Some Remarks on Musical Symbolism of Philo’s Hermeneutics in “De Posteritate Caini”

Georgi Shavulev

doi:10.32591/coas.ojsp.0502.03063s

Abstract

Philo of Alexandria can hardly be called a philosopher, especially given a certain speculative or systematic philosophy. But also, contrary to the prevailing opinion in contemporary research, it could hardly be defined as an exegete, especially given the modern content of the term. At the same time, the impression remains that the most often associated concept with his name – allegory (allegorical interpretation) is usually perceived too narrowly, and not enough attention is paid to the actual literary and hermeneutical skills of the author. Modern translations of his works often do not reflect the symbolism used by Philo at all, as is the case with music imagery in the opening paragraph of De Posteritate Caini. The musical theme and symbolism in Philo's work undoubtedly deserve a special and thorough study, which would go far beyond the scope of this article.

Highlights

Philo of Alexandria can hardly be called a philosopher, especially given a certain speculative or systematic philosophy
The impression remains that the most often associated concept with his name – allegory is usually perceived too narrowly, and not enough attention is paid to the actual literary and hermeneutical skills of the author. Modern translations of his works often do not reflect the symbolism used by Philo at all, as is the case with music imagery in the opening paragraph of De Posteritate Caini
The present attempt is not to explore the musical theme itself, but to present how Philo uses the language and symbolism of music in his hermeneutics, relating it to other ideas and images. He does this explicitly as in the two chapters mentioned above, and implicitly, for example, in the opening paragraph of the treatise. This introductory paragraph, which is important for understanding Philo’s allegorical interpretation, in turn has its connections in the tissue of the text and its structure with such key passages as the Post. 12-15, 87-88, 103-111 precisely through the symbolic language of music

Summary

Introduction

Philo of Alexandria can hardly be called a philosopher, especially given a certain speculative or systematic philosophy. Modern translations of his works often do not reflect the symbolism used by Philo at all, as is the case with music imagery in the opening paragraph of De Posteritate Caini.

Results

Conclusion