Augustine

Abstract This chapter investigates Augustine’s reception of Philonic themes and the extent to which Augustine read Philo, with attention to possible direct and indirect channels. It asks whether Augustine read Philo and in which language, Greek or Latin, especially in the case of the only named mention and discussion of Philo in Augustine. The transmission of Philo’s ideas to Augustine was most probably mediated by Origen and Ambrose. Origen’s influence on Augustine was significant in his anti-Manichaean phase already; in this phase Augustine’s philosophical theology was closest to Origen’s. Not accidentally, Augustine’s only explicit mention of Philo comes from his anti-Manichaean phase. Augustine probably read the beginning of Philo’s Quaestiones in Genesim 1, and Origen likely prompted him to read it. Origen and Ambrose facilitated Augustine’s knowledge of Philo in other respects too. Numerous clues suggest that Origen conveyed to Augustine many Philonic ideas and attracted his attention to specific issues. Several examples and new arguments are offered.