„Pabėgimas į tėvynę“: egzegetinės strategijos istorija

Abstract

The article provides a survey of the results of several of my studies published in French and dedicated to the role of Philo of Alexandria’s exegetical works in the history of philosophical exegesis. My aim is to prove two statements which contradict traditional views among the historians of philosophy, namely: a) that the exegete of the Jewish Scriptures Philo of Alexandria (ca 25 BC – 45 AD) should be considered as one of those who initiated philosophical interpretation of non-philosophical texts; b) that the philosopher Plotinus (ca 205–270), who has studied in Alexandria for a long period of time, probably knew Philo of Alexandria’s exegetical works. The investigation is based on the analysis of the works of Philo of Alexandria and of Plotinus, and of other ancient texts, with a special attention to the commentaries of Greek authors who transpose the physical movement into an allegory of the journey of the soul. I show that the phrase from Plato’s Theaetetus which became famous in the Platonic tradition and where Socrates says that “to flight from here” to the pure divine world means “to become like God”, and “to become like God” means “to become righteous and holy and wise” (176a–b), provided a perfect ground for the genesis of such considerations. In the Theaetetus, the discussion is on “becoming like”, but one could also speak about other experiences of approaching God (for example, “turning to”). In the history of exegetical strategies, the main point is that physical movement is understood as a journey of the soul. The influence of the text of the Theaetetus is felt in the famous passage of Plotinus’ tractate “On Beauty” (En. I, 6) which exalts the soul’s“flight” to its“true fatherland”. It is also clear that Plotinus is interested more in the exegetical formula found in Plato’s dialogue than in the character of Odysseus himself who was not very popular in the Platonic tradition. [...].