Platonism Hughes

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VOL. LXXXII
1950
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887TH ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
HELD IN THE LECTU;RE HALL, NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS
EDUCATION, 69, GREAT PETER STREET, S.W.I, ON MONDAY,
30TH JANUARY, 1950.
REV. D. MARTYN LLOYD-JoNEs, M.D., M.R.C.P., IN THE
CHAIR.
The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read, confirmed and signed.
The following elections were announced :-R. T. Hewlett, Esq., Fellow;
1;I.ev. John Harries, Fellow; J. F. Wallace, Esq., LL.B., Fellow; C. M. Lambert,
Esq., Fellow; Rev. Herbert H. J. Lockyer, D.D., Fellow; A. Sheridan
Atkinson, Esq., B.Sc., Fellow; H. W; Pearce, Esq., F.C.A.; Fellow; Rev. H.
McKerlie, Fellow; Rev. Peter R. Joshua, D.D., Fellow; Rev. Robert J.
McConnell, Fellow; Capt. A. L. Perry, Fellow; Miss Nellie M. Wyard, Mem-
bel'; A. H. Boulton, Esq., LL.B., Member; Charles C. Luck, Esq., Member;
Gordon Judd, Esq., Member; Noel F. S. Thompson, Esq., Member; Geraint
R. Morgan, Esq., RA., Member; H. R. Ford, Esq., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P"
H. J. Orr-Ewing, M.C., M.D., B.S., F.R.C.P., Member (on transfer
from Fellow); A. D. Ehlert, Esq., Member; F. W. Davy, Esq., M.A., Member;
Rev. lvor F. H. Carr-Gregg, M.A., F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., Member; H. B. Bancks,
Esq., Member; Victor G. Levett, Esq., Member; Rev. C. H. Titterton, M.A.,
RD., Member; David M. Hum, Esq., RSc., A.R.C.S., Member; Professor
Frank Pack, Ph.D., Member; Rev. W. E. Dalling, M.A., Member (on transfer
from Fellow) ; J. D. T. Thompson, Esq., RA., Associate; S. S. Wooldridge,
Esq., Associate; A. J. Liddon, Esq., RA., Associate; R. H. Reid, Esq.,
Associate; Rev. H. P. Scott, Associate (on transfer from Member); Kenneth
D. Ramsbottom, Esq., Associate; John Ponsford White, Esq., Associate;
Temple University, Philadelphia, U.S.A., Library Associate.
The CH.AIRM.AN then called on the Rev. Philip E. Hughes, M.A., RD., to
read his paper entitled" Platonism and the New Testament."
PLATONISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT.
By THE REV. PmLIP E. HUGHE8, M.A., B.D.
SYNOPSIS.
I. ,The attitude of Christians towards Plato, generally
acknowledged as supreme among philosophers, at first
the view that Plato was indebted to the Old Testament for
whatever was good and valuable in his doctrines. Later St.
Angustine suggested that the truths of Platonism were an
expression of the common grace which God bestows upon all
men.; Clement of Alexandria saw the two streams of the Jewish
law and Greek philosophy leading up to and meeting in Christ.
, ,n. Some account is given of the mingling of Jewish 'and
Platonic thought in the apocryphal book The Wisdom of Solomon
'and in the system of Philo-both of them prior to the, New
Testament.
C2
20
, REV. PRILIP E. RUGUES, M'.A., B.D., ON
Ill. The main Platonic doctrines relative to the theme of
the paper are surveyed and some account is given of the figure
and character of Socrates.
IV. Ohristianity is proposed as the
of Platonism the chief error of which lies m Its dualIstIC VIew of
God and as eternally co-existent and irrec?ncilable.
The removal of this, error and the turning of the Platolllc system
to Ohrist as Redeemer, God-Incarnate, leads to a right perspective
and a real harmony.,
A
MONGST the great philosophers of the
and, indeed, of any age, Plato must be adJudged famle
1Jrinceps-" that unique man," to quote the homage of
his illustrious pupil Aristotle, "whose name is not to
the lips of the wicked; for theirs is not the right to praIse
who first revealed clearly by word and by deed that he who IS
virtuous is happy. Alas," exclaims the .Stagyrite,. ". not one .of
us can equal him."! In the ranks of OhrIstendom It IS VOIce
of no less a person than Augustine which declares that
the disciples of Socrates, Plato was the one who shone ,,:th a
glory which far excelled that of the others, and who not unJustly
eclipsed them all"; and, further, that" he is justly preferred to
all the other philosophers of the Gentiles."2 Oalvin, too, though
he complains that Augustine is "excessively addicted. to the
philosophy of Plato,"3 yet acknowledges that Plato enJoyed a
degree of enlightenment which is not equalled by any other
philosopher.
4
Apart, however, from any general estimate of Plato's supremacy
in the hierarchy of philosophy, it has been felt by many even
from the early days of our era that the system of
numerous points of affinity with the revealed truth of O.hristIaruty.
"None come nearer to us," says Augustine, speakmg for
Ohristians, "than the Platonists," and especially is this so
inasmuch as they" have recognized the true GOd as the author
I Aristotle, Fmgm. 623: a free rendering, practicallyas given by F.
A Histor'lJ of Philosophy (Vol. 1, 1946), p. 261-
2 Giv. Dei viii, 4. . d ad
1I ,But see Augustine's disclaimer in Oiv. Dei ii, 14: "We for our part, m. e ,
reckon Plato neither a god nor a demigod; we would not even compare lum to
any 'of God's holy angels, nor to the nor to of the
aoostles or martyrs of Christ, nay, not to any falthful ChrIstIan maD.
.. v. Oomm. in In., i, 3; Oom.m. in I In., ii, 3, 4. Instt. I, xv, 6.
PLATONISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT 21
<of all things, the source of the light of truth, and the bountiful
bestower of all blessedness."! Two centuries previously
][renaeus had remarked that Plato proved himself to be more
religious than Marcion and his followers, "since he allowed that
the same God was both just and good, having power over all
things, and Himself executing judgment."2
This measure of affinity between the Platonic and Ohristian
systems called for some explanation in the field of Ohristian
,a,pologetics, for during the first four centuries it was frequently
urged by the opponents of Ohristianity that the noblest Ohristian
sentiments had been more ably and clearly expressed by pagan
philosophers at an earlier date, and especially by Plato. Thus
the heathen Oelsus assailed Ohristianity in the second century
A.D. on the ground that Ohrist and His Apostles borrowed much
of their teaching from Plato, whose writings they understood
imperfectly and even perverted. To this charge Origen retorted
that the alleged borrowings from Plato could without difficulty
be matched with passages from the writings of the Old Testament,
which are much older than those of Plato.
3
Even at the con-
clusion of the fourth century (396 A.D.) Augustine in one of his
letters expresses a desire to see certain books composed by
Ambrose "with much care and at great length against some
most ignorant and pretentious men, who affirm that our Lord was
:instructed by the writings of Plato."4 These books, unfor-
tunately, are no longer extant; but Augustine evidently obtained
his desire and perused them, for elsewhere he says that, when
confronted with the calumnious assertion urged by Plato's
admirers to the effect that " our Lord Jesus Christ had learnt
from the books of Plato all those sayings of His, which they are
compelled to praise," the illustrious Bishop of Milan " discovered,
through his investigations into profane history, that Plato had
made a journey into Egypt at the time when Jeremiah the
prophet was there": accordingly Ambrose concluded tha:t the
Greek philosopher had been initiated by Jeremiah into the
wisdom of the Old Testament, and had thus been able to express
views which were not out of harmony with those of Ohristianity.s
; In propounding this solution Ambrose is, of course, guilty of a
, I Civ. Dei., viii, 5.
2 AcZv. Haer., Ill, xxv, 5.
'1'. Oon. Oets., v, 65, vi, 12-19, vii, 27-i15.
4 Letter XXXI, To Paulinlls anr1 Therasia
i Ohli8/;. Doct., ii, 28.
22 REV. PHILIP E. HUGHES, M.A., B.D., ON
serious anachronism, since Jeremiah was antecedent to Plat-v
by some 200 years, and consequently, even if Plato ever journeyed
to Egypt, which. in itself is debatable,!, there is no possibility
of his having met the Hebrew prophet in that country. In course
of time Augustine came to realize the untenability of this theOlY
and discarded it. "Certain partakers with us in the grace of
Christ," he says, " are surprised when hear and read that
Plato had conceptions conceJ;nllgGod, in which they recognize
considerable agreement with the truth of our religion. Some-
have concluded from this, that when he went to Egypt he had
heard the prophet Jeremiah, or, whilst travelling in the same
country, had read the prophetic Scriptures; and I myself also
have expressed this opinion in certain of my writings. But a
careful calculation of dates contained in chronological history
shows that Plato was born about 100 years after the time in
which Jeremiah prophesied."2 further points out
in this recantation that the Greek version of the Old Testament
Scriptures was not commenced until some 70 years after Plato's
death. "Therefore," he concludes, "on that journey of his
Plato could neither have seen Jeremiah, who had died so long
before, nor have read those same Scriptures which had not yet;
been translated into the Greek tongue."3 However, Augustine
feels that Plato, who was so eager a seeker after knowledge,
may have" studied those Scriptures through an interpreter, as
he did those of the Egyptians"; and, while noticing significant,
similarities between the Mosaic and the Platonic doctrines, he
declares that the consideration which most of all inclines him
" almost to assent to the opinion that Plato was not ignorant.
of those Scriptures" is the revelation of the Divine Name to
Moses as " I AM THAT I AM," whereby the truth is conveyed
that God is He that truly is, "because He is unchangeable,
in comparison with whom those things which have been created.
1. Gibbon (Decline and Fall, ch. xxi) seems to have accepted the story of a
VlSlt to Egypt by Plato on the strength of a statement of Cicero's-Plato
Aegyptum pel'agra'/)it ut a 8acerdotibua barbari8 numer08 et coelestia aceiperet;
the reference of which he gives as De Finibua v. 25, but which I have been'
unable to trace. "The Egyptians might still preserve the traditional creed
of the Patriarchs," says Gibbon. Dr. Lewis Campbell, however, asserts that
the account of Plato's alleged visit to Egypt and conversation with the
pnests there we have a statement of Diogenes Laertius (i.e., some 200
yeal'S later than Cicero l which rests upon "more or less uncertain tradition It
(Article on Plato in S'T/,()ytil Brit., 11th Edn., 1911).
a 150 years would have been a more accurate estimate.
3 Oi'/). Dei, viii, 11 ; cf. Retl-aot. II, iv, 2. .
PLATONISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
changeable are not,-a truth," he adds, " which Plato vehemently
held and most diligently commended."l
Ambrose and Augustine were certainly not the first to suggest
that. Plato had been enriched by an acquaintance with the Old
Testament writings. It is a theme that recurs not infrequently
in the works of the Christian Apologists and of the AIexandrian
School from the second century onwards. Clement, to take an
example, apostrophizes the Greek philosopher in the following
terms: "Whence, 0 Plato, is that hint of the truth which you
give 1 ... You have learned geometry from the Egyptians,
astronomy from the Babylonians; the charms of healing you
have got from the Thracians; the Assyrians also have taught
you many things; but for the laws that are consistent with truth
and your sentiments respecting God, you are indebted to the
Hebrews."2 Plato, he affirms, "fanned the spark of the Hebrew
philosophy," and" was not unacquainted with David."3 Clement,
indeed, says that the Pythagorean and Platonist philosopher
Numenius, who was a contemporary of his, expressly writes:
"What is Plato, but Moses speaking in Attic Greek "-
Mwvuf}" aTT"a;WV.
4
We must not imagine,however, that this opinion which
postulated the dependence of Plato, and indeed of the other
Greek philosophers, upon the Old Testament Scriptures was
limited to the confines of the Christian Church, or even of the
Christian era, for it was strongly maintained in the first century
A.D. by- the Jewish scholars Philo and Josephus; and even
before Christ's advent, as early as the second I)entury B.C.,
we find it expressed clearly by the AIexandrian Hellenistic-
philosopher Aristobulus, who, besides being pre-Christian irr
period, was also not even a Jew. Clement, who flourished in
1 Oi'/). Dei, ibid.
2 Exhortation to the Heathen vi.
a InBtruotorii,l; cf. also ii; 10, and Swom. i, 15,19,25,29; v,l4.
"' 8wom. i, 22. Schiirer says (HiBt. Jewi8h People n, ill, p. 319) that it. is
not credible" that Numenius should have used just this expression," and he
favoUrs Eusebius's statement that it is an expression only "ascribed to
Numenius, m. by oral tradition "--11. Praep. Evang. XI, x,14. Bigg, however,.
maintains (Ohristian PlatonistB of Ale3:1111!dria, p. 6) that" Clement's language'
is so clear and positive (Novp:livlos IiVTIlCpVS "lPri.<p<') that Schiirer cannot
be right in doubting whether that philosopher was really the author of the
phrase.' 'In view of the fact that Clement and Numenius were contemporaneous,.
we should be inclined to accept Clement's statement. But a.nyway, the thing
that deserves our attention here is that Plato was at this time referred to as.
MwvCTij's aTTIlCl(wv. Origlm caJIs Numenius "a surpassingly excellent ex-
pounder of Plato" (Oon. Oels. iv, .51).
Alexandria some 300 years later, was not unaware that he had
had predecessors in this resPect in his own city, for in the same
passage from which we have already quoted he makes reference
to a work by Aristobulus, addressed to Ptolemy Philometor
in which the author asserts that Plato had followed the Mosaic
laws and had "manifestly studied all that is said in them "1 ;
and in an earlier passage Clement cites Philo and Aristobulus
as examples of those who had demonstrated the precedence
which the Jewish enjoys' over the Greek philosophy.2 In
another place Clement says that Aristobulus composed" abundant
books to show that the Peripatetic philosophy was derived from
the law O,f Moses and from the other prophets."3 It would have
been more accurate, as Schlirer remarks,4 had Clement said Greek
philosophy in general rather than just the Peripatetic philosophy,
since the extant fragments prove that Aristobulus maintained
the indebtedness to Moses of PythagO,ras, Socrates, Plato, and
even the ancient poets Hesiod and Homer. Indeed Aristo'bulus
went so far as to, affirm that the Pentateuch had been rendered
into Greek, in its essentials at least, many years prior to the
appearance of the Septuagint version, and had thus been available
to the Greek sages from a very early date
5
-a view which, as
we have seen, Augustine was reluctant to abandon.
There is no do'ubt that Augustine leads us to surer ground
when he explains that it is needless to determine whether or nO,t
Plato derived his wisdom from the books of the ancients who'
preceded him, since a mo're trustworthy solution to the problem
is provided by the Apostle Paul when he tells us respecting the
heathen that" what may be known concerning God has been
manifested among them, since God has manifested it to them;
for His invisible things fro'm the creation of the world are clearly
1 Strom. i, 22.
2 Ibid. i, 15.
a Ibid. v. 14.
, HiBt. Jewi8h People, IT, iii, 240. .
6 Of. Clement, Strom, i, 22, where, besides oiting the statement of Aristobulus
-that Plato studied and followed the Jewish laws, Clement affirms that" previous
. to the dominion of Alexander and of the Persians" a translation had been made
of the Exodus and of the whole code of laws of the Hebrews-" so that it is
perfeotly clear that Plato derived a great deal from this souroe, for he was very
.learned." Of. also Eusebius, Pmep. Evang. ix, 6; xiii, 12. Eusebius is,
11Owever, in error when he speaks of Aristobulus a,s having been one of the
.soventy who were responsible for the translation of the Old Testament into
Greek under Ptolemy Philadelphus (Hist. Reel. vii, 32)-a misconception
which probably accounts for a similar mistake by Clement in Strom. v,14,
he sa,YR tbat Aristobulus " lived in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus."
.seen, being understood by those things which have been made,
His eternal power and Godhead."! And elsewhere, invoking
the support of this same passage of Scripture, Augustine says:
" Truly there have been some philosophers of this world who have
sought for the Creator by means of the creature; for He can be
.found by means of the creature."2 In other words, the truth
which appears in the writings of Plato, and of any other heathen
. philosopher, is an expression of that common grace which God
bestows upon all men.
Clement of Alexandria, in fact, sees two streams meeting in
the advent of Christ, that of the Jewish Law and that of Greek
. Philosophy, though in his view the truth of the latter was
originally derived from the former as its source, and that which
is derivative is iUferior to that which is original. " Before the
advent of the Lord," he declares, "philosophy was necessary
to the Greeks for righteousness." God" is the cause of all good
things, of some primarily, as the Old and the New Testaments,
and of others secondarily, as philosophy." As the Law was a
schoolmaster to bring the Hebrews to Christ, so also philosophy
to bring the Hellenic mind. "Philosophy, therefore, was a
preparation, paving the way for him who is perfected in Christ."3
And in another place he enunciates the principle of common
grace in the following manner: "The Lord of all is God; and
.I say the Lord of all absolutely, nothing being left by way of
.exception." The "spirit of wisdom," spoken of in Exodus
xxviii, 3, is "nothing else than Understanding, a faculty of the
soul, capable of studying existences, : .. and it extends even
to philosophy itself." "Rightly, then," says Clement, "to the
.;Tews belonged the Law, and to the Greeks philosophy, until
the Advent."4
: Origen seems to be even more bold when he affirms that " all
-Who are rational beings are partakers of the Logos, that is, of
reason," and when, citing Romans x, 8-" The Logos is nigh
thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart," he says that" the
Apostle Paul shows truly that all have a. share in Christ," for
1 RO'l1w,ns i, 19,20; Augustine, Oiv. Dei viii, 12. Of. Augustine's suggestive
paraphrase of this same. passage, ibid. viii, 10-" God has manifested His
invisible things to them by those things whicb are made, that they might be ,qeen
by the 'U!iuler8tanding-pel ea quae facta 8unt Deu8 illi8 manifestavit intellectu
wnspicienda invisibilia 8Ua.' ,
2 Tract. in Joann. H, 4.
3 Strom. i, 5-
f Ibid. v, 14; vi. 17.
26
REV. PHILIP E. HUGHES, M.A., B.D., ON
" Christ is in the heart of all, in respect of His being the Logo s
or reason, by participating in wPich they are rational beings. "1
His words,however, must be understood as referring to common,
not to special, grace. Cyril of Alexandria, commenting on
John i, 9, where the Evangelist states that the Logos" was the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world," speaks to the same effect: God, he says, "engrafteth
in each one that is called into being the seed of wisdom and of
Divine knowledge, and implanteth a root of understanding, and
so rendereth the living creature rational, showing it to be a
partaker of His own nature, and sending into the mind as it were
certain luminous vapours of the Unutterable Brightness."z
By the commencement of the Christian era the influence of
Platonism was widely extended in the Mediterranean world,
and its impact, as we have already observed, was not limited
to the Gentile nations. The Hellenistic age witnesses the
development of a strong hellenizing party amongst the Jews in
Palestine itself-a repercussion from the Jewish dispersion in
lands where Greek culture and thought were predominant.
assisted by' the general policy of the country's "foreign"
governors of this period which encouraged the establishment of
distinctively Greek institutions of culture, recreation, and even
dress. J osephus records Aristotle's account, as preserved in a
book by his pupil Olearchus, of his meeting in Asia Minor in the
middle of the fourth century B.O. with a learned Jew, who
"was a Greek not only in language, but in spirit also"-
1]V OV 7'fj OaA..e"Trp p.evolJ CtA..A..Ct TV y.ux,v, and from
whom the great philosopher confessed that he received more in-
formation than he gave.
s
This Hellenic Jew is representative
of the close confluence of Greek and Hebrew thought which had
taken place in certain circles prior to the advent of Christ, and
which achieved its high-water mark in the writings of Philo at a
time when Christianity was still in its formative stage. We must
not overlook the fact, however, that this Hellenic-Jewish move-
ment was only fractional, and had to push its way against the-
wider and deeper stream of Jewish conservatism which strongly
opposed its progress. .
An important tributary to the Hellenic-Jewish current was
the apocryphal book known as "The Wisdom of Solomon"---.
1 De Prirw. I, ill, 6; cf. Il, vii, 2.
a Oomm. in J oann. ch. ix.
3 Oon. Apion. i, 22.
PLATONISM AND THE NEW l'ES1'AMEN'r 27
a product in all probability of Alexandrian origin which helped
to prepare the way for Philo, and which also exercised a strong
influence in the Christian Church of the second and third centuries.
Wisdom is hypostatised in this work, as in the book of Proverbs,
and is supreme amongst the Divine emanations: "Wisdom is
more moving than any motion; she passeth and goeth through
all things by reason of her pureness; for she is the breath of
the power of God, and a pure effluence flowing from the glory of
t.he Almighty . . . She is the brightness of the everlasting light,
the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of His
goodness."l With this passage, which he treats as canonical,
Origen links up the Apostolic declarations of Oolossians i, 15,
and Hebrews i, 3, which set forth Ohrist as "the image of the
invisible God," "the first-born of every creature," and "the'
brightness of God's glory, the express image of His Person" ;
and his comment is, "that Wisdom has her existence nowhere
else save in Him who is the beginning of all things, and from whom
also is derived everything that is wise."2 The terminology of
this apocryphal book would appear to identify Wisdom with
"God's all-powerful Word" or Logos3, for Wisdom too is all-
powerful, and effective as the Divine agent of regeneration:
". Being but one, she can do all things; and remaining in herself
she maketh all things new; and in all ages entering into holy
souls, she maketh them friends of God and prophets."4 She is
" privy to the mysteries of the knowledge of God," and by means
of her, says the author, "I shall obtain immortality, and leave
behind me an everlasting memorial to them that come after
me."6 Such expressions, while strongly reminiscent of Platonic
sentiments, are yet not out of harmony with Hebrew thought.
The most distinctively Platonic feature of the book is its dualistic
view of soul and body. The soul's pre-existence is assumed:
a good soul enters "an undefiled body."6 The body is an
encumbrance to the soul; nor is there any hint of its resurrec-
tion: "The corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the
earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon
many things."7
1 WiBll. vii, 24-26.
2 De Princ. I, ii. a.
3 WiBll. xviii, J/>.
4 Ibid. vii, 27.
5 Ibid. viii, 4, 13.
6 Ibid. viii, 20.
7 lbid. ix, 15.
28 REV. PHILIl' E. HUGHES, M.A., RD., ON
It was this soil (to change the metaphor that we have been
using) that Philo tilled and developed with such diligent
ingenuity. By a process of synthesis and allegorical exegesis
he sought to demonstrate that, despite any external appearances
to the contrary, an essential harmony existed between the
verbally inspired Law of Moses and the doctrines not merely of
Plato, but of Pythagoras and Zeno also, and, indeed, that the
explanation of this internal harmony was that these philosophers
had drawn their wisdom from the pure Mosaic source. It is with
the Platonic elements in Philo's system that we are here con-
cerned. Since early times Philo has frequently been spoken of
as a Platonist. Thus Jerome, who c.alls him" the most erudite
man among the Jews,"l refers to him as "Plato's imitator."2
There is also the old proverb: "Either Plato is a philonizer, or
Philo is a platonizer" -,ry IIi\aTciJv cf>t"A.wvtl;et 1'} c'pt"A.wv 7rA.aTWI1lt;ei.
3
The cosmogony and anthropology of Philo illustrate most
distinctively the Platonic aSF"3cts of his system. His transcen-
dental doctrine of God as the supreme spiritual Being whose
nature is incomprehensible, ineffable, and incommunicable
gives rise to his formulation of the dialectal way of negation
(the via negativa adopted by the Alexandrian theologians of the
early Church and later developed by the mediaeval Schoolmen,
and in our own day reasserted in the Barthian and Neo-Thomist
systems), which he insisted must be followed if we wish to speak
at all about Him who is infinite. The material universe alone,
as finite and perceptible, may be described; but to attempt to
define God, or even to name Him, except metaphorically, is to
degrade Him and to be guilty of the greatest impiety.
Thus God and matter are at opposite poles. The degree of
this dualism is intensified when Philo adds the Platonic concept
of matter as both inherently evil and eternally existent. The
creation of the world was, according to him, from matter that
was already in existence-matter, however, in a chaotic state:
"without form and void."4 God, who is entirely good and
perfect, cannot be regarded as the Creator of matter, which is
evil and impelfect. Hence to designate God as the Originator
of the world is to designate Him as the author of evil. The
statement of Genesis i, 31, " God saw everything that He had
1 Preface to the Book on Hebrew Names.
2 Letter XXII, to Eustocbium.
3 Quoted in Schiirer, HiBt. JewiBh PeopZe, II, iii, 364.
, Genesi, i, 2.
PLATONISl\1 AND THE 'fESTAMENT 29
made, and behold it was very good," is expounded by Philo
as referring not to matter, which, being pre-existent, God had
not I)1ade, but to the reduction of disorder to order, the
organization of ClfJ-0pcf)OC; vA,'T/. Yet even this modified form of
creation was not performed directly by God, but mediately,
through the agency of "creative and regulative powers " or,
to use the Platonic term, "ideas." The intervention of these
intermediary beings for the execution of the creative operations
preserves the Godhead from any defiling contact whatever with
matter. The highest of these powers, the source from which all
the others flow, and the sum and quintessence of them all, is
the Logos. This Logos is for Philo the archetypal Idea, the
Divine Viceregent, the efficient Mediator between the infinite
and the fuiite, the creative Word of God, the Divine Reason
everywhere immanent, the soul of the world. Philo even goes
so far as to call the Logos the Son, the First-begotten of God,
the Second God, and, indeed, God-Oeos, however, not 0 OeO<;.
Yet these can only be regarded as titles of eminence, for any
doctrine of hypostatic union or identification with the Godhead
would at once invalidate the reason for the existence in the
Philonic system of such an intermediate being, which is to relieve
God of the contamination resulting from contact with matter
in creation or in any other way.
Philo's view of the nature of matter could not fail to colour
. hls doctrine of man, and in the expression of this doctrine, as
was the case with the Wisdom of Solomon, the influence of Plato
is again clearly to be observed. The body, being composed of
corruptible matter, is evil. The souls of 'men are pre-existent
and are, in fact, divine powers or emanations which have
descended into and been imprisoned in human bodies. The wise
man will strive after liberation from the corporeal senses and
and his ultimate ambition is the enjoyment in a dis-
embodied state of the immediate vision of God, which alone is
true knowledge and perfection. The unspiritual have no
understanding or experience of these things: the attainment of
them is progressive, at first through the" powers" of God in a
mediate sense, but ultimately by the direct knowledge and
intellection of God in Himself.1 .
If we now direct our attention more closely to the doctrines of
1 Such a multiplicity of references, throughout most of Philo's
Ilumerous mar be adduced for his doctrines briefly set out above, that
I have not felt It deSIrable to reproduce them in a paper of this scope.
L
Plato himself, we shall'see how marked is the relationship to
them of these views of Philo. God, according to Plato, is
absolutely good, and the cause of all good; in no way is He deficient
in beauty or excellence; His nature is entirely free from false-
hood and undergoes no change or variation of any kind.
1
His
being is "according to sameness, unproduced and not subject
to decay, receiving nothing into itself from elsewhere, and itself
never entering into any other nature, but invisible and imper-
ceptible by senses, and to be apprehended only by pure intellect."2
He is "the heavenly Architect,"3 "'the framing Artificer," and
"the Creator and Father" of the universe, which has been
modelled in accordance with an "eternal pattern:"4 Yet by
terminology of this sort we should not understand the creation
of matter as such, but the creation of form and design in the
universe: (j-od" took everything that was visible and not in
a state of rest, but in excessive agitation and disorder, and then
reduced it from disorder to order."5 Yet, again, this formative
and regulative operation was not directly performed by God,
but was entrusted by Him to the" junior gods," who were
charged with "the duty of constructing mortal bodies.'o((l These
"junior gods" correspond to the "forms" or "ideas," and
owe their existence to Him who is the One and the Good, the
supreme God; and it is through them, mediately, that the
creative operations are accomplished. We are instructed by
Aristotle that the Platonic forms " are the cause of the essence
of all other things, and the One is the cause of the essence of the
forms."7 The ideas, says Plato, "are perceived by the intellect,
not seen by the eye"; the Good is the source of their
gibility, and it is "from the Good that their being and essence
are derived, whereas the Good is not essence, but beyond essence,
and superior to it both in dignity and power.',g
In view of these considerations, "to discover the Creator and
Father of this universe, as well as His work, is indeed difficult;
and, when discovered, it is impossible to reveal Him to mankind
at large."9 The reason for this incommunicability of the Divine
1 Repub. ii, 380-383. Cf. i, 10-]2; James i, 17.
2 Tim,aeu8 51, 52.
3 Repub. vii, 530.
4 Timaeu8 28-30.
5 Ibid. 30.
6 Ibid. 42, 69.
. 7 if etaph1l8iC8 988 '
8 Repltb vi, 507.509;
Timaelt8 28; Cf. Roman8 xi. 33-36.
nature is that it is entirely imperceptible by the ordinary senses;
it is "colourless, formless, and intangible, visible only to the
intelligence which sits at the helm of the soul,"1 and thus in no
way definable by human predicates. It is by the method of
. dialectic alone that the eye of the soul may be conducted upwards
to the true vision of real existence,
2
and the achievement of this
, end is by a progressive exercise and concentration of the soul.
A person commences this upward journey. of the soul with the
love of forms that are beautiful, and proceeds thereafter to a
'contemplation of the beauty which is in souls, as a beauty" more
excellent than that which is in form" and unaffected by external
appearance, "even though the flower of the form should be
withered," with the result that he learns "to esteem little
the mere beauty of the outward form." Thence he is conducted
to science, or knowledge, " so that he may gaze u,pon the loveliness
of wisdom" and "turn towards the wide ocean of intellectual
beauty, . . . until, strengthened and confirmed, he should at
length steadily contemplate one science, which is the science of
this universal beauty." Thus" those who discipline themselves
upon this system ., . ascend through transitory objects which
are beautiful towards that which is beauty itself, proceeding
as on steps from the lover of one form to that of two, and from
that of two to that of all forms which are beautiful, and from
beautiful forms to beautiful habits and institutions, and from
institutions W beautiful doctrines; until, from the meditation
of many doctrines, they arrive at that which is nothing else than
the doctrine of the supreme beauty itself, in the knowledge and
contemplation of which at length they repose." All other things
are beautiful through a participation of this supreme beauty
which is "eternal, unproduced, indestructible, subject neither
to increase nor decay, not,like other things, partly beautiful
and ,partly deformed, not at one time beautiful and at another
time not, . , . but eternally. uniform and consistent, and
monoeidic with itself, " . . the divine, the original, the supreme,
the monoeidic beautiful itself."3 The knowledge of the absolute
Beauty is not other than that of the absolute Good and of the
ultimate Unity: it is, in fact, the vision of God.
This noble ascent is possible of attainment to the soul because
of all things it is "most like that which is divine, immortal,
I Phaedrus 247.
2 Repub. 531 :If.
a Symposium 210-212.
intelligent, uniform, indissoluble, and which always continues in
Thesoulitselfisimmortalandimperishable,and
It}S ImpossIble for the soul to perish when death approacheH:
It. W?en, . therefore, approaches a man, the mortal'
part of him dies, but the Immortal part escapes safe and
corrupted, having withdrawn itself from death."2 In contrast
to the soul,however, "the body is most like that which is'
human, mortal, unintelligent, multiform, dissoluble, and which
continues in the same state."3 This being so, the true
the true of wisdom, despises the pursuit of
display and and occupies himself, not about:
hIS body, but about his soul: indeed, he "frees his soul as much
as he can from communion with the body," for" the soul then
best whel1: none of these things disturb it, neither hearing,
nor SIght, nor pam, nor pleasure of any kind; but it retires as'
much as possible within itself, taking leave of the body, and,
as It can: not communicating or being in contact with it,
It alms at the discovery of that which is."4 The body is actually
an encumbrance to the soul, and subjects us to innumerable
which .us from. attaining the unimpeded
enJoyment of the VISIOn. It IS an evil and" as long as'
we are encumbered WIth the body, and our soul is contaminated'
with such an evil, we can never fully attain to what we desire."
Thus, "if we are ever to know anything purely, we must he
separated from the body, and contemplate the things themselves
by the mere soul."5 It is only at death that the lover of wisdom is
released from this encumbrance, and, consequently, "those
who pursue philosophy rightly study. to die, and to them of all
men, death is least formidable." For such men to dread death
would be very irrational. In life, then, the philosopher will
have only such. commerce vyith the body as is absolutely
he be carrIed away by its passions; and he
WIll. endeavour mcreasmgly to purify himself from its defilement,
until at death the soul is " delivered as it were from its shackles."6
Then at length he will be free, no longer" entombed in that which
:e now a:bout with us and call the body," no longer
fettered to It like an oyster to his shell."7
I P1Utedo 80.
2 Ibid. 105-107.
3 Ibid. 80.
4 Ibid. 64, 65.
6 Ibid. 66.
Ibid. 67, 6S.
? Phaedrus 250; cf. TimaeU8 SI.
PLA1'ONISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT 33
The soul, moreover, being immortal and uncreated, has existed
prior to its imprisonment in the body, and in this previous
existence it has enjoyed the vision of absolute truth. It is,.
in fact, the recollection in his soul of this perfect vision that
impels the philosopher to lay aside every carnal consideration in.
order that he may himself attain to this blissful experience.
The soul's prior participation in absolute knowledge is also the
fount of man's innate knowledge and intelligence: "our souls
existed before they were in human form, separate from bodies,
and possessed intelligence."l Even the process oflearning things
is nothing else than a process of reminiscence
2
-" a recollection
of those things which in time past our soul beheld when it
travelled in the company of the gods, and, looking high over
what we now call real, lifted up its head into the region of eternal
essence." It is the mind of the philosopher alone that" to the.
best of its power is ever fixed in memory on that glorious
spectacle. . . . . And it is only by the right use of such memories
as these, and by ever perfecting himself in perfect mysteries,
. that a man becomes really perfect." Because, however, such a
person "stands aloof from human interests, and is rapt in
contemplation of the divine, he is taken to task by the multitude
as a man demented, since the multitude fail to see that he is a
man inspired by God."3 "Though every man's soul has by the
law of his birth been a spectator of eternal truth," yet" few,
few only, are there left with whom the world of memory is duly
present," and who have a yearning for a happiness that is
past.
4
The soul, then, which at death departs, "in a pure state, taking
nothing of the body with it," departs" to that which resembles
itself, the invisible, the divine, immortal and wise," and on its
arrival there" its lot is to be happy, free from error, ignorance,
fears, wild passions, and all the other evils to which human nature
is subject," and it "passes the rest of its time with the gods."
But a soul that departs from the body " polluted and impure,
as having held communion with the body, and having
served and loved it, and been bewitched by it, through desires
and pleasures, so as to think that there is nothing real except
what is corporeal," will be "stamped with that which is cor-
I Phaedo 76.
2 Ibid. 72.
8 Phaedrus 249.
4 Ibid. 250.
D
34 REV. PHILIP E. HUGHES; M.A., B.D., ON
poreal;" it will be "ponderous and earthly,"
and drawn again into the visible through dread of the mVIsIble
and of Hades." In this state the souls of the wicked" wander
about until at length, through the desire of the corporeal nature
that accompanies them, they are . to a body;
they are united, as is probable, to ammals the habIts
as they have given themselves up to durmg life. For mstance,
those who have given themselves up to gluttony, wantonness,
and drinking, and have put no restraint on themselves, .will
probably be clothed in the form of asses and brutes of that kind.
..And such as have set great value on injustice, tyranny, and,.
rapine, will be clothed in the species of hawks and
kites."l At the top of the scale of bodies which a soul may
indwell in accordance with the quality of its former incarnate
existence is that of the man, then that of the woman, and then
-other kinds of bodies in a progression of inferiority.2 In th!s
variety of changes the soul ceases untIl,
H having overcome by reason Its turbulent and pa:t,
.... it at last returns to the first and best diSpOSItIOn of ItS
nature. "3
This doctrine of metempsychosis, besides involving .in
the value and immortality of the individual. soul, also
the ethical responsibility of each human bemg. There IS no
.suggestion that the lower are to be regarded as morally
:responsible: the entry of a soul mto one of them seems to
;a, significance which is merely disciplinary as far as the IS
concerned. The soul in man, however, "resembles the combmed
efficacy of a pair of winged steeds and a charioteer. charioteer
is intellectual reason, and, of the two horses, the one IS and
noble-spirited, and is ",?riven without of the whip by
voice and reason alone, whereas the other IS bad and clumsy
" a friend to all riot and insolence," and" scarce yielding to lash
and goad combined." The latter steed has to be tamed and
chastened by unremittingly violent treatment until" he follows
with humbled steps the guidance of his driver."4 By this parable
Plato illustrates graphically his view of the tripartite nature of
the soul. The immortal part of the soul, which corresponds
to the driver of the chariot, is situated in the head, the seat of
1 Phaedo 80-82.
:I tI. Timae'U8 42, 90-92; Repub. x, 620.
:I Timaeus 42.
4. Phaedru8 246, 263, 254.
PLATONlSM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT 35
the ':intellect; the mortal part of the soul is divided into two
sections-a higher and spirited section, which is situated in the
upper portion of the thorax, and corresponds to the willing steed
and a lower and sensuous part, which is situated below the
midriff, and corresponds to the rebellious steed.
l
The ethical
task of man, then, is to subdue the appetitive part of his nature
and to discipline it together with the spirited part, in such a
way that they may co-operate without friction under the wise
and ennobling direction of that portion of his soul which is
immortal. The beauty and health of a man's soul are of far
greater importance than the beauty and health of his body, and
he who is ruled by intelligence" always appears to adjust the
harmony of the body for the sake of the symphony which is in
the soul."2 Such a man will not be moved by what the majority
may say about him, but rather by what" he will say who knows
what is right and what is wrong, and by the truth itself."
"Under no circumstances can wrong-doing be good and beauti-
ful," but always" evil and shameful to the doer." Further
" we ought never to return evil for evil and never to harm any
man at all, whatever we may suffer at his hands."3 Thus it is
that Plato wishes his ideal republic to be governed by men who
are true lovers of wisdom, men who, being themselves ruled by
the no blest reason and not by passion, will exercize their governing
office, not as something adding honour to their own reputation,
but as a thing necessary for the good of the state. These
philosopher-statesmen will, in fact, "despise present honours
and deem them illiberal and of no value; but they will esteem,
above all things, rectitude and the honours derived from it;
they will account justice as a thing of all others the greatest
and most absolutely necessary, and by ministering to it and
advancing it, will thoroughly regulate the constitution of the
state. "4
Yet Plato maintains that" no one is voluntarily bad."5 The
diseases of the soul, of which the greatest are excessive pleasures
and pains, result from the habit of the body, and in particular
from "a privation of the intellect," that is, either madness or
ignorance. "All the vicious are vicious through two most
1 Timaeus 69, 70, 77.
2 Repub. ix, 591.
3 Onto 48. 49.
4 Repub. vii, 540.
& Timaeus 86; cf. Repub. ix, 589.
D2
36
involuntary causes," namely, weakness of physical constitultion
and unsuitability of environment and training. "But still,"
he adds "it should be our anxious endeavour, as far as we can,
by edudation, studies, and learning, to fly fr0IIl: vice
its contrary, virtue."! Plato's reason for this pOSItIOn IS his
belief in the indefectibility of knowledge: "Knowledge is a
noble thing, and able to govern man, and if a man knows good
and evil he can never be overcome by anything, so as to do
anything else than what knowledge bids him."2 This view,
further is based on the belief that" no one who either knows or
thinks that other things are better than what he is doing, and
that they are possible, still continues to do the same, when it is
in his power to do the better."3 Thus Plato holds" that no wise
man thinks that any person errs willingly, or willingly commits
base and evil actions, but that wise men well know that all
those who do base and evil things,do them unwillingly."4
. This estimate of the involuntary nature of vice, however, does
not exempt a man from responsibility for his does
it guarantee that he may expect to go unpuIDshed. It IS rather
to be understood as teaching the importance of knowledge and
wisdom for the best regulation of one's life, and the calamity of
ignorance. The wise man will assiduously pursue at all
costs; for" what is evil destroys and corrupts everything, and
what is good preserves and profits."o Righteousness is, indeed,
its own best reward, but a righteous man receives prizes and
honours from both gods and men, both now and hereafter,
whereas unrighteousness never fails to bring retribution in its
wake.
6
Our innate sense of justice demands this, "for if death
were a deliverance from everything, it would be a great gain for
the wicked, when they die, to be delivered at the same time
from the body, and from their vices together with the soul:
but now, since it appears to be immortal, the soul have no
other refuge from evils, nor safety, except by becommg as good
and wise as possible."7 After death, then, we are to for a
judgment which will separate the from unrlghteous,
exalting the former to a heavenly bliss, and pumshing the latter
1 Timaeu8 87.
Phaedo 107.
3 Ibid. 612, 613.
, Repub. x, 608
& Ibid. 345.
G Ibid. 358.
7 Protag. 352.
PLATONISM AND THE NEW TESTAMEN'f
37
with the torments of hell (Tartarus), either eterna.lly if
condition is beyond reclaim, or for a prolonged penod of tIme
before they return to earth to be reincarnated in another mortal
form,! when they are further punished "by leading a life suite.d
to that to which they are assimilated."2 God, of course, "IS
never in any respect unrighteous, but as righteous as possible,
and there is not anything that resembles Him more than the
man amongst us who has likewise become as righteous as
possible."3 " On account of these things, then, that man ought
to be confident about his soul who during his life has disregarded
all the pleasures and ornaments of the body as foreign to his
nature, and who, having thought that they do more harm than
good, has zealously applied himself to the of
knowledge, and who, having adorned his soul n?t "?th a
but with its own proper ornament, temperance, JustICe, fortItude,
freedom and truth, thus waits for his passage to Hades, as one
who is to depart whenever destiny shall summon
In the heathen darkness which preceded the advent of ChrIst
there is one whose figure shines conspicuously, like a morning
star in the pagan sky, and whose life was both a most
attempt at a consistent enactment, a1l:d also the sprmg
inspiration, of these lofty principles which have been
our attention. The figure was that of Socrates, who outstrIpped
all other personages of the pagan world in nobility of character,
penetration of vision, and devotion to conviction .. such an
extent does his moral stature compel our admiratIOn, that
we do not hesitate to acknowledge the justness, at least in some
respects, of the opinion that" the Platonic Socrates, like John
the Baptist, was a forerunner of Christ."o Socrate.s lived,
indeed, under a constraining sense of Divine and
mission, and he devoted his time to the earnest prosecutIOn of
his divinely imposed task, namely, to convince that G:od
alone has wisdom, and that the wisest man IS he who, like
himself has learnt that his oWn wisdom is worth nothing.
" Such has been my search and my inquiry in obedience to God,"
testified this great man, "whenever I found anyone-fellow-
citizen or foreigner-who might be considered wise; and if he
1 Ibid. 107, 108; Repub. x. 613 if.
s Theaet. 177.
3 Ibid. 176.
4 Phaedo 114 115.
5 The opinion of Marsiglio Fieino, quoted by Neander, Ghuroh Hi8tory,
i.25.
did not seem so to me I have borne God witness, and pointed
out to him that he was not wise at all. And through this
incessant work I have had no leisure for any public action worth
mentioning, nor yet for my private affairs, but I live in extreme
poverty because of this service of mine to God."l In prosecuting
this mission Socrates did not fail to stir up much bitter enmity
against himself, especially on the part of those whose pretensions
to wisdom he exposed as unsubstantial-those who, to use his
own description, "think they .are somewhat when they are
worth nothing;"2 and in the end his enemies succeeded in
arraigning him on a charge of inventing a new theology and
corrupting the youth of the state with his doctrines. His
integrity is finely displayed in his bearing and defence before his
accusers. There is one thing, he declares, and one alone, that a
man of any worth ought to consider, "and that is whether what
he does is right or wrong." "The post that a man has taken
up," Socrates tells his Athenian hearers, "because he thought
it right hi.mself or because he thought his captain put him there,
that post, I believe, he ought to hold in face of every danger,
caring no whit for death or any other peril in comparison with
disgrace."3 "I must obey God rather than you," he testifies,
"and, while I have life and strength, I will never cease to follow
wisdom and urge you forward, explaining to every man of you
I meet, speaking as I have always spoken, saying, See here, my
friend, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city in the
world, the most famous for wisdom and for power; and are you
not asha.med to care for money and money-making and fame
and reputation, and not care at all, not make one effort, for
truth and understanding and the welfare of your soul 1" "It is
God's bidding, you must understand that," he expostulates;
" and I myself believe no greater blessing has ever come to you
or to your city than this service of mine to God."4 "I am given
1 Apol. 23 (cf. 1 Cor., i, 20: "Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world ? "Hi 19: "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with Gtild." Acts.
xxvi, 20: '/Having obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing
both to great and small ").
11 Ibid. 41 (cf. Gal. vi, 3: "If a man think himself to be something, when he
is nothing, he deceiveth himself").
a Ibid. 28 (cf. Matt. v, 10: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ").
4 Ibid. 29, 30 (cf. Acts v, 29: "We ought to obey God rather than men."
Matt. xvi, 26: "What is a man profited, if he sball gain the whole world, and
lose bis own soul 1 or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul 1" Luke
xii, 15: "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth ").
by God to the city," he .them. Hence his
steadfastness of purpose: 'I wIll never consent to .InJustlOO
at any man's command for fear of death, but would .dle on the
spot rather than give way. .. For death, to put It bluntly,
I did not care one straw-but I did care, and to the full, about.
doing what was wicked and unjust . .. All Il1:Y life
you will find that this has been my character-never YIelding to
any man against right and justice . . . trying to persuade every
one of you not to think of what he had but rather of what he
';as, and how he might grow wise and goOd."1 "The difficult!,"
he reminds them, "is not to flee from death, but from guilt :
guilt is swifter than death."2 "Remember,'.' he" concludes,
after sentence of death has been passed upon him- remember
this at least is true, that no evil can come to a good man in life
or death, and that he is not forgotten of God."3
"He cares not for mere beauty," said Alcibiades in his
encomium of Socrates, "but depises all external possessions
more than anyone can imagine, whether it be beauty or wealth
or glory, or any other thing for which the multitude felicitates
the possessor."4 The heart of Socrates i.s for us in
his own prayer: "Grant me to be the Inner
and all I have of outer things to be at peace With those Within.
May I count the wise man only rich; and may my store of gold
be such as none but the good can bear."5 Thus this pre-Christian
apostle adhered unflinchingly to his principles and discharged
faithfully his mission, even to the death of martyrdom-an
event which presents itself as the most calm and moving in pagan
1 Ibid. 31-33, 36 (cf. Acts. xx, 24-27: "None of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself . . . . Wherefore I take you to record
this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God ").
a Ibid. 39 (cf. Heb. ix, 27: "It is appointed unto men once to die, bllt after
this the judgment ").
a Ibid. 41 (cf. Heb. xiii, 5: "He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee; so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear
what man shall do unto me ").
4 Symposium 216 (cf. Phil. ill, 7, 8: "What things were g:Yn w me, those
I counted loss for Christ; yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lot:d; for whom I ha!e
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may wm
Chrillt ").
a Phaedrus 279 (cf. 1 Pet. iii, 3, 4: "Whose adorning li't it not be out-
ward adorning of plaiting the bair, and of wearing of 01:" of on of
apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the. hear.t,. ID .w!llch IS .not
corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and q1llet spmt, whIch IS ID the SIght.
of God of great price ").
history. Who will deny that this man's vocation was indeed of
God, and that in life and in death he was an example to the
Gentiles of the distance to which the human spirit may travel
by following that natural light which is available to man even
apart from a special revelation-an illumination which may
truly conduct him to recognize the" eternaJ power and Godhead"
of the Supreme Being and the surpassing value of man's immortal
soul
But it cannot conduct him further than this: the inmqst
mysteries of the Divine nature and purposes are not open to his
gaze, simply for the reason that they are beyond his natural
capacity-a capacity, let it be remembered, which, while being
finite, is further disabled by the perversion of sin. A revelation
from God was necessary if these great secrets were not for ever
to be hidden from him ; and it was just such a revelation that
the Platonic philosophy required to lead it into the fulness of
truth. It arrived with the advent of Christ.
Christianity is not, as some theorists seem to see it, an
ingenious syncretism of a diversity of elements from a variety
of sources, Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian, Oriental. It is unique
among religions inasmuch as it is a religion of revelation, and,
as revealed, a universal religion, displaying the one God as the
universal Creator, exposing the universal sinfulness of the
human race, and proclaiming the universal scope of man's
redemption in Christ. Thus that there should be points of
contact with other religions is not surprising, especially since in
heathendom, apart from the light of common grace, there are
remnants, though debased and defiled, of the original truth.
1
To regard the use in the New Testament of terms which are
characteristic of thought and religion as plagiarisms,
whether conscious or unconscious, from Greek sources, is to
miSlinderstand the nature of the New Testament, as well as to
overlook the practical inevitability of the usage, in any era and
amongst any people, of a specific terminology which is funda-
mental to religious and metaphysical expression. It is one thing
to notice Platonic affinities in the writings of the New Testament,
but it is quite another thing to judge them as Platonic influences
or insinuations.
Of the New Testament authors there are two in particular,
1 The history of heathenism is condensed for us by St. Paul in that notable
passage, Romans i, 18-32; fJ. also ii, 14 15.
PLATONIRM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT 41
St. Paul and St. John, whose writings exhibit in places what
appear to be affinities with Platonic thought. Neither of these
Apostles was likely to have been a stranger to Hellenic terms and
concepts, the former owing to his connection with Tarsus where,
as the historian Strabo, Paul's contemporary, tells us, the
greatest of all the Greek universities was situated,! and the
latter through his prolonged residence in Ephesus, a nuclear
point of both Western and Eastern thought. There can be
little doubt that in employing Greek religious and philosophical
terms they were perfectly well aware of their connections with
Greek thought. Moreover, it is clear from their writings that
the object of the Apostles in using such terminology was that its
true significance might be seen in its proper perspective, namely,
in relation to God's purposes as revealed in the person and work
of Christ. This is admirably summed up for us by St. Paul's
declaration made at Athens before an audience of philosophically
inquisitive Greeks: "Whom ye ignorantly worship, Him declare
I unto yoU."2
It is in Christ alone that terms such as lTocpa, YVWlTM;,
">I.6"10r;, and achieve their full significance. Just as
Christ's person is the pivot of human history, so also must it
be the focus both of philosophy and of the Old Testament
revelation. It is in Christ, as St. Paul tells us, that the two
streams, Jewish and Greek, meet and find their consummation:
"The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom,"
says the Apostle; "but we preach a crucified Christ, ...
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God." The Greek quest for
wisdom attains its realization in Christ Jesus, "who of God is
made unto us wisdom."3 The Apostle even makes use of
language which could not fail to recall to the minds of his Greek
readers at Corinth the terminology of the pagan mysteries-
language, however, now employed for the first time in its
proper setting: "We speak wisdom among them that are
perfect," he writes, "yet not the wisdom of this world; ...
but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory
(or, for the sake of our enlightenment-elr;
1 Strabo xiv, p. 673; fJ. Lightfoot, BibUcal Essays, p. 205.
9 Aots xvii; 23.
9 1 Oar. i, 22-24, 30.
4 1 Oor. n, 6, 7.
This Divine wisdom is by no means within the grasp of the
unaided spirit of man; it does not lie the sphere of common
grace. It is the result of revelation by God's Spirit, who alone
knows and can reveal those things of God which are entirely
hidden from the natural man. That is why St. Paul claimed
to speak, " not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Ghost teacheth.', To be instructed in this spiritual
wisdom is to possess none other than "the mind of Christ,"1
for the wisdom of God and the Christ of God, the Logos, "in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," are
identical.
2
Any man, then, who wishes to be TEA-eto'), perfect,
truly an initiate into Divine mysteries, must and can only be
so "in Christ "-TEA-EtO') v XpUTTrjJS.
There are" two species of things," says Plato, "the one visible
and the other invisible," the visible being perceptible to the
senses, but the invisible apprehensible by thought alone, "the
invisible always continuing the same, but the visible never the
same."4 The Christian, says St. Paul, applying this truth in a
manner not discordant with Platonic thought, centres his
attention "not on the things which are visible, but on the
things which are invisible; since the things which are visible
are temporal, whereas the things which are invisible are
eternal.' '5 His is, in fact, a heavenly perspective: he yearns
after the beatific vision. The glorious goal is the knowledge of
the Son of God, which is the only true gnosis, and that perfection
whose measure is "the stature of the fulness of Christ."6 The
process of "growing up into Christ" here, the formation of
Christ within the Christian, will be crowned hereafter with com-
plete Christ-likeness, indeed, oneness with Him in whom" all
1 1 Cor. n, 10-16.
9 Ool. ii, 3. Plato uses the expression" treasure of wisdom "-0'1ua.lIpos
uoc/>la.s-in Philebus 15.
3 Ool. i, 28. Of. Phaedl'1.8 249: "It is only by ever perfecting himself
in perfect mysteries, that a man becomes really perfect "--r.Movs cf..l Tf'\eTaS
T.'\O{,PElIOS 01lTWS p..01l0S "Yl')'lIETIXI. Lightfoot comments (on Ool. i. 28) :
.. The language of th.e heathen mysteries is transferred by him (i.e.
Paul) to the ChrIstIan dIspensatIOn, that be may thus more effectively contrast
siguified. The true Gospel also has its mysteries, its hierophants,
Its InItIatIOn: but these are open to all alike. In Christ every believer is
T.!'\lOS, for he has been admitted as of its most profound, most awful.
secrets."
, Phaedo 79.
& 2 Oor. iv, 18.
o Eph. iv, 13.
fulness dwells."1 To see God, is to know everything. " We
kno)V," says St. John, "that when He shall appear, we shall be
like Him, for we shaH see Him as He is." "Now we see through
a glass darkly," says St. Paul, "but then face to face' now I
know in part, but then I shall know even as also I am known."2
This is not merely the knowledge of sight: it is the knowledge
of assimilation.
While we acknowledge the numerous similarities that are to be
noticed between the Platonic system and New Testament
teaching, yet it is essential that we should not blind ourselves
to the fact that the differences between them are great and
fundamental. The cardinal Christian doctrines of Creation
de nihilo, the Fall, the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the
Trinit:r, are, in fact, alien to Plato's philosophy. This is said
not so much in condemnation of Plato as of those who seem to
be eager to precognize him as a sort of fully-fledged Christian;
for we have already seen that doctrines such as those just
mentioned are beyond the scope of the natural man, and there-
we must not hope to find them developed in any pagan
.. The Platonic and the Christian ethic are practically
as IS dem?nstrated by the quotations already
gIven, but the PlatoIDc doctrme that the knowledge of what is
right and good is sufficient to ensure its performance follows
from no accurate estimate of the vitiation through sin of the
human heart and will. This is evidenced, not only by the
steady degeneration of the Greek race from the time of Plato
onwards, and by the ethical failure of the Hebrews despite the
fact that they were entrusted with the very law of God, and so
could not possibly plead the excuse of ignorance, but also by
the common experience of the human heart, so tellingly depicted
by the Apostle: "What I would, that I do not; but what I
hate, that I do ... For the good that I would I do not; but
the evil which I would not, that I do."s Liberation from this
?ondage to the law of sin, and from its ensuing condemnation,
IS to be experienced only through faith in Christ, the Redeemer
from sin. A heart and will renewed by the power of God
essential if man is to fulfil the law of God. But. Plato quite
fails to recognize the inability by which man is bound because
1 Eph. iv, 15; Gal. iv, 19; Ool. i, 19.
2 I John ill, 2;. I Oor. xiii, 12.
3 Rom. vii, 15, 19.
44
of his sin, and consequently he fails to the ne?essity
for atonement and reconciliation and the new birth. It IS true
that in one passage of almost prophetic penetration the
philosopher declares that the just man, when stripped of every-
thing but his justice, "will be scourged, tortured, have
his eyes burnt out, and, lastly, suffer all ma.nner of and be
crucified "l-a prediction so nearly fulfilled In the suffermgs and
death of Ohrist, the only entirely just man, that Clement of
Alexandria feels that Plato, in writing these words, "all but
predicted the economy of salvation. "2 This is true as regar.ds
the manner of Ohrist's death, but in no sense as regards ItS
meaning-a distinction that it is important to urge here.
There have been some, indeed, who have thought that
could discetn in Plato's theology a trinitarian concept COmprISIng
the three elements God, the Ideas, and the World-Spirit,. or,
alternatively, TO arya80v, vou<;, .and "frvX1J . to. read Into
concepts of this the of the Trllllt.y which affirms
the essential hypostatIC UnIon of three Persons In the one God-
head is fair neither to Ohristianity nor to Platonism. 3.
Philonic terminology more nearly approaches the OhrIstIan,
sometimes almost startlingly so, but here, t.oo, as we have
it is vain to seek a trinitarian doctrine, SInce such a doctrIne
would bring God into direct contact. with sentiment
strenuously rejected by both l'latorusm and Philorusm.
The New Testament, on the contrary, teaches that the per-
ceptible material world was into being, pre-
existing phenomena, but by a fiat de and,
furthermore, that all things, both In heaven and In earth,
visible and invisible, were created by the Son of God,. IS
Himself before all things.
5
St. John also speaks expliCItly to
the same effect: "In the beginning was the Logos, and the
was with God, and the Logos was God; the saI?-e was In the
beginning with God: all things were made by Him, and apart
from Him was not anything made that was made."6 In
passages the Apostles employ language which has a Platoruc
1 Repub. ii, 361. OJ. John viii. 40: "Now ye seek to kill me, Il. man that
hath told you the truth."
B Strom. v. 14. l ... Cl t
3 Of. Plato, Epinomis 986; EpiBt. ii, 312; P ea XXlll ; ?men
Alex., Strom. v, 14; Theodoret, De Affec. ii, 750; Plotmus, IV Ennead IV, 16.
4 Beb. xi, 3-p./) TO /3l1en:6p.EJlOV 'YE')'aJlEVa',
6 Ool. i, 16, 17.
o John i, 1-3.
or Philonic ring about it, but in such a way as to correct Platonic
and Philonic errors. The Logos may be called eo<; by John,
but in a context which makes His oneness with 0 e6S' in-
disputable. He may be, according to St. Paul, "the image of
the invisible God" and "begotten before all creation,l but
eternally so, and not in any wise temporally so. The world
may have been organized by a Divine word so that chaos was
replaced by cosmos,2, yet the matter on which this operation
was performed was also brought into being by the same supreme
agency. He who was "in the beginning" and "before all
things" must also Himself be the originator of all things:
He is, in fact, as the New Testament declares, "the Beginning."3
Had Plato but applied his famous argument for the immortality
of the soul with equal strictness to his doctrine of matter, as
Thomas Aquinas did 1,500' years later,4 he would have aban-
doned his view of matter as eternally pre-existent: "A
beginning," he wrote, "is uncreated; for everything that is
created must be created from a beginning, but a beginning
itself from nothing whatever: for if a beginning were created
from anything it would not be a beginning. Again, since it is
uncreated, it must also of necessity be indestructible ....
else must all the universe and all creation collapse and come to
a standstill.' '5
It is the Platonic dualism between God and matter, as con-
stituting two co-eternal entities, which is at the root of the
opposition which exists between the Platonic and the Ohristian
systems. Scripture teaches that man, body and soul, was
originally created perfect, as the crown of the whole material
creation which God saw to be "very good," and that through
sin he fell from his original happy state and his human nature
was perverted and corrupted. For Plato, however, it is matter
as such that is inherently evil, and the only fall that appears to
be deducible from his philosophy is the "fall" of the soul into
1 Col. i. 15.
2 Of. Boo. xi, 3-ICaT1/prlCTOal TOUS &',idJlas p.qp.aTl ra.av, "the universe was
reduced to order by God's word." Whether this was in accordance with some
archetypal idea or form is not stated. But any idea of the eternity of matter
is immediately excluded, as we have seen, by the next clause of this
which affirms the creation of matter rk nihilQ.
8 Rev. i, 8.
4 Summa Theol., Part 1, Q. 2, Art. 3.
6 PhaedTUll 245; cf. Repub. x, 608-610.
the "dungeon of the body.1 So, also, the basic Christian
doctrines of the Incarnation, of God in Christ enduring physical
suffering and death, and of bodily resurrection from the dead,
are as entirely repugnant to the Platonic system as they are of
the essence of the Christian system; for the union of the Divine
nature with human nature, a harmony between spirit and matter,
is unthinkable to the Platonist for whom matter and spirit are
irreconcilably antagonized. Not only Philonism, but the
Docetic and Gnostic heresies of the early Christian centuries
imitated Plato in postulating this fundamentally erroneous
dualism. The prologue to St. John's Gospel, however, sets
before us the true perspective, declaring that the Logos, who is
God, and the Creator of all things, also " became flesh and dwelt
in our midst."2 And it is further evident that the Johannine
Epistles, as well as portions of St. Paul's were expressly intended
to rebut the heresies of Docetism and incipient Gnosticism, which
were but a form of Platonism, thinly disguised under a Christian
veneer, and decorated with embellishments from a variety of
other cults.
To sum up: the points of affinity between Platonism and
New Testament Christianity are remarkable, but the points of
disparity are even more so. Yet these latter revolve, in the main,
around one chief error of the Platonic system, namely, the
dualistic concept of God and matter as co-eternal and as mutually
exclusive. The removal of this fundamental error would seem
to open the way for the Platonist to move on straight to the heart
of Christian truth. For Platonism points the ethic of Christianity,
without the dynamic of Christianity: it discerns the infinite
value of the human soul, without knowing the means of its
salvation: it acknowledges the supremacy and perfection of God,
without being able to shake off the clinging bogey of meaningless
matter : and its desire penetrates even to the glorious reward
of the just, the ineffable beatific vision of God, while still awaiting
1 This Platonic doctrine was reproduced, via Philo, in Christian garb by
Origen in the third century, the souls of men being identified with the fallen
angels, who are punished by the degradation of having to inhabit human
bodies, until through this discipline all will uloimately be restored. It is
interesting also to find that AugllBtine, although he repudiates Plato's doctrine
oflearning by reminiscence ofthe soul (De Trin. xii, 15), propouods, somewhat
tentatively, it is true, a theory of reminiscence in order to explain man's innate
knowledge of a better and happier state-a memory, he suggests, of the bliss
which he enjoyed before the fall. Such a suggestion seems not inconsistent
with the traducianist views which Augustine held. OOnfe88ions x. 20, 21-
a John i, 1-3, 14.
PLA ToNISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
47
the Good News that Jesus Christ is "the way the truth and the
life," and that" no man comes to the Father, but b; Him."l
New Testament shows that Plato's ideal republic (7ro).,bT(s[a)
will actually be realized in the" new heavens and new earth
wherein dwelleth righteousness," in the new Jerusalem
city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is "2
-a consummation the possibility of which Plato seemed' to
envisage when he wrote: "The state which we have now estab-
lished exists only in our reasoning, and has, I think, no existence
on earth. However, it is probable, that there is a model of it
in heaven."3 And he dec!ares: "We are plants,
not of earth, but of heaven; 4 to which the Apostle responds :
"Our republic-,:"oAtTEta-is in heaven; from whence also
we look for a SaVlour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall fashion
anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed
to the body of His glory, according to the working whereby He is
even to s.ubject all things unto Himself"5-a quotation
which may fittingly conclude our investigation into the subject
of Platonism and the New Testament.
DISCUSSION:
The Rev. Dr. D. MARTYN LLOYD-JoNES (Chairman) said that the
subject of this paper was very important at the present day, in view
of the current controversy regarding the Barthian theology. The
point of the paper is contained in Section IV of the Syn-
OpSIS. We need to beware of philosephy masquerading as theology,
and to keep clear in our minds the relation between philosophy and
theology.
The author appeared to show too great a tendency to say that
Philosophy had been a schoolmaster to bring the Greeks to Christ,
as the Law had been in the case of the Jews. Thus, on page 25
he refers to the view of Clement of Alexandria of two streams
meeting in the advent of Christ, that of the Jewish Law and that of
Greek Philosophy. The Law is unique, and the two are not parallel.
So again on page 37 where Socrates is compared to John the Baptist:
John the Baptist was unique, and any glimmering of truth on the
1 John xiv, 6.
s 2 Pet. ill, 13; Rev. xxi, 1-7; Heb. xi, 10.
a Repub. ix, 592.
, Timaeus 90.
6 Phil. ill, 20, 21.
48
REV. PHILlP E. RUGRES, M.A., B.D., ON
part of Socrates is not to be compared with the uniqueness of the
New Testament. On page 39 Socrates is called" this pre-Christian
Apostle." The next paragraph is reminiscent of the Roman Catholic
view of revelation as a supplement to reason.
On page 41 the author speaks of the two streams, Jewish and
Greek, meeting in Christ, and quotes St. Paul: " The Jews require a
sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom." The attitude of Jew and
Greek is a contrast, not a continuation. There is a complete contrast
between the Hebrew and the Greek outlook; the Hebrew, concrete,
" materialistic"; the Greek, abstract, "ideal."
In his final paragraph, Mr. Hughes speaks of " the removal of this
fundamental error (dualism)." As there is need of the new birth, it
is not quite so simple as that. '
Mr. F. W. CHALLIS said:
I endorse the chairman's tribute to the painstaking labour of the
lecturer, but I feel the contrast (rather than similarity) between
Platonism and the New Testament needs much stronger emphasis.
Not approximation, but a gulf between them-and nothing in
Nature to bridge it. Christianity cannot possibly be proposed as a
" completion" of Platonism. Platonism could never" evolve" into
the Gospel. Grace came down. Incarnation is what the Gospel
insists on in the stark reality of it (incomprehensible to the Platonic
mind with its view of matter as evil and the human body a" dun-
geon," instead of the New Testament conception of the body as the
organ ofthe Divine Obedience). Jesus Christ came inflesh: this is
the touchstone of the Apostle John who, so far from losing himself
in a world of " ideas," keeps his feet firmly on the ground. Also,
contrast the philosophic coterie in Athens with the Gospel-preaching
Apostles. According to Plato cpiA.o(jocpov 'TT"A.fj8oc;; aO{JlIa'Tov
etvat (Republic 494a). Plato's theory of Ideas has no Gospel
for the masses. Contrast: "the common people heard Him
gladly."
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS:
Mr. R. T. LOVELOCK wrote:
May I please thank the Rev. P. E. Hughes for an extremely
interesting paper in which the religious and moral attitude of Plato
has been admirably summed up. From a much more limited know-
ledge than he possesses, I would judge him correct in placing
the maJor difference between Plato and Jesus in the antithesis
between "dualism" and "humanity" (using this latter term
,reverently and with reticence, of the manifestation through our
.. On other hand his emphasis on the importance of Plato's
ethIC, m which that philosopher is likened to John the Baptist as a
" forerunner," is open to serious question.
111 the ancient world, dualism, or the idea that the body was
essentially incapable of good, inevitably led to decline in
morals through a sense of " helplessness" induced by the theory.
Jesus demonstrated that the true function of the body was to be
subject to God in holiness, and that if the personality was cleansed
the power of His sacrifice, the gift of a glorified body
In resurrectIOn would eventually perpetuate that for which the
life had been spent. The essential difference between the two out-
looks, as it is reflected in the personal life of the body distinct .from
, that of the mind, is well contrasted by the teaching of St. Paul in
1 Cor. vi, 10-20 and that of Plato in the Symposium. Reference is
made in the paper to the statement in Romans that the invisible
of ha:ve been clearly manifested from the beginning, but
It IS m thIS partICular context that St. Paul instances the teaching
of the Symposium as a perversion of true religi.on particularly abhor-
rent to God; it is for this reason that the eulogies here poured
upo?, would seem to be out of place from the viewpoint of
ChrIstIan personal morality, however great he may have been
in tellectuall y.
The modern tendency to place so much importance on intellectual
prowess is itself tending to produce a modern dualism-by looking
on. a man's ideas as separate from his actiens, the tendency is'to
thmk of the animal nature as something to be 'excused' as un-
alt:rable; in our own day we can see a regress along the path
whICh undermmedGreek civilisation. If we attempt to correct the
balance by realising that personal service to God is the essential
prerequisite to which God can add, we rate that patriarchs with a
more elementary mental equipment than Plato were nearer to the
God revealed through Jesus than was any citizen of Athens. In this
it be noted that the quotation in the paper from
1 CormthIans Imphes that the Greek philosophy led men to see in
E
50 REV. PHILIP E. HUGHES, lYLA., B.D., ON
Jesus the power of God; in the context not quoted we are told
that to the natural Greek the whole lesson of the cross was foolishness,
and we remember that it was in Athens that men laughed to scorn
the idea of life through death.
We must not, of course, forget that much of the detailed agreement
between Plato and Christianity is in the" theoretical" fabric of
theology: this latter was the building of second-century theorists
upon the foundation of the New Testament, and although it is
essentially moulded upon the Bible, its form was determined to some
extent by the fact that it was the product of men trained in the
system of Plato. To disentangle entirely the two relationships is no
easy task, and the solution is bound to be controversial in many
points.
Mr. TITTERINGTON wrote: The outstanding impression I ha.ve
derived from this paper is of the yawning gulf between Pagan
philosophy at its best, and the Bible. Plato's doctrine of the inherent
evil of matter would have made the Incarnation impossible. This
doctrine also, with his further doctrine of "ideas" and "jlmior
Gods," not to speak of metempsychosis, puts Platonism firmly into
the pattern of Pagan philosophy generally. Where Platonic thought
did crop up was not in the teaching of the Apostles, ~ r anywhere in
the New Testament, but in that first great opponent of the Christian
faith-the Gnostic heresy. This did not of course prevent the New
Testament writers from making use of words and concepts familiar
in Greek philosophy, but in doing so they gave the words and con-
cepts Itn altogether new content. This is what Bible translators do
today; they have to make use of the inadequate language of the
people for whom the translation is required, but in doing so they
enrich the language by adding a new content to the words they are
using.
There is however one remarkable thing about Plato-that steeped
as he was in the debased and degrading mythology of Greece, he
yet.had the conception of God as a God of righteousness. That is,
so far as any human conception of righteousness can extend;
the righteousness of God as revealed in Scripture is, of course,
on a different level entirely, almost of a different kind. But there
is one question r should like to ask Mr. Hughes: is there any
evidence whether Plato ever contemplated God as possessing
personality ~
AUTHOR'S REPLY.
I am grateful to the chairman and others who have expressed
criticism as well as appreciation of my paper. For a paper of this
nature not to have evoked critical discussion would have been dis-
appointing. In response to the points brought forward during the
discussion, I should like to make it quite clear that I fully grant the
uniqueness of the Jewish Law as opposed to the philosopy of the
Greeks. Yet, to be fair, we must recognise that the Socratic-Platonic
philosophy does give evidence of and witness to God, the immortality
of the soul, and the responsibility of man; and this, as I see it, is in
line with the Scriptural statements of Psalms xix, 1-3, cxxxix, 14,
and Romans i, 19, 20 and ii, 14, 15, which indicate the ability, and
indeed the responsibility., even of fallen man in this connection.
Fallen man is still fallen man, in possession of those faculties which are
characteristically human-the faculties, namely, of intuition,
reasoning, and judgment. The total depravation which his faculties
are sometimes spoken of as having suffered through the fall, is not
total intensively, but extensively. The exercise of these faculties
can lead to an apprehension of truth, but the perspective of un-
redeemed man is so distorted that such an apprehension will never
be free from an admixture of error. A good illustration of this is
seen in the Platonic belief in the immortality of the soul, with which
is mixed the belief in the eternity of matter. To this factor of the
depravity of fallen man's perception must be added the further
factor of the inevitable finitu.de of man's perception. These con-
sidera tions are sufficient to show that if man is to ha,ve an ultimate an d
sur-e knowledge of metaphysical truth it can only be by revelation,
and that revelation is in a category totally 'different from that of
ratiocination. Thus (by way of reply to Mr. Titterington's question)
Plato conceives of the unity, the goodness, the beauty, and the
justness of God, but he does not appear to have viewed God as a
personal Being. It is only the revealed Christian doctrine of the
Trinity that can assure us of this truth.
Likewise I fully grant the uniqueness of John the Baptist and the
Christian Apostles as opposed to the person of Socrates. Yet the
appearance of Socrates in the pagan world'"is a phenomenon that
cannot be overlooked, and we should be prepared to consider sym-
pathetically his own deep conviction that he was a messenger of God
to the people of his day.
E2
52 REV. PHILIP E. HUGHES, M.A., B.D.,
When, in the Synopsis, I propose Ohristianity as the" complet.ion "
of Platonism, I do so simply in the sense that it is only in the Ohrist.ian
setting that those elements of Platonism which are true and valuable
can be given their full content and be seen in their proper perspective.
Any such" adjustment" of Platonism to Ohristianity would, of
course, be of a radical nature in view of the radical divergencies
between the two systems. I hoped that my paper had made this
sufficiently plain, where I have stressed that., despite similarities, the
differences are" great and fundamental" and that the points of
affinity are less remarkable than the points of disparity.
I readily admit that, viewing my paper as a whole, it may he
judged that too little space has been apportioned to the statement
of the Ohristian position, and I should have welcomed the oppor-
tunity of setting it out at greater length. But this is a disability which
I found it difficult to avoid in a paper of this nature, and I felt it desir-
able in the circumstances to give a somewhat full statement of the
Platonic position before a Society which is professedly Ohristian, and
therefore well able to draw and develop the necessary comparisons
between Platonism and Ohristianity. Even as it is, there are many
things on the Platonic side which I very much desired to include for
the s ~ k e of completeness, but which limitations of space made it
necessary to omit.
I would ask members to allow due weight to what I have explicitly,
though more briefly, stated when endeavouring to compare critica,lly
Ohristianity and Platonism-for instance, when I say that" Pla.to
quite fails to recognise the inability by which man is bound because
of his sin, and consequently he fails to envisage the necessity for
atonement and reconciliation and the new birth." It seems to me
that what is now needed to complete the picture is a fuller statement,
of the Ohristian position, particularly concerning its view of man as
fallen, as redeemable, and as redeemed, which would involve the
coni'lideration of the doctrines of incarnation and resurreetion, and
would show that the effect of Christ's atonement operates 'not only
upon men as individuals, but upon mankind as a race-that men are
redeemed as men, not mer,ely, as in the Platonic system, as disem-
bodied souls which as such have ceased to be truly human.

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