has only borrowed verbatim and without acknow- ledgment, from Anastasius. The work of Anas- tasius referred to, is entitled by Cave, Demon- strutio Historica de Magna et Angelica summi Sa- cerdotis Dignitate. Pinion's work, therein quoted, is styled a Church history, but, if we may judge from the only specimen of it we have, we need hardly regret its loss. It consists of a tale re- garding a monk, that being excommunicated by his bishop, and having afterwards suffered martyrdom, he was brought in his coffin to the church, but could not rest till the bishop, warned in a dream, had formally absolved him. (Cave, Hist. Lift. p. 176, ed. Genevae, 1720 ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 420.) 12. Senior. Josephus {Apion. i. 23), when enumerating the heathen writers who had treated of Jewish history, mentions together Demetrius Phalereus, Philon, and Eupolemon. Philon he calls tlie elder (d TrpecrSvTepos), probably to distin- guish him from Philon Judaeus, and he cannot mean Herennius Philon, who lived after his time. Cle- mens Alexandrinus {Stromal, i. p. 146) also couples together the names of Philon the elder and De- metrius, stating that their lists of Jewish kings differed. Hence Vossius thinks that both authors refer to the same person. {De Hist. Graec. p. 486, ed. Westermann.) And in this Jonsius agrees with him, while he notices the error of Josephus, in giving Demetrius the surname of Phalereus. {De Script. Hist. Phil. iii. 4. p. 17.) As Huetiiis {Demonstrat. Evangel, p. 62) was of opinion that the apocryphal Book of Wisdom was written by this Philon, he was necessitated to consider him as an Hellenistic Jew, who, unskilled in the ori- ginal Hebrew, had it translated, and then ex- panded it, in language peculiar to his class. {Ibid. pp. 62, 246, &c.) Fabricius thinks that the Philon mentioned by Josephus, may have been a Gentile, and that a Philon different from either Philon Judaeus, or senior, was the author of the Book of Wisdom. Eusebius {Praep. Evangel, ix. 20, 24) quotes fifteen obscure hexameters from Philon, without giving hint of who he is, and merely citing them as from Alexander Polyhistor. These evi- dently form part of a history of the Jews in verse, " and were written either by a Jew, in the character of a heathen, as Fabricius hints is possible, or by a heathen acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures. This is, in all probability, the author, and the work referred to by Josephus and Clemens Alexan- drinus. Of course the author must have lived be- fore the time of Alexander Polyhistor, who came to Rome, B. c. 83. It is doubtful whether he is the same writer with the geographer of the same name, mentioned above. 1 3. Of Tarsus, a deacon. He was a companion of Ignatius of Antioch, and accompanied the martyr from the East to Rome, A. D. 107. He is twice mentioned in the epistles of Ignatius {ad Philadelph, c. 1 1, arf Smymaeos, c. 1 3). He is supposed to have written, along with Rheus Agathopus, the Martyrium Jqnatii, for which see Ignatius, in this work. Vol. il. p. 566, b. (Comp. Cave, Hist. LUt. p. 28, ed. Genevae, 1720.) X 3