Philosophumena; or, The refutation of all heresies, Volume I — David Hume — John Shaqi
Philosophumena; or, The refutation of all heresies, Volume I
David Hume · en
[Footnote 152: This is quite unintelligible as it stands. It probably
means that the Brachmans worship the light of which the Sun is the
garment, and that they think they are united with it when temporarily
freed from the body. Is he confusing them on the one hand with the
Yogis, whose burial trick is referred to later in connection with Simon
Magus, and on the other with some Zoroastrian or fire-worshipping sect
of Central Asia?]
[Footnote 153: ὃς ... ἐκεῖ χωρήσας αἴτιος τούτοις ταύτης τῆς φιλοσοφίας
ἐγένετο. Does the ἐκεῖ mean Galatia, whose inhabitants were Celts
by origin? Hippolytus has probably copied the sentence without
understanding it.]
[Footnote 154: Hesiod is treated by Aristotle, _Metaphysica_, Bk.
II, c. 15, as one who philosophizes, which perhaps accounts for the
introduction of his name here.]
[Footnote 155: διδαχθῆναι, _ut se edocerent_, Cr. So Macmahon. The
context, however, plainly requires that it is Hesiod and not the Muse
who is to be taught. The rendering of poetry into prose is seldom
satisfactory, so I have ventured to give here the version of Elton,
which is as close to the original as it is poetic in form.]
[Footnote 156: ὡς στέφανον δάσσαντο.]
[Footnote 157: Αἰθήρ τε καὶ Ἡμέρη. One would prefer to keep the word
“Aether,” which is hardly “sunshine.”]
[Footnote 158: ἶσον ἑαυτῇ.]
[Footnote 159: τὰ μυστικὰ. The expression generally used for Mysteries
such as those of Eleusis. Either he employs it here to include the
tricks of the magicians described in Book IV, or he did not mean to
describe these last when the sentence was written, but to go instead
straight from the astrologers to the heresies. The last alternative
seems the more probable.]
[Footnote 160: ἀδρανῆ, _infirmas_, Cr.]
[Footnote 161: The main question which arises on this First Book of our
text is, What were the sources from which Hippolytus drew the opinions
he here summarizes? Diels, who has taken much pains over the matter,
thinks that his chief source was the epitome that Sotion of Alexandria
made from Heraclides. As we have seen, however, Diogenes Laertius is
responsible for a fair number of Hippolytus’ statements, especially
concerning the opinions of those to whom he gives little space. Certain
phrases seem taken directly from Theophrastus or from whatever author
it was that Simplicius used in his commentaries on Aristotle, and the
likeness between Alcinous’ summary of Plato’s doctrines and those of
our author is too close to be accidental. It therefore seems most
probable that Hippolytus did not confine himself to any one source, but
borrowed from several. This would, after all, be the natural course for
a lecturer as distinguished from a writer to adopt, and goes some way
therefore towards confirming the theory as to the origin of the book
stated in the Introduction.]
BOOKS II AND III