Folia Theologica 17. (2006)
László Perendy: A Christian Platonist
A CHRISTIAN PLATONIST 189 In his doctrine of the elements he tries to reconcile the Aristotelian model with the theory of the four elements, regarding aether as the purest kind of fire. He also imakes an attempt to reconcile Aristotle and the Stoics on the question of the circular movement of the universe. Philo fights against the concept of a void. His vacillation in the question of how many elements the cosmos consists of is not unique: it was often present in contemporary philosophy.49 As for the immortality of the soul, later an important topic for Justin, he seems to accept it and he opposes the Stoics in this question. But sometimes he also seems to imply that only the souls of the wise enjoy immortality, which doctrine goes back to Chrysippus, who wanted to preserve their souls until the next conflagration. Philo does not mention such a limitation. We can conclude from other allusions that in his mind the souls of the majority of people are not immortal.50 48 Ibid. 168-170; cf. also J.-B. FREY, Dieu et le monde, d'après les conceptions juives au temps de Jésus-Christ, in Revue biblique 13 (1916) 33-60. M. HARL, Cosmologie grecque et représentations juives dans l’oeuvre de Philon d’Alexandrie, in Philon d'Alexandrie (Colloques Nationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon, 11-15 Septembre 1966), Paris, 1967, 189-205. 49 J. DILLON, o. c. 170-171. See also: U. FRÜCHTEL, Die kosmologischen Vorstellungen bei Philo von Alexandrien. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Genesisexegese, Leiden, 1968. B. MONDIN, L'universo fdosofico de Filone Alessandrino, in Scuola Cattolica 96 (1968) 371-394. 50 J. DILLON, o. c. 176-178. The literature on Philo is extremely rich, and there are references to creation and cosmology in most of the works. The following ones are especially useful for further research: E. BRÉHIER, Les idées philosophiques et religieuses de Philon d'Alexandrie, Paris, 1907. A.-H. CF1ROUST, A Fragment of Aristotle's On Philosophy in Philo of Alexandria, De Opificio Mundi I. 7, in Divus Thomas 77 (1974) 224-235. J. DANIÉLOU, Philon d’Alexandrie, Paris, 1958. J. MARTIN, Philon, Paris, 1907. M. MINITTI Colonna, Sul De aeternitate mundi di Filone Alessandrino, in Nicolaus 1 (1979) 61-89. A. S. PEASE, Caeli enarrant, in Harvard Theological Review 34 (1941) 163-200. D. T. RUNIA, Philo's De aeternitate mundi. The problems of its interpretation, in Vigiliae Christianae 35 (1981) 105-151.
