Fragments of Philo Judaeus

The scholar and philosopher Philo Judaeus born around 25 BCE in Alexandria, blended his knowledge of Jewish law and scripture with his command of Greek philosophy in his influential works, ensuring that he became a subject of intellectual enquiry in his own right. However, James Rendel Harris (1852-1941), a biblical scholar, palaeographer and Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, thought Philo too ‘slenderly prized’ in Britain. Harris intended this collection, published in 1886, to bring together surviving fragments of Philo’s work. In a detailed introduction, he explains the complicated tasks involved in identifying and classifying these ancient texts, and also points out that this volume is intended to provide a basis for future research on Philo. The fragments are presented in their original Greek, most of them accompanied by a Latin translation. Harris provides notes throughout, and the book continues to offer a valuable resource for biblical and philosophical scholarship.