Abstract
In the times of revived religious yearning which also invaded the philosophical systems and affected the adherents of Platonism, a new religion arose in Palestine whence it spread not only among the Jews but also through the Graeco-Roman world. The founder of this religion, Jesus Christ, did not encounter antique culture, he knew only the might of the Roman state when its representative, Pontius Pilatus, made him die. The helplessness of the antique philosophy of those times was revealed in Pilatus’ question to Jesus “what is truth?”, which his followers answered with firm faith by his words worthy of a leader: “I am the path and truth and life”. The first contacts of Jesus’ teaching with the components of Greek culture began with the activities of the apostle Paul, the most eminent spirit of hellenized Jewry.
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References
Testimonies are quoted by J. Geffcken, Zwei griechische Apologeten (Leipzig-Berlin 1907), p. 244.
This is how Plato’s ideas are accepted in the Czech literature for example by Cyril Jež, Aristotelova kritika Platónovy nauky o ideách (= Aristotle’s Criticism of Plato’s Doctrine of the Ideas), compendium of the Gymnasium in Prague-Bubeneč 1915/6.
Thus for example Minucius Felix, Octavius 19, 14; Tertullianus, Apolog. 46, 9; Clement Alex., Protrepticus 6, 68; Lactantius. Div. inst. 1, 8, 1; Eusebius, Theoph. 226, 12 Gressm.; Zacharius, Ammon, p. 194 Boiss.
Thus for example Caecilius in Minucius Felix’ Octavius 11,7; Octavius’ answer ibidem 34, 10 seq.
The Christian attitude to Creek gymnastics is expressed by Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria, in his The Defence of the True Christian Religion 6, 208 (Migne P. G. 76, 817 seq.).
Friedrich Michelis, Die Philosophie Piatons in ihrer inneren Beziehung zur geoffenbarten Wahrheit(Ist Vol. Münster 1859),p.111.
William Ralph Inge, The Platonic Tradition in English Religious Thought (New York 1926) p. 11–13, attempts to prove Plato’s influence upon Paul, from these and many other resemblances, which are more or less close or distant. Also K. Lincke, Platon, Paulus und die Pythagoreer (Philologus 70, 1911) attempted to prove Paul’s dependence on Plato by finding in his epistles traces of the Timaeus. He considered the Phaedo the model for Pauls’s doctrine of the redemption. His arguments are not convincing, quite apart from the religious connotations of Paul’s thought. Vs. Kopal-Stěhule, Studie o Platónovi (= An Essay on Plato) Ruch filos. 9, 1931/2; the text gives the title Platün a Evangelia (= Plato and the Gospel”) tried to prove the dependence of the New Testament on Plato and Platonism by a comparison of certain passages. Plato himself is said to be dependent on the esoteric philosophy of the ancient Orient. His essay has no scientific value. Many assumed parallels with Plato, on pages 142–160, have nothing in them.
Anton Šurjansky describes in the article Pojem logos v gréckej a hellenistickej filosofii a teologii (= The Notion of the Logos in Greek and Hellenist.ic Philosophy and Theology), Filozofický sborník (= Phil. Collection) 2, 1941, the development of the notion of the logos up to St. John’s Gospel concisely and u.s a whole truthfully. He does not concern himself with the significance of Plato’s personified Logos. It is necessary to add to the voluminous lietrature he quotes also the book of S. N. Trubeckoy, Ucheniye o logose v ego historii (Moskva 1900).
“The third” is in Plato neuter, in Justin’s quotation masculine.
Cf. p. 143.
Joachim Meifort, Der Platonismus bei Clemens Alexandrinus (Tübingen 1928) thoroughly investigates Clament’s relation to Plato’s philosophy and stresses the differences between Clement and Plato. Charles Bigg lectured at the University of Oxford in the year 1866 on the Christian Platonists in Alexandria,-especially on Clement and Origen. He published these lectures under the title The Christian Platonists of Alexandria (Oxford 1886). When correcting the proofs I add that Clement was critically compared with Plato not long ago in the article The Platoni3m of Clement of Alexandria (Journal of Religion 20, 1940, 217–240).
There are about one hundred and fifty direct quotation from plato by Clement mostly from the Republic, Laws, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Timaeus and the Theaetetus.
The similarity between Albinus and Clement is stressed by L. Früchtel, in the Philol. Wochenschrift 57, 1938, p. 591 seq.
Theodor Keim made a successful attempt in reconstructing Celsus’ treatise in Celsus’ Wahres Wort, älteste Streitschrift antiker Weltanschauung gegen das Christentum (Zürich 1873).
Ferdinand Stiebitz published the translation of this “golden book” with a preface and references (Prague 1940).
A complete account of these contacts of thoughts is given by J. J. Waszink in the introduction to his huge commented edition of Tertullianus’ De anima (Amsterdam 1974). Note made at the correction of the proofs.
Arnobius, in an attempt to disprove Plato’s doctrine of the anamnesis, claims (2,25) that a man, living in mute seclusion with no contacts with people, would remain childlike, though he might live for innumerable years. The materialist scholar Lamettrie used this thought with a reference to Arnobius (“belle conjecture d’ Arnobe”) in his book Histoire naturelle de l’âme (1745), in order to disprove Descartes’ doctrine of innate ideas.
O. Jiráni, Mythologické prameny Arnobiova spisu Adversus nationes (= Mythological sources of Arnobius’ treatise Adversus nationes). (Listy Filol. = Philol. Letters, 35, 1908, p. 3).
François Gabarron, Arnobe. son oeuvre (Paris 1921) p. 24 seq.
Contrary to the current view that Methodius was the bishop in Olympia in Lycia, Fr. Diekamp (Theol. Quartalschrift 1928, p. 285–308) proves that he was the bishop of Philippi.
Albertus Jahnius (Balis Saxonum 1865) published S. Methodii opera et S. Methodius platonizans. The title denotes two parts of which this work consists. The second part, the full title of which is S. Methodius platonizans sive platonismus ss. patrum ecclesiae Graecae s. Methodii exemplo illustratus contains juxtapositions of Methodius’ and Plato’s passages with extensive commentary and index. Many of those alleged similarities. however, are not conclusive.
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© 1977 František Novotný — Ludvík Svoboda
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Novotný, F. (1977). First Contacts with Christianity. In: Svoboda, L., Barton, J.L. (eds) The Posthumous Life of Plato. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9704-2_10
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