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Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database



9251
Philo Of Alexandria, That The Worse Attacks The Better, 95


nanNow here, if we look merely at the words, the expression does not appear to be reasonable; but if we have regard to the faculties in the soul, then its consistency is discovered. For as long as he who scatters abroad and dissipates the opinions about good things, namely, Pharaoh, is vigorous in us, and appears in a sound and healthy state, if indeed we can say that any wicked man is in such a condition, we receive pleasure, driving temperance away from our borders. But when he loses his strength, and in a manner dies, he who has been the cause of men's living in a filthy and lascivious manner, then we, fixing our eyes on modesty of life, bewail and groan over ourselves on account of our former way of living; because the, honouring pleasure before virtue, we joined a mortal life to an immortal one; and the law taking pity on our continued lamentation, gently receives our suppliant souls, and easily drives away the Egyptian calamities which are brought upon them by the passions. XXVI.


Intertexts (texts cited often on the same page as the searched text):

10 results
1. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 12.9-12.20, 15.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)

12.9. וַיִּסַּע אַבְרָם הָלוֹךְ וְנָסוֹעַ הַנֶּגְבָּה׃ 12.11. וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיב לָבוֹא מִצְרָיְמָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אִשָּׁה יְפַת־מַרְאֶה אָתְּ׃ 12.12. וְהָיָה כִּי־יִרְאוּ אֹתָךְ הַמִּצְרִים וְאָמְרוּ אִשְׁתּוֹ זֹאת וְהָרְגוּ אֹתִי וְאֹתָךְ יְחַיּוּ׃ 12.13. אִמְרִי־נָא אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ לְמַעַן יִיטַב־לִי בַעֲבוּרֵךְ וְחָיְתָה נַפְשִׁי בִּגְלָלֵךְ׃ 12.14. וַיְהִי כְּבוֹא אַבְרָם מִצְרָיְמָה וַיִּרְאוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת־הָאִשָּׁה כִּי־יָפָה הִוא מְאֹד׃ 12.15. וַיִּרְאוּ אֹתָהּ שָׂרֵי פַרְעֹה וַיְהַלְלוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה וַתֻּקַּח הָאִשָּׁה בֵּית פַּרְעֹה׃ 12.16. וּלְאַבְרָם הֵיטִיב בַּעֲבוּרָהּ וַיְהִי־לוֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר וַחֲמֹרִים וַעֲבָדִים וּשְׁפָחֹת וַאֲתֹנֹת וּגְמַלִּים׃ 12.17. וַיְנַגַּע יְהוָה אֶת־פַּרְעֹה נְגָעִים גְּדֹלִים וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ עַל־דְּבַר שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם׃ 12.18. וַיִּקְרָא פַרְעֹה לְאַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לִּי לָמָּה לֹא־הִגַּדְתָּ לִּי כִּי אִשְׁתְּךָ הִוא׃ 12.19. לָמָה אָמַרְתָּ אֲחֹתִי הִוא וָאֶקַּח אֹתָהּ לִי לְאִשָּׁה וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה אִשְׁתְּךָ קַח וָלֵךְ׃ 15.15. וְאַתָּה תָּבוֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶיךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם תִּקָּבֵר בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה׃ 12.9. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South." 12.10. And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land." 12.11. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: ‘Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon." 12.12. And it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will keep alive." 12.13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.’" 12.14. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair." 12.15. And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house." 12.16. And he dealt well with Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels." 12.17. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife." 12.18. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said: ‘What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?" 12.19. Why saidst thou: She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife; now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.’" 12.20. And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him; and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had." 15.15. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age."
2. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 3.25, 3.32, 4.1, 5.18 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)

3.25. For there appeared to them a magnificently caparisoned horse, with a rider of frightening mien, and it rushed furiously at Heliodorus and struck at him with its front hoofs. Its rider was seen to have armor and weapons of gold.' 3.32. And the high priest, fearing that the king might get the notion that some foul play had been perpetrated by the Jews with regard to Heliodorus, offered sacrifice for the man's recovery.' 4.1. The previously mentioned Simon, who had informed about the money against his own country, slandered Onias, saying that it was he who had incited Heliodorus and had been the real cause of the misfortune.' 5.18. But if it had not happened that they were involved in many sins, this man would have been scourged and turned back from his rash act as soon as he came forward, just as Heliodorus was, whom Seleucus the king sent to inspect the treasury.'
3. Philo of Alexandria, On Drunkenness, 111 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

111. And Moses indeed, in the same manner, when he saw the king of Egypt, that arrogant man with his six hundred chariots, that is to say, with the six carefully arranged motions of the organic body, and with the governors who were appointed to manage them, who, while none of all created things are by nature calculated to stand still, think nevertheless that they may look upon everything as solidly settled and admitting of no alteration; when he, I say, saw that this king had met with the punishment due to his impiety, and that the people, who were practisers of virtue, had escaped from the attacks of their enemies, and had been saved by mighty power beyond their expectation, he then sang a hymn to God as a just and true judge, beginning a hymn in a manner most becoming and most exactly suited to the events that had happened, because the horse and his rider he had thrown into the Sea;" having utterly destroyed that mind which rode upon the irrational impulses of that four-footed and restive animal, passion, and had become an ally, and defender, and protector of the seeing soul, so as to bestow upon it complete safety.
4. Philo of Alexandria, On The Migration of Abraham, 128 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

128. And this is the end which is celebrated among those who study philosophy in the best manner, namely, to live in accordance with nature. And this takes place when the mind, entering into the path of virtue, treads in the steps of right reason, and follows God, remembering his commandments, and at all times and in all places confirming them both by word and deed;
5. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 3 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

3. 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 world 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.
6. Philo of Alexandria, On Dreams, 2.277 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

2.277. But some have not only put themselves forward as rivals to human virtue, but have proceeded to such a pitch of folly as to oppose themselves also to divine virtue. Therefore Pharaoh, the king of the land of Egypt, is spoken of as the leader of the company which is devoted to the passions; for it is said to the prophet, "Behold, he is going forth to the river, and thou shalt stand in the way to meet him, on the bank of the River;
7. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.34-1.36 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

1.34. for, as I have said before, the Jews were strangers in Egypt, the founders of their race having migrated from Babylon and the upper satrapies in the time of the famine, by reason of their want of food, and come and settled in Egypt, and having in a manner taken refuge like suppliants in the country as in a sacred asylum, fleeing for protection to the good faith of the king and the compassion of the inhabitants; 1.35. for strangers, in my opinion, should be looked upon as refugees, and as the suppliants of those who receive them in their country; and, besides, being suppliants, these men were likewise sojourners in the land, and friends desiring to be admitted to equal honours with the citizens, and neighbours differing but little in their character from original natives. 1.36. The men, therefore, who had left their homes and come into Egypt, as if they were to dwell in that land as in a second country in perfect security, the king of the country reduced to slavery, and, as if he had taken them prisoners by the laws of war, or had bought them from masters in whose house they had been bred, he oppressed them and treated them as slaves, though they were not only free men, but also strangers, and suppliants, and sojourners, having no respect for nor any awe of God, who presides over the rights of free men, and of strangers, and of suppliants, and of hospitality, and who beholds all such actions as his.
8. Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation, 3.13, 3.38, 3.129-3.131 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

9. Philo of Alexandria, That The Worse Attacks The Better, 94 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

94. But that all these things should happen when the king of Egypt dies, should be a most strange thing; for it would be natural that when the tyrant died, all those who have been tyrannised over by him should rejoice and exult; but at that time they are said to groan. "For after many days the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel Groaned.
10. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of The Philosophers, 7.87-7.88 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)

7.87. This is why Zeno was the first (in his treatise On the Nature of Man) to designate as the end life in agreement with nature (or living agreeably to nature), which is the same as a virtuous life, virtue being the goal towards which nature guides us. So too Cleanthes in his treatise On Pleasure, as also Posidonius, and Hecato in his work On Ends. Again, living virtuously is equivalent to living in accordance with experience of the actual course of nature, as Chrysippus says in the first book of his De finibus; for our individual natures are parts of the nature of the whole universe. 7.88. And this is why the end may be defined as life in accordance with nature, or, in other words, in accordance with our own human nature as well as that of the universe, a life in which we refrain from every action forbidden by the law common to all things, that is to say, the right reason which pervades all things, and is identical with this Zeus, lord and ruler of all that is. And this very thing constitutes the virtue of the happy man and the smooth current of life, when all actions promote the harmony of the spirit dwelling in the individual man with the will of him who orders the universe. Diogenes then expressly declares the end to be to act with good reason in the selection of what is natural. Archedemus says the end is to live in the performance of all befitting actions.


Subjects of this text:

subject book bibliographic info
abraham, the intellect represented by Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
antiochus, iv, persecution Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
antiochus, n. Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
cleanthes Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
cosmos, gods house/temple Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
dionysius of halicarnassus Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
egypt, allegorical interpretation of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
egypt, as land of the body Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
egypt, literal interpretation of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
egypt, negative depiction of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
egypt, sojourn in Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
etymologies, of abraham and abram Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
etymologies, of sarah Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
famine Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
felicity Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
heraclitus of efese Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
israel Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
justice Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
marriage, allegorical interpretation of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
marriage, types of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
niehoff, m. Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
onias Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
passions, freedom of/impassibility Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
pharaoh, as body-loving Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
pharaoh, as inhospitable Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
pharaoh Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
plato/platonic Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
polybius Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
rationalism Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
right reason Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
road of moral insight/virtue/wisdom Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
sarah, as virtue Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
sarah, etymology of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
senses, five' Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
shechemites Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
simon (of heliodorus story) Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
specialists in physical philosophy Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
stoa/stoic/stoicism, aim of life Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
stoa/stoic/stoicism, apatheia Geljon and Runia, Philo of Alexandria: On Planting: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2019) 165
temple Bickerman and Tropper, Studies in Jewish and Christian History (2007) 462
νοῦς Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
φυσικός Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238
ἀρετή Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 238