Philo's Account of the Ascetics of Egypt.

It is also said that Philo in the reign of Claudius became acquainted at Rome with Peter, who was then preaching there.[1] Nor is this indeed improbable, for the work of which we have spoken, and which was composed by him some years later, clearly contains those rules of the Church which are even to this day observed among us. And since he describes as accurately as possible the life of our ascetics, it is clear that he not only knew, but that he also approved, while he venerated and extolled, the apostolic men of his time, who were as it seems of the Hebrew race, and hence observed, after the manner of the Jews, the most of the customs of the ancients. In the work to which he gave the title, On a Contemplative Life or on Suppliants,[2] after affirming in the first place that he will add to those things which he is about to relate nothing contrary to truth or of his own invention,[3] he says that these men were called Therapeutæ and the women that were with them Therapeutrides.[4] He then adds the reasons for such a name, explaining it from the fact that they applied remedies and healed the souls of those who came to them, by relieving them like physicians, of evil passions, or from the fact that they served and worshiped the Deity in purity and sincerity. Whether Philo himself gave them this name, employing an epithet well suited to their mode of life, or whether the first of them really called themselves so in the beginning, since the name of Christians was not yet everywhere known, we need not discuss here. He bears witness, however, that first of all they renounce their property. When they begin the philosophical[5] mode of life, he says, they give up their goods to their relatives, and then, renouncing all the cares of life, they go forth beyond the walls and dwell in lonely fields and gardens, knowing well that intercourse with people of a different character is unprofitable and harmful. They did this at that time, as seems probable, under the influence of a spirited and ardent faith, practicing in emulation the prophets' mode of life. For in the Acts of the Apostles, a work universally acknowledged as authentic,[6] it is recorded that all the companions of the apostles sold their possessions and their property and distributed to all according to the necessity of each one, so that no one among them was in want. "For as many as were possessors of lands or houses," as the account says, "sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet, so that distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."[7]

Philo bears witness to facts very much like those here described and then adds the following account:[8] "Everywhere in the world is this race[9] found. For it was fitting that both Greek[9a] and Barbarian should share in what is perfectly good. But the race particularly abounds in Egypt, in each of its so-called nomes,[10] and especially about Alexandria. The best men from every quarter emigrate, as if to a colony of the Therapeutæ's fatherland,[11] to a certain very suitable spot which lies above the lake Maria[12] upon a low hill excellently situated on account of its security and the mildness of the atmosphere" And then a little further on, after describing the kind of houses which they had, he speaks as follows concerning their churches, which were scattered about here and there:[13] "In each house there is a sacred apartment which is called a sanctuary and monastery,[14] where, quite alone, they perform the mysteries of the religious life. They bring nothing into it, neither drink nor food, nor any of the other things which contribute to the necessities of the body, but only the laws, and the inspired oracles of the prophets, and hymns and such other things as augment and make perfect their knowledge and piety." And after some other matters he says:[15] "The whole interval, from morning to evening, is for them a time of exercise. For they read the holy Scriptures, and explain the philosophy of their fathers in an allegorical manner, regarding the written words as symbols of hidden truth which is communicated in obscure figures. They have also writings of ancient men, who were the founders of their sect, and who left many monuments of the allegorical method. These they use as models, and imitate their principles." These things seem to have been stated by a man who had heard them expounding their sacred writings. But it is highly probable that the works of the ancients, which he says they had, were the Gospels and the writings of the apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient prophets, such as are contained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many others of Paul's Epistles. Then again he writes as follows concerning the new psalms which they composed: "So that they not only spend their time in meditation, but they also compose songs and hymns to God in every variety of metre and melody, though they divide them, of course, into measures of more than common solemnity." The same book contains an account of many other things, but it seemed necessary to select those facts which exhibit the characteristics of the ecclesiastical mode of life. But if any one thinks that what has been said is not peculiar to the Gospel polity, but that it can be applied to others besides those mentioned, let him be convinced by the subsequent words of the same author, in which, if he is unprejudiced, he will find undisputed testimony on this subject. Philo's words are as follows:[17] "Having laid down temperance as a sort of foundation in the soul, they build upon it the other virtues. None of them may take food or drink before sunset, since they regard philosophizing as a work worthy of the light, but attention to the wants of the body as proper only in the darkness, and therefore assign the day to the former, but to the latter a small portion of the night. But some, in whom a great desire for knowledge dwells, forget to take food for three days; and some are so delighted and feast so luxuriously upon wisdom, which furnishes doctrines richly and without stint, that they abstain even twice as long as this, and are accustomed, after six days, scarcely to take necessary food." These statements of Philo we regard as referring clearly and indisputably to those of our communion. But if after these things any one still obstinately persists in denying the reference, let him renounce his incredulity and be convinced by yet more striking examples, which are to be found nowhere else than in the evangelical religion of the Christians.[18] For they say that there were women also with those of whom we are speaking, and that the most of them were aged virgins[19] who had preserved their chastity, not out of necessity, as some of the priestesses among the Greeks,[20] but rather by their own choice, through zeal and a desire for wisdom. And that in their earnest desire to live with it as their companion they paid no attention to the pleasures of the body, seeking not mortal but immortal progeny, which only the pious soul is able to bear of itself. Then after a little he adds still more emphatically:[21] "They expound the Sacred Scriptures figuratively by means of allegories. For the whole law seems to these men to resemble a living organism, of which the spoken words constitute the body, while the hidden sense stored up within the words constitutes the soul. This hidden meaning has first been particularly studied by this sect, which sees, revealed as in a mirror of names, the surpassing beauties of the thoughts." Why is it necessary to add to these things their meetings and the respective occupations of the men and of the women during those meetings, and the practices which are even to the present day habitually observed by us, especially such as we are accustomed to observe at the feast of the Saviour's passion, with fasting and night watching and study of the divine Word. These things the above-mentioned author has related in his own work, indicating a mode of life which has been preserved to the present time by us alone, recording especially the vigils kept in connection with the great festival, and the exercises performed during those vigils, and the hymns customarily recited by us, and describing how, while one sings regularly in time, the others listen in silence, and join in chanting only the close of the hymns; and how, on the days referred to they sleep on the ground on beds of straw, and to use his own words,[22] "taste no wine at all, nor any flesh, but water is their only drink, and therelish with their bread is salt and hyssop." In addition to this Philo describes the order of dignities which ists among those who carry on the services of the church, mentioning the diaconate, and the office of bishop, which takes the precedence over all the others.[23] But whosoever desires a more accurate knowledge of these matters may get it from the history already cited. But that Philo, when he wrote these things, had in view the first heralds of the Gospel and the customs handed down from the beginning by the apostles, is clear to every one.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Works of Philo[1] that have came down to us.

Copious in language, comprehensive in thought, sublime and elevated in his views of divine Scripture, Philo has produced manifold and various expositions of the sacred books. On the one hand, he expounds in order the events recorded in Genesis in the books to which he gives the title Allegories of the Sacred Laws;[2] on the other hand, he makes successive divisions-of the chapters in the Scriptures which are the subject of investigation, and gives objections and solutions, in the books which he quite suitably calls Questions and Answers an Genesis and Exodus.[3] There are, besides these,[2] treatises expressly worked out by him on certain subjects, such as the two books On Agriculture,[4] and the same number On Drunkenness'[5] and some others distinguished by different titles corresponding to the contents of each; for instance, Concerning the things which the Sober Mind desires and execrates,[6] On the Confusion of Tongues,[7] On Flight and Discovery,[8] On Assembly for the sake of Instruction,[9] On the question, Who is heir to things divine?' or On the division of things into equal and unequal,[10] and still further the work On the three Virtues which with others have been described by Moses.[11] In addition to these is the work On those whose Names have been changed and why they have been changed,[12] in which he says that he had written also two hooks On Covenants? And there is also a work of his On Emigration,[14] and one On the life of a Wise Man made perfect in Righteousness, or On unwritten taws;[15] and still further the work On Giants or On the Immutability of God,[16] and a first, second, third, fourth and fifth book On the proposition, that Dreams according to Moses are sent by God.[17] These are the books on Genesis that have come down to us. But on Exodus we are acquainted with the first, second, third, fourth and fifth books of Questions and Answers,[18] also with that On the Tabernacle,[19] and that On the ten Commandments,[20] and the four books On the laws which refer especially to the principal divisions of the ten Commandments,[21] and another On animals intended for sacrifice and On the kinds of sacrifice,[22] and another On the rewards fixed in the law for the good, and on the punishments and curses fixed for the wicked.[23] In addition to all these there are extant also some single-volumed works of his; as for instance, the work On Providence,[24] and the book composed by him On the Jews,[25] and The Statesman;[26] and still further, Alexander, or On the possession of reason by the irrational animals?: Besides these there is a work On the proposition that every wicked man is a slave, to which is subjoined the work On the proposition that every goad man is free.[28] After these was composed by him the work On the contemplative life, or On suppliants,[29] from which we have drawn the facts concerning the life of the apostolic men; and still further, the Interpretation of the Hebrew names in the law and in the prophets are said to be the result of his industry.[30] And he is said to have read in the presence of the whole Roman Senate during the reign of Claudius[31] the work which he had written, when he came to Rome under Coins, concerning Coins' hatred of the gods, and to which, with ironical reference to its character, he had given the title On the Virtues.[32] And his discourses were so much admired as to be deemed worthy of a place in the libraries. At this time, while Paul was completing his journey "from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum,"[33] Claudius drove the Jews out of Rome; and Aquila and Priscilla, leaving Rome with the other Jews, came to Asia, and there abode with the apostle Paul, who was confirming the churches of that region whose foundations he had newly laid. The sacred book of the Acts informs us also of these things.[34]

CHAPTER XIX.

The Calamity which befell the Jews in Jerusalem an the Day of the Passover.

While Claudius was still emperor, it happened that so great a tumult and disturbance took place in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, that thirty thousand of those Jews alone who were forcibly crowded together at the gate of the temple perished,[1] being trampled under foot by one another. Thus the festival became a season of mourning for all the nation, and there was weeping in every house. These things are related literally[2] by Josephus.

But Claudius appointed Agrippa,[3] son of Agrippa, king of the Jews, having sent Felix[4] as procurator of the whole country of Samaria and Galilee, and of the land called Perea.[5] And after he had reigned thirteen years and eight months a he died, and left Nero as his successor in the empire.

CHAPTER XX.

The Events which took Place in Jerusalem during the Reign of Nero.

Josephus again, in the twentieth book of his Antiquities, relates the quarrel which arose among the priests during the reign of Nero, while Felix was procurator of Judea. His words are as follows[1]: "There arose a quarrel between the high priests on the one hand and the priests and leaders of the people of Jerusalem on the other.[2] And each of them collected a body of the boldest and most restless men, and put himself at their head, and whenever they met they hurled invectives and stones at each other. And there was no one that would interpose; but these things were done at will as if in a city destitute of a ruler. And so great was the shamelessness and audacity of the high priests that they dared to send their servants to the threshing-floors to seize the tithes due to the priests; and thus those of the priests that were poor were seen to be perishing of want. In this way did the violence of the factions prevail over all justice." And the same author again relates that about the same time there sprang up in Jerusalem a certain kind of robbers,[3]"who by day," as he says, "and in the middle of the city slew those who met them." For, especially at the feasts, they mingled with the multitude, and with short swords, which they concealed under their garments, they stabbed the most distinguished men. And when they fell, the murderers themselves were among those who expressed their indignation. And thus on account of the confidence which was reposed in them by all, they remained undiscovered. The first that was slain by them was Jonathan the high priest;[4] and after him many were killed every day, until the fear became worse than the evil itself, each one, as in battle, hourly expecting death.

CHAPTER XXI.

The Egyptian, who is mentioned also in the Acts of the Apostles.

After other matters he proceeds as follows:[1] "But the Jews were afflicted with a greater plague than these by the Egyptian false prophet.[2] For there appeared in the land an impostor who aroused faith in himself as a prophet, and collected about thirty thousand of those whom he had deceived, and led them from the desert to the so-called Mount of Olives whence he was prepared to enter Jerusalem by force and to overpower the Roman garrison and seize the government of the people, using those who made the attack with him as bodyguards. But Felix anticipated his attack, and went out to meet him with the Roman legionaries, and all the people joined in the defense, so that when the battle was fought the Egyptian fled with a few followers, but the most of them were destroyed or taken captive." Josephus relates these events in the second book of his History.[3] But it is worth while comparing the account of the Egyptian given here with that contained in the Acts of the Apostles. In the time of Felix it was said to Paul by the centurion in Jerusalem, when the multitude of the Jews raised a disturbance against the apostle, "Art not thou he Who before these days made an uproar, and led out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?"[4] These are the events which took place in the time of Felix.[5]

CHAPTER XXII.

Paul having been sent bound from Judea to Rome, made his Defense, and was acquitted of every Charge.

Festus[1] was sent by Nero to be Felix's successor. Under him Paul, having made his defense, was sent bound to Rome[2] Aristarchus was with him, whom he also somewhere in his epistles quite naturally calls his fellow-prisoner.[3] And Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles,[4] brought his history to a close at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without restraint.[5] Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching,[6] and that upon coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.[7] In this imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy,[8] in which he mentions his first defense and his impending death. But hear his testimony on these matters: "At my first answer," he says, "no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."[9] He plainly indicates in these words that on the former occasion, in order that the preaching might be fulfilled by him, he was rescued from the mouth of the lion, referring, in this expression, to Nero, as is probable on account of the latter's cruelty. He did not therefore afterward add the similar statement, "He will rescue me from the mouth of the lion"; for he saw in the spirit that his end would not be long delayed. Wherefore he adds to the words, "And he delivered me from the mouth of the lion," this sentence: "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom,"[10] indicating his speedy martyrdom; which he also foretells still more clearly in the same epistle, when he writes, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand."[11] In his second epistle to Timothy, moreover, he indicates that Luke was with him when he wrote,[12] but at his first defense not even he.[13] Whence it is probable that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles at that time, continuing his history down to the period when he was with Paul.[14] But these things have been adduced by us to show that Paul's martyrdom did not take place at the time of that Roman sojourn which Luke records. It is probable indeed that as Nero was more disposed to mildness in the beginning, Paul's defense of his doctrine was more easily received; but that when he had advanced to the commission of lawless deeds of daring, he made the apostles as well as others the subjects of his attacks.[15]