has been given to the literary structure and the content of these treatises in
an effort to explain their idiosyncrasies. New editions and translations
have been published — some of the works, such asAbout Animals,had
never been translated into a modern language. Scholars have also ad-
vanced specific reasons why these works appeared in their particular for-
mat and why they should be considered genuine.
The philosophical works are important in their own right, because
they show that Philo was well acquainted with certain aspects of Hellenis-
tic philosophy. They also provide valuable insight into the contemporary
culture and the study of ancient philosophy in the first century. The five
treatises deal with a variety of subjects that were common topics in ancient
philosophy of the time.On the Eternity of the World (De aeternitate mundi)
The main proposition in this work is the question of whether the world is
destructible or not. The question is also raised whether the world came
into existence or was uncreated. The work is typical of its time in linking
the notions of coming into existence and ceasing to exist.
The treatise consists of an introduction, followed by a sequence of ar-
guments which present various, often opposing, philosophical views. Philo
offers arguments in favor of one or another position, although these may
not necessarily reflect his personal views and may even be contrary to his
own position. One section of the work is no longer extant, and there has
been much speculation about what it would have contained. The most
probable solution seems to be that the missing part reflected Philo’s own
position on the question of the indestructibility of the world.
After the introduction, in which he defines the meanings of the words
for “world” and “destruction,” Philo lists three main positions among
philosophical schools: (1) The cosmos (or a plurality of worlds) is created
and destructible, a view ascribed to Democritus, Epicurus, and most of the
Stoics. Philo adds that the Stoics accept God as cause of the genesis of the
world but not of its destruction; this is supposedly an editorial comment
on Philo’s part. (2) The cosmos is uncreated and indestructible — the Ar-
istotelian position and that of certain Pythagoreans. Philo agrees with Ar-
istotle on the perfection of the cosmos and its indestructibility, but dis-
agrees that the world is uncreated. (3) The cosmos is created and
indestructible—aviewattributedtoPlato and possibly Hesiod before274sterling, runia, niehoff, and van den hoekEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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