Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

RESURRECTION OF CULTURED HEATHENISM139be a member of the whole race of man, and a portionof the world. And in his treatment of slavery herequires it to be considered as an external lot whichdoes not derogate from the regard due to the commonhuman nature * in the slave.1 This, ' it will be remembered,was one of the points in which Seneca is so farsuperior to his predecessors, and in this he had beenpreceded by Philo. If we could suppose him tohave been familiar with Philo's works it would solve aportion of the difficult problem respecting the sourcefrom which he derived a moral tone so little borneout by his own life. But while there is in the above-mentioned points an agreement in the two thinkers,there is in the mental attitude and spirit of the mena total dissimilarity. Philo's view of everything inman's life is dependent on his conception of God. Hehas an -intense regard and affection for Him as hisown God, a person for a person. He annihilateshimself before God's holiness, and admits that he isnothing without God's grace, and yearns for His communion.These sentiments are absolutely strangeto Seneca, and to the whole course of Greek philosophy2 down to his time. And this is the more remarkablein Seneca, because, as he tells us himself,3he had imbibed a love for Pythagoras and a regard forsome portions of Pythagorean doctrine, such as theabstaining from animal food and the transmigrationof souls, from his teacher Sotion, an Alexandrian,who must have been just of the same age as Philo.1 Zeller, v. 353.2 As Zeller admits, v. 360. "Durch diese Satze, welche mit seinerganzen Denkart so eng verwachsen sind, trennt sich Philo's religiosePhilosophic ganz entschieden von der reinen, in sich befriedigtenWissenschaft des hellenischen Alterthums."3 Epist. cviii. sec. 17-22.