Zagłada filozofów helleńskich w Imperium Romanum – obraz mędrców w relacji Sokratesa z Konstantynopola i Hermiasza Sozomena

Abstract

Socrates of Constantinople, the author of the Ecclesiastical History, distin­guishes between two types of philosophy: one practised by the use of words and the second reflected in deeds. The reason why the latter was considered by Socrates to be the true philosophy was the fact that it was the way to find God. That, at the same time, was the most important exercise for philosophers. According to histo­rians even an ordinary uneducated man, could also practise philosophy. However, Socrates believed that having Hellenic education with philosophical studies, was extremely useful for stopping the paganism, in particular. What is more, it enabled speech enhancement and development of the ability to think logically. He pointed out that a lot of sages were near the discovery of God. But he was aware of the existence of false philosophers with the emperor Julian the Apostate, who, un­like true philosophers, was still subject to the passions. By impersonating of the true philosophers they were cheaters and easily changed their views, in addition professed pagan cults. Sozomen also distinguished two types of philosophy: the Hellenic philosophy and the philosophy of church. Unlike Socrates, Sozomen did not attribute any value to the classical philosophy. He did not divide the philoso­phers into true and false. It seems that the work of Sozomen contains a crucial message. As the period of pagans quickly passed so did their wisdom and those who loved them. Thus, information about the extermination of Hellenistic phi­losophers was included in his Ecclesiastical History. They were replaced with Christian philosophers gathered in the monastic movement developing vigorously.